FreedomFox

Fun video.

It appears Maxis_MD has quite a few more posts now. But, unsurprisingly, no new information. Anyway, here's the entirety of his posts: http://forum.ea.com/...er/7801225.page On several posts he repeats, "It plays just like SimCity" and "Trust me -- the game we're releasing is most certainly SimCity!" and "the same gameplay you've come to expect!" Sounds a bit like a used car salesman to me :| In my opinion, the game has already shot itself in the foot with multiplayer, a noble concept on paper, but in practice, is catastrophic (in my opinion) as it hinders so many aspects of gameplay that only Maxis has perfected. Which means no terraforming -- a nail in the coffin. No sprawling metropolises because of gaps between cities and limited connectivity between cities -- another nail in the coffin. The only thing that can save this game is to have a versatile and fully operable BAT and mod community after it is released to (hopefully) fix the aforementioned problems. If multiplayer prevents the game from releasing any form of external tools such as the BAT, that will be the absolute final nail in the coffin. Besides, multiplayer in itself means you will have to rely completely on the health and behavior of the server. If the server shuts down, it's over. They may even choose to close the servers because of poor sales figures. SimCity 4 remained THE city building simulator even after it grew several years old and lacked advanced graphics like later simulators had because of the massive amounts of mods and customizations to plow the competition with evolving concepts and gameplay because of the modding community. The new SimCity NEEDS to have it, not just to stay versatile to endure the years to come, but because it is so inhibited. In fact, I don't see why Maxis would not consider putting it in -- it's just to vital. It would be financial suicide if they don't allow the game to be modded. I think I've already made my decision based on the information I have read so far. But I will still wait until the game is released, see a few ratings, a few comments from those who have bought it, a few YouTube videos before I will make my complete and final decision on buying it or saving my money.

I browsed through the official Simcity EA forums and stumbled upon a voice from Maxis who actually answered some questions on the forum. I have only found one or two others from Maxis who posted, but their information wasn't very valuable. I'm trying to look for more, but the terrible search engine on the EA forums makes it very difficult, and scouring through the threads is a chore. Anyway, here's the entirety of his posts (only six posts, but it is pretty good info): http://forum.ea.com/...er/7801225.page Some highlights: Most if this information is probably nothing new. But its good to have it verified in person instead of some press release. So make what you want of it.

Thank you so much for the clarification. I was very worried that, with multiplayer being mandatory, I would only be able to control only a handful of cities and not an entire region. To me, it was the region play that made SC4 lightyears ahead of its predecessor and even surpassing Cities XL and City Life in quality (in my opinion) because of its dynamic region play. Cities are never isolated. They trade, communicate, and travel to other cities. I don't think it was wise for Maxis to make the game multiplayer. (Do you have to pay a monthly fee for multiplayer? Are they enforcing multiplayer solely for profits? Just wondering because it was another game (either City Life or Cities XL, or both), where you were charged with a monthly fee to play in multiplayer. But you also had the option of going singleplayer, too) It's a giant leap forward in having a truly interactive simulation between you and another player with differing plans, resources, etc. (just like the real world), but at what cost? We are not able to control our placement of transportation, there won't be terraforming (which, in my opinion, is drastically limiting control and creativity for the game in general), among other things. Yeah, sure, it's convenient (and almost a neccesity in multiplayer) that regions and transportation networks are predetermined, but I think it is more fun, challenging and interesting on figuring out methods of solving these issues on our own. I would say that I am a little let down after reading the Q&A Part 1. I know a lot of other folks are. But I'm not totally bummed out. My decision on buying the game still stands, however. I'm keeping an open mind, as obviously we aren't even experiencing any significant amount of the final product. For now, it's just bits of news and sneak peaks that we can only piece together. I'll wait a few weeks after it is released to wait for customer feedback and gameplay footages. Those will be my ultimate deciding factors. I would love to go for a SC4 with the updated graphics and simulation engine, as some have mentioned before. But the new SimCity is going to be totally different, and who knows, I might actually enjoy it better than my glorious days grinding on SC4. Different does not always mean worse! Maxis's fanbase is known for being notoriously critical and picky of their games. I think they understand what's at stake and how much they could lose if they don't satisfy the hardcore of their fanbase, which is a pretty big chunk, despite there being a lot of casual players. I think, in the end, they won't let us down. It will be different, that's what is absolutely certain, but I doubt they will crush our expectations.

My apologies for bumping an old thread, but wow, I got to say, your rendition of the First Canadian Place is amazing! So majestic, a massive monstrous edifice, yet so clean and sleek. I realize that you have at least a dozen other projects that you're working on, Kellydale, but I eagerly await the release of this one. Please, I beg of you, don't abandon it!

From the Maxis AMAA Transcript: So basically each and every sim will carry a resource load to help better simulate the ebb and flow of the market and movement of goods. I don't mind this in the least. However, what I'm hoping won't happen is that, because of a limited quantity of resources, the game will find a way to preach to me how to defend against 'global climate change' and implement carbon taxes. Euugh. More city simulating, less environmental shenanigans. Not saying there should be none -- I just would prefer it to be logical (e.g. if I make a heavily industrialized city I will have to deal with health disparities and pollution. If coal deposits are depleted, I'll have to buy from my neighbor. NOT the sea levels are rising and the city will flood, let's reduce our carbon footprint as soon as we can in hopes to stop it). If I open Simcity 5 out of the box and it stresses theses sorts of things, I think I'll uninstall it. Simcity 5 should be a city simulator, more advanced than its predecessor. I don't mind the aspect of resources and even environmentalism and dealing with social issues implemented in it (much like in SC4), so long as the city simulation aspect remains in tact. I don't think Maxis will fail us. They're pretty intuitive to their fanbase and I doubt the next Simcity will be like too much environmentally/socially bent like in Societies or Cities XL. They've stressed that simulation comes first, and then they add all the tweaks of social and environmental issues and whatnot. All I ask for is a step up in sophistication and graphics from SC4 and I'm satisfied.

Multilevel roads ----------^ Moving bridges. And speaking of mines...

That is insane! Must have been fun to make! Before I had uninstalled SC4 and reinstalled it a few years later, I had a city with over 800,000 sims. But that was in the days when I was an utter nub and didn't really exercise any realism. I don't believe I developed the tile completely either. Wish I had a pic of it.

Thanks. This article is very clearly written and concise.

Good day! I used to play SC4 a number of years back. As I recall, it was about 2006ish and I played for a few years on a computer that was both lagging in performance and youth Therefore, after a while I eventually had to uninstall it due to its strain on my old computer (dare I say...bought in 2001?! 256mb RAM and 72G hard drive ). Finally, I have gotten a new, up-to-date machine. My new computer, along with a pang of nostalgia, prompted me to resume SC4. Starting from scratch, my goal is to create a desirable CJ by the end of the year. I've designed some beautiful cities in my heyday and I'm pretty good at Photoshop to tweak some oomph into images, so I guess that's a plus. Bottom line is, I've always loved city simulators. SC4 is my favorite, hands down. I do like the graphics of Cities XL and City Life, but I'm more bigger on strategy than looks. But SC4 is certainly more than suitable (for me) as far as graphics are concerned and this is the game that I grew up on (I've also played the original Sim City and also Sim City 2000). Few things are more satisfying than putting in hours of work into a sprawling metropolis and seeing the finished product.

Thanks. It looks and runs pleasantly.