Xenocity

For those of us who are plagued with that pesky monster, or inconvienced with a nulcear meltdown we are no longer forced to shoulder the full cost of rebuilding. For those who refuse to pay for insurance, well do it at your own risk. The DLC is free! Flo has come to town ;-) I for one welcome the ability to insure my buildings.

UK elected a new parliament on May 7th (Today in the Americas, yesterday in the rest of the world). The British handed a massive election upheaval...! The Conservatives aka Tories (major partner into the coalition and holds the PM) is set to see a decent gain in seats... even a small chance of gaining an out right ruling majority! The voters on the other hand punished the Liberal Democrats (the main leftist party and junior coalition partner) for the past 5 years, costing them all but 10 seats, with a strong possibly of only leaving them with 8 seats total. The voters in Wales and England openly held the Labour (centrist/left, other main party) party at fault for what the government has been doing, even though Labour is currently the major opposition party. The voters in Scotland openly showed Labour the door for opposing, stripping of them all but 1 seat. Instead they voted the Scottish National Party (pro independence party) giving them the 57 out 59 seats in Scotland. Liberal Democrats won 1 seat in Scotland. The SNP is now the 3rd biggest party in the UK in terms of seats. So far the projections based on exit polling are turning out to be correct. BBC is forecasting the following: Conservatives: 316 Labour: 239 SNP: 58 Lib Dem: 10 Plaid: 4 UKIP: 2 Green 2 326 seats are required for a simple majority! http://www.bbc.com/news/election/2015/results Hung parliament again... Next elections are in 2020 (5 year terms).

I plan to get it and the Amiibo three pack at release. Though the question is will the media backlash about this game being the kidification of shooters and this gaming being made for kids and women do it in, in the West... Since last E3 the Western gaming media and the mainstream media have been reporting on how this game too colorful and casual to be a real shooter. Right now on most gaming forums and sites that allow comments have hardcore gamers event rage this game. It also doesn't help that even sites such as NeoGaf, Gamestop and IGN asking why Nintendo chose to abandon their Mario and company to make this game that no one asked for at the expense of the core.

It is always easier to make a game when you don't have upper management, marketing execs an industry politics. Maxis on the other hand had to deal with upper management that didn't know what it was doing or over shooting the market as an independent company, they also had to deal with shareholders and investors, and retailers to get the first 3 Simcitys and other games on the shelves. Maxis under EA had to deal with EA's CEO and upper management, the marketing department, industry politics, and retail policies. Maxis wasted large sums of trying to make Simcity 3000 and Simcity 4 into full 3D next gen city simulator only to fail. Not to mention all the rest of the games they made bombed out The Sims. CO had the benefit of full independence, a decent publisher, and full online platform to release on that takes everything. CO also benefitted from a massive EA backlash, which would easily explain the rapid sales. I highly doubt the majority of the people who bought this game are still playing it today, granted we don't have access to the Steam data to know. --- Though I did manage to bury all of my highways, rail lines and other major thoroughfares that weren't needed for zoning purposes These are mostly highways, avenues and subways.

check the lower right corner of the game's main menu to see what version your game is at. It lies below the deluxe edition logo

So far you can only build down.

So do I. My game runs better on OS X with this patch. Right now I am burying my highways and bridges via tunnels.

On the game's main menu, go to content manager>mods then select a mod and click it to turn it off. You also delete mods here too. I also found out you can make tunnel intersection and tunnel highway ramps.

Windows naming convention has always been wonky. We've literally gone from Windows 1-3.x to Windows 9x to Windows 2000 and ME, to Windows Legacy Fundamentals and XP to Vista to Windows 7 to 8.x to Windows 10 Though Apple has had the best and most linear naming convention in OS history: We went from OS 1 - 9 to OS X 10 to OS X 10.x iOS went from iOS 1 to iOS 8 and counting. As long as technology keeps accelerating there will always be room for OS upgrades.

I'll download it tonight. The metro levels, should allow us to build an NYC style subway system (it has multiple platforms per station).

Apple makes most of it's profits selling hardware, services and pro software such as Final Cut Pro and File Maker (which is subsidiary of Apple). Apple made very little profit, if any selling OS X upgrades, iWorks and iLife software. This is why they are all free, oh it also boost hardware sales by increasing value to consumers. Actually OS X commands ~10% of PC sales in North America and ~7 in the EU and Japan. Overall OS X commands ~5-7% of global market share, with Linux coming in at sub 2%. The reason why most companies ignore OS X, Linux and the rest of the OSs (yes there are more than three) is supposedly due the lack of sales for games on those OSs. Mac and Linux users don't buy enough games to warrant the extra development costs, thus leaving EA and smaller companies as the main supporters. (Same is said about Android users, though actually data shows they pirate everything to hell and back) With that said those dissing Ballmer need to realize Bill Gates was fighting him for control of the company when Gates was still working Head Software Architect (where he retained most of the CEO powers). Bill Gates stepped down on June 27th 2008, giving Ballmer full control of the company, though Windows 8 was already well into development under Gates orders. Though Bill Gates still used his power on the Board, to dictate decisions to Ballmer. When Bill Gates convinced Ballmer to seal the deal to buy the whole Nokia, then betrayed Ballmer by secretly meeting board to block it, caused Ballmer to leave. This is why the board only agreed to buy the hardware division of Nokia. Since Ballmer retired in 2014, he hasn't talked to Bill Gates since, ending their friendship of 30+ years. It's all in the interview from 2014. After hiring the new CEO, Bill Gates has now used up all his "chips" with the board, leaving him relatively powerless. Also Microsoft corrected their statement and said Windows 10 just has their full focus and they haven't started development on the successor yet, but their will be a successor. http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/05/windows-10-to-be-the-last-version-of-windows-until-the-next-version/

Also these important features were added too: New: Metro tunnels can be built at different levels Options: V sync option added Options: Invert Y mouse axis added

That's how I meant it - SC4 as an umbrella statement covering the game itself and the plethora of custom content (I think you have to, just as when you refer to C:S). Certainly, the base game itself is as broken as it was in 2003. Fortunately, the community at large has been able to fix most of the more glaring issues. Wow. This coming from the same person who has downplayed C:S' impressive early sales figures in light of the average PC & console game market. I don't know where you're finding anger and hatred. I've found some, though. Might I suggest you go play one of your flavor of the week FPS/RPGs in case it helps you vent. No skin off my back if I'm the last man standing. I bet I won't be, though. I said i'd be surprised if it Skylines sold a million and I am surprised. The sales literally go against market trends and forces in the West. Though we don't know how many people are still playing the game on regular basis. You do know there is raging debate on whether Skylines ripped off Simcity 4 across the gaming media and forums. Sometimes products defy the market, like the iPod, iPhone, Wii, DS, Xbox 360, etc... These products were all expected to fail according to market research and trends. Hell the iPod, iPhone, DS and Wii were all declared DOA at their unveiling and launch. Also I don't play shooters and RPGs are considered niche as in they aren't produced in sizable quantities anymore nor do they command sales. Nearly all the games I play are considered niche, casual, kiddy and/or nerdy. The point still stands that Simcity 4 fans will not move on, until forced by an apocalyptic event. They're fans for a reason... Fans rarely defect and/or use a competing product... If you use a competing product, you don't fit the definition of fan. You won't see a Street Fighter fan touching Tekken with a 10 mile pole and vice versa You won't see an Android OS fan touch an Apple device as well You won't see Windows fans using another OS. You won't see LBP fans play Mario FYI: I've owned 4 copies of Simcity 4 since 2003, 5 if you count Simcity Box.

If you look at what the Tories did to the economy if the last 5 years and project the same type of improvement forward for the next 5 years, then I think we'd be much better off than if any other party was in power, especially a LAB SNP coalition - that would have been disatrous! Anyway, thats my opinion. Also, David only wants a referendum, not necessarily to take us out of the EU, which I think is a force for good. Actually the economic recover the U.S., UK, and Eurozone was due to the central banks doing huge amounts of QE. Tories had nothing to do with recovery, the Bank of England did all the work on their own with the Tories objecting to QE stimulus.

No... Skylines isn't selling to Simcity 4 fans Simcity 4 fans aren't actually interested in moving on. They are fans for a reason! Remember the dictionary states that fan/fans are short for fanatic/fanatics! Skylines is selling to those who want to move on to a modern game and/or alienated by Simcity 4 and others. Or I'll put this way: Simcity 4 took 12 years and four different releases (two physical packages, Origin and Steam) to sell close to 1 million (EA issues a press release every time a game hits the 1 million sold mark, Simcity 4 has no press release). Skylines broke 1 million in roughly a month. Or I can put it to you this way: Skylines sold enough copies via Steam to break into the top 30 best selling list (each sold over 1 million on Steam), Simcity 4 never did despite being on sale for $5 regularly. Though Simcity 4 could sell another load once the fans have to upgrade to new hardware and are forced to buy the Steam or Origin version. Or think about it this way: Skylines doesn't need mods to make the game work right, Simcity 4 does (Anyone remember how badly the vanilla version ran pre modding?)! Skylines is a stable release that ran as advertised, while on track to outsell Simcity 2000 and Simcity 1. As for modding, Skylines has the Steam community to create mods, which is much bigger than the Simcity 4 modding community. In the end each game will find it's natural resting points...

Tories expected to be short of a majority by one seat. One https://twitter.com/britainelects/status/596534320615010306 BBC is forecasting the Conservatives to have a majority of two!

Like us Americans said to Canadians for giving their Conservatives the majority, WELCOME TO CAPITALISM! On the other hand, I wish I had job... Seriously unemployment for young people is quite high here in the most of the U.S.

You can't! Steam only for most of the world, except for certain EU markets.

Not necessarily an MMO... But they could rip this version of Simcity off: I wouldn't mind paying with friends, while still retaining control over my city.

Ah the U.S. healthcare system... Thankfully I have Medicad (state program for the poor) after my insurance plan was terminated due to the restructuring of Blue Cross of Michigan at the hands of the governor in order to "balance revenue and costs". The new plan would have given me a $6,600 medical deductible including prescriptions, before prescription coverage kicks in. $220/month for medication and $169/month for the premium...! Well until I can finally land a job or successfully start my own company (I am thinking about it after all the rejections over the past 2.5 years), I get government backed healthcare... Stupid high unemployment for people under 40! Or to use the phrase that sums up the U.S. system.... "U.S. healthcare system best in the world, bankrupted by the world..." It means the cost of healthcare is high due to the other industrialized nations forcing all things medical at below market costs, making the companies take decent loses, which are needed to be made up in U.S. My uncle told me two weeks ago, I should be grateful for the U.S. system and its costs, while our fellow Canadians and Europeans are stuck with government rationing of healthcare, death panels, and waiting months on end to see the physician!

http://steamcommunity.com/games/SteamWorkshop/announcements/detail/208632365237576574 Valve today announced it is allowing all modders to monetize their mods on Steam. This means any game that uses Steam Workshop, can have it's mods sold. The modders are allowed to set the price, but only net 25% of the revenue. The remaining 75% will be distributed between Valve, the publisher and the developer. Will Cities: Skylines modders now start charging for their mods?

The fun thing is that the other game buy platforms and such made the monopoly for steam by staying very expensive when steam drops the prizes. Especially Origin. Origin is so expensive that you can often get their games for almost the half of the price on Steam. Uplay by Ubisoft is also expensive, but it's not as bad as Origin. I still prefer Steam over Origin (because Origin is just crap), but they're not hitting the right road. I think they made a steep turn into a dead end. They will have to go back if they want Steam to continue. But as I said, Origin and Uplay still exist. Not that many of their games have mods, but the ones that do, could create a workshop on their own site (if they didn't already) and slowly pulling people towards them. I think Valve already knows that what they have done, could have been not a very smart move, but they still have a big monopoly. As soon as that monopoly vanishes and they have to compete with other brands, They will have to stop charging for mods. So my conclusion is: (it's hard to get it out of my mouth) Use Origin and Uplay and such more often. I think you need to rechange your opion of switching to EA (Origin). They already own any game content you make for their games. This means if you create an awesome mod. EA can use it without your permission and not pay you a dime for it. They own it outright. Another reason there is very little mods for Simcity 2013. https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140113/11244025851/ea-embraces-simcity-players-releases-useless-modding-tools-promises-supposedly-impossible-offline-mode.shtml Here's the only link I found. I am horrible with google search. While the Steam Workshop will pay you and give you credit may be only temporary. What I don't get is how no one seen this coming. I said the day they announced it that they were now going to have a mod store so we can buy all mods now. Since the mobile market does it, why not everyone? lol At least get paid for it now, while you can. lol People are just going to have to do their due diligence on researching what DLC they buy. DLC creators will also have to make sure their product is bug-free and of high quality in order to get paid. Word will get around fast. This can only be a good thing in the long run. Now creators have the choice of not selling on Workshop and get more money selling privately, or sell on workshop and pay a high price, but get more sales and potentially more money. That's just the way capitalism works. Ask CO what it cost them to create their game on Unity, plus sell on Paradox and Steam, plus Bethseda, whatever they do? now you see why they charge 45%. OOps, company, gotta run. -=Mark=- You only own a license to use the software you purchased be it a game, OS, or any other piece of software. They have the right to any changes, modifications and other stuff you do to their software, without your permission unless they gave you explicit permission in the EULA. They also have the right to take legal action against you as well, since you are doing it without their permission. Sometimes companies don't care like Sega or they open their game to modding like Simcity 4 and Simcity 2013. But in the end they still have right to everything created under the law.