cybersite1987

For all the schools I have in my cities, I sure have some stupid Sims. Long ago I installed a great freeway system with tons of access, leading from residential to commerical to residential to industrial, so sims can get to their jobs. But they don't use it. They pack onto side streets, roads and avenues. There is one road leading to a neighboring city with 10,000 bus traffic on it, and lots of cars too. The freeway right next to it is almost unsed. Stupid bastards.

Okay, here's the deal. I had a healthy region with a million and a half residents. I had a wide variety of resident wealth types, lots of industry of all types, commercial, good transit, all that. I thought I knew how to build a healthy region. Anyway, suddenly my industry is crippled. That is, there is plenty of demand, especially for manufacturing, but nothing builds. When I zone any industry, all that pops up are the token 1x1 filler lots, like Biovarria, and the stupid lego-looking high tech crap that the game comes with. And what's worse, anytime I run an already-built city, the industry (which is full of awesome warehouses, plants, etc....very realistic) slowly starts to get replaced with these filler lots and none of the big lots I've downloaded. Again, there's plenty of demand for I-HT and I-M. Also, several of my major cities are experiencing a great depression part II. Most new hi-rises go dilapidated or abandoned shortly (even though I've overhauled my transit systems several times) and my commercial dists are equally crappy. I can't do anything to get demand to stabilize. Two of my largest cities are around 370,000.

I have a serious problem. I have been playing SC4 since it came out, but I can't figure this one out myself. I have a city of 280,000 or so. It's the region's largest. It was truckin along when all of a sudden commercial demand on all but CS-$ plunged way into negatives. My largest buildings went vacant. Then, I-M and I-HT dropped too (to right around zero). R-$$ and R-$$$ are hovering around zero now, but there is lots of demand for R-$. High-wealth hi-rises are going dilapidated right along with my central commercial district. I tried lowering taxes (C=around 6%, R=around 7.5%, I=around 6%) but this has done nothing. I've tried building new civic buildings (new hospitals, schools, police and fire, a larger airport, a revamped transit system, and others). I've also modernized and extended the city's highway (a beltway), added what education rewards were available (central library, etc.). Oh, and I also destroyed my university and can't get it back The city is thoroughly linked to its neighbors (2 med. and like 4 small suburbs). Speaking of its neighbors, this problem has started to spread to the neighbors. Actually, another large city in this region (pop. 260,000 or so) is struggling, too. The same problem seems to be radiating outward. idk. Another aspect of the problem is that the central commercial districts in both cities suddenly are covered with a cloud of red (low) desirability for the buildings already there! This isn't b/c of traffic or garbage...w/o traffic, I suspect it's not due to air pollution either. How do I lift R-$$/$$$ demand, commercial demand, and industrial demand??? I could allow a torrent of low-wealth hi-rises, but I fear that would only drive up demand for undesirable industry and scuzzy commerce. My population increases over the past 50 yrs or so have been entirely by R-$, wealthier residents have been declining. So is this city destined to become a slum??? HELP

I never found SC4 to be too complex. Yes, I made a mountain out of a molehill when I first began the game, putting in every service there was. But then I realized that you have to manage your money above all else; therefore, I couldn't build a utopia right away. In other words, the game was difficult if you thought you were going to build a perfect city your first time...instead, you had to settle for some crime, imperfect education, gaps in health coverage, fires, etc., just like real cities have to make the same compromises. My cousins had never played a SimCity game before 4, and they really got into it, despite its "complexity" and lack of mass appeal. True, there were many things about the game that could've been rethought, perhaps in further expansion packs. But I think the godds of modds have ironed out those problems for the most part. SimCity 4, thanks in large part to modding, is an incredible game. Unfortunately, no amount of modding could possibly ever turn SCS into the SC5 that I was expecting: a realistic urban simulator, one perhaps featuring a novice mode and an expert mode. Modding SCS to get SC5 would be like putting a band-aid on a broken leg and hoping it sets itself.

Oh, and it looks that, if this game takes off (I tend to doubt that it will) it could mean the end of custom content and maybe even Simtropolis. Praise be to Dirk and the gods of Modds that SC4 will live on and on. Did EA completely ignore sites like this when coming up with the idea for (SCS)ocieties? Certainly the majority of the posts here pan the game (at first glance at least) and the rest have just held out judgement for later. Oh, and I'm sure you've all read the tidbits at http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3160151&sec=PREVIEWS

Ohhh, noo. There were two directions SC5 could've been taken, and it seems that EA took the wrong one, in my opinion. With the first screens and descriptions at 1Up, I can say that, by taking away the "tedious micromanagement" like pipe laying and the likes (and the prospect of the whole thing being like SC2000's Urban Renewal Kit), as well as dumbing down the realism, I can honestly say I am truly disappointed. I still hold out hope, though, being the optimistic person that I am, that this "new direction" might not be as radical as it seems initally. But the pessimist in me says that, even though I am as hardcore a SimCity fan as you'll ever meet, I won't be buying this game.

I'd like to see concrete roads, avenues, and one-ways as well; some cities go with concrete if you look at their arials on GoogleEarth. This is great though to see experimentation with pavement.

Honestly, I think SC5 will be a disappointment to many of us, especially judging by Will Wright's comments about making the game simpler (appealing to a larger audience). I think SC4 will continue to be the preference for many hardcore Simmers, especially with what has been done to it and what will continue to be done to it. Simtropolis may have to serve both games for a long while. But the optimist in me hopes that SC5 will be great and just as dynamic as 4. PS If Maxis is smart (I'm not an insider nor do I know a thing about how the business works) they'd utilize the huge community here on Simtropolis and other fansites in making SC5. Imagine the possibiliites when game-making becomes a democratic process with the input and even direct help of unpaid BATters. Geez , could Maxis even collect ad revenues by putting real-life businesses into the game?? Just some thoughts.

Some quick series I would love to see continued: (Not sure, but) NDEX apartment buildings, the current ones are in several colors, generally boxish, trees included on lot, very nice. Simgoober warehousing (ie TSC Distribution, Wally K's distribution) and other realistic industrial lots. Real-world retail chain stores. The small-city American downtown series. More transit-enabled parking lots of different sizes. More hospitals similar to SG's Rural Hospital. More schools similar to the recent school packs.

What I think is still missing is a really authentic suburban school set, one with parking lots, playgrounds, and no more than two floors at its tallest. Creative designs, as opposed to boxy ones, are all the rage in new school buildings. Also, any suburban school is generally a sprawling building: much more flat than high. And no matter what kind of school, there should definitely be a gym/fieldhouse.

Wow there are some serious skylines on here. None of mine compare in sheer number of them but I do have some nice pics I should post. Nice small downtowns, medium downtowns, and a few large ones too.

I always develop my cities around a skeleton of rails and regional roads, kinda like state and county highways. I do plan what I think would be planned in the real world, like a highway between areas or anticipate future need for an avenue. I definitely plan american cities. the first and oldest parts are more compact and european-like, while the farther-out parts are sprawling (I put in lots of parks and parking lots for schools, hospitals, etc) with more winding roads.

Since you have to build a nice suburb before you can think about converting it into a city, its good that we're discussing suburbs. From my experience, cities and suburbs are fundamentally laid out differently (city blocks vs. meandering streets), and I have yet to convert a modernish suburban sprawl into a high-rise center. Tips for building a good suburb: definitely read STomnibus's tutorial that he so generously pasted above. Basically, from my GoogleEarth trips to the major cities, as well as driving and flying near many suburbs in the US, I' ve realized a few things. 1. Usually, unlike contiguous city-block style developments, suburbs definitely are more neighborhood-oriented. That is, there is a clear boundary between one development and another, often in the form of an avenue, treeline, hill, or the streets between two developments won't flow into one another as they do within neighborhoods. 2. Often, access to roads and higher traffic networking is limited. Instead of every street connecting, there will often be a handful of streets specifically connecting the neighborhood to the road. 3. Rarely do suburbs have residential lots attached to roads or avenues. Instead, they will be connected to a parallel street, and often trees instead will border the road. Not only does this increase property value but its provides future expansion space for the road into avenue, or avenue into highway (both in real life and in the game). 4. I'd suggest making liberal use of the PEG random forest lots. They are cheap and look great, especially if you can't afford a grass lot for every unfilled tile. 5. Referring back the the last number. Often, it actually looks better to build your streets so that the lots you put in don't take up all the space between streets. In other words, if you can't stretch two lots and there is space in between or in the middle of a block (or loop, etc) then fill it in with trees. 6. Learn the hotkeys for laying zones. 7. Download the Oct 2005 Network addon mod. I find the diagonal streets are essential. 8. Oh, and use lots of cul du sacs (dead ends). if you have the network addon mod, you will get really cool turnarounds at the ends of streets, just loop your streets around to form a donut at the end of it.

I mean seriously, Lambeau Field is awesome. It's not just because I am a big Packers fan...hell, the batter doesn't even have to put the logo on the stadium, but I can easily picture Lambeau, possibly the oldest remaining stadium (but by no means decrepit), in any of my cities, especially with its dark green color. It would meld with the trees and grass in town yet it would definitely stand out with its super modern architecture. I also think that this stadium should have many many many jobs, in part to simulate the economic impact a stadium has and also because stadiums do have lots of jobs.