kasner

Lots of great ideas from everybody! Here's my two cents. And though it might not be perfect, I just hope people can draw out its positives, rectify the negatives, or take ideas and make a Simcity that will RAWK! At least then consider the ideas. Neighbourhoods, Counties and Bouroughs I think we should be able to mark out certain neighbourhoods and bouroughs with a freeform line. Then whatever facilities we build within there will focus and cater for that neighbourhood only (unless we say so). Of course, if we have a densely populated bourough that we need to redraw the plans would be a good idea. For each individual bourough, we could restrict how much it will grow, and what it could grow. Revamp of Demographics I think the way sims choose where to live, how to commute, which jobs they choose and what they do in their spare time is important. Desirability should be affected not by how many facilities there are, but how it makes a certain class of sim's live that much more easier and nicer to live. All sims want this: good health, good education, live safe, close jobs, clean air and die happy. Here are some rather basic demographic classes we could combine altogether with: - Economic: rich or poor, or middle class. The poor would be stuck in a welfare cycle unless one takes an agressive and active approach. - Education: uneducated, adequately educated (the normal), the intelligentsia/cultural (the kind of people that spur scientific, artistic and social change) - Everyday: family, couple, retiree And then, for each neighbourhood, combine with a certain want or need to be fulfilled, and by doing so could gain you favour in one place, but disgust in another ... - Economic: a neighbourhood drawn to making wealth and being rich (I suppose this would be characteristic of a very poor neighbourhood and a very rich neighborhood). Low taxes, lots of education, welfare schemes and charity benefits, lots of commute choices and commute avaliability - Social: a neighbourhood drawn to cooperation, safety, development and peace (neighbourhood with lots of families and the elderly would be strongest at this one). Parks, police stations, hospitals, community programs, short commutes - Cultural: a neighbourhood that develops and unites its citizens with a trait that they can all relate to Art galleries and museums, parks, religion and fairs. Ideas and innovations open up here, meaning these places contain the niche commerce and pioneering industries. This with a designation of the 'zone' of the area (residential, industrial, commercial), and you've managed to get a unique neighbourhood thing goin' on! Land Value and Desirability - The concept of 'land value' and 'desirability' need to be rethought. Land value is straightforward enough. Desirability is completley different. By desirability, the sims, in combination with its demographic, want is needed. I say, there could be a great piece of land, but the young rich don't want it because its too far away from jobs. The poor can't afford, and families want to be closer to their jobs. It seems the only people who'll live there are rich retirees really ... places of stagnant growth. Or suppose there is a place with low land value. It's just a big NIMBY. No one will live there, no not a single person will. The poor will seek a another place to live, but because they are at the bottom of the 'real estate' pecking order, they'll have to live there, and they hate it, and they are absolutely miserable. They will groan, mumble, and maybe cause some kind of socialist idea upheaval causing giant riots and mass demonstrations calling for change. Viva la revolucion! Products What the heck does your city make, and is it smart enough to make it? By choosing your primary exports, with respect to your population's 'talents', you'll have a rich city ... of course, you can't go for blue chip straight away! Industry: Is the city's industry geared towards agricultural products, manufacturing, hi tech, or innovation. Let's say products can be meat, grains,and cotton or manufacture wholegrain foods and clothes, or focus on genetic engineering new breeds of beef cattle and synthetic fibers. Aerospace? Fossil fuels? Biotech? What? Commerce: Is it basically just selling things from your industries? Is your city a tax and banking haven, or is it bureaucratic? The media or information technologies? Are there software, fashion or architectural designers in your city? Quality: if you population is skilled enough to, you can make the most money. A city with farmers with the know-how of growing wehat could rake in millions with their high quality grain export. A city that tried to diversify into the aerospace industry without the sufficient resources or skills would plummet stone broke, or sell cheap, inferior qaulity products to a budget airline? Who said farmers were poor? I think by reflecting on some of these could really enhance how SimCity works. Not as a pretty building thingy, but a social and urban experiment, the end result being all the pretty buildings you can get.