simwithoutacause

Sorry if this is redundant (I'm lacking sleep): When will this addition/version of RHW with multiple lanes be available?

JanYpe, okay okay, I numbed it down a bit. And if EA/TMill want to appeal to a different market then so be it. It might be a well rounded and diverse game. But hopefully, they will develop and release a game that appeals more to fans who want the 'realistic urban simulator'.

Yeah!?!?! Just what I've always wanted. The ability to build gingerbread houses in the downtown core. Oh oh, I hope they have magical ice cream shops and gum drop candy lanes and fairies and bunnies and buildings made of sugar cubes. For [insert curse here] sakes, come on EA/TMill. Are you making a sequel to Pokemon??? Do you think hardcore SC fans really want this stupid mindless twinkie game??? At first, I said to myself, "Steve, it looks grim, but give them a chance. I mean, sure, it's bound to get better from here. Right?" but now I just want to shoot myself in the foot. But, you know, the 350 buildings compensates this a bit. Oh but wait??? How many buildings were included with SC4??? On top of that, how many custom BATs can I download from Simtropolis? EA/TMill, please, please for the love of God, scrap this and start over. I don't mind waiting. Take your time, listen to the fans. Go above and beyond what other game designers have created, not below and behind. If I actually cared about 'societies', I would have become a social worker. But let's face it, I don't care, not even a bit. You want to see a game that revolves around society? Go to the $10 or less bin at Wal-Mart and pick up a copy of City Life.

is there a mirror for downloading this? The file that's been uploaded on STEX seems to be corrupted

You know what SCS needs. Less focus on society. I mean, aren't we all here to build cities? I couldn't give two s**ts for what social classes are in my city and what medial task they are doing. I don't even need to see my citizens, they can all be numbers on a demographics chart for all I care. STOP FOCUSSING ON THE SIMS. No one cares what they are doing down there? If I wanted to see what MY SIMS are doing, well, I'll just go buy the SIMS and all 40 expansion packs.

We should make a petition. Will it accomplish anything? Probably not, but given the amount of support for SC and the sheer hatred of the 'new direction for toddlers', I think we should tally everyone who wants TMill/EA to change their direction. That is, if they are willing to listen to us, the COMSUMER.

I completely agree. I'm more than willing to sacrifice 3D for detail anyday. As mentionned above, all games that have gone fully 3D have, well, sacrificed a lot of detail (in terms of customization, options, etc.) I agree that with some tweaking, the 21/2D model that SC4 had would be good enough for me. Bring back 2D. Bring back simplicity.

I am all for the ideas in this post, although I can't say I've read every individual post. I am, however, going to offer my position on what the next Simcity should be: In order to have a realistic urban simulation, we must look at how great cities such as New York, London or Toronto (yes, I'm Canadian and had to throw that one in) came to be. Major cities don't just appear out of thin air and the majority of modern cities (formed in the 19th and 20th centuries) were established around a particular industry. After all, people don't just move to the middle of nowhere for the heck of it. In my 'Simcity World' the game would begin with the ability to choose your region of the world (for simplicity, your climate): 1. Climate -You would choose from Temperate, Tropical or Arid. This will greatly affect how your city develops over time. For example - Temp. climates would attract a great deal of industry but little tourism (until you develop your city). Trop. climate of course will have lots of tourism and will blossom quickly, but will have some downfalls as well (I haven't totally thought out this point yet but you see where I'm going. I would love to see snow in the winter (and from a city management point, snow removal costs as well), whereas an Arid climate would require a greater focus on water supply. (on a side note) I would like to see more dynamic weather such as storms, heat waves, drought, etc. Not all disasters, but it would be nice to see this implemented. 2. Regions - These should still exist but I prefer the idea that was mentionned on this post of land aquisition. Cities expand. I think that you should start with a small area. Once you have an established town, you can acquire land on the edge of your city (if your budget allows). 3. Start up - Like I mentionned, cities don't form in the middle of nowhere. So I feel that there should be a basic transportation system already present such as a highway or a railway that runs through you town. This would be how people actually relocate to your city. You build around the road/rail with the ability to reroute that artery as you would anyway else. You should also have a starting industry (such as timber production or oil/resources). Something basic that will get your city going and will be the backbone for your early economics. This dependancy will depreciate as your city expands and becomes more and more self sufficient. 4. Government Funding - In terms of infrastructure, healthcare, etc. cities are not on their own. Government subsidies could be introduced and eliviate (sp?) costs assiciated with these items. Buyer beware: If you city fails to meet the needs of its people (low approval rating or something), Government subsidies are reduced. 5. Transportation System - I don't know a lot about computer programming, but I do not like the simple 90o and 45o options for road networks. In CityLife and Ceasar IV (TMill) you can create almost any angle for road networking. I like CityLife's system (that's about all I like) for road networking. When there is a gap between a lot and a road, a filler lot is added (usually grass or cement, depending on the wealth/type of the area). I would love to see different types of roads too. Gravel/dirt roads for rural areas (cheap but can't handle volume), streets and roads for built-up areas. Further to that, you place a two lane road and lets say you need to expand. Well you simply drag a fourlane road over it and bango, you have nore lanes (at a cost). You can expand for several lanes and slowly see your sidewalks shrink; want more lanes? Well you'll have to demolish some houses (you sims may not be too happy). Wow, people are still reading? I appreciate your time. 6. More Detail for Transit and Infrastructure - OKay, buses/LRTs and everything in between. Well I like the ability to place bus stops (which should actually be part of the road and not take up a lot). But anyways, who pays for those buses, who buys them? Same with LRT trains/trams? Well you should place your stations but after that, you should be buying your busses/trains. Playing around with how many busses, what types of busses. Emergency Services - Well how about that. You should be able to place a firehall and say, once you city expands, add to the firehall with the addition of phases (similar to the Cityhall in SC4). This will go for police stations, EMS halls and hospitals. Police Vehicles - The ability to purchase and upgrade/modernize police vehicles. How many will you city have? Once you have a larger city, why not have the ability to by ERT (SWAT in the US), bike patrols, etc. A police helicopter can be purchased (for a price) but will not be perched on the roof of your police HQ (this is NOT realistic). You better have an airport for that helicopter to sit. Fire Apparatus - Do you want pumper trucks, aerial/ladder trucks or what? How many? How bout buying a heavy rescue unit or a HAZMAT truck to make your sims feel safer and to allow the FD to deal with such issues. I want to see the trucks I buy in the game. EMS - How many ambulances, what kind? Want an air ambulance? Better have the hospital install a helipad and you better have an airport for your helicopter to sit. How about bike medics. We have 'em here. Why not in your city? Zones - I don't know about you, but when a house is built, it stays a house for a long time. Why are we getting townhouses in a village of 2000? Zoning should be simple. You zone a large area connected to a road of say, residential, and when it develops you have subdivisions. Why all this grid system. Let's get realistic. I'm no programmer, so someone else will have to figure that one out. Airport - If you've ever been to one, they're huge. They require an awful lot of space. Why are the airports in SC4 so small. Simply zone one, to your specifications and size and watch it develop. Smaller zone allocation will yield smaller airports. I would like to see realistic taxiways and runways (you know, one's that aren't 2 feet from the control tower). Maybe when you zone an airport, you can decide where, how long and at what angle your runways are? You know there are runways in directions other than 0, 90, 180, 270. Lets see some different runway patterns. Infrastructure - When cities are small, dirt roads are a good idea. They are cheap, at least until you build a 'roadworks' facility and have the ability to create your own army of road workers, rather than ship in supplies to build your roads. Power - The one thing that bothered me in SC4 was that almost every city required a power station. I want to see massive power grids. One or two or three big plants supplying the entire region. At first, you can buy power from another 'area', but when you grow and need to expand and be self sufficient, why not have control over your grid. Same with water. Demolition - We all know that demolishing buildings isn't as easy as 'point and click'. In reality if you have to demolish a large skyscrapper, you would hire a demolition crew to implode the building. I would like to see this. You would issue a demolition contract to a crew (for a pretty penny) and in a few months (preparation time...again, realistic) would see the building implode. Could things go wrong? Maybe. Oh, and in real life, you can't arbitrarily kick people out of their homes so you can demolish their land and build a mall. You need to compensate them. Everytime you demolish a building, you better have a few bucks set aside so you can compensate your sims. Wow, if you've read this whole thing, thank you. My fingers hurt. But these are just a FEW ideas I have and would love to brainstorm with more people about our 'wishlist'. If we get enough support, maybe we can take our ideas to EA/TMill to look over before it's too late. Or just make our own game. I still like Simtropolis 1000. Questions/Comments? Email me: section28_5@hotmail.com

I only hope TM is willing to consider the needs and wants of the SC fan base. A note to the DEVs: A 'realistic urban simulation' is exactly what I want to see. I'm sure a great majority of fans want to see a great deal of detail and customization. I was actually hoping SC5 would add to SC4 and, like real city management, you would have the ability to assign speed limits, extra lanes and decide how many fire, EMS, and police vehicles/personnel would be in your city. Just small tweaks to make the game more dynamic.

I am also having the same problem. I believe I am adding my regions correctly (ie: create file, add the config.bmp file, render the greyscale *.jpeg via Ctrl+Alt+Shift+R). But when my computer is finished rendering, the elevation scale is very wrong. There is no water as the elevation values are almost maxed. Can anyone help me out.