Me first!

[Mason Jar]

I couldn't resist the blank slate. I realy loved Sim City for awhile. I played it nearly constantly one summer. I was never a big natural disaster player. My Nephew loved to use cheat codes to build a huge city and then catch it on fire, blow it away with tornadoes and invade it with martians.

Me I turned of the disaters and cheats and just tried to keep everybody happy. I never could get the hang of selling powwer to my neighbors. Somthing allways cut off the flow of power and I would be asessed a penalty. Mostly I let in prisons and jails and toxic factories to pay off my debts and held on for dear llife untill the loans were paid off. Then I could get rid of the vice and pioson and still keep a cash flow up. My stupid computer crashed three times that sumer so I never maxed out the game and allways wondered if it had an end.

[Don Maddox]

I prefer not to use the disasters, at least the really crazy ones.

Building a really big city is something I had a lot of trouble doing. I always ran into traffic problems no matter how hard I worked and organizing the public transportation system. And these transportation system get incredibly expensive after a while and really drag down your budget.

[Aries]

Have you ever tried making a Sim City representing where you actually live?

Another question, if you have Sim City 4, have you combined it with The Sims?

[19Echeaux]

Aries:

I've tried many, many times to get the Terrain Generator to work on the Maxis website, to get terrain for Sim City 4 to build up an area based on my local topography. No dice. Haven't tried to emulate the local terrain in God Mode.

Don't have Sims, so I haven't tried to integrate it (needless to say, but I said it anyway, ha!).

[Doctor Sinister]

Have you ever tried making a Sim City representing where you actually live?

Yes, in SC2000 I made a virtual representation of Portsmouth in the UK. I seem to recall scanning in a map of the town and creating a bitmap to load into the game - had to use money cheats to build it up, but once it was all there it was profitable.

Dr. S.

[TacCovert4]

I prefer not to use the disasters, at least the really crazy ones.

Building a really big city is something I had a lot of trouble doing. I always ran into traffic problems no matter how hard I worked and organizing the public transportation system. And these transportation system get incredibly expensive after a while and really drag down your budget.


What I found was best was to build the beltway early on in the game, allowing it to follow some sort of competent pattern. The other issue is to build rail lines alongside what you know will be major roadways, and to connect low income or highly industrialized sections of the city, before they build up. Subways are expensive, but they do have the bonus of being able to be built after the city is matured. The key is to have a trans net that can hold it's own without subways before you build them.

[Don Maddox]

The problem with doing that is the maintenance costs of the highways. If the city isn't generating enough cash flow, the maintenance costs will drive the city into deep debt very quickly.

[Menschenfresser]

I really disliked the way highways were implemented in Sim3000. They required sooo much space to do on and off ramps. They were impossible to build after a city got underway. I usually went from roads and rail to subway.

I haven't gotten around to 4000, but I've played the others. Was also disappointed by the lack of tunnels. I think you could do tunnels in 2000.

As far as disasters, way back when, a friend and I used to build up cities over the course of an afternoon and use money cheats to try and build the self-sustaining city, where money would continue to flow, and the city could function even in the face of massive disaster. We'd then turn on all disasters and leave the game running over night. I'd wake up the next morning to some funny situations: half the city burnt down, nuclear meltdowns, totally bankrupt. This was SimCity 1 or 2, I think...before power plants had expiration dates.

[weldanplay]

I have tried seattle, WA once, but it failed horribly... it is one in reality too (no surprises).

[Heppy]

Yes, in SC2000 I made a virtual representation of Portsmouth in the UK. I seem to recall scanning in a map of the town and creating a bitmap to load into the game - had to use money cheats to build it up, but once it was all there it was profitable.

Dr. S.

I'm sorry. Late in the day but I've only just spotted this gem. Pompey was profitable? What a damning indictment of SC2000 as a simulation. ;)