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SimCity (series)
Encyclopedia
SimCity is an open-ended city-building
computer and console video game series and the brainchild of developer Will Wright. It is published by Maxis
(now a division of Electronic Arts
). The game was first published in 1989 as SimCity
, and it has spawned several different editions sold worldwide. The ongoing success of SimCity has also sparked the release of many other spin-off "Sim" titles, including 2000's The Sims
, the best-selling computer game in history.
In SimCity, the player is given the task of founding and developing a city, while maintaining the happiness of the citizens and keeping a stable budget. In SimCity 2000
, SimCity 3000
and SimCity 4
, the player is allowed to alter the terrain of the city before building on it.
The player must define zones, each having limits on the kind of development that can occur there. Development of the zones is not performed directly by the player, but happens when certain conditions are met, such as power supply, adequate transport links or acceptable tax level. The residential zones, in green, provide housing for Sims; the commercial
zones, in blue, provide shops and offices; and the industrial
zones, in yellow, provide factories, laboratories and farms. There are three different densities
(two for SimCity 2000) in the game: low density for small buildings, medium density for low to mid-sized buildings, and high density for anything up to large tower blocks.
Developed in the San Francisco Bay Area, SimCity's game mechanics are heavily based on 20th century California development. For example, players start from an undeveloped greenfield
, cars
are the default form of transportation, earthquakes happen, zoning
separates residential, commercial, and industrial land uses, and one can enact policies such as declaring one's city a nuclear free zone. Many of the graphics in the game are also based on actual buildings and bridges in the Bay Area, and maps and scenarios feature events such as the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
and the Oakland Hills firestorm.
), depending on how large their city is. The player must supply services to their citizens. These include health
, education
, safety, parks and leisure
. These come in the form of different buildings, where each building covers a circular "range" of service. Inadequate funding of these services can lead to strikes.
Cities must also provide basic utilities, namely electricity
, water
and (in SimCity 3000
and SimCity 4
) waste management
.
The primary source of income is taxation, which can be altered by one percent increments in all versions up to SimCity 3000, and by tenths of a percent in SimCity 4. Legalizing gambling
and placing certain "special" buildings (such as military base
s or federal prison
s) can generate income as well. The player may also make deals with neighbouring cities to sell or buy services, as long as a connection is made to the neighbor for that service (this feature was introduced in SimCity 3000).
SimCity is predominantly a single-player game (the exceptions being a "Network Edition" of SimCity 2000, and a Unix port of the original SimCity). SimCity 4 also provides a form of multiplayer gaming with the ability to share regional maps and cities with other players, allowing players to collaborate, but not to interact in real time gameplay.
SimCity was published in 1989, and was the first game in the SimCity series. SimCity was originally developed by game designer Will Wright. The inspiration for SimCity came from a feature of the game Raid on Bungeling Bay
that allowed Wright to create his own maps during development. Wright soon found he enjoyed creating maps more than playing the actual game, and so the idea for SimCity was created. While developing SimCity, Wright cultivated a real love of the intricacies and theories of urban planning and acknowledges the influence of System Dynamics
which was developed by Jay Wright Forrester
and whose book on the subject laid the foundations for the simulation. In addition, Wright also was inspired by reading "The Seventh Sally", a short story by Stanislaw Lem
, in which an engineer encounters a deposed tyrant, and creates a miniature city with artificial citizens for the tyrant to oppress.
The first version of the game was developed for the Commodore 64
in 1985, but it would not be published for another four years. The original working title of SimCity was Micropolis. The game represented an unusual paradigm in computer gaming, in that it could neither be won nor lost; as a result, game publishers
did not believe it was possible to market and sell such a game successfully. Brøderbund
declined to publish the title when Wright proposed it, and he pitched it to a range of major game publishers without success. Finally, founder Jeff Braun
of then-tiny Maxis
agreed to publish SimCity as one of two initial games for the company.
Wright and Braun returned to Brøderbund to formally clear the rights to the game in 1988
, when SimCity was near completion. Brøderbund executives Gary Carlston and Don Daglow
saw that the title was infectious and fun, and signed Maxis
to a distribution deal for both of its initial games. With that, four years after initial development, SimCity was released for the Amiga
and Macintosh
platforms, followed by the IBM PC and Commodore 64
later in 1989.
On January 10, 2008, the SimCity source code
was released under the free software
GPL 3 license. The release of the source code was related to the donation of SimCity software to the One Laptop Per Child laptop, as one of the principles of the OLPC laptop is the use of free and open source software. The open source version will be called Micropolis
(the initial name for SimCity), since EA retains the trademark Simcity. The version shipped on OLPC laptops will still be called SimCity, but will have to be tested by EA quality assurance before each release to be able to use that name.
The unexpected and enduring success of the original SimCity
, combined with the relative lack of success with other "Sim" titles at the time, motivated the development
of a sequel
. SimCity 2000 (SC2K) was a major extension
. The view was now isometric
instead of overhead, the landscape was not flat, and underground layers were introduced for water pipe
s and subway
s.
New types of facility included prison
s, school
s, libraries
, museum
s, marina
s, zoo
s, stadium
s, hospital
s (although they appeared randomly on residential blocks in the first SimCity, they could not be built by the player) and arcologies
. Players could build highway
s, road
s, bus depot
s, railway track
s, subways, train depot
s and zone land for seaports and airports. There are a total of nine varieties of power plants in SC2K, including coal
, natural gas
, wind turbine
s, hydroelectric dams
(which can only be placed on waterfall
tiles) and the futuristic fusion power
and satellite microwave
plant.
The budget and finance controls are also much more elaborate—tax rates can be set individually for residential, commercial and industrial zones. Enacting city ordinances and connecting to neighbouring cities became possible.
Another new addition in SC2K is the query tool. Using the query tool on tiles reveals information such as structure name and type, altitude, and land value. Certain tiles also display additional information; power plants, for example, display the percentage of power being consumed when queried, and querying roads displays the amount of traffic on that tile. Querying a library and selecting 'Ruminate' displays an essay written by Neil Gaiman
.
Graphics were added for buildings under construction in the residential, commercial, and industrial zones, as well as darkened buildings depicting abandoned buildings as a result of urban decay
.
News comes in the form of several pre-written newspaper
articles with variable names that could either be called up immediately or could be subscribed to on a yearly basis. The newspaper option provided many humorous stories as well as relevant ones, such as new technology
, warnings about aging power plant, recent disaster
s and opinion poll
s (highlighting city problems). SimCity 2000 is the only game in the entire series to have this feature (besides the discontinued children's version, SimTown
), though newer versions have a news ticker
. The newspapers had random titles (Times, Post, Herald, etc.), and prices based on the simulated year. Certain newspapers have a special monthly humor advice column
by "Miss Sim".
The successor to SimCity 2000, SimCity 3000 (S3K) was released in 1999. It introduced many changes both to the city management and to the appearance.
In a pattern which has continued throughout the SimCity franchise, the number and complexity of city services increased between SC2K and SC3K. The issue of waste management
was added: once a city has a population greater than 1,000, refuse
would begin to accumulate and would have to be disposed of at the expense of the city; in previous versions of SimCity, this issue had been ignored. Farm
s and agriculture
were also introduced, and appeared on large light industrial zones in a city with low land value and little pollution
. In Sim City 3000, there are three zoning densities compared to the two densities used in SC2K. In addition to their limited life span, power plants are now vulnerable to decreasing maximum output at a constant rate after they have gone through about three quarters of their life span.
Although the concept of neighbor cities was introduced in SC2K, its role was expanded in SC3K. For the first time, the player could interact with his or her neighbor cities, negotiating rudimentary business deals with other mayors, such as the sale or purchase of water, electricity
, or waste management
services. These generate a monthly charge which is either added to or subtracted from the player's treasury, in accordance with the deal. Canceling a neighbor deal will incur a substantial cash penalty. From time to time, the simulated mayors of neighboring cities will call meetings to renegotiate the terms or price of these deals.
Although not strictly a city management aspect, SimCity 3000 simulated the effect of land value
on construction much more realistically than in SimCity 2000. In the latter, most buildings fell into a wide stratum that did not reflect land value very effectively; every building was more or less suited to neighborhoods of every economic disposition. In SC3K, land value created very distinct neighborhood
s which tended to contain narrow income bands, creating well-defined slum
s, middle class areas, and wealthy areas. Land value is also determined by the city center effect where buildings that are at the city center have higher land values and those buildings on the borders have lower land values. The city center effect is determined by the location of buildings within the city. However, over time, land value "inflation
" would cause almost every area of a city to become expensive, so that wealthy neighborhoods covered most if not all of the map.
Business deals were another new concept to SC3K. By allowing certain structures to be built within the city, the player could receive a substantial amount of funds from them. The four business deal structures are the maximum security prison
, casino
, toxic waste conversion plant
, and the Gigamall (a large shopping center
). Business deal structures however have serious negative effects on a city. The toxic waste dump cripples both the land value and residential desirability in the area surrounding it and produces massive pollution. The prison dramatically decreases land value. The casino increases city wide crime and the Gigamall weakens demand for local commerce.
There were several changes to the graphical interface in SC3K. Although the game retained the pseudo-isometric
dimetric perspective of its predecessor, the actual landscape became more complex and colorful. In SimCity and SC2K, the playable landscape was brown, like the color of bare dirt. In SC3K, the playable landscape was a more realistic green color, simulating grassland, along with other colors that progressively change by height, from beige (beach sand) to green to brown (bare ground) to white (snow). In SC2K, land could either be flat or sloped, and all slopes were of the same steepness. In SC3K, there were five distinct steepness of slope, creating more varied landscapes. However, in SC3K, there are no waterfall
s and hydroelectric dams
, which are common in SC2K. Also, for the first time, there were different types of trees which could appear on the playable map. In SC2K, there were only pine
trees, while in SC3K, oak
trees prevail, but other types of trees exist, depending on the elevation of the terrain.
As with previous SimCity titles, SimCity 4 (SC4) places the player in the role of a mayor
(or several mayors), tasked with populating and developing tracts of lands into cities
, while fulfilling the needs of fellow Sims
who live there. Cities are now located in region
s, which are divided into segments, each of which can be developed. The player has the option of starting the city in a segment of any of three area sizes; in actual measurement the smallest has a length of 1 kilometers on a side, and the largest has a length of 4 kilometers on a side. A large city is 16 km2; for comparison the New York
borough of Manhattan
measures about 60 km2. The size of a region and its layout of segments can be changed in a bitmap
file provided for each region.
Zoning and building size have been improved for SimCity 4. Agriculture
is now a separate industrial
zone-type, allowing farms to grow regardless of high land value, so long as there exists demand for agriculture and agricultural zones have been provided. Zones are now automatically aligned towards roads; streets are automatically created in a grid formation when zoning on tracts of land. Buildings are now classified into several wealth
levels, zone types, and building size stages, which are affected by the region's population and the city's condition. The game simulates urban decay
and gentrification
with buildings deteriorating or improving accordingly. Buildings originally constructed for occupation by higher wealth tenants can now support lower wealth tenants in the event surrounding factors forces the current tenants to vacate the building; this allows certain buildings to remain in use despite lacking its initial occupants. Buildings and lots can now be constructed on slope
s.
SimCity 4 can be used in conjunction with The Sims
. Sims can be imported into a city for use in the My sim mode. City layouts created in SimCity 4 can be used as neighborhood templates in The Sims 2
; the location of roads, trees, bridges, and map features such as rivers and hills are preserved in the importation.
The gameplay of SimCity Societies is significantly different from previous SimCity titles, with a greater focus on "social engineering".
Public works and a tax system do not play a part in the game. Instead, players get daily income from workplaces in the city. Transportation networks have been reduced to dirt roads, paved roads, subways and bus stops. Players do not build zones, a key element of past SimCity games; instead, they have the ability to directly place individual buildings, something not seen in previous editions, and similar to Monte Cristo
's game City Life
. There are also six "social energies", called societal values
, which allow players to learn about the characteristics of the citizens. The six societal values are productivity
, prosperity
, creativity
, spirituality
, authority
, and knowledge
. The city will look, and act, in accordance with the energies the players choose. Players may focus on satisfying one, several, or all of these values. An improved version of the reward system introduced in SimCity 2000
has been included in the game.
The game is "fully customizable" and allows the players to customize individual buildings, decorations, citizens, and game rules. Prior to its release, when mentioning the depth to which the game will allow customization, a Tilted Mill representative stated that those who were proficient in C# and XML
will have easy access to every asset of the game and that basic tools would be provided for building editing.
is very similar to the original edition, but has some unique features. Reward buildings can be built as they are given to a mayor, like a mayor's mansion and a casino. A monster that sometimes attacks cities or is released upon cities by their mayor resembles Bowser from the popular Nintendo game series.
(1999
), including the ability to view the city at night (now also available in SimCity 4
), pedestrian level free-roaming of a city, and individual road vehicles and pedestrians (which could only be seen while in the free-roaming mode). Cities in the game are also presented in 3D
hybrid graphics. An add-on was made called SimCopter 64
for the 64DD.
that was first announced on February 12, 2008, by Sims label president Nancy Smithalong with other upcoming EA Sim titles. The title features the ability to directly draw roads and train tracks on the ground using the pointer function of the Wii Remote
, as well as several customisable themes for the city's buildings. It was released worldwide for the Wii
in September 2008.
. The game inherits SC3Ks graphics, but makes use of the handheld's dual screen to display additional interfaces at once. System specific features are also prominent, such as the use of the systems' integrated microphone, which is used to blow out fires, and the touch screen, which is used to control the interface. Before beginning a city the player must first choose a location in the region, one of five different advisors and then sign the town charter using the touchscreen and stylus. The upper screen of the DS displays the city and the news ticker while the map, advisor, information and the buttons are shown on the touch screen.
SimCity DS features five advisors who help players make decisions in the game by providing recommendations and advice. As opposed to previous versions of SimCity, the player must choose only one advisor to help them when they sign the town charter. The different advisors include Mr. Maxis (A Will Wright cameo), Julie McSim, Ayako Tachibana, Kaishu Tachibana, Servo 3000 and a secret advisor named Alien.
There are also petitioners, many of whom are citizens of the players' cities, who request solutions to problems and changes to city policies, such as lowering tax rates or enacting an ordinance
. They may also give the player rewards or request certain structures to be erected in the city.
video game console and is the sequel to SimCity DS. It was released in Japan on March 19, 2008, and was released in the West in September 2008 under the name SimCity Creator. The game introduces a new Challenge Mode that sees players guide their city through different historical periods. Because of this, it is also possible to create cities with a historical theme. For instance, the player can create a medieval city, or a pre-historic city.
, known simply as SimCity, was released in 2008 for the iPhone
and iPod Touch
. This version lacks some of the greater details seen in the series. It is a simple version of the other games in the more recent SimCity series.
The version is considerably similar to the desktop version, however still lacking several of the key features seen on the desktop version such as God Mode and My Sim mode.
.
based on the video game SimCity
. It was released in 1995
by Mayfair Games
. Several city expansions followed, adding location and politician cards from various cities including: Chicago
, Washington
, New York
, and Atlanta. A Toronto
expansion was planned, but never released.
pilot.
There are two modes of play: free mode and career mode. The free mode lets the player import and fly through cities of their own or any of the 30 cities supplied with the game. However, user cities sometimes need to be designed with SimCopter in mind, and most of the time the player must increase the number of police stations, fire stations, and hospitals to allow for speedier dispatches. The second mode—the heart of the game—is the career mode. This puts the player in the shoes of a pilot doing various jobs around the city.
The game gained controversy when a designer inserted sprites of shirtless "himbos" (male bimbos) in Speedo
trunks who hugged and kissed each other, who appear in great numbers on certain dates. Their fluorescent nipples were drawn with a special rendering mode usually reserved for fog-piercing runway landing lights, so they could easily be seen from long distances in bad weather. An unintended emergent behavior
of the code caused hundreds of himbos to swarm and crowd around the helicopter, where they would be slashed up by the blades, and then need to be air-lifted to the hospital—which earned the player easy money. The easter egg was caught shortly after release and removed from future copies of the game.
racing
and vehicular combat computer game
published by Maxis
. One of the game's main attractions was the ability to explore any cities
created in SimCity 2000
by car
in a cinematic style. The game, like SimCopter
, is in full 3D and the player's vehicle can be controlled using a keyboard, a joystick, or a gamepad. Another notable feature is the game's network mode, in which players can play deathmatches with up to seven other individuals.
Notably, it is one of the few games in the Maxis series that Will Wright did not work on, and the last Maxis game to be developed and released without supervision by Electronic Arts
(which acquired Maxis in 1997 and assisted development of Maxis games thereafter).
The game is considered by some to be the 'black sheep' of the "Sim" line, since it does not accurately simulate driving. Most scenario goals involve destroying enemy vehicles, winning races, delivering packages, and evading cops, rather than careful driving. Also, the game suffers from poor collision detection, at times leaving the player's vehicle stuck in a building or tunnel wall. Other graphical inconsistencies include the ability to drive through trees of any density, and in-game pedestrians walking backwards.
Running the game under versions of Windows later than Windows 95 frequently leads to unexpected game crashes
, a poor frame rate, and a state in which the player's vehicle temporarily stops responding to controller inputs and travels in a straight line. Most of these problems stem from the fact that the game's graphics are programmed using the 3dfx Glide API
, which is incompatible with most modern graphics cards. Glide wrappers can be used on more modern systems to increase the stability of the game.
City-building game
City-building games are a genre of strategy computer game where players act as the overall planner and leader of a city, looking down on it from above, and being responsible for its growth and management...
computer and console video game series and the brainchild of developer Will Wright. It is published by Maxis
Maxis
Maxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...
(now a division of Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
). The game was first published in 1989 as SimCity
SimCity
SimCity is a critically acclaimed city-building simulation video game, first released in 1989, and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including SimCity 2000 in 1994,...
, and it has spawned several different editions sold worldwide. The ongoing success of SimCity has also sparked the release of many other spin-off "Sim" titles, including 2000's The Sims
The Sims
The Sims is a strategic life-simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Its development was led by game designer Will Wright, also known for developing SimCity...
, the best-selling computer game in history.
In SimCity, the player is given the task of founding and developing a city, while maintaining the happiness of the citizens and keeping a stable budget. In SimCity 2000
SimCity 2000
SimCity 2000 is a simulation/city building video game and the second installment in the SimCity series. SimCity 2000 was first released by Maxis in 1994 for computers running Apple Macintosh Operating System...
, SimCity 3000
SimCity 3000
SimCity 3000 is a city building simulation personal computer game and the third major installment in the SimCity series. It was published by Electronic Arts and developed by series creator Maxis, a wholly owned subsidiary of EA...
and SimCity 4
SimCity 4
SimCity 4 is a city-building/urban planning simulation computer game developed by Maxis, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts. It was released on January 14, 2003. It is the fourth installment in the SimCity series. SimCity 4 has a single expansion pack called Rush Hour which adds features to the game...
, the player is allowed to alter the terrain of the city before building on it.
The player must define zones, each having limits on the kind of development that can occur there. Development of the zones is not performed directly by the player, but happens when certain conditions are met, such as power supply, adequate transport links or acceptable tax level. The residential zones, in green, provide housing for Sims; the commercial
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
zones, in blue, provide shops and offices; and the industrial
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
zones, in yellow, provide factories, laboratories and farms. There are three different densities
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
(two for SimCity 2000) in the game: low density for small buildings, medium density for low to mid-sized buildings, and high density for anything up to large tower blocks.
Developed in the San Francisco Bay Area, SimCity's game mechanics are heavily based on 20th century California development. For example, players start from an undeveloped greenfield
Greenfield
-Engineering:* Greenfield land, a piece of undeveloped land * One of several related terms:* Greenfield project, a project which lacks any constraints imposed by prior work...
, cars
CARS
Cars, or automobiles, motor cars, are wheeled motor vehicles used for transporting passengers.Cars or CARS may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Cars , a Disney/Pixar film series...
are the default form of transportation, earthquakes happen, zoning
Zoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
separates residential, commercial, and industrial land uses, and one can enact policies such as declaring one's city a nuclear free zone. Many of the graphics in the game are also based on actual buildings and bridges in the Bay Area, and maps and scenarios feature events such as the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
and the Oakland Hills firestorm.
Gameplay
The player (acting as mayor) is given a blank map to start with, and must expand their city with the budget they have. As the city matures, the player may get to place government and other special buildings (such as a mayor's house or courthouseCourthouse
A courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply...
), depending on how large their city is. The player must supply services to their citizens. These include health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, safety, parks and leisure
Leisure
Leisure, or free time, is time spent away from business, work, and domestic chores. It is also the periods of time before or after necessary activities such as eating, sleeping and, where it is compulsory, education....
. These come in the form of different buildings, where each building covers a circular "range" of service. Inadequate funding of these services can lead to strikes.
Cities must also provide basic utilities, namely electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
, water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
and (in SimCity 3000
SimCity 3000
SimCity 3000 is a city building simulation personal computer game and the third major installment in the SimCity series. It was published by Electronic Arts and developed by series creator Maxis, a wholly owned subsidiary of EA...
and SimCity 4
SimCity 4
SimCity 4 is a city-building/urban planning simulation computer game developed by Maxis, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts. It was released on January 14, 2003. It is the fourth installment in the SimCity series. SimCity 4 has a single expansion pack called Rush Hour which adds features to the game...
) waste management
Waste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
.
The primary source of income is taxation, which can be altered by one percent increments in all versions up to SimCity 3000, and by tenths of a percent in SimCity 4. Legalizing gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
and placing certain "special" buildings (such as military base
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
s or federal prison
Federal prison
Federal prisons are run by national governments in countries where subdivisions of the country also operate prisons.In the United States federal prisons are operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In Canada the Correctional Service of Canada operates federal prisons. Prison sentences in these...
s) can generate income as well. The player may also make deals with neighbouring cities to sell or buy services, as long as a connection is made to the neighbor for that service (this feature was introduced in SimCity 3000).
SimCity is predominantly a single-player game (the exceptions being a "Network Edition" of SimCity 2000, and a Unix port of the original SimCity). SimCity 4 also provides a form of multiplayer gaming with the ability to share regional maps and cities with other players, allowing players to collaborate, but not to interact in real time gameplay.
SimCity
Raid on Bungeling Bay
Raid on Bungeling Bay was the first video game designed by Will Wright. It was published by Brøderbund for the Commodore 64 in 1984 and the NES and MSX computers in 1985...
that allowed Wright to create his own maps during development. Wright soon found he enjoyed creating maps more than playing the actual game, and so the idea for SimCity was created. While developing SimCity, Wright cultivated a real love of the intricacies and theories of urban planning and acknowledges the influence of System Dynamics
System dynamics
System dynamics is an approach to understanding the behaviour of complex systems over time. It deals with internal feedback loops and time delays that affect the behaviour of the entire system. What makes using system dynamics different from other approaches to studying complex systems is the use...
which was developed by Jay Wright Forrester
Jay Wright Forrester
Jay Wright Forrester is a pioneer American computer engineer, systems scientist and was a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Forrester is known as the founder of System Dynamics, which deals with the simulation of interactions between objects in dynamic systems.- Biography :Forrester...
and whose book on the subject laid the foundations for the simulation. In addition, Wright also was inspired by reading "The Seventh Sally", a short story by Stanislaw Lem
Stanislaw Lem
Stanisław Lem was a Polish writer of science fiction, philosophy and satire. He was named a Knight of the Order of the White Eagle. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is perhaps best known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris, which has...
, in which an engineer encounters a deposed tyrant, and creates a miniature city with artificial citizens for the tyrant to oppress.
The first version of the game was developed for the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
in 1985, but it would not be published for another four years. The original working title of SimCity was Micropolis. The game represented an unusual paradigm in computer gaming, in that it could neither be won nor lost; as a result, game publishers
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
did not believe it was possible to market and sell such a game successfully. Brøderbund
Brøderbund
Brøderbund Software, Inc. was an American maker of computer games, educational software and The Print Shop productivity tools. It was best known as the original creator and publisher of the popular Carmen Sandiego games. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, but moved to San Rafael,...
declined to publish the title when Wright proposed it, and he pitched it to a range of major game publishers without success. Finally, founder Jeff Braun
Jeff Braun
Jeff Braun is an American computer game producer and co-founder of the video game developer Maxis.Braun had successfully published font packs for the Amiga personal computer when he met Will Wright at a pizza party hosted by Chris Doner in 1987. Wright had been unsuccessful in finding a game...
of then-tiny Maxis
Maxis
Maxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...
agreed to publish SimCity as one of two initial games for the company.
Wright and Braun returned to Brøderbund to formally clear the rights to the game in 1988
1988 in video gaming
-Events:*June — Nintendo releases the last issue of "Nintendo fun club news";*July — Nintendo releases the first issue of Nintendo Power magazine.-Notable releases:*January 8, Konami releases Super Contra....
, when SimCity was near completion. Brøderbund executives Gary Carlston and Don Daglow
Don Daglow
Don Daglow is an American computer game and video game designer, programmer and producer. He is best known for designing a series of pioneering simulation games and role-playing games, as well as the first computer baseball game and the first graphical MMORPG, all between 1971 and 1995...
saw that the title was infectious and fun, and signed Maxis
Maxis
Maxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...
to a distribution deal for both of its initial games. With that, four years after initial development, SimCity was released for the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
platforms, followed by the IBM PC and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
later in 1989.
On January 10, 2008, the SimCity source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
was released under the free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
GPL 3 license. The release of the source code was related to the donation of SimCity software to the One Laptop Per Child laptop, as one of the principles of the OLPC laptop is the use of free and open source software. The open source version will be called Micropolis
Micropolis (software)
Micropolis is a city-building sim game developed by Don Hopkins. It is based on the original source code of SimCity, which was donated to the One Laptop per Child project by Electronic Arts as free and open source software under the terms of the GNU General Public License in 2008.Micropolis is...
(the initial name for SimCity), since EA retains the trademark Simcity. The version shipped on OLPC laptops will still be called SimCity, but will have to be tested by EA quality assurance before each release to be able to use that name.
SimCity 2000
SimCity
SimCity is a critically acclaimed city-building simulation video game, first released in 1989, and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including SimCity 2000 in 1994,...
, combined with the relative lack of success with other "Sim" titles at the time, motivated the development
Game development
Game development is the software development process by which a video game is developed. Development is undertaken by a game developer, which may range from a single person to a large business. Mainstream games are normally funded by a publisher and take several years to develop. Indie games can...
of a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
. SimCity 2000 (SC2K) was a major extension
Extension (computing)
Software extension, is a file containing programming that serves to extend the capabilities of or data available to a more basic program. It is a kind of list of commands which are directly included in the program. This term often coincides with the plug-in...
. The view was now isometric
Isometric projection
Isometric projection is a method for visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions in technical and engineering drawings...
instead of overhead, the landscape was not flat, and underground layers were introduced for water pipe
Water pipe
Water pipes are pipes or tubes, frequently made of polyvinyl chloride , ductile iron, steel, cast iron, polypropylene, polyethylene, or copper, that carry pressurized and treated fresh water to buildings , as well as inside the building.-History:For many centuries, lead was the favoured material...
s and subway
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
s.
New types of facility included prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
s, school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
s, libraries
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s, marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
s, zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
s, stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
s, hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s (although they appeared randomly on residential blocks in the first SimCity, they could not be built by the player) and arcologies
Arcology
Arcology, a portmanteau of the words "architecture" and "ecology", is a set of architectural design principles aimed toward the design of enormous habitats of extremely high human population density. These largely hypothetical structures would contain a variety of residential, commercial, and...
. Players could build highway
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
s, road
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
s, bus depot
Bus station
A bus station is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. It is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can stop...
s, railway track
Rail tracks
The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
s, subways, train depot
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
s and zone land for seaports and airports. There are a total of nine varieties of power plants in SC2K, including coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
, wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
s, hydroelectric dams
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
(which can only be placed on waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
tiles) and the futuristic fusion power
Fusion power
Fusion power is the power generated by nuclear fusion processes. In fusion reactions two light atomic nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus . In doing so they release a comparatively large amount of energy arising from the binding energy due to the strong nuclear force which is manifested...
and satellite microwave
Space solar power
Space-based solar power is the concept of collecting solar power in space for use on Earth. It has been in research since the early 1970s....
plant.
The budget and finance controls are also much more elaborate—tax rates can be set individually for residential, commercial and industrial zones. Enacting city ordinances and connecting to neighbouring cities became possible.
Another new addition in SC2K is the query tool. Using the query tool on tiles reveals information such as structure name and type, altitude, and land value. Certain tiles also display additional information; power plants, for example, display the percentage of power being consumed when queried, and querying roads displays the amount of traffic on that tile. Querying a library and selecting 'Ruminate' displays an essay written by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
.
Graphics were added for buildings under construction in the residential, commercial, and industrial zones, as well as darkened buildings depicting abandoned buildings as a result of urban decay
Urban decay
Urban decay is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude...
.
News comes in the form of several pre-written newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
articles with variable names that could either be called up immediately or could be subscribed to on a yearly basis. The newspaper option provided many humorous stories as well as relevant ones, such as new technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, warnings about aging power plant, recent disaster
Disaster
A disaster is a natural or man-made hazard that has come to fruition, resulting in an event of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment...
s and opinion poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
s (highlighting city problems). SimCity 2000 is the only game in the entire series to have this feature (besides the discontinued children's version, SimTown
SimTown
SimTown is a 1995 personal computer game published by Maxis, much like the best selling SimCity and Sims but on a smaller scale. SimTown allows the player to construct a town consisting of streets, houses, businesses and parks and then control the people in it...
), though newer versions have a news ticker
News ticker
A news ticker resides in the lower third of the television screen space on television news networks dedicated to presenting headlines or minor pieces of news. It may also refer to a long, thin scoreboard-style display seen around the front of some offices or public buildings...
. The newspapers had random titles (Times, Post, Herald, etc.), and prices based on the simulated year. Certain newspapers have a special monthly humor advice column
Advice column
An advice column is a column in a magazine or newspaper written by an advice columnist . The image presented was originally of an older woman providing comforting advice and maternal wisdom, hence the name "aunt"...
by "Miss Sim".
SimCity 3000
In a pattern which has continued throughout the SimCity franchise, the number and complexity of city services increased between SC2K and SC3K. The issue of waste management
Waste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
was added: once a city has a population greater than 1,000, refuse
Waste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
would begin to accumulate and would have to be disposed of at the expense of the city; in previous versions of SimCity, this issue had been ignored. Farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
s and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
were also introduced, and appeared on large light industrial zones in a city with low land value and little pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
. In Sim City 3000, there are three zoning densities compared to the two densities used in SC2K. In addition to their limited life span, power plants are now vulnerable to decreasing maximum output at a constant rate after they have gone through about three quarters of their life span.
Although the concept of neighbor cities was introduced in SC2K, its role was expanded in SC3K. For the first time, the player could interact with his or her neighbor cities, negotiating rudimentary business deals with other mayors, such as the sale or purchase of water, electricity
Electrical power industry
The electric power industry provides the production and delivery of electric energy, often known as power, or electricity, in sufficient quantities to areas that need electricity through a grid connection. The grid distributes electrical energy to customers...
, or waste management
Waste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
services. These generate a monthly charge which is either added to or subtracted from the player's treasury, in accordance with the deal. Canceling a neighbor deal will incur a substantial cash penalty. From time to time, the simulated mayors of neighboring cities will call meetings to renegotiate the terms or price of these deals.
Although not strictly a city management aspect, SimCity 3000 simulated the effect of land value
Property tax
A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
on construction much more realistically than in SimCity 2000. In the latter, most buildings fell into a wide stratum that did not reflect land value very effectively; every building was more or less suited to neighborhoods of every economic disposition. In SC3K, land value created very distinct neighborhood
Neighbourhood
A neighbourhood or neighborhood is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town or suburb. Neighbourhoods are often social communities with considerable face-to-face interaction among members. "Researchers have not agreed on an exact definition...
s which tended to contain narrow income bands, creating well-defined slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
s, middle class areas, and wealthy areas. Land value is also determined by the city center effect where buildings that are at the city center have higher land values and those buildings on the borders have lower land values. The city center effect is determined by the location of buildings within the city. However, over time, land value "inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
" would cause almost every area of a city to become expensive, so that wealthy neighborhoods covered most if not all of the map.
Business deals were another new concept to SC3K. By allowing certain structures to be built within the city, the player could receive a substantial amount of funds from them. The four business deal structures are the maximum security prison
Supermax
Supermax is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in the prison systems of certain countries...
, casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
, toxic waste conversion plant
Toxic waste
Toxic waste is waste material that can cause death or injury to living creatures. It spreads quite easily and can contaminate lakes and rivers. The term is often used interchangeably with “hazardous waste”, or discarded material that can pose a long-term risk to health or environment.Toxic waste...
, and the Gigamall (a large shopping center
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
). Business deal structures however have serious negative effects on a city. The toxic waste dump cripples both the land value and residential desirability in the area surrounding it and produces massive pollution. The prison dramatically decreases land value. The casino increases city wide crime and the Gigamall weakens demand for local commerce.
There were several changes to the graphical interface in SC3K. Although the game retained the pseudo-isometric
Isometric projection
Isometric projection is a method for visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions in technical and engineering drawings...
dimetric perspective of its predecessor, the actual landscape became more complex and colorful. In SimCity and SC2K, the playable landscape was brown, like the color of bare dirt. In SC3K, the playable landscape was a more realistic green color, simulating grassland, along with other colors that progressively change by height, from beige (beach sand) to green to brown (bare ground) to white (snow). In SC2K, land could either be flat or sloped, and all slopes were of the same steepness. In SC3K, there were five distinct steepness of slope, creating more varied landscapes. However, in SC3K, there are no waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
s and hydroelectric dams
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
, which are common in SC2K. Also, for the first time, there were different types of trees which could appear on the playable map. In SC2K, there were only pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
trees, while in SC3K, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
trees prevail, but other types of trees exist, depending on the elevation of the terrain.
SimCity 4
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
(or several mayors), tasked with populating and developing tracts of lands into cities
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
, while fulfilling the needs of fellow Sims
The Sims
The Sims is a strategic life-simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Its development was led by game designer Will Wright, also known for developing SimCity...
who live there. Cities are now located in region
Region
Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...
s, which are divided into segments, each of which can be developed. The player has the option of starting the city in a segment of any of three area sizes; in actual measurement the smallest has a length of 1 kilometers on a side, and the largest has a length of 4 kilometers on a side. A large city is 16 km2; for comparison the New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
measures about 60 km2. The size of a region and its layout of segments can be changed in a bitmap
Raster graphics
In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium...
file provided for each region.
Zoning and building size have been improved for SimCity 4. Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
is now a separate industrial
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
zone-type, allowing farms to grow regardless of high land value, so long as there exists demand for agriculture and agricultural zones have been provided. Zones are now automatically aligned towards roads; streets are automatically created in a grid formation when zoning on tracts of land. Buildings are now classified into several wealth
Wealth
Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...
levels, zone types, and building size stages, which are affected by the region's population and the city's condition. The game simulates urban decay
Urban decay
Urban decay is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude...
and gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
with buildings deteriorating or improving accordingly. Buildings originally constructed for occupation by higher wealth tenants can now support lower wealth tenants in the event surrounding factors forces the current tenants to vacate the building; this allows certain buildings to remain in use despite lacking its initial occupants. Buildings and lots can now be constructed on slope
Slope
In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a line describes its steepness, incline, or grade. A higher slope value indicates a steeper incline....
s.
SimCity 4 can be used in conjunction with The Sims
The Sims
The Sims is a strategic life-simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Its development was led by game designer Will Wright, also known for developing SimCity...
. Sims can be imported into a city for use in the My sim mode. City layouts created in SimCity 4 can be used as neighborhood templates in The Sims 2
The Sims 2
The Sims 2 is a strategic life simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to the best-selling computer game, The Sims, which debuted on February 4, 2000. It was first released on September 14, 2004 for Microsoft Windows. A port to Apple Mac OS X...
; the location of roads, trees, bridges, and map features such as rivers and hills are preserved in the importation.
SimCity Societies
Public works and a tax system do not play a part in the game. Instead, players get daily income from workplaces in the city. Transportation networks have been reduced to dirt roads, paved roads, subways and bus stops. Players do not build zones, a key element of past SimCity games; instead, they have the ability to directly place individual buildings, something not seen in previous editions, and similar to Monte Cristo
Monte Cristo (company)
Monte Cristo was a French computer game developer and publisher, based in Paris. It was established in 1995 by former Credit Suisse First Boston vice-president Jean-Marc de Fety and former Mars & Co strategy senior consultant Jean-Cristophe Marquis. The company was led by Jean-Christophe Marquis...
's game City Life
City Life (computer game)
City Life is a real-time strategy game that lets the player create a modern city. It is the first modern city-building game to allow the player to work in full 3D environment. The game is by French developer Monte Cristo. It is published in France by Focus, in the UK and Germany by Deep Silver and...
. There are also six "social energies", called societal values
Value (personal and cultural)
A personal or cultural value is an absolute or relative ethical value, the assumption of which can be the basis for ethical action. A value system is a set of consistent values and measures. A principle value is a foundation upon which other values and measures of integrity are based...
, which allow players to learn about the characteristics of the citizens. The six societal values are productivity
Productivity
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of production. Productivity is a ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. Usually this ratio is in the form of an average, expressing the total output divided by the total input...
, prosperity
Prosperity
Prosperity is the state of flourishing, thriving, good fortune and/or successful social status. Prosperity often encompasses wealth but also includes others factors which are independent of wealth to varying degrees, such as happiness and health....
, creativity
Creativity
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs...
, spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
, authority
Authority
The word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
, and knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
. The city will look, and act, in accordance with the energies the players choose. Players may focus on satisfying one, several, or all of these values. An improved version of the reward system introduced in SimCity 2000
SimCity 2000
SimCity 2000 is a simulation/city building video game and the second installment in the SimCity series. SimCity 2000 was first released by Maxis in 1994 for computers running Apple Macintosh Operating System...
has been included in the game.
The game is "fully customizable" and allows the players to customize individual buildings, decorations, citizens, and game rules. Prior to its release, when mentioning the depth to which the game will allow customization, a Tilted Mill representative stated that those who were proficient in C# and XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
will have easy access to every asset of the game and that basic tools would be provided for building editing.
SimCity SNES
The SNES port of SimCitySimCity
SimCity is a critically acclaimed city-building simulation video game, first released in 1989, and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including SimCity 2000 in 1994,...
is very similar to the original edition, but has some unique features. Reward buildings can be built as they are given to a mayor, like a mayor's mansion and a casino. A monster that sometimes attacks cities or is released upon cities by their mayor resembles Bowser from the popular Nintendo game series.
SimCity 64
Although general gameplay in SimCity 64 is much like SimCity 2000, the game's graphical textures and building tilesets are considerably different. However, the game provides several advanced features that were not seen in either SimCity 2000 or SimCity 3000SimCity 3000
SimCity 3000 is a city building simulation personal computer game and the third major installment in the SimCity series. It was published by Electronic Arts and developed by series creator Maxis, a wholly owned subsidiary of EA...
(1999
1999 in video gaming
-Events:*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 2nd annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards*March – Game Over republished as “Game Over: Press Start to Continue”...
), including the ability to view the city at night (now also available in SimCity 4
SimCity 4
SimCity 4 is a city-building/urban planning simulation computer game developed by Maxis, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts. It was released on January 14, 2003. It is the fourth installment in the SimCity series. SimCity 4 has a single expansion pack called Rush Hour which adds features to the game...
), pedestrian level free-roaming of a city, and individual road vehicles and pedestrians (which could only be seen while in the free-roaming mode). Cities in the game are also presented in 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
hybrid graphics. An add-on was made called SimCopter 64
SimCopter
SimCopter is a 1996 computer game from Maxis. This game is a 3D offshoot from Maxis's normal fare, putting the player into a 3D city. Like Streets of SimCity, SimCopter lets the user import SimCity 2000 maps into the game.- Objective :...
for the 64DD.
SimCity Creator
SimCity Creator is title for the Nintendo WiiWii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
that was first announced on February 12, 2008, by Sims label president Nancy Smithalong with other upcoming EA Sim titles. The title features the ability to directly draw roads and train tracks on the ground using the pointer function of the Wii Remote
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
, as well as several customisable themes for the city's buildings. It was released worldwide for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
in September 2008.
SimCity DS
SimCity DS is a heavily modified version of SimCity 3000SimCity 3000
SimCity 3000 is a city building simulation personal computer game and the third major installment in the SimCity series. It was published by Electronic Arts and developed by series creator Maxis, a wholly owned subsidiary of EA...
. The game inherits SC3Ks graphics, but makes use of the handheld's dual screen to display additional interfaces at once. System specific features are also prominent, such as the use of the systems' integrated microphone, which is used to blow out fires, and the touch screen, which is used to control the interface. Before beginning a city the player must first choose a location in the region, one of five different advisors and then sign the town charter using the touchscreen and stylus. The upper screen of the DS displays the city and the news ticker while the map, advisor, information and the buttons are shown on the touch screen.
SimCity DS features five advisors who help players make decisions in the game by providing recommendations and advice. As opposed to previous versions of SimCity, the player must choose only one advisor to help them when they sign the town charter. The different advisors include Mr. Maxis (A Will Wright cameo), Julie McSim, Ayako Tachibana, Kaishu Tachibana, Servo 3000 and a secret advisor named Alien.
There are also petitioners, many of whom are citizens of the players' cities, who request solutions to problems and changes to city policies, such as lowering tax rates or enacting an ordinance
Local ordinance
A local ordinance is a law usually found in a municipal code.-United States:In the United States, these laws are enforced locally in addition to state law and federal law.-Japan:...
. They may also give the player rewards or request certain structures to be erected in the city.
SimCity DS 2
SimCity DS 2 is a game for the Nintendo DSNintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
video game console and is the sequel to SimCity DS. It was released in Japan on March 19, 2008, and was released in the West in September 2008 under the name SimCity Creator. The game introduces a new Challenge Mode that sees players guide their city through different historical periods. Because of this, it is also possible to create cities with a historical theme. For instance, the player can create a medieval city, or a pre-historic city.
SimCity iPhone A version of SimCity 3000
SimCity 3000
SimCity 3000 is a city building simulation personal computer game and the third major installment in the SimCity series. It was published by Electronic Arts and developed by series creator Maxis, a wholly owned subsidiary of EA...
, known simply as SimCity, was released in 2008 for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
. This version lacks some of the greater details seen in the series. It is a simple version of the other games in the more recent SimCity series.
SimCity Deluxe iPhone and SimCity Deluxe HD iPad SimCity Deluxe for iPhone released in July 2010. Being a version of SimCity 4, sharing many of the features seen on the desktop version, It has improved graphics and an improved interface over the earlier iPhone version of SimCity. On July 29, 2010, the game made its debut on the App Store for iPhone, iPod Touch, and SimCity Deluxe HD for iPad.
The version is considerably similar to the desktop version, however still lacking several of the key features seen on the desktop version such as God Mode and My Sim mode.
SimCity Deluxe Playbook This version of SimCity 4 for the playbook was released on October 10th 2011. This is the same game initially released for the Ipad, known as SimCity Deluxe HD.
SimCity Classic SimCity Classic is an online browser-based version of SimCity. It was established in 2008 by Maxis
Maxis
Maxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...
.
Sim City: The Card Game Sim City: The Card Game is a collectible card game
Collectible card game
thumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...
based on the video game SimCity
SimCity
SimCity is a critically acclaimed city-building simulation video game, first released in 1989, and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including SimCity 2000 in 1994,...
. It was released in 1995
1995 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 1995. For video and console games, see 1995 in video gaming....
by Mayfair Games
Mayfair Games
Mayfair Games is a publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games. They also license German-style board games and publish them in English throughout the world...
. Several city expansions followed, adding location and politician cards from various cities including: Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and Atlanta. A Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
expansion was planned, but never released.
SimCopter As the name suggests, SimCopter puts the player in the role of a helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
pilot.
There are two modes of play: free mode and career mode. The free mode lets the player import and fly through cities of their own or any of the 30 cities supplied with the game. However, user cities sometimes need to be designed with SimCopter in mind, and most of the time the player must increase the number of police stations, fire stations, and hospitals to allow for speedier dispatches. The second mode—the heart of the game—is the career mode. This puts the player in the shoes of a pilot doing various jobs around the city.
The game gained controversy when a designer inserted sprites of shirtless "himbos" (male bimbos) in Speedo
Speedo
Speedo International Ltd. is a manufacturer and distributor of swimwear and swim-related accessories. Founded in Australia in 1914, the industry leading company is now a subsidiary of Pentland Group Plc. Today, the Speedo brand can be found on products ranging from swimsuits and goggles to wrist...
trunks who hugged and kissed each other, who appear in great numbers on certain dates. Their fluorescent nipples were drawn with a special rendering mode usually reserved for fog-piercing runway landing lights, so they could easily be seen from long distances in bad weather. An unintended emergent behavior
Emergence
In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Emergence is central to the theories of integrative levels and of complex systems....
of the code caused hundreds of himbos to swarm and crowd around the helicopter, where they would be slashed up by the blades, and then need to be air-lifted to the hospital—which earned the player easy money. The easter egg was caught shortly after release and removed from future copies of the game.
Streets of SimCity
Streets of SimCity is a 19971997 in video gaming
-Events:*October 4 — Gunpei Yokoi dies after a double car accident.*November – Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association launched.*3rd annual E3...
racing
Racing game
A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
and vehicular combat computer game
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
published by Maxis
Maxis
Maxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...
. One of the game's main attractions was the ability to explore any cities
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
created in SimCity 2000
SimCity 2000
SimCity 2000 is a simulation/city building video game and the second installment in the SimCity series. SimCity 2000 was first released by Maxis in 1994 for computers running Apple Macintosh Operating System...
by car
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
in a cinematic style. The game, like SimCopter
SimCopter
SimCopter is a 1996 computer game from Maxis. This game is a 3D offshoot from Maxis's normal fare, putting the player into a 3D city. Like Streets of SimCity, SimCopter lets the user import SimCity 2000 maps into the game.- Objective :...
, is in full 3D and the player's vehicle can be controlled using a keyboard, a joystick, or a gamepad. Another notable feature is the game's network mode, in which players can play deathmatches with up to seven other individuals.
Notably, it is one of the few games in the Maxis series that Will Wright did not work on, and the last Maxis game to be developed and released without supervision by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
(which acquired Maxis in 1997 and assisted development of Maxis games thereafter).
The game is considered by some to be the 'black sheep' of the "Sim" line, since it does not accurately simulate driving. Most scenario goals involve destroying enemy vehicles, winning races, delivering packages, and evading cops, rather than careful driving. Also, the game suffers from poor collision detection, at times leaving the player's vehicle stuck in a building or tunnel wall. Other graphical inconsistencies include the ability to drive through trees of any density, and in-game pedestrians walking backwards.
Running the game under versions of Windows later than Windows 95 frequently leads to unexpected game crashes
Crash (computing)
A crash in computing is a condition where a computer or a program, either an application or part of the operating system, ceases to function properly, often exiting after encountering errors. Often the offending program may appear to freeze or hang until a crash reporting service documents...
, a poor frame rate, and a state in which the player's vehicle temporarily stops responding to controller inputs and travels in a straight line. Most of these problems stem from the fact that the game's graphics are programmed using the 3dfx Glide API
Glide API
Glide is a 3D graphics API developed by 3dfx Interactive for their Voodoo Graphics 3D accelerator cards. Although it originally started as a proprietary API, it was later open sourced by 3dfx. It was dedicated to gaming performance, supporting geometry and texture mapping primarily, in data...
, which is incompatible with most modern graphics cards. Glide wrappers can be used on more modern systems to increase the stability of the game.
See also
- Will Wright
- MaxisMaxisMaxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...
- List of Sim games
- LincityLincityLincity is a free construction and management simulation game, which puts the player in control of managing a city's socio-economy. Its name is a play on the title of the original city-building game, SimCity, and it was released under the GNU General Public License.- Gameplay :Lincity is a city and...
- Sim Tower
External links
- Official website
- SimCity fansite directory
- SimCity Classic Live (Windows only, requires registration)