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SimCity 3k in 4k (2025)

thran.uk

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Re: SimCity 3k in 4k (2025)

#141

Post by hdgvhicv »

Paul_S wrote: post #31

What a strange person, from the same author: https://www.thran.uk/writ/yarn/2025/03/road-rage-maxxing-or-... I don't understand how you can feel morally superior by blocking the overtaking lane and letting people through if they're respectful enough.

I think Chelsea tractors belong in Chelsea, certainly not here in the country where they are completely unsuitable given the size

However he lost me at

> I was cruising in the fast lane, minding my own business

There is no fast lane in the U.K (including NI). There are overtaking lanes. If you are in this lane it’s because you are overtaking slower moving traffic in inside lanes.

If you aren’t, then you need to be losing your license

Re: SimCity 3k in 4k (2025)

#142

Post by shevy-java »

I liked the SimCity franchise. However had, while the graphics improved a lot, the first SimCity is still my favourite, largely because the actual gameplay was quite simple and efficient to use. I always found this strange, because the graphics got better but the actual gameplay itself got worse. I also noticed this even more so with civilization; playing the first part is super-fast and super-easy; later parts required so much more computational calculations, there was more lag, and more annoying UI animations (not all were annoying, but when I want to make a move, I want to make a move, not wait until unit xyz has to do a break for smoking for the next 10 minutes).

Re: SimCity 3k in 4k (2025)

#143

Post by shevy-java »

phaser wrote: post #59

I love this game so much. One of the reasons I started to make a city builder* is because I don't like where the genre is going. The focus on photorealism in modern city builders took away the apophenia, or "food for imagination" that was a core element since the first SimCity. As a matter of fact, Will Wright used to say that the real simulation runs in the player's minds (or something like that). Sure, there's some…

Although I don't have the same focus, I also came to the same conclusion: the actual game and gameplay itself got worse over the years. Same with civilization and many other games. Modern game designers don't understand this or don't care. But I spoke to some of them, and while I initially thought they understand but don't care, most of them really do not UNDERSTAND the problem domain. In particular younger ones; many of them have not played old games.

Re: SimCity 3k in 4k (2025)

#144

Post by hutattedonmyarm »

phaser wrote: post #59

I love this game so much. One of the reasons I started to make a city builder* is because I don't like where the genre is going. The focus on photorealism in modern city builders took away the apophenia, or "food for imagination" that was a core element since the first SimCity. As a matter of fact, Will Wright used to say that the real simulation runs in the player's minds (or something like that). Sure, there's some…

This sounds super interesting, but I'd much rather buy it on GOG than on Steam or itch.io. Any chance on releasing it there?

Re: SimCity 3k in 4k (2025)

#146

Post by AshamedCaptain »

dcrazy wrote: post #68

SC3K’s art was not “crafted pixel by pixel.” It was rendered from 3DS Max. Maxis released a version of G-Max called the Building Architect Tool that included a template with the same lighting rig that they used for the in-game assets. This tool rendered and exported the various zoom levels and orientations.

You're describing SimCity 4, not SimCity 3000. The SC3k tool is not entirely 2D, but it does mostly behave like one (with emulated voxels instead of pixels).

And while I cannot confirm what Maxis was doing internally, I am quite sure no-one was using 3DS Max for rendering game assets in the 90s considering it had just been released and well into the 2000s it was still humongously slow.

Re: SimCity 3k in 4k (2025)

#147

Post by simondotau »

phaser wrote: post #59

I love this game so much. One of the reasons I started to make a city builder* is because I don't like where the genre is going. The focus on photorealism in modern city builders took away the apophenia, or "food for imagination" that was a core element since the first SimCity. As a matter of fact, Will Wright used to say that the real simulation runs in the player's minds (or something like that). Sure, there's some…

Looks great. For accuracy, when you build something, occasionally construction should stop half way through. You're then told that costs have doubled, and you'll need to pay again to complete the construction.

Re: SimCity 3k in 4k (2025)

#148

Post by oneeyedpigeon »

DanielHB wrote: post #140
squeedles wrote: post #4

I was surprised to see SC3k described as isometric like 2k. I recall versions after 2k being "look anywhere" 3D, but I guess I missed some versions. So many games, like Railroad Tycoon post RRT2 and Worms went full 3D and gameplay was never the same. I actually keep a Basilisk II System 7.5 Mac environment just so that I can play SC2k from time to time ...

In 3k you could rotate the camera to 3 (or 4?) different angles, but each was fixed isometric rendered. Meaning they did all assets in the game at multiple angles.

I'm very confident that you could do the same in 2k.

(Looks like this screenshot confirms it, those two blue arrows rotated the view: https://pressakey.com/gamepix/101/simcity3.jpg)

Re: SimCity 3k in 4k (2025)

#149

Post by oneeyedpigeon »

Hobadee wrote: post #104

> I will not pay for the same game twice. I firmly disagree with that point. If the game is well-made and enjoyable, the developer probably deserves some extra cash thrown their way. Games remain one of the best bang-for-your-buck when it comes to entertainment anyways. ($50 can get you DAYS of enjoyment, compared to going to a movie theater, theme park, or other paid attractions) So yes, go ahead and purchase an enj…

I agree that games are excellent value, particularly compared to the 90s when they cost a LOT more than they do today. However, I think the point is a wider one: even if games were priced more 'fairly', should you be able to buy a game and then have, effectively, perpetual ownership of it?

Re: SimCity 3k in 4k (2025)

#150

Post by phaser »

hutattedonmyarm wrote: post #144
phaser wrote: post #59

I love this game so much. One of the reasons I started to make a city builder* is because I don't like where the genre is going. The focus on photorealism in modern city builders took away the apophenia, or "food for imagination" that was a core element since the first SimCity. As a matter of fact, Will Wright used to say that the real simulation runs in the player's minds (or something like that). Sure, there's some…

This sounds super interesting, but I'd much rather buy it on GOG than on Steam or itch.io. Any chance on releasing it there?

I love GOG and I would publish there in a heartbeat but I never hear back from them :(
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