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SimCity 4 was released 20 years ago

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Re: SimCity 4 was released 20 years ago

#4

Post by CydeWeys »

awinter-py wrote: post #2

uhhh it has 4 fewer arcologies than simcity 2000 so it is hard to evaluate the truth of this statement

Yes, the arcologies were fun, but, they were also game-breaking, and building them completely changed the nature of the game into something unrealistic that frankly didn't really work. So not having them isn't a huge loss.

Re: SimCity 4 was released 20 years ago

#5

Post by chongli »

I prefer SimCity 2000. I feel like it hit a pretty good sweet spot between simulation and fun (which is to say, not even a vague gesturing at anything remotely realistic). Realistic simulation in games is almost universally less fun than simple, predictable game logic. Probably the most extreme example of this is chess: way more enjoyable than real warfare.

Back on topic though. My beef with SimCity 4 is that it added a bunch of details that make it less fun, like micromanagement of the funding of individual hospitals and police stations. The added complexity didn’t bring any new profound shifts in thinking or strategy, it just created more busywork for the player.

SimCity 2000 has almost none of that. It’s just a really solid and super fun game. It’s quite balanced (when you resist the temptation to use cheats) without being overly hard. So you can sit back (with a cold beverage of your choice) and enjoy a nice relaxing time playing mayor and seeing your little city develop before your eyes!

Re: SimCity 4 was released 20 years ago

#6

Post by lagniappe »

CydeWeys wrote: post #4
awinter-py wrote: post #2

uhhh it has 4 fewer arcologies than simcity 2000 so it is hard to evaluate the truth of this statement

Yes, the arcologies were fun, but , they were also game-breaking, and building them completely changed the nature of the game into something unrealistic that frankly didn't really work. So not having them isn't a huge loss.

ah but placing that 301st arcology was so fun to young-me for some reason :)

Re: SimCity 4 was released 20 years ago

#7

Post by nkrisc »

bombcar wrote: post #3

I think SimCity 4 is the best city simulator game. Cities Skylines is an excellent city painter ; however.

CSL as a virtual model hobby is a great way to save space and money.

The cool thing is you can paint your cities and still play the traffic management game, down to timing the signals at individual intersections.

Re: SimCity 4 was released 20 years ago

#8

Post by tbm57 »

Nostalgia wave at seeing images from this game again

I like Cities: Skylines but am a little turned off at how central the traffic management is to the gameplay. Maybe I just never figured out all the right optimizations, but it feels like after a certain city size you're just spending all your time reworking your roads

Re: SimCity 4 was released 20 years ago

#9

Post by gruez »

chongli wrote: post #5

I prefer SimCity 2000. I feel like it hit a pretty good sweet spot between simulation and fun (which is to say, not even a vague gesturing at anything remotely realistic). Realistic simulation in games is almost universally less fun than simple, predictable game logic. Probably the most extreme example of this is chess: way more enjoyable than real warfare. Back on topic though. My beef with SimCity 4 is that it adde…

>My beef with SimCity 4 is that it added a bunch of details that make it less fun, like micromanagement of the funding of individual hospitals and police stations. The added complexity didn’t bring any new profound shifts in thinking or strategy, it just created more busywork for the player.

You don't have to do that. Leaving the sliders at defaults work just fine. You only need to tweak them if you wanted to micro-optimize spending, which rarely needed given how easy it is to make a profitable city to start with.

Re: SimCity 4 was released 20 years ago

#10

Post by iJohnDoe »

chongli wrote: post #5

I prefer SimCity 2000. I feel like it hit a pretty good sweet spot between simulation and fun (which is to say, not even a vague gesturing at anything remotely realistic). Realistic simulation in games is almost universally less fun than simple, predictable game logic. Probably the most extreme example of this is chess: way more enjoyable than real warfare. Back on topic though. My beef with SimCity 4 is that it adde…

100% agree. Fond memories of SC 2000.

The open creation of any layout you could think of was my favorite aspect of the game.

Anyone have a particular recommendation on how to play SC 2000 today on Windows 10?

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