SimCity 5

[ManagerJosh]

EA contacts you to lead a development team to design the next SimCity 5. What would you put into SimCity 5? What elements would you include to make it SimCity?

[Mirelly]

More realistic accounting: no costs involved in zoning land plots that are then given away to developers

More realistic industry: allow for single main employer towns (chocolate, cars, oil refinery etc. etc.)

Less emphasis on stupid city building zoning: schools, hospitals, fire stations etc. should be able to cover whole cities when those cities are small (under 25,000 eg Dodge City (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=dodge+city&ie=UTF8&ll=37.769901,-100.018845&spn=0.127553,0.232086&z=12&om=1) is a perfect example).

More realistic transport and less emphasis on boring plopping of pointless buildings: eg buses should run routes where stops are automatic and only termini need to be placed - overall efficiency of the system should be by funding rather than on individual stops; fares should form part of the player strategy so that city funding is an element of the bus system economic milieu: increased funding=cheaper fares etc.

More realistic transport: sims take sensible routes to achieve their intentions ... no crawling down side streets block after block before zigging a block left to finish the last block of the journey on a way under capacity avenue (using stupid AI to create artificial rat-ruts is annoying and dumb).

Extend the SC4 building concept to city buildings where zoning out a city facility can be more free form. eg: airport ... plop a suitable runway and then zone as many, or as few, squares beside/around it and let the AI develop them with suitable buildings and props. That way overcapacity city facilities can be easily (and visibly) devolped and expanded to improve capacity ... new wing for the city hospital, madam Mayor? ... Ooh, yeah. Let's demolish that shabby tenement block next door and build there.

Heck ... I have many more ideas like that.

[ManagerJosh]

Keep the ideas rolling :D

[JohnEZ]

First, I would make sure I was Maxis.

Second, my biggest complaint with SimCity 4 was the transport systems. They're inefficient, at best. I'd like to see more in the way of more intelligent sims who chose the best route by time, not by distance--although I hear the NAM at Simtropolis took care of a lot of it--but still, the Sims should not be that stupid as to force the community members to write code for them to think logically.

Other ways I'd like to see transportation change...


Tolls. Mayors should be able to set tolls on roads and fares on public transportation.
Speed Limits. All streets, roads, avenues, and highways should have default speed limits, in ascending order--however, they should have a manual override such that they can be resurveyed and edited as may be necessary.
New transportation systems. For example, light rail transport systems are becoming very popular in my area. They work very well in residential areas to take people to a main hub to get to the city. Sure, in SC4 we can make a branch line, but it's not quite as efficient or effective. Otherwise, I'd like to see things like autobahns and things of the sort.


More or less my complaints. Transport--blech!

I'll add on to this list as I think of things :D

[gimedatkush]

How about a full 3D view and not just 4 angles! For Sim City 5 I would love to see that along with just *something* that makes the game more satisfying after you are done creating your city. I was thinking about it one day if Sim city and Grand Theft Auto type games were combined one day.. create your own city, be free to rome around it and interact with the city, and this would lead to missions and a lot more longevity. Not necesarilly so reliant on crime and shooting but you get the idea.

[JohnEZ]

Ahh... that is where you and I differ. See, I'd rather have the four fixed positions than full 3D, because full 3D in something as large as SimCity results in having a bunch of low-poly 3D meshes. To me, if it's going to be low-poly, it ain't worth it. :p

JMHO.

[Mirelly]

Well, it's clear that SCS is gonna be full 3D and some of the screenshots show up the limitations of that ... overall the look is not good. Having seen the demo vid I am now much more sure that it is not the sort of game I'd be interested in. The simulation concept is the thing and the notions that are introduced in SCS are not that exciting ... nor realistic.

[Nevets]

Cities unlimited seems to be doing 3d completely fine.

[JohnEZ]

Somehow, I knew that comment would come back to bit me in the arse. :o It doesn't happen often, so snap a screenshot... I admit I was wrong. :o

So I'd like to say... I'd make it in 3D, but I would do it in a realistic yet hopefully computer resource-friendly way. :) Not cartoonish, and not PlaySkool, if I may say. But those are just my preferences.

-John

[ManagerJosh]

Cities Unlimited information is currently very vague. We're basing a lot of assumptions on the Monte Cristo team's involvement in Simphoni (and hopefully ours in the near future) as well as screenshots and suggestions from the Cities Unlimited Community.

The same could be said about SimCity Societies. We do have a lot more information available to scrutinize but it isn't the complete set of information.

[Bobthekillingmachine]

I'd like 2 modes (yes i know they both sound bad lol).

Bureaucratic: things are mostly out of your control like in societies

Dictatorship: you control everything: taxes, transit tolls, how often a street should be cleaned and by who, hire everyone that works for the government, have elections and if the people are unhappy with you will be fired, political supporters, plumbing, trade, buildings, and i also feel that trains and highways were a real step down from last game (seeing as there are none!)

Of course you can hire a committee to take care of all of the minor details if you have no interest in those, but at a moments notice you can adjust what they adjust.

Sort of like Simple and Advanced.


Also i think you should be able to import your own picture and plaster it over everything, yay!