SimCity (series)

Overview
Simcity has loads of games. We have Simcity to Simcity Societies.

Simcity
SimCity is a critically acclaimed city-building simulation video game, first released in 1989,&#91;1&#93; and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis's first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including 2000 in 1994, 3000 in 1999, SimCity 4 in 2003, DS, and Societies in 2007. The original SimCity was later renamed SimCity Classic. Until the release of The Sims in 2000, the SimCity series was the best-selling line of computer games made by Maxis. SimCity spawned a series of Sim games.

On January 10, 2008 the SimCity source code was released under the free software GPL 3 license under the name Micropolis

Simcity 2000
SimCity 2000 (SC2K) 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. It was later released on the Amiga, DOS & Microsoft Windows, followed by a release for OS/2.&#91;1&#93; In 1995, SimCity 2000 won "Best Military or Strategy Computer Game" Origins Award.

The unexpected and enduring success of the original SimCity, combined with the relative lack of success with other "Sim" titles, finally motivated the development of a sequel. SimCity 2000 was a major extension of the concept; the view was now dimetric instead of overhead, land could have different elevations, and underground layers were introduced for water pipes and subways.

New types of facilities include prisons, schools, libraries, museums, marinas, zoos, hospitals and arcologies. Players can build highways, roads, bus depots, railway tracks, subways, train depots and zone land for seaports and airports. There are a total of nine varieties of power plants in SimCity 2000, including coal, natural gas, nuclear, wind turbines, hydroelectric dams (which can only be placed on waterfall tiles) and the futuristic fusion power and satellite microwave plant. Most types of power plants have a limited life span and must be rebuilt periodically.

Players can build highways to neighboring cities to increase trade and the population. These neighboring cities are named after British Science-Fiction sitcom characters notably from Red Dwarf.&#91;2&#93;

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 neighboring cities became possible. The budget controls are very important in running the city effectively.

Another new addition in SimCity 2000 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 plants, recent disasters and opinion polls (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". Some headlines have no purpose whatsoever in the game, such as "Bald Radio Found" or "Frog Convention".

Though there is no "true" victory sequence in SimCity 2000, the "exodus" is a close parallel. An "exodus" occurs during the year 2051 or later, when 350 or more Launch Arcologies are constructed; the following January each one "takes off" into space so that their inhabitants can form new civilizations on distant worlds (although the visual representation of the scene consists of the Arcologies exploding in a manner similar to bulldozed buildings, one by one).&#91;3&#93; This reduces the city's population to those who are not living in the Launch Arcologies, but it also opens wide areas for redevelopment and returns their construction cost to the city treasury. This is related to the event in SimEarth where all cities are moved into rocket-propelled domes that then leave to "found new worlds" (leaving no sapient life behind).

The game also included several playable scenarios, in which the player must deal with a disaster (in most, but not all scenarios) and rebuild the city to meet a set of victory conditions. These were based in versions of real-life cities, and some were based on real events such as the 1991 Oakland firestorm, the 1989 Hurricane Hugo in Charleston, South Carolina, or dealing with the 1970s economic recession in Flint, Michigan—but also included more fanciful ones such as a "monster" destroying Hollywood in 2001. More scenarios added with the SCURK included a nuclear meltdown in Manhattan in 2007.

SimCity 2000 was the first Sim game to feature the semi-nonsensical phrase "Reticulating Splines", which means to make a network of splines. Will Wright has stated in an interview that the game does not actually reticulate splines when generating terrain, and he just inserted the phrase because it "sounded cool".[citation needed] The phrase has since been featured in SimCopter, 4, [http:// The Sims], [http:// The Sims 2, Spore, The Sims 3, and The Sims Social. ]Spore, The Sims 3, and The Sims Social.

Simcity 3000
SimCity 3000 (SC3K) is a city building simulation personal computer game and the third major installment in the SimCity series. It was published by Electronic Arts (EA) and developed by series creator Maxis, a wholly owned subsidiary of EA. It was released for Windows, Macintosh, and, through an arrangement with Loki Games, Linux.&#91;1&#93;

There were many changes between SimCity 3000 and its immediate predecessor SimCity 2000 (SC2K). These changes spanned both the integral city management aspects of the game, as well as its graphical and landscape aspects. These changes gave the game a feel greatly different from that of SC2K.

In a pattern which has continued throughout the SimCity franchise, the number and complexity of city services increased between SC2K and SC3K, and the graphics quality was greatly improved as well. The most notable change was the addition of the concept of waste management. In SC3K, once a city has a population greater than 1,000, garbage begins to accumulate, and must be disposed of at the expense of the city. Farms and agricultural structures were also introduced, appearing on large light industrial zones in a city with low land value and little pollution. A new zoning density was also added, totalling three densities, compared to SC2K ' s two. In addition to their limited life span, power plants were also made vulnerable to decreasing maximum output due to age.

Although the concept of neighbor cities was introduced in SC2K, it was greatly expanded upon in SC3K. For the first time, the player was able 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 would incur a substantial cash penalty.

Although not strictly a city management aspect, SimCity 3000 simulates the effect of land value on construction much more realistically than in SimCity 2000. In SC3K, land value creates very distinct neighborhoods which tend to contain narrow income bands, creating well-defined slums, 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.

Business deals were another new concept to SC3K; by allowing certain structures (a maximum security prison, casino, toxic waste conversion plant) and Gigamall (a large shopping mall) to be built within the city, the player can receive a substantial amount of funds from them. Business deal structures, however, have serious negative effects on a city.

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 is mostly brown, while in SC3K, the playable landscape is a more realistic green color, 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 are five distinct steepness of slope, creating more varied landscapes. Also, there are different types of trees which can appear on the playable map. However, the navigation through the map is rather difficult compared to other video games like RollerCoaster Tycoon 3.

Simcity 4 and Rush Hour
SimCity 4 (SC4) 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. SimCity 4: Deluxe Edition contained the original game and Rush Hour combined as a single product.

The game allows players to create a region of land by terraforming, and then to design and build a settlement which can grow into a city. Players can zone different areas of land as commercial, industrial, or residential development, as well as build and maintain public services, transport and utilities. For the success of a city players must manage its finances, environment, and quality of life for its residents. SimCity 4 introduces night and day cycles and other special effects for the first time in the SimCity series. External tools such as the Building Architect Tool (BAT) allow custom third party buildings and content to be added to the gameplay.

SimCity 4 was praised for being the second game in the SimCity series to primarily use a 3D engine to render its graphics, the first being SimCity 64 for the ill-fated Nintendo 64DD. It received widespread acclaim, won several awards, and was one of the top ten selling PC games of 2003.&#91;4&#93; It was however criticised for the difficulty of gameplay and computer performance.

SimCity 4: Rush Hour is the expansion pack for SimCity 4 created by EA Games and Maxis, where the player builds a city from scratch.

U-Drive-It is a new add-on to Rush Hour, a mode where players can take control of cars, planes, and many other vehicles and drive them around the city. There are two modes of driving: Scenario Mode, where the player has a limited amount of time to win money or prizes, or Free Drive, that allows the player to drive freely.

If the vehicle sustains excessive damage (either by crashing into other vehicles or traversing into water), it will burst into flames and subsequently explode. This is shown by a colored diamond above the vehicle- in game called a "plumbob" (much like the ones in The Sims) which can turn from green to red in respect to the vehicles' current state.

Some vehicles have certain individual features, such as a police siren on police cars or the capacity to damage sections of the city with munitions from vehicles such as tanks, helicopters and jets. Also, some boats may cast fish nets or tug other boats to safety.

GameSpot has related U-Drive-It to Streets of SimCity,&#91;1&#93; and indicated the feature including an enhanced physics model partially based on that of SimCopter.&#91;2&#93; However, while Streets of SimCity and SimCopter can alternate between a first- and third-person view, U-Drive-It is restricted to third-person.

Roads and highways
A screenshot showing some examples of new features in SimCity 4: Rush Hour.The newest addition to the roads section are one way roads and avenues. One-way roads are the same size as normal roads only they stretch into one direction, while avenues are 4-lane (2 lanes per direction) dual carriageway roads the same size as highways, with some shrubbery in the center strip (defined by the wealth of buildings on the road). Avenues existed in SimCity 4's predecessor, SimCity 3000; but not in the original SimCity 4.

The ground highway was also a new addition, which is cheaper but more obtrusive than elevated highways, but still carries the same capacity and can connect to roads in the same way. The t-intersection for highways was also introduced. Another addition is a toll booth which you can put on roads, highways, or avenues to get money. However they make traffic problems worse and lower the player's mayor rating.

Public transportation
Major changes to the public transportation section were made. The monorail, a fast moving above-ground railway, was introduced for high density areas. Unlike its similar partner, the above-ground railway (Elevated Rail), the monorail is much more modern-looking and faster, and also can be built over ground level roads, highways, avenues, streets and railways, much like an elevated highway. The elevated rail is cheaper than the monorail and can connect to the city's subway system.

The public parking garage was also introduced, which when used with stations and bus stops can be used to create a "park and ride" system.

Water transport
The ferry system was introduced as the only change to the water transport section. The ferry system came in two types: Passenger, for people only, and Car and Passenger, for both.

Route query
The Rush Hour route query tool shows how Sims travel to, from, and across a building or road.Another new feature in Rush Hour is the route query; with it, it is possible to check the routes the Sims use to get to their jobs, allowing the player to see directly where the Sims need to go and how they do it.

Disasters
Two new disasters are included in the pack, UFO attack and Autosaurus Wrecks. The UFO attack summons a mother ship which fires a destructive blast and spawns smaller ships. Autosaurus Wrecks is a robotic monster made of road vehicles, which bears similarities to MechaGodzilla. Autosaurus will go on a rampage, and eventually explode.

Simcity Societies
SimCity Societies is a city-building simulation computer game developed by Tilted Mill Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts (EA), and is part of the Sim games series. The gameplay is significantly different from previous SimCity titles, with a greater focus on "social engineering". SimCity Societies was released on November 13, 2007&#91;1&#93; and received mixed reviews, with praise for the game's improved accessibility and visuals, but criticism for being overly simplified and having poor performance.

Gameplay Edit
A capitalist city, showing the day and night cycle in the gameSimCity Societies has a different gameplay compared to previous &#91;7&#93; titles with less focus on "stricter city-planner roles", and more focus on "social-engineering". Tilted Mill Entertainment also reduced the complexity of SimCity Societies after the previous games in the series had been described as too complex by Will Wright. Complexity was reduced by removing the need to lay pipes and power grids. The ability to fund buildings individually,&#91;3&#93; building evolution, and zoning were also not featured in the game.&#91;5&#93; The adviser system of previous SimCity games was replaced, with a city's status instead indicated to the player by the behaviour of citizens,&#91;3&#93; with each building having an effect on citizen's behaviour.&#91;6&#93; Furthermore, an awards system was introduced to give players access to new buildings and other features when they meet certain goals.&#91;3&#93;

Six "societal values" feature in SimCity Societies, which determine the attributes of a city. The six societal values are productivity, prosperity, creativity, spirituality, authority, and knowledge.&#91;7&#93; Focusing on a certain "societal value" can change the visual appearance of a city, for instance the authority "societal value" can result in security cameras appearing on buildings. "Societal values" can also have an impact on what buildings are unlocked by the player.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1UPpreview_2-4">&#91;3&#93;

The game is "fully customizable" and allows the player to customize individual buildings, decorations, citizens, and game rules.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-IGNE32007_5-1">&#91;6&#93; Prior to its release, when mentioning the depth to which the game would allow customization, a Tilted Mill Entertainment representative stated that those who were proficient in C# and XML will be able to easily edit the gameplay. It was also announced that an online exchange would be provided to allow for the exchange of buildings.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ShackNewsE32007_4-1">&#91;5&#93;

Simcity Socities Destinations
SimCity Societies: Destinations is an expansion pack for Societies and was released in North America on June 23, 2008