Sim City!

You see those new cities from Maxis? They've got curved roads. Curved. Roads.

Been a fan of the Sim City series over a decade now. No idea how many days worth of time I've put into SC3000 and SC4 combined through the years though they were all well spent. I was really excited for Sim City (2013) after it was announced last year, but when details surfaced that it would only be available on EA's dreaded Origin and require a constant online connection I began to rethink picking it up. Since it was apparent EA was not going to backpedal from this decision by December I regretfully wrote the game off. And then, I found Ocean Quigley's Youtube page. Being one of the lead developers on Sim City he had posted a good number of short clips of gameplay, many of which had me thoroughly impressed.

The following video has no sound, so I heartily recommend starting this one up simultaneously with the one below.

[video=youtube;EfC4JOuUkI8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfC4JOuUkI8[/video]

Check out that traffic simulation! That alone just about sold me, to say nothing of the amazing improvement in graphics (quality and the fact its in 3D now). Okay sure city sizes are smaller now, but frankly I rarely ever built map-spanning cities in previous games, plus the level of simulation detail that appears to have been implemented into SC2013 means there should be more to plan around and manage now. I still have my reservations about Origin, the online requirement, and the missing content I'm sure EA will eventually sell (I don't recall seeing my beloved subway and elevated rail as a transport option), but to pass over Sim City due to these concerns, despite all the apparent work Maxis has put into improving the series, just seems a shame.

In short, damn you to hell EA, I'm caving and purchasing Sim City. Tuesday, release day in North America, can't get here fast enough now.

So, who else in the 'borg plays Sim City games? What have been your experiences with the series? Anyone else planning to pick up the new Sim City?

 

I've been playing since simcity 2000. I think 3000 was the hardest. But 4 was the most fun. I might get this one still undecided.

 

I fucking love SimCity, I'm so psyched to build a disgustingly polluted and crime-ridden Gotham City clone.

 

I've had my copy pre-ordered for some time now and have participated in a few betas. Must say that I am so excite about this game. Tuesday's practice will have me thinking how much I want to play SC5 while I blow up mechs.

 

I liked sim city so much, I got sim copter, back in teh day.

 

Awyeah, played Simcity on SNES and SC2000 back in the days. I was an Mayor MacCheese!

 

sim city ftw!!!

I always liked making riots!!! lol

 

I lol'ed at the bus stop:

[video=youtube;UxDCxXy8oVQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxDCxXy8oVQ[/video]

Just pre-ordered SimCity off Origin. Not as bad an experience as I expected, though its definitely no Steam.

Don't know how the online region-play will work though I'm guessing it will require inviting other people through Origin. If anyone else is interested in establishing a 'borg-run metropolis I can list usernames in the first post of this thread so other members can send invites.

 

I am interested, dont know if i'll have the money

 

I heard some good reviews about it, but I also heard that the city limits were prohibitively small, but that might just be beta limits so who knows

 

Apparently the city sizes are going to get an expansion later on. I think they're really trying to emphasize the need to cooperate with other cities in your region for resources with the current limitations. I'm willing to give it a shot in any case, despite all the DRM and EA nonsense.

 

I was thinking about getting a copy. Might have to lease out some city space to the borg' get those great works going.

 

Argh. Just need to get through one more day of test and lecture.

IGN has a nice overview of the infrastructure, services, specializations, great works, and regions for anyone interested in doing a little planning of their first city. Discovery Delta looks to be the most interesting Region and I'm already eying up that "leftmost" corner, Sawyer's Crossing if I've matched the descriptions correctly. Depending on how many 'borg members get the game, Delta might be able to accommodate everyone with at least one city per person.

I wasn't too keen on the whole interconnected resource economy before, seemed a gimmick to promote "social gaming" from my initial impressions, but after seeing some recently released videos of the dev beta on youtube showing off the city specializations in action, I'm starting to like the concept. From what I've read the specializations can provide a nice influx of income if trading to the global market, in addition to making it a bit easier to construct great works. Think I'm going to try focusing solely on Trade; buy low, ship it in, stockpile, sell high, ship it out, plus it might be a good match for my tendency to prioritize transport efficiency.

Edit: Checked Origin just before signing off to see SimCity is now available for download in North America. Initial download and installation was fast, took less than 3 minutes, though the updates are taking considerably longer, seems to have froze around 13 percent (figures).

 

I plan to join a region with a couple of other friends, but I wouldn't mind joining a Skjaldborg region aswell if there's room left. Need to experiment with different kinds of cities after all.

 

I'll get it once I'm back home this weekend. I'll join your nation Catch.'

I'm thinking Culture/Electronics for my city.

 

I'd like a part in the glorious Skjaldborg nation. I'm torn between the idea of a gambling center, a college town and an industrial behemoth. There are too many choices :disturbed:

 

I"m staying away. Your city is only saved online, so if you're not, no city. The city sizes are smaller than before because they want you to play a social city building game where you interact with other players online rather than building your own mega city.