Page 2: Game Play
<B>Regions</B>:
The big thing in Sim City 4 is regions. A region has multiple cities in it, take NYC for instance. Consider it a region and the 5 boroughs would be the cities (though very large). Your city is no longer in a vacuum, you are able to tie cities together when you connect then to the region (or Simnation as it is called). Your cities don't have to be self-sufficient anymore. One city can be entirely built on residential, while the adjacent one could be dirty industrial manufacturing. The regions do work well, though, each city is basically on its own with regards to money and population and utilities. Regions are very important, if you don't think of the big picture, you won't succeed.
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<B>Macro</B>:
Macro management is one key part of building a successful city. You'll need to know where to place zones, whether to make those zone high, med or low density, and much, much more. Gone are the days that you could just spend to your hearts content, you're going to need to do some planning to make your city grow. Think about other things like education, fire protection, police protection, hospital coverage, pollution, trash, electricity, water, and more.
<B>Micro</B>:
You may think you have it easy, just place a few power plants, some water pumps and other various things and your city will flourish. Wrong! Each type of utility now has a monthly cost attached to it, and it is a big cost as well. A single water pump can sustain a small city, as can a single coal power plant. You may think to just place them near each other, well don't. The coal power plant produces alot of pollution, if it contaminates your water source, the people will shut it down, then you have some real problems. Let me go into more detail about the game.
<B>Zoning</B>:
The basic concept of Sim City is to control a city, as mayor, you'll get to place zones. Residential, commercial, and industrial zones are what you'll need to have a good city. Just remember that each zone can have three different densities. Good placement of zones to each other will make more sims want to move into your city. You'll want to place commercial service zones in between residential and industrial zones, this way sims pass them on the way to work. Interesting isn't it?
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Your type of zoning depends on the type of city you want. If you want a dirty pollution infested city, raise high wealth taxes and build medium density industrial zones, if you want high tech, raise the low wealth tax and make high density industry. Jobs are what attract sims (actually, it can work both ways). You can tell the type of zones your people want by the RCI indicator. Follow this to make your city grow. Watch out for those dirty polluting industries though.
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The new thing in SC4 is the autoroad feature for zones. People won't build on zones unless it is accessible to a roadway, this ensures that each block will have access to a road. I like this feature.
<B>Transit</B>:
The city needs a traffic system for it to function, without it your city will fail. Think about it, with no roads, how are people going to find jobs or get to work? Even though you may think that you can throw roads all over the place and it'll be all good, you'll be wrong. Yes, traffic is a great deal of macro management, but don't forget that once your city begins to have more people move it, traffic will build up. Plan ahead and get some bus stations, or even rail/subway lines. One thing about subways and highways, they are REALLY expensive, so you may want to wait until you have some cash before spending it on that. You'll make money off of the bus stations and other mass transit methods. The higher ride capacity, the more money you make, and the more sims will be off the road. Cars also make air pollution, that's also something to think about.
You have choices for even normal roads! There are two types, street roads, and community roads. Think of street roads like high density roads, while community roads gets you where you want to go inside the community. There are many options, this game isn't easy.
<B>Utilities</B>:
<center>
</center>
You need power for your city to run. There are two ways to get power to the people (pun, yes). Create your own plants, or import power from the other cities in the region. I choose to build my own plants. There are ups and downs for both. If you import power, it'll be more expensive, yet if you produce your own power, you'll need to worry about pollution and plant funding. If you have a high population of high tech, you'll get access to clean sources of power.
<center>
</center>
Don't forget to keep or sims wet. If they don't have water, they'll leave. You also need to pay attention to funding, pipes break pretty easily, ruining the water pressure. People won't drink water that is polluted either. Like I said before, this isn't an easy game.
<B>Emergency Workers</B>:
<center>
</center>
Every city has its fair share of problems, and sim city is no different. Remember to have police, fire, and hospital facilities in choice areas of your cities. The placement of these emergency facilities will determine who lives and works in your city. No one wants to live in a city full of crime, likewise, no one wants to go to work where fires won't be taken care of. Make sure they are well funded as well, they won't perform their duties right.
The big thing in Sim City 4 is regions. A region has multiple cities in it, take NYC for instance. Consider it a region and the 5 boroughs would be the cities (though very large). Your city is no longer in a vacuum, you are able to tie cities together when you connect then to the region (or Simnation as it is called). Your cities don't have to be self-sufficient anymore. One city can be entirely built on residential, while the adjacent one could be dirty industrial manufacturing. The regions do work well, though, each city is basically on its own with regards to money and population and utilities. Regions are very important, if you don't think of the big picture, you won't succeed.
<center>
</center><B>Macro</B>:
Macro management is one key part of building a successful city. You'll need to know where to place zones, whether to make those zone high, med or low density, and much, much more. Gone are the days that you could just spend to your hearts content, you're going to need to do some planning to make your city grow. Think about other things like education, fire protection, police protection, hospital coverage, pollution, trash, electricity, water, and more.
<B>Micro</B>:
You may think you have it easy, just place a few power plants, some water pumps and other various things and your city will flourish. Wrong! Each type of utility now has a monthly cost attached to it, and it is a big cost as well. A single water pump can sustain a small city, as can a single coal power plant. You may think to just place them near each other, well don't. The coal power plant produces alot of pollution, if it contaminates your water source, the people will shut it down, then you have some real problems. Let me go into more detail about the game.
<B>Zoning</B>:
The basic concept of Sim City is to control a city, as mayor, you'll get to place zones. Residential, commercial, and industrial zones are what you'll need to have a good city. Just remember that each zone can have three different densities. Good placement of zones to each other will make more sims want to move into your city. You'll want to place commercial service zones in between residential and industrial zones, this way sims pass them on the way to work. Interesting isn't it?
<center>
</center>Your type of zoning depends on the type of city you want. If you want a dirty pollution infested city, raise high wealth taxes and build medium density industrial zones, if you want high tech, raise the low wealth tax and make high density industry. Jobs are what attract sims (actually, it can work both ways). You can tell the type of zones your people want by the RCI indicator. Follow this to make your city grow. Watch out for those dirty polluting industries though.
<center>
</center>The new thing in SC4 is the autoroad feature for zones. People won't build on zones unless it is accessible to a roadway, this ensures that each block will have access to a road. I like this feature.
<B>Transit</B>:
The city needs a traffic system for it to function, without it your city will fail. Think about it, with no roads, how are people going to find jobs or get to work? Even though you may think that you can throw roads all over the place and it'll be all good, you'll be wrong. Yes, traffic is a great deal of macro management, but don't forget that once your city begins to have more people move it, traffic will build up. Plan ahead and get some bus stations, or even rail/subway lines. One thing about subways and highways, they are REALLY expensive, so you may want to wait until you have some cash before spending it on that. You'll make money off of the bus stations and other mass transit methods. The higher ride capacity, the more money you make, and the more sims will be off the road. Cars also make air pollution, that's also something to think about.
You have choices for even normal roads! There are two types, street roads, and community roads. Think of street roads like high density roads, while community roads gets you where you want to go inside the community. There are many options, this game isn't easy.
<B>Utilities</B>:
<center>
</center>You need power for your city to run. There are two ways to get power to the people (pun, yes). Create your own plants, or import power from the other cities in the region. I choose to build my own plants. There are ups and downs for both. If you import power, it'll be more expensive, yet if you produce your own power, you'll need to worry about pollution and plant funding. If you have a high population of high tech, you'll get access to clean sources of power.
<center>
</center>Don't forget to keep or sims wet. If they don't have water, they'll leave. You also need to pay attention to funding, pipes break pretty easily, ruining the water pressure. People won't drink water that is polluted either. Like I said before, this isn't an easy game.
<B>Emergency Workers</B>:
<center>
</center>Every city has its fair share of problems, and sim city is no different. Remember to have police, fire, and hospital facilities in choice areas of your cities. The placement of these emergency facilities will determine who lives and works in your city. No one wants to live in a city full of crime, likewise, no one wants to go to work where fires won't be taken care of. Make sure they are well funded as well, they won't perform their duties right.