Sim City

[Orange46]

Well, Sim City is coming out with a long overdue remake of the original game.

http://www.gamespot.com/simcity/videos/ ... TheCityOfY

I think we got SMR from Civ IV, another Sid game, but Sim City is from a different company. Based on the above video and other stuff that I have looked at, this new Sim City engine looks interesting from a Railroad perspective. I have almost given up writng about what I would like to see in the economic part of RT4, but SC looks like it has an economic model that could do wonders for our game. RT4 really needs updated graphics, real railroad box cars, like we can get at this site, operations like RT3 (with trains don't get lost as they do in SMR), ways to keep cargoes at their intended destination (RT2) and an economic model that makes more sense for the railroads. I actually like the RT3 model for express, and the RT2 model for freight and cities.

If one were to use the Glassbox engine for SC, I wonder if we could now actually designate loads (or even parts of loads) to go to specific destinations. For example, loads from a mine could be designated to go to a specific plant or mill and they could travel over multiple train routes and then stay at their destination. Partial loads could do the same, with the right amount being dropped off at each city along the route. Cities demand corn, but not full loads, so predesignated partial loads would regularly be put in hoppers and then the hoppers would offload the partial loads at their destination cities, or at a city with connections to the final destination.

But, even if Glassbox is not the right solution, the comment made in the above link was that now PC's are powerful enough to do the kind of simulation that the designer always wanted to do. And my new Dell i7, which left Fort Worth last night, I should be able to handle SC and my dream RT4.

[Orange46]

http://www.gamespot.com/simcity/user-reviews/808864/

The above link is my ongoing review of Sim City 2013. It grows on you, like warts.

[Orange46]

It sold 1.1 million in 2 weeks and is now playable. It's now includes a business sim. I only wish that actual freight trains would show up to pick up my loads.

My processor factory ran out of alloy, so it shut down. I looked at the trade facility and there wasn't any there. Eventually, some got bought from out of town, but I only had 1 truck there and it was nowhere to be found. So, I added another truck and then watched it deliver alloy to the factory, which started up again. I need to add a smelter to make alloy, but it costs a fortune and the ore it needs is being mined in another city.

Later, in another city where I have a big coal mine, I opened up the smelter. Next, I need to go to the city with the ore mine and oil well to see if I have room to build a refinery. That city is built on a hill and is kind of cramped, so the refinery may have to go into a new city. We will see. My region has at least 8 city sites, 3 of which I have claimed so far.

There are also 4 regions in which you can build projects. It looks like you have to ship the required building materials from the cities in your region to the project site to build the project. That will be in the future. Most buildings that you buy in your cities are expandle. Some of the expansions don't have to actualy attach to the original building, like the loading crane and storage add on for railroads or ports, or garages for extra delivery vehicles. School expansions must be connected, and you can add a 3rd floor, but the community college expansion can be added as a separate building a block away.

In this Sim City, Quality was Job 1.07 andadding servers.

If the city part of Sim City was dumbed down, so that you could keep the whole region up, and then if they added freight trains, you would have Transport Tycoon with industry building.

[MrScott1964]

This game is ok, just not worth what I paid for it. I'm waiting to see what any updates might bring.

[Orange46]

For me it's working out. I got a $20 coupon from Amazon and a free game from EA that my daughter wants to play when she gets home from school.

I have taken a break from SC too play another game I got during EA's blowout sale. But, my special projest needs to get built now that high speed is supposedly back.

[MrScott1964]

Patch 2.0 will be out on Monday...let's see what this brings.

[Orange46]

I have got to stop playing Dead Space 3, which I got for free from EA. It's too hard for someone of my age. Oh well, back to chapter 11. Let me know when the patch actually arrives for SC. Thanks

[Lone Cat]

Sim city commuter train system

http://www.obscurecraft.net/obscureblog ... 0train.JPG

It is obiviously American! the engine appears to be those of MP family diesels. not available in RT3 too bad. mew!

http://railroadpictures.net/Locomotives ... tn1024.jpg