[Retro]

Awesome. Been jones'in for a city builder/simulator. As long as it's not a Facebook game, I'm there.

[Myzer]

YES! YES! YES! YES!

Played the hell out of SimCity 4, and still load it up every now and then.

Hypes x10000

[Goronmon]

Please, please let this be a full-fledged sequel and not some kind of Farmville-style take on the SimCity formula.

I want this to be a complex and difficult, but rewarding game to play like the earlier ones.

[zoku88]

This thread presumably given it's going up at like 10-20K views an hour. We're getting linked to on the major sites/blogs. The best news though is that the server is working.

I think the PCgamer news story links to this thread, actually.

[Dennis]

I think the PCgamer news story links to this thread, actually.

The eyes of the world is upon us.

[Combine]

Can't wait for GDC!

[Yenrot]

Please, please let this be a full-fledged sequel and not some kind of Farmville-style take on the SimCity formula. I want this to be a complex and difficult, but rewarding game to play like the earlier ones.

Oh God, I didn't even consider the possibility.

[syko de4d]

nice,
now EA, after C&C and SimCity, bring me Populous or Dungeon Keeper (shitty china MMO doesn´t count) back. ^^

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

Thread is on reddit, I saw it earlier.

I've always wondered about the Cities XL and how they compare to SimCity. Is it the same sort of gameplay?

[Nirolak]

nice, now EA, after C&C and SimCity, bring me Populous or Dungeon Keeper (shitty china MMO doesn´t count) back. ^^

Populous is coming: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=461712

[Wyndstryker]

More Sim City is always a good thing.

More sleepless nights making the perfect city also.

[donarumo]

Thread is on reddit, I saw it earlier. I've always wondered about the Cities XL and how they compare to SimCity. Is it the same sort of gameplay?

Yes and no. The graphics in Cities XL are kind of drab. They might look realistic but there's nothing inviting about the buildings and architecture.

Yes, you do place down roads and then residences, commercial, and industrial areas but I never felt really engaged when building my city in Cities XL and never felt like I was nurturing an ecosystem. Those feelings are what makes SimCity great for me.

[syko de4d]

Populous is coming: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=461712

nice, i hope this is true. Populous with good Graphics (like Frostbite 2 + Terraforming) + Multiplayer + Map Editor would be awesome :D

C&C, Populous and SimCity it´s like the good 90´s strategy coming back :)

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

Yes and no. The graphics in Cities XL are kind of drab. They might look realistic but there's nothing inviting about the buildings and architecture. Yes, you do place down roads and then residences, commercial, and industrial areas but I never felt really engaged when building my city in Cities XL and never felt like I was nurturing an ecosystem. Those feelings are what makes SimCity great for me.

Do you do things like manage traffic, power, water, taxes, public safety, education, etc? Or is it just designing a city and watching it grow?

[bodyboarder]

Looking good.

[Neuromancer]

The eyes of the world is upon us.

Hey I missed this old avatar of yours, good to see it back.

[Dennis]

Hey I missed this old avatar of yours, good to see it back.

It was time.

[_woLf]

THANK YOU BASED WILL WRIGHT

[bengraven]

I really really need to buy Sim City 4.

I truly loved the entire series up until I was trying to play 4 on a shitty old computer. Computer played the game horribly and I lost interest. Civilization took hold of my interest instead.

[Nirolak]

THANK YOU BASED WILL WRIGHT

He doesn't work there anymore.

Kabouter was also noting that he said Sim City 4 was bad and way too complicated, so we should be glad he isn't there anymore.

[Xellos]

Looks awesome, really hope a non-gimped version of this winds up on iOS or Wii U. Sim City seems like like the kind of game that would greatly benefit from a tablet/touch screen interface. Actually, now that I think about it, a Kinect enabled version might be fun too (though it would probably be even better for something like Populous).

[erragal]

He doesn't work there anymore. Kabouter was also noting that he said Sim City 4 was bad and way too complicated, so we should be glad he isn't there anymore.

People definitely change. Same person that lead the design of SimEarth finds SimCity4 too complicated? He's not really the same designer at all.

[Acheron]

Sweet mother of mercy.

[Kyaw]

I saw it linked on Reddit, maybe that's why.

Also HYPE, GET!

[Lion Heart]

Cowboys Stadium, nice. I'll be there day 1.

[Sober]

I saw it linked on Reddit, maybe that's why. Also HYPE, GET!

GAF > Internet > GAF, brought to you by SimCity.

[Acheron]

It'll definitely be on console, but unlike a lot of games the mod community of SimCity fundamentally improves the game on such a level that PC is THE ONLY way to go. We aren't talking about topless mods and improved textures, we're talking about fundamentally improving game logic and vastly increasing the options for transit, power, terrain editing etc.

[-Deadpool-]

Oh man, it finally happened. So happy. Haha.. Can't bloody wait.

[Drakken]

Most exciting thing about this news is a new Sim City soundtrack. Jerry Martin better be on board!

[massoluk]

nice, now EA, after C&C and SimCity, bring me Populous or Dungeon Keeper (shitty china MMO doesn´t count) back. ^^

The World wants Dungeon Keeper and Theme Hospital, EA. Nay, the World demands them.

I'll uninstall Steam and go Origins exclusive if you do.
/Not, really.

[massoluk]

He doesn't work there anymore. Kabouter was also noting that he said Sim City 4 was bad and way too complicated, so we should be glad he isn't there anymore.

I'm guess I'm in the minority, I also thought Sim City 4 was a bit too complicated back then. Sim City 3000 was my favorite. :\

[Dennis]

Did Will Wright go soft?

Sims, Spore and Epic Mickey......yeah, he went soft.

[Combine]

Did Will Wright go soft? Sims, Spore and Epic Mickey......yeah, he went soft.

Uh, I think you're getting Will confused with that other guy.

Anyway, Will is no longer with EA and has his own thing going doing who knows what.

[King_Moc]

Well, this brightened my day up. I hope to god this is PC exclusive. And not Facebook/iOS/Android. It's been too long. One of the best strategy series of all time.

[Dennis]

Uh, I think you're getting Will confused with that other guy. Anyway, Will is no longer with EA and has his own thing going doing who knows what.

Yeah, you are right. I got him mixed up with that other guy who went soft - Warren Spector.

[Red_taiyaki]

This thread needs more Dr. Wright.

[psykomyko]

Absolutely loved Sim City 4! Hopefully this turns out to be a good one too.

[jman2050]

SimCity 4 isn't really complicated so much as it has a somewhat esoteric learning curve. A good deal of the information that is necessary to understand how the simulation functions and in turn how to plan for it effectively wasn't really conveyed to you properly in-game, and it isn't really designed to teach any of that via experimentation. The change in how demand works, what R$, R$$, etc actually mean, and what factors you need to be aware of that will suddenly limit your expansion, etc.

Once you get access to that basic information though, how to "win" the game isn't hard to grasp at all. It's all fundamentally the same stuff we've been going through since SimCity 2000 back in the day: Give your sims housing, employment, and keep them happy with utilities and civil services while reducing negative factors like traffic and pollution.

[zoku88]

SimCity 4 isn't really complicated so much as it has a somewhat esoteric learning curve. A good deal of the information that is necessary to understand how the simulation functions and in turn how to plan for it effectively wasn't really conveyed to you properly in-game, and it isn't really designed to teach any of that via experimentation. The change in how demand works, what R$, R$$, etc actually mean, and what factors you need to be aware of that will suddenly limit your expansion, etc. Once you get access to that basic information though, how to "win" the game isn't hard to grasp at all. It's all fundamentally the same stuff we've been going through since SimCity 2000 back in the day: Give your sims housing, employment, and keep them happy with utilities and civil services while reducing negative factors like traffic and pollution.

Pretty much this.

Water was really annoying though...

[jman2050]

Pretty much this. Water was really annoying though...

I will never ever complain about power/water in SimCity 4. Not when you consider what we had to do in 2000...

[zoku88]

I will never ever complain about power/water in SimCity 4. Not when you consider what we had to do in 2000...

I don't remember there being water in 2000..? There was? I can't remember.

I thought power was the same between the two?

Man, I need to play some 2000 again. I haven't played 2000 since I was in middle school, I think.

Finally, a true SimCity sequel. None of that facebook dogshit. I plan on getting a 30" monitor and a dual GPU set up just to make sure I can run this in awesome super HD with no slowdown.

That seems...excessive for a simcity game.

[zomgbbqftw]

Finally, a true SimCity sequel. None of that facebook dogshit.

I plan on getting a 30" monitor and a dual GPU set up just to make sure I can run this in awesome super HD with no slowdown.

[DaBuddaDa]

Hate all you want, but I hope they put in an easily accessible god mode/free mode where you can just build whatever you want to your hearts content without worrying about income. I just like looking at pretty maps and building cool shit.

[jman2050]

I don't remember there being water in 2000..? There was? I can't remember. I thought power was the same between the two? Man, I need to play some 2000 again. I haven't played 2000 since I was in middle school, I think.

Roads don't carry power in 2000, so you need to manually ensure that there are power lines between zones across roads.

Water works the same I think, it's that the effective radius of a water pipe is lower so you need more of them.

[V_Ben]

As long as it stays far far away from anything societies did, fine by me!

[Sober]

I don't remember there being water in 2000..? There was? I can't remember. I thought power was the same between the two? Man, I need to play some 2000 again. I haven't played 2000 since I was in middle school, I think.

I think pipes had an effect of 3 tiles from each side in SC4. Compare this to previous games where your pipes only had effect on the tile they were on. That made water even more tedious so I don't actually understand all the complaints about SC4 water management (water management in general I understand, but they made it so much better in 4). Same with power, iirc. At least aesthetically if you didn't like wires everywhere it worked in almost the same way.

[jman2050]

Water has a six tile radius in SC4 actually.

[Drkirby]

Are those in game shots? They look like concept art to me.

[Souldriver]

Question


Is it normal that Sim City 4 performs really badly even on a modern pc? Whenever my city gets any decent size, the whole thing starts to choke and stutter.

Is it because of Windows 7? Is it because I don't have the "right" pc components? Is it because -for some insane reason- a 9 year old game is still to heavy for my 5 months old pc? Or is it just a badly made game that just can't run smooth at all?


Either way, it's one of the contributing factors why I greatly prefer playing SC3000.

[lethial]

Awwwwwwwwww yaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

Question Is it normal that Sim City 4 performs really badly even on a modern pc? Whenever my city gets any decent size, the whole thing starts to choke and stutter. Is it because of Windows 7? Is it because I don't have the "right" pc components? Is it because -for some insane reason- a 9 year old game is still to heavy for my 5 months old pc? Or is it just a badly made game that just can't run smooth at all?

My pc isn't modern in terms of gaming right now but yes, it chugs no matter what.