Comments on: CitiesXL: A First Look

By: Jim Rossignol

Jim Rossignol — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:31:01 +0000

I don’t remember that from SC4, feature-list overload :(

By: bbot

bbot — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:27:36 +0000

Jim, you’re behind the times. In SC4 zoning automatically produced roads, and plots (within the zone) aligned to them.

As for everyone whining about complexity, I thought SC4 was all right, (even though I can always use More! Complexity!) what was really egregiously missing was car licensing taxes. No matter how many subway stations I built, the little fuckers insisted on driving, and then complaining about all the pollution and noise!

By: Kommissar Nicko

Kommissar Nicko — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 08:49:32 +0000

This game seems scintillating. It’s been so long since the last good city sim, and this looks like it’s right up my alley. Honestly, I can only hope it’s at least as complicated as Sim City 4, if not more so. Taking the MMO angle seems logical enough (in fact, Maxis tried it way back with a network edition of SC2000, but I don’t think it took off).

@jarvoll, I too hope for something like what you describe someday. Maybe the new version of Tropico will get to the heart of it?

Anyway, can’t wait. I’m also sad I didn’t get in on the beta.

By: Eddie

Eddie — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:15:13 +0000

I have a theory about the failed cities. Their next property is going to be a post-apocalyptic shooter, and it’s going to use the worlds full of ruins as maps.

By: josh

josh — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:22:48 +0000

does anyone know if there are any beta keys left out there??

By: Thranx

Thranx — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:41:52 +0000

thier website is toast. Sadness.

By: jarvoll

jarvoll — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:25:48 +0000

Huh. I *totally* thought SC4 was half as complicated as it ought to have been. When Will Wright said that they thought it was too much, and wanted to scale back (i.e. the idea that became Sim City Societies), I distinctly remember thinking, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” For example, where’s the political simulation? A more detailed economic model (that, for example, allows your city to thrive on high-tech industry alone)? Social dynamics with immigration policies? National-level simulation, in which one can make a ‘nation’ of cities and towns who share national GDP, and can engage in trade, share national imports/exports, etc..?

For someone very interested in these kinds of minutae, as I am, there almost could never be enough to simulate in SC games.

By: Tei

Tei — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:41:51 +0000

I have named my first city Boatmurdered. I have created it on the center of a volcano (Mount Saint Helen, aparently). Muahahaha… o suckers!.. why is all the business bankrupt?

By: Serondal

Serondal — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:29:07 +0000

Is this more like simcity or more like those Travian series of games? Can you sit there and build all day if you want or can you only build a bit and then you gotta wait 24 hours or so before you can come back and do something diffrent? From the sound of things you can build a lot but risk going into the red if you do so. Sounds interesting will have to try and find a key tonight if I have any time at all.

By: rei

rei — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:43:52 +0000

Hurrah! Got into the beta via Strategy Informer. I’m eager to dig into it, but won’t have access to a proper computer until next week :[

By: Sam C.

Sam C. — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:05:43 +0000

I thought SimCity 4 had just the right amount of complexity. The earlier games were great in their time, and I played the crap out of all of them from SimCity Classic on, but trying to go back to the earlier versions is kind of painful. The graphics aren’t a big deal, it just seems so simplified in comparison. They’re also lacking the rewards and little hooks SC4 had. SimCity 4 had problems – some of the traffic systems were a little wonky and it could have used some more tweaking, but I still had the most fun with it I think.

Hopefully this beta whets my appetite for some city building.

By: Rich_P

Rich_P — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:53:20 +0000

Agreed Parker. SimCity 4 might be the most beautiful, complex, and detailed city builder to date, but SimCity 2000 and 3000 are still more fun to actually play.

I view SC4 as a fancy model kit, designed for the people who enjoy spending hours painting and building model railroad towns. SimTropolis must have hundreds of city journals detailing their creators’ painstaking effort to sculpt the perfect city. It’s quite a unique method of art and storytelling.

As far as growing a city for shits, giggles, and fun goes, SC4 is probably the worst in the series. Shame I can’t import SC4′s graphics into SC2000 :D