Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!pt.cs.cmu.edu!sei!firth
From: firth@sei.cmu.edu (Robert Firth)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games
Subject: Re: SimCity help
Message-ID: <8824@fy.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: 1 Oct 90 13:40:31 GMT
References: <2192@nyx.UUCP>
Reply-To: firth@sei.cmu.edu (Robert Firth)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Software Engineering Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
Lines: 52

In article <2192@nyx.UUCP> kreme@nyx.UUCP (Harvey Leech) writes:
>I've been playing SimCity off and on for about a month now and I have
>discovered something very annoying about the game:
>
>	I'm not getting any better.

Well, I've managed to build cities of over 250k (without cheating),
so maybe the following thoughts will be useful.

First, as the manual says, "grow slowly".  Keep some funds in reserve
for the big builds, otherwise you'll get brownouts or demands for
stadia &c at the wrong time, and have to stand still for eight years
or so while you build up funds.

You should probably plan on having a small budget surplus each year,
so that funds build up between the big builds.  This means keeping
the tax rate fairly high - about 7% or 8% - which also helps keep
growth fairly slow.

Don't worry overmuch about popularity - I'm now able to stay above
70% most of the time, but used to get below 60% when learning the
game.  The manual reminds you that anything over 55% is adequate.
Pay attention to the complaints, but don't go overboard.  In my
experience, the one to care most about is 'housing shortage' - if
that comes onto the list, growth is going to stop.  So keep lots of
underdeveloped residential zones.  Also, try to keep crime under
control by strategically sited police stations.

Pollution is another nasty one - I find it best to mix commercial
and industrial zones, but segregate residential zones.

Build parks on every spare cell.  They are cheap, and they soon
pay for themselves in added land value.

After several bad experiences with roads, I now tend to build rail
only cities.  This actually turns out cheaper, since, while rails
are more expensive to maintain, you need a lot fewer of them.

Once you're over about 50000 you can reduce the tax rate a bit and
grow a little faster.  But to fill the entire map - which I've done
several times - be prepared to take 70 years or more.

Scenarios:  Tokyo is a fun one, play it for laughs.  Boston and Rio
can be won if you simply wait for the disaster to happen and then
clean up and rebuild slowly and methodically.  Bern is easy - just
watch where the traffic is heavy, rip out the roads, and build rails.
Start by erasing all the unused roads - including the access roads -
to save on maintenance.  I find it too painful to watch cities being
bombed (a holdover from having lived in one, perhaps) so haven't
played that scenario.

Good luck!