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- SimCity 2000 From Maxis
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- Complete Docs
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- Contents:
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- INTRODUCTION..............................1
- ABOUT THIS MANUAL.................3
- FROM SIMCITY TO SIMCITY 2000......4
- GETTING STARTED...................4
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- TUTORIALS.................................5
- BEFORE YOU BEGIN..................7
- TUTORIAL 1-THE BASICS............10
- TUTORIAL 2-LANDSCAPE ENGINEERING.25
- TUTORIAL 3-ADVANCED FEATURES.....33
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- REFERENCE................................45
- THE BASICS.......................46
- MENUS............................50
- File Menu.....................50
- Options Menu..................51
- Disasters Menu................52
- Windows Menu..................53
- Newspaper Menu................54
- WINDOWS..........................55
- City Window....................55
- Map Window.....................78
- Budget Window..................81
- Transportation.................82
- Ordinance Window...............89
- Population Window..............92
- Industries Window..............93
- Graphs Window..................94
- Neighbors Window...............96
- INSIDE THE SIMULATION............97
- STRATEGIES......................119
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- Page i SimCity 2000
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- INTRODUCTION
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- Welcome to SimCity 2000.
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- When you play SimCity 2000, you become the planner, designer
- and mayor of an unlimited number of cities. You can take over and
- run any of the included scenario cities, or build your own from the
- ground up.
-
- You're in charge. You can choose to build small, rural towns, or
- huge bustling megalopolises. As you design and build your cities,
- simulated citizens, known as Sims, move in and build their homes,
- stores and workplaces, raise their families and invite their friends.
- If your city is a nice place to live, your population will increase. If
- it's not, your Sims will leave town. And be assured that they'll let
- you know what they think about you and your policies.
-
- One of the toughest challenges of SimCity 2000 is to maintain a
- huge city without sacrificing your Sims' quality of life, without
- going broke maintaining the infrastructure, and without raising
- taxes so high that businesses relocate. SimCity 2000 lets you face
- the same dilemmas that mayors all over the world are facing.
- We've all said at one time or another that we could do a better job
- than our elected officials-here's your chance to prove it.
-
- SimCity 2000 is primarily a "building" game, where you create and
- try to increase the size of your cities-but you also have plenty of
- opportunities to destroy. From bulldozers to earthquakes to air
- crashes, the implements of destruction are only a mouse-click
- away. But remember, it's a lot more challenging to build than to
- destroy, and the lives, hopes and dreams of millions of Sims are
- in your hands.
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- Page 2 SimCity 2000 - Introduction
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- ABOUT THIS MANUAL
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- This manual is divided into four main sections:
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- The Introduction welcomes you to SimCity 2000, explains a little
- about the manual in general, helps you get the game up and
- running on your computer and sends you on your way to play.
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- The Tutorials are small guided tours through different aspects of
- city-building with SimCity 2000.
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- The Reference section describes in detail all the windows, but-
- tons, features and functions of SimCity 2000, and explains much
- the behind-the-scenes simulation action.
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- The Gallery section consists of contributions from a number of
- people to give you varying views, feelings, interpretations and
- predictions about real cities in words and pictures. Some of these
- Individual pieces are located at the back of the manual in the
- "official" Gallery section. Others are spread throughout the rest of
- the manual.
-
- And for those who are familiar with an earlier version of SimCity,
- there is an Appendix that lists SimCity 2000's new features and
- differences from the earlier versions.
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- In addition, the SimCity 2000 package includes a machine-specific
- Addendum to cover installation, startup, and any special features
- and functions on your computer.
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- Page 3 SimCity 2000 - Introduction
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- FROM SIMCITY TO SIMCITY 2000
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- If you're already familiar with an earlier version of SimCity, then
- you should have no trouble moving into SimCity 2000. If you
- haven't played SimCity before, then skip the rest of this section.
- You will not be quizzed on this material.
-
- A few major features have changed and some tools have moved
- since the earlier versions of the game, so you may have just a little
- trouble finding things. A summary of all the changes and differ-
- ences between the programs can be found in the Appendix. But to
- help you get started, here are the three most-asked questions by
- SimCity users when we sat them down in front of SimCity 2000:
-
- ú Where the heck are the power plants?
- They're in a submenu under the power icon. Select Power Plant
- from the submenu and you'll have a choice of from three to nine
- different power sources, depending on the city's date.
-
- ú I click and click-why won't the durn thing set down zones?
- Instead of the fixed-size zones that you plop down, SimCity 2000
- lets you make any size square or rectangular zone by clicking and
- dragging the mouse where you want to zone. You can zone over
- roads and rails, and place roads and rails in zones. By the way,
- airports and seaports are placed the same way as zones.
-
- ú What's the deal with the water system?
- We've added a water system to the game, including pumps, pipes,
- treatment plants, water towers and desalinization plants. You
- don't need to worry about water to start a city. But you will need
- a water system before the population can grow very dense.
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- GETTING STARTED
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- SimCity 2000 must be installed toahard disk before it can be run.
- Please look in the machin&specific Addendum for complete in-
- structions on installing SimCity 2000 to your hard disk and on
- starting the program.
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- Once you're up and running, feel free to jump right in and play, or
- if you want some guidance and a quick introduction to the main
- features and functions of the game, check out the tutorials.
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- Page 4 SimCity 2000 - Introduction
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- Tutorials
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- Congratulations! By the virtue of owning SimCity 2000 you are
- hereby proclaimed Mayor of a million cities and ruler of a billion
- simulated lives (your Sims). It's a tough game, but somebody's
- gotta play it.
-
- These tutorials are designed to help you adjust to your new office
- with as little transition time as possible.
-
- There are three tutorials, each designed to be finished in one
- short sitting so you can get them out of the way and get on with
- the important business of building and running your cities. The
- first one is a general overview of the basic features of SimCity
- 2000 enough so you can start a new city, and get going on your
- own. The second one focuses on creating, editing and modifying
- your city's terrain, both before and after you've begun building
- your city. The third one goes into detail on a few of the advanced
- features.
-
- We suggest that you whip through the first tutorial, then go play
- on your own for a while. You may figure everything else out on
- your own, and never need the other tutorials, but they're here if
- and when you want them.
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- Page 6 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- BEFORE YOU BEGIN
- Mouse And Keyboard Stuff
-
- Before jumping into the tutorials, take a moment to look over the
- following skills and conventions that will make your stay in
- SimCity 2000 a pleasant one.
-
- SimCity 2000 requires a mouse. To play, you must know how to
- use a mouse for the following actions:
-
- ú Click-point the cursor to an object and briefly press the
- left (or only) mouse button.
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- ú Doubleclick-point the cursor to an object and briefly
- press the left (or only) mouse button twice quickly.
-
- ú Click and drag-point the cursor to an object, then press
- and hold the left (or only) mouse button, then move the
- mouse to drag the object. Release the mouse button to
- release the object.
-
- Unless otherwise specified, whenever this manual refers to click-
- ing, doubleclicking or clicking and dragging, use the left (or only)
- mouse button.
-
- When you see the term "Shift-click," it means to hold down either
- Shift key on the keyboard and click the mouse button.
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- When you see the term 'Option/Control-click," it means:
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- ú On a Macintosh you should hold down the Option key on
- the keyboard while you click; or
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- ú On a DOS or Windows-based computer you should hold
- down the Control key on the keyboard while you click.
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- Page 7 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- INSTRUCTIONS AND EXPLANATIONS
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- To prepare you for building your city in the rest of this tutorial
- here is a basic explanation of exactly what is city in SimCity 2000
- is made of.
-
- While SimCity has many layers of complexity and lots and lots of
- features and all sorts of stuff to put in your city, it's fairly easy to
- get a small city started. All you need is:
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- ú A place for the Sims to live: a residential zone
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- ú A place for the Sims to work: an industrial zone
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- ú A place for the Sims to shop and conduct business: a commercial zone
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- ú A source of power: a power plant
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- ú A way to get the power from the power plant to the zones: power lines
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- ú A way for Sims to travel between work, home or shops: roads
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- That's all you need to build, and Sims with that pioneering spirit
- will move into your city and build their own houses, factories and
- offices. They'll drive their cars and carry on business and com-
- plain about taxes. If you build it, they will simulate.
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- Page 8 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- Once your city has begun to grow, you can add:
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- ú More zones with different density levels
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- ú Multiple above and below-ground means of transportation
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- ú A complete water system
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- ú Custom landscaping
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- ú Airports and seaports
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- ú Police and fire stations
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- ú Educational and recreational facilities
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- ú A whole lot more
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- Enough talk ... time for a simulating experience.
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- Page 9 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- TUTORIAL 1 - THE BASICS
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- If you haven't already, take a look at your machine-specific
- Addendum, and install SimCity 2000 to your hard drive.
-
- Start SimCity 2000.
-
- See your Addendum for instructions.
-
- Either the first time you play the game or during installation, you
- will be asked to enter your name to personalize your copy of
- SimCity 2000. Be sure to type your full name - and be polite
- because the name that you type in will appear a number of times
- and places in the game.
-
- Soon a list of four choices will appear; it's time for your first real
- decision. Here you can load a city that you've already saved, start
- a brand-new city, edit a new map (we'll be doing this in Tutorial 2),
- or play one of the pre-built scenarios. For this tutorial, we'll want
- to start a new city.
-
- Click on Start New City.
-
- In mere moments you'll see a dialog box that asks you to make
- three decisions: how hard or easy you want your game to be, what
- year the game should start, and what your new city should be
- named. The defaults are Easy and 1900, which will be just fine, so
- all we need to do is type in the name.
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- Make sure the City Name is highlighted and type in: Tutorial 1 City.
-
- Click on Done.
- Note: On the Macintosh or other computers that
- allow long file names, the city name you type here
- will also be your file name. On computers that
- run DOS or Windows, where file names must be
- shorter, you'll get to type in a file name when you
- save the city to disk.
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- Page 10 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- Soon the founding of your city will be announced in the
- newspaper. The newspaper is your tool for staying in touch
- with your adoring SimConstituents.
-
- Click on the headline. Read the story that zooms out. Click again.
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- Open and eead the other stories if you like, by clicking on them.
-
- Click In the Close box In the upper-left comer of the Newspaper
- to send It to the recycling bin.
-
- You are now looking at the City window, where you will spend
- most of your time as you build, run and rule your city.
-
- At the top of the window is the Title bar. It contains the current city
- date, the city name, and the amount of money you have in your
- city treasury.
-
- Over on the left side of the screen is the City toolbar. It has lots of
- buttons-your tools for creating and running your city.
-
- Note: Every January, the Budget window will pop
- up. For now, just click on its Done button to make
- it go away. We'll worry about the budget later. If
- the Newspaper pops up, click on its close box.
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- Page 11 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- In the window itself you see the site of your city-to-be. A pristine
- wilderness: bare land, some forest areas and some flowing water.
- And the land isn't flat-there are hills and valleys, peaks and
- canyons. The terrain is divided into tiny squares. Each of these
- squares is called a "tile." Each tile is approximately one acre, or a
- 200 x 200 foot square.
-
- We'll explore your new domain in a moment, but first, we need to
- take a detour and go straight to the top ... of your screen.
-
- At the top of your screen is, of course, the Menu bar. These menus
- are well-behaved and work just like the menus in your other
- programs. Click and hold on the menu name to open the menu,
- slide the cursor to the menu item you want to activate, then
- release the mouse button.
-
- Take a moment and open each of the menus, revealing their hidden
- glory.
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- Once you've looked them over:
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- Open the Options menu.
- Select Auto-Budget.
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- This option makes the simulation repeat the same budget until
- you tell it otherwise and stops that pesky Budget window from
- popping up and spoiling your view.
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- Open the Disasters menu.
- Select No Disasters.
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- This setting keeps random disasters from occurring. (Those
- disasters really mess up a tutorial.)
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- Page 12 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- And speaking of views, behold the vistas and valleys of your city-
- to-be. How'd you like another angle on the place?
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- Click on the Rotate CounterClockwise bullon in the City toolbar.
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- Do It again.
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- Click on the Rotate Clockwise button until you find the angle that
- pleases you.
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- As you can see, you can rotate the city and view it from all sides.
- This'll come in very handy later, when you're building your city.
- What's that? You want a closer view? No problem.
-
- Click once on the Zoom In button in the City toolbar.
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- How's that? Closer?
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- Click again on the Zoom In button.
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- That's as close as you get. (Notice that the Zoom In button is
- ghosted and unavailable.) Now that you're here, how do you get
- around? Let's zoom out for a wider view, then do some travelin'.
-
- Click once on the Zoom Out button.
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- Click on the Center button.
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- Click anywhere on the landscape.
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- The landscape will redraw in the City window, centered on the
- spot where you clicked. You can also use the Scroll bars to move
- around the landscape, but the Center button gives you more
- precise control.
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- Page 13 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME
-
- Time to pick a spot to found your city. Since each landscape
- generated by SimCity 2000 is different, the landscape on your
- screen, and therefore the city that you build, won't look exactly
- like the one in this manual-but it should be close. Kinda. Sorta.
- Maybe.
-
- Click on the Zoom Out button until you are as far out as you can get.
-
- Look for a nice, flat spot.
-
- If there is water nearby, or even running through your spot, all the
- better, but not necessary. If there is no spot in your city that you
- are willing to call home, then open the File menu, and select New
- City. You'll be asked if you want to save the old one - click No.
- Then a new landscape will be generated, and you'll get to name
- your city and all that other stuff you did a few pages ago. You can
- repeat this until you find a home.
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- Once you're satisfied, then it's time to zone out.
-
- As mentioned in What Makes a (Sim)City above, we'll need three
- kinds of zones in our city: residential, where the Sims live,
- commercial, for offices and stores, and industrial, for factories.
-
- Survey your chosen territory and pick a spot to zone residential. If
- there is water nearby, include some waterfront in your zone.
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- Click on the Residential Zone button.
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- Click and drag on the landscape to form a rectangle where you want to
- make a residential zone.
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- You can zone right over hills and trees.
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- Page 14 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- Now find a spot for the industrial zone. It is in your Sims' best
- interest to leave a bit of a buffer zone between residential and
- industrial zones.
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- Click on the Industrial Zone button.
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- Click and drag on the landscape to form a rectangle where you want
- to make an Industrial zone.
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- Now find a spot for a commercial zone. Close to residential is
- handy. Some waterfront is nice, but not necessary.
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- Click on the Commerelal Zone button.
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- Click and drag on the landscape to form a rectangle where you want
- to make a commercial zone.
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- Page 15 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- POWER TO THE PEOPLE
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- The Sims that live in SimCities may have that pioneering spirit, but
- they won't move in until you supply electric power. After all, they
- are electronic life-forms.
-
- To supply power, you need a power plant of some sort and power
- lines to get the power to where you want it. Both of these things
- are available from the Power button in the City toolbar.
-
- Click and hold on the Power button in the City toolbar.
-
- Move the cursor to highlight Power Plant... and release the mouse
- button.
-
- An assortment of power plants will appear, with pictures of,
- prices for and outputs from each plant. There is also an INFO
- button for each power plant that brings up even more fascinating
- facts. Power plants are not available to you until the city year
- reaches the time when that technology is available.
- words, you can't have nuclear fusion in 1901.
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- Click on the Coal Power Plant.
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- The power plant assortment will disappear, and a grey 4 x 4 tile
- shadow will follow the cursor. This is the size of the base of the
- power plant. Find a plac~preferably near your industrial zone
- and far from your residential zon~to place the power plant. It
- must be placed on flat ground.
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- Click on the terraIn to place your power plant.
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- Page 16 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- I'VE GOT A LINE ON YOU
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- Now we need to power up the zones. We'll need power lines to get
- the power from the power plant to each zone. Power won't travel
- from zone to zone without power lines, even if they're touching.
- Within zones, the building-to-building power lines are built by the
- Sims when they build their buildings. (But that's a private sector
- problem-you only have to power up each zone.)
-
- Placing power lines can be a bit tricky, so it's best to zoom in as
- close as you can get.
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- Click on the Center button.
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- Click on your power plant.
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- Click on the Zoom In button until you are as close as you can get.
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- Click and hold on the Power button in the City toolbar.
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- Move the cursor to highlight Power Lines and release the mouse
- button.
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- You're ready to lay some power lines.
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- Click or click and drag to place power lines that connect the power
- plant to each of your zones.
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- If you place power lines that aren't connected to power, they'll
- blink to indicate that they aren't hooked up yet. If your power lines
- flash, then you've missed a connection. You may have to rotate
- the terrain to get a good look at your power plant from all sides.
-
- Note: Laying power lines in hilly areas can be
- tricky. You may have to rotate the landscape and
- zoom in for a good close look. Try to stay on flat
- land for this tutorial
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- Page 17 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- THE DRIVE TO THRIVE
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- Now all we need is a transportation system, and your town should
- be ready for some Sims to move in.
-
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- Click on the Road bulton in the Cily toolbar. out.
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- Click and drag through and around your zones to set up a network of
- roads.
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- By the time you get your roads down, some Sims should be
- moving into your town.
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- Power cannot travel through roads without wires, so place power
- lines across the roads to make sure each section of every zone has
- power.
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- Click and hold on the Power button and select Power Lines again.
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- Place power lines across the roads to connect all parts of each zone.
-
- Now sit patiently for a few minutes as your city slowly begins to
- grow.
-
- Note: If nobody moves into your city, then it's
- either because the zones aren't powered up, or
- the residential and industrial zones are too far
- apart. Sims like to drive their cars, but they hate
- to commute very far.
-
- YOUR JUST DESSERTS
-
- Your city should be growing now. Go ahead and add some more
- zones, or play with roads to get in some practice. Fairly soon a
- newspaper will announce to the world that your little town has
- reached the lofty population of 2000, and as a reward, you may
- build yourself a house.
-
- Note: if you don't get this message after 5 or 7
- minutes, then you may not have made your zones
- large enough.
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- Page 18 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- This is but the first of many rewards that you will reap as mayor
- of SimCity. Rewards are based on population, and include your
- own house, a city hall, a statue in your honor and ... well, you'll find
- out.
-
- Rewards show up under the Reward button in the City toolbar,
- which is ghosted and unavailable most of the time. Once you
- reach the population of 2000, then the Reward button will no
- longer be ghosted.
-
- Click and hold on the Reward button, slide the cursor to Mayor's
- House and release the mouse button.
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- Place your house In a prestigious spot, preferably with a good view.
-
- Connect your house to the rest of the town with roads and power lines.
-
- Congratulations. You've successfully taken a hunk of barren dirt and
- built a small city. But this is no time to rest on your laurels. For
- now, save your city to disk, then we'll move on.
-
- Open the file menu.
-
- Select Save City.
-
- Depending on your computer, it will either go ahead and save
- without asking you any questions, or prompt you for a location
- and file name. See your machin&specific Addendum for details on
- saving files and file names.
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- Page 19 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- BELLY ON UP TO THE [TOOL]BAR
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- Let's take a quick look at the City toolbar. If it ever gets in your way The bull
- you can move it around the screen by clicking and dragging the
- bar at the top.
-
- An important-and useful-thing to remember is the built-in
- help. Aust hold down either Shift key, and click on any button in the
- toolbar for a complete explanation of what the button does.
-
- All of the buttons in the top five rows activate submenus that give the
- button more power and flexibility. You've already seen that with the
- Power button.
-
- Click and hold on all the buttons in the top five
- rows, one by one, to see all their submenus.
-
- Two of the buttons will not do anything: the Reward button and the
- Emergency button. The Emergency button, which lets you dispatch
- police and fire departments to the scene of an emergency, only works
- during an emergency. And as you already know, the Reward button
- only lights up as you reach certain population levels.
-
- Seeing all those submenus should assure you that there's a lot more to
- mastering SimCity 2000 than building a town of 2000 people. Many of these
- features will be covered in Tutorial 3, but there are a few items that
- will prove useful to you right away: the bulldozer, landscaping and
- building bridges.
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- Page 20 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- DOIN' SOME DOZIN'
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- The bulldozer has a number of uses, but for now we'll concentrate
- its Demolish/Clear function.
-
- Click and hold on the Bulldozer button.
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- Highlight Demolish/Clear.
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- Now go on a rampage through your city. Bulldoze any extra
- sections of road, abandoned factories or anything else you'd care
- to eliminate. (Don't worry, the city has been saved to disk, you can
- undo any damage you do by loading it back in.)
-
- The first time you 'doze something, it turns it to rubble (with quite
- a jolly explosion). 'Doze it again to clear the rubble.
-
- The Landscape button lets you add trees or water to the land-
- scape. Click and hold on the Landscape button.
-
- Highlight Trees and release the mouse button.
-
- Click or click and drag across the land to add trees.
-
- Trees add value to land as well as an aesthetic touch to your
- creation. Now for water.
-
- Click and hold on the Landscape button.
- HighlIght Water and release the mouse button.
- Click or click and drag across the land to make a small lake - but keep
- it small, adding water is expensive.
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- Water also adds value to land, and has recreational value, too.
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- Page 21 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
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- A LITTLE BRIDGEWORK
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- And speaking of water, how do you make your roads cross it?
-
- Locate and center the screen on a lake or river that has flat land
- surrounding it.
-
- Click on the Road button.
-
- Click and drag the cursor so it crosses the lake or river.
-
- Just by laying a road over water, the SimConstruction crew knows
- that you need a bridge. So they pop up this dialog box to let you
- decide what kind of bridge you want and tell you how much it'll
- cost. There is also an Info button you can press for more informa-
- tion on each type of bridge. Depending on the year in your city,
- and the width of the water, you will be shown a choice of one, two
- or three different bridges you can build. For now, go ahead and
- build a causeway bridge.
-
- Click on the Causeway bullon to build the bridge.
-
- The causeway is only one of the three types of bridges that you
- can have in SimCity 2000. Let's build another one, or two if they are
- all available.
-
- Click and drag across the water next to the causeway.
-
- When given the choice of bridges, build a raising bridge, if it is
- available.
-
- Now build a suspension bridge if it is available.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 22 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
-
- A handy-dandy feature of SimCity 2000 is the ability to add signs to
- buildings or spots of interest in your city.
-
- Click on the Sign button.
-
- Click on one of the bridges you just built.
-
- Type "Orthodontist's Dream" into the dialog box.
-
- Click the Done button.
-
-
- At the bottom of the City toolbar are six buttons. The one with the
- question mark brings up a reminder that you can get help on each
- button of the toolbar by holding down the Shift key and clicking on
- the button.
-
- To the left of the help button is the Underground button. Clicking
- on it reveals SimCity's soft white underbelly, where you can build
- an underground transportation system and run water to all your
- city's buildings. Clicking on it again takes you back up to the
- surface.
-
- The four buttons above Help and Underground are Show Buildings,
- Show Signs, Show Infrastructure and Show Zones. Each of these
- buttons toggles on and off different parts of the city. The parts
- aren't destroyed, theyjust turn invisible until you want to see them
- again.
-
- Zoom out, center on the built-up part of your city and play with the four
- Show buttons, the Underground button and the Help button forawhile.
-
- Hang in there. We're almost done with Tutorial 1!
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 23 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- YOU'RE IN DEMAND
-
- Now take a look at the City toolbar and pick out the and Indicator. This
- lets you know what type of zones are in demand in your city. The bars
- stick up to show demand and down to show oversupply for Residential,
- commercial and Industrial zones.
-
- WHAT A PANE
-
- To the left of the Demand Indicator are six buttons. Each of these
- buttons opens small information windows that sit on top of the
- City window. The information in these windows helps you under
- stand what's going on in your city, and helps you keep things
- running smoothly. Some of them will be covered in Tutorial 3. All
- of them are explained in detail in the Reference section.
-
- Most of these buttons (all but the one with the money sign) work
- in two ways:
-
- 1. Click and hold on them to see a small pop-up information
- display that disappears when you let go of the mouse button.
-
- 2. Click and drag them away from the toolbar to open a window that stays
- until you tell it to go away.
-
- One at a time, click and hold on each of the six buttons, take a quick
- look at what comes up, then release the mouse button. (Note that the
- Budget window stays there unless you click the Done button.)
-
- One at a time, click and drag each of the six buttons to open all the
- windows.
-
- Close all the windows.
-
- Well, that's it for Tutorial 1. When you're ready for more, check out
- the next two tutorials. And the Reference section is always there
- when you need it for details on every window, toolbar and button.
- Now go play.
-
- Play.
-
- Have fun.
-
- Have more fun.
-
-
-
- Page 24 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
-
- Welcome back. In this tutorial, we'll be modifying and customizing
- the landforms that you build your cities on.
-
- In the last tutorial we touched on adding trees and water with the
- Landscape button, and looked at the submenu under the Bull-
- dozer button. These are powerful tools for molding, shaping and
- beautifying the land. But if you make drastic changes, it can drain
- your city's treasury.
-
- All the time you spent in Tutorial 1 was in "City-Building mode." As
- an alternative, SimCity 2000 has a "Terrain-Editing mode" that
- allows you to make all the modifications to the land you want - at
- no charge - before you actually start your city. When you've
- created the perfect locale for a new town, you can switch to City
- mode and start building. But you can't switch back. Sorry, them's
- the rules.
-
- Enough gabbing. Put on your work boots and grab your hard
- hat-we've got mountains to move.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 24 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- TUTORIAL 2 - LANDSCAPE ENGINEERING
-
- Welcome back. In this tutorial, we'll be modifying and customizing
- the landforms that you build your cities on.
-
- In the last tutorial we touched on adding trees and water with the
- Landscape button, and looked at the submenu under the Bull-
- dozer button. These are powerful tools for molding, shaping and
- beautifying the land. But if you make drastic changes, it can drain
- your city's treasury.
-
- All the time you spent in Tutorial 1 was in "City-Building mode." As
- an alternative, SimCity 2000 has a "Terrain-Editing mode" that
- allows you to make all the modifications to the land you want - at
- no charge - before you actually start your city. When you've
- created the perfect locale for a new town, you can switch to City
- mode and start building. But you can't switch back. Sorry, them's
- the rules.
-
- Enough gabbing. Put on your work boots and grab your hard
- hat - we've got mountains to move.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 25 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
- IN THE MODE
-
- First, we'll get into Terrain-Editing mode.
-
- If SimCity 2000 isn't running now, start it up. You'll soon see this
- dialog box:
-
- Click Edit New Map.
-
- If SimCity 2000 is already running, and you've been playing for a
- while, save whatever you're working on (if you wish) and:
-
- Click on the Zoom Out button until you are all the way out.
-
- Open the File menu.
-
- Select Edit New Map.
-
- This is the same old City window as in Tutorial 1, but
- with a big difference - this time we're in Terrain mode,
- and the City toolbar has been replaced by the Terrain
- tool bar.
-
- Near the bottom of the toolbar are six buttons that you are already
- familiar with. The Zoom In, Zoom Out, Rotate, Center and Help buttons
- work here exactly as they do in the City toolbar.
-
- And, of course, if you ever need a reminder of what a button does, hold
- down either Shift key and click on the button.
-
-
-
-
- Page 26 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- MY GENERATION
-
- The top section of the Terrain toolbar gives you a good head start
- on reaching that perfect landform by letting you select some
- general characteristics that you want, then generating the land to
- your specifications. Once generated, you can customize it to your
- heart's content.
-
- The Coast button lets you choose to (or not to) have an ocean
- coastline along one side of your city.
-
- The River button lets you choose whether or not a river runs
- through it.
-
- The three slider bars let you set how much of the land you want
- to be covered by mountains, water and trees. To set the slider
- bars, you can either click and drag them or just click at your
- desired setting. The higher the bar, the more mountain, water and
- tree coverage.
-
- When you've finished with the Coast and River buttons and the
- sliders, clicking on the Make button generates the new landform.
-
- To test it out, try generating landforms with each of theses settings:
-
- Set the buttons and sliders to match example one, to the right
-
- Click on the Make button.
-
- Look over the landscape.
-
- Repeat for the other two examples.
-
- With the two buttons and three sliders you can create an almost
- unlimited number of Iandforms. Play around with generating
- landforms for a while if you wish, then generate the landform from
- example 3.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 27 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- DID THE EARTH MOVE FOR YOU, TOO?
-
- You should be looking at something approximately like this:
-
- ( INSERT K3WL PICTURE HERE!! - D.L. )
-
- Note: As you go through the rest of this tutorial, feel free to zoom
- in for a closer look and rotate to get a different angle on your
- creation. You already know how to do it, so I won't bore you with
- the details.
-
- Look over the terrain and pick a nice, big, flat, boring spot. We'll
- use the Raise Terrain tool to give it a lift.
-
- Click on the Ralse Terrain button.
-
- Click and drag on a flat spot of land to build a huge mountaln.
-
- MAKING MOLEHILLS OUT OF MOUNTAINS
-
- Well, maybe that mountain is a bit too high for this flat, prairie-like
- wilderness. Let's bring it down with the Lower Terrain tool.
-
- Click on the Lower Terrain button.
-
- Trim the mountaln down to size, but not too small.
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 28 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- ON THE LEVEL
-
- Sometimes you need to flatten out the top of a mountain and form
- terraces to make some usable, level space. That's where the Level
- Terrain tool comes in.
-
- Note: If you don 't have enough of your mountain left after lowering it,
- use the Raise Terrain tool to build it back up again.
-
- Click on the Level Terrain button.
-
- Click and hold somewhere on your mountaln near - but not at - the top.
-
- Drag the cursor across the top of the mountaln to chop it off.
-
- You probably noticed that the Level Terrain tool raises land to
- your chosen level as well as lowers it. Now make some terraces on
- your mountain.
-
- When you do a lot of terrain modifications, you will sometimes see
- grey triangular areas. These are actually cement supports to keep
- the land from shifting or caving in. SimConstruction engineers are
- trained professionals who know how to do their jobs.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 29 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- A BIT OF A STRETCH
-
- The Stretch Terrain tool lets you grab a section of land and
- stretch it up into a mountain or pull it down to a mesa or canyon.
-
- Locate a flat, empty section of land.
-
- Click on the Stretch Terrain tool.
-
- Click and hold on the land, drag it upwards to create a pyramid-like
- mountain, and release the mouse button.
-
- Click on the top of the mountaln and drag it down to flatten it into a
- mesa.
-
- Click and hold on the side of the mountaln and drag the cursor down
- to carve out a canyon.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 30 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- WATER YOU THINKIN' ABOUT?
-
- Enough of this dealing with dirt-let's get wet. There are a few
- water tools in the Terrain toolbar. One works just like the Water
- setting on the Landscape button in the City toolbar. The other is
- a little more powerful-and little more unpredictable. It lets you
- place flowing streams.
-
- Find or build a small hill somewhere In the terrain.
-
- Click on the Water button.
-
- Click and drag on the flat terrain at the foot of the hill.
-
- Click on the Place Stream button.
-
- Click at the top of the hill to send a stream running down into the lake.
-
- Click a few more times In the same area to produce a cascading
- waterfall.
-
- There are also buttons that let you raise and lower sea level.
-
- Click on the Zoom Out button until you are all the way out.
-
- Click once on the Raise Sea Level button.
-
- Click twice on the Lower Sea Level button.
-
- Click again on the Ralse Sea Level button.
-
- These buttons let you turn mountains into a chain of islands, turn
- wet grassland into a desert, or create swampland if you know any
- rich suckers.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 31 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- OUT IN THE WOODS
- SimCity 2000 lets you add trees and forests to your landscape,
- with (of all things) the Tree and Forest buttons.
-
- Find a spot in the terrain that is sadly lacking trees.
-
- Click on the Tree button.
-
- Click and drag across the barren plaln to plant some trees.
-
- Click on the Forest button.
-
- Click and drag across the plain to plant a lot of trees.
-
- CITY A LA MODE
-
- You are now the master of land, sea and forest, able to shape them
- to suit your whims. If you wish, take some time and play around
- with the landscape. When you're ready to get a city going, then
- head for the Done button at the bottom of the Terrain toolbar. It
- sends you into City mode, changes the toolbar, and starts time in
- the city.
-
- Click Done and start building a city.
-
- You'll find the Raise Terrain, Lower Terrain and Level Terrain
- functions in the submenu under the Bulldozer button. But remem-
- ber: in City mode, you'll be charged for each tile you raise, lower
- or level.
-
- If and when you feel like it, Tutorial 3 is just around the corner, type of £
- filled with useful advanced city-building techniques.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 32 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- TUTORIAL 3 - ADVANCED FEATURES
-
- If you're here then you must already be an experienced mayor
- with complete mastery of all the tools and techniques in Tutorials
- 1 and 2. Either that or you're so excited about the advanced
- features of SimCity 2000 that you just couldn't wait.
-
- In any event, in this tutorial, you will:
-
- ú Load in your old city from Tutorial 1.
-
- ú Take a look around with the Query tool.
-
- ú Add police and fire protection.
-
- ú Take a quick look at all the smaller windows and get an idea
- of what they do.
-
- ú Play with the Budget window and city finance.
-
- ú Make a couple political deals in the Council window.
-
- ú Deal with an emergency.
-
- A NEW BEGINING
-
- If SimCity 2000 isn't running now, start it up. You'll soon see this
- dialog box:
-
- Click Load Saved City.
-
- Load your city from the end of Tutorial 1.
-
- If SimCity 2000 is already running, and you've been playing for a
- while, save whatever you're working on (if you wish) and:
-
- Open the File menu.
-
- Select Load City.
-
- Load your city from the end of Tutorial 1.
-
- Note: Loading cities is a little different for each type of computer.
- See your machine-specific Addendum for details.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 33 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
- Within seconds, you will be looking over the familiar landscape of
- Tutorial 1 City. Before moving on, let's do a couple things: turn on
- and hold on the City Services button in the City toolbar.
-
- Select Police from the submenu.
-
- Place the police station somewhere in your city.
-
- Click and hold on the City Services button again.
-
- Select Fire Station from the submenu. Notice the Rer
-
- Place a fire station somewhere in your city, possibly near
- police station.
-
- Make sure the stations have power and access to roads.
-
- THE QUERY THEORY
-
- Inquiring mayors want and need to know what's going on in their
- towns. And whether you need to research important city issues or
- are just curious, the Query tool gives you the low-down on your
- city.
-
- Click on the Query button in the City toolbar.
-
- Click on a house in your residential zone.
-
-
- An information box has popped up with all the vital stats the simulator
- has about the spot where you clicked.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 34 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- Click on the Information box to close it.
-
- Click on your police station.
-
- Once again an information box has opened, but this time with different
- information - information that is important in judging the effectiveness
- of a police station. Whenever you query a place in your city, you will
- see the most useful information for that place. Pay attention to the
- numbers of officers, crimes and arrests in this box, and scribble them
- down on a piece of paper if you have one handy. Later on we'll see what
- cutting the police budget does to these numbers.
-
- Notice the Rename button. SimCity 2000 allows you to personalize
- your city by renaming many of the buildings and locations.
-
- Click on the Rename button.
-
- Type In your own name for your police department, something like,
- "Tutorial Enforcement Unit," or "Sims In Blue."
-
- Click the Done button.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 35 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- THE WHIRLWIND[OW]
-
- Other than a brief glimpse at the other windows in Tutorial 1,
- we've spent almost the whole time in the City window. The City
- window is the mainstay of SimCity 2000. It stays active even when
- other windows are open on top of it. Clicking on the City window
- won't bring it to the front, covering any of the other, smaller
- windows on the screen. When you place the other windows, try
- not to cover the City window's Scroll bars.
-
- After the City window, the Map window is the most-used and most
- versatile.
-
- Click and drag the Map window button in the City toolbar away from
- the toolbar to open the Map window.
-
- Click In the Grow box in the upper right corner to enlarge the Map
- window.
-
- Welcome to the Map window. It shows a number of different map displays
- that give you location-based information about your city. You can open it
- either through the Windows menu or with the Map window button in the
- City toolbar.
-
- Somewhere on the map is a white rectangle. The rectangle shows the area
- of the map that is currently visible in the City window. When you click
- on the map, you move the rectangle, and the city window redraws to show
- the new area in the rectangle.
-
- Click on the map a few times to move the rectangle, and see how the City
- window changes.
-
- Click on the map, over the middle of your city.
-
- The buttons along the left side of the Map window let you choose
- different map displays. Some of the buttons have submenus for
- even more displays. Let's take a quick look at all the map displays.
-
-
-
- Page 36 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
-
- Note: In map displays that show density or coverage, the darker the
- greyscale, the higher the density.
-
- Click and hold on the top Map window button.
-
- Select the first Item In the submenu and release the mouse button. Take
- a look at the map.
-
- Repeat for every item of every submenu of every Map window
- button - except the very last button. (Don't worry, it won't take very
- long; some of the buttons don't have submenus.)
-
- The last Map window button doesn't change the view in the Map
- window-it turns the City window into a super-duper-extra-large
- map. (This is the City window's Map mode.) Clicking the button
- again returns the City window to its normal state. Sometimes you
- need a huge, detailed map to see all the finer details of your city.
-
- Click on the last Map window button.
-
- Take a look, then click on it agaln.
-
- Click in the Close box to close the Map window.
-
- The Graphs window shows time-based information about the people, places
- and problems in your city. Use it for identifying and tracking trends and
- changes in things like pollution, land value, and levels of health and
- education. You can open it from the Windows menu or by clicking and
- dragging the Graphs window button in the City toolbar.
-
- Click and drag the Graphs window button on the City toolbar to open the
- Graphs window.
-
- Spend 2 minutes and 37 seconds turning on and off each of
- the graphs, and changing the scale Irom 1 to 10 to 100 years.
-
- Close the Graphs window.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 37 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- The Population window gives you information about the people
- in your city, and their levels of health and education. You can open
- the Population window in the usual ways.
-
- Click and drag the Population window button on the City toolbar.
-
- Click on each of the three buttons at the bottom of the window and
- look at each of the three displays.
-
- Close the Population window.
-
- The Industries window shows the ratio of the different types of industries
- in your city. It also shows which industries' products are in demand
- nationally, and allow you to set different tax rates for each industry to
- encourage, discourage, or drain dry those industries like, don't like or
- just want to exploit. You can open the Industries window by... you know
- the rotine by now.
-
- Click and drag the Industries window button in the City toolbar. monthly
-
- Look over the current (Population) display.
-
- Click on the Tax Rates button.
-
-
- Page 38 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- Pick an industry you want to encourage, and lower its tax rate by
- clicking and dragging its bar toward the left.
-
- Pick an industry you want to discourage, and raise its tax rate by
- clicking and dragging its bar toward the right.
-
- Click on the Demand button and look over the Demand display.
-
- Close the Industries window.
-
- The Neighbors window shows your city surrounded by its neigh-
- boring cities, and gives the populations for each city, and for
- SimNation as a whole. I bet you can figure out how the Neighbors
- window is opened.
-
- Open the Windows menu and select Neighbors (unless you really
- really want to use the Neighbors window button).
-
- Take a look and close the window.
-
- The Budget window is where you control all the finances of your
- city. The Budget window is so important that it deserves its own
- clever headline in this tutorial, so here goes:
-
- THE BUCK STARTS HERE
-
- Click on the Budget window button in the City toolbar.
-
- Along the left side of the Budget window is a list of all the revenues
- and expenses that you face as a mayor in SimCity 2000. For each
- revenue or expense, there is:
-
- ú Year-to-Date Column - a number (in blue) that shows the actual
- cash amount you have made or spent so far this year.
-
- ú Estimated Column - a number (in red) that shows what the
- end-of-year expense or revenue will be at the current Budget
- window settings.
-
- ú Books - a button to push to see a detailed monthly report on the
- revenue or expense.
-
- ú Advisors - a button to push when you want a little advice.
-
-
-
- Page 39 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- ú Percentages - most (but not all) of the revenues and expenses have
- a percentage setting so you can set the amounts of funding or
- taxation.
-
- Help is available by holding down either Shift key and clicking on
- any word, number, column or button in the Budget window.
-
- The very first revenue is your main source of income: property
- taxes. To the right of the words "Property Taxes" is the current tax
- rate given as a percentage (currently 7%). You can set the property tax
- rate to anything between 0 and 20% by clicking on the up and down arrows
- to the right of the percentage number. Give your Sims a break and lower
- their taxes.
-
- Click twice on the down-arrow to the right of Property Taxes and lower
- the rate to 5%.
-
- If your computer is equipped to play sound effects, you'll hear the
- cheers of the populace.
-
- Click once on the up-arrow to the right of Property Taxes and raise the
- rate to 6%.
-
- Once again, if your computer can play sound effects, you'll hear
- the reaction of the masses. How soon they forget.
-
- Skip down to Bond Payment. This is the amount of interest you
- pay on bond issues. Part of financing your city is issuing bonds,
- which is basically borrowing money from your citizens. The
- interest rate the city pays varies according to the simulated
- market and the difficulty level of the game. Everything you need
- to deal with bonds is in the Bond Payment books.
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 40 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- Click on the Book button for Bond Payment.
-
- The bond Payment books give you a month-by-month breakdown of the number
- of outstanding bonds, their interest rate, the monetary amount of
- interest you pay and a total of interest paid. Blue numbers show actual
- year-to-date amounts, red numbers are projections for the rest of the
- year.
-
- At the bottom of the window are buttons for dealing with bond issues.
-
- Click on the Show Bonds button.
-
- You are shown a pop-up box with your city's credit rating, and general
- status on bonds and interest rates.
-
- Click on the pop-up box to close it.
-
- Click on the Issue Bond button.
-
- You are given the current bond interest rate and asked if you want to
- issue the bond. Go ahead.
-
- Click Yes to issue the bond.
-
- Click on the Show Bonds button to see that it has been issued.
-
- Click to close the Show Bonds box.
-
- Later, when you have the money, you can come back here and repay the bond,
- but for now, let's move on.
-
- Click the Done button to close the Bond Payment books and return to
- the budget window.
-
- Look at the line just below Bond Payment. This is the financial
- information for your Police Departments. To the right of the words
- "Police Department" is a percentage number set to 100, and to the right
- of that are up- and down-arrows that let you change the level of funding.
-
-
- Page 41 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- Click on the down-arrow to change the Police Department funding to
- 50%.
-
- Click on the Police Department Book button.
-
- Look it over, then click to close the Police books.
-
- We'll check out the effect of lowering the police budget a little later.
- There are no other buttons or adjustments in the Police books.
-
- Let's look at another set of books.
-
- Click on the Transit Authority Book button.
-
- Not only do the Transit Authority books give you a monthly breakdown of
- transit expenses, but they let you individually set the funding levels
- for different transportation systems. Since the bridges we built in
- Tuto lI 1 aren't hooked up to anything there's no point in funding them.
- And just to see what happens, we'll remove funding from a couple other
- systems.
-
- Click on the down-arrow for Bridge funding until it goes to 0%.
-
- Set funding levels for Subway and Tunnel to 0%.
-
- Click Done to close the Transit Authority books and return to the Budget
- window.
-
- Notice that the percentage setting next to Transit Authority changed.
- When you change settings in the books, they are reflected here.
-
- One more set of books to inspect: City Ordinance (just under Property
- Taxes).
-
-
-
- Page 42 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- Click on the City Ordinance Book button.
-
-
- These are various programs, bills and ordinances that you can enact as
- mayor. Each program contributes in some way to the quality of life in
- your city, but each also has a drawback, usually its cost. Politics is a
- rough business, filled with hard decisions.
-
- That's it for the Budget window - except for one detail. Let's clear out
- all this budget stuff then see how our funding change affected the police
- department.
-
- Click Done to close the Community Program dialog.
-
- Click Done to close the Budget window.
-
- Click on the Query button in the City toolbar.
-
- Click on the Police Department.
-
- When you compare it with your last query, you should have about half
- as many officers. Depending on the size of your city, crime may be running
- rampant, or it may be under control. In a very small town, you don't
- necessarily need full police or fire department funding.
-
- And speaking of fire departments...
-
- A HOT TIME IN OLD TOWN
-
- From time to time, or when you feel like it, you will have the solemn
- duty (or distinct pleasure, depending on your personality) of dealing
- with disasters. Of course, the best way to deal with a disaster is to
- prevent it. The better fire coverage you have, the less fires will occur.
- But sometimes, no matter how prepared you are, disaster strikes.
- Especially when you choose them from a menu.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 43 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- Open the Disasters menu.
-
- Select Fire.
-
- Once you select Fire, two things will happen: a fire will break out
- somewhere in the city limits and the Emergency button will become
- available. The Emergency tool lets you dispatch your police and fire
- departments to the scene of the emergency.
-
- Click and hold on the Emergency button in the City toolbar.
-
- Select Dispatch Fire.
-
- Click near the fire.
-
- Click and hold on the Emergency button.
-
- Select Dispatch Police.
-
- Click near the fire.
-
- Note: If the fire went out before you had a chance
- to dispatch your troops, start another one.
-
- You can't place your fire fighters directly on fires, but you can use
- them to block the path of the fire, and even chase it down. You can
- place one police or fire icon for every station you have. If you have
- three of four stations, it makes it easier to surround a fire and
- block its path.
-
- GRADUATION
-
- You have completed an extensive tutorial in city design and
- management. You are now an expert in everything from planning
- to landscaping to politics.
-
- When you're ready for even more advanced features, check out
- the Reference section for tips on adding a water system to you
- city, and improving and expanding your transportation system
- with highways, onramps, tunnels, rails, subways, and bus lines.
-
- Go forth and play SimCity 2000.
-
-
-
-
- Page 44 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
- This page of the manual shows a cool silhouette of a
- city and this cheezy poem:
-
- Slums may well be breeding-grounds of crime, but middle-class suburbs
- are incubators of apathy and delirium.
- The Unquiet Grave
- Cyril Connolly (1903-1974)
-
-
- (Stay tuned for more poetry reading! - D.L.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 45 SimCity 2000 - Tutorial
-
-
-
-
- ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++[<*| REFERENCE |*>]++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-
- This Reference section is an in-depth explanation of (just about)
- every window, button, feature and function of SimCity 2000 on a
- number of different computers. This section will make a lot more
- sense to you if you play through Tutorial 1 first.
-
- THE BASICS
-
- Here are a few basic points that should clarify your place in the
- SimCity 2000 universe and prepare you for the rest of the Reference
- section.
-
- WHERE ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
-
- In SimCity 2000 you are the planner and mayor of an unlimited number of
- cities. These cities can be as small as you want or as large as you can
- make them.
-
- Your cities don't live in a vacuum. Their growth and decline are
- affected by surrounding cities. These surrounding cities are both
- a market for selling your manufactured goods and competitors,
- vying for population and businesses.
-
- In your role as mayor, you are directly responsible for:
-
- ú Planning - zoning, long- and short-range strategies
-
- ú City infrastructure - water, power, transportation
-
- ú Government services - fire, police, hospitals, prisons
-
- ú Education - schools, colleges, libraries, museums
-
- ú Recreation and open spaces - parks, zoos, stadiums, marinas
-
- ú City budget and taxes
-
- ú Major and minor land manipulation
-
- ú The health, wealth and happiness of the Sims that live in your city
-
-
- You are not directly responsible for building houses, stores, factories
- or other buildings (the Sims take care of them).
-
-
-
- Page 46 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- SCENARIOS AND CITIES
-
- There are a number of scenarios built into to SimCity 2000. Each
- scenario provides you with different challenges at different levels
- of difficulty.
-
- Each scenario has a "win" condition. If you meet this condition within
- a specific time, you'll receive the key to the city and be allowed to
- continue your job as mayor. If you don't meet the condition, you'll be
- run out of town - until you're ready to try again.
-
- When you start your own city, there are no time limits to beat and
- no conditions to meet. There is no winning or losing. You are the
- judge, passing judgment upon yourself. The only two criteria
- in this judgment are your own enjoyment and the quality of life of
- your Sims.
-
- SIMCITY 2000 ON DIFFERENT COMPUTERS
-
- Each computer platform has its own rules and conventions for
- terminology, menu use, keyboard use, mouse use, file loading and
- saving, and windowing. We have kept SimCity 2000 as consistent
- from computer to computer as we could while staying true to each
- computer's interface. In those few places where things differ
- greatly from computer to computer, you will be referred to the
- machine-specific Addendum.
-
- The graphics for this manual were taken from the Macintosh
- version of SimCity 2000. If there are any differences between the
- graphics in the manual and the graphics on your screen, see the
- machine-specific Addendum.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 47 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- MOUSE AND KEYBOARD CONVENTIONS
-
- In general, all instructions that refer to clicking, doubleclicking or
- clicking and dragging refer to the left mouse button (if you have more
- than one).
-
- Things that are done on the Mac by holding down the Option key while
- clicking, are done on DOS- and Windows-based computers by holding down
- the Control key and clicking.
-
- GETTING HELP
-
- Help is available in most places in SimCity 2000. lf you see a button
- with a question mark on it, click on it for help.
-
- If you have a mouse with more than one button, clicking with the
- right button on any button or icon will invoke a help message
- explaining that button or icon. If you have a mouse with one
- button, hold down either Shift key on your keyboard and click on any
- button or icon for help.
-
- Terrain in SimCity 2000 has 32 levels of altitude, with mountains,
- valleys, lakes, rivers, streams, and waterfalls. You can customize
- and modify the landform, both at the beginning of a game and during
- actual city-building.
-
- When you start a brand-new city with the Edit New Map command from the
- File menu, you can mold and shape the terrain for your city as much as
- you want, without any charge. Once you start playing a game and begin
- building a city, it will cost you to modify the terrain.
-
- The land is divided up into "tiles." A tile is the smallest piece of
- land that can be raised, lowered or covered with water. It is
- approximately 200 by 200 feet square, or about one acre.
-
- The total city limits are equivalent to approximately 5 miles by 5
- miles square. Buildings, objects, roads, etc., are also divided up into
- tiles. One section of road is one tile. Some of the larger buildings are
- made of many tiles.
-
-
- Page 48 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- The entire city limits is yours for city expansion, for parks and
- open spaces, or to leave wild. A city in SimCity 2000 can be tiny,
- or fill the entire rectangular city limits.
-
- You can build multiple separate communities or small cities but the
- simulation will treat them as one city. All the statistics and
- information in the Graphs, Population, industry and other windows
- collectively covers everything within the entire city limits.
-
- THE CITY WINDOW AND THE REST OF 'EM
-
- The City window is your main view of your city. It is always open
- as long as SimCity 2000 is running. The game is easiest to control
- with the City window as large as possible, but you can resize it on
- some computers.
-
- Most of the other, smaller windows, such as the Map and Population
- windows, open either by selecting them in the Windows menu, or by
- clicking on their button on the toolbar.
-
- If you just want to take a quick look at one of the smaller windows
- (momentary view), click and hold on their buttons in the toolbar.
- The window will be visible until you release the mouse button. If,
- while holding down the button, you drag the window away from the
- toolbar then release the mouse button, then the window will remain
- on the screen until you close it (tear-off view).
-
- There are two oter important points to remember about the small
- windows:
-
- 1. Some of them have extra buttons or controls that appear in tear-off,
- but not in momentary view.
-
- 2. As long as small windows are open, they will remain on top of the
- City window. When you click on the City window to modify the city,
- it will not cover the small windows - place them carefully so they
- don't block your access to the City window scroll bars.
-
-
-
-
- Page 49 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- MENUS
-
- These are all the menus and menu items in SimCity 2000. There
- may be a few slight differences on different computers.
-
- FILE MENU
-
- This menu has the commands for file management, starting new games and
- scenarios and quitting SimCity 2000.
-
- ABOUT SIMClTY 2000
- Brings up exciting and thrilling information about the game and its
- makers. If your computer has a special menu, like the Macintosh "Apple"
- menu, this item will be there and not in the File menu.
-
- LOAD CITY
- Opens a file-loading dialog box allowing you to load in and play a
- previously saved SimCity 2000 city. This command can also be used to
- import a city from SimCity or SimCity Classic.
-
- NEW CITY
- First asks if you want to save your existing city, then generates a
- new, empty terrain, prompts you for the city's name and game level, then
- begins the game.
-
- EDIT NEW MAP
- First asks you if you want to save your existing city, then removes
- all buildings and infrastructure and delivers the bare terrain into
- Terrain-Editing mode. In Terrain-Editing mode, you have access
- to tools to customize and/or regenerate the terrain to your heart's
- content - without being charged.
-
- LOAD SCENARIO
- Opens a dialog box that allows you to view all the different scenarios,
- then select one.
-
- SAVE CITY
- Saves the current city to disk under the same name and in the same place
- where it was last saved. If it hasn't been saved the Save City As...
- dialog box will open, allowing you to rename the city and choose the
- destination disk and directory or folder.
-
- Page 50 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- SAVE CITY AS...
- Opens a dialog box that allows you to name/rename a city and choose the
- disk and directory or folder where you want to save it.
-
- QUIT
- Rips SimCity from your computer's memory and makes it go away until you're
- ready to resume your mayoral responsibilities. It will first ask if you
- want to save your existing city.
-
- SPEED MENU
- This menu has the commands for setting the simulation to different speeds,
- including pause. The currently set speed will be marked by a check mark.
- Actual speeds will vary, depending on your computer, its microprocessor
- and its clock speed.
-
- PAUSE
- Stops time in the simulation.
-
- TURTLE
- Sets the simulation to run slower than molasses on a cold day.
-
- LLAMA
- Sets the simulation to run at a medium speed.
-
- CHEETAH
- Sets the simulation to run as fast as your computer will go.
-
- OPTIONS MENU
-
- This menu controls a number of simulation and sound options so you can
- tailor the game to your style of play. Options that are active have a
- check mark next to them.
-
- AUTO-BUDGET
- When selected, Auto-Budget stops the Budget window from opening at the
- end of each year, and automatically repeats the previous budget.
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 51 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- AUTO-GOTO
- When active, Auto-Goto automatically centers the City window over an
- important occurrence, such as a disaster. When inactive you will still
- receive messages to notify you of important goings-on on in your city.
-
- SOUND EFFECTS
- Toggles sound effects on and off. The audio quality of the sound effects
- will vary greatly depending on the sound capabilities of your computer.
-
- MUSIC
- Toggles the musical soundtrack on and off. The audio quality of the music
- will vary greatly depending on the sound capabilities of your computer.
-
- DISASTERS MENU
-
- This menu lets you activate various disasters, or disable them entirely.
- For more information on disasters, see Dealing with Disasters in the
- Strategies section below.
-
- FIRE
- Causes a fire to break out somewhere within the city limits.
-
- FLOOD
- Causes a wave of raised water to come in off the coast or down a river,
- washing away anything that isn't tied down.
-
- AIR CRASH
- Causes an airplane to crash somewhere within the city limits.
-
- TORNADO
- Sets a tornado loose to wreak havoc across the city limits.
-
- EARTHQUAKE
- Sets the earth to quakin' and the ground to shakin'.
-
- MONSTER
- Releases the terror of the year 2000.
-
-
- Page 52 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
- NO DISASTERS
- Prevents disasters from occurring. No Disasters will not prevent the
- "official" scenario disasters, or stop disasters already in progress.
- No Disasters also prevents the City Council from voting in ordinances
- without your approval.
-
- Note:All power plants have a 50-year life span, and then they blow
- up. They don 't cause fires or spread radiation - they just stop
- working and collapse. Watch your newspapers for warnings that power
- plants are getting old. If you have No Disasters active, when power
- plants reach the end of their lives, they are automatically rebuilt
- and you are automatically charged. If you don't have enough cash in
- your city funds to pay for the power plant replacement, it goes boom.
-
- WINDOWS MENU
-
- This menu lets you access the various windows in SimCity 2000.
-
- MAP
- Opens the Map window for various displays of your entire city.
-
- BUDGET
- Opens the window for fiddling with your city's finances.
-
- ORDINANCES
- Opens the Ordinance window for setting and inspecting various bonds,
- bills and ordinances.
-
- POPULATION
- Opens the Population window to see a demographic breakdown of the
- Sims in your city.
-
- INDUSTRY
- Opens the Industry window to see the different types of industries
- currently operating in your city, and to set individual tax rates for
- different industries.
-
-
-
-
- Page 53 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- GRAPHS
- Opens the Graphs window to see graphical displays of city data and
- statistics over time.
-
- NEIGHBORS
- Opens the Neighbors window to see how you compare with your
- surrounding neighbor cities.
-
- NEWSPAPER MENU
-
- This menu lets you set your newspaper delivery rate and read various
- local papers. Even with both delivery options below turned off,
- newspapers announcing disasters will be delivered.
-
- SUBSCRIPTION
-
- When active, a newspaper will be delivered (popped up on the screen)
- twice a year.
-
- EXTRA!!!
- When active, only newspapers that report important occurrences -
- inventions and major steps in city growth - will be delivered
-
- THE NEWSPAPERS
- Opens and/or activates the various local newspapers. There will
- be from none (at the start of a city) to six (in a very large city)
- different local newspapers. The newspaper that is marked with a
- circle to the left of its name is the paper that will be delivered.
- Opening a newspaper manually changes it to the one that will be
- delivered.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 54 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- WINDOWS
-
- This section describes in detail each of the windows in SimCity 2000.
-
- CITY WINDOW
-
- IN GENERAL
- The City window is your main work area for molding, shaping and growing
- your city and the land under it. It is always open while SimCity2000 is
- running (on most computers).
-
- At the top of the window is the Title bar, containing the simulation
- date, the name of the city and your current funds. On the right end
- of the Title bar is some sort of box or button (depending on your
- computer) for quickly resizing the window.
- ú On the Macintosh and on DOS-based computers, it is the Zoom box,
- which toggles the window between full-screen size and the last
- previously set window size.
-
- ú On a Windows-based computer, there will be two buttons. The Maximize
- button toggles the window between full-screen size and the last
- previously set window size. The Minimize button shrinks the window
- to an icon.
-
- You can resize the City window by clicking and dragging the Resize box.
- The Scroll Bars and scroll Arrows let you move the city around in the
- City window.
-
- The toolbar provides all the tools you'll need to zone, build and run
- your city. It appears differently, depending on the mode you are in.
- And speaking of modes...
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 55 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- MODES
- The City window has three modes: City-Building, Terrain-Editing, and
- Map.
-
- City-Building is the main, most-used mode. It lets you build and grow
- your city. You can also edit the terrain, but there are physical and
- financial limitations.
-
- In Terrain-Editing mode, you can make all the changes and modifications
- you could ever desire to the new, empty landscape without being charged.
- Once you leave Terrain-Editing mode and enter City-Building mode to start
- your city, you can never return that same landscape to Terrain-Editing
- mode.
-
- Map mode turns the entire City window into a giant, scalable display that
- mirrors the information in the Map window. The City window's Map mode is
- toggled on and off from the Map window.
-
- THE VlEW
- The view in the City window is an isometric, simulated 3-D landscape. It
- can be viewed in three different sizes, allowing you to see more or less
- of your city at once, at various levels of detail.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 56 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- THE LANDSCAPE
- Each time you start a new city in SimCity 2000, a new landscape is
- generated. You can regenerate the landscape as many times as you like.
- You can modify the land scape as much as you like.
-
- When the City window is in terrain-editing mode, you can make changes to
- the land at no cost to the city. You can raise or level mountains, dig
- streams, raise or lower the sea level, and place individual trees or
- forests.
-
- Once the City window is in city-building mode, you can still make changes
- to the landscape, but you'll have to pay for the work out of the city's
- funds.
-
- There are three basic elements to the landscape: land, water and trees.
-
- The land in SimCity 2000 is divided into small squares, called tiles.
- Tiles can be raised or lowered to provide 32 levels of altitude. Land
- that is below sea level will be under water.
-
- Water in SimCity 2000 flows downhill, as all good water should. When you
- generate a new landscape in terrain-editing mode, you can choose whether
- or not you want a river running through the landscape, and you can, if
- you want, have one edge of your city be a coastline. Your landscape can
- also have streams, ponds and lakes. And you can raise or lower sea level,
- to make your city a desert or a chain of islands.
-
- Trees in SimCity 2000, as in the real world, are big plants that provide
- shade and homes for wildlife. They add an aesthetic touch to cities, and
- improve land value.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Page 57 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- THE CITY TOOLBAR
-
- When the City window is in city-building mode, it has the City toolbar -
- your main control center for building, modifying and running your city.
- It can be moved around your screen by clicking and dragging the bar at
- the top.
-
- For ease of use, especially for newcomers to SimCity 2000, you can simply
- click on any button, then use the default setting of the tool. When you're
- ready for more power, more features and more flexibility, you can make
- use of the submenus that are hidden below many of the buttons. If you
- click and hold on a button with a submenu, the submenu will pop up,
- allowing you to access many more choices and options. The submenus, and
- their available options, change over the years, reflecting the available
- technology
-
- The City toolbar contains tools that let you:
-
- ú Modify the landscape
-
- ú Zoom in and out for close-up and far-out views
-
- ú Center on different areas of the City window
-
- ú Rotate the city in the City window
-
- ú Zone residential, commercial and industrial areas
-
- ú Build the city infrastructure
-
- ú Add special-purpos buildings
-
- ú Closely inspect city areas
-
- ú Add signs or markers
-
- ú Turn on and off the display of various objects and layers in the
- City window
-
- ú Open various information windows
-
- It also has a Demand Indicator for various zones.
-
-
-
-
- Page 58 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- Any time you need a reminder of what each of the buttons does,
- hold down either Shift key and click on a button. A friendly help
- message will pop up and set you straight.
-
- These are the tools in the City toolbar:
-
- BULLDOZER
- The bulldozer is a multi-function multi-level tool, with a default
- setting and a submenu to choose between four additional actions.
- Click and hold in the Bulldozer button to open the submenu. When
- bulldozer is active, the cursor will appear as a bulldozer.
-
- To operate the bulldozer, choose the function you want, then
- click or click and drag where you want to do your 'dozin'.
-
- Demolish/Clear (the default) destroys and removes trees, rubble,
- and man-made (Sim-made?) objects without affecting the terrain
- or zoning status. Just click on anything to destroy it.
- Cost: $1 per tile
-
- Level Terrain lets you choose an altitude level and slice off hills
- and mountains at your chosen height. Level also clears, removing all
- trees, roads, power lines and buildings.
- Cost: $25 per tile per altitude change.
-
- Raise Terrain lets you make mountains out of molehills.
- Cost: $25 per til per altitude change.
-
- Lower Terrain lets you lower mountains and dig canyons. (If you
- lower the terrain below sea level, it will fill with water.)
- Cost: $25 per til per altitude change.
-
- De-zone lets you change undeveloped residential, commercial or
- industrial zones to unzoned land.
- Cost: $1 per tile
-
- Raising, lowering and leveling terrain can be very expensive, so do
- sparingly. If you want to make a lot of changes to the landscape,
- do it in terrain-editing mode before you start your city, or save up
- a lot of cash.
-
-
- Page 59 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- LANDSCAPE TOOL
- The Landscape tool lets you add trees and water to your city. When
- active, the cursor will appear as a tree. Clicking and holding on the
- button opens a submenu that allows you to choose between
- trees and water.
-
- Tree tool lets you place trees onto the landscape. Each click will
- place either one or two trees. You can click repeatedly on a single tile
- to create dense thickets, and click and drag across many tiles to
- create forests.
- Cost: $3 per click.
-
- The Water tool lets you create lakes and streams by clicking where you
- want your water to appear.
- Cost: $100 per tile.
-
- EMERGENCY
- The Emergency tool lets you dispatch police and/or fire departments
- to the scene of a disaster. This tool will be ghosted and unavailable
- unless a disaster is occurring. When active, the cursor will appear
- as an emergency beacon. Clicking and holding on the tool opens a submenu
- that allows you to choose between dispatching police and fire.
-
- Once you activate the tool and choose the department you want
- to dispatch, click on the area of the city where you want your city's
- finest to go. An icon representing either your dispatched fire or
- police troops will be placed where you click. You can place one
- icon for each station you have. After you have placed then all,
-
-
- Page 60 SimCity 2000 - Reference I
-
-
-
-
- Clicking again will move the first one you placed to the last place
- clicked, enabling you to block, surround and contain a fire or riot.
- There is no cost for dispatching police or firesims.
-
- POWER
- Power is a multi-use tool. Clicking and holding on it opens a
- submenu that allows you to choose between two functions: laying
- power lines and placing power plants. When this tool is active, the
- cursor appears as a lightning bolt.
-
- Power Lines (the default setting) lets you "paint" your power lines
- onto the land by clicking in the place where you want the line to
- start, dragging the cursor to the place where you want the line to
- stop, and releasing the mouse button. If you start laying a power
- line and change your mind, you can cancel the operation by holding
- down the Shift key before you release the mouse button.
-
- Power lines blink warning lights to let you know if they're not
- hooked to a power source. Power lines can only be run in straight
- lines and 90-degree angles. They can cross roads or rails but not on
- curved sections or straight sections that run at 45 degrees. Laying
- power lines across water is a little more expensive. If you lay power
- lines across water, a dialog box will open and let you know how much it
- will cost.
- $2 per tile across land, $10 per tile across water.
-
- Power Plant... lets you choose power sources for your city. Depending
- on the year and the technology level of your city, there may be from
- three to nine types of power plants available. Click on the power source
- you want, then click on the terrain where you want it to go. There is
- an info button for each power plant that tells you the advantages,
- disadvantages and costs for each type of power plant.
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- WATER SYSTEM
- The Water System tool is a multi-use tool. Clicking and holding on
- it opens a submenu that allows you to choose between five different
- water-related functions: laying water pipes, installing water pumps,
- buying storage tanks, and building treatment and desalinization plants.
- When this tool is active, the cursor appears as a water faucet.
-
- Depending on the year and technology level I your city, you may only
- have access to pumps and water towers. As time passes and inventions
- are invented, the other options become availible. A city can exist
- without a water system, but population density will be limited. When
- the Sims build, they install the underground water pipes for their
- buildings. You're only responsibility is to hook the buildings up to
- the water system.
-
- Pipes (the default setting) lets you "paint" your water pipes onto the
- landscape by clicking in the place where you want the pipes to stop, and
- releasing the mouse button. If you start laying a water pipe and change
- your mind, you can cancel the operation by holding down the Shift key
- before you release the mouse button. Water pipes are always laid
- underground. Activating Pipes automatically turns on the underground
- view so you can see your pipes.
- Cost: $3 per tile.
-
- Water Pumps when placed on land act as wells, a good source of water.
- water. Water pumps need to be hooked to the power grid to function.
- When pumps are placed right next to a lake or river, they supply twice
- as much water as a well. A pump placed next to a coastline (salt water)
- only produces as much water as a well.
- Cost: $100 per pump.
-
- Water Towers lets you store precious water so you won't have summer
- shortages in arid climates.
- Cost: $250 per tower.
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- Treatment plants clean and recycle your city's water, lessening
- seaonal shortages.
- Cost: $500 per treatment plant.
-
- Desalinization plants remove the salt from sea water. They are expensive,
- but sometimes necessary in beach communities with little or no other
- source of water. Desalinization plants, which need power to function,
- have internal pumps, and don't require extra water pumps. They produce
- approximately twice as much as a water pump next to a river.
- Cost: $1,000 per desalinization plant.
-
- REWARDS
- This button is like a surprise package. It will be ghosted and
- unavailable until you deserve a reward. Rewards are based on your city's
- population, and consist of special buildings and monuts to your mayoral
- prowess. When this tool is active, the cursor appears as a mayor tipping
- his hat.
-
- The rewards you can strive to gain are... no, I won't tell you. You'll
- just have to wait and see for yourself.
-
- ROADS
- Roads is a multi-use tool. Clicking and holding on it opens a submenu that
- allows you to choose between five different road-related functions:
- placing roads and highways, and building tunnels, onramps and bus depots.
- When this tool is active, the cursor appears a a piece of paved road.
-
- Depending on the year and technology level of your city, you may only have
- access to roads and tunnels. As time passes, the other options become
- available.
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- Road (the default setting) lets you "paint" your roads onto the land by
- clicking in the place where you want the road to start, dragging the
- cursor to the place you want the road to stop, and releasing the mouse
- button. If you start laying a road and change your mind, you can cancel
- the operation by holding down the Shift key before you release the mouse
- button.
-
- Roads can run in straight lines, 90-degree angles and 45-degree angles.
- When roads cross, they form an intersection. If you lay a road across
- water and it is possible to build a bridge, you will be told how much it
- will cost. If a bridge can't be built, you will be notified.
- Cost: $10 per road tile.
-
- Highways are high-capacity roads that are raised above the ground on
- pylons. They can handle four times as many cars as regular roads. They
- are placed the same way as roads. You will need to place onramps to allow
- cars to get on and off highways. When highways cross, they form
- cloverleafs. if you lay a highway across water and it is possible to
- build a bridge, you will be told how much it will cost. If a bridge can't
- be built, you will be notified.
- Cost: $100 per highway section (4 tiles).
-
- Tunnel lets you make pathways for roads through hills and mountains.
- Tunnels cannot curve, and you cannot cross tunnels even at different
- altitudes. To place a tunnel, click on the tile that you want as your
- entrance point. The entrance point must be a sloped tile. Your highway
- engineers won't try to build a tunnel where it's impossible to build, or
- where it is unsafe, due to unstable terrain. If you pick a good spot, an
- engineer's report will tell you how much the tunnel will cost and ask if
- you want to go ahead or not.
- Cost: $150 per tile of tunnel.
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- Onramps allow cars and buses to travel back and forth between roads
- and highways. Place them as junctions between roads and highways.
- For best results, put onramps on both sides of a highway
- Cost: $25 per tile.
-
- Bus Depots allow commuters to take the bus to work and help alleviate
- traffic. They must be placed on level ground. You will need at least
- two bus depots since buses travel between them. Passengers can get on
- and off between depots.
- Cost: $250 per depot.
-
- RAILS
- Rails is a multi-use tool. Clicking and holding on it opens a submenu
- that allows you to choose between four different rail-related
- functions: placing rails, placing subways (underground rails), building
- rail depots and building subway stations. When this tool is active, the
- cursor appears as a length of track.
-
- Depending on the year and technology level of your city, you may only
- have access to rails and rail depots. As time passes, the other options
- become available.
-
- Rail (the default setting) lets you "paint" your tracks onto the land
- by clicking in the place where you want the rail to start, dragging
- the cursor to the place where you want it to stop, and releasing the
- mouse button. If you start laying a rail and change your mind, you
- can cancel the operation by holding down the Shift key before you
- release the mouse button. Rails are useless without rail depots.
- Cost: $25 per tile.
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- Subways are an underground rail system. They are places in the
- same way are rails, but while looking at the underground view.
- Subways are useless without subway stations.
- Cost: $100 per tile.
-
- Rail Depots allow commuters to get on and off trains. Without depots,
- rails are useless. They must be placed on level ground and adjacent to
- tracks.
- Cost: $500 per depot.
-
- Subway Stations allow passengers access to access subway trains. Subway
- trains only stop at stations. They must lie placed on level ground,
- adjacent to a subway line. It's usually easiest to place subway stations
- while looking at the underground level.
- Cost: $250 per depot.
-
- Subway to Rail Junctions allow you to hook up your subways and
- above-ground rails for a continuous transit system. They must be placed
- adjacent to a rail tile.
- Cost $250 per tile.
-
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- PORTS
- Ports is a dual-purpose tool that allows you to place both airports
- and seaports. Click and hold on the Ports button to open a menu
- choose the type of port you want to place. When this tool is
- active, the cursor will appear as an anchor and radar dish.
-
- Ports are placed by clicking and dragging to form a square or rectangle,
- then releasing the mouse button. If you start placing a port and change
- your mind, you can cancel the operation by holding down the Shift key
- before you release the mouse button. Ports must be powered be before they
- will develop. Seaports must be on a shoreline to be of any use.
- Cost: $150 per seaport tile, $250 per airport tile.
-
- RESIDENTIAL ZONES
- The Residential Zone tool lets you, as mayor, designate areas of
- your city as places where people live. Clicking and holding on
- Residential Zones opens a submenu that lets you choose whether the
- zones will be low-density (light) or high-density (dense). When
- this tool is active, the cursor will appear as a little house.
-
- To zone an area as residential, click and hold on the terrain, drag
- the mouse, creating a rectangle, then release the mouse button. If
- you start laying down a zone line and change your mind, you can
- cancel the operation by holding down the Shift key before you release
- the mouse button. If you zone residential over an area that includes
- some tiles that are already the same density residential, you will not
- be chaged for zoning those tiles. If you zone over an undeveloped area
- that is already commercial industrial or a different density residential,
- it will be rezoned and you will e charged. You cannot rezone an area that
- is already developed.
- Cost: Light Residential $5 per tile, Dense Residential $10 per tile.
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- COMMERCIAL ZONES
- The Commercial Zone tool lets you, as mayor, designate areas of your
- city as places where people build stores, offices and other places
- of commerce. Clicking and holding on Commercial Zones opens a submenu
- that lets you choose whether the zones will be low-density (light) or
- high-density (dense). When this tool is active, the cursor will
- appear as a little office building.
-
- To zone an area as commercial, click and hold on the terrain, then
- drag the mouse, creating a rectangle, then release the mouse
- button. If you start laying down a zone line and change your mind
- you can cancel the operation by holding down the Shift key before
- you release the mouse button. If you zone commercial over area that
- includes some tiles that are already the same density commercial, you
- will not be charged for rezoning those tiles. If you zone commercial
- over an undeveloped area that is already residential, industrial or a
- different density commercial, it will be rezoned and you will be
- charged. You cannot rezone an area that is already developed.
- Cost: Light Commercial $5 per tile, Dense Commercial $10 per
-
- INDUSTRIAL ZONES
- The Industrial Zone tool lets you, as mayor, designate areas of your
- city as places where people build factories. Clicking and holding on
- Industrial Zones opens a submenu that lets you choose whether the
- zones will be low-density (light) or high-density (dense). When this
- tool is active, the cursor will appear as a little factory.
-
- To zone an area as industrial, click and hold on the terrain, then
- drag the mouse, creating a rectangle, then release the mouse button.
- If you start placing a zone and change your mind, you can cancel the
- operation by holding down the Shift key before you release the mouse
- button. If you zone industrial over an area that includes some tiles
- that are already the same density industrial, you will not be charged
- for rezoning those tiles. If you zone industrial over an undeveloped
- area that is already commercial, residential or a different density
-
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- industrial, it will be rezoned and you will be charged. You cannot rezone
- an area that is already developed.
- Light Industrial $5 per tile, Dense Industrial $10 per tile.
-
- EDUCATION
- Education is a multi-function tool that lets you provide your citizens
- with everything they need to improve their minds. Click and hold on the
- Education button to open a submenu with the following smart choices:
- School, College, Library and Museum. When this tool is active, the cursor
- will appear as a mortarboard.
- Cost: $250 per school, $1,000 per college, $500 per library, $1,000 per
- museum.
-
- CITY SERVICES
- City Services is a multi-function tool that lets you provide your city
- with those nesessities of life that we all wish weren't necessary. Click
- and hold on the City Services button to open a submenu with the following
- unpleasant choices: Police, Fire Station, Hospital, and Prison. When this
- tool is active, the cursor will appear as a badge.
- $500 per police station, $500 per fire station, $500 per hospital,
- $3,000 per prison.
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- RECREATION
- Recreation is a multi-function tool that lets you provide your
- citizens with places to have a little rest, relaxation and plain old
- fun. Click and hold on the Recreation button to open a submenu
- with the following exciting choices: Small Park, Big Park, Zoo,
- Stadium, Marina. When this tool is active, the cursor will appear
- as a bunch of balloons!
- Cost: $20 per small park, $150 per big park, $3,000 per zoo, $5,000
- per stadium, $1,000 per marina.
-
-
- SIGNS
- The Sign tool lets you label streets, buildings and points of interest
- in your city. When this tool is active, the cursor will appear as a
- little sign. To make a sign, activate the Sign tool and click on the
- place where you want it to appear. When the dialog box opens, type in
- the words you want the sign to say, then click DONE. There is no cost
- for placing signs.
-
- The display of your signs can be turned on and off with the Display
- Signs button.
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- QUERY
- Query is a tool for closely inspecting different parts of your city.
- When this tool is active, the cursor appears as a magnifying glass.
- To get information, activate the tool, then click anywhere. A dialog
- box will open, and display fascinating facts about the spot
- where you clicked.
-
- Once you have viewed the dialog box, you can usually just click anywhere
- to make it go away. Sometimes the Query dialog box allows you to rename
- buildings (like stadiums). In these cases, you will have to click on the
- DONE button to close the box. Click on RENAME if you want to change the
- name of the queried building. There is no cost to use the Query tool.
-
- There is a keyboard shortcut for the Query tool - just hold down the Shift
- key and click anywhere in the terrain.
-
- ROTATE COUNTER-CLOCKWISE
- Click on this button to rotate the entire city limits 90 degrees
- counter-clockwise. There is no cost for rotating.
-
- ROTATE CLOCKWISE
- Click on this button to rotate the entire city limits 90 degrees
- clockwise. There is no cost for rotating.
-
- ZOOM OUT
- Click here to zoom out for a smaller, fartherout view in the City window.
- There are three zoom levels. If you are currently zoomed all the way out,
- this button will be ghosted and unavailable. There is no cost for zooming.
-
- ZOOM IN
- Click here to zoom in for an enlarged, closer view in the City window.
- There are three zoom levels. If you are currently zoomed all the way in,
- this button will be ghosted and unavailable. There Is no cost for zooming.
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- CENTER
- The Center tool lets you pick a place in your city to be centered in
- the City window. Just activate the tool and click anywhere in the city.
- When Center is active, the cursor will appear as a target sight. There is
- a keyboard shortcut for activating the center tool - hold down the Option
- key if you have one, or the Control key if you don't. There is no cost
- for centering.
-
- MAP WINDOW BUTTON
- The Map Window button can open the Map window in two modes: momentary
- and stationary. Click and hold the button to momentarily pop pop up a
- small map of the entire city limits. A rectangle somewhere in the map
- will outline the area of the city that is visible in the City window.
- The map will disappear when you release the button.
-
- If you click the button and drag it away from the toolbar, the Map window
- will open (and stay there), complete with its own toolbar for different
- map displays. Complete information on the Map window can be found later
- in this section of the manual.
-
- GRAPHS WINDOW BUTTON
- The Graphs Window button can open the Graphs window in two modes:
- momentary and stationary. Click and hold the button to momentarily pop
- up a graph of city data. The graph will dissappear when you release the
- button.
-
- If you click the button and drag it away from the toolbar, the
- Graphs window will open (and stay there), complete with it's own
- toolbar for different graph displays. Complete information on the
- Graphs window can be found later in this section of the manual.
-
- POPULATION WINDOW BUTTON
- The Population Window button can open the Population window in two modes:
- momentary and stationary. Click and hold the button to momentarily pop
- up a population graph. The graph will disappear when you release the
- button.
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- If you click the button and drag it away from the toolbar, the population
- window will open (and stay there), complete with three buttons for
- different population displays. Complete information the Population window
- can be found later in this section of the manual.
-
-
- CITY INDUSTRY WINDOW BUTTON
- The City Industry Window button can open the City Industry window in two
- modes: momentary and stationary. Click and hold the button to momentarily
- pop up an industry graph. The graph will disappear when you release the
- button.
-
- If you click the button and drag it away from the toolbar, the City
- Industry window will open (and stay there), complete with three buttons
- for different industrial displays. Complete information on the City
- Industry window can be found later in this section of the manual.
-
- NEIGHBORS WINDOW BUTTON
- The neighbors window button can open the Neighbors window in two modes:
- momentary and stationary. Click and hold the button to momentarily pop up
- a display of your city and its neighboring cities, with their individual
- and collective populations. The display will disappear when you release
- the button.
-
- If you click the button and drag it away from the toolbar, the Neighbors
- window will open (and stay there). Complete information on the Neighbors
- window can be found later in this section of the manual.
-
- BUDGET WINDOW BUTTON
- Click here to open the Budget window. (There is no momentary view.)
- Complete information on the Budget window can be found later in this
- section of the manual.
-
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- SHOW BUILDINGS
- Click here to toggle on and off the display of all buildings in the City
- window. The buildings won't really go away - they'll just be invisible
- until you turn them back on.
-
- SHOW SIGNS
- Click here to toggle on and off the display of all signs in the City
- window. The signs will be invisible until you turn them back on.
-
- SHOW INFRASTRUCTURE
- Click here to toggle on and off the display of all miscellaneous city
- infrastructure items in the City window (roads, rails, subway lines,
- power lines, water pumps and subway stations).
-
- SHOW ZONES
- This button works differently depending on whether you're looking at the
- normal or underground view. In the normal view, clicking here toggles on
- and off the display of all buildings in zones. It doesn't affect city
- owned buildings like police and fire stations, educational facilities,
- depots or power plants, but does include ports and military bases. In
- underground view, it toggles on and off a color display that lets you
- know where your zones are without jumping back upstairs.
-
- SHOW UNDERGROUND
- Click here to toggle between the surface and the underground displays.
-
- HELP
- Click here for a friendly reminder that you can get help on each of
- these buttons by holding down the Shift key and clicking on the button
- in question.
-
- DEMAND INDICATOR
- The Demand Indicator gives you a constant readout of what of zones the
- Sims in your city need. Depending on the size of your city, the indicator
- can take up to a few minutes to respond to your changes, so be patient.
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- THE TERRAIN TOOLBAR
- When the City window is in terrainediting mode, it has the Terrain
- toolbar - your control center for modifying and customizing landscapes.
- It can be moved around your screen by clicking and dragging the bar at
- the top. There is no charge for any terrain modifications in
- terrain-editing mode. All the tools in the Terrain toolbar are explained
- below.
-
- COAST
- The Coast button, when depressed, creates a coastline along one side of
- the next landscape that is generated.
-
- RIVER
- The River button, when depressed, creates a river through the next
- landscape that is generated.
-
- MOUNTAIN, WATER AND TREE SLIDERS
- These sliders let you adjust the amount of the surface of your city that
- is covered by mountains, water and trees. Click and drag the slider bars
- to the levels you want. The higher the sliders, the more mountains, water
- or trees you get. The lower the sliders, the less you get.
-
- MAKE
- Click here to generate a new landscape based on the Coast button, the
- River button and the three sliders.
-
- RAISE TERRAIN
- Click on the Raise Terrain button, then click or click and drag on the
- terrain to raise the land. Clicking on water will eventually raise the
- waterbed above sea level and turn it into dry land. When Raise Terrain
- is active, the cursor appears as three upward-pointing arrows.
-
- LOWER TERRAIN
- Click on the Lower Terrain button, then click or click and drag on the
- terrain to lower the land. Clicking on dry land will eventually lower it
- below sea level and turn it into a lake or stream. When
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- Lower Terrain is active, the cursor will appear as three downward-
- pointing arrows.
-
- STRETCH TERRAIN
- The Stretch Terrain button lets you grab the land and stretch it up
- or down. Just click and hold on the terrain, then drag it either up
- or down. When Stretch Terrain is active, the cursor will appear as
- an up-and-down-pointing arrow.
-
- LEVEL TERRAIN
- The Level Terrain button lets you pick an altitude and quickly
- bring the land around it either up or down to match your chosen
- level. Just click and hold at the altitude you want, then drag the
- cursor around the area you want leveled. When Level Terrain is
- active, the cursor will appear as a flat, four-way arrow.
-
- RAISE SEA LEVEL
- Click here to raise the sea level in the terrain by one tile.
-
- LOWER SEA LEVEL
- Click here to lower the sea level in the terrain by one tile.
-
- PLACE WATER
- The Place Water tool lets you create lakes and streams by clicking
- where you want your water to appear. When this tool is active, the
- cursor appears as a water droplet.
-
- PLACE STREAM
- The Place Stream tool lets you send streams flowing down slopes
- into the valleys below. Click where you want the stream to begin.
- When this tool is active, the cursor appears as a babbling brook.
-
- PLACE TREE
- The Place Tree tool lets you add trees to the landscape. When
- active, the cursor will appear as a tree. Each click will place either
- one or two trees. Click repeatedly on a single tile to create dense
- thickets, and click and drag across many tiles to create forest
- Hold down the Shift key while using Place Tree to remove trees.
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- PLACE FOREST
- The Place Forest tool works like Place Tree, except it places trees on a
- number of tiles with each click. When active, the cursor will appear as a
- tiny little forest. Hold down the Shift key while using Place Forest to
- remove forests.
-
- ZOOM OUT
- Click here to zoom out for a smaller, farther-out view in the City window.
- There are three zoom levels. If you are currently zoomed all the way out,
- this button will be ghosted and unavailable.
-
- ZOOM IN
- Click here to zoom in for an enlarged, closer view in the City
- window. There are three zoom levels. If you are currently zoomed
- all the way in, this button will be ghosted and unavailable.
-
- ROTATE COUNTER-CLOCKWISE
- Click here to rotate the entire city limits 90 degrees counter-clockwise.
-
- ROTATE CLOCKWISE
- Click here to rotate the entire city limits 90 degrees clockwise.
-
- CENTER
- The Center tool lets you pick a place in your city to be centered in the
- City window. Just activate the tool and click anywhere in the city. There
- is a keyboard shortcut for activating the Center tool - hold down the
- Option key if you have one, or the Control key if you don't. When Center
- is active, the cursor appears as a target sight.
-
- HELP
- Click here for a friendly reminder that you can get help on each of these
- buttons by holding down the Shift key and clicking on the button in
- question.
-
- DONE
- Click here when you are done editing the terrain and are ready to
- switch over to city-building mode.
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- MAP WINDOW
-
- IN GENERAL
- The Map window shows your complete city limits at once with
- vital information in a number of different map displays. It can be
- opened by selecting Map from the Windows menu. It can also be
- opened-in two ways-with the Map button on the City toolbar.
-
- If you click and hold on the Map button, the map (just the map - no Title
- bar or frame) will pop up, and then go away when you release the button.
- If you click and drag the button, the full Map window will appear.
-
- The Map window can be moved around the screen by clicking and dragging
- the Title bar. It can be closed by clicking the Close box.
-
- The Map window has two sizes. Click the Zoom box to toggle between the
- two sizes. This may vary on different computers; check your machine-
- specific Addendum.
-
- All map displays include the terrain. Trees and forests are green, water
- is blue and the land is different shades of brown-the higher the
- altitude, the lighter the shade.
-
- Somewhere in the map is a rectangle that outlines the area of the city
- that currently shows in the City window. Clicking on the map moves the
- rectangle to the place where you clicked, then redraws the City window
- to show the rectangle's new contents.
-
- THE MAP TOOLBAR
- The Map toolbar has a number of buttons that let you see a number of
- different map displays. The pop-up map, which has no toolbar, always shows
- the last-selected display. Some of the buttons on the toolbar have submenus
- for even more displays. In maps that display information in shades of grey,
- the darker the grey, the higher, heavier or denser the item being mapped.
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- CITY FORM
- The City Form button controls two map displays. Click and hold on it to
- open a submenu that lets you choose between displaying structures and
- zones.
-
- Structures shows buildings and city infrastructure, including roads,
- rails, etc. Zones shows the areas that have been zoned. Residential zones
- are shown green, commercial zones are blue and industrial zones are
- yellow.
-
- ROADS
- The Roads button controls three map displays. Click and hold on it to
- open a submenu that lets you choose between displaying roads, rails and
- traffic density.
-
- Roads and Rails show the transportation pathways in your city. Traffic
- density shows the relative amount of traffic in different parts of the
- city in shades of grey.
-
- POWER GRID
- The Power Grid button activates a display of the power grid in your city.
- Powered zones are shown in yellow, zones that have lost power are shown
- in red, and power lines are shown in white.
-
- WATER SYSTEM
- The Water System button activates a display of the water grid in your
- city. Zones that are hooked to the water supply are shown in yellow,
- zones that have no water are shown in red, and water pipes are shown in
- white.
-
- POPULATION
- The Population button controls two map displays. Click and hold on it to
- open a submenu that lets you choose between displaying population density
- and the rate of population growth.
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- Population Density shows the relative number of Sims in each part of your
- city in shades of grey. Rate of Growth shows Where in the city the
- population is increasing in shades of blue, and where it is decreasing in
- shades of red. The darker the blue or red the more drastic the population
- change.
-
- CRIME
- The Crime button controls three map displays. Click and hold on it to
- open a submenu that lets you choose between displaying crime rate, police
- power, and police department location.
-
- Crime Rate shows the relative amount of crime in each area of your city
- in shades of grey. Police Power shows the relative amount of police
- coverage in different areas of the city, also in shades of grey. Police
- Departments shows each of your stations as a white square.
-
- POLLUTION
- The Pollution button activates a display of the relative amounts of
- pollution in your city. This is a reading of all types of pollution
- combined, and is shown in shades of grey.
-
- LAND VALUE
- The Land Value button activates a display of the relative property values
- in the city, shown in shades of grey.
-
- CITY SERVICES
- The City Services button controls four map displays. Click and hold on it
- to open a submenu that lets you choose between displaying fire department
- power, fire department location schools and colleges.
-
- Fire Power shows the relative fire coverage of different parts of your
- city in shades of grey. Fire Departments, Schools and Colleges show the
- locations of these buildings as white squares.
-
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- MAP MODE BUTFON
- This button toggles the City window between its current mode and Map
- mode. In Map mode the terrain in the City window displays the same
- information as the Map window. You can return the City window to its
- previous mode by either clicking the Map Mode button again or closing
- the Map window.
-
- BUDGET WINDOW
-
- The Budget window reports and lets you adjust your city's budget. It
- automatically opens every January, unless Auto-Budget (in the Options
- menu) is on. It can also be opened manually by selecting Budget in the
- Windows menu, or by clicking on the Budget window button in the City
- toolbar.
-
- The Budget window closes automatically all by itself after about two
- minutes. The two-minute timer is reset whenever you click on the window.
- You can close it any time you want by clicking on the Done button.
-
- The upper-left corner of the Budget window displays your city's name, the
- current year and month, and the timer.
-
- Click the Help button for a friendly reminder that you can get help on
- each area, item and button in this window by holding down the Shift key
- and clicking.
-
- THE NUMBERS
- The Budget window has eight rows of figures that cover all the city's
- revenues and expenses. Below those figures is a summary of the current
- financial situation and an estimate of what your finances will be at the
- end of the year.
-
- Each revenue or expense has:
- ú The name of the revenue or expense. Shift-click on the name to bring
- up a helpful explanation of what it is and what it does.
-
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- ú A percentage setting (in most cases) where you set either the tax
- rate you are charging or the amount of funding you are allotting.
-
- ú A year-to-date figure showing the up-to-the-moment amount
- that you've spent or made.
-
- ú An annual estimate of what you will have spent or made at the
- end of the year at the current budget settings.
-
- ú Detailed books showing a monthly breakdown of the revenue or expense.
- In some cases the book dialog just shows information, but some of
- the books also allow access to other, more detailed budgeting
- functions.
-
- ú An advisor who reports current status and/or gives suggestions about
- what you should do.
-
- Note: When the Budget window opens automatically at the
- beginning of a new year, the Year-to-Date column
- shows the total for the year that just ended and
- the Annual Estimate column shows estimated costs
- for the year that is just beginning.
-
- Below is a detailed explanation of each budget item.
-
- PROPERTY TAXES
- Property taxes are your main source of cash for maintaining and
- expanding your city. You can set the overall tax rate for all zones
- by clicking on the up- and down-arrows. The minimum tax is 0%,
- the maximum is 20%. Any taxes you set here will be equally
- applied to all zones. You can independently set the tax rates for
- residential, commercial and industrial zones in the Property
- Taxes Books.
-
- Clicking on the Books icon displays a detailed report of the year's
- past and projected tax income. For each month, the following
- information is given:
-
- ú The residential zone tax rate and tax amount
-
- ú The commercial zone tax rate and tax amount
-
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- ú The industrial zone tax rate and tax amount
-
- ú A running total of the taxes that will come due at the end of the
- year
-
- At the bottom of the dialog box, you can set individual tax
- rates for the three types of zones. If you change the tax
- rates here, the overall rate as shown in the Budget window
- will display the average of the three rates.
-
- Click on Done to close the Property Taxes Books.
-
- CITY ORDINANCES
- This line item is a summary of the costs and revenues of all combined
- city ordinances. These range from education drives to sales taxes to
- neighborhood watch to an annual carnival.
-
- Usually, you, as mayor, must approve and establish these programs, but if
- your city is doing very well, the City Council may take it upon itself to
- enact some programs that benefit the city. These programs are viewed and
- established in the Ordinance window, which can opened from the Budget
- window by clicking on the Community Programs Book icon. The Ordinance
- window will be described in detail below.
-
- Click Done to return to the Budget window.
-
- BOND PAYMENTS
- This is the interest you pay on bond issues.
-
- If you need cash above and beyond the money you make from property taxes,
- you can issue municipal bonds, which is basically a loan from your
- citizens. All bonds are issued for $10,000. The interest you pay on
- outstanding bonds is prime rate plus 1%, plus an additional percentage
- based on your city's current value and loan rating.
-
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- Clicking on the Interest book icon opens a dialog box with detailed
- information and buttons for extra financial transactions.
-
- For each month of the year, the following information is given: (actual
- amounts are shown in blue, projected amounts are shown in red.)
-
- ú The bonds you have outstanding
-
- ú The average interest rate you pay on the bonds
-
- ú The monthly amount of interest you pay on the bonds
-
- ú The accumulated total interest paid
-
- Show Bonds displays:
-
- ú Your city's current loan rating
-
- ú The total number of bonds you have outstanding
-
- ú The current interest rate the bank is paying on your account
-
- ú The interest rate you will pay on a bond if you issue it now
-
- ú The current value of your city (the infrastructure)
-
- Loan ratings range from AAA to F. Your rating is based on your city value.
- The higher your rating, the more bonds you can issue and the lower the
- interest rate you pay on them.
-
- Issue Bond opens a dialog that tells you the current interest rate for
- bonds and asks you if you want to issue one. All bonds are $10,000. If
- you need or want more than $10,000, then you can issue two bonds. If you
- need or want less, too bad-take the $ 10,000 and keep what you don't
- spend in the bank. If your loan rating or city value is too low, you
- won't be allowed to issue any more bonds.
-
- Repay Bond opens a dialog that tells you the interest rate on the oldest
- outstanding bond, and asks if you want to repay it. Bonds are always
- repaid from the oldest to the newest. During the life of the bond,
- interest accrues monthly, and is paid out at the end of
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- each year from your city funds. You will pay the interest every year until
- you repay the bond, so once you're flush with cash, pay them off and get
- out of debt.
-
- Clicking on Done closes the book.
-
- POLICE DEPARTMENT
- This is the cost and funding level for police departments in your city.
- You can set the percentage of funding for your departments by clicking on
- the up- and down-arrows. In general, try to keep police funding as high
- as possible to prevent rampant crime. Any funding you set will be equally
- distributed to all police departments. Complete funding for a police
- station is $100 per year.
-
- Clicking on the Books icon displays a detailed report of the
- year's past and projected police funding costs. For each
- month, the following information is given:
-
- ú The number of police stations in the city
-
- ú The funding level you have set
-
- ú The actual monthly cost to fund your stations
-
- ú A running total of the yearly cost
-
- There are no additional buttons or functions here, so just
- click anywhere to close the books.
-
- FIRE DEPARTMENT
- This is the cost and funding level for fire departments in your city.
- You can set the percentage of funding for your departments by clicking on
- the up- and down-arrows. In general, try to keep fire funding as high as
- possible for both preventing fires and responding to emergencies. Any
- funding you set will be equally distributed to all fire departments. A
- fully funded fire station costs $100 per year.
-
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- Clicking on the Books icon displays a detailed report of the year's past
- and projected fire funding costs. For each month, the following
- information is given:
-
- ú The number of fire stations in the city
-
- ú The funding level you have set
-
- ú The actual monthly cost to fund your stations
-
- ú A running total of the yearly cost
-
- There are no additional buttons or functions here, so just click anywhere
- to close the books.
-
- HEALTH & WELFARE
- This is the cost and funding level for medical services in your city.
- You can set the percentage of funding for your hospitals by clicking on
- the up- and down-arrows. In general, try to keep funding as high as
- possible to keep your Sims healthy. If you keep your funding at 100% for
- several decades, the average life expectancy in your city will increase.
- Any funding you set will be equally distributed to all hospitals.
- Complete funding for a hospital is $75 per year.
-
- Clicking on the Books icon displays a detailed report of the year's past
- and projected medical funding costs. For each month, the following
- information is given:
-
- ú The number of hospitals in the city
-
- ú The funding level you have set
-
- ú The actual monthly cost to fund your hospitals
-
- A running total of the yearly cost
-
- There are no additional buttons or functions here, so just click anywhere
- to close the books.
-
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- EDUCATION
- This is the cost and funding level for education in your city. This
- funding supports both schools for the children and colleges for higher
- learning. Without schools, education in your city will be entirely based
- on verbal lore, and you will be unable to support high-technology
- industries.
-
- You can set the percentage of funding for education by clicking on the
- up- and down-arrows. Any funding you set here will be equally distributed
- to all schools and colleges. You can independently set the funding rates
- for schools and colleges in the Education books. Complete funding for a
- school costs $25 per year, and a college costs $100 per year.
-
- Clicking on the Books icon displays a detailed report of the year's past
- and projected education funding. For each month, the following
- information is given:
-
- ú The number of schools in the city
-
- ú The funding level for schools
-
- ú The monthly cost to fund schools
-
- ú The number of colleges in the city
-
- ú The funding level for colleges
-
- ú The monthly cost to fund colleges
-
- ú A running total of the yearly cost
-
- At the bottom of the dialog box, you can set individual funding levels
- for schools and colleges. If you change the funding levels here, the
- overall level as shown in the Budget window will display the average of
- school and college funding levels.
-
- Click on Done to close the Education books.
-
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- TRANSIT AUTHORITY
- This is the cost and funding level for maintaining the transportation
- system in your city. This funding maintains roads, rails, highways,
- subways, bridges and tunnels. Without proper funding, your transit
- systems will deteriorate and commuting and commerce in your city will
- fall to pieces.
-
- You can set the overall percentage of funding for your transportation
- systems by clicking on the up- and down-arrows. Any funding you set here
- will be equally distributed to all types of transportation. You can
- independently set the funding rates for roads, rails, highways, subways,
- bridges and tunnels in the Transit Authority Books. Complete transit
- authority funding per year is: Roads $1 per 10 tiles; Rails $1 per 5
- tiles; Highways $1 per section (4 tiles); Subways $2 per 5 tiles; Bridges
- $2 per 5 tiles; Tunnels $2 per 5 tiles.
-
- Clicking on the Books icon displays a detailed report of the year's past
- and projected transit authority funding. For each month, the following
- information is given:
-
- ú The cost of road maintenance
-
- ú The cost of rail maintenance
-
- ú The cost of highway maintenance
-
- ú The cost of subway maintenance
-
- ú The cost of bridge maintenance
-
- ú The cost of tunnel maintenance
-
- ú A running total of all transit costs
-
- At the bottom of the dialog box, you can set individual funding levels
- for roads, rails, highways, subways, bridges and tunnels. If you change
- the funding levels here, the overall level as shown in the Budget window
- will display the average of all these funding levels.
-
- Click on Done to close the Transit Authority Books.
-
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- THE TOTALS
- The bottom of the Budget window shows the totals for:
- ú Year-to-Date Cash Flow
-
- ú Estimated Annual Cash Flow
-
- ú Current Funds
-
- ú (Estimated) End of Year Funds
-
- ORDINANCE WINDOW
-
- The Ordinance window is where community programs and city ordinances are
- established and inspected. This window can be opened either by selecting
- Ordinance from the Windows menu or by clicking on the City Ordinance Book
- icon in the Budget window.
-
- There are five categories of programs and ordinances: finance, health and
- safety, education, promotional and other. Click on the names of each
- program or ordinance for an explanation of what they do as well as their
- pros and cons.
-
- To enact a program, click in the checkbox to the right of the program's
- name. The cost or projected revenue will appear to the right of the
- check. These amounts will vary with the size and development of your
- city. The Estimated Annual Costs for all programs is provided in the
- lower-right corner of the window.
-
- Click Done to close the Ordinance window.
-
- FINANCE PROGRAMS
-
- 1% Sales Tax will add cash to your coffers, but may also inhibit local
- commerce.
-
- 1% Income Tax is a source of city revenues, but may discourage residential
- growth, and even cause some tax-haters to move away.
-
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- Legalized Gambling can provide extra money that can be put to good use,
- but brings with it an increase in crime.
-
- Parking Fines are a small, steady source of the green, but tend to hinder
- commercial growth a little.
-
- SAFETY & HEALTH PROGRAMS
- A Volunteer Fire Department can be an economical way to fight fires in
- small communities, but can't replace the professionals in a big city or
- during a forest fire.
-
- A Public Smoking Ban can increase the overall health level in your city
- and eventually increase the average life expectancy, but will cost a
- small fee to administer.
-
- Free Clinics increase the overall health level in the city, but free
- clinics aren't free - at least not to you.
-
- Junior Sports increases the overall health level of the youth of your
- city.
-
- EDUCATION PROGRAMS
- A Pro-Reading Campaign will increase the overall education level in your
- city, preparing it for an influx of new, high-tech industries.
-
- An Anti-Drug Campaign can help reduce crime.
-
- Providing CPR Training as a service to your Sims increases the overall
- level of health in your city.
-
- Neighborhood Watch helps reduce crime in residential areas, but at a
- price.
-
- PROMOTIONAL PROGRAMS
- Tourism Advertising may or may not pay off in bringing visitors
- with their loose dollars to your fair city. If you do advertise for
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- tourists, make sure you have the right attractions, like marinas,
- stadiums, parks, zoos, rivers, etc.
-
- Business Advertising can bring new industry into town, but make sure you
- can support the businesses with ample water, power, transportation, and
- enough residential and commercial space to hold the influx of new
- citizens. And low taxes won't hurt, either.
-
- City Beautification increases residential desirability and land value.
-
- An Annual Carnival can increase tourist trade and local commerce, and
- show your Sims a darn good time. The size, cost and benefit of the
- carnival varies with your city size.
-
- OTHER PROGRAMS
- Energy Conservation establishes an educational drive to conserve
- electricity by, among other things, adding insulation to homes and water
- heaters. This program takes a few years to ramp up to full effect, but
- will eventually allow your power plants to power up to 15% more buildings.
-
- Declaring your city a Nuclear Free Zone costs nothing, but can make some
- of your citizens feel safer, and may even attract new citizens to your
- fair town. It's a small plus for residential desirability and a small
- minus for industry. A Nuclear Free Zone will not stop the military from
- building missile silos or basing nuclear weapons near your city if you
- give them permission to build a base.
-
- Homeless Shelters are expensive, but decrease the number of homeless
- people and increase the number of residents, increasing the labor pool
- for commerce and industry and marginally increasing land value.
-
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- Pollution Controls slightly lower the amount of industrial pollution in
- your city, but also make the city slightly less desirable to industry.
-
- ESTIMATED ANNUAL COST
- This section of the Ordinance window summarizes the cost or income from
- each category, and gives both year-to-date and full-year estimated totals.
-
- POPULATION WINDOW
-
- The Population window displays graphs of statistics about your city's
- population. It can be opened by selecting Population from the Windows
- menu. It can also be opened - in two ways - with the Population button on
- the City toolbar.
-
- If you click and hold on the Population button, the population graph
- (just the graph - no Title bar or frame) will pop up, and then go away
- when you release the button. If you click and drag the button, the full
- Population window will appear, complete with buttons for additional
- displays.
-
- The Population window can be moved around the screen by clicking and
- dragging the Title bar. It can be closed by the Close box. The three
- buttons on the bottom of the window let you choose between three
- different population-related graphic displays:
-
- Population shows the age distribution of your population, and
- gives the percentage of the population that is your potential work
- force.
-
- Health shows the Life Expectancy (LE) of your population, by age,
- and summarizes the LE of your work force.
-
- Education shows the average education level of your citizens at
- various ages, expressed in their Education Quotient (EQ). A high
- EQ attracts high-tech industry to your city. EQ is affected by the
- presence of schools, colleges, libraries and museums.
-
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- INDUSTRIES WINDOW
-
- The Industries window displays graphs of statistics about your city's
- industry. lt can be opened by selecting Industry from the Windows menu.
- It can also be opened - in two ways - with the Industry button on the
- City toolbar.
-
- If you click and hold on the Industry button, the industry graph (just
- the graph - no Title bar or frame) will pop up, and then go away when you
- release the button. if you click and drag the button, the full Industries
- window will appear, complete with buttons for additional displays.
-
- The Industries window can be moved around the screen clicking and
- dragging the Title bar. It can be closed by clicking the Close box. The
- three buttons on the bottom of the window let you choose between three
- different industry-related graphic displays:
-
- Ratios shows the distribution of various types of industries in
- your city.
-
- Tax Rates shows the rate at which various industries are taxed. This is
- the property tax for industry as set in the Budget window. You can change
- the rate for individual industries by dragging the blue bar to the right
- (increase tax) or left (decrease tax). You may want to lower taxes on an
- industry to encourage its growth within your city. You may want to
- increase taxes to discourage an industry, or to fine it for causing
- excess pollution.
-
- Demand shows a graph of which industries' products are in demand
- nationally.
-
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- GRAPHS WINDOW
-
- The Graphs window displays statistical graphs about many elements of your
- city. It can be opened by selecting Graphs from the Windows menu. It can
- also be opened - in two ways - with the Graphs button on the City toolbar.
-
- If you click and hold on the Graphs button, the graph (just the graph -
- no Title bar or frame) will pop up, and then go away when you release the
- button. If you click and drag the button, the full Graphs window will
- appear, complete with buttons for controlling the graphs displayed. The
- Graphs window can be moved around the screen by clicking and dragging the
- Title bar. It can be closed by clicking the Close box. The many buttons on
- the bottom of the window let you toggle on and off various graphic
- displays. Click on the 1 year, 10 year or 100 year button to set the time
- scale for the graphs.
-
- Each graph:
-
- ú Is shown in a different color
-
- ú Has a "marker" letter or symbol at its right end to help you
- identify it
-
- ú Is followed by a number that gives its current value
-
- City Size, marked with an "S," is the total city population.
-
- Residents, marked with an "R," shows the population that isn't part of the
- job market, including children, elderly and spouses not employed outside
- of the home.
-
- Commerce, marked with a "C," shows the number of people employed in
- commercial jobs.
-
- Industry, marked with an "I," shows the number of people employed in
- industrial jobs.
-
- Traffic, marked with a "T," shows the average density of your road network
- including buses, but not trains or subways. For this graph, traffic is
- considered road congestion, not the total amount of travel.
-
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- Pollution, marked with a "P," shows the growth or decline in the general
- level of pollution in the city.
-
- Value, marked with a "V," shows the fluctuations of the average land value
- in the city by graphing the median home price.
-
- Crime, marked with an "X," shows the changing crime rate in your city.
-
- Power%, marked with a "p," shows the remaining capacity of your power
- plant(s). When you get to 0 you'll start to have brownouts.
-
- Water%, marked with a "w," shows the remaining capacity of your water
- system. When you get to 0 you'll need more wells and pumps.
-
- Health, marked with an "h," shows the growth or decline of the overall
- health level of the citizens of your city.
-
- Education, marked with an "e," shows the ever-changing average level of
- education that the citizens of your city have reached.
-
- Unemployment (Unemp.), marked with a "u,"shows the changing number of
- people that are out of work in your city.
-
- Gross National Product (GNP), marked with a "g," shows the total value of
- goods and services produced by the residents of SimNation. This affects
- the market for industrial goods produced in your city.
-
- National Population (Nat'l Pop), marked with an "n," shows the
- changes in SimNation's total population.
-
- Fed rate, marked with "%," is the prime interest rate as set by
- SimNation's Federal Reserve Board.
-
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- NEIGHBORS WINDOW
-
- The Neighbors window displays your city's population along with the
- population of its neighboring cities and the total population of
- SimNation. Use this window to compare your city with the cities that you
- compete with for people and other resources, and to see just how big a
- part of the whole nation you are (or aren't).
-
- The neighbors window can be opened by selecting Neighbors from the Windows
- menu. It can also be opened - in two ways - with the Neighbors button on
- the City toolbar.
-
- If you click and hold on the Neighbors button, the window, with no Title
- bar or frame, will pop up, and then go away when you release the button.
- If you click and drag the button, the full Neighbors window will appear,
- and stay until you make it go away by clicking in the Close box.
-
- You can move the window around on the screen by clicking and dragging the
- Title bar.
-
-
-
-
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- INSIDE THE SIMULATION
- EASY MEDIUM AND HARD GAMES
-
- Whenever you start a new city, you have the choice of three difficulty
- levels, easy, medium and hard. The differences between the levels are:
-
- The amount of money you start with. In an easy game, you start with
- $20,000. A medium game gives you $10,000. In a hard game, you start
- $10,000 in debt, with a bond issue to pay back when you can and interest
- to pay every year.
-
- The national financial model. Your city is located somewhere in SimNation.
- The growth of your city depends on its surroundings - rich, financially
- healthy neighbors are good customers for your industrial products and,
- bring their money with them when they visit your tourist attractions. In
- easy games, SimNation is in a boom cycle. In medium games, the national
- economy is stable. For hard games, SimNation is in a recession.
-
- The external industrial product demand. The easier the game, the more
- demand for the products that your city's industries can produce.
-
- The propensity for disaster. The harder the game, the more likely is it
- that your city will be host to a disaster. Choosing No Disasters in the
- Disasters menu prevents disasters at all difficulty levels.
-
- THE EFFECT OF TIME
-
- When you start a new city, you can choose between 1900, 1950,
- 2000 and 2050 for its founding year. And as time goes by, things
- change, including:
-
- The avallable technology. The technology levels in SimCity 2000
- roughly follow reality, give or take a few years. (Except for the
- future stuff, which is just guessing, so don't come to us in 2050 and
- complain that we don't have fusion power yet.) Inventions that
- give you access to new technology are announced in newspaper
- headlines.
-
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- The national financial model. Since the national and world population is
- larger now than it was in 1900, there are more potential citizens and
- more potential customers. External demand increases with time. It is
- easier to build a bigger city in 2000 than it is in 1900.
-
- The per capita (per zone) power consumption. In 1900 there aren't many
- ways for the average citizen to squander energy. Then, starting around
- 1930, with the advent of muscle cars and electric-powered everything and
- lots of electronic toys, power consumption zooms, peaking around 1970.
- From 1970 to 2000, because of both conservation practices and more
- efficient gadgetry, per capita power use sinks and levels off. This
- energy effect in SimCity 2000 is subtle, but can be affected by passing
- the energy conservation ordinance in the Ordinance window.
-
- SCENARIOS
-
- SimCity 2000 scenarios are special cities with problems, included both to
- provide a number of gaming challenges and to help you better design your
- own cities by seeing the mistakes and problems other cities have faced.
-
- Scenario cities are all in separate files, and are read into the game
- when you load them. Additional scenarios can be added later.
-
- Each Scenario includes:
-
- ú A pre-built city
-
- ú A problem to solve or disaster to face
-
- ú A goal to reach
-
- ú A time limit to reach the goal
-
- If you reach the goal within the time limit, you win the scenario, you're
- given the key to the city, and you can continue to rule the city. If you
- don't reach the goal within the time limit, you're kicked out of town.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- Typical goals include:
- ú Reaching a population level
- ú Reaching a financial goal
- ú Rebuilding your industry
- ú Reducing crime, pollution or traffic
-
- ZONES
-
- One of your primary functions as city planner is zoning-deciding what
- types of buildings go where. Good zoning allows all city functions to be
- accessed by all citizens, and sets the feel and flow of life in the city.
- All zones in SimCity 2000 can be decreed to be either light-density (low
- population) or dense (high population).
-
- As you zone areas, the empty zones are shown in colors so you can easily
- keep track of them. You can turn on and off the display of empty zones in
- the underground view with the Show Zones button in the City toolbar.
-
- There are three basic zones in SimCity 2000: residential, commercial and
- industrial.
-
- ú Residential zones, shown in green, are places where Sims live.
- They include everything from luxury homes to slums.
-
- ú Commercial zones, shown in blue, are the shops, stores and offices
- of the city.
-
- ú Industrial zones, shown in yellow, are the factories and
- manufacturing centers of the city.
-
- Zones can be almost any shape or size that can be made out of squares or
- rectangles. If you zone over an area that is already zoned, you will be
- charged for rezoning only if you change the type of zone or the density.
- You won't be charged for zoning light residential over an existing light
- residential area, but you will be charged if you zone dense residential
- (or light or dense industrial or commercial) over light residential.
-
- To remove zoning from an area without rezoning, use the D&zone
- function of the Bulldozer tool in the City toolbar.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- Sims only build in zoned areas. You, as mayor, can build elements of the
- city infrastructure (roads, rails, power lines, power plants, etc.), city
- services (police and fire stations, etc.) and other public places (parks,
- zoos, museums, libraries, schools, etc.) either in zoned or unzoned areas.
-
- Zones grow and decay as Sims move in and out of individual buildings,
- zones or the city. Depending on the times, the economy and your design
- skills, booming, bustling zones may be abandoned, or empty zones may
- suddenly become prime real estate and suddenly grow into a city center.
-
- SPECIALIZED ZONES
-
- Seaports and airports are actually special-purpose zones. They are placed
- and sized like the basic (residential, commercial and industrial) zones
- and they needn't be placed in existing zones. Military bases are also
- specialized zones, but they are automatically placed by the simulation.
-
- NON-ZONES
-
- Roads, rails, stations, depots, and cityowned buildings like power plants
- and police stations don't need to be placed in zones. In fact, when you
- place them in a zone, they de-zone that land. For example, if you place a
- road across a zone, then remove it with a bulldozer, the newly exposed
- land will be unzoned. You can save a lot of zoning money by leaving spaces
- between them for roads and rails and keeping your power plants, stations,
- depots and departments out of zoned areas.
-
- COMMERCE
-
- Commerce is primarily trade within your city. It is slow in a small city,
- since your internal market is small. Commerce remains a much less
- important aspect of a city until it reaches a population of about 100,000,
- where income from commerce catches up with industry. As your population
- grows beyond that, your city may become primarily a commercial center. It
- will become more and more independent, relying less and less on the
- external market, but you'll always need at least some industry for a
- well-balanced city.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- Commercial zones develop better and faster near the city center. Airports
- provide a big boost to your city's commerce once your city reaches a
- population of at least 20,000.
-
- INDUSTRY
-
- Industry is the manufacture of goods and services to sell. You can sell
- both to the internal market (within your city) and the external market
- (outside your city).
-
- Industry is the lifeblood of a small city, and is much more important
- than commerce while your population is small. When a city is small, there
- aren't enough customers in it to support itself. You have to manufacture
- things to sell to the external market and bring in more cash and people.
- In fact, industry can be thought of as the reason to start a new city.
-
- Industry is a primary source of employment in your city. It is also the
- primary source of pollution. Industrial areas tend towards low land value
- and high crime.
-
- The Industry window is an important tool if you want to control the
- direction of industry in your city. It gives you a readout of the current
- distribution of industries in your city, as well as the external demand
- for the products of the various industries. It also lets you set different
- tax levels for different industries to encourage the ones you want and
- discourage those you don't. You may want to discourage an industry that
- causes a lot of pollution. You may want to encourage a small industry
- that you think may be about to boom.
-
- When you create an industrial zone, the Sims tend to build the industries
- that are in highest demand. The demand for different industries is related
- to the era. For example, in 1960, the electronics industry isn't nearly as
- important, or in as much demand as in 1990.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- A forward-thinking mayor in 1930 just may believe that there is a big
- future in that upstart, tiny electronics industry. Since it is in low
- demand, the Sims won't invest in it - unless their mayor gives them a tax
- incentive. So the mayor lowers the tax on the electronics industry and it
- begins to grow. Thirty years later it begins to bloom, then boom. That's
- when the mayor raises the taxes and makes a fortune for the city - while
- securing lots of jobs in a high-tech, still-growing industry.
-
- Another forward-thinking mayor whose city is almost entirely supported by
- one industry, say automotive, may want to diversify before the market
- crashes and the city becomes a ghost town.
-
- And yet another forward-thinking mayor may realize that the new high-tech
- industries won't thrive without an educated population, and will make sure
- to provide schools, colleges and other educational institutions.
-
- Many aspects of city design affect industry. The presence of hospitals can
- give a boost to the petrochemical industry (pharmaceuticals). The presence
- or lack of seaports can help or hinder heavy manufacturing like steel,
- mining, and automotive. The presence or lack of a good highway and/or rail
- system can also affect heavy industry's development. City ordinances can
- also hinder or help various industries.
-
- POWER
-
- Yes, cities existed before electricity, but not in SimCity 2000. Sims are
- electronic life-forms and can't exist without it.
-
- All zones need power to develop - except for military bases. Power lines
- transfer power between power plants and zones and between non-adjacent
- zones. Power isn't transferred through adjacent zones or through roads or
- rails that divide zones without power lines.
-
- Tiles with power lines consume power. If you place too many power lines
- you waste a lot of power.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- The types of power sources available are timedependent. You can't build a
- nuclear power plant in 1900. As new technology becomes available, it will
- be announced in the newspapers. All power plants are introduced when they
- become coefficient - no early, flaky experimental models in this game.
- Some of SimCity 2000's power sources do not yet exist in the real world.
- We've made some rough predictions as to when they'll be available and put
- them into the game. If our predictions are off, sorry - we specialize in
- simulation, not real stuff. You can mix and match the types of power
- plants in a single city.
-
- All power plants have a 50-year life span, after which they collapse. When
- they collapse, they don't cause fires or leak radiation, they just stop
- working, and you have to rebuild them (and pay for them all over again).
- You'll receive warnings about aging power plants in the newspapers, and
- the Query tool will give your plants' exact ages.
-
- If you have the No Disasters setting activated (in the Disasters menu),
- then plants won't collapse. They'll be automatically rebuilt and you'll
- be charged. If you don't have the cash to rebuild them, then they'll
- collapse and you'll be out of power and out of luck. So save up cash for
- power plant replacement or be ready to issue a bond.
-
- Power is measured in megawatts (Mw). Developed areas require on the
- average one Mw for three occupied tiles. The exact power consumption
- varies with time, population density and an occasional city ordinance.
- Connecting too many buildings to a power source results in brownouts.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- Here is a table comparing the different power plants. The years are +/-
- 10 years.
-
- Type Year Mw Cost Cost
- Avail per Mw
- Coal 1900 200 $4,000 $20
- Hydroelectric 1900 20 $400 $20
- Oil 1900 220 $6,600 $30
- Gas 1950 50 $2,000 $40
- Nuclear 1955 500 $15,000 $30
- Wind 1980 4 $100 $25
- Solar 1990 50 $1,300 $26
- Microwave 2020 1600 $28,000 $17.5
- Fusion 2050 2500 $40,000 $16
-
- Coal power is always available, even in 1900, and is fairly efficient,
- but is the worst polluter.
-
- Hydroelectric power is always available, even in 1900, is fairly
- efficient, and doesn't pollute. Hydroelectric dams can only be placed on
- falling water.
-
- Oil power is always available, even in 1900, and pollutes about half as
- much as coal.
-
- Gas power pollutes even less than oil, but is very inefficient.
-
- Nuclear power is expensive to build and not too efficient, but it puts
- out a lot of power. There is also the risk of a meltdown disaster.
- Nuclear power plants are unavailable if you declare your city a nuclear-
- free zone.
-
- Wind power is fairly efficient and very clean, but puts out very little
- power, so you'll need a lot of wind generators to produce serious wattage.
- Wind power is also subject to the whims of the weather. There is more
- wind at higher altitudes.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- Solar power is non-polluting and fairly efficient, but has a low output
- and is unreliable - very little power is produced when it's cloudy or
- foggy. A combination of solar and wind power plants can produce a stable
- energy flow since one generally thrives while the other snoozes.
-
- Microwave power is actually solar power collected by an orbiting satellite
- and beamed down to a microwave collector disk. It is very efficient and
- produces a massive amount of power, but is very expensive to "get off the
- ground," and once in a while the energy beam from the satellite misses the
- dish. Oops.
-
- Fusion power is very clean and reliable. It is the most efficient power
- source and produces enough power to run a city half the size of your
- entire city limits. It is very safe, with no radiation leakage or
- meltdowns. But it costs a whole heck of a lot of money.
-
- TRANSPORTATION
-
- People gotta move. Sims gotta move. Products, delivery trucks,
- construction materials and all kinds of things need to be moved around
- the city. Transportation is the city's circulation system. Sims won't
- start developing a zone or building any buildings until there is access
- to some sort of transportation system.
-
- It not only costs money to build your transportation system, but there is
- a yearly maintenance fee, found in the Budget window. By examining the
- Transit Authority books, you can set separate funding levels for roads,
- highways, rails, subways, bridges and tunnels.
-
- The most basic transpoftation system consists of roads. Sims won't build
- buildings that are more than three tiles from a road (or other
- transportation system), so if you're after density, the largest area that
- will fully develop is a 6 x 6 square surrounded by road. If you're more
- interested in aesthetics, then you can make larger squares or rectangles
- and put parks or forests in the undeveloped center.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- Tunnels allow roads to run through mountains instead of going around them.
- They can be a real convenience, but they can also be expensive. They cost
- more to build than roads, and their yearly maintenance is higher. Tunnels
- can't cross each other, even at different altitudes.
-
- When roads carry up to 44 cars per minute, it is considered to be
- "no traffic." From 44 to 88 cars per minute is light traffic, and above
- that is heavy traffic. Watch the newspapers for traffic-related
- stories and check the traffic map in the Map window to find
- trouble spots. In addition to causing traffic, roads or the cars on
- them are a major source of pollution in your city.
-
- Once your roads are overloaded, you have a number of options, depending
- on the year in your city. In 1900 your only transportation options are
- roads, tunnels, rails and rail depots. Other options become available as
- new technologies develop. Watch the newspapers for inventions that give
- you access to new forms of transportation.
-
- These are the years, +/-1 0 years, when different forms of transportation
- become available:
-
- 1910 Subways and subway stations
- 1920 Buses and bus depots
- 1930 Highways and onramps
-
- Buses allow roads to carry more people than roads alone without generating
- problem traffic. To start a bus line, you need at least one bus depot.
- Buses leave the depot and let passengers on and off all along the way.
- There are no animated buses, so the visible effect of a bus depot is a
- lowering of traffic near the depot. Bus depots must be adjacent to roads.
- If they are adjacent to onramps or highways but, not a road, they won't be
- effective. Buses are a more efficient use of gasoline than cars, so they
- produce much less pollution per passenger. Pollution levels are slightly
- but noticeably lower around effective bus depots.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- Highways are basically two roads, one in each direction, so they are
- capable of carrying twice as many cars as a road. In addition, because
- they can travel at a higher speed on a highway, Sims will commute farther
- on a highway than on a road-up to three times as far. You must provide
- onramps everywhere you want to let Sims enter or exit the highway. Sims
- can't travel back and forth between zones and onramps without roads. A
- highway system is an extension of a road system, not a replacement.
-
- Rails are the paths your trains follow. Sims can only get on or off
- trains at rail depots. Depots must be adjacent to rails, and you need at
- least two for a working rail line. Rails can carry many more commuters
- than roads, plus they are a big boost to heavy industry, allowing
- shipping of goods and raw materials around the city. Since trains go
- faster than cars on city streets, Sims will commute farther by train than
- by car. Compared with cars, trains produce almost no pollution.
-
- Subways are underground rail systems, but are primarily for passengers,
- and less for the shipping of goods and raw materials. They can be
- connected directly to rail lines for a continuous flow of train cars.
- Passengers can only get on and off subways at subway stations. The
- advantage of subways over other transportation systems is that they are
- mostly underground. They don't take up valuable real estate. And if you
- want to add rails to an already developed city, you'll have to tear down
- a lot of buildings for the rails themselves as well as the large depots.
- Subways only require small (1 tile) access ways above ground, so they can
- be added to a city without calling in the wrecking crew. The disadvan-
- tage of a subway system is that its very expensive to build and maintain.
- Subways produce almost no pollution.
-
- When simulating traffic, SimCity 2000 doesn't really simulate every Sim
- in your city going to work and back and to the store and back and to
- school and back and to the pub and back and everywhere else they go. With
- thousands or millions of citizens this would take forever to simulate.
- The way the traffic model works is a process called "trip generation" and
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- works on a building-by-building basis. It also works on the assumption
- that most trips will be from one type of zone to another.
-
- For each building in each zone, the simulator generates trips to both of
- the other types of zones. If the starting building is a house in a
- residential zone, the simulation will search out a path to a commercial
- zone and back, and to an industrial zone and back. It tries to avoid
- heavy traffic areas, and if it bumps into mass transit, there is a 50/50
- chance it will take it.
-
- There is a time limit for each trip, and if the time runs out before
- reaching a zone, then the trip is a failure. The time limit is stable,
- but the allowable distance to the destination depends on the mode of
- transport. Since highways, rails and subways travel faster than cars on
- regular roads, the simulation can go up to three times as far while
- looking for a destination zone.
-
- If a failed trip involves mass transit, then the next time that same
- building is checked, it won't even try that same type of mass transit.
-
- So the amount of traffic alleviated by mass transit depends on two
- things:
-
- 1. The whims of the Sims - that 50/50 chance.
- 2. Your city's design - if the bus or train won't get the Sims
- where they want to go, they'll drive.
-
- A bad mass transit system is worse than none at all, because it
- won't get used. To promote the use of mass transit as much as
- possible:
-
- 1. Put bus or rail depots or subway stations near busy intersec-
- tions.
- 2. Make sure that mass transit lines travel through different
- types of zones. A bus line that stays in a residential zone won't
- have much business.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- PORTS
-
- Airports and seaports are specialized zones. Placing them in areas that
- are already zoned is a waste of your funds. An airport's primary effect
- is to boost commerce. Seaports boost industry. Neither type of port is
- necessary (or affordable) in a very small city.
-
- Once your city starts to grow, your citiSims will let you know when they
- want ports. The bigger the city, the bigger the ports it will require.
- Since you can make ports any size you want, and they're very expensive,
- start small - but leave open space for later expansion. When the city
- outgrows your small ports, the Sims will let you know when it's time to
- expand. But if you notice your commercial or industrial zones' growth
- rate slowing down, you may want to add ports before your Sims ask for
- them.
-
- Both types of ports produce pollution, but airports pollute more.
-
- TREES
-
- Trees and forests add beauty to your city and its surroundings, and
- improve property values. They are flammable and can help fires spread.
-
- WATER
-
- Lakes, rivers and oceans are sources of drinking water for your city.
- They also provide recreational areas and tourist attractions, and improve
- land value.
-
- You can add as much water to your city as you want in Terrain-Editing
- mode, but once you start a city, it is very expensive, so plan ahead.
-
- Seaports must be on a river or the ocean to be effective, and marinas in
- the desert are no fun at all.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- You can build a city without any water system at all, but the population
- won't grow very dense. A basic water system consists of pumps and pipes.
- When Sims build buildings, they put in the underground plumbing. All you
- have to do is add the water mains to connect the buildings to the system
- and supply the water.
-
- Parts of the water system that are properly supplied with water are
- animated in light and dark blue. Areas that aren't animated either aren't
- hooked up or your water source is too small for the population.
-
- Water pumps, when placed away from fresh water act as wells. The amount
- of water they provide depends on your city's water table and the season.
- Water pumps placed right next to fresh water (lakes or streams) produce
- about three times as much as a well on dry land. A pump placed next to
- salt water (coastline) acts just like a well away from water. To get
- drinking water from a coastline you need a desalinization plant, which is
- expensive, but sometimes necessary. Desalinization plants produce twice as
- much water as a water pump near a river.
-
- Since the amount of water varies with the season, you may end up with
- shortages during the dry months. Water tanks store water during the wet
- season so you don't run low in dry times. Another way to prevent droughts
- is to build a treatment plant to clean and recycle your water.
-
- RECREATIONAL FACILITIES AND OPEN SPACES
-
- Open spaces, whether they are undeveloped greenbelts or manicured
- recreational facilities, are important to a city, both aesthetically and
- psychologically. Besides adding land value, trees, forests and open space
- give a city a better feel, an openness that makes citizens feel
- comfortable and encourages new residents.
-
- As your population rises, your Sims will start demanding recreational
- facilities. The developed recreation facilities that are available in
- SimCity 2000 are small parks, big parks, zoos, stadiums and marinas.
-
-
-
- Page 110 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- Recreational facilities are primarily for your city's residents,
- increasing land value and promoting residential zone growth, but they
- also influence tourism. Small parks increase land value about the same
- amount as trees, and big parks increase it twice as much. Marinas, zoos
- and stadiums are a big boost for residential growth.
-
- THE CLIMATE
-
- Even though you don't see the seasons change or the rains fall, and you
- don't feel the wind blow (other than an occasional tornado or hurricane),
- there is a climate model in SimCity 2000 that affects your city. Weather
- reports are available in the newspapers.
-
- Weather trends are generated on a monthly basis, when the simulation
- looks at the current trend and the season and throws in a certain
- weighted random element and decides the next trend. The different trends
- are: cold, clear, hot, foggy, chilly, overcast, snowy, rainy, windy,
- blizzard, hurricane and tornado. Blizzard, hurricane and tornado are the
- least likely to occur.
-
- Each trend has a temperature, a wind and a humidity element. In general,
- temperature affects the water supply, the availability of solar power,
- and the likelihood of fires and riots; wind affects the availability of
- wind power, and humidity affects the water supply. These effects combine
- in various ways in the various trends.
-
- Page 111 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
- Pollution as shown in the maps and graphs is a general overall level
- combining air, water and noise pollution. The biggest polluters in your
- city are automobiles, then industry and some types of power plants.
-
- The main things you can do to keep pollution down in your city are to
- provide good mass transit, opt for low- or non-polluting power sources,
- and promote low- and non-polluting industries through tax incentives.
-
-
-
- Page 111 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- REWARDS
-
- So you're a great mayor. So you build a great city with the power of your
- mind and the sweat of your mouse-finger. So your citiSims love you. So
- what? Where are the perks?
-
- That's where the rewards come in. For the most part the rewards are more
- for the city than for you personally. Some say that the art and the
- artist are one, so a reward for your city - your creation - is a reward
- for you. Others say, "Give me the cash." In any event, there are at least
- a couple rewards that should give your ego a boost.
-
- Rewards are based on population. As you reach various population levels,
- you will be notified that a reward is available in a newspaper article
- and the offering will appear in the submenu under the Rewards button in
- the City toolbar.
-
- At population: You get:
-
- 2,000 A mayor's house
-
- 10,000 City Hall
-
- 30,000 Something cool that will boost your ego
-
-
- When your population reaches 60,000, the military asks you if you want a
- military base in your city. The pros and cons of military bases are
- covered later in this manual.
-
- As your city grows, there will be other things that you'll just have to
- find out for yourself, because I won't tell you. Well, OK. I'll tell you
- one more: Arcologies at a population of 120,000.
-
- Arcologies are huge, tall, dense cities-in-a-building. They are like a
- very dense combination residential, commercial and industrial zone.
- Arcologies are a way to help your population zoom from mere hundreds of
- thousands to millions, expanding your tax base. There are four different
- arcologies, designed in 2000, 2050, 2100 and 2150. Even if you have a
- huge population, you can't build an arcology until it's ready.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- Arcologies also spur the growth of nearby residential, commercial and
- industrial zones. Even though they are theoretically totally contained
- cities, people who live inside will come out to shop and see the sights,
- and may even work outside. Others may live outside and work inside.
-
- They look cool too. Unfortunately, arcologies have all the problems of an
- extremely dense city: lots of crime, pollution and traffic. Technically,
- arcologies have their own internal police force and traffic system, but
- there is always an overspill of criminals, travelers and fun-seekers.
- Make sure you have police coverage near arcologies and that there is
- ample public transportation surrounding them.
-
- MILITARY BASES
-
- When your population reaches 60,000, the government will ask if you will
- grant land for a military base. Depending on the base and your plans for
- your city, this can be a good thing or a bad thing.
-
- When you grant land to the military, you don't choose what type of base
- you get or where it goes-the government does. The types of bases are:
- army, navy, air force, and missile silos. If your city is on the coast,
- the odds are that you will get a naval base. If you don't get a naval
- base, then if your city is fairly flat, you'll most likely get an air
- force base, and if it is fairly hilly, you'll get an army base. If it's
- very hilly, you'll probably get missile silos.
-
- The good parts about a military base are that it gives a boost to your
- local commerce both by bringing in extra customers for the stores and
- services in your city, and by supplying civilian jobs. The presence of
- a military base (other than missile silos) also has a deterrent effect on
- the monster, and may encourage it to leave sooner. During an emergency,
- you may also be able to deploy military troops to aid your fire and
- police departments with the Emergency button.
-
-
-
- Page 113 SimCity 2000 - Reference
-
-
-
-
- The bad parts of a military base are a possible increase in crime (wild
- times on shore leave and civilian crooks preying on soldiers) and traffic
- congestion.
-
- Missile silos are the least desirable base, since they don't have a big
- enough staff to have an effect on your economy and they're useless
- against monsters - these missiles would do more damage to your city than
- to the monster. Even if your city is a nuclear-free zone, you risk getting
- missile silos if you agree to a military base.
-
- EDUCATION
-
- Education in SimCity 2000 is expressed as an Educational Quotient, or EQ.
- The higher the EQ, the more educated your population is. You can see a
- readout of your citiSims' EQ in the population window. EQs range from
- zero (brain dead) to 150. The equivalent of a high school education is an
- EQ of 90. A four-year college degree is an EQ of about 140. The
- SimNational average EQ is 100.
-
- A high EQ is a source of pride to your citizens. It makes your city a
- more attractive place to raise their children. It also attracts high-tech
- industry. A low EQ is a source of embarrassment and causes insulting
- stories to appear in your local (and unread) newspaper. A city with a low
- EQ has a higher likelihood of both unemployment and rioting.
-
- When you start a new city, the Sims who move in and start their new lives
- are at least somewhat educated, so you don't have to build schools right
- away. But don't wait too long, or your settlers' children will be
- ignorant.
-
- If you have no schools or colleges, then education consists solely of
- verbal lore passed down from generation to generation, and children will
- only achieve about 20% of their parents' EQ.
-
- Schools each service a population up to about 15,000, depending on the
- age distribution of your citizens. Enough schools with full funding can
- increase your city's EQ up to 90 over a period of years.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
- Colleges each service a population of up to 50,000, and can eventually
- increase your city's EQ to as much as 140, but only if you have enough
- well-funded schools to prepare students for college.
-
- After Sims graduate high school or college, their EQ will slowly erode.
- The presence of libraries and museums stops this erosion.
-
- All educational facilities raise the local land value, and require yearly
- funding in the Budget window to remain effective.
-
- CITY SERVICES
-
- City services consist of police and fire protection, hospitals and
- prisons. All city services require yearly funding in the Budget window to
- be fully effective. The locations and effective areas of city services
- can be seen in the Map window.
-
- Police stations lower the crime rate and raise the land value in a radius
- around each station. They have the most effect right near the station,
- and less as distance from the station increases. The locations of police
- stations, their coverage and the crime rate can be seen in the Map window
- by using the submenu under the Crime button.
-
- Each police station has a small jail where prisoners are kept. As a city
- grows and if crime runs rampant, the small jails will be so full and the
- police will be spending so much time taking care of the prisoners that
- their efficiency and area of coverage will go down. At this point you can
- either build a lot more police stations or build a prison. In SimCity
- 2000, prisons raise the efficiency and effectiveness of your police
- departments-but only if there is a lot of crime. Prisons are no help to
- cities with low crime or small populations. If and when your prison gets
- too full, the newspaper will let you know.
-
- The presence of fire stations makes fires go out sooner, helps prevent
- fires from occurring in the first place, and raises land value. They have
- the most effect near the station. The locations of fire stations and
-
-
-
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-
-
-
- their coverage can be seen in the Map window by using the submenu under
- the City Services button.
-
- Hospitals keep your Sims healthy, fix them when they're broken, and raise
- their Life Expectancy (LE). A fully funded hbspital can serve a population
- of 25,000 Sims. You can see the effect of hospitals on your population's
- LE in the population window. If you don't have a hospital, your city's LE
- will slowly decline to about 35. If you have enough fully funded
- hospitals the LE will slowly climb to 85. There are also city ordinances
- (in the Ordinance window) that can have a positive effect on your city's
- LE.
-
- NEWSPAPERS
-
- Your city's newspapers are your link to your citizens. Reading them keeps
- you informed, not only of current events, new inventions, city-
- development announcements and other important or disastrous occurrences,
- but also of public-opinion polls. Watch your papers closely to see what is
- important to your Sims.
-
- The newspapers change every month, so reading them all can be time
- consuming - but useful. If you activate Subscription in the Newspaper
- menu, your paper will be delivered twice a year. If you activate Extra!!!
- in the Newspaper menu, then papers announcing important events-inventions
- and rewards for city growth-will appear. Otherwise, you will have to open
- the Newspaper menu and select the paper you want to read. Newspapers
- announcing disasters will always appear.
-
- The different papers (once your city is big enough to have more than one)
- will have different angles on stories, so you may want to read through
- more than one.
-
- INVENTIONS
-
- As time passes, things are invented. These inventions give you access to
- new technologies that you can incorporate into your city. As the
- technologies become available, new tools will appear in the submenus
- under the buttons in the City toolbar. Inventions are announced in
- newspaper Extra!!! editions.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
- Here are the inventions and their approximate discovery dates,
- +1-10 years.
-
- Subway systems 1910
- Buses and bus depots 1920
- Highways 1930
- Water treatment plants 1935
- Gas power plants 1950
- Nuclear power plants 1955
- Wind power plants 1980
- Solar power plants 1990
- Desalinization plants 1990
- Arcologies 2000, 2050, 2100, 2150
- Microwave power plants 2020
- Fusion power plants 2050
-
-
- SimCity 2000 is a very complex simulation. It is also in 256 colors. Both
- these facts require a lot of computer power. The actual time it takes for
- a year to pass in your city depends on a number of things, including:
-
- ú The type of microprocessor in your computer. SimCity 2000
- runs on a wide variety of computers. The more powerful your
- microprocessor, the faster time will pass.
-
- ú The microprocessor's clock speed. The faster the processor,
- the faster the simulation will run.
-
- ú The resolution of your screen and the size of your monitor.
- Depending on your computer, you may be running SimCity 2000
- in as low as 512 x 384 pixel resolution or as high as 1280
- x 1024 or more. The higher the resolution, the more dots
- SimCity 2000 has to draw on your screen, and the slower it will
- go. Of course the speed of your computer and your graphics
- card may make up for lost time.
-
- ú The size of your city. The simulation model spends a lot more
- time and does a lot more calculations on tiles that are
- developed than on bare land tiles. In a busy city that fills the
- whole city limits, time will pass much, much slower than in a
- tiny town.
-
-
-
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-
-
- Ways to make the simulation go faster include:
-
- ú Setting the speed to Cheetah in the Speed menu.
-
- ú Keeping the City window small.
-
- ú Keeping as few windows as possible open at a time.
-
- ú Turning off both Subscription and Extra!!! in the Newspaper
- menu.
-
- ú Turning off Music and Sound Effects (in the Options menu)
- helps a little.
-
- But then again, sometimes you don't want time to pass too fast,
- especially when disasters are sweeping through your city or when
- you are trying to keep your city center from decaying. In these
- times of need, you can always open the Speed menu and slow
- things down - or even stop them entirely.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
- STRATEGIES
- IN GENERAL
-
- The first thing to do is decide what kind of city you want to build. Once
- you know what your long-term goals are, you can best plan your strategy.
-
- If you want to grow your population as large as possible, then zone
- densely, keep control of crime, and watch the newspapers for public
- opinion and important inventions. If you want to make a lot of money,
- then tax your subjects until they scream and keep your spending to a
- minimum. If you want to create a city that you'd like to live in, then
- keep your eye on the newspapers for public opinion, and mentally put
- yourself in your Sims' places.
-
- Once you start to build, stay small and go easy on the infrastructure.
- Keep your costs down. You want to get out of the red and into the black
- as soon as possible. Show a little patience and build up a good reserve
- of funds.
-
- As you build, try not to make large, densely concentrated areas. The
- denser the population of an area, the more pollution and the more crime
- you have. Try to find a happy medium between suburban sprawl and
- super-dense city.
-
- Remember that not only does it cost to build city infrastructure, but it
- costs to maintain it.
-
- If you need to skimp on city services, go ahead, but keep your police
- well-funded. If your town is small or you have a lot of police stations,
- you may not need to keep them fully-funded, but be careful. Use the Query
- tool in the City toolbar to see your police stations' effectiveness. If
- the arrests are equal to the crimes, you can try lowering the funding for
- a while. Once the arrests fall behind the crimes, add more funding or
- more police stations. High crime destroys land value, chasing out some of
- your population and lowering your tax income.
-
- Skimping on fire department funding is a little less drastic, but can be
- dangerous. Do so at your Sims' risk. You can turn off disasters in the
- Disasters menu-if you're a wimp.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- Try to maintain high land values to keep those property taxes coming in.
- But be sure to zone for some lowcost housing, since all your Sims can't
- afford to buy luxury homes on waterfront property.
-
- Remember that you have to replace your power plants every 50 years.
- Buying the big expensive power plants is more efficient as far as cost
- per megawatt, but only if your city is large enough to need all that
- power.
-
- You need a good balance of the three basic zones, with the number of
- tiles zoned residential approximately equal to the total tiles zoned
- commercial and industrial. In a small city, you'll need more industrial
- than commercial. You'll need equal numbers of each at a population of
- about 100,000. Above that, lean more towards commercial. The Demand
- Indicator in the City toolbar lets you know which zones you should be
- adding.
-
- Try to work with the land instead of using brute force to overpower it.
- You'll not only end up with a much more "organic" looking and feeling
- city, but it'll save you a lot of money. Best yet, pick - or build - a
- beautiful site for your city before you start to build.
-
- As for the actual layout of your city, maps of cities from all over the
- world are easily available. Start with your favorite city and improve on
- it.
-
- Try the modular approach. First try to design a small, compact
- "neighborhood," complete with all the zones, transportation and city
- services you need, that runs very efficiently, or better yet, at a
- profit. Then copy the pattern of that neighborhood all over the place.
- Place them strategically so they can share the high-cost city items like
- schools, colleges, museums and power plants.
-
- Above all, use your imagination.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- DEALING WITH DISASTERS
-
- Unless you have No Disasters set in the Disasters menu, disasters just
- happen. The disasters that are connected with a scenario happen even when
- you have disasters turned off. So there. If you're the adventurous type
- (or just plain mean) you can set off your own disasters from the
- Disasters menu and test your preparedness, your quick thinking and the
- robustness of your city's design. Not all disasters are available in the
- Disasters menu.
-
- Certain conditions in your city attract or discourage disasters, and
- certain city events can even cause them. So, to a certain extent, you can
- prepare for and even lessen the likelihood of disasters.
-
- In the event of a disaster, the first thing to do is stop any fires that
- you can. Next, rebuild the utilities, then the transportation system. Be
- ready to jump on that Emergency button in the City toolbar. It will let
- you deploy your fire, police and sometimes the military to areas of need,
- but be careful where you put them. In general, firemen are good at
- fighting fires, but can be wiped out by rioters; police are good at
- controlling riots, but can get burnt up in a fire. Both fire and police
- can handle the manual labor of building dams to help fight floods. If you
- have a military base, you may have access to troops during an emergency.
- Military troops are capable of anything police or firemen can do, just
- not quite as specialized or effective.
-
- Where a disaster causes destruction in a zone, you must manually bulldoze
- the rubble in Demolish/Clear mode before the zone will begin to rebuild.
-
- FIRES
- Fires are most likely to occur when the weather is hot and you don't
- have good fire department coverage. Fires are also the byproducts of
- other disasters including air crashes, riots and tornadoes. You can
- fight fires by using the Emergency button in the City tool bar and
- blocking their path with the Emergency Fire icons. As tiles burn up,
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- move in and surround the fires. Dispatching your police to the scene of
- the fire can help keep cars and crowds away and let the firemen do their
- jobs, but police can't fight fire. If you have the right kind of military
- base, the Emergency button may give you access to military troops to help
- fight fires.
-
- FLOODS
- Floods occur in the wet season, and can be the byproducts of hurricanes,
- tidal waves or tornadoes. They are most likely to occur on the coastline,
- but occasionally a river will flood. There's not much you can do once a
- flood begins, but you can prepare for the worst. Floods only destroy
- things at sea level. Your buildings that are even one tile up will
- weather the storm. Since seaports must be at sea level, they are prime
- targets for flood damage. If you have a river, try building your
- seaports upriver, away from the coast. You can also use the Raise
- Terrain mode of the Bulldozer tool to build protective dikes in areas
- that you think might flood. You can try deploying your police and fire
- departments with the Emergency tool to help build dams to hold back
- floods. You might lose a few civil servants, but it should slow the
- advance of the flood.
-
- RIOTS
- The main causes of riots are heat, high crime and unemployment. Riots
- can also occur if your city has a long blackout. A good economy and a
- low crime rate are the best ways to prevent riots. And keep your power
- going. You can fight riots with the Emergency button and your police
- departments the same way you'd fight a fire with your fire departments.
- Fires are byproducts of riots.
-
- AIR CRASHES
- Sometimes planes or helicopters crash. Other than a smashed building
- here and there, the main danger from an air crash is fire. Put out the
- fire as quickly as you can, then hold an investigation and call it pilot
- error. If a plane crashed at the airport, fire the air traffic
- controller.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- TORNADOES AND HURRICANES
- Tornadoes and hurricanes occur because of climatic conditions, and
- cannot be prevented. Keep an eye on the weather reports of high winds in
- the newspaper and you might receive enough warning to reinforce your
- police and fire departments in time. While they are very different in
- the real world, as far as their effect in SimCity 2000 goes, they are
- pretty much the same, except that tornadoes cause a narrow path of
- destruction and hurricanes can really mess up the place.
-
- EARTHQUAKES
- Once again, there's nothing you can do to prevent them. All you can do
- is treat the symptoms - and those are many. Earthquakes not only shake
- down buildings and damage your city's infrastructure (roads, rails,
- power lines, etc.), but cause fires, looting and riots. All you gotta
- do is put out the fires, restore power and transport, control the mobs
- and rebuild your city.
-
- NUCLEAR MELTDOWN
- If you have a nuclear power plant, there is a slight chance that it will
- melt down. If it does, your city is in real trouble. There will be a big
- explosion, fires will break out, and radiation will spread and
- contaminate the surrounding land and water. The radiation lasts many
- generations. Neither you nor your Sims can build on contaminated ground.
-
- Don't confuse the end of your power plants' workable life span with a
- disaster. Even though your nuclear plants will stop working and blow up
- after 50 years, there is no danger, other than from blackouts or
- brownouts. This is just the plant wearing out, not blowing up, melting
- down or leaking.
-
- Fusion plants don't melt down and don't leak radiation, only
- fission (standard nuclear) plants.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
- OOPS
- The microwave power plant has its accidents, too. On occasion, the beam
- of energy from the satellite misses the collector dish and causes some
- inconvenient death and destruction. There's nothing you can do to
- prevent it, but put the fires out as soon as you can. Play it safe and
- build microwave power plants out in the boonies.
-
- THE MONSTER
- The monster is an intelligent creature from outer space. But then again,
- it might just be a Hollywood movie special effect run amok. Since we
- seem incapable of communicating with it, we don't know if it is really
- out to destroy our cities or if it just doesn't understand that we find
- it unpleasant to be smashed, set on fire or whisked away to another
- planet. The presence of certain military bases may deter the monster or
- rush it on its way. Maybe if you could make it understand that its
- behavior is antisocial, it will stop. But then again, maybe not.
-
- OTHERS
- There are a number of other disasters that will pop up from time to time
- in SimCity 2000, but you'll find out all about them in your own good
- time.
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
-
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