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- *************************************************************************
- SIM CITY VERSION 1.0 FULL DOCUMENTATION SCANNED BY PONYBOY
-
- REMEMBER ONE OF THE FASTEST AMIGA BOARDS IN THE WORLD
-
- TOGETHER WITH THE RADDEST CODE SUB EVER
-
- SPREADPOINT HQ (714) 626-8365
-
- Greets And Hellos At The End Of The Manual
-
- ***************************************************************************
- *Note: The documentation was originally for the Macintosh, but after checking
- thro it, it appears little or almost no changes has been made for
- the AMIGA version. Since I can't type as fast and as accurate as the
- guys at Southern Star, this entire text was scanned.
- ****************************************************************************
-
-
- Enter SimCity and take control. Become the undisputed ruler of a
- sophisticated real-time City Simulation.
-
- Take control of San Francisco 1906, just before the great quake or
- Tokyo 1957, just before a monster attack.
-
- Show your pioneering spirit. Start with virgin territory and create
- a living, growing city.
-
- The quality of life in your city depends on you. Zone land, balance budgets,
- install utilities,manipulate economic markets,control crime,traffic and
- pollution, and overcome natural disasters.
-
- Your city is populated by Sims-simulated citizens.
- Like their human counterparts, They build houses, condos, churches,
- stores and factories. And, also like humans, they complain about things
- like taxes, mayors, taxes, city planners, and taxes. They Iet you know
- if they need more housing, better transportation, an airport or a sports
- stadium. If they get too unhappy, they move out; you collect excess taxes,
- the city deteriorates.
-
- A WALK THROUGH YOUR CITY
-
- Boot your Macintosh, then insert your SimCity disk and double-click the
- SimCity icon. After a few seconds, a screen with the options to start
- a new city, load a city, or select a scenario appears. Click START NEW CITY.
-
- A map of undeveloped land will be generated and displayed. You will be
- given a choice: GENERATE A NEW TERRAIN or USE THIS MAP. Click USE THIS MAP
-
- You are now given a choice of GAME PLAY LEVEL. Click EASY, then click OK.
-
- You will now be asked to name your city. Go ahead and name it, or accept
- the default name SOMEWHERE. Click the OK box.
-
- You are now in the MAPS WINDOW, looking down on an overall view of your
- entire terrain, approximately 10 miles by 10 miles in area. The icons
- along the left side of the MAPS WINDOW can be used to display different
- demographic views of your city. We'll play with them later.
-
- The small flashing box located somewhere on the map indicates the portion
- of your terrain that will be visible in your EDIT WINDOW, your main work
- area. Click and drag the box around the map, chooslng the area you wish
- to work on, then double- click in the box to go the EDIT WINDOW.
-
- NOTE:The BUDGET WlNDOW will pop up once a year in city time. When it does,
- just click the GO WITH THESE FIGURES box at the bottom.
-
- You are now in the EDIT WINDOW, looking at a close-up view of the area
- box in the MAPS WINDOW. Note the icons on the left. They work just like
- icons in various draw and paint programs on the market.
-
- You can use the scroll boxes along the right side and bottom of the window
- to the window quickly around the terrain. To scroll over the terrain, use
- the arrows on each end of the scroll bars or the joystick box in the upper
- right-hand corner EDIT WINDOW. If you have cursor keys, they can be used
- to scroll.
-
- The EDlT WlNDOW may be resized by clicking and dragging the bottom right
- corner or by using the zoom box to the left of the joystick box.
-
- The EDIT WINDOW may be moved around on the screen by clicking and dragging
- the title bar across the top of the window.
-
- Your available land is made of three types of territory. The light areas
- are clear the grey areas are forests and shrubs, and the dark areas are
- water. You can build on clear land. You can clear forest and extend
- coastlines with your bulldozer can run roads, rails and power lines
- across water.
-
- To clear the terrain, click the bulldozer icon in the upper-left corner
- of the EDIT WINDOW. The "pointer~ is a small square, outlining the area
- will be bulldozed every time you click the mouse. Move your bulldozer
- pointer over some forest land and click. The forest section under your
- pointer is now clear land. Now, hold the button down and move slowly
- across the forest. Clear a large a land to prepare for building.
-
- Click the house icon, then mouse back to your terrain. Your pointcr is
- now a large square outline. This outline indicates how much clear space
- you will need to create a residential zone. Clicking the mousc button
- in clear terrain "zones╙ the land. The "R" in the center of the zone
- indicates that it is a residential zone. The flashing lightening symbol
- indicates that the zone has no power. Place a few more residential zones
- adjacent to the first one.
-
- Now decide where to position a power plant in your city. Point to the
- power plant icon and hold down the mouse button. A small menu will
- appear, giving you the option of choosing a coal or nuclear plant.
- For now, choose the coal power plant. Then place it in some open space
- near your residential zones. If your power plant is not directly
- adjacent to a zone, you will have to run a power line from your power
- plant to the residential zone. To do this, click the power line icon.
- Using your mouse pointer and button, lay power lines from your power
- plant to your residential zones. Adjacent power line sections will
- automatically connect themselves to one another. Roadways and transit
- lines conncct in the same manncr. In a moment, the flashing symbols will
- disappear,indicating that your zones have been powered. Any zones that
- are adjacent to a powered zone do not need separate power lines run to
- them. Soon you will see small houses start to appear. The Sims have
- started to move in.
-
- When you zone land, you designate where building is allowed. It is the
- Sims who actually build.
-
- Now that you have a few residential zones, you╒re ready for commercial
- and industrial areas. Select the commercial icon and place a few commer-
- cial zones near your residcntial ones. Then sclect the industrial icon
- and map out some industrial zones. Connect all necessary power lines.
-
- Note that when you select different icons, the icon dcscription and its
- associatcd cost will be displayed in the lower Ieft-hand corner of the
- EDIT WINDOW. Thc message bar across the top of the EDIT WINDOW displays
- your total funds available. If you do not have enough money in your
- treasury to pay for a certain function, that icon will be ╥ghosted" on
- your screen and is unavailable for use.
-
- Now click the road icon and add roads from your residential housing to the
- commercial and industrial areas to allow the Sims to commute to work.
- Once you have roads, traffic will be generated.
-
- Now select the BUDGET WlNDOW from the WlNDOW SMENU. This is where you
- set the level of funding for your fire police and transportation depart-
- ments. Click the up or down arrows to change the funding Ievel. You can
- also adjust the current property tax rate. If you have no police or fire
- departments they don╒t need funds. Click thc GO WITH THESE FIGURES box
- when you are done.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Now select MAPS from the WINDOWS MENU. By clicking on the icons along the
- left you can see different demographic views of your city. You will need
- this information to build and adjust conditions in your city. For example
- you can pinpoint the areas with the highest crime to determine locations
- for new police stations.
-
- Additional information can be gained through the GRAPHS selection from
- the WlNDOWS MENU. Unlike the maps which only show the current state of
- your city, the graphs give you a record of the past so you can gauge
- trends and cycles.
-
- This is all the basic information you need to run SimCity but we suggest
- reading on. The User Reference explains in detail how to use each program
- function. Inside SimCity explains thc inner workings of the simulator and
- gives some hints and tips for using it. There is also an essay on The
- History of Cities and City Planning and a Bibliography for serious City
- Planners.
-
- USER REFERENCE
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- MENU BAR
-
- SimCity Menus follow the standard Amiga/Macintosh interface.
-
- FILE MENU
-
- LOAD SCENARI0 provides you with a menu of available scenarios.
- Click a cily to load it.
-
- START NEW CITY generates a new, empty terrain. You will he given
- the option to accept it or generate anothr terrain.
-
- LOAD CITY Iets you load a previously saved city.
-
- SAVE CITY saves any scenario or city-in-progress for later use.
- Once you have loaded a secnario, It can bc savcd and re-loaded,
- like any city, wilhout lhe impending disaster
-
-
- PRlNT ClTY prints your city in either of two sizes; all on one page
- or on a three-page by two-page poster. Requiresan ImageWriter printer.
- Laser Printer is not supported.
-
- QUIT ends SimCity
-
- OPTIONS MENU A checkmark to the left of an item indicates that the
- option is active.
-
- AUTO-BULLDOZER allows you to place zoncs, roadways, etc., directly
- on top of trees and shoreline without manually bulldozing first.
- You will bc charged the same as for manual bulldozing.
-
- AUTO-BUDGET keeps your budget at the same percentage setings without
- asking for approval every year.
-
- AUTO-GOTO automatically transports you to the scene of a disaster or
- major event.
-
- SOUND ON toggles the various city sounds on and off. Defaults to the
- "on" position. The simulalion runs slightly faster wilh the sound off.
- Make sure that the volume is up on the control panel.
-
-
- GAME SPEED MENU
-
- FAST sets city time to maximum speed.
-
- MEDIUM is the default setting, about three times slower than FAST.
-
- SLOW sets the spced about seven times slower than FAST.
-
- PAUSE stops time. Zoning and building are possible in paused time.
-
-
- DISASTERS MENU
-
- FIRE starts a fire somewhere within the city limits
-
- FLOOD causes a flood to occur near the water.
-
- AlRCRASH causes a plane to crash.lf there are no planes in the air,
- one will be gcnerated
-
- TORNADO causes a tornado to appear within the city limits.
-
- EARTHQUAKE causes a MAJOR earthquake.
-
- MONSTER ATTACK sets a monster loose in your city.
-
- WINDOWS MENU
-
- MAPS brings the MAPS WlNDOW up on the screen.
-
- GRAPHS brings up the GRAPHS WINDOW.
-
- BUDGET brings up thc BUDGET WINDOW.
-
- EDIT brings up the EDIT WINDOW.
-
- EVALUATION brings up thc EVALUATION WINDOW.
-
-
- EDIT WINDOW GADGETS
-
- TITLE BAR displays city name. Clicking and dragging the Title Bar allows
- you lo relocate the EDIT WINDOW.
-
- MESSAGE BOX displays treasury information, current date, and messages.
- Status messages tell you about events - if a disaster occurs, the message
- box will indicate the nature of thc disaster, and supply a GOTO button to
- take you to the scene. Help messages are about the Sims' needs and wants,
- such as more housing.
-
- DEMAND INDICATORS in the lower left-hand corner of the EDIT WINDOW give a
- constant reading of the residents' need for residential, commercial and
- industrial zoning. Above the center line indicates a positive demand.
- Below the line is ncgative demand.
-
- CLOSE BOX closes thc EDIT WINDOW.
-
- GROW BOX resizes Ihe window.
-
- JOYSTICK BOX moves you around your city. The city scrolls in the direction
- you point as long as you are holding the mouse button down.
-
- SCROLL ARROWS scroll your city horizontally and vertically.
-
- SCROLL BOXES quickly move you to distant portions of your city.
-
- ZOOM BOX sizes the window to cover the entire screen.
-
- SELECTED ITEM & COST BOX displays active item and related cost.
-
-
-
- EDIT WINDOW KEYBOARD COMMANDS
-
- (Some key commands are not available on older keyboards.)
-
- Q - (Query) - Hold down the ╥Q╙ key while clicking on parts of your city
- to bring up a status box identifying the spot (zone, road, terrain, etc.),
- and giving informalion on Population Densily, Land Value, Crime Rate,
- Pollution and Growth.
-
- Z and X - Cycle active icons in opposite directions.
-
- B, R, T and P are shortcut keys. No matter which icon is selected, if you
- Push and hold down the "B" key, you will be in active Bulldozer mode.
- Release the "B" key to return conlrol to the selected icon. The "R" key
- activtes Roadbuilding mode in the same way. Thc "T" key activates Transit
- line building, and the "P" key puts you in Power line mode.
-
- CURSOR KEYS scroll the terrain around under the EDIT WINDOW.
-
- EDIT WINDOW ICONS
-
- Active icons arc highlighted. Ghosted icons are unavailable due to lack
- of funds. Clicking on a ghoslcd icon shows the item╒s cost.
-
- BULLDOZER clears trees and shrubbery,creates landfill along the water,
- levels developed, existing zones and clears rubble caused by disasters.
- Bulldozing the center of a zone demolishes the entire zone. The Auto-
- Bulldozer option only works on natural terrain, not developed land.
- It costs $1 to bulldoze a section of land.
-
- ROADWAYS connect developed ares. lntersections and turns are automatic-
- ally created. Lay continuous roads by clicking and dragging your pointer.
- Be careful - if you accidentally lay a road in the wrong place you will
- have to pay for bulldozing and rebuilding. Roads may not be placcd over
- trees, shrubbery, or zoned areas. They can cross over power lines and
- transit lines only at right angles. Laying roads across water creates
- a bridge. Bridges can only be built in a straight line - no curves, turns
- or intersections. Shorelines must be bulldozed prior to building a bridge
- (unless the auto-bulldoze feature is on).
-
- Roadways are maintained by the transit budget, and wear out if there is
- a lack of funding. It cosls $10 to lay one section of road and $50 to
- lay one section of bridge.
-
- POWER LINES carry power from power planlts to zoned land and between zones.
- All developed land needs power to function. Power lines cannot cross trees,
- shrubbery, or zoned land. Power is conducted through adjacent zones.
- Unpowered zones display the flashing power symbol. There is a delay between
- the line you power up a zonc and when the flashing light disappears. The
- delay grows longer as the city grows larger. Junctions and corners are
- automatically created. Lay continuous power lines by clicking and dragging
- your pointer. Power lines across a river must be horizontal or vertical -
- no turns, curves or intersections. Power lines consume some power duc to
- transmission inefficiencies. It costs $5 to lay one piece of power line
- on land, $25 on water.
-
- TRANSIT LINES create a railway system for intra-city mass transit.
- Place tracks in heavily trafficked areas to help alleviate congestion.
- Intersections and turns are created automatically. Lay continuous transit
- lines by clicking and dragging your pointer. Tracks laid under rivers will
- appear as dashed lines. These underwater tunnels must be vertical or horizon-
- tal - no turns curves or intersections. Transit lines are maintained by
- transportation department funds. The level of funding affects the effic-
- iency of the system.
- It costs $20 per section of track on land $100 per section under water.
-
-
-
- PARKS can be placed on clear land. Parks forests and water raise the land
- value of surrounding zones. Parks can be bulldozed as fire breaks or reserve
- space for later mass transit expansion. It costs $10 to lay one segment of
- park.
-
- RESIDENTIAL ZONES are where the Sims build houses apartments and community
- facilities such as schools and churches. Residential zones develop into one
- of four values: slums, lower middle class, upper middle class, and upper
- class. They can range in population density from single-family homes to
- high-rise apartments and condominiums. Factors influencing residential
- value and growth are crime rate, pollution, traffic density, population
- density, surrounding terrain, roadway access, parks and utilities. It
- costs $100 to zone one plot of land as residential.
-
- COMMERClAL ZONES are used for many things, including retail stores, office
- buildings, parking garages, and gas stations. There are four values for
- commercial property and five levels of growth from the small general store
- to tall skyscrapers. Factors influencing the value and growth of commercial
- areas include internal markets, pollution, traffic density, residential
- access, labor supply, airports, crime rates, transit access, and utilities.
- It costs $100 to zone one plot of land as commercial.
-
- INDUSTRIAL ZONES are for heavy manufacturing and industrial services.
- There are four levels of industrial growth from small pumping stations
- and warehouses to large factories. Factors influencing thc growth of
- industrial areas are external markets, seaports, transit access, residen-
- tial access, labor supply,and utilities. It costs $100 to zone one plot
- of land as industrial.
-
- POLICE DEPARTMENTS lower the crime rate in the surrounding area. This in
- turn raises property values. Place these in high-density crime areas as
- defined by your Crime Rate map. Thc efficiency of a station depends on
- the level of police department funding. It costs $500 to build a police
- station.
-
- FIRE DEPARTMENTS make surrounding areas less susceptible lo fires.
- When fires do occur, they are put out sooner and do Iess damage if a
- station is near. The effectiveness of fire containment depends on the
- Ievel of fire department funding. It cosls $500 to build a fire station.
-
- STADIUMS encourage residentiaI growth. The message window wiII indicate
- when the city wants a stadium. You may build a stadium in your city prior
- to this request without negative effect. Stadiums indirectly generate a
- lot of revenue, but create a lot of traffic. Properly maintaining a stad-
- ium requires a good road and transit network. It costs $3000 to build a
- stadium.
-
- POWER PLANTS can be coal or nuclear, chosen from a sub-menu provided when
- you click and hold on the icon. Thc nuclear plant is more powerful but
- carries a slight risk of meltdown. The coal plant is Iess expensive, but
- Iess powerful and it pollutes. Connecting too many zones to a Power Plant
- causes brownouts. You will get a message saying "You need to build another
- power plant. Coal power plants cost $3000 to build, and supply enough
- electricity for about 50 zones. Nuclear power plants cost $5000 and supply
- electricity for about 150 zones.
-
- SEAPORTS incrcease the potential for industrial growth. They have little
- effect in a small city, but contribute a lot to industrialization in a
- large city.
- Seaports should be placed on a shoreline. The shoreline musl be bulldozcd
- prior to zoning a seaport. Once the port is operational, you may see ships
- in the water. It costs $5000 to zone land for use as a seaport.
-
- AlRPORTS increase the growth potential of your commercial markets. Once a
- city starts geting large, commercial growth will Ievel off without an airport.
- Airports are large and expensive and should not be built unless your city
- can afford one. Position airports to keep flight paths over water whenever
- possible lessening the impact of air disasters. Once you build an airport
- you will see airplanes flying above your city to and from the airport.
- There is also a traffic helicopter which alerts you to heavy traffic jams.
- It costs $10,000 to zone land for use as an airport.
-
- BUDGET WINDOW
-
- When your first taxes are collected in a new city, and each year after,
- the BUDGET WINDOW will appear (unless you select the Auto-Budget function).
- You will be asked to set the funding levels for the fire, police, and trans-
- portation departments, and to set the property tax rate.
-
- You can raise and lower budget levels by clicking on the little arrows
- that correspond to each category. A percentage indicator will display
- the level of funding that will be maintained if you turn on the Auto-Budget
- function. You may adjust your tax rate by clicking on the arrows next to the
- tax rate indicator. Click on ╥GO WITH THESE FIGURES╙ to exit the BUDGET WINDOW.
-
- The level of budgeting requested by each department is based on the number
- of fire departments, police stations, and the amount of roadways and transit
- lines in your city. These figures increase as your city grows - it costs
- money to maintain your city infrastructure.
-
- WAITING... An hourglass icon is displayed at the top left of the budget
- window. It indicates the time remaining to enter the budget information.
- When the hourglass empties, the budget that is set is accepted. If you
- need more time, click in the budget window to reset the hourglass.
-
- MAPS WINDOW
-
- The MAPS WINDOW gives you various overviews of your city. The portion of
- your cily currently visible in the EDIT WlNDOW is represented by a flashing
- box on your map. You can click and drag this box to the area you wish to
- edit. Double-click in thc flashing box to go to the EDIT WINDOW.
- You cannol resize the MAPS WINDOW but you can move it on your screen by
- clicking and dragging the drag bar at the top of the window. Clicking on
- the close box in the upper left-hand corner of the window closes lhe window.
- By clicking on the icons along the left side of the MAPS WlNDOW you can view
- the following maps and cartograms.
-
- The ClTY MAPS icon brings up a sub-menu allowing you to choose between
- views of developed sections of your city. You may individually display
- the residential commercial or industrial areas or all three.
-
- POWER GRID shows you the network of the power Iines in grey and powered
- zones as black dots.
-
- TRANSPORTATION is a road map of your city displaying all roads and rail
- lines in black. Use this view to examine your city╒s acccss to specific
- areas and to plan future expansion of the network.
-
- The POPULATION MAPS icon brings up a sub-menu offering two views.
- The Population Density view uses degrees of shading to show the average
- number of people occupying an area each day. The Rate of Growth shows the
- mosl recent growth (positive or negative) of your city and where it is
- occurring.
-
- TRAFFIC DENSITY shows the amount of traffic on your roads. Spot traffic
- problems and determine where new roadways and transit lines are needed.
-
- The POLLUTION map shows Ievels of pollution throughout your city.
- Pollution is generated by industry and traffic.
-
- The CRIME RATE map shows the Ievel and location of crime in your city.
- Crime is calculated from population density land value and proximity of
- police stations.
-
- The LAND VALUE map shows the relative value of land within the city limits.
- Land values are used to establish the amounl of revenue generated in taxes.
-
- The ClTY SERVlCES icon brings up a sub-menu offering views of police or
- fire services. The service map displays the effective radius of each of
- your stations based on their location, power and funding levels.
-
- GRAPHS WINDOW
-
- The GRAPHS WINDOW gives you time-based graphs of various city data.
-
- You cannot resize the GRAPHS WINDOW, but you can move it on your screen
- by clicking and dragging the drag bar at the top of the window. Use the
- close box in the upper left-hand corner of the window to exit.
-
- Clicking on Ihe icons on lhe left side of the GRAPHS WINDOW will toggle
- each graph on and off. You may have any combination of graphs displayed
- at any time. Each graph is displayed as a different line pattern.
-
- Data may be displayed on 1O-year or 120-year graphs.
-
- The RESIDENTIAL POPULATION graph shows the total population in residential
- zones.
-
- The COMMERClAL POPULATlON graph shows the level of development in commercial
- zones.
-
- The INDUSTRIAL POPULATION graph shows the level of developmenl in industrial
- zones.
-
- The CRIME RATE chart shows the overall crime rate of the entire city.
-
- The CASH FLOW graph shows your city's cash flow: money collecled in taxes
- lasl year minus money it took to maintain your city.
-
- Note: Cash flow has little to do with your current funds, or how much you
- spend in building (except that city expansion will increase both taxes
- collected and maintenance costs).
-
- The line in the center of the Cash Flow graph represents a cash flow of
- zero. Do not build more infrastructure (roads, rail, police departments,
- fire stations) than you can support with tax revenues.
-
-
- The POLLUTlON graph shows the overall pollution reading of the entire city.
-
- EVALUATION WINDOW
-
- The EVALUATION WINDOW gives you a performance rating. You can acces it
- through the WINDOWS MENU.
-
- You can click and drag the title bar of the window to relocate it on the
- screen. Click on the close box in the upper-left corner to close the window.
-
- PUBLIC OPINION data is presentcd in poll form, rating your overall job
- as mayor and listing what the public regards as the city╒s most pressing
- problems. You are advised to keep your residents happy or they might
- migrate away, and you will be Ieft with a "ghost town."
-
- Some example problem-solving strategies are:
-
- Crime-Build more police dcpartments, or try to raise land values.
- Housing - Provide more residcntial zones.
- Unemployment - Build more industrial and commercial zones.
- Traffic - Possibly add more roads or mass transit.
-
- STATISTICS on population, net migration, and assessed value are displayed,
- along with the city game level and an overall city score. This data is
- calculated once a year at budget time.
-
- Population shows how many people Iive in your city now; net migration shows
- how much the population changed over the last year. Assessed value represents
- the net worth of all city-owned property.
-
- CATEGORY - Your city will be assigned to one of six categories - Village,
- Town, City, Capital, Metropolis, and Megalopolis - based on its size.
- The overall city score is a composite index of many factors (including
- crime, pollution, employment, environment, housing), calculated once a
- year based on a scale of 0 to 1000. A higher score indicates a more
- efficient and successful city.
-
- DISASTERS
-
- Disasters will randomly occur as you play SimCity. At higher game levels
- the disasters will happen more often. Most disasters can be activated from
- the DlSASTERS MENU.
-
- FIRES can start anywhere in thc city. Fire spreads fairly rapidly through
- forests and buildings, somewhat slower over roadways and transit lines.
- Fire will not cross water or clear terrain.
-
- The effectiveness of the fire department (which can be viewed in the MAPS
- WINDOW) is based on how close it is to the fire, and its funding levels.
- Fires inside this effective radius will be extinguished automatically. If
- you have no operational fire departments in the arcea you can try to
- control the fire yourself. Since fire will not spread across clear
- terrain, you can build firebreaks with the bulldozer. Just surround the
- fire with clear areas and it will stop spreading and eventually burn
- itself out. Note: You cannot directly bulldoze a fire.
-
- FLOODS occur near thc water. They gradually spread and destroy buildings
- and utilities. After a while the flood waters recede, Ieaving behind cleared
- terrain.
-
- AIR CRASHES can happen anywhere in the city if an airport is operational.
- This happens whenever aircraft collide with things, such as a tornadoes or
- another aircraft. When a crash occurs, a fire will start, unless the
- crash is on water. A good strategy is to locate the airport away from
- the central city to minimize the fire damage.
-
- TORNADOES can occur anywhere on the map at any time. Very fast and
- unpredictable, they can appear and disappear at a moment's notice.
- Tornadoes destroy everything in their path, and can cause planes,
- helicopters, trains, and ships to crash.
-
- EARTHQUAKES are the most devastating disaster. This is a MAJOR earthquake
- between 8.0 and 9.0 on the Richter Scale. It will destroy buildings and
- start fires. The initial damage will vary with the severity of the
- earlhquake, and the eventual fire damage depends on your fire control
- efforts. When an earthquakce occurs, you will see the edit window shake
- for a while. When it stops, you will have to take charge and control the
- scattered fires. Use the bulldozcr to contain thc largest fires first and
- work your way down to the smaller ones.
-
- MONSTER ATTACKS are provoked by high Ievels of pollution. A monster
- destroys everything in its path, starts fires, and causes planes,
- helicopters, trains, and ships to crash.
-
- MELTDOWNS are only possible if you are using a nuclear power plant.
- If a meltdown occurs your nuclear plant will explode into flames.
- The surrounding area will be unusable for the remainder of the simulation
- due to radioactive contamination. Meltdowns are not available on the
- DISASTERS MENU.
-
- SHIPWRECKS can occur once you have an operating seaport. They can cause
- fires where the ship crashes into a shore or bridge. Shipwrecks are not
- available on the DISASTERS MENU.
-
- SCENARIOS
-
- Thc scenarios provide both real and hypothetical problems for you to deal
- with in seven famous cities (and one not-so-famous). They present various
- levels of difficully. Some problems are in the form of disasters which will
- occur some time after you start. Other problems are more long-term such as
- crime. Your task is to deal with the problem at hand as well as possible
- under the circumstances. After a certain amount of time the city residents
- will rate your performance in a special election. If you do very well you
- may be given the key to thc city. However if you do poorly they might just
- run you out of town. To avoid the disaster which is tied to a scenario save
- it to disk and reload the city from the saved file.
-
- DULLSVILLE, USA 1900 - BOREDOM
- Things haven t changed much around here in the last hundred years or so
- and the residents are beginning to get bored. They think Dullsville could
- be the next great city with the right leader. It is your job to attract
- new growth and development turning Dullsville inlo a Metropolis by the
- 21st century. (Easy)
-
- SAN FRANClSCO, CA 1906 - 8.0 EARTHQUAKE
- Damage from the earthquake was minor compared to that of the ensuing
- fires, which took days to control. 1500 people died. Controlling the
- fires should be your initial concern here. Afterwards clearing the
- remaining rubble will allow the city to start rebuilding. (Very difficullt)
-
- HAMBURG, GERMANY 1944 - FIRE
- Allied fire-bombing of German cilies in WWIV caused tremendous devastation
- and loss of life. People living in the inner cities were at greatest risk.
- You must control the fire storms during the bombing and then rebuild the
- city after the war.(Very difficult).
-
- BERN, SWITZERLAND 1965 - TRAFFIC
- The roads here are becoming more congested with automobile traffic every
- day, and the residents are upset. They demand that you do something about
- it. Some have suggested a mass tansit system as the answer, but this may
- require major rezoning in the downtown area. (Easy)
-
- TOKYO, JAPAN 1957 - MONSSTER ATTACK
- A large reptilian creature rose from Tokyo Bay and rampaged through the
- city, destroying much of the industry along the bay. (Moderately difficult)
-
- DETROIT, Ml 1972 - CRIME
- By 1970, competition from overseas and other economic factors pushed the
- once "automobilc capital of thc world" into recession. Plummeting land
- values and unemploymcent increascd crime in thc inner-city to chronic
- levels. You have just been elected after promising to reduce the crime
- and rebuild the industial base of the city. (Moderately difficult)
-
- BOSTON, MA 2010 - NUCLEAR MELTDOWN
- A major meltdown is about to occur at one of the new downtown nuclear
- reactors. Thc area in the vicinity of thc reactor will be severely
- contaminated by radiation, forcing you to restucture the city around
- it. (Very difficult)
-
- RIO de JANEIRO, BRAZIL 2047 - FLOOD
- In the mid 21 st century, the greenhouse effect raised globaI temp-
- eratures 6íF. Polar icecaps melted and raised sea Ievels worldwide.
- Coaslal areas were devastated by flood and erosion. Unfortunately,
- some of the largest cities in the world are located on the coasts.
- (Moderalely difficult)
-
- GAME PLAY LEVEL
- When you first start a new city you must pick a difficulty Ievel.
- Once a city is started you cannot change the game level; it remains
- at your initial setting for the life of the city. The game level setting
- is displayed in thc evaluation window. This Ievel - Easy, Medium, or Hard
- - adjusts the simulation to your current abilities by altering several
- factors. A harder setting will increase the chance of disasters, make
- residents more intolerant of taxation, cause maintenance costs to grow, etc.
-
- KEYBOARD REFERENCCE CHART
- GENERAL KEYBOARD COMMANDS
-
- COMMAND A - Activates Auto-Bulldoze option
- COMMAND B - Brings up BUDGET WINDOW
- COMMAND E- Brings up EDIT WINDOW
- COMMAND G - Brings up GRAPHS WINDOW
- COMMAND L - Loads a City
- COMMAND M - Brings up MAPS WINDOW
- COMMAND N - Starts a New City
- COMMAND Q - Quits SimCity
- COMMAND S - Saves a City
- COMMAND 0 - Stops City Time
- COMMAND 1 - Sets City Time to Slow Speed
- COMMAND 2 - Sets City Time to Medium Speed
- COMMAND 3 - Sets City Time to High Speed
-
- SPECIAL EDIT WINDOW KEYBOARD COMMANDS
-
- d Z - Cycle through and activate icon functions
-
- Q - ( Query) - Point to a zone or object in the EDIT WINDOW, hold down "Q"
- while clicking the mouse to bring up information about the zone or object.
-
- B activates the Bulldozer while depressed, overriding active icon.
-
- R activates Road laying while dcpressed, overriding active icon.
-
- T activates Transit line laying while depressed, overriding active icon.
-
- P activates Power line laying while depressed, overriding activc icon.
-
- CURSOR KEYS scroll thce terrain under the EDlT WINDOW.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- INSIDE SimCity
- HOW THE SIMULATOR WORKS AND
- STRATEGIES FOR USING IT
- Many factors influence the chance of your city's prospering or floundering:
- both internal factors (the structure and efficiency of your city) and
- external factrs (the regional economy, disasters, etc.).
-
- ZONES
- Your city is divided into three primary zones: residential, commcercial
- and industrial. These zonces symbolize the three basic pillars upon which
- a city is based: population, industry, and commerce. All three are necessary
- for your city to grow and thrive.
-
- RESIDENTIAL ZONES are where the Sims live. Here they build houses, apartments
- and community facilities such as churches and schools. Sims are thc workforce
- for your cily's commercial and industrial zones.
-
- INDUSTRIAL ZONES are used to site warehouses, factories, and other unsightly
- and polluting structures which have a negative impact on surrounding zones.
- One of the major goaIs of planning is to separate these nuisances from thc
- areas where people live. In this simulalion, induslrial zones represent the
- "basic" production of your city. Things produced here are sold outside the
- city eo an "external market," bringing money into the city for future growth.
-
- COMMERClAL ZONES represent the retail stores and services in your city,
- including gas stations, grocery stores, banks, and offices. Commercial
- areas are mainly dedicated to producing goods and services needed wilhin
- your city. This is callcd ╥non-basic╙ production or production for the
- "internal market".
-
- POPULATION-RESIDENTIAL
- The major factors controlling residential population are birthrate,
- availability of jobs and housing, unemployment,and quality of life within
- the city.
-
- Birthrate as used here is actually a combination of the birthrate (+)
- and the deathrate (-). Within SimCity there is always a positive birthrate.
-
- Availabilily of jobs (the employment rate) is a ratio of the current
- commercial and industrial populations to the total residential population.
- As a rule of thumb, the number of commercial and industrial zones together
- should roughly equal the number of residential zones.
-
- If there are more jobs in your cily than residents, new settelers will
- be attracted. If the job market declinces during a local recession, your
- people will migrate away in search of jobs.
-
- Housing for your residents is built in the residential zones. These zones
- must be powered and connected to the places of employment with a road
- and/or rail network. The structures built in residential zones are
- inffluenced by land value and population density.
-
- Quality of life is a measure of relalive "attractiveness╙ assigned to
- different zone locations. It is affected by negative factors such as
- pollution and crime, and positive factors such as parks and accessibility.
-
- EXTERNAL MARKET - INDUSTRIAL
- There are thousands of variables that influence your city. All these
- variables can be influenced by your actions with the exception of one.
-
- Thc external market (the economic conditions that exist outside of your
- cily) is controlled by the simulation-there is nothing you can do to change it.
- ln many ways, this external market is the original source of all city growth.
- Towns frequently begin as production centers (steel towns, refineries, etc.)
- that service a demand in the surrounding region. As time passes,the exlernal
- market grows to reflect the regional growth going on around your city.
-
- The industry in your city will attempt to grow as the external market grows.
- For this to happen there must be room for expansion (more industrial zones)
- and an adequate labor supply (more residcntial zones).
-
- INTERNAL MARKET-COMMERCIAL
- Thc internal market is completely influenced by the conditions within your
- city. Internal production, created in the commercial zones, represents all
- the things which are purchased and consumed within the city. Food stores,
- gas stations, retail slores, financial serviccs, medical care, etc. - all
- depend on a nearby population to service. Within SimCity, the size of the
- internal markel determines the rate at which commercial zones will prosper.
- Commercial zones need enough zoned land to build on and an existent,
- sufficient workforce to employ. The structures built in commercial zones
- are mainly influenced by land value and population density.
-
- Commercial zones grow and develop to serve the expanding internal market.
- Commercial growth will usually be slow at first, when the population is
- small and needs very little. As your city grows, commercial growth will
- accelerale and the internal market will become a much largcr consumer of
- your total city production. This accclerating effect, when the external/
- industrial production is overtaken by the accelerating internal/commercial
- sector, can turn a sleepy little town of 50,000 into a thriving capital of
- 200,000 in a few short years.
-
- TAX RATE
- The tax rate you set controls the amounl of income generated by your city.
- As taxes are collected each year (city time), Ihe BUDGET WINDOW will appear,
- giving you the fiscal details of your city and a chance to adjust rates.
- The simulation determines the amount of revenue collected by assessing each
- zone an amount based on its land value, current level of developmcnl and the
- current tax rate.
-
- The tax rate has a global effect on your city's growth rate. If you set it
- low (O - 4%), growth will be brisk but the city income will be low. If you
- set it high (10 - 20%), you will collect a lot in the short run but in the
- long run tax income will decrease along with Ihe population. You must keep
- tax income high enough to meet city maintenance costs and invest in new
- development, but low enough not to scare off residents and businesses. A
- high tax rate is one way lo control city growth, should you want to
- experiment with "growth control measures.
-
- BUDGETING
- City budgeting effects the way your city grows. City infrastructure cost
- is represented by three departments: police, fire, and transportation. You
- may set the funding Ievels separately for each. All three departments will
- request a certain level of funding each year. You may supply all or part of
- the requested funds, in the attempt to balance safety needs and budgetary
- concerns.
-
- POLICE DEPARTMENTS
- Police stations lower the crime rate within a territory. Thc effective
- radius of your police station is related to the amount of funding allocated
- to thc police department. There is a positive correlation between the value
- of land and proximity to a police station. Police Stations cost $100 per year
- to fund.
-
- FIRE DEPARTMENTS
- Fire departments prevent and extinguish fires. The Ievel of funding deter-
- mines the effective radius of a fire department. Fire departments put out
- fires witnin this radius much sooner than outside it, and decrease the
- chance that they will start in the first place. Fire Departments cost $100
- per year to fund.
-
- TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT
- When you build roads and rail systems you are charged for construction and
- yearly maintenance. The larger your transportation network, the more it will
- cost for upkeep. If you decide not to or are unable to pay this maintenance
- cost, roads will slowly deteriorate and become unusable. The maintenance
- cost for each piece is: Road - $1, Bridge - $4, Rail - $4, Rail tunnel -$10.
-
- POWER
- Electrical power makes modern cities possible. Efficient and reliable powcr
- transmission to all zones is thc goal of good "power management."
- Periodically in the simulalion thc entire power grid of your city is
- checked for links to power. If a zone is connected (by other zones or
- power lines) to a power plant, thc zone is considered powered (unlcess
- the power plant is overloaded).
-
- Zones must be powered for developmenl to occur. Many things (such as fires,
- floods monsters and bulldozers) can knock down power lines and cause
- blackouts in parts of your city. Development will stop in unpowered
- zones, and if power is not quickly restored, the zone will decline back
- to its original state of emptiness.
-
- Redundant power connections can make your power grid more reliable,
- but running more line adds construction costs and transmission line loss.
-
- TRANSPORTATION - TRAFFIC
- One of the most most important elements of city structure is the
- transportation network. It moves Sims and goods throughout your cily.
- Roads typically occupy as much as 25% - 40% of the land in urban areas.
- Traffic along these roads indicates which sections of your road system
- are used the most.
-
- Traffic levels are simulated by a process known as "Trip Generation."
- Over time, each populated zone in the city will generate a number of
- trips, depending on the population. Each generated trip starts at the
- origin zone, travels down the road/rail network, and if a ╥proper dest-
- ination╙ is reachcd, ends at the destination zone - otherwise, the trip
- fails. Trip failure indicates inaccessibility of a zone and limits its
- growth .
-
- The majority of generated trips represent people commuting to and from
- work. Additional traffic is generaled by residenls traveling to shopping,
- recreation, etc.
-
- Each road has a limited capacity for traffic. When this capacity is
- exceeded traffic jams will form. Traffic jams drastically lower the
- capacity of a road, compounding the problem and frustrating drivers.
-
- Traffic condilions fluctuate quickly, responding to things such as open
- bridges, sporting events and port activity. Avoid traffic problems by
- providing several routes for the traffic to take, and building rail
- systems when you can afford to. The traffic helicopter will spot traffic
- bottlenecks and report them.
-
- POLLUTION
- Pollution levels are trackcd in all areas of your city. This is a
- general ╥nuisance level╙ which includes air and water pollution, noise
- pollution, toxic wastes, etc. Pollution has a negative impact on the
- growth of residential areas. The primary cause of pollution is industrial-
- ized zones. The level of pollution created by an industrial zone increases
- with its level of growth. Traffic is anothcr cause of pollution. As your
- city gets large you may notice periodic smog generated from automotive
- commutes. Fires, Seaports, Airports, and Coal Power Planls also pollute.
-
- There are limited means of combating the pollution Ievel. Lowering traffic
- density, limiting industrial developmenl, and separating the pollution from
- the residential areas will help.
-
- CRIME
- Crime rates are influenced by population density, local law enforcement
- and land values. As population density increases in an area, the number
- of crimes committed increases. Crime will also increase in areas of low
- land value. The most effective way to deal with high crime rates is to
- introduce a police station into the area. Based on its level of funding,
- the police slation will reduce the rate of crime in its sphere of
- influence. A long-lerm approach to lowering crime is to raise the land
- value of the area. One way to do this is to demolish and rezone (urban renewal) .
-
- LAND VALUE
- Land value is one of the most fundamental aspects of urban structure.
- The land value of an area affects how that area is used. In this simulation
- the land value of an area is based on terrain, accessibility, crime,
- pollution, and distance to downtown.
-
- The farther the residents have to go to work, the lower the land value
- where they live, due in part to transportation costs. The value of
- commercial zones depends greatly on accessibility by the populace.
-
- Land value is also affected by surrounding terrain. If land is closer
- to water, trees or parks, its value will rise. Creative placement of
- zones within the terrain, with little bulldozing, can make good use of
- this natural advantage
-
- Land value and crime rate have a feedback effect on each other.
- Lower land values cause crime rates to rise. Higher crime rates
- cause land values to drop, and can cause ╥transition areas╙ near
- your central city to rapidly decline in value.
-
- **********************************
- THATS ALL FOR THE DOCS -- HAVE FUN
- **********************************
-
- Some Personal Greetinx Go To: Puppet Master, The Freelancer, Bigfoot, Warehead
- Rokman, Nomad, Blackhawk, The Agnostic, and of
- course all Spreadpoint/Defjam/CCS Members!
-