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-
- *************************
- SIMCITY DOCUMENTATION
- *************************
-
- 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
-
- This entire document assumes that you have a mouse. If you do
- not have a
- mouse, use the cursor keys in a similar manner and the space and
- enter keys
- as mouse buttons.
-
- Boot your computer and load the ShareGame release of SimCity. Do
- this
- by typing "SIMCITY" at the DOS prompt after you've unzipped
- SIMCITY-1.ZIP and
- SIMCITY2.ZIP. 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, choosing 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
- pointer is
- now a large square outline. This outline indicates how much clear
- space
- you will need to create a residential zone. Clicking the mouse
- 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 manner. 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 residential ones. Then select the industrial
- icon
- and map out some industrial zones. Connect all necessary power
- lines.
-
- Note that when you select different icons, the icon description
- 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 level.
- You can
- also adjust the current property tax rate. If you have no police
- or fire
- departments they don't need funds. Click the 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 the 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 pull-down mouse menu interface.
-
-
- FILE MENU
-
- LOAD SCENARIO provides you with a menu of available scenarios.
- Click a city to load it.
-
- START NEW CITY generates a new, empty terrain. You will be given
- the option to accept it or generate another 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 scenario, It can be saved and re-loaded,
- like any city, without the 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. Requires a dot matrix
- 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 zones, roadways, etc.,
- directly
- on top of trees and shoreline without manually bulldozing first.
-
- You will be charged the same as for manual bulldozing.
-
- AUTO-BUDGET keeps your budget at the same percentage settings
- 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 simulation runs slightly faster wilh the sound
- off.
-
-
- GAME SPEED MENU
-
- FAST sets city time to maximum speed.
-
- MEDIUM is the default setting, about three times slower than
- FAST.
-
- SLOW sets the speed 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 generated
-
- 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 to 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 negative demand.
-
- CLOSE BOX closes thc EDIT WINDOW.
-
- GROW BOX resizes the 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 information 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
- activates Roadbuilding mode in the same way. The "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 ghosted 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 increase 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 must be
- bulldozed
- 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 level 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 corrospond 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 city 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 the flashing box to go to the EDIT WINDOW.
- You cannot 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
- the window.
- By clicking on the icons along the left side of the MAPS WlNDOW
- you can view
- the following maps and cartograms.
-
- The CITY 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
- most 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 levels of pollution throughout your city.
- Pollution is generated by industry and traffic.
-
- The CRIME RATE map shows the level 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 amount 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 the icons on the 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 10-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 development 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
- last 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
- access 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 departments, or try to raise land values.
- Housing - Provide more residential 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 live 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 DISASTERS 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 area 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 the 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
- earthquake, and the eventual fire damage depends on your fire
- control
- efforts. When an earthquake 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 bulldozer to contain thc largest fires
- first and
- work your way down to the smaller ones.
-
- MONSTER ATTACKS are provoked by high levels 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
-
- The 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 "automobile capital of the 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 6F. Polar icecaps melted and raised sea Ievels
- worldwide.
- Coastal 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 the 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 zones 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 city'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, industrial zones
- represent the
- "basic" production of your city. Things produced here are sold
- outside the
- city to an "external market," bringing money into the city for
- future growth.
-
- COMMERCIAL 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
- within
- your city. This is called "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 city than residents, new settlers
- 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
- influenced by land value and population density.
-
- Quality of life is a measure of relative "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.
-
- The external market (the economic conditions that exist outside
- of your
- city) is controlled by the simulation-there is nothing you can do
- to change it.
- In 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 external
- 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
- The 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 stores, 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
- accelerate 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 amount of income generated by
- your city.
- As taxes are collected each year (city time), the 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
- development and the
- current tax rate.
-
- The tax rate has a global effect on your city's growth rate. If
- you set it
- low (0 - 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 the 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 to 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. The
- effective
- radius of your police station is related to the amount of funding
- allocated
- to the police department. There is a positive corrolation 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 level 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 the goal of good "power management."
- Periodically in the simulation the 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, the zone is considered powered
- (unless
- the power plant is overloaded).
-
- Zones must be powered for development 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
- city.
- 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 reached, 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 generated by residents 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 tracked 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 another cause of pollution.
- As your
- city gets large you may notice periodic smog generated from
- automotive
- commutes. Fires, Seaports, Airports, and Coal Power Plants 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-term 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.
-