Let me start off by saying that Sim City 4 is yet again a masterpiece of
the Sim City trend. While there must always be praise for such awe inspiring
games, there also has to be criticism. For the most part, most players of
Sim City 4 have discovered something beyond all previous versions of Sim
City, that this Sim City is actually a challenge. Often it is a challenge
that many have given up on. But that is the reason for guides such as this.
The inspiration for making a guide to sim city started from my own troubles
of wanting too much too fast for my city and ending up with nothing short
of a horrible disaster. Thus, after much trial, and many a failing, I have
discovered a formula that works. Is this to say, it is the be all and end
all of guides for sim city 4? I doubt it! But will it help those of you
troubled souls with some of the finer points of the game? For sure! After
running a Sim City 4 website and posting an online guide there, only to
have the site taken down by the isp due to massive bandwidth issues, I feel
that I can help by submitting a comprehensive guide to better help those
struggling with some of the finer points of making a successful city.
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Ok well as with most original pieces of information, they are protected
under copyright rules. All trademarks and copyrights contained within
this document are owned by their respective trademarks and copyright
owners. Copyright Andrew Mac 2003.
Simple put it's just a legal disclaimer of ownership. All things being
fair, I dont care whether this gets posted all over the net on 100
different sites so long as I receive accreditation for it and none of
this is altered in any way. After all this is my work.
If you disagree with any part of this guide/faq then that is your right.
The view of this guide is merely that, one viewpoint! It is not intended
to bring a consensus or even suggest that the views held within this
document are the only possible viewpoint.
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3. SIM CITY 4 GENERAL ISSUES
Ok well many people jumped right into SC4 without understanding some of
the finer points of the game. If you have played the earlier versions
of sim city, or even if you haven't, then there are various issues in
SC4 that need to be evaluated and explained to help you grasp and succeed
at the game. These are:
-=Megopolis or Mini-Mart=-
Sim City 4 is all about regions and understanding how they work. In earlier
Sim City games you have had a vast expanse at your bidding to create and
devastate what you like. You had the option to build a Megopolis with as
many simolians that you could squeeze into what land you could. Or you
could try to create your own paradise, a refined and trobule free city
that adores your great mayoral magnificance. However, all this has changed
in SC 4. The change was evidently coming when EA & Maxis released SC 3000
and now is an integral part of SC 4. Small cities now make up your entire
Region.
So what are regions exactly you ask? And what are cities?
A region is now not just neighbouring cities, it is a combination of
multiple cities that neighbour each other to form a region! SC 4 decided in
order to make SC 4 function smoothly it would divide your full sized map
into many varied cities. Instead of having to develop one huge land mass
you now have to develop each city on smaller states or provinces, in order
to make a region. To put it simply, a region is like a country! Take the
USA for example. In the USA you have many states, and in those states are
cities! Thus, your region = USA, and you have the ability to develop cities
in the many states of your region(USA).
-=Mastering Regional Development=-
Ok so now you understand the wierd new concept of regions, states, and
cities, but now you want to understand how they apply. For those who played
SC 3000 then they should grasp the concept here easily. Your states are not
huge masses of land, so therefore in order to really thrive and amass large
cities you need to work all your cities in the entire region together. To
put it in real simple terms, you have to think of the big picture. That is,
there is not a great deal of reasoning in making multiple mini cities that
encompass your region. You need to make you individual cities that are part
of a bigger picture. You won't really be able to make a megopolis in one
state, so you need to pretend that your region is a big jigsaw puzzle.
Paint the picture of how you would like you region to look and then start
making the individual cities in that image.
You can literally make one entire state out of a city of all agricultural
industry. Then the state neighbouring it maye have a small commercial zone
and mostly residential zones. It's up to you how you want it to appear.
Fundamentally, states can run only one zone type seperately and survive,
and better yet thrive! But this is a difficult challenge, and one most
people will fail there first time trying. Remember the one golden rule:
Make your states/cities work together! Not only is this important if you
are trying to create my prevoius scenario but it is also important in
helping any city thrive. There are many benefits in creating connectivity
with your neighbouring states and cities. That is why it is important to
make new cities in neighbouring states, to help cash strapped or job hungry
neighbours or simply to help establish your neighbouring cities to become
megopolis'.
-=Fiscal Sensibility=-
Ok before you go looking for cheats to give you cash, think about this:
What am "I" doing wrong? Before you give up on your bankrupting grab at
creating the ultimate of cities, realise that you must learn to crawl
before you can walk. Learn to walk before you can climb. And fundamentally,
learn to climb before you can fly! Ok well now I might be taking things a
little far, but if you heed this advice you will soon enough learn to
create a city that will budgetarily learn to fly!
Ok talking budgets, lets talk taxes!
Taxes are in laymens terms, a must! We all pay taxes, or at least
regretably at some point in our lives we will. Therefore, to be able to
understand tax rates in SC 4 you need to understand one fundamental
principle which applies in real life just as it does in SC 4. No one likes
to pay taxes! Not even your simoleons! As such, taxes don't make a huge
impact on your simoleons or your rating as mayor so long as you don't cross
that invisible white line. Once you go beyond this line, your simoleons may
revolt! They may decide you're too greedy and will just leave your city. In
turn, leaving a large amount of buildings vacant and decrepid. Generally
taxes are not a big issue, it doesn't take a genius to figure out a good
tax level. Gerneally speaking it isn't worth the drama of raising levels
above 10 percent. Unless of course, you need to soak every cent out of your
simoleons, and then if you have the desire you can try and milk them for
slightly higher rates. But remember low taxes help keep simoleons in your
city, and also help encourage more simoleons into your city, so play your
cards right and you'll have a city envious to all! Let's face it, taxes are
the reason you make profit, without simoleons to pay taxes you will be soon
fighting a losing budgetary battle.
-=Minimal Costing=-
Ok here's something to keep in mind. Generally people think that in order to
make a budget work you have to scrimp and save everywhere. Not true! Part of
managing a budget is having simoleons in your city to pay the taxes that
make you money as we just discussed. So how do you get simoleons into your
cities? Make them livible! Even the most minor things can have simoleons
flocking to your city. One such thing is parks and ordances. It is often an
overlooked aspect of the game, but parks and small ordances can help a cities
value or appeal increase dramatically. Very early on, sure, no one expects to
see a vast array of parks of city ordances in place. But once you've made a
start at your city, you should bring them into place. The reasoning behind
this strategic move is simple, parks and minor city ordances are very very
cost effective. It doesn't cost a lot to implement them into your city each
month but the reward form them is amazing! Therefore, it can be seen to be
cost effective to implement them into your city ASAP!
-=Loans - Saviour or Stupidity=-
In the last section we talked about minimal costing, i.e. doing things that
doesn't cost a lot of money but have good reward. Loans can be both a saving
grace or a very stupid move! Loans are particularly nasty traps that too
many people fall into. If you are losing money prior to taking out a loan
then it makes no sense to want to loose more! Having said this, the saying
"You got to spend money to make money" falls into a risky category.
Technically, if you aren't too far in the red you can take out a loan in the
hope that future growth can save you. But be warned, this is a very risky
financial move and 99% of the time, you will lose the battle.
However, on the up side, loans can help to rapidly develop a budgetly sound
city. That is, so long as you have your budget running a surplus, a loan can
help you accumulate a large sum of money quicker than it would to simple
save. Again however, there is always a major risk to this theory! If you
ever consider a loan, you need to realise that loans arent something that
just disappear. Loans exist as part of a 10 Year agreement! Thus, in 3 years
time the money you are paying in repayments may end up hurting your fiscal
budget. Another point of interest is that loans change depending on how much
you borrow. Therefore, repayments for loans vary depending on the amount you
borrow, so weigh up all the options before you go and loan money. As a general
rule, try every other method to reduce expenses before opting for a loan, and
if all esle fails, and you want to risk the red tape then do so at your own
expense!
-=Making A Profit=-
Ok so you've skimmed through all the budgetary advice and stumbled to this
point. Well this seems to be the most talked about topic of the game so far!
In 'Fiscal Sensibility' we discussed the need to not jump the gun and just
start building everything and anything! You need to build up slowly and cheaply
at first, and not spend money on things that aren't really required. Things
like police, fire, prisons, colleges are all non-essentials when you first
start. Why you ask? Because the fundamental rule is these buildings cost you
money! After all, why spend that sort of money while you are waiting on people
moving in! Once the game gets going and you start to get those issues arising
then adress them! By issues we mean, until you start to get complaints from
simoleons about crime or lack of fire service etc then why spend money on it!
Unless you can fiscally afford to incorporate these then don't! The idea is to
build up a city to get people in, then and only then, once enough people move
in, then you may start to tinker with some essentials and non-essentials. This
all depends on your budget. A key principle in money matters is: "Don't spend
what you can't afford!"
Another hugely important issue in relation to both budget and you overall city
layout is that of the overall effect. What overall effect? Well if you have yet
to discover, SC4 evolves around a key prinicple of life, equality! Thats right,
if you think, ok I can afford to implement a particular service eg police into
my city. Think again! When you decide it's budgetarily time for police to start
policing your city, then you better be prepared to fully equip your entire city
with police stations. Why? Equality! Part of keeping simoleans in your city is
providing "ALL" sims with equal opportunity of services. Besides, would you like
to live in a city that has police coverage for certain areas and not others? Well
maybe if you lived in the covered zone, but otherwise you'd pack your bags and
leave for a safer city. The same goes for all services within SC4.
-=Mayor: Mahem or Master=-
Being Mayor is a tough job! Fact is, if the simoleons are yelling abuse at you
for something you have or haven't done then you're probably not playing the right
cards. Simoleons are pushy, especially about certain matters eg health, education,
fire services, and crime. In fact, if they can find something to complain about
then they probably will! But, this is where we seperate the masters from the
mahems. Simoleons are easily manipulated, if you push the right buttons. Push
the wrong ones and watch out! They can have a varying range of responses, to
verbal disguist, to all out rioting! "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate,
and hate leads to suffering." Believe me, Yoda was right!
There isn't really too much to tell about mayoral responsibilities, other than
that the Simoleons are usually right. Ok you ask, then how are they manipulated?
Easy, simoleons may push buttons, but unless things get drastic, then usually all
they will do is complain. Ignore them! What do they know! You're boss around here,
don't let them make you do things you don't want to. If you're keeping things out
of cival unrest and if simoleons aren't fleeing from your tyrany then you must be
doing something right!
Untimately, it comes back to the budget! You can't satisfy them with everything
and anything. Realistically, costs restrict what you can and can't achieve early
on. So as long as you keep order and avoid chaos then take this approach: Slow and
steady wins the race!
-=Zoning Zelot=-
Zoning in SC 4 is as critical as the budget, maybe even more so! Zoning requires
the consideration of a number of factors, otherwise known as the 3 D's. Demand,
Desirability, and Demographics. These in turn inpact on your income! Demand: one
of the most overlooked features of SC 4.
Demand is critical in ensuring simoleons come to your city. When you first start
you need to know what exactly your simoleons want! To find out you simply click
on the RCI Bar in the middle of the menu o the bottom of your screen. First you
need to know what this menu option outlines. When you click on the RCI menu it
will produce a graph outlining 9 columns. 3 green (Residential), 3 blue (Commercial),
and 3 yellow (Industrial). In each group of 3 they have a dollar sign - either 1, 2,
or 3 dollar signs depending on whether it is low ($), medium ($$), or high wealth
($$$). Therefore a green bar with $ on it equals low wealth residential eg. These
columns can either rise above or fall below a line in the middle of the graph. Above
the line and this zone is in demand, below the line and there is no demand! Very
simple! So before you zone anything always make sure you check to find out exactly
what is in demand.
Desirability is also another important aspect that requires common sense when you
are in the town planning stage. No one wants to live next to a garbage dump,
similarly no one wants to live near a pollution chugging industrial factory. Think
before you act! Use common sense and your simoleons will praise your town planning
skills and move in.
Demographics refers to your simoleons. Are they educated, are they wealthy, are
they healthy etc. Demographics affects your demand and desirability. While this
isn't fundamental in the early growth of your city, it becomes important later on
so keep it in mind.
One last zoning issue. When your simoleons have become educated and wealthier etc
you can instead of zoning new high density, rezone your older low density or medium
density zones depending on the demand levels. That is, if the demand for low
density is not in demand ie below the line in the graph, you can rezone that to
high density if that is in demand by selecting the high denisity zoning tool and
rezoning over the top of the old one. It doesn't matter if there are already low
density buildings in place, once rezoned they will soon tranform into high density.
Also, on the issue of zoning low, medium or high density zones. It doesn't really
make a huge difference in terms of gameplay whether you start the game by zoning
either of these zoning types. Some people may prefer to zone high density zones as
opposed to low density to simple for-go a later cost of rezoning their zones. Others
may not want their entire city to become skyscrapers and may opt to have a suburban
effect within their city. It really comes down to choice, but it also means you need
to give some thought to the financial aspect of how many zones you can afford
depending on what density you want. Higher density zones cost more, but they can
be used from the very beginning of your city.
-=Goverment Services=-
Government Services relates to the build tab that allows for the contruction of
police stations, fire stations etc as well as the understanding of how best to keep
these buildings working for you. While taxes are the haul of your income, govt.
buildings are the main reason for expenditure. In fact, if it wasn't for the govt.
buildings, then SC 4 would be a lot easier to manage financially. Police & Fire
stations, Hospitals, Power & Water sources, Schools, and Sanitation are all hefty
burdens in the general running of a city. They are essential elements but they are
also very expensive. On top of this, you have to manage all of these so that, not
only are they running effectively, but so they are running efficiently as well.
It's one thing to have your police effectively preventing crime, but if you have
stations overlapping each others zones then they are costing you extra money and
thus not running efficiently.
So what can you do, you ask? The answer is not an easy one unfortunately. The
reality is, the answer lies in micro-management and good town planning. First off,
when you start a city you must have a plan in place of how you want your city to
develop in order to create order and functionality. The same goes for govt.
buildings, you must plan ahead and know where you are going to get the best
efficiency and effectivness from. Not only this, but you need to constantly review
these buildings in able to maintain efficiency. There is no point having a hospital
running at a high capacity whereby it can cope with 1000 patients and yet it is
only actually handling 300 patients at present. Micro-management requires your
constant attention. Just as there is no point having a surplus of hospital care,
it is not ideal to lower the care ratio and then not keep it monitored and then
have it become understaffed and unable to handle the patients.
I guess the most important and critical element of SC4 is mirco-management. If you
add a service into your city, then you will need to constantly be checking whether
it is running at an efficient cost-service ratio. This is one of my biggest hates
of the game to date, actually having to work! :D If only those creative folk at
Maxis had made a micro-management control panel where you could set schools,
hopsitals etc at a certain rate above efficiency. That is, have a panel that allows
you to choose a percentage ratio to allow for these eg Effiency panel: XYZ percent
above capacity (where XYZ is a numbered assigned by you). So you can choose to have
hospitals running at 5% above their current capacity used ratios. And that this
control panel would automatically update as the capacity increases or decreases.
Ah, but such if life! :D
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4. Sim City 4 City Startup Guide.
Ok well forget all the other perravel, you want to know how to go about setting up
a city that will actually work. A town plan as such, that you can use to create a
starting base for your own city. Well you've come to the right place. Our town plan
has been tested and has been 100% successfull so far in over 50 tests. The guide
itself is one merely to get you started, after all we don't want to do all the work
for you. It will give you a substantial starting base that you will be able to
expand on. It will take you through step by step in detail so that you can
understand the basic concepts of creating a successful city that runs with a profit.
First let me say one thing before we start. PAUSE the game. Once you select on a
location to start your city, pause the game before you even start forming what you
want your land to look like. Besides, you don't want time to start before you have
created your first stage of development.
Welcome to the beginning of what should prove to be the creation of many awesome SC4
cities. As with any city creation, the main point to consider is planning! Town
planning is an issue that helps save costs and effectively make your cities look
better. Your very beginning should start with roads and streets. Create your ideal
formation whether it be blocks of 4x4 or blocks of 2x20. It is your masterpiece
and your creativity that will ultimately scope how your city will look. Town
planning should be related to a jigsaw puzzle. Decide what picture you want to
make, and then, peice by peice put it together! But keep in mind, jigsaws can be
complex! For this guide we will run with the formula that has worked well for us.
Roads and zoning should take this basic formula:
Zoning in general should not exceed any greater width than 4 blocks. In this diagram
you will note that we have made: Road; 4 blocks of zone; Road; 4 of blocks zone;
road. The only exception to this 4 block width rule is agriculture which may be
zoned from a minimum of 4x4, or till you are advised the zone is too large. Also,
in the diagram you will note that the length of our layout can be fairly long. This
is really up to you. If you want to make city block of 4 x 4 then got for it. The
reasoning behind our long layout is due to traffic congestion. Eventually when you
get your city flourishing enough to rezone to high density zones you are going to
need either a very effective road system or a very effective mass transit system.
The more intersections you have in your city, the more traffic will congest.
Therefore, making a city of entirely 4x4 city blocks will mean major headaches for
your sims on the roads later.
Also another point to make here is that we have not allocated spacing for mass
transit or highways etc. Realistically it depends on whether you want to plan for
the future now or have to re-organise later. And the structure of how you want to
include space for mass transit and/or highways is also up to you. Initially, the
reason we have left this to you is because this is a simple guide to get you started.
Whatever you have in mind for your big picture is how you should base you start. We
are merely starting you out on a simple non-future planned formula to show you what
to consider effective on the small scale.
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The next concept you need to grasp also deals with layout. Where and what zones go
where? This really is up to you! But again for purposes of this guide we are going
to assume that you may want some advice on what a good layout is. The general
principle of zoning is actually rather simple.
It is our belief that residential zoning should generally only expand the size of
one elementary school. That is, if you were to place an elementary school down,
whatever the coverage that school has, is what you should zone as residential. We
like to call this area a 'suburb'. Of course this is not to say you cannot have
suburbs beside each other. But as a good rule you shouldn't have an area of
residential equal to 1.5 suburbs. The reasoning behind this is simple. When you
first start off, layout of zones, especially residential, can impact on costs
dramatically. Thus if you zone 1.5 residential suburbs then that means you will
need to provide 2 lots of education to cover them. Thus wasting 50% of your
services.
Commercial, Industrial and Agricultural don't have this same drama, as the only
services they need are police and fire. But the concerns these have relate to
where you put them and not how you put them. As a general rule, industrial should
never been seen next to residential. Neither should agricultural for that matter.
Therefore the only solution is via commercial. Residential should always be
beside commercial. The exception to this doesn't come untill later in the game,
when high tech prevails. Then you can have residential and industrial together
without affect.
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A few matters relating to zoning. My belief is that you should choose what you
want your city to look like. The whole concept of thinking of the big picture.
We prefer either of these 2 options when building your city. Either you build
residential, commercial and industrial, or you build residential, industrial,
and agricultural. Therefore either you choose commercial or agricultural as your
cities 3rd zone as the starter to your city. (Note this is only a start plan,
you may opt to include these later once you have gotten your city up and running)
However, the choice has no big impact on much more than what you envision for
your city. If you choose to zone agriculture then you provide sims with an extra
source of employment. However, this choice means water polution, no tax income
and it helps to keep uneducated sims in your city. If you choose commercial, you
will be providing sims with no other alternative but to get smart and get a good
commerce job. However, this choice means very limited growth early on and very
little tax income.
The option is yours, but to provide a little insight to our thinking, we choose
commerce over agriculture. The reason is because if you play your cards right,
commerce can boom a lot earlier in the game than it should. Our policy when it
comes to commerce is give it away! You don't make money from agriculture, and
untill commerce booms you won't really make money from it either. Thereforem, give
your sims a commerce dream, almost free tax rates! That's right, we apply these
tax rates to our commerce from the beginning: $ - 3.0%; $$ - 2.0%; $$$ - 1.0%
This helps generate a lot more interest in commercial jobs than would normally be
the case. Therefore, commerce will boom earlier than it would normally. Besides
who wouldn't want to set up a commercial business which almost no tax! But
ultimately, some creators want to have agriculture in their cities just for the
look. Either way, both provide around the same benefit early in the game. It is
only when you want to build up that you may run into some difficulty.
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Ok, so you want to get on with it. Well here is where things go ugly! You've
decided on your road layout, and you've zoned everywhere and everything you
want. Now all that is left to do is provide the very limited services to get
your city running.
The only requirements you now need are: a power plant; a landfill; and 1 fire
station!
As a general rule, we put our power plant away from everything bar industrial.
The reason is because of polution. So what power plant should I use? This is a
common question, and one that a lot of people disagree on. We recommend economy
over ecology. Before you start thinking we hate the planet, we are talking
purely about the game! SC4 is all about choices, if you feel the planet deserves
your respect with clean power sources then we are not going to stop you. But
this game is purely dictated by economy early in the development, so the best
option is also the most poluting one: the Coal Power Plant! For the power to
cost ratio you cannot go past it!
Enough said about power, now you need a landfill. We like clean cities!
Hypocrytes as we are, after just saying polute! But no one wants trash in their
yard, so to start you should build a small (approx. 6x6 blocks) landfill. Place
this near the power plant. No one wants to live near a dump either!
So what else, protection against fire! Again a hot item. Whether you agree or
not, fires happen, even very early on in the game. In fact, we have seen a fire
happen on occasion before the first year had even past. However, we aren't going
to get fire station crazy. You only need 1, as it should cover you whole area, it
just may take longer to get there, but that is an acceptable risk - cost ratio.
Placement too is important here. Your first station should be placed in your main
industrial sector. We made 2 industrial sectors, but we put our fire station in
the largest one. Why you ask? The no.1 fire hazard comes from industrial,
unwatered industrial especiallly.
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Ok well at this point, you might be thinking, so how does or should our layout
look? Ok well this is a general layout that we used to create our cities:
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R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
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R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
R = Road (note not street-no point wasting money)
p = Power Station (this diagram indictes a 4x4 Power Grid ie 1 Power Station)
i = Industrial Zone
c = Commercial Zone
r = Residential zone
Note: This diagram does not indicate spacing left for mass transit or highways.
Also, the size of the residential as we indicated equals the size that is
covered by a elementary school therefore:
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
R RrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrRrrrrR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
this should be equal to the coverage of an elementary school and is thus not 100
percent accurate in this diagram. Scaling of this above section we have labelled
as a "suburb" for ease of reference.
--------------------------
So you've designed your layout, zoned, powered, and provided some services. Then
you're ready to roll. Lights! Camera! Action! Unpause and away you go! Wait!
wait! wait! Before you jump ahead on your own, there are a few more issues you
will need to know.
When you do click that unpause button on your city and let the influx begin, you
need to know that first up, for maybe a year, sometimes even longer, you WILL
lose money! That's right, the first few months you will be losing money and you
might start to panic. Don't! I have never ever started a city and made money from
the word go! I don't believe it is possible, in fact I would love to see anyone
disprove this! A year is a general timetable, and the reason behind this is, sims
like us, take a while to move! Anyone that has moved houses or apartments will
know that packing, building your new sim house, settling in and unpacking all
takes time. Therefore you won't make income via tax untill you get a lot of
residents. This is a critical principle: Residents are your biggest income
source! Jobs will eventually bring in the mula but residents is where it is at!
So that is why we region more residential zones. Ka-ching!
Besides, your money loss at the beginning has its rewards. Income rewards are an
excellent way to boost that income! There is no real reason not to accept an
income reward. Yes, they are neagtive features that make your mayoral rating go
down, but they do not provide such a detrimental affect that you need to worry
about them. So build the missile silo's, army base's, and whatever else you get
thrown your way. You can also take note.....you are building a city to get you
started. Money is critical in helping you get things moving, so by accepting
these income rewards as they come doesn't mean you're a horrible mayor. You can
easily remove them later on in the game if you like. So why not make the best of
it while you can.
Our city, only 8 months into the game, with 2 income rewards and a population of
only 640 sims was what you can expect. Patience is a virtue you need at first. We
have also started making $200 approx. profit each month, so things are now in the
green financially.
--------------------------
So what's next in our hit list? Well, development requires one other utility,
water! And the best way to do this is by a simple idea we discussed in the
general issues section previously. Don't spend what you don't have! Your city
is still probably growing, like our example, it takes time to really get growth
and thus get a good income. So we let our city run and now our city, at the end
of the second year, was rolling in cash.
Here's how our city looked at the end of the 2nd year, with still 2 income
rewards and a population of 4,800 sims. Guess what? We are now making a very nice
profit! $1,400 a month, and we still have space still to be developed!
So with all this money we will develop our water system! First, we will lay out
our pipes, which is expensive to cover all your zones. So it may take a few more
months, so keep saving and eventually with your nice income you will afford it
and have your pipes fully covering your zones. Then add a Water Pump! Thats'
right, not a tower, a pump. Again the cost to water ratio is too good to pass up.
Besides you have a good enough income by know that you can afford this no porblem.
--------------------------
Now, the final development we will take you through is the provision of services.
By services we mean expanding your fire coverage to cover all your regions,
providing elementary schools, clinics and a library or two. Two Major points to
note! First, check your finances to make sure you have cash in hand to buy, and
second, make sure that when you add these services that your budget can handle
them.
So start providing, build extra fire stations, school your suburbs and also put a
clinic in each suburb too. Then, add a library or two, depending on how tight your
budget is. Remember, schools, libraries and clinics only need to go in residential
zones.
But WAIT! So you've put your schools, clinics and library(s) in. But did you
remember the most commonly overlooked issue with these? Select the help cursor
and right click on each of these buildings to view the coverage funding stats. You
will notice that ALL education and ALL medical services can adjust funding levels
to suit the population. Thus, if you have a school that says there are 130
students attending then drop your schools funding to cover this need but provide a
sufficient growth factor, eg fund the capacity for 160 students! The same applies
across the board to your libraries, hospitals etc. But NEVER change police, fire,
power, water, or transport funding levels. These are critical services that can
bring your city pain for years to come if you reduce their funding levels.
Now, let your city grow some more and watch your sims get happier and your budget
get fiscally stronger. However, sometimes in a city that hasn't grown fully, you
may find you will have a loss again, it may only be small, but untill you get more
growth then it will remain intact. But again, don't panic... you will most likely
get another opportunity to add income rewards, so take them and wait out the loss
period. Sims are probably still moving in, and we found this to be the case in our
test cities. But after riding out another couple of years we were booming once
again.
Here's how our city looked at February in the 5th year, with now 3 income rewards
and a population of 11,000 sims. We are still making a very nice profit! $1,100 a
month, with $10,000 in the bank, and we still aren't fully developed!
--------------------------
So now you have discovered the basics of how to make a successful and profitable
city, you can go out and learn from this. Experience will bring you bigger and
better cities. Remember, once you have built your base you may expand, but be
cautious, keep the constant observation in mind. "don't spend what you don't
have", and "Never give what you cannot account for" ie don't let your income get
overtaken by your expenses, and save before you spend!
Good luck, and let's hope you all become buzzing town planners.
--------------------------
--------------------------
This document was written by SpookS all rights reserved. Should you have any
questions or comments on this faq, email me at spooks_amac@yahoo.com.au
This document has been written as version 2.0 due to the origianl faq's and
information being put together from my old sim city 4 web site. I hope this faq
helps even one person understand sim city 4 better and enables them to achieve
a successful city as a result. Cheers!
SpookS
