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SimCity
™
User Guide
www.ateliersoftware.com
© Copyright Atelier S.A. 1999
© Copyright Electronic Arts 1989, 1999
All rights reserved. This manual and the programs referred to herein are copyrighted works of Atelier S.A., Paris,
France and Electronic Arts. Reproduction in whole or in part, including utilisation in machines capable of reproduction
or retrieval, without the express written permission of the copyright holders is prohibited. Reverse engineering is also
prohibited.
The information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Atelier S.A. accepts no liability for loss or consequential loss from misuse or any defect or failure of the programs
howsoever arising.
© 1989, 1999 Electronic Arts. SimCity, Maxis, Electronic Arts and the Electronic Arts logo are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Electronic Arts in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved.
3Com, the 3Com logo, Palm Computing and HotSync are registered trademarks, and Palm III, Palm IIIx, Palm V, the
Palm III logo, the Palm IIIx logo, the Palm V logo and the Palm Computing platform logo are trademarks of Palm
Computing, Inc., 3Com Corporation or its subsidiaries. Acrobat and PDF are trademarks of Adobe. All other brands
and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Version 1.0
July 1999
Part no. 32-031-004-01
English
License Agreement
This Agreement governs your use of the software provided to you by Atelier (“Atelier”) with
this product (the “Software”), including manuals and other documentation. IF YOU DO NOT
AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, PROMPTLY RETURN THE
UNOPENED SOFTWARE AND THE ACCOMPANYING ITEMS TO THE PLACE FROM
WHICH YOU OBTAINED THEM FOR A FULL REFUND.
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memory, hard drive or on RAM.
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reserve all rights to the Software not expressly granted. You may not make any copies or
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may, however, make one backup copy solely for archival purposes. You may not sell or lease
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person to whom you give the Software and related documentation understands and agrees to be
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accompanying Software documentation. Atelier does not warrant the media that the Software is
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BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS
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damages for loss of business profit, business interruption, loss of business information, or other
pecuniary loss) arising out of the use of or inability to use this Atelier product, even if Atelier
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3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Getting Started .......................................................................................................... 5
System requirements
5
Installing SimCity
5
Uninstalling SimCity
6
Running SimCity
7
Introduction............................................................................................................... 7
Tutorial - A walk through your city.......................................................................... 8
User Reference......................................................................................................... 10
Moving between views
10
Menus
11
City List view
12
Edit view
13
Budget view
16
Maps view
17
Graphs view
19
Evaluation view
20
Disasters
21
Game play level
22
Inside SimCity ......................................................................................................... 22
How the simulator works and strategies for using it
22
4
Getting Started
System requirements
To install and run SimCity you will need:
1.
An organizer running Palm OS™ version 3.0 or later, like a Palm III™ , Palm IIIx™ or
Palm V™ .
2.
around 230 K of available system memory on your organizer.
Installing SimCity
To install using a PC:
1. Ensure the Palm™ Desktop organizer software is installed on your PC.
2.
If you downloaded SimCity from the Internet, unzip the downloaded .zip file on your PC,
using WinZip for example which can be downloaded from http://www.winzip.com .
3.
Double click the file “Install.exe” on the SimCity diskette or in the uncompressed archive.
4.
Follow the instructions on the screen.
To perform a manual installation using a PC:
1.
Ensure the Palm™ Desktop organizer software is installed on your PC.
2.
If you downloaded SimCity from the Internet, uncompress the downloaded .zip file on
your PC, using WinZip for example which can be downloaded from
http://www.winzip.com.
3.
To install the English version of SimCity, double-click the file “SimCity.prc” inside the
“English” folder on the SimCity diskette or in the uncompressed archive.
4.
Follow the instructions on the screen.
5.
Additionally, you can copy the English manual on your PC. This manual (file
“manual.pdf” located inside the “English” folder on the SimCity diskette or in the
uncompressed archive) is supplied in PDF format. To read the manual, you need Adobe
Acrobat Reader which can be downloaded from http://www.adobe.com/acrobat
5
To install using a Macintosh:
1. Ensure the Palm™ Mac Pac software is installed on your Macintosh.
2.
If you downloaded SimCity from the Internet, uncompress the .zip file on your Macintosh,
using StuffIt Expander for example, which can be downloaded from
http://www.aladdinsys.com.
3.
To install the English version of SimCity, double-click the file “SimCity.prc” found inside
the “English” folder on the SimCity diskette or in the uncompressed archive.
4.
Follow the instructions on the screen.
5.
Additionally, you can copy the English manual on your PC. This manual (file
“manual.pdf” located inside the “English” folder on the SimCity diskette or in the
uncompressed archive) is supplied in PDF format. To read the manual, you need Adobe
Acrobat Reader which can be downloaded from http://www.adobe.com/acrobat
To install using UNIX:
1.
Ensure an installation program such as Pilot-link, which can be downloaded from
ftp://ryeham.ee.ryerson.ca/pub/PalmOS/ is installed on your computer.
2.
If you downloaded SimCity from the Internet, uncompress the .zip file on your computer.
3.
To install the English version of SimCity, install the file “SimCity.prc” found inside the
“English” folder on the SimCity diskette or in the uncompressed archive, using your
installation program.
6.
Additionally, you can copy the English manual on your PC. This manual (file
“manual.pdf” located inside the “English” folder on the SimCity diskette or in the
uncompressed archive) is supplied in PDF format. To read the manual, you need Adobe
Acrobat Reader which can be downloaded from http://www.adobe.com/acrobat
Uninstalling SimCity
To uninstall SimCity:
1.
Tap the Applications icon
2.
Tap the Menu icon then choose Delete on the App menu.
3.
Tap SimCity™ to highlight it, then tap Delete… and confirm the deletion
4.
Tap the Done button
6
Running SimCity
To start SimCity:
1.
Tap the Applications icon
2.
then tap the SimCity icon.
Introduction
Enter SimCity and take control. Become the undisputed ruler of a sophisticated real-time City
Simulation.
Start with virgin territory and create a living, growing city. The quality of life in your city
depends on you.
Zone lands, 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 let 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.
7
Tutorial - A walk through your city
Start SimCity. You are in the City List View. The city list is empty for now.
Tap New at the bottom of the view. You will now be asked to name your city. Go ahead and
enter a name and choose the Easy game play Level, then Tap OK.
To go back to the City List View, choose Close this city on the Game menu, then confirm
whether you want to save the changes to the current city.
You are now in the Edit View. You can use the Views pick list at the top right of
the screen to switch view. To scroll over the terrain, use the view scrollbars or the
scroll button.
Tools Pick List
Tap here to
Demand Indicators
select a tool
(RCI)
Date and Message
Water
View Pick List
Tap here to
change view
Funds
Forest and shrubs
Clear Area
Scrollbar
Scrollbar
8
The Budget Dialog will pop up once a year in city time. When it does, just tap Go with
these figures at the bottom for now.
Your available land is made of three types of territory:
• The light areas are clear: You can build on clear land.
• The gray areas are forests and shrubs: You can clear forest and extend coastlines with your
bulldozer.
• The dark areas are water: You can run roads, rails and power lines across water.
To clear the terrain, choose the bulldozer tool on the tools pick list. Every
time you tap inside the terrain, a small area will be bulldozed. Tap over some
forestland. The forest section under your stylus is now clear land. Now, hold
the stylus down and move slowly across the forest. Clear a large land to
prepare for building.
Choose the residential tool. Now tapping in clear terrain "zones" the land.
The "R" in the centre 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. Choose the coal
power plant tool on the tools pick list, then tap the terrain to 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, choose
the power line tool. Using your stylus, 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 connect 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. Choose the commercial tool and place a few commercial
zones near your residential ones.
Then select the industrial tool and map out some industrial zones. Connect all
necessary power lines.
Now choose the road tool 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.
9
When you choose different tools, the cost associated with the tool appears in the Tools
pick list. Your total funds available are displayed at the top right of the screen. If you do
not have enough money in your treasury to pay for a certain function, that tool will be
unavailable for use.
Now select the Budget View on the View pick list. This is where you set the level
of funding for your fire police and transportation departments. Tap 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. Switch to
another view when you are done.
Now select the Maps view on the View pick list . By choosing different maps on
the Maps pick list at the top left of the screen, 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 View. 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.
User Reference
Moving between views
There are five different views in SimCity: Edit, Maps, Graphs, Budget and Evaluation.
To bring up a particular view:
• Select the view from the View pick list at the top right of the screen.
10
Menus
City menu
This menu is only available from the City List View.
• Duplicate creates a copy of the selected city.
• Choose Beam to send the selected city to another organizer.
• Choose Delete to delete the selected city.
Game menu
• Close this city stops playing the current city and goes back to the City List View.
Disasters menu
Use this menu to trigger disasters. Random disasters can also happen during the game.
• Fire starts a fire somewhere within the city limits.
• Flood causes a flood to occur near the water.
• Air crash causes a plane to crash. If 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 sets a monster loose in your city.
Random disasters can be disabled by choosing Preferences on the Options menu.
Options menu
• Preferences gives you access to SimCity settings:
• Speed lets you set the city simulator speed: Fast sets city time to maximum speed.
Normal is the default. Pause stops time. Zoning and building are possible in paused
time.
• Auto-Bulldoze 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. If you do not have enough budget, funds will be allocated to
transit lines first, then to fire departments, then to police departments.
• Auto-Goto automatically transports you to the scene of a disaster or major event.
• Sound toggles sound on and off.
• Enable disasters lets random disasters happen during the game.
11
• Key Settings lets you configure the hardware keys to be used for horizontal scrolling in
the Edit View and for the Goto function.
• Goto takes you to the scene of a disaster.
City List view
When you start SimCity for the first time, or when you were not currently playing a city, the
City List View is displayed. The most recent city is displayed with a diamond next to it.
• Tap a city in the list then tap Play to play the selected city.
• Tap New to create a new city.
• Use the City menu to either Duplicate, Beam or Delete the selected city.
12
Edit view
Edit view gadgets
• Status Messages displayed at the top left of the Edit View tell you about events – if a
disaster occurs, the message will indicate the nature of the disaster.
To switch between the current location and the scene of a disaster or an event:
• Choose the Goto command on the Options menu.
Help Messages are about the Sims' needs and wants, such as more housing.
• Demand Indicators (RCI) at the top of the Edit View give a constant reading of the
residents' need for residential (R), commercial (C) and industrial (I) zoning. Above the
center line indicates a positive demand. Below the line is negative demand.
• The Tools pick list also displays the active tool.
Edit view tools
Select tools by tapping the Tools pick list at the top left of the Edit View.
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 areas. Intersections and turns are automatically
created. Lay continuous roads by tapping 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 placed over trees, shrubbery,
or zoned areas, except if you bulldoze the area first, or if the Auto-Bulldoze
option in the Preferences is active. 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 autobulldoze feature is on). Roadways are maintained by the transit budget, and
wear out if there is a lack of funding. It costs $10 to lay one section of road
and $50 to lay one section of bridge.
Power lines carry power from power plants 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 zone and when the flashing light disappears.
The delay grows longer as the city grows larger. Power lines may not be
placed over trees, shrubbery, or zoned areas, except if you bulldoze the area
first, or if the Auto-Bulldoze option in the Preferences is active. Junctions
and corners are automatically created. Lay continuous power lines by tapping
and dragging your pointer. Power lines across a river must be horizontal or
13
vertical - no turns, curves or intersections. Power lines consume some power
due 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 tapping and
dragging your pointer. Tracks laid under rivers will appear as dashed lines.
These underwater tunnels must be vertical or horizontal - no turns curves or
intersections. Transit lines are maintained by transportation department funds.
The level of funding affects the efficiency 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. Some residential zones will be
automatically transformed in churches or hospitals. 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.
Commercial 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 the growth of industrial
areas are external markets, seaports, transit access, residential 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. The 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 to fires. When
fires do occur, they are put out sooner and do less damage if a station is near.
The effectiveness of fire containment depends on the level of fire department
funding. It costs $500 to build a fire station.
14
Stadiums encourage residential growth. A status message will 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 stadium requires a good road
and transit network. It costs $3000 to build a stadium.
Power plants can be coal or nuclear. The nuclear plant is more powerful but
carries a slight risk of meltdown. The coal plant is less expensive, but Less
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.
Airports increase the growth potential of your commercial markets. Once a
city starts getting 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.
When the Query tool is selected, tapping on parts of your city brings up a
status box identifying the spot (zone, road, terrain, etc.), and giving
information on Population Density, Land Value, Crime Rate, Pollution and
Growth.
15
Budget view
When your first taxes are collected in a new city, and each year after, the Budget View will
appear (unless you enable the Auto-Budget option). You will be asked to set the funding levels
for the fire, police and transportation departments, and to set the property tax rate. You can
raise and lower budget levels by tapping on the little arrows that correspond to each category.
Tap the up/down arrows to
increase/decrease funding level
A percentage indicator will display the level of funding that will be maintained if you enable
the Auto-Budget option.
You may adjust your tax rate by tapping on the arrows next to the tax rate indicator.
Tap on Go with these figures to exit the Budget View.
At any time, you may display the Budget View by selecting it on the Views pick list. In
this case, there is no Go with these figures button at the bottom of the screen and you can
switch to other views using the Views pick list.
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.
16
Maps view
Maps pick list
Density legend
The Maps View gives you various overviews of your city. The portion of your city currently
visible in the Edit View is represented by a flashing box on your map. You can tap and drag
this box to the area you wish to edit. Tap in the flashing box to go to the Edit View.
Some maps display levels, densities or indexes. For these maps, a density legend is displayed
at the top of the screen.
You’ll also notice letters on the maps. They help you determine the location of moving objects
on the map. A ‘S’is displayed for a ship, a ‘R’for a train, a ‘H’for a helicopter, a ‘A’for an
airplane, a ‘M’for a monster and a ‘T’for a tornado.
By choosing a Map in the Maps pick list at the top left of the screen, you can view the
following maps and cartograms.
The City Map shows the physical shape of your city, both developed and
non-developed areas. Use this map to plan city expansion.
Power Grid shows you the network of the power lines in gray and
powered zones as black dots. Use this map to determine non-powered
zones and power failures.
Transportation is a road map of your city displaying all roads and rail
lines in black. Use this view to examine your city's access to specific areas
and to plan future expansion of the network.
The Population Density view uses degrees of shading to show the average
number of people occupying an area each day.
The Population 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.
17
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 Police Influence map displays the effective radius of each of your
police stations based on their location, power and funding levels.
The Fire Protection map displays the effective radius of each of your fire
stations based on their location, power and funding levels.
18
Graphs view
Time scale pick list
Graph selectors
Tap box to toggle graph
The Graphs View gives you time-based graphs of various city data. Tapping the graph
selectors 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. Just choose the
corresponding option.
The Residential Population graph shows the total population in residential
zones.
The Commercial Population 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 collected in taxes last
year minus money it took to maintain your city. 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 Pollution graph shows the overall pollution reading of the entire city.
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).
19
Evaluation view
The Evaluation View gives you a performance rating.
• Public Opinion data is presented 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 left 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.
• Industrial pollution – replace roads by transit lines. Create space between zones.
• Housing cost – Create new residential zones in areas with low land value.
• Fires – Build more fire departments
• Taxes – Lower the tax rate (if you can).
• 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.
20
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 the 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
View) 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 floodwaters recede, leaving 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 View shake for
a while. When it stops, you will have to take charge and control the scattered fires. Use the
bulldozer to contain the 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.
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Game play level
When you first start a new city you must pick a difficulty level. 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 the Evaluation View.
This level - 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.
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 factors (the regional economy,
disasters, etc.).
ZONES
Your city is divided into three primary zones: residential, commercial 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 the 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 goals of
planning is to separate these nuisances from the areas where people live. In this
simulation, 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 birth rate, availability of jobs and
housing, unemployment, and quality of life within the city. Birth rate as used here is actually a
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combination of the birth rate (+) and the death rate (-). Within SimCity there is always a
positive birth rate.
Availability 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 declines
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 residential 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 services, medical
care, etc. - all depend on a nearby population to service. Within SimCity, the size of the
internal market 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 larger consumer of your total city production. This accelerating 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 View 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
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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 levels 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 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 level of funding deter- mines the
effective radius of a fire department. Fire departments put out fires within 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 power 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 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
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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 destination" 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
travelling 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 conditions 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 industrialized
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 Level. Lowering traffic density,
limiting industrial development, 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 station 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.
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