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I'm still here as token "kinda like the game" guy. Was in the middle of typing up a post for the last thread when it closed. As someone who has over 150 hours logged in this game and enjoyed it, PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. Especially if you're the type to get mad about games. This game is borked and it will never be fixed. Modders have already given up and EA clearly doesn't give a poo poo to fix anything.
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May 1, 2013 19:25
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Sydney Bottocks posted:so that the game will complain about unemployed Sims that don't even exist This isn't true. The overall population numbers are fudged, but the real numbers are in the "details" section of the population window. Only time the game will complain about jobless problems are when the real numbers say so. In fact, the RCI is so loving broken, you should only be using the population details window for any zoning decisions.
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May 1, 2013 23:45
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Sydney Bottocks posted:Along with that, how many people are going to intuitively know to use the "details" section vs. the "default" population numbers? And why didn't EA/Maxis just make sure the two numbers actually matched up? Personally, I wouldn't have known for a long time if it hadn't been for reading the thread. As far as why? Man, who knows.
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May 2, 2013 00:31
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Neurolimal posted:while the X-COM team did a great job of it because they had experienced dudes who were also crazy fans of the original games. The principle in general is really good and makes games (and their sequels) accessible and not packed full of dated obscure grognard poo poo. To further this point, during the dev process, the crew at Firaxis played the original xcom every Friday. The whole staff knew what was great about the original, what was frustrating and so on.
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May 2, 2013 02:55
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When I play, I intentionally slow my rate of expansion. Most of my cities are quite spread out and I only upgrade road densities one at a time. I also try to make them as visually pleasing as possible. Nothing bums me out more than grid-based hell-holes with no personality. I like playing the maps with unique landscapes that force you to make the most of an even smaller amount of space. In old SC games where you could terraform, I'd always flatten everything out just because I could. This game has forced me into some really interesting layouts. As far as producing electronics: go full alloy with the recycling plant and import plastic. A fully upgraded factory will need more alloy than your recycling can provide, so you'll eventually have to import that as well. I have seen prices change at least once, but what caused it is anyone's guess.
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May 2, 2013 15:56
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I argue there IS fun to be had, but you have to think of it as anything BUT a simcity game. It's a really cool pachinko machine you can customize. It's a fun coin-slotting screensaver that can occasionally interact with other people's coins. Its a relaxing zen-garden/bonsai-tree that you can calmly make small changes to. It is NOT a fun or remotely accurate city building simulator.
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May 2, 2013 16:21
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Has anyone cracked D3 yet? Not trying to be snide, just asking.
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May 2, 2013 20:44
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Lucy Heartfilia posted:Well, even if the pumps are strong enough, the electricity could still get confused and then lost on the way. Or stuck between two piles of poop and some water. I've not once had this problem for more than an hour or two of in-game time. Always run at a large excess and always purchase from neighbors even if you don't need to. As soon as you get the notice that you're buying from your neighbor, it's time to upgrade.
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May 2, 2013 21:46
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http://www.twitch.tv/kuberous This guy is a pretty cool streamer. His gimmick is going into abandoned cities and fixing them up. It's kind of like This Old House, but Sim City. Looks like he's just about to get started.
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May 2, 2013 23:46
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i81icu812 posted:You have terrible opinions on game design for a city simulator. Removing zoning density from a city simulation is a really, really terrible decision. I don't mind zoning being run through street density at all. Thats one of the few SC5 design decisions I really like. Different strokes and all I guess.
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May 3, 2013 13:00
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Toady posted:It gets better. It increases happiness and uses no city power despite being a recharging station. Essentially, you're obligated to accept the advertisement due to its positive effects and no drawbacks. Or you could not and your city will be just fine without it. This is one piece I take issue with the posters in this thread about. It's free, optional dlc that happens to be sponsored. You are no more obligated to use it than you are any other ploppable. poo poo, you don't even have to dl it if you don't want to. It is transparent advertising, yes, and that it doesn't use any power is really stupid, but among this game's many issues and faults, this is at the bottom of the list.
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May 3, 2013 17:28
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I've not once needed to use that happiness boost and I run an average approval rating of 80+
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May 3, 2013 17:50
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euphronius posted:If they had ever got the leader boards to work and people still played the Leaf stations would not have been optional. OK, sure. Assuming one wants to make the top of the leader boards, maybe it's super important. Since they don't work, and no one gives a gently caress about them anyway, my point still stands.
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May 3, 2013 21:17
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I don't care about either of them is all I'm saying. There is no point to the leaderboards. They're a bad decision by EA to put them in the game. Just because they exist (assuming they work), doesn't mean everyone try and top them. It's the same with the DLC. Just because it exists doesn't mean you're forced to use it. Should contrived competition no one asked for dictate design decisions in a sandbox game? Agree completely with the timing and blatantly shilling nature, though. I don't want that kind of poo poo in the game either. It's just so easy to ignore compared to other issues. edit VVV agree completely on that too haha VVV tao of lmao fucked around with this message at 22:09 on May 3, 2013 |
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May 3, 2013 22:02
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You should never buy another game from Origin again because it's simply an inferior service in every conceivable way compared to steam. Is there a single thing Origin does that Steam doesn't do better?
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May 6, 2013 21:41
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KnifeWrench posted:Offers EA games. Judging by this thread, you could argue that Steam not offering EA games is a service unto itself.
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May 6, 2013 21:43
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And the digital games run at a higher profit margin than boxed. It's worth noting.
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May 8, 2013 13:41
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Sardonik posted:Are casinos working for anybody yet? That dude I linked earlier in the thread had a decent one going a couple days ago, but it wasn't really his. 3 of his four casinos were making money and the city had a good hourly profit of around 5k when i stopped watching. I'm interested in giving it a shot now that the patch is out. I think one of the keys is being in an active region full of full-ish cities. I don't think any city should go over that 150k population barrier, but a region full of cities around that size should get you the tourism you need.
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May 8, 2013 21:53
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Just loaded up my worst-traffic-city and there's a noticeable improvement. I know it's early, and I gotta give it a couple hours to jam up, but if this stays like this, then wow. Edit: It's not a magical fix, either. My traffic still sucks, but the bug where a random car just refuses to move for several in-game hours looks like it's gone. tao of lmao fucked around with this message at 22:28 on May 8, 2013 |
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May 8, 2013 22:24
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WeaponBoy posted:At what point does traffic sucking switch from 'lovely design' to 'lovely city'? In my particular case, I think it was a mixture of both but mostly agent system foibles. 4-way-intersections still seem like no-no's, which I would say is bad game design. This particular city was a grid-hell thrown up quickly supplying workers to my main city. Pre-patch the entire city would run for about a day before the afternoon traffic would grind to a halt. Post-patch, with all those same 4-ways, traffic flows much better. However, turning my entrance's 3-way intersection into a 4 was awful, making both morning and noon traffic sour. It would still flow just noticeably slower. Left-hand turns are still a struggle apparently. I can play around lovely game design, but bugs are killers imo. Having your entire city grind to a halt all because one worker-agent (or municipal bus, or school bus, or police car) decided to go catatonic during rush hour was lovely. At the very least this looks like it's fixed. (for now  )
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May 8, 2013 23:58
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Treytor posted:While the traffic seems slightly better and more organic, it's still gridlock city with a new city that's not even 1/4th full. I don't find this to be the case at all. Just built a successful casino city of around 30k population with about as many tourists. Had every casino except the elegant, 3 tourist traps all making good cash, a consistently packed expo center, and full service coverage. Was making nearly 20k an hour. Traffic is intense at times, and it still bugs out occasionally, but it moves. I'll throw some pics up tomorrow.
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May 9, 2013 03:01
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Some disclosure: 1. My processor city totally funded the development of this city. I sent 3 mil so I could lay most of my roads before really developing. At no point beyond that was I ever really losing cash. I think the only time I badly dipped in the red was right after plopping the giant fire-station, which I arguably never needed in the first place. 2. I totally overstated how many tourists I had coming in earlier. The number seems to bounce between 12 and 15k depending if I'm running a show at the expo. Sorry 'bout that  Anyways. This is Los Smegas. http://imgur.com/ywBFAaK With a river dividing my land, this plot made perfect sense for a long avenue to let traffic come in. With shows running at the expo center, it can get pretty intense sometimes. I've actually b-dozed the closer bridge since this picture. http://imgur.com/6PFX0SW Statue of Liberty is by far the best tourist attraction. http://imgur.com/8ibLx6d First gambling house went here across from the ferry. Still pumping out good profit. http://imgur.com/TQ0U5gM Second one here. You need to have 2 fully upgraded gambling houses down before you can get the HQ. I figured given the way the agent system works, spreading your casinos out and creating area coverage is better than having a Vegas-style-strip. http://imgur.com/kuZgJ9e Gambling HQ. Getting very close to the last upgrade. You'll notice it's only been a few hours and my hourly has dropped nearly 8k. This is pretty normal and swings pretty wildly. Also you'll see my specialty icon is yellow. My adviser yells at me constantly saying I have terrible tourist attendance despite filling all of my attractions. http://imgur.com/z3zgpsD Sci-Fi is near where the 2nd (now only) bridge dumps off traffic. Residential is in the behind it surrounded by avenue. This keeps the bulk of traffic away from the housing, and allows them to get to work most of the time. Circle roads and 4-way-intersections were just for fun. http://imgur.com/KaPoavK Sleek is on the opposite side of the city from the Sci-Fi, and somewhat close to some traffic issues, which isn't helping the overall picture, but it is successful and houses nearly all of my $$$ tourists. All 6 of them. http://imgur.com/4Hb62Wj edit: sorry for not embedding the pictures. I'm not good at imgur.
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May 9, 2013 22:44
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davey4283 posted:Have the patches made this game any better or no? I think so. I'm definitely in the minority, though.
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May 10, 2013 13:40
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Were those issues in a new city or one from pre-patch? I've only made the one casino city post-patch and I've had none of those problems. Some of my friends in the same region were having bugs in pre-patch cities.
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May 10, 2013 14:16
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univbee posted:I'm aware that it doesn't immediately affect their bottom line (as mentioned, they already have my money), but getting used to not playing games of theirs makes avoiding future games a lot easier. EA hasn't put out an original game in a very long time and I'm more trying to break the sequel cycle than anything else. This thread is amazing. Every time I feel the righteous indignation can't get any worse, goons find a way to top themselves. Seriously, are you that weak-willed?
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May 10, 2013 15:48
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Mendrian posted:Is there anything SC 5 does better than SC 4? I think the interface is cleaner and a little easier to navigate. Drawing roads is more fun since you can make curved roads and diagonals, which leads to more creative layouts. Despite this, a number of people insist on making grids because they are boring min/maxers. Saw one dude make a city in the shape of the Batman logo. That was really cool.
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May 10, 2013 16:49
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Cojawfee posted:It's fun to make an organically shaped city, but it has disadvantages. You can either make a cool looking city that will never amount to much, because there's not really any room, or you can make a grid city and make lots of money. Nonsense, if you specialize properly you can make absurd money with low populations. See: my casino city posted a couple pages back or any number of processor cities. edit2: For that matter, you can have a profitable city using nothing more than a recycle plant and trade depot. Alloy sells for good cash. Get education up to 3 hats, and you'll soon be rolling in more money than you'll know what to do with. Grids are for min/maxing in a way that'll lead to massive problems (and nerd rage)There just isn't enough room to cram hundreds of thousands of sims into 2 square miles. 150k is really the most reasonable max pop in this game. edit: JeffersonClay posted:It works really well, which indicates the simulation isn't. You're not playing a city simulator, you're playing Simcity 2013
tao of lmao fucked around with this message at 19:13 on May 10, 2013 |
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May 10, 2013 18:56
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ttam posted:I think of it as Version 3.0 of patch X.001 since none of them seem to have done any good. Yeah the patch numbering is confounding. However I've noticed an improvement with every patch so far, so I find that statement a bit disingenuous. Who knows, maybe I'm just massively lucky.
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May 10, 2013 19:40
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I fired the game up this weekend after a few month hiatus, update took like 30 minutes and then I played the game for a couple hours. Overall it was a pleasant experience and I'll probably do it again in a month or two. Game still has warts but traffic worked fine and I still really like the aesthetics. I could probably listen to that music during work and be more productive. Very calming and lends itself well to intense focus.
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Sep 5, 2013 13:34
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As probably the one person who enjoys this game, EA is impossible to defend at this point (edit: not that they ever were with this game). Haven't spent a dime on dlc and likely won't unless they increase the plot-sizes. Not holding my breath.
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Sep 19, 2013 19:51
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I played the vanilla game about a month ago too and had no issues with traffic even with high density buildings increasing congestion at times. Definitely not getting the expansion, but it is pretty funny seeing the same five people circlejerking over the past 9 months about how much they hate this game.
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Dec 3, 2013 16:50
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