# The New SimCity : yea or nay?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [March 11, 2013, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617 "2013-03-11T05:29:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 5
### Author:  [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/81 "2013-03-15T14:08:48Z")
> [@even\_sven](#):
>
> But if you want to play SimCity, it’s pretty good for that.
Actually, apparently it’s not. At least, not if you want a game that actually tries to simulate how a city actually works, as opposed to, say, people commuting from work to the nearest house, and fire departments that can only respond to one fire at a time regardless of how many of them you have.
There are also rumors circulating that the game starts to break down completely when your city gets too large.
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### Author:  [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/82 "2013-03-15T14:09:16Z")
> [@Skammer](#):
>
> I didn’t pay $60 to play for a week.
Yeah, you paid 60$ for the promise of a working game down the line, maybe.
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### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/83 "2013-03-15T14:11:31Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#):
>
> Yeah, you paid 60$ for the promise of a working game down the line, maybe.
And until EA decides the servers aren’t worth maintaining anymore.
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### Author:  [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/84 "2013-03-15T14:20:34Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#):
>
> Yeah, you paid 60$ for the promise of a working game down the line, maybe.
> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> And until EA decides the servers aren’t worth maintaining anymore.
I’ve played over 40 hours since I bought it, so it works well enough now. And I’m willing to bet that I eventually move on to other games long before EA stops supporting this one.
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### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/85 "2013-03-15T15:16:01Z")
Fair enough. I prefer not to have to gamble that a game I’ve paid good money for will still be available to me during the time I want to play it.
[Here’s Ars Technica’s latest review](http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/03/simcity-one-week-later-time-doesnt-heal-all-wounds/).
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### Author:  [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/86 "2013-03-15T15:49:24Z")
> [@Skammer](#):
>
> Maybe I don’t take my video games seriously enough, but after playing it for over a week now I’m still enjoying it. They’re starting to turn on some of the features that they had to disable at launch, and will be patching in other upgrades soon. (Yes, these should have all been ready for launch). But I don’t care too much about the problems from the first few days for a game I hope to be playing for a long time going forward. I didn’t pay $60 to play for a week.
Stop that! We’re not allowed to have fun! 😛
I’m having fun too. The servers have been working fine for me since Wednesday this week. My main gripe is the quality of the simulation, but they seem to be actively fixing bugs, unlike previous SimCity games. And the multiplayer regions really add something to the game (at least playing with non-jerks from the SDMB, I’m not ready to play with strangers).
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### Author:  [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/87 "2013-03-15T16:00:24Z")
> [@Skammer](#):
>
> Maybe I don’t take my video games seriously enough, but after playing it for over a week now I’m still enjoying it. They’re starting to turn on some of the features that they had to disable at launch, and will be patching in other upgrades soon. (Yes, these should have all been ready for launch). But I don’t care too much about the problems from the first few days for a game I hope to be playing for a long time going forward. I didn’t pay $60 to play for a week.
Stop that! We’re not allowed to have fun! 😛
I’m having fun too. The servers have been working fine for me since Wednesday this week. My main gripe is the quality of the simulation, but they seem to be actively fixing bugs, unlike previous SimCity games. And the multiplayer regions really add something to the game (at least playing with non-jerks from the SDMB, I’m not ready to play with strangers).
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### Author:  [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/88 "2013-03-15T17:30:06Z")
I feel really bad for having fun playing this horribly broken game published by the evil EA.
Really, really bad.
In fact, I feel so bad that I’ll have to soothe myself by playing a video game. Let’s see, I had great fun playing SimCity; I’ll play some more of that!
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### Author:  [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/89 "2013-03-15T17:36:42Z")
All this “oh I forgot I was supposed to hate this!” stuff is juevenile. You can make a case for or against the game without it. The over the top faux oppression sarcastic stuff against a straw man argument is worse than Hitler.
Edit: I’m probably overly sensitive to this because I’ve seen this sort of thing take an uptick recently across the internet for some reason.
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### Author:  [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/90 "2013-03-15T17:39:16Z")
I have. See all my previous posts in this and other threads. I even posted a big list of SimCity alternatives for those who don’t want to deal with the online/EA crap.
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### Author:  [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/91 "2013-03-15T17:46:44Z")
What’s interesting to me is that I don’t really care about the DRM crap. I mean, I do care - I hope every time they do some bullshit like this it blows up massively in their faces until they have to realize that they should never do that stuff - but I wasn’t planning on getting the game until Christmas or whatever when it hit $10 anyway, and by then the load issues will have been resolved.
I’m actually more dissapointed to learn that some of the actual gameplay promises are bullshit. Like having simulated individuals going to work, going home, shopping for their needs actually sounded really cool. But the reality is that all sims head for the nearest open job, and then at the end of the day go to the nearest open home, creating massive traffic jams along the way, which is actually worse than the generic statistical modelling of the previous games.
The city size limitation is a big one too - seems extremely small. If they make you pay for DLC to make them bigger, that’s pretty reprehensible. Actually, it makes me wonder if they’re going to try to turn this into a sims-like franchise and put out 50 DLCs.
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### Author:  [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/92 "2013-03-15T18:18:30Z")
I’ve been dealing with inexplicably random walker behavior since the days of the Impressions City Builders.
Your high-tax paying patricians’ grand villas are about to devolve for lack of food because the market lady decided to take the long way around the block? Sucks to be you. Your ceramics makers are twiddling their thumbs because the clay delivery guy next door decided it was better to deliver his load clear across town and in the meantime Caesar is demanding you give him his pots NOW. Maybe you weren’t cut out to be a Roman governor.
I find the behavior of SimCity agents to be far more predictable if perhaps counter-intuitive at first. I’m having fun figuring out the best ways to channel them productively while building a cool-looking city in the process. And playing with other Dopers is a big bonus.
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### Author:  [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/93 "2013-03-15T18:19:06Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#):
>
> I’m actually more dissapointed to learn that some of the actual gameplay promises are bullshit. Like having simulated individuals going to work, going home, shopping for their needs actually sounded really cool. But the reality is that all sims head for the nearest open job, and then at the end of the day go to the nearest open home, creating massive traffic jams along the way, which is actually worse than the generic statistical modelling of the previous games.
>
> The city size limitation is a big one too - seems extremely small. If they make you pay for DLC to make them bigger, that’s pretty reprehensible. Actually, it makes me wonder if they’re going to try to turn this into a sims-like franchise and put out 50 DLCs.
Yeah; I’m kindof astonished, actually, that what with all the reports of traffic issues, so-stupid-it’s-basically-not-there AI, etc, that there are so many people here saying things like “It’s a lot of fun when it works!”
I find myself wondering if the problems are overblown, or if people just aren’t running into them yet, or what.
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### Author:  [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/94 "2013-03-15T19:02:09Z")
> [@Airk](#):
>
> Yeah; I’m kindof astonished, actually, that what with all the reports of traffic issues, so-stupid-it’s-basically-not-there AI, etc, that there are so many people here saying things like “It’s a lot of fun when it works!”
>
> I find myself wondering if the problems are overblown, or if people just aren’t running into them yet, or what.
A lot of the problems are very dependent on the situation. That is, your exact layout of roads and zoning and ploppables affect how well the AI handles things.
So some players may very well be having huge sim problems, because of how they design their cities. Others might have no problems at all. That’s the nature of sand box games.
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### Author:  [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/95 "2013-03-15T19:08:39Z")
> [@Airk](#):
>
> Yeah; I’m kindof astonished, actually, that what with all the reports of traffic issues, so-stupid-it’s-basically-not-there AI, etc, that there are so many people here saying things like “It’s a lot of fun when it works!”
>
> I find myself wondering if the problems are overblown, or if people just aren’t running into them yet, or what.
I’ve definitely run into them and then some. Yes, I still find it a fun game, albeit disappointing in some respects. When I get irritated enough, I just strap some C4 to my ATV & go all “jeep jihad” on a sunderer or magrider. Then I feel better.
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### Author:  [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)
#### Post date: [March 15, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/96 "2013-03-15T19:20:04Z")
I didn’t realize SimCity has jihad jeeping. Things are looking up.
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### Author:  [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2013, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/97 "2013-03-16T00:50:58Z")
> [@Pleonast](#):
>
> So some players may very well be having huge sim problems, because of how they design their cities. Others might have no problems at all. That’s the nature of sand box games.
I suppose I either ignore or just work around it. All the SimCity games had bugs and whatnot with the actual simulation.
I suppose there are some additional things I wish the game had:
Bigger cities, or at least more smaller cities closer together.
More control over designing the regional transportation network.
Farms
The ability to create irregular shaped parks, dirt, concrete or blacktop (like in CitiesXL). It’s really more cosmetic, but I don’t like seeing the grass poking through my dense urban jungle.
Most of those are cosmetic or personal preferences.
They do need to fix some of the bugs though. It makes the game feel unfinished.
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### Author:  [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2013, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/98 "2013-03-16T12:45:31Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#):
>
> I didn’t realize SimCity has jihad jeeping. Things are looking up.
Jihad jeeping?
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/99 "2013-03-16T17:31:52Z")
> [@msmith537](#):
>
> The ability to create irregular shaped parks, dirt, concrete or blacktop (like in CitiesXL).
Parks can be edited like most other plots but, yeah, triangles and circles would be nice. Especially circles.
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### Author:  [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-simcity-yea-or-nay/652617/100 "2013-03-16T20:32:51Z")
I know that you can edit the amphitheater. Which other parks can be edited?
I wish the game would allow you to place parks away from the road, like behind houses. I’ve often had to resort to drawing a dirt road just to get the park in the desired position.
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