Hold down the shift key while clicking the mouse on any button or area. This will bring up this help dialog with a detailed description of the tool or display.COAL POWER - coal plants generate large amounts of vile black smoke that will cover your buildings in soot. Your citizens may start complaining when they have to repaint their buildings every two years.HYDRO ELECTRIC - water generators are very clean and efficient, but require a large investment of capital. They require only minimal maintenance.
OIL POWER - the use of oil power fluctuates with the cost of petroleum. It is marginally cleaner than coal power.
GAS POWER - natural gas is much cleaner than coal, but very expensive. Many cities save their gas plants for reserve power due to their cost.
NUCLEAR POWER - nuclear power is clean, efficient and relatively cheap. Unfortunately, there is always the risk of a deadly meltdown.
WIND POWER - very clean and relatively reliable, wind power is less cost-effective than solar power.
SOLAR POWER - solar power is clean and cheap but unreliable. Cloudy seasons will leave your citizens shivering without light.
MICROWAVE RECEIVER DISH - launch a satellite to collect solar power, then beam it down to Earth. Microwave power is very efficient, clean and reliable. Unfortunately, the effects of a mis-targeted beam are as yet unknown.
FUSION POWER - Fusion energy is clean, reliable, efficient, and expensive. Accidents may destroy the plant but will not spread radioactive havoc.The Plymouth Arco is 'Solid as a Rock', or so claims Plymouth Arcologies, Inc. It is known that they have stood through several earthquakes, notably in the NeoRepublic of Mexico and the Taiwan CoProsperity Region. Plymouth Arcologies are designed primarily to support heavy industries, as witness Greenland Motors, maker of the Narwhal 3000. This might not be such a good choice if you are overly concerned about pollution.Plymouth Arcos cost $100,000 and can attract up to 55,000 residents.The Forest Arcology is named for its attractive forest setting on the top level. Throughout the structure, citizens utilize recycling, operate ecologically sound industries, and maintain a rich verbal heritage that replaces television and radio. Unfortunately, the youth of Forest Arcos are bored silly and roam out into your city where they stare mindlessly at soap operas and sports programs displayed in the electronics department at local malls.
Building a Forest Arcology costs $120,000 and can attract up to 30,000 residents.'Darco' is slang for 'De-Urbanized Arcological Construct'. Originally designed by the twisted genius of Dante McCallavre, the artist/architect proclaimed it a reactionary response to the rigid, archetypal Arcologies of his day. No one really knows what this means, and many engineers are frankly baffled at how the thing stays standing. Inside, the ill-lit corridors twist into odd, meandering corkscrews that mysteriously turn back on themselves. There are rumors that a strange sub-species of man inhabits the air ducts.Darcos cost $150,000 and can attract up to 45,000 brave souls. 'Launch' Arcologies were nicknamed for their resemblance to modern orbital launchers. The resemblance is not entirely coincidental, as sophisticated methods of biological support were necessary to oxygenate and feed the thousands of inhabitants. While never tested, the manufacturers claim the occupants could stay self-contained for up to two decades. The sides of the Arcology are equipped with vernier jets to stabilize the structure during storms and earthquakes. A small nuclear facility independently powers the building; spare energy is stored by electrolyzing water into two tanks for oxygen and hydrogen.
The 'Launch Arco' is the largest, costing $200,000 and holding 65,000 inhabitants. Build enough of these and you may discover the final secret of SimEarth¿. BULLDOZER
Demolish/Clear - This will destroy buildings, roads, trees, and decorative water, and will remove rubble.
Level Terrain - This tool will level terrain to the same altitude as the first location you click on. It will also clear terrain by removing trees, roads, powerlines, and buildings.
Raise Terrain - This raises the terrain.
Lower Terrain- This lowers the terrain.
De-zone - This will remove the zone from an area.
LANDSCAPE
Trees - This tool adds trees to the terrain.
Water - This will put down small streams and decorative ponds. It can be used to create waterfalls for the Hydro electric power plant. DISPA TCHThis tool is only available during emergencies. It allows you to direct your police and firefighters to suppress problems.Dispatch Police - Police are useful for suppressing riots and resisting floods.Dispatch Firefighters- Firefighters suppress fire and resist floods and toxic clouds.Dispatch Military - Military units may be available to your city after the military has constructed a base. Military units are highly trained and are effective against a variety of disasters. POWER
Power Lines - Build these from your power plants to your zoned areas so they can start to build. These can cross roads and rails only at right angles. There is a slight transmission loss of power through these lines, so try to minimize the distance they have to traverse.
Power Plants - This will bring up a list of the currently available power plants that you may build. This list will grow as time passes and technology progresses.
WATER
Pipes - These transmit water and carry away sewage. You need powered water pumps to generate water.
Water Pump - Powered pumps will generate water for your city. The amount they produce is increased by placing them next to standing water. It also has a seasonal variance depending on rainfall.
Water Tower - Water towers store water to combat seasonal variation.
Treatment - Adding a treatment plant reduces your city-wide pollution levels.
Desalinization - Water pumps will not pump sea water. A desalinization plant will take sea water and produce pure water for your city. CITY BONUS
As your city grows in size, the city council will vote to reward you.
Mayor's House - You will be given a residence at 2000 population.
City Hall - The council will vote to build a City Hall at 10000 population.
Statue - This will occur after the City Hall, but before Arcologies or the other rewards.
ROADS
Road - This is your primary method of transport. Roads connect zones, allowing them to grow.
Highway - Highways are faster and more efficient than roads. Commuters will move from road to onramps, then to highways, back to onramps, then on to roads again. Without the roads and on-ramps, highway are useless.
Tunnel - Tunnels dig through a mountain rather than going over it. One advantage to tunnels is that zones can be built over tunneled areas, improving land usage.
Onramp - These are necessary for highways to function. They can only be placed at a highway/road juncture.
Bus Depot - Depots provide rapid, low traffic transport. Up to half of your city's commuters will use these depots if they are well placed.
RAIL
Rail - This transport method is efficient and traffic free. You must carefully place your rail depots, or else the rail will go unused.
Subway - These are underground railways. They operate like rail, except that subways need subway stations to operate.
Rail Depot - This is where commuters enter and exit the rail system.
Sub Station - This is where commuters enter and exit the subway system.
Sub<-->Rail - This allows you to connect your above-ground rail with your below-ground subway. You must place this next to an existing rail line.
PORTS
Seaport - This provides vital external transport for your city's industries. It will not be necessary until your city hits 10,000 people or so.
Airport - This provides inter-city transport for your city's commerce. It will not be needed until your city hits 15,000 people or so. RESIDENTIAL ZONING
Residential zones are where the people live. Low density zoning will only allow single family homes in an area. High density zoning will allow homes as well as high-rise apartments and condominiums. COMMERCIAL ZONING
Commercial areas provide services to your local population. This includes grocery stores, motels, entertainment, maintenance and more. High density zoning includes banking, real estate, and financial services. INDUSTRIAL ZONING
Industry is the backbone of your city. Initially, new residents are moving in to work with your industry. Meanwhile, industry is growing to meet external demands. EDUCATION ZONESThese special zones increase the 'EQ' or education quotient of your residents over time. The EQ of your city will influence many factors including crime, productivity, and which industries prosper. Each type of zone affects different age groups and has a maintenance cost associated with it.School - This represents primary and secondary education (from kindergarden to 12th grade). This will increase the EQ of the 5- to 20-year olds in your city. Of all education zones, these should be the most numerous in your city.College - This represents higher education- universities, junior colleges and vocational schools. This zone increases the EQ of the 15- to 25-year-olds primarily, and the older residents as well, though to a lesser degree.Library - This increases the EQ for all ages but to a lesser degree than the schools and colleges.Museum - Like the library this zone increases the EQ for all ages. But the effect is more and so is the cost. HEALTH AND SAFETY ZONES
These zones include essential city services to protect your residents.
Police - Police stations help manage the crime in your city.
Fire Station - Fire stations attempt to prevent and extinguish any fires in your city. They also help during any sort of emergency.
Hospital - This will have an beneficial effect on the health of your citizens.
Prison - This will improve police performance if there is a lot of crime in your city. RECREATION ZONES
These special zones have a positive effect on residential growth and generally make your city a nicer place to live.
Parks - Small and big parks both have a positive effect on local land values.
Zoo - Zoos improve your city's desirability for residents, and improves its tourist value.
Stadium - Your citizens are more enthusiastic and loyal if they have a local team to rally behind.
Marina - These can only be placed down by the water.
PLACE SIGN
This tool is used to place signs (labels) in your city. To use it just click on the city location where you want it placed and then enter the text for it. These can be used to name streets, subdivisions, lakes, etc. Or you may use this for jotting down notes to yourself about future plans for each area.
These signs can be toggled on and off with the layer control button near the bottom of the City toolbar. To erase a sign, click on the base with the sign tool to open the record, then hit the delete key. QUERY TOOL
This tool will give you detailed information on anything in your city. Most areas only tell you about land value, local traffic, power and water supply. Special buildings such as fire departments, zoos, museums, et al., will have a specific micro-simulation you can examine. CENTER DISPLAY
This is the centering tool. It is used to scroll around your city. When you click in the window the scene will re-center on the place you clicked. If you click near the center of the window and hold the mouse button down, you can then smoothly scroll around by moving the mouse to adjust direction and speed. ZOOM OUT
There are three scales your city can be viewed at. This button allows you to increase the scale of your display. The tiles grow smaller and the area displayed grows. ZOOM IN
There are three scales your city can be viewed at. This button allows you to decrease the scale of your display. The tiles grow larger and the area displayed shrinks. ZONE DEMANDThese colored bars show you the current demand for each type of zone in your city. If the bar is up in the '+' area then your city needs more of that type of zone. The letters represent 'R'esidential, 'C'ommercial and 'I'ndustrial. ROTATE COUNTER-CLOCKWISE
Each time you click this button the scene in the window will rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise. ROTATE CLOCKWISE
Each time you click this button the scene in the window will rotate 90 degrees clockwise. MAP DISPLAY/WINDOW
This button brings up a pop-up map display. Hold down the mouse button to view it. You may 'tear away' the display to create a Map window. Drag the display away from the toolbar and release the mouse button.
The map display shows a small, overhead view of your city. The map window has buttons to the left that allow you to view information such as 'Police Power', 'Crime Rate' and 'Pollution'. POPULATION DISPLAY/WINDOW
This button brings up a pop-up population display. Hold down the mouse button to view it. You may 'tear away' the display to create a Population window. Drag the display away from the toolbar and release the mouse button.
This window is used to follow trends in your population. It will show the education, population and health for each age-group in your city. The technical name for this kind of display is a cohort-population graph. NEIGHBORS DISPLAY/WINDOW
This button brings up a pop-up neighbors display. Hold down the mouse button to view it. You may 'tear away' the display to create a Neighbors window. Drag the display away from the toolbar and release the mouse button.
This shows the names and size of your regional neighbors, allowing you to compare your perfomance to your neighbors'. It also shows the size of the nation your city occupies.
GRAPHS DISPLAY/WINDOW
This button brings up a pop-up graphs display. Hold down the mouse button to view it. You may 'tear away' the display to create a Graphs window. Drag the display away from the toolbar and release the mouse button.
These charts show both short- and long-term evolution of population, traffic, pollution, crime, land value, health, education, power & water use, plus some national characteristics. INDUSTRY DISPLAY/WINDOW
This button brings up a pop-up industry display. Hold down the mouse button to view it. You may 'tear away' the display to create an Industry window. Drag the display away from the toolbar and release the mouse button.
This window shows information about the 11 different industry groups. For each group you can display the national demand, your local tax rate and the ratio of local industries. BUDGET WINDOW
This allows you to examine your city's budget. You will be able to adjust your income and expenses, and hopefully have a positive cash flow. BUILDING LAYER
This button will flatten your buildings, allowing you to examine your roads, wires and other infrastructure. You will recognize the building types by their color: green - residential, blue - commercial, yellow - industrial, orange - city structures, grey - port structures. In under-view, the zone colors will be shown as outlines instead of colored-in squares. SIGN LAYER
This will hide your city's names and labels. See the 'PLACE SIGN' tool above. ROAD/TREE LAYER
This will turn off the display of your roads, rail, wires, trees and other non-building structures. ZONE LAYER
This button will allow you to examine your zones. In normal mode, this will hide all your zone buildings. In the under-view, this will put down colored tiles indicating the zone. UNDER-VIEW LAYER
This will transform your city display to a stick-figure outline of the terrain. Pipes and subways will become more visible, while all surface items will be hidden. The other layer buttons are still available and allow you to further customize the view.COAST SELECT - This button will add a coastline to the next map generated.RIVER SELECT - This button will add a river to the next map generated.HILL SLIDER - This slider adjusts how hilly the generated terrain will be.WATER SLIDER - This slider adjusts how wet the generated terrain will be. It will adjust both the sea level on the map as well as the number of streams and lakes.TREE SLIDER - This slider adjusts the number of trees on the generated terrain.MAKE NEW MAP - This button will generate a new map. The new map will be based on the settings of the two buttons and three sliders above.RAISE TERRAIN - This tool will raise the altitude when you click on the terrain, thereby creating hills.LOWER TERRAIN - This tool will lower the altitude when you click on the terrain, thereby creating valleys.STRETCH TERRAIN - This tool will allow you to stretch the terrain up or down. Click on the tile you wish to change and slowly move the mouse up or down while holding the button.LEVEL TERRAIN - This tool will level terrain and remove trees. Click on the tile level you wish to extend and move the mouse in the direction you want while holding down the mouse button.RAISE SEA LEVEL - Each time you press this button the sea level across the entire map will be raised one level.LOWER SEA LEVEL - Each time you press this button the sea level across the entire map will be lowered one level. PLACE WATER - This tool places tiles of water, thereby allowing you to create larger bodies of water like lakes and streams.PLACE STREAM - This tool creates streams. Click where you want the stream to start and it will flow downhill from that point.PLACE TREE - This tool adds trees to the terrain. Holding down the SHIFT key while using this tool will remove trees.PLACE FOREST - This tool will add a forested area to the terrain. Holding down the SHIFT key while using this tool will remove trees.ZOOM OUT - There are three scales your city can be viewed at. This button allows you to increase the scale of your display. The tiles grow smaller and the area displayed grows.ZOOM IN - There are three scales your city can be viewed at. This button allows you to decrease the scale of your display. The tiles grow larger and the area displayed shrinks.ROTATE COUNTER-CLOCKWISE - Each time you click this button the scene in the window will rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise.ROTATE CLOCKWISE - Each time you click this button the scene in the window will rotate 90 degrees clockwise.CENTER DISPLAY - This is the centering tool. It is used to scroll around your city. When you click in the window the scene will re-center on the place you clicked. If you click near the center of the window and hold the mouse button down, you can then smoothly scroll around by moving the mouse to adjust direction and speed.DONE - When you are finished editing the terrain this button will bring you into the game. Make sure you are finished because you cannot return to the map-editing mode once the game has started.
SimCity 2000
has been copyrighted by
Maxis in 1994.
Fred Haslam & Will Wright
spent altogether too much
of their lives thinking about
SimCity 2000 and bringing
their thoughts to life on the
Macintosh.
James Turner
and
Heather Mace
slaved many hours over hot
compilers to produce the
Windows version.
Chris Weiss made sure people
were doing what they were
supposed to be doing when
they were supposed to be
doing it and still managed
to look like he didn't know
what he was doing.
(What an actor!)
Mick Foley shot shapes and
packed them into a city.
Chris "Crispy" Blackwell got
those newspapers popping
up the right way every time.
Jenny Martin ensured that
Suzie Greene,
Bonnie Borucki,
Kelli Pearson
& Eben Sorkin
created the most beautiful
graphics ever seen for this
product (and they did).
Sue Kasper, Brian Conrad,
and Justin McCormick gave
up promising careers as
karaoke singers to create
the music for SimCity 2000.
The Maxis Sample Heds
stayed up dark nights in late
rooms making weird noises
into microphones.
Brian Conrad also sat in the
bow of the boat and beat his
drum.
Fred Haslam, Debra Larson,
Chris Weiss, VERBed over
an ADJECTIVE NOUN for
hours on end to create
the EXCLAMATION
SimCity 2000 Newspaper.
Newspaper pics provided by
Lori Reese & Archive Photos
of New York City
(an upcoming scenario).
To ground ourselves into
reality we called upon:
Bruce Joffe
(GIS Consultant),
Craig Christenson
(National Renewable
Energy Laboratory),
Ray Gatchalian
(Oakland Fire Department),
Diane L. Zahm
(Florida Department of
Law Enforcement)
Michael Bremer got sick of
us moaning over his puns,
so he sat down and put them
in another fantastic manual
and on-line Windows help file.
(so now you too can moan
over his puns)
(Special thanks to
Wextech Systems Inc.
for their excellent Windows
Help compiler and .DLLs)
Tom Bentley & Debra Larson
made sure at least half of
Michael's puns were funny
an speld corekly.
Vera Jaye made sure that
the SimCity 2000 box wasn't
just another face in the crowd.
David Caggiano pushed
pictures around on pages
with exceptional talent until
things looked marvelous.
Kristine Brogno made sure
that Vera's & Dave's shoes
(and loose ends) were tied.
When Michael couldn't figure
out how to play the game,
Fred, Will, Don, and Kathleen
helped him out. Sometimes.
Additional material for the
wonderful, biodegradable
manual was contributed by:
John "Bean" Hastings
Richard E. Bartlett, AIA
Margo Lockwood
Larry Wilson,
David Caggiano
Tom Bentley
Barbara Pollak
Emily Friedman
Keith Ferrell
James Hewes
Joey Holliday
and last
(but assuredly not least)
William Holliday
Larry Lee invented ways to
make people who had never
heard of SimCity 2000 buy
this stupendous product.
Michelle San Martin took
over Larry's job so he could
go to Hawaii and improve his
tan.
Ileana Seander and her
spunky bunch made sure
that the stores those
people go to actually
had SimCity 2000 available
for YOU.
Chris Weiss, Kevin O'Hare,
and Jammin' Jon Blossom
rock and rolled on the
installer until it hurt
real good.
Alan Barton had to force
Michael Gilmartin, Kevin
O'Hare, Scott Shicoff, Don
Horat, Cathy Castro,
Michael Gonos, Andrew
Podesta, Douglas Wong, and
John "Jussi" Ylinen to
play SimCity 2000 for
hours at gun point and make
sure everything worked
like it was supposed to.
In addition to the normal
software testing crew:
May Wong
Chris Blackwell
Aaron Shephard
Chris Charman
Brian Smith
Jeff Feil
Owen Nelson
Tari Kobylanski
David Turner
Lisa Laverty
&
Bob Sombrio
also managed to find
good excuses to play
SimCity 2000 for us.
Val Garcia, Kim Vincent,
Erwin Del Pinal, and
Martin Chan are our
manufacturing team.
They're incredible.
'nuff said
Special thanks to the Elfman
who cooked so many dinners
so Heather could work too
far into the night far too
often.
If (heaven forbid) you have
a problem with SimCity 2000
and need to talk to someone,
chances are you'll be hearing
the charming voice of Roger
Johnsen, Aaron Shephard, Kirk
Lesser, Chris Charman, Owen
Nelson, Scott Hayden, Jeff
Feil or Brian Smith.
Everyone who worked on the
project felt for one reason
or another these people
deserved special mention:
Sam Poole for having a good
enough sense of humor to not
fire everyone and go into
business for himself.
Joe Scirica for making sure
we stayed out of jail, passed
Go and collected $200.
Jeff Braun, who loves Maxis,
runs Maxis, and IS Maxis
(and we thank him for that).
Mike Fake, for handing out
those juicy $200 after we
all passed go.
Congrats on the new digs, Mike!
Deborah Gross for making sure
Maxis is happy, staffed, and PC.
Robin Harper for coordinating,
coagulating, and motivating our
rippin' marketing and PR teams.
Bob Derber, who could sue us
for not including him in these
credits.
(and for the tasty squid)
May Wong for mailing, testing,
CD-ing, and smiling the whole
while.
Andy Derber, the disco-lovin',
pig-farmin', phone-jackin',
MIS kinda guy.
The Microsoft WinG team for
excellent support and a DLL
that made SC2k Windows possible.
Special No-Thanks to Microsoft
for deciding not to support
WinG anymore.
Don Walters for being a great
mentor and greater pain in the
Jimbo, Mike Perry, John Csicsery,
Claire Curtin, Roxy Wolosenko,
and the other Mike (Wyman)
for their excellent guidance,
and constructive (or was it
destructive?) criticism.
Top Dog Montclaire, for
the best wieners in the
Bay Area.
Michael Wyman
& Bob Sombrio
for special news bulletins.
Everyone else who punches
the clock at Maxis (like it's
the worst job we could find).
"Big Al" at Ottino's for
replenishing our vital bodily
fluids.
The nice people downstairs
at Caffe Teatro who sell us
gallons of coffee every day
because we need it.
Jiffyburgers and Mitzbitz
And if anyone at Corky & Lenny's
sees this, could you send me a
corn beef on rye?
Special no-thanks to ID Software
for providing such an engaging
distraction from actual work.
These credits were compiled by
a team of people who were
probably in no condition to be
compiling credits when these
credits were being compiled.
No Spooty Structs were harmed
in the making of this product.
The arrows next to the percent boxes adjust your city's revenues and expenses. Up arrows increase the percentage and down arrows decrease it. When the percentage is adjusted, only the 'Estimated' costs will change. The 'Year to Date' column shows funds that have already been paid or collected.
The 'Property Taxes' are your main source of revenue. The arrows alter the tax rate by +/-1%. The inimum is zero and the maximum is twenty.
The other categories are funding rates for various city services. 100% funding means you are paying full price and receiving full service. The up and down arrows adjust the funding by +/-5%. The minimun is zero and the maximum is one hundred.The books give you detailed information and control for each of the budget categories. Clicking on a specific book icon will open a window for that item.The question balloons ask each of the eight budget commisioners for advice on how to operate the budget. Remember that the commisioners each has his or her own priorities and they may give you conflicting advice.This is the status region of the budget. It gives your city name, the current year and month. When the budget window automatically opens each January, it will also contain an hourglass that slowly empties unless you click in the window. When the sands run out, SimCity 2000 assumes that the mayor is out to lunch and resumes the simulation.
This area shows the cash left over from the previous budget period, the amount of money accumulated this year, and the estimated total funds for the full year. Estimated and accrued funds are not added into current funds until the year's end.
Sometimes the totals for To Date Expenses and Year End Estimate do not add up. This is due to each category having fractional amounts that aren't shown. For example, if Property Taxes earn 4.5 dollars and Ordinances gather 3.5 dollars, they will be displayed as 4 and 3 respectively, but the total is still 8.This shows what your total is with either accrued or estimated funds added in.
During a year end, the accrued column shows what your funds will be in the upcoming year.
At other times, the Estimated column shows what you will probably earn during the current year.These are the 'percent' areas. It shows either your current funding level or your current tax rate.
For most budget items, the percent is a number from zero to one hundred. One hundred indicates full funding for that category. Less than full funding has a detrimental effect on the given department: Fire and police service smaller areas, hospitals help fewer people, transit cutbacks allow roads to decay, and education cutbacks result in a lowered EQ.
The percent next to Property Taxes indicates the average tax rate for all zones. A higher rate returns more revenues but inhibits growth. A lower rate encourages growth but returns less money. Sometimes a lower rate can bring in more funds because the city grows larger.This column shows the Year To Date revenues and expenses. This is the money that has accumulated during the current budget year. It will not be added or subtracted from current funds until the year's end. If the number in this column baffles you, open the book to the right for detailed information.
Example: A police department costs $100 per year to maintain. If it were built in September, then it would only cost $33 for the year (one-third of a year). If it were set to 50% funding in July, it would cost $75 for the year ($50 for the first half, $25 for the second).This shows the estimated total revenues and expenses for the current or next budget year. The number incorporates the year to date amount and makes an estimate based on the current city status. For example, if there were two police departments, the estimated cost would be $200 for the next year. This number is subject to change, however. If a police department were built or destroyed, or the funding levels changed in mid-year, then the actual year end amount would be different from the original estimate.
Examine the books to the right for more details.These are your property taxes. The tax rate shown to the right is an average of the rates levied against your three zoning types (Residential, Commercial, Industrial). If you wish to alter taxes on a specific zone, then click on the book to the right.
The arrows to the right of the percent box will increase or decrease your tax rate by one percentage point. The minimum tax is 0% and the maximum is 20%. A tax rate of 7% is average. Low taxes attract citizens and businesses. High taxes will drive them out, but earn you more.This is a summary of the costs and revenues of city programs and ordinances. To examine which programs are in effect (or to implement an ordinance) click on the book symbol to the right, which brings up the Ordinances Window.
If you see money in this column, but have never implemented an ordinance, you might want to check the Ordinances Window. If you have been doing very well, the city counselors sometimes take it into their heads to begin beneficial programs using public funds.Bonds are moneys loaned to you by the public which you must repay at a given interest rate. The rate on these bonds is based on the prime rate plus a percentage based on your city value. The best rate is prime+1%. Given that the prime rate changes from year to year, it is possible to have an outstanding bond with a rate that is lower than the current prime.This is your police department funding. Police departments reduce crime and stop riots. With less than 100% funding, the police will be less efficient, but the annual cost will decrease accordingly. A single police station costs $100 for one full year of operation.
This is your fire department funding. Fire departments prevent fires and clean up toxic spills. With less than 100% funding, your firefighters will be less efficient, but the annual cost will decrease accordingly. A single fire station costs $100 for one full year of operation.
This is your hospital funding. Hospitals receive matching funds from the state and federal government, but your money hel ps it to operate. Try to maintain 100% funding over several decades, and your average Life Expectancy (LE) will improve. Hospitals cost $50 for one full year of operation.This is your educational funding. Without public schools, education is based on a verbal lore handed from parent to child. Schools add to this Educational Quotient (EQ) and Colleges double EQ for 15-25 year olds. Maintain 100% funding for several decades in order to improve the city EQ. Schools cost $25 per year, Colleges cost $100 per year.Your city transit costs are broken down into six categories: Road, Highway, Bridge, Rail, Subway, Tunnel. When your maintenance is less than 100%, these vital city services start to decay. Roads, rails, and highways turn to rubble. Sections of subway collapse. Bridges and tunnels become unstable.
You might reduce some of these expenses for a year or two during a financial crisis, but extended cutbacks will strangle your city.Click the DONE button when you are finished adjusting your city budget.Press here to display the STRUCTURES or the ZONES.
In the STRUCTURES display, shades of brown indicate altitude; green areas are trees; blue areas are water.
In the ZONES display, green indicates residential zones, blue indicates commercial zones, and yellow indicates industrial zones.Click here to see ROADS, RAIL or TRAFFIC.
ROADS shows your roads as white areas.
RAIL shows your rail lines as white areas.
TRAFFIC indicates traffic density with shades of gray. Dark gray is dense traffic, white is light traffic.Click here to see your power grid. White indicates wires, yellow indicates powered areas, and red indicates unpowered areas.Click here to examine your water/supply. Yellow indiactes the areas receiving water. Red indicates the areas that are unwatered.Click here to see either the density or rate of growth of your city's growth. In the population density display, dark gray indicates dense population and white indicates sparse population. In the rate of growth display, green indicates positive growth and red indicates negative growth.Click here to see CRIME RATE, POLICE POWER, and POLICE DEPTS.
CRIME RATE indicates levels of crime with shades of gray. Dark gray is the worst, white is the best.
POLICE POWER shows the areas protected by police departments.
POLICE DEPTS shows the location of police stations.Click here to see the pollution in your city. Dark gray is the worst pollution, white is the least.This shows land values in your city. Dark gray indicates the valuable land. Light gray indicates less valuable land.
Unshaded areas have not been zoned by the city and have not had their value assessed.FIRE POWER shows the areas protected by fire departments.
FIRE DEPTS, SCHOOLS, COLLEGES show the locations of each of these items.While this button is depressed the data you are currently viewing will also appear in the main edit window. This is useful for pinpointing areas of high crime, heavy traffic, etc.This is the map window. Shift-Click on the buttons to the left to determine what can be displayed here. At the top or bottom of the window is text describing what is currently displayed. There is also a tilted box outlined in the window. This indicates the area viewed in the City window. The 'T' on the box shows the top of the city window. A 1% Sales Tax will earn the city additional revenues each year, but may inhibit local commerce.The 1% Income Tax will bring additional funds to the city coffers, but may induce city residents to move away.Legalized Gambling will increase your tourist trade and act as an incentive to commerce. It also earns the city money as permits are sold. Unfortunately, it tends to attract a criminal element.Parking Fines will earn your city revenues and encourage city residents to use mass transit. It does, however, make people think twice before moving to your city.A Volunteer Fire Dept. is much cheaper than a regular fire department. For a small monthly investment, Fire Protection is increased across the city.For a small monthly fee, you can enforce a Public Smoking Ban. This will marginally increase the Life Expectancy of your citizens due to reduced second-hand smoke inhalation.Free Clinics cost a fair sum to maintain, but they significantly increase the Life Expectancy (LE) of your citizens by helping low-income families.Junior Sports programs cost a moderate sum of money, but promote healthy habits that can last throughout the young citizen's lives.A Pro Reading Campaign is an inexpensive advertising blitz that increases the Educational Quotient of your citizens.An Anti-Drug Campaign is an inexpensive advertising blitz that reduces crime.CPR Training programs are an inexpensive way to increase your citizens' Life Expectancy (LE).A Neighborhood Watch is an all-volunteer program. For a small city investment, police protection across the city is increased.Tourist Advertising is an expensive, nationwide campaign to attract tourism. It will increase local commerce.Business Advertising is an expensive, nationwide campaign to increase business contacts. This improves local industry.The City Beautification program is fairly expensive, but it improves city-wide land values and attracts tourists.The Annual Carnival is a moderately expensive way to increase your tourist trade and local commerce.The Energy Conservation program is an advertising campaign that reduces energy use. It effectively increases the number of citizens your power plants can supply.Declaring your city a Nuclear Free Zone costs nothing. It improves the desirability of your city to residents, but marginally decreases desirability for industry.
This will NOT stop the military from building missile silos or basing nuclear weapons near your city IF you give them permission to build a base.Homeless Shelters increase the number of laborers available to local industry and marginally improves downtown land values.Pollution Controls will significantly reduce pollution emissions from local industry. Unfortunately, this will drive away some industries.This button displays the graph data for a one-year period. The time chart shows the months displayed. The current month is farthest to the right.This button displays the graph data for a ten-year period. The time chart shows the years displayed. The current year is farthest to the right.This button displays the graph data for a hundred-year period. The time chart shows the decades displayed. The current decade is farthest to the right.City Size is your city's total population. It is the sum of commercial laborers, industrial laborers, and their families. 'Residents,' 'Commerce,' and 'Industry' are all scaled according to 'City Size.'Residents are the children, parents and home-spouses of the work force. It is scaled against the 'City Size.'Commerce indicates the number of laborers working for local services. Their jobs produce for the local market only. It is scaled against the 'City Size.'Industry are the laborers working for local industry. Their jobs produce for the external markets. It is scaled against the 'City Size.'Traffic measures the average cars per minute of all city roads, highways and bridges.Pollution indicates the amount of air pollution. It is measured in PPM (parts per million).Value is an average of your city block value. It is measured in thousands of dollars per lot.Crime is an average measure of criminal activity. It is measured in annual incidents per thousand citizens.Power% indicates your power surplus. It is measured as an INVERSE percent of usage. The percentage indicates how much power is left.Water% indicates your water surplus. It is measured as an INVERSE percent of usage. The percentage indicates how much pumped water goes unused.Health is an average measure of your citizens' health. It is measured in Life Expectancy (LE), which is the number of years a laborer is expected to live.Education is a measure of your citizens' educational level. It is measured using an Educational Quotient (EQ). The average national citizen has an EQ of 100.The unemp. graph shows the percentage of people in your city who want to find work but cannot.GNP is the Gross National Product of the SimNation your city is in. It is a general measure of external demand for your industrial production.'Nat'l Pop' is your national population. It has little relevance to your city except for how it influences GNP, the Fed Rate and the current industrial demands, as indicated in the Industry window.The 'Fed Rate' is the percentage paid for bonds by the national government. The rate your city pays for bonds is closely related to this number. Fed Rate is influenced by both GNP and Nat'l Pop. You cannot control this, but by watching GNP and Nat'l Pop., you might predict it.This graph shows the percentage of citizens in each age group. The population graph bars between 20 and 55 are considered your potential working-class citizens.This graph shows the health of citizens in each age group. The average health of your working-class citizens is expressed as their Life Expectancy (LE).This graph shows the education level or 'EQ' of citizens in each age group. Higher EQ levels attract higher-tech industries to your city. Your citizens' EQ is affected by the presence of schools, colleges, libraries, and museums.This button will graph the relative amount of each industry type that currently exists within your city. This ratio will influence employment, industrial growth, educational needs, and pollution within your city.This graph allows you to set different tax rates for each industry type by dragging the particular industry's blue bar to the left or right. This is useful if you want to promote or retard certain industries. For instance if you think the automobile is about to be the next big thing, try lowering the tax rate for that industry to spur growth. On the other hand, if the pollution from the steel mills is getting you down, increase their tax rate to run them out of town.
You can adjust all the industries at the same time by holding the OPTION key as you drag the bars.This graph will show you the national demand for each of the industry groups. This demand is what fuels the growth of your city. The demands here are based on a model of the national economy. The newspaper is your primary source of information on the national economy; look there for hints about which industries you should be promoting.Steel/Mining is a heavy industry that prefers dense zoning. It is a major source of employment. It causes a lot of pollution, and can be stifled by enacting the Pollution Controls ordinance.Textiles is a fairly heavy industry that can employ thousands in a large city. It contributes to both air and water pollution, and can be hampered by enacting the Pollution Controls ordinance.Petrochemicals is a high-tech industry that requires a city with a high Education Quotient to be properly staffed. It is a serious polluter, and can be chased away by enacting the Pollution Controls ordinance.Food is a fairly stable industry that can exist in both high- and low-density areas. It doesn't require a high Education Quotient, and doesn't pollute (much).The contruction industry isn't a big employer. Though spurred by local growth, it depends primarily on temporary, out of town workers.The Automotive industry is a big employer. It requires a work force with a high Education Quotient. It has the potential to be a bad polluter, and is negatively affected by enacting the Pollution Controls ordinance.Aerospace is a heavy, dense industry that can employ many citizens. It requires a work force with a very high Education Quotient.Finance is a medium- to low-density industry that requires an educated work force.Media is a medium- to low-density industry that requires an educated work force.Electronics is a potentially huge employer that will continue to grow for many decades to come. It is a mild polluter, and requires a very well-educated work force.Tourism is a very mild polluter (mostly litter), that can exist in high- or low-density areas. It thrives in cities with lots of tourist attractions (zoos, marinas, etc.) and scenic beauty. A high crime rate can ruin tourism.The neighbor window displays your city's population along with the population of its neighboring cities and the total population of SimNation. Use this window to compare your city with the citi es you compete with for people and other resources, and to see just how big a part of the whole nation you are (or aren't).The Status Window shows the currently selected tool and its cost. It also has an iconic display for the weather. The second line of the window shows messages, warnings, and recommendations.
In the Emergency Mode, the weather icon changes into a big red arrow. By clicking here, you can cycle through the disasters afflicting your city.Raised Wires are the only method for crossing water with power lines. SimCity 2000 was unable to include the added complexity of underground cables. The wires are built high enough to allow ships to cross the river.A Rail Bridge is one method of crossing a river. As an alternative, you can dig a subway under the river and attach it to rails using the 'Sub<-->Rail' tool. Bridges are built high enough to allow ships to pass beneath.A causeway is the simplest form of river crossing. Its main disadvantage is that it precludes ships from passing.A raising bridge allows ships to pass, and is cheaper than a suspension bridge, but there is a limit to how big a river it can cross.A Suspension Bridge is expensive, but allows ships to pass and can cross almost any size river.Highway bridges are built like causeways and prevent ships from passing.Girder bridges are more expensive, but allow ships to pass.Cities are not people. But, like people, cities have their own personalities: in some cases one city has many different personalities -- there are a dozen Londons, a crowd of different New Yorks.
A city is a collection of lives and buildings, and it has identity and personality. Cities exist in location, and in time.
There are good cities -- the ones that welcome you, that seem to care about you, that seem pleased you're in them. There are indifferent cities -- the ones that honestly don't care if you're there or not; cities with their own agendas, the ones that ignore people. There are cities gone bad, and there are places in otherwise healthy cities as rotten and maggotty as windfall apples. There are even cities that seem lost -- some, lacking a centre, feel like they would be happier being elsewhere, somewhere smaller, somewhere easier to understand.Some cities spread, like cancers or B-movie slime monsters, devouring all in their way, absorbing towns and villages, swallowing boroughs and hamlets, transmuting into boundless conurbations. Other cities shrink -- once prosperous areas empty and fail: buildings empty, windows are boarded up, people leave, and sometimes they cannot even tell you why.
Occasionally I idle time away by wondering what cities would be like, were they people. Manhattan is, in my head, fast-talking, untrusting, well-dressed but unshaven. London is huge and confused. Paris is elegant and attractive, older than she looks. San Francisco is crazy, but harmless, and very friendly.
It's a foolish game: cities aren't people.
Cities exist in location, and they exist in time. Cities accumulate their personalities as time goes by. Manhattan remembers when it was unfashionable farmland. Athens remembers the days when there were those who considered themselves Athenians. There are cities that remember being villages. Other cities -- currently bland, devoid of personality -- are prepared to wait until they have history. Few cities are proud: they know that it's all too often a happy accident, a mere geographical fluke that they exist at all -- a wide harbour, a mountain pass, the confluence of two rivers.
At present, cities stay where they are.
For now cities sleep.
But there are rumblings. Things change. And what if, tommorrow cities wake, and go walking? If Tokyo engulfed your town? If Vienna came striding over the hill toword you? If the city you inhabit today just upped and left, and you woke tommorrow wrapped in a thin blanket on an empty plain, where Detroit once stood, or Sydney, or Moscow?
Don't ever take a city for granted.
After all, it is bigger than you are; it is older; and it has learned how to wait...
