SimCity (2013): Beta preview
In the previous preview SimCity (2013) last year, when the first information about the game had just begun to appear on the Internet, we wondered: would it be a good old hardcore city-building strategy? Or the authors will try to make money on a crude craft like Cities XL? And now, on the eve of the spring release SimCity (2013), we will try to answer this question. And we’ll tell you what the true essence of the innovation of GlassBox technology and conceptual changes in the famous series of games, which the legendary developer has been forging for years, is Will Wright (Will Wright).
SimCity (2013) continues the tradition of humorous messages. Only now, instead of newspapers, we see statements from the townspeople themselves.
Old mayor: “This is not a city – a zoo!»
From the recent video preview, you probably already learned the key features SimCity (2013). And despite our laudatory odes to this project, after two beta tests, fans of the series started a wave of indignation on the forums. And this is not surprising. In January of this year, its ideological predecessor, SimCity 4, turned exactly 10 years old. All this time, it remained the best game in the genre and acquired thousands of plugins that expanded its capabilities. For example, it introduced road junctions and smooth turns; high-speed trains and trams; new effects with waterfalls, fire, random thunderstorms, rain and snow; realistic night lighting; construction of bridges and roads in any direction; accounting for population statistics and movements not only in cities, but also in regions; seasonal changes with winter cities and summer resorts; tens of thousands of new buildings and facilities; modular system for the construction of airports, colleges..
Players who managed to collect and install all the necessary plugins on SimCity 4 (which requires some knowledge and time) sincerely believed in the further monumental development of the series. For example, there was even a petition on Simtropolis addressed to Electronics Arts about studio support Maxis. There was an opinion that if the developers get together with the same composition (albeit without the legendary Will Wright), then they will certainly take into account the requests of the community (today it is one of the largest in number on the Internet). And this is not to mention attempts to organize your own fan development of your dream game. There were even requests to E.A open the source code of the fourth part so that fans can continue improving it at the engine level. But "electronics" and Maxis themselves expressed a desire to continue the series. Moreover, they were completely immersed in its full relaunch.
"GlassBox": new Big Brother activated
On the way to such https://ebitbetcasino.co.uk/ an ambitious goal, they were supposed to be helped by the innovative GlassBox technology. It allows you to create extremely realistic virtual space – with “units” in the form of people, buildings and goods; with resources, such as coal (as a raw material) and electricity (as a product of processing raw materials); with maps and agents who move “units” and resources across maps from point A to point B and record statistics of such movements; rules that determine the interaction between elements; zoning for urban development. All elements are woven into a single logical network – this is what virtual mayors will have to interact with. In the February beta test we saw only a small fraction of the game without its unique online component.
In other words, in SimCity (2013) the developers tried to create a completely non-linear world, where, for example, prices for resources are formed based on how actively players trade with each other and extract resources. This is impossible to organize without constant monitoring of data on shared servers. Of course, there is a single-player mode, when no one has the right to interfere in your affairs, but even then, the purchase of resources on the world market will take place only at prices set by users, and not by pre-written rules. In global mode, you can not only bargain with global suppliers, but also cooperate with neighboring cities, and if your conscience allows, then plot intrigues, surviving your rival. There is no competitive artificial intelligence here, as in all other games in the series.
If neighbors need help, we can send them resources, people and even buses, fire trucks or garbage trucks.
“The main thing is to start!"- said the mayor and went to build Easter cakes
SimCity 4 with all the plugins makes a strong impression on those who are well versed in the genre. The picture is flawless, the possibilities are even wider than in the same SimCity (2013), there is only no support from developers. Everything exists thanks to the enthusiasm of modmakers and other members of the community. But immediately after the release, the fourth part of the series was a completely pitiful sight with numerous errors. Then the game couldn’t even calculate traffic on the roads. And in comparison with the very first edition of SimCity 4 without official addons and amateur mods, today’s heroine has evolved noticeably. A lot of what fans of the series asked for on Simtropolis appeared: roads at any angle and with any turning radius, resources and goods, expanded transport, specialization of cities (tourism, business, resource extraction, production, etc.), random events, an understandable system for recording the population and its requests, a system of detailed statistics of the city and region, cooperation of players in the creation of large objects (cosmodrome, airport, power plant) and so on.
Therefore we are convinced that SimCity (2013) just started a big project. Its success at the initial stage will determine the scale of its development in the future. After all, there is no doubt about the possibility of correcting existing shortcomings with updates and major DLC. Small towns? If server statistics show that the majority of players cope with megacities in the territory entrusted to them and the frame rate does not drop when densely filling a space of 4 square kilometers, then new, large regions will be introduced, since GlassBox allows this. Inability to lay infrastructure in the form of pipes and power lines? Back in the first alpha versions SimCity (2013) this possibility existed, and it will be introduced back with the advent of larger territories – as soon as players prove the need for this through the example of their online session. The same goes for the metro. On such small cards it is not needed, hence the waste of money E.A high-speed underground mode of transport is now inappropriate. It is much more profitable to use it in future DLCs.
Citizens are often dissatisfied with life, but if you respond to their requests in a timely manner, then everyone becomes happy, just like our wallet.
Firefighters burned the bell tower: now you can sleep peacefully
However, in creation Maxis there are very strange incidents regarding the development. So, in the first versions of the game, sawmills were supposed to cut down and process trees, and fields were supposed to grow wheat and provide grain to cities. Without wood it is impossible to build buildings, without grain people will begin to leave your region. For unknown reasons, such details were cut out during the process and postponed until better times. They will probably return in DLC. The same agriculture will not appear in the release version of the game, although it originally existed as an additional object in the region. If the developers had preserved agricultural complexes, then we would have been able to employ uneducated city dwellers in the fields, manage the supply of grain, sell it when harvests are good and purchase it on the world market when there is a shortage. IN Maxis Some people found this idea too complicated.
There are conceptual shortcomings that are unlikely to be corrected in the future. In SimCity 4 we were free to create multi-level road junctions. The plugins also introduced underground pedestrian crossings, underground highways diving out of the blue, railway embankments, and so on. In addition, in SimCity (2013) “God mode” is also excluded, where previously we had the opportunity to level the territory for construction or create unique landscape solutions. Thus, it will no longer be possible to change maps, build express highways, develop the railway network in the regions, and do much more that was possible in all parts of the series ten or more years ago. The same applies to the density of building areas. In the new part it depends not on the mayor’s decision, but on the width of the road. Whether the simplification will benefit the players and whether it will make the game more comfortable – time will tell.
In many of his interviews, the creative director of the studio Maxis Ocean Quigley (Ocean Quigley) does not hide the existence of a number of shortcomings in the upcoming new product. When he met the creator of the series Will Wright, The legend of the gaming industry, to the delight of fans, noted that the size of cities is too small. But Quigley didn’t get confused and reassured everyone that the game would develop and acquire new features. They say that players will definitely support this approach to development. Ocean promises to solve most of the problems after release. Therefore, we answer the question we posed a year ago – SimCity (2013) represents the golden mean between a hardcore city-building strategy and a best-selling donation game like The Sims 3. Yes, a pipeline with a stream of DLC cannot be avoided, but if you believe the developers, these will not be street benches and a couple of superheroes to boot, as in the pre-order version, but full-fledged addons with high-quality content.
The city is gradually growing and requires more and more attention – if you don’t keep up with its rhythm, anarchy will ensue!
On the one hand, in the new SimCity a lot of urban worries have appeared and micromanagement has developed significantly, on the other hand, it is almost impossible to get a feel for the city due to the small scale, simplified construction tools and cartoonish style of graphics. The balance also raises doubts: why bother with trade chains and resource extraction when the treasury is full of money even with low taxes, and the cost of wind turbines that do not require oil or coal is lower than the construction of a coal power plant? To counteract doubts, there are interesting style solutions Maxis – sudden alien invasions, zombie invasions in the middle of the night, or simply observing little people living in this strange world that simply did not exist a year ago. And to be completely honest, the authors didn’t have much time to create a revolution in the genre with GlassBox. But they definitely managed to rebirth the series. But we will talk about this in detail in a full review. In the meantime, let’s play the original and wait for news about the next DLC and innovations, because such a project cannot avoid them!