SimCity 2000 Question

[aplefka]

Alright I never could figure this game out as a kid and it always frustrated me because I loved the original. I found my old special edition disc and it works on XP so I started playing it but I ran into the same problem I used to always run into.

How the eff does one build houses? I've zoned all my areas, I've got roads, I've got power, I've got water. I've even got police/fire. When do the houses/apts/business/etc start popping up? I can't believe I still can't figure this game out years later.

 

[Skunkwourk]

do the roads surround your pop zones? I forget if you need a road connecting to the edge of the map.

 

[aplefka]

My pop zones? I don't even have a freaking population! Haha I've got roads surrounding everything but none connecting to the edge of the map.

 

[themisfit610]

Okay, here's what you need to understand about SC2K (GREAT GAME OMG).

So, it's all about zone size and adjacency. Residential zones are ideally placed near industrial zones, and vice versa. Never make zones more than about 6x6, since sims don't like to live more than 3 squares away from the road. You can make a really wide zone of say 12 squares, but make sure you make it no deeper than 6 squares for this same reason. I usually checkerboard residential and industrial.

Make sure you ring your zones with road. All you really need to get started is a power plant, surrounded by some industrial, a road bordering that industrial, and some residential on the other side. Run a power line from the plant all the way to inside the residential, and watch things grow

~MiSfit

 

[sandorski]

Connect to edge of map, build Industrial Zones, Power Plant/lines, lower Taxes, and wait. I can't recall the optimal Block Size, but be sure to make Blocks with roads on all 4 sides. Also, make sure you don't have the game Paused.

 

[aplefka]

I think it was because I didn't have the powerlines going through the areas, just on the outside. I thought if they went through nothing could be built on top.

 

[StinkyPinky]

I loved that game. What I would do is cheat and give myself unlimited money and then just build the ultimate city.

 

[themisfit610]

I didn't even need to! With some time and careful management, I could fill the whole stupid map!

 

[duragezic]

Since you seem to have everything else, it sounds like your zones are too far from roads. Roads seem to work best, although technically as long as it is near some transportation it should develop (I just don't have good luck with rails).

One of the easier and quick efficient ways to zone is to use 9x9. It is not the only one and probably not the best, but has its benefits. In the case of residential zones (and possibly commercial and industrial, but industrial might be within 4 blocks or so), they must be within 3 blocks from a road/rail to develop. So you'd zone a 9x9 residential, then in the middle 3x3 that is too far from the road, replace with a 3x3 building, parks, etc. Stuff like schools, hospitals, fire station, police station, etc go well here. I put the nicer stuff in residential, police in commercial usually, and stuff like wastewater treatment in the 3x3 in the middle of an industrial 9x9 block. Location of schools, hospitals, museums, etc doesn't matter, only the number of them against your population, so they can go anywhere really. Power lines are a little better in 2000 than the original, but not as good as 3000 and 4, but anyway with the 9x9 blocks, just run powerlines through the just placed zones (undeveloped for the first few seconds or minutes) to the middle 3x3 building that likely has the flashing power icon since it needs it and only when zoned areas develop do they carry power.

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: themisfit610
Okay, here's what you need to understand about SC2K (GREAT GAME OMG).

So, it's all about zone size and adjacency. Residential zones are ideally placed near industrial zones, and vice versa. Never make zones more than about 6x6, since sims don't like to live more than 3 squares away from the road. You can make a really wide zone of say 12 squares, but make sure you make it no deeper than 6 squares for this same reason. I usually checkerboard residential and industrial.

Make sure you ring your zones with road. All you really need to get started is a power plant, surrounded by some industrial, a road bordering that industrial, and some residential on the other side. Run a power line from the plant all the way to inside the residential, and watch things grow

~MiSfit

Having residential zones next to industrial zones is a bad idea, it lowers their land value. You want a commercial zone buffer between them or trees or something, either way they should be kept apart.

OP you need to have the following for houses to develop:

1. Game needs to be unpaused (put it at a high speed since houses develop extremely fast on african swallow speed).

2. Roads to all zones, surrounding them preferably.

3. Power to all zones, a link directly from the power plant is a good plan but you may just wanna dump the plant in the middle of a residential zone (bad idea generally), but at least if houses develop then you know power was the problem before.

4. Generally you need half residential, a quarter commercial and a quarter industrial, either way you need to have some type of zone that isnt residential, so make sure you have all 3 types.

Other stuff is optional, including water i believe.

 

[Rottie]

Welcome back SimCity 2000 for 2008 but seriously I missed that game very much I never figured out so I got a stragtery book but it takes too much of my time.

 

[sao123]

the strategies are basically the same for 2000 as for 3000.