SimCity 4

[Dignified Pauper]

I made the terrible mistake of reinstalling this game. Now, I want to hear your tips and tricks at making a city without a budget drain. I tend to have a budget deficit on the ratio of 4:1 of expenses to income. Someone tell me why I can't run a city better than America?

[Pike]

Dumping oldshoes info (warning: large)



http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/2509/trufaxpart01.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/155/trufaxpart01.jpg/)

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/3307/trufaxpart02.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/5/trufaxpart02.jpg/)

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5352/trufaxpart03.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/193/trufaxpart03.jpg/)

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/5453/trufaxpart04.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/225/trufaxpart04.jpg/)



TLDR VERSION: Don't build anything until after you need it, pretty much!

[Dignified Pauper]

TL;DR - I over provide for my citizens creating a nanny state. Halp with that. I got traffic because I downloaded NAM.

[Pike]

Okay, basically you don't want to build what you don't need. Your sims can go without police coverage for a good long time. I like to have a fire station set up but I usually just make the one to start. Watch your schools like a hawk and make sure that you're only budgeting for what you need. You don't need 100 teachers if you only have 20 kids in school, for example. Same with hospitals.

That's what I do and I inevitably wind up with a giant surplus of money without even trying.

Now I feel like playing SC4 again...

[Old Manus]

Forget SC4 and join the glorious SC3000 master race. For the superior comedic value, at least.

[Dignified Pauper]

Manus, why are you such a failure.

Also, no, my people want 100 teachers per 50 students and police on every corner. They also want low taxes and don't want to pay for the police. Please help me get this to work. I should be able to do this and not run out of money. Debt seems to be an option, but long term it doesn't look pretty. Show me how to create a free society, without cheating, that America cannot seem to do?

[Pike]

Well you can always try this (http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/10/herman_cain_sim_city_999.html).

[Dignified Pauper]

Apparently, it's not enough taxes...

What I need is to model something like Greece. Virtually no taxes, and tons of public spending. And make it work for a looooong time. Halp with that.

[Madame Adequate]

No you really do just need to straight ignore what your citizens and advisors are demanding. Unless they actually take to the streets and riot you're fine. You can provide a utopian society with great services and low taxes, but not until you have a fair sized population base to do it with. Until then you've got to act like a real politician and ignore everything your citizens say.

Also if your budget is looking dire you get the option of some special income buildings like a Federal Prison and suchlike. They usually have mild negative effects, but they can help keep you afloat if you've got a lot of drain on your treasury.

[Old Manus]

Until then you've got to act like a real politician and ignore everything your citizens say.Including referendums on your continental trade community membership!

[Dignified Pauper]

But wait, I just want to provide all the services for little taxes and be successful and not turn into Greece. Why can't anyone help. I even asked PGies and he said "no u" when I did.

[Peegee]

But wait, I just want to provide all the services for little taxes and be successful and not turn into Greece. Why can't anyone help. I even asked PGies and he said "no u" when I did.

shut up

I told you that your city is either:

- too small for low taxes
- too full of services
- a flaming bag of fail, like you

Pick 2. Then solve for x.

http://homepage.eircom.net/~miscellaneous/images/animath.jpg

incidentally greece's problems can be solved by the same advice as above

[Pike]

I dare someone to link this thread to Simtropolis or SC4 Devotion or something

[Peegee]

I dare someone to link this thread to Simtropolis or SC4 Devotion or something

Watashi wa simul-jin kawaii no desu masu (www.simtropolis.com/)

[Dignified Pauper]

Wait, no one answering my question. I want virtually no taxes, excess public services, and everyone employed, happy, healthy, and all ordinances enacted. MAKE IT WORK! AND NO! NO CHEATING!

[Pike]

Wait, no one answering my question. I want virtually no taxes, excess public services, and everyone employed, happy, healthy, and all ordinances enacted. MAKE IT WORK! AND NO! NO CHEATING!

I'd say this sounds like a job for the Magnasanti (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTJQTc-TqpU) guy, but we all know that the health of his sims was secondary to the main objective.

[Yar]

ahh I love this game.

DP I don't why you're having so much trouble with this. It's easy as shit to do that.

[Dignified Pauper]

NO! I want to provide 600 policemen PER resident with 1% taxes. I want 400 teachers per student with 1% taxes. I want free healthcare with 1% taxes. Help me achieve WITHOUT cheating!

[Madame Adequate]

You know, I'm increasingly starting to suspect that our dear Marick might be pulling our legs right here...

[Freya]

Marick seems to be trying to make a social commentary...

[Psychotic]

marick mate you're just bad at games

there's no shame in it

just accept it, get on with your life, and move to china because that's the FUTURE.

[Dignified Pauper]

You're all unhelpful Trolls. How can I make this work? My citizens don't want to pay taxes. The rich want more money. So, I just lower taxes and provide the services they demand and issue bonds, and then when I can't pay for anything anymore, either the city goes bankrupt OR the citizenry riots and kill everyone.

[Pike]

You know, I'm increasingly starting to suspect that our dear Marick might be pulling our legs right here...


Marick seems to be trying to make a social commentary...

WHAT ARE YOU ON ABOUT HE IS DEAD SERIOUS

AND HE EXPECTS SERIOUS ANSWERS YOU GUYS.

SERIOUS!

[Madonna]

It seems to me, Dignified Pauper, you are not taking advantage of the bulldozer. You seem to be under some sort of misinformed idea that you need to progress to get where you are aiming. Instead, you should realize this is a problem where it solvable by working backwards. You do need to do all the dumb shit first, like listening to your population, building what is needed as needed, and generally playing it slow and safe. Your wealth should accrue ridiculously, and it is then that you suddenly demolish everything you know you do not need, erect a million police stations and schools, lower taxes, and you will have everything for which you aimed. I hope this helps.

[Loony BoB]

Man, seeing this thread makes me even more annoyed that there is no new Sim City game since 2007. Did anyone here even play SimCity Societies? I didn't. Bring on SimCity Over 9000.

[Old Manus]

Oh right, I get where we're going with this.

Demolish all your high density office buildings, because rich people work there and they are actual physical incarnations of evil... and...and tit. Then...then tax them more. Nationalise everything because capitalism. But make the poor pay no tax or duty. Except for marijuana. Yeah, tax that heavily. It's exempt. Scrap your defence budget. What? The government over in Default City is oppressing its people during the revolution? SEND 500,000 TROOPS. VOTE RON PAUL

Next!

[Dignified Pauper]

I like where you guys are going, but I want my rich to pay low taxes too, and we still need a defense force because hegemony! That said, I think bulldozing won't work, because people get mad when I do that to forests and their homes. I want to know how this works without taking out loans. Default is NOT AN OPTION.

[Peegee]

let's meta some finances ITT -

you want to have low corporate taxes, high (lower class) income taxes, low (upper class) income taxes, and I don't know what you want to do for [residential] property taxes. But commercial/industrial property taxes are probably low.

The net result will be lowered taxes, or a lack of development where the taxes are most high (because poor people will rather be homeless than waste money on property they can't afford). Remember that SC4 is not that advanced. You cannot, for example, force the banks to loan money to the super poor via some sort of mandate (which would increase their ability or susceptibility to buy property). IIRC SC4 only has a motivation variable based on taxes and possibly local subsidies (police, schools, parks, etc)

Because of this, you will not be able to START a city like greece. Also remember that greece never was developed this way. That makes no sense. I don't know Greece's history but I bet somewhere in its past it had high taxes to allow it to have a good/great credit rating.

Hah, and you thought that a serious response wasn't possible.

[Dignified Pauper]

You trollin?

[Peegee]

You trollin?

Not at all. You can be successful but you require a huge coffer, because it is not sustainable. DUH Greece is a stupid broke country now I wonder why.

[Dignified Pauper]

I don't get it. Please explain further in non-azn math ways so my feeble American brain gets it. I can't just constantly work with budget deficits?