SimCity Societies ( Rus. SimCity City with character ) is a city-planning simulator released by Electronic Arts (EA) and is part of a series of games about Sims. In the history of SimCity, this game is the fifth in a row and the second with the original name. The developer of the game was Tilted Mill Entertainment . The game was released on November 13, 2007.
| Simcity societies | |
|---|---|
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| Developer | Tilted mill entertainment |
| Publisher | Electronic arts |
| Part of a series | Simcity |
| Date of issue | November 13, 2007 |
| Version | 1.04.243 (v1.5) |
| Latest version | |
| Genre | urban simulation |
| Technical details | |
| Platforms | Windows |
| Game modes | single user |
| Control | |
Content
- 1 Gameplay
- 2 Development and Announcement
- 3 Additions
- 4 Ratings and Awards
- 5 notes
- 6 References
Gameplay
“SimCity City with Character” offers careful planning, and there is considerable scope for creativity. This game is different from previous games in the series - it has the opportunity not only to build a city, but also to form a certain social structure in it. The type of society is determined by various types of social energy, combining which the player can create a unique city. In previous games of the series, the main emphasis was on the development of urban infrastructure and the construction of structures. In SimCity Societies, the main thing is to create a viable society that will reflect the player’s individual approach to city management. However, territory planning and resource management remain important elements of urban development. The main task of the mayor is the construction of roads and structures. In addition, it is necessary to develop a public transport system and provide citizens with access to various buildings. There is the possibility of building residential buildings to provide citizens with a roof over their heads, building enterprises where they can work, as well as recreation areas. Another type of construction is power plants .
An important aspect of city management is the skillful use of various types of social energy: prosperity, productivity, creativity, knowledge, law-abiding and spirituality. Almost every building in the game produces or consumes one or more types of energy. If the development of any resource is not enough, some structures will not be able to function normally. Types of social energy can be combined at the request of the player to create a unique society. A concentration on the production of any one type of resource will lead to an unusual, but nonetheless viable society in which everything will be subject to the chosen social energy.
Each city has its own cultural and social characteristics. The characteristic features of your society will have a significant impact on the city and its inhabitants. In different types of society, it is customary to solve social problems in different ways. For example, the very concept of “crime” can be dramatically different in different types of societies. In a city where freedom reigns, decorators will be welcome guests in every home, while secret police inspectors will become real outcasts. But in a law-abiding society, on the contrary, there is no place for creativity. People of art in such a city will be considered saboteurs, and secret police will be considered heroic fighters against enemies of the people.
The city is inhabited by two main types of residents: ordinary and special. Ordinary citizens make up the majority of the city’s population. They live in houses, work at their workplaces and spend their free time in recreation areas. Citizens appear in houses, and then try to get a job. They are greatly influenced by the living conditions in society that the player, as the mayor of the city, creates for them. Most citizens start their day in their home, then go to work, and at the end of the work shift they go to recreation areas. However, this schedule may be changed due to various circumstances. Sick or injured citizens will try to see a doctor. Dissatisfied city residents may not go to work or even begin to actively protest. In addition, if moving around the city takes too much time, the city dweller may not have time to do all the scheduled things.
If a city dweller wakes up in a good mood, he goes to work and fulfills his duties. However, if a city dweller is sad, dissatisfied, or in a rage, this will cause the player a lot of trouble: dissatisfied residents of the city can skip work or even shut down some enterprise. The mood of the townspeople is influenced by various circumstances, such as housing conditions, profession, visiting recreation areas, as well as the availability of luxury goods and personal items. Using the mood indicator, the player can view the level of well-being of the population. Adding to the family increases the well-being of citizens. Special townspeople appear in special buildings and perform certain functions (for example, positively or negatively affect the mood of ordinary citizens, expand the number of living spaces in the building, etc.).
In addition to ordinary citizens, special residents will appear in your city. They arise in various buildings, in the window of which the corresponding function is indicated. Special townspeople can influence the city and its inhabitants in various ways. There are several types of special citizens.
- Buses run on established routes and pick up passengers at stops connected by road. At the same time, citizens can move along routes without waiting for buses. But if you do not see a single bus in the city, perhaps the stops are not connected by road.
- Government agents are called upon to fight dissent and expel all saboteurs from the city: creative personalities, undead, etc.
- Crazy scientists come to rest areas and conduct their strange experiments there. This can damage the building or increase employment, but if you are lucky, the experiment will not have any effect.
- BURNERS stand near the entrance to the building in which they appeared. At the same time, only two types of special citizens can pass into this building: celebrities and rock stars. This will positively affect the mood of visitors from among ordinary residents of the city.
- Robbers penetrate the homes of unsuspecting citizens and steal luxury goods.
- DECORATORS - creative individuals who are ready to use their talents for the benefit of society. Citizens get more pleasure from visiting recreation areas, decorated with the work of decorators.
- MYSTERIES find truants and force them to return to work.
- FACTORIES are always ready to share a good mood with dull and depressed citizens.
- CELEBRITIES come to recreation areas, and a crowd of people who want to see a famous person immediately rushes to it.
- ZOMBIES are the revived remains of once ordinary citizens. At the same time, they are trying to find work and live as before. Seeing zombies, ordinary townspeople scatter in horror, and some of them can simply become numb with fear. In this case, the unfortunate citizen can die or even turn into a zombie. At the same time, there is a chance that a frightened resident will pull himself together and be able to render a worthy rebuff to the monster.
- SAFETY INSPECTORS conduct inspections at hazardous facilities and temporarily reduce the risk of industrial injuries.
- Police inspectors do not drink alcohol and believe that everyone should follow their example. The owners of the recreation areas where alcoholic drinks are served are not happy to see such guests - after all, after the inspector's visit, the establishment will have to be closed for a while.
- SECRET POLICE INSPECTORS arrest very happy and very unhappy townspeople and deliver them to their base. After staying in this institution, the mood of the townspeople becomes neutral.
- POCKETS steal the wallets of unsuspecting townspeople. Having discovered the loss, a resident of the city will remain in a nasty mood until the end of the day.
- CONSULTANTS are welcome guests for business leaders and a real nightmare for ordinary workers. These specialists can temporarily increase the inflow of simoleons from the work of each employee by reducing staff.
- LICATORS proclaimed themselves arbiters of justice. They zealously expel all categories of criminals from the city. However, sometimes innocent townspeople become their victims. Moreover, all types of law enforcement officers, including the vigilantees themselves, consider such arbiters of justice as criminals.
- MAGNETS can increase the productivity of enterprises - however, to the detriment of the mood of workers.
- MIMES only want one thing: to entertain passers-by! Fans of silent performances will be happy to watch such a performance, while meeting with the mime will only upset the haters of such art.
- Warrior monks hold demonstrations of fighting techniques and fights on the streets of the city in order to entertain ordinary citizens. But if the caretaker is among the passers-by, the performance will end quickly.
- GUARDS are on guard of residential buildings that produce or spend prosperity. No criminal will dare to approach them.
- ENTERPRISE GUARDS are on guard of city offices, and not a single criminal will dare to approach them.
- Arsonists find unguarded apartment buildings and burn them to the ground.
- POLICE officers patrol the city and arrest all the criminals they meet.
- GHOSTS are the souls of deceased citizens who now wander aimlessly through the streets and scare the living inhabitants of the city. Children love the thrill, and adults prefer to save nerves.
- PROFESSORS teach in educational institutions. When a professor enters work, the development of knowledge, prosperity, productivity, spirituality, law-abiding and creativity in an educational institution is temporarily increased.
- WORKERS repair damaged buildings, accelerating their restoration.
- ROCK STARS is a special type of celebrity. Their appearance in the recreation area leads visitors to complete delight.
- CULTURE MINISTERS not only dedicated their lives to religion, but also want to convert everyone around them to their faith. They conduct a real brainwashing for the townspeople, forcing them to visit religious buildings instead of engaging in familiar activities. In the future, victims of worshipers will return to normal life, but such interference will negatively affect their mood.
- WATCHERS , like warrior monks, have a great command of martial arts. They apply their skills in the fight against criminals, as well as in instructing warrior monks on the true path.
- ELDERS can bless places of worship, which positively affects the mood of visitors.
- GUARDIANS OF THE ORDER are urged to arrest and imprison citizens of a certain type. This type depends on the building from which these special townspeople were sent. So that law enforcement officers can carry out their work, you must first build some kind of prison.
- TOURISTS come to the city to have fun and spend money. You will receive additional income, but a large influx of tourists can lead to the fact that ordinary residents do not have enough space in the recreation areas.
- STREET ARTISTS entertain passers-by, increasing their well-being.
- STREET PREACHERS preach on the streets of the city. Citizens can stop and listen, or they can pass by. Not everyone shares the beliefs of these religious leaders, so the effect of preaching on the mood of a city dweller can be very different.
- STREET ARTISTS paint portraits of everyone. At the same time, citizens can not only enjoy the process, but also acquire a picture as a personal thing. This will make them even happier.
- SCIENTISTS increase the efficiency of scientific enterprises, increasing the influx of simoleons from the labor of each worker.
- FANS , truly obsessed with their faith. They force the chosen townsman to visit the nearest religious building. At the same time, victims of fanatics receive less well-being points from visiting such an institution than usual.
- Farmers sell fresh fruits and vegetables to restaurant owners. Dishes prepared from such products are especially appreciated by visitors.
- PHOTOJOURNALISTS consider it their duty to tell the general public about all important events. In the event of an emergency, reporters will bring considerable income to your city.
- HIPPI come to rest areas but don’t buy anything. It would be better if ordinary citizens were in their place!
- Slum owners can increase the capacity of residential buildings (except private). At the same time, housing conditions are significantly deteriorating, the risk of fire and the risk of injury or illness are increased.
- Hooligans pogrom in recreational areas for fun. After the visit of such individuals, the recreation area will have to be closed for the duration of the repair.
- HEALERS are able to cure sick and injured citizens, although their methods are not amenable to scientific explanation.
- ECOLOGISTS consider themselves valiant fighters for wildlife rights. They organize various protests at power plants, which leads to a variety of consequences.
Development and Announcement
June 5, 2007 it became known that for the first time in the history of SimCity, the development of the sequel will not be done by Maxis or EA Redwood Shores , but by the third-party studio Tilted Mill Entertainment , which revived in 2006 another urban simulation - Caesar . Maxis at that moment did not show interest in working on the new SimCity game, as it was absorbed in the development of another project - Spore [2] . Longtime fans of the series were shocked by the change in developer and concept, as well as the first screenshot. Micromanagement, which peaked in SimCity 4 , is a thing of the past, with pipe and power lines laid, manual traffic congestion cleared, and the ability to see the budget of the latest shack. “When we began to think in which direction the SimCity series should develop, we wondered why some cities were perceived differently from others. For example, what is the difference between Paris and Mecca? Or Oxford and Munich? Or San Francisco and Salt Lake City? - says Rod Humble, vice president of Electronic Arts , responsible for the company's “Sim-line”. - The feelings are clearly influenced by local culture and society. So we found that by focusing on the driving forces within the community, you can create many dissimilar, amazing places ” [3] .
Add-ons
Four months after the release of SimCity Societies , Tilted Mill Entertainment announced the addition of Destinations . It is entirely devoted to tourism: totalitarian cities can be turned into banana republics, romantic corners into tropical resorts, etc. To attract travelers, the player will have to build more than a hundred new buildings: five-star hotels, airports, marinas and even UFO crash sites [4] .
Ratings and Awards
| Reviews | |
|---|---|
| Summary rating | |
| Aggregator | Rating |
| Mobyrank | 65/100 [10] |
| Foreign language editions | |
| Edition | Rating |
| Gamepy | 3/5 [6] |
| IGN | 5.8 / 10 [5] |
| Russian-language editions | |
| Edition | Rating |
| Absolute games | 60% [7] |
| gambling addiction | 7/10 [9] |
| Game country | 6.5 / 10 [8] |
SimCity Societies has received both positive and negative reviews. The IGN website indicates the absence of a clear and clear goal in the game [11] . GameSpy pays tribute to graphic detail and criticizes a too pale plot [12] . Another “cozy sandbox”, where “the first word in the name is an extremely unsuccessful marketing move”, calls the Russian gaming portal Absolute Games [13] . “To win, there is no need to trouble yourself with micromanagement in this game” - this is the verdict of the Country of Games [14] . And Gameromania characterizes the game as a "very niche project", which is based on beautiful buildings [15] .
Notes
- ↑ SimCity City Help
- ↑ GFW Staff. DPreviews: SimCity Societies (June 7, 2007). Date of treatment August 5, 2010.
- ↑ Social experiments SimCity
- ↑ Resort with character
- ↑ IGN: SimCity Societies
- ↑ SimCity Societies - PC - GameSpy
- ↑ SimCity: A city with character (SimCity Societies) // Everything about the game on AG.ru (7 news, 6 cheat files, review, 4 demos, 11 videos, patch 179 MB, 111 screenshots, ISO .nfo, 19 ...
- ↑ SimCity Societies on PC. Dossier of the game. 3 articles. 8 videos. 8 news. 20 screenshots. 4 files. Archived on April 29, 2008.
- ↑ We don’t have such a page, but it’s full of others!
- ↑ SimCity Societies for Windows - MobyGames
- ↑ Steve Butts SimCity Societies Review
- ↑ Dave Fargo Kozak SimCity Societies (PC)
- ↑ Review of SimCity Societies
- ↑ SimCity Societies Review Archived on September 30, 2010.
- ↑ Andrey Alexandrov A real garden city
Links
- Official game site (English)
- Official Russian game site (rus.)
- SimCity Societies on Absolute Games
