Well, here's everything I know about SimCity2000. I sent A copy to Frank first, but then decided, I might as well post it myself. If anybody wants to know anything else, answer questions that I didn't have the answer to, or make corrections, drop me a line. Oh yeah, one more thing, the SimCity200 ftp site is located
at: spider.navsses.navy.mil
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Kevin Endo
thx@netcom.com
SimCity2000 FAQ v1.1 rev. 2/8/94
1.0 - SOLVING PROBLEMS
1.1 Nobody wants to live in my city
1.2 I'm not making any money
1.3 Pollution
1.4 Traffic
1.5 Crime
1.6 Unemployment
1.7 Education
1.8 Health
1.9 Disasters
2.0 TOOLS
2.1 Bulldozer
2.2 Landscape
2.3 Power
2.4 Water
2.5 Road + Rail
2.6 Ports + Connections
2.7 Residential Zones
2.8 Commercial Zones
2.9 Industrial Zones
2.10 Education Zones
2.11 Health and Safety Zones
2.12 Recreation Zones
3.0 BUDGET
3.1 Property Taxes
3.2 City Ordinances
3.3 Bond Payments
4.0 MISC
4.1 Bugs
4.2 Terrain Editor
4.3 Military Bases
4.4 Cheats, Bonuses, and other Secrets
4.5 Weather
4.6 Scenarios
1.0 - SOLVING PROBLEMS
1.1. Nobody wants to live in my city
1.1.1 Well, first you need a power plant. Then you need
residential, commercial, and industrial zones. Each
zone needs to be connected to the power plant by
power lines and each zone needs to be within three
spaces of a road. If you do all of this, people should
start moving into your city.
If you're beyond this stage, just look at the opinion
polls and try to fix the problems that people are
complaining about. Build zones that are in demand.
1.2 I'm not making any money
1.2.1 Don't listen to everything your people ask for. When
you're starting out, only pay for as much police
protection as you can afford. Don't build too many
roads - infrastructure can wait. Only add things to
your city that will increase your population. Be
careful about raising taxes - a tax increase is not
always the same as am increase in revenue. If you
raise taxes too much, growth will be stifled.
1.3 Pollution
1.3.1 Pass Pollution Control ordinance
1.3.2 Increase tax rate on polluting industries
1.3.3 Build water treatment plants
1.3.4 Lower traffic
1.3.5 Use light industrial instead of heavy industrial
1.4 Traffic
1.4.1 Build more roads and highways
1.4.2 Build mass transit
1.4.3 Pass Parking Fines ordinance
1.4.4 Intersperse different zones (build R close to I, C)
1.5 Crime
1.5.1 Build police stations
1.5.2 Pass Anti-Drug Campaign ordinance
1.5.3 Pass Neighborhood Watch Campaign
1.5.4 Use more light zoning
1.6 Unemployment
1.6.1 Zone more industry and commercial zones
1.6.2 Remove Pollution Control ordinance, if in place
1.6.3 Lower industrial and commercial tax rates
1.7 Education
1.7.1 Build Schools, Colleges
1.7.2 Build Libraries, Museums
1.7.3 Pass Pro-Reading Campaign ordinance
1.8 Health
1.8.1 Build hospitals
1.8.2 Pass Public Smoking Ban ordinance
1.8.3 Pass Free Clinic ordinance
1.8.4 Pass Junior Sports ordinance
1.8.5 Pass CPR Training ordinance
1.9 Disasters
1.9.1 Q: How do I put out fires?
1.9.1 A: Use dispatch firefighters tool to place a fire
icon next to a patch of fire. If there's a lot
of fire, you can also build a fire station on top
of it to put it out (you'll have to experiment with
this.)
1.9.2 Q: How do I make the monster go away?
1.9.2 A: I don't think you can.
1.9.3 Q: What other disasters are there?
1.9.3 A: Meltdown, Microwave Oops, Pollution, Fire Storm,
Mass Riots, Major Floods, Toxic Spill, Volcano.
2.0 TOOLS
2.1 Bulldozer
2.2 Landscape
2.2.1 Q: How do I make waterfalls?
2.2.1 A: Place water on a slope.
2.2.2.Q: What's the magic eraser?
2.2.2 A: Select the tree tool. Press the mouse button with
the cursor on a blank tile. Keep holding down the
button and press the shift key. The cursor will
now erase any type of development. The effect is
rather odd - when you query the tile that's been
erased, the old structure appears to still be there.
2.3 Power
2.3.1 Q: Do undeveloped zones conduct power?
2.3.1 A: No. Only tiles that have immediate contact to
power (either next to another building or next
to a power line) will develop.
2.3.2 Q: What type of power plant should I use?
2.3.2 A: If you aren't concerned with money, fusion plants
are the most efficient, and don't pollute or cause
disasters - like nuclear and microwave.
If you are concerned about money, then hydro is
best. Hydro plants don't pollute and don't need
to be replaced every 50 years.
2.3.3 Q: Isn't it kind of like cheating to use hydro power?
2.3.3 A: Well, first off, it's just a game, and you can
do whatever you want with it. The most efficient
use of hydro would be to use the raise terrain tool
to make a little bump. Line the bump with waterfalls
and then place hydro plants on the waterfalls. You
could even surround the hydro pants with water
pumps. This is the best, and most unrealistic use
of hydro plants. A more realistic approach would
be to make a map with a river, then raise the land
on one end of the river, and draw the river back
in, having it flow down the raised land. You could
then build large dams on the slopes.
2.3.4 Q: My power plants seem to last forever.
2.3.4 A: If you have disasters off, your power plants
will automatically be replaced when they are 50
years old. Their cost will also be deducted from
your coffers.
2.3.5 Q: Why don't hydro plants and wind power have to
be replaced every 50 years?
2.3.5 A: Well, you could say that this is bias on the
part of Maxis to encourage the use of clean power.
The real reason has to do with programming
limitations - they'd have to keep track of the
age of each plant.
2.3.6 Q: Why should I use wind power?
2.3.6 A: I don't know - appearance, maybe? If you have extra
space on the top of a mountain, you could put
windmills there. You could use a couple of wind
power plants to sustain a small village in the
middle of nowhere.
2.4 Water
2.4.1 Q: How effective is a water pump?
2.4.1 A: A water pump (not next to water) will service
approximately 24 to 36 tiles, depending on the
weather. An additional 12 tiles will be serviced for
every water tile that the pump is adjacent to.
For example: W W W
L P L
L L L
where W = water, L = land, P = pump
The above pump is next to 3 water tiles, therefore,
it will provide 60 to 72 tiles with water.
I think that each tile requires 600 gallons of
water.
2.4.2 Q: Should I build water towers?
2.4.2 A: Each water tower will hold up to 40,000 gallons
of water. They will only fill up when you have a
surplus. It's probably easier to just build four
more pumps in the space that a tower would take.
2.4.3 Q: What good is a water treatment plant?
2.4.3 A: The manual says that water treatment plants will
help you prevent droughts by cleaning and recycling
your water. However, the online help says that
water treatment plants will reduce the overall
pollution level of your city. I would tend to
go with the latter.
2.4.4 Q: How effective is a desalination plant?
2.4.4 A: Desalination plants seem to have an effective
radius, so there effectiveness is rather
complicated. They can provide water to 200 - 500
tiles each, depending on how many seawater tiles
are adjacent to the plant.
2.4.5 Q: What types of water will help a water pump?
2.4.5 A: Natural water and artificial water will improve
the performance of a water pump, while salt water
will not. Use the query tool to find out whether
water is salty or fresh. Water pump performance
will even be improved by a waterfall, or a waterfall
with a hydro plant on it.
2.4.6 Q: I've built several pumps on the edge of my city,
but all the water seems to be going to the center.
2.4.6 A: Well, SC2K figures out how much water you have, then
it distributes it from the center of your city. The
only way to keep the water at the edge would be to
cut it off from the water system.
2.4.7 Q: Where do I need to build pipes?
2.4.7 A: Sims will automatically build pipes underneath
buildings, so, all you need to do, is build pipes
underneath roads. I like to place pipes underneath
my power lines.
2.5 Road + Rail
2.5.1 Q: How much road do I need?
2.5.1 A: A zone (residential, commercial, or industrial) must
be within 3 tiles (not counting diagonally) of a
road in order to start growing. If you're really
strapped for cash (say you start on the hard level)
then you can get away with discontinuous roads.
Just drop down 1 tile sections of road and build
different zones around it:
For example: R R R
R R R R R
R R r I I
C C I I I
C I I
where r = road R = residential, C = commercial,
I = industrial
2.5.2 Q: Why should I use rail instead of a subway?
2.5.2 A: Rail is cheaper, and, supposedly, has a greater
positive impact on heavy industry.
2.5.3 Q: How do bus stations work?
2.5.3 A: Place bus stations at busy intersections to
reduce traffic at that intersection.
2.5.4 Q: How do you build a reinforced girder bridge?
2.5.4 A: You will be asked if you want to build a reinforced
bridge if you place a highway tile halfway over
water:
before: L L L W W W after L L L W W W
L L L W W W L L H H W W
L L L W W W L L H H W W
L L L W W W L L L W W W
where L = land, W = water, H = highway tile
2.5.5 Q: What's the difference between a highway bridge and a
reinforced bridge?
2.5.5 A: Highway bridges don't allow ships to pass, but are
cheaper.
2.5.6 Q: What's the difference between causeways, raising
bridges, and suspension bridges?
2.5.6 A: Causeways do not allow ships to pass. Raising
bridges and suspension bridges both allow ships
to pass. Raising bridges are cheaper than
suspension bridges, but can only be a maximum of
eleven tiles long.
2.5.7 Q: How does my transportation system affect growth?
2.5.7 A: Residential zones must be properly connected to a
commercial or industrial zone in order to start
growing. Industrial or commercial zones must be
connected to a residential zone in order to start
growing. (When I say connected, I mean by a road.
I don't think you can get away with building a city
made entirely of mass transit.)
2.6 Ports + Connections
2.6.1 Q: I've zoned a port - why do they keep complaining?
2.6.1 A: They won't stop complaining until either a runway
or pier has been built.
2.6.2 Q: What is the smallest size of zone for an airport?
2.6.2 A: An airport must be at least 1 X 5 tiles, in order
for a runway to be built.
2.6.3 Q: Why won't my airport grow?
2.6.3 A: I don't know. Results seem to vary from person to
person. Runways won't be built if you have an air
force base.
2.6.4 Q: Why do I keep having air crashes?
2.6.4 A: You'll have air crashes if you have tall buildings
in the immediate flight path. Generally, it's best
to put your airport out of the way - perhaps on an
island.
2.6.5 Q: What does it mean when connections are requested?
2.6.5 A: You must build connections to your neighbors. Run a
road, rail, or highway to the edge of the map, and
you will be asked if you want to build a connection
to your neighbor.
2.6.6 Q: What does the number on the connection sign mean?
2.6.6 A: That's the distance to your neighbor.
2.6.7 Q: Why is it possible to build a connection to the
ocean?
2.6.7 A: I don't know.
2.7 Residential Zones
2.7.1 Q: What kinds of residential zones are there?
2.7.1 A: Name size population
Lower Class Homes 1 X 1 10
Middle Class Homes 1 X 1 10
Luxury Homes 1 X 1 10
Cheap Apartments 2 X 2 80
Apartments 2 X 2 80
Nice Apartments 2 X 2 80
Condominium 2 X 2 120
Condominium 3 X 3 360
Large Apt. Bldg 3 X 3 450
2.7.2 Q: What's the difference between light residential
heavy residential?
2.7.2 A: Light residential is cheaper and will only allow
1 X 1 buildings.
2.7.2 Q: Why should I use light residential?
2.7.2 A: Aesthetics? Not everyone can live in high rise
apartment buildings. Light residential requires
less police protection than heavy residential. If
your zoning an oddly shaped piece of land that
wouldn't be able to form into a 2X2 or 3X3 building,
you might want to use light instead of heavy.
2.7.3 Q: Why should I use heavy residential?
2.7.3 A: You will need to use heavy if you want your
city to have a large population. The blank map looks
large at the beginning, but you will quickly run out
of space if you rely on light zoning. The larger
buildings use the same amount of power, therefore,
you use less power per person. In addition, you
will get more tax revenue, for the same amount of
space.
2.7.4 Q: How do I encourage my sims to build 3 X 3 buildings?
2.7.5 A: First the property values have to be pretty good.
Second, a 3 X 3 piece of land must be adjacent to
an intersection: R R R r C C C I I I C C C r
R R R r C C C I I I C C C r
R R R r C C C I I I C C C r
r r r r r r r r r r r r r r
where R= res, C = com, I = ind, r = road
In the above example, the residential and commercial
zones may become 3 X 3 buildings, however, the
industrial zone will not.
2.8 Commercial Zones
2.8.1 Q: What kinds of commercial zones are there?
2.8.1 A: Name size population
Cassidy's Toy Store 1 X 1 10
Bed & Breakfast Inn 1 X 1 10
Gas Station 1 X 1 10
Small Office Bldg 1 X 1 10
Convenience Store 1 X 1 10
Office Building 1 X 1 10
Warehouse 1 X 1 10
Office Building 2 X 2 80
Resort Hotel 2 X 2 80
Grocery Store 2 X 2 80
Office Building 2 X 2 120
Office/Retail 2 X 2 120
Shopping Center 2 X 2 ??
Theatre Square 3 X 3 360
Corporate HQ 3 X 3 360
Office Tower 3 X 3 450
Office Park 3 X 3 ??
Historic Office Bldg3 X 3 ??
Mini Mall 3 X 3 ??
Parking Lot 3 X 3 ??
Drive-In Theater 3 X 3 ??
2.9 Industrial Zones
2.9.1 Q: What kinds of industrial zones are there?
2.9.1 A: Name size population
Chemical Storage 1 X 1 10
Ind. Substation 1 X 1 10
Warehouse 1 X 1 10
Factory 2 X 2 80
Factory 2 X 2 120
Chemical Processing 3 X 3 360
Factory 3 X 3 360
Large Factory 3 X 3 ??
Warehouse 3 X 3 360
Large Warehouse 3 X 3 360
Ind. Thingamajig 3 X 3 360
2.10 Education Zones
2.10.1 Q: What are the relative effects of education zones?
2.10.1 A: If you have 1 school/15,000 people, EQ should
eventually increase to 90.
If you have 1 college/50,000 people, EQ should
eventually increase to 140.
Libraries and museums increase the EQ of all ages.
Museums are more effective than libraries.
2.10.2 Q: Does it matter where I put educational zones?
2.10.2.A: No, educational zones do not need proper access
to transportation to be effective. Educational
zones do increase land value, though.
2.11 Health and Safety Zones
2.11.1 Q: Do police stations and fire stations need to be
placed next to roads?
2.11.1 A: No, apparently, police and fire power is not
effected by proximity to transportation.
2.11.2 Q: Do I need prisons?
2.11.2 A: I don't know. I usually just build lots of police
stations.
2.11.3 Q: How many policemen or firefighters should I be able
to dispatch?
2.11.3 A: I don't know - it has something to do with your
police/fire power level, I think.
2.11.3 Q: Do hospitals need road access?
2.11.3 A: I don't think they do.
2.11.4 Q: How many hospitals do I need?
2.11.4 A: If you have 1 hospital/25,000 people, your LE
should eventually increase to 85.
2.12 Recreation Zones
2.12.1 Q: What are all these things for?
2.12.1 A: Small parks and Large parks increase land value.
Zoos, stadiums, and marinas increase residential
demand and improve tourism.
2.12.2 Q: Can I build a marina in the middle of land?
2.12.2 A: Sure, just place a drop of water, then build
the marina on top of it. The boats'll have
trouble leaving though...
2.12.3 Q: Why do my sports teams always lose?
2.12.3 Q: Hmmm, bad coaching?
3.0 BUDGET
3.1 Property Taxes
3.1.1 Q: How much should I set property taxes at?
3.1.1 A: Well, 7% is pretty much standard. If you lower
