Catching Up With Cities XL

CitiesXL is expected to bring some new life to city simulation games. The game isn’t expected to release until 2009. In the meantime, the team at Monte Cristo has given an inside look at the game development process. There’s been a few new announcements since the game’s name has been changed from Cities Unlimited.

The MMO Aspect

Cities XL introduces an online component called “Planet Offer”. Players will be able to interconnect with other cities and influence various aspects between them. Mayors can share economic resources by trading with others.  Citizens can travel back and forth between other cities and experience venues and other major events. Players will also be able to walk through different cities and experience the game through a person’s eyes.

This online component has brought up a new issue we’ve never seen before in city building games, an online fee. The details of the pricing plan has not been decided yet, and many fans have decided $10 a month would be good, or perhaps a one time fee might be a more practical solution.

Zoning And Transportation

In regards to zoning, Monte Cristo built a mass placement tool that automatically sets each zone around the roads. Since there is no grid format for zone placement,  the zones would be automatically configure to fit within its confines.  A blog posting on CitiesXL site shows a rough concept on what the zoning tool may look like. Zone placement was certainly faster than Simcity4, but it felt that we did not have total control over where roads are going. I do stress that this zoning tool was only a concept, and I’m sure they will make it more intuitive once the game officially releases.

As for transportation, only roads were shown so far. The only features they did show off were multiple types of roads with 2 lanes or 4 lanes. Roads can be curved and the zones will attach itself to it. In the screenshot above you can see that diagonal roads have zones in front of them.  They do plan to showcase more methods of transportation before the end of this year.

Cities XL is expected to be released in 2009. It will be for the MAC and PC, and will have an unannounced online fee for the online component.

[via citiesxl.com]

Cities Unlimited Site Launches in October

Well its safe to say that the most highly anticipated simulated city game has to be Cities Unlimited. Simcity Societies is expected to be released sometime soon and as far as I can say, I’m not  really that interested in buying it. So a new challenger appears from the game developer studio, Monte Christo. They are most notable for the creation of the 2nd ranked simulation game: CityLife.

With staff all across the globe, their job is to create the most realistic and lifelike simulation where Simcity4 left off. Although personally they won’t admit to having competition between the two games, (but we know whats going on anyway…) Monte Christo has released some new screenshots of what to expect. They revealed a few new details about the game. You have the ability to use different types of landscapes, like the beaches in Rio, or the snow covered mountains in Aspen. These locales will add to the variety of the different types of locations you can make, instead of the usual generic city.

Map Selection Screen

Lets Ski in Aspen!

Cities Unlimited website will launch sometime in October, and will be featuring developers blogs, webcasts, and a forum. So join in once the website launches to be further closer to the action. The Official Cities Unlimited site is now at http://www.cuplanet.com.

You can check out Simphoni and Simtropolis for other details.

Whats wrong with Simcity Societies: Is it Simcity5 or Not?

Wow after a few weeks of reviews and previews we’ve come to the million dollar question. Is this the next Simcity5 or not? Well it appears we’ve come to the point where now half of us are saying its just a spinoff. The rest of us are convinced its the next game. The answer might be found in the title. Its not Simcity5: Societies, its just Simcity Societies. However interviews and news sites have stated it is the 5th iteration of Simcity. Dr. Statistics believes 80% of gamers are against Simcity Societies in its current form, 18% are in a wait and see mode, 2% are fans of Tilted Mill and will definitely buy.

Whats wrong with Simcity Societies so far!

What I think:
The major complaint is the art direction. The road system looks overly simplified, the buildings look too cuddly and compact, and everything fits pretty much in its square. We were pretty much expecting more realistic graphics and some crazy intersections but that doesn’t seem to be happening. The roads are far too square like. There aren’t any curves seen so far, and everything is grid like. Even Simcity4 had a slight curve with their streets, but Simcity Societies is just thick grids with sidewalks. One of the major eyesores for me is the constant flat texture on the ground. Only around the shore does the game breaks this monotony.

What the Fans think:
We’ve had comments ranging from "Simcity 4 looks better than this game" to "I like fresh games and I like to see a new direction take place." I think for the most part, fans do want an easier game but easier in the sense of not having to put power lines, not having to put tedious zones, and easier tools for streets. But this is where it stops. Everything else should be brought back from Simcity4 but with better graphics. xSpartan039x says, "This game is obviously an attempt by maxis [actually tilted mill] to draw in young consumers who cant handle the difficultly of sim city. Basically a nullified sim city where everything is easy, cool and doesnt require much brain-busting to make something".

Come to the Magical Land of Legos!

Whats Right with Simcity Societies!

What I think:
The game’s focus is different, and I think this was pretty much well thought out. What happens with Simcity Societies is that your more of the role of a dictator. How is this different from Simcity4? Well In Simcity4, your population directs your actions. You try to appease the population in balancing jobs, residents, and your money. If they can’t get to work, or if they are uneducated, or if they aren’t living long lives, they will move out or devolve. In Simcity Societies, the gameplay changed towards you forcing who will live in your city. By building certain types of buildings you can attract a certain society. Its more like Black & White, creating a society where your citizens are controlled with force, makes the city darker and stricter. Your citizens might be unhappy but you will see less crime and more money. However placing buildings for artistic and happier people changes your populace into a brighter colorful society.

What the Fans think:
Its hard to find a positive comment about this game. Most positive comments stems from Tilted Mill’s work in the past. "The only reason why I’m interested in Societies is Tilted Mill’s involment and the fact that it apears to be much more of an Impressions-style city builder than Maxis-type one," and eedoon says, "At first, I thought SCS concept is a little bit weird. But then again, I think it is good for anyone to try something new and therefore I am eager to give this new SC a try." But this comment pretty much summed up the rest of the situation,  "Will I buy it? Yeah, probably, if only in hopes the money will go to producing a REAL sequel" Well, there you have it, we aren’t satisfied until Simcity "5" comes out and until then we have Cities: Unlimited to look forward to. More on that later..

So is this Simcity5 or Not?

Well we do know that Simcity will continue if this game fails. Yep thats right! If this game doesn’t get good reviews and sales, Maxis will go back to basics and work on the next version of Simcity. You don’t need to kill yourselves or boycott this game. If this game is successful, Simcity Societies might be branched off in its own series while coexisting with Maxis creating Simcity 6.

Don’t ya Wish Your Simcity was HOT Like Me! Don’t ya!