The Story Behind OpenSimcity

I've always liked to play SimCity since I was little. I used to play the version for Super Nintendo for hours then and then. That version was really cool. It had 4 seasons (winter, spring, summer and autumn) and many landscapes, scenarios to choose between. That was a really big hit at the time. It was clearly the most popular videogame.

Then SimCity 2000 came out on the market. It was almost like a revolution. Many new things to use, better graphics, more innovative and the game engine was more advanced. So it was very good news (except from the fact that the seasons were gone).

But the follower that came after SC2000, SimCity3000 was real disaster. Well there were more tools, advisers and a more advanced terrain (witch was crap because you couldn't build anything on it) but not anything special. The graphics was probably the worst part. It was more advanced but everything just looked as shit. It was a blur hell. I would state that this didn't feel like an upgrade more like a retarded downgrade. It was fun in 2 weeks but no more.

And after that flop, a new version was to be released, SimCity 4. This time, the MAXIS programmers learned had learned a lesson, not to release anything that isn't useful. So they did good graphics added fun tools, more effects, more unique buildings and neighboring cities. This was a small step up from SimCity 2000 but a huge step up from SC3000. This was however not intended to be a strategy-based city planning game, but more to be like a fun modeling program (like 3DMax or Maya) and creating wow effects. It was not Hey I've managed to get 1m inhabitants but more like Hey, look what a nice city I built. The game also required a new high-end computer with more than a GB of RAM, a high-end graphic card with at least 128MB an Athlon2500XP or a with Pentium 2,5GHZ to be able to play (but even that was not).

You can clearly see what have happened to one of the best game on the planet. This is not specific to just SimCity but to the whole gaming industry. The graphic wow-effect is everything that matters today. Personally, I love good graphics, but not when I have to buy a better computer to be able to use it, when I can experience a delay and when the whole game is based around that wow-effect-subject.

What will happen with SimCity5? There is rumors that they are already building it but why having expect anything of it. If SC4 was too much for my pretty new PC than I wonder how SC5 will be like. This will probably be the last version if they actually build it. Why? It will be a flop. Nobody will be able to use it. People that already experienced SC4 for will definitely not buy it. It's kinda joke already.

The solution

Lets start a new project based on opensource. Lets call it OpenSimcity.

Part two - The project

The idea is based on objective programming, OOP. This should be easy to made, easy to check bugs and adjusting the code. We will create this game from the beginning and do it better. And when I say better, I don't just mean faster performance or some new features. I mean a whole new structure, a whole new ground to stand on. This will be unique.

The graphics should be advanced but on the same time not dominate the game. It should feature a lot of options for peoples that have another kind of taste. Also, the game will probably take a few years to finish and by that time, graphics cards will be more powerful then we had ever seen before. GPU performance grows 40% per year while CPU only grows with 10%. Therefore, all graphics should be done in OpenGL to unleash power from the CPU. Real-time zooming should be possible.

Unlimited area. Instead of the idea that the user can have 3 or 4 sizes to choose between, why not customize it? The user can etc print out X (width) and Y (height) axis and get a map featuring whatever size he/she chose. The user should have the ability to change the size (increase or decrease) under the game.

Ability to choose climate. There should be an option for what year-around climate you want to have. How cold or warm and how dry or wet and so on. Also, an option if you want to have floating (changing) climates with seasons or a static climate.

More default buildings. It should be also be easy to add new buildings or remove the old ones.

The engine should not be easy, middle, hard or advanced but rather an effect of the number between 1-1000 you give.

Interface should however be an option between easy, middle, hard and advanced.

Cost and Assets should be fully customizable.

The game should feature online gaming. Competing with your neighbor cities, friends or strangers. You could etc choose to compete to X number of citizens or having as much population as possible in X time. Or it could be played for no reason, just having fun. You could also have the ability of trading lands with your neighbors.

Ability to import maps from all SimCity versions.

I can make the list longer, but you get the point. Viva la OpenSimcity.

URL: http://www.geocities.com/bolster_rally

Latest News

Voice of America

Good news for Games memorabilia hunters China Daily, China - 22 hours ago By Chen Jia (China Daily) If you are interested in something related to the Olympic Games, you could go in for NBA star Yao Ming's bed or the ancient ... Poll shows citizens say Games a success Shanghai Daily Turkish parliamentary speaker praises success of Beijing Olympic Games Xinhua Memories of Beijing Moscow News American Spectator - Independent all 1,692 news articles

Canoe.ca

Bay Says All Games Have Been Sox-Yanks Hartford Courant, United States - 22 hours ago Two games in, Bay has hurt the Yankees much the way his predecessor in left field, Manny Ramirez, always did. Bay followed up Tuesday's two-hit, ... Guillen: Good time for a trip to Boston Chicago Tribune What Will They Do In October? RealGM.com Trade for Bay looks like another stroke of genius USA Today Bleacher Report - New York Times Blogs all 1,148 news articles

The Irrawaddy News Magazine

Hong Kong Skies Clear -- Thanks to Nature, Not Games (Update1) Bloomberg - 22 hours ago The Olympic Games ended Sunday with a closing ceremony in Beijing. In Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous region of China since British rule ended in 1997, ... China's totalitarian games Boston Globe Human rights organization gives Beijing Games negative verdict Bangkok Post After the Games, China stays on world's stage Indianapolis Star Reuters UK - guardian.co.uk all 511 news articles

TicketCity Releases the Top 25 Hottest College Football Games MarketWatch - 5 hours ago Based on average price, games topping this year's list include: Michigan at Ohio State, Ohio State at USC, Georgia at LSU, Alabama versus Clemson and Notre ...

Bleacher Report

Pac-10 opening weekend features 2 conference games International Herald Tribune, France - Aug 27, 2008 The Ducks last did it in that 2006 home game against the Cardinal, while it has been 10 years since the Huskies did it and 14 years for the Beavers. ... Big games kick off opening weekend Redwood City Daily News Six Stanford Offensive Players to Watch Building the Dam Fast start is the key to respect Corvallis Gazette Times San Francisco Chronicle - San Jose Mercury News all 183 news articles

Olympics organizers say tickets for Vancouver Paralympic Games ... The Canadian Press, VANCOUVER - 7 hours ago VANCOUVER — Vancouver's Olympic organizing committee says tickets for the Paralympic Games in 2010 will be affordable. Caley Denton, vice-president of ... Sponsors spend millions to be part of 2010 Games Canada.com CTV going wall-to-wall for Winter Games Reuters Canada Beijing Games are over, 2010 is next Pique newsmagazine Canada NewsWire (press release) - CTV British Columbia all 63 news articles

These Games Might Suck, But These Games Are Still Football. Let's ... SportingNews.com - 8 hours ago No, and no, and no to the question of whether any of these games stand as being elemental to anything that happens over the course of the 2008 season. ...

Telegraph.co.uk

UK School Games: Rebecca Adlington proud to be a role model for ... Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - 9 hours ago By Gareth A Davies Great Britain’s Olympic water-babe and double gold medallist declared the third UK School Games open to screams of delight. ... Adlington's Games pep talk TeleText THURS 19.15: GOLD MEDAL SWIMMER IN BATH FOR GAMES Bath Chronicle Alder to follow Adlington's lead Salford Advertiser volleyballengland.org - Telegraph.co.uk all 84 news articles

USA Today

Reminiscing about scenes and sights from the Beijing Games Kansas City Star, MO - Aug 27, 2008 God bless the Games. Faster, Higher, Stronger, Drunker. The largest postage stamp ever issued is produced for the Games by a company in Beijing. ... CHAD DUNDAS: After Games, China still has a lot to prove The Missoulian NBC's Olympic claims deserve closer inspection Los Angeles Times Top 10 Unforgettable Moments From the Beijing Games Film.com TheChronicleHerald.ca - Center For American Progress all 357 news articles

Official:Paralympic Games makes Beijing more accessible Xinhua, China - 14 hours ago 28 (Xinhua) -- The Paralympic Games has accelerated the construction of disabled-access facilities in Beijing, an official said here on Thursday. ... Turkey to compete in Paralympic Games with 16 athletes Today's Zaman Cuban Delegation Ready for the Paralympic Games in Beijing Radio Nuevitas China defends its reviled soccer team International Herald Tribune Jakarta Post - Xinhua all 118 news articles