City Builders/Economy Builders

[Wolfe1759]

I think he means SimCity which is scheduled for later next year.

You can always try and wait for the new CivCity game to come out.

What CivCity?

Bison is correct I meant SimCity, it was a long day yesterday...


Although a CivCity might not be a bad idea :)

There is one already, have a look at CivCity Rome. Although it is an older game and not as grand in terms of graphics as some of the newer Roman city builders it is the one that I find the most fun.

[undercovergeek]

any thoughts on Tropico 4?

[LongBlade]

any thoughts on Tropico 4?

I love the Tropico series. I whole-heartedly endorse it. What kind of reservations might you have?

[Huw the Poo]

Geek, ignore the latest Anno due to that DRM bollocks, but Anno 1404 is city-building paradise.  It's gorgeous, it's deep, it's teeming with life and content, it has building as well as supply chain management.  You can make it as peaceful or as violent as you like.  Untold numbers of starting options for the sandbox game.  And despite the seemingly slow pace of the game, you always have stuff to do.  There's not a moment's downtime.  It's simply one of the best games I've ever played, and certainly the best city builder.

Also, the collector's edition (of which I am a proud owner) is the best I've seen by a long shot. ;)

[undercovergeek]

any thoughts on Tropico 4?

I love the Tropico series. I whole-heartedly endorse it. What kind of reservations might you have?

other than seeking the wisdom of my fellow gamers - none at all LB

Geek, ignore the latest Anno due to that DRM bollocks, but Anno 1404 is city-building paradise.  It's gorgeous, it's deep, it's teeming with life and content, it has building as well as supply chain management.  You can make it as peaceful or as violent as you like.  Untold numbers of starting options for the sandbox game.  And despite the seemingly slow pace of the game, you always have stuff to do.  There's not a moment's downtime.  It's simply one of the best games I've ever played, and certainly the best city builder.

Also, the collector's edition (of which I am a proud owner) is the best I've seen by a long shot. ;)

so now im torn!!

thank you both guys

[Huw the Poo]

I've never played the Tropico games so I can't compare them, but from what I've heard they are good.  I think I have Tropico 4 on my Steam wish list actually.  Anno 1404 is one of my favourite games of all time though, it's a remarkable achievement.

I doubt you can go far wrong either way to be honest!  You could always decide based on the time period - fifteenth century versus modern day. :)

[undercovergeek]

do you know why steam dont carry it? i see it on gamers gate - anno 1404 that is

[Huw the Poo]

As far as I can gather, it's Ubisoft's decision.  No idea what's behind it though.  Aren't you tempted by that collector's edition for £18?!

[undercovergeek]

where?

[Nefaro]

do you know why steam dont carry it? i see it on gamers gate - anno 1404 that is

It goes by the name Dawn Of Discovery in North America.

Probably some ridiculous IP crap about someone owning rights to a g'damn name.  ::)  The EU version is Anno 1404 but evidentally they had to change the name for the NA release.

Anno 1404, known as Dawn of Discovery in North America, is a city-building game and economic simulation game, with real-time strategy elements. It was developed by Related Designs, produced by Blue Byte, and is published by Ubisoft. Anno 1404 is the sequel to Anno 1701 and is followed by the futuristic sequel Anno 2070.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_1404

That has always caused confusion.

I liked Dawn Of Discovery because it seemed to have a lot going on.  But the mechanics felt a bit odd to me.  Probably just the building output requirements were a bit simplistic.. as in you need 2 of these buildings to keep one of the next tier operating at full capacity.  But there is also a lot of different buildings and such so it's a small niggle.

[Huw the Poo]

Geek, lookie here.

I liked Dawn Of Discovery because it seemed to have a lot going on.  But the mechanics felt a bit odd to me.  Probably just the building output requirements were a bit simplistic.. as in you need 2 of these buildings to keep one of the next tier operating at full capacity.  But there is also a lot of different buildings and such so it's a small niggle.

I like that, though.  It adds another layer to the game, i.e. the optimal placement of producer buildings to maximise your outputs.  But yeah, I can see why you wouldn't like that.

[Nefaro]

I like that, though.  It adds another layer to the game, i.e. the optimal placement of producer buildings to maximise your outputs.  But yeah, I can see why you wouldn't like that.

I must just like a somewhat involved goods-based economy in city builders, as opposed to a building-to-building setup like that.  While Anno/DoD has goods that you can trade, and they're needed in the economy, they seem to be a lesser focus compared to grouping your string of "Building 1,2,3 ->building 4,5->building 6" having to be shoehorned into a small overlapping radius, which is the basic focus of economy building in the game.   

That's probably why I like Children of the Nile most, of the city-building focused games.  Due to the economic model that's intertwined throughout not only the econ buildings, but the whole population.  The other city builders have it, but they're just not as robust or wide-reaching IMO.  I suppose CivCity Rome may be closer to Children of the Nile because Anno/DoD definitely had an unusual vibe about it's econ and I'm still not terribly crazed about how they did theirs, or at the least.. the impression it gives of plonking down predetermined chains of stuff to get what you want as opposed to free-wheeling it.  It's the same reason I liked Grand Ages Rome less than it's predecessor. 

[besilarius]

The Patrician series can be fun.
You start off in Europe, after the Black Death has devastated everything.
You need to develop and grow the cities through building and trade.
Have not got the most recent, Patrician 4, but really enjoyed the earlier iterations.
The only thing is it is pure trade sim.  No warfare, except random pirates, no diplomacy.

[Nefaro]

The Patrician series can be fun.
You start off in Europe, after the Black Death has devastated everything.
You need to develop and grow the cities through building and trade.
Have not got the most recent, Patrician 4, but really enjoyed the earlier iterations.
The only thing is it is pure trade sim.  No warfare, except random pirates, no diplomacy.

Port Royale 3 has been out, too.  Same engine and everything but based in the Caribbean, which I prefer over the renaissance Baltic.

[CptHowdy]

went ahead and purchased the gold edition from gamersgate. couldnt find it anywhere for under 20 bucks but it sounds like i will get my moneys worth out of it. anyone use mods for this, is there even a modding community? thanks.