For months, players have been complaining about high rents in the city-building sim. This week, developer Colossal Order fixed the problem by doing something real cities can’t: removing landlords.
  • sp3tr4l@lemmy.zipEnglish
    6·
    1 month ago

    In the same vein, Simon Librande, lead designer of Sim City, decided to pretend that basically all plots above low density just have absurdly huge, invisible (underground) parking lots, otherwise a car centric city very often just turns into half parking lots.

    https://web.archive.org/web/20240506163714/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/05/the-philosophy-of-simcity-an-interview-with-the-games-lead-designer/275724/

    Geoff Manaugh: While you were making those measurements of different real-world cities, did you discover any surprising patterns or spatial relationships?

    Librande: Yes, definitely. I think the biggest one was the parking lots. When I started measuring out our local grocery store, which I don’t think of as being that big, I was blown away by how much more space was parking lot rather than actual store. That was kind of a problem, because we were originally just going to model real cities, but we quickly realized there were way too many parking lots in the real world and that our game was going to be really boring if it was proportional in terms of parking lots.

    Manaugh: You would be making SimParkingLot, rather than SimCity.

    Librande: [laughs] Exactly. So what we do in the game is that we just imagine they are underground. We do have parking lots in the game, and we do try to scale them – so, if you have a little grocery store, we’ll put six or seven parking spots on the side, and, if you have a big convention center or a big pro stadium, they’ll have what seem like really big lots – but they’re nowhere near what a real grocery store or pro stadium would have. We had to do the best we could do and still make the game look attractive.

    EDIT: I got some details mixed up, corrected and expanded now.

    • Buddahriffic@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      1 month ago

      I think I would love a game where you start with a car-centric city or region and then can either try to build it up continuing with the status quo or try to convert it to something that doesn’t depend so much on cars.

      • lurker2718@lemmings.worldEnglish
        1·
        1 month ago

        The only game I know where you have to consider parking is “Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic”. I haven’t provided any private cars to the people from my Republic yet. But from what I have seen, you need to provide parking lots close to their home and their destinations.

        • Buddahriffic@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          1 month ago

          Do you know if it stimulates individual cars filling up the lots or is it just a “is there parking available?” check that doesn’t go deeper to see if it’s enough parking?

          Sounds like an interesting game even if it’s not to the level I’d like to see (which I’m not even sure is feasible for a real time game).

          Edit: lol “stimulates”, gotta get the cars all hot and bothered before they can park! I’m leaving it, but I do see it now.

          • lurker2718@lemmings.worldEnglish
            1·
            1 month ago

            I think it simulates each person going to their (a?) car and driving this car to another parking lot with free spots. So they do really fill up. However, I do not have first hand experience. In our glorious republic walking an public transport is all we need. So not even the most loyal party members get cars.

    • Gadg8eer@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1·
      1 month ago

      Because now it’s undeniable. Landlords are economic liabilities to cities. If the math and the simulation resolution are this high, it’s mathematically extremely unlikely that the influence of landlords is truly positive, and thus you can say “the simulations say you’re a financial leech and you won’t let your ledgers be scrutinized to prove them wrong, so clearly you know EXACTLY what you’re doing” when your landlord tries to fuck you over.

      • JackGreenEarth@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        1 month ago

        We all knew that already, and a game isn’t exactly a flawless simulation of the real world that they would accept anyway. Even if they agreed that they were a leech, they would still most likely stay landlords oir of selfishness.

        • Gadg8eer@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          21·
          1 month ago

          Look, if I have to hear one more “you’re stupid because I disagree with your proposal” then I’m fucking done with the Fediverse. I was IMPLYING “tell your landlord that he’s an asshole and when he admits it, burn all his properties down” because CANADA LITERALLY HAS A HOUSING CRISIS.

          Is “destroy houses to hurt landlords and then get arrested” reasonable? No. But until people start demanding free homes on penalty of death, we will never again have enough housing because NOT HAVING ENOUGH HOUSING IS TOO PROFITABLE.

          So either start burning down your landlord’s houses, or fuck off, because people are literally homeless because of worthless pieces of shit like you.

          I am now blocking you. Go die.