It was still then under mosquito, which first broke into SimCity game world a new genre (simulator planning, construction and management of the city), and nearly half of the world's head snapped from the knowledge that the game is able to combine education and entertainment. Until 2003, when it became SimCity 4, it was possible to talk about a monopoly brand. But then came the dark ages PC gaming and other SimCity turned up back on the scene until ten years later - social, online, laced in the interest of "specialization of cities", his neck sunk in Origin, juchající, flashing and praising the players for each click as correct Skinner box. While Maxis had to do what they have mastered the creators Cities: Skylines - to build a game on the foundations on which the genre thrived for a good 15 years. And it's really a question of the philosophy of the game, not technical. Cities have had functionally closer to the new SimCity, while offering similar gaming experience, as still beloved titles in the Maxis series.

Especially not to overdo it

Cities: Skylines went through an identical agent-life simulation. Unlike SimCity but it gives her a reasonable depth and entertaining dimension. One of the most dangerous phenomena in the design of the simulation is exaggerated when you are trying to simulate life with all that entails. One must live somewhere, has to go to work and a way to hack anyone has somewhere to park, then go buy again park, then return home again to park, sleep and pink on weekends zaskotačit. Fabrika can work only if it is workers, touched her simulated water and electricity, has an empty outlet store, and vice versa full warehouse entrance. And precisely this SimCity coasted.

Do you have an imperfect model, where you try to be accurate, but oh. Firefighters extinguishing you block the road so patient in the ambulance died, people get into work and factories do not run. Ridden would not so much because of the raw materials trucks stands at less congested route, though it might take only a few meters long detour through the empty four-lane road. These are consequences unnecessarily complex and still imperfect models, consisting of complex systems, which interact with each other. Solutions are usually twofold - to expand the simulation to the point that you will simulate each atom in the universe, or you have to cut and cut until you models ubyde unnecessary dependence and remains the only really substantial. Besides himself, Will Wright (Maxis founder and father of SimCity) said that perfect is a game from which you can not remove anything. It seems that a certain company that has a very short memory.

Cities, on the other hand, in its simulation of flexible and lenient. Although the car somehow avoided each other, they do not care that sometimes passes one another. The main cause of congestion is not a collision, but too many intersections, because they are the game interesting. Cities will need to be refrained from within the simulation lubricate cars on congested roads, because information about the three-kilometer strudel playroom pales before about congested motorway. Cities creators simply know when the depth of simulation gaming experience improves, and when it is better to limit the simulation because it's a nuisance.

Game release from work and behave stupidly. Not only that, it even seems that the simulation Cities is much better optimized. Just imagine that the SimCity to do anything that makes the game, still had to simulate the dynamic water that flows seriously. And that's what you find in Cities - actually flowing rivers, which carry waste water, so you have to draw up fresh water upstream. Rivers that even you can freely damming hydroelectric power (and unintentionally so flood the city, by the way). And all this, of course upočítá processor your computer. Until I get it, I did not know that I've dreamed of until now! No building strategy will not be without hydro and dynamic full of water!

Optimize!

Creators Cities: Skylines from the small Finnish study Colossal Order have to trick a pair of narrowly focused strategies Cities in Motion, which, in a predetermined in building a transport network and solves the problems arising therefrom. And in Cities: Skylines concept of their previous games, massively expanding the opportunity to build a city and it according to your taste. Given the experience of the creators of the game and find very sophisticated and very free system of construction of the road network, where you can really create almost anything.

You can expect some challenges, but the biggest lies precisely in the optimization of transport to all the most moving. The transport system is so well designed that even lets you build functional roundabouts of the building blocks and the need for them to a special prearranged construction.

Just put dokulata one-way street, make it shine and have a more efficient transport hub than it is a big intersection. Perhaps I just complained that the one way to be a piece of the highway, because the only way to generate a T-shaped intersection without lights and kruháč is truly natural. I would not have a problem with that, if it were not, however counterintuitive, and the highway was not a fact that can not be around her nasázet no buildings and zones.

On his previous game developers and then followed in matters of public transport. In the game, so you can find a very nice system planning routes, bus, train and podzemkových, which fundamentally lacks a deeper analytics. Unfortunately never comfortable you determine load connections or stops, and ultimately even how you lighten passenger transport.

Progressivity to progress

At first it may seem that you have to build cities in the Cities only a quarter more space than in SimCity, but everything is different. You can unlock additional content is the fulfillment of these objectives. This most important line refers to the number of inhabitants, which is coupled everything needed. You start with the basic zones and roads and maximum you can charge for water and electricity. Gradually add the garbage, schools, firefighters, cops, clinics, more hospitals, more police, universities and so on. And part of it is just the option to buy always one extra large square. In the finals, so the game allows you to build the city up to fifteen times in the last SimCity.

At a certain size already, although you may experience performance issues, but when even my outdated four-core graphics, which this year had to board the first class, calmly upočítá hundred thousand city He spread across three squares, it is clear that someone has done a superior optimization work.

Still, however, I feel that progress is stuffed into play rather violently. It poses a challenge and is rather annoying when you play forcing an already mortgaged district crib newly unlocked building. I see no reason why I could not at least have access to basic services of all kinds. Just the fact that people start peep smokes a Christmas tree to unlock the firehouse, acts as a sore thumb and not naturally. Furthermore, some buildings shown to be more useful than others. The whole system is all the more futile it economically does not play after a while no call. This in turn lies in proper planning and balancing zones, as well as the optimization of transportation, which puts you solidly seize and disrupt sleep patterns.

Besides, once you get to some 20,000 residents, you must have transportation to deal seriously and bridging global highway because the city to its original direction can not grow. While building a similarly massive and time-consuming buildings additionally sucked out of the population so much money that you do not even know what they spend it. And with that governs one of my biggest complaints. Cities game is very simple and you can only lose when you are dealing with futility, which run the city not threaten at all. Another unwelcome news is the absence of terraforming during play. Although the game has a map editor with all the trimmings, it is obvious that it is a function, which mostly missed the team finish. And I just hope that she will see later in one of the updates.

Everything is a remix

I'm a little too regret that the creators were bolder and did not try to wiggle a bit different genre tail. Nobody nevytesal in stone that must be divided into zones for residential, commercial and industrial. No one has gone before law by which solar energy is the ultimate good, while a coal-fired power barely two thousand households tightened and there is zasmradí. Cities are for my taste convulsively holds too many principles set by the SimCity series, and not trying to replace them with its own solution. On the other hand, when this approach is enough to sit down and play a game, because everyone knows the basics already. After all, even the music is obšlehnutá.

Cities: Skylines but he can reign only genre that largely nothing fundamentally nepodělala, and vice versa in a number of aspects absolutely great. On the classical approaches makers because he still managed to stick a few of its own ideas to the genre of urban builders' games develops.

A dynamic and sophisticated water transport planning was already talking. Among other nice ideas include the possibility to define the district, which does not just that you are better able to lay out a plan of the city. Each neighborhood has its own policy separé ordinances, so this can heat up under zazobancům taxačním boiler will order elsewhere fabrikam recycling in this old neighborhood again a slap conservationists and forbid the construction of high-rises.

If it is not broke, modni it when it breaks away moduj

Not all innovations, however, are beneficial. I do not know under what circumstances the idea to do Chirpyho, which is a simulator of Twitter in the game, but certainly in that he had to play the role of alcohol, concussion and one or two animal sacrifices because Chirpy is a figment of pure evil. The thing is annoying, useless and occupies one of the most important areas of the screen. I'm not going about it rather broadly describe them in any way, because ...

... I killed him! Yes, the blue bird had beeps, even for me not to stare provocatively with the strength of the final boss troll Internet discussions. Cities: Skylines Indeed, rejoice, supports modification. CITA had thousands and one such Chirpymu delivered a coup de grace gun to pigs. SimCity offered online DRM and exactly zero modovacích tools to make us hungry EA could sell unneeded crap in overpriced DLC. Cities offers full support not only thanks to the tools offered, but also because of the fact that it is built on the Unity engine, which has a sophisticated, free editor.

Of the modes is primarily a wide range of new buildings, thanks to which you can base, rather languid style, the city easily turn into a diverse metropolis where there are few repeats. There are, however, various modifications of difficulty and handy tools that improve the game. Even sophisticated highway and other intersections. Add to this the promised DLC, which can be seen as pro modifications, and free upgrades from developers, I think that each owner Cities waits in the months to gaming bliss.

I'm a little sorry relatively coarse and in some ways not so nice graphics or points cumbersome, inadequate and mostly ugly user interface. But what want from a small team? Pour into it more money and want it technological update, the next worst part? This is the plan that I have no problem because Colossal Order have already shown that they are extremely capable.

In SimCity 2013, demanding your attention incompetent residents and each jumped obvious nonsense somewhere smiling gentleman with a hat to remind you that you're a hero and god, and that would certainly have had to leave the game. Cities: Skylines returns to clean, but impersonal playful simulation of the building and the city administration, as it offered earlier SimCity games. This does not restrict, generally works excellently and gives you the space to be able to satiate their hidden urban aberration.