I also seem to recall that making lots & lots of 'mini-cities' - neighborhoods that were nearly self contained, with a nice balance of parks & rec, industry, commercial ('strip malls' :) and residential seemed to work well. That is, if you spent a lot of effort building-up a big commercial area, let's say, then it starts to falter, be willing to bulldoze it down and make something different, if that's 'what the game wants.' I've not played in ages, but I seem to remember that the trick was to not become too attached to any particular segment. Same power spread, no cost, possible income. The downside is that your power budget will not be at 100%, so 1) new plants will start at whatever the budget is set to overall, and 2) there is a chance of fire on all power lines. This prevents the plant from aging in any noticeable amount, and you can then buy your power from a cheaper plant.

Special note, if you are using Waste To Energy incinerators, turn them down to producing no power and have them only dispose of waste. Eventually, you are paying out the nose for nothing. They gradually cost more to maintain and have lower output. The utilities buildings, water pumps, power plants, and incinerators age over time, more for the more they are used. I think this is the most important info people are missing to building a great city. After you've taken care of the basics that every zone wants, power and water for higher density/$$$, take care of problems in this order and you'll spend less money, attract more Sims, and make more money. Dirty/Manufacturing industry wants police, then shorter fright trips, then NOTHING else, they're happy. Residential Sims want police more than hospitals. Improve the desirability for each of these occupant types: In your city, you do have indirect control by affecting the desirability On the quick reference guide, as well as buried deep in the Sim City Manual under the desirability chart, is possibly the most important information to the game that no one knows:Īlthough you can’t directly affect the types of occupants that develop but they want some things more than others, and if you build them in the wrong order you are WASTING YOUR MONEY, because they don't have their full effect.

Spending Money On Things Before Sims Want Them There are two ways I commonly break my cities:

Simcity 4 city s