SimCity 4 Revisited: Does it Hold Up 20 years Later?

SimCity 4 was one of my absolutely favorite city builders back in the day, right up until Cities Skylines came out. Today we'll revisit the game and see how it holds up nearly 20 years after it was released by building a couple of small towns... all while appreciating the differences between the games.
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CHAPTERS

[@Unmannedperson]

I think something SimCity 4 did well that has remained unmatched to this day is separating wealth and density. Most city builders (C:S included) lump both on one spectrum, so you see your city grow from poor single-family housing to luxury condo towers. But in SimCity 4, you could have towering tenements and sprawling mansions.

[@TransDelek]

If you turn on the day/night cycles and check the graveyard at night, you'll see zombies burst up and stroll around. I do miss those fun little touches. I wish Sim City hadn't ended the way it did.

[@tuxxx526]

The way this game handles poverty and wealth levels is still unmatched

[@PalmelaHanderson]

Why you gotta remind me this game came out 20 years ago... It's way too early in the day to feel this old.

[@DOCTORKpuffy]

In my opinion, the greatest strength of Sim City 4 was the city management aspect of the game. It was difficult to maintain a healthy budget, the policies you chose had a noticable impact, and the game demanded a certain amount of low income people and workplaces, which is often against how many people want to see their cities flourish.

[@BrassStagg]

Dude, you should play the sound track too. The tunes in SimCity 4 was one of the best in the business. It was definitely a part as to why this was the best city building game.

[@mpkp2011]

the small details really blow me away. I really love the effects the game has like the roads actually needing time to be built instead of just magically appearing. It adds a small layer of realism that I appreciate

[@alsornet]

Just FYI: you can hold "Alt" button while zoning to change the direction of the tiles. Sometimes you need to hold "Shift" + "Alt" simultaneously. The "Alt" button is more generally can be described as "suggest alternative layout".

[@sirusmaj]

@

[@Diashi]

Would you consider a series of this to build a region up? Would be cool to watch. I personally had a massive issue with spanning several regions in a city and would love to see it done right. I think a lot of people would enjoy seeing you take it seriously (within the limits of the game).

[@mallowthecloud]

My favorite aspect of this game is how you could play on a whole region, gradually fill it out, build a full‐scale metropolitan area from scratch. Something that has yet to be recreated in any city builder before or since. I was a big mapper (I made tons of maps for SC4) back in the day.

[@BiffaPlaysCitiesSkylines]

Ah memories, that was great! :-)

[@joebaxter6895]

The terrain and tree textures/models/shadows actually weren't terrible for 2003. I underestimated how well this game would hold up in 2022. I started my creativity driven gaming with Sim City 2000. This was a great upgrade. I would go on road trips with my parents paying attention to everything I saw along the way to incorporate that into my cities in this game. Listening to my favorite jazz and electronic music while I built them. Nostalgia.

[@PlayingGilly]

I view SC4 as a macro city builder, you can get absurd population heights with the region play. It still really holds up today in particular with NAM (network addon mod).

[@s4098429]

You forgot to mention the ‘routes’ mechanic. Clicking on the ‘?’ With arrow tool will allow you to view the routes commuters take to get to work. It’s not an agent system like CS, but it’s pretty close; each house has a route calculated to their place of work.

[@wellnotme9354]

SimCity 4 is an absolute masterpiece of a game! It's absolutely amazing, and way ahead of it's time. You can create completely walkable cities and you have a more integrated policy system, way better than C:S's. Although, I still love C:S more, it's just more modern, but, I do think a possible C:S sequel or DLC should take much more inspiration from SC4.

[@jimbojj26]

I understand it's unlikely to happen, especially with multiple other series going on, but seeing you play SimCity 4 as a series and building up an entire region would be fantastic!

[@ilregulator]

The fact that to this day there are still mods and plugins created is incredible. The community is really keeping the game alive. It's still an absolute pleasure to play and the limits (due to its age) are kinda nostalgic

[@husbeard]

I had similar memories with this game.

[@melprophet1936]

Anyone besides me remember Sim City 2000? I loved that game. Way too easy to play, but still very fun and visually beautiful for the time.