Rob's Guide to SimCity 4 - Lesson 1 - Basic Concepts, Zoning and Utilities for Your First City

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

Hey kids! Let me know if you have any questions, comments or suggestions on this 4-part series here! If I get enough questions, I'll do a "Questions and Corrections" vid!

[@frontlinesportscenter511]

Hi! Thank you for the thorough info. Very helpful how you broke it down in time stamps. is there a multi-player version? I have 3 kids who want to build a city together

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

@@frontlinesportscenter511 there's no multiplayer unfortunately! For multiplayer, you should look at SimCity (2013). It's not as good a game as SC4, but it is specifically designed around multiplay.

[@ericc.4104]

If you place the garbage burning plant, you can use the top question mark tool that's right of the mini map to lower its funding to $0 and it still burns trash but produces a LOT of pollution.

[@JamesHawkins54]

Exactly how do I install this mod? When I try, I get a box asking me to pick a location, I pick the folder, but the "Name" box is empty. The installation instructions are woefully lacking in details.

[@waroworld4817]

hi guy i can do all this ,but .. but my economy was wasted every time .Sorry for junk English :-(

[@Zaph501]

Had to wait 20 years for an in-depth SimCity 4 guide. xD

[@grungekookie3298]

Lol

[@raditeandiono3286]

Lol same here 😂

[@Altered-Beast]

lmaoo same here I was building farms for no reason and the entire map was pretty much that loll

[@Sobernic1982]

😂

[@grippenbube3432]

True haha

[@7amoodOskar]

It just makes me happy whenever I see these videos about SimCity 4 on youtube. This game is truly one of a kind!

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

Glad you enjoyed the video! And yes, it's truly a fantastic game!

[@IceDani09]

Exactly! It really makes me happy as well that SimCity 4 is still being played and modded, even though it is almost 20 years old. The game holds up really well and I just find myself coming back to it!

[@yeetgamersvk1399]

I like cities skylines better

[@tylerrichardson1963]

Agreed, I find myself continuously going back to Sim City 4 not only for nostalgia, but also because the gameplay is timeless.

[@raizox6134]

@@yeetgamersvk1399 not even close. cities skylines is a city painter that only allows you to make good looking cities, but beyond that there is no management aspect. SC4 is a truly city management game where the decision you make, matters

[@TheSimMan]

17 years later, and I STILL play this game and believe it is a masterpiece of Maxis’ renaissance of game making. If only they can capture that same charm, magic and spirit that is SimCity (4+RushHour) and apply it to a contemporary release.

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

I wouldn't hold my breath for another good game from EA/Maxis for the forseeable future. Sims 4 and SimCity 5 have been pretty wretched. Check out my New City videos if you want to see a game that captures some of the spirit of older SimCity games.

[@Aereto]

I played the Win95 and PS1 Simcity 2000, then 3000+Unlimited. Those were the days.

[@richarddutton1981]

i have probably 200 hours into cities skylines and i still keep coming back to SC4

[@TheSimMan]

@@RobsRedHotSpotI can’t believe I didn’t see your response until now 😂 I agree, apart for the lack of details and interruptions in performance, the current incarnations of The Sims and SimCity lack the spirit of good gaming and are incessantly trying too hard to be ‘now’ and ‘liked’.

[@chippyonline001]

I played this game when I was in the third grade and paid little to no attention to the finer and more complex aspects of the game and just went on my merry way building roads and watching houses and shops grow. I never thought SC4 really is this complex. God, I'd better start playing this again soon. Thanks for the tutorial! Will take your lessons to heart.

[@andresvo7]

This is seriously like the best SC4 tutorial ever. I have been playing this game forever and YOU made me understand some basic mechanics I have always ignored. Very usefull, thanks a lot.

[@ion_force]

*inhales sharply*

[@ashleycrash8838]

I seriously love SC4, I still struggle with my cities even though I’ve been playing since it released, I get too impatient and over build too fast, your tutorials have helped me a lot

[@virtualatheist]

This is FANTASTIC! I've played simcity (original) when it first appeared, but not for many, many years. I decided to try this version and started it to utter confusion with no idea what I was doing. And as you can imagine my cities failed miserably. Now I'll be trying again with much more confidence and look forward to getting the most out of this game. So, thank you very much :-D

[@StatickyCat]

I agree about the graphics. They have that slight video game feel, but cities still look totally real in this game. It's amazing, let alone from a game that's over 15 years old.

[@donaldlemoine3032]

Haven't played in years. I pulled out my CD and tried to play. Quickly I was just going bankrupt. Then I found these tutorials. My city is now growing and making money! Fabulous!

[@shaycormac5766]

Your video is a life-savor for me. I've struggled so much in playing this game until I found this guide series. Thank you so much

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

That's great to hear!

[@mrpersonguy3159]

Really good tutorial, can’t wait to get back into playing this game. Also you breathe really deeply after every sentence.

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

Lol I'll have to pay attention to the breathing. Glad you enjoyed the tutorial!

[@cdotsmite2952]

Redbull

[@AlanEduardo]

Hey, this is the best tutorial I've ever seen, congratulations!!! I'm looking forward to seeing the other videos.

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

Thanks! I do have some more tutorial material I want to make soon!

[@kidcombs]

Love the content. I’m literally going to fire up Sim City 4 again because of this video

[@1969cmp]

....l was looking for my disc when my youngest suggested Steam. And there it is. This was last night. I feel inspired by our visit to Sydney (Australia) over Easter.

[@rolandpenhall4526]

I have just done the same thing. I had the original boxed set, then I bought the Steam version in September 2016. I had only played it for 15 hours and had no mods. I believe I stopped playing it due to not having it modified for 1520x1080 {which I have now done}. I expect I will try some new maps and see if I play for a lot longer.

[@KonvoyChief]

I first played this game 15 years ago on my friends laptop when we were in college. Finally bought my own copy on the recent steam sale and just started playing it again. Thank you for your detailed yet straight to the point tutorial. Will follow your tips and watch your follow up videos too.

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

Glad you find the series useful!

[@rugbyelite1361]

I just found this game, playing for the first time. I did my first city yesterday, went broke and failed miserably 😂. Did the tutorials today and started my 2nd city and its doing well. These videos have been super hpful, every sentence teaches me something, I love it

[@alexanderzacharczuk9382]

I'm revisiting this game and I found this awesome tutorial. You are the best. Greetings from Argentina, from one SimCity player to another!

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

Cheers! Glad you enjoyed the tutorial.

[@xDrahff]

Que grande un compatriota Argentino jugando al SC4

[@Iactomeda]

@@xDrahff Sí, yo me lo descargué hace unos días y es un juegazo

[@holybell000]

I really appreciate the amount of detail and thought put into this series. You've got yourself a sub! I can't wait to learn more about this game.

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

I'm glad you appreciate the tutorial. Personally, I'm learning a lot about editing these videos and also trying to deliver the information as as clearly as possible (harder than I thought it would be!). I'll be done lesson 4 on regional play in the next day or two (hopefully). Enjoy the series and, above all, enjoy the game!

[@quarreneverett4767]

​@@RobsRedHotSpotthanks

[@DerHouy]

As short as possible, detailed and straight to the point. Very good content. Thumbs up people!

[@daveyy420]

Thanks for these guides! Ive played this game on and off for 15 years and never really paid much attention to the real details of it. Currently want to get back into it after my mixed relationship with Cities Skylines. Glad to see it alive and well in 2020.

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

Glad you're finding it useful. SC4 ain't going anywhere for the foreseeable future!

[@CeruleanTalon1]

I played the heck out of this game, then got bored and left it for years. Just getting back into it and am so happy you have the reminder-tutorial. Thank you!

[@music-jj2pl]

I feel like I'm back in grad school and getting anxious because I'm not taking notes! Good stuff I'm going to watch the whole series. Thanks!

[@dcconstruction676]

Amazing! Thank you for this tutorial. This has to be one of the best tutorials out there. Edit: by far the best on on the internet. I am only on your 1st of this series and you have got me stoked to start building again.

[@jadepasqueno188]

Such a nicely organized video with lots of effort put into it. Super helpful!

[@GuitarJam101]

I'm only 15 mins into this guide and I'm already loving this! Just got a new to me computer again just to play this game. Thanks for the time and this guide!!

[@evilshiloh]

Great Tutorial! I used to play SimCity 2000 long time ago and loved it. When SimCity 4 came out I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. It was different enough that my old SimCity 2000 strategies never worked and I didn't take enough time to learn. Now I see why. I'm looking forward to watching more and getting back into the game. Thanks for taking the time to explain.

[@TheStevenWhiting]

The best SimCity 4 guide, to the point and no fluff and nonsense. I haven't played in years but looking to start again. I like Cities Skylines but its just not detailed enough as SimCity. The other day playing Cities I was thinking "I want to make a clean industrial zone, a high tech one to get rid of the pollution. Can't seem to find the option". Googled it and realised that memory of that feature was actually from SimCity 4 and not Cities Skylines :)

[@jayc7008]

This game will never get old. I’m a Simcity 4 fan for life.

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

Yeah I think the newer 3D city builders will never quite be the same as SimCity 4. There's something about the orthogonal perspective that forces you to stick to city planning, rather than just looking at the scenery.

[@jayc7008]

@@RobsRedHotSpot pollution is all over in one of my cities.

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

@@jayc7008 "all over" as in you got rid or it? Or "all over" as in "all over the place"? ;)

[@jayc7008]

@@RobsRedHotSpot I rebuilt my pipes and separated them from the residential and commercial zones. That seemed to raise the bar on pollution. It was time consuming but worth it. I'm just mad I lost the extra money I raised.

[@Aereto]

@@jayc7008 Compartmentalized water systems is initially costly and takes serious planning, but saves having to spend on many treatment plants cleaning up water pollution for the whole system and just need them for residential and commercial domains. Though if the water pumps are getting affected by pollution, then treatment plants are a must to keep it running optimal.

[@bdrax2002]

Well done! I've played SC since 1.0 and have 2 books on the game, but there's like 4 or 5 things in your basic video i NEVER knew!

[@CakeTopFrag]

I play this game on and off every few years and even though I've had some amazing cities, alooot of this information is completely new to me. Superb video my guy. Will be watching the rest of the playlist.

[@yosotattoo]

Just Getting Back into the game after 20 years! Very Useful Indeed! Thank you!

[@barelylucid]

I know I'm a bit late to the party but this video was extremely useful for a returning player ! Videos about what to do with sandbox games are very welcome, at least among those of us that are not that creative. Thanx a lot.

[@GenuineLolotov]

As someone who sunk countless hours into this game when I was younger, even I was able to learn new things by watching this first episode of your tutorial. For one thing, I had always believed that zoned buildings generated lower tax revenue on higher difficulty levels, but thanks for clarifying that wasn't the case. Though I am pretty sure that does happen in the Hard Mode setting for Cities: Skylines. Regarding demand caps, I sort of had an understanding that those were a thing that the game took into account, but having the principles that govern them laid out is definitely helpful. Growth stages, on the other hand, were a mechanic that was pretty well hidden.

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

Glad you enjoyed it. The growth stages are definitely "under the hood" of the game and it's mostly the modding/forum crowd that uncovered the mechanics over time. I do think there was some mention of them in the manuals though, but not in a way that made it easy to exploit them.

[@marnieansar4070]

Thanks for this! Loved this game, going to love it again

[@matthewtikka5133]

I remember playing the heck out of this game almost 20 years ago. recently re purchased it and remembered the traffic was something i was never able to overcome. thanks for these videos and the recommendations on how to play. super helpful! I'm downloading the mod you recommended and i cant wait to try it out. its to bad that they don't re visit old games and update them like new ones. oh well.

[@EminorReal]

Thanks for this video, it was just right coming back to sc4 after years off it. Really glad I found this content.

[@jackradford5563]

Best and most informative channel I have ever stumbled across. Instant sub.

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

Really glad these guides are still helpful!

[@rolandpenhall4526]

Excellent video, which has rekindled the old flickering flame. Thanks for sharing.

[@alexsmith-ob3lu]

Wow! Thank you for the tutorial! Now I understand that this game is mostly about Euclidean Zoning.

[@fiftyfiveseventythree]

You answer my question, thank you. I've been wondering for 20 years lol.

[@lelomushi]

i grew up on 3000 unlimited and the jump to 4 was surprisingly hard for me, but this is really helpful! I appreciate you!

[@miskas123456789]

I am amaised ! after 20 years that I first played an loved this game I finally might get to know how to play it :p

[@RobtheRod]

I always used the small districts in a region for producing utilities. 1 for power, 1 for water, one for garbage. Then traded with them for my city’s needs at any given time. This cut down on maintenance in the future as well as pollution. You never have to do anything with utility districts, just build a bunch of power plants and connect to your neighboring districts.

[@HazyJay]

The water tower confused me because water towers don't produce water irl, I was like why tf would I need a water tower.

[@CaidenTMG]

Amazing guide, this is helping me understand the game a lot more.

[@Djebedji]

Seeing Sims City still playing makes me really happy

[@stifflermclovin]

I can't believe I've been playing it since 2005 and I just learn about those hotkeys!

[@JackNatti]

This game was ahead of its time

[@Cyrus992]

No wonder folks kept playing with it for years after it’s release

[@Slevencolevra]

Jesus your hyper breathing made me anxious brother.

[@cubicinfinity2]

To help in dispelling the misconception, in real life, modern nuclear power plants are extremely safe both to the city they are in and the people who work there. Nuclear waste is also handled with obsessive care and what doesn't get reused safely decays so it's no longer an issue.

[@Chris-wj6pn]

Watching the intro "this is going to be an intermediate tutorial" -- me: "this is exactly what I need!" Much appreciated, glad this video series is out there, thanks!

[@homework3721]

Thank you for the keyboard shortcut tips! shift and alt when laying down residential. Very helpful!

[@InfamousJBe]

The best sim IMO.. tho haven't tried Skyline yet.. can't say I'm rushing to it. SC4 gives me what I need.

[@InfamousJBe]

it also goes on sale for $5 a few times a year if your viewers are frugal like myself

[@InfamousJBe]

Might also want a video 'how to' about using a SC4 launcher to help with settings & auto save.

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

I prefer SC4 to Skyline because Skyline has a hard limit on actors in a city (ie. you can't get past a certain population). But they do different things. SC4 models poverty and wealth, while Skylines is more of a "city designer". Of course SC4 can do great city design too especially if you spend lots of time on the STEX. Will look into launchers for sure. Any mod I add has to be 100% safe for my save files though because of my ongoing Let's Play!

[@InfamousJBe]

@@RobsRedHotSpot haven't tried Skyline yet. Maybe some day but SC4 really gives me what I need in a sim. I'm currently about 4gb of plug-ins installed. Pretty much all grow lots or what I call fillers for around the lots. I enjoy a sort of organic growth with a side of realism. Not into the hyper grids, or magaopolisis. A little somewhere between rural and urban. Lol. Kust posted an overview of my region in the STEX forums. 👍

[@herr_luke87]

Excellent video, thank you!

[@simonsv9449]

I kept having to reduce my budget and stuff to maintain my city and ended up beginning to lose population. Might need to get some help lol, good thing i have this tutorial series.

[@shayking2140]

I love you so much for making this

[@XCov1717]

Same

[@spookd8700]

The graphics in Sim City 4 are something else. It may not look like the best you can get now, but it's got character.

[@filipalexandru3129]

Oh the memories....I miss the background music from this game. so relaxing.

[@TimoDcTheLikelyLad]

tbh it is totally possible to layout a huge shunk of the infrastructure and public utilities like roads, waste, power, water, shools, libraries, fire dpt, museum, recycling etc right up the start... you just need to built more zones + parks etc while being in pause mode.. from there you can adjust and optimize the town but you will have your + in the budget!

[@rawakap]

I skip every 10 seconds to hear heavy breathing xD

[@DjGrahnstettoOffical]

I have the game on an ISO image, attached to a fake drive. Works just as well as the steam version

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

Yeah it's an old game. I don't see why that wouldn't work.

[@whattheheck8979]

If you want to change the hotkey for the windows language popup (normally alt + shift) you search "advanced keyboard settings" in windows, click "language bar options" and then you can change the hotkey by clicking "Change Key Sequence" when Between input languages is highlighted.

[@nickmyers3065]

Nice video. Helped a lot. Breath :)

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

Glad it helped!

[@stifflermclovin]

Many people don't seem to know this but you can rename the buildings, I just do so to the ones I mark historical but I think is a fun thing this game has that's very underapreciated.

[@Mitchd03]

Played this game a ton as a kid when it was new, recently started again. I'm no pro, knew 90% of the things in this video and still learned a bunch, I didnt even know about the growth stages or demand caps! "love the graphics in this game" That's the main appeal for me. I uninstalled Cities Skylines and bought this (again, but on Steam). Can't stand mods, but I did use the capacity increase tool from NAM to help people actually use the public transport.

[@ashura44444]

Hey Rob just saying that many of us are still watching your tutorials,but we do hope you make a tutorial of simcity 4 atleast once on every year, you see the modding community is changing because of the new dll mods that can literally change the way the game woroks

[@CoasterMan13Official]

I downloaded mine from the internet archive. It's incredibly fun.

[@dcconstruction676]

Yes!! The graphics are my favorite part!!

[@midnightrizer]

Have you given SimCity 2013 /5 another look? they added single play and fixed quite a bit i played it well after the launch snafu and now i have physical copy and 2 digital copies of SC4 rush hour. 2 different launchers. basically since i waited and play games 10 years plus i get whole sets of games for cheap :) and now YT creators like you make it fun once more ty.

[@jasontotalwar]

still the best looking city builder imo this game is the reason i got my 1st pc for my birthday in 2004 and ive never looked back lol

[@seanpatrick4950]

FYI, you CAN reduce the water budget. You go into your finances and click on your utilities. Adjust there. However, I still go by the “don’t adjust” policy and only get the pump when needed.

[@Antreus]

Advanced Tip: You don't need to connect all your pipes. Meaning, you can have separate plumbing networks so that your residential isn't polluted by industrial.

[@Ziggy_Stark.]

Man.... I think I love you Cheers mate

[@Rikogunawan24]

thank you, now i understand this mechanism

[@imnonene]

After years with the worst reboot possible and Skylines i definitely needed this guide, thank you!

[@nikitatyuryayev7538]

Nice video man. Subbed hoping for more content.

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

More to come!

[@Zaph501]

Please do a NAM Tutorial. The readme files have my head spinning!

[@nast1180]

Same

[@telescopereplicator]

Have you ever heard of Simtropolis dot com ....??? Next time, try internet. Google and such....... Decent tutorials have been around even before KZbin came to be. And KZbin has offered good tutorials since at least 2010. Simtropolis has been around for just over 18 years.................... PLENTY of good advice can be found there !!!

[@dxcpt]

@@telescopereplicator ...No

[@Vector_Ze]

Didja know, SimCity was originally developed for the Commodore 64, in 1985? But, its first releases were for the Amiga and Macintosh, followed by Commodore 64 and IBM PC, in 1989.

[@mcfly7]

Only build your first fire station when the first fire appears! Build and then send manually the trucks to the location! You will save precious funding

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

That's the conventional wisdom, but I usually just build it early to avoid dealing with the stupid firetruck minigame. Also, if you are running close to your budget limit in the first years, a fire station falls in the list of "essential" things to build--you don't want to be broke without one.

[@Oshidashi]

Excellent series!

[@danielerlichofficial]

Amazing tutorial.

[@codydwaynefx]

Even the music is nostalgic 😭

[@youdontgetit387]

nice work man

[@irisbailar3980]

NAM 39 is available in the end of 2021 for me should I get that version?

[@brunxcardster]

This is still the best city builder game, even after all this time.

[@dcconstruction676]

Can you not run a separate water tower just for the industrial? Its an isolated water supply and would not affect the residential?

[@invoker7826]

So water provided to industry through pipes pollute water as welll? Did not know that, great video

[@R4Z0R-5H4RP]

So many deep breaths!

[@1969cmp]

....it's a fitness issue....😀

[@Hide_and_Tweak]

8:05 spending 5 minutes on the title of the city lol

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

I usually get KZbin to name my cities for me ;)

[@Thori45]

Great vid!

[@huahuahua280]

will watch later

[@JohnBrown-z2u]

I don't care about the age of the graphics. The art in this game is outstanding. I just wish you could curve roads and work with the terrain better. Imagine if you could merge this game with Cities Skylines, taking the best from both.

[@LDdrums20]

Excellent! Thank you sir!

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@rikutamura4070]

Thank you for the guide this helped me a lot!

[@1969cmp]

I have play SC4 for quite a few years and just discovered yesterday that it's on Steam. I have Windows 10....so hopefully that won't be too much of an issue. I'm looking forward to building some Australian cities like Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast or Adelaide. Sydney in particular is a very interesting city.

[@RobsRedHotSpot]

The Steam version works fine with Windows 10, as does the GOG version. Enjoy the game!

[@1969cmp]

@@RobsRedHotSpot ....thank you. Do you have preferred recommendations for mods, I.e curved roads etc ?

[@jamesmieczyslawkrynicki3700]

Great Video Thanks! How can I turn my buildings? I press the Home and N Key?

[@KarmasAB123]

This video: "Don't put the power plant near people cause pollution." The In-Game Tutorial: "Yeah, just plop that thing down right next to the neighborhood!" No wonder I have pollution problems XD

[@gambarusso]

Thank you for the tutorial

[@b.vanderv.5290]

Hi Rob, just got the game from Steam, installed and have an issue. The dialogue box shows errors (XXXXXXX.....) also the news window (bottum screen) shows just garbled text.....do you happen to know about this issue and if so do you know a fix for this? have a screenshot but cannot attach to this chat