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| FAQ/Strategy guide || Version 1.2 || June 25, 2004 |
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| by Michael Gonzalez (Coffee) |
| http://www.geocities.com/coffeefaqs |
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Contents:
1) The Toolbar
2) Ordinances
3) Q & A
4) Cheat codes
5) Credits & Info
Version 1.2 (06/25/2004):
- Additions to the Q&A section
Version 1.12 (06/18/2004):
- Changed email address (Gmail!)
- New question in the Q&A section
Version 1.11 (11/25/2002):
- Formatting changes
- Updated website URL
Version 1.1 (3/10/2001):
- Spellchecked everything
- Some small updates to the FAQ section
Version 1.0 (3/15/2000):
- First released version
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| 1) THE TOOLBAR |
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The toolbar is the bar with buttons that you find at the right side of
the screen while playing the game. There are 8 'main buttons' of the
toolbar, clicking on one of them brings up the tools that the buttons
offers. Some of these buttons contain submenus that are opened up by
clicking and holding on a button.
It is important that you learn the meaning and use of each tool. You
should also know where they are located. When you select a tool that can
be used on the 'editor screen', a drop shadow will appear on the exact
location where you are about to place something. This drop shadow will
be blue if you can place it at that location; red if you can not.
Zones, roads, highways, railroad tracks, subways, and water pipes are
placed by clicking and dragging the cursor over the area that you want
to place them, then releasing the button. If you already started
dragging and you change your mind (e.g. "Oops, I don't want to put that
there"), hold the shift key and release the mouse button.
LANDSCAPE
---------
This is where you go to edit the terrain. Unlike the other Sim City
games, this one doesn't have a terrain editor that lets you change the
landscape for free. I usually don't change the landscape, it's usually
easier (and cheaper) to accept it the way it is.
PLANT TREES (§3): Plant trees on undeveloped tiles. You can continue
planting trees on a single tile to make more and more trees on
that tile. Different trees grow on different elevation levels.
They reduce air pollution a tiny bit.
CREATE SURFACE WATER (§150): Create surface water on undeveloped
tiles. I think you can use this water for your water pumps.
LOWER TERRAIN: Lower the terrain by one level. The surrounding tiles
will also be affected. You cannot lower terrain if surrounding
structures will be affected.
RAISE TERRAIN: Raise the terrain by one level. The surrounding tiles
will also be affected. You cannot lower terrain if surrounding
structures will be affected.
LEVEL TERRAIN: Make the land flat so you can build on it. Click on a
tile of terrain and drag it to other tiles that you want to
"flatten". The entire selected area will level to the height of
the first selected tile.
DEMOLISH: Destroy stuff.
MAKE ZONES
----------
Here's where you'll find your zone-setting tools. You don't actually
build anything when you make a zone. Instead, you're allowing the sims
to build there. It's like saying "Here's your land, now go build
something!". If they don't want to build, they won't!
RESIDENTIAL ZONES: This is where your Sims will live. Of course, all
of your citizens will need a home, so you will have more
residential zones than any other type of zone. They must be within
4 tiles of a road for them to be effective. There are 3
densities...
1) Light (§10) - single family homes
2) Medium (§20) - small apartment buildings
3) Dense (§50)- large apartment buildings
COMMERCIAL ZONES: Here's where your Sims buy their stuff. Some Sims
work here too. This type of zone isn't needed very much in small
towns, but will be needed more as your city progresses. They must
be at least 3 tiles of a road to be effective. Again, there are 3
densities of commercial zones...
1) Light (§10) - mom and pop stores, gas stations
2) Medium (§20) - medium size office buildings and stores
3) Dense (§50) - large office buildings and stores
INDUSTRIAL ZONES: This is where most of your Sims go to work. This
is where most of the city's pollution comes from...especially in
young cities. As the education level rises, more high-tech (and
less polluting) industries will come. They must be within 5 tiles
of a road to be effective. There are 3 densities to choose from...
1) Light (§10) - agricultural areas, small factories, warehouses
2) Medium (§20) - medium factories and warehouses
3) Dense (§50) - large factories and warehouses
LANDFILL: The landfill is the easiest way to take care of the city's
trash. Over time, it will fill up and you need to find more ways
to get rid of trash. You can "decommission" a landfill by
destroying transportation routes to it, then let the trash slowly
decompose. Sorry, you can't destroy trash with a bulldozer.
Landfills greatly decrease the aura and land value of an area.
SEAPORT: A seaport encourages industrial and commercial zones to
develop. You can also use it to ship garbage out of the city.
These must be at least 2x6 tiles to develop. And of course, they
must be placed beside the water.
AIRPORT: Airports encourage commercial zones to develop. They create
a lot of air pollution and noise pollution so you shouldn't put
them near residential areas. It's available after it is invented
in 1930. They must be at least 3x5 tiles in order to develop.
DE-ZONE: This nifty tool removes any undeveloped zone that you placed
before. Undeveloped means that there should be no buildings or
structures there when you de-zone, so you should demolish those
buildings before de-zoning.
DEMOLISH: Destroy stuff.
BUILD TRANSPORTATION
--------------------
This is where you will find all your tools for making transportation,
including roads, highways and mass transit. Laying transportation
networks is just like placing zones: You click and drag over the area
that you want to place it. But unlike zones, transportation can only
be drawn in a line.
ROAD (§10): The road should be your most common transportation
network. This is what your Sims usually use to get to work, go
shopping, or go home. But don't let your transportation system
rely solely on roads, that could lead to traffic, which leads to
pollution, which decreases aura, which decreases land value...
HIGHWAY: A highway is an elevated road that's 2 tiles wide. It allows
your sims to travel faster and over greater distances. The Sims
will not travel from one end of the city to another except on a
highway. Available after 1940. There's a sub-menu...
1) Highway - build a highway
2) On-ramp - on ramps are needed for cars to get from the regular
road to the highway. For in-depth info on building a highway
system, see the FAQ section.
BUS STOP: A bus system is an easy-to-install mass transit system that
doesn't cost too much. Bus stops are where the buses stop, they
must be placed beside a road to be of any use. Place bus stops
strategically to reduce traffic significantly. I suggest putting
them at residential and industrial places.
RAIL: This is a good mass transit system to have for infant cities
since they don't cost too much. If your city is already well
developed, you might need to demolish quite a few buildings to
make room for railroad tracks.
1) Lay rail - build railroad tracks
2) Train station - this is the station where the trains stop. They
must be placed adjacent to tracks to be of any use.
SUBWAY: This is probably the most effective and most expensive mass
transit system. It's very convenient because it doesn't take up
any space above the ground except for little subway stations. I
suggest you use this to replace your rail system when the city
matures (and you have enough cash to burn). Available after 1910.
1) Lay subway rail - build a subway rail
2) Subway station - this is the station where people get on of off
the subway. Place them strategically!
SUBWAY TO RAIL CONNECTION: If you have a rail system and a subway
system, you can combine them with a connection like this. It's
good to use if you just build a subway system and you already have
a rail system that you don't want to demolish.
DEMOLISH: Destroy stuff
BUILD UTILITIES
---------------
This is where you will find your tools for everything related to water,
electricity or garbage. These things are needed by your loyal Sims. You
should have an "infrastructure" for each of them.
POWER LINES: These are "high-tension power lines" used to bring power
over long distances. All structures and zones have a have a build
in power infrastructure that gives power to buildings or zones
that are within two tiles. With this new infrastructure, it's
possible to build a city without any power lines at all! But you
still need them to bring power over long distances.
POWER PLANTS: Power plants provide the electricity that is needed for
any zone to develop. Clicking on this button brings up a window
where you can select from the following power plants:
1) Coal power - This is probably the best kind to use for starting
a city, but you should replace it as soon as possible since
it generates a "metric assload" of pollution.
2) Oil power - This kind produces a smaller amount of power and
doesn't pollute as much. It's not very expensive either, but
I think coal power is better.
3) Gas power - This power plant generates electricity from natural
gas (no, not THAT kind of gas...). It generates a small
amount of power and doesn't pollute much. Available after
1955.
4) Nuclear power - Nuclear power is clean and inexpensive, for
those that can afford the large initial investment. It
produces enough power for a medium sized city. However,
there is a risk of the plant having a meltdown if it's
overused. You can't build this plant if you enact the
"Nuclear-free zone" ordinance. Available after 1965.
5) Wind power - these little windmills produce no pollution, but
give very little power. You'll need a lot of these to power
even a small sized city. More effective if placed on hills.
It's good to use to power structures far away from the main
city (like water pumps). Available after 1980.
6) Solar power - I say it's an expensive waste of money. This kind
of plant produces no pollution but it gives off very little
power too. Available after 1990.
7) Microwave power - This is a very new high-tech power plant that
doesn't give off pollution. It's clean, efficient,
affordable, and gives enough power for a semi-large city.
Available after 2020.
8) Fusion power - Fusion is the ultimate power plant investment.
It gives off no pollution and gives you a lot of
electricity...enough for large cities. It's affordable too,
if you have a large city.
WATER PIPES: Water pipes are needed to bring water to the citizens
of the city. Connect it to a water source (such as a water pump or
tower) and bring it to the buildings. Unlike in SC2000, buildings
so not have a built-in infrastructure. The water pipes give water
to all buildings within 7 tiles of any part of the pipe. Watering
your city brings up aura, land value, and increases development.
WATER STRUCTURES: These are the structures needed to give you Sims
clean water. Clicking on this button brings up a window with the
following structures...
1) Water pumping station - this structures pumps the water from
a fresh water source to the water pipes. They must be placed
beside a source of *fresh* water (like a lake or river) to
be effective.
2) Water tower - Water towers are like pumping stations, except
they drill water out of the ground. You can place them
anywhere and they will run at full capacity.
3) Water treatment plant - This structure treats and cleans the
water circulating in your city. Be sure to connect them to
water pipes or they won't be effective. Although their
purpose is good, they deal with pollution so Sims don't want
to live near them. Available after 1935.
4) Desinalization plant - Desinalization plants take sea water and
convert it into fresh water, safe for your sims. I say it's
cheaper to make your own fresh water and build water pumps.
Available after 1960.
GARBAGE DISPOSAL: These structures allow you to dispose of your
garbage. Since they deal with garbage, Sims don't like to live
anywhere near them. They lower land value and aura.
1) Incinerator - These structures get rid of your garbage by
burning them, and therefore creating a lot of air pollution.
Available after 1920.
2) Recycling center - Recycling centers help lower the amount of
garbage taken to landfills and incinerators. Their cause is
clean, but nobody wants to live near them since they deal
with trash. Available after 1970. You can encourage people
to recycle more of their garbage by enacting the trash pre-
sort ordinance.
3) Waste to Energy Incinerator - these things are excellent. They
produce a lot less than normal incinerators, AND they give
you a small amount of electricity. It may cost quite a bit,
but that's money well spent. Available after 2000.
DEMOLISH: Destroy stuff
PLACE CIVIC/SPECIAL BUILDNGS
----------------------------
Civic buildings and special buildings are structures made and paid for
by the government itself. This includes police stations, fire stations,
parks, schools, hospitals...that kind of stuff.
POLICE: This button contains your tools for law enforcement. Click
and hold on this button to bring up a sub-menu that contains...
1) Police Station - These buildings lower the crime level in the
surrounding area. Check the 'data' to see the crime rate
and police coverage of your city. Police stations also bring
up the land value and aura of the area.
2) Jail - After a while, your city will need a jail to put its
criminals in. Without a jail, the police have to release
criminals since there is no place to put them! Jails lower
the land value and aura of the surrounding area.
FIRE STATION: Fire stations are needed for protection against fires.
With fire stations, the probability of a fire occurring is much
lower. It also increases the land value and aura of the area since
the Sims feel safe with a fire station around.
HEALTH AND EDUCATION: This is where you go to build structures
dealing with, you guessed it, health and education. All of these
buildings raise the land value and aura of the surrounding area.
Click and hold on this button to bring up a sub-menu that
contains...
1) Hospital - Here's where your Sims go when they're sick. Having
enough hospitals brings up the health level of the city. Not
having enough hospitals will lower the health level. Use the
query tool to check if you have enough.
2) School - This is the basic educational institution. Schools
like this teach children from Kinder up to high school.
Having enough schools brings up the city's education level.
3) College - Colleges aren't needed as much as schools. These
buildings teach young adults and further raise the education
level. I think it attracts high-tech industries too.
4) Library - Education doesn't stop in school, adults need to be
kept sharp too. That's why libraries are here! Education
level is pushed up another notch.
5) Museum - Just like libraries, museums further educate the
adults...they aren't needed as much as libraries.
PARKS AND RECREATION: The structures under this button have no
purpose other than to make your Sims happy (in other words, aura
and land value go up!). Don't neglect these structures...if you
don't build them, the Sims WILL complain.
1) Small Park - This park is only one tile large.
2) Large Park - This park is much bigger, it's nine tiles large.
3) Fountain - This structure boosts commercial districts
4) Pond - A nice place for families to go on the weekends
5) Playground - It's nice to put this beside schools
6) Marina - For all your Sims' boating needs (must be in water!)
7) Zoo - A big expensive place for people to see the animals
8) Ballpark - A place for your Sims to play with their balls ;)
LANDMARKS: Press this button and a window will appear with the
landmarks that you can build in your city. These landmarks are
completely free and you can build up to 10 of them in your city.
Now you must be thinking "Something for free? You must be
joking!". Well, these landmarks don't have any effect on your
city, so you're practically getting nothing. It's a nice extra
that lets you add a bit of realism to the city.
REWARDS AND OPPORTUNITIES: If your city meets certain conditions, you
will be given a reward or opportunity from a petitioner. These
things may have good or bad effects on the city. Read the
description and think well before deciding to build it.
DEMOLISH: Destroy stuff
EMERGENCY
---------
This is where you will find the tools that deal with disasters. You
should ONLY go here if a disaster is happening, or else you might
accidentally cause a disaster in the city :P
GO TO DISASTER: If a disaster is happening in the city, press this
button to make the view center on the disaster. You can also edit
the preferences to do this automatically by checking the space
beside "Auto Goto Disaster".
ACTIVATE WARNING SIREN: When a disaster is happening (or when a
disaster is about to happen), activate this siren to warn your
citizens. This tells them to prepare for the disaster to strike so
the damage might be lessened.
DISPATCH POLICE: You can use this tool to dispatch police to control
certain disasters (like riots). You can only dispatch as much
police as you have police stations (so if you have one police
station, you can only dispatch once).
DISPATCH FIREFIGHTERS: You can use this tool to dispatch firefighters
(to control fires, obviously). Just like dispatching police, you
can only dispatch as many firefighters as you have fire stations.
START DISASTER: Are you feeling evil today? Use this tool to wreck
havoc on your city! Bwahaha! Unfortunately, there aren't as many
disasters as I was hoping for. Many old disasters were deleted
(monster, volcano, hurricanes, air crashes, floods). Here are the
disasters available in SC3000...
1) Fire - A random fire starts somewhere in the city. It should be
no problem if you have good firefighter coverage. Go ahead,
start this disaster to give the firemen a test :)
2) Tornado - A tornado appears and rips through the city, leaving
a narrow path of destruction.
3) Earthquake - Unlike in previous Sim City games, the earthquake
here doesn't shake and destroy the entire city. Instead,
there's an actual fault line! Much more realistic. Some
cities seem to be more earthquake prone than others.
4) Riots - People go on a rampage through the town, destroying
whatever they can. But they're only human, they can't do too
much damage. A few fires may start.
5) UFO - A UFO swarm attacks the city! These things destroy random
buildings and there's nothing you can do to stop them. Just
pray that it's only a nightmare. The truth is out there...
ADVISORS AND PETITIONERS
------------------------
Clicking on this button brings up the "Advisors and Petitioners window".
Here you can meet with your advisors, check out the news, hear their
recommendations, and read their briefings. There's a different advisor
for each department, click on their pictures to meet them. You can also
meet petitioners (citizens in need) and hear what they want from you.
ADJUST AND REVIEW
-----------------
Managing a city isn't all about building and destroying, there's a lot
of important data that you need to review also. This is where you view
data about your city and check out the "behind-the-scenes" details.
BUDGET: Go here to check out your finances and budget for the year.
Here, you can decide how much money goes to each department, and
how much you should tax the residential, commercial, and industrial
sectors. You can also take out loans.
NEIGHBORS: Press this button and you will open up the 'Neighbors
window'. This window shows the names and populations of your four
neighbors. You can also see the deals you made with them and meet
to cancel the deal.
ORDINANCES: Click on this button to open the 'Ordinances window'.
This is where you choose which ordinances to enact. Your advisors
provide a short snippet of info tell you about each ordinance.
Ordinances are like city laws that have different effects on the
city.
QUERY: This is a very useful little tool. Once you select the query
tool, you can click on ANY building, structure, or even land to
get a bunch of information about it. The information may include
pollution, zone type, land value, crime, powered, watered,
traffic, elevation, and much more.
VIEW DATA: Press this button and you'll open window that contains a
big city overview. You can look at your city maps that show data
for aura, crime, pop. density, power, flammability, land value,
pollution, traffic, water supply, and a zone overview. You can
also view graphs containing data for up to the last 100 years.
This is a great way to find out how you can improve your city.
CHANGE SETTINGS
---------------
Under this button, you can access the stuff unrelated to your city
development...like the preferences, saving, loading, ect. All the dumb
stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else.
PREFERENCES: Clicking on this button brings up the window that
contains the, well, preferences! Here you can edit the, you
guessed it, preferences! All of the stuff in this window is pretty
self-explanatory. So let's proceed...
SAVE CITY: Save your city often to avoid file loss.
SAVE AS: Use this to save your city under a different file name.
LOAD: Load other saved cities or started towns.
NEW CITY: Sick of your old city already? Start a new one!
EXIT: All good things must come to an end. Click on this button to
stop the ultimate urban experience and exit Sim City 3000.
Here's the section where you will find the ordinances, duh! There's a
description about each ordinance, telling its positive and negative
effects (every ordinance has them). There's no set cost for the
ordinances, they change depending on certain conditions. Without further
ado...
= = = UTILITIES = = =
WATER CONSERVATION:
This ordinance educates Sims about ways to reduce water consumption. The
effect is a *dramatic* decrease in water consumption...but it is rather
expensive. I only use this when I have a severe water shortage (but it's
easier to just build some more water pumps). The cost is based on your
city population.
POWER CONSERVATION:
The ordinance educates Sims about ways to reduce power consumption. The
effect is a *dramatic* decrease in power consumption...but it is rather
expensive. I only use this when my power plants are in danger of blowing
up and I don't have the funds to build a new one yet. The cost is based
on city population.
STAIRWELL LIGHTING:
This ordinance require high-occupancy buildings to have automatic
lighting that turns off when there is nobody around, therefore saving
energy. Like the power conservation ordinance, I only use it when my
power plants are in danger. The only downside is the price, which is
based on the number of buildings in the city.
MANDATORY WATER METERS:
This ordinance requires water meters to be equipped on all buildings.
This makes the Sims more aware of their water usage, and therefore the
water consumption decreases. I only use this ordinance in case of a
water shortage.
= = = HEALTH, EDUCATION & AURA = = =
FREE CLINICS:
This ordinance builds low-cost, high-efficiency clinics that people can
go to for free...resulting in a rise in the health level, rise in land
value, AND rise in aura! But it is pretty expensive. Cost is based on
city population.
JUNIOR SPORTS:
This ordinance organizes after-school sports activities for children.
This causes a rise in the education level, rise in aura, and decrease in
crime (the sports distract kids from drugs and crime). It's expensive...
cost is based on city population.
NUCLEAR FREE ZONE:
This ordinance declares your city as a nuclear free zone. Remember:
While it is enacted, you cannot build a nuclear power plant. The city's
aura goes up a little. The cost is practically nothing, so what reason
do you have not to enact this ordinance?
PRO-READING:
This ordinance promotes reading through tutoring, special programs and
other learning resources. The effect is obviously an increase in the
education level.
PUBLIC SMOKING BAN:
This ordinance bans smoking in public places. The effect is an overall
increase in the city health level...but I *think* there is a slight
decrease in aura. This ordinance is extremely expensive (based on city
population), only enact it if you have cash to burn.
= = = PUBLIC SAFETY = = =
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH:
The neighborhood watch ordinance encourages Sims to volunteer for duty
on crime-watch teams in their neighborhoods. The effect is an overall
decrease in the city's crime level. I usually don't have a problem with
crime (thanks to well-placed and well-funded police stations), so I
usually don't use this ordinance. The cost is based on pollution.
MANDATORY SMOKE DETECTORS:
This ordinance requires all buildings in the city to be equipped with
smoke detectors. When enacted, this ordinance lowers the overall
flammability of the city (thus increasing aura and decreasing the chances
for a fire to break out). The cost is based on the number of buildings
in the city.
YOUTH CURFEW:
This ordinance requires all youth to be off the streets by 10:00pm. The
effect is a small decrease in the crime rate (but I think the
neighborhood watch ordinance is more effective). The cost is based on
city population.
CROSSING GUARDS:
This ordinance hires well-trained crossing guards at some of the
intersections of your city to help people cross the street. The effect
is a slight increase in the health level...but a large increase in
traffic! The traffic brought by this ordinance isn't worth the extra
health in my opinion. The cost is based on city population.
= = = ENVIRONMENT = = =
LEAF BURNING BAN:
This ordinance asks residents to restrain from setting outdoor fires to
dispose of leaves. The effect is a slight drop in air pollution levels.
Air pollution is a big problem in most cities, so enacting this
ordinance is a must. And best of all, it's absolutely FREE! (now you have
no reason NOT to enact this one!)
LANDFILL GAS RECOVERY:
With this ordinance, the city uses available technology to try to
recover natural gas that is a by-product of the decomposition of
garbage. The gas is used to generate a tiny amount of electricity for
the city (very tiny amount). In addition, air pollution levels drop. The
cost of this ordinance is based on city population. It's a must for you
to enact if you have landfills.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE DISPOSAL TAX:
This ordinance imposes a tax on ALL commercial and industrial buildings
in the city (regardless of how much pollution they produce). Although
you get a small amount of cash from this ordinance, it tends to lower
the industrial and commercial demand. Cost is based on the number of
commercial and industrial buildings in your city.
CLEAN AIR:
This ordinance promotes techniques to reduce air pollution in all homes
and businesses. The effect is an overall decrease in the air pollution
level...but I *think* industrial demand decreases a bit. The cost for
this ordinance is based on city population.
TRASH PRESORT:
This wonderful ordinance encourages Sims to organize their garbage for
better recycling. The effect is a large increase in the effectiveness of
recycling centers...up to 45% percent of your trash can be recycled!
This means less trash goes to the landfills, incinerators, or neighbors.
I always enact this ordinance. The cost is based on city population.
LAWN CHEMICAL BAN:
This ordinance forbids the use of polluting fertilizers that could
contaminate the city's water supply. The effect is a reduce in water
pollution, but it discourages development of agricultural industries.
I usually don't use this ordinance since my water pollution problems are
solved with water treatment plants. Cost is based on city population.
BACKYARD COMPOSTING:
This ordinance encourages Sims to compost their own garbage in their own
backyard. The effect is a slight decrease in the amount of garbage
that's sent to landfills/incinerators/neighbors. The cost is based on
city population.
PAPER REDUCTION ACT:
This ordinance encourages businesses to reduce the amount of paper used
in running their business. The effect is a decrease in the amount of
garbage sent to landfills/incinerators/neighbors. The cost is based on
your city's population.
TIRE RECYCLING:
This ordinance is wonderful. It requires that all old car tires are
pulverized and made into asphalt. In addition to reducing the amount of
garbage produced by your city, it ALSO reduces the cost of building
roads! Road building costs are now §9 per block (instead of §10). The
cost is based on city population. I always enact this ordinance.
= = = CITY PLANNING = = =
INDUSTRIAL POLLUTANT IMPACT FEE:
This ordinance collects a monthly fee from every polluting industry in
your city. This will bring in a small amount of cash, but industries
"resent government regulation in any form" and they may move away
(meaning your industry demand goes down). Air pollution might decrease,
but I think there are better ways to do it...
ELECTRONICS TAX INCENTIVE:
This ordinance lowers the taxes for electronics companies. This attracts
new clean industries to your city (hooray!)...but it will cost you a ton
of cash (damn!). It costs so much that I usually don't enact this
ordinance :(
HOMELESS SHELTERS:
This ordinance pays for the construction and maintenance of homeless
shelters (to shelter the homeless, obviously). This ordinance is great:
Since the homeless people are off the streets, land values increase
significantly. Aura seems to increase too. Luckily, it doesn't cost too
much.
AEROSPACE TAX INCENTIVE:
This is just like the electronics tax incentive. Taxes of aerospace
industries are lowered to attract clean industries to move into your
city. Unfortunately, the cost is pretty high, just like the electronics
tax incentive :(
TOURIST PROMOTION:
This ordinance uses advertising techniques to attract tourists to your
city. The effect is a significant increase in commercial demand... BUT
traffic increases also (you know how tourists are...). I feel that
enacting this ordinance is like paying for traffic, something that is
completely senseless.
FARMER'S MARKET:
This ordinance asks the city to reserve a parcel of land for farmers to
do their farming thing. This encourages agricultural development and
raises aura (I think). This ordinance is completely FREE and has no
negative effects, so why shouldn't you enact it?
CONSERVATION CORPS:
With this ordinance, the city organizes the "Conservation Corps", a
group of hippie morons that care for the environment. This one has a
bunch of positive effects: Pollution levels decrease, clean industries
are attracted, crime level drops, and aura increases. But it's pretty
expensive.
ELECTRONICS JOB FAIR:
In this ordinance, the city pays for an annual city-sponsored job fair.
Just like the 'tax incentive' ordinances above, this increases the
demand for clean industries. But beware, it's pretty expensive...The
cost is based on city population.
EARTHQUAKE RESISTANCE AND RETRO-FITTING:
This ordinance requires all new buildings to be designed to resist
earthquake damage, and that all old buildings be 'retro-fitted'. The
effect of this is that less buildings will be destroyed when an
earthquake occurs. Earthquakes rarely happen, so I don't usually enact
this ordinance. But if your city sits right on a fault line, you might
want to try this.
PUBLIC ACCESS CABLE:
This ordinance provides Sims with a free use of media facilities. This
results in more clean industries coming to your city. The cost is based
on city population.
CLEAN INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION:
This ordinance makes you join in a group of cities that promote clean
industries. Of course, the result is an increase in demand for clean
industry. It's hella expensive, but it's well worth it if you have the
cash.
BIOTECH TAX INCENTIVES:
*yawn* This ordinance is practically the same thing as the electronics/
aerospace tax incentives. This effects in the increase in demand for
clean industries.
= = = TRANSPORTATION = = =
ALTERNATE DAY DRIVING:
Just like it sounds, this ordinance asks Sims to drive on alternate
days (depending on the number of their license plate). The effect of
this is a decrease in traffic because more people would be encouraged
to take mass transit. BUT, this ordinance really pisses people off (in
other words, aura decreases). The cost is based on population.
SUBSIDIZED MASS TRANSIT:
In this ordinance, the subway, bus, and train fares are cut in half.
This encourages Sims to use mass transit instead of driving their cars
(so the traffic in your city is reduced). For the real cost of this
ordinance, you have to see the "transit fares" in the income screen (it
is cut in half).
SHUTTLE SERVICE:
This ordinance pays for the city to use a shuttle service to bring
people around the city. The effect is a reduce in traffic. The cost of
this ordinance is based on city population...and the cost is very high!
But it is well worth it if you need to solve your traffic problems.
CARPOOL INCENTIVE:
This ordinance gives little 'rewards' for drivers with more than one
passenger with them. The effect, of course, is a decrease in the traffic
level of the city. The cost pretty high, so I usually don't enact this
one. City aura also decreases.
PARKING FINES:
This ordinance collects a small fee from Sims that violate parking laws.
The effect of this is a slight reduce in traffic, although it will
decrease aura a bit. You will get a steady amount of cash from enacting
this ordinance, but I usually don't because I'm always concerned about
the aura of my Sims :)
= = = FINANCIAL = = =
LEGALIZED GAMBLING:
This ordinance allows people to gamble in our city and you collect a
good fee from it. People seem to be happier with this ordinance (aura
up!)...but the crime rate increases significantly. Since my city is
usually well protected against crime, enacting this ordinance isn't a
problem for me. And the funds are a good way to 'balance' the payments
for other ordinances. [NOTE: You will only be offered a casino is this
ordinance is enacted...and if you have a casino, this ordinance cannot
be repealed.]
,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 3) Q & A |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'
Here's where I'll put the answers to all the questions that can't be
answered in the other sections. These questions really are asked very
frequently. If you have a question that isn't answered here, go ahead
and e-mail me at mpgonzalez@gmail.com.
Q1: I'm practically broke. How can I make more money?
Q2: I have a terrible traffic problem. What should I do!?
Q3: How can I make a good mass transit system?
Q4: How do I build bridges or tunnels?
Q5: How do lower the crime rate?
Q6: How do I raise land value/aura?
Q7: Why aren't my zones developing?
Q8: How should I get rid of my garbage?
Q9: How and why should I get rid of water pollution?
Q10: How do I solve my air pollution problem?
Q11: How do I develop high-tech industry?
Q12: How do I build a highway system?
Q13: What can I do about an area infected with nuclear radiation?
Q14: Do you realize that there are so many unanswered questions?
Q1: I'm practically broke. How can I make more money?
A: First of all, stop wasting money making stuff that's not needed.
If you have any money left, use them for money making purposes (like
building more residential zones to raise population and increase your
tax income). Then check your expenditures budget window and cut the
budget for some of your city departments (preferably education,
since that usually costs the most). Also repeal some expensive
ordinances and enact money-making ones (like legalized gambling,
parking fees, ect.). If neighbor deals are costing you a lot, cancel
them and pay the hefty fine. Accept any neighbor deals that will help
you gain money. You can raise taxes a little bit...but don't go too
high or people will start to leave and you'll end up losing money.
One of the best ways for cities, especially infant ones, to gain
money is by accepting a business deal (casino, toxic waste plant,
gigamall, maximum security prison...). If you need quick cash (or if
none of the above methods worked), take out a loan and use the cash
for making more zones. If that still doesn't work, then you're
truly hopeless.
Az Jackson says:
If you don't mind cheating a bit, call up the cheat menu with Ctrl +
Alt + Shift + C, and enter 'call cousin vinnie'. This allows you to
meet with Vinnie, who offers you a choice of taking $100,000 or
refusing it and getting the chance to build the Sim Castle (which
GREATLY increases Aura and Land Value, which means it's a better idea
in the long run)
Q2: I have a terrible traffic problem. What should I do!?
A: First of all, you should make sure that you have enough roads for
all the cars in the city. Making huge blocks of zones with roads
around them is a common cause of traffic. Build more roads to give
cars more space. Another way to reduce traffic is through mass
transit. Bus Stations are 'easy to install' and don't take up much
space, so that would be good. Trains and subways are even better if
you can afford them. Which leads us to the next question...
Q3: How can I make a good mass transit system?
A: First of all, you should know where people are going. Most people
travel between their homes (residential) and work (industrial/
commercial)...so that's where you should put the subway stations,
train stations, or bus stops. Use the query tool to see if the
stations are being used. If they're not, then you should demolish it
and review the way your transit system works. If you can afford it,
use subways to replace your bus or rail system. Subways are the
cleanest, most effective, and least space wasting mass transit system
of all (if you can afford the high price...).
Q4: How do I build bridges or tunnels?
A: If you need to build a road over water, just click and drag across
the water like you normally would. Continue until you reach the land
at the other side (until the drop shadow turns blue again). Let go of
the mouse button and you will be told how much the construction will
cost. A bridge can't be build if it would damage the other buildings,
so you will probably have to demolish some of them. Different kinds
of bridges will be built depending on how long it is. Highways,
railroads, and power lines can be built over water the same way as
bridges. As for tunnels, just click and drag over a mountain. If the
workers think that building a tunnel is better than going over the
hill, then they'll tell you the cost.
Q5: How do lower the crime rate?
A: Basically, just make sure that every inch of your city has
adequate police protection (check the data maps). If that's not
enough to stop your crime problem, try enacting some crime-fighting
ordinances like the neighborhood watch, youth curfew, and junior
sports. Don't enact the legalized gambling ordinance. You can also
try making the land value higher, since low land value encourages
crime. See the next question...
Q6: How do I raise land value/aura?
A: Land value is high if the people are happy about where they live.
Aura goes up if land value goes up. There are many many factors that
affect the land value. To have a high land value, you should have
power, water, good police coverage, good fire coverage, low crime
rate, low pollution level (air/water/land), and low traffic. It also
helps greatly to be close to desirable buildings like schools,
hospitals, parks, or fountains. Being close to an undesirable
buildings lowers the land value, such as recycling centers, water
treatment plants, incinerators, casinos, prisons, or a toxic waste
conversion plant. You can check the land value of an area by using
the query tool. High land value allows big expensive buildings to be
built, while low land value would only give you small buildings and
even abandoned buildings.
Az Jackson says:
One of the best ways of getting up Land Value (other than putting
Rewards in the area) is by planting trees and creating lakes with the
Surface Water tool. It works wonders in the long run, but make sure
you have enough money to do it comfortably first.
I consider aura to be a measurement of how well your city is doing
and how successful it is. A successful city is one where the sims are
happy.
Q7: Why aren't my zones developing?
A: There are 5 reasons why your zones aren't developing. (1) They're
not close enough to a road. Residential zones should be 4 tiles from
a road, 3 for commercial, 5 for industrial. (2) It's not connected to
the power grid. (3) There is no demand for that type of zone. (4) The
land value is extremely high or extremely low. (5) The area is
contaminated with radiation. Also remember that zones need water to
develop to full capacity (although they CAN develop without any
connection to the water system).
Q8: How should I get rid of my garbage?
A: First of all, you should reduce the amount of garbage they
produce. To do this, you should build recycling centers. You can also
enact garbage reducing ordinances like trash presort, paper
reduction, backyard composting, and tire recycling. After that's all
done, there are five ways to handle the rest of it: (1) Let it pile
up all over your city, which is something nobody wants. (2) Send it
to an incinerator, where it will be burned and create air pollution.
(3) Send it to a waste-to-energy incinerator, where it will make less
pollution and produce some electricity. (4) Bring it to a landfill,
where it will decompose slowly over hundreds of years while lowering
the surrounding land value. (5) Export it to your neighbors, which is
the cleanest, although most expensive, choice. Personally, I choose
landfills when my city is still young, then switch to exporting it
when it is affordable. ALWAYS use recycling centers and enact the
trash presort ordinance...you can recycle up to 40% of your trash!
Az Jackson says:
There's one piece of advice everyone to take note of: Keep landfills
far away from every zone you have, not just Residential. Land value
affects your Industrial zones just as much. Something that does work
well is sticking your landfill in one of the corners of the map, with
a road connecting it to the rest of the city, but it gets to be a
burden after a while
Q9: How and why should I get rid of water pollution?
A: Water pollution is usually not visible unless you check the data
map. The only time it will be visible is if you put a polluting
structure (like industries, landfills, seaports...) near a body of
water. This lowers the pumping capacity of water pumps, lowers health
level of Sims, and lowers their aura. The only way to get rid of
water pollution is by building costly water treatment plants
(§15,000 each!). If you build enough, water pollution will be
completely gone in a few years. If you can't afford treatment plants
yet, enact the lawn chemical ban ordinance...that helps a bit.
Q10: How do I solve my air pollution problem?
A: Now THIS is a problem. There are no structures that cure air
pollution, so you'll have to stop it at its causes: (1) Industry
(2) Traffic (3) Incinerators (4) Others. Traffic is unavoidable, it's
a fact of life in any big city. To minimize traffic, see the question
I already answered above. If you have incinerators, you should either
make sure they're far away from the main city or find another way to
dispose of your trash. Another way to lower air pollution is by
enacting ordinances like clean air and leaf burning ban. Industry is
usually the biggest cause of pollution...so you should try to convert
most of your polluting industry into high-tech industry. See the next
question...
Q11: How do I develop high-tech industry?
A: High-tech industry (or clean industry) develops very slowly over
time. The first factor is the current date. High-tech industry
doesn't develop at all in 1900 (that's why I always start at 2000).
As time goes on, you'll become more likely to see more clean
industry. Another big factor is the education level of your Sims. A
higher IQ means a higher chance of getting clean industry. Make sure
there's enough schools, collages, libraries, and museums for
everyone. Also enact education-building ordinances. Remember, it
takes several years before your school children go into the work
force, so the effect of education won't be seen for about 20 years.
Another way to attract clean industry in by enacting ordinances like
the electronics/aerospace/biotech tax incentives, clean industry
association, public access cable, and electronics job fair.
Q12: How do I build a highway system?
A: I usually use the small or miniature city sizes so I usually don't
build highways. Highways are needed when your city gets too big that
the sims need to travel far distances to get to places (like if
residential zones are too far away from commercial zones). It costs
an _incredible_ amount of money to build highways, so be sure you're
rich. Decide where the highway will pass through. Now pause the game
and demolish (yes, demolish) the buildings that stand in your way. If
important/expensive buildings or landmarks stand in your way, you
might want to reconsider the placement of the highway. Now build the
highway.
For people to actually get ON the highway, you'll need to make on-
ramps that connect it to the road system. There are 2 ways to build
an on-ramp: (1) If a highway passes over a road you can build an on-
ramp at the corner. If the "drop shadow" turns blue, you can build!
(1) If two highways cross each other, an on-ramp can be built at the
corner to connect the two. I've never been rich enough to build two
highways, so I've never tried this before :P
Q13: What can I do about an area affected by nuclear radiation?
A: This is a question I actually do get quite often. I don't use
nuclear power myself, so I can't give you an answer from my own
experience. But from the emails people have given me, it seems that
this radiation will continute to affect your land for hundreds and
hundreds of years...and I doubt it will ever go away. You'll just
have an area of unusable land.
This is actually the reason that I don't use nuclear power myself.
I'm paranoid about a meltdown, and it's nice to be able to enact the
"nuclear free zone" ordinance without any extra cost. :)
Q14: Do you realize that there are so many unanswered questions?
A: Yes I do, so e-mail me with a question and I'll be sure to answer
it...that is, if I know the answer. The e-mail address is .
I recommend that you don't use cheat codes. The game was meant to be
played without cheat codes. After you've used them, you'll just feel all
dirty and guilty. Remember, Maxis will not support problems with your
game if you used cheat codes.
To use a cheat code, press [Ctrl], [Shift], [Alt], and [C] keys at the
same time to open up a cheat window. From here, you can enter the code
you want. I got all of these codes from www.simcity.com (the official
SC3K site). Here are the codes...
CODE: i am weak
EFFECT: Makes buildings, utilities, zoning, transportation, planting
trees and creating surface water free. This is the code for the ultimate
cheater. You are truly weak.
CODE: call cousin Vinnie
EFFECT: A new petitioner item will appear in the Meet window, announcing
a "Local Fundraising Event." This, um, "businessman" will offer you some
cash, no questions asked. Should you choose to accept his offer, you'll
notice a little extra cash in your coffers -- but will you still respect
yourself?
CODE: zyxwvu
EFFECT: This code isn't available to just anybody, you have to prove
your integrity first. Use the "call cousin Vinnie" cheat and refuse his
immoral offer. Then use the "zyxwvu" cheat and the beautiful SimCity
Castle will appear in your Rewards menu. In addition to looking cool,
the castle boosts land value, aura, and does other wonderful things to
the surrounding area.
CODE: garbage in, garbage out
EFFECT: Makes all garbage buildings available, no matter what year.
CODE: power to the masses
EFFECT: Makes all power buildings available, no matter what year.
CODE: water in the desert
EFFECT: Makes all water buildings available, no matter what year.
CODE: UFO Swarm
EFFECT: After typing the cheat code, Set Disaster to UFO and watch an
extreme number of flying saucers descend upon your city.
CODE: The Birds
EFFECT: Look closely for a flock of seagulls flying above your fair
city. And tell your Sims to cover their heads.
CODE: nerdz rool
EFFECT: Causes clean, hi-tech industry to be built in your Industrial
Zones. I rule!
CODE: (You don't need the Cheat window for this one.)
Open and close the Power Plants menu
Open and close the Rewards & Opportunities menu
Open and close the Garbage Disposal menu
Open the Landmarks menu
EFFECT: When you open the Landmarks menu, you'll find that ALL the
buildings in SimCity 3000 are now available to you!
EFFECT: The following codes cause the Newsticker to display something unusual.
CODE: fund
advisor
moremoney
maxis
1234
sc3k
mayor
hello
simcity
money
ticker
,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 5) CREDITS & INFO |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'
Special thanks to...
- Az Jackson for additions to the FAQ section
- All those who've contributed questions to the FAQ section.
- Maxis for making the greatest simulation game of all time
- Gamefaqs.com for posting all my FAQ's. This is my 8th so far.
- Nintendorks.com for being the greatest website ever.
NOTE TO WEBMASTERS:
You may freely place this document on non-profit websites without
explicit permission from the author as long as (1) it is not modified at
all and (2) I recieve full credit. Take note that any future
updates will be sent only to gamefaqs.com.
REGARDING FEEDBACK:
Before coming to me with questions, please make sure that it's not
already answered in this guide. And make sure you're looking at the most
recent version of the guide (always available at www.gamefaqs.com). All
feedback goes to mpgonzalez@gmail.com.
For news about the progress of my FAQs, and announcements of future
projects, visit my site at http://www.geocities.com/coffeefaqs.
