Learning SimCity

The purpose of today´s assignment is to learn how to play SimCity. This program introduces important concepts of urban planning and geography in a fun and interactive way.
Everyone in the group should have a chance to run the program so please take turns.
If you wish to download this program for free and run it on your own PC go to http://juegosabiertos.com/sim/simcity.php

Setup

Break into groups and open up SimCity on the computer (from the desktop icon or go to My Computer, local disc C, Maxis folder, click on SimCity icon).

From the start menu, please click on the lower box that says SELECT SCENARIO






From the SELECT SCENARIO page, please click on the upper left hand box that says
DULLSVILLE, USA 1900 BOREDOM
It is your job to turn this sleepy little town into a rocking metropolis.









When the game opens, enter a zero ¨0¨ on the keyboard to pause the game. Notice that you can change the game speed by using the options menu or by just entering a number on the keyboard. When working on a project in the city, it is best to slow or stop the action until you are done with your project, and then speed it up to see what happens and to earn more tax revenue to be able to afford more projects.



Options Set-up - *Very Important! - This will avoid unnecessary interruptions.
Under the options menu, click to the left of the words Auto-Budget to put a check mark there (turned on), and to the left of Auto-Goto to make sure there is NOT a checkmark next to it. It should look like this below:

 *You may also want to turn off the music and sound effects as they get to be monotonous.

Under the disasters menu, click to the left of the word disable at the bottom to put a check mark there (turned on) so your city doesn´t get destroyed while you are learning the program.If you want to see what happens when disasters are unleashed, please do it during the last 5 minutes of class.






Now you are ready to add building zones, roads, powerplants and powerlines, police and fire stations, and when your city can afford it, a sports stadium, sea port, and airport (wait for a message that says the population is demanding it).
In the upper left corner you have ¨Funds:$¨ which tells you how much money you have in the city treasury, and the next line below shows you what you will build when you click on the screen and what it will cost. You can change what you want to build by clicking on an icon in the edit menu (middle left below) - but be sure to check its price to make sure you can afford it and to make sure that that is what you selected.

Under the windows menu you will find various tools for learning more about your city and how you are managing it as mayor. Once you have learned the basics, you can begin to try playing with the budget to make more money, but be careful, raising taxes too high may make people move away. . .

Hint: all properties must be connected to the power grid in order for people to move in.
Today we are just learning the basics, so don´t worry about saving the game this time. Have fun!