Hello, Mayors.
We’ve seen a lot of old players coming back to the game so I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome you back to the world of SimCity. A lot has changed since the last time you played and I want to take some time to share some of the great things that we’ve been doing, and pass along a few tips to help inspire you to create even better cities.
I’d like to take a moment to reintroduce myself to you. I’m Kip Katsarelis, Executive Producer for SimCity, and I’ve worked at Maxis for more than 11 years. In fact, my first project at the studio was SimCity 4, so it was a lifelong dream of mine to work on this new SimCity. As a developer, one of the best parts of working on a game is seeing what our community does with it after it’s been released. We’ve been blown away with the creativity, enthusiasm and ingenuity of our fans. Take a look at StricToaster’s “Let’s Play” sessions and Yuttho’s Building Tokyo Series and see what they’ve done since our launch and how they’ve used the improvements we’ve made to the game to create some incredible videos.
As you read through this, know that we are fully aware that some of you haven’t played for a while. I’ve taken some time to point out some of the great strides that we’ve made in the eight months since we launched in March and have explained where we are going from here. It’s my hope that after you’ve finished reading through this blog, you’ll jump back in and build a city alongside me.
MAJOR UPGRADES
Our biggest priority at launch was server stability. We very quickly improved our server architecture to increase performance and stability so you can jump in immediately and play with your friends. With the server issues behind us, we have been committed to upgrading our simulation and providing you with an ever-evolving gameplay experience. We’ve rolled out eight major Updates that address gameplay issues ranging from gifting to traffic fixes and RCI tuning and we’re continuing to work on more. I’m not doing justice to all the Updates we have made, find details about them here. But we did more than make improvements; we also threw in a lot of fun and free stuff we thought you’d enjoy.
When you get back into the game, poke around and check out what’s new and what’s been improved. I challenge you to try the raise and lower road tool. It’s probably my favorite new feature, it changes the landscape and opens up the terrain by allowing you to build land bridges, tunnels and overpasses. I spend hours connecting and intersecting roads just to discover new ways to efficiently move traffic around my city. Here is a sample of the great stuff our community has been creating; what will you do? Share with us on our Facebook page. We want to see it.
It hasn’t all been about new tools. We’ve given you new stuff to play with too. From the Roman Luck Casino, 24 new hotels, and the Houses of Worship to the six new region maps, we’ve been working to enhance your game with every Update, and there’s more great stuff to come. To find out more about some of our future Updates, including our conversations regarding User Generated Content (Modding) and the exploration of Offline Mode, go here.
CITIES OF TOMORROW
So where do we go next? We are nearing our launch for SimCity Cities of Tomorrow. SimCity is about exploring the challenges that today’s Mayors face such as how I will provide jobs to my Sims, improve my schools, provide public transportation options, clean up crime, and even revitalize different neighborhoods. In SimCity Cities of Tomorrow, players will take on those challenges as well as have an opportunity to tackle tomorrow’s issues using future, plausible technologies. Check out the first Developer Gameplay Walkthrough videohere to see it in action. We have some great blogs that detail out The Academy and OmegaCo. Know this, it’s chock-full of new gameplay. There are MegaTowers that let you build into the sky, new specializations, an awesome new robot disaster and it has really cool new surprises that will get you excited about playing it again. I play it for hours and I still learn something every time I play. And I can’t wait to hear what you think about it.
We are eight Updates in and we’re still continuing to make more. If you want to keep up to date with the latest that’s happening withSimCity we have lots of player-generated information right here. Let us know what types of gameplay tweaks and balances you’d like to see. I go by MaxisKip on the forums and I’ll be answering some of your questions in this thread. I promise you this, I’ll read every one and do my best to respond.
See you in the game.
-Kip