Recent runs have raised some issues about the current category and rules for SC4. Here are some suggestions:
Subcategory for Loans, without Loans -loans are a normal part of the game, but they do trivialise part of the run when using them. Alternatively, a loan cap.
Disallow neighbor deals / connections -as these play a role, the existing region may affect the run without the runner realising.
100k+ Category -it's clear there's room for an additional category. 50k will remain, but there's scope for more creativity and challenge.
At the moment, the first 2 areas will be ignored, runners have the choice. Multi-tiles may be used, but the run must show them being made.
*the behind-the-scenes numbers (even with non-neighbor tiles) are not well-defined, plus areas off-screen cannot be verified easily on the region map, so this may change.
Will be adding a new category shortly.
I would like to request the addition of a few additional categories to make runs more interesting. A few that could be added are Bankruptcy, Build Area 5.1, Build the Spaceport, or any other significant, definable events. I think there could also be subcategories for all runs done on Hard difficulty to add more challenge.
I'm open to a new category, at the moment we do have 3 available though. if there's enough interest in a new category / goal (and not too trivial), I'll add it perhaps as a misc category. do you have a run of something specific you could put forward ?
I could probably put together a run in one of the categories I suggested to get it started.
thanks for uploading, perhaps this is a little too trivial on its own. if this was tied to some kind of primary achievement, adding a senator requirement to finish off could be a good idea. I'll maybe add it to see how it goes anyway. ideally, something 5 minutes + would be a good fit for a new category.
I'll probably do another run later of a different category that will take longer. Something like Unlock Area 5.1 or Unlock the Spaceport.
a quick update to the rules, mainly for 250k :
multi-tiles are still allowed, however the population must be met in a single tile (no spamming 50k on 5 tiles etc). creating the tiles must be part of the run, so timer will start when the first 'start new city' is selected.
- it is recommended that only single tiles are used, without connections, with empty neighboring tiles, until we get more feedback on this.
Thinking of submitting a playthrough for 250k cap.
Question:
- Is simcity 4 deluxe usable. Or does it have to be simcity 4?
- Are loans allowed?
- You mentioned above, but never stated. Just confirming that connections to empty squares are disallowed.
Run submitted for 250k pop. 15min 55 secs. No connections. No loans. I might be able to improve this further.
My best so far was 12 min 50 seconds but that was with connections and loans.
You should update the rules so its clearer for everyone.
Loans are allowed, yes. Mods are the main thing that are disallowed, anything that looks non-vanilla will be rejected. No connections. As the only version available these days is the deluxe version, it's expected people be using this, but original versions are fine too.
For simplicity, it's better to run single tile, no connections. An option is to make a second 250k category for multi-tile + connection use, but there was no feedback since the posts were made. Allowing multi-tiles creates some verification issues so single tile was given priority.
gg on the run !
rules updated. also considering removing the 100k category (too similar to 50k at this point) and adding either a 500k multi-tile, or 1 million. feedback welcome for this though.
I have a speed run for 100k thats 3m43s. Haven't submitted it as i can get it lower but just haven't had time.
Dont mind if the category is removed.
I wouldn't mind a higher pop. I'd probably prefer something like a 1mill pop. It would be interesting to see the longer playthrough where the different strategies play out in different ways.
Edit : If you do add this. Perhaps include a rule where 1/3 or 1/2 the pop has to be in a single tile. Else it will just be 20 x 50k spams. (25mins?)
I did the 1M run and it was quite tedious )
"Build Rewards & Business Deals" are basically achievements. So unlocking and building all of them means 100% run. It could be split into segments conveniently and overall fun to run.
One other speedrun challenge I have seen is the International Airport Upgrading:
A lot of room for optimizations )
Had forgotten about this.
Wow, you build so neatly. :)
I have a speed run for a million in 31min 19secs from 2 months ago. I was planning to try and get that under 30 mins but i just haven't gotten around to it.
Will upload it tonight.
custom categories (non pop related) could be an option. as long as it's not too trivial, or copies existing categories, it should be fine.
for rules, using the 'create new region' is ok for the 1m categories. the rng is limited when creating regions this way (the same few patterns appear), but it would still be helpful to show this on a run.
please try to include timers also ! :)
@neatep, this is impressive! :D
Why do you use Ranger Station, not Tennis Court or Skate Park? (or Gazebo :))
I thought 2BT means 2BT only, and if you use more it becomes Any%. So in 2BT you optimize for commute time and services, and in Any% you just build as fast as you can using a lot of tiles of any size. So it is kind of extensive vs. intensive runs. Right now, you can "accidentally" make a run in both categories. It's confusing..
Cheers.
To answer your question, and i am not an expert in this area.
I use Ranger station for the range. It makes intuitive sense that it is more effective when spamming them. (particularly when ignoring factors like cost and space constraints)
Gazebo is +40 over 40 range. (i'm ignoring commerical bonus here) Ranger station is +20 over 80.
It seems the same, however, i assume that the range is based on a circle (i assume its the radius). So the total land area coverage is actually around 4x. So compared to the gazebo the residential bonus is actually twice as good.
Considering the size of the map, this is what i want. Now, my understanding may be wrong so it could all be moot.
Edit: After thinking about it overnight, its probably not worthwhile to use ranger stations on the smaller maps. I'd have to check to see the size, particularly where residential is packed into a corner. So in that case gazebo etc are probably better.
As for your 2BT comment. You are correct, It could be a run for both categories. I Simply see 2BT as a way to force ppl to choose a different path to mimicing the 50k pop record. Whereby (ignoring load times) it would take 25mins to hit 1million cap by doing 20 squares of 50k pop.
So.. how to initiate addition of new category? :)
We definitely need "Spaceport" and "100%" (all presents).
