[. . . ] 8 REGION BASICS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 REGION VIEW OPTIONS PANEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 CONNECT TO SIMCITY. COM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 QUIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 CITY PANEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 PLAYING A CITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [. . . ] If you find that you aren't getting high wealth or medium- and/or high-density development, check to see that you are providing water. 46 47 CONNECTING CITIES CIVIC TOOLS If you want your Sims to thrive in your Shangri-la, there are many things that you, as Mayor, need to provide. Are you providing a high quality educational system, adequate health care, recreational opportunities and other amenities found in the Civic Tools menu?Prudent placement of these services can have great impact on your city's demographics, as well as the desirability of its neighborhoods. For instance, when you build a fire station, you can see its coverage, or service area, indicated by the ring that surrounds the building. You can usually enlarge a building's service area by increasing the funding for that building or city department. Or, for the construction-minded, just build another station or hospital to provide more service. Don't worry about destroying existing civic or utilities buildings; the game won't allow you to plop on top of those structures. But plop on top of RCI buildings and they will be destroyed. City Connections can be made with any transportation network, power lines, and water pipes. To make the connection, choose your desired transportation or utility tool and drag out a network to the edge of your city. When you let go you are presented with the Create a Connection dialog. HINT: Don't place parks, police stations, or fire stations before you can afford them. A good rule of thumb is to build your first fire station when a fire breaks out in your city (just build it quickly). BUILD POLICE STATIONS & JAILS Click Accept and--voila!--the connection is created. Outside the coverage area, however, fires can spark up and spread throughout your city. These fires are doused only if you send out a dispatch order to the fire trucks and planes that come with your stations. See the Emergency Tools section for more information on Dispatch. BUILD HOSPITALS & CLINICS Healthy Sims make for healthy workers. And when your city's health depends on the productivity of your citizens, wellness programs become vital to the big picture. When you improve the health of your Sims, you increase the number of citizens that can hold a job (Live longer, work longer!). This, in turn, increases the city's tax revenue and lures more businesses to your city. So, Mayor, you can see that it's in your best interest to provide proper health coverage for all of your Sims. Sims feel more secure if there is a health center near home, so build health facilities in residential zones, and don't bother putting them near businesses. Watch your population relative to the funding levels of your Health Centers. Health workers get riled up and may strike if they feel they are being asked to serve too many patients. HINT: Wait until a fire breaks out to build your first fire station, then build it near the conflagration. This way you save money by building fire stations only as you need them. BUILD LANDMARKS A favorite lunch spot in your downtown commercial district just happens to be at the feet of The Great Sphinx? [. . . ] 57, 60, 62, 70, 84, 85 Fire Department Fire Stations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50, 57, 69 Funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49, 51, 53, 63, 64, 70, 71, 85 Hospitals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49, 69 Land Value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [. . . ]