Things To Do, IMHO
The game is getting much much better, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Much of what I suggest can be accomplished over time and with both patches and expansion packs, but over the next two years I really want to see:
Roads, Networks, and Road Upgrades:
Bikes and Pedestrian Roads
Zoning Types
Asset Variations
Zoning Type: Hospitality
Note: THIS is a KEY change that I think better approximates the way zoning works in real life. Demand indicators for hotels and hospitality functions are fundamentally different than standard commercial and this should be a separate zoning category altogether. Full point stop.
Game Mechanics and Special/Service Buildings
Graphics and Viz
The game is getting much much better, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Much of what I suggest can be accomplished over time and with both patches and expansion packs, but over the next two years I really want to see:
Roads, Networks, and Road Upgrades:
- Quays
- Ability to add sidewalks and zoning to highways without them changing width.
- Ability to control zoning on one, both, or neither side of all roads.
- Ability to disallow parking on one or both sides without changing road design.
- Ability to change the parking strip to a travel lane without changing the size of the road on one side, both, or neither.
- Curb cuts for all lots that have a driveway or vehicular entrance.
- Greater ability to control whether the road is elevated, a bridge, or underground, ... or if it has a retaining wall or quay on one, both, or neither side.
- Ability to control lane connections (e.g. integrate lane controller mod, including control over roundabouts).
- Ability to control signalization method (e.g. integrate traffic controller).
- Ability to control all-way versus 2-way stop signs.
- Ability to control all-way versus 2-way yield signs.
- Ability to add a raised and curbed median, with three types: jersey barriers, grass, or grass with trees.
- Additional intersection modifications beyond roundabouts: raised and curbed medians to prevent cross traffic in one or both directions (of all three types above: jersey barriers, grass, or grass with trees) that prevent turning across traffic, street entry barriers (of the same three types plus a fourth: bollards) adjacent to a sidewalk to prevent traffic from entering that street, and pedestrian curb bump-outs in on or both directions.
- Ability to disallow vehicular traffic from a block altogether.
- Move the dirt road and alleyway road to a different tab, labeled "Extra Small Roads" and provide equivalent one way options of the same width and a narrower pedestrian road as well.
Bikes and Pedestrian Roads
- Ability to upgrade parking strip on one, both, or neither side to either a one or two way bike lane.
- Standalone bike roads in one and two way options, at two sizes: extra small (1.5 units wide) and small (3 units wide).
- Specifically designed mixed traffic roads for each category standalone from upgradable parking strips.
- Shared streets.
Zoning Types
- Farming, ore, oil, forestry, and rock quarry zone-able industry standalone from generic industry zoning.
- Low density row homes (1x2, 1x3, 1x4, etc.) detached single family homes.
- Low density commercial row (e.g. think of the many historic row homes that have been renovated into commercial for the modern era)
- Low density office row (same thing)
- Medium density commercial row (two to five story commercial row structures)
- Medium density commercial overhaul, repurpose the existing assets elsewhere (*see below*) and replacing them with two to five story structures on various floorplates).
- Medium density office row (two to five story office row structures).
- Medium density mixed housing/commercial row (two to five story housing with commercial on the ground floor).
- Medium density mixed commercial/office row (two to five story office with commercial on the ground floor)
- Medium density office (6-10 story office buildings on various floorplates).
- *Medium density mixed commercial/office* (6-10 story office buildings with ground floor retail).
- High density mixed commercial/office (10+ story office buildings with ground floor retail).
- High density mixed office/housing (10+ story buildings with offices in lower levels and housing above).
- High density mixed commercial/office/housing (10+ story buildings with offices in lower levels, housing above, and ground level retail).
- Split generic industrial zoning into the same categories present elsewhere: low, low row, medium, medium row, and high. These all exist in the real world or have existed at some point.
- Perhaps consider adding ultra low and ultra high density zoning (country estates on larger lots 4x6-6x6 versus suburban single family homes on 2x4-3x6 lots // ultra high density 30+ story skyscrapers versus high density 10-30 story high-rises and medium density 6-10 story mid-rises).
Asset Variations
- Better single family housing assets for North America. The ones they have in the game are downright awful and have absolutely zero resemblance to either modern or historic housing in America and Canada.
- More versions of each house asset beyond just color variations. Siding and rooftop variations would be nice as well: e.g. provide brick, wood, stone, stucco, and shingle versions of each building, each with both a common set of color variations and a few that are siding material specific. Same with rooftops: metal, flat shake, or curved tile (each with their own various color variations).
Zoning Type: Hospitality
- Shift hotels to their own zoning category altogether: Hospitality.
- Add zoning categories for low density, low density row, medium density, medium density row, and high density for standalone hospitality.
- Add zoning categories for mixed hospitality:
- medium density mixed commercial/hospitality (hotel with ground floor retail)
- medium density mixed commercial/hospitality/housing (hotel and residences with ground level retail)
- high density mixed commercial/hospitality (hotel with ground floor retail)
- high density mixed commercial/hospitality/housing (hotel and residences with ground level retail)
- high density mixed hospitality/housing/office (offices on lower levels, hotel and residences on upper levels)
- high density mixed commercial/hospitality/housing/office (offices on lower levels, hotel and residences on upper levels, with ground level retail),.
Note: THIS is a KEY change that I think better approximates the way zoning works in real life. Demand indicators for hotels and hospitality functions are fundamentally different than standard commercial and this should be a separate zoning category altogether. Full point stop.
Game Mechanics and Special/Service Buildings
- Roads and service buildings must go through the same animated construction phase as buildings.
- Road maintenance vehicles split into six categories: construction, tow trucks, resurfacing and repair, electrical equipment (for traffic signals), snowplows, and salting trucks. The current system is unrealistic and really clanky.
- Add maintenance facilities and vehicles for the electricity grid.
- Add maintenance facilities and vehicles for the plumbing and wastewater grid.
- Fix the car accident physics.
- Require EMS, fire, police, hearses, and tow trucks to accidents, depending on circumstance.
- Require hearses to regularly visit medical facilities to retrieve individuals who died on premises.
- Add a car dealership to the special buildings (akin to the gas station).
- Add a car maintenance facility to the special buildings.
- Add car dealerships and car maintenance facilities to low density commercial (akin to the gas stations).
- Have tow trucks deliver to car maintenances facilities.
- Have parking spaces placed next to the pumps at gas station assets. No need to animate them pumping gas, but they can at least park next to the pump when they visit.
- Decrease the probability of natural disasters.
- Dam failures, flash river flooding, and droughts as natural disasters.
- Faster moving water mechanics in the case of floods.
- Integrated Better Bulldozer and Prop Line Tool for trees specifically (plus the ability to create a square/rectangle with the Prop Line Tool)
- Integrated Traffic and Intersection Controllers, and remove U-Turns as a default connection at all intersections (such that they must be added by the game player).
- Ability to shape fences similar to the surface area tool.
- Ability to shape and add park areas, walking areas, and sports areas similar to the surface area tool.
- Park placement should not require roads.
Graphics and Viz
- Ability to change map textures.
- Fix the shadows issue.
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