SIMCITY 4 TIPS & TRICKS
Fast Cash
Press CTRL + X to open the cheat window. Then type in weaknesspays, but befroe you press Enter, press and hold Left Shift. Then press Enter but without letting go of Shift, (don't take your hand off Shift until you're satisfied with your savings).
Public or Private Schooling
The advantages of private schooling are: it helps with the demand for high money residences, increases the desirability of your surroundings, and reduces the amount you will spend on education.
Public or Private Schooling 2
Private schools take longer to develop than public schools. Therefore before the private schools are running you will need to weigh the effects of delaying your education system. By delaying the education system (while you wait for private schools) you city will be less desirable.
The Sims
Since Maxis developed the SimCity and The Sims franchises, you can export your characters from The Sims to SimCity 4. These characters will act as advisors, but instead of talking about municipal issues they will talk about their personal lives and how well your city is running. Unfortunately these characters will not retain all their traits from The Sims.
Double rewards
Use the unlock all rewards code, and write down requirements for reward (hold the pointer over the picture.) Place that reward. Now perform the requirements for it. Neil Fairbanks will ask your permission to build the reward a second time in your city.
Brainwashing
In the adviser screen, click the query box, then click the X on the bad or good messages.
Tip
Transportation in SimCity 4 is more complex than any of the previous versions. In previous versions Sims actions were very simplistic, so mass transportation was an obvious choice, but in SimCity 4 that is not the case. First of all, transportation is not only used by Sims going to and from work. There is transportation to do errands at Commercial-Service zones, to take freight from a factory to the seaport or freight train station, and even tourism plays a role in how clogged your roads can get. Your goal, traffic wise, is to make the easiest way for your Sims to go from point A to point B in all of those different forms of transportation.
Gameplay Guide 1
Sims won't walk much farther than a block.
Gameplay Guide 2
If a Sim looks towards the other side of the city, and sees his destination a couple miles away, they will choose to go to a bus, train, or subway station within walking distance. If one isn't within walking distance he or she will decide to use his/her own car and drive.
Gameplay Guide 3
Sims can drive to a train station. Let's say that about three blocks away, there is one, and the sim knows that the train will take him/her near the destination.
Trains
Make sure you have a useful mode of transportation next to your train stations. Otherwise, if a sim may only walk from the train station to the final destination, that train station is only serving a very small radius and won't be used very much at all.
High Net Worth Sims 1
Another thing to note is that high-wealth sims rarely take mass transportation, and like to stay in their luxury cars, and mid-wealth sims tend to take trains and subways if it's practical, but rarely busses, and low wealth sims tend to take the bus a lot.
High Net Worth Sims 2
To make money make sure there is power, low traffic, water, and roads.
High Net Worth Sims 3
If you keep your taxes at 7.o% the whole game, you get a higher demand and more people want to move to your city
Double rewards
Use the unlock all rewards code, and write down requirements for reward (hold the pointer over the picture.) Place that reward. Now perform the requirements for it. Neil Fairbanks will ask your permission to build the reward a second time in your city.
Taxes
The best way to make money in SimCity 4 is through taxation, higher taxes mean more money to spend in building your city. Early in the game it is important to build the city up prior to spending a lot of money on amenities for your Sims to generate a good tax base. Keep tax levels at reasonable rates, if they are too high your Sims will move out.
Land Value
Land value is enhanced by the proximity to water and high ground (elevation-wise). This is your opportunity to make some places that will be higher in land value, and make your place popular among your citizens.
Pollution Problems?
Pollution is mostly caused by traffic congestion or Dirty Industry, along side with your power plant (if it generates pollution).
Some Tips to help reduce pollution for your Sims:
1) You can build your industry anywhere just make sure that medium wealth residence and high wealth residence are not too close or they might leave due to poor desirability conditions.
2) Educate your Sims first and foremost, without educated Sims, the more cleaner industries won't enter your city.
3) Once you have a good amount of educated Sims you should begin evicting the DIRTY INDUSTRY buildings by doing the following:
=== 1) Raise taxes for the DIRTY INDUSTRY somewhere over 12% or more.
=== 2) Lower taxes for the MANUFACTURING, HIGH TECHNICAL, and (optional) AGRICULTURE INDUSTRIES.
By doing this the DIRTY INDUSTRY will not like the taxes and therefore refuse to build at your city, but on the good side of things more cleaner industry will build due to the lower amounts of taxes and educated Sims. Jobs will be lost but even more will be created by manufacturing buildings. (Note: Manufacturing Industry Buildings still create pollution, but much much less.)
Another Possible Options would be to Enact the CITY ORDINANCE: CLEAN AIR ACT. This harms the demand on industry slightly but will reduce pollution generated by them.
Another Cause of Pollution is Traffic Congestion. Two Possible ways that i know of which could potentially help would be to:
1) Enact the CITY ORDINANCE: CAR EMISSION REDUCTION ACT.
2) Build Mass Transit, preferably Elevated Rails as they can transition between Elevated and Subway. If you're looking for fast mass transit, then choose the Elevated Monorail as it is the fast transportation in the game.
Fireworks
If you like fireworks at the New Year, then simply pause the game and it's nonstop fireworks. (Note that time is still paused.)
1000 simoleans
If you take the mayor's house and have a meteor strike it, it adds 1000 simoleans to your city. (House has to be on hill.)