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HTML
Executable file
412 lines
No EOL
17 KiB
HTML
Executable file
<html>
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<head>
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<title>Inside The Simulator</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>Inside The Simulator</h1>
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<h2>How the Simulator Works and Strategies for Using It</h2>
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Many factors influence the chance of your city's prospering or
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floundering: both internal factors (the structure and efficiency of
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your city) and external factors (the regional economy, disasters,
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etc.). <p>
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<h3>Zones</h3>
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Your city is divided up into three primary zones: residential,
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commercial and industrial. These zones symbolize the three basic
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pillars upon which a city is based: population, industry, and
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commerce. All three are necessary for your city to grow and thrive.
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<p>
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<ul>
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<li>Residential Zones are where the Sims live. Here they build houses,
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apartments and community facilities such as churches and schools. Sims
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are the work force for your city's commercial and industrial zones.
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<p>
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<li>Industrial Zones are used to site warehouses, factories, and other
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unsightly and polluting structures which have a negative impact on
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surrounding zones. One of the major goals of planning is to separate
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these "nuisances" from the areas where people live. In this
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simulation, industrial zones represent the "basic" production of your
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city. Things produced here are sold outside the city to an "external
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market," bringing money into the city for future growth. <p>
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<li>Commercial Zones represent the retail stores and services in your
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city, including gas stations, grocery stores, banks, and offices.
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Commercial areas are mainly dedicated to producing goods and services
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needed within your city. This is called "non-basic" production or
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production for the "internal market." <p>
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</ul>
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<p>
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<h3>Population -- Residential</h3>
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The major factors controlling residential population are birthrate,
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availability of jobs and housing, unemployment, and quality of life
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within the city. <p>
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Birthrate as used here, is actually a combination of the birthrate
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(positive) and the deathrate (negative). Within Micropolis there is
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always a positive birthrate.
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<p>
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Availability of jobs (the employment rate) is a ratio of the current
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commercial and industrial populations to the total residential
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population. As a rule of thumb, the number of commercial and
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industrial zones together should roughly equal the number of
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residential zones.
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<p>
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If there are more jobs in your city than residents, new settlers will
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be attracted. If the job market declines during a local recession,
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your people will migrate away in search of jobs.
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<p>
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Housing for your residents is built in the residential zones. These
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zones must be powered and connected to the places of employment by
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roads. The structures built in residential zones are influenced by
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land value and population density.
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<p>
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Quality of life is a measure of relative "attractiveness" assigned to
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different zone locations. It is affected by negative factors such as
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pollution and crime, and positive factors such as parks and
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accessibility.
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<p>
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<h3>External Market -- Industrial</h3>
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There are thousands of variables that influence your city. All these
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variables can be influenced by your actions with the exception of one.
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<p>
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The external market (the economic conditions that exist outside of
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your city) is controlled by the simulation -- there is nothing you can
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do to change it. In many ways, this external market is the original
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source of all city growth. Towns frequently begin as production
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centers (steel towns, refineries, etc.) that service a demand in the
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surrounding region. As time passes, the external market grows to
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reflect the regional growth going on around your city.
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<p>
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The industry in your city will attempt to grow as the external market
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grows. For this to happen there must be room for expansion (more
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industrial zones) and an adequate labor supply (more residential
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zones).
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<p>
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<h3>Internal Market -- Commercial</h3>
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The internal market is completely influenced by the conditions within
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your city. Internal production, created in the commercial zones,
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represents all the things which are purchased and consumed within the
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city. Food stores, gas stations, retail stores, financial services,
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medical care, etc. -- all depend on a nearby population to service.
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Within Micropolis, the size of the internal market determines the rate at
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which commercial zones will prosper. Commercial zones need enough
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zoned land to build on and an existent, sufficient work force to
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employ. The structures built in commercial zones are mainly influenced
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by land value and population density. <p>
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Commercial zones grow and develop to serve the expanding internal
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market. Commercial growth will usually be slow at first, when the
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population is small and needs very little. As your city grows,
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commercial growth will accelerate and the internal market will become
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a much larger consumer of your total city production. This
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accelerating effect, when the external/industrial production is
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overtaken by the accelerating internal/commercial sector, can turn a
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sleepy little town of 50,000 into a thriving capital of 200,000 in a
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few short years.
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<p>
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<h3>Tax Rate</h3>
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The tax rate you set controls the amount of income generated by your
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city. As taxes are collected each year (simulation time), the Budget
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Window will appear, giving you the fiscal details of your city and a
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chance to adjust rates. The simulation determines the amount of
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revenue collected by assessing each zone an amount based on its land
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value, current level of development and the current tax rate. <p>
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The tax rate has a global affect on your city's growth rate. If you
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set it low (0%-4%), growth will be brisk but the city income will be
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low. If you set it high (10%-20%), you will collect a lot in the short
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run but in the long run tax income will decrease along with the
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population. You must keep tax income high enough to invest in new
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development, but low enough not to scare off residents and businesses.
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A high tax rate is one way to control city growth, should you want to
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experiment with "growth control measures."
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<p>
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<h3>Budgeting</h3>
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City budgeting affects the way your city grows. City infrastructure
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cost is represented by three departments: police, fire, and
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transportation. You may set the funding levels separately for each.
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All three departments will request a certain level of funding each
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year. You may supply all or part of the requested funds, in the
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attempt to balance safety needs and budgetary concerns. <p>
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<ul>
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<li>Police Department: Police stations lower the crime rate around a
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territory. The effective radius of your police station is related to
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the amount of funding allocated to the police department. Police
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stations cost $100 per year to fund.
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<li>Fire Department: Fire stations prevent and extinguish fires. The
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level of funding determines the effective radius of a fire station.
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Fire stations put out fires within this radius much sooner than
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outside it, and decrease the chance that they will start in the first
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place. Fire stations cost $100 per year to fund.
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<li>Transportation Department:When you build roads and rail systems
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you are charged for construction and yearly maintenance. The larger
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your transportation network, the more it will cost for upkeep. If you
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decide not to or are unable to pay this maintenance cost, roads will
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slowly deteriorate and become unusable. The maintenance cost for each
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piece is: Road - $1, Bridge - $4, Rail - $4, Rail tunnel - $10.
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</ul>
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<h3>Power</h3>
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Electrical power makes modern cities possible. Efficient and reliable
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power transmission to all zones is the goal of good "power
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management." <p>
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The entire power grid of your city is periodically checked in the
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simulation for links to power. If a zone is connected (by other zones
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or power lines) to a power plant, the zone is considered powered.
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<p>
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Zones must be powered for development to occur. Many things (such as
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fires, tornadoes, earthquakes and bulldozers) can knock down power
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lines and cause blackouts in parts of your city. Development will stop
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in unpowered zones, and if power is not quickly restored, the zone
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will decline back to its original state of emptiness.
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<p>
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Redundant power plants and power connections can make your power grid
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more reliable, but running more line adds construction costs.
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<p>
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<h3>Transportation -- Traffic</h3>
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One of the most important elements of city structure is the
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transportation network. It moves Sims and good throughout your city.
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Roads typically occupy as much as 25%-40% of the land in urban areas.
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Traffic along these roads indicates which sections of your road system
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are used the most. <p>
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Traffic levels are simulated by a process known as "Trip Generation."
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Over time, each populated zone in the city will generate a number of
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trips, depending on the population. Each generated trip starts at the
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origin zone, travels down the road, and if a "proper destination" is
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reached, ends at the destination zone -- otherwise, the trip fails.
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Trip failure indicates inaccessibility of a zone and limits its
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growth.
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<p>
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The majority of generated trips represent people commuting to and from
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work. Additional traffic is generated by residents traveling to
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shopping, recreation, etc. When analyzing traffic, the simulator tests
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the following traffic routes:
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<p>
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<i>Traffic Patterns</i>
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<p>
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<ul>
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<li>From Residential
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<ul>
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<li>To Commercial
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<li>To Industrial
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</ul>
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<li>From Commercial
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<ul>
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<li>To Residential
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<li>To Industrial
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</ul>
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<li>From Industrial
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<ul>
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<li>To Residential
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</ul>
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</ul>
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<p>
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When Sims drive away from an origin zone, they have a limited "trip
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range" in which to find a destination zone. Heavy traffic decreases
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the trip range. If the destination zone is too far away, the trip is
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unsuccessful. Repeated unsuccessful trips will cause the Sims to move
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out of the origin zone.
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<p>
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Each road has a limited capacity for traffic. When this capacity is
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exceeded traffic jams will form. Traffic jams drastically lower the
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capacity of a road, compounding the problem and frustrating drivers.
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<p>
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Traffic conditions fluctuate quickly. Avoid traffic problems by
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providing several routes for the traffic to take.
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<p>
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A road must be adjacent to a zone for the zone to be connected to the
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traffic pattern. Zones do not conduct traffic the way they conduct
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power.
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<p>
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<h3>Pollution</h3>
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Pollution levels are tracked in all areas of your city. This is a
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general "nuisance level" that includes air and water pollution, noise
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pollution, toxic wastes, etc. Pollution has a negative impact on the
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growth of residential areas. <p>
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The primary cause of pollution is industrialized zones. The level of
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pollution created by an industrial zone increases with its level of
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growth.
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<p>
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Traffic is another cause of pollution. There are limited means of
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combating the pollution level. Lowering traffic density, limiting
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industrial development, and separating the pollution from the
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residential areas will help.
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<p>
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<h3>Crime</h3>
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Crime rates are influenced by population density, local law
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enforcement, and land values. As population density increases in an
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area, the number of crimes committed increases. Crime will also
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increase in areas of low land value. <p>
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The most effective way to deal with high crime rates is to introduce a
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police station into the area. Based on its level of funding, the
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police station will reduce the rate of crime in its sphere of
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influence. A long-term approach to lowering crime is to raise the land
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value of the area. One way to do this is to demolish and rezone (urban
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renewal).
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<p>
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<h3>Land Value</h3>
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Land value is one of the most fundamental aspects of urban structure.
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The land value of an area affects how that area is used. In this
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simulation the land value of an area is based on terrain,
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accessibility, pollution, and distance to downtown. <p>
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The farther the residents have to go to work, the lower the land value
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where they live, due in part to transportation costs. The value of
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commercial zones depends greatly on accessibility by the populace.
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<p>
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Land value is also affected by surrounding terrain. If land is closer
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to water, trees, agricultural areas, or parks, its value will rise.
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Creative placement of zones within the terrain, with little
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bulldozing, can make good use of this natural advantage.
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<p>
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Land value and crime rate have a feedback effect on each other. Lower
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land values cause crime rates to rise. Higher crime rates cause land
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values to drop, and can cause "transition areas" near your central
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city to rapidly decline in value.
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<p>
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<p>
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<hr>
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<p>
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<h2>Micropolis, Unix Version.</h2>
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This game was released for the Unix platform
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in or about 1990 and has been modified for inclusion in the One Laptop
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Per Child program. Copyright © 1989 - 2007 Electronic Arts Inc. If
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you need assistance with this program, you may contact:
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<a href="http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Micropolis">http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Micropolis</a> or email <a
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href="mailto:micropolis@laptop.org">micropolis@laptop.org</a>.
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</p>
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<p>
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This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
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it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
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the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at
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your option) any later version.
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</p>
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<p>
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This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
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WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
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MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
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General Public License for more details. You should have received a
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copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If
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not, see <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/">http://www.gnu.org/licenses/</a>.
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</p>
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<p>
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<h3 align="center">ADDITIONAL TERMS per GNU GPL Section 7</h3>
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</p>
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<p>
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No trademark or publicity rights are granted. This license does NOT
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give you any right, title or interest in the trademark SimCity or any
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other Electronic Arts trademark. You may not distribute any
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modification of this program using the trademark SimCity or claim any
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affliation or association with Electronic Arts Inc. or its employees.
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</p>
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<p>
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Any propagation or conveyance of this program must include this
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copyright notice and these terms.
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</p>
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<p>
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If you convey this program (or any modifications of it) and assume
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contractual liability for the program to recipients of it, you agree
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to indemnify Electronic Arts for any liability that those contractual
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assumptions impose on Electronic Arts.
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</p>
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<p>
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You may not misrepresent the origins of this program; modified
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versions of the program must be marked as such and not identified as
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the original program.
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</p>
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<p>
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This disclaimer supplements the one included in the General Public
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License. <b>TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, THIS
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PROGRAM IS PROVIDED TO YOU "AS IS," WITH ALL FAULTS, WITHOUT WARRANTY
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OF ANY KIND, AND YOUR USE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE ENTIRE RISK OF
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SATISFACTORY QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE RESIDES WITH YOU. ELECTRONIC ARTS
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DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY WARRANTIES,
|
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INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY,
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FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY
|
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RIGHTS, AND WARRANTIES (IF ANY) ARISING FROM A COURSE OF DEALING,
|
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USAGE, OR TRADE PRACTICE. ELECTRONIC ARTS DOES NOT WARRANT AGAINST
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INTERFERENCE WITH YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THE PROGRAM; THAT THE PROGRAM WILL
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MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; THAT OPERATION OF THE PROGRAM WILL BE
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UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT THE PROGRAM WILL BE COMPATIBLE
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WITH THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE OR THAT ANY ERRORS IN THE PROGRAM WILL BE
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CORRECTED. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN ADVICE PROVIDED BY ELECTRONIC ARTS OR
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ANY AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY. SOME
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JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF OR LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED
|
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WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATIONS ON THE APPLICABLE STATUTORY RIGHTS OF A
|
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CONSUMER, SO SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS MAY
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NOT APPLY TO YOU.</b>
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</p>
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</body>
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</html> |