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Is there a "Sim Land"?

Posted: 2009-04-17 06:57am
by Dooey Jo
I had this idea for a game, sort like SimCity, but you manage a country instead of just one city. So instead of focussing on exactly how your cities should look, you could mostly just decide where they should be (although you'd probably start out with a few towns) and then they evolve and grow on their own, depending on how well you govern stuff like infrastructure. For instance by connecting towns through roads and railways so goods and people can move between them efficiently (maybe the first towns will be connected by crappy dirt roads before you build actual roads) they will get more material and people, and will grow faster. Conversely, if the roads break down completely, the affected towns might get abandoned.

I mostly just have a few such ideas, but I'd like to know if someone has already made a game like this so I can take a look at it. Most "government simulation" games I've found seem to be just that - simulations of passing legislations and foreign policies. That's not quite what I want, nor do I want to wage war and take over the world ala Civilization and other strategy games (I don't really care if those things are "realistic" things for countries to be doing; realistic politics is mass shuffling of paper and realistic war is all your friends dying in agony). I want to build roads and nuclear power plants and national parks, and watch villages grow into huge cities thanks to my decisions.

Re: Is there a "Sim Land"?

Posted: 2009-04-17 08:48am
by Chardok
Tropico is like that, I think.

Re: Is there a "Sim Land"?

Posted: 2009-04-17 09:49am
by Brother-Captain Gaius
Sim Island (or was it Sim Isle?). It's old, and has a more third-world theme to it, but it's otherwise basically what you're describing.

Re: Is there a "Sim Land"?

Posted: 2009-04-17 10:55am
by Solauren
Start up a New Civilizations game

Use the editor
Get rid of all the other civilizations but 1
Stick that 1 in the arctic or antarctic circle, away from any other land.
Turn off barbarians

Save as a Scenario (if your version will let you).

Now play it. You don't have to worry about war or diplomacy, as your only rival is a group of nomads living at the south pole, how can never get off.

Re: Is there a "Sim Land"?

Posted: 2009-04-17 11:19am
by Losonti Tokash
Open Transport Tycoon Deluxe is like that, I think. Pretty much nothing but handling infrastructure and resources, and the towns grow to some pretty considerable sizes. Just multiply the population in your head by 1,000 and it'll make more sense. :P