SimCity 3k in 4k (2025) (thran.uk)
451 points by speckx a day ago
phaser 20 hours ago
I love this game so much. One of the reasons I started to make a city builder* is because I don't like where the genre is going.
The focus on photorealism in modern city builders took away the apophenia, or "food for imagination" that was a core element since the first SimCity. As a matter of fact, Will Wright used to say that the real simulation runs in the player's minds (or something like that).
Sure, there's something great about Cities Skylines that (at least with very powerful hardware) can look and feel like reality. But at the same time the game engine, in order to make this photorealism of terrain elevations with infinite possible shapes of infrastructure, is so complex that the actual simulation is sloppy, and feels to me like a big downgrade from SC3000.
Traffic, economics, zoning, crime, pollution. are so much practical to simulate (both in the computer, and in our mind models) in this classic isometric style.
edit: spelling
butlike 4 minutes ago
Your game looks good. A special 'thank you' for porting it (building it?) for macOS.
HeckFeck 2 hours ago
Looks pretty cool. Reminds me also of Metropolis 1998, which is also going for the isometric style - with a lot more detail, i.e. you can design individual homes and see the lives of "sims" too, something like if SimCity and The Sims were merged.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZHI2bCCpl0
It has a demo on Steam now: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2287430/Metropolis_1998/ It's quite playable already, and it's a very small 100Mb download.
raddan 18 hours ago
Awesome! I am going to try this when I have some time next week. Fantasizing about how to make a better SimCity 25 years ago is what inspired me to pursue a computer science degree. I got sidetracked by a PhD and never returned to making games. Maybe your version is the one I always wanted!
uproarchat 17 hours ago
This looks great, I just bought a copy. While it's downloading I'm perusing the listing, and I'm curious if this supports generating a large image/print of your finished city, like you could in SCURK (SimCity Urban Renewal Kit, which shipped with SC2K).
One thing I particularly loved was printing out very large maps of my city to go on the wall :)
Edit: I like the music a lot, and the little tutorial guy is endearing. One question, how do I move the viewport around? I tried scroll click drag, mouse button drag, arrow keys.
phaser 17 hours ago
That's a super cool idea. Actually we have an internal thingy to export your city to blender, then we can have nice images like this one: https://microlandia.city/assets/press/keyart/t21.jpeg
Maybe we manage to make something that doesn't need blender (though it probably won't look as cool) or we just stop dev-gatekeeping the function that exports the 3d file. Consider it done for the next point release :)
danielheath 13 hours ago
uproarchat 17 hours ago
HerbManic 18 hours ago
> The focus on photorealism in modern city builders took away the apophenia
That would be a real challenge to achieve simply because most of us are constantly surrounded by cities, but it is something that we should strive for.
For instance, game designer Fumito Ueda (Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Last Guardian) said that I never wants to visit any old castles or ruins for fear that it would ruin his imagination on how game worlds should be built. It is a fair point, none of his games have had any focus on reality in terms of scale and that is what makes them so special.
Also looking at your game... can I get a copy of Microslop Excellence? ;)
Sohcahtoa82 18 hours ago
Your simulation sounds incredible!
How big can cities get, though? One of the things I love about Cities Skylines is how massive the land plots are, and the tiny plots of SimCity 2013 was a bigger turnoff than anything else in its disastrous launch.
phaser 18 hours ago
At this moment, not so big but lately I've done some interesting technical breakthroughs that will enable large maps :D ... or at least a lot larger than SimCity 2013
bombcar 13 hours ago
The real key will be to discover how to run a city simulation such that it doesn't all have to be "active" at the same time (e.g, the opposite of the Factorio simulation).
albertzeyer 19 hours ago
I think the simulation in Cities Skylines is also quite advanced, or not? The simulation is much more the reason why it requires powerful hardware to run on, much less the graphics.
herdymerzbow 16 hours ago
Can't speak on how demanding the simulation is/was. But on launch Cities Skylines 2 was extremely demanding in respect of its graphics due to very poor optimisation. This PC Gamer article summarises a more technical analysis, which is linked through
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-tech-analysis-of-cities-skylines-2...
paavohtl 11 hours ago
bombcar 14 hours ago
Cities Skylines has pretty decent simulation and it uses quite a bit of raw CPU horsepower, but it only really shines with tonnes of mods (just like SimCity 4 before it).
Realistic traffic is always the bane of these simulators.
john_strinlai 19 hours ago
thanks for sharing that. i'm a big city builder fan, but this one slipped by me. looks cool, and i'll be picking it up!
hutattedonmyarm 7 hours ago
This sounds super interesting, but I'd much rather buy it on GOG than on Steam or itch.io. Any chance on releasing it there?
phaser 7 hours ago
I love GOG and I would publish there in a heartbeat but I never hear back from them :(
cassianoleal 5 hours ago
May I bother you to expand on why GOG over itch.io?
I also prefer to use GOG whenever I can, but I really don’t know enough about itch.io to judge it. I’m hoping you can help bridge that knowledge gap.
hutattedonmyarm 41 minutes ago
taneq 5 hours ago
delichon 19 hours ago
> I don't like where the genre is going.
Got an opinion on Timberborn? I think it's a great city builder, plus a fluid dynamics simulator where if you guess wrong everyone dies.
Fabricio20 19 hours ago
Not the same genre (at least for me). Timberborn is more like a colony builder (think Rimworld) than a city builder (SimCity/Cities Skylines). Its the micromanaging vs macromanaging, in a colony builder you are micromanaging what each creature does (such as timberborn or rimworld) while on a city builder you manage the city itself and invididual pawns are alot less important! Plus the survival aspect in that sense doesnt really add up when I'd like to play with the simulation aspects - education, traffic, crime, etc..!
mathgeek 19 hours ago
8note 15 hours ago
timberborn doesnt have the beavers figuring out for themselves what to do, and operate with agents pulling jobs you the player put on a queue rather than statistics.
its a lot more like dwarf fortress than sim city
yreg 18 hours ago
To me it got boring quite quickly. But maybe so would Sim City at my current age, I can't know.
yreg 18 hours ago
I've commented this many times, but I definitely want to see more isometric grid games like SC3k, RC2 or TTD.
They were less-realistic, yes, but is so pleasant how everything ties together and you can neatly fill out the whole map.
Meanwhile, while I like Cities Skylines or Planet Zoo, it is always incredibly awkward to build roads and paths to the point where I find it frustrating.
98codes 7 minutes ago
Isometric sims make it easy to build something that looks good. CS & PZ can make things look incredible, but it's a PITA to get there.
fendy3002 14 hours ago
it's so frustrating in Cities Skylines without mods, that it's so common difference in height causing so much placement issues
simondotau 7 hours ago
Looks great. For accuracy, when you build something, occasionally construction should stop half way through. You're then told that costs have doubled, and you'll need to pay again to complete the construction.
scruple 16 hours ago
This is fabulous and I'm going to buy a copy to play on my SteamDeck. Will be sure to leave a review after I've put some hours into it!
sowbug 18 hours ago
On Steam Deck, I am having a rough time with the road that the paperclip wants me to place. Holding down the physical A button (of the ABXY group) and wiggling around the left joystick (as well as every other control I can think of), both pressed and not pressed. Sometimes I'll see the green highlight appear, and I can stretch it out into a road path, but when I release A, it just vanishes.
phaser 18 hours ago
I’m taking a look at that right now. Thanks for flagging this
izietto 18 hours ago
You got me , enjoy your 8,99 €
pixel_popping 6 hours ago
I'll buy it if you add crypto payment + a tip.
nkrisc 17 hours ago
The thing is, I’d actually rather play a game that is basically a virtual modeling hobby than a deep city simulation.
I think Cities Skylines scratched that itch for a lot of people.
keeganpoppen 18 hours ago
whoa that game looks very cool— love it. also loved SC3k… the soundtrack was amazing. game was kinda lowkey hard, though. or maybe it was because i was just a kid haha.
LASR 12 hours ago
Incredible. Since you’re the dev, please please please isometric camera.
phaser 6 hours ago
The camera is very very close to isometric but as you've noticed, it's not an ortographic projection. During early access I decided against it but tbh I can't recall why. I'll go back to the drawing board on this one (or at least allow it to be enabled in settings)
shevy-java 8 hours ago
Although I don't have the same focus, I also came to the same conclusion: the actual game and gameplay itself got worse over the years. Same with civilization and many other games. Modern game designers don't understand this or don't care. But I spoke to some of them, and while I initially thought they understand but don't care, most of them really do not UNDERSTAND the problem domain. In particular younger ones; many of them have not played old games.
RobKohr 17 hours ago
Do you have water and ports on the roadmap. I'd love some boats :)
phaser 16 hours ago
There's plans for: river map, island map, peninsula map, port zone, (with docks and containers), industrial fishing.
All in different stages of development. Can't say for sure when it's gonna be live but it's locked in.
JMiao 19 hours ago
you had me at apophenia
deadbabe 6 hours ago
Indeed, never heard this word but it’s so useful.
nprateem 12 hours ago
I wish someone would do this for a modern TTD but with railroad tycoon stock market/economy dynamics
hdgvhicv 9 hours ago
Which RT? The first was my first PC game I played, on CGA and keyboard only (5,1,2)
RT2 (which I played on Linux through Loki) was very different.
arjie a day ago
This was one of my favourite games. City simulators took up an enormous amount of my childhood and I still dream about arcologies. When I see a modern development like Brentwood in Canada's BC or some older ones like along the river in Chicago it reminds me of the wonders we can build.
As an aside since it's in the article, what are other cultures' irreverent targets? e.g. Anglo-cultures seem to casually joke about disasters like he does here about 9/11. Somewhat diminished by the fact that he's British, not American, but Americans do it too, and the American-British interaction involves this and Irish Car Bombs taken rather lightly. I find that curious. Do the Quebecois joke about Opération Satanique and the French have likewise a thing they make fun of the Quebecois for? Or is this an Anglo-culture thing? Obviously, I principally read in English so this might be specific to my language.
dylan604 20 hours ago
> and I still dream about arcologies
even after 9/11 and London's Greenfeel Tower fire? The vertical living seems very strained to me after events like that. Sure, they are not common issues, but there's always that thought in the back of my mind of what if.
lbrito 17 hours ago
Apartments are safer than single family houses regarding fires.
In 2023, the annual fire fatality rates for single-family homes and older multifamily homes were roughly equivalent at 7.6 and 7.7 deaths per million, respectively. In contrast, according to Pew researchers, the annual fire fatality rate for newer multifamily residences was 1.2 deaths per million.
https://www.multifamilyexecutive.com/apartment-trends/modern...
dylan604 16 hours ago
pbronez 3 hours ago
xboxnolifes 19 hours ago
I feel like at the scale of an arcology, there isn't really much of a meaningful difference between there being a fire blocking your escape in the massive structure vs, say, fire blocking you escape in a mall. You're either completely surrounded by fire or you're not.
jiggawatts 20 hours ago
The Grenfell fire was caused by petty corruption. Someone involved in its construction used a cheaper flammable cladding material instead of the (slightly!!) more expensive fire resistant version.
It’s very on-brand for places like Russia and China but clearly western countries are not immune to this kind of thing either.
After the fire there were investigations into towers constructed here in Australia. Many used the cheaper flammable cladding material also. Just like with Grenfell, nothing much was done and nobody went to prison.
dylan604 19 hours ago
rl3 a day ago
SC3K had a masterfully executed advisor system that felt both classy and warm. Ditto its music and art.
Unfortunately for SC4, they proceeded to make all the advisors 3D-rendered Sims. For SC2K, well:
https://www.somethingawful.com/news/simcity-advisors/4/
(that was the least offensive page to link; for the canonical experience start at page 1)
bknight1983 2 hours ago
YOU CAN'T CUT BACK ON FUNDING! YOU WILL REGRET THIS!!
comradesmith 4 hours ago
These aren’t actually from the game…
kqr 10 hours ago
Wait, are those from Sim City 2000, released in 1993? One of them references Google Maps, first available under that name somewhere around 2004?
belthesar 43 minutes ago
These were likely made with Foone's Death Generator. https://deathgenerator.com/#sc2k
danbruc 9 hours ago
Also Wazzup? was later. And the dialog looks different in screenshots you find online but then again there have probably been quite a few releases. Still, I would say those images are not real or maybe from some modded version.
syockit 6 hours ago
I have a very vague memory of being able to name streets, so this might be that.
DanielHB 8 hours ago
I vaguely remember 2 different releases of 3k with different advisors. I liked the cartoony ones better.
tillinghast 14 hours ago
These are all amazing. Thank you.
dcrazy 19 hours ago
SC3K’s art was not “crafted pixel by pixel.” It was rendered from 3DS Max. Maxis released a version of G-Max called the Building Architect Tool that included a template with the same lighting rig that they used for the in-game assets. This tool rendered and exported the various zoom levels and orientations.
AshamedCaptain 7 hours ago
You're describing SimCity 4, not SimCity 3000. The SC3k tool is not entirely 2D, but it does mostly behave like one (with emulated voxels instead of pixels).
And while I cannot confirm what Maxis was doing internally, I am quite sure no-one was using 3DS Max for rendering game assets in the 90s considering it had just been released and well into the 2000s it was still humongously slow.
nielsbot 21 hours ago
> SimCity 3000 is the best SimCity
I disagree! SimCity 2K FTW. :)
Best balance of complexity IMO and ran pretty well on my old Mac. I'd love a retro-futuristic reboot.
somat 17 hours ago
I was replaying SC2K(dos) recently and it is much harder than I expected. Usually these city games are fairly easy chill affairs. On a 1900 hard(max bond) start the only way I found to succeed(marked when I payed off all bonds) was to pause(to avoid early bond repayment losses), use all your money to setup the perfect layout for the next 40 years. Then wait in debt(can't build anything) for 40 years while hopefully your city profit grows past the bond interest amount and you are able to slowly claw yourself out of the red. Then immediately start saving for the replacement power plant as your original one will explode soon. I was not making a comfortable profit until about 1960. And this was after many failed cities, can't fix anything when you can't build anything.
DanielHB 8 hours ago
Couldn't you do external connections to sell power and water? I vaguely remember this being the best strat in the beginning. Or maybe that was just in 3k.
auto 20 hours ago
Not sure to what extent you're looking for a reboot to be representative of the original, but I've been following the development of this indie spiritual successor for some time: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2287430/Metropolis_1998/
petepete 9 hours ago
This looks fantastic.
I worry that its scope might be a bit wide.
From planning region-wide infrastructure (the thing I love about city builders/OpenTTD) right down to deciding how many wardrobes someone needs. How well can it do those things and everything inbetween?
But, I'll definitely be giving it a go. Thanks for posting the link.
JMiao 19 hours ago
i first played 2000 when it was bundled with my family's windows 95 pc, and was sad to learn that gog/steam sell the inferior dos variant. but, yes, 2000 was just right.
syockit 6 hours ago
I think that's because it's easier to package a DOSbox program than a Win16 program (it had Win32 edition, but supposedly the installer itself was Win16). According to pcgamingwiki, there's a patch to convert the GOG DOS edition to the Win32 edition.
Paul_S 21 hours ago
What a strange person, from the same author: https://www.thran.uk/writ/yarn/2025/03/road-rage-maxxing-or-... I don't understand how you can feel morally superior by blocking the overtaking lane and letting people through if they're respectful enough.
hdgvhicv 8 hours ago
I think Chelsea tractors belong in Chelsea, certainly not here in the country where they are completely unsuitable given the size
However he lost me at
> I was cruising in the fast lane, minding my own business
There is no fast lane in the U.K (including NI). There are overtaking lanes. If you are in this lane it’s because you are overtaking slower moving traffic in inside lanes.
If you aren’t, then you need to be losing your license
doublerabbit 2 hours ago
And to those who cruise in the middle lane at 60.
iknowstuff 21 hours ago
> his is allegedly for better compatibility for streaming, but since I'm not an egotist who needs every second of his life broadcast to an audience, we will switch it to true fullscreen.
Ahh of course, every streamer streams every second and is egotistical. What a moron
HeckFeck 2 hours ago
Hey, if you make your money from playing to an audience, you can take a little joke ;)
dnnddidiej 20 hours ago
Not only that this is so dangerous. Back off, and let the idiots idiot.
That said, probably don't want to discuss other weird posts for each HN submission!
jjordan 21 hours ago
Real people are complex and hold a wide palette of skills, opinions, habits, biases, etc. Just enjoy the good and disregard the bad.
LeoPanthera 16 hours ago
There is a huge difference between "people are complex" and actively advertising your antisocial and frankly dangerous actions online, and being proud of them.
If he wants me to disregard them, he shouldn't be writing blog posts about them.
HeckFeck 2 hours ago
hypfer 10 hours ago
nsavage 6 hours ago
According to Denis Leary, he would be an "asshole". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrgpZ0fUixs
jp191919 21 hours ago
I think it's some type of personality disorder.
HeckFeck 2 hours ago
I agree. Someone should have this dangerous man sectioned.
foo12bar 20 hours ago
Tailgating in a massive SUV is not disrespectful, it's dangerous to other person. Why encourage this behavior by immediately letting them through?
StableAlkyne 20 hours ago
The graveyards are filled with people who had the right-of-way, who died knowing they were in the right.
And even if it's a slow speed accident, who cares about being right if you get a disability in the process? It is safer to let them through so they don't plow into you when you have to suddenly stop.
The only reason to LARP as a highway cop is just ego.
foo12bar 12 hours ago
hypfer 20 hours ago
I suppose the middle ground is to just continue what you were doing with a slight negative factor of idk 0.8x speed.
Don't let the people win, but also do not suddenly assume powers you do not actually have.
Essentially, plausible deniability but on the road. You might really just be a slow passing slow lane changing driver.
___
The goal is to reintroduce friction into everyday life to nudge people into being less antisocial and/or make them slightly suffer for being that.
The goal is not to become a vigilante.
One brings a stable society, the other just a different flavor of the same chaos that came before.
john_strinlai 20 hours ago
something else dangerous: purposefully trying to incite a road rage incident.
in the wise words of reddit: ESH (everyone sucks here)
dessimus 20 hours ago
You don't know why they are tailgating or in a rush. For all anyone knows, they could have a passenger in a medical emergency.
MaxHoppersGhost 13 hours ago
Or how about you get the heck out of the fast lane when someone is approaching you going faster? Tailgating is an acceptable and common way to tell someone to gtfo of the way. That is common courtesy in most states in the U.S.
curiousgal 10 hours ago
Because the author is the one breaking the law, the right lane is for passing, not for cruising.
mock-possum 11 hours ago
Because it’s safer to do so. If accidents only ever hurt the driver responsible, that wouldn’t be such a big deal - but you’re a fool if you think that’s how the real world works.
IncandescentGas 20 hours ago
Off topic rage bait harassment has top comment? Why?
detritus 6 hours ago
Funny, I'm reading this as very dry, tongue-in-cheek humour.
wehnsdaefflae 21 hours ago
Well, I can
sp1nningaway a day ago
Sim City 3k is my least played Sim City game, but this is inspiring me to take another look. I really like the sweaty micromanagement and bigger scope of 4, but maybe I will prefer 3k's simplicity in my old age.
The picture caption with a 9/11 joke is a little off-putting, but it's at least proof that this isn't AI generated content...
jedberg 21 hours ago
> The picture caption with a 9/11 joke is a little off-putting
9/11 seems to be an important milestone in his life. In the about section of his web page it says this:
Q:/> How old are you?
A:/> I can't remember the collapse of the Soviet Union, but I can remember 9/11.
TheGRS 20 hours ago
I always thought of 9/11 as the major event for older millennials. I used to think it was all millennials, but many weren't even in kindergarten when it happened.
voidfunc 17 hours ago
nonamenoslogan 20 hours ago
Some of us use 9/11 as a milestone event in our lexicon of world changing events.
trynumber9 a day ago
I must also admit to preferring Sim City 3000 over 4. I don't know if I can handle a 4K user interface without a magnifier, however.
tracker1 a day ago
Same.. I'd rather have it 2x scaling at half-resolution. Vision issues.
greenavocado a day ago
Have you played SC4 with NAM?
lbrito 21 hours ago
Probably moves sc4 further away from what he would like. If you're into NAM might as well just play cities skylines with transit mods
Lammy 18 hours ago
My favorite SimCity game by far. The aesthetics are flawless.
I was so happy to score the physical “Music From SimCity 3000” soundtrack CD at the Alemany Flea Market fifteen or so years ago: https://www.discogs.com/release/794952-Jerry-Martin-Music-Fr...
> Some of the music from the original release is missing from an .ini file, even though it is present in Unlimited.
Article neglects to mention that the tracks which are included in Unlimited are lower-bitrate and monophonic compared to the same songs in stereo from the 1.0 release. Copy the same-name files from the original CD instead :)
Unlimited is sad because data-mining shows that it was almost multiplayer à la SC2k Network Edition: https://tcrf.net/SimCity_3000_Unlimited/Unused_Multiplayer_T...
wonkyfruit 2 hours ago
Good shout on grabbing from the original CD. The mono and lower bitrate is almost always install-footprint maths. Stereo CD audio is ~10MB per minute. Halve the channels, drop the bitrate, the soundtrack fits in a few MB. Worth the swap if you've still got the disc.
DonHopkins 4 hours ago
I really love Jerry Martin's music. He did the iconic music in the Sims too, collaborating with Marc Ruso and Kirk Casey.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Martin_(composer)
https://www.last.fm/music/Marc+Russo
https://soundcloud.com/kirk-casey
Here are his web sites with more:
“The Streets” 70’s Car Chase Music (reminds me of the Austin Powers theme Soul Bosa Nova by Quincy Jones):
https://jerrymartinmusic.com/music-70s-car-chase-1/
“Batucada” Bossa Nova:
https://jerrymartinmusic.com/music-bossa-nova-3/
“New Beginnings” This one is definitely in the 4 million plus club for plays on youtube:
https://jerrymartinmusic.com/music-sims-1-build-1/
“Let’s Go Shopping” Happy 50’s Shopping Music:
https://jerrymartinmusic.com/music-shopping-1/
Jerry Martin – Music From SimCity 3000:
https://www.discogs.com/release/794952-Jerry-Martin-Music-Fr...
Simcity 4 Soundtrack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSv37HwwojU
SimCasino (Early Access) - Soundtrack Sessions Complete:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOm9SSXyQ_g
How The Sims Made New-Age Jazz Piano the Soundtrack of Our Lives:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LpVUi9TQ8U
>The Sims soundtrack is an iconic piece of video game music, and the build mode's minimalist new age jazz piano songs are undoubtedly among it's most famous tracks. We spoke to Jerry Martin, the composer of the soundtrack, to find out how and why new age jazz piano became the sound of The Sims.
The Sims Soundtrack CHEATED. Here's how:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJMds3jT7c8
The Untold Story of 'The Sims,' Your First Favorite Jazz Record:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-untold-story-of-the-sims...
Music in The Sims:
https://sims.fandom.com/wiki/Music_in_The_Sims
Interview with SimCasino Composer Jerry Martin! A Master of Simulation Game Music:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1158420/view/4689895...
SimCity Micropolis Tile Sets Space Inventory Cellular Automata To Jerry Martin's Chill Resolve:
squeedles a day ago
I was surprised to see SC3k described as isometric like 2k. I recall versions after 2k being "look anywhere" 3D, but I guess I missed some versions. So many games, like Railroad Tycoon post RRT2 and Worms went full 3D and gameplay was never the same.
I actually keep a Basilisk II System 7.5 Mac environment just so that I can play SC2k from time to time ...
Waterluvian a day ago
A small frustration I have with playing old games is that the GOG/Steam version is always the PC original and the Mac versions almost always had far better sound and music and sometimes graphics.
mrpippy 20 hours ago
I feel like that's true for early/mid-90s games where the PC version targeted DOS (+ the varied universe of PC video/sound hardware), and the Mac version could just target the much more uniform Mac platform.
But SimCity 3000 is from 1999, and the PC version was a normal Win9x game. I own (still have the CD) the SimCity 3000 Mac port, and it is not very good. Maxis didn't port it themselves, it was done by Software MacKiev. System requirements were quite high for the time, it was sluggish, often unstable, and the file open/save dialogs reused the Windows-style dialogs which was very awkward.
The soundtrack is great though.
ndiddy 21 hours ago
You can run the Windows 95 version of the game (similar to the Mac version) on modern computers with this patch: https://sc2kfix.net/ . It's definitely disappointing that GOG doesn't distribute that version. Stuff like this is why I have to keep a CD drive around.
MrDOS 21 hours ago
And when you say “PC original”, you really mean “DOS version wrapped in DOXBox”, because it's easier to ship that on both Windows and Mac than patching the Windows version for Windows, and shipping a Wine wrapper for Mac. (Have they ever shipped a Wine wrapper for anything? I don't think so.) What a shame.
I do really wish an application-level classic Mac OS emulator existed. There are lots of great full-system emulators for classic Macs (Basilisk II, SheepShaver, DingusPPC), but no Rosetta-style “make the old application run in the context of a new machine” execution environments. I'll grouse to whoever will listen that all of the best edutainment software of the '90s and early '00s is trapped on PPC Mac OS.
phs2501 21 hours ago
Waterluvian 20 hours ago
nekzn a day ago
Maybe you can play using an emulator. I use VMware to emulate Windows XP to play The Sims and it works great.
DanielHB 8 hours ago
In 3k you could rotate the camera to 3 (or 4?) different angles, but each was fixed isometric rendered. Meaning they did all assets in the game at multiple angles.
oneeyedpigeon 7 hours ago
I'm very confident that you could do the same in 2k.
(Looks like this screenshot confirms it, those two blue arrows rotated the view: https://pressakey.com/gamepix/101/simcity3.jpg)
Sohcahtoa82 18 hours ago
> I was surprised to see SC3k described as isometric like 2k. I recall versions after 2k being "look anywhere" 3D
You recall wrong.
The only 3D SimCity game was the one released in 2013 that was simply titled "SimCity" but is frequently called "SimCity 2013" to differentiate it from the original classic.
2K, 3K, and SimCity 4 were all 2D games.
bombcar 13 hours ago
I believe 3k and 4 used 3D assets "in the editors" but the actual created tiles were 2D.
TylerE a day ago
You're thinking of simcopter maybe, which follwed 2K and was full 3D.
bentobean 2 hours ago
I also love this game. I was so hoping someone had managed to port this to WASM.
bglynn 17 hours ago
Back when SimCity 2000 was released, younger me somehow found a phone number for Maxis and actually called them to rave about it. At some point in the message, I very confidently told them to make “SimCity 3000.”
When SimCity 3000 came out, I couldn't help but wonder if I inspired them. "Remember that kid was really stoked about 3000."
Hobadee 17 hours ago
I'm pretty sure the phone number was just printed on the manual back then... Many games back then had a phone number printed in the manual.
iccananea a day ago
Signs that you are old: I saw "in 4k" and thought that it was in 4 kilobytes, not 4k resolution
vardump 20 hours ago
Or a demoscener.
ortusdux a day ago
Diablo 1 in 4k - https://i.imgur.com/4ResbPc.jpeg
nico 21 hours ago
Loved SimCity growing up.
Would it be possible to automate porting the windows version into a mac or web version? Like giving a long-running agent the task and some tools to check/play the game on both platforms?
cguess 20 hours ago
SimCity 4 has a native Mac build, it's on Steam. Most of the modding community uses Windows now though since the .dll hacks became feasible.
bombcar 13 hours ago
SimCity 4 not only has a native Mac build, but it has an applesilicon one (I believe you have to enable a beta flag somewhere).
Pretty impressive for a game released in 2003.
Oh my goodness SC4 is 23 years old. I'll go be old in the corner.
spockz 21 hours ago
At this point you can probably just run it with proton or wine. Why bother porting the whole thing?
nico 12 hours ago
For fun and customization. This guy used Claude to decompile and recreate an old mac game: https://www.tiktok.com/@philsmy/video/7644482888544636180
nonamenoslogan 20 hours ago
Can confirm it runs on Debian with Wine just fine.
receiptful-io a day ago
Great, and how does that translate if we want to run it 4k in Linux?
xerox13ster a day ago
I run Arch. I purchased it on Steam last week after the dos.zone site was shared here and dropped the GOG executable in the steamapps directory, and it worked flawlessly with proton.
jp191919 21 hours ago
Nice! I'm going to have to try that now.
wifipunk a day ago
Sweeet well done, especially with the audio. I like this patch method much more than the HD Patch I've been using the last few years.
We played SimCity in my shop class at school on olds macs and i like picking it back up every now and then. It still holds up better than most new games.
Hobadee 16 hours ago
> I will not pay for the same game twice.
I firmly disagree with that point. If the game is well-made and enjoyable, the developer probably deserves some extra cash thrown their way. Games remain one of the best bang-for-your-buck when it comes to entertainment anyways. ($50 can get you DAYS of enjoyment, compared to going to a movie theater, theme park, or other paid attractions)
So yes, go ahead and purchase an enjoyable game multiple times if it's a good game. I certainly have!
oneeyedpigeon 7 hours ago
I agree that games are excellent value, particularly compared to the 90s when they cost a LOT more than they do today. However, I think the point is a wider one: even if games were priced more 'fairly', should you be able to buy a game and then have, effectively, perpetual ownership of it?
bombcar 13 hours ago
The copies of Stardew Valley are not free but you can just buy them on every device you have I have 436 copies of Stardew Valley.
DonHopkins an hour ago
Will Wright handed the original Maxis SimCity 3000 team a great design for the next SimCity (which I think they should have called SimCity 2001 instead of SimCity 3000, to more realistically set expectations).
But they ignored him, and went off on a tangent trying to design their own ultimate totally general purpose virtual reality (and we know how well Second Life has done ;), without much thought to what was actually possible, playable, or fun on current computers.
They gave some demos of the 3D prototype to reporters, then Maxis ran out of money because it was nowhere near shipping, then EA bought us, then fired the people who were out of control, and Luc Barthelet announced to the reporters that SimCity 3000 wouldn't be 3D, but it would be 2D and beautiful.
Here is a little nugget I saved from that time: Guru's infamous SimCity 3000 design document, from when the 3D design was really going off the rails:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rnvzKdJp9tyEJwEGxsIjoHnT...
Ocean Quigley says that Guru was really sincere and believed what he said (and was not just on mushrooms).
I have to admit, that if that's true, then that Guru dude was 15 years ahead of his time, and not just a crackpot! But he should have mentioned something about the fact that it would take 15 years to develop those ideas into a shipping product!
- Peak hubris / scope explosion:
“It is possible to bridge the chasm of expectations and technology in the forthcoming year in a realistic and economical manner.”
“The Real Time Render mode shall define a visual paradigm hitherto unseen in any game or product.”
“Hence attempting to assault the cliff of expectations of the visual paradigm by means of the linear ladder fails.”
“There is a whole think tank of concepts and ideas which shall be explored and implemented…”
- Hardware reality fighting back:
“Needless to even state this is impossible performance for a delivery Pentium 75 within one year.”
“Terrifying thought. Cut the flexibility we say ! Let’s govern the flexibility I say.”
“That’s a tall order, admittedly, but then, this is an ambitious project !”
- Glorious jargon poetry:
“The semi-digested spatial data is nothing more than just that.”
“This data simultaneously suffers further transformation…”
“The motion window is always stabilized and will ‘fly’.”
“The Snapshot Port — a.k.a. The Portrait of Reality”
“causation of an event singularity for the common reference of the simulator and the visual computing system”
- The “there / that / do this” interface:
“Once ‘that’ has been identified to be able to ‘do’ ‘this’ to ‘that’…”
“The user can merely point ‘there’: and place a building. The user can point to ‘that’ building and delete it.”
“A single pencil beam shot back into the scene from the point of the mouse…”
- Biology metaphor goes full Spore:
“The species of the virtual world… shall be encoded for spatial representation as chromosomes…”
“The species itself shall be represented in its completeness as a self descriptive cell.”
“Needless to add… if transfer RNA were metaphorically the lifts of the building…”
“The other facet… is the ability to create more species by crossbreeding and mutation of species.”
- Buildings become existential -- this is the crown jewel:
“The behavioral transformation over time has a standard pattern
Now I’m a cylinder and Now I’m an egg
Now I’m smooth & shiny and Now I’m not
Now I am mottled and Now I’m not
Now I feel mottled and Now I do not
Now I’m here and Now I’m over there
something or the other blah blah”
“Once the Simulator and the VC shell agree that there is a building called Big Joe’s Shark Tent…”
“yes I have neon lights, I have thirty bulbs all having high level scripts…”
“aaah OK ! you got it ! the script is queued, bye”
- Voxel fever dreams:
“This throws up the possibilities of bulldozers actually bulldozing soil. And Mining community towns actually mining inside a silver mine !!!!”
“Voxel space animation methods can actually cause earthquakes.”
“The display of a building or a city block being engulfed by splitting seams of the earth is not an impossible target…”
- Favorite one-liner:
“Modelessness is messy.”
yard2010 6 hours ago
> Risky biscuits: building 1WTC and 2WTC but no hospitals or fire stations. I like to tease fate.
Too soon, too soon..
S-E-P 7 hours ago
So many hours, this was my SimCity experience and I still can hear the jazz.
This and Rollercoaster Tycoon and Doom II was my jam.
paulbjensen 19 hours ago
Another factor was that although both SimCity 3k and SimCity 4 both had a maximum of 256x256 tiles for their cities, the scale was different.
A SimCity 3000 tile edge was equivalent to 64m, whereas in SimCity 4 it was 16m. The scale of the city in SimCity 3000 was bigger as a result.
Hoping to test this principle of largest possible map sizes out soon.
Dwedit 21 hours ago
4K screen resolution, not a 4KB intro.
luxuryballs a day ago
What A View! Sims Thrilled As Local Landscaping Artist Hosts DIY Expo
racl101 a day ago
I'd love to see to see this game remade and released. I'd buy it in a second.
dawnerd a day ago
I hope GOG makes this all an easy to install mod/patch.
xerox13ster a day ago
Replace the executable, even on a Steam copy.
dawnerd 20 hours ago
There's more than just the widescreen patch. It would be really nice if they automated configuring and installing the other tweaks to make it really playable.
kristofferR 21 hours ago
claude --dangerously-skip-permissions -p "get this all installed https://www.thran.uk/writ/hdid/2025/12/simcity-3k-in-4k.html"
zuzululu 21 hours ago
what would be really cool is a first person world generated from simcity maps and you can walk around and go inside buildings etc
ChoGGi 17 hours ago
It would be nice if they remade Simcopter or Streets of SimCity yeah
shevy-java 8 hours ago
I liked the SimCity franchise. However had, while the graphics improved a lot, the first SimCity is still my favourite, largely because the actual gameplay was quite simple and efficient to use. I always found this strange, because the graphics got better but the actual gameplay itself got worse. I also noticed this even more so with civilization; playing the first part is super-fast and super-easy; later parts required so much more computational calculations, there was more lag, and more annoying UI animations (not all were annoying, but when I want to make a move, I want to make a move, not wait until unit xyz has to do a break for smoking for the next 10 minutes).
symlinkk 13 hours ago
I'm surprised a bunch of tech professionals are totally fine with downloading random .dll's and patching executables. How do you know this is safe?
baron3dl 2 hours ago
Windows on Hyper-V, on Proxmox, air gapped, wearing an aluminum foil cap.
democracy 15 hours ago
Genius!
1xn 17 hours ago
Uhh... in 4k glory. This is one of my top games ever. Just bought the book "BUILDING SIMCITY" from MIT Press and I have it next to me to keep me company.
Zardoz84 18 hours ago
Call to Vinnie and build the mythical SIM Castle...
AbraKdabra 21 hours ago
Man, I played the fuck out of this game in my teens, it's in my top 5 best games ever made.
selectively a day ago
Obnoxious author. Refusing to 'pay twice' for a game they care enough about to go through all this trouble + deeply obnoxious bit about Windows 11 at the end of of the post.