GT:  Please tell us a bit about the feedback the game will give to players. What information will they be able to determine without the need to view charts or overlays?

KH:  We’ve spent a lot of design and implementation time in trying to move as much information into the play field and out of data and map views as possible. We still have those tools available, but we felt the game would be much more visceral if we could bring those things to life. Some of the things we’ve added include building distress (where the building looks unkempt and decayed), prop feedback (where we place crime scenes, piles of trash, extravagant pools, and the like to give feedback on several elements including wealth, crime, occupancy, and garbage levels), ground textures (where the kind of lawn and how well it is maintained will give feedback on wealth level and occupancy), and sim behaviors (where you can judge wealth levels by the cars in the area, or see crimes being committed by little sims).

A dream factory (i.e. movie studio).

GT:  Some of the screenshots released for the game show night scenes. Will the game feature full day/night cycles?

KH:  Yes it will. We’ve given the player the option of running a 24 hour clock, having it always be day, or having it always be night. In addition to that, things like commute cycle and sim animations are tied to the 24 hour clock, so the kinds of things you’ll see during the day are very different than what you’ll see at night.

GT:  Will there be weather in the game (outside of disasters)?

KH:  For a variety of reasons we were forced to forgo things like snow and rain. But that doesn’t mean you won’t see these things in future expansion packs.

GT:  Speaking of disasters, are there new ones planned for SimCity 4?

KH:  There are both some old favorites and a couple of new ones. Some of the new ones include the robot attack, the volcano, and lightening.

GT:  We’ve heard that players will be able to actively try to stop or contain disasters as they are happening. Please tell us a little about this.

KH:  There are two types of disasters: naturally occurring, and God induced. Naturally occurring disasters are things like pipe-bursts, fires, riots, and power plant explosions. Those are all in the user’s control to either avert before they happen, or repair once they have happened (well, except for the nuclear power plant explosions…once those happen, there’s little you can do…but it is a gorgeous thing to see). God-like disasters are completely in the users control to initiate, and many of them allow for some level of control once they are unleashed. It’s good sick and twisted fun.

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