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SimCity News
Friday, August 9, 2013 - 00:32
Wednesday, August 7, 2013 - 21:46
With update 6 out of the way, Maxis has announced update 7 which is currently in development. It'll bring a plethora of traffic fixes. Most notably vehicles will now claim their destination before actually going there, which will prevent flocking. Congestion on busy routes is also handled in a smarter way and vehicles will accelerate and decelerate faster, allowing them to leave buildings and go through intersections more easily, allowing smoother traffic in your city. However, the biggest thing may in fact be bridges: using the , or . keys you'll soon be able to raise or lower roads to create overpasses, bridges or tunnels.
Read the full notes below and Alexander Harkness' blog post for more details.
- New: Brand new tool to create bridges, overpasses, and tunnels when you draw your roads.
When building your road, pressing the , key or . key will lower or raise the road accordingly creating overpasses, bridges and tunnels.
Note: Existing road layouts cannot be raised or lowered
- New: Improvements for Traffic behavior to make it smarter. This should reduce the number of lines formed by all available vehicles converging on a single spot. This affects all vehicles including Police, Fire Trucks, Moving Trucks, Garbage Trucks, Recycling Trucks, Resource Trucks, Buses, Ambulances, and Civilian vehicles going home, to work, or shopping.
- New: Tree tools – Place individual trees around your city. These tools are located at the end of the Nature Parks palette.
- Terrain: Fixes an issue some player’s see where terrain covers sections of roads while the camera is zoomed out.
- Fixed an issue where the fire animation would sometimes continue when fire was extinguished.
- Parks: Sports parks are now accepting Sims 24 hours a day.
- Airship: The number of Airship passenger trips should now be correct over multiple days.
- Vehicles: Vehicles now accelerate and decelerate faster, allowing them to leave buildings and go through intersections more efficiently.
- Freight: Freight trucks now only leave factories if they have a valid delivery destination.
- Gifting: Money gifting should be more reliable.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013 - 19:06
Another day beginning at the studio!
Monday, August 5, 2013 - 18:11
SimCity™ will be available for Mac exclusively as a digital release on August 29, 2013. SimCity is cross-platform compatible, so all players, whether on Mac or PC, will be able to play SimCity together in the online connected world and will be able to jump back and forth into their cities regardless of the platform.
Those players who have previously purchased digital and boxed copies of SimCity for PC will receive an automatic entitlement for SimCity for Mac via Origin™.
SimCity for Mac and PC allows players to create and destroy the cities of their imaginations, and has been rated PEGI 7+ by the ESRB for both PC and Mac. For more information regarding SimCity, please visit www.SimCity.com.
Saturday, August 3, 2013 - 00:38
I've been on a trip for a few days and knew I couldn't play Sims. I intended to create my very own Freezer Bunny and guess what? I did! I made my own pattern and ordered materials some time ago. And this week I started working on it. It took only a few hours. I promised to show you all this awesim secret on Sunday. But I went home a day early! I realize the Freezer Bunny I created is far from perfect. 
In my defense it's my first plushie in many years. I haven't made one in 20 years! I will upload the DIY pattern and instructions soon on SNW. Are you excited? 
Saturday, August 3, 2013 - 00:14
Earlier today Inside EA mentioned on Twitter that EA is looking for a Senior Game Designer at Maxis! It looks like were getting a new mobile game. My guess is that maybe it's mobile version of The Sims 4. What do you think?
Join EA and work on a new mobile Sims game as the next Sr. Game Designer for Maxis! http://bit.ly/145pG0E #hotjobsfriday @EA
Friday, July 19, 2013 - 08:40
If you follow SimGuruRiley on Twitter you may have seen these pics already. We all love Freezer Bunny. And guess who is out and about at Comic Con? Yeah, Freezer Bunny! And SimGuruSteph is also there, so I collected photos/tweets from both of them this time!
Should #FreezerBunny line up at Hall H?
#FreezerBunny #ComicCon2013 more fun from the show floor
#FreezerBunny just found some fans at #ComicCon2013
#FreezerBunny catches a ride up to Ralphs at #ComicCon2013
#FreezerBunny headed back out on the show floor of #ComicCon
EA!
#FreezerBunny rolling on the show floor of #ComicCon2013
Joining @SimGuruRiley at SDCC! #Freezerbunny meets Catwoman!
#FreezerBunny the city awaits.
Thursday, July 18, 2013 - 08:26
Although not really Sims news, I thought it was really funny that SimGuruRiley is going to Comic Con with Freezer Bunny! See all the fun pics below! 
On the road to Comic con!
Freezer Bunny loves an open window.
Freezer Bunny stops for gas on they way to comic con.
Hello Central Valley California !!! You are looking lovely today.
#FreezerBunny almost to SanDiego ComicCon.
So many fun places in the car for #FreezerBunny to play in.
So close!
#FreezerBunny is so squishy.
I promise no bunnies were hurt.
#FreezerBunny just checked in to the hotel.
#FreezerBunny surveys the convention enter
#FreezerBunny is going to go for a ride down to pick up some #SDCC badges.
#FreezerBunny has arrived at #SDCC
#FreezerBunny is working the celebrity photo wall.
#FreezerBunny hitting the Gaslamp for a plate of nachos.
#FreezerBunny we have made it to the show floor.
#FreezerBunny #SDCC2013 Preview night just wrapped up.
I'm loving all these Freezer Bunny pics! It reminds me of Junior and how he always comes along to attend all the events! Speaking of which, Junior really should start moblogging again!
Thursday, July 18, 2013 - 00:07
SimCity on Facebook just posted these screens which show some of the new features coming soon:
Update 6 Changes Currently in Testing
We are testing changes to how RCI works in the game in response to feedback directly from our players. The main goals are to make Industrial matter more and make sure the demand bars inform players what they should zone.
• New: RCI Tuning - Tuning to make Industrial needed more. Commercial buildings lose profit if they don’t have enough freight. The demand bars should feel like they inform the player what they should zone.
• New: RCI height variations for Density 3 Buildings. This will add more variety to the look of your cities.
• New: Borderless windowed mode setting.
• Fixes for some issues of the “out of money” problem or unexplained abandonment.
• Clarity around unfilled jobs and workers to make sure players are messaged that there may be an issue where workers cannot get to unfilled jobs.
• Residential and Commercial buildings are now more consistently in the same wealth in an area of a particular land value. Improves visually consistency.
• Help Wanted, no Shoppers, and No Jobs alerts have been added to the Zoning info panel as alerts.
• Data Layer: Greater map accuracy on the land value map. Residential and Commercial wealth colors added. Abandoned buildings show up red.
• Data Layer: Land Value map shows when placing parks.
• Fixed issue where RCI sometimes builds on roads.
• Fix performance slowdown in cities with more than one million tourists.
• UI Clarity: Show which city hall modules are already placed in the region on the palette UI.
• Garbage UI: fixed issue where garbage UI sometimes showed bins that had already been picked up.
• Gifting: Cash gifts will send to another city even if a player leaves the gifting city before seeing gift confirmation.
Friday, July 12, 2013 - 21:18
Win Exclusive Swag Bags Filled To The Brims With The Sims 3 and SimCity Merchandise
Get your hands on one of three incredibly exclusive swag bags, filled to the brims with The Sims™ 3 and SimCity™ merchandise, including rare Plumbob jewellery set and exclusive The Sims™ 3 Diesel t-shirt, and a Rita Ora signed The Sims™ 3 Seasons sleeve!!!
What you have to do?
Use your Sims knowledge and expertise, to answer this question in no more than 100 words: ‘What is your all-time favourite The Sims™ expansion pack and why?’ Please include an in-game screenshot showing us what you love most about this particular expansion pack. Show us what objects and fashion styles allow you to best express your individuality.How do you enter?
Send your 100 word answer and your amazing screenshot, with your name and age to summerswag@ea.com. This competition is open now!! Have your entries in before midnight on Friday 19th July 2013.What do you win?
Three Swag Bags filled to the brim with exclusive The Sims 3 and SimCity merchandise are up for grabs! They include a rare Plumbob jewelry set, an exclusive The Sims™ 3 Diesel t-shirt and a Rita Ora signed The Sims™ 3 Seasons sleeve! Along with many other prizes you’d love to get your hands on – check out the picture above.When will you find out if you’re the winner?
The three winners will be contacted via the e-mail address they enter with on Monday 22th July – so keep your eyes peeled!Get your creative caps on and let us know which expansion pack is your favourite, and show us what you can do with it!
Best of luck.
The full competition terms and conditions can be found here.
Gaaaaah! Again I can't participate. I'd love to though! Look at those goodies. It's UK only, so if you live in the UK, be sure to participate!