So this title might look familiar π . That’s because a week and a half ago, I accidentally published this article instead of saving it and it automatically sent an email out to everyone on my email list. I’m sorry π . It was a complete mistake on my part and one I’m actually surprised took 5 years to make. So below is the actual post I planned to write instead of my strange notes π . I hope you enjoy.
In retirement, one of my goals has been to play more video games. That might sound strange π . I know that video games are often something people want to cut back on, but it’s a medium for storytelling just like films or books, which I both also love and I wanted to explore it further once I had the time to do so.
During my exploration, I’ve found that my love for games I’ve been playing for decades, continues (*cough* The Sims *cough*) and that hilariously, the things I did for a job, such as project management and strategy, are a big part of other games I absolutely LOVED last year – mainly Cities Skylines and Jurassic World Evolution.
So today I wanted to walk through those games and some tips that I wish I had known before starting to play them. Let’s get into it!
Cities Skylines
The first time I played Cities Skylines was a complete disaster. I went bankrupt immediately. So I closed the game and left the keyboard a defeated woman. The next time I played I also went bankrupt…but slower π . This time I did advance a bit in the game to the point where traffic became a HUGE problem. It got so backed up that my services couldn’t reach their destination, so people got pissed and I went bankrupt again. So I hung my keyboard up and walked away assuming this game just wasn’t for me.
That was several years ago. Enter 2022. I decided to give Cities Skylines another shot. It had been long enough and I’d learned and grown as a person right? So surely I can pull this off? Well I started a new game and quickly started seeing early warning signs that this would devolve as my previous games had.
But this time was different! I stopped the game and asked the internet for help. I watched YouTube videos and read tutorials about how to start a city and not have it go immediately bankrupt π . I don’t know why I felt weird about doing this before, but I did. For some reason I thought it was cheating, but now I realize that that was a silly feeling.
I look up a manual before doing anything – why not a video game? It’s not like it’s helping me skip levels or telling me secrets ahead of time – I’m just getting the base knowledge needed to not fail immediately π . So in case y’all are interested in trying out Cities Skylines,Β below are the things that I have found very helpful to not immediately go bankrupt. For credentials: I’ve now played hundreds of hours of this game and have cities of over 200,000 people so you can trust me π .
Initial Strategies
The first things you need when creating a city are:
- Roads
- Electricity
- Water (Drinking and Sewage)
Roads
The first thing you need to do to get access to different roads, is to build one – weird π . So I put down the smallest piece of road I can from the highway entrance, and then I delete it. I then choose one of the bigger roads with 2 lanes on each side and connect it to the highway with 1 lane roads.
This bigger road is going to be my main drag. From that, I start making a small grid with dirt roads. This turns out to be one silly almost-requirement for the game. Every time I started building with regular roads instead of dirt roads, I went bankrupt. You can upgrade these streets later to regular roads, but for now we’re gonna be rolling in the dirt.
I usually upgrade them when I have a good chunk of change and always do so because the upgrade makes people happy and provides more parking room on the roads. However, be careful when you’re creating dirt roads on inclines because sometimes you can’t upgrade those to regular roads if they’re too steep. Also you can’t upgrade dirt roads that are next to landfills, so you might want to start with regular roads if you care about that aesthetic too much like I do π .
This is also related to my second main problem after money: Traffic. I watched YouTube videos of an actual City Planner showing how he avoids that, and it’s basically making small grids – I guess cities IRL know what’s up π . The other suggestion he has is to change the main drag to only use stop signs that stop people before entering the main road, but doesn’t slow down people traveling up and down it. Smart.
Electricity
Your city needs power so it’s time to choose what kind of power you want to use. I usually look around for green power solutions, such as wind turbines. Where you put them can be determined by which part of the map is windiest. So intricate π . I then run a power line to the center of my new town where people are starting to build.
Water
I usually choose maps that have a river so I can get fresh water for my city and also (unfortunately) dump waste down river. I bought an eco expansion pack (which I’ll discuss below) just to clean up the river, but it turns out that the only way to prevent this pollution entirely is to buy a “Sunset Harbor” expansion pack. I give up π .
Anyway, if you instead choose a map that has a lake, you’re going to be slowly turning that lake into a poop lake, which is never a good or healthy idea π . For this reason, rivers are my go to. I put my fresh water pumps upstream and my waste pumps as far away from them as possible downstream.
Scenarios
This game recently added “Scenarios,” which I’ve been enjoying. Usually I’m all for sandbox games, but my nerd self can’t resist a good checklist π . I completed their “Green Power” Challenge where you create a ridiculously green city. It was a good time π .
Other than those challenges though, I’ve been playing my way through all the various maps this game provides because each one has its own unique challenges that excite and frustrate me π .
Expansion Pack Review: Green Cities
As I mentioned, the fact that you have to permanently pollute the water in these games bothers me, so I requested the Green Cities expansion pack for Christmas. I enjoy this pack, but I should have done more research π . I thought this would give me a lot of options to stop pollution and it does, but they’re mostly on land.
The water options don’t prevent pollution, but do allow you to clean it up after your city is big enough (and your water is dirty enough π . So the pack was a little disappointing, but that was because of my own research-failings.
Outside of those options, the new type of low-density eco housing is surprisingly ugly. The houses look like a desert Stepford Wives nightmare. So much so that despite my love of virtual (and IRL) conservation, I haven’t been using them because I don’t like looking at them – Oops π .
The Sims 4
I’ve played The Sims since the first version came out in 2000 when I was in middle school…23 years ago. Wow – I’m old π . I loved it then and I still love it now. We’re up to the 4th version and it just keeps getting higher resolution, and despite playing this game for almost a quarter century (yikes…), I still routinely discover new things within it. I love it so much π .
Scenarios
One thing I love most about The Sims is how it’s a pure sandbox game – you can do whatever you want. However, last year they added Scenarios to the game, which are similar to the Scenarios Cities Skylines just added. Despite my love of sandboxing, I did enjoy trying a few of these smaller challenges. It’s a fun new addition, but I think I’ll mostly stick to my sandbox methods and seeing where the game takes me…which is usually to drama, murder and mayhem π .
Expansion Pack Reviews
I am hesitant to say how many expansion packs of The Sims I own…but I think it’s important to mention, so let’s do this. Just promise me you won’t calculate how much I’ve spent on this game. The packs are usually 50% when I buy them, I swear π !
Seasons
This is the first pack I bought with any version of the Sims. I think it’s basically required and wish it was a part of the base game. The weather and seasons changing throughout the gameplay adds a wild amount to the gameplay.
Get To Work
This pack lives up to its name and lets you go to work with your sims in 3 professions: doctor, scientist and police officer. It’s fascinating and I always wished Sims didn’t just disappear when they went to work, and loved that I could follow them and help them with their actual job tasks.
At the time, this was the only way to interact with a Sim while they were working. However, City Living (mentioned below) and a few other packs, have now introduced work from home options so the Get To Work expansion is no longer the only way to see what work they’re doing. I still enjoy it though π .
Cats & Dogs
Furry friends are back π . Unlike previous Sims games, this expansion isn’t called “Pets” and has a wide range of animals. This one just focuses on cats and dogs, but I do find that having these cuties around helps with the feel of the game.
Cottage Living
Cottagecore vibes! This pack introduces starting a farm in the English countryside. It’s super cute and I greatly enjoyed the new animals you can raise and/or interact with, such as cows, chickens, llamas, rabbits, foxes and birds!
City Living
This is a really cool pack. It finally introduced apartment living with all of its big city quirks: things breaking, dealing with uncaring landlords, loud neighbors, roaches….why did I live in cities again π ? Anyway, it’s cool to switch up the type of living situation and I do enjoy it when I try it, but inevitably my Sims move back to the country – I guess they’re old and over it just like me π .
Jurassic World Evolution
Divisions
There are 3 divisions in this park: Security, Entertainment and Science. Throughout the game, they will present you with tasks that you can also ask for contracts, which are bigger tasks with bigger payouts. I didn’t realize this the first time I played the game, but you need to accept tasks from all 3 divisions because if you don’t, one of them will inevitably try to sabotage your park by turning off the electricity to your electric fences or causing some other kind of mayhem.
The best way to combat this is to be in good standing with all of them. You don’t have to accept every task or contract they present, but going between different divisions while doing so is a good idea. Another good idea is seeing if you can line up tasks that pay you forΒ things you’re doing for yourself anyway. For example, if you want to build a hotel, the entertainment division might have a contract to do just that and then you get paid instead of just bleeding money into the hotel.
One more thing to consider is that you might want to double layer your electric fences. I personally do this for all carnivore enclosures, but it will be doubly helpful with Security division contracts because they often involve dinos trying to break out of their enclosures when it’s your job to keep them in. I’m proud to say that no one has been injured in my park – apparently that’s a big feat in this game since a recent task asked me to “let no more than 4 guests die in the next 5 minutes”…YIKES!
Compatibility & Preferences
So not only do you have to keep the park guests happy and the dinosaurs in their pens, but you understandably also have to keep the dinosaurs happy – and they may be more particular than the guests π . Each dinosaur has a preferred environment, such as how much forest or grassland they prefer as well as compatibility with other dinosaurs and population requirements.
For example, a velociraptor can never be born alone. You need at least 2 raptors together for them to be happy. And velociraptors are only comfortable if they live in a group of no more than 6 raptors and an overall population of all the dinosaurs in their inclosure of no more than 20 dinosaurs.
Making sure all of the needs of every type of dinosaur is met, can quickly become a full time job. Luckily this doesn’t matter a huge amount in the beginning of the game, when only easier dinosaurs are available to be made and they only seem to care about overall population.
Other Tips
And here are some other random tips that I found helpful:
- Research upgrades and apply them immediately – also you can apply upgrades multiple times to one building, such as boosting electric output multiple times
- I always sell fossils if they’re 1 star and only pay to extract the higher rated fossils
- When I unlock other islands, they usually start with $0. So I keep valuable items I want to sell in my Fossil Center inventory and then sell them on the other island so I have more money. The inventory is static between islands
Conclusion
And those were the best games I played in 2022 π . This year I’m planning to expand into new territory and want to learn how to properly play Stardew Valley. First I just need to learn from my past mistakes and see if I can find a guide to tell me how the game generally works. If you have a suggestion for that feel free to let me know below. I’ve been warned that this game will take over my life, but I’m curious to see what happens π .
What were your favorite games last year?
Ha Purple, you never fail to amaze me. I don’t know how you continue to come up with blog post ideas. Keep up the great work and love reading these every Tuesday morning!
Haha thank you Ken! I don’t know either, but luckily I’m always interested in something random that others tell me might help others so here I am π . Thank you for reading!!
Nice! “Let no more than 4 guests die” XD love some dark humour. That’s hilarious. One of my closest friends adores the Sims and would play it all the time if life let her. I never got into it as I prefer RPGs and narrative-driven games rather than resource management ones. My favourite games last year were RPGs: Skyrim and Pillars of Eternity 2. I don’t often pick up new games, and while Elden Ring looked fun, I thought that I should probably start with the original Dark Souls games first.
However, last year, I finally played a few oldies that had been lingering in my library for years, and I’m going to recommend two of those to you.
1) Papers Please. It’s resource management under a story of being a border officer in a fictional 80s-era dystopian country – I promise, it’s really fun. An oldie by now, which means it’ll run on your laptop without issues π you’ll find tons of lets-plays if you wanted to check it out before buying.
2) What Remains of Edith Finch. It’s pure exploration and narrative gameplay, so it’s different from what your tastes seem to be, but really really worth the time and effort. You’re visiting a family home and uncovering the tragic stories of past family members. I don’t recommend spoilers for this, actually. The best experience comes from playing it fresh.
I have also had Civilisation and Inscryption recommended to me. I haven’t played them, but I’ll pass the suggestions on to you!
Haha yeah – it’s fucked up π . And oooh what kind of gameplay in the Sims does this friend like? Everyone plays the game so differently that I’m curious. That’s cool about RPGs – my partner usually prefers those as well these days. He loved Dark Souls, Elden Ring, Bloodborne etc.
Thank you for the recommendations! My partner’s played Papers Please and he’s never heard described it as fun haha. Just tragic π , which is not something I’m usually looking for these days. However, I’m fascinated to hear why you think it’s fun! Are you better able to realize this is a game and not feel like you hold people’s lives in your hands π ?
As of What Remains – I haven’t heard of it, but I enjoyed playing Gone Home and Tacoma, which sound like they have kind of similar premises. I’ll check it out – thank you!
Civilisation looks like Age of Empires, which I love and Inscryption looks like a card game my partner would love (I’m not one for those unfortunately). Thank you again!
I’ve asked my friend re the Sims. I know she’s mentioned before that she likes the ease of doing things in the game – need money quick? Sell your couch! Want a new couch? Get a job, get promoted, more money and now a new couch! I think she likes that it’s escapist yet close to reality. I’ve asked her more about it.
Papers Please – I do see it as a game. Not that I don’t get invested in the characters who show up, I do! I like that the story forces me to make tough decisions – moral and practical – and that I can roleplay to a certain extent: you can align yourself with the rebels; you can be a good little Arstotzkan citizen; you can escape with your family; you can escape by yourself; you can sacrifice yourself for your values; you can survive by ignoring any implied values; you can even tactically kill certain members of your family and make it easier to escape. Honestly, that’s awful AND hilarious. In my first playthrough, I accidentally killed my entire family because I ran out of money for medicine and food. It tickled my dark sense of humour that there was an ending for that!
The actual gameplay gets intense and frustrating at times, so when I succeed at it, the payoff is satisfying. I love the setting and the humour in the game, the distinctive music and art style, and perhaps it’s because of my European background, but I really love the echoes of Soviet-era politics and dystopia. Do I like or support the real-world version of that? Absolutely not. Do I like a gameplay version of it? Heck yes. Would I last a day as a real-world border agent? Probably, but I’d be crap at it XD I watched jacksepticeye’s playthrough of it last month and he and I share similar reactions to the game. I was also muttering things like “this date is wrong! GET OUT OF MY LINE” and “AHA you’re a criminal! DETAINED” with total glee when I played it. And when fighting erupted I would be horrified too. Real rollercoaster of emotions haha.
Games are great for exploring different settings and world views. I also occasionally play evil characters in RPGs and find that fun – precisely because it’s just a game at the end of the day and it’s a departure from how I usually approach interactions and problems.
What Remains is similar to Gone Home, exactly. It’s tragic, but it’s a beautiful example of how powerful a storytelling medium games can be. If you do check it out and decide to play it, I would love to hear your opinions.
My friend says she likes maxing out their skills and trying different career paths. She gets her Sims to buy or build big crazy houses fancy houses with all the toys. She wanted to make a village with only one family but the family has so far only had boys, so her plan is veering off course.
Wow – she’s more patient than I am π . Maxing skills gets repetitive and boring to me, but I suspect that’s because I have them do the same action over and over again after I find one they enjoy that increases skill quickly – maybe I’m optimizing too much π . And a village with only one family as in in-breeding? I think the game stops you if you try to make people procreate that have close genes, but to each their own!
Yeah, I did have a WTF moment when she told me that particular detail XD I think there are some wild mods for Sims out there. Maybe she was trying something out and it might not work. I opted not to pursue details!
That’s an interesting perspective – I’ve never really focused on how immediate doing something is π . And that’s a great approach to Papers Please – I talked about this a bit with my Partner and you might have given us a way to play it for more than an hour before getting horribly sad π . I’ve added a note to let you know what I think if i play Remains!
Love the Sims! I just played it again last weekend after not playing it for over a year. IT really pulls you back in.
Have to try Cities Skyline next.
I’ve been playing Sims lately too π . I hope you enjoy Cities Skylines! It’s very Sims City-esque.