cvs.zerfleddert.de Git - micropolis/blame_incremental

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	1	<head><title>Inside The Simulator</title></head><body>
	2
	3	<h1>Inside The Simulator</h1>
	4
	5	<h2>How the Simulator Works and Strategies for Using It</h2>
	6
	7	Many factors influence the chance of your city's prospering or
	8	floundering: both internal factors (the structure and efficiency of
	9	your city) and external factors (the regional economy, disasters,
	10	etc.). <p>
	11
	12	<h3>Zones</h3>
	13
	14	Your city is divided up into three primary zones: residential,
	15	commercial and industrial. These zones symbolize the three basic
	16	pillars upon which a city is based: population, industry, and
	17	commerce. All three are necessary for your city to grow and thrive.
	18	<p>
	19
	20	<ul>
	21
	22	<li>Residential Zones are where the Sims live. Here they build houses,
	23	apartments and community facilities such as churches and schools. Sims
	24	are the work force for your city's commercial and industrial zones.
	25	<p>
	26
	27	<li>Industrial Zones are used to site warehouses, factories, and other
	28	unsightly and polluting structures which have a negative impact on
	29	surrounding zones. One of the major goals of planning is to separate
	30	these "nuisances" from the areas where people live. In this
	31	simulation, industrial zones represent the "basic" production of your
	32	city. Things produced here are sold outside the city to an "external
	33	market," bringing money into the city for future growth. <p>
	34
	35	<li>Commercial Zones represent the retail stores and services in your
	36	city, including gas stations, grocery stores, banks, and offices.
	37	Commercial areas are mainly dedicated to producing goods and services
	38	needed within your city. This is called "non-basic" production or
	39	production for the "internal market." <p>
	40
	41	</ul>
	42	<p>
	43
	44	<h3>Population -- Residential</h3>
	45
	46	The major factors controlling residential population are birthrate,
	47	availability of jobs and housing, unemployment, and quality of life
	48	within the city. <p>
	49
	50	Birthrate as used here, is actually a combination of the birthrate
	51	(positive) and the deathrate (negative). Within Micropolis there is
	52	always a positive birthrate. <p>
	53
	54	Availability of jobs (the employment rate) is a ratio of the current
	55	commercial and industrial populations to the total residential
	56	population. As a rule of thumb, the number of commercial and
	57	industrial zones together should roughly equal the number of
	58	residential zones. <p>
	59
	60	If there are more jobs in your city than residents, new settlers will
	61	be attracted. If the job market declines during a local recession,
	62	your people will migrate away in search of jobs. <p>
	63
	64	Housing for your residents is built in the residential zones. These
	65	zones must be powered and connected to the places of employment by
	66	roads. The structures built in residential zones are influenced by
	67	land value and population density. <p>
	68
	69	Quality of life is a measure of relative "attractiveness" assigned to
	70	different zone locations. It is affected by negative factors such as
	71	pollution and crime, and positive factors such as parks and
	72	accessibility. <p>
	73
	74	<h3>External Market -- Industrial</h3>
	75
	76	There are thousands of variables that influence your city. All these
	77	variables can be influenced by your actions with the exception of one.
	78	<p>
	79
	80	The external market (the economic conditions that exist outside of
	81	your city) is controlled by the simulation -- there is nothing you can
	82	do to change it. In many ways, this external market is the original
	83	source of all city growth. Towns frequently begin as production
	84	centers (steel towns, refineries, etc.) that service a demand in the
	85	surrounding region. As time passes, the external market grows to
	86	reflect the regional growth going on around your city. <p>
	87
	88	The industry in your city will attempt to grow as the external market
	89	grows. For this to happen there must be room for expansion (more
	90	industrial zones) and an adequate labor supply (more residential
	91	zones). <p>
	92
	93	<h3>Internal Market -- Commercial</h3>
	94
	95	The internal market is completely influenced by the conditions within
	96	your city. Internal production, created in the commercial zones,
	97	represents all the things which are purchased and consumed within the
	98	city. Food stores, gas stations, retail stores, financial services,
	99	medical care, etc. -- all depend on a nearby population to service.
	100	Within Micropolis, the size of the internal market determines the rate at
	101	which commercial zones will prosper. Commercial zones need enough
	102	zoned land to build on and an existent, sufficient work force to
	103	employ. The structures built in commercial zones are mainly influenced
	104	by land value and population density. <p>
	105
	106	Commercial zones grow and develop to serve the expanding internal
	107	market. Commercial growth will usually be slow at first, when the
	108	population is small and needs very little. As your city grows,
	109	commercial growth will accelerate and the internal market will become
	110	a much larger consumer of your total city production. This
	111	accelerating effect, when the external/industrial production is
	112	overtaken by the accelerating internal/commercial sector, can turn a
	113	sleepy little town of 50,000 into a thriving capital of 200,000 in a
	114	few short years. <p>
	115
	116	<h3>Tax Rate</h3>
	117
	118	The tax rate you set controls the amount of income generated by your
	119	city. As taxes are collected each year (simulation time), the Budget
	120	Window will appear, giving you the fiscal details of your city and a
	121	chance to adjust rates. The simulation determines the amount of
	122	revenue collected by assessing each zone an amount based on its land
	123	value, current level of development and the current tax rate. <p>
	124
	125	The tax rate has a global affect on your city's growth rate. If you
	126	set it low (0%-4%), growth will be brisk but the city income will be
	127	low. If you set it high (10%-20%), you will collect a lot in the short
	128	run but in the long run tax income will decrease along with the
	129	population. You must keep tax income high enough to invest in new
	130	development, but low enough not to scare off residents and businesses.
	131	A high tax rate is one way to control city growth, should you want to
	132	experiment with "growth control measures." <p>
	133
	134	<h3>Budgeting</h3>
	135
	136	City budgeting affects the way your city grows. City infrastructure
	137	cost is represented by three departments: police, fire, and
	138	transportation. You may set the funding levels separately for each.
	139	All three departments will request a certain level of funding each
	140	year. You may supply all or part of the requested funds, in the
	141	attempt to balance safety needs and budgetary concerns. <p>
	142
	143	<ul>
	144
	145	<li>Police Department: Police stations lower the crime rate around a
	146	territory. The effective radius of your police station is related to
	147	the amount of funding allocated to the police department. Police
	148	stations cost $100 per year to fund.
	149
	150	<li>Fire Department: Fire stations prevent and extinguish fires. The
	151	level of funding determines the effective radius of a fire station.
	152	Fire stations put out fires within this radius much sooner than
	153	outside it, and decrease the chance that they will start in the first
	154	place. Fire stations cost $100 per year to fund.
	155
	156	<li>Transportation Department:When you build roads and rail systems
	157	you are charged for construction and yearly maintenance. The larger
	158	your transportation network, the more it will cost for upkeep. If you
	159	decide not to or are unable to pay this maintenance cost, roads will
	160	slowly deteriorate and become unusable. The maintenance cost for each
	161	piece is: Road - $1, Bridge - $4, Rail - $4, Rail tunnel - $10.
	162
	163	</ul>
	164
	165	<h3>Power</h3>
	166
	167	Electrical power makes modern cities possible. Efficient and reliable
	168	power transmission to all zones is the goal of good "power
	169	management." <p>
	170
	171	The entire power grid of your city is periodically checked in the
	172	simulation for links to power. If a zone is connected (by other zones
	173	or power lines) to a power plant, the zone is considered powered. <p>
	174
	175	Zones must be powered for development to occur. Many things (such as
	176	fires, tornadoes, earthquakes and bulldozers) can knock down power
	177	lines and cause blackouts in parts of your city. Development will stop
	178	in unpowered zones, and if power is not quickly restored, the zone
	179	will decline back to its original state of emptiness. <p>
	180
	181	Redundant power plants and power connections can make your power grid
	182	more reliable, but running more line adds construction costs. <p>
	183
	184	<h3>Transportation -- Traffic</h3>
	185
	186	One of the most important elements of city structure is the
	187	transportation network. It moves Sims and good throughout your city.
	188	Roads typically occupy as much as 25%-40% of the land in urban areas.
	189	Traffic along these roads indicates which sections of your road system
	190	are used the most. <p>
	191
	192	Traffic levels are simulated by a process known as "Trip Generation."
	193	Over time, each populated zone in the city will generate a number of
	194	trips, depending on the population. Each generated trip starts at the
	195	origin zone, travels down the road, and if a "proper destination" is
	196	reached, ends at the destination zone -- otherwise, the trip fails.
	197	Trip failure indicates inaccessibility of a zone and limits its
	198	growth. <p>
	199
	200	The majority of generated trips represent people commuting to and from
	201	work. Additional traffic is generated by residents traveling to
	202	shopping, recreation, etc. When analyzing traffic, the simulator tests
	203	the following traffic routes: <p>
	204
	205	<i>Traffic Patterns</i><p>
	206
	207	<ul>
	208
	209	<li>From Residential
	210	<ul>
	211	<li>To Commercial
	212	<li>To Industrial
	213	</ul>
	214
	215	<li>From Commercial
	216	<ul>
	217	<li>To Residential
	218	<li>To Industrial
	219	</ul>
	220
	221	<li>From Industrial
	222	<ul>
	223	<li>To Residential
	224	</ul>
	225
	226	</ul>
	227
	228	<p>
	229
	230	When Sims drive away from an origin zone, they have a limited "trip
	231	range" in which to find a destination zone. Heavy traffic decreases
	232	the trip range. If the destination zone is too far away, the trip is
	233	unsuccessful. Repeated unsuccessful trips will cause the Sims to move
	234	out of the origin zone. <p>
	235
	236	Each road has a limited capacity for traffic. When this capacity is
	237	exceeded traffic jams will form. Traffic jams drastically lower the
	238	capacity of a road, compounding the problem and frustrating drivers.
	239	<p>
	240
	241	Traffic conditions fluctuate quickly. Avoid traffic problems by
	242	providing several routes for the traffic to take. <p>
	243
	244	A road must be adjacent to a zone for the zone to be connected to the
	245	traffic pattern. Zones do not conduct traffic the way they conduct
	246	power. <p>
	247
	248	<h3>Pollution</h3>
	249
	250	Pollution levels are tracked in all areas of your city. This is a
	251	general "nuisance level" that includes air and water pollution, noise
	252	pollution, toxic wastes, etc. Pollution has a negative impact on the
	253	growth of residential areas. <p>
	254
	255	The primary cause of pollution is industrialized zones. The level of
	256	pollution created by an industrial zone increases with its level of
	257	growth. <p>
	258
	259	Traffic is another cause of pollution. There are limited means of
	260	combating the pollution level. Lowering traffic density, limiting
	261	industrial development, and separating the pollution from the
	262	residential areas will help. <p>
	263
	264	<h3>Crime</h3>
	265
	266	Crime rates are influenced by population density, local law
	267	enforcement, and land values. As population density increases in an
	268	area, the number of crimes committed increases. Crime will also
	269	increase in areas of low land value. <p>
	270
	271	The most effective way to deal with high crime rates is to introduce a
	272	police station into the area. Based on its level of funding, the
	273	police station will reduce the rate of crime in its sphere of
	274	influence. A long-term approach to lowering crime is to raise the land
	275	value of the area. One way to do this is to demolish and rezone (urban
	276	renewal). <p>
	277
	278	<h3>Land Value</h3>
	279
	280	Land value is one of the most fundamental aspects of urban structure.
	281	The land value of an area affects how that area is used. In this
	282	simulation the land value of an area is based on terrain,
	283	accessibility, pollution, and distance to downtown. <p>
	284
	285	The farther the residents have to go to work, the lower the land value
	286	where they live, due in part to transportation costs. The value of
	287	commercial zones depends greatly on accessibility by the populace.
	288	<p>
	289
	290	Land value is also affected by surrounding terrain. If land is closer
	291	to water, trees, agricultural areas, or parks, its value will rise.
	292	Creative placement of zones within the terrain, with little
	293	bulldozing, can make good use of this natural advantage. <p>
	294
	295	Land value and crime rate have a feedback effect on each other. Lower
	296	land values cause crime rates to rise. Higher crime rates cause land
	297	values to drop, and can cause "transition areas" near your central
	298	city to rapidly decline in value. <p>
	299
	300	<p>
	301
	302	<hr>
	303	<p>
	304	<h2>Micropolis, Unix Version.</h2>
	305	This game was released for the Unix platform
	306	in or about 1990 and has been modified for inclusion in the One Laptop
	307	Per Child program. Copyright © 1989 - 2007 Electronic Arts Inc. If
	308	you need assistance with this program, you may contact:
	309	<a href="http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Micropolis">http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Micropolis</a> or email <a href="mailto:micropolis@laptop.org">micropolis@laptop.org</a>.
	310	</p><p>
	311
	312	This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
	313	it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
	314	the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at
	315	your option) any later version.
	316	</p><p>
	317
	318	This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
	319	WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
	320	MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
	321	General Public License for more details. You should have received a
	322	copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If
	323	not, see <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/">http://www.gnu.org/licenses/</a>.
	324	</p><p>
	325
	326	<h3 align="center">ADDITIONAL TERMS per GNU GPL Section 7</h3>
	327
	328	</p><p>
	329	No trademark or publicity rights are granted. This license does NOT
	330	give you any right, title or interest in the trademark SimCity or any
	331	other Electronic Arts trademark. You may not distribute any
	332	modification of this program using the trademark SimCity or claim any
	333	affliation or association with Electronic Arts Inc. or its employees.
	334	</p><p>
	335
	336	Any propagation or conveyance of this program must include this
	337	copyright notice and these terms.
	338	</p><p>
	339
	340	If you convey this program (or any modifications of it) and assume
	341	contractual liability for the program to recipients of it, you agree
	342	to indemnify Electronic Arts for any liability that those contractual
	343	assumptions impose on Electronic Arts.
	344	</p><p>
	345
	346	You may not misrepresent the origins of this program; modified
	347	versions of the program must be marked as such and not identified as
	348	the original program.
	349	</p><p>
	350
	351	This disclaimer supplements the one included in the General Public
	352	License. <b>TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, THIS
	353	PROGRAM IS PROVIDED TO YOU "AS IS," WITH ALL FAULTS, WITHOUT WARRANTY
	354	OF ANY KIND, AND YOUR USE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE ENTIRE RISK OF
	355	SATISFACTORY QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE RESIDES WITH YOU. ELECTRONIC ARTS
	356	DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY WARRANTIES,
	357	INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY,
	358	FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY
	359	RIGHTS, AND WARRANTIES (IF ANY) ARISING FROM A COURSE OF DEALING,
	360	USAGE, OR TRADE PRACTICE. ELECTRONIC ARTS DOES NOT WARRANT AGAINST
	361	INTERFERENCE WITH YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THE PROGRAM; THAT THE PROGRAM WILL
	362	MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; THAT OPERATION OF THE PROGRAM WILL BE
	363	UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT THE PROGRAM WILL BE COMPATIBLE
	364	WITH THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE OR THAT ANY ERRORS IN THE PROGRAM WILL BE
	365	CORRECTED. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN ADVICE PROVIDED BY ELECTRONIC ARTS OR
	366	ANY AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY. SOME
	367	JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF OR LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED
	368	WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATIONS ON THE APPLICABLE STATUTORY RIGHTS OF A
	369	CONSUMER, SO SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS MAY
	370	NOT APPLY TO YOU.</b>
	371	</p>
	372	</body>