1 <head><title>Tutorial -- A Walk Through Your City
</title></head><body>
3 <h1>Tutorial -- A Walk Through Your City
</h1>
7 To start up Micropolis, go to the Micropolis directory and run the shell
8 script named
"Micropolis". The computer will chug for a while as
9 HyperLook and Micropolis are loaded. You'll know things are going well
10 when you see the Introduction Screen.
<p>
12 <i>The Introduction Screen
</i><p>
14 Once Micropolis is loaded, the Introduction Screen will go away and be
15 replaced by a Welcome Notice, and a Startup Window with a bunch of
16 buttons for cities and scenarios.
<p>
18 <i>The Welcome Notice
</i><p>
20 <i>The Startup Window
</i><p>
22 In case you wonder about any of the buttons or graphics, you can get
23 help on anything by pointing at it and pressing the
"Help" key. So try
24 pressing
"Help" over the weird little grill in the upper right corner
25 of the Startup Window. This brings up the HyperLook Help stack. Click
26 on
"Done" to dismiss it.
<p>
28 <i>The Help Stack
</i><p>
30 <h2>Generating a New City
</h2>
32 Now click the left mouse button on the
"New City" button. The Welcome
33 Notice will turn into a control panel for setting up a New City, and
34 the Startup Screen will turn into a Terrain Generator with a map and
37 <i>The New City Panel
</i><p>
39 <i>The Terrain Generator
</i><p>
43 You can set the name of your city by clicking the left button on the
44 "City Name" text field, and typing the name. The delete key erases the
45 last character, and Control-U erases to the beginning of the line. You
46 can double or triple click on the name to select it, and it will be
47 deleted when you type a new name.
<p>
51 The three exclusive settings let you select the Game Level. Choose
52 "Easy" for now, by clicking the left mouse button. If you're just
53 starting out, you can certainly use the extra money!
<p>
55 <h2>Generate New Terrain
</h2>
57 If you're not satisfied with the terrain map you see, just press
58 "Generate New Terrain", and you will get a new map. You can do this as
59 many times as you like, until you get a nice map.
<p>
61 <i>Randomly Generated Terrain Maps
</i><p>
65 When you are happy with the terrain map, press the
"Use This Map"
66 button, and the game will begin!
<p>
68 <h2>The Edit Window
</h2>
70 You're now playing Micropolis! The Edit Window, which is the main window
71 used for controlling Micropolis, will be displayed:
<p>
73 <i>The Edit Window
</i><p>
75 The Edit Window is where you will do the actual building and zoning.
76 In the middle of the Edit Window is a detailed map showing part of the
77 terrain. Around the edges are controls and fields displaying
78 information about the city.
<p>
80 Along the top edge of the window is the City Name, where the name of
81 your city or the scenario you selected is displayed. Clicking on it
82 brings the window to the front.
<p>
84 In the upper left corner is a picture of the City Simulator.
85 If you click on that, the Introduction Screen will be displayed
86 to show the credits, version, and copyrights. Click on the
87 Introduction Screen to dismiss it.
<p>
89 On the left edge, below the City Simulator, is a Close Box. Clicking
90 the left button on the Close Box closes the Edit Window into a small
91 icon, a miniature version of the window. Thanks to the way HyperLook
92 is designed, when a window is iconified, it continues to animate. You
93 can double click on an icon to open it back up to a full sized window.
96 There is a row of Menu Buttons below the title, to the right of the
97 Close Box. Pressing the right mouse button down over any of these
98 buttons pops up a menu, from which you can select using the right
99 mouse button. Clicking the left mouse button over a Menu Button
100 selects the menu's default item, without displaying the menu. The
101 default menu item has a black ring or rectangle around it. You can set
102 the default by pressing the Control key when the menu is up.
<p>
104 There are three fields below the Menu Buttons, that display your
105 Current Funds (in dollars), the Current Date (the year and month), and
106 important Messages (one at a time). Clicking on them just brings the
107 window to the front.
<p>
109 Along the left edge of the window are two columns of colorful Tool
110 Icons, used for choosing the city editing mode. Click the mouse over
111 an icon to select an editing tool. The currently selected tool is
112 highlighted in yellow. The Tool Cost field along the bottom edge of
113 the window tells you the name of the selected tool, and how many
114 dollars it costs to use.
<p>
116 You can use the selected tool by pressing the left mouse button over
117 the map in the middle of the Edit Window. Also, you can pop up a Pie
118 Menu to quickly switch between editing tools, by clicking the right
119 mouse button over the map. You can easily scroll the map by pressing
120 the middle mouse button down over the map and dragging the view
123 The Demand Indicator shows the demand levels for Residential (green),
124 Commercial (blue), and Industrial zones (yellow), and can be helpful
125 in planning your city.
<p>
127 The Zoom Control changes the magnification of the map. You can zoom in
128 or out to make the graphics larger or smaller, or press the Zoom Reset
129 button to zoom back to normal. The animation is fastest at the normal
132 All of the Micropolis windows have Drag Edges with which you can move the
133 window around, and Resize Corners to change the size of the window.
134 Some windows cannot be resized, so the resize corners just move them
135 around. To use them, press the left mouse button down over the corner
136 or edge, and move the outline to where you want it. The window will
137 move or resize to that location, when you release the button.
<p>
139 The main portion of the map is land. Your available land is made up of
140 three types of terrain. The brown areas are Clear Land, the green
141 areas are forests and Trees, and the blue areas are Water. You can
142 build only on Clear Land. You can clear forest and extend coastlines
143 with your bulldozer. You can run roads, rails, and power lines
144 straight across the Water.
<p>
146 <h2>The Map Window
</h2>
148 The other window that's shown when you start the game is the Map
149 Window, which displays an overview of your entire city map:
<p>
151 <i>The Map Window
</i><p>
153 You can see different demographic views of the city, chosen by the
154 icons on the left. The type of map is shown along the top edge of the
155 window, to the right of the Close Box.
<p>
157 There is a yellow rectangle in the Map Window that shows the location
158 of the detailed city view. (There may be more than one yellow
159 rectangles, if multiple views are visible.) Press the mouse button
160 down over the yellow rectangle, and drag it around the map, to scroll
163 <h2>Building a City
</h2>
165 To begin a city, we need: places for Sims to live, places for Sims to
168 You can only build on Clear Land, so use the Bulldozer to clear away
169 some trees. Click the left mouse button on the Bulldozer Icon. Move
170 the cursor over to land. It now points to a small square, outlining
171 the area that will be bulldozed when you click the left button. The
172 Trees under your pointer are now Clear Land. Now, hold the left button
173 down and drag the pointer across the Trees. Mass destruction. Clear a
174 large area of land to prepare for building.
<p>
176 Click the Residential Icon, then move back to your terrain. Your
177 cursor will now point to a large square outline. This outline
178 indicates how much clear space you will need to create a Residential
179 Zone -- a place for Sims to live. Clicking the left mouse button in
180 Clear Land will
"zone" that area. The
"R" in the zone center indicates
181 that it is a Residential Zone. The flashing lightning symbol means
182 that the zone has no power. Place a few more Residential Zones next to
185 <i>Several New Residential Zones
</i><p>
187 Now decide where to position a Power Plant in your city. Point to the
188 Power Plant Icon, and press and hold the left mouse button. A menu
189 will appear, giving you the option of choosing a Coal or Nuclear
190 plant. For now, release the button over
"Coal". The outline for a
191 Power Plant is even larger than for a Residential Zone. Place the
192 Power Plant in some open space near your Residential Zones. If your
193 Power Plant is not directly adjacent to a Residential Zone, you'll
194 need to run a Power Line from your Power Plant to the Residential
197 To do this, click the left mouse button over the Power Line Icon. By
198 pointing your cursor and pressing the button, lay Power Lines from
199 your Power Plant to your Residential Zones. Adjacent Power Line
200 sections will automatically connect to each other. Road and Rail lines
201 connect in the same manner.
<p>
203 In a moment, the flashing symbols in the Residential Zones will
204 disappear, indicating that your zones have been powered. Any zones
205 that are adjacent to a powered zone do not need separate Power Lines
206 run to them. Soon you will see small houses start to appear. The Sims
207 have started to move in!
<p>
209 <i>Here Comes the Neighborhood!
</i><p>
211 Once there are a few Residential Zones, where Sims can live, you need
212 to make it possible for your new residents to find jobs. They can't
213 all work at the power plant!
<p>
215 <i>Residential, Commercial, and Industrial Zones
</i><p>
217 Now you're ready for Commercial and Industrial areas; places for Sims
218 to work, shop, and transact business. Select the Commercial Icon and
219 place a few Commercial Zones near your Residential ones. Then select
220 the Industrial Icon and place some Industrial Zones. Connect all
221 necessary Power Lines.
<p>
223 Notice that as you select different Tool Icons, the icon's description
224 and its associated cost will be displayed in the Tool Cost field near
225 the lower left corner of the Edit Window. The Current Funds field near
226 the top of the window displays your total funds available.
<p>
228 Now click the left button on the Road Icon and add Roads from your
229 Residential housing to the Commercial and Industrial areas to allow
230 the Sims to commute to work. Road sections connect themselves like
231 Power Line sections. Once you have Roads, traffic will be generated.
234 <i>Roads with Traffic
</i><p>
236 Now move the cursor to the Menu Button labelled
"Windows", and press
237 the right mouse button down. The Windows Menu will pop up below the
238 cursor. Drag the cursor to the menu item labelled
"Budget", and
239 release the right button. This brings up the Budget Window, which lets
240 you set the level of funding for your fire, police, and transportation
243 <i>The Budget Window
</i> <p>
245 Click the left mouse button on the up and down arrows, or drag the
246 sliders to change the funding levels. You can also adjust the current
247 tax rate. If you have no police or fire departments, you can't fund
248 them. You cannot fund more than
100%. Since your city is so new, you
249 can't do much here now, but come back later. Click the left mouse
250 button on the
"Go With These Figures" button to make the window go
251 away when you're done. If the hour glass runs out, the window will go
252 away automatically. You can click on the hourglass to keep that from
255 Now look at the Map Window. You can get an idea of the size of your
256 city, and how much room you have left. Try the different map views by
257 clicking the left mouse button on the icons along the left edge of the
258 Map Window. You will need this information to build and adjust
259 conditions in your city. For example, you can pinpoint the areas with
260 the highest crime to determine locations for new police stations.
<p>
262 <i>The Map Window
</i><p>
264 Additional information can be gained through the available Graphs.
265 Unlike the Maps, which only show the current state of your city, the
266 Graphs give you a record of the past so you can gauge trends and
267 cycles. You can display the Graph Window by selecting the item
268 labelled
"Graph" from the Window Menu.
<p>
270 <i>The Graph Window
</i><p>
272 You can toggle the various graph displays on and off, and switch
273 between
10 year and
120 year graphs, by clicking on the icons at the
274 left of the Graph Window.
<p>
276 Another way to gather information about your city is by using the
277 Query Tool. To use this, select the Tool Icon with the magnifying
278 glass and question mark, or hold down the
"Q" key, then press the left
279 mouse button over the map in the Edit Window. You will be shown a
280 window filled with information about the zone under the cursor.
<p>
282 <i>The Zone Status Window
</i> <p>
284 Now, let's Save the city to disk. Use the File Menu to select
"Save
285 City as...". You'll see the Save File dialog. Near the top of the
286 window is a text field labelled
"File:". You can select a directory by
287 typing its name into the text field, or by double clicking in the
288 scrolling list. Then you can type in a name for your city, ending with
289 the
".city" extension, and press return. Your city will be saved to
290 disk, so you can load it later to get back to where you are now.
<p>
292 <i>Save File Dialog
</i> <p>
294 To load a city, use the File Menu and select the item labelled
"Load
295 City...". The Open File dialog looks and works almost like the Save
296 File dialog. It will start out in a directory named
"Cities", which
297 contains some interesting cities included with Micropolis. You can load
298 and play any of them, or navigate to the directory where you saved
299 your city, and load that again.
<p>
301 <i>Open File Dialog
</i> <p>
303 This is all the basic information you need to run Micropolis, but we
304 suggest reading on. The User Reference section explains in detail how
305 to use each program function. Inside Micropolis explains the inner
306 workings of the simulator, and gives some brief hints and tips for
307 using it. There is also an essay on The History of Cities and City
308 Planning, and a Bibliography for serious City Planners.
<p>
310 Have Fun Playing Micropolis!
<p>
316 <h2>Micropolis, Unix Version.
</h2>
317 This game was released for the Unix platform
318 in or about
1990 and has been modified for inclusion in the One Laptop
319 Per Child program. Copyright
© 1989 -
2007 Electronic Arts Inc. If
320 you need assistance with this program, you may contact:
321 <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>.
324 This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
325 it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
326 the Free Software Foundation, either version
3 of the License, or (at
327 your option) any later version.
330 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
331 WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
332 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
333 General Public License for more details. You should have received a
334 copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If
335 not, see
<a href=
"http://www.gnu.org/licenses/">http://www.gnu.org/licenses/
</a>.
338 <h3 align=
"center">ADDITIONAL TERMS per GNU GPL Section
7</h3>
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