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bloomlwold's avatar
bloomlwold
4 years ago

Anthropomorphization

So here I am again with some questions and observations about the game I am having so much fun with.

Sometimes I think the game or its code or the AI involved do things that cause me to have to alter my plans for a time to take care of a problem the game creates. Anthropomorphism is what that is called.   We can argue whether the game has AI or not but using the example of trash trunks going where the trash is and picking it up, it seems that is equal to some form of rudimentary AI. An example of my latest, what I believe possibly could be AI working against me, is the fire in an industrial building that has destroyed it but I am unable to bulldoze it. When I try I get the message that I cannot bulldoze it because it is still on fire.  It took several subsequent tries of doing what is defined as insanity; performing the same action and expecting a different result, before I realized the game "wants" a hazmat truck.  I haven't even built a college yet so I had to go to a different city and create one.  Now I have to wait until I can research engineering before I can get a hazmat truck.  

I intend to stay out of the city where this problem is occurring because I'm sure it will create harmful effects to the environment   The problems is the city in question is where I am pumping oil at a great rate to earn the money needed to turn that city into a tourist attraction.

So what does everyone think? does the game have some form of AI?

And here is a question that again deals with the city's future as a tourist attraction. I'll need more space and less population to run the tourist city that I have in mind   How does one depopulate a city without causing an extreme homeless problem?  It would seem if I go about bulldozing homes and apartments I would think I'd create a very bad homeless problem.  I know that there is a point at which Sims rebel against taxes, and will actually leave if high taxes continue.  I have found that they will suffer up to 11%, but beyond that they are not happy.  So could I tax to the point that they would begin leaving?  Always keeping in mind that I would have to do away with enough city services to make what necessary services remain viable through a more limited tax base.  I am always having the problem of allowing a city's population to grow more than needed to manage what have in operation.

Anyway thanks for reading. I hope all of you are enjoying this game as much as I do.

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  • BlackjackWidow's avatar
    BlackjackWidow
    Hero (Retired)
    4 years ago

    Hazmat fires can't be put out by regular fire trucks, but I don't think they leave radiation behind. A hazmat fire will destroy the building - sometimes even if you have a hazmat fire truck. I would think that you're definitely losing that industrial building regardless. If you can't put it out, it will destroy the building and possibly (probably) spread fire to some adjacent buildings. In my experience, the fires that spread to the other buildings are not hazmat so you can put them out with regular fire trucks. You can't demolish the building if it's still on fire, though. I've tried the same thing, and the game is pretty adamant. You just have to let it burn to the ground and then demolish the rubble left over.

    As far as reducing population is concerned, yes, raising taxes will make residents unhappy enough that they will eventually leave their residences. It's going to really reduce your happiness level, though, and you'll want to be careful to manage all the abandoned buildings it would create. Homeless live in abandoned buildings and parks, so you could create more of a problem with homeless than if you just demolished the buildings. Remember that Medium and High Wealth sims are much more sensitive to higher tax rates. You could create more space but keep the population by upgrading some areas to High Density buildings to pack more sims into a smaller area.

    Since you're in the planning stage, I would suggest that if you need less sims, you de-zone residential areas a bit at a time. If there's a residential area where you are going to build a casino, leave the buildings but de-zone so when you demolish the buildings nothing is rebuilt there. Slowly manage the change, make sure you don't have any abandoned buildings, and watch your population maps - the homeless should eventually leave. You can do a section at a time so it won't create a mass exodus. At the same time, you can see how the casinos or entertainment venues will affect your population needs.

    Hope this helps - Happy Building!

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