From: "Imran Ghory" Newsgroups: alt.games.simcity2000.SimPosium,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic,comp.sys.mac.games.strategic Subject: SimCity 2000 FAQ Date: 1 Nov 1997 21:22:40 GMT >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> SimCity 2000 FAQ >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Author/Mantainer: Imran Ghory Copyright: (c)Imran Ghory(If you really want to copy this, just email me so I can check you have the latest version.) Email-address: ImranG@btinternet.com Posting-Frequency: Twice a month or so. Last updated: 1st November 1997 Version: 6.81 Abbreviations =========== SC2K =Sim City 2000 SC2KNE =Sim City 2000 Network Edition SCURK =Sim City Urban Renewal Kit Index 1)Good starting pointers for SC2000. 2)How do you increase... I)Educational Quotient II)Life Expectancy IIV)Land values IV)Your money 3)How do you decrease... I)Crime II)Pollution IIV)Abandoned buildings(Also how to encourage people to move in) IV)Traffic 4)Strange but True.... I)The Nessie II)The Maxis Man IIV)The Helicopter IV)First Light V)Llamas VI)Drought 5)Where to SC2000 city names come from ? 6)How do you find the best area to place water pumps ? 7)How high does your population have to be before you get.....(Rewards) 8)How do you get rid of the military base but keep the military ? 9)Does an advance city launch into space ? 10)Are there any cheats for SC2000 ? I)Cheats for all platforms II)Cheats for the Macintosh IIV)Cheats for Windows 3.1 IV)Cheats for Windows 95 V)Cheats for DOS (floppy disk v1.0) VI)Cheats for Sony PlayStation, 2D Game VII)Cheats for Sony PlayStation, 3D Game IIX)File editor to get more money(DOS) 11)Are there any cheats for SCURK ? 12)Are there any cheats for SC2KNE ? 13)SimCity 2000 building descriptions and sizes. 14)The structure of a "SC2" file. 15)Disasters I)Fire II)Riots IIV)Flooding IV)Hurricane/Tornado V)Monster VI)Air crash 16)SimCity 2000 download sites 17)Sim pages ! 18)Who helped me with this FAQ In between sections there is a row of "*"(asteriks) so to move from one section to the next just search for a few asteriks and hopefully you ought to go to the beginning of the new section, this is because some sections such as the file structure section is very big. ************************************************************************** *** 1)Good starting pointers for SC2000. ==================================== Here are some general hints to help you get started. I)People only build a maximum of six space away from a road. II)People will only build if they have direct access to a powerline. IIV)People need industry to work in before they move in to town. ************************************************************************** *** 2)How do you increase... =================== I)Educational Quotient, Pro-reading campaign which can help everyone to a lesser effect then Libraries. Build Schools which can provide up to 90 EQ, this is for 5 to 20 year olds. Build Colleges which can provide up to 140 EQ, this is for 15 to 25 year olds(has slight effect on older population). Build Libraries which provide education for all ages, but to a lesser affect then Schools and Colleges. Build Museums which are like Libraries but bigger, better and more expensive. Remember education is inherited, so if one generation is intelligent then the next generation will start off with a higher EQ then there parents started with. Libraries and Museums are good as they don't have any annual cost, only the original building cost, if you've got a spare $500 then go and find a church knock it down and then build a library there. II)Life Expectancy, Select all options under Saftey & Health. Select CPR training. Build Hospitals but don't overdo it unless you've got too much cash. Lower crime rate. Improve Fire services. Keep pollution down. IIV)Land Values, Select all options under Promotional. Select Homeless Shelters. Selecting Nuclear Free Zone raises the value of Residential land, but lowers the value of Industrial land. Build Parks. IV)Your money Raise Taxes. Select Parking Fines. Cut down on funding for police,fire and education services(not recommended). Don't ever get bonds. For the long term invest in renewable power sources. ************************************************************************** *** 3)How do you decrease... =================== I)Crime, Make sure you have a good spread of police stations. Don't have legalized gambling. Have Anti-Drug campaign. Have Neighborhood watch. Refuse to have a Military zone. If you have Arcologies make sure you have at least one Police station near by. II)Pollution, Select Pollution Controls. Build trees near industrial areas. Select Parking fines. Supply public transit. Use clean Energy sources. Raise taxes on Industries that pollute. Build Water treatment plants. IIV)Abandoned buildings, (Also how to encourage people to move in) Select Promotional options. Improve Land Values. Reduce crime. Reduce Pollution. Build Zoos. Lower Taxes. If it is in an Residential area make sure its close enough to an industrial zone, the SimCitizens don't like traveling a long distances to work. If a zone has negative demand then make the other forms of zoning, and see if this helps, also read the newspapers and see what people are upset about and correct the problems. IV)Traffic Supply public transit. Have parking fines. Make residential areas closer to Industrial areas. ************************************************************************** *** 4)Strange but True.... ================ I)The Nessie I think this only appears if you have a marina,Its just a harmless creature which is rumoured to eat boats. II)The Maxis Man This man files around when you have heavy pollution, perhaps he would be better named 'Pollution Man'. IIV)The Helicopter This helicopter appears after you have built an airport, it tells you if there is heavy traffic, if your feeling annoyed at it (or any other reason) and you want to shoot it down, select the Centre Display button and click on the Helicopter (If this does not work then click on the square below the Helicopter) this will make the pilot say 'I'm hit' and then he'll crash(watch out this will cause a fire). IV)First Light This is a magical boat captained by J.Scirica who must be magical himself, being able to exist in several places at the same time. V)Llamas Perhaps its just me, or does there seem to be an obsession with Llamas, by that I mean stuff like the Llama zoos and the Llama Dome. Anyone know why ? VI)Drought This I find really strange, the SimCitizens don't die off when they don't have water, infact they hardly mind at all, perhaps the SimCitizens don't need water to live, but does that mean that the SimCitizens are not human, or is it just me going paranoid again. ************************************************************************** *** 5)Where to SC2000 city names come from ? ================================ I think I've got all the cities here, if I'm missing any or you know of any other sources email me. Unknown Red Dwarf Blake Seven Stars Country Krighton Blake Oak Creek Cats Corner Villa Mill Valley Rimmer Aurac Eubanks Lister Serviland Jeromi Dexter Jenna New Boots Avon Denmont Petaluma Pioneers Harpersville Sinistrel Hoek Creek Fort Verdegris PortVille Tent Pegs Fortune Washers Grove Newton Stimpletin Schwinton Ashland Cherryton Phippsville Yestonia Little Rouge ************************************************************************** *** 6)How do you find the best area to place water pumps. ======================================== Here's a table showing how the amount of water you get is affected by how many sides of the pump are surrounded by water. Sides Gallons Of Water Produced 0 15,000 1 36,000 2 48,000 3 54,000 4 62,000 ************************************************************************** *** 7)How high does your population have to be before you get..... ============================================== Reward Population needed Mansion 2,000 City Hall 10,000 Statue 30,000 Military 60,000 Llama Dome 80,000 Arcologies 120,000 ************************************************************************** *** 8)How do you get rid of the military base but keep the military ? =============================================== 1 Cover your military base ALL with water. 2 Raise your military land that you covered with water to at least 100 ft. 3 Level the land to sea level. 4 You Have it; and you can STILL have the military as protection to your city ************************************************************************** *** 9)Does an advance city launch into space ? ================================ Yes and No, It works in all versions except for V1.0 and v1.01 for DOS, To get your city to launch you need to have about 400 launch arcologies.(This is but a rumour to me as I've got version 1.0 for DOS) ************************************************************************** *** 10)Are there any cheats for SC2000 ? =========================== Yes, here they are, I)For all platforms: •CASS – Money or a disaster (15% chance of a disaster) •FUND – $10,000 bond (at 25% interest). •JOKE – A joke. II)For Macintosh: •ARDO – $500,000. •PIRN – Version 1.1 only. •TOPSGUZZARDO – Version 1.1 only. •PIRNTOPSGUZZARDO – The same as the last two combined. •VERS – Reports version number. IIV)For Windows 3.1: Click on the top of the toolbar before typing these. •OIVAIZMIR – Debug. •GOMORRAH – Nuclear meltdown. •BUDDAMUS – $500,000, all rewards activated. •GILMARTIN – Military base. •NOAH – Starts a flood. •MOSES – Stops a flood. •MRSOLEARY – Starts a fire. •Click on the centering tool, then click on the copter to shoot it down. IV)For Windows 95: •IMACHEAT – $500,000, all rewards activated. •PRISCILLA – Debug menu. •GILMARTIN – Military base. •NOAH – Starts a flood. V)For DOS (v1.0 floppy ONLY): •DARN – Church virus. •HECK – Church virus. •MEMY – Memory test. •TEST – Tests memory. •TORG – Version 1.1 only. •VERS – Reports version number. •Click on the centering tool, then click on the copter to shoot it down. •At the beginning of a new city, type in FUND and click on YES. Type FUND again and click on YES. Pull down the window and select BUDGET. To the right of Bond Payments, you will see an open book. Click on it. Select the button, ISSUE BOND and click on YES. Select the REPAY BOND button to repay the first bond. Select the button ISSUE BOND and click on YES. Select the REPAY BOND button to repay the second bond. Select the button, ISSUE BOND and click on YES. Don't repay this bond, ever. This will give you $1.4 million every year. VI)For Sony PlayStation, 2D Game: •MegaLoot cheat – This cheat gives you $1,000,000 to play with. In the main Budget dialog, enter the following sequence: While holding R1: Choose, Cancel, Triangle, Square While holding L1: Choose, Cancel, Triangle, Square While holding R2: Choose, Cancel, Triangle, Square While holding L2: Choose, Square, Triangle, Cancel •Bond Embezzlement cheat – This cheat sets all subsequent bonds to 0% interest. Note: There is a risk to using this—this could result in fines of up to $100,000. In the Main Budget dialog, enter the following sequence: While holding Triangle: L1,L2,L1,L2,R2,R1,R2,R1 •Free Tools cheat – Most (but not all) tools will be available at no cost to the user. Sequence: With the normal arrow cursor, select and cancel the tree tool. Go to the status bar and do the following (making sure the cursor stays within the status bar area) : UP, DOWN, RIGHT, LEFT, UP, ACCEPT •Maximum Dispatch cheat – Use of any of the dispatch tools (Fire, Police, Military) will yield the maximum number allowable within SimCity regardless of the number of stations you have. Sequence: With the normal arrow cursor, select and cancel the dispatch tool. Go to the status bar and do the following (making sure the cursor stays within the status bar area) : LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, CANCEL, ACCEPT VII)For Sony PlayStation, 3D Game: •Chopper – Use this sequence to display a helicopter cockpit: R2-L2-R2-L2-R2-L2 To turn off the cockpit display: R1-L1-R1-L1-R1-L1 •Fly, Be Free! – Use this sequence to enter this mode: R-L-R-L-R-L2-R2-START-START or R-L-R-L-R-L2-R2-X-X One more Start or X puts you back into drive-through. This cheat allows you to fly around the city without being constrained to the roads as normal. The controls in this mode are: R1 Altitude Up R2 Altitude Down L1 Propel Forward L2 Propel Backward Up Look Up Down Look Down L Turn Left R Turn Right •City Nights – Use this sequence to cycle night and day: Down-Up-Down-Up-Down-L2-R2 Shut off with Down-Down-Up-Up-Down-Down-L2-R2 •Fade To Black – Use this sequence to fades everything to black: Down-Down-Down-Down-Down-Down-L2-R2 To pause the fade enter: L-L-L-L-L-L-L2-R2 Back to normal with: R-R-R-R-R-R-L2-R2 •Rand McNalley – Use this sequence to bring up a translucent city map HUD with position indicator: R1-R2-R1-R2-R1-R2-R1-R2 Lose the HUD with: L1-L2-L1-L2-L1-L2-L1-L2 •Nugget Grab Cheat – Use this sequence to bring up a trail of golden nuggets on the road. Collect these nuggets as you move around the city and increase your city fund! Sequence: Bring up the Chopper cheat 8 times (do this by turning it on then off, leaving it on the 8th time), then the following sequence: L2-R1-L2-R1-L2-R1-L2-R1 IIV)File editing for money If you want to hack your save game but are a bit worried about doing it by hand, there is a utility that can do it for you, its called SimCity 2000 Hex Edit Utility(for windows(for SC2 files)) programmed by Jerry Moore who can be contacted at jmoore@vcnet.com. ************************************************************************** *** 11)Are there any cheats for SCURK ? =========================== •VAUDEVILLE – The Arcos start dancing ! ************************************************************************** *** 12)Are there any cheats for SC2KNE ? ============================ 1 Open the chat window. 2 Say to everyone "Klatu Verata Nictu"; And you will get a cheat item, the cheat item allows you to do: Change Item Prices Get All Special Tiles. All Rewards. ************************************************************************** *** 13)SimCity 2000 building descriptions and sizes. ==================================== 1. Residential A: 3x3 Buildings I. 2 Types of Apartment II. 2 Types of Condos B: 2x2 Buildings I. 1 Cheap Apartment II. 2 Types of Apartment III. 2 Types of Nice Apartment IV. 3 Types of Condos C. 1x1 Buildings I. 3 Types of Lower Class Homes II. 5 Types of Middle Class Homes III. 4 Types of Upper Class Homes 2. Commerical A. 3x3 Buildings I. Office Park II. Movie Theater III. Drive-in Theater IV. Parking Lot V. Mini Mall VI. Historical Office VII. Corporate Headquarters VIII. 3 Types of Towers B. 2x2 Buildings I. Shopping Center II. Resort Hotel III. Grocery Store IV. Office Retail Shop V. 6 Types of Office Buildings C. 1x1 Buildings I. Cassidy's Toy Store II. Commerical Warehouse III. Convenience Store IV. Bed and Breakfast Inn V. 2 Types of Small Office Buildings VI. 2 Types of Gas Stations 3. Industrial A. 3x3 Buildings I. Large Industrial Factory II. Medium Industrial Factory III. Industrial Thingamajig IV. Chemical Plant V. 2 Types of Warehouses B. 2x2 Buildings I. Warehouse II. Chemical Plant III. 6 Types of Factories C. 1x1 Buildings I. Industrial Substation II. Chemical Storage III. 2 Types of Warehouses 3. City Services A. Police Stations (3x3) B. Fire Stations (3x3) C. Prisons (4x4) D. Hospitals (3x3) 4. Education A. School (3x3) B. College (4x4) C. Library (2x2) D. Museum (3x3) 5. Recreation A. Small Park (1x1) B. Large Park (2x2) C. Zoo (4x4) D. Stadium (4x4) E. Marina (3x3) 6. Rewards A. Mayor's House (2x2) B. City Hall (3x3) C. Statue (1x1) D. Military Base (varies) E. Ilama Dome (4x4) F. 4 Types of Arcologies (4x4) 7. Power A. Coal (4x4) B. Oil (4x4) C. Hydroelectric (1x1) D. Gas (4x4) E. Nuclear (4x4) F. Wind (1x1) G. Solar (4x4) H. Microwave (4x4) I. Fusion (4x4) 8. Water A. Pipes (varies, placed underground) B. Treatment (2x2) C. Desalinzation (3x3) D. Water Pump (1x1) E. Water Tower (2x2) 9. Miscellaneous A. Churches (2x2) B. Roads (varies) C. Rails (varies) D. Tunnels (varies) E. Subway (varies) F. Bridges (varies) I. Power II. Rail Bridge III. Highway Bridge IV. Causeway Bridge V. Raising Bridge VI. Suspension G. Bus Depot (2x2) H. Rail Depot (2x2) I. Substation (1x1) J. Sub-to-Rail (1x1) 10. Ports A: Airports I. Runway (1x5) II. Tarmac (1x1) III. Small Hangar (1x1) IV. Large Hangar (2x2) V. Control Tower (1x1) VI. Parking Lot (2x2) VII. 2 Types of Buildings (1x1) IIX. Radar (1x1) B: Seaports I. Pier (1x5) II. Cargo Yard (2x2) III. Loading Bay (2x2) IV. Crane (1x1) V. Warehouse (1x1) C: Military Ports I. Runway (1x5) II. F-15 (1x1) III. Top Secret Buildings (2x2) IV. Military Control Tower (1x1) V. Military Parking (1x1) VI. Missile Silo (3x3) ************************************************************************** *** 14)The structure of a "SC2" file. ======================= First of all, SimCity files are in `IFF format', which means that they consist of an 12-byte file header followed by a series of segments. The file header format is as follows: Bytes 1-4: 'FORM' (indicates an IFF file) Bytes 5-8: Total count of bytes in file, except for the first 8 bytes in this header Bytes 9-12: File type: in the case of SimCity 2000, 'SCDH' Each segment has an 8-byte header: Bytes 1-4: Type of segment Byres 5-8: Number of bytes in this segment, except for this 8-byte header The remaining bytes in each segment are data. The data in most SimCity segments is compressed using a form of run-length encoding. When this is done, the data in the segment consists of a series of chunks of two kinds. The first kind of chunk has first byte from 1 to 127; in this case the first byte is a count telling how many data bytes follow. The second kind of chunk has first byte from 129 to 255. In this case, if you subtract 127 from the first byte, you get a count telling how many times the following single data byte is repeated. Chunks with first byte 0 or 128 never seem to occur. SimCity files consist of the following segment types, in order, with the following lengths. Except as noted, segments are compressed as above,and the length given for them is the length after uncompression; the compressed length may vary. Segment type Length MISC 4800 ALTM 32768 (uncompressed) XTER 16384 XBLD 16384 XZON 16384 XUND 16384 XTXT 16384 XLAB 6400 XMIC 1200 XTHG 480 XBIT 16384 XTRF 4096 XPLT 4096 XVAL 4096 XCRM 4096 XPLC 1024 XFIR 1024 XPOP 1024 XROG 1024 XGRP 3328 CNAM 32 (uncompressed; optional?) Some remarks about the data in the individual segments: ALTM: Altitude map. Uncompressed. Contains two bytes for each square. (For our purposes, we will define `left', `right', `top', and `bottom' by saying that squares are scanned by rows from top to bottom, and from right to left within each row.) Taking each two bytes as a 16-bit integer, MSB first, bits 4-0 give the altitude of the square, from 50 to 3150 feet. Bit 7 seems to be set if the square is covered with water. I do not know what bits 15-8 and 6-5 do. CNAM: City name. Uncompressed. Seems to be optional. When it is present, it consists of a length byte from 0 to 31, followed by that many bytes of city name. It is padded out to 32 bytes with zeroes. MISC: This probably contains global information. Bytes 20-23 are the amount of money you have as a 4-byte integer, MSB first. XBIT: One byte of flags per square. Bit 7: Electrically conductive? 6: Powered? 5: Piped? (i.e., permeable to water?) 4: Supplied with water? 3: ??? 2: Covered with water? (i.e., part of a lake, river, or ocean?) 1: ??? 0: Does placing water here give salt water? XBLD: One code byte per square, describing what's on it. (In general, to put a building or whatever up and have a consistent resultant simulation, you have to do a lot more than change this array.) The codes in this list are in hexadecimal. Non-buildings: 00: Clear terrain (empty) 01-04: Rubble 05: Radioactive waste 06-0C: Trees (density increases as code increases) 0D: Small park (set XZON as for a 1x1 building) 0E-1C: Power lines (various directions, slopes) The difference X between the code and 0E, the first code, tells what direction(s) and slope the power line takes. X (in hex) Direction 0 Left-right [for definition of directions, see note with ALTM] 1 Top-bottom 2 Top-bottom; slopes upwards towards top 3 Left-right; slopes upwards towards right 4 Top-bottom; slopes upwards towards bottom 5 Left-right; slopes upwards towards left 6 From bottom side to right side 7 Bottom to left 8 Left to top 9 Top to right A T junction between top, right and bottom B T between left, bottom and right C T between top, left and bottom D T between top, left and right E Intersection connecting top, left, bottom, and right 1D-2B: Roads (various directions, slopes; same coding as for 0E-1C) 2C-3A: Rails (various directions, slopes; same coding as for 0E-1C) 3B-3E: More sloping rails. These are used as preparation before ascending. The 2C-3A rail codes are used on the actual sloping square. This is why rails don't look right when ascending a 1:1 grade. 3B: Top-bottom; slopes upwards towards top 3C: Left-right; slopes upwards towards right 3D: Top-bottom; slopes upwards towards bottom 3E: Left-right; slopes upwards towards left 3F-42: Tunnel entrances 3F: Tunnel to the top 40: Tunnel to the right 41: Tunnel to the bottom 42: Tunnel to the left 43-44: Crossovers (roads/power lines) 43: Road left-right, power top-bottom 44: Road top-bottom, power left-right 45-46: Crossovers (roads/rails) 45: Road left-right, rails top-bottom 46: Road top-bottom, rails left-right 47-48: Crossovers (rails/power lines) 47: Rails left-right, power lines top-bottom 48: Rails top-bottom, power lines left-right 49-4A: Highways (set XZON as for a 1x1 building) 49: Highway left-right 4A: Highway top-bottom 4B-4C: Crossovers (roads/highways; set XZON as for a 1x1 building) 4B: Highway left-right, road top-bottom 4C: Highway top-bottom, road left-right 4D-4E: Crossovers (rails/highways; set XZON as for a 1x1 building) 4D: Highway left-right, rails top-bottom 4E: Highway top-bottom, rails left-right 4F-50: Crossovers (highways/power lines; set XZON as for a 1x1 building) 4F: Highway left-right, power lines top-bottom 50: Highway top-bottom, power lines left-right 51-55: Suspension bridge pieces 56-59: Other road bridge pieces 5A-5B: Rail bridge pieces 5C: Elevated power lines 5D-60: Highway entrances (on-ramps) 5D: Highway at top, road at left OR highway at right, road at bottom 5E: H right, R top OR H top, R right 5F: R right, H bottom OR H left, R top 60: R left, H bottom OR H left, R bottom 61-69: Highways (various directions, slopes; 2x2 tiles; XZON should be set as for a 2x2 building) 61: Highway top-bottom, slopes up to the top 62: Highway left-right, slopes up to the right 63: Highway top-bottom, slopes up to the bottom 64: Highway left-right, slopes up to the left 65: Highway joining the bottom to the right 66: Highway joining the bottom to the left 67: Highway joining the left to the top 68: Highway joining the top to the right 69: Cloverleaf intersection connecting top, left, bottom and right 6A-6B: Highway bridges (2x2 tiles; set XZON as for a 2x2 building.) This is a reinforced bridge. Use 49/4A for the `Hiway' bridge. 6C-6F: Sub/rail connections (set XZON as for a 1x1 building) 6C: Sub/rail connection, rail at bottom 6D: Sub/rail connection, rail at left 6E: Sub/rail connection, rail at top 6F: Sub/rail connection, rail at right Buildings: Residential, 1x1: 70-73: Lower-class homes 74-77: Middle-class homes 78-7B: Luxury homes Commercial, 1x1: 7C: Gas station 7D: Bed & breakfast inn 7E: Convenience store 7F: Gas station 80: Small office building 81: Office building 82: Warehouse 83: Cassidy's Toy Store Industrial, 1x1: 84: Warehouse 85: Chemical storage 86: Warehouse 87: Industrial substation Miscellaneous, 1x1: 88-89: Construction 8A-8B: Abandoned building Residential, 2x2: 8C: Cheap apartments 8D-8E: Apartments 8F-90: Nice apartments 91-93: Condominium Commercial, 2x2: 94: Shopping center 95: Grocery store 96: Office building 97: Resort hotel 98: Office building 99: Office / Retail 9A-9D: Office building Industrial, 2x2: 9E: Warehouse 9F: Chemical processing A0-A5: Factory Miscellaneous, 2x2: A6-A9: Construction AA-AD: Abandoned building Residential, 3x3: AE-AF: Large apartment building B0-B1: Condominium Commercial, 3x3: B2: Office park B3: Office tower B4: Mini-mall B5: Theater square B6: Drive-in theater B7-B8: Office tower B9: Parking lot BA: Historic office building BB: Corporate headquarters Industrial, 3x3: BC: Chemical processing BD: Large factory BE: Industrial thingamajig BF: Factory C0: Large warehouse C1: Warehouse Miscellaneous, 3x3: C2-C3: Construction C4-C5: Abandoned building Power plants: C6-C7: Hydroelectric power (1x1) C8: Wind power (1x1) C9: Natural gas power plant (4x4) CA: Oil power plant (4x4) CB: Nuclear power plant (4x4) CC: Solar power plant (4x4) CD: Microwave power receiver (4x4) CE: Fusion power plant (4x4) CF: Coal power plant (4x4) City services: D0: City hall (3x3) D1: Hospital (3x3) D2: Police station (3x3) D3: Fire station (3x3) D4: Museum (3x3) D5: Big park (2x2) [No electricity required] D6: School (3x3) D7: Stadium (4x4) D8: Prison (4x4) D9: College (4x4) DA: Zoo (4x4) DB: Statue (1x1) Seaports, airports, transportation, military bases, and more city services: DC: Water pump (1x1) DD-DE: Runway (1x5) DF: Pier (1x5) E0: Crane (1x1) E1-E2: Control tower (1x1) E3: Warehouse (for seaport) E4-E5: Building (for airport) (1x1) E6: Tarmac (1x1) E7: F-15b (1x1) E8: Small Hangar (1x1) E9: Subway station (1x1) EA: Radar (1x1) EB: Water tower (2x2) EC: Bus station (2x2) ED: Rail station (2x2) EE-EF: Parking lot (2x2) F0: Loading bay (2x2) F1: Top secret buildings (2x2) F2: Cargo yard (2x2) F3: Mayor's house (2x2) F4: Water treatment plant (2x2) F5: Library (2x2) F6: Large hangar (2x2) F7: Church (2x2) F8: Marina (3x3) F9: Missile silo (3x3) FA: Desalination plant (3x3) Arcologies: FB: Plymouth arcology (4x4) FC: Forest arcology (4x4) FD: Darco arcology (4x4) FE: Launch arcology (4x4) FF: Braun Llama-dome (4x4) XTER: One code byte per square. Tells whether there is land or water in the square and how the terrain slopes. To describe here how terrain slopes, we write four numbers in a square: a b c d Here, a, b, c and d are the relative heights of the corners of the square. Codes in hex: 00-0D: Dry land, with various slopes: 00: 00 01: 11 02: 01 03: 00 04: 10 05: 11 00 00 01 11 10 01 06: 01 07: 10 08: 11 09: 01 0A: 00 0B: 00 11 11 10 00 01 10 0C: 10 0D: 11 00 11 0E-0F: Unused? 10-1D: Slopes as for 00-0D. However, instead of being dry land, the square is totally submerged in water. 1E-1F: Unused? 20-2D: As for 10-1D, but the square is submerged only to a level slightly less than height 1, so that for e.g. square type 21 the square to the top would probably be dry land. 2E: Unused? 2F: Unused? 30-3D: As for 20-2D, but the square is not submerged at all; it just has water on its surface, as when you place it by the `water' tool in SimCity 2000. It is still true that for e.g. square type 31, the square to the top would be dry land and the other adjacent squares water. 3E: Waterfall. 3F: Unused? 40: Surf. water `canal', running left-right. Land at top and bottom. 41: Surf. water `canal', running top-bottom. Land at left and right. 42: Surf. water `bay', open to the bottom. Land at left, top & right. 43: Surf. water `bay', open to the left. Land at top, right & bottom. 44: Surf. water `bay', open to the top. Land at left, right & bottom. 45: Surf. water `bay', open to the bottom. Land at top, left & right. 46-FF: Unused? XUND: One code byte per square. Tells what's in the square under the ground. Codes in hex: 00: Nothing 01-0F: Subway, various directions & slopes (coded as for XTER, codes 0E-1C) 10-1E: Pipes, various directions & slopes (coded as for XTER, codes 0E-1C) 1F: Pipe/subway crossover: pipe top-bottom, subway left-right 20: Pipe/subway crossover: pipe left-right, subway top-bottom 21-22: ??? 23: Sub/rail or subway station 24-FF: Unused? XZON: One byte per square. Bits 7, 6, 5, and 4 should be set at the upper left, lower left, lower right, and upper right corners of a building. For a 1x1 building, of course, all these bits should be set at the location of the building. Bits 3-0 code the zoning for the square, as follows: 0: None 1: Light residential 2: Dense residential 3: Light commercial 4: Dense commercial 5: Light industrial 6: Dense industrial 7: Military base 8: Airport 9: Seaport 10-15: Unused? ************************************************************************** *** 15)Disasters ========== The first thing I have to say is for any disaster, as soon as it occurs pause the game and then move into a better position to see the disaster, you cannot stop what you cannot see. Some disasters can not be forced to occur, such as pollution clouds and electrical strike on buildings, so they have not been included, as methoods can not be tested very well on those. I)Fire This is caused by nearly every other disaster, there is one quick solution to it, destroy everything that is directly next to the fire, including rubble and then just put fire fighters around the fire, or if there is antoher disaster nearby just leave the fire to die out of its own accord. Although the technique is a little drastic, it works and it will only really destroy buildings that would have been destroyed if the fire had continued. When attempting to put out a large fire, after doing the above, then use firemen and the police starting from the centre fo the fire, as that way they can reach the largest area of fire. II)Riots To start with use the building layer button so your buildings will disappear, then put police on any road junctions the rioters are near, then place police in between the rioters, then surround each group of rioters with 4 fire fighters or police or even both, this will stop them from moving and it will stop them from causing fires, if some do manage to create fires before you can surround them, use the above mentioned technique for fire protection so all your fire fighters and police will be free to deal with the rioters. IIV)Flooding First of all place firemen and policemen so they build a wall between the flood and your important/expensive buildings then you can either destroy any buildings near the flood and replace them with a lot, and I mean a lot of trees, this will not stop the flood but it will slow/weaken the flood, so if you have a few rows of trees it will block most floods, or you can just raise land that is near the area of sea the flood is coming from, so the water will just hit the hill and won't be able to go over it. While doing either of the these techniques you can throw any spare firemen/police in the way of the flood to slow down the immediate flow. IV)Hurricane/Tornado I don't think its possible to stop either of these directly. V)Monster I've found no 100% effective way of stopping one, but I'm sure there is a way and hopefully by the time the next version of this FAQ has come out I will know how to stop the monster from devastating your city. VI)Air crash This is easy get ready with the fire fighters , just cover the area you expect it to crash in with firemen and policemen, if this fails then just use the normal fire prevention. ************************************************************************** *** 16)SimCity 2000 download sites ======================== Here are some good download sites, ftp.maxis.com/pub/maxis/simcity2000/ ************************************************************************** *** 17)Sim pages ! ============ Here are some sites I have found along my travels, http://www.borg.com/~naughton http://bvsd.k12.co.us/~clarkj/home97.html http://ww.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/6074/ http://www.inforamp.net/~sakhrani/simpage.htm/ http://www.sos.net/~we6/simeverything/ ************************************************************************** *** 18)Who helped me with this FAQ ========================= Thanks to, Maxis( http://www.maxis.com ), for the games Rockodog, for the tables in the SC2K section. (Check out his page at http://rockodog.home.ml.org its excellent .IMHO) Jerry Moore, who sent me the structure of a "SC2" city file. WarlockofMind, Who sent me building names and sizes. Everyone else who's reading this FAQ -- This FAQ has been bought to you by the one and only, Imran Ghory Any more info you want to see added here just email me at, ImranG@btinternet.com