December 2003

The Black Gate added to LotR in SimCity 4 -- Posted by Andro on Friday, December 26, 2003

The latest addition to The Lord of the Rings in SimCity 4, Dagorlad and Udûn, is now available. It contains the Black Gate of Mordor. This is a complete listing of available locations....
»Anórien and Ithilien
  • Minas Tirith
  • Osgiliath
  • Cair Andros
  • Henneth Annûn
  • Minas Morgul
  • Shelob's Lair

  • »Gorgoroth
  • The Barad-dûr
  • Cirith Ungol
  • Mount Doom (Unfinished for technical reasons until I have a better computer)

  • »Dagorlad and Udûn
  • The Emyn Muil
  • The Dead Marshes
  • Morannon, the Black Gate
  • Durthang (Andro's impression - not in movies)


  • Double Landmarks up... -- Posted by Cameron on Tuesday, December 23, 2003

    SimCity.com now offers double landmarks for SimCity 4 including the Adler Planetarium from Chicago, Illinois and Stonehenge from Wiltshire, England. The Alder Planetarium was in SimCity 3000 as well, however the SimCity 4 version is quite a leap ahead in visual detail and quality.

    The Sims Online One Year Anniversary... -- Posted by Cameron on Thursday, December 18, 2003

    On December 17th, TSO celebrated its first birthday. The Sims Online has been off to a shaky start, having far less members then was originally projected. Today, however, the TSO community continues on, adding features that many believe should have been included with the release of The Sims Online. You can now get The Sims Online with a $20 rebate, which brings the game down to $10-$20 in many retail outlets, although there is still the $10 monthly fee to contend with.

    SimCity.com releases Rockefeller Center... -- Posted by Cameron on Tuesday, December 16, 2003

    Yes, it’s that time of the year again, so if you want to give your sims some Manhattan ice-skating enjoyment, then head on over to SimCity.com and download the newly released Rockefeller Center.

    The Sims 2 Updates... -- Posted by Cameron on Monday, December 15, 2003

    On Thursday at 3PM PST you will have a chance to talk with Tim LeTourneau, Sims 2 Senior Producer. And for those of you who have not checked out TheSims2.com lately, there is now a new flyby video of the incredible looking The Sims 2 neighborhood.

    inSims.de hosts SimCity contest... -- Posted by Cameron on Sunday, December 14, 2003

    In a search for the best SimCity 4 Mayor out there, inSims.de is hosting a SimCity 4 Rush Hour contest with inSims.de prizes including T-Shirts, keychains and some "cubes of decision." You can find all the details here. Here is an excerpt from the contest requirement page with the criteria for a winning city:

    Main criteria and 50% of the final rating:

  • realistic look and beauty of the city

    Additional criteria, all together 50% of the final rating:

  • traffic, commute time, not to much traffic jam and a good public, mass transport
  • budget, meaning cashflow with income and expenses
  • cash
  • environment, not to much pollution etc.
  • size of the city, meaning number of Sims
  • crime
  • years, how long it took the city to reach the actual state
  • education of the Sims
  • life-time of the Sims

    This sounds like quite a bit of fun, so head on over to inSims.de, download the map and get started! All cities are due by January 4th, 2004 by 11:59 pm CET, or 5:59 pm for those of you on the East coast and 2:59 pm for the West coast.


    Aspyr releases SimCity 4 Landmark Pack... -- Posted by Cameron on Thursday, December 11, 2003

    For all of you Mac users out there who were beginning to think you would never get any landmarks, Aspyr has just released a Landmarks Pack. Inside Mac Games describes more on this release:

    Aspyr today released an [sic] Landmark add-on pack for SimCity 4. The pack allows you to add various world-famous landmarks such as the The Mayflower, Seoul Soccer Stadium, the Parthenon, the Bradenburg Gate, the Capitol Records Building, the Arc de Triomphe, Grand Central Station, and much more.

    You can download the Mac Landmarks Pack at macgamefiles.com.


    The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in SimCity 4 -- Posted by Andro on Wednesday, December 10, 2003

    UPDATED December 18 - Gorgoroth, including the Barad-dûr, is now available for download....

    Deceber 13 - Anórien and Ithilien, including Minas Tirith, Osgiliath, Minas Morgul, and Henneth Annûn on a medium SimCity 4 map, has been completed. Enjoy! :)


    Chat with Will Wright... -- Posted by Cameron on Wednesday, December 10, 2003

    Taking place today at 3pm, Will Wright answered the questions of SimCity 4 registered users ranging from details about The Sims 2 to what kind of music Will Wright enjoys. The full chat transcript is now up on SimCity.com and can be found here, you might find out some things you never knew about Will Wright...

    rockchick_catt! (Dec 4, 2003 6:49:38 PM)
    Will- do you have any odd nicknames?

    MaxisWill (Dec 4, 2003 6:49:38 PM)
    Sir Hilton Fargoyle the 13th Esq.

    If you missed this chat, don't fret, you can still join in The Sims Bustin' Out chat occurring at 3pm PST on Thursday.