Telecom networks

[BSC VIP girafe]

pack of ideas to enhance the game

I will put here my ideas about how IMHO the city builder could be enhanced. Maybe brillant or poor ideas, let me know your comments

Telecom networks

Telecom networks have always been forgotten from city builders, it would be nice to have this network like water or electricity.

It could be a building, like antenna which covers a number of tiles and could represent TV, radio, internet and mobile communications. It could help to have a higher density and please the citizens.

 

[BSC VIP girafe]

Street / green space cleaning

I would love to see these kind of machine (automatas + city building) running my citiy to clean and increase the hapiness of my citizens

 

[TheDorne]

I reckon that's a great idea also the more broadcast stations you put the more money and happiness you get.

 

[Veidit]

It would be charming to track internetaccess the same way as power or water. How reliable is the network that you built, can it attract new companies or citizens?
Telecom is just a scary word for me these days and I am trying to get afar away as I can from POTS

 

[Letar]

It would be charming to track internetaccess the same way as power or water. How reliable is the network that you built, can it attract new companies or citizens?
Telecom is just a scary word for me these days and I am trying to get afar away as I can from POTS

We might have a modern city which relies only on mobile (cellular) networks and thus would need no cabling at all

Anyways, an interesting idea but I'm not sure if it would bring anything extra. If electricity network is modeled, then cabling wouldn't add anything beyond that. For mobile one could imagine a basic model of adding base stations over the city, but I'm not sure if that either would bring much added value to the game play (assuming that you could just spam base stations on top of buildings). I could think of one feature affecting budget: As base stations are owned by the network operators and not the city, one could imagine a feature where city rents towers/other space for operators to install the base stations/antennas, thus generating some rental revenue.

 

[Veidit]

We might have a modern city which relies only on mobile (cellular) networks and thus would need no cabling at all

Anyways, an interesting idea but I'm not sure if it would bring anything extra. If electricity network is modeled, then cabling wouldn't add anything beyond that. For mobile one could imagine a basic model of adding base stations over the city, but I'm not sure if that either would bring much added value to the game play (assuming that you could just spam base stations on top of buildings). I could think of one feature affecting budget: As base stations are owned by the network operators and not the city, one could imagine a feature where city rents towers/other space for operators to install the base stations/antennas, thus generating some rental revenue.

I was more thinking about passive (or active) optic network where cables can be broken due to bad digging or not enough maintenance (budget).

 

[Letar]

I was more thinking about passive (or active) optic network where cables can be broken due to bad digging or not enough maintenance (budget).

Hmm... there might be some possibilities with that idea. Building reliability like you say, or attracting high-tech companies to one area with better capacity. Still not sure how much this would differ from building the electricity network though. If we assume two layers (water + elec) already, would a third one differ in some significant way. that is, bring something extra to the game play or just add annoyance in the long run?

 

[rustyrockets]

In real life cities or countries sell , wave spectrum to other companies for money. so i think wireless services can be one of the income generator for city

 

[TWarrior]

Street / green space cleaning

I would love to see these kind of machine (automatas + city building) running my citiy to clean and increase the hapiness of my citizens

yes we need this! maybe add a public service building with cranes, buldozers, car cleaning vehicles etc.

 

[TheDorne]

I was more thinking about passive (or active) optic network where cables can be broken due to bad digging or not enough maintenance (budget).

Lets not make things to complicated here just make a broadcast stations increasing happiness and the more you have the more happiness.

 

[Victor Cortez]

Telecom network might be abstracted.
Like, you enable a policy that cost you money but gives free internet to everybody. People and offices would be happier.

 

[Veidit]

Lets not make things to complicated here just make a broadcast stations increasing happiness and the more you have the more happiness.

That makes me think of this video [video=youtube;giaZnIr-faM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giaZnIr-faM[/video]

Replied to the right quote this time

 

[finaldest]

Just have fiber optic cables laying (same as pipes) but make it very expensive and/or a requirement for high tech industries. Homes and offices with cable/fttx are more attractive than those without.

Today's society regard this as a utility the same as gas/water and electric

 

[charlesnew]

Just have fiber optic cables laying (same as pipes) but make it very expensive and/or a requirement for high tech industries. Homes and offices with cable/fttx are more attractive than those without.

Today's society regard this as a utility the same as gas/water and electric

I agree, or they can go under roads if they are upgraded to do that. We don't need over hang wires going everywhere, just to bring long distance electricity.

 

[TotalyMoo]

Having fiber optic cables would be awesome as a luxury service, perhaps for the more expensive homes or pleasing the richest of cims. Lovely idea. Maybe a layer above water piping, to avoid conflicts? Just theorizing here

 

[BSC VIP girafe]

After few comments, I still believe it s a good idea.

It has to be seen as a luxury network. Yes it would be boring to have an additionnal network at the beginning of the game but in middle or late game it could bring diversity.

As discussed, it could boost richest residential and IT (start up) district to pop up as well as high commercial. It could be available after reaching a certain level of population and unblocking a building: telecom center, data center...

Still 2 options to materialize the network:
- radio tower which cover a number of tiles (could be seen as 4G regrouging TV, Radio, Internet)
- classic network like water pipes (could be seen as optic fiber).

Maybe both could be combined...

 

[haymosdude]

This idea of building a network of fibre optic cables is great!
A distribution building would have to be built to connect to the outside network, probably at a high cost. From there you can lay simple fibre optic underground cables to all the areas you wish to connect. It's too simple though. There needs to be a difficulty to make it only affordable to the luxury residences and high rises / offices. Or else I would just drag the fibre optic cable to all areas (even low wealth areas). Perhaps the influence (the radius) of the reachability of the cable should small and high in maintenance costs.
Mobile phone antennas could also be plopped around the world to connect rural areas and perhaps buildings could be upgraded to have a mobile antenna, such as high rise buildings.
Again a distribution building can be built. A small one at the beginning to connect your early city, and as capacity increases and need for 3G / 4G arises new distribution building would have to be built or the small one upgraded. Following that you will need to upgrade the antennas for higher capacity and 3G / 4G.

Once you have a bursting city we can plop a building mimicking the NSA that will need to be connected to the phone and internet network to filter conversations and internet usage and will provide a way to filter telephone conversations to prevent crime (lowering crime total in the city) and filter the internet to make people less informed and preventing uprisings and riots. Also as a way to prevent unhappines getting out on social media. This can all be adjusted by the way of policies which is a great system by the way.

 

[Raph]

Having fiber optic cables would be awesome as a luxury service, perhaps for the more expensive homes or pleasing the richest of cims. Lovely idea. Maybe a layer above water piping, to avoid conflicts? Just theorizing here

This way of thinking makes me kind of sad, it's the same as design taking for granted that healthcare and education is only for rich people. Plenty of cities, at least in Sweden, have invested heavily in fiber optic infrastructure accessible in all areas, not just affluent ones.

 

[RedRalphWiggum]

This way of thinking makes me kind of sad, it's the same as design taking for granted that healthcare and education is only for rich people. Plenty of cities, at least in Sweden, have invested heavily in fiber optic infrastructure accessible in all areas, not just affluent ones.

Sadly, not every country thinks as Sweden does in this regard. Most of rural Ireland doesn't even have broadband

 

[TotalyMoo]

This way of thinking makes me kind of sad, it's the same as design taking for granted that healthcare and education is only for rich people. Plenty of cities, at least in Sweden, have invested heavily in fiber optic infrastructure accessible in all areas, not just affluent ones.

Well, living in Sweden I know this. But taking the rest of the world into consideration you realize that 1) almost every swede lives a luxury life by comparison and 2) our infrastructure is insanely good.