Simcity 499: Game Settings

Since fifty-fifty Maxis has failed to render a comprehensive listing of what each of their gameplay settings exercise exterior of the game, I've decided to handgrip it.

Options Menu

• Settings
  This is where you lot tin lav alter how the game looks as well as plays.
• Game Manual
  This opens upward a browser to Maxis' online game manual -- which you lot tin lav view here.
• Help Center
  This links you lot to the Origin assist oculus that comes amongst the Origin game client. If you lot disable the assist oculus inwards your Origin game client, you'll larn a "this service has been disabled" message when you lot click on this button.
• Getting Started
  This volition allow you lot to replay the Summer Shoals tutorial metropolis site.
• Credits
  A listing of people who helped laid upward the game.
• Return to Main Menu
  When inwards game, this volition render you lot to the forepart bill of fare covert where you lot tin lav take away a saved game file, showtime a novel game, or banking concern check the leaderboard.
• Quit SimCity
  Exits the game.

Settings - Graphics

The graphics settings allow you lot to alter how SimCity v looks on your monitor. Since all computers are dissimilar -- or thence are old, or thence are new, or thence receive got crappy graphics cards, or thence don't -- you lot receive got several options that you lot tin lav fiddle amongst to give you lot a ameliorate looking game. As a full general dominion of thumb, if your figurer is onetime or you lot receive got a inexpensive graphics card campaign you're non a professional person gamer, less is to a greater extent than -- important when you lot laid everything to "less" you'll larn a to a greater extent than fluid game.

• Screen Resolution
  This selection allows you lot to increment the number of pixels you lot tin lav view on the screen. The higher the numbers, the to a greater extent than you lot tin lav see. However, if your graphics card is older as well as incapable of treatment the setting, the game could boundary or crash entirely. If you lot receive got surgical operation issues, consider jacking this setting downward a notch. Also, your monitor has a certainly frequency that it is tuned to (expressed inwards hz). The frequency you lot take away inwards the game should tally that of your monitor or you lot may receive got problems.
  • 1024x768 (60, 70, as well as 75hz)
  • 1152x864 (60 as well as 75hz)
  • 1280x720 (60 as well as 75hz)
  • 1280x768 (60 as well as 75hz)
  • 1280x800 (60 as well as 75hz)
  • 1280x960 (60 as well as 75hz)
  • 1280x1024 (60 as well as 75hz)
• Fullscreen (checkbox)
  Determines whether the game plays inwards a moveable window or enlarges to swallow your entire screen.
• Lighting
  Increases or reduces the overall character of low-cal used inwards the game. Imagine that 3 lights were turned on at the same fourth dimension inwards the room inwards which you lot are sitting. Each low-cal would cast it's rays onto your body. Reducing or increases the "lighting" selection changes the number of lights that are used yesteryear the game. Low volition give you lot exactly 1 low-cal (the overall ambient light) patch ultra volition calculate every low-cal from every object, how they bounce off things, as well as where they all land. The higher this setting, the to a greater extent than calculations must hold out made yesteryear your graphics card.
• Textures
  Imagine individual you lot know is wearing a shirt. From far away, you lot tin lav view that the shirt is red, but upward unopen you lot tin lav view that it has a petty alligator as well as that the cloth appears to hold out or thence type of hemp. Texture is all almost details. If you lot desire to know what laid upward of article of apparel your Sims are wearing or read license plates -- you lot can't genuinely exercise either of these things inwards the game, I'm extrapolating -- thence jack upward the textures. Just know that the to a greater extent than texture you lot receive got inwards a scene, the slower it's going to be. If your graphics card is onetime or weak, stick amongst depression textures thence you lot don't grind your game to a halt.
• Shadows
  Every low-cal that strikes a edifice theoretically casts a shadow on the other side. That's simple schoolhouse stuff. But if 3 lights strike a edifice -- at that topographic point should hold out 3 shadows. However, drawing all 3 shadows requires a lot of graphics, thence if you lot don't attention almost maintaining truthful shadow casting, plow this 1 downward thence buildings only cast 1 principal shadow. This is the only graphics selection that you lot tin lav plow off completely if you lot don't attention almost shadows at all.
• Geometry
  Everything inwards the game has a especial shape. The to a greater extent than complex the shapes, the slower the game runs. You tin lav increment or decrease the amount of geometry inwards the game using this selection -- turning your buildings as well as people into simple cubes or marvelous replicas of anatomy as well as architecture. Sometimes, people similar depression geometry as well as high textures; other people similar the reverse. Keeping them both high requires a genuinely expert graphics card.
• Animation Detail
  Determines how much of your metropolis is moving. Each Sim as well as machine as well as menage burn requires a certainly amount of figurer ability to animate. Higher animation especial volition add together to a greater extent than moving Sims as well as cars as well as windy trees as well as laid upward all their movements to a greater extent than fluid. Low animation especial volition laid upward them jerky but laid upward the game equally a whole significantly faster. Use depression animation if you lot don't attention almost watching the petty people on the ground.
• Tilt Shift
  Makes the background blurry. Increase this to laid upward your game await similar something out of a Tim Burton movie; less to receive got your entire metropolis inwards focus.
• Anti-aliasing (checkbox)
  Smooths the edges of buildings, terrain, Sims, as well as everything else. Turning this off volition laid upward the game run faster, but you lot may detect (depending upon how much you lot care) upon closer inspection that the objects inwards the game don't seem to blend together exactly right. AA makes the game to a greater extent than "photo realistic".
• Framerate Cap
  A video game is a pic that you lot tin lav alter equally it plays. Just similar a movie, every 2nd of gameplay has a certainly number of frames (think photographs) that are drawn on the screen. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 pic you lot spotter on your DVD thespian is 30 frames per 2nd (30FPS). Games are commonly 60FPS, but games amongst lots of graphics (like SimCity) allow you lot to "dump down" to lower FPS settings to laid upward the game run to a greater extent than smoothly. 30FPS is perfectly fine. Increasing to 60FPS is only something hardcore gamers insist on. "Off" allows the FPS to fluctuate depending on how complex the frames that receive got to hold out drawn become. For instance, if you lot receive got a lot of buildings on the covert at the same time, it takes to a greater extent than fourth dimension to depict them all as well as the framerate volition choke down. When laid to "off", the FPS may driblet below 30 during times similar this as well as you'll larn jerky movement. When you lot cap the FPS, you lot say the figurer to sacrifice graphics character to maintain that minimum score of frames per second.
• V-sync (checkbox)
  V-sync uses the frequency of your monitor (which you lot laid inwards the "screen resolution" option, view above) to determine frames per second. While on, it volition allow your graphics hardware to automatically increment the number of frames per 2nd inwards a higher house the cap equally it sees fit, but won't choke below the cap. If you lot plow this off, your graphics card volition receive got an easier life but at that topographic point is an exterior gamble that you lot may occasionally sense "tearing" -- imagine a photograph of a tree as well as you lot cutting out the middle of the photograph as well as shift it slightly. Screen fierce occurs when the graphics card tries to function amongst tons of buildings as well as terrain at 1 time but can't choke along up. It equally good almost ever occurs when you lot are moving your camera; thence for a simulation game, it's non genuinely that important. V-sync guarantees that covert fierce won't occur yesteryear making certainly each frame is perfect earlier it is displayed.
• Brightness (slider)
  Allows you lot to laid upward the game visually brighter, lightening shadows as well as genuinely making highlights sparkle. This is included because all monitors are different, thence if for or thence argue your monitor is especially nighttime or bright, you lot tin lav increment or trim this slider to compensate.
• Filter
  Filters apply a visual hue to the game, altering the colors of buildings, terrain, as well as other game assets. I comprehend filters as well as present screenshots inwards or thence other ship service (see SimCity 191).

Settings - Audio

• Music Volume
  Allows you lot to command how loud the background music plays.
• Effects Volume
  Allows you lot to command how loud the honking, talking, stepping, building, as well as other game noises are.
• Mute All
  You tin lav plow downward both of the inwards a higher house to minimum score or exactly click the mute box to exercise the same thing.

Settings - Gameplay

• Always Display City Boundary
  There is a white dotted line on the the world that shows you lot the edges of your metropolis site. You tin lav laid upward that disappear for a to a greater extent than realistic look.
• Video Capture Resolution
  When you lot press [V] patch inwards game, you lot tin lav videotape what is happening inwards your game for role afterwards on YouTube or something similar that. You receive got a depression resolution selection (YouTube size) as well as a high resolution selection (Star Wars: Episode IV after they ruined it).
• Hide UI inwards Captured Videos as well as Snapshots (checkbox)
  When you lot press [C] patch inwards game, you lot tin lav receive got a photograph of what's happening on screen. Whenever you lot capture what's going on equally a photograph or video, the buttons as well as bill of fare options are equally good visible unless you lot uncheck this box.
• Planning Mode Camera (checkbox)
  Not sure. It seems to add together a slight elevation to your photographic tv set camera preventing it from reaching the ground. It may hold out broken or poorly conceived. It's definitely straight off what you lot recall it would be, which is a photographic tv set camera inwards the heaven that looks downward on your metropolis thence you lot tin lav -- you lot know -- plan better.
• Edge Scrolling (slider)
  When the mouse approaches the border of the screen, it tin lav either pan the photographic tv set camera across the breadth of your metropolis at dizzying speeds or slow crawl from side to side for to a greater extent than control.
• Hide Speech Bubbles (checkbox)
  Uncheck this if you lot don't attention to larn challenges from Sims.
• Hide Thought Bubbles (checkbox)
  Uncheck this if you lot don't attention to larn opinions from Sims or know when they're almost to laid themselves on fire.
• Hide Origin Friend Avatars (checkbox)
  When citizens from or thence other metropolis enters your city, a small-scale picture hovers inwards a higher house their caput letting you lot know that they are foreigners coming to pocket jobs. You tin lav preclude the hovering faces (or other torso parts) from appearing as well as clogging upward your screen.
• Save My Game Events to CityLog Feed (checkbox)
  In the upper right-hand corner, at that topographic point is the so-called CityLog which keeps everyone inwards your share (all the mayors) informed of what everyone else is doing. You tin lav uncheck this box to preclude the things you lot exercise from beingness reported to your neighbors.
• Enable Mini Tutorials (checkbox)
  Turns off the helpful hint boxes that popular upward informing you lot of novel things you lot haven't experienced yet. You tin lav equally good reset all of the mini-tutorials if you lot desire to showtime fresh as well as sense them all 1 time again or if individual novel wants to play on your computer.

Graphics Options Screenshots

Here is episode ii of my SimCity video blog. In this video I choke through screenshots of the game, turning off as well as on diverse graphics settings, thence that you lot tin lav view as well as empathize what each of them do.

This video is exactly over nine minutes long.

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SPECIAL NOTE: Oh, inwards representative you lot run across this work inwards your ain life... HAN SHOT FIRST!!!

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