Thread BUMP 2000 - Build-em-ups, City Builders, and Construction/Management Sims

[Falselogic]

I wonder what Wikipedia has to say about Build-em-ups?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia Construction and management simulation (CMS) is a type of simulation game in which players build, expand or manage fictional communities or projects with limited resources. Strategy video games sometimes incorporate CMS aspects into their game economy, as players must manage resources while expanding their project. But pure CMS games differ from strategy games in that "the player's goal is not to defeat an enemy, but to build something within the context of an ongoing process." Games in this category are sometimes also called "management games". SimCity represents an early example of success in the genre. Other games in the genre range from city-building games like Caesar or Dwarf Fortress, pure business simulation games like Capitalism, and or true CMSs like Theme Park. CMSs are often called "simulation games" for short. Although games can simulate many activities from vehicles to sports, players usually deduce the kind of simulation from the title of the game.

I like all of that except for that "'simulation games' for short part." What about simulation games is short? Anyway, drilling down:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia A city-building game, or town-building game, is a genre of simulation video game where players act as the overall planner and leader of a city or town, looking down on it from above, and being responsible for its growth and management strategy. Players choose building placement and city management features such as salaries and work priorities, and the city develops accordingly. The city-building game genre was established in 1989 with SimCity, which emphasized continuous building rather than a set victory condition. Players followed personal preferences in design and growth. Indicators of success were maintaining positive budget balance and citizen satisfaction.

That's all great Falselogic but why are you telling us? Well, I've been playing through a bunch of these and wanted to talk about them! But, TT doesn't even have a thread for them and while some of them most definitely do deserve their own thread (Simcity, Cities: Skylines, Children of the Nile) some don't or are too old to warrant an actual thread. So here one is! Also, sometimes you just want to talk about the mechanics of a genre without specifically speaking about any game. Or maybe you want to post that terrifying video from Simcity 3000 where the town is a perfect hive! (spoopy)

Well, now you can! But you have to call them BUMPs or B'UPs for short. Also, this thread is called BUMP 2000 because the second Simcity game was not Simcity 2 but Simcity 2000.

 

[Falselogic]

Why did I re-make this thread? Well two things! Parkitect is getting a new (small) expansion!

The real big news here is the switch segment that is going to be huge for serious Parkitecters!

But that's really just a bonus. The real reason I created the thread is the announcement that Impression Game's Pharaoh is getting re-made! For a bit there in the late 90s Impressions (owned by Sierra On-line) was cranking out fantastic historical BUMPs - Caesar 3, Pharaoh, Zeus, and then Emperor. These games differed from other city builders in that you had to manage supply chains in order to raise the level of buildings (to gain new residents) and unlock higher tier buildings and build them. It was a really interesting take that made you balance aesthetic considerations with physical limitations on transportation networks, rare material extraction, consumer good production, and building construction. Very easy to just lose your self in optimization.

Anyway here is a video!

Anyone else excited about this?

 

[dosboot]

I was just thinking about Pharaoh this week! I was thinking it would be fun to have a chill SimCity-like experience right now, and I wanted something different from the other builder games I've played. Maybe I should play Zeus instead, and then play this remaster next year so I can still get a sense of what it was like when it was new.

 

[Falselogic]

Started playing Cliff Empire this week. It's different. But good. It's somewhat like Frostpunk, but doesn't have the narrative that game has. I'll try to take some pictures and share!

 

[Falselogic]

Nebuchadnezzar comes out this month! If you've been looking for an Impression style city-builder this is the first of two that I know of coming this year!

Here is a review copy playthrough! I'm excited!

 

[nataeryn]

Everything I've seen from this game looked really impressive to me. I too am quite excited!

 

[Falselogic]

Rezzing this thread for two things!

Terra Nil - Reviews I've seen have been pitching this as a "reverse city builder." In this build-em-up you're really doing the opposite. Instead, of creating a definite human settlement and shaping the surrounding environment to suit this city and the people living in it. You are tasked with eliminating traces of people and restoring habitats destroyed by humans. I've been following the game since I saw the ol' itchi.io demo years ago and was excited to play it when it came out in March. While you do place objects, the game seems more like a puzzle game to me. With limited resources you need to place items in specific areas and in a particular order to facilitate the restoration of ecosytems while saving enough resources to take down all the items you placed. That sounds strange but the game was truly enjoyable and quite beautiful to play. It's not long either. Perfect size for a game.

Pocket City 2 - The sequel to probably the best build-em-up that's come out for ios/android. This is your basic Simcity-esque copy cat. With some fun additions in being able to explore the city you build. Pocket City 2 is doing anything amazing or new with the genre. What it does do is not saddle the game with all the garbage that phone games are burdened with today. You pay under $5 for the game and then you have it. There are no up-sells, no ads, no seasons, no loot boxes, no need to get crystals or coins to turn into something else to purcahse special items. You just get to build a city on your phone.

 

[Falselogic]

Oh, also Pharoah A New Era finally came out last month.

 

[Violentvixen]

Terra Nil

I played the Steam demo of this and liked it a lot. That being said it's so dang pretty it's one I'll want to play on the more powerful desktop, it worked perfectly fine on my lower tier laptop but just wasn't as satisfying.

 

[Falselogic]

I heartily recommend it!