... or let's just say, I'm starting to wrap my head! Because this game is waaaay deeper than I could ever have imagined. Not that it really bothers me, but at the moment I still feel like I'm stumbling around in the dark. The weird part is, back in the day when I used to play classic city building games, it was precisely the statistics that I liked most. By looking at the numbers I figured out the next most reasonable move. Well, I'm really looking forward to reaching that point here, because right now I'm nowhere close. But let's see about some concrete questions. I've marked my points of concern in bold. If anyone would like to give me some pointers, I'd be grateful.
Income: Negative or Positive? Does It Even Matter?
In my last (that is first) post about dCity I talked about financial decline, based on my Income of -7 SIM. Clearly, at that rate my town would be bankrupt in foreseeable time. However, I ended up gaining a positive Income of +1 SIM a day! How is that possible?
Well, looking through various sources of information, I came to understand that your income does not matter. There is a 100% tax rate (just imagine!), so anything you make goes to... at this point I'm not sure... the head despot? Though I don't think this is something I should worry about anyway. At the same time, just for being a popular town and having a student I get ONE SIM A DAY. Great. I hope that dude never graduates! Being an artsy town, I assume that his field of study would fall into that area as well, which would mean I'd have a lifetime student of figure drawing or art history. Though I'm probably reading way too much into it. After all, I don't even have a school!
Student, Homeless, Immigrant: What to Do With Them?
So yeah, there's this question about the student. In dCity's own Info table it says: "Each day, your Students may be trained into Students (debt), and a bit further down: Students (debt) can be upgraded to Scientists, Workers, Hard Workers, Homeless, Policemen, Soldiers, Eco Activists, Economists, Professors and Lawyers. Upgrade costs 10 SIM per card and the result of upgrading is random.
Hmmm..., doesn't that sound familiar? You start out as a student, then get "upgraded" into an indebted student, before being further "upgraded" into a homeless person. Of course there is a random chance you could also become something like a candlestick maker. In either case, the mayor would lose that (admittedly marginal) tax return.
Given the fact that I have zero point none schools, universities, or any education for that matter, I assume my student's chance of upgrading is equally minimal. At least I don't see how they could become a lawyer, professor, or economist. Even in our existing police department, which I assume to be fully staffed, I don't see how they would find a job as a cop. So maybe the only possible upgrade would be homeless, or possibly an eco-activist. Maybe both! Once again, I don't think it's that uncommon that after long years of study someone would become a homeless eco-activist.
Then there is the issue with my growing homeless and immigrant population. My town is quite popular (that is well-liked, I understand) with 534, which attracts people from elsewhere. Whether they come as immigrants (not sure where they would be living though) or homeless (who no doubt are immigrants themselves, since they immigrated into my town), they end up just hanging around without anything to do. In the long run, they would make my city less appealing, and I guess they'd be a burden on my city's coffers. Oh wait, those coffers are the president's anyway, and as for popularity, they would need an army of homeless to wreck it. Still I feel like giving them some decent housing, and putting them to work. It's the right thing to do. Maybe a Job Center would help with this? For that I'd have to spend all my city funds though...
Now I'm realizing, that housing not that straight forward either. I mean, I could invest in some homes, but the way I understand, those homes come with inhabitants already included, which would only add to the labor pool, giving rise to unemployment. Wait, is there such a thing in the game? Wouldn't the immigrant with a home be considered unemployed? Under Population Status it says people to hire: 0 unemployed: 7. Let's see: two homeless, one immigrant, one student, makes four. Who are the other three?
Free Internet: Unlocked but not Acquired
In my early stage of stumbling and bumbling (which I believe is far from over), I immediately unlocked Free Internet in the educational tech branch. Of course, who wouldn't love free internet? Only then did I notice that this cost me 30 SIM (a month of meager tax returns), and I didn't even get the tech! All I got was the chance to discover free internet, if I had a Research Center. Clearly, without such a facility, my chances are zero. Okay, we all learn. Now I'm not even sure whether I want to proceed in that direction. Though having an influx of homeless and immigrants sort of begs for some edumacation!
Which Way Do I Want To Proceed?
Ideally, I would have said I want a city that generates funds while maintaining and expanding on its attractiveness. Arts and recreation are a good start. Ideally I would also like to improve education, and possibly tourism. But now I'm not so sure any more. Maybe the profitability doesn't really matter, and while education sounds great, I'm not quite certain what's the best way to improve it. Should I get that Job Center ... or maybe the Research Center? Or just buy the Free Internet card? Or go straight for the University, or maybe just a School? Other possible options I see could be Artist(s) Education or even Worker(s) Education (and Creativity). Questions on top of questions...
Anyhow, this is where I'm at in this game at the moment, tackling the learning curve at my own slow and steady pace. I hope there will be clearer updates, as I finally learn to play it. Until then, I appreciate any input you may have.