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Comment by interpol_p | Hacker News Reader

I'm probably in the minority here, but for me the biggest appeal of the SimCity series was the aesthetic and music. The music in particular.

I absolutely love what I have seen of Skylines so far, but it seems to be missing the SimCity charm — that urban soundtrack, the way the buildings light up at night, the unique architecture and art style. I'm hoping mods will fill in all these areas.

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This. Sim City 4 is maybe the only 3D management/strategy game I have loved. Unlike most 3D sequels of 2D games (like Rollercoaster Tycoon III, much more profound than the II, but vulgar, unattractive, charmless), Sim City kept all its charm typical of the 2D era. The modern games have lost the cuteness so present in the old strategy/management games like Transport Tycoon, Theme Hospital, etc. This cuteness was important to me because it allowed to play in a satirical way, or in a non-realistic way. To be honest, I don't know if I would have loved this new game when I was a child, I remember being first attracted by the colorful graphics and the funny councilmen. My cities were like a full world, closed and unique, not like Paris or London but like Springfield or Duckburg. Sim City (or Caesar III, Pharaoh) allowed me to learn how to manage a city, but also to imagine stories.

I put on the SimCity 4/5 soundtrack in the background after I got tired of the C:S music, which happened pretty quickly. Those two soundtracks are on Spotify, if you can believe it. SC2k also had a fantastic soundtrack (midi, as far as I can recall), I'm sure it's somewhere on the net.

The graphical art style in C:S is pretty neat, overall. There's a mod in progress that'll bring night views. But I also noticed a lack of charm -- I can't quite grasp why that is. It's still a worthy successor to SC4, at last.

Same here, I love how relaxing and charming SimCity is. I think Simcity 2013 really nailed the charm (if nothing else). I don't know what the general opinion is on the cartoonish graphics and filters, but I really like them. I would often let the game run for hours just to watch, like a fish tank or something, because I think visually it is gorgeous and it looks so alive (and maybe because I felt I needed to get my money's worth somehow).

I'm very excited to play Skylines, the gameplay seems a million times better in every way. But the screenshots just aren't as satisfying to look at, and as silly as that may be, that's a big part of SimCity to me.

The sound design in skylines is somehow 'jarring' but i really cant define exactly what causes it

yup, I think you're in the minority here, I can't imagin anyone appreciating simcity for the music.

It had some pretty graphics, for sure, but I think most people view that as fluff.

You should hear me gush about factorio, and it looks like this: https://www.google.ca/search?q=factorio&tbm=isch&gws_rd=cr,s...

edit: ok, apparently not. apparently people really really really care that their games look pretty, color me surprised.

I really like the jazz tracks from SimCity 3000 (the ones that play when things are going well). They tickle my brain in just the right way.

They're on Google Play Music! Listened to it this morning.

I loved the music so much that I would use it as bumper music when I would dj at my school's radio station.

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