<s>
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
is	O
a	O
city-building	B-Application
simulation	B-Application
computer	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Maxis	O
,	O
a	O
subsidiary	O
of	O
Electronic	O
Arts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
January	O
2003	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
in	O
June	O
2003	O
for	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
fourth	O
major	O
installment	O
in	O
the	O
SimCity	B-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
has	O
a	O
single	O
expansion	O
pack	O
called	O
Rush	O
Hour	O
which	O
adds	O
features	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
:	I-Application
Deluxe	I-Application
Edition	I-Application
contained	O
the	O
original	O
game	O
and	O
Rush	O
Hour	O
combined	O
as	O
a	O
single	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
introduces	O
night	O
and	O
day	O
cycles	O
and	O
other	O
special	O
effects	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
in	O
the	O
SimCity	B-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
External	O
tools	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Building	B-Application
Architect	I-Application
Tool	I-Application
(	O
BAT	O
)	O
allow	O
custom	O
third-party	O
buildings	O
and	O
content	O
to	O
be	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
was	O
praised	O
for	O
being	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
main	O
SimCity	B-Application
series	O
to	O
primarily	O
use	O
a	O
3D	O
engine	O
to	O
render	O
its	O
graphics	O
,	O
following	O
the	O
implementation	O
of	O
3D	O
graphics	O
in	O
SimCity	B-Application
64	I-Application
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
64DD	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
previous	O
SimCity	B-Application
titles	O
,	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
places	O
players	O
in	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
a	O
mayor	O
,	O
tasked	O
with	O
populating	O
and	O
developing	O
tracts	O
of	O
lands	O
into	O
cities	O
,	O
while	O
fulfilling	O
the	O
needs	O
of	O
fellow	O
Sims	B-Application
that	O
live	O
in	O
the	O
cities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
size	O
of	O
a	O
region	O
and	O
its	O
layout	O
of	O
segments	O
can	O
be	O
changed	O
in	O
a	O
bitmap	B-Algorithm
file	O
provided	O
for	O
each	O
region	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
God	O
mode	O
also	O
allows	O
players	O
to	O
trigger	O
disasters	O
,	O
including	O
tornadoes	B-Language
and	O
earthquakes	O
among	O
several	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Agriculture	O
is	O
a	O
separate	O
industrial	O
zone-type	O
,	O
unlike	O
previous	O
versions	O
of	O
SimCity	B-Application
,	O
enabling	O
farms	O
to	O
grow	O
regardless	O
of	O
high	O
land	O
value	O
,	O
so	O
long	O
as	O
demand	O
exists	O
for	O
agriculture	O
and	O
agricultural	O
zones	O
have	O
been	O
provided	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Facilities	O
that	O
had	O
previously	O
provided	O
citywide	O
coverage	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
educational	O
facilities	O
and	O
medical	O
facilities	O
,	O
have	O
been	O
modified	O
to	O
provide	O
more	O
limited	O
coverage	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
has	O
been	O
with	O
police	O
stations	O
and	O
fire	O
stations	O
in	O
previous	O
SimCity	B-Application
titles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MySim	O
mode	O
enables	O
players	O
to	O
create	O
user-defined	O
Sims	B-Application
,	O
who	O
will	O
live	O
and	O
work	O
in	O
the	O
city	O
the	O
player	O
has	O
created	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
moving	O
a	O
Sim	O
into	O
a	O
city	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
choose	O
from	O
a	O
selection	O
of	O
characters	O
or	O
import	O
others	O
from	O
The	B-Application
Sims	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sims	B-Application
can	O
be	O
killed	O
by	O
certain	O
disasters	O
or	O
catastrophic	O
events	O
,	O
leave	O
the	O
city	O
if	O
conditions	O
are	O
unfavorable	O
,	O
or	O
die	O
of	O
old	O
age	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Buildings	O
in	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
are	O
based	O
on	O
four	O
distinct	O
architectural	O
styles	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
selected	O
simultaneously	O
or	O
only	O
on	O
one	O
era	O
to	O
be	O
built	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
its	O
predecessors	O
,	O
which	O
used	O
an	O
engine	O
based	O
on	O
2D	O
isometric	B-Application
graphics	I-Application
and	O
sprites	O
,	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
primarily	O
uses	O
a	O
3D	O
engine	O
to	O
render	O
its	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
landscape	O
and	O
moving	O
props	O
such	O
as	O
vehicles	O
are	O
modeled	O
as	O
fully	O
polygonal	B-General_Concept
and	O
rotatable	O
3D	O
objects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Small	O
buildings	O
and	O
props	O
are	O
drawn	O
as	O
flat	O
images	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
pasted	O
onto	O
billboards	O
;	O
polygons	B-General_Concept
with	O
their	O
surface	O
normal	O
facing	O
into	O
the	O
camera	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Larger	O
buildings	O
are	O
modeled	O
using	O
a	O
hybrid	O
approach	O
;	O
a	O
simple	O
polygonal	B-General_Concept
model	O
defines	O
the	O
shape	O
of	O
the	O
building	O
,	O
then	O
textures	O
are	O
added	O
to	O
create	O
detail	O
such	O
as	O
doors	O
,	O
windows	O
and	O
rooftop	O
clutter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
a	O
3D	O
engine	O
is	O
used	O
,	O
the	O
camera	O
in	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
is	O
restricted	O
to	O
a	O
fixed	O
trimetric	O
orthographic	O
projection	O
for	O
performance	O
reasons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
includes	O
over	O
three	O
hours	O
of	O
background	O
music	O
in	O
MP3	B-Application
format	O
,	O
ranging	O
from	O
three	O
to	O
eight	O
minutes	O
in	O
length	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
release	O
,	O
several	O
add-ons	O
and	O
development	O
kits	O
were	O
made	O
available	O
on	O
its	O
official	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
landmarks	O
were	O
primarily	O
used	O
to	O
demonstrate	O
the	O
capability	O
of	O
Gmax	B-Application
and	O
the	O
Building	B-Application
Architect	I-Application
Tool	I-Application
(	O
BAT	O
)	O
around	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
the	O
BAT	O
's	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Building	B-Application
Architect	I-Application
Tool	I-Application
(	O
BAT	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
suite	O
of	O
tools	O
developed	O
for	O
producing	O
custom	O
buildings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
suite	O
consists	O
of	O
three	O
applications	O
:	O
The	O
Building	O
Architect	O
game	O
pack	O
for	O
Gmax	B-Application
,	O
which	O
enabled	O
users	O
to	O
render	O
Gmax	B-Application
models	O
into	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
sprites	O
or	O
props	O
to	O
be	O
imported	O
into	O
the	O
LE	O
;	O
an	O
updated	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
LE	O
;	O
and	O
the	O
standalone	O
Plug-in	O
Manager	O
,	O
which	O
enables	O
users	O
to	O
modify	O
simulation	B-Application
properties	O
for	O
new	O
lots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
Building	B-Application
Architect	I-Application
Tool	I-Application
is	O
similar	O
in	O
function	O
to	O
SimCity	B-Application
3000	O
Building	B-Application
Architect	I-Application
Tool	I-Application
and	O
SimCity	B-Application
2000	I-Application
Urban	O
Renewal	O
Kit	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
previous	O
programs	O
of	O
this	O
kind	O
were	O
created	O
from	O
scratch	O
by	O
Maxis	O
and	O
used	O
completely	O
different	O
interfaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SC4	O
BAT	O
required	O
a	O
third-party	O
application	O
(	O
Gmax	B-Application
)	O
to	O
function	O
and	O
was	O
never	O
bundled	O
with	O
SC4	O
or	O
the	O
Rush	O
Hour	O
expansion	O
pack	O
,	O
as	O
SimCity	B-Application
3000	O
Unlimited	O
had	O
with	O
its	O
own	O
BAT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Lot	O
Editor	O
(	O
LE	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
tool	O
which	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
edit	O
or	O
design	O
lots	O
for	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
using	O
available	O
props	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
official	O
tools	O
,	O
third-party	O
programs	O
were	O
released	O
for	O
further	O
accessibility	O
in	O
editing	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
contents	O
,	O
potentially	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
change	O
the	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
Lot	O
Editor	O
and	O
the	O
"	O
BAT	O
"	O
(	O
Building	B-Application
Architect	I-Application
Tool	I-Application
)	O
,	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
add-ons	O
in	O
circulation	O
consist	O
of	O
user-created	O
content	O
;	O
most	O
are	O
buildings	O
and	O
lots	O
,	O
including	O
real-life	O
landmarks	O
,	O
chain	O
stores	O
,	O
extra	O
houses	O
,	O
etc.	O
,	O
while	O
others	O
include	O
cosmetic	O
changes	O
for	O
terrain	O
,	O
flora	O
,	O
custom	O
vehicles	O
and	O
modifications	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
behavior	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
even	O
fundamentally	O
change	O
the	O
mechanics	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
(	O
for	O
instance	O
,	O
by	O
introducing	O
multi-function	O
transportation	O
networks	O
and	O
stations	O
,	O
or	O
by	O
modifying	O
the	O
distance	O
Sims	B-Application
are	O
willing	O
to	O
walk	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
reach	O
transit	O
or	O
their	O
jobs	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
,	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
sold	O
over	O
100,000	O
units	O
during	O
the	O
first	O
half	O
of	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortly	O
after	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
the	O
PC	O
version	O
of	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
garnered	O
mainly	O
positive	O
reviews	O
,	O
gaining	O
84/100	O
from	O
Metacritic	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
85.09	O
%	O
overall	O
score	O
from	O
GameRankings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
review	O
commented	O
that	O
the	O
addition	O
of	O
the	O
region	O
view	O
mode	O
adds	O
more	O
depth	O
to	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
and	O
that	O
the	O
gameplay	O
has	O
a	O
"	O
more	O
accurate	O
representation	O
of	O
city	O
planning	O
and	O
maintenance	O
"	O
than	O
of	O
previous	O
titles	O
in	O
the	O
SimCity	B-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
scored	O
an	O
8.1/10	O
rating	O
at	O
GameSpot	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
had	O
a	O
"	O
sleek	O
,	O
attractive	O
interface	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
great	O
audio	O
"	O
;	O
it	O
added	O
however	O
that	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
was	O
"	O
rather	O
rushed	O
"	O
and	O
that	O
the	O
MySim	O
mode	O
"	O
seems	O
like	O
an	O
afterthought.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpy	O
gave	O
the	O
game	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
75/100	O
,	O
commenting	O
that	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
is	O
"	O
graphically	O
stunning	O
"	O
;	O
the	O
review	O
also	O
criticized	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
having	O
issues	O
"	O
that	O
will	O
likely	O
kill	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
casual	O
players	O
"	O
including	O
performance	O
and	O
difficulty	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
1UP.com	O
rated	O
the	O
game	O
at	O
B+	O
and	O
praised	O
the	O
region	O
view	O
feature	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
detail	O
of	O
the	O
graphics	O
which	O
create	O
a	O
"	O
deeper	O
sense	O
of	O
simulation.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
review	O
however	O
criticizes	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
for	O
suffering	O
crashes	B-General_Concept
and	O
performance	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
received	O
further	O
reviews	O
after	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
Mac	B-Device
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
received	O
a	O
rating	O
of	O
7.25/10	O
from	O
InsideMacGames	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Urban	O
planner	O
Jeff	O
Speck	O
said	O
that	O
SimCity	B-Application
4s	I-Application
traffic	O
model	O
is	O
"	O
more	O
advanced	O
than	O
what	O
most	O
traffic	O
engineers	O
use	O
in	O
real	O
life	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
was	O
chosen	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
IGN	O
's	O
"	O
Editors	O
 '	O
Choice	O
"	O
games	O
for	O
January	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
22	O
,	O
2003	O
,	O
Maxis	O
released	O
an	O
expansion	O
pack	O
for	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
dubbed	O
Rush	O
Hour	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
same	O
day	O
that	O
the	O
expansion	O
pack	O
Rush	O
Hour	O
was	O
released	O
,	O
a	O
bundle	O
pack	O
combining	O
both	O
the	O
main	O
game	O
and	O
the	O
expansion	O
pack	O
was	O
released	O
,	O
entitled	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
Deluxe	I-Application
Edition	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
25	O
,	O
2004	O
,	O
Aspyr	O
Media	O
released	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
Deluxe	I-Application
Edition	I-Application
for	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
year	O
later	O
,	O
the	O
expansion	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
on	O
September	O
4	O
,	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
20	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
Electronic	O
Arts	O
released	O
the	O
Deluxe	O
Edition	O
(	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
and	O
its	O
Rush	O
Hour	O
expansion	O
)	O
for	O
digital	O
download	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
,	O
a	O
digital	O
distribution	O
service	O
by	O
Valve	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
is	O
also	O
available	O
on	O
GOG.com,	O
Direct2Drive	O
and	O
Impulse	B-Application
as	O
well	O
as	O
EA	O
's	O
own	O
Origin	B-Operating_System
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
10	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
Aspyr	O
released	O
an	O
updated	O
version	O
of	O
their	O
port	O
of	O
the	O
Deluxe	O
Edition	O
on	O
the	O
Mac	B-Application
App	I-Application
Store	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
updated	O
version	O
includes	O
bug	O
fixes	O
and	O
performance	O
enhancements	O
,	O
native	O
resolution	O
support	O
,	O
and	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
latest	O
versions	O
of	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Around	O
2014	O
it	O
was	O
found	O
out	O
that	O
the	O
copy	O
of	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
sold	O
on	O
EA	O
's	O
Origin	B-Operating_System
was	O
distributing	O
an	O
outdated	O
"	O
digital	O
version	O
"	O
that	O
had	O
a	O
different	O
checksum	B-Algorithm
which	O
made	O
the	O
game	O
unpatchable	O
even	O
by	O
Maxis	O
 '	O
own	O
update	O
utilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
a	O
small	O
outcry	O
from	O
the	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
community	O
on	O
August	O
27	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
EA	O
pushed	O
an	O
update	O
that	O
replaced	O
the	O
SimCity	B-Application
executable	O
with	O
those	O
being	O
distributed	O
on	O
other	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
on	O
February	O
5	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
SimCity	B-Application
community	O
members	O
reported	O
that	O
their	O
copy	O
was	O
downgraded	O
back	O
to	O
the	O
unpatchable	O
"	O
digital	O
version	O
"	O
and	O
EA	O
provided	O
no	O
explanation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
And	O
as	O
of	O
February	O
26	O
,	O
2023	O
Origin	B-Operating_System
is	O
still	O
distributing	O
the	O
outdated	O
"	O
digital	O
version	O
"	O
while	O
displaying	O
modded	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
on	O
its	O
store	O
page	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
another	O
interview	O
on	O
May	O
22	O
,	O
2004	O
,	O
Wright	O
stated	O
that	O
Maxis	O
was	O
attempting	O
to	O
work	O
out	O
a	O
"	O
new	O
direction	O
"	O
for	O
SimCity	B-Application
after	O
new	O
versions	O
had	O
become	O
"	O
steadily	O
more	O
complex	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
SimCity	B-Application
games	O
for	O
PC	O
have	O
followed	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
was	O
SimCity	B-Application
Societies	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Tilted	O
Mill	O
Entertainment	O
and	O
released	O
on	O
November	O
13	O
,	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
was	O
SimCity	B-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
announced	O
in	O
March	O
2012	O
and	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
March	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
Republican	O
presidential	O
primaries	O
of	O
2012	O
,	O
candidate	O
Herman	O
Cain	O
's	O
9-9-9	O
taxation	O
proposal	O
was	O
widely	O
attributed	O
to	O
a	O
similar	O
tax	O
structure	O
presented	O
in	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
;	O
the	O
CNBC	O
cable	O
networks	O
relayed	O
the	O
story	O
of	O
the	O
linkage	O
of	O
the	O
SimCity	B-Application
"	O
ideal	O
parameters	O
"	O
as	O
a	O
possible	O
origin	B-Operating_System
of	O
the	O
taxation	O
proposal	O
(	O
the	O
story	O
itself	O
may	O
have	O
originated	O
in	O
the	O
technical	O
press	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
Cain	O
denied	O
any	O
link	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
