SimCity 2000

SimCity
SimCity	1989
SimCity 2000	1994
SimCity 2000 Network Edition	1996
SimCopter	1996
Streets of SimCity	1997
SimCity 3000	1999
SimCity 4	2003
SimCity Societies	2007
SimCity (2013)	2013

For the Network Edition, see SimCity 2000 Network Edition.

Key points

Original Windows versions work well on modern systems (see Installing on 64-bit versions of Windows).

Original Windows versions run windowed and can be resized/maximised to make full use of any modern resolution.

The GOG.com and Origin releases are the DOS version in DOSBox so have a fixed resolution and many limitations.

Incorrect aspect ratio for DOSBox version can be corrected with configuration file tweak.

General information

SimCity Wiki

Simtropolis - A fan site for the series

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Availability[edit]

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		No disc check.
Retail
GOG.com		DOS Special Edition pre-packaged with DOSBox.^[2]
Origin		DOS Special Edition pre-packaged with DOSBox.

Version differences[edit]

The Special Edition (or CD Collection) is a complete edition containing the base game, Urban Renewal Kit, Scenarios Volume 1: Great Disasters, and additional cities and scenarios not available separately. Includes DOS, Win16, and Win32 versions, though the Win32 version unfortunately has a 16-bit installer.

Essential improvements[edit]

Skip intro videos[edit]

These steps are for the DOS version; for the Windows version simply run the game without the CD in the drive.

Remove INTRO command^{[citation needed]}

Go to the installation folder.
Edit SC2000.BAT.
Remove the INTRO line.
Save your changes and close the file.

Game data[edit]

Configuration file(s) location[edit]

System	Location
DOS
Windows	<path-to-game>\SC2000.CFG
Mac OS
macOS (OS X)

Many settings (e.g. game speed) are stored in the city file itself.

Save game data location[edit]

System	Location
DOS	<path-to-game>\Cities\*.sc2
Windows	<path-to-game>\Cities\*.sc2
Mac OS
macOS (OS X)

The original Windows version can save cities anywhere (<path-to-game>\Cities folder is the default).

Save game cloud syncing[edit]

System	Native	Notes
Origin

Video settings[edit]

Graphics settings (GOG.com version)

Graphics option	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Original Windows versions only.
Multi-monitor		Game window has a maximum width of 4096 pixels.^[3]
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed	Use `Alt`+`↵ Enter` or set in Graphic Mode Setup (GOG.com).
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS
120+ FPS

Input settings[edit]

Keyboard and mouse	Native	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		Uses native pointer - mouse settings are adjusted in your Windows/DOS mouse driver.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support

Audio settings[edit]

Audio options	Native	Notes
Separate volume controls		On/off only.
Surround sound
Subtitles		Everything is text-based.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	CC	Notes
English

Issues fixed[edit]

Installing on 64-bit versions of Windows[edit]

The original disc release uses a 16-bit installer.

Install with a modified 32-bit installer^{[citation needed]}

Insert the CD.
Copy the contents of WIN95 folder somewhere temporarily.
Download the InstallShield 3 32-bit Generic Installer.
Extract the new installer into the WIN95 folder.
Run install32.exe and follow the steps.
If you want CD videos to be available go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Maxis\SimCity 2000\Paths and change the Goodies key to the drive letter you are using the CD in.
Apply the SimCity 2000 compatibility patch.

Traffic and water animations are frozen[edit]

Set the game to run in 256 Colors compatibility mode. This will not fix the problem on Windows 8 since it is locked in 32-bit depth, and 256-color mode is simply emulated without actually being used.

Saving or loading crashes the game[edit]

Saving and loading cause crashes on Windows 7 and later without this fix.

Use patched executable^[4]

Apply the SimCity 2000 compatibility patch.

Game runs too fast (DOSBox)[edit]

Fast computers may cause disasters in Cheetah speed to run rampant before you can react.

DOSBox - CPU speed^{[citation needed]}

Type config cpu cycles auto limit 65000

Correcting aspect ratio (DOSBox)[edit]

Running the game on contemporary 16:9 or 16:10 monitors can result in a distorted picture. This can be fixed by altering a DOSBox configuration file.

Correct aspect ratio^{[citation needed]}

Go to your game install directory, for example C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\SimCity 2000 SE
Locate the DOSBox subdirectory, located at \SimCity 2000 SE\Game\Game\DOSBox
Open the file dosbox.conf in a basic text editor like Notepad.
Locate the line fullresolution=original. Change this to fullresolution=desktop
Save the file and run the game.

Black scrollbar padding (Windows 10)[edit]

On Windows 10 the right-hand scrollbar may have a margin of black pixels at some resolutions.

Use Windows 8 compatibility mode

Set the Compatibility mode to Windows 8.

System requirements[edit]

Windows
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	95
Processor (CPU)	Intel 486 DX2/66MHz
System memory (RAM)	8 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	20 MB
Video card (GPU)	SVGA video card 512 KB of VRAM

Mac OS
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	System 7.0 or higher
Processor (CPU)	68030 processor or higher
System memory (RAM)	8 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	20 MB

References

[1] GOG.com goes Mac ● GOG.com

[2] List of GOG games using DOSBox, page 1 - Forum - GOG.com

[3] SimCity 2000 | WSGF

[4] VOGONS • View topic - Simcity 2000 under Windows 7

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[2]

[3]

[4]

Developers

	Maxis
Publishers
	Electronic Arts
Release dates
DOS	1994
Mac OS	1994
Windows	1995
OS X	October 18, 2012^[1]