So, I've gotten to the point that I'd like to give some city-building a shot. Growing up, I'd say that Sim City 2000 was my favorite game for many, many years (the original SimCity was one of my first computer games ever). Sim City 3000 was a good follow-on, with a bit more available in terms of transit management options.
However, recent entries in the series have been a mixed bag, and the trend has been in the "wrong" direction (focusing too much on simulating individual Sims and less on letting me play in the world of managing metropolitan transit policy, breaking the map up horridly so I can't run everything on a single game map, and to top things off the newest version is forcing a "social" aspect into the game). Other games have had other issues (CityLife and its ilk force me to place individual buildings, for example, while Cities in Motion more or less eschews the city-building aspects entirely and has data-hogging issues, while Simutrans doesn't offer many options in terms of the actual city-building itself).
So I'm looking for recommendations for a good blend of city-building and transit planning. Is reverting to SC3K probably going to be my best bet? CiM2 looks interesting, but it's also a ways off. And for that matter, does anyone have opinion on the A-Train series?
However, recent entries in the series have been a mixed bag, and the trend has been in the "wrong" direction (focusing too much on simulating individual Sims and less on letting me play in the world of managing metropolitan transit policy, breaking the map up horridly so I can't run everything on a single game map, and to top things off the newest version is forcing a "social" aspect into the game). Other games have had other issues (CityLife and its ilk force me to place individual buildings, for example, while Cities in Motion more or less eschews the city-building aspects entirely and has data-hogging issues, while Simutrans doesn't offer many options in terms of the actual city-building itself).
So I'm looking for recommendations for a good blend of city-building and transit planning. Is reverting to SC3K probably going to be my best bet? CiM2 looks interesting, but it's also a ways off. And for that matter, does anyone have opinion on the A-Train series?