Privatization and Nationalization Mod - Worth Releasing?

[Dr. Singularity]

I have been working on a project for SimCity 4 that would allow you to have unregulated private power services or run a complete state-directed economy. But, I don't want to release it unless it's an idea people would be interested in, rather than cluttering up the server uselessly.

First, I want it to accurately reflect the strengths and weaknesses of each type of economic organization. The way it (an unreleased beta) is currently set up is:

- Based on original Maxis buildings. Support for BATs may come later.

- City-owned industries, services, and housing [be VERY careful with public housing in beta] are built entirely at taxpayer expense, with plop price at roughly 10 times (or more) the number of jobs provided. Except for housing, they are unaffected by demand. Housing is divided into three grades of quality, each with different cost and mayor rating effects. Availability of higher-grade/higher-tech facilities is determined by education level. Can develop very rapidly, but don't let your budget fall into the red, especially as education/service-sector needs grow!

- Privatized power, health, policing, and things not traditionally in the realm of the market currently are not controllable by government, and their effectiveness will be reliant on RCI demand and employment percentage (currently is hooked to budget bars; connection must be scripted away). They cost nothing in maintenance. Taxpayers are also not responsible if they go bankrupt. Currently working on a way to make them benefit R-$$ and R-$$$ a bit more, and R-$ a bit less (still better than no healthcare/policing/electricity/sanitation for them).

I want to know what should be changed about it, if anything isn't accurate to the ways it would behave in life OR unbalances the game. I realize "accuracy" can become a controversial subject, so discussion/correction of my methods used here is invited. I also want to know if mayoring in a Randian creator's paradise, Neo-Stalinism, or both is something that would appeal to our city-builders here.

I will ONLY release it if the concept is something people would play and everyone agrees that it is accurately and fairly represented.

[InvisiChem]

I'm not sure how to respond to this. Unfortunately, I come from a Southwest American area. In general, we do not understand the socialistic style of societies. I know for some they function well, for others, not so much. My limited knowledge shows me France is doing well with a hybrid style free enterprise/socialism.

Is this worth releasing, well that depends on a lot of factors. The concept is very much worth releasing. How it is implemented, that may be another consideration.

Which mods would this one be incompatible with?
This will be a specialty mod, so what type of target group are you looking for?
I noticed you stated a change in the development of Residential. There is a limit to where ploppable residential does not work. If this is a part of this, the mod has failed before it has begun. If you could find a way around this, it would open a whole new level of awesomeness.
Possibly keeping this to a civic ideal may be more acceptable/implementable to start.

Just a couple of ideas. Hopefully they help you along the way. Take what you wish, discard that which does not apply. Cheers and mod away friend.

[Dr. Singularity]

As for ploppable residential? Placing a custom-sized zone beneath where you want to plop it (Ctrl + click) that is the size of the building bypasses the problem of your buildings abandoning for lack of an exit point. BUT... it has to NOT be paused while doing this, or else the zone will not update as an entry/exit point for your Sims. There is the risk of smaller houses developing on that zone in turtle speed too, splitting it up and making you have to rezone.

That's the reason to be careful with the public housing. Strangely, I find that it still fails to show up in route query, and plan to fix this by scripting the building to self-destruct and regrow itself on a new zone it creates - if this is possible, don't know yet.

MAJOR EDIT: Forgot to mention potential incompatibility. It displaces almost no base resources and will probably generate few conflicts other than any accidental shared TGI IDs, but at this stage it should definitely load after anything that changes the Private School created by Maxis. Its function has been displaced with a growable commercial lot set by the same name and appearance, and the original is now called a "Boarding School". If UI changes are successfully implemented to count the government jobs (from "Demand Satisfied") as well as commercial and industrial, then UI mods would be interfered with.

The way it is ultimately implemented might best be determined by the feedback I receive here - and from selected beta testers, as I dare not publicize anything that isn't rated as fun in the opinions of people who actually tried it.

[compdude787]

Interesting idea. I would probably use the capitalistic, free-market privatization version of the mod, rather than the "extreme socialist/ communist" version of the mod, purely due to my own political views and how my SC4 region represents those. At least we have the choice.

But yeah, the communist version of this mod might not work with the public housing and all, simply because ploppable residential doesn't really work that well.

[Dr. Singularity]

Hey, I'm all about choice!

I'll probably set up my own Cold War when this is done. Half capitalist cities, half communist, maybe some random isolationists of varying public/private ratios wanting nothing to do with the antagonism.

[InvisiChem]

With that, I'll try it out. Can't tell you how I would like it yet. But, same here. All about choice and creativity.