new "real" Sim City in 2013

[Shadow Assassin]

The sad thing is hex-cores are still for the extreme users and servers (where octo cores + are appearing now)... and there is no change on the horizon for the next year +... haswell will be still be quad core when it comes out next year.

I just checked a couple local (non-chain) computer hardware stores' prices out.  I can walk in and pick up an octo-core AMD FX-8120 for $222.  Of course, I also happen to be in an area that has a lot of extreme users, so there's enough volume that the price is down.

It wasn't particularly expensive for me to pick up a hex-core processor (was a Phenom II though)... below $200. That puts it well within the reach of the average enthusiast.

That being said, this hypothetical SC5 would be optimised for quad-core, but still could run on a dual-core system, most likely, though with degraded performance.

And the funny thing is, the specs you posted, Alex, almost exactly match mine.


But realistically, I would say that EA have a good chance of getting a decent simulator out (if they would try)... if they optimise it ruthlessly.

By that, I mean, the following stats would be recommended:
Dual-core processor with multi-threading (so basically 4 threads)
Graphics card that supports SM4.0/DX10 and has 1GB discrete memory
4GB RAM
10GB hard drive space... minimum (on par with a lot of games released in the past year or so)




Wishful thinking?

Maybe. But they do have the resources out there to pull it off.

[Terring7]

Why something tells me that we'll get not Simcity 5... but a Simcity Societies 2 for Facebook?

[WC_EEND]

I just checked a couple local (non-chain) computer hardware stores' prices out.  I can walk in and pick up an octo-core AMD FX-8120 for $222.  Of course, I also happen to be in an area that has a lot of extreme users, so there's enough volume that the price is down.

At the risk of going offtopic: The AMD FX-8120 is no real octocore, it uses something called "modules" (each modules being 2 "cores", each with shared L3 Cache). Couple that to the fact that it performs at roughly the same level as the i5-2500K and is no real competition for anything above that (2600K/2700K and LGA 2011 CPUs). In some aspects it even performs worse than the old 6-core Phenom 2.

[XiahouDun]

http://rinconsimmer.jimdo.com/2012/02/27/simcity-2013-reportaje-de-gamestar-7-im%C3%A1genes/
Has "screenshots" (looks more like concept art, but still) along with an article in Spanish.

[RickD]

http://rinconsimmer.jimdo.com/2012/02/27/simcity-2013-reportaje-de-gamestar-7-im%C3%A1genes/
Has "screenshots" (looks more like concept art, but still) along with an article in Spanish.

Thanks. I think those are the same pics that are in the german magazine. They say it is concept art, not actual screenshots.
But this website is also listing this magazine as a source. As far as I know there is still no other confirmation of these rumors.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Every time they talk on this subject a few minor details are forgotten. No game company online or distributed will risk the immediate market today with something for a specific niche

thanks to online salesmethodes what is a niche may easily represent a couple 100k if not a million+ sales. the physical spread of the niche (i.e. us living all over the place) doesn't matter since you don't have to ship DVD-boxes around the place to shops. One webadres and photons do the rest.

[Tarkus]

Couple that to the fact that it performs at roughly the same level as the i5-2500K and is no real competition for anything above that (2600K/2700K and LGA 2011 CPUs). In some aspects it even performs worse than the old 6-core Phenom 2.

That's kind of what I had heard.  I'm curious to see if modular processing catches on, though.  It seems like there could be some benefits to it once they get the performance kinks worked out.

Honestly, I'm still rather skeptical about the pics.  Why would a German gaming magazine be the place where this news is broken?  I did actually check out some of the names mentioned in the article--Lucy Bradshaw and Stone Librande are real EA employees.  Bradshaw is a Senior Vice Predient and Librande is an Art Director.

The pics are somewhat believable for a game in an early stage of development.  It kind of looks a bit like SC4 did when it was first announced.  But I won't officially take this report as a real thing until there's an official announcement from EA.

Edit: From the article (in automated translation, so it's a bit rough grammatically): In these pages you will find images, but are concepts of art.  Why Maxis prevents Glassbox show the new engine? The reason: The current video quality does not meet the requirements of internal – and there is open play as full a level of development. The graphics are polished only towards the end of a high quality development.

So these are indeed just artist renderings.

-Alex

[Shadow Assassin]

It does look a lot like SC4 concept art, though.



I get the feeling Glassbox could be a hybrid made up of many other engines that EA uses (Frostbite and the TS3 engine for instance)...

[Kitsune]

ugh... sc5 if its indeed announced next week better do away with the outdated grid.. and go civ5 style with a hex-grid. And also... i7 quads still beat the amd hex's.

[Shadow Assassin]

And also... i7 quads still beat the amd hex's.

Well, yeah, they do, but how much more do you have to pay to get an i7 quad-core?

[Tarkus]

Intel = overpriced.  The Sandy Bridge-E series processors are up in the $600-1200 range.  You get more bang for your buck with Phenom II.  But I'll admit, I'm an AMD fanboy.

-Alex

[thornyjohny]

Look at these:
http://pc.ign.com/articles/121/1219684p1.html
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=464903

[Haljackey]

While I'm skeptical, this may in fact be the real deal. 10 years after SC4 was released, a worthy sequel may be out.

You know SC4 is a good game when it takes 10 years to find a successor. I'll have my eye on this development, much like everyone else.

[jdenm8]

Intel = overpriced.  The Sandy Bridge-E series processors are up in the $600-1200 range.  You get more bang for your buck with Phenom II.  But I'll admit, I'm an AMD fanboy.

-Alex

The Phenom II x6 can only fairly compete with the i5 2400 to 2500 (They haven't got unlocked multipliers, so they can't compete with the K Series CPUs). The E Series are priced higher because they have no competition in the consumer market.

While the i7 may be a mainstay in Laptops, in Desktops (unless it's the 2600) they're purely for enthusiasts, those who must have the very best right now, a Market AMD only replies to with a sigh.

[Haljackey]

Concerning the specs the game may require, remember how good of a computer SC4 required in 2003 to get the game to run at a decent setting.

I'm sure anyone who is genuinely interested in this game is willing to shell out the big bucks to get a PC rig capable of running 'SC5' at medium graphics. My 2010-era PC was great at the time I got it and I'd still consider it good for 2013 (12GB RAM, i7 950, GTX 470). I doubt hex-core PCs will be needed, but they would certainly be a big plus as the game will sure suck a lot of processing power. And of course, the more RAM you have, the better, and it's extremely cheap these days.

If you have a graphics card that can be SLIed (twinned), I think adding a second card will do enough justice to run this game well, as long as your motherboard and power supply can handle it!

[Tarkus]

^I'd say those specs would have no problem handling it. 

My current laptop (an AMD Athlon X2 with 4GB RAM) will probably be on the low-end of the specs.  My last laptop (which was only slightly worse) ran like it was dragging a hunk of osmium when trying to run the CXL demo, though.

-Alex

[jigsaw]

im going to buy a completely new PC to run this game when it comes out. 

i had some vibes in October last year something is in the works. (SA, drunkapple, thingfsh and marsh can back this up). there has been some 'hints' floating around the net.

my wife is going to kill me. she hated SC4, she is going to really hate SC5

[WC_EEND]

having built a PC around the i7-2600K and a GTX560Ti (2GB version), I think I should be good for a while though. If necessary I could just get a newer GPU once Kepler comes out.

[GMT]

having built a PC around the i7-2600K and a GTX560Ti (2GB version), I think I should be good for a while though. If necessary I could just get a newer GPU once Kepler comes out.

which board do you have? got the same graphics (msi twinfrozr version) and plan on getting the same cpu...

so much for the off topic I can't help but asking 

as for the sc announcement... I am seriously hoping for what they promise, the next "real" sim city.
although I must say the last almost 10 years of griddyness with sc4 (plus the awesome user-created content and customization abilities) I fear there's just no chance to live up to this game, unless it's gonna be frakking epic, which I - tbh - doubt.

[WC_EEND]

having built a PC around the i7-2600K and a GTX560Ti (2GB version), I think I should be good for a while though. If necessary I could just get a newer GPU once Kepler comes out.

which board do you have? got the same graphics (msi twinfrozr version) and plan on getting the same cpu...

so much for the off topic I can't help but asking 

as for the sc announcement... I am seriously hoping for what they promise, the next "real" sim city.
although I must say the last almost 10 years of griddyness with sc4 (plus the awesome user-created content and customization abilities) I fear there's just no chance to live up to this game, unless it's gonna be frakking epic, which I - tbh - doubt.

I have an Asus P8P67 Deluxe board, but honestly, you'd be better off waiting until Ivy Bridge comes out (April normally) and then grab an i7-3770K (or whatever it'll end up being called) and a Z77 board as well