Today, Simcity released a new video describing how the water simulator affects the economy. Like the previous videos, each step has a cause and effect, and you’ll see these things in real time.
In the water table map you can see which areas on the map have water. The bluer areas naturally have more water.
This makes the terrain green and lush, but the drier areas are brown and barren.
Place the water pump in an area with more water. As it pumps it subtracts water from the water table map. Once the water is pumped, it is sent down the pipes as an agent to provide water to buildings. Periodically, the buildings will request more water, which will be replenished once the water agent reaches the buildings again.
But as the water agent reaches industrial zones, it will come in contact with ground pollution. In previous games, this ground pollution would reduce the amount of water dispersed. However in this game, ground pollution will now affect the water supply.
As the ground pollution spreads to the water tower, it will pump this dirty water to residential zones. When water is polluted it carries germs, and as Sims drink this water, they become sick. Sick sims will leave work and head home, thus less income is generated. You can cure them by placing hospitals nearby.
As you can see, Simcity’s Glassbox Engine is a live simulator that is intricately integrated with different functions and services. One feature can detrimentally affect the other.
