SimCity 4 Player Reaches Major Milestone After 20+ Years of Playing

Highlights

Haljackey reaches an impressive milestone of 50 million citizens in SimCity 4 after 20+ years of gameplay, showcasing a city from zero to a million in a video.
SimCity 4’s enduring popularity is attributed to an active modding community, with Network Addon Mod (NAM) enhancing gameplay realism and enjoyment.
Haljackey’s achievement garners praise from SimCity 4 community, reigniting interest in the game and highlighting its lasting appeal after 20 years.

A SimCity 4 player has reached a major milestone, achieving a population of 50 million citizens in their region after over two decades of gameplay. This impressive accomplishment caught the attention of fellow SimCity 4 players, who quickly poured in to congratulate the player on their achievement.

SimCity 4, released in 2003 by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts, is a city-building simulation game. This installment allowed players to develop and manage a city, balancing various elements such as residential, commercial, and industrial zones while addressing the needs of the citizens. It introduced a more complex simulation engine, providing greater depth in city planning and management. Players can oversee individual cities or entire regions, connecting multiple cities to create a sprawling metropolis. The game also incorporated advanced terraforming tools, allowing players to shape the landscape before construction, and included various natural disasters that can challenge their planning skills.

New SimCity 4 Mod Gives It a Whole New Look 21 Years Later

A newly debuted SimCity 4 mod gives the Maxis-made city builder a whole new look more than 21 years following its initial release.

The SimCity 4 player known as haljackey took to Reddit to share their impressive 50 million citizens milestone. To celebrate this, the player prepared an entirely new metropolis, meticulously documented in a one-hour video. It showcases the city’s growth from zero to over a million residents, a feat accomplished through careful planning and the extensive use of various SimCity 4 mods to enhance gameplay. According to haljackey, these mods have significantly improved their experience, offering more depth and realism to their urban planning efforts.

The achievement has not gone unnoticed by the SimCity 4 community. Fellow players have flooded in to praise and congratulate haljackey, with many comments reflecting on SimCity 4’s enduring appeal as a city builder. Some players have even expressed a renewed interest in returning to the game after years away, inspired by haljackey’s impressive city-building skills.

Why Is SimCity 4 Still Popular?

Despite the SimCity franchise fading into obscurity in recent years, it still maintains a strong and active community, largely thanks to ongoing support and enhancements from dedicated fans. One of the most significant contributions to the game’s longevity is the Network Addon Mod (NAM), which remains under active development. NAM improves transportation networks, pathfinding, and overall gameplay, making the simulation more realistic and enjoyable. In addition to NAM, there is an open-source reimplementation project called OpenSC4, aimed at modernizing SimCity 4 to run efficiently on contemporary hardware and various operating systems.

The dedication of the modding community has extended the game’s lifespan, keeping SimCity 4 competitive with many other great city-building games. Haljackey’s recent milestone is further proof of the game’s enduring appeal over 20 years since its release.