SimCity used as traffic analysis tool

The Beta of SimCity was used to generate a replica of a city with traffic jam problems in Manchester, England, the simulation analysis resulted in the discovery of alternative routes through the city by car. The sixth installment of the classic SimCity game is scheduled for release on 7th March, while the version Beta was released hinting some of the nuances of this experience, in which the development and life of each city reaches surprising and ends hyperrealistic.

During the days of video game testing and analysis were a few articles on projection capability in urban developments, according to the dynamics of your interface, indirectly putting on the table the game's potential as a tool for planning and analysis on growth of real cities.

Mike Rose, British editor Gamasutra , decided to conduct an experiment using as a test site itself and the population SimCity Northenden, Manchester, his hometown, to assess the power of the game engine and its usefulness in the real world.

With more than 15 000 inhabitants, the site is primarily a residential area set in the middle of several highways, with a commercial sector located downtown. Due to the layout of the town rush hour traffic routinely leads to the collapse of the streets, where cars cram most become impossible avenues and circulation for a couple of hours, despite the relatively small number of people, their situation Geographic and its connection to the road leading to this common scenario. On this basis Northenden Rose recreated in SimCity, to analyze what happened to jeopardize the variables. The results were very interesting.

Using Google Maps as a reference, and limited by the options available in the trial version, Mike design a replica of downtown, distinguishing between the commercial area, the housing and streets, as well as the most representative (and conflicting ) of the area. When you run the game it was discovered that what happened on screen was quite similar with respect to the area daily scenario, with high accuracy and similarity in traffic flow, according to peak times, revealing at the most contentious ones were transit routes less congested and functioning as real alternatives to traverse the city.

Rose performed this test with the beta version without all the features you will have the full edition of SimCity, but has served to demonstrate the potential of the game, once it is released is likely to arise more complex experiments that may lead to consider this game really as a real support tool when it comes to design and future development of a city.

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