# The Basics

### Interface and Gameplay Fundamentals

Selected Command Overviews

> ### Online Help Table of Contents

> ### Your Place in the Online Universe

> Welcome! The Online Help documents provide an in-depth explanation of (just about) every window, button, feature and function of the SimCity 2000 Network Edition (2KNet). Links to all of the other online reference pages can be found in the Online Help Table of Contents, linked above. Be sure to go through the Tutorial manual to guide you through your first steps in city-building.
> Here are a few basic points that should clarify your place in the SimCity 2000 network universe and prepare you for the rest of the Help documents. This document assumes that the reader is at least somewhat familiar with the stand-alone version of SimCity 2000 (SC2K).
> In 2KNet you are a City Commissioner--the collaborative planner and "mayoral partner" of a city of shared design. These cities can be as small as you want or as large as you and your collaborators can make them; you manage your own "districts" within the shared city.
> As with the regular SimCity 2000, in your role as commissioner, you are responsible for:
> - Planning, zoning, long- and short-range strategies
> - District infrastructure: water, power, transportation
> - Government services: fire, police, hospitals, prisons
> - Education: schools, colleges, libraries, museums
> - Recreation and open spaces: parks, zoos, stadiums, marinas
> - District budget and taxes
> - Major and minor land manipulation
> - The health, wealth and happiness of the Sims that live in your district
> However, these responsibilities do not extend over the whole of the city; some of them are native only to the land you own, and some are shared responsibilities.

> ### Differences Between 2KNet and SC2K

> Although 2KNet is based on the stand-alone version of SimCity 2000, there are significant differences between the two products. These differences are explained in detail on the other Help pages, but here are some basics:
> Multiple Players
> Obviously, 2KNet allows multiple players--between 2 and 4--to simultaneously play within the same city. Users will be able to interact with each other throughout the game, through a messaging system and shared business arrangements pertinent to the city. New players can join an ongoing game without penalty, though there will undoubtedly be less available land. You can also play 2KNet as a fully-functional single-player game, but of course you won't be taking advantage of all of its powers--and challenges--of connectivity.
> Local Area Networking and Other Connections
> 2KNet will run over Local Area Networks (LAN), allowing players to join games from within most network configurations, as well as through modem-to-modem and Internet connections. See your Quick-Start guide for explanation and setup.
> Land Ownership
> Since 2KNet allows multiple players on the same map, land ownership will be the logical method to distinguish between each other's territory. All players must purchase plots of land on the city map before development can proceed. You will only be able to build on land that you own. Land owned by another player will be gray in your City window.
> Double-Booked Finances
> Each player will have their own budget, derived from various formulas based on the land that they own and the fiscal adjustments they make in their districts. The city (or game) itself will also have a budget. Both the players and the cities will have taxes. Players collect taxes from their land, and individual rates for all of the taxable entities are adjustable by players for their districts.
> Player Contracts
> Players will be allowed to share--for a price--city resources, if they desire. This will be accomplished via agreements between players. See the Player Contracts page.

> ## Interface and Gameplay Fundamentals

> ### Make the Most of Your Mouse

> In general, all instructions that refer to clicking, double-clicking or clicking and dragging refer to the left mouse button. You can cancel some of the object placement commands if you hold down the Shift key before you release the mouse button to place an object or to define an area of land for a command action.
> Help is available from the Main menu in 2KNet--invoking it will load these entertaining hypertext pages. Spending a little time with the Tutorial will certainly ground you in game fundamentals, so that your help needs will be meager.

> ###
> Land Ownership

> You are only allowed to build, modify and/or bulldoze on land that you own. You can buy land anywhere on the map, provided you have enough money, and as long as another player doesn't own it. Your land does not have to be contiguous.
> Players may purchase land from either the city or other players.
> 1. Purchasing land from the city: To buy land, players simply click on a spot on the map and drag the cursor to the size of the land they want to buy. It will work almost exactly like the zoning tool in the original SimCity 2000.
> 2. Purchasing land from another player: Players must designate a section of their land "for sale" (using the Sell Land tool) before another player can buy it. It then is bought back by the city, and made available for other players. If you fancy a particular plot owned by someone else, you could suggest a deal through the game's Chat function.

> ### Your Dough and Your City's Dough

> Each player in 2KNet will have their own budget. This will allow you to manipulate and micro-manage your section of the city seemingly independent from other players.
> The city will also have its own budget. This budget cannot be directly manipulated by any of the players.
> Because the speed of a multiplayer game cannot be dynamically changed like a single player game's speed can, the pace of 2KNet will be slower. Therefore, all budgets will be calculated yearly. The server machine player (the originating "host" computer) can make some general adjustments in the speed of gameplay.
> You can find all you need to know about budgeting on the Budget Window page.

> ### Terrain

> Terrain in 2K Net has 32 levels of altitude, with mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers, streams, and waterfalls. You can customize and modify the landform, both at the beginning of a game and during actual city-building.
> The land is divided up into "tiles." A tile is the smallest piece of land that can be raised, lowered or covered with water. It is approximately 200 by 200 feet square, or about one acre.
> The total city limits are equivalent to approximately 5 miles by 5 miles square. Buildings, objects, roads, etc., are also divided up into tiles. One section of road is one tile. Some of the larger buildings are made of many tiles.
> Your purchased land is yours for city expansion, for parks and open spaces, or to leave wild. A city in 2KNet can be tiny, or can fill the entire rectangular city limits.
> You can build multiple separate communities or small cities within the city limits, but the simulation will treat them as one city. All the statistics and information in the Graphs, Population, Industry and other windows collectively covers everything within your district, but you'll have options there to view the stats of your fellow commissioners. Check the City Info window for those possibilities.

> ### "Winning" the Game

> As with the "regular" SimCity, there are no time limits to beat and no conditions to meet. There is no winning or losing, though there is the zest of collaborating (and competing) with your fellow commissioners in city design. The only two criteria in this judgment are your own enjoyment and the quality of life of your Sims. If you do want to check out how your fellows are doing, you'll be able to see population and other graphed district and whole map data in the game info windows, as mentioned above.
> Some of the included scenario maps do have "problems" to solve. Check out the Strategies page for some gameplay tips.

> ## Selected Command Overviews

> Here are some brief looks at a few of the commands found under the Main menu; detailed explanations for all can be found on the Menus page.

> ### Newspaper

> Here you'll get up-to-the minute news on citywide events; the paper always appears at when a new game is begun.

> ### Ordinances

> Each player will act as a city council member when it comes to city ordinances. Periodically, any member of the city will be able to "call to votes" any city ordinance. All players will have approximately 2 game months to vote on the ordinance. The majority vote wins.
> Ordinances already in effect may also be voted out, using the same procedure. You can find more details on the Ordinances page.

> ### The City Window (and the Rest of 'em)

> The City window is your main view of your city. It is always open as long as 2KNet is running. The game is easiest to control with the City window as large as possible, but you can resize it using the resize arrows. The City Toolbars page explains all the command functions that you can perform in this view.

> ### Information Windows

> Most of the other, smaller windows, such as the Map and Population windows, can be opened by choosing their tab in the City Info window; some can be chosen from the Windows menu. These information windows are the same windows that appear in the stand-alone version of SimCity 2000. These include Maps, Graphs, Population, Neighbors, Ordinances, and others.
> In SC2K, all of the information is city-wide. In 2KNet, only some of the information will be city wide. If any information is player-specific, the info windows will make that obvious.

> ####
> How Information Windows Work

> Here is the City Info window (accessed through the Windows menu) with the Population tab chosen:
> Note that all of the information windows are actually contained within the City Info window. They are accessed via the tabs at the window's top. Each tab will display one information window. Within the respective window, buttons that are specific to each info category will bring up pertinent details. Here we are looking at the population for the entirety of a particular city. In some info windows, you can choose the Citywide selection in a drop-down menu for the comprehensive reading, or choose a particular player's name in that menu to see specifics for their district.
> See the Servers and Clients page for some clarification on the distinctions between those two approaches in game setup and startup. The Quick-Start guide will also give you some insight.

> ###
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