SimCity Classic

[SpaceBooger]

Ok, so maybe I'm now old and overly cautious on the internet, but I can not find an official place to get the Original SimCity for the PC. I have SimCity2000 on GOG, but I want to play the original. Since Origin, GOG and Steam do not have this I searched Google and found tons of abandonware and other "free" download sites. Has anyone got a lead on getting either a legit copy to run on modern systems (I have no interest in buying the original floppies from eBay) or can vouch for any of those abandonware sites confirming they are legit and safe?
Thanks

[Anapan]

GOG uses the open source DOS Emulator DOSBox extensively in its releases - many are just DOSBox bundles with an installation of whatever game.
DOS games cannot be run natively in modern OSes so using an X86 emulator is usually the only option.
If you were to get the original game data from archive.org, even if it had any malicious program included, however unlikely that might be, it could never make it out of the sandbox of DOSBox's set-up OS folder.

I just read on Wikipedia that the game's original source code has been released as free and open source as of January 2008. It has since been ported to cross-platform C++ as Micropolis so you can play it through a web browser even Link. Apparently the name change is mostly because the original name is still copyrighted.

PM me if you want a copy from my installation to play in DOSBox, or I can extract it from the latest TDC (Total Dos Collection) for you.

[o.pwuaioc]

Micropolis has been updated for modern PCs, at least on Linux. I installed it and was playing only last year. It's not perfect, but it's serviceable.

[SpaceBooger]

I never knew about Micropolis. I see that it is on the MS store for Windows I may have to check that out, but I will be looking into playing the OG version with DOSBOX via Anapan.

[Ziggy]

It might be worth noting that SimCity Classic is the Windows port and re-release of SimCity for DOS (among many other platforms). I've really only ever played the Windows version, and I don't know how it compares to the original DOS version, but it sounds like the Windows port is the superior version. You can read a little about the difference here...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SimCity_(1989_video_game)#Comparison_of_different_versions

[SpaceBooger]

My son (13) daughter (10) and I all played the version of Micropolis in the Microsoft Store and it worked fine, a little different but played find. Some glitches, but very playable for me. The game does not have the help and advice SimCity had so it was fine for me, my son figured it out pretty quick but my daughter just built stuff with no understanding of what to do without help/hints/complaints presented the way the original game did
I still want to play the original again, hell even the SNES version, over SimCity 2000. I know 2000 is supposedly the best one but the original is still me favorite.

[o.pwuaioc]

My son (13) daughter (10) and I all played the version of Micropolis in the Microsoft Store and it worked fine, a little different but played find. Some glitches, but very playable for me. The game does not have the help and advice SimCity had so it was fine for me, my son figured it out pretty quick but my daughter just built stuff with no understanding of what to do without help/hints/complaints presented the way the original game did
I still want to play the original again, hell even the SNES version, over SimCity 2000. I know 2000 is supposedly the best one but the original is still me favorite.

I actually think SimCity NES is the best except for the controls, which work decently enough for a kid playing these types of games for the first time, like I was. The music is what really draws me back to it, though.

[Ziggy]

You mean the SNES version?

[o.pwuaioc]

You mean the SNES version?

Typo! Yes, indeed, the SNES version, since there is no NES version, although there almost was! The link even has a video of it!

[Ziggy]

Haha, yes, I thought so. The NES beta was discovered, and it's actually playable. But it's definitely inferior to the SNES port. So I was like, "whaaaaat!?!!?" LOL

But yeah, I totally agree. I think the SNES port was the best version. Adding stuff like the gifts and the population thresholds really did a lot for the game. The colors are also a lot more vibrant, as well as getting the season changes. And definitely that music! I played the SNES version first, and then trying the PC version for the first time was kind of a let down. Although I do dig the PC version, and I did play a decent amount of it back in the day, I think it's boring when compared to the SNES port. But that's like saying a plain slice of pizza is boring, it's still pretty good.