Frequently Asked Questions

Contents:

What are the system requirements?

  • Macintosh: SimTower requires atleast a 68030 Mac or better to run. A 68040 is recommended. SimTower runs native on a PowerMac. 256 colors are required. System 7.0 or above is required. SimTower is compatible with System 7.5. The program needs 4 MB of RAM and approximately 5 MB of hard drive space.. Word on the street is that SimTower works fine on docked Duo machines. CD ROM required for CD ROM Edition.
  • Windows: Simtower requires a 386 atleast, 486 recommended and a Pentium preferred. 4 MB of RAM. 5 MB hard drive space. 256 colors using standard Windows SVGA drivers. Any sound card supported by windows (Optional). Windows 3.1 or higher (Windows 95 or Windows NT for example) CD ROM required for CD ROM Edition.

"But the Manual Says ..."

The manual for SimTower gives many good guidelines, but many of the figures are just plain wrong. The manual, no doubt, had to be printed long before the game was ready, and many of the details of the program changed right before release. The figures in this FAQ come from the README files that come with the game, with the updater, and from playing the game itself.

How do I get Stars?

StarsPopulationOther Requirements
10none
2300none
31,0001 security station
45,000VIP favor, 2 Suites, Medical Center, Recycling OK
510,000Metro Placed, Recycling OK
TOWER10,000Cathedral placed on top

When can I build stuff?

StarsPopulationWhat you can build
10Lobby,Stair,Floor,Office,Condo,Fast-Food,Elevator
2300Single Room,Housekeeping,Security,Service Elevator
31,000Double Room,Suite,Retail,Restaurant,Express,
Clinic,Parking,Ramp,Recycling,Ballroom,Theatre
45,000Metro
510,000Cathedral

* See How do I get stars?

Where's the VIP?

In order to get from three to four stars, the VIP must rate your building. But first, he must get there! He will want to stay in a suite, so you should build at least two. You must also have underground parking available for the hotel customers who pay the big bucks. Putting the Suites near an express elevator, and serving the underground parking with the same express elevator is sometimes a good idea. If you don't like your express going underground, change it back after you get your rating!

After you have everything in order for the VIP's visit, you will just have to wait. After all, he's the VIP!

How Many Stairs (or whatever) can I Build?

The simulation has the following built-in limits (presumably to make the game run at a tolerable speed).

FastFood+Restaurants+Shops512
Parking Spaces512
Stairs + Escalators64
Elevators (all kinds)24 shafts total
Named Sims20
Named Sims20
Theatres+Ballrooms16
Security Stations10
Medical Clinics10
Elevator Cars8 cars per shaft
Metro Station1
Cathedral1

The SimTower 1.1 Updater (Pros and Cons):

Charlotte Henkle listed several problems with the updater:

  • The metro problem is not solved. I crashed the game out about 3 times before I found a good place to put the metro.
  • When you do have a metro, the people coming in will only go to shops/fast food/restaurant on the first 2 floors, not to anything above that. [This is the expected behaviour, I think.]
  • No matter how close fastfood places are to elevators (They can be bisected by them), I get the message: "Elevators are too far away". They complain about this until it starts to rain, when they say "Access to trasportation is good". The must be talking about arks ;)
  • Also with fastfood places: Once they get enough people to have business be average, in the comment window I get the message "Business is average/ Opens tomorrow". It's been saying that for 10 years now.
  • The hotel rooms seem to have random things in their comment boxes, like "fastfood" or "office", even if these rooms are no where near these places. Rooms with random comments seem to be less happy than non-commented rooms.

What versions of SimTower exist?

As of August, 1996 the Windows version has 1.0 and 1.1. and the Mac version as 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2.

If you have version 1.0, you can upgrade to 1.1 with with patches.

If you have new information Please let me know.


This Web Page was created by Patrick Coston August 5, 1996, Last updated April 21, 2006