'SimCity' trailer looks under the hood

ETX Daily Up
Creating a residential district in 'SimCity'

Curious to know how the new SimCity is going to work? Though this first look under the hood may not be as pretty as the finished game, it's a fascinating insight into how thousands of little systems create a living, breathing city.

Rather excitingly, we learn that when it comes to on-screen animations "what you see is always a 1:1 representation of what the simulation is doing."

So if there's coal going up a power plant's conveyor, SimCity is on the cusp of turning it into power for the grid (and pollution for the air); trucks pulling up to new build housing signify the delivery of construction materials or new residents.

SimCity's planning on a 2013 release. Before then, the international, historical simulation Civilization V has its Gods & Kings expansion coming by July 2012.

SimCity Insider's Look GlassBox Game Engine - Part 1: http://youtu.be/vS0qURl_JJY
Official website: simcity.com