[nito]

Started playing SC4 again a couple of weeks back. A couple of hopes for the next version:
- A greater focus on effective public transportation systems. One of my main gripes with SC4 was the poor out-of-the-box implementation of bus and subway systems (remedied to a degree with mods, eg on-street bus-stops). I'd love to be able to make proper railway lines and not simply tiles connecting up to stations. Interchanges would be a great assistance as well.
- Greater building diversity; even with add-ons, cities start to become repetitive in appearance.
- Underground/sub-sea power lines.
- Greater ease to build cuttings, embankments, tunnels and bridges that don't have disjointed approaches/appearances (or require mods).
- Better interaction with 'regions'; preferably without having to exit and re-load individual 'cities'.

It's good to hear that roads won't be restricted to a grid anymore, but I remain cautious that it doesn't lead to some fudged results. Non-grid road networks in Europe typically developed along historic routes and paths; the buildings subsequently created a tightly knit urban fabric, eg the Square Mile. It will be interesting how Maxis plan to allocate buildings to lots which have non-linear faces without computers imploding across the globe.