Economy 0.5.0

Minimum Version: v0.5.0 - Sep. 1, 2012

The economy in Synekism, since the first 0.5 update, works a bit differently than other city simulators. Note that this new economic model is far from perfect or balanced. More information on the bigger picture and some options for feedback can be found here: Release 0.5 Page.

Zoning
The idea is that you start off owning all the city's land. When you zone you designate patches of land for sale to the public but on the condition that only certain types of buildings be built there. For example, if you zone for low density residential you release some land for sale with the condition that only low density residential buildings be built there.

This selling of land means that zoning costs significantly less than before this update. Instead, you actually get some cash when someone does buy the land and develop something on it. In effect, zoning is a way to gather some capital during the early days of your city.

Furthermore, the prices per km2 for the land you sell directly depend on the land value of the area. This means that if you saved some land throughout the growth of your city which now lies surrounded by skyscrapers zoning said land will earn you significantly more than if you zoned it when the city was young. Note that for now land value is just local population density.

Demolition
There's a counter side to the new zoning costs. When you want to clear some land and reclaim it from the public you need to buy the land back. The buying price, due to "fees" (read: game design), is much higher than the selling price even if the land value was similar when the land was sold. Nevertheless, land value will now be your enemy. And just like before, you have to also pay for the demolition costs. The goal here is to make city elements more permanent instead of a canvas you keep clearing and repainting. The poor people need some stability.

Government Lots
Staying loyal to logic, as expected, government lots won't give you any money when they develop because they belong to you and you already own that land. Equally, government lots don't cost more money to demolish if the land value is higher because you don't have to buy the land back. That said, unlike before 0.5, you now have to pay for the construction of all the government buildings. This is in addition to the monthly costs to maintain government buildings which was always there. The construction costs are just a fixed value per m3. Demolition costs are calculated just like any other lot type.

The extra cost of government building construction is the biggest problem with this new economic model. The issue is that the cost is not extremely predictable. Government buildings can build at any time and their size (which is a huge cost factor) cannot be directly controlled or predicted. This means that your cash deposits will take sudden hits at times and you must be prepared for them. The hope is that the positive but equally unpredictable cash inflow from selling land to the public will outset the outflow.