• The perspective (angle) is similar to that in SimCity 2000.
• There will be four rotations, but in SimCity 3000 the rotations are fully accurate. Each building is rendered in 3-D, so they have distinct fronts, backs and sides. You may recall that in SimCity 2000, when you rotated, you would always be looking at the "front" of the building. This is so disorienting for me that I don't rotate unless absolutely necessary. So SimCity 3000 will let you look behind your city buildings for the first time.
• Levels of zoom increased up to five. At the closest levels you'll be able to see realistic vehicle behavior and pedestrian traffic. These are the two levels currently displayed in the screen shots the Maxis web site.
• Colors moved up from 256 colors (8-bit) in SimCity 2000 to 64,000 colors (16-bit) in SimCity 3000. These added colors allow us to really pump up the level of realism and detail in buildings, city elements and special effects. SimCity 3000 will also support 800x600 resolution in addition to 640x480.
• Build your city on a map four times larger than SimCity 2000 (256x256)
• Create your own buildings with the SimCity Building Architect Tool
• Select terrain based on real world cities such as New York and San Francisco
• Choose from improved zoning options, including Historic Districts
• Place world-renowned landmarks in your city, like the Empire State Building, Big Ben, and the Statue of Liberty
• Bring your city to life with bustling traffic, SimCitizens, and 3D surround sound
• Customize your landscape with mountains, forests, and waterways
• Make mayoral decisions based on information coming from expert advisors and the SimCity news ticker
• Listen to citizen petitioners as they tempt you with intriguing choices that can shape the long term growth of your city
• Negotiate with neighboring cities for water, power and even garbage rights
• Take a break from mayoring and try your hand at running city fire and police services
• Import your favorite SimCity 2000 cities and see them from a new perspective
• Enter simcity.com, an Internet community where you can publish your cities, see what other players are building, share your creations and talk about your city planning visions