Launch Arco

Learn about SimCity 2000's Launch Arcologies: their cost, size, unique 'launch' feature, and the consequences of building too many. Get tips for managing their impact.

Alright, let's talk about the ultimate status symbol in SimCity 2000: the Launch Arcology. These massive structures are the shining glory of any large city, capable of housing up to 60,000 Sims! But, like anything this grand, they come with some serious considerations.

Building these giants can cause pollution and crime to skyrocket. If you're not careful and just start plastering them all over your city, you might even trigger a chemical spill disaster! So, make sure you surround your arcologies with plenty of police stations and parks to help keep those negative side effects in check.

Now, for the really cool part: the 'launch' feature. This isn't in the very first DOS version (1.0), but it's a big deal in the Macintosh version 1.1, Windows version 1.0, and DOS version 1.1. When you reach a critical threshold of 349 Launch Arcologies, get ready for 'The Exodus'!

A pop-up will announce the beginning of the Exodus, and then, one by one, all your Launch Arcologies will start to 'launch' into space. It's quite a sight, but be warned, it can take a while. You might want to grab a snack or hit the restroom during this process. Once it's all done, you'll get another message:

"Your launch arcos have departed into space to found new worlds. You have been compensated for their construction."

And they mean it! You'll be compensated handsomely, so don't feel too bad if your city is completely ruined afterward. It's part of the grand finale!

Cost: $200,000

Size: 4x4

The Arcology Limit

In the original versions of SC2K (Mac and DOS), there was a limit of 140 arcologies per city. This was later removed in newer versions. The reason for this original limit was tied to the game's overall 150 microsim limit. Microsims are basically little bits of processing power used for gathering local information for specific buildings like police stations, hospitals, and schools. Each of these important buildings needed a microsim. When you built more than 150 of these types of buildings, the game had to start reusing microsim data, and the newest buildings would get basic query information. To prevent this, Maxis capped the arcology limit at 140, saving the remaining 10 microsims for more critical functions. In later versions, newly built arcologies were also given this basic query information, which is why the limit was eventually removed.

It's a bit of a tricky situation: if you build enough arcologies, even City Hall might lose its microsim, and with it, its precious land-use data. So, keep an eye on that!