Reticulating Splines brings its SimCity 2000 reimagining to Linux and macOS

Image credit: Daniel Gimmer / Realm667; Reticulating Splines.

Anyone who remembers SimCity 2000 probably remembers losing entire afternoons to zoning decisions, traffic problems, and the occasional disaster that made you question your qualifications as mayor.

Daniel Gimmer's Reticulating Splines brings that classic city-building experience into a standalone reimplementation based on OpenSC2K, with larger maps, day-and-night lighting, weather, seasons, and modernized presentation. The public preview now includes Windows, Linux, and macOS builds, and there's even experimental multiplayer for two to eight players. Yes, you can potentially share responsibility for a city's terrible planning decisions with your friends.

It's still a preview, with multiplayer requiring matching builds and some larger maps demanding plenty of memory. Cities saved in its expanded format also won't open in the original SimCity 2000. Still, seeing this particular piece of PC gaming history receive so much attention is a lovely thing. Some of us have unfinished cities that are practically old enough to have grandchildren.