vkazanov

vkazanov / elcity

Public

A simple SimCity clone in Emacs Lisp

96
2
100% credibility
Found Feb 06, 2026 at 83 stars -- GitGems finds repos before they trend. Get early access to the next one.
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AI Analysis
Emacs Lisp
AI Summary

ElCity is a deterministic, turn-based ASCII city-building game that runs entirely within Emacs, emphasizing functional programming principles.

How It Works

1
🔍 Discover ElCity

You stumble upon ElCity, a cozy turn-based game where you build and grow a city using simple letters on your screen inside your text editor.

2
📥 Add to your editor

You easily slip the game files into your text editor's collection so it's ready whenever you want to play.

3
▶️ Launch the game

With one quick command in your editor, your blank city map appears, cursor ready to build.

4
🏗️ Place your buildings

Pick from homes, shops, factories, roads, power plants, or city hall and drop them where you want with a key press—it feels like sketching your dream town.

5
⏭️ Advance the turns

Tap a key to skip ahead in time, watching zones grow if powered and connected, or shrink if neglected.

6
🌆 Watch your city thrive

Funds roll in from happy residents and busy businesses, pollution spreads or clears, and your little world comes alive with activity.

🏆 City builder master

You end up with a bustling metropolis of leveled-up zones, steady income, and satisfying growth—ready to tweak or start anew.

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Star Growth

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AI-Generated Review

What is elcity?

Elcity is a turn-based SimCity clone in Emacs Lisp that lets you build and manage cities right inside Emacs, with an ASCII UI optimized for terminals. Place residential zones for population, commercial for sales, industrial for goods, plus roads, power plants, and city hall using simple keys like R, C, I, r, p, h—advance turns with n, demolish with d, and undo with u. It scratches the itch for a lightweight city builder focused on electricity needs, zone growth, pollution, and road connectivity without leaving your editor.

Why is it gaining traction?

Its deterministic sim keeps funds flowing from population and zones, with power plants covering a 6-tile radius and overlays for goods, pollution, and connectivity via o—standing out as a simple GitHub repo that's easy to clone and extend. Emacs devs love the keyboard-driven flow and custom map starts, like elcity-start with row strings for quick setups. As a basic example of city electronics simulation, it hooks Lisp fans tired of bloated games.

Who should use this?

Emacs terminal warriors needing a 5-minute city-building break between coding sessions. Lisp students tackling simple GitHub projects or workflows, like a clone for elcity tablet-style experiments. Hobbyists modeling electricity bills and zone decay in a fun, hackable toy.

Verdict

Fun niche project with 89 stars, excellent README docs, and Makefile tests/lint—grab the clone if you're an Emacs Lisp tinkerer, but 1.0% credibility score flags it as immature for anything beyond play.

(178 words)

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