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ATPM 5.02
February 1999

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Review: Yoot Tower

by Mike Shields, mshields@atpm.com

verynice

IMAGE imgs/page1505.gifProduct Information
Published by: SEGA
Web:
http://www.yoottower.com
Street Price: $35

System Requirements
PowerMac with Mac OS 7.5 or greater
32 MB of RAM, 100 MB free hard disk space

As we had purchased Sim Tower a month before, I anxiously awaited receiving Yoot Tower, the pulse pounding sequel. Ok, it's an upgrade, but I'm the Hollywood Guy, so what the heck. I received the software via express delivery, and it even included a nifty t-shirt, with their logo and slogan, "You build it. You deal with it." So, I put on the t-shirt, loaded up the software, and went to work.

For those of you not familiar with Sim Tower, let me walk you through this game from the beginning. Yoot Tower offers three different scenarios: Hawaii, Kegon Falls, and Tokyo. All have their advantages and disadvantages. I chose Hawaii, because, well, who wouldn't wanna own a luxury tower in Hawaii?

IMAGE imgs/page1506.gif

If you've played any of the SIM line of games, you know what's next. You get a basic layout, on which to build. In this case, the first thing you have to put down, is a lobby for your tower. Add an elevator, followed by a couple of floors, and you're set. Now, the fun really begins, as you choose what to put on each floor. I've put up a couple of condos, two coffee shops, and an ice cream parlor. I've also added a restroom facility. These guys thought of everything! This isn't a very good design, as the game seems to want you to put like developments on the same floor. I think I did pretty good to start out, as I'm merely trying to illustrate the game on a 14" screen.
Later, as it grows, you get more options. You arrange for security, to deal with the occasional bomb threat, housekeeping staff, and garbage detail. All these things cost money, so, you'll need to attract tenants, with office space, movie theatres, malls, and more shops. Also, a good four star restaurant wouldn't hurt. Make sure you put in a freight elevator. The new feature of this game that my wife really liked was the ability to build multiple towers, and you can even put a skyway between them!

Well, the object of this game, is to build until you get to put the specialty item on top of your tower, while keeping down your tenant's stress levels. For Hawaii, it's a Cathedral. And even then, you're not done. The "finished product," looks like this:

IMAGE imgs/page1507.gif

However, this still isn't a four star building. Some problems that I noticed, the maintenance fee seems a bit high. Just as you're about to earn enough money to buy something, the maintenance fee kicks in, and you have to start saving all over again. This gets frustrating after awhile, but I think this happened because I built too fast.

You can earn extra income buy selling billboard space. Also, keep a constant eye on the feature playing in your movie theatre. They don't change automatically, and the moviegoers stop showing up after about a month. So, you've got a money pit on your hands.

All of the above aside, I liked Yoot Tower. I mean, where else can you be a building owner, hotel manager, and movie theatre owner all in one?

IMAGE imgs/page1508.gifCopyright © 1999 Mike Shields, mshields@atpm.com. Reviewing in ATPM is open to anyone. If you're interested, write to us at reviews@atpm.com.

Reader Comments (108)

Julian Roger Uccetta · February 23, 2001 - 01:01 EST #1
Yoot Tower is very cool, but I wish it hade more places to build like New York or Chicago.
anonymous · January 20, 2002 - 13:13 EST #2
I like Yoot Tower but I have some problems. I don't get any new stuff so I got this electricety problem that I can't solve. For some reason, the VIP doesn't come in (even if I have everything that I need for him to come) and there's a symbol in the tools menu (the one that looks like a telescope) that I can't figure out what to do with.
Rob · February 3, 2002 - 08:30 EST #3
Does anyone know where I can get Yoot Tower for free? I really really want to try it. I have Sim Tower, but everyone says that Yoot Tower is better. So, if you could help me, that would be great. Thanks.
Lee Bennett (ATPM Staff) · February 3, 2002 - 11:50 EST #4
Rob - Yoot Tower is a commercial product and is not downloadable. I find no mention of a demo, either. If you ever found a copy you can download, it would be a pirated copy.

I can think of two options. Either locate someone who has purchased it and try it on their computer, or stop by an Apple Store and (assuming they carry it) ask if they'd be willing to install it on one of their machines to let you try it. I wouldn't be surprised if they declined, but we always hear how shopping in the Apple Store is supposed to be the best computer store experience you'll ever have. Getting them to let you try this software would go a long way towards fufulling that experience for you!
Adam · April 29, 2002 - 14:01 EST #5
When I first recieved SimTower I was amazed, but Yoot Tower goes much further and truely feeds my hunger for more items to build.
Phil · June 6, 2002 - 15:59 EST #6
Does anyone know how to build plugins, or where I can find more to download?
Mike Shields (ATPM Staff) · June 6, 2002 - 23:18 EST #7
Well, the web address at the top of the page is a good starting point. Another choice would be to perform a Yahoo search on Yoot Tower.

Good luck, and thanks for reading.
Frustrated · June 14, 2002 - 21:40 EST #8
Yoot tower is a really cool game and is way better than SimTower. But can you believe this? My tower has the highest rating, but there are no people coming. Please, if anyone knows how to attract people, please e-mail me.

Thanks.
Joel · June 25, 2002 - 01:26 EST #9
Can anyone tell me where I can find the full version of Sim or Yoot Tower? I really want to play them.
Mike Shields (ATPM Staff) · June 25, 2002 - 11:41 EST #10
Yes, yes I can. At the URL provided above, there's a link on that page to take you to an order form, where you can buy it online. If this is unattractive for you, I'm sure your local software store will be happy to order it for you, if they don't have it on the shelf already.
Aaron · July 27, 2002 - 14:52 EST #11
I love Yoot Tower and I played it for 3 years. I also have been waiting for the Statue of Liberty Tower Kit for 3 YEARS! Does anyone know whats going on?
Winkle · August 13, 2002 - 14:09 EST #12
I can't find any codes for the game. Please help me.
Michael · September 23, 2002 - 15:46 EST #13
It would seem that Sega distributed this game and then dropped it. I can't seem to find any support, patches, cheats or anything anywhere. Sega's website directs you to a generic page whenever you choose the game. Can anyone help?
Jordan · December 31, 2002 - 22:22 EST #14
There is one cheat ... you press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+D and you get a bunch of money, but you can't use it too much or it will mess up your game. Also, a good tip is to build slowly and start really small or else it will come back to haunt you later.
Aaron · January 1, 2003 - 22:44 EST #15
I'm trying to make my own tower kit, but all I can do is change cosmetic features such as images and text. As far as making game play different, I can't do anything at the moment, but I'm working on it. Feel free to post any ideas for tower kits.
anonymous · January 9, 2003 - 15:41 EST #16
Aaahhhh! Why can't there be a map-making kit!? I hunger for new plug-ins!
Aiza · February 5, 2003 - 09:53 EST #17
I need some tips on how to interconnect elevators in the Tokyo map. My tenants are leaving due to poor atmosphere and excessive noise. Please help!
Mike Shields (ATPM Staff) · February 5, 2003 - 11:35 EST #18
Well, as the T-shirt says, you build it, you deal with it. :-)

I truly haven't played this game in a while. I suggest you perform a Yahoo search and see if there are any web sites or user groups dedicated to this game. Maybe a search of Deja.com which archives all the usenet postings would be a good place to try.

Thank you for reading ATPM.
Weiwenchen · February 18, 2003 - 19:52 EST #19
Does anyone know how to change the plugin settings? I want to build all the structures in one map. Thanks.
Johan · July 2, 2003 - 22:00 EST #20
I've been playing Sim Tower a lot lately, and I just found out about this sequel, but it seems to be really hard to find it. Sega dropped it, so you can't get it new anywhere. I even tried searching eBay to no avail. From what I understand, it's abandonware now, meaning that, while it's still illegal to pirate it, Sega has dropped the game, so they're not going to try to get to you if you download it. But finding Macintosh abandonware is tricky, to say the least. Does anyone have any ideas?
Lee Bennett (ATPM Staff) · July 2, 2003 - 23:35 EST #21
Johan - you're completely correct. Pirating what people think of as abandonware is still illegal. People don't think about some things, though, such as software that a company may very well be planning to update in x number of years, which means that even though you can't find it, it isn't even close to abandonware. Not that I know whether this is the case with Yoot Tower. I don't.

You also have to understand that copyrights, if unchecked, are good for something like 50 years (I'm not certain on that number, but it's certainly more than the four years that is this game's age). Therefore, it's logical to conclude that, presently and technically, there is absolutely no such thing as abandonware.

Having said that, ATPM.com won't permit any comments on the site that reference how to obtain "abandonware."

So how does one obtain a legal copy? Well, are you sure you searched the web really hard? I just Googled the keywords "yoot tower mac" and came up with several hits. The first one was (--I have removed this link because sometime in the past year, the domain got taken over by a pr0n site--) The "buy" link resulted in a screen that reads, "To place your order for Yoot's Tower, please contact Service Concepts, International at 1-888-271-5678."

About 10 Amazon.com vendors are also selling it. Just search for "Yoot" on Amazon.
Andrew · July 10, 2003 - 18:06 EST #22
Hi. I'm new to this site and I want Yoot Tower as cheap as possible. I live in Maple Ridge, BC, Canada.
Mendaliv · July 16, 2003 - 20:34 EST #23
I've just got to say one thing--this game is HARD compared to the original.
Lindax · July 17, 2003 - 14:35 EST #24
If anyone wants to buy this game for $25 including shipping fees, please contact me.
Jonathan · August 10, 2003 - 04:34 EST #25
I live in Africa and I have no idea about where to get the game, as we have very few software vendors and the ones we do have hike up the prices so that software normally going for $25 will go for about $60- $70. So, if anyone could tell me where to get the game, I would be very grateful. P.S. I have no credit card, unfortunately.
Cam · August 14, 2003 - 18:39 EST #26
If you want to buy it cheap, go to livewarehouse.com. They have it for $2.99 + $5 for USPS shipping.
MavereX · August 16, 2003 - 23:43 EST #27
Hi. I live in Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada. Where can I get Yoot Tower? (Offline, if possible.)
Lee Bennett (ATPM Staff) · August 17, 2003 - 01:58 EST #28
MavereX - according to yoottower.com and clicking on the Buy link, you should try contacting Service Concepts, International at 1-888-271-5678.
GBP2 · September 26, 2003 - 14:01 EST #29
I just bought a copy of Yoot Tower at Half Price Books. It was $4.00 here in Central Ohio. I would expect that other Half Price outlets would have it, too. It wasn't used. It was new and in shrinkwrap.
Cyruz · December 15, 2003 - 20:37 EST #30
I've had a nice time playing this game, but I think the map is not enough. We think we all want a new map.
Dagh Bunnsad · January 21, 2004 - 06:41 EST #31
Is there a demo to download? I have played SimTower and I'd really like to try Yoot Tower.
Lee Bennett (ATPM Staff) · January 21, 2004 - 09:18 EST #32
It seems pretty certain that there never was a demo to Yoot Tower, and bear in mind that Yoot Tower appears to have been discontinued a long while ago. But there are places that still sell it. Just don't pay Amazon's regular price. Amazon lists several 3rd party vendors who are selling Yoot Tower for just a couple dollars.

Incidentally, there have been some comments (which we've had to remove) stating that since Yoot Tower was no longer developed in any way, it can be obtained from certain abandonware sites. While you may be able to find such a site, it's still not legal. There is no such thing as abandonware—at least not yet. The minimum term of a copyright is 70 years plus the life of the author. Consequently, offering software in a manner not sanctioned by the developer is illegal, even if the developer is not actively distributing it. Unfortunately, if the software can't be bought anywhere and you can't find someone who is selling their used copy, you're pretty much out of luck. Period.

Please note that future comments that reveal or request ways to obtain this or any other piece of software from illegal sources will continue to be removed from this site.
Shad · May 21, 2004 - 02:03 EST #33
I just bought it from Yahoo Auction....I am surprised when i actually see "1 result" when i search it there.......

But i ve got a problem........how come all offices "near" to the lift chao-ing for excessive noise....how far should i put those elevators away from them.....
Steve · May 30, 2004 - 18:48 EST #34
I have SimTower and I heard there was actually an upgrade to download from the Maxis site for that game.
How true is that?

Also, hearing all this about Yoot Tower, I will have to go check it out.
Kevin · July 22, 2004 - 15:53 EST #35
eBay has SimTower for the PC and Yoot Tower for Mac and PC. Just Type in SimTower or Yoot Tower.
Kyle Morrison · August 18, 2004 - 03:20 EST #36
Where can I download plugins or find the official site? www.yoottower.com was sold so it no longer corisponds to this game. I googled it and all I find are reviews, no plugins. Please help.
Lee Bennett (ATPM Staff) · August 18, 2004 - 08:28 EST #37
Kyle - pretty sure the game ended development quite some time ago, thus you're not going to find anything official for it.
ATPM Staff · January 9, 2005 - 22:30 EST #38
Once again, ATPM.com will not get into the "is it abandonware" debate because of the huge controversy over whether it's ethical. Until such a time that there is a legal precedent for the distribution of software that has not been developed for X number of years, we cannot permit comments that point to sites where "abandonware" can be downloaded. Such comments will be immediately deleted.
mr. p · April 1, 2005 - 12:32 EST #39
this game- she rocks! isnt kegon falls beautiful? and the little dolphin in the waters of Hawaii. i just wonder why the offices are so dark. and does anyone actually reply to these posted messages?
ATPM Staff · April 1, 2005 - 17:32 EST #40
Mr. P. - sometimes—if a response is warranted. :-)
Chesstime · April 28, 2005 - 01:32 EST #41
Hay, im new to this site and I think I have an anser to most of the trafic problems. I think if you seperate the
floors with a fast food and shops floor have stairs go from that floor to the offices, and have your elevators stop on only the fast food floors, thus evenly distributed trafic and alot of cash from all of the fast food places and shops. Although I have faild to test this as of late, let me know if it works! =)
Ann' · May 1, 2005 - 14:39 EST #42
Can anybody with a Mac help please ? I'm looking for a REAL CHEAT for having money, a working one. If ever you succeeded, please can you explain what to do STEP by STEP (buttons to use, what to type ...). Thanks a lot.
James R. · May 11, 2005 - 21:25 EST #43
what's the yoot tower oficcial website??
www.yoottower.com dosn't work anymore,
can comeone help me???
ATPM Staff · May 11, 2005 - 23:11 EST #44
James - there appears to not be one.

Web sites aren't permanent universal constants. They actually do sometimes close up.
Johanna · June 10, 2005 - 17:49 EST #45
Ann' - CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+D


Where can I find information about the structures and what's required to gain stars etc.

-Johanna
Will · August 6, 2005 - 09:51 EST #46
Im getting this game this week, iv played the original since it came out. If anyone is looking for Towers to download i found a good site (Sim Tower and Yoot Tower, ALSO some Mac compatible Towers are avalible):

http://www.autobahn.mb.ca/~pmclure/SimTower.html

Hope this helps anyone having trouble starting a new tower ;D (Also theres a download of the handy "Rent Wizard" used to change those anyoning rent changes on Sim Tower). Happy Building Lol.
Korey · August 21, 2005 - 00:39 EST #47
Okay I got the game right, but i have no instructions whatsoever so I have next to no clue what I'm doing, I know VIP's come but I never know when and I don't know what I have to get to get to the next star so it's a suprise to me when they come. Another thing is I don't know how to connect the garbage center with all the places it needs to be connected with like the restaraunts and all that, so if ya'll can help me out, I'd appreciate alot and I mean a lot.
Scott Smith · October 7, 2005 - 13:19 EST #48
I tried the dolphin cheat code a million times, but no such luck. Is there anything specific I need to do like the position of the dolphin? This is for the Mac version.
Thanks
Lisa W · November 10, 2005 - 04:23 EST #49
Where am I supposed to put my subway station? It says on level B10 but, I dragged my lift down there and it is saying something along the lines of 'cannot place under outside of edges ..." blah blah blah something. I cannot figure this out for the life of me! Please help - as my little residents are getting rather upset at me. Thank yooooou!
Tom · December 7, 2005 - 20:27 EST #50
yo, anyone at the Ohio State University campus who's looking to develop plugins for yoot tower, give me a shout on AOL Instant Messenger: bob52287

and to answer the forthcoming questions, no, i don't know of a development kit, no i haven't found any plugins, no i don't know exactly how to make new ones, but yes, i do have an idea of how to do it that will work (i just don't know how well it'll work, and i don't want to do it alone)...
Mike R · January 12, 2006 - 01:25 EST #51
***Editor's Note: as best we can tell, many components of this comment pertain to the Windows version of the game. Generally, ATPM does not retain comments that focus on Windows topics. However, since there may not be anyone left on staff who can verify information, and we have no way of knowing if some information here is or is not useful to the Macintosh version of the game, we are leaving it in place for that possible benefit. Please be aware that any responses that are judged to be Windows-specific answers to this comment will not be retained on this page.***

-----

Hi, everyone. I played Sim Tower many years ago, borrowed it from a friend then stopped when I gave it back. I thought about it half-heartedly every now and then over the years.

I was curious this year and looked around and found out about Yoot Tower. I paid too much (about $30) on Amazon, but what the heck. It was a Christmas gift "from myself".

Anyway, I have been playing it like crazy, spending ten hours one day/night. I've finally slowed down a bit, and am methodically working on a big tower in Tokyo. I've not played Kegon or Hawaii yet. I do OK, and really want to build a nice tower.

I did a big, long, multi-hour Google search tonight. There is not much info, just much repeated. Then I found this site. It's good to see some live activity on the game. I hope to learn something here.

I can help with a few questions I've seen here, but not too many tonight (fried mind).

First of all, how to get the CD. I agree that the abandonware idea is pretty nasty. I hadn't heard the term until I started to look for Yoot Tower. Shocking concept. So, as I was looking around tonight, I found a site, http://www.cdromhouse.com/products/segatower.html, seling it for $8.50. I don't know if this is a legitimate site. They call it Sega Tower, but it is clearly Yoot Tower as shown in the picture. I have to think that there must be a lot of copies available, as the game is so old.

At any rate, another good reason to buy a legit copy is the manual. You really can't be effective in the game without it. The manual is a bit frustrating, given its incompleteness and sometimes poor English, but it is really essential. You can learn a lot from the game itself, of course, but you need the manual to sort of complete the picture.

Someone asked about the subway. Like any other object in the game, it can't go beyont the edges of the lobby, or for that matter any of the floors above. Since it's in the basement, that's a little counterintuitive, but that matches the rules above ground: You can't make a floor "hang out" above the one below. So, for example, you could never build an inverted pyramid.

Cheat codes: The only one published is the one listed above, Ctrl-Alt-Shift-D. People say it gives you money, and yes it does. But what it really does is gets you into debug mode. You will notice that a Debug menu item appears by (or replaces) the help menu item. It's kind of cool to explore in debug mode. You can give yourself more stars, and therefore play around with new items you haven't seen yet in conventional play. I haven't done much there, but mainly because I am having fun playing the standard way for now.

It's not really a cheat, but sometimes when you are adding floors in the basement, you will strike treasure. I have twice, once for $1M and once for $4M. You will sometimes get a message that "bones were found during construction". That's a clue you're close. I'm not sure, but maybe you need to actually build something on the random spot. Once, I just made a floor and got the "bones" message. Much later, I put a restaurant or something near there and only then did I hit the treasure.

I find it difficult to make a lot of money just on rents and things, so I depend pretty heavily on advertising on the outside view of the building. A billboard costs you $100k, but you get $50k when you put an add on it. One year later (12 days in Tower Time) the add goes away and you can put another one up. So, at the end of one year, you've recovered your $100k and make $50k every year after. I try to add a few billboards each January. I now have a huge tower that has at least 80 billboards. Each January, I put adds on all 80 and collect $4M! That is getting real tedious, though, so I am hoping to become profitable and just let the billboards lapse. Then, if I need some cash, I can just go outside and place a number of adds. I think about it like money in the bank I can withdraw.

Electrical power is kind of funny too. Most items draw power. I built one of my first towers too fast and put a subway station in as soon as it was available and I could afford it. Well, this and all my elevators and all drew too much power and blew the breakers. The normal solution is to go buy more breakers in your power room. Trouble is, a power room wasn;t available a that level, so I was dead in the water. Moral of the story: Just because you have things available to build, doesn't mean you need to right away. Save the subway for the next level, when you can build a power room.

The last post I see above, sent just a few hours ago is a good question. The manual helps. I won't give a direct answer yet, as I don't want to spoil anyone's fun. But let me give you a clue: Like many things in Yoot Tower, if you need to do something, you'll eventually be told. For example, on the first level, you will eventually see a status message in your info box (where it tells you revenue just came in, or the like) that you need to do some particular thing before a VIP will visit. If you miss the message, it will show up again. It really does take a while to get from level one to two, so be patient. In addition to having a successful VIP visit, the population needs to be at a certain level. So, just enjoy the game, get good at doing stuff, get the population up (with offices and visitors, etc., and you'll find out what to do.

Anway, that's it for now. I hope I am not being too long-winded here. For now, I'm just having fun. I am sure there were never any plug-ins made beyond the original three. I think that will intrigue me some day. When I get tired of the game, I can have fun hacking it.

Happy times.
danielches · January 13, 2006 - 18:17 EST #52
Hi!

I have recently got this game.
I am having trouble going from 2 to 3 stars, what is the requirement to get 3 stars?

Aso, lot of my people are leaving because of "bad atmosphere", how do I stop this?

This seems t be the only active Yoot tower out there!

Thanks,
RYEN · January 13, 2006 - 18:53 EST #53
can somebody explain fullly how to make a Trash facility become connected to the restruants? i built one underground but its not working? i even put in an evelevator JUST for the facility and it says its still n ot connected.
Mike R · January 14, 2006 - 13:20 EST #54
danielches:

Read the manual if you have it. It gives the general requirements there for moving star to star. In the Tokyo setting, you need to have an electronics store, which a VIP will come to visit. You also need to have the population up at a certain level (not terribly high).

Rest assured that if you don't know what to do to move up, you eventually get little hints in the information window.

As far as bad atmosphere, I find that comment to be frustrating. It can mean anything. Just watch your places by using the EVAL button, and use the magnifying glass to check out those who are not happy. It's almost always excessive traffic (kind of frustrating as well).

Some general principals to help with that:

(1) Make sure your elevator shafts contain plenty of cars.

(2) (Not sure about this) don't mix offices, shops, and living areas on the same floor. I have come to believe that even putting a vending machine on the same floor with an office or living area causes stress. I think the game kind of dumbly assumes that you are putting a shop on the same level as a business. I thought I was being nice by putting vending machines close to where workers needed them!

I agree, there seem to be no othe active Yoot site. It's interesting how some good games fade into the past.

RYEN:

To connect a trash facility, use a service elevator. People dumping the trash (and it's only for restaurants) will not use anything else to move from floor to floor. So any level with a restaurant needs to be connected to the level with the trash facility via a service elevator.

Note that it's OK if one service elevator leads down to, say the lobby, then another from the lobby down to the trash facility. The worker will walk through the lobby to the other service elevator. My manual says that one trash facility can handle about 50 restaurants.
RYEN · January 16, 2006 - 19:38 EST #55
THanks so much for the help Mike! i really appreaite it
Mike R · January 18, 2006 - 20:04 EST #56
:-) You're very welcome.
Mike R · January 22, 2006 - 20:51 EST #57
Has anyone seen a problem with puttling a restaurant on the 75th floor and above? I did this (Tokyo plug-in)and it wouldn't connect to a trash facility. The service elevator ran from floor 75 all the way to the trash level, but the restaurant description always said "Not connected to trash facility."

I ended up demolishing the restaurant.

BTW, I made it to the final level. I was pretty systematic about it, so the building looks kind of too "modular". Now I am having fun building a new one with a more free and patient approach. Lots of fun.

Happy days, all.
Veen · January 23, 2006 - 20:55 EST #58
Your restaurant staff will only walk so far away from an elevator to a trash facility. On the toolbar, there's a button that has a pair of shoes walking on it. Click that, and then click the trash facility. Now scan around and look for your restaurants. That will tell you exactly which ones are serviced by that facility.

I have a full Tower rated building, and Probably about 20 restaurants in it. All of them are located either in the basement, or in floors 91-99. As such, I just have one huge service elevator (which also lets housekeeping service the center tower's hotel suites) that stretches from floor 99, down to floor B2, where I keep three trash facilities. One in the center of the elevator, and one to each side of the service elevator. After some experimentation, it appears if you build farther than two trash facilities away from an elevator, nobody will haul their garbage to it.
Awtp · January 31, 2006 - 20:20 EST #59
Hio! I really need help with getting from 1 to 2 stars. I lost my instruction manual. Could you help me out? P.S: It's in tokyo.
Ananda Sherwood · February 7, 2006 - 16:58 EST #60
I've managed to make towers of Hawaii and Kegon Falls -- but I'm having some trouble w/Tokyo.

I now have 4 stars and I found that the last item has to go on level 100 but by the time I build that high, I start having issues w/power going out and I am not allowed to add another power facility. Also it seems impossible to keep tentants happy. i have elevators staggard so they only hit one main floor and then take you up the next 14 floors on to try to help w/traffic - this seems to help some.

Anyway I had to get rid of a lot of facilities to keep the brown outs from repeatedly occuring and finally just build floors up to 100 for the final item w/out building anything on those floors. My problem now is that even w/billboards i can't get enough $$$ built up to build my final item.

Any suggestions on A) keeping tenants from leaving B) how to build up enough cash to place the final item -- is 4 stars enough?
Renothian · February 28, 2006 - 06:08 EST #61
This is an old game, so I wonder how active this forum still is, but I just found the game recently, so I've just started playing with it. Problems are two, that my first VIP, Bigglesworth, keeps saying suites are too far. I've got one on the 4th floor, I can only go one floor lower due to 2 floor lobby... anyway, I'll try that. My bigger question is why so early in the game, I get so many RED terrible rooms that don't rent and don't ever seem to get better. Is this normal? How do I improve them? Thanks.

Oh, by the way, it's Hawaii I'm playing that I mention about above, thanks.
Michael · March 21, 2006 - 01:09 EST #62
Wow. yes this is an old game, and I just got it tonite... lots of fun and I cant stop playing. im glad to see that there is accually a site still running and able to talk about the game.... I cant really talk about it yet... having trouble with the bad atmosphere crap. also. I do have a question... is there a limit to elevator shafts like in sim tower? I am always nervious when i'm building elevators. lol :(
alex · March 24, 2006 - 04:10 EST #63
this is actually the worst game ever
in each level theres only really 5 different things u can build regardless of what rating you have.
each new level really brings nothing new.
the whole elevator system is a joke. since when did u go to a hotel and have to swtich evelvators to get to your floor
the only legitimate way of making money is putting advertisments all over the outside of the building which every month u have to click a million times to renew
why do u have to constantly select the movie theatre to renew a movie. why does the movie theatre only play one movie at a time?

basically its a poorly programed game, with ilttle or no direction. its basically exactly the same as sim tower which itself was a piece of junk. tetris is more engaging and rewarding (and thats just sad)
James · April 2, 2006 - 05:42 EST #64
alex, cut the game some slack man. it's an old/classic game, so stop attacking its programming.
jake · April 9, 2006 - 02:12 EST #65
Personally I think Sim Tower was the best game in existance possible until the release of Starcraft. Oh and btw, actually there are may not be many hotels that you have to switch elevators to get to your room in but that is only because most hotels are not nearly tall enough for that to be neccesary. Try checking your facts more before saying them though, go to a really tall building like the Empire State building and you will find that there actually is an express elevator to take you up to the sub level (i think the sub level for the observation area while I was there started at the 80th floor) and then you had to go to the elevator for that sub level of the building to get to the observation area (floor 86 or something), you're no longer allowed to go higher than that ever since 9/11. So yes express elevators are quite real.
Yootaddict · April 24, 2006 - 19:46 EST #66
Well Alex, I agree with James, Sim/Yoot tower has been critizised big time, but hey, it is an "entertainment" simulator, not a real-life AI sim. What do you expect from a software that costs $8.50??

TIP: If you are making a hotel tower, place a lobby every 15 floors and get a lotta cash!
Chuck · April 28, 2006 - 03:46 EST #67
Hey

Got a question a friend of mine gave me this game but didn't have the manual and I am dying to know how many stars are there? only 3 or still 5 like in Simtower? If there are 5 what are the requirements for each level? Right now im sitting at 3 with a pop of about 6000 ive had two VIPs give an "excellent" rating both were for hotels one was the old lady and the other was the king of babaganoush or wherever anyways im not sure what else i need to do/build thanks a lot love the game I think its a great change to Sim Tower 1 which is STILL fun mind you just getting old I wish maxis would make an official sim tower 2 not with new corny 3d funk-o-matic graphics but the plain simple 2d stuff just with more buildings and more options etc anywyas if anyone knows about the stars please let me know :)
Will · June 5, 2006 - 12:27 EST #68
Theres 5 stars, Tower being 5. Iv been looknig for the Tower Kit, liekforever, and OpenBook dosent even exist anymore, i found a few Japanese websites that had links or something to it, but no luck. Any ideas?
Jason · June 16, 2006 - 01:46 EST #69
I've checked the Internet Archive, this is the best copy of the now defunct Yoot Tower site I could find:

http://web.archive.org/web/20021120231534/http://www.yoottower.com/

I love SimTower, I just got a copy of this off ebay. I'll have to see if I like it or not.

Does anyone else have a link to some downloadable towers? The ones from the site above don't seem to work with my version :(

-Jason
Tica Dionne · June 28, 2006 - 17:41 EST #70
I'm looking to buy sim tower, but I can't find a place to buy it that you don't need a credit card for. I don't own any credit cards at all. Does anyone at all know where I can buy sim tower without a credit card? I even looked at walmart.com since that is the only big store anywhere near where I live.
heidi ho · June 28, 2006 - 17:45 EST #71
try ebay
RC14 · July 19, 2006 - 16:04 EST #72
I am looking for a copy of Yoot ToweR but I am having no luck. I have tried e-bay, and Ammazon.com but the only copy I found is over $50.00. Is their any place where I can find this game for a resonable price, and maybe be able to pay for it with cash.
ATPM Staff · July 19, 2006 - 17:36 EST #73
RC14 - eBay and Amazon are likely going to be the only sources for the game. The reason for the high cost is because the people selling it know good and well it's hard to find.

You know the mantra—supply and demand. They've got it. You want it? You pay their price. If more people had it available to sell, the price would drop.
Christine · August 11, 2006 - 02:24 EST #74
I'm building in Hawaii and I've read that a lobby can be put every 15th floors, but it won't let me put a lobby there! Why is that?
Angel · August 16, 2006 - 15:04 EST #75
Ok im in the hotel building map, hawaii. I have 3 stars, 67 million bucks, more hotel rooms than you would believe, and shops and resterants,..... wheres the 4 star VIP. Any tips for getting it?
rowan lilley · August 20, 2006 - 07:46 EST #76
i am having the same problem , i can not make a skylobby can someone please help its so annoying
tina · January 12, 2007 - 02:54 EST #77
I have bought yoot tower when i was in college. it was sold cheaper here in the philippines. i stil have the CD. but i dont have the manual.. so i dont know where i will be able to upgrade from 3 stars to 4 in hawaii..

anyone here knows where to find a copy of the manual online... thanks.
Seth · August 2, 2007 - 21:40 EST #78
1. Heavy Traffic: Use the traffic mode to see if there is even a little bit of pink outside the office. Put a washroom under the elevator on every floor.

2. Power: Use the magnifying glass on the power room and add breakers.

3. Bad Atmosphere: Could be anything.

4. Sky Lobby: Once you have two towers click between them with the sky lobby. Not too far and 3 floor of clear space. (I use a floor with a large elevator stop)
Karppa · October 3, 2007 - 04:10 EST #79
The star ratings would be nice to know.

In my personal oppinion the game is cooler, but also a lot more challenging than the original Simtower. Not really a bad thing, as Simtower wasn't that hard, in the end.

Just a huge amount of fun, just is this game.

The shop sales percentages are just sometimes guesswork until you get them right.

I wonder how hard it would be to create plug-ins for the game...? More billboard advertisements would be cool.
Mark · November 12, 2007 - 04:46 EST #80
I found the game, but no manual...
Can someone help please?
I build an elevator that stops on all floors needed, have a front desk and some rooms, and the rooms say they're unconnected. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing wrong. Also don't know how the 'leg' tool works - I suppose it should show accessibility, but then why does it show the rooms green when clicked on the front desk, but only show the lobby green when clicked on the rooms?
(Why couldn't they include a help in the game...)
anonymous · November 21, 2007 - 03:20 EST #81
I haven't found a manual for the game i downloaded yet either, hope some one can help
Karppa · December 12, 2007 - 12:28 EST #82
Does anyone know, how hard it would be to create plug-ins for the game, or are the tools even available?
anonymous · March 2, 2008 - 14:53 EST #83
You can find the manual here.
linusjoshua · March 7, 2008 - 09:25 EST #84
thanks for the manual.. you shot it your self?
Mark · March 10, 2008 - 05:06 EST #85
Thanks for the manual!
marti · March 11, 2008 - 00:00 EST #86
thank you soooooo much for the manual...you rock, so awesome!!!!
Mutant · April 13, 2008 - 12:24 EST #87
I am a big fan of yoot tower and i love this review page. still active after 7 years and i can find lots of details here.
B R · May 23, 2008 - 13:43 EST #88
Im a huge fan of SIM tower and YOOT tower, i lost my copy of YOOT tower and was looking for somewhere to get it and found that there may be more TowerKit towers, does anybody know where to get these (yoot tower or expansions for yoot tower)
Brian · June 9, 2008 - 19:24 EST #89
I just got the game again through ebay, for 3 bucks... best money i have spent... I would like to know if there are any other cities out there to download?
Jeremy · July 4, 2008 - 16:44 EST #90
I still have a copy! I've been playing this since the day Sega released it in 1999
joannayoda · September 9, 2008 - 12:34 EST #91
i have a question. . . i'm a mac person, but since then have moved onto newer systems. how are you guys playing the game, because i think the new intel-processor system wont support the data on my cd :[
Lee Bennett (ATPM Staff) · September 9, 2008 - 13:10 EST #92
Joannayoda - these people either kept their PPC Macintosh systems, or are emulating Classic. See our article about Classic apps on Intel machines here: http://www.atpm.com/12.09/classic.shtml
British Guy · October 7, 2008 - 09:32 EST #93
Thank you soooooo much for posting the manual!!! :D I'm guessing 'anonymous' probably wont look here again but hey thanks anyway :)
Wilko · November 10, 2008 - 21:17 EST #94
Very nice to see people still enjoying Yoot Tower. I've only rediscovered it recently, and am currently managing a brand new three star tower!

I'm hoping that new plugins will someday be available...
Anth · July 20, 2009 - 02:38 EST #95
What I'd love to see is for the developer to make this game open source. Think of the possibilities - new 32bit graphics and the like! Just rediscovered this gem - marvellous to see some active players still out there and ironic how this humble little review page has become the ultimate 'forum' for Sim/Yoot Tower =P
Karppa · July 23, 2009 - 02:47 EST #96
Why 32bit, Anth? I think the game looks awesome as it is right now because of the current graphics...

If only new plugin would become available... It's a shame that games like this are practically shunned these days by developers and most gamers.
A Different Alex · December 31, 2009 - 08:55 EST #97
Imagine my surprise when I was looking on the Sim Tower wiki page and saw "Yoot Tower". This game is simply incredible! So much extra gameplay compared to Sim Tower. And it is just hours before 2010 when I found it. This is certainly an interesting review/forum page!
Rebecca · January 13, 2010 - 13:55 EST #98
i'm having a problem with my power room. it keeps saying 'need more direct route'.

can someone help me?
Andy · March 23, 2010 - 01:53 EST #99
Dang. Twelve years on, and I'm still playing this game...although it's on my Windows netbook now, since I wasn't going to keep an old Macintosh constantly hooked up just to play Yoot Tower.

I'm happy to see that there's still at least a few others playing it in 2010.
Joe Schmoe · May 25, 2010 - 21:12 EST #100
Yes! There are some people playing Yoot Tower now! I used to play Sim Tower many years ago, but have since switched to an Intel Mac, on which it is almost impossible to emulate any old OS, which you need to play Sim Tower! I tried looking for an old Mac version instead of Windows (Sim Tower) and found this game! I only hear great things about it, but there is nowhere to get it from these days that will work on an intel mac :( Can anyone help?

Thank you so much!
Xruptor · November 23, 2010 - 10:38 EST #101
For those people that were wondering what the Surveyor or Telescope button in the toolbar is.

It's used to zoom in and out of the map.

Click on the Telescope Button then Right-Click the screen to zoom out or Left-Click the screen to zoom in.
Reaper948 · March 2, 2011 - 23:58 EST #102
just decided to pick this game up again, forgot how much fun it can be, guess it just goes to show no matter how old a game is, it can still be fun a decade later and then some :)
Mike Shields · March 5, 2011 - 15:24 EST #103
Amazing. This seems to be my most commented review. I'm glad people are still playing, and enjoying this game. And thank you for continuing to read ATPM.
Liay · May 15, 2012 - 19:00 EST #104
I can't solve the thing about "bad atmosphere" in my rent condos...
Mike Shields · May 16, 2012 - 16:47 EST #105
Sorry to hear that, Liay. I've never come across this problem, so, have no good answer on how to help.
Brian · May 20, 2016 - 15:18 EST #106
Sadly, the link to the manual above isn't active anymore. I've looked everywhere with no luck. I've even tried buying another copy of the game, but no one wants to ship it to Mexico. Does anyone know where I can find a manual?

On a side note, I did find a really good guide here, but a manual would still be really nice:
https://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/142965-yoot-tower/faqs/54898
ATPM Staff (ATPM Staff) · May 20, 2016 - 17:27 EST #107
Brian - what appears to be the case is that the game, although long not available, is still under copyright. It's the developer's right to cease distribution of the software and any supporting material they produced, including manuals. That seems to be why it's apparently not possible to find an online copy.
Bellarmine · January 7, 2024 - 22:18 EST #108
Hi Everyone,

Last comment was a while ago, but thought I'd post 2 links to the manual here for anyone else reading this great 'forum' lol:
http://www.carbon-izer.com/yoot/yoot.html
http://www.carbon-izer.com/yoot/manual.zip

Also a FAQ:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/142965-yoot-tower/faqs/54898

Great site, lots of goodies. Also fun game! I'm a big Sim fan, have ALL the SimCities SimFarm SimTower etc, all my favorities played them for hours.

I've got the manual on my HDD so if the links stop working and anyone still needs a copy just email me.

Cheers!~ Bellarmine

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