SimCopter is a flight simulator video game released in 1996 and created by Maxis. The game places the player in a three-dimensional city. Similar to Streets of SimCity, SimCopter allows players to bring maps from SimCity 2000 into the game. It is also the first game to use the Sim language called Simlish.

Gameplay

SimCopter places the player in the role of a helicopter pilot. The game has two play modes: user mode and career mode. In user mode (free mode), the player can fly around cities they create (which can be imported from SimCity 2000) or choose from 30 cities included with the game. However, user-created cities often need adjustments, such as adding more police stations, fire stations, and hospitals, to ensure faster response times. In career mode, the player acts as a pilot performing various tasks in a city.

Criminals driving cars move quickly and are harder to catch than those walking. Police officers can be picked up from police station rooftops and dropped near criminals to help arrest them. Police cars can also assist in arrests. To stop criminals on foot, the helicopter can land on them, which kills them but may damage the helicopter. Dropped officers will shout if they see a suspect, and the helicopter's spotlight must guide them. If an officer does not find a suspect, they return to the helicopter. Once a suspect is spotted, the officer will chase them until they are arrested. Criminals can be slowed by using the spotlight or broadcasting the "Stop Criminal" message through the megaphone. Eight types of jobs are available: traffic jams, fires, rescues (which may happen during fire missions), catching criminals, riot control, MEDEVAC, transporting Sims, and stopping speeding cars. Speeders can be identified by cars that release smoke and make loud noises when turning. After pulling over a speeder, the helicopter must stay with it until a police car arrives to issue a ticket. If the speeder escapes before being cited, another car becomes the next speeder.

Players earn money and points by completing missions. They can also lose money and points if they run out of time or fail to complete a mission. Missions deduct points over time if uncompleted, and some missions may be canceled, leading to point loss or reward forfeiture. MEDEVAC or firefighting missions result in large penalties if a victim dies or if fire damage occurs. Once enough points are earned, players can advance to the next city, choosing to stay at the same difficulty level or move to a higher one. There are twelve difficulty levels, with new job types introduced and existing jobs becoming more challenging. Jobs appear randomly in the city, but the player’s actions can also create jobs.

Players begin with a small, weak helicopter that includes only a megaphone and a bambi bucket, capable of carrying two passengers. As money is earned, players can buy better helicopters and equipment. Some jobs require specific tools to complete, and better helicopters offer faster speeds, smoother controls, and more passenger space. Helicopters have limited fuel and must return to the hangar every half hour to refuel, which costs money. If fuel runs out mid-flight, the player can try to land the helicopter or let it crash, which risks heavy damage. If the helicopter survives a crash, it can be refueled at a high cost.

Crashing into buildings or the ground damages the helicopter but does not destroy it immediately. More damage makes the helicopter harder to control. Money can be used to repair it. If the helicopter is destroyed, it is lost forever, along with all equipment. A destroyed helicopter may cause fires nearby. If the player cannot afford a new helicopter, they cannot continue playing.

The helicopters in SimCopter include:
• Schweizer 300
• Bell 206 JetRanger
• McDonnell Douglas MD 500
• McDonnell Douglas MD 520 NOTAR
• Bell 212
• Augusta A109
• Dauphin 2
• McDonnell Douglas Explorer
• Boeing AH-64 Apache

Maps with the Apache helicopter may also have a UFO that flies around. The UFO uses a mysterious force to abduct Sims (Sims move in a dancing way as they rise) and shoots beams that can start fires if they hit trees or buildings. If a beam hits the player, the screen turns white, and the helicopter is destroyed instantly. If the UFO crashes into water, the player can rescue a surviving abductee for extra points. If the UFO is shot down, the player earns 1,000 points.

Easter egg

The game became controversial when it was found that the designer, Jacques Servin, added an Easter egg that created shirtless men in Speedo trunks who hugged and kissed each other. These characters appeared often on certain dates, like Friday the 13th. The Easter egg was discovered shortly after the game was released and removed from later versions. Servin said he added the feature because of the difficult working conditions he claimed he faced at Maxis, including long hours and being denied time off. He also mentioned that he included the characters, whom he called "studs," after another programmer added "bimbo" female characters, and he wanted to show the "implicit heterosexuality" common in many games. He originally planned for the characters to appear only sometimes, but a malfunction in the random number generator caused them to appear frequently. As a result, Servin was fired, and Maxis stated the reason was the addition of unauthorized content. This led a member of AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) to call for a boycott of Maxis' products, which Servin disagreed with. Later, a group named RTMark claimed responsibility for inserting the Easter egg and 16 other acts of "creative subversion." Servin said he received a $5,000 money order from RTMark for the prank. It was later revealed that Servin was a co-founder of RTMark.

Nintendo 64 version

On May 22, 1997, Maxis announced a version of the game for the Nintendo 64, a few weeks before E3 1997, where a playable early version was shown. On October 9, 1997, Maxis stated the game would instead be adapted for the 64DD add-on device, with plans to release it as a North American launch title for the platform. Electronic Arts was named as the publisher. However, in a later interview with the Video Game History Foundation, Akifumi “Aki” Kodama (president of Maxis K.K., the developer of the adaptation) and Jeffrey J. Feil (a producer for Electronic Arts) said they never saw a completed version of the game for the 64DD. Kodama also said that the game was never designed to work with other titles. In a January 1998 issue of Nintendo Power, Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned the game would have features connecting it to Mario Artist and SimCity 64. Earlier, Miyamoto had also mentioned possible connections to SimCity 2000. The game was unofficially canceled on March 9, 1999, after repeated delays in releasing the 64DD device.

At least two early versions of the game remain. One is the E3 1997 build, dated June 16, 1997, which was released by the Video Game History Foundation on November 14, 2022. The other early version is dated December 26, 1997, and has not been made public.