The new SimCity...*sigh*

[Squiggy]

but this is a company that just removed the singleplayer component from a traditionally singleplayer franchise

Always connected to the Internet =/= removing single-player.

Since most people are already always connected to the internet, I don't understand the gripe.

 

[Sheep]

but this is a company that just removed the singleplayer component from a traditionally singleplayer franchise

Always connected to the Internet =/= removing single-player.

Since most people are already always connected to the internet, I don't understand the gripe.

What happens wheen EA announces SimCity 2015 and kill their existing SimCity servers? This is EA who HAVE killed servers for games only a year or two old.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007VTVRFA?tag=at055-20

Looks like Amazon's pulled the download version. I'm guessing they got a flood of complaints from users unable to connect or play.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

but this is a company that just removed the singleplayer component from a traditionally singleplayer franchise

Always connected to the Internet =/= removing single-player.

It sounds like this game is "single-player" only in the sense that, say, The Old Republic is single-player: you can do everything by yourself if you want, but the game is inherently Internet-based.

 

[Vendikarr]

This thread makes me want to play some SimCity. I am going to have to find my SimCity 3000 disk and load it up.

 

[JarodRussell]

I found myself playing Sim City 2000 for a while after reading this thread. Won't be possible with this one, I guess, because eventually, they WILL shut down the service.

That's what I hate about online games (any game that requires online connection, for DRM purposes or multiplayer) the most. You buy it, but you can't keep it as long as you like. You can only play it as long as the company has the online service up and running.

 

[Emher]

When they shut down, someone will have cracked it and you can still play it.

 

[JarodRussell]

When they shut down, someone will have cracked it and you can still play it.

Yeah, that's my point, you have to illegaly crack it because stuff like online DRM is an annoyingly stupid concept.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

When they shut down, someone will have cracked it and you can still play it.

Normally, I would agree, but here we have a game that doesn't even save locally. How are you going to crack that? While probably not impossible, it's not the kind of thing I'd expect someone to bust out over a weekend.

 

[bigdaddy]

I have been reading the Facebook comments and most users don't understand the real meaning of "always online" and others didn't even know they had it. So hopefully this will fuck EA over, but I doubt it.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

A good article on SimCity and their DRM - SimCity Burning: A Warning to Microsoft, Sony, and All Publishers on The Dangers of Always-Online DRM

It has been out for three days, and SimCity is broken. Seriously, unplayably broken. As a long-time fan who's been looking forward to this week for many years, this is a huge, frustrating disappointment. The worst part? The main issue isn't with the game itself, but an entirely unnecessary and completely avoidable always-online DRM system that's keeping millions of fans from playing the game they paid for, when they were told they'd be able to play it. If there is one good thing that comes of this disaster, let it be yet another lesson to publishers like EA and Activision/Blizzard, and platform owners Microsoft and Sony, who may be considering always-on DRM in next-gen consoles or PC games: don't even think about it. It's a pipe dream, and to attempt it is to invite an enthusiasm-draining catastrophe with every single game launch.

Here's what the past 10 years of online DRM has taught anybody who's paid the slightest bit of attention: it never works right, at least at first. And while it might be largely successful in stopping piracy (as Diablo III effectively has), it exacts a terrible price: the trust and enthusiasm of the most loyal and enthusiastic gamers. These are the people who are dying to get their hands on new games, the ones who eagerly spend on pricey collectors' editions and DLC – all of it sight-unseen. If treated well, their word of mouth buzz can generate more game sales than a site like IGN ever could. They are also the ones who will always be affected most by the inevitable screwups that always-online DRM will bring.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Cities XL looks pretty good right now.

 

[-Brett-]

Always connected to the Internet =/= removing single-player.

Since most people are already always connected to the internet, I don't understand the gripe.

What happens wheen EA announces SimCity 2015 and kill their existing SimCity servers? This is EA who HAVE killed servers for games only a year or two old.

In the even shorter term, there are any number of reasons the internet might go down even at home. Then there's travel. Depending on where and why, taking your laptop and doing a little gaming isn't unreasonable. In those conditions internet is even more unreliable/untrustworthy.

 

[B.J.]

^ Not to mention if you want to do some gaming while literally on the road, in a car/plane/bus/stagecoach.

 

[TheGodBen]

Always connected to the Internet =/= removing single-player.

Some of the reviews I've read have said that the game is balanced for multiplayer. Because the cities are so small, they can't do everything you might want, so you have to have multiple cities and trade between them. While it's possible to play a region by yourself, the asynchronous nature of the cities makes that repetitive and time consuming (especially now that the option to fast-forward has been disabled).

For example, this quote:

Yes, it is entirely possible to play SimCity on your own, without any other players, but this is not really ideal. If you're managing multiple cities in a region, that turns an already intense time suck into a more stressful endeavor. I did not enjoy the act of trying to balance multiple cities in a region by myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm generally of the mindset that games like SimCity should be played in tomb-like isolation, but that isn't how this SimCity is meant to be played. It's meant to be played with friends. To try and fight against its multiplayer is to fight against the very nature of this game's design.

Granted, you've actually played the game so you know whether or not that's the case better than I do, but I've read that sort of commentary in a couple of places.

When they shut down, someone will have cracked it and you can still play it.

Maybe. The region stuff, which is a huge part of this game, is handled entirely on the servers and the only people that have access to that code are the guys at Maxis. To make a working cracked version of the game, hackers are going to have to reverse engineer whatever the servers are doing purely by monitoring packets being transmitted between the game and the servers. Depending on how intricate the regional stuff is, which is something we don't really know right now, it could take years to get a working crack running, and even then it probably wont perfectly emulate the game's servers. Alternatively, someone at Maxis could anonymously leak the region code to facilitate the creation of a crack, but that's unlikely.

Cities XL looks pretty good right now.

If only I could upgrade roads in that game without having to demolish everything on either side. It's especially annoying if you use curved roads everywhere to create an organic look to the city, like I normally do. This new SimCity doesn't seem to have that problem.

 

[firehawk12]

So, has anyone tried to play together yet? I wouldn't mind joining a region.

 

[Saturn0660]

Hell, i'm pissed that all the early stuff i read said it was going to be Win and OSX.. saw the box.. PC only.. Fail..

 

[Squiggy]

If you've kept up with it, you would've known for the past couple of months that the March 5 release was going to be PC only.

Not a fail on their part.

 

[bigdaddy]

^ Not to mention if you want to do some gaming while literally on the road, in a car/plane/bus/stagecoach.

I was hoping to play it on a train trip that's 9-10 hours long without wifi. I guess that isn't happening now.

 

[ThunderAeroI]

Once I'm finished with Tomb Raider (A really great game), Ill try SimCity again - if I can.

Look me up on Origin: AerodromeLander.

 

[ATimson]

I was hoping to play it on a train trip that's 9-10 hours long without wifi. I guess that isn't happening now.

"Now"? That was never on the cards...