Mako Posted March 6, 2013 Posted March 6, 2013 Played the closed beta. Didn't click with me, so I'll continue playing SimCity 4. I recorded footage but the NDA was still in effect. They lifted it and I didn't notice, was planning on making a video about it but was beaten to it by the interwebs. Instead I wrote an article about it, which is summed up in my first sentence ^. I'll probably pick it up when it crashes in price (if that ever happens with EA).
sonofsanta Posted March 6, 2013 Posted March 6, 2013 Ars weren't very impressed, and I've got to say, whilst I knew from previews that the city size was going to be smaller, I wasn't ready for this much smaller. With always-on DRM that is currently broken, I fear I'll be skipping this now. Which is a shame, as the GlassBox engine sounded very cool early on, and it looks gorgeous, and it's been ages since a proper SimCity... but alas, this will fail due to all its crippling stupidities, and then EA will decide it didn't sell because there's no demand for SimCity games, and we'll go another ten years without one. A point to ponder on the always-online: even if you think it does add to the game (I remain unconvinced), EA have a habit of shutting down game servers after only two years of release. I can still play Sim City 2000 today, nearly twenty years on; I'll be surprised if this Sim City is running in 2016
featured_spectre Posted March 6, 2013 Posted March 6, 2013 I wonder...do I rebuild Nephilopolis...hmmm
CAM Posted March 6, 2013 Author Posted March 6, 2013 Well it looks like the situation has been getting worse. Lost cities, people still unable to connect, the game appearing in libraries up to 3 hours after activation with no message and the gaming press going from praising the game to labelling the launch as "A complete PR disaster." Well done EA. I can't see it being fixed in time for the UK release at the end of the week somehow.
TechMonkey Posted March 6, 2013 Posted March 6, 2013 (edited) That's why I am glad the UK is last on the release schedule. US can iron out the bugs for us. Though lets be honest, what online game hasn't had trouble in the first few days? WoW was plagued with problems for months but grew into one of the biggest games to ever be released. Yeah SimCity is a bit weird, it's a city simulator with MMO-style features in. I do think the anti-online crowd are going a bit far though. You cannot read anything without someone reciting the same thing again and again and again, with HUKD and Metacritic getting bombed by people who haven't even played it! There are a lot of reasons for online and how it works though: - Regional effects. If you are a bad neighbour and have high crime and high pollution, other cities in your region, likely your friends, will be affected by it. - Inter-city services. If your bad neighbour has high crime or high pollution, volunteer some Police or Garbage trucks to clean it up and earn some money in return. - Regional resource trade for city "wonders" which requires cities to contribute so many resources. - Global resource trade on the Global Market. You aren't playing one region, you are playing the entire world. If none of your neighbours have use for stockpiled resources you can buy/sell on the market. Important as a city may not have all the resources required. It's really easy to look at the game and go "Single player city simulator, no online needed." But I can see from the devs point of view for their reasoning behind an online service and I agree with it for once. I thought the same until I watched videos of the game and the recent Lets All Be Mayor series and there is so much interconnection between cities that even if you were able to go offline, you'd be missing out on a huge part of the game. This isn't the single player Simcity of past titles, it's a new genre of Massively Multiplayer Online City Simulator Game (MMOSCG?). For the record: Not an EA fanboy. Hate how they operate for the most part, but feel the community might be making a storm in a teacup over this one. One reviewer managed to foul up their city and I think abandoned it and the other reviewer on their map was absolutely shafted. I think the first reviewer was running the power station and when it crumbled the other city had no power so its whole economy flat lined. This isn't what I want from a game, that someone else can radically change my experience and kill my creation. If someone goes for coal mining to make a quick buck suddenly I get the health implications. Yes have an online component that people can play but have it so I can beaver away creating my almighty metropolis peacefully in the corner. I know you can do that by marking your region as private/secret but why then do I need to be on line. Which also brings me on to the city sizes. They are tiny. SimTown, not SimCity. I'll dig out the review that had the reviewers at odds. EDIT: Here it is on Kotaku Edited March 6, 2013 by TechMonkey
Ghostgame Posted March 6, 2013 Posted March 6, 2013 I like the idea of other players having an impact on the City that you build. I have played alot of city builders and I have found that they can lose there challenge pretty quickly once you work out the best way of building a city. With this MMO element, not only do you have to find the best way of building a city but you have to adapt tp what another player has done on another part of the map. Adds an extra challenge to keep your city alive and profitable. Plus I hope they get SIMcopter(?) back.
TechMonkey Posted March 6, 2013 Posted March 6, 2013 I'm still going to get it if my Mac will run it. & SIMcopter would be a bonus, I actually loved that game!!
CHR1S Posted March 6, 2013 Posted March 6, 2013 (edited) Simcopter, that brings back memories What graphics! http://www.theisozone.com/downloads/pc/windows-games/sim-copter-usa/ As best as I can tell its abandonware, please remove the link if anyone knows otherwise! ([PROTECTED] until October 31st, 2011 by Electronic Arts, Inc.) Edited March 6, 2013 by CHR1S
CAM Posted March 6, 2013 Author Posted March 6, 2013 One reviewer managed to foul up their city and I think abandoned it and the other reviewer on their map was absolutely shafted. I think the first reviewer was running the power station and when it crumbled the other city had no power so its whole economy flat lined. This isn't what I want from a game, that someone else can radically change my experience and kill my creation. If someone goes for coal mining to make a quick buck suddenly I get the health implications. Yes have an online component that people can play but have it so I can beaver away creating my almighty metropolis peacefully in the corner. I know you can do that by marking your region as private/secret but why then do I need to be on line. Which also brings me on to the city sizes. They are tiny. SimTown, not SimCity. I'll dig out the review that had the reviewers at odds. EDIT: Here it is on Kotaku Seems like a bonus for me. Keep a backup plan, don't bust all your money on shiny toys and save a bit for when the fan turns a queasy shade.
localzuk Posted March 6, 2013 Posted March 6, 2013 The day I pay £64.99 for a game will be the day I am sent to the loony bin (note: this does not include Anno games)...
TechMonkey Posted March 6, 2013 Posted March 6, 2013 You can get for £35. £65 is for the Deluxe version from Origin. I think even Amazon are doing the Deluxe version cheaper
synaesthesia Posted March 7, 2013 Posted March 7, 2013 EA really are taking the biscuit these days. This is another one of many thousands of legitimate complaints about SimCity and Origin: http://imgur.com/gallery/lAnTGEM I don't understand why EA, as big as they are, can't make Origin work in this day and age. I mean how difficult is it, when a relatively tiny company like Valve could make Steam work back in the days when the majority used 56k modems.... It's all a farce designed to stop people pirating the game and it also ruins their reputation, the gameplay for the users. It's diabolical and the sooner they realise that, the better. I've yet to install my copy even though it cost me nothing, and I've also stopped liaising with them for PR events on IRC (leaving it to a colleague). I can't bear to work with that class of git.
DMcGuigan Posted March 7, 2013 Posted March 7, 2013 I can't wait until I start hearing about EVE levels of shenanigans from this... Create city with nuclear power plant. Sell power to others in the region. Wait until they buy something that you know will almost exhaust their funds. Shut down power plant, leaving the cities with no power, and now crime and fires. I've seen some evil suggestions on my travels around the internets OT Though, not a game I've ever really played much of, so I doubt I'll pick it up unless I see it dirt cheap like Steam did with Sim City 4. Although I do like the idea of being able to sell power, services, etc to other cities.
Ghostgame Posted March 7, 2013 Posted March 7, 2013 Sounds like an average day on Eve Online. Basically be very careful of who you trust. But once you know u can trust them could turn out to be an amazing experience.
localzuk Posted March 7, 2013 Posted March 7, 2013 From what I've heard, they have 4 more DLC packs planned for it too, on top of those in the deluxe pack at the moment. They will be sold at $20 each... Not to mention, EA have a habit of turning off servers after a relatively short time. In some examples, they turned them off within a year or 2. (Fifa 2011 for example). So, if you fancy putting that much money into a game that will more than likely be completely unusable in a couple of years, feel free! I just don't get why they are behaving like this, you get more customers if you treat them right...
Arthur Posted March 7, 2013 Posted March 7, 2013 Amazon stops selling Sim City V over game issues :eek: http://i.imgur.com/KztY5q0.png
CAM Posted March 8, 2013 Author Posted March 8, 2013 I saw that last night but it appears Amazon have put it back on according to that link. US only though (Guess they are wary of EU consumer rights being far more in favour of the customer these days ).
Quackers Posted March 8, 2013 Posted March 8, 2013 I tried to click buy this morning, Server error . I see endless posts of people having issues connecting. I am really tempted to just not bother, i am dying to play this game so much but part of me really does not want to support EA for using DRM by buying this game, great looking game wrecked by a bad company.
sted Posted March 8, 2013 Posted March 8, 2013 out of curiosity with their other drm online only games what happens when they turn off the server do they patch it so you can play anyway or is that it?
X-13 Posted March 8, 2013 Posted March 8, 2013 out of curiosity with their other drm online only games what happens when they turn off the server do they patch it so you can play anyway or is that it? That's it. If it's popular enough then you have private servers you can use. Otherwise, ypu have to hope someone reverse engineers it. Like people are trying to do with matrix online.
localzuk Posted March 8, 2013 Posted March 8, 2013 out of curiosity with their other drm online only games what happens when they turn off the server do they patch it so you can play anyway or is that it? Depends. SIMS 2 online functionality was just cut off, end of. Dunno if there's any reverse engineering stuff going on to try and get something back but there's no private servers that I know of. That's one of the things with DRM - always online DRM is a relatively new thing, so we haven't really seen a massive amount of fallout from it yet. Yes, there have been online games where servers have been shut down, and there are games with online requirements but most of them have offline modes. For example, Anno 2070 has an always on requirement, but it also allows you to play games just fine offline, just with the online functionality disabled. See, if Sim City was < £30, I probably would buy it, DRM or not. The issues will be solved eventually but the prices I've seen just don't make me want to pay for something that might stop working.
sonofsanta Posted March 8, 2013 Posted March 8, 2013 Depends. SIMS 2 online functionality was just cut off, end of. Dunno if there's any reverse engineering stuff going on to try and get something back but there's no private servers that I know of. Any attempt to reverse engineer the server will likely be shot down in the courts, as Blizzard did with bnetd. And even though it would be reverse-engineering solely so people could continue to enjoy the product and not for profit, I can guarantee you 100% that EA would still sue the backside off it, just as a corporate knee-jerk and to avoid setting a precedent. These are companies that fight abandonware, after all; products they have actively taken off sale so cannot possibly be losing money from, yet still they will threaten with takedowns. Game publishers are becoming altogether too much like music publishers at the moment
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