Sim City 5: "players were having such a good time they didn't want to leave"

[pilonv1]

diggery-doos

That's not even spelled correctly oscar 

[Flannel Boy]

diggery-doos

That's not even spelled correctly oscar 

He doos not care.

[benjipwns]

[mjemirzian]

On one hand, I feel bad for ppl that bought it. On the other hand, it's EA, they should have known better.

[benjipwns]

I hate to disturb you when you’re playing SimCity, but I’d like to offer some straight answers on the topic: Always-Connected and why SimCity is not an offline experience.

Always-Connected is a big change from SimCities of the past.  It didn’t come down as an order from corporate and it isn’t a clandestine strategy to control players.  It’s fundamental to the vision we had for this SimCity.  From the ground up, we designed this game with multiplayer in mind – using new technology to realize a vision of players connected in regions to create a SimCity that captured the dynamism of the world we live in; a global, ever-changing, social world.

We put a ton of effort into making our simulation and graphics engines more detailed than ever and to give players lively and responsive cities. We also made innovative use of servers to move aspects of the simulation into the cloud to support region play and social features. Here’s just a few:

We keep the simulation state of the region up to date for all players.  Even when playing solo, this keeps the interactions between cities up to date in a shared view of the world.
Players who want to reach the peak of each specialization can count on surrounding cities to provide services or resources, even workers.  As other players build, your city can draw on their resources.
Our Great Works rely on contributions from multiple cities in a region.  Connected services keep each player’s contributions updated and the progression on Great Works moving ahead.
All of our social world features - world challenges, world events, world leaderboards and world achievements - use our servers to update the status of all cities.
Our servers handle gifts between players.
We’ve created a dynamic supply and demand model for trading by keeping a Global Market updated with changing demands on key resources.
We update each city’s visual representation as well.  If you visit another player’s city, you’ll see the most up to date visual status.
We even check to make sure that all the cities saved are legit, so that the region play, leaderboards, challenges and achievements rewards and status have integrity.
Cloud-based saves and easy access from any computer are another advantage of our connected features.  You can pop from work to home, play the game and have your cities available to you anywhere.

Almost all of our players play with connected cities. But some chose to play alone – running the cities themselves.   But whether they play solo or multiplayer, they are drawn to the connected city experience. And Always-Connected provides a platform for future social features that will play out over regions and servers.

The game we launched is only the beginning for us – it’s not final and it never will be.  In many ways, we built an MMO.

So, could we have built a subset offline mode?  Yes.  But we rejected that idea because it didn’t fit with our vision.  We did not focus on the “single city in isolation” that we have delivered in past SimCities.  We recognize that there are fans – people who love the original SimCity – who want that.  But we’re also hearing from thousands of people who are playing across regions, trading, communicating and loving the Always-Connected functionality.   The SimCity we delivered captures the magic of its heritage but catches up with ever-improving technology.   

So I’ll finish with another HUGE thanks to everyone who stuck with us through this launch.  Hundreds of thousands are building and sharing cities online now.  And what you’re creating just blows us away.  SimCity is a special game, with a very special community of players, and we’re proud to be a part of it.

http://www.ea.com/news/simcity-update-straight-answers-from-lucy

[Great Rumbler]

Social gaming can go eat a giant bag of smelly butts. I want to get the full experience out of the games I play without having to interact with the slobbering hordes that infest the internet, I want to "play in isolation" because I'm not some mongler that gets off on being a social butterfly with thousands of internet friends.

[Kim Kardashians Butt]

Social gaming can go eat a giant bag of smelly butts.

Hey.

Hey.

[Flannel Boy]

leper please.

[Great Rumbler]

Enough is enough, guys, I'm not going to take this sitting down anymore.

[BobFromPikeCreek]

I hate to disturb you when you’re playing SimCity

 

[Stoney Mason]

Yeah, I'm almost posted that response from that EA person earlier because it got me really mad but I got busy and didn't get around to it.

I'll be honest and say I kind of avoided this thread and others like it because I think people are over-reacting a bit to a lot of this SimCity stuff. I think lots of games ship with bugs and issues like this. Battlefield 3 for instance shipped in a pretty fucked up state imo. Equal to this if not worse. I think it just takes time and you have to wait to see the balance patches and such.


That being said that posting so pissed me off because it was such a bald faced lie. They just refuse to admit that the reason they did this and continue to do this is DMR reasons and DLC reasons. It's an economic issue, and not a pure artistic reason like they are trying to present it. And you know I even understand that they can't say that. We live in a world where people just can't admit the truth about certain things and certain consumers are equally to blame because they won't accept reality about certain economic realities. So its better imo if they said absolutely nothing because if you can't give me the truth then I prefer silence to just being utterly lied to. Maybe I'm a weirdo but if they just flat-out said hey we did this partially because of the economic realities of the market, personally I would be fine with that. I may not necessarily love it but at least its honest and I can accept that.

But to then come out and pretend that they thought everybody in the world would prefer the game to be this way and that's why you wouldn't even consider including an option to play a game in the way it has been since the series started in fucking 1989 is such a piss in your face, lie in your face move, that it actually makes me really really really angry. I like to pride myself generally speaking in that I never pull those forum tough guys moves about refusing to buy a game, or a console, or something from a publisher because I think people generally sound absolutely silly when they take such stances. But I'm going to do that same thing I hate and say I refuse to fucking buy this version of SimCity on principle unless they add in an off-line mode. And its not like I even care about such a thing. I would play it online. It actually being Online DRM doesn't bother me because I realize that's the world we live in economically. But don't fucking kick me in the nuts and pretend like you did me a favor. That just makes me angry. I don't even know why they let her post that message. It's horrible. It's like saying we hear what you're saying but fuck you. It was like the worst possible PR response imo.

[Damian79]

Agreed, i want my money back cuz of that shit.

[maxy]

If gaming industry thinks that this always connected social stuff will help them and make unwashed masses buy games then
...
..
.

[benjipwns]

Look, it's worked for a few people, why do you have to be so negative and assume it can't scale up infinitely until we have the entire global population as our customers?

[Great Rumbler]

Look, it's worked for a few people, why do you have to be so negative and assume it can't scale up infinitely until we have the entire global population as our customers?

"Hey, Blizzard is making billions off an MMO, there's no reason why we can't, too!"

[mjemirzian]

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/SimCity-Hack-Lets-Users-Destroy-Anyone-Online-City-Thanks-Always-DRM-53685.html

Online game are the future, guys.

[Damian79]

That isnt synced to the servers though i wonder if it would.

[Great Rumbler]

That isnt synced to the servers though i wonder if it would.

Well, it does say this:

Modders have also discovered that it's possible to mess with files client-side to affect server-side activity.

[Damian79]

That isnt synced to the servers though i wonder if it would.

Well, it does say this:

Modders have also discovered that it's possible to mess with files client-side to affect server-side activity.

Check the info on the youtube vid.  It hasnt synced.  So i dunno if it affects peoples games just yet.

[OptimoPeach]

EA forum member LeLedg and others have accidentally discovered in a thread about customers trying to make a legitimate SimCity complaints, EA is preventing the customer assistance hotline number from even appearing in the forums. When you type out the number 866-543-5435, it is replaced by an asterisk, a common message board function typically used to block course language. Just to be safe, the forum-goers typed other permutations of the number in addition to completely different phone numbers -- it's only EA's number that's censored

http://www.destructoid.com/ea-censors-its-own-support-number-on-its-forums-248865.phtml

lol.

Glad I missed the hype train on this one.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Thats bad but companies like telltale games dont even have customer support.

[Eel O'Brian]

"If you're having problems, don't hesitate to call customer support!"
"What's the number?"
"Hammumumumumufive."
"What?"
"Sibibibibibibithree."
"What?"
"If you're having problems, don't hesitate to call customer support!"

[Cerveza mas fina]

I think not having it is worse, since there is no one to contact. Hiding the number is just laughable and stupid.

[ManaByte]

Origin outright banning people who complain about the game now:


If you bought the game digitally off Amazon, EA is removing it from your Origin account:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=524877

[Kim Kardashians Butt]

Holy shit. This is the worst train wreck of a release I've ever seen. This is just flat out evil shit. I mean, I knew the game would suck...but THIS! 

[Flannel Boy]

 kNetDownForceQuitAfterMinutes : 20

 

[Sho Nuff]

kNetDownForceQuitAfterMinutes : 20

 

Fucking. Incredible.

You cannot lie to your customers anymore.

[pilonv1]

I would ask which monkeys they had program this but even monkey's wouldn't be so blatantly stupid

[ManaByte]

These are the free games people can pick from:

Battlefield 3 (Standard Edition)
Bejeweled 3
Dead Space 3 (Standard Edition)
Mass Effect 3 (Standard Edition)
Medal of Honor Warfighter (Standard Edition) 
Need For Speed Most Wanted (Standard Edition)
Plants vs. Zombies
SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition

[Great Rumbler]

SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition

[Cerveza mas fina]

 

Brutal

[Steve Contra]

 

That's actually a decent "we fucked bad" list.

[cool breeze]

presumably the audience for sim city extends outside the typical gamor.  ignoring that five of the lot require a decent PC, and only one of those isn't about murdering people (rated M), you're left with a slim selection of old and cheap games.  you'd think EA would have a more eclectic range of games.

that said, it's a good selection if you're into those games.  Dead Space 3 came out last month, I think.

[ManaByte]

Dead Space 3 is already down to $40 most places, so it's still not the same as the $60 Sim City.

[Kim Kardashians Butt]

presumably the audience for sim city extends outside the typical gamor.  ignoring that five of the lot require a decent PC, and only one of those isn't about murdering people (rated M), you're left with a slim selection of old and cheap games.  you'd think EA would have a more eclectic range of games.

that said, it's a good selection if you're into those games.  Dead Space 3 came out last month, I think.

Um....

Four.

[cool breeze]

was that unclear?

[Kim Kardashians Butt]

You said only one of those games in that list isn't about murdering people when there are four games. Unless I'm misunderstanding your point.

[BobFromPikeCreek]

I think he was saying that of the five games that require a good PC only one isn't about killing people.

[cool breeze]

^yes. sorry if that was unclear.

and at least I don't think Sim City requires a good PC.  these types of games tend to scale well to work on weaker systems.

[Great Rumbler]

Here are some shots from Cities XL 2012 [which is on sale on Steam]:

[Kim Kardashians Butt]

someone buy it and post impressions

[Stoney Mason]

Here are some shots from Cities XL 2012 [which is on sale on Steam]:

Everybody is too busy playing SimCity to notice.

 

Despite all of its launch complications, EA Maxis' series reboot SimCity has managed to sell over one million copies since launching two weeks ago. EA reports this is the biggest launch for the franchise, the majority of players – 54%, EA says – choosing to download SimCity. In fact, EA says 44% of total SimCity sales went directly through the publisher's digital distribution platform, Origin.

[ManaByte]

Satan quits EA...again:

http://kotaku.com/5991181/ea-ceo-john-riccitiello-steps-down

[Stoney Mason]

Satan quits EA...again:

http://kotaku.com/5991181/ea-ceo-john-riccitiello-steps-down

This is thread worthy.

[ManaByte]

Satan quits EA...again:

http://kotaku.com/5991181/ea-ceo-john-riccitiello-steps-down

He had a good plan coming back into the company! We got a bunch of good games and new IPs.

He also gave $200 million to the chimpanzees who fucked up the launch of Star Wars Galaxies to make a another subscription-based Star Wars MMO.

[Steve Contra]

I would love for the whole story about that to come out some day.  Hopefully now it will.

[mjemirzian]

I thought EA and Activision's strategy for years has been to buy out valued or upcoming IPs, run them into the dirt for a quick buck, then bail out with fat pensions before it all implodes. This is nothing new.

[pilonv1]

http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1bb604/i_present_to_you_megabumtopia_one_1801800/

tl;dr

1.8million pop city, residental only. No Power, no water, no jobs, no fires, no crime, no sick people, no taxes...

[Himu]

This game is broke as fuck

[Sho Nuff]

http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1bb604/i_present_to_you_megabumtopia_one_1801800/

tl;dr

1.8million pop city, residental only. No Power, no water, no jobs, no fires, no crime, no sick people, no taxes...

Fucking incredible

[Rufus]

Why simulate anything if it's just there to look neat? Minecraft has more consequence than this.

[pilonv1]

http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/9416786.page?ClickID=bfmqqlv1ks6kumnsfddfygzfnvn1mzzuggve

Need an extra incentive to go green in SimCity? Maybe you need a little boost in the form of the new Nissan LEAF® Charging Station that is available today. This free in-game item is the perfect way to kick start your desire to create a city that will make you (and your Sims) happy. In the case of your Sims, In the case of your Sims, the Charging Station provides happiness to the Sims that use it and a onetime wave of happiness to the nearby businesses. Need another bonus? It produces no sewage or garbage. That’s right! Green indeed.

To redeem the Charging Station, just visit this Origin page (http://tinyurl.com/cculs88) and then restart your game in order for it to appear. You will need to use the same Origin ID that you use to play SimCity.

3. Is there additional gameplay added?
Plopping down the Nissan LEAF® Charging Station will add happiness to nearby buildings. Adding the Charging Station will not take power, water or workers away from your city. Zoom in to the streets of cities and players will start seeing a percentage of their Sims from all wealth classes driving the electric vehicles. The Charging Station produces no garbage or sewage as well making it pollution free.

 

[Himu]

Hahahaha I see they're still rolling with that shitty pre release PR.

[Great Rumbler]

Now, they're just trolling.

[Joe Molotov]

So just raise taxes to some ridiculous amount and then plop a few Charging Stations down to make everyone happy? Obama's America. 

[Boogie]

Moose Jaw

Moose Jaw's really not that special.

Well, except for the giant Moose, of course.

[Flannel Boy]

His jaw ain't that great.

[mjemirzian]

So just raise taxes to some ridiculous amount and then plop a few Charging Stations down to make everyone happy? Obama's America. 

So you get to pay $59.99 for an online-only game with broken mechanics where they throw ads at you. Splendid. They've nailed the coffin on the SimCity franchise.

[pilonv1]

2.0 patch is live, let's check how things are progressing






 :rudy

[pilonv1]

http://www.incgamers.com/2013/05/simcity-interview-with-maxis-kip-katsarelis/

A lot of times, what we are finding is there’s a new way to think about SimCity and how it works, and especially with the fans that have been with the franchise for a long time. They have a way in their mind that SimCity works and it sometimes goes against the grain of how this SimCity works.

One thing we are finding out is it’s just misinformation a lot of the time. What are perceived bugs are really just, well that’s the way the system is designed, and what we are trying to do is better communicate the design intentions through developer blogs, release gameplay

"It's not broken, you're playing it wrong!"

So you’re not actually looking at solutions to increase the zone size, but what you are looking at are ways to make things more efficient within the space that is currently provided, is that right?

Yes.

Oh well.

Also Sims can end up out of money because they don't get to work on time. Because the traffic is broken.

Just saw this too

One of the limitations of going with an agent-based simulation is we wanted to make sure that a fire engine for example obeys traffic and wasn’t running through cars and things like that. We wanted to have that integrity to everything.

With the limited space on the roads, for example, they can’t go through traffic right now because there are cars in the way and putting in special rules for the traffic lights to obey and recognise this is actually a big undertaking but it’s something we’re looking at.  It was just out of scope for launch.