EA Admits That SimCity Could Have Been Offline

[CardinalPiggles]

A private region and offline mode are different how?

Oh that's right, for one you're locked down in DRM. How stupid do they think people are? And of course someone is going to break their game, why lie about it?

Never was interested in this game, but I wanted to say my piece.

And bravo to the article for playing the devils advocate, but I'm sure most people here prefer freedom over constant (dictated by the servers being available) save files.

 

[Agente L]

What's up with every developer now having a "vision" about making singleplayer games into multiplayer games?

What next? Super meat boy online? Trine Online? Dragon Age online? Tropico 5 Online edition?

 

[Something Amyss]

"The SimCity we delivered captures the magic of its heritage but catches up with ever-improving technology," Bradshaw adds.

I...What...I...WHAT?

Look at launch. Ever-improving technology? You guys have demonstrated the WORST element of an emerging technology.

My head. It hurts.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Uh huh

And tell me, is there ANY reason that you couldn't have provided both?

It would literally take NO work on your part, none what so ever.

I want ONE reason that we couldn't have had both

I imagine it took more time to make it always online than it would have to allow both, ironically.

 

[Something Amyss]

Well, your main rebuttal will be that ME3's story did not render the game completely unplayable whereas Simcity's online requirement and the once again failure to predict launch numbers did. Don't get me wrong, I think Mass Effect 3's story was a pile of re-fried garbage fisted out of a mandrill's anus for more than just its ending, but that's off topic.

Still, artistic vision.

<a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/116537-New-SimCity-Will-Require-Always-On-Internet-UPDATED>Did'n't we know Sim City would be always online a year ago?

Yes, but do you expect gamers to actually not buy a product, just because of known and expected flaws?

You know what you can do?

Turn it off.

I am sure you could patch in no always on DRM within a week, or ask the modder what he did.

Otherwise...

Well, if the modder can figure out how to turn off the DRM, the pirating sites will be flooded with the game by tomorrow.

Isn't this "mod" admittedly incomplete? If so, that kinda puts a damper on circumvention.

Honestly, the better solution for gamers would be to, as you put it, "turn it off." Whatever the intent, torrenting the game sends the message to EA that you want to game and only won't pay because you don't have to.

Yes, I know this isn't "the" reason people pirate a game, but that's their takeaway.

What would be awesome is if people decided not to buy or pirate a game. To send the message that they aren't going to put up with this, and that there's no excuse. EA will have trouble continuing this sort of practice if the message is unambiguous.

But alas, that kind of wishful thinking is as likely as John Riccitiello being visited by three ghosts that show him the error of his ways, so he decides to change EA's business practices out of the kindness of his heart.

And as such, I'll leave you with this haunting tale...


God bless us, everyone.

 

[Something Amyss]

Uh huh

And tell me, is there ANY reason that you couldn't have provided both?

It would literally take NO work on your part, none what so ever.

I want ONE reason that we couldn't have had both

I imagine it took more time to make it always online than it would have to allow both, ironically.

I could see that as true, sadly.

 

[Evil Smurf]

<a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/116537-New-SimCity-Will-Require-Always-On-Internet-UPDATED>Did'n't we know Sim City would be always online a year ago?

Yes, but do you expect gamers to actually not buy a product, just because of known and expected flaws?

I expect people to research the product before they buy it. Then they will know what to expect, I do. I'm never disappointed.

 

[Something Amyss]

I expect people to research the product before they buy it. Then they will know what to expect, I do. I'm never disappointed.

Unfortunately, this is an unrealistic expectation.

 

[mokes310]

snip

Just saying it could easily just be her repeating something EA's PR team told her to say.

That's exactly what it is! EA & Maxis are doing major damage control right now. My only wonder is how much longer things like this will go on? I mean, we can either reject or adopt, and I sure hope we don't adopt this new "artistic vision."

 

[McMullen]

"But we rejected that idea because it didn't fit with our vision."

Wait a minute then, what was that talk yesterday about how the game was for the fans then? And if it was for the fans and they voluntarily rejected it because of their vision, why lie about the necessity of it being always-online? And if it's for the fans and you know some of the fans want a single player experience, why wasn't online connectivity optional?

Ms. Bradshaw, you've been caught lying, and you are still lying, and your lies have, for a few days now, been so dense and contradictory that the only thing you can say anymore and have people believe is the truth that your lies have revealed: You made it always online because either Maxis or EA wanted it to be always online, it was never about what the customer wanted, and you still do not give a damn what the customer wants.

 

[CrimsonBlack]

Who are these people who they're hearing from ("thousands of people who are playing across regions, trading, communicating and loving the Always-Connected functionality")?

Seriously, who are these people?

 

[Kellogs Fried Chickn]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't SimCity have a single player component? If so, then how would making that offline affect the multiplayer game? You could have had both!

No, it would be difficult to pursue the post-purchase micro transaction monetization with offline players.

 

[seditary]

Why couldn't I just have an offline region where I control all the cities in it?
You could have your "connected vision" and I could have my offline game.

If I ever get SimCity I won't let someone else in my region.

That's basically what I was thinking the whole time I was reading.

They can still have their vision by having the one player make and run all the cities, people can do that now with a private region but making it offline means shit works better and doesn't fuck up EA's servers. Hell they could even improve the 'connected vision' of the cities by making switching quicker or seamless.

The only reason I can see to not have it single player is control and to sell DLC.

 

[spartandude]

"It's not our place to question Maxis' artistic vision"

No, it is exactly the place of the paying customers and fans to question it's "artistic vision"

ok, i think ive found my new soul mate

 

[Wraithsight]

"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."

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahah.
Ahaha....
Haaa....


ALT TEXT:
Yes, you are hearing thousands saying they like the always-connected features. While MILLIONS are complaining about those same features.

 

[Grabehn]

"We also heard about millions who enjoyed the always connected functionality" I play games to be enjoy and play by myself, and there's a lot of people that do the same. Does that mean that every game should be singleplayer only? Not really.

But making it "process" on a server, especially if it's EA, that is know for having little to no consideration for those who use those, it was a bad idea since the beginning, no game "NEEDS" to do that, and not having that function doesn't make a game use a huge amount of space on a HDD, There's no point to have a cloud "only" functionality if only to force FRM on the people that bought the game.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

[

You know what you can do?

Turn it off.

I am sure you could patch in no always on DRM within a week, or ask the modder what he did.

Otherwise...

Well, if the modder can figure out how to turn off the DRM, the pirating sites will be flooded with the game by tomorrow.

Isn't this "mod" admittedly incomplete? If so, that kinda puts a damper on circumvention.

Honestly, the better solution for gamers would be to, as you put it, "turn it off." Whatever the intent, torrenting the game sends the message to EA that you want to game and only won't pay because you don't have to.

Yes, I know this isn't "the" reason people pirate a game, but that's their takeaway.

What would be awesome is if people decided not to buy or pirate a game. To send the message that they aren't going to put up with this, and that there's no excuse. EA will have trouble continuing this sort of practice if the message is unambiguous.

But alas, that kind of wishful thinking is as likely as John Riccitiello being visited by three ghosts that show him the error of his ways, so he decides to change EA's business practices out of the kindness of his heart.

You misunderstood me.

The point of DRM is to prevent piracy. I am saying that DRM is going to cause what would of been paying customers TO pirate the game. Once this mod is complete or the game is cracked, which will be sooner than later, it will be on torrents. How many people, seeing the screen shots of 30 minute wait times, memory being destroyed, and the removal of features just to take a load off the servers, many people will just say screw it, this is not worth it, let's get it off pirate bay.

I am not saying people SHOULD pirate this game. I am not planning to. My computer couldn't even run the game if I wanted to (stupid mac >_<). I am just saying, because of DRM, more people would of bought this game than if there was no DRM.

And as such, I'll leave you with this haunting tale...


God bless us, everyone.

Ok... your kind of creeping me out... >_>

 

[Aaron Sylvester]

Everyone should VERY happy that a fuck-up like this happened on such a grand scale, that too with an EA title. After the massive success of Diablo 3, did you guys know how many developers were planning always-online DRM for their games? An uncomfortably large number. Error 37 was an acceptable calculated loss and it worked out in the end, other developers saw it as a huge success.
The prospect of a whole bunch of franchises switching to always-online DRM was scary as fuck...but now we have less to worry about thanks to EA. They just showed the world how badly, badly wrong something like always-online can go. Unfortunately Ubisoft's mess-ups with DRM didn't make a big-enough impact, but someone finally helped drive another nail into the coffin - Maxis+EA!

To genuine SimCity fans who were hurt in the process, yeah sorry about that, but you were a much-needed part of this event. This wouldn't have been possible without you...you are helping save the others from getting their favorite franchises cannibalized by the worst kinds of DRM! Thank you!

And thank Maxis's "vision". I don't know whether that was just something Lucy Bradshaw pulled out of her ass, or whether she is genuinely that stupid, or whether she's just a female face for the company.

 

[Michael Collett]

I've recently got into the CBs with Tropico 4 and loved it. I was really looking forward to Simcity - but I didn't buy it on launch as soon as I heard the Always Online and Multiplayer aspects.

CB's are not, or ever had been good for multiplayer. Particularly not this 'Farmville'-esque multiplayer imitation. I just wanted them to give me a block of terrain, a bunch or pretty things to plop down and thousands of people to do my bidding and/or die horrible deaths depending on my mood.

But I could have accepted all this jarring MP bullshit I was just going to ignore anyway, even the always online (I have a decent connection) if they could manage a launch right. Why is it when a game with always-online comes out everyone is so damn surprised about the server load? You know what? Buy 10 X the servers your internal beta and market researchers guesstimated. Then you got no issues and you can always trim them down once the post-launch surge drops off. Then you could repurpose those servers for your next game launch. An expensive capital cost but you prevent everyone hating you forever.

As for me now, just waiting for an offline patch or crack and to buy this when it comes down on a steam sale when they start trying to shift copies before the next shareholders meeting at EA...