Well can't blame EA for that. Now we just need some mods/hacks for improved ai pathfinding and larger cities and the game might be worth buying.
EA Removes Forum Posts for SimCity Offline Mod
- Thread starter Timothy Chang
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Welp... I guess EA Maxis was right when stating that it is not possible to play it offline - because they consider it hacking and breaking ToS!
Of course it is not that black and white if I have to play the devil's advocate - they are legally in the right here.
At any rate, at least EA must be having a field day in their legal and PR departments, this past year or two have probably given all of them more experience than most get in a lifetime in that field. Maybe also a headache or two.
Of course it is not that black and white if I have to play the devil's advocate - they are legally in the right here.
At any rate, at least EA must be having a field day in their legal and PR departments, this past year or two have probably given all of them more experience than most get in a lifetime in that field. Maybe also a headache or two.
If you think EA's bad take a look at some of the things that companies that control things that are actually important to society as a whole - banks, credit cards, oil & gas companies ... EA's just a bunch of incompetent clowns who don't actually understand the market they're trying to serve.Davroth said:
That's hilarious, this is clearly a mod, it isn't hacking anything. They aren't changing anything other than their own software and it does nothing to harm other players or the server. Someone get those people a dictionary with the two terms highlighted.
http://www.thetechgame.com/Archives/p=834584.html
"Modding/Mod - Modding is a slang expression that is derived from the verb "modify". Modding refers to the act of modifying a piece of hardware or software or anything else for that matter, to perform a function not originally conceived or intended by the designer. The term modding is often used within the computer game community, particularly in regard to creating new or altered content and sharing that via the web.
Hacking/Hack - In common usage, a hacker is a person who breaks into computers, usually by gaining access to administrative controls. The subculture that has evolved around hackers is often referred to as the computer underground. Proponents claim to be motivated by artistic and political ends, and are often unconcerned about the use of illegal means to achieve them."
Even though it may sidestep their always on DRM it does not make it a hack. The intention can be neutral (used to play legitimately purchased games offline).
http://www.thetechgame.com/Archives/p=834584.html
"Modding/Mod - Modding is a slang expression that is derived from the verb "modify". Modding refers to the act of modifying a piece of hardware or software or anything else for that matter, to perform a function not originally conceived or intended by the designer. The term modding is often used within the computer game community, particularly in regard to creating new or altered content and sharing that via the web.
Hacking/Hack - In common usage, a hacker is a person who breaks into computers, usually by gaining access to administrative controls. The subculture that has evolved around hackers is often referred to as the computer underground. Proponents claim to be motivated by artistic and political ends, and are often unconcerned about the use of illegal means to achieve them."
Even though it may sidestep their always on DRM it does not make it a hack. The intention can be neutral (used to play legitimately purchased games offline).
My suggestion is that we take all the money we save NOT buying EA's games and buy a few Congressmen to pass laws against this.Davroth said:
I mean, if game publishers can have high priced lawyers and lobbyists, and they get their money from us, why don't we get a few of those too?
Agreed. I'm having more fun reading about SimCity than if I had bought the gameMister Six said:
I guess it's because anything EA related is fun to be angry with (I hate them too) or maybe because people only read the title, but I am surprised that everyone is being disappointed/up in arms about this whole thing. I was rather pleased with the twitter response of Mr. Reynolds, he explained why they HAD to remove the forum posts and then quite clearly told everyone NOT to stop using the offline mod but to instead just talk about it somewhere else. It's very nearly official approval of the mod.
Or am I just reading this whole thing wrong?
Or am I just reading this whole thing wrong?
The part that bothers me is that they quite clearly got caught lying here, for no good reason at all. That should have repercussions of some sort, right? Right?cynicalsaint1 said:
So wait, there aren't already laws in place to protect the public from snakeoil salesmen? What strange times we live in...BaronIveagh said:
Under what laws?Davroth said:
Lying in and of itself isn't illegal.
There really isn't an angle for false advertising here seeing as saying they can't add an offline mode isn't really advertising and even if it was "significant engineering" is a phrase thats vague enough that you'd have a hard time disproving the truth behind it.
Claiming that the "Always Online" totally isn't mostly about DRM when it clearly is? Again - how are you going to prove anything? Its all subjective - you can sit there and go on and on about how important the region BS is to the game's experience all day. Even though its clear to us how much BS this is - its still your word against theirs and they made the game.
Depending on how they do the server checks, it can actually be fairly significant.Davroth said:
Of course, if that were the case, their programmers would have to have been pants-on-head retarded and/or pumped full of hallucinogens when they first wrote the code, but it is possible.
It is clearly a case of false advertising. They advertised that they would compute major parts of the game for you, so your computer didn't have to. This could be considered an advertised "service". Seeing as it's been proven that they compute nothing server side (aside from authentication), they are not delivering what was promised to their customers.cynicalsaint1 said:
This is shocking, people use a forum run by EA? I imagine there is more freedom in North Korea than on those boards.
Unless you're talking about EA's idea of success (we already got all their money from preorders and day-1 sales. WE HAVE VICTORY!), never assume that a game won't crash and burn until the public gets a chance to play it for themselves. A:CM, ME3, D3, and now SimCity should be proof enough of that.SomeLameStuff said:
I think all this debacle is being much more fun than the game itself. Single player games shouldn't be on-line only, unless there's a good reason that benefits players for that (DRM it is not).
I hope this hurts EA so badly that they re-think how they approach their whole business. The costumer is always first.
I hope this hurts EA so badly that they re-think how they approach their whole business. The costumer is always first.
I think we're all forgetting that there was a team of lawyers behind their comment.Adam Locking said:
The server IS performing processing. It's just that the processing is verifying that the copy is valid and verifying that the person is not cheating. As sneaky as that is it puts them in a safe spot.
That being said, they didn't advertise that the server's processing relieved any of the load on your machine. They didn't tout it as a selling point they said it to explain why they couldn't remove the always online structure. They are entirely safe in this regard albeit with a completely tarnished reputation.
It's remarkable that they decided to take the silent route. Guess they plan to just wait it out.
I'm not sure how the people who want things for free and the people trying to sell their wares can ever be on the same page.theultimateend said:
I say, blame it on the East India Company. If only they hadn't killed so many pirates...