Modder Proves That SimCity Works Offline

Earnest Cavalli

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Jun 19, 2008
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Modder Proves That SimCity Works Offline


Remember when EA told us all that SimCity wouldn't function without an internet connection? That's not strictly true, and a clever modder has seemingly proven as much.

Since its retail debut, SimCity has been widely harangued for its lack of functionality. The problem stems from the game's ostensible requirement that all players must have an active connection to the internet to enjoy what would otherwise be seen as a largely single player experience. This idea has been slammed over and over again by fans and critics ever since it was first revealed, but EA and developer Maxis stuck by their story, claiming that the internet connectivity was both necessary and beneficial to players.

Of course, once the game was released and EA's servers buckled under the strain of people simply trying to enjoy their newly-purchased game, the online requirement quickly became a noose around the title's neck. Despite this, EA continued to beat the same drum, saying all the problems would disappear once the server issues have been sorted out.

Unwilling to let a new game go to waste, a modder calling him or herself "UKAzzer" decided to do something about EA's scheme. By accessing SimCity's "secret" debug mode, UKAzzer was able to negate the game's prompts demanding players connect to the 'net. Normally after 20 minutes without an internet connection the game would boot players back to the main menu. As you can witness in a video UKAzzer uploaded to YouTube (see above), by removing the prompts, UKAzzer has effectively removed the game's online connectivity requirements.

Further, UKAzzer was also able to edit his or her city's freeway system in ways that the game normally wouldn't allow you to do. It's a neat trick, but it pales in comparison to the removal of the frustrating online issues.

Combined with the news we reported recently [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122654-Maxis-Developer-Denies-Need-For-Single-Player-SimCity-Servers] on a Maxis employee who claimed that the online scheme simply isn't necessary, this video drives home the point that SimCity does not inherently require an internet connection. EA has yet to officially comment on this (and our inquiries were met with a boilerplate "no comment), but we don't expect the company to reverse its stance on the game's most controversial feature.

Source: YouTube [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmce9oIxJag&feature=youtu.be]


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gigastar

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Sep 13, 2010
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More proof that EA is, more often than not, full of shit.

And more proof of companies saying that things cant be done (in this case, offline mode) is basically an invitation to hackers and modders to show that theyre full of shit.
 

The Artificially Prolonged

Random Semi-Frequent Poster
Jul 15, 2008
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The moral of the story, don't lie. Also don't say something is impossible on a pc game as guaranteed someone is going to try and find a why to make it possible. Then you end up making your own dev team look stupid and incompetent by comparison.
 

Tanis

The Last Albino
Aug 30, 2010
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When people who PIRATE a game, get a better EXPERIENCE than people who BOUGHT a game.

You know your game/drm is BULLSHIT.

I REALLY REALLY want this game, I love SimCity, but I will NOT spend my money (or my time) on a product that treats ME like a criminal.

Screw EA, Screw Maxis.
I hope this clusterbonk is the straw that breaks the camels back.

But, given how stupid people seem to be, it probably won't be.
 

e033x

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Sep 13, 2010
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Color me not surprised. This train-wreck has been hillarious to watch from the start, but it doesn't seem to end anytime soon.

Good job EA. You're not up there with North Korea in terms of stupid and hillarious public relations, but if you keep going, you can probably make it.
 

flarty

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Apr 26, 2012
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Richard Allen said:
Did anyone actually believe EA when they said that? If you did I have a ton of cool crap to sell you.
i'm interested. pm me
 

rasputin0009

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Feb 12, 2013
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Really? That's it? Wow, Maxis and EA really should've gotten rid of the DRM instead of lying. They really look clueless to what the consumer wants. This was a really stupid decision. Just think: DRM in a simulation game. How does that make sense? Unless they were thinking of bombarding you with advertisements for microtransactions later. Oh. That's exactly what they're gonna do. Yay.
 

fix-the-spade

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Feb 25, 2008
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You mean, a publisher has lied about the infrastructure of their game? Le Gasp!

What astounded me was when, a couple of weeks ago on this forum, I posted a complaint that the technology to make stuff like SimCity and online FPS work from the client not only existed, but was cheap and easy, I was called delusional.

Well, it's a nice delusion, but it's amazing how easily people are persuaded to eat the shit put in front of them.
 

KeyMaster45

Gone Gonzo
Jun 16, 2008
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flarty said:
Richard Allen said:
Did anyone actually believe EA when they said that? If you did I have a ton of cool crap to sell you.
i'm interested. pm me
If you're in the market I've also got the deed to a bridge in Brooklyn I think you would be very interested in purchasing. It's top quality and built to last too boot.

OT: And just like that their Glass Box of lies come crashing down around them. I'll be interested to see how they proceed after this, and if the modder in question find himself with the blanket EA carpet bomb ban that robs him of all his games.
 

Mike the Bard

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Jan 25, 2010
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this just reinforces something I've always known. When you say something is too hard or impossible, someone will do it just to prove you wrong.
 

newwiseman

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Aug 27, 2010
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There really should be a way to sue for false advertising in there somewhere... pretty sure there isn't, but there should be.
 

Alleged_Alec

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Sep 2, 2008
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I also hope there is somewhere in the code a better agent algorithm and a way to get rid of the ghost population. To me, the shortest path algorithms used sounds like they found out at the last moment that on most computers the game'd run like shit because, well, computing when is essentially an NP-hard problem for a large number of agents fucks your CPU over and they had no time to implement something half-way decent.
 

evilneko

Fall in line!
Jun 16, 2011
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Tanis said:
When people who PIRATE a game, get a better EXPERIENCE than people who BOUGHT a game.
Pretty much.

Pirates already knew it was playable offline...
 

LordMonty

Badgerlord
Jul 2, 2008
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EA are making problems as normal and tbh I imagine they have offline mode on the backup list if this gets any worse.
 

Agow95

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Jul 29, 2011
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So the game that apparently won't work without an internet connection works best without an internet connection...
 

triggrhappy94

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Apr 24, 2010
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That awkward moment when a game being modded to make it playable is a bigger story than any mod that would potentally be game breaking.