SimCity Offline-Mode Patch Won't Be Arriving "Any Time Soon"

[AuronFtw]

Since Diablo 3 was such a giant commercial success, and has had such a positive impact versus PC internet piracy, it's no surprise that EA has adopted the always online DRM.

EA Maxis is working/updating/changing things, in such an aggressive way, that PC gamers should be thankful.

The numbers have spoken, and this much care (after launch problems) is truly a step towards the right and only direction.

EDIT: Before you troll me: Look at the companies that are currently being pirated the most... Square Enix, Bethesda, Mojang, Ubisoft, hell, even Valve games are more pirated than Blizzards Diablo 3... lol

Diablo 3 was hilariously, joke-quality bad. It's not pirated because it fucking sucks. If anyone wants to play a good Diablo game, they either play d2 or path of exile, because D3 was not "a good diablo game."

I'm sure Blizzard's DRM has a little impact on the numbers of people pirating, but the fact that the game was fuckawful contributes far more.

 

[Flunk]

I was going to buy Sim City, but after all the problems and the total lack of offline mode (this is important for me, I travel and don't always have access to the net) I'm going to wait until they provide an offline mode and fix the server issues or the game comes down to about $30. Whichever happens first. I guess I'm getting Heart of the Swarm (it does have offline mode).

 

[nyarlathotepsama]

I've asked around in my group of friends, none of them bought Simcity because they heard it had always online DRM. The same group of friend had no interesting in playing Simcity until it is possible to play offline. Why? Because a good number of my friends aren't very social, like myself, and enforced MP is a growing concern among us. I had to begrudging accept multiplayer in Dead Space 3 because I like the series enough to soldier on but Simcity... I've always used it as a timewasting simulation to pass large amounts of time or to just veggie out and listen to an audiobook whilst playing something.

Simcity and Maxis have lost a lot of appeal for me over the years, since I'm not a huge fan of life simulation games. I had the Simcity in question on order because there really wasn't another PC title I wanted for a while but as I read more and more about it (not just internet rumors but actual facts) I decided I didn't need a timewaster that badly and withdrew my preorder. I don't do that often, hell I didn't even do that with Duke Nukem Forever. (which I still haven't really played)

Always online DRM holds a number of issues with me. I hate buying games I can't play through no fault of my own. Servers can be offline, if the servers are offline the game I paid for is just useless GB on HDD. Not a good situation.

 

[Lord_Jaroh]

What's interesting is that PoE doesn't have an offline mode either, yet nobody really complains about that. However we can extrapolate that many people have left D3 for other games (Probably PoE/Torchlight 2) on that merit alone.

Point being, comparing a (relatively speaking) low profile niche title like D3, to a high profile shooter aimed at a general audience in terms of pirating is simply rediculous.

Unlike Diablo 3 and SimCity, Path of Exile is not a sequel in a series. A series that in Diablo's case had offline and online options (not just with D1 and D2, but with Starcraft, Warcraft and Warcraft 2). People would expect that trend to continue, especially in a numbered entry in their series. In SimCity's case, it was a completely offline game with no multiplayer options. You'd think that there would at least be an offline mode for those that don't want the multiplayer.

If they made a game called "Return to Sanctuary" and "CityScape" that had these "features" people wouldn't have cared as much, as long as the aforementioned titles were still going to make a "Diablo 3" and a "SimCity". But the publishers want to bank on the names "fooling" people into buying the series, knowing that the fans of that series will buy the game anyway, and hopefully they will get new people playing because of the changes.

 

[evilneko]

Since Diablo 3 was such a giant commercial success, and has had such a positive impact versus PC internet piracy, it's no surprise that EA has adopted the always online DRM.

EA Maxis is working/updating/changing things, in such an aggressive way, that PC gamers should be thankful.

The numbers have spoken, and this much care (after launch problems) is truly a step towards the right and only direction.

EDIT: Before you troll me: Look at the companies that are currently being pirated the most... Square Enix, Bethesda, Mojang, Ubisoft, hell, even Valve games are more pirated than Blizzards Diablo 3... lol

Diablo 3 isn't always online because DRM. It's because Diablo 3 is an MMO.

 

[Lord_Jaroh]

Since Diablo 3 was such a giant commercial success, and has had such a positive impact versus PC internet piracy, it's no surprise that EA has adopted the always online DRM.

EA Maxis is working/updating/changing things, in such an aggressive way, that PC gamers should be thankful.

The numbers have spoken, and this much care (after launch problems) is truly a step towards the right and only direction.

EDIT: Before you troll me: Look at the companies that are currently being pirated the most... Square Enix, Bethesda, Mojang, Ubisoft, hell, even Valve games are more pirated than Blizzards Diablo 3... lol

Diablo 3 isn't always online because DRM. It's because Diablo 3 is an MMO.

That's funny! Most MMOs I've seen actually support multiplayer.

 

[Lord_Jaroh]

Since Diablo 3 was such a giant commercial success, and has had such a positive impact versus PC internet piracy, it's no surprise that EA has adopted the always online DRM.

EA Maxis is working/updating/changing things, in such an aggressive way, that PC gamers should be thankful.

The numbers have spoken, and this much care (after launch problems) is truly a step towards the right and only direction.

EDIT: Before you troll me: Look at the companies that are currently being pirated the most... Square Enix, Bethesda, Mojang, Ubisoft, hell, even Valve games are more pirated than Blizzards Diablo 3... lol

Diablo 3 isn't always online because DRM. It's because Diablo 3 is an MMO.

That's funny! Most MMOs I've seen actually support multiplayer.

Well she (he?) never said it was a GOOD MMO...

That's true. I guess asking a game to be good is asking too much these days, let alone asking a game to simply work...

 

[Bvenged]

I really really want this game, but I have no idea when to buy it. I don't like the sound of the DRM it uses either. What a sticky situation.

 

[Lord_Jaroh]

Don't buy it. There will be other games with no DRM. Don't support terrible business practices.

 

[GonvilleBromhead]

Wait until a the always online DRM is removed. If that doesn't happen, don't buy it. Save you a lot of grief and frustration. There's always Tropico 3 and SimCity 4, amongst other options, to slate your city building appetite.

 

[tautologico]

Since Diablo 3 was such a giant commercial success, and has had such a positive impact versus PC internet piracy, it's no surprise that EA has adopted the always online DRM.

EA Maxis is working/updating/changing things, in such an aggressive way, that PC gamers should be thankful.

The numbers have spoken, and this much care (after launch problems) is truly a step towards the right and only direction.

EDIT: Before you troll me: Look at the companies that are currently being pirated the most... Square Enix, Bethesda, Mojang, Ubisoft, hell, even Valve games are more pirated than Blizzards Diablo 3... lol

Diablo 3 was hilariously, joke-quality bad. It's not pirated because it fucking sucks. If anyone wants to play a good Diablo game, they either play d2 or path of exile, because D3 was not "a good diablo game."

I'm sure Blizzard's DRM has a little impact on the numbers of people pirating, but the fact that the game was fuckawful contributes far more.

Did you play Diablo 3, or are you just saying this based on what people are saying around the internet?

D3 is not "hilariously, joke-quality bad", not by a large margin. It's a fun, solid game that has a bunch of problems in its game design with itemization and the AH, yes, but it's not "bad" by any stretch of the imagination. The game has sold 12 million copies since launch (which means it has not only sold well on launch itself but kept selling well), a feat few games have managed. Games that sell well tend to be highly-pirated.

No, D3 is not much pirated because it's really hard to pirate. By all accounts, D3's DRM is a huge success. Don't delude yourself that the game isn't pirated because you think everyone agrees with your opinion about D3.

Besides, the only reason Diablo 3 is taking a long time to crack is because it needs to be 'cracked' like a standard MMO. Considering private servers exist for WoW and Runescape...It's only a matter of time before this DRM fails Diablo 3 as well.

Yes, but "fail" is not a good word for that. Ask any publisher and they will tell you that any DRM that holds up for 2 months or more is a big, rousing success. Every developer knows that any copy protection can eventually be circumvented, but what matters (for the publishers, at least) is that they don't have pirated copies in the first few months, when 80% or more of the game sales are done anyway.

 

[Weaver]

I still don't think it's impossible for them to merge their server-side code into the client.
Yes, it would be a huge pain in the ass and require a lot of work.

 

[Antari]

Poor EA. Even when Maxis officially states its their fault, a large chunk of the gaming community insists its still EA's doing.

And so begins the process. Maxis has now been hung out to dry. Taking the fall. EA will drop the hammer on them soon. It was a long slow death Maxis. A damn shame really.

You do both realise Maxis died years ago?

On The Sims boxart the Maxis Logo was much larger than EA's.

On the Expansions EA was larger.

Sims 2 has Maxis relegated to the back of the box and the launch screens. (At this point Maxis longtime studio in Walnut Creek was officially closed).

By the fourth Sims 2 expansion even the launch logo had been omitted.

Yes I know EA has had its hand in the dead body/hand puppet of Maxis for years. But now its on schedule for actual destruction.

 

[Something Amyss]

Diablo 3 isn't always online because DRM. It's because Diablo 3 is an MMO.

So as long as they reclassify games as online or multiplayer experiences, it'll be okay.

 

[shrekfan246]

Since Diablo 3 was such a giant commercial success, and has had such a positive impact versus PC internet piracy, it's no surprise that EA has adopted the always online DRM.

Technically speaking, you're right.

Diablo III still doesn't have a full, working crack, because half of the game isn't run from the player's computer. Seems to be something people often miss.

Granted, while I don't mind the always-online DRM for ostensibly multi-player focused titles such as Diablo III (yes, it was rather multi-player focused) and the new SimCity, I really don't want it working its way into single-player titles like The Witcher 2 or Dishonored. Like it did with, say... Assassin's Creed...

EDIT: Though technically, I don't actually support the use of such DRM. I got Diablo III for free out of Blizzard's World of Warcraft year-long subscription promotion, and I won't be buying SimCity. I don't generally buy multi-player centric games, which is why I don't want more of them becoming as such and thus using such extreme DRM.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Yes I know EA has had its hand in the dead body/hand puppet of Maxis for years. But now its on schedule for actual destruction.

I don't really see it as a shame, rather someone putting down a zombified loved one.

 

[Antari]

Yes I know EA has had its hand in the dead body/hand puppet of Maxis for years. But now its on schedule for actual destruction.

I don't really see it as a shame, rather someone putting down a zombified loved one.

True, but I would have much rather seen EA fall to a merciful gunshot to the head. Freeing up all the trapped and scared IP's to be bought up by companies with half a brain.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Yes I know EA has had its hand in the dead body/hand puppet of Maxis for years. But now its on schedule for actual destruction.

I don't really see it as a shame, rather someone putting down a zombified loved one.

True, but I would have much rather seen EA fall to a merciful gunshot to the head. Freeing up all the trapped and scared IP's to be bought up by companies with half a brain.

One can dream. Who knows? Perhaps EA will fall or at very least start living up to the values it set itself.

Spoiler

Be Bold
Go Big
Take the right risks
Back our bets
Lead

Think Consumers First
Listen and respond
Deliver beyond their expectations
Build lifetime customers

Create Quality and Innovation
Deliver products and services that surpass expectations
Be relentless about improving quality
Take creative risks

Act with Integrity
Do the right thing
Trust others and support their decisions
Be transparent

Be Accountable
Deliver on commitments
Always do what we say
Play our positions
Deliver and reward results

Learn and Grow
Work hard, play hard
Develop yourself and others
Measure your improvement
Share knowledge generously

https://jobs.ea.com/about/our_values/

I wouldn't bet on it although.