Sim City

Dcully

Merger wrote: »

But not everyone has such high spec! Don't be so selfish. @Dcully

Ofcourse not but surely they could have many settings to tone down the visuals instead of the size which is a core element of any city building game.
As much as i enjoy great visuals they are nothing without great gameplay,id take gameplay before eye candy any day.
Maybe the engine restricts such lowering of visual quality to a sufficient level?
Either way its seems it is hampering the gameplay to an extent.

My point is why handicap people who do have a high spec rig.

I havent played it yet but im not sure i want to play a game thats practically a town building sim,ive watched countless videos and all just seem to be towns and not cities.
IMO as of right now this game is not a city building sim, it may be hugely enjoyable and all that but for anyone who played other sim city games or city building games a huge part of the experience was building a sprawling metropolis,unless its patched in or DLC or whatever in the future this game is not a city building sim, that alone is just shocking to think in this series imho.

Anyone

Dcully wrote: »

My point is why handicap people who do have a high spec rig.

Any decent business is going to try ensure their game is available to as many people as possible. Whats the point putting money into developing a game, make it as amazing as possible, but only 10% of your market can play it?

Dcully

Anyone wrote: »

Any decent business is going to try ensure their game is available to as many people as possible. Whats the point putting money into developing a game, make it as amazing as possible, but only 10% of your market can play it?

Your simply stating the obvious.
My point is taking out a huge gameplay element of any city building experience is a slap in the face to the old school sim city players who just might have a rig to play Sim City instead of Sim Town.

.ak

Looking forward to playing it. Honestly don't mind the size of the maps, they look fairly biggish anyhow.

Mc Love

And they are too! Its a lot better than the SC titles of the past just wish it was easy to get on and play it, which at the moment is not, have had to quit twice because it wont work

Anyone

Dcully wrote: »

Your simply stating the obvious.
My point is taking out a huge gameplay element of any city building experience is a slap in the face to the old school sim city players who just might have a rig to play Sim City instead of Sim Town.

I get your point, up to about 5 years I was the same as you, buying the best possible hardware I could. So I can see your issue. I was just pointing out the flip side of it.

One thing I saw, you can link cities, so one city can have mostly residential, one mostly industy etc. So it will allow for expansion, but just not in one large sprawling mass.

cherryghost

A perfect resolution to the small sizes would be allow the areas created adjacent to each other. That'd be awesome.

_Puma_

Okay so people are getting confused about what I think is acceptable and not acceptable.

Always Online DRM is not okay. Gimping a game so that it runs on lower spec machines at the last minute to increase potential Revenue is not okay. Cutting out content to include as DLC in the future is not okay(I'm not saying Sim city has done this, we have to wait and see). This is why I wont be buying it.

One time DRM activation is fine. Origin/Steam is fine if it allows you to play a Single player game offline. Micro Transactions are fine if they are not designed in a way to give you and advantage/fast track you if you buy them. DLC is fine if it is intended to be released after the Initial release of the game as an optional add-on

Now you can argue that Sim City is a multiplayer game or MMO. Why not call it Sim City online or allow for offline Lan play. It could just as easily be a Single player game with a Multiplayer option like what has been done for years. I don't see the benefit of insisting to be always online over having a separate multiplayer element. If this is not how it was designed then why have they not made this clear from the beginning. It appears that EA have insisted that the game is always online so some multiplayer components have been integrated into the Single player game, like what happened with Diablo and the Auction house. You could argue this all day but from my point of view the multiplayer components are not integral to the core gameplay of the game and could easily be implemented as a multiplayer option.

As for the piracy issue, one time DRM can go some way to tackle this. Unfortunately, like what we saw with Spore always online DRM actually leads to increased piracy.

Anyone

_Puma_ wrote: »

As for the piracy issue, one time DRM can go some way to tackle this. Unfortunately, like what we saw with Spore always online DRM actually leads to increased piracy.

Spore was targeted though because it was the first major game to introduce DRM. So using that as an example is bad. Hows the piracy of Diablo3 or Bordelands 2 been? I genuinely have no idea if its high or not, but they are two games I have played with DRM.

gizmo

_Puma_ wrote: »

Always Online DRM is not okay. Gimping a game so that it runs on lower spec machines at the last minute to increase potential Revenue is not okay. Cutting out content to include as DLC in the future is not okay(I'm not saying Sim city has done this, we have to wait and see). This is why I wont be buying it.

Do you have a source for this? I find it quite unlikely that the initial map size wasn't set a decent amount of time ago, more than likely due to the nature of the online simulations.

_Puma_ wrote: »

Now you can argue that Sim City is a multiplayer game or MMO. Why not call it Sim City online or allow for offline Lan play. It could just as easily be a Single player game with a Multiplayer option like what has been done for years. I don't see the benefit of insisting to be always online over having a separate multiplayer element. If this is not how it was designed then why have they not made this clear from the beginning. It appears that EA have insisted that the game is always online so some multiplayer components have been integrated into the Single player game, like what happened with Diablo and the Auction house. You could argue this all day but from my point of view the multiplayer components are not integral to the core gameplay of the game and could easily be implemented as a multiplayer option.

They did, ever since the earliest reveals they had confirmed that it would always need to be connected due to the aforementioned online simulations. This isn't something that could have been just tacked on, the game would have been designed like this from the offset.

Mc Love

Does anyone know how you find out what cities are on which server, I have three cities already, but I dont know which server they are on

And everytime I get access I have to do the bloody getting started city

gizmo

Anyone wrote: »

Spore was targeted though because it was the first major game to introduce DRM. So using that as an example is bad. Hows the piracy of Diablo3 or Bordelands 2 been? I genuinely have no idea if its high or not, but they are two games I have played with DRM.

I haven't seen a list of the top 10 downloaded games of 2012 yet actually, just movies and TV. It'll certainly be interesting to see what makes it, especially so with Diablo 3.

_Puma_

Anyone wrote: »

Spore was targeted though because it was the first major game to introduce DRM. So using that as an example is bad. Hows the piracy of Diablo3 or Bordelands 2 been? I genuinely have no idea if its high or not, but they are two games I have played with DRM.

I should say can lead to increased piracy. Blizzard have put a lot of development and resources into making sure that this cannot happen in Diablo 3 and to an extent have succeeded. Didn't stop a hit to the games sales though and it could be argued they lost a lot more revenue than piracy because of it.

Why would you implement something that makes you a target for exactly what you are trying to avoid and have to put a lot of resources into implementing it. Blizzard done this In D3 because they could and have the resources to back them.

As far as I am aware Borderlands 2 uses Steam and can be played offline which I am fine with, I may be wrong in this though.

Kirby

gizmo wrote: »

I haven't seen a list of the top 10 downloaded games of 2012 yet actually, just movies and TV. It'll certainly be interesting to see what makes it, especially so with Diablo 3.

Those lists are wildly inaccurate anyway.

2smiggy

just wondering would this key be alright to buy, never really have bought just a serial key to download a game before linky

if not where is a cheap place to buy it ?

gizmo

Kirby wrote: »

Those lists are wildly inaccurate anyway.

From what I've seen, the annual ones from Torrentfreak at least serve as a reasonable indicator. The numbers are obviously far higher than those reported though since they only include public trackers and omit Usenet and private tracker sites.

_Puma_

gizmo wrote: »

Do you have a source for this? I find it quite unlikely that the initial map size wasn't set a decent amount of time ago, more than likely due to the nature of the online simulations.


They did, ever since the earliest reveals they had confirmed that it would always need to be connected due to the aforementioned online simulations. This isn't something that could have been just tacked on, the game would have been designed like this from the offset.

"It wasn't all a design decision, however, which Katsarelis admits later on. "We had some performance constraints that factored into the decision."
Source

These performance constraints would have appeared at Alpha/Beta testing I could only assume where the game is tested on lower end systems. The fact that the introduction of an always online aspect that has affected the design decisions in a negative way is the point I'm making

antodeco

Seeing as Im on a mac, I downloaded SC4 yesterday. Im not really getting the point of zooming all the way in and the little minie games (fly the helicopter etc) but I suppose Ill take to it eventually!

maggy_thatcher

Anyone wrote: »

One thing I saw, you can link cities, so one city can have mostly residential, one mostly industy etc. So it will allow for expansion, but just not in one large sprawling mass.

And watch your RCI indicators go mad as your residents will cry out for somewhere to work, or your industry complaining there are no workers.

Also, every time you leave your town and go to tend to the other one, it pauses the simulation on the one you were working on. The only way to have them all up and running simultaneously is to go and purchase multiple licences, or hope that your friends in the same region as you are decent mayors, able to keep their portion of the "city" working correctly.

Azza

_Puma_ wrote:

Always Online DRM is not okay. Gimping a game so that it runs on lower spec machines at the last minute to increase potential Revenue is not okay. Cutting out content to include as DLC in the future is not okay(I'm not saying Sim city has done this, we have to wait and see). This is why I wont be buying it.

One time DRM activation is fine. Origin/Steam is fine if it allows you to play a Single player game offline. Micro Transactions are fine if they are not designed in a way to give you and advantage/fast track you if you buy them. DLC is fine if it is intended to be released after the Initial release of the game as an optional add-on

Thats fine if you want to wait and see how things pan out and do I agree with you on the online DRM. But lets not pre-judged EA on things they have yet to do is all I'm saying. These accusations have been levelled at them before but for the most part in my opinion they don't hold up to inspection.

_Puma_ wrote:

As for the piracy issue, one time DRM can go some way to tackle this. Unfortunately, like what we saw with Spore always online DRM actually leads to increased piracy

Spore didn't have always online DRM.

It had a limited number of installs (which was expanded on and later removed) and online authentication at the games start up but it did not require an internet connection once it started.

As mentioned by Anyone, its extremely high piracy rate was probably due to it being targeted in respone to it being the game that introduce that type of DRM.

It should be noted EA came out with a statement regarding Spore's DRM that it would be removed if the authentication servers where taken down and the game would always remain playable in single player.

EA wrote:

"If we were to ever turn off the servers on the game, we would put through a patch before that to basically make the DRM null and void. We're never walking away from the game and making it into a situation where people aren't going to be able to play it."

So whiles it not confirmation that they will do the same for Sim City it shows they have no track record of allowing single player games to become inoperable due to DRM.

.ak

I really don't get this hoo-haa about DRM. Everyone has access to the internet now. I mean, even my old dear has two different connections she uses. The people who complain about DRM certainly have it. What's the big deal? Unless you're genuinely trying to pirate software I don't see why it'd hinder your gaming experience?

maggy_thatcher

.ak wrote: »

I really don't get this hoo-haa about DRM. Everyone has access to the internet now. I mean, even my old dear has two different connections she uses. The people who complain about DRM certainly have it. What's the big deal? Unless you're genuinely trying to pirate software I don't see why it'd hinder your gaming experience?

You're on an aeroplane, train etc.? While IÉ do have WiFi on many of their services, it's not great by any means. Alternatively you could be abroad for whatever reason, and want to relax in the evening and play your game - hope your hotel room has unfettered internet access, not port-filtered stuff.

If you're only playing this sitting at home, then, yes, you'll usually have internet (though you could be using all that bandwidth for more important things), but there's a lot more out there.

Has anybody tried playing this game via a 3G connection? How much data does it consume?

Newaglish

How do I pre-load the install? I've bought it on Origin but it doesn't give me an option. It doesn't actually state the unlock date either, I assume it's midnight tonight?

.ak

maggy_thatcher wrote: »

You're on an aeroplane, train etc.? While IÉ do have WiFi on many of their services, it's not great by any means. Alternatively you could be abroad for whatever reason, and want to relax in the evening and play your game - hope your hotel room has unfettered internet access, not port-filtered stuff.

If you're only playing this sitting at home, then, yes, you'll usually have internet (though you could be using all that bandwidth for more important things), but there's a lot more out there.

Has anybody tried playing this game via a 3G connection? How much data does it consume?

Would people play SC on a train..? Tiny demograph, I'm sure?

biggebruv

Micro transactions tucked away into the game for anyone who wants them like in dead space 3 I can handle but always playing online even for single player no fu*king way this better not happen to the consoles on next gen.

I have UPC 50mb broadband but just this week iv experienced the internet going down alot the odd time here and there now if I was playing a single player game and I could not continue just because my internet was down for the next hour or so WTF that's a joke:mad:

Whats gas about all this is the people who pirate the games actually get the better deal and are better off than actual paying customers didt I read somewhere that assassins creed 2s always online DRM was removed with a patch by the pirate release groups no doubt that will probably happen here aswell

FU(K YOU EA:)

nesf

biggebruv wrote: »

Whats gas about all this is the people who pirate the games actually get the better deal and are better off than actual paying customers didt I read somewhere that assassins creed 2s always online DRM was removed with a patch by the pirate release groups no doubt that will probably happen here aswell

It'll be much harder because the crackers need to emulate the server side processing, which, unless Maxis have screwed up, should be quite difficult to do.

Gunmonkey

.ak wrote: »

Would people play SC on a train..? Tiny demograph, I'm sure?

But judging by the amount of whinging online, a very vocal demographic. Same as the people who travel to another country to sit in their hotel rooms playing Sim City...

"What...look round the city...see the sights...try the food!!! NEVER, theres trash collection to be micro-managed..."

Mc Love

Anyone able to play today? I have been trying for over an hour now and nothing!

_Puma_

.ak wrote: »

I really don't get this hoo-haa about DRM. Everyone has access to the internet now. I mean, even my old dear has two different connections she uses. The people who complain about DRM certainly have it. What's the big deal? Unless you're genuinely trying to pirate software I don't see why it'd hinder your gaming experience?

So everyone that does not agree with DRM is trying to pirate software... nice generalisation. Note how I said always online and what most people have a problem with, not one time. It hinders the game experience by not being actually able to play the game as is being widely reported across the US with Sim City. A game that was always a Single player game and could just as easily be a single player game with an additional multiplayer element and one time DRM.

What happens when my internet goes down due to factors outside my control? I have paid full price for a game that I now cannot play, even if it is just for the Single player element. What happens if EA decide to turn off the servers in the future without implementing an offline mode? Geniune gamers are being hampered because of over Zealous DRM measures. Surely a Single player offline sandbox mode should be the very minimum we expect. Imagine going to a Restaurant and paying for a dinner and sitting down at a table and then being told that you can't be served any food today because too many people are waiting to be served after paying full price, and btw according to EA no refunds and if ya try to get refunded your license is banned.

My argument is that the single player core gameplay aspects of the game cannot now be accessed because EA have insisted that the game is always online, when there is absolutely no need for this.

maggy_thatcher

Gunmonkey wrote: »

But judging by the amount of whinging online, a very vocal demographic. Same as the people who travel to another country to sit in their hotel rooms playing Sim City...

"What...look round the city...see the sights...try the food!!! NEVER, theres trash collection to be micro-managed..."

I'm guessing you've never gone on a business trip to some backwater place with nothing to do in the evenings and crappy American cable TV.

Sometimes on trips like those, it's nice to just relax and play a game on occasion.