SimCity 5: How Not To Design a Single Player Game 569
It seems that the requirement to be online and save games on a remote server even in single player mode is leading to a less than ideal launch for SimCity 5. choke writes "Players attempting to play EA/Maxis' new SimCity game are finding that their save games are tied to a particular server, are facing problems with disconnects, inability to track friends or search for specific coop games online and failures to load game, and wait times of 20 minutes per login attempt. The question is, why the online restriction? Does this possibly indicate future micro-transactions in game?"
Re:EA at it again (Score:5, Funny)
Awww, come on now.
Ctrl-alt-shift God_mode
Giveme 100000000000
(Web window pops open)
"Please click to confirm $9.95 micro-purchase."
It's very well thought out.
Re:Not an EA fan but (Score:2, Funny)
No, GP has it right, didn't you know that for every copy of SimCity 5 that is sold, EA provision and install an additional server into their cloud.
Re:EA at it again (Score:5, Funny)
You could always call tech support and see how much of their time you can waste.
"We have detected a sharp increase in the number of lengthy tech support calls following the game's release. For our next game, as a pre-emptive measure, we have included the 'Help me!' button, which will instantly connect you to one of our SimCity helpfriends, who will aid you with whatever you need! To reduce call waiting time, your phone will be dialed when you log into the game, and the call will remain active until you sign out."
Re:Wrong lesson. (Score:5, Funny)
We can hope ... but as it stands now, I wouldn't be surprised if this is the end of the SimCity series -- Maxis' version of Master of Orion III, if you will.
Hey! That's unfair!
In the case of Master of Orion 3 an always-on requirement that prevented you from playing the game at all would have been a great feature.
Re:Not an EA fan but (Score:5, Funny)
There is no way I can believe that there is a single player game out there that requires more processing power than a single PC can deliver. That seems rather... expensive.
Could you imagine the programmer who approached his boss with THAT one?
Programmer: Yeah boss, turns out that we made the computational requirements of this engine so complex that it requires us to maintain extra servers to handle the calculations for each gamer. So, that's cool right?
Boss: So help me god, if you actually think my answer would be yes I may have to throw you out of the window.
Re:Not an EA fan but (Score:4, Funny)
No, GP has it right, didn't you know that for every copy of SimCity 5 that is sold, EA provision and install an additional server into their cloud.
Is that where all those old Atom netbooks are going?
Re:Maybe try playing the game (Score:5, Funny)
Is your city called 'Stockholm' by any chance?
Re:Not an EA fan but (Score:5, Funny)
It is further weakened by the existence of dwarf fortress, a game with larger maps with greater depth, a cellular automaton fluid dynamics engine, and the simulation of creatures down to the layers of their tissues, personality traits and their recent thoughts and memories.
Re:EA at it again (Score:5, Funny)
Makes me think of those 900 numbers in the late 80's and early 90's dishing out video game tips, which went more or less extinct after the proliferation of the internet.
To defeat the cyberdemon, shoot it until it dies.