SimCity is out

[jomni]

Ah!  the downside of the server based thingy...
In the future when they decide to permanently close the servers, you have no more Sim City to play. Maybe force you to buy the sequel.

[MikeGER]

Ah!  the downside of the server based thingy...
In the future when they decide to permanently close the servers, you have no more Sim City to play. Maybe force you to buy the sequel.

IIRC i have read somewhere, that there is some cloud computing component involved and part of the AI (the up to 200 000 ? little independent agents -the mathematical term- that are used to represent Sims and also hidden material quantums that each try to reach their individual destination) get calculated 'in the cloud' and/or on EA servers... ?

so no servers, no sim city   >:(

   

[Bison]

So.. what are the dirty details on the DRM scheme?

Well it's Origin. If you play BF3 then you're not bothered by it.

I don't play BF3.

You need to be connected to play.

[Yskonyn]

Yes but in case of BF3 it would be rather silly not to. It's a multiplayer game afterall.
The singleplayer potion of it doesn't really deserve a name.

Simcity, on the contrary, is very much a singleplayer game if you choose it to be. I can understand the grumbling of people about it still having to connect to the EA/Maxis server.

The concern of this being a means to force people to buy the next game seems to be valid, but I don't think for the next sequel already. Firstly, Maxis seems to have bigger plans for this game, so it'll run for quite a while.
Secondly, EA has indeed shut down servers late last year, but for games that were either quite old, or at least two newer games in the series were already released.

Then there is always the option to provide people with an edited exe file later on if the servers must close, but people still want to play SP.

There is no way of knowing, but I am not too worried about it.
Origin, Steam, it's all the same to me. And I understand game companies trying to make piracy as hard as possible.

Even the logins trouble currently with SimCity are forgivable. You can't expect them to upkeep a huge overhead of servers only to be stuck with obsolete hardware a few weeks after release and many gamers, but those who truely enjoy it have moved on to do other stuff.
It's a concequence of the system. Patience it a virtue. Luckily I have more things to do than gaming. ;)

[Martok]

I never purchase games with "always-on" DRM.  EA can suck it. 

[Barthheart]

I caved.....  :P. Havevn't bought a game on release in a while so I don't mind ... too much. Just don't tell my wife!

So far it's fun. It seems easier to make money, at least at first, but that maybe becuase the act of zoning is free now. Mind you other things cost more so maybe it balances out but in the early game I seem to have more money.
Which makes it harder to resist the "build everything everyone asks for right away" syndrome that takes you into a death spiral of no funds.  :P Did I mention I suck at this game...

I had the game throw me out twice it about 4 hours of playing. But I got back in after a 5 or 10 minute wait. Nothing lost in my game, picked up right where I left off.

It really looks sweet while playing and runs smooth. In fact it runs smoother than SimCity 4 ever did on my system.... ???

The maps seem a bit small but I haven't played enough yet to see it that's annoying.

Really liking the new road system. No more bulldozing roads to upgrade, just right click and pay for the change. This affects the zoning density of all zones next to that road section. Bigger volume roads = higher density zones.

More later when I've played more.

[steve58]

So now EA has implemented Waiting Rooms due to overloaded servers??  Sounds to me like someone did not think this "always on" DRM through...

http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/9337036.page

Hi Mayors -- some of you may have noticed we've implemented Waiting Rooms on some of our busy servers. If you have any questions about how the waiting room (or our servers) work, this FAQ should help.

Remember, if you are placed in a waiting room, you are always welcome to join a new server that is available. Just note that cities are not shared between servers, so joining a new server will mean building a new city.

[LongBlade]

When the news broke the first thing I did was hit Steam to see if it was available.

Nope.

My luck with EA has not been great. A year or so ago they pinged me to reactivate my Origin account. I tried and for whatever reason failed. Couldn't log in.

Now Sim City pops up and I'm thinking, "Hey, I loved that game 20 years ago. Maybe I should buy this one."

But the Origin + AlwaysOnDRM is a formula that is waiving me off. Then I read the news about waiting rooms and game crashes.

So instead of *buying* the game to *review* it (and EA should provide me with a copy, but I haven't asked and we're probably still a bit small to be on their first-call reviewer list) I'm going to ignore it. Sorry EA. You're on your own. Maybe I'll pick this up when it's on sale for $5 and moves to a DRM that works. Like Steam.

[JudgeDredd]

^First thing I did was run off to Steam too.

[Bismarck]

I've ordered it, have a fast connection and plenty of time so I'll report back here.

[OJsDad]

Sounds like these guys have never heard of a VM farm for their servers.

[Huw the Poo]

In the future when they decide to permanently close the servers, you have no more Sim City to play. Maybe force you to buy the sequel.

That is precisely what will happen.  And that is why I will never buy this game.

[Yskonyn]

In the future when they decide to permanently close the servers, you have no more Sim City to play. Maybe force you to buy the sequel.

That is precisely what will happen.  And that is why I will never buy this game.

No I don't think this will happen with the sequel. Maybe the game after that, sure. But I won't expect them to force everyone on the next game.
I believe this is a false sense of anxiety.

[Bismarck]

In the future when they decide to permanently close the servers, you have no more Sim City to play. Maybe force you to buy the sequel.

That is precisely what will happen.  And that is why I will never buy this game.

No I don't think this will happen with the sequel. Maybe the game after that, sure. But I won't expect them to force everyone on the next game.
I believe this is a false sense of anxiety.

A sense of anxiety felt annoyingly over the years. Has Steam folded?  Stormeagle? No. Let an important client/server fall, then we can wail.

[W8taminute]

I never purchase games with "always-on" DRM.  EA can suck it.

I'm with you on this...

Maybe I'll pick this up when it's on sale for $5 and moves to a DRM that works. Like Steam.

...and with you on this.