I really like Sim City... when the servers are up.

[lugaru]

Hey just wondering if anyone else picked up this game. I showed a lot of discipline recently in not buying any other AAA titles so I rewarded myself with the new Sim City. Bad news though? Since I got home from work the servers have been a mess... I've had to server hop to get any practice at all. It is a shame, I'm not a strict opponent of required internet connections, but when every fan says "dudes, make an offline mode in case you botch the launch" and all they hear are "we are all pirates, we want no DRM", well, it creates a problem like this.

I'm exaggerating for effect of course, and I love what the connectivity of this game promises (regions with my friends) but the highs of getting in there and growing a city quickly have been marred by lots of downtime browsing the web and hoping the servers get fixed.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Online required?  Okay, won't be buying it then.  Ever.

Yes, I hate that.  HATE it.  I don't mind integrated online features, but it had been still work even if the internet is not connected.  The only excepted would be multiplayer only or online only games, for obvious reasons.

[BentonGrey]

Agreed Cat.  It's a deal-breaker for me as well.

Hey Lu, this isn't my cup of tea, but I've heard great things about it.  It's a shame that an all-too-common and all-too-terrible design choice can be such a pain.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Even worse--it's EA and Origin exclusive.  Ick.  I refuse to buy anything requiring use of Origin due to some of the things EA does to its customers.  I refuse to buy Mass Effect 3 for precisely that reason, and that reason alone.

The game itself looks like it might be fun, so its a shame, but I've got a ton of other games to play, so I think I'll live.

[Deaths Jester]

Yeah EA has become a real [censored] lately with their required online activations and Origin bs...problem is their controlling a lot of the games that are worth playing plus affecting how the other companies are putting out their games.  Really tired of the game industry's bs all together.

[gengoro]

^Same. And you would hope that with all the backlash from this, they will learn their lesson but they wont. They and other companies will try it again like with disc locked content, retail exclusives, always online DRM, and micro-transactions. Next gen is gonna be so fun

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Sure the big name companies are.  Fortunately there has been an explosion of high quality indie games that lack these issues. 

[BentonGrey]

Very true Cat, and that's the silver lining to these clouds.  Look at Kickstarter and other sources, where great games are being made without all of this kind of drama.

[lugaru]

Speaking of kickstarter somebody is already kickstarting a 100% modable and DRM free Sim City clone... I'll post a link later on when I find it again.

Personally the Always On did not bother me too much, since I only play on a computer that is always online... It was the complete botching of that poor choice that really messed with my ability to play. Also origin was a minor turnoff and I too skipped Mass Effect 3 for that reason. Actually I do not think there is anything wrong with Origin so much as the fact that I dislike the politics of EA and the fact that they taint some of the most creative studios out there (Maxis, Bioware) with these shareholder driven ideas that are just not consumer friendly.

Now that the server issues have died away a little I'm really enjoying the game a lot... again this is a game I really wanted to play for years and now that it is here I don't mind the inconveniences so long as I can jump in with friends and start up a region. We started "Goon Canyon" (my friend named it) and we have 3 cities already... I have an island with an anemic oil industry (Gas Pass) which at least produces self sustaining power. John seems to have ended up on a high up mountain, which he filled instantly, and Tom has a nice stretch of straight highway with lots of industry and commerce. I enjoy watching our different emergency vehicles make the rounds between cities, even going so far as to picking up trash from my town before I had my own dump.

The fact that the game simulates thousands of citizens rather than operating on spreadsheets and probability also really lends it authenticity. You really get a feeling of how traffic jams or street placement or zoning affect the lives of these dudes. Sure, each individual is basically a blurry block with a head, but they add up to something pretty complex. Also the game is pretty unpredictable... my town eventually developed a serial arsonist. While I had a top notch police force, this one dude kept starting fires and getting away. Eventually I build an ore minning town and I get the message that he moved to that town... and that these fires "seem intentional". Oh lovely, even arsonists need to commute to find new opportunities.

[BentonGrey]

Ha, that's fairly hilarious.  You know what would be awesome?  If your town could develop its own superheroes in response to crime and corruption.

[Deaths Jester]

Ha, that's fairly hilarious.  You know what would be awesome?  If your town could develop its own superheroes in response to crime and corruption.

Supposidly there's going to be an expansion or such that will allow that to happen.  Supposedly it will allow your city to draw  supervillians and superheroes or such...not sure though....might jsut be grapevine smack talk.

[BentonGrey]

If that turns out to be true, I might just be tempted to play the game.

[lugaru]

Well what already exists... which is cool but not mind blowing... is Maxis Man and Dr. Vu.

Maxis Man has a mansion you can plop on the edge of town... at any moment that youare overwhelmed you can PAY (a tiny bit, like what a bus stop costs) and he will go out and heal the injured, arrest criminals who are currently robbing a place or potentially do other stuff like put out fires. As he gains renown (by succesfully doing stuff) you can unlock a faster car for him, and eventually a hover vehicle.

Dr. Vu is very much a Lex Luthor type, and while I find him super interesting but I've been a little afraid to use him. He has a tower which attracts tourists, generates money and increases your cities Tech level (fancier factories). In other words he brings the culture and the science... but also he recruits regular citizens and employs them as criminals making for big crime waves from time to time.

Now give me a proper superhero team building thing and that would be an entirely new twist on Sim City... buying the best guys in the region, having THEM put out fires, arrest criminals at lightning speed, block some incoming meteors or grow to giant size and punch out giant monsters. Also you could deal with super strong, fast or whatever supervillains. Mad bombings, etc. It could all be kicked off by plopping down a "Superpowers Store" or a "Radioactive Meteor" or something in your town.

One can wish...

[BentonGrey]

Well, that's pretty cool, but yeah, the ability to foster your very own supergroup in your town would make this a game I would actually want to play.  It would be an entirely new twist on both the superhero and town-building genres.