What the fuck.

WHAT THE FUCK.

SimCity has always been a singleplayer experience. Always. If there's a game that didn't need multiplayer and certainly didn't need an always-on online DRM is this series! Holy fuck is there anything publishers won't fucking ruin?

Not to mention according to this article there won't be mod support at launch either. Looking at the massive amount of DLC you get from the CE of SC I can imagine why, this game is bound to be riddled with all kinds of microDLCs.

Holy fuck EA with this the few fanbois that loved you are bound to turn around and hate you now. Good grief. I knew EA would ruin this series somehow.

Pirates will fix this 15 mins after rls.

Awwwwww what the fuck EA. Has it come to this? I was just defending you pricks. If this is true, I sincerely hope this utterly bombs and proves me wrong.

Im pretty sure that this new Simcity is built around a very robust multplayer component.

Apparently you will be able to (trade?) and interact (?) in some very meaningful ways with other cities, which are of course run by other players.

Im not even sure how it will be able to work in singleplayer if any of what they have said about it is even remotely true.

In any case, its a no buy from me anyway for two reasons. First Origin, second EA.

Doma wrote on Mar 28, 2012, 10:30:
Pirates will fix this 15 hrs before rls.

FTFY

I thought that no one plays SP Offline games anymore because everyone has a connection to the internets...

This comment was edited on Mar 28, 2012, 10:59.

Well, they improved the series before they ruined it. Drives me nuts when people don't acknowledge that. Do we really need to list all the shit titles Maxis put out prior to being acquired? SimCity 3000 and SimCity 4 were both wholly EA as well.

InBlack wrote on Mar 28, 2012, 10:32:
Im pretty sure that this new Simcity is built around a very robust multplayer component.

Kind of like the last C&C game was. That didn't do too well either. You lost your network connection to EA servers, you lost your "single player" progress.

I realise the game activists on Bluesnews didn't play it but this sounds identical to Anno 2070's online component. Essentially there are gameplay mechanics that all players vote on or take part in that have bonus effects on your SP gameplay. I imagine all Simcities will exist within a fictional country and players will be able to vote for "presidents" or global policies that have bonus effects within SP gameplay.

Your SP games are still available when the network is offline, just that certain of these meta features are not.

SpectralMeat wrote on Mar 28, 2012, 10:36:

InBlack wrote on Mar 28, 2012, 10:32:
Im pretty sure that this new Simcity is built around a very robust multplayer component.

Kind of like the last C&C game was. That didn't do too well either. You lost your network connection to EA servers, you lost your "single player" progress.

Which is why I mentioned that they might be lying through their teeth to implement their always-online-DRM.

So basically the pirated edition is feature-superior to the retail copy. Yeah, that's a great way to keep the pirates at bay!

Beamer wrote on Mar 28, 2012, 10:35:
Well, they improved the series before they ruined it. Drives me nuts when people don't acknowledge that. Do we really need to list all the shit titles Maxis put out prior to being acquired? SimCity 3000 and SimCity 4 were both wholly EA as well.

SimCity4 is the best one IMO and 3 a close 2nd. It was EA as well but don't compare the EA from back then 12 years ago to the EA today. There's only 12 years of difference between SC4 and this new one.

I can't wait to play the new SimCity, it's way overdue.

Guess I'm playing SimCity2000 on a VM

Dmitri_M wrote on Mar 28, 2012, 10:39:
I realise the game activists on Bluesnews didn't play it but this sounds identical to Anno 2070's online component. Essentially there are gameplay mechanics that all players vote on or take part in that have bonus effects on your SP gameplay. I imagine all Simcities will exist within a fictional country and players will be able to vote for "presidents" or global policies that have bonus effects within SP gameplay.

Your SP games are still available when the network is offline, just that certain of these meta features are not.

Uh no...


From here:

EA Maxis has confirmed to SimCity will be sold on digital distribution platforms other than Origin, but the game will still require players to be logged in to EA’s service while playing. It has also said there won’t be mod support for the game, at least at launch.

Fuck That I'm OUT!!

I never support pirating but in a case like this I just might change my opinion.

ASeven wrote on Mar 28, 2012, 10:23:
What the fuck.

WHAT THE FUCK.

SimCity has always been a singleplayer experience. Always. If there's a game that didn't need multiplayer and certainly didn't need an always-on online DRM is this series! Holy fuck is there anything publishers won't fucking ruin?

Great comment! I noticed a few others on this thread had similar good comments as well.

I'm really wondering about this decision. Leaving aside the "EA is evil" debate for a moment, who thought this would be a good idea?

What exactly are the tangible benefits to online interaction that outweight the downsides? Has there really been a large number of SimCity fans clamoring for online play? I can't comprehend the decision making process here. I know that "online" is a nice bullet point, but even that doesn't explain making it mandatory. And EA hasn't (mostly) succumbed to the trend to make games require online play as a form of DRM.

So ignoring any baseless attacks on the publisher, anyone got a clue what the impetus was here to impose multiplayer on a game that seems so ill-suited for it?

InBlack wrote on Mar 28, 2012, 10:32:

In any case, its a no buy from me anyway for two reasons. First Origin, second EA.

Umm, did you see the comment on the article saying it would be on other digital distributors besides Origin?

After 15 years of playing MMOs, I find an online requirement to play a game doesn't really bother me, as long as there are some redeeming online features that add to my experience and it's not just a meaningless DRM scheme.

If the game is otherwise good, I don't really give a fuck.