The SimCity Thread of Offline Play

[EmmBee]

They're also the site that put Sonic Generations in the Best Games of the Year list.

 

...since we're basing their objective journalism solely on their Sonic opinions.

I admit, I haven't followed the site since at least 2009, so I didn't know that at all.

I'm just saying, they've made a fair share of idiotic decisions before, and seeing them give a 1/10 to a game that isn't entirely bad, but rather has a lot of flaws that rest in the hands of EA's shitty management with DRM and the servers, isn't surprising at all.

I guess using the Sonic example on a Sonic forum probably isn't the best idea. My bad.

[scourgeandfionafan123]

Played SimCity for an hour with no server issues. I don't think the server issues even exist. everyone probably lied about them or they just haven't played the game long enough to notice anything. 

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Played SimCity for an hour with no server issues. I don't think the server issues even exist. everyone probably lied about them or they just haven't played the game long enough to notice anything. 

 

Yeah, thousands of gamers "lied" about the server issues. 

Edited March 12, 2013 by Ming Ming Shana

[Stacy]

Played SimCity for an hour with no server issues. I don't think the server issues even exist. everyone probably lied about them or they just haven't played the game long enough to notice anything. 

 

Are you having a Giraffe? What is this then?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WorxDYw4TXk

[SuperLink]

Maybe he's European, at least in UK there's supposedly no major server problems.

[scourgeandfionafan123]

I was playing on US East 2. and I live in the United States

[Candescence]

So according to a Maxis insider, the whole claim about the game using servers to handle a big chunk of the simulation processing is complete bullshit, as proven by people who've actually managed to get the game running offline.

 

Lying to your customers, EA? Classy.

[Blacklightning]

I think the more absurd thing about this news is less that the servers were unnecessary and more that EA somehow made the game a laggy, unplayable mess in spite of that.

[Stacy]

Looking online the Game this hasn't been cracked yet and even if they got the single player to work offline the biggest issue is the Cloud based saving of Cities.

 

Even this has its issues people have reported losing Cities due to the cloud based system going constantly offline.

 

I doubt EA would give in though at least as far removing it from this game. I don't know about future releases though I hope not.

[Patticus]

 

 

So, what exactly is going on here then? That's some unutterably poor pathfinding. I really thought Maxis would be better than this.

[Stacy]

 

*Cue Benny Hill Theme*

 

[Badnik Mechanic]

EA Lying abnout theoretical population sizes.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1a5pof/did_ea_lie_about_theoretical_population_sizes/

 

It seems that the total population count for the city isn't right. If you delete specific homes the population adjusts as appropriate, but when you delete certain houses... things go all twilight zone.

Oh for goodness...

 

Even Colonial Marines wasn't this moronic! And they had marines exposed to space!

 

 

 

 

 

/the ride never ends video.

[Candescence]

 

 

So, what exactly is going on here then? That's some unutterably poor pathfinding. I really thought Maxis would be better than this.

Maxis has always been terrible at making pathfinding when it comes to SimCity. SimCity 4 had pathfinding so bad that you needed a mod to make it even remotely decent.

 

 

Also, lol at underwater housing. Considering terraforming wasn't implemented, I imagine Maxis never realized such a thing was possible.

Edited March 13, 2013 by Masaru Daimon

[Stacy]

The only other EA Game I can compare this to in terms of being such a cock up is probably Command & Conquer 4 which had its funding and deadline cut and the end result was dreadful probably the worse game in the Series.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the new Free To Play Conquer & Conquer is just as messed up.

 

A bet Maxis was initially pleased to be working on a new Sim City game until the suits at EA stepped in. 

 

Maxis said: "Oh hi guys, come to check up on our new Sim City project?".

 

EA said: "Yes very good work but would like some changes put in. You see we have a deviant sexual fetish for Co-Op/Multiplayer gameplay and like all are others franchises Sim City needs to be the same. We also hope you don't mind that we are going use your game as a Guinea Pig for our new always-Online DRM because even though it backfired with Ubisoft and Blizzard we are going to do the same anyway".

 

Maxis said "Er....".

 

*Opens a briefcase which it contents shines mysteriously bright gold like in Pulp Fiction* EA said: "I hope you will agree to these changes"

 

Maxis said "Yes right away, master".

Edited March 13, 2013 by BW199148

[Badnik Mechanic]

So I don't own SimCity, and it's been years since I played SimCity 4 (mind you oddly, I want to play it again).

 

I've heard that the city sizes are smaller... but I never expected it to be on the scale as this...

 

And now we have the evening commute.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH-CdkSqDSs

[Stacy]

That funny because Sim City 4 is selling really well on Steam.

 

I've been watching a few videos myself and I am not impressed with the City Size they seem more like large towns and small Cities than ones you could make in the previous games. I doubt you could make a decent looking capital City. 

Edited March 13, 2013 by BW199148

[Badnik Mechanic]

 

Incidentally. This is also how most Sonic Adventure 3 topics go.

[Dr. Homem]

SimCity's Sims don't seen so smart after all

http://www.rockpaper...mart-after-all/

(please read the article)

If you check out the GlassBox design doc from GDC, you can see why Sims act like this. Inside the engine, Sims are like any other Agent (including water, power, etc). They have a simple rule to follow: Go to work, via a car, using a road. Theres not any data assigned to each to keep track of what job they hold, or what house they live in. So they just travel along roads and go to any random job and any random house, no matter where they lived/worked the very day before. Another good example of how the AI is bad was proven by the fact that AI simply takes the shortest path, regardless of road congestion or available capacity.

In other words, citizens are the exact same thing as sewage or eletricity. Far more simplistic than we were led to believe from everything they've said before and after release.

It's funny because people can even defend the always-online and server issues, but it's difficult to defend the game for making a really poor city simulation since the core game is full of bad design choices.

Edited March 13, 2013 by Dr. Homem

[Tornado]

So basically they completely redid the AI engine to perfectly recreate the idiotic shit they did in 4 on an individual sim level instead.

 

 

That's actually pretty funny.

[Willsy]

Aaand now in video form xD

 

 

Thanks to BW199148 and Patticus. 

Edited March 13, 2013 by Wil348

[SuperLink]

So it kinda seems like the game is a glitchterpiece even without the server errors?

Eesh, how did it go so wrong.. within a month of Aliens too.

[Patticus]

I was really looking forward to this and was hoping to get it for my birthday this summer, despite the present server issues, but if the core game experience (Sim A.I. etc) isn't fixed by a megapatch or two or three really soon, I don't think I'll bother. I don't know if this is just sloppy design work by Maxis, or if the suits upstairs at EA are to blame, but frankly it's inexcusable that such a venerable game series has been given such a shoddy new outing.

I expect that The Sims 4 will receive similarly shitty treatment.

[Badnik Mechanic]

What are the odds that they'll release a 'fixed' version for consoles?

[Patticus]

What are the odds that they'll release a 'fixed' version for consoles?

 

The game would be very well suited to the Wii U, and I wouldn't put it past them to do a Move-based version for the PS4 as well. It'd have to be properly fixed though - good A.I., fully linked up regions, a corrected tax system etc.

[EmmBee]

 

 

So, what exactly is going on here then? That's some unutterably poor pathfinding. I really thought Maxis would be better than this.

That huge EA billboard right next to the line of traffic going through grass is just icing in the cake.