SimCity 5

[Stylesrj]

I bought this game when it came out (Thursday), didn't play it until Friday because I wanted to do some things in The Sims 3.
I should have stuck to the Sims 3... (by the way, I like it very much. Unlike Sim City)

I was expecting a Sim City 4.5, which I would have loved dearly. Sim City 4 has a really good thing going on with it and I wanted it to see go further; for starters, the whole large city traffic issue which cannot be solved, even with a transport mod.

Sim City 5 felt awkward to play, I was starting to smell a rat with the online thing (but I got on and played for 5 hours without problems) and then I was smelling the sewage of that rat when you could only build a city within certain regions (None of the terrain suited my needs, so I had to make something up for my "story" as to why it's there) and then there was a sweet scent of perfume when I noticed you could build an arcology as a Grand Work (Squee! They brought them back!)

Then after bidding the game farewell for the night, I come back to see if I can make it, when I realised what I had been playing was a rotting, rat-infested corpse marked "Please wait three minutes for attempts to connect."
I know I shouldn't complain when people have to wait 40 minutes for attempts to connect, but those are attempts, not actual guarantees.

I guess this is what happens when you don't bother to take heed the warnings of the haunted house that is EA.
They messed this one up royally after winning my trust with The Sims 3.

 

[bhavv]

I dont get what made the Sims 3 any better though other than being offline?

The amount that they milked that game with expansions, and how much it cost to get the entire thing was a joke. I picked it up in a steam sale though with all the expansions, which still cost me £50.

Sims 3 was every much as 'haunted' by EA as Sim City is.

 

[Stylesrj]

I've expected The Sims series as a whole to be milked with expansions. Doesn't mean the game is any worse. Expect for the constant crashing and the use of mods to make it playable for more than an hour...

Back on topic though - Issue Numero... #71053 with Sim City 5.

Forced Tutorials. I've switched servers and not only can I not go back to my precious region, I'm told I need to learn the basics of the game again! Is that for real!?

 

[Glassmage]

The game runs great for me.

 

[warpus]

I used to play Sims 2 I think (or 1?) and wouldn't mind checking out 3, but from what I've seen it's a case of "if you want this functionality, buy this expansion.. if you want that functionality, buy that expansion", etc. That's just my perception of it at first glance though, so I could be wrong

 

[cybrxkhan]

Hey guys, look, there's already SimCity DLC for sale!

 

[GenMarshall]

Sim City 5 felt awkward to play, I was starting to smell a rat with the online thing (but I got on and played for 5 hours without problems) and then I was smelling the sewage of that rat when you could only build a city within certain regions (None of the terrain suited my needs, so I had to make something up for my "story" as to why it's there) and then there was a sweet scent of perfume when I noticed you could build an arcology as a Grand Work (Squee! They brought them back!)

Then after bidding the game farewell for the night, I come back to see if I can make it, when I realised what I had been playing was a rotting, rat-infested corpse marked "Please wait three minutes for attempts to connect."
I know I shouldn't complain when people have to wait 40 minutes for attempts to connect, but those are attempts, not actual guarantees.

Make ya think they should have stuck with offline play instead of trying to make it into an MMO with the whole always online DRM. Plus in the reviews I saw, (Other than the complaint that the sizes are too small and a limited terrain modifying tools), is that you cannot build any rails, highways, and subways!

They messed this one up royally after winning my trust with The Sims 3.

I've lost my trust with EA after they weren't going to release Mass Effect 3 on Steam. Then the whole DRM, their EULA, and Origin fiasco reared it's ugly head (I will not touch that piece of spyware with a 10ft pole.)

I stopped at The Sims 2 after getting tired of trying to keep up with the DLCs they keep making each month.

 

[bhavv]

Well the game loads up, logs into a server, and runs fine for me, but:


Link to video.

I practice with a single city for a few hours, then try out this region trading thing in a new game and it doesnt work.

Building a single power and water source and trading it everywhere is meant to be cheaper and more profitable for all the connected cities, but it isnt working.

And the video is crap sorry, movie maker defaulted to 4:3 instead of 16:9, and my video capture software reset its audio settings so no audio was captured, lame that both video recording softwares suddenly reset automatically.

 

[Stylesrj]

Make ya think they should have stuck with offline play instead of trying to make it into an MMO with the whole always online DRM.

Well you know EA:

EA: Hey Blizzard made an always online thing for their Diablo 3 game! We should go for it!
Guy: Umm... wasn't it a really bad decision which caused problems on launch and throughout?
EA: Exactly! They're encroaching on our business in making bad decisions!
Bethesda: *ahem* Gentlemen...

Plus in the reviews I saw, (Other than the complaint that the sizes are too small and a limited terrain modifying tools), is that you cannot build any rails, highways, and subways!

There are terrain modifying tools!?
Oh and you can build rail lines... they're called Heavy Rail Lines and require a Department of Transportation and... yeah you can't build rail lines.

Oh and thanks for reminding me about the map sizes. Yeah they're not very epic
Plus half of it would probably be taken up by parks so the people are happy... there are no farms... and resources run out after several months (not a worry so far, but well... if they could refill resources like Anno 2070, that'd be great)

I stopped at The Sims 2 after getting tired of trying to keep up with the DLCs they keep making each month.

Same here. I wasn't going to fall for that trap... there was no way ever I was going to buy anything in The Sims 3. Sure I had The Sims Medieval and it wasn't that bad of a game but no way ever was I going to play The Sims 3...

I avoided it for years until 3 months ago... dammit!

 

[cybrxkhan]

Sims 3 ain't too bad and is relatively bearable and enjoyable if you don't need to buy all the DLC right away. Not to mention it's entirely offline, and, oh, yeah, you still have room for some creativity when it comes to designing your family, house, and all that, unlike the new SimCity where you're stuck with the city map they give you essentially. Imagine if int he next Sims you can't design your own house or household.

 

[GenMarshall]

Well you know EA

Anything that EA touches turns to crap. It's like the antithesis of the Midas touch. I wonder if Will Wright is facepalming over the direction his game has taken. A singleplayer game that's turned into a multiplayer game with an always online DRM and crappy servers.

I wonder what Yahtzee would have to say about SimCity 2013. I already ran across a one minute review of SimCity by DMJared on YouTube. It basicly went like this:

"Work, Damn it! Work. Damn it! Oh what the hell!? Work, Damn it! Work, Damn it! [Gets to the city loading screen] Aw there we go ! [error message pops up] *beep*, I'm going to bed!" All in a time span of 14 seconds (The rest of the video is blank).

 

[bhavv]

New transport options and larger cities will be DLCs, just wait for it.

P.S. I dont mean 'just wait for it' as in wait for it and buy it, I mean wait and see that I was right

 

[GenMarshall]

New transport options and larger cities will be DLCs, just wait for it.

P.S. I dont mean 'just wait for it' as in wait for it and buy it, I mean wait and see that I was right

Just what EA needs, more money.

 

[J-man]

Well, I just played a couple of hours again without server issues. I guess less people logged in at later times. I realy like this game when works.

off topic: The sims 3 is a good game, there is tons of stuff you can do. If you needs some tips, this is a good fan site: http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/

 

[Glassmage]

just finished playing for 3 hours. It is very fun. I really like the glassbox engine and the interactions with other cities. I like how cities in a region can work together to make great works like International Airport. I understand most of you would say "in simcity4 you can fit 2-3 large airports so why get excited about this?", but this new setup gives me a homely feeling.

 

[Antilogic]

I read that some of the calculations in the game (even single player) are done on the server, not locally.

WHY!?!

It's not necessary. It's just not. Personal computers have advanced how much over the decade or so since SimCity 4 was released? And EA decides, in its infinite wisdom, to not take advantage of those advances for anything besides prettier graphics and curvy roads?

This better be a shoddy excuse for their DRM.

Has a savior arrived?

This is the first Kickstarter game I'm seriously considering giving money to. Well, I guess I bought the beta of KSP and Minecraft, so maybe it's the third.

 

[AlpsStranger]

This launch is bad.

It's a shame. The underlying game has issues too, but it has a staggering amount of potential.

Why, oh why must everything suck?

I swear, I was happier on my SNES popping in cartridges and playing games with friends. I didn't know better graphics were possible so I was content. Now I'm jaded and accustomed to modern AAA graphics, but those often come with the apocalypse close behind.

Now I'm stuck between wondering if games I'm looking forward to are going to be banned or if they're just plain going to be torn to shreds by their own developers/publishers.

God, I need a new hobby.

 

[RD-BH]

Hmm, logged out making 13k/hr and 2M in the bank.
Logged on, -7K/hr, 0 simoleons in bank and a message telling me I'm broke

WTH happened in the 18 minutes I was trying to get back on the server

Maybe, it would be less painful playing a new city every logon.
... of course, been disconnected more than connected today

note:
I keep reading posts saying you can't build railroads
... you can build them
... you can, also, build avenues with streetcars
... you can, also, make a train tunnel but not subways
... Statue of Liberty $575,000 - ouch!

 

[Maniacal]

I tried to warn you.

 

[AlpsStranger]

I know, but I just won't enjoy gaming anymore if I have to constantly "game defensively." I want to be able to get excited about something and anxiously wait for the exact second it releases, know what I mean?

The anticipation was so fun, watching videos about it and imagining how cool it would be. I'm not sure I can maintain my interest in gaming if I have to pursue it cynically and tactically.