Spore: A Failure?

[schlaufuchs]

Don't be fooled by the marketing

Each and every aspect of Spore is exactly as intended by EA

Right down to the consumer reaction to these decisions.

Yeah! This way for Spore 2 they can promise to fix everything they did wrong, and thus bring the hardcore gamers back in hoping for the great product they were expecting last time.

It's the same thing CA has been doing for awhile now with the TW series.

 

[Dodge_272]

Yeah! This way for Spore 2 they can promise to fix everything they did wrong, and thus bring the hardcore gamers back in hoping for the great product they were expecting last time.

It's the same thing CA has been doing for awhile now with the TW series.

Not that I don't agree with you regarding Spore 2, but they're already releasing expansion packs, which as we all know are EA's favourite thing in the world, buy a game and end up spending up to £100 on expansions because the original is ing , and doesn't even include features that were on expansions of previous games in the series, genius.

 

[W|M]

Also, you can't play 2 expansions at the same time...

 

[Silv Something]

You can't? Are you sure?

 

[NASAROG]

I got bored of Spore early on. I've mostly played Civ 4 (complete) and SC4 (complete). @ of my all time favorite franchises.

 

[Soda7777777]

Don't be fooled by the marketing

Each and every aspect of Spore is exactly as intended by EA

Right down to the consumer reaction to these decisions.

True, in a way. I think EA just doesn't give a damn about us anymore, and all they care about is making a game look pretty, but it really sucks. I understand why people buy their games, even though they suck. For one it might be an emotional attachment like for The Sims, or for others it might be because they don't know anything about the company.

 

[Minor Annoyance]

Also, you can't play 2 expansions at the same time...

We're still talking about Spore right? Because that only has two expansions and they do work together.

 

[Silv Something]

Also, you can't play 2 expansions at the same time...

I think he was talking about spore . . .

 

[Minor Annoyance]

I think he was talking about spore . . .

Well then that's just wrong because of the two expansions that exist you can use them together and it would be silly if you couldn't.

 

[Daftpanzer]

I propose that PC games are basically dead from the near future onwards, except for the indie scene. Too many complications and DRM crap.

 

[W|M]

PC Games are getting worse and worse. The best games are from 2003-2006.

 

[Daftpanzer]

Nah its 1994-1996!

Duke Nukem 3D, Transport Tycoon Deluxe, Terminal Velocity, Doom 1+2, UFO: Enemy Unkown, Civilization 1+2, Jane's ATF, Eurofighter 2000, Hexen, Sim City 2000, Worms, Screamers, Master of Orion 1+2, X-Wing, Mechwarrior 2. Those were truly great games... especially if you were 13 at the time

 

[W|M]

Lets see...2003-06 has Fifa 03, 04, 05 and 06, Pro Evolution Soccer 3, 4, 5, and 6, Civilization 4, Rome: Total War, Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion, Rome: Total War: Alexander, Medieval 2: Total War, Simcity 4, Simcity 4: Rush Hour, The Sims 2 (and several expansions), Call of Duty, Call of Duty: United Offensive, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3, Half-Life 2 e.t.c.

 

[Pwnzerfaust]

I propose that PC games are basically dead from the near future onwards, except for the indie scene. Too many complications and DRM crap.

I propose you're incorrect. I think DRM will become less and less prevalent, because developers will realize it's useless, and does more to make their customers angry than stop pirates (after all, pirates tend to break any DRM ever in a day or less). Also, there's more possibilities with PC games than there are for consoles.

 

[Angst]

Actually, I agree with Daftpanzer on that one. Note your list west india man; your list mostly consisted of repeating continuations and expansions of the same few all-right games.

There's a reason why I personally play Red Alert rather than Red Alert 2 or 3. Because the later part of the series suck. The problem is that the businessmen running the computer industry know what sells the best and therefore blindly invests in the same old stuff without leaving open space for innovation; and that's why indie games are often surprisingly fun, and more importantly even more fun than big-time corporate game designers. The investors don't want to change what usually sells; that's also why I don't buy games anymore... I only buy good oldies. Not the new biggies. Them I crack.

I simply refuse to spend money on those games.

A reason why I do that, though, is that I don't spend any more time than an hour or so on the later big-industry games... They're simply too boring and similar.

EDIT: Also, Daftpanzer, you forgot Warcraft II on that list. Much better game than the sequels imho.

 

[GenMarshall]

Nah its 1994-1996!

Duke Nukem 3D, Transport Tycoon Deluxe, Terminal Velocity, Doom 1+2, UFO: Enemy Unkown, Civilization 1+2, Jane's ATF, Eurofighter 2000, Hexen, Sim City 2000, Worms, Screamers, Master of Orion 1+2, X-Wing, Mechwarrior 2. Those were truly great games... especially if you were 13 at the time

You can still play TTDX now a days (provided you still have the original disk) with OpenTTD and TTD Patch

Though as of recent, I've gravitated towards OpenTTD since they've added in the same stuff as Patch TTD (eg. electrified rails, grf support) as well as contain stuff that the Patch TTD does not have (eg. larger airports, multiple grf support). And OpenTTD is much more portable than TTD Patch (I can put it on my USB Flash stick and play it on any computer without worrying about registries crap)

Lets see...2003-06 has Fifa 03, 04, 05 and 06, Pro Evolution Soccer 3, 4, 5, and 6, Civilization 4, Rome: Total War, Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion, Rome: Total War: Alexander, Medieval 2: Total War, Simcity 4, Simcity 4: Rush Hour, The Sims 2 (and several expansions), Call of Duty, Call of Duty: United Offensive, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3, Half-Life 2 e.t.c.

Thoes are the only ones that stand out for me. Though Sim City 4 is more challenging than Sim City 3000, it does have the ability to add content to the game itself where as it's predecessors it's hardcoded (exceptions: landmarks for SC3k, and building graphics for SC2k w/ SCURK).

Half-Life 2 (and it's episodic episodes) stand out for me as well as mods for the game (Smod, Fortress Forever, etc) as well as Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead 1+2 (I have Counter Strike: Source and Day of Defeat: Source, but I only used those in Garry's Mod.

 

[Rub'Rum]

Best gaming years are whatever years during which you were 15-19.

*cue 17 years old posting about how he is into "old school games" and how I am wrong just like this kid in high school who's so proud of schooling everybody about Pink Floyd*

PS: I know you're there, but you're not gonna post NOW are ya? mah!

 

[Daftpanzer]

I admit I would rather play Sim City 4 than SC2k. But I'm all nostalgic for that time period. Even though I was always having to fiddle with sound card settings and config.sys and autoexec.bat, and I could only fit about 4 games on the hard drive at a time, despite all that, it all seemed so much simpler back then.

IMO there was an amazing progression in games from early 90's basic platformers to things like Duke3D, just five or six years later. Like by 1999 I was playing entirely new kinds of games compared to what I was playing in 1991. Whereas today I mostly play the same kind of things I was playing in 2001, just with updated graphics and capabilities.

Which is why it frustrates me that Spore is somehow not all that fun to play. Like it was a new kind of game and should've been awesome

You can still play TTDX now a days (provided you still have the original disk) with OpenTTD and TTD Patch

@CivGeneral I really like OTTD! I haven't kept up to date with it recently, but I had a lot of fun with that when I first found out about it. I know that every so often I'll be tempted back to try and build that perfect rail network. I find the online play fun too, I'm amazed how well that works.

EDIT: Also, Daftpanzer, you forgot Warcraft II on that list. Much better game than the sequels imho.

For some reason I never had warcraft II at the time... I did have the original Warcraft on a 486 PC with no sound card, it was still fun

 

[Macha]

I'd just like to add that as of a few days ago, you no longer need Transport Tycoon Deluxe to play openTTD. Just download the "nightly" version and use openGFX instead. I've been using openGFX and nightlies for a while, so I don't know if it is the default yet.

 

[gopher666]

Best gaming years are whatever years during which you were 15-19.

Or earlier. My best gaming years were probably age 8-14. The real magic kind of went away after that.

On topic, I think Spore was an abysmal disappointment. My expectations for that game were very high indeed, and it turned out to be a rather dull experience.