SPORE SimEarth game

[Leonel]

It's a crime that there hasn't been any actual news of Spore in this thread lately! So I present you with GOOD NEWS! And bad news...

First the bad news;
Spore Microtransactions Still On The Menu
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/85347-Spore-Microtransactions-Still-On-The-Menu

Basically the basics of sharing your critters online is still going to be free, no question about it. But essentially they might be going the route of a Sims 2 label in terms of the Stuff addon's. Personally I don't mind the expansions as I felt Nightlife's addition of drivable cars and Apartment Life's addition of apartments is truly necessary, but I can get better and far more numerous addon's from ModTheSims2.com when it comes to the Stuff boxes. But frankly I don't think things like Stuff boxes for Spore on the purpose of recouping development costs as this game will easily sell a million.

Apart from that, here's the good news!;
Spore Will Be Done in Roughly a Week
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3169060

Less than a week before it goes gold! All that would be left is a 39 day wait as of this post before we can ruin our lives and have serious sleep problems!

 

[GoodGame]

Maxis had said at E3 that the only microtransactions would be the custom 3D figurines. Basically you could get a toy cut of your favorite creature. No doubt there'll be mad expansions like the Sims2.

Spore label inside of EA, because the back-end system works so well that we're able to monetize body parts, plant parts, car parts, planets - as a way to generate incremental revenue off an install base of several million active users

Though this is the CEO's plan. Personally I think there will be a backlash against such a move. They'll cook their golden goose.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Wait, so they'd charge small prices for new body/building/vehicle parts which they create? My first reaction is one of distaste, but isn't this pretty much the same as buying expansion packs?

Am I understanding this correctly? This is much more devious than expansion packs, as I'm a bit obsessive about having every patch and 'thingy' for each game I own, and this would just become a money drain.

Well, it'll improve my willpower, I suppose. There are plenty of parts as it is, though I could picture more very unique things... At any rate, I hope that this is just EA speculating on possibilities.

 

[King of Town]

I think unless they are making it unmoddable, the only money they are getting from me would be may be scenario driven. Or maybe another evolutionary stage in there.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Well, they'll continue to earn money either through expansions, or through microtransactions, at any rate.

 

[GoodGame]

Is it just me or does it seem like you can't download other people's creatures anymore?

 

[Leonel]

I think you're just paranoid. Unless you've been doing something other than downloading the .png file. But then again I haven't downloaded any critters lately but I'll check when I get home.

 

[tuxedohamm]

the download link wasn't there last time i checked...but you can still just right-click the image and "save as"

 

[Lord_Iggy]

That's exactly what I do. BTW, more people need to start using the 'Civfanatics' tag.

 

[Harbringer]

The game looks like a good idea that will be ruined by attempting to throw in mass appeal.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

I think that even despite some unattractive additions, the power of the game's core idea will be enough to make it great. Besides, is there any specific thing that has begun to bother you about the game since it started to change from the original 2005 video?

 

[GenMarshall]

But essentially they might be going the route of a Sims 2 label in terms of the Stuff addon's.

Well other than being bloatware, that turned me off big time.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

What exactly did the Sims2 do? I never bothered to get an expansion for it. Isn't it just periodically releasing expansion packs with more features/gimmicks?

 

[GenMarshall]

What exactly did the Sims2 do? I never bothered to get an expansion for it. Isn't it just periodically releasing expansion packs with more features/gimmicks?

Same thing with the original The Sims. Lots and Lots of Expansion packs coming out almost each month. One or two expansion packs are fine. But a lot of them is just too much. May as well wait for a Deluxe edition that contains all of the expansion packs instead of worrying about losing CD and CD codes.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

True, but really, they're still pick-and-choose. Nothing forces you to buy a new game, and if you really want the game that badly, then they probably have earned the money from you. Regardless of what I think of EA's practices, I certainly will support a good game if they make it.

As for supporting dollar and centing us to death with expansion packs, well, I hope that EA gets over that, but frankly, I'm hoping that EA backs down on its more draconian security measures as well, but neither seem very likely, and they don't seem to be things that will greatly affect them either.

 

[Harbringer]

I think that even despite some unattractive additions, the power of the game's core idea will be enough to make it great. Besides, is there any specific thing that has begun to bother you about the game since it started to change from the original 2005 video?

Yes, the fact that it looks like it lacks very much depth, the entire game looks like bells and whistles and gimmicks, like its a dumbed down version of something awesome.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

I think that the depths is as great as it is in anything Maxis creates- the amount of variations you can make on things is infinite. Yes, there may be something of a directed type of gameplay to the earlier parts of the game, but look at the freedom offered by the editors. And beyond that, in the space phase, there is literally a galaxy full of stars to explore. I can see how some things are dumbed down and caricatured- it's impossible to do otherwise without making the game ridiculously complex or too advanced to play on anything but a supercomputer. If you refer to the 'cartoony' appearance of the game, I'd have to agree with you that I would prefer a more realistic appearance for the creatures, but I can still make amazing things with the creature editor that I'd only been able to imagine before.

I'm still convinced that this will be the most fun and engaging computer game that I have ever played.

BTW, could you define exactly what you mean by 'bells and whistles and gimmicks'? The whole game looks pretty integrated to me.

 

[King of Town]

Harbinger I can't help but agree with you a little. i am still going nto get it and love it probably, but it does look sort of dumbed down. I think it may be the difference between getting a hardcore simcity 4 and a dumbed down variation called simcity societies.

I'm kind of surprised they didn't sell the core game with only the ability to make herbivores and sell expansions for different types. I have a feeling the expansions could include under water and flying creatures.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Societies was an abomination which fully converted me to playing City Life. And yeah, I do agree with you guys, to an extent. The game is simplified from reality- but I believe that this 'caricature' is necessary because a more accurate simulation would be prohibitively complex. However, there is still a colossal amount of things that we will be able to do. I view some of the complaints as (metaphorically) declaring that it is terrible that something has one million features instead of an expected one billion features. Yes, one million is only a thousandth of one billion, but both numbers are still almost inconceivably huge.

And anyway, could anyone specifically say what has dumbed down (other than the graphics)?

 

[Harbringer]

The whole thing from reality period, have you seen how simple combat, feeding, mating, herding and survival is period? The gimmicks are in the creature editor, who gives a damn, I dont care about the procedural generation . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . or how you can make any kind of creature you want, it will always regardless of how you make it always follow some stereotype, theres no escaping that. The millions of planets thing is also a bunch of bells and whistles, if there all randomly generated they will get boring with the simplistic gameplay, period. Just watch the gameplay stuff, it seems as if there isnt any strategy really at all and the game is meant more as an entertaining snippet rather than a game you can seriously play and hardcore get into for extended periods of time. Something Ill play through once if that and then mayby touch again a year later and then never again. But, I could be completely wrong.