SimCity modded so it can be played offline indefinitely + editing of highways

zomgbbqftw said:
Could it not be modded to think that it is connecting to a server when really it is just connecting to an emulated one on your own hardware. The verification stuff could also all be emulated locally to fool the game into thinking it is online.
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Yes, exactly. It's still a server, even if you run it on your own computer, and that's what I meant when I said "locally". You can run SQL servers on your own computer, and no program realises the differences, because it just says "give me this data from this connection", and the computer is smart enough to not loop it through the network interface when it is on the same machine.

I doubt it would be hard to make a server that takes data and stores it in a way that means it can serve it back to the client (the game). The thing taking time would be the way the game ensures it's talking to the EA servers. I don't really know much about what techniques are used there, but I'd imagine that it would be possible to spoof it.

So in the future, it might be possible to put an entry in your hosts file, start a program that acts like the server, and play offline.
 
Sethos said:
Well, it kinda went downhill after Spore.

When you release two crappy joke products in a row, credibility takes a massive hit.
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I think Spore had more to do with EA being a piece of shit than anything. All of the early previews of Spore were awesome, but EA rushed it out before it was finished and killed a lot of what made it so awesome looking. Maxis shouldn't be criticized for that imo.
 
nQbV5uJ.png


Be sure to take a picture of yourself when you check your tweets, Gies. I want to see what a guy looks like eating a plate full of crow.
 
Don't know if this has been posted already.


FOX NEWS: SimCity PR nightmare escalates
The SimCity saga is evolving into a mesmerizing example of mismanaging a highly ambitious project in several ways. Forcing consumers to opt for an always-on Internet connection; underestimating server loads; insisting on the unnecessary and destructive goal of having “real people” populating the simulation; capping the size of the cities at a level that obviously alienates long-time fans; and deciding to go ahead with the game launch even with clearly inadequate pathfinding algorithms.
There is little doubt that many an MBA program will mine this episode for course material in coming years.
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http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/03/13/simcity-pr-nightmare-escalates/
 
ahuahahahahuhauhaha.

When will the industry learn? It should be worrying to them that talent that chooses not to be employed by the game industry can fix their messes for free, as hobbyists, in a 1 week turn-around. Perhaps the people you're employing arent the hot shit you think they are.

Also never try to bullshit anyone about the reality of what your game is doing because you WILL BE FOUND OUT.

Plus: more delicious Gies crow feasting. Dude seems to have gone on a crow-only diet this year.
 
I have no interest in SimCity the game but I am enjoying this case surrounding it - couldn't have happened to a nicer company =)

Also lol Polygon.
 
Quentyn said:
How does that explain the quote from Lucy Bradshaw then? Is she also just PR or does she just doesn't know jackshit about what is going on in her studio?
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http://www.giantbomb.com/lucy-bradshaw/3040-1203/
Seems like PR person to me.


Septimius said:
Are you hired by EA? I've seen you in all SimCity threads doing nothing but trying to dowse the fire. This game is a scandal, and you say that's OK because there was a beta.

EDIT: Still, the biggest news is that you can continue to import and people can commute to other regions during offline play. You just can't load other regions, which makes sense since they're only stored on the server. This means if it weren't stored on the server, there'd be nothing against that, either.
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Yep, I'm hired by EA, GGG, Hammerpoint and Robert Space Industries at once. Oh and by Crytek.

I have never said it was ok because there was beta, stop turning my words around. You love to quoting me, maybe start quoting people who's spreading bullshit in every of those threads? Are You ok with hate and stupid posts, but not ok with objective opinion?

----
I'm waiting for media to wake up and finally read what Maxis dev team was posting for a whole year, seriously media coverage of this game is a joke.
 
Piggus said:
I think Spore had more to do with EA being a piece of shit than anything. All of the early previews of Spore were awesome, but EA rushed it out before it was finished and killed a lot of what made it so awesome looking. Maxis shouldn't be criticized for that imo.
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Maxis agreed to work with EA. That makes them just as guilty to both the clusterfuck that was Spore and the debacle that's SimCity.
Even more now that they're defending this heap of shit.
 
Unless this changes the behavior of mainstreamgamers, this is fairly meaningless.

But wih payolaed reviewers and marketing hype, EA will continue to get away with this over and over. I've seen otherwise intelligent friends of mine defend the purchase of this game.
 
Well it is just mater of few days before someone will put up server emulator for saving games.

When that will come modders will take it to their workshop and fix all pathfinding problems and as well will probably remove city size limit.
 
One tiny bit of devil's advocacy (don't worry, I'll move on to a rant in a minute): It's quite possible for large distributed computing tasks to have both a 'precise answer computed on a central powerful server' and a 'rough answer easily computed locally' setting, depending on demand and availability at any given time. If it's doing the latter, that could allow it to run fine offline yet still be true that it really does require online play for the 'full' simulation.

I suspect that's *not* the case, I'm giving them far more of the benefit of the doubt than they deserve, but I do have to highlight that it's concievable.


Rant time.

The bit that makes me furious here isn't actually directly related to SimCity; it's a simple case of trust. It's quite possible for a game to exist with a detailed enough simulation that it would require computation on a separate server, and I'm perfectly happy about that; if you are actually providing a service, I have no qualms about considering a game fairly in that light.

This nonsense, though? There's an audience out there who gave EA their trust that what they were claiming was true and accurate. Some will - perfectly reasonably - find this situation erodes their trust in EA. That's fine, that's EA's problem, that's what EA deserves in this situation. There are others, though, who will take this as a condemnation of the entire concept, and that I have a problem with. There's little inherently wrong with the idea provided it's, well, true; provided the simulation is genuinely robust enough that it needs that level of fidelity.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the people who came to that conclusion; I'm blaming EA for souring people on a potentially-valid model. If you're asking consumers to trust you enough to make concessions to what they're currently used to, they have to work.

In short:
EA: Stop poisoning the well. You're gonna need it.
 
KKRT00 said:
http://www.giantbomb.com/lucy-bradshaw/3040-1203/
Seems like PR person to me.




Yep, I'm hired by EA, GGG, Hammerpoint and Robert Space Industries at once. Oh and by Crytek.

I was never said it was ok because there was beta, stop turning my words around. You love to quote me, maybe start quoting people who's spreading bullshit in everyone of those threads? Are You ok with hate and stupid posts, but not ok with objective opinion?

----
I'm waiting for media to wake up and finally read what Maxis dev team was posting for a whole year, seriously media coverage of this game is a joke.
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I've been in those threads, discussing deficiencies in the way things are done now, arguing with people why some things are as they are, and generally been talking about the system. You're talking about objective opinion like the ones who say they don't stand for the bullshit EA has been feeding them (that the servers are intrinsic to the game, that server-load won't be a problem, the the servers will be up at <parameter:string>, the list goes on) aren't sharing an objective opinion, and are spreading bullshit?

You can say all you want about obscure pieces and "oh, but if you look at these wordings in hindsight". It's EA and Maxis' responsibilities to give an impression and understanding of the game that is in line with what the game is. Given the sheer tsunami of shit that's been going against this game, you can pout all you want about it being "people that misunderstood". But it's everyone. The outcry against the poor management of this game tops the previous horrendous examples. It's surpassing everything we know as a DRM scandal. This is a horrible launch even in MMO standards, despite not being an MMO. And here you are, saying you're the one that sees reality for what it is. You fail to see that it's the people's outcry that is the reality, and no matter how many snippits you can find of Maxis saying "it's not really simulating everyone", matter of the fact is that everyone thought sims would be persistent, and thought this game would be something it isn't. That's where EA and Maxis failed, and that's something you can't "objectively opinion" otherwise.
 
Bedlam said:
I can't wait to see Arthur Gies' response. He insisted that all of this is "incorrect" and everyone who said otherwise "literally" didn't know what they're talking about.

https://twitter.com/aegies/status/310282795564015616
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Now I haven't listened to anything with Gies on for over a year, as he always came across as arrogant. Saying that, a lot of his posting here is fairly even handed.

But he's clearly wrong on this issue. Maybe he was just convinced by what Maxis told him. In any regard, it will be interesting to see if he responds.
 
Its Arthur Gies, since when has he ever been wrong?

Seriously, I almost expect him to be contrarian on purpose. From Mass Effect 3 having a perfectly fine ending to Vanquish being a clunky game that is punitive, he's had opinions and stances that are plain confusing.
 
New day, new discoveries, more drama...

I'm amazed at how far EA/Maxis has gone in trying to hide the truth behind this "always online" requirement. Of course some of the false PR may truly be a misunderstanding on the part of the EA/Maxis employee. I'm not going to label everyone at EA/Maxis who has spoken out about this a liar. But the level of misinformation surrounding this game on so many different components of the game has been absolutely baffling.
 
Perkel said:
Well it is just mater of few days before someone will put up server emulator for saving games.

When that will come modders will take it to their workshop and fix all pathfinding problems and as well will probably remove city size limit.
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EA/Maxis doesn't even have to make functioning games anymore as long as the franchise they butcher is somewhat loved. Paint the broad strokes and throw it out of the door, modding community will fix it and it'll still sell copies. They may have found a way around "next gen dev costs".
 
JDSN said:
http://i.imgur.com/5V7hZnK.jpg[IMG]

Special press cameo by future community managers from IGN and Kotaku.[/QUOTE]

It's funny: I bet publishers or developers don't even have to convince these people to come to their defenses - they look to willingly rush to the protection of them. They are incompetent manchildren and it's a sad to witness the low level of reflection and thought.
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JDSN said:
http://i.imgur.com/5V7hZnK.jpg[/ IMG]

Special press cameo by future community managers from IGN and Kotaku.[/QUOTE]

I love how he lambasts the "inside source" there but over here he has masqueraded as one for Durango information for a year or so "confirming" special sauce and other such idiocies.
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Could the outside city editing be blocked due to huge performance drops? I remember Giant Bomb saying even the regular city sizes had performance hits when full.
 
BurnOutBrighter said:
nQbV5uJ.png


Be sure to take a picture of yourself when you check your tweets, Gies. I want to see what a guy looks like eating a plate full of crow.
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Seeing how he refused to admit he was spouting bullshit when the PS4 reveal proved a bunch of his 'insider' facts were completely wrong, there is no chance he'll man up and do the right thing here either.

He literally has no idea what he is on about, on any subject, ever.
 
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