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[notoriousKTR]

For those who are interested, extracted/abridged source code of the always-online: http://pastebin.com/8NR1EdkN

Simply commenting out line# 22 defeats the force disconnect.

 

[mattiewheels]

banned gaming article site.com/234878343-Gaming-"Journalist"-Has-His-Life-Ruined-By-Single-Mean-NeoGAF-Post

I know you're just messing around, but I just wish the general mood here was a little more tempered. There's a reason neogaf has a bad reputation...

 

[EmCeeGramr]

For those who are interested, extracted/abridged source code of the always-online: http://pastebin.com/8NR1EdkN

Simply commenting out line# 22 defeats the force disconnect.

        kNoRepeatNetworkAlertSeconds : 15,
        [B]kNetDownForceQuitAfterMinutes : 20,[/B]

lmao

 

[Aselith]

Why is demonizing people neogaf's favorite hobby lately?

Gies decided to troll people, as he is wont to, but his logic isn't completely wrong. So he's the worst example of games writing then? I just think seeing people as characitures is the wrong way to go about it.

Could you expand upon this a little bit?

 

[Zeal]

I hope the hacker/programming community does this to every single game and publisher that fucks consumers out of a legitimately purchased product. This is not supporting piracy either so don't even come with that shit, it's supporting your right as a human being to own what you paid for.

When the gaming community as a whole stands up and makes clear in a single, unified voice that this crap will not be tolerated, corporations even as big as EA can be brought to their knees out of sheer embarrassment.

 

[FINALBOSS]

ahah wow thank god I'm in the clear with regards to your online moral code; I made a flippant comment prefaced by "lol", hardly a palpable attempt to ruin someone's life

Some people on this forum have extremely thin skin and like to white-knight at the weirdest times.

I know you're just messing around, but I just wish the general mood here was a little more tempered. There's a reason neogaf has a bad reputation...

Because GAF is opinionated and not willing to take shit in the video game realm.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

I hope the hacker/programming community does this to every single game and publisher that fucks consumers out of a legitimately purchased product. This is not supporting piracy either so don't even come with that shit, it's supporting your right as a human being to own what you paid for.

When the gaming community as a whole stands up and makes clear in a single, unified voice that this crap will not be tolerated, corporations even as big as EA can be brought to their knees out of sheer embarrassment.

But it's an MMO!

/EA defenders

 

[mattiewheels]

Could you expand upon this a little bit?

I'm on your side, if that matters. I just try to see everybody's perspective and take it from there. Writing Gies off as a pure shill and a black mark on gaming media is ridiculous man.

 

[HeliosT10]

C'mon gaf, you're better than this....it's turning into the Salem witch hunts now...

 

[Aselith]

I'm on your side, if that matters. I just try to see everybody's perspective and take it from there. Writing Gies off as a pure shill and a black mark on gaming media is ridiculous man.

But I mean what part of his logic do you find to be sound? I don't really think he's a shill, he just seems like a know it all idiot that doesn't know when to take his ball and go home. I can't think of a single thing he's said about this situation that hasn't been proven factually wrong.

Curious to know what he's been right about.

 

[FINALBOSS]

But I mean what part of his logic do you find to be sound?

O I dunozz lol teeehee

 

[DICKS AHOY]

But I mean what part of his logic do you find to be sound?

Probably none of it, but attempting some level of civility when criticising anybody online gives them far less ammunition to use when they try to strawman your on Twitter.

 

[HeliosT10]

Could you expand upon this a little bit?

Put the stake away, please. Wouldn't be much of a discussion forum if everyone had the same POV.

 

[Aselith]

Put the stake away, please. Wouldn't be much of a discussion forum if everyone had the same POV.

Exactly, I'm trying to expand my POV a little by gaining some perspective on where Gies has been saying logically sound stuff. Wouldn't be much of a discussion forum if we aren't allowed to discuss stuff either. :/

 

[Abylim]

This whole situation is frustrating.
I've never liked Gies, his attitude in a few other situations doesnt gel with me.

I just dont understand what he gains by defending the devs, and insulting his readers?

 

[Cat in the Hat]

        kNoRepeatNetworkAlertSeconds : 15,
        [B]kNetDownForceQuitAfterMinutes : 20,[/B]

lmao

Oh god hahaha

I guess the 20 minute estimates people kept saying were exactly 20 minutes.

 

[DTKT]

This whole situation is frustrating.
I've never liked Gies, his attitude in a few other situations doesnt gel with me.

I just dont understand what he gains by defending the devs, and insulting his readers?

I don't think he's insulting his readers, I think he's genuinely thinking that Maxis are saying the truth and that RPS is just fishing for clicks with a few sensationalist headlines.

 

[orznge]

I don't think he's insulting his readers, I think he's genuinely thinking that Maxis are saying the truth and that RPS is just fishing for clicks with a few sensationalist headlines.

he must not be very internet-savvy then?

 

[dejay]

I don't think he's insulting his readers, I think he's genuinely thinking that Maxis are saying the truth and that RPS is just fishing for clicks with a few sensationalist headlines.

He's been reading the wrong things then - his twitter feed for one.

 

[Sky Chief]

I don't think he's insulting his readers, I think he's genuinely thinking that Maxis are saying the truth and that RPS is just fishing for clicks with a few sensationalist headlines.

Well you know as a journalist you're supposed to have this thing called "skepticism" and do this thing called "investigation"...

 

[Abylim]

Witness the revolution happening at Polygon. I mean, who else holds their readers in such high regard? I can't believe any business allows an employee to behave this like in public.

Don't take their feedback and see how you might learn and improve from it, just say "fuck you."

I dunno, this comes off as insulting to his readers. Saying that unless you work for Maxis you know nothing, then acting like he knows more than anyone else on the subject also is insulting.

 

[inky]

I dunno, this comes off as insulting to his readers. Saying that unless you work for Maxis you know nothing, then acting like he knows more than anyone else on the subject also is insulting.

He's "in the industry" and you are not, silly. Of course he knows more because of reasons.

 

[FINALBOSS]

Put the stake away, please. Wouldn't be much of a discussion forum if everyone had the same POV.

He's asking the dude's opinion directly. What are you, his bodyguard?

 

[border]

Can you save your game with [the offline mod]? I thought SimCity was only doing cloud saves.

No.

Is it possible that they will eventually get offline game saves working? I'm surprised that Rock Paper Shotgun did a whole interview with the mod creator and did not ask about this issue.

 

[unbias]

I dunno, this comes off as insulting to his readers. Saying that unless you work for Maxis you know nothing, then acting like he knows more than anyone else on the subject also is insulting.

That was him digging his own grave because he felt dumb for the comment, after dismissing RPS' source, saying it doesn't need to be online to handle anything other then social, essentially. Instead of just admitting his immediate defense was to EA and the PR, he decided to dig in his heels, by praising himself, pretty much, and insulting others.

https://twitter.com/aegies/status/313165194639577089

He pretty much blames what he says on everyone else and then try's to play the victim. I wouldn't be surprised if he was trying to form a "threat narrative" against redddit.

 

[unbias]

Is it possible that they will eventually get offline game saves working? I'm surprised that Rock Paper Shotgun did a whole interview with the mod creator and did not ask about this issue.

I think the reason he didnt ask was because what he did still allowed him to reconnect with the server and save, in the video. I dont think Azzer ever messed with saves or at least it was never mentioned I dont think, I could be wrong.

 

[enzo_gt]

I hope the hacker/programming community does this to every single game and publisher that fucks consumers out of a legitimately purchased product. This is not supporting piracy either so don't even come with that shit, it's supporting your right as a human being to own what you paid for.

When the gaming community as a whole stands up and makes clear in a single, unified voice that this crap will not be tolerated, corporations even as big as EA can be brought to their knees out of sheer embarrassment.

I hope hackers are trying to break this game's DRM down right now, because at the moment it's the only way I can see disgruntled gamers giving EA the middle finger and removing the last bastion of defense EA has for the DRM.

I just want to see the tower completely break and EA to actually suffer some fucking consequences for their actions so they can learn a thing or two about caring for the consumer. The amount of ignorance, spins and back peddling we've seen since SimCity's launch has been unprecedented in the industry.

For lack of better words, if EA wins, gamers everywhere lose, and that cannot happen.

 

[border]

Gies decided to troll people, as he is wont to, but his logic isn't completely wrong. So he's the worst example of games writing then? I just think seeing people as characitures is the wrong way to go about it.

Do you really think he's trolling?

To elaborate on what I'd consider to be trolling -- do you think he is intentionally taking an unpopular position and stubbornly expressing and defending said position, for the purpose of getting attention and/or making others mad?

I don't think he is an EA shill, but it seems to me that he's just someone who made broad judgments and statements without much actual knowledge, and is now stubbornly refusing to admit that he was wrong.

 

[unbias]

Do you really think he's trolling?

To elaborate on what I'd consider to be trolling -- do you think he is intentionally taking an unpopular position and stubbornly expressing and defending said position, for the purpose of getting attention and/or making others mad?

I don't think he is an EA shill, but it seems to me that he's just someone who made broad judgments and statements without much actual knowledge, and is now stubbornly refusing to admit that he was wrong.

He isnt an EA shill, he is just pro-industry(publishers/devs) much more then he is pro-consumer/reader. He just isn't "on our side" so to speak, so his initial reactions to things always come across as combative, when it is really defensive over the side he considers himself on, imo.

 

[Fahrenheit]

Since EA already used homophobia for Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect 3 I wonder what they will say for SimCity 5, sexism i'd think.

 

[dejay]

I don't think he is an EA shill, but it seems to me that he's just someone who made broad judgments and statements without much actual knowledge, and is now stubbornly refusing to admit that he was wrong.

Yeah, he's like the worst kind of forum poster but he's getting paid to be childish and not admit to being wrong.

 

[border]

I think the reason he didnt ask was because what he did still allowed him to reconnect with the server and save, in the video. I dont think Azzer ever messed with saves or at least it was never mentioned I dont think, I could be wrong.

If saving still requires a server connection, I don't know why EA/Maxis should be so adamantly against the mod. It still requires the DRM-check that comes from doing a Cloud Save. Maybe they know that modders are only a few steps away from discovering how to save games offline (or on a private emulated server), which would really enable piracy.

It's weird of them to say that "We support mods, but not hacks." What exactly is the distinction between a mod and a hack?

He isnt an EA shill, he is just pro-industry(publishers/devs) much more then he is pro-consumer/reader. He just isn't "on our side" so to speak, so his initial reactions to things always come across as combative, when it is really defensive over the side he considers himself on, imo.

If he wanted to come down on the side of the industry, perhaps he shouldn't be as immediately combative? EA has been nowhere near as arrogant, flippant and dismissive. I think the issue is that he has zero knowledge of how the game actually works, so his only way to defend himself is through arrogance and abrasiveness. At the very least, he ought to get on the phone with Maxis and figure out a decent technical explanation for the online requirement.

I cannot remember the last time I saw a gamer or a journalist so vehemently defending a 4/10 game

 

[Sky Chief]

He isnt an EA shill, he is just pro-industry(publishers/devs) much more then he is pro-consumer/reader. He just isn't "on our side" so to speak, so his initial reactions to things always come across as combative, when it is really defensive over the side he considers himself on, imo.

I don't disagree with your overall assessment of his "side" but I don't think that's why he finds himself in this position.

Just reading his posts in the next gen threads it was pretty obvious that he takes great pride in being an "insider" and always projecting and implying that he knows so much more than everyone else even when he doesn't. I think he just played the "I know more than you do" card one too many times without actually knowing more or doing his due diligence and it is now coming back to bite him in the ass.

When he writes that certain people "literally don't know what [they're] talking about" they are implying that he DOES because he has a deeper understanding.

 

[Foffy]

He's "in the industry" and you are not, silly. Of course he knows more because of reasons.

I always find that people who say they're in the industry and write about it to often be the type to be not genuinely believed on matters. They often lack direct objectivity on matters. I think it does go without question that Arthur Gies is yet another example of this. I have a feeling the next time he posts on GAF, this stuff will haunt him.

Since EA already used homophobia for Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect 3 I wonder what they will say for SimCity 5, sexism i'd think.

This was posted during the start of the SimCity shitstorm. Granted, tons of Youtube comments show people saw through it, based on the timing.

 

[border]

They often lack direct objectivity on matters. I think it does go without question that Arthur Gies is yet another example of this. I have a feeling the next time he posts on GAF, this stuff will haunt him.

When it all comes crumbling down, I gotta think that Gies is pretty much done with NeoGAF. At this point anything he posts will be immediately derailed by discussion of the SimCity debacle.

Is he done with Twitter? Probably not, but he will probably become much more restrained and measured.

It's hard for me to want to see someone get fired, but I'm pretty astonished that the management at Polygon has not yet tried to put a muzzle on him. It's only a matter of time, especially since he's doubled down, saying "Oh well if you think I'm an asshole then I'm gonna keep being an asshole!"

I've always been a pretty argumentative poster here, but it's a little weird seeing someone who just cannot let go of their own mistakes. I've been called out over shit and I've either silenced myself or apologized, and it's not that hard. I suppose that might be part of what NeoGAF is though -- threads die, people stop paying attention and move on to something else. But on a worldwide, unmoderated discussion venue like Twitter anyone can challenge you and keep the wound open and you feel like you have to keep defending yourself. I suppose some element of it is pride though. I'm anonymous here, but Gies feels he has some sort of reputation to protect or live up to. Perhaps if my professional career depended on my reputation I'd be a bit more adamant on NeoGAF too.

 

[SatansReverence]

C'mon gaf, you're better than this....it's turning into the Salem witch hunts now...

What do you expect?

Gamers have been getting shat on by the Press, Publishers and developers for a long time now.

Eventually something will ignite the keg.

To be honest, with what happened with Forza 3, T10 is lucky not to have had this happen.

 

[Slavik81]

        kNoRepeatNetworkAlertSeconds : 15,
        [B]kNetDownForceQuitAfterMinutes : 20,[/B]

lmao

Is this for real? Seriously?

The game that keeps on giving.

 

[Sibylus]

        kNoRepeatNetworkAlertSeconds : 15,
        [B]kNetDownForceQuitAfterMinutes : 20,[/B]

lmao

It's almost like consumer backlash was a long-term goal of this project.

 

[fallagin]

        kNoRepeatNetworkAlertSeconds : 15,
        [B]kNetDownForceQuitAfterMinutes : 20,[/B]

lmao

Oh my, that is definitely something.

 

[Boss Doggie]

        kNoRepeatNetworkAlertSeconds : 15,
        [b]kNetDownForceQuitAfterMinutes : 20,[/b]

lmao

Bahahahaha!

 

[Cat in the Hat]

That bit of code almost deserves it''s own thread.

 

[Deleted member 10571]

That bit of code almost deserves it''s own thread.

Waiting for it, too.

 

[qwerty2k]

Does seem odd that you would write the code to auto disconnect in javascript client side.

 

[Septimius]

Does seem odd that you would write the code to auto disconnect in javascript client side.

Might be an UI-event to change scenes. At least we can be happy we have the ability to change it.

 

[Fistwell]

        kNoRepeatNetworkAlertSeconds : 15,
        [B]kNetDownForceQuitAfterMinutes : 20,[/B]

lmao

You cannot be serious. It's funny, cause they think their customers are stupid. "They'll never notice our clever ploy," said Lucy Bradshaw, guffawing all the way to the bank.

 

[dejay]

You cannot be serious. It's funny, cause they think their customers are stupid. "They'll never notice our clever ploy," said Lucy Bradshaw, guffawing all the way to the bank.

Maybe some programmer deliberately left that code non-obfuscated.

 

[Cat in the Hat]

Maybe some programmer deliberately left that code non-obfuscated.

I could see that being the case. I know if I was programming this game I'd at least change the code to where it wasn't so damn obvious.

 

[archnemesis]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it true that your progress in the game can't be saved if you lose your internet connection because it relies on the cloud. Isn't timing out and disconnecting a good thing then? Five minutes would of course be better than 20 minutes. And with local saves that synced to the cloud this wouldn't be an issue at all.

 

[benny_a]

I could see that being the case. I know if I was programming this game I'd at least change the code to where it wasn't so damn obvious.

If you were a programmer you would deliberately write non-maintainable code?

A quick question. Have you ever received money for programming or is any of your code in any FOSS project?

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it true that your progress in the game can't be saved if you lose your internet connection because it relies on the cloud. Isn't timing out and disconnecting a good thing then? Five minutes would of course be better than 20 minutes. And with local saves that synced to the cloud this wouldn't be an issue at all.

Yes. I don't think anybody questions that it's correct that they have a timer that counts down if you lose server access, given that their architecture is as it is.
The point of contention is that the game itself doesn't require an internet connection to play.

Example of a game that requires an internet connection to play: World of Warcraft, PlanetSide 2.

 

[McNum]

You cannot be serious. It's funny, cause they think their customers are stupid. "They'll never notice our clever ploy," said Lucy Bradshaw, guffawing all the way to the bank.

Best part being that the .package format they're using for Simcity looks to be the exact same as the one used for The Sims 3, encryption and all. Do I need to tell you that the Sims 3 .package format has been completely hacked and it's possible to both open and create .package files to use for modding in that game? Anything that's in a .package file might as well be stored as plain text.

They could at least have changed the format if they didn't want people to open up the code on day one... It took several months going from Sims 2 to Sims 3 modding since the .package format did change between them. But, you know, they didn't.