Maxis: 'We Could Have Built An Offline Mode' In SimCity

Lucy Bradshaw, general manager at Maxis, directly addressed the possibility of offline play. Bradshaw answered the question "could we have built a subset offline mode" with a rather disparaging response: "Yes. But well Fuck you."
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I should of also replied with the above Fix.
 
Remember, Maxis no longer exists. They were bought out by EA years ago. Just like Westwood or Bioware the original people all quit and now it's just another name for EA.
 
Yes. Because there's THOUSANDS of people playing across the various regions.

Sure. When they could have had TENS of thousands of people playing their game.

Basically this is a bunch of ostriches at EA/Maxis right now doing this:

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And you know what, people don't care and will still buy their shit and support them. The only way to change this is to vote with your wallet but yea, that won't happen.
 
Climber said:
And you know what, people don't care and will still buy their shit and support them. The only way to change this is to vote with your wallet but yea, that won't happen.
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It happens all the time, actually. But when it does, when a game doesn't sell as well as the publisher thinks it should, what happens? They dust off the straw man "piracy" and trot him out for interviews, and pretend that it's all his fault. Heads in the sand...heads in the sand...you can't design a successful game if your head is in the sand.
 
THANK YOU EA GAMES FOR SAVING ME $59.99 +. THIS WAS SURELY THE BIGGEST CLUSTERFUCK OF A RELEASE EVER.
 
PrincessDie said:
Okay, if you play an offline hack/crack err... offline, explain to me just how EA will patch that out?


Back at you genius...:rolleyes:
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Two things. One, the lol wasn't directed at you, it was directed at EA patching it out. So take a relaxation medication and chill out with your hostility.

Two, the "hack" uses debug mode to enable the ability to change things. EA will remove access to debug mode. Probably the easiest "fix" they'll do.

Because of that, you'd have to not apply a patch to keep debug mode. Which, as you know, would be very very bad for this game (It's going to need a lot of patching).
 
dR.Jester said:
THANK YOU EA GAMES FOR SAVING ME $59.99 +. THIS WAS SURELY THE BIGGEST CLUSTERFUCK OF A RELEASE EVER.
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seriously, I love simcity, but with this mess, I skipped it as well, I still love the series, but im not buying it unless they magically add an offline mode in a upcomming patch or so, but if it gets pirated+cracked to run offline mode, im just going that route just to make a point with EA. (piracy doesnt kill your business, its your crappy business decisions)
 
Maxis to EA: well, we just coded the new SimCity module that authenticates the game through Origin (the digital content delivery system, not the brilliant company that you fucked up and shit out a while back) when the game is loaded, then the player chooses offline single player mode or online multiplayer mode.

EA to Maxis: ah, very good. Thanks for the update. Get your ass back to work so we can get that fucker out the door asamfp.

Maxis: as you wish, my master.

EA: wait, hold up. I just had a great idea pop into my head. Take the offline mode out. We'll make this so that the game always has to be connected to our servers when playing.

Maxis: I'm not sure I see the point in that, since the game will only be available through Origin and authenticate periodically. Plus, it'll require tremendous amounts of data transfer, which will require about 1000 times the servers we have dedicated to the game.

EA: hmmm. All good points. Maybe you should just proceed as...nah, fuck that. Trim down the features and eliminate the useless shit like rain, and reduce the region size to help cut back on the amount of data transfer. We'll be able to get away with just the servers we already have allocated to this project.

Maxis: "are you fucking serious" type of stare.

EA: oh, and let's make a physical copy available, so if this shit blows up on us, we can blame all those pirates out there.

Maxis: continues the stare.

EA: Go! Get your ass in gear! We've got a deadline to meet and there's no excuses. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, else matters with this project.
 
Sorry, but if you bought it in the first place, then you deserve what you get. You knew the game required a always on connection, there are no excuses.

If people would just NOT BUY THE GAME in the first place, they will get a loud and clear message that people don't want always on DRM.

/end thread.
 
Their are some people over and both EA and Maxis that need to bend over and take it up the ass, because this shit has just gotten out of hand.
 
They should just rename this version to Sim Shitty. This kind of crap is exactly why I avoid EA games.
 
Bladestar said:
Sorry, but if you bought it in the first place, then you deserve what you get. You knew the game required a always on connection, there are no excuses.

If people would just NOT BUY THE GAME in the first place, they will get a loud and clear message that people don't want always on DRM.

/end thread.
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You can't nominate your own post as the thread ender, brains. That's for someone else to do as they see fit. And I'm afraid I'm not feeling it.
 
Do we have any idea of how many units they were able to sell? I have a worried feeling that, if the launch week sales were a high number, all this drama will amount to only more DRM, not less.

They're probably laughing at those of us who pre-ordered this while they smoke cigars made up of rolled up hundred-dollar bills.

I'm happy I never buy games at launch anymore.
 
One of the games I will never buy. Sick and tired of being treated as a thief. Buying only DRM free stuff.

And if I feel that I need Sim City then firing-up timeless SimCity2000.
 
This is the exact reason I didn't pre-order this game. It's also the reason I will never pre-order another game, ever.

I don't really care if I miss out on special bonus items.
 
What would be sweet:

If the CFO at EA was pranked. Every time he tries to start his car, he must call Mercedes Benz to authorize starting it. Just to make sure he didn't steal the car.

That tech is out there today. I wonder if his opinion would change on copy protection?
 
DejaWiz said:
Maxis to EA: well, we just coded the new SimCity module that authenticates the game through Origin (the digital content delivery system, not the brilliant company that you fucked up and shit out a while back) when the game is loaded, then the player chooses offline single player mode or online multiplayer mode.

EA to Maxis: ah, very good. Thanks for the update. Get your ass back to work so we can get that fucker out the door asamfp.

Maxis: as you wish, my master.

EA: wait, hold up. I just had a great idea pop into my head. Take the offline mode out. We'll make this so that the game always has to be connected to our servers when playing.

Maxis: I'm not sure I see the point in that, since the game will only be available through Origin and authenticate periodically. Plus, it'll require tremendous amounts of data transfer, which will require about 1000 times the servers we have dedicated to the game.

EA: hmmm. All good points. Maybe you should just proceed as...nah, fuck that. Trim down the features and eliminate the useless shit like rain, and reduce the region size to help cut back on the amount of data transfer. We'll be able to get away with just the servers we already have allocated to this project.

Maxis: "are you fucking serious" type of stare.

EA: oh, and let's make a physical copy available, so if this shit blows up on us, we can blame all those pirates out there.

Maxis: continues the stare.

EA: Go! Get your ass in gear! We've got a deadline to meet and there's no excuses. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, else matters with this project.
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TheSurroundGamer said:
Their are some people over and both EA and Maxis that need to bend over and take it up the ass, because this shit has just gotten out of hand.
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Why do people keep talking about Maxis and EA as if they're two different entities...and "Maxis" is somehow the unwilling victim? EA has entirely bought and owned Maxis, and all their IP, and got it from Maxis founder Will Wright way back in 1997...and "Maxis" employees all work in EA office buildings. Founder of Maxis, Will Wright left Maxis (EA) in 2009.
 
The only time an app should check:

When installing.
When getting updates.
When the CPU ID code changes.
 
You mean "We couldn't see any reason for offline mode due to the dollar signs in our eyes."
 
Skripka said:
Why do people keep talking about Maxis and EA as if they're two different entities...and "Maxis" is somehow the unwilling victim? EA has entirely bought and owned Maxis, and all their IP, and got it from Maxis founder Will Wright way back in 1997...and "Maxis" employees all work in EA office buildings. Founder of Maxis, Will Wright left Maxis (EA) in 2009.
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Didn't mean to make that sound like they were separate...I'm fully aware EA owns Maxis. I meant for that to sound like the overseer and the crony. :)
 
"Impossible" to build an offline game? Goodness, however did game companies manage in the era before ubiquitous high-speed internet access? In fact, I have a whole pile of games on my computer right now that don't require any sort of connection for single-player mode. One of them (Red Alert 3) is even an EA title from 2008!

I need to go dig out my SC2000 box...
 
Mohonri said:
"Impossible" to build an offline game? Goodness, however did game companies manage in the era before ubiquitous high-speed internet access? In fact, I have a whole pile of games on my computer right now that don't require any sort of connection for single-player mode. One of them (Red Alert 3) is even an EA title from 2008!

I need to go dig out my SC2000 box...
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I have a few city sims....the problem is that none of them leverage multi-core CPUs, and the further back you go the worse the graphics....and none but recent games support Eyefinity.
 
Anyone tried Cities XL before? I bought it, liked it, but at the time I wasn't huge on sim games and never had time.
 
Z06 said:
Anyone tried Cities XL before? I bought it, liked it, but at the time I wasn't huge on sim games and never had time.
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I've played the latest incarnation of it...and it bogs down to a crawl once you get above 100-150,000 in population...because it is CPU bound to only one cpu thread. And then it crashes due to memory leaks.

But it supports Eyefinity.
 
Chas said:
Oh. And APPARENTLY these douchebags are ALSO censoring their own customer care number from their forums.

1(866) 543-5435

Pass it on.
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RealityCrunch said:
I haven't seen a move this stupid since a carpenter took a jigsaw to a panel in one of my comms cupboards and then came to me complaining that there were wires behind it and he could have been electrocuted as his jigsaw cut through them.
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I have. One of the sellers of the firesale HP Touchpad...after getting overwhelmed with orders....not only censored their CSR phone numbers....they entirely shut down their CSR phone tree from public access. Only doing situation updates via the corporate FacePlant page.

After the debacle cleared, they rebranded their company to lose the mass of negative reviews of their company.
 
I don't have the money anymore to go out and buy a game on release day. The last time I did was probably Doom 3. I never see the reason to pre-order a game as every time I've gone to a store for a game on release day, they're fully stocked. I've managed to pick up some sweet deals waiting around. I don't feel so bad if I pick up a game for $15 that I didn't like vs. one I shelled out $60 for.

Also, constant on-line only is a major turn off for me. There's no reason for this. EA needs to understand good selling practices, one of which is not to treat customers like criminals. If I went to a shop and the employees followed me around like they thought I was stealing, I wouldn't go back. Somehow, EA thinks this is okay. I'm not saying they have no precautions, but they go too far. It's asinine to make it harder for legit customers to buy your product. If you don't sell it, not a lot of good comes from those anti-piracy measures.
 
To be fair to the woman, when she used the word "impossible" I believe she was talking about patching the present game to be playable offline, and "we could have built an offline mode in SimCity" refers to what they could have done had they not chosen otherwise. I sincerely doubt that EA could not patch in an offline mode of play if EA wanted to, however. I mean, if EA can redo the entire ending for a game in response to customer demand, it seems like EA could also accomplish this as well.

But...everybody already knows what they "could have done" because of the other SimCity games being coded that way, so what is her point in saying that? Lots and lots of games are created to be played offline. It's so obvious that it doesn't deserve her comment or mention.

She still hasn't explained why EA didn't specifically create an offline mode of play for the game *and* an online mode of play for those who wanted to engage in it. Lots of games also offer both an online and offline mode of play. So why does SimCity have to be exclusively played online? There's no answer to that except: it doesn't. It is exclusively a online-only game because EA wanted it to be.
 
It was impossible because the model they have chosen will be based around micropayments for upgrades and expansions.

You know...all the stuff that's strangely missing in the game at the moment.
 
Kuraudo said:
Do we have any idea of how many units they were able to sell? I have a worried feeling that, if the launch week sales were a high number, all this drama will amount to only more DRM, not less.

They're probably laughing at those of us who pre-ordered this while they smoke cigars made up of rolled up hundred-dollar bills.

I'm happy I never buy games at launch anymore.
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Yeah, this is two in a row for me. I waited for reviews on Aliens:CM and now this piece of shit. I'm 2 for 2 and it feels great.

I wish more gamers would join us.
 
Bamboo said:
Yeah, this is two in a row for me. I waited for reviews on Aliens:CM and now this piece of shit. I'm 2 for 2 and it feels great.

I wish more gamers would join us.
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I believe that it may be a slow philosophy to take, but I bet it's getting a larger following the more things like this happen.
I no longer pre purchase, nor buy a new title till after the bugs get worked out of it.
 
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