SimCity V (2013) - screens/artwork and information

Last Simcity I played was 2000 from DOS. After seeing the video I am wondering where are the pipes and power grid?
 
closers said:
Last Simcity I played was 2000 from DOS. After seeing the video I am wondering where are the pipes and power grid?
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i don't think they have gone that far yet into development but its possible they may go without the wires or maybe underground wires as an option? now that i hope they do if they end up using them.
 
closers said:
Last Simcity I played was 2000 from DOS. After seeing the video I am wondering where are the pipes and power grid?
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Pipes are in the underground view, pretty sure they were in SC2k as well. Power Lines are largely underground, although you had to use them for certain situations in SC4 so I don't know what they're doing in this new one for sure. They did away with the whole "You have to place powerlines across all your streets" thing. Power is transmitted automatically within zones and across any street adjacent to a zone. If you want to build something separated from the zoned areas of your city in SC4 you have to build powerlines, but that's all.
 
http://www.gamespot.com/simcity-2013/previews/fear-and-excitement-in-the-new-simcity-6368566/

Not gonna lie, this sounds like EA trying to kill the SimCity franchise. Accessibility isn't necessarily bad but SimCity Societies was another EA attempt at making an "accessible SimCity."

Not to mention that this news completely destroys the longevity of the game. Obviously people still play SC4 now. But with this game requiring a connection to EA's servers at all times, they have it perfectly set up to shut the whole thing down after two years, locking you out of the game entirely.
 
Well if you ever played the first Cities XL in the first 3 months, they were trying to do the same MP aspect of it where you traded your excess commodities and services to another player, the problem was that the company was total shit at supporting and balancing it, and I had no problem being connected all of the time if the game was being supported. But therein lies the problem with the original dev of CitiesXL: once they stopped supporting it, they took away the online component but the game was still able to play.

I am pretty sure they played CitiesXL and are hoping to not make the same mistakes as Cities did.
 
NKDietrich said:
SimCity is already dead. Perhaps you hadn't noticed, but it's been over 9 years since the last real SimCity game. If this game ends up sucking, whatever, it already jumped the shark a long time ago.
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Obviously you aren't familiar with the SC4 community. The game is far from dead.
 
drako said:
http://www.gamespot.com/simcity-2013/previews/fear-and-excitement-in-the-new-simcity-6368566/
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A key point the developers from Maxis stressed was accessibility. They want the return of SimCity to appeal to those who don't find poring over spreadsheets and tax reports an enjoyable way to spend the evening.
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Sigh. We all know what 'accessibility' means. This is going to be a game your grandmother could play.

SimCity 2000 SE was my first game. Not the first game I ever played (my older brother had Doom, the King's Quest series, and a bunch of Gold Box D&D games) but Simcity 2000 SE was the first game my parents ever bought for me. I poured over the three (!) manuals that came with it, spent countless hours playing with the terrain editor and experimenting with different city layouts (and then wrecked said cities with disasters), beat the scenarios, role played... Then I got to drive and fly around in Streets of Simcity and Sim Copter. Those were the days.

I don't have high hopes for this game, everything the big publishers touch turns to garbage. Remember SimEarth from 1990? Remember how fun it was to build a planet and evolve rare forms of sentience (intelligent carnivorous plants!)? Compare that to the fecal matter that is Spore. Or look at how Ion Storm raped the Thief franchise...

I wish the big publishers would just get out of PC games altogether and let a new generation of small developers take over. I hope I'm wrong, I hope this game is a worthy successor to SimCity 4, but I just don't see it happening. There's not enough money in games for nerds for them to justify their bloated existence. Semi-retarded ADD Facebook kids are far more lucrative.
 
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DeathFromBelow said:
Sigh. We all know what 'accessibility' means. This is going to be a game your grandmother could play.

SimCity 2000 SE was my first game. Not the first game I ever played (my older brother had Doom, the King's Quest series, and a bunch of Gold Box D&D games) but Simcity 2000 SE was the first game my parents ever bought for me. I poured over the three (!) manuals that came with it, spent countless hours playing with the terrain editor and experimenting with different city layouts (and then wrecked said cities with disasters), beat the scenarios, role played... Then I got to drive and fly around in Streets of Simcity and Sim Copter. Those were the days.

I don't have high hopes for this game, everything the big publishers touch turns to garbage. Remember SimEarth from 1990? Remember how fun it was to build a planet and evolve rare forms of sentience (intelligent carnivorous plants!)? Compare that to the fecal matter that is Spore. Or look at how Ion Storm raped the Thief franchise...

I wish the big publishers would just get out of PC games altogether and let a new generation of small developers take over. I hope I'm wrong, I hope this game is a worthy successor to SimCity 4, but I just don't see it happening. There's not enough money in games for nerds for them to justify their bloated existence. Semi-retarded ADD Facebook kids are far more lucrative.
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there are different ways you can make a game more accessible. the easy way is just doing different modes, that was the one thing i didn't like about simcity was that i had absolutely no problem understanding it but my younger cousin who loved watching me play it just couldn't figure out what was going on or how to do anything when he would try to play it. so i'd end up getting stuck having to explain everything. so in my opinion it would be nice to see them add different modes to it for the novice or experienced players or hell just the people that want to play in sandbox mode and create some bad ass looking city without it going to shit because of money issues.

but if you read the interview that was posted a few pages back, they answer a lot of the worrying questions and about how they are trying to go back to the roots but also giving it a different look without destroying the experience of the game for the old time players.



NKDietrich said:
SimCity is already dead. Perhaps you hadn't noticed, but it's been over 9 years since the last real SimCity game. If this game ends up sucking, whatever, it already jumped the shark a long time ago.
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lol dead? like drako said, go check out the SC4 communities, the game isn't remotely close to being dead.
 
sirmonkey1985 said:
lol dead? like drako said, go check out the SC4 communities, the game isn't remotely close to being dead.
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Obviously I was referring to development on the SimCity series as a whole, as made clear by my reference to the last title shipping over 9 years ago.

Guy claimed EA was "trying to kill SimCity." If SimCity 4 still being played by some people means SimCity isn't dead, then since they are making no attempts to try and stop people from playing older SimCity titles, I fail to see how they are "trying to kill SimCity."

For the majority of gamers, the SimCity franchise has been sitting idle for a decade. It's been long enough at this point that I think it's acceptable for EA to try and bring new gamers into the fold. If the existing hardcore fans were enough to sustain the franchise, we would have gotten SimCity 5 many years ago.
 
NKDietrich said:
Obviously I was referring to development on the SimCity series as a whole, as made clear by my reference to the last title shipping over 9 years ago.
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I'm really going to start a fire here... so Diablo series must be really dead since they haven't shipped a title in over 9 years too. I guess I could have said that about Starcraft too, since nobody plays that anymore.

Since when does 9 years of no title make a game series dead? :confused:
 
NKDietrich said:
If the existing hardcore fans were enough to sustain the franchise, we would have gotten SimCity 5 many years ago.
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Not really, they finally did The Sims and that took off like a rocket and so they put all of their development time into that. Now that no one gives a shit about The Sims anymore, they are going back to what got them on the map.

And I think therein lies the problem: they will take what they learned from The Sims and try to make it super easy for "casual" gamers and they will either succeed in pissing off the hard core players and gain new players (which I am sure is their goal), piss off hardcore players AND casual players, or give hardcore players something while also giving casual players something simple. I remember the days when someone could release a game and have HARD mode with more complicated spreadsheet-style things, while also having a simplified mode for those who just want a purty city.

At first I was cautiously optimistic. But now after seeing their comment about "people not wanting to read spreadsheets", now I am in the "I doubt they will give us hardcore mode" and won't even bother with it until I see some real footage of the actual game and GUI and control that we can have.

Consoles and casual players, always ruining it for those of us who like a challenge :rolleyes:
 
NKDietrich said:
Guy claimed EA was "trying to kill SimCity." I fail to see how they are "trying to kill SimCity."
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It's quite simple actually.

EA releases a dumbed down DRM ridden SC5 that sells poorly.
EA claims that they tried twice (though not in good faith) to release a new SC and both failed.
EA thus considers the series to have no sales potential and it is thereupon dead.

I'm not sure why you are harping on that point so much regardless. Hopefully this scenario does not happen. But my faith in the EA machine is quite low at this point.
 
After this preview was published, EA confirmed that SimCity would require a persistent internet connection to play, due to the pervasiveness of the online features.
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I knew it! Take a game that a lot of us have been longing for and just rape it with invasive DRM techniques.

Fuck this game and FUCK EA!
 
I've given up getting mad at developers/publishers doing this, the message is clear to me now..."Don't buy our games, just wait for the superior pirated version which has all of our DRM removed."
 
PrincessFrosty said:
I've given up getting mad at developers/publishers doing this, the message is clear to me now..."Don't buy our games, just wait for the superior pirated version which has all of our DRM removed."
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Darkspore has the same issues & consistently adds more to its list with the persistent online DRM requirement. I tried playing a single player game with it & couldn't thanks to the EA-run server having constant issues. Leave it to EA to jack up a single player game. Publishers & developers need to stop doing this BS right away.
 
DeathFromBelow:

The SimCity 2 Manuals were some the greatest ever. I used to read them constantly. I even had a span of like 3 years where I tried to sketch 'cityscapes'. I sucked. I miss the manuals of the 90s, they were like awesome comic books. Man, I wish I could find that manual.
 
No mod support at launch, either.

TheCowOfNow said:
DeathFromBelow:

The SimCity 2 Manuals were some the greatest ever. I used to read them constantly. I even had a span of like 3 years where I tried to sketch 'cityscapes'. I sucked. I miss the manuals of the 90s, they were like awesome comic books. Man, I wish I could find that manual.
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This. Some of them had some hidden cheat codes, too. I'm ashamed of myself for losing them (well, not the Streets manual. That was just a photocopied booklet that Maxis sent to me when I sent an order for a full manual). These days with physical copies, you're given a pdf document (if you're lucky) and a crummy little leaflet with basic install instructions, a page listing about 10 out of the 50 possible keyboard shortcuts, and four or five advertisements for Nvidia, Alienware, AMD, or Intel. If you want a "full manual" you have to go out and buy a strategy guide or Google.
 
No mod...

Ah, the game is now dead to me, I would have supported this to the end as long as mod we're supported and encourage like they were in SC4.

inb4 Cities XL part 2
 
drako said:
Translation: the mod tools are done. We won't release them until the DLC gravy train dries up.
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most games don't have mod support when they launch anyways, usually takes 2-3 months before the SDK's and crap get released. but if they plan to allow modding, then that means there are accessible files and people will find a way to mod the game without the SDK. :D


PrincessFrosty said:
I've given up getting mad at developers/publishers doing this, the message is clear to me now..."Don't buy our games, just wait for the superior pirated version which has all of our DRM removed."
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or wait until the developer gives in and releases a DRM removal update which just happens to be the exact same exe used in the pirated version :D.. cough red alert 3 cough.. and yes i know there was another developer that did as well that was dumb enough to leave the scene groups tag in the exe file code, just can't remember the name of the developer/game, lol.
 
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sirmonkey1985 said:
there are different ways you can make a game more accessible.
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Give me one example of a sequel that has successfully simplified gameplay without alienating the core audience. This isn't Tetris, it's a city simulation. If you're too dull to figure out how to build a profitable SC4 city then SimCity just isn't for you. The game doesn't need more 'accessibility.'

We wanted more features (look at the evolution of SC1-2-3-4). Now we have no mods, always-on DRM, lack of focus on the complex simulation aspects of the game, and a nickel-and-dime-the-player business model (on top of a very expensive base game).

Thanks EA. I guess it's no surprise that Will Wright and the rest of the Maxis talent moved on a few years ago.

TheCowOfNow said:
The SimCity 2 Manuals were some the greatest ever. I used to read them constantly. I even had a span of like 3 years where I tried to sketch 'cityscapes'. I sucked. I miss the manuals of the 90s, they were like awesome comic books. Man, I wish I could find that manual.
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Yeah. I still have mine. I should scan and post them, but EA would probably sue me.

Edit:
dsc04419ry.jpg


Still looking for the SC2000 SE Cityscapes Book, but I have the others. The SC3K Unlimited Manual is as thick as modern game boxes...
 
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being able to see the commercial/industrial interactions will be sweat.. also looks like they are sticking to the traditional sector layout system which is nice. in the first video it looks like he mentioned piping system for water so hopefully that means they allow us to do the piping our selves. i remember some one asking that earlier in this thread.
 
Im in the same boat as everyone. I've seen what EA can do to max its profits by appealing to the widest audience possible, so im worried.
 
Not been following this thread at all but I did see the gameplay from E3: I'm impressed, though I seriously hope it doesn't get maimed by EA. Multiplayer stuff is also a bit of a red flag.
 
J W said:
Not been following this thread at all but I did see the gameplay from E3: I'm impressed, though I seriously hope it doesn't get maimed by EA. Multiplayer stuff is also a bit of a red flag.
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Always-on DRM too. The MP stuff looks neat though.
 
I remember when Spore was first shown and how totally awesome-sauce it looked. Then I lamented and the final product. I can only pray that they don't fuck this up.
 
Cool video. Question, it looks as though they are placing buildings directly on tiles instead of zoning, are they changing how this works?
 
Buxaroo said:
Well if you ever played the first Cities XL in the first 3 months, they were trying to do the same MP aspect of it where you traded your excess commodities and services to another player, the problem was that the company was total shit at supporting and balancing it, and I had no problem being connected all of the time if the game was being supported. But therein lies the problem with the original dev of CitiesXL: once they stopped supporting it, they took away the online component but the game was still able to play.

I am pretty sure they played CitiesXL and are hoping to not make the same mistakes as Cities did.
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cities XL is a different story.. the original company that made the game got bought out before they were ever able to release a true sequel to the first cities XL.. then the parent company decided that instead of making the new expansion they would just re-release the same game every year. none of the original cities XL developers actually work for that company anymore. so every year the company shuts down the multiplayer and releases a new(same version) of the game for that year forcing people to buy it if they want to play online.


techie81 said:
Cool video. Question, it looks as though they are placing buildings directly on tiles instead of zoning, are they changing how this works?
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no there are still "zone" style building(they talked about it in their Q&A they did a while back), its just the specialty buildings that are built using the single item tile.
 
well this is depressing: http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/sim-city-5/1224978p1.html

As anyone who's played one knows, one of the simplest pleasures of any SimCity game, dating back to the 1989 original, is the consequence-free "What if?" scenario. The kind where you obliterate your city by triggering an apocalyptic wave of fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, and monster attacks, then time-warp it back to pristine condition by loading a saved game. When I asked Lead Producer Kip Katsaelis if the 2013 SimCity would allow that same pleasure in its Glass Box-powered cities, the answer was a simple, disappointing "No." The online connectivity Maxis has built in means that reloading saved games will be impossible, even when no one else has a city in your region.
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so not just online only, but no local saves either. or playing in "cheat mode" (playing offline = cheating apparently) where you can only insta-build and wreck things in single sessions?
 
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