In this strategy video, Lead Designer Stone Librande gives you the first look at the inner workings of SimCity
I travel around a lot and would have loved this game, but the fact it is online means I can not play most of the time while travelling. Considering the original was a solo player game and I understand the social aspect introduced, but this is ridiculous forcing online mode to play. Should definitely be an option.
From what I've heard in other Simcity videos, you CAN play single player, but you have to have an internet connection. Others have said that one doesn't need an Origin account in order to play, which would be awesome.
1 Like I think this time I just might actually BUY a pc game instead of grabbing it from usenet. This looks great!
So, the first glimpse of region play. Next question is, will players be able to design regions (I loved SC4 Oahu), or is it the prerogative of the EA overlords?
@trencher10B The developers said that the regions can't be changed. Their whole reasoning behind this idea was for players to treat the regions like 'puzzles' and to try and figure out how they will build in that particular region.
1 Like If only it wouldn't require EA's worthless Origin trojan DRM and would be playable offline I could maybe (just maybe) see myself getting interested in this, but until that day I'll rather continue warning others.
Also, there's no local savegames, they're stored "in the Cloud" at EA's servers, that means you have absolutely no control over them.
If an "oopsie" happens at EA, your Cities are gone, if you make a bad comment your account gets banned and access to the game entirely denied, if you lose connection to their servers you won't even be able to save your progress.
Recent news showed how unsecure EA's account system is where people got their accounts hacked and games they bought stolen and it will happen again and EA will give the same amount of shits again (none) - Have fun losing your games, saved cities, account data, etc. by being forced to play online without any chance of an offline alternative.
For a march 2012 release the're still unsure how to reload savegames : https://twitter.com/Cooper42/status/258016516237312000 (it's back from october and he clearly states this new SimCity is "an online, multiplayer game", yet there's no sign of mentioning it clearly anywhere else that it's absolutely non-functional offline and mendatory requires their insecure spyware DRM)
By the way, in the video you have a SERIOUS traffic and public transport problem there ... (the extreme blur and depth of field effects are quite annoying by the way)
Let me guess, players can buy more than 1 (very tiny) region with real money via microtransactions ?
Shouldn't there be a compromise or penalty of some type for relying on the services of neighbouring cities? I think this should especially be the case if that neighbour city is run by another player. An example of a compromise would be slower response for emergency services. The fire response seen here was basically instant, and although I understand that was probably done for the sake of demonstration, the narrator did not mention any downsides. Another example could be reduced power when the source is distant, loss like you might see in real life.
Looks great but I still do not like the always on internet connection requirement. I should not have to be online to play a single player game. Going online should be an option not a requirement.
