John Smith has just sent your Sim City a request for $200,00.00 on Facebook. Would you like to loan him the money?



Jane Doesky has just sent your Sim City a request for commercial zoning plan on Facebook. Would you like to delay this project and waste taxpayer money?

I only could build a metropolis was with cheats, but if there is one thing i remember from Sim City 4, was the music.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfeH3fjBb8k

KnightHawk wrote:
and also cartoonist cities that can't even get that large.

^ This.....

nats wrote:
It's the principle I disagree with.

Indeed sir.

Love Sim City series, played them all (except the abomination societies) hard core - modded to hell, still fire up modded SC4 a couple times a year.

I'm passing on this next one due to Origin requirement and related ignored grievances and also cartoonist cities that can't even get that large.

Maxis\EA - Do it right or don't bother doing it at all.

I personally don't like online only games or games that ask me ever five minutes if I want to tell Billy on Facebook that I did xytheashkdjhaskdha. If I wanted Billy to know I would tell him! Plus I already log into facebook once a week, reluctantly, and love (rolls eyes) when I have 100 notifications.



But despite this I already have it pre-ordered despite it being on Origin. I would enjoy it much more if it were on steam.



Random off-shoot:



I can't stand that I now have to on Origin say, yes, I want to buy the PC version on my freakin PC... just saying.

Really looking forward to playing Simcity (5)

Meh. I may get it, I may not. I do agree with you, that I dislike the online only concept. (Purchasing Civ 5 from Gamestop when it first came out while I was at college when I didn't have the internet at my place left a bad taste in my mouth.)



However, with Civ 5 (like all games that require Steam,) once you install the game one time, that's it. You only needed to be connected to the internet that one time. You can still play virtually all your Steam games in offline mode. NOt sure how SC5 will work IRT that, because I think it's supposed to be an MMO.

nihilianth wrote:


And a Maddenesque "patch" this new game won't be. For one, they have an entirely new engine called Glass Box. Instead of how the old engine just sort of randomly adjusted the amount of traffic on the road, Glass Box will actually have virtually all the traffic coming and going to actual destinations. Every single vehicle or pedestrian on the roads or sidewalks will actually be going to and coming from their jobs. And all at certain scheduled hours in a day. Therefore, there will be actual "rush hours."

It could be the best game I have ever seen and I still wouldn't buy it if it requires a permanent internet connection to play! And you shouldn't either unless you want to encourage devs to act like that, treating us all like criminals. They aren't getting my money.



Once I have seen that they require an online connection I dont even bother looking further at a games details.



And I have a permanent connection to the internet like a lot of people these days. It's the principle I disagree with.

nats wrote:
Who is really excited about the new Sim City that is due out early next year?



I played Simcity and Simcity 2000 to death but never played any more after that, until quite recently when I got a more modern one but it was rubbish - Simcity 4 I think it was.



But this new one looks really good according to the hype I have seen. Only problem is EA are doing it - whatever happened to Maxis?

Sim city 4 is by far the best city-building simulation on the market. Of course, only after you download and install about a million mods (Such as the Network Addon Mod [NAM] and the Real Highway Mod. It lacks in the stability arena as well, as it tends to CTD if you zoom in and out too quickly if your plugins folder is large.) But Sim City 4 has very solid graphics, even for the year 2012. The mod community is STRONG, lemme tell you what! It is the whole reason why Sim City 4 is still relevant. Nay, not just "relevant," but "dominating." One thing I noticed right off the bat about Amplitude Studios, is it's excellent support for a dedicated and enthusiastic modding team. EA never provided a modding community support, but one started up anyway.



Out of the Park Development, my favorite sports gaming indy company, provides for a most excellent community support of their games. Amplitude, I have a feeling, will take off because of this.



Then there is Cities XL. Even though it is newer than SC4 by nearly a decade, the game has nothing on it.

naren_93 wrote:
I played Sim city 2000 and 3000 ,simcity 3k was one of the first games I played, I still do occasionally. I found 4 to be terrible, no challenge and hated the fact that I was no longer zoning but building individual places. but happy to know a new SimCity is coming. Hoping for the best. ( with EA you can never be sure )

I think you are thinking of Sim Societies. Sim City 4 is by far the most difficult city-building game out there. If you don't cheat. And yes, you do have to zone. While it does have ploppable structures, they are often extremely expensive. You generally can't place landmarks around your city, until you have developed a large metropolis, and start actually making a little bit of dough. Nearly impossible to afford landmarks even in a large city when you play the game on Hard.



Sim City Societies is the most garbage game ever put out, even by EA's standards! It is trying to be a cross between The Sims and Sim City. It failed at both. Miserably. That is the game with no zoning, only plopping.

seanw3 wrote:
Bet this one adds a new mall and two utilities. Maybe a slight graphics change for luxury houses. That is the problem with Sim City, they release minor patches every few years, when most people are expecting a fully new game. I guess they aren't really marketing towards the hardcore gamer though. Moreso the Madden gamer that just wants an annual update. To each their own.

Except that Sim City 4 was released in 2001 or 2002, and both it's patches released soon after. There has never been a Sim City released since. And won't be until February of 2013. That is over a decade.



And a Maddenesque "patch" this new game won't be. For one, they have an entirely new engine called Glass Box. Instead of how the old engine just sort of randomly adjusted the amount of traffic on the road, Glass Box will actually have virtually all the traffic coming and going to actual destinations. Every single vehicle or pedestrian on the roads or sidewalks will actually be going to and coming from their jobs. And all at certain scheduled hours in a day. Therefore, there will be actual "rush hours."



BUt like other, I don't have my hopes up. For one, the graphics look too "cartoony" or "shiny" for my tastes. For another, I am not at all liking the "online only" feature.

naren_93 wrote:
A question, I thought removing the zoning concept was a terrible idea, does anyone else agree ?

My only guess is that, like I mentioned above, you are thinking of Sim City Societies. Not Sim City 4. Sim City Societies is not Sim City. It isn't even a descendant of the series. Which is why the new game to be released in February is called "Sim City 5," and not "Sim City 6." Sim City 4 certainly had zoning. Societies didn't.

Igncom1 wrote:
Indeed, I am the mayor, not just a city planner.

Ditto from above.



And finally, @ those who despise Steam, especially the person who made the comment about spyware and adware:



First, Steam is not any sort of hog on a PC's resources by any means of the word. Second, Steam is safe and secure. There is no spyware or adware.



But as for myself, sometimes, I just like to play a game on my own local machine without having to rely on a constant internet connection. Especially if I like having the same games on my laptop. I an take my laptop anywhere I go, but I can't take the internet with me, for a wireless connection is not always available.

Well, the gameplay video is not bad...let's just wait and see!

I will not be buying it. Pirating, maybe. Buying? Not a chance. The always online functionality is terrible, piracy be damned, partially because it limits when you can play the game, and partially because it opens the floodgates for adware and spyware. Everyone knows someone will get around it within a month. The social network "integration" is a bad joke at best, and I'm honestly having a hard time finding something to compare the worst to. And Origin only? With day 1 dlc (the city sets are inexcusable. Those should be included. Preorders should get extra content in the form of wonders, depending on how the game treats them, and deluxe editions should get a skin or something- good job Amplitude)? Why would anyone buy this?



/rant

Well I am also going off Steam now as well so thats probably two reasons for not getting SimCity. One: the constant online connection and two: Steam. At this rate I will only ever be able to buy Paradox games in the future!

If they do the online thing as in Diablo 3 (= does not work when offline), I don't play it. If they do it like Anno 2070 (can be played offline, has advantages if being online like daily missions), I am in.

seanw3 wrote:
John Smith has just sent your Sim City a request for $200,00.00 on Facebook. Would you like to loan him the money?



Jane Doesky has just sent your Sim City a request for commercial zoning plan on Facebook. Would you like to delay this project and waste taxpayer money?

Yup. EA ruins another great franchise!

naren_93 wrote:
nats : I know how you feel, sure it reduces piracy but' always on-line' is annoying as hell. even more so for me seeing as the net connections here aren't as fast or as reliable.

Except it doesn't from a technical standpoint - usually pirates are playing new "DRM" games a day early or a week late at the most. But sure - a few people might decide to buy the game instead of having to risk waiting.

Who is really excited about the new Sim City that is due out early next year?



I played Simcity and Simcity 2000 to death but never played any more after that, until quite recently when I got a more modern one but it was rubbish - Simcity 4 I think it was.



But this new one looks really good according to the hype I have seen. Only problem is EA are doing it - whatever happened to Maxis?

I also fear for intrusive social media integration. I see the merit in it, and how many people like to use it (I guess) to announce in-game events and achievements to their friends, but if the user interface constantly nags or even worse forces me (doubtful) then that's a game down the drain.

Best bit about Sim City 2000 was watching the buildings spring up in the zones and gradually change as the areas got poorer or more properous. It was funa ctually trying to ruin certain areas by making the proects in them really bad wasnt it?



If we can all see where the strength of all these old games lies, why do you think the people who recreate them cannot? Or do you think they just do whatever the Suits tell them in games these days?



EA has done some good games - I loved their F1 Challenge - best F1 game I ever played in fact. But I think this one will stink unfortunately, and either way I wont be getting it if its online only play, no matter what they give as the reason for it. Its DRM in any sort of guise and I dont go for that. Didnt get Silent Hunter 5 either for the same reason - saved me money on another stinker that did actually.

Indeed, I am the mayor, not just a city planner.