We Love SCS!

[meowza 230]

Enough with the hate threads and posts.  It's now time to say what you like about the SimCity Scocieties, if any...

[ccecill 52]

Umm, okay this might take a while... hmm. What I like, what I like...

It has streets.

[schm0 27]

Uh, the ability to zoom in and look around in 3D is nice, I suppose. Oh, and the sky textures are pretty nice, too.

[Pixelrage 34]

the gingerbread houses...just brilliant! I'm going to build one right next door to a meth clinic.

[Goldfish4209 9]

The clouds are so flaky! It's 3d!

[Skyfire2275 23]

I actually think it looks OK... but the gameplay is what is worrying me. If it looked like this and played like SC4, I'd buy it. But the impression I get is that the gameplay has been gutted and left hollow.

[JanYpe 17]

In order to help save the environment I will recycle a post from a few days ago, from another topic calling for reasoned opinions. (Not surprisingly, it died a silent death)

From what I've read and seen so far, it seems like SCS will be much more of a game than SC4 was. I'd go as far as saying that it could well be an enjoyable game with plenty of perspective. SC4 was never good at being a pick-up-and-play kind of game, you really had to sink time into it. And even than it could be annoying and frustrating.

For me, a breath of fresh air for the series doesn't seem all that disastrous. Definitely not when the alternative is that a complex and 'realistic' SimCity may turn out to be unplayable and ultimately un-enjoyable. I don't want SC to disappear into the black hole of micromanagement and become an irrelevant niche product like Europa Universalis. It might be hard to accept, but striving to make the game realistic could easily be the death stab of the series that you claim SCS to be.

[JuliaSet 0]

I love the tree house. Given the fact that for Children of the Nile, you could hook a camera on a person and follow them around, I am hoping this goodie is applied to SCS. The 350 buildings advertised should give us enough choices for variation in the default game. My wish list would be an easy to use editor with the option to build more units and buildings.... and landmasses.

[jarnomiedema 52]

Originally posted by: JanYpe In order to help save the environment I will recycle a post from a few days ago, from another topic calling for reasoned opinions. (Not surprisingly, it died a silent death)

From what I've read and seen so far, it seems like SCS will be much more of a game than SC4 was. I'd go as far as saying that it could well be an enjoyable game with plenty of perspective. SC4 was never good at being a pick-up-and-play kind of game, you really had to sink time into it. And even than it could be annoying and frustrating.

For me, a breath of fresh air for the series doesn't seem all that disastrous. Definitely not when the alternative is that a complex and 'realistic' SimCity may turn out to be unplayable and ultimately un-enjoyable. I don't want SC to disappear into the black hole of micromanagement and become an irrelevant niche product like Europa Universalis. It might be hard to accept, but striving to make the game realistic could easily be the death stab of the series that you claim SCS to be.quote>

 

You may consider Europa Universalis a niche product, but I personally think the series that Paradox Interactive produce are excellent games that require a lot of thought, planning and commitment of the players who play the game. Does that make it difficult? Yes. Does that make it hard to get into? Yes. Does that mean certain people will be turned off by it? Yes.

I always felt Simcity was somewhat similar. It was a game that dared to be difficult, realistic, yet funny and odd as well. A game that you had to invest some time in in order to get the hang of it. Simcity: Societies looks and (judging from what I've read) feels like a game that threw realistic and difficult straight out the window in favour of pampering to the crowds of casual gamers who feel nothing like investing some time in a game in order to get to know it, learn something about the mechanics and adjust your strategies for building a succesful city to cope with those mechanics..

Simcity: Societies looks cartoony and fun, but not in the least bit realistic, immersive and challenging. I for one will wait till Spore comes out and anxiously await the day a new, realistic Simcity comes out, that was built with the help of the Spore team and it's procedural buildings, textures, and so on..

[Ded 30]

Meh. The sky is pretty.

[Spinmaster 75]

I love SCS as a new game with a new direction - and I think the screenshots are great, for a new game experience. But I don't like it as an intended sequel which takes away the very things I enjoy about SimCity (all prior versions) in the first place.

If I want to build societies, then I'll buy and play SCS. And maybe I will want to, it does sound interesting, yes. But I also want to build cities without really thinking much about what moods my people are in. I've done this with SC classic through SC4, and I still enjoy it as strongly as ever. For the life of me, I don't understand why the two concepts have to be in competition with each other, with the new idea literally throwing the old tried-and-true experience in the trash. A city forms around and grows with the societies within it, true. But societies also form within and are influenced by cities they're in. Which one do I want to pay attention to? Which one is my goal, a nice city with "whatever" society happens to grow in it? Or do I want a special type of society, and I'm willing to sacrifice my desires for the city to satisfy the specific cultural needs of my desired society? It's a chicken-vs-egg paradox. But I don't care which came first - I like chicken, and I like eggs.

I would enjoy TWO games, to allow me to focus on either angle. Or if a single game can provide game-play from both angles - by NOT taking away the "complex micromanagement" tools I enjoy (and call "a wonderful array of options") - then even better, and I'd probably enjoy that immensely. But if I'm forced to choose between "build a society" with no realistic city-management tools vs. "build a city" and to heck with society ... I choose the latter.

If they'd market it as a new track, in parallel with the legend, and a true sequel focused on realistic city building is at least on the horizon somewhere, I'll probably buy SCS. But I won't support SCS' success with my $$$ if indeed they continue to push it as THE sequel. If as a sequel it's a smash, then pretty much all hope of SC returning to (or reincorporating with) the realistic micromanagement aspects I enjoy will pretty much die - until some competitor (old or new) fills the void EA is creating, themselves, by this shift.

This is not hate. I wish TM and EA success. I just have no intention of assisting so long as they ignore my desires. I know they don't have to, but... I don't have to buy the product, either.

[Lambtropolis 0]

I like the fact that it's the first SimCity attempt at full 3d... even if it looks really bad, I guess it's a start.

[nothingman4913 0]

I like giving your citizens some government, that is cool, however when you have tree houses and junky looking 3-d and no more SC-4 building controls the game has no point.

[JanYpe 17]

You may consider Europa Universalis a niche product, but I personally think the series that Paradox Interactive produce are excellent games that require a lot of thought, planning and commitment of the players who play the game. Does that make it difficult? Yes. Does that make it hard to get into? Yes. Does that mean certain people will be turned off by it? Yes.quote>

Europa Universalis is a very interesting product that can be quite immersive. (The last time I played EU 3 I enjoyed myself even as I was being annihilated. (Damn those crafty Burgundians)) But since it is difficult and has a very steep learning curve, it is never going to be a popular game, like Total War; an accessible empire builder which is way more rewarding for starting players. By extension, it's never going to be very profitable. Because EU isn't a high tech and flashy game, its development costs apparently allow it to cater to its niche and still survive. No publisher in his right mind is going to take a huge risk on this game however. So is this a desirable situation for SimCity? Where you get an eventually marginal fanbase trying to survive on ever decreasing mod releases?

Just because it's a fun game doesn't mean it can't also be challenging, or that it can at least be made more challenging and realistic through tweaks and mods. What I hope for this SCS game is that it will be enjoyable and that it will draw in a large new crowd of customers/fans. With a new angle on the game they might find a way to make a 'true' SC5 more accessible for newbies while being as realistic and complicated as we want. With decent sales on SCS and that accessibility, a publisher like EA could be tempted to make the gamble to produce the SC5 we want, leading to a happy ending for all.

[autoVino 26]

Some of the skyscrapers in the game look okay... But I really like the attempt at 3d and the clouds look good.

[warrior 169]

well every game starts somewhere, to me it looks alright, I like the 3D best.

[dvchronique 0]

Originally posted by: Skyfire2275 I actually think it looks OK... but the gameplay is what is worrying me. If it looked like this and played like SC4, I'd buy it. But the impression I get is that the gameplay has been gutted and left hollow.quote>

to me, everything is there...

may be a good game... but why didn't they just call it: Societies? ... and give us a new real SimCity in two or thre years...

[+Guest]

I like the 3-d idea but I really hope they allow this game to at least be easy to make your own buildings. And in my opinion I hope this game is somewhat like Simcity 2000 how it was very easy to play but there was a whole nother level of complexity that you didn't NEED to follow to make a good city. Although it seems they are taking away a lot of the purpose from the Simcity series. I guess well see soon enough. I hope there comes a demo or something to give us a better idea of what the game will be like than just words and a few ok pictures alone. And I totally respect you for posting the ideas of what we like about the game, although it may not be that many things lol.

[Poetic 0]

Well, I like the idea of themed cities. It sounds pretty interesting. Even though I know it'll be used solely to make expansion packs, thereby exploiting customers for more money. Sims expansion packs have different themes (ie downtowns, seasons, pets, etc...), and I guarantee SCS will have many themed expansion packs. The original game comes with 6 themes (aka "societies") that you can mix and match - expansion packs will probably come with an average of 1 to 2 themes each. One problem with this, of course, is that they may not allow building creation by players.

I admit, unlike most here, I like some of the fantasy themes - like ghost towns, gingerbread homes, etc... as long as the game has some realist themes too (I like recreating real life cities). Of course, if it weren't for Monte Cristo's CL2 I admit I wouldn't be nearly as optimistic about SCS. I plan to buy them both and I feel combined they'll be fun to play. I don't think either will fully replace SC4: RH, but they'll be interesting to play anyway.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Originally posted by: dvchronique but why didn't they just call it: Societies? ... and give us a new real SimCity in two or thre years...quote>

Word.

Personally, I think that while this game may turn out as a nice, not-too-realistic (gingerbread houses *cough*) society-focused game for casual gamers, all this has nothing to do with what made SimCity, and hence the game is an insult of the name SimCity for me.

When I read SimCity, I expect a game in the vein of SimCity and not something like this. I want the focus on city-building, detail, some micromanagement and traffic simulation, and the possibility to recreate something that looks like the model of a real-world area. I want a good balance between the ability to determine some things (civic and special buildings, zones and densities, transport networks) and partly random growth that both reflects my performance as a SimMayor and introduces an aspect of singularity, making no two cities (not even to sessions in the same city) totally equal. This is what made SimCity unique from the start, and this is what characterized all parts published so far and attracted all fans of the series.

SCS doesn't seem to offer any of the above, hence it is NOT a SimCity game for me, period.

Oh, something nice about it? Well, as many others, I kinda like the sky textures. That's about it, sorry.

[schm0 27]

This cracks me up. So many people loathe this new release we can't even start a positive thread without doing a 180-degree turn.

So much for how much we love SCS!

[JanYpe 17]

So much for how much we love SCS! objective thinking.quote>

Fixed that for you.

[cirugo 1,889]

Here's objective for you:  everything we have seen and heard so far ( and there's been far more than just one screenshot now) indicates that the gameplay we have all enjoyed in SimCity is gone...replaced by something that might be a nice ADDITION to what we like about SimCity.  So what are we supposed to do?  Wait patiently until the game comes out and, as everything seems to indicate so far, discover that it sucks and tanks, thus killing SimCity?  Or voice our objections in the hopes that they can still take it in the direction that we have come to enjoy, albeit somewhat simplified with some interesting addtions?

If no one complains, nothing gets changed.

[KnowitallSim 1]

I thought this screenshot looked good.

http://www.gamershell.com/pc/simcity_societies/screenshots.html?id=15

Also, I can build a Fun City filled with Ferris Wheels, Gingerbread Houses and Chocolate Factories!

[skyjuice 12]

doesn´t everything getting in this direction. iam open minded ´bout this. sounds fun. I know so little at the moment, so im not pissed yet.

I think the sreens look taky. isn´t 3d better that this. It looks just as taky and "stiff" as that sim city cilture thingy gameish...dont know the title that game looked edgy in a bad way.

Where are all the cars? maybe  because it´s earlöy screens-....

[JakeMD 107]

Originally posted by: Pixelrage the gingerbread houses...just brilliant! I'm going to build one right next door to a meth clinic.quote>

 

thats funny

I personally think the game is not good at all, except for the 3d movement.

[WeHeartRoyals 0]

i dont think that this game is that bad at all. im sure it has its flaws though. every game does. but i keep reading and it sounds like it could be fun. i just hoppe they arent using some big 3d engine that makes it so a lot of ppl who want to play it, cant. like with citylife. i cant play it and it makes me mad! so i hope my conp can play this one. what did i do with citylife?...

[meowza 230]

It's my turn.

Honestly, I like the textures of the focused buildings in these scrns:

I also like the idea of "themes." But the way TMill did it, is too kiddy IMO.

And ofcourse, I like it that it's in 3D. I just hope they improve the poly count.

[patriots_1228 51]

i really dont like anything about it......

[JanYpe 17]

i really dont like anything about it......quote>

Phew, good thing you're posting in this thread then. That message really isn't getting heard on the rest of the forum.