Cities XL 2011 - Out in "a few weeks"

[yakaspat 0]

 I never purchased Cities XL, as I was completely turned off by the Planet Offer.  I refuse to pay monthly fees to play games, when there are other things available I'd rather spend my hard earned cash on each month (food).  So when I read that the PO is ending and MC is revamping the solo player game, I nearly shouted for joy.  Like all of you, I've been a major fan of SimCity for many, many years and I even loved City Life.  So, I now want to give Cities XL a whirl.  

I emailed MC yesterday and asked if Cities XL 2011 literally means the game will be out next year (why name it 2011 if not)?  I received a response today that says "Cities XL 2011 means the game will be out in the next few weeks and will be available on their website", and they provided me a link to their online shop.  

They didn't answer my other question, though, which was "should I buy the current version or wait"....I suppose they are hoping I buy both?  I don't like how they are handling that aspect of things, so, I'm going to wait and see what happens before I buy.  But, "a few weeks" is good news.  I wonder how accurate that description of the timeframe is?  I guess we'll find out.

[Herdervriend 46]

Actually that is bad news...You know, because developing a game, in my eyes, should at least take 1 year...And not be, done so fast...Really, if Cities XL 2011 is same as the normal one with nothing extra, it will be useless then. And in only a few weeks you can do way to less...Still interesting to hear

[Damastius 5]

Nah I just think they had almost everything like mass transit from the beginning, but they needed to test it. These months were just for testing. The longer I play this game the more i get the feeling it's just a beta version.

I still like the game very much, but it has a nasty undertone.

[Bountytaker 0]

Originally posted by: Damastius

Nah I just think they had almost everything like mass transit from the beginning, but they needed to test it. These months were just for testing. The longer I play this game the more i get the feeling it's just a beta version.

I still like the game very much, but it has a nasty undertone.quote>

Hypothetical for you sir:  They release CXL 2011 in late May, it is an "enhanced version" of CXL, and they announce no more support for CXL.  Also, they say that, as a solo player only, you will not receive a discount on CXL 2011, meaning you'd have to pay full price if you wanted it.

Considering you feel like the current game is a "beta", how would that announcement make you feel?

[ben995 0]

That would tick me off.

But didn't MC say that it would be available for a reasonable price? Maybe its an expansion pack like rush hour in Sim city 4?

[kingdiz_55 12]

Maybe CXL 2011 will be CXL improved in a BIG way. We'll never know.

[Herdervriend 46]

Seriously, if they ask 40 euro for it, again, then I will not buy this game anymore and the whole Cities XL concept will be ruined for life. And then I can get very angry, but let's not talk further about that. But 20 euro is OK, that is the same price of the expansion packs. But I will only buy them in a real life store, because online payment can be a mass failure.

[slickster79 0]

There is a lot of content in the game that is hidden at the moment such as vehicle, maps, landmarks, roundabouts, trains, subways and more which are in a mixture of completed states. My guess would be that they intended to finish these off and roll them out in the planet offer content packs. As the uptake on the planet offer has been low they will instead be completing all these and releasing a content pack containing all these features. My second guess would be that if the content pack sells well then they will continue producing further content packs.

There's no point speculating on price at the moment - just wait a couple of weeks for MC to announce it.

[Soviet779 1]

Originally posted by: kingdiz_55

Maybe CXL 2011 will be CXL improved in a BIG way. We'll never know.quote>

Well no... we will know when its released, in a few weeks. Planet offer just ended and it really hasent been that long since cities XL's initial release so theres not been enough time to make any significant changes IMO. If cities XL actually came out in 2011 or close to the end of 2010 i would take it seriously but as it stands it seems like a cheap slap together to try and recoup some of the lost cash from the development of the original cities XL.

[ben995 0]

Didn't MC do something similar with city life? They released city life in 06 then city life 2008 in 08?

[mentarman 14]

Originally posted by: Soviet779

Well no... we will know when its released, in a few weeks. Planet offer just ended and it really hasent been that long since cities XL's initial release so theres not been enough time to make any significant changes IMO. If cities XL actually came out in 2011 or close to the end of 2010 i would take it seriously but as it stands it seems like a cheap slap together to try and recoup some of the lost cash from the development of the original cities XL.

quote>

You haven't even seen it yet. No, I don't think it will be a whole new game but I don't think that's what's needed. I'm hoping it will be just a lot of good new features, things unlocked, etc. that will make this game what people wanted in the first place. Yes that may cost some extra $$$ over what was paid originally but that's life. Personally I would rather have this in the short term than the promise of a whole new game a year from now, which may or may not come to fruition. But then I am a fan of the game now so an improved version of it sounds great to me.

Anyway, this is what people wanted, them to drop the PO and focus on soloplayer. Let's give them a chance.

[slickster79 0]

Originally posted by: mentarman

Anyway, this is what people wanted, them to drop the PO and focus on soloplayer. Let's give them a chance.

quote>

Yeah let's wait and see what it brings

[Lisen 0]

Hi, I'm a newbie at CitisXL, bought the Solo Game some weeks ago. When I now started the game it was updated with the bus system for no extra cost.  I've now tried it and it works very well. The problem is that the buses very fast become overcrowded but it have a nice influence on the traffick.

I must say thet I love this game. I find so many nice details and the figures are just awesome.

[urbanlife 2]

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

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If only we could have a city builder game look this good. (sure this is real life, but it is amazing.)

[Herdervriend 46]

urbanlife: Indeed, if this would be a real game, you would make even people who hate city building games uber happy. It looks so good, almost game style and so great Nice music btw

[mentarman 14]

Looks good, but really looks is one of the few areas where CXL shines by all accounts.

Even my girlfriend, who has no interest in games and such, said today that she thought the game I was playing looked almost like Google Street View.

[Larks2242 251]

So are they going to rename it "Cities XL 2010"?

[Gregory_C 0]

Hello Yakaspat,

I'm not sure who gave you this info, but I can assert that at this time no specific release date; not even a mere estimation, has been decided for CXL 2011 (and the companion packs). You can be certain that as soon as a date is decided it will be written with a large font on our site.

[ACEH 0]

Hi Gregory,

A simple question - after 8th of March with the end of planet offer, content pack with medieval buildings, blueprints, maps for PO and so on will be not be available for nobody. Don't you plan to release them in a content pack?

[Gregory_C 0]

Yes, we are developping 3 packs (called Euope, America & Asia). They will include all of the PO content and plenty of new content as well. (the Europe pack will include the PO medieval buildings). They will also include the Blueprints and maps.

At this point we do not have a precise release date for those packs.

[ACEH 0]

OK, thanks for the reply.

[mentarman 14]

Hmmm, interesting.

Thanks for the info, Gregory, just that little bit is very good to know. Looking forward to getting those three packs.

Sounds like either the original poster misunderstood the response he got, or you have someone at MC who isn't on the same page when he is answering questions...

[edcase2k4-thugangel1983 1]

Originally posted by: mentarman

Sounds like either the original poster misunderstood the response he got, or you have someone at MC who isn't on the same page when he is answering questions...quote>

nothing new there.

[pete1061 0]

Originally posted by: Larks2242

So are they going to rename it "Cities XL 2010"?quote>

It's something almost every industry does... name something with a year in the name and release it well before that year.

3D Studio MAX 2010 was out for most of 2009, most cars for a given year are released as early as july of the previous year.

I don't know exactly why businesses do this, maybe the marketing people think it makes people feel like they are getting something 'special', ahead of time.

[edcase2k4-thugangel1983 1]

well, it also makes the product sound outdated less soon. if you release something called "Product 2010" in july of that year... that only gives it 5-6 months before it sounds like it's not the latest product. whereas if it was named "Product 2011" it gives the product a year and half before it sounds as old.

it's just marketing and a name anyway. the product itself matters more to the more discerning consumer.

[ronnie.swinch 4]

hope it will be a huge update for "2011".

And i noticed there is a membership called life-time member in the official website. You need two CD-KEY to obtain that membership. Maybe they hope us to buy the "2011"

[Soviet779 1]

Originally posted by: mentarman

Originally posted by: Soviet779

Well no... we will know when its released, in a few weeks. Planet offer just ended and it really hasent been that long since cities XL's initial release so theres not been enough time to make any significant changes IMO. If cities XL actually came out in 2011 or close to the end of 2010 i would take it seriously but as it stands it seems like a cheap slap together to try and recoup some of the lost cash from the development of the original cities XL.

quote>

You haven't even seen it yet. No, I don't think it will be a whole new game but I don't think that's what's needed. I'm hoping it will be just a lot of good new features, things unlocked, etc. that will make this game what people wanted in the first place. Yes that may cost some extra $$$ over what was paid originally but that's life. Personally I would rather have this in the short term than the promise of a whole new game a year from now, which may or may not come to fruition. But then I am a fan of the game now so an improved version of it sounds great to me.

Anyway, this is what people wanted, them to drop the PO and focus on soloplayer. Let's give them a chance.

quote>

Ive been a gamer for long enough to know what makes a difference and to turn this game into an actual city simulator with depth and some real simulation like what is in simcity 4 would take a lot more than a few weeks/months.

[mentarman 14]

Originally posted by: Soviet779

Ive been a gamer for long enough to know what makes a difference and to turn this game into an actual city simulator with depth and some real simulation like what is in simcity 4 would take a lot more than a few weeks/months.

quote>

Well, I disagree, but even if that were true, I'm not sure this company has more than a few weeks or months without another source of income to improve things. And if they put all that effort in and people still aren't satisfied?

I think rather than redesigning a new game or something, they could improve the game quite a bit with a few targeted things focusing on building on the base they have established. Doing this would take less time, would bring them some income more quickly, and would make me more confident that it will actually get done and be released. Maybe that's what they'll do with some of these packs they are planning, before building up to CitiesXL 2011 whenever that comes out. We'll have to see I guess. 

[mr-tom 2]

Originally posted by: ronnie.swinch

hope it will be a huge update for "2011".

And i noticed there is a membership called life-time member in the official website. You need two CD-KEY to obtain that membership. Maybe they hope us to buy the "2011"quote>

Heh.  Be glad you don't have lifetime membership.

It's actually something they offered in Germany and maybe one or two other countries.

If I understand it correctly, you paid a big up front fee and then never paid again for use of Planet Offer.

Those guys got hosed.

[jazyje 1]

So those 3 packs will not be patches -- we would have to PAY for those after paying $40-$50 for a game that still feels and acts like beta? How many of those are they going to sell, seriously, a few hundred at most??? I know I'm not paying extra for something most of us could do for free with MODS.