Fully Featured Solo Offline Play Mode

[meowza 230]

Hypothetical outline:

I. Online (internet connection required)

. . . A. World - client side moddable

. . . . . . 1. Public Region

. . . . . . 2. Private Region

. . . . . . . . . a. Multi

. . . . . . . . . b. Single

. . . B. Private Region - fully moddable

. . . . . . 1. Multi

. . . . . . 2. Single

II. Offline - fully moddable

. . . A. Multi (private network)

. . . B. Single

I can live I-B-2 if they don't allow II-B. I would also like to try I-A-1 once in a while.

[Gamma Stardust 50]

That would have been a reasonable brake down of possibilities, though I would doubt a LAN option would even be considered under #II.A.

I guess now (latest news) whoever still goes with the compromise will have to make do with #I alone, and we'll see how those options will be delivered.

  Edited March 28, 2012 by Gamma Stardust  

[Mr_Maison 2,426]

Given the design of the game I find multiplayer to be interesting only because of the true simulation of transit networks between cities which is different fron CitiesXL's fixed terrain and imaginary connections. However I only see multiplayer working as a quick one shot session of cooperative play and not sessions of building cities over multiple days or weeks. I say this because the issue of two mayors who are responsible for a given region is unlikely to be in the mood and playing their cities at the same time consistently. That would probably work in a clan situation with scheduled sessions. Otherwise it will be solo play with neighbor updating like Facebook. If you consider facebook a sort of multiplayer then so be it. This issue was covered long before CitiesXL was released and they were warned.

The multiplayer should be an optional "companion" to a game that is recognized as a solo game primarily. To me that would not take away any awsomeness of the multiplayer mode. So to the developers if you are reading this post, please consider the behavior of a city builder game player which is as natural as any indigeous species. Sometimes a new thing is good but the favorite thing being thrown out will cause anger.

[knighthawk75 56]

Multiplayer aside (I couldn't care less about actual multiplayer features for this game) I totally mind with regard to forced internet connection to start the game and I don't buy any game that has single player mode that I can't play when my internet connection is down.

Having to have internet connection to authorize myself (bad enough) once or get updates is one thing, being forced to connect to the internet just to start the single player game = no way.

  Edited March 29, 2012 by Blue Lightning  

[NCGAIO 562]

Objectively simple ....thousand times NO

If I buy something is to be mine and no way I want someone telling me how and when I can use. If we all begin to agree with these aberrations will soon have to pay to think too!

World crazy! ...

  Edited March 29, 2012 by NCGAIO  

[KeanoManu 42]

Yeah, authorize once are okay. But not everytime!

Another issue that arises with Origin/STEAM are that updates are automatic and you can't roll back. I think this may become a huge problem in SimCity 2013 and Custom Content when that becomes available. Some mods won't work after an update and will have to be updated for each game update. It may take a few days and if the game automatically updates it may become a huge problem.

[Shark7 118]

If I am required to be online to play the game, then its a deal breaker. I have no problem with a serial that I have to register once, but having to log in to the internet each and every time I start it to play a single player game (I have no interest in multi-player to start with) just doesn't sit well with me.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

If I am required to be online to play the game, then its a deal breaker. I have no problem with a serial that I have to register once, but having to log in to the internet each and every time I start it to play a single player game (I have no interest in multi-player to start with) just doesn't sit well with me.

It is starting to look like even for solo play you need to log in to get your globals updated and can then drop the connection until you want to do a save. It does appear you have to be on-line to do a save, which should connect automatically if you are not on-line at the time. This connections should also update your globals, and then if you want to continue, you should be able to disconnect. Pain in a low place, but perhaps doable.

[Mootilda 76]

It is starting to look like even for solo play you need to log in to get your globals updated and can then drop the connection until you want to do a save. It does appear you have to be on-line to do a save, which should connect automatically if you are not on-line at the time. This connections should also update your globals, and then if you want to continue, you should be able to disconnect. Pain in a low place, but perhaps doable.

Actually, this sounds horrible. No local storage of save games? What guarantee is there that your internet will be connected when you want to save the last x hours of your work, before you start that new construction that just has to be perfect? I can't believe that EA would force people to save their single-player games online.

[~Dee~ 215]

It is starting to look like even for solo play you need to log in to get your globals updated and can then drop the connection until you want to do a save. It does appear you have to be on-line to do a save, which should connect automatically if you are not on-line at the time. This connections should also update your globals, and then if you want to continue, you should be able to disconnect. Pain in a low place, but perhaps doable.

Actually, this sounds horrible. No local storage of save games? What guarantee is there that your internet will be connected when you want to save the last x hours of your work, before you start that new construction that just has to be perfect? I can't believe that EA would force people to save their single-player games online.

I agree, Ea has been bringing out games what need internet connection all the time, Anno 2070 is an example...oh they say you can play it off-line what's true, but key features of the game are disabled when you do.

So you can't play it as it was intended to be played, unless you are connected to the internet. Not to mention how many times the servers have been down... I don't like the trend of always being on-line.

But at least my saved games were always on my computer, now they even want to do away with that as well.

I was looking forward to this game but I have reservations now.

[el_roy1985 0]

I will probably still get it.

Although, I will be VERY dissapointed if there is not a fully featured offline mode. I want to be able to play on my laptop when I'm not home and have no connection.

[Mootilda 76]

It does appear you have to be on-line to do a save.

I can't believe that EA would force people to save their single-player games online.

[...] But at least my saved games were always on my computer, now they even want to do away with that as well.

I was looking forward to this game but I have reservations now.

Just remember, EA hasn't said that save games will be stored online. A Nonny Moose has suggested that this will happen, but he has no more inside information than you or I do.

Personally, I do not believe this. I believe that EA will allow us to store our single-player games on our own computers.

  Edited April 4, 2012 by Mootilda  

[croxis 150]

If memory serves in the Reddit AMA they hinted that all games are stored online.

[Shark7 118]

If memory serves in the Reddit AMA they hinted that all games are stored online.

Even more reason I'm dissapointed the more I hear.

So when the EA server goes down (and it does happen), do you lose everything too?

[Baro 44]

Most people have dedicated connections these days and more and more even "single player" games require it. Sales have not suffered for it so it's something EA knows the market will tolerate. They know people will complain, people will call for boycots, but in the end it doesn't really matter because enough people will buy the game (including a majority of the people in this very thread vowing they won't). The people that won't buy the game due to a lack of an internet conection or on principle is too tiny to matter to them and is nothing compared to the control over their product they can excert with such systems.

It's online only, but you can still play even with an unreliable conection as you won't get immediately booted. You just need a connection to login and to save to the cloud.

Buy it or don't, but EA will not change their mind on this based on a few tiny communities of angry old fans. This is the new norm in PC gaming.

  Edited April 5, 2012 by Baro  

[chrsnck 3]

I have yet to see this topic brought up yet but what about the montly subscription fee? I have yet to see anyone (fan or game maker) bring this up. A monthly subscription fee will kill any chance of me buying this game. Also for anyone that doesnt think that they will charge a subscription fee is fooling themselves. Why? Because the game is fully online and using EA/Maxis/whomevers servers. Servers cost money to the owners that manage them and thus will cost a fee to the end users. The only online games that dont are either simple ones that dont require much space/maintence, are paid for by advertising (ie Facebook gamess) or online games that used to charge and then realized no one would pay to play and therefore took away the monthly subscription.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Last month sometime, I raised the spectre of monthly fees and it was pretty much thrashed and trashed. I have multos reservations on this, and I will not purchase a pig in a poke. I will wait for reports from the community.

[jacksunny 741]

The discussion of monthly fees is still talked about. Of course, everyone wants it to be free, but this might not be possible.

[§haÅ--Ñ€ §hÅŽo 370]

I'm hoping I can play the game for free after initially buying it. If I can't do that or play offline singleplayer to prevent monthly fees, I'll be a bit angry. $60 for a game is bad enough, but monthly fees for that same game that I can't avoid are just unacceptable in my opinion.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

See the advertising thead. If they do a good job with this, the advertising should support the players without additonal cost.

[Gamma Stardust 50]

Given latest clarifications by MAXIS/EA on the issues risen in the OP, I would call voters to update/review their vote (if it has changed), but also for newcomers to chime in with their opinion.

[jacksunny 741]

The biggest issue to me is not the online play, but the city tile sizes. They are too small to be able to build a proper city.

The answers in the poll are not very good. There is no simple "yes" answer. The answer is "Yes, multiplayer is all I care about." I like the multiplayer feature, but it is not all I care about. A simple "yes" should be added.

[Gamma Stardust 50]

Sorry for that... the point was to establish sufficient polarization between those "Yes..."/"No..." answers and providing the "Maybe..." as an escape valve for those not yet decided, neutral or pondering the perceived counter-advantages.

At the the time only broad lines of what would be expecting us was public, not very fit for cathegorical answers indeed, but take it as a search on my part in figuring the limits/framing of the whole issue, and the community standing on it.

Undoubtedly at the poll creation my view was already quite "defensive" in regards to removing offline ability to play, it was a sort of an early heads-up on a general trend in the industry, which happened to prove itself real.

Maybe this poll has lost most of its purpose by now... i'll keep lurking around to chime in on the next (more up-to-date) one.

[RedMist 10]

Online means :

No custom content

No cheat

No mod

No content community

No choice, new content will be only Store content

Then, no freedom

  Edited July 24, 2012 by RedMist  

[alex macnamara 139]

Online means :

No custom content

No cheat

No mod

No content community

No choice, new content will be only Store content

Then, no game

fixed

[CaptCity 4,919]

There is already a for discussing the online aspect of the game. Please continue the discussion there. Thanks.