SimCity: Multiplayer Discussion

[Moskva 75]

Well, if i will ever play this game online, i think my city name will be always, and only, Pyongyang. I'll just won't make roads to borders, i'll be into autarky, self-sufficiency for the win. I hope i won't starve like poor North Koreans like our media say, if that is even real. That actually would be cool, considering my political wing. What i would do basically is getting a large and strong industrial city, exporting a lot of stuff, making my richness on that, but trying to also go on commerce to have more different business, because you always want to repair from the crisis of one sector. However if i am shut down for the world i should not suffer a crisis, i just wanna export.

[cirugo 1,889]

Well, if i will ever play this game online,

what do you mean IF? you won't be playing it if you're not playing it online

[jacksunny 741]

I think he means if he ever plays in multiplayer mode, which is optional.

[Mark Waybill 242]

I'll probably make or join one public region, make a region where any other mayors are known to me and how have similar playing style so the region will be consistent to more or less of a degree like a real region with various municipalities. I will also probably make a solo one but...

My main concern with MP is that it is very experimental. If a mayor joining a region in which I have a very nice city decides to bring all his lack of experience and silly optimism to the table and creates a nightmare to clean up... I hope that players will take the game more seriously now it has all those lovely graphics and curvy roads and can better represent real situations.

I'd like to think other mayors in a region are hoping to work constructively and have in mind the ideals of proper city creation at all times.

In Sydney there are many 'cities' or municipalities. Most of these have low density development with some medium. Only Sydney itself has high density skyscrapers, although places such as Parramatta do have 'high density' development relatively speaking to their context. Sydney is a large conurbation.

Imagine a region mostly occupied by a large conurbation with perhaps a belt of bushland like in Sydney. Each mayor has a slightly, or more than slightly, different playing style. This is reflected in how their cities look and how they run them. When development becomes a conurbation proper, if one mayor had a different playing style to the rest and only had one city, you would be able to see that city as a square in region view. I hope that somehow fluidity will be had.

But of course real municipalities are not square tiles. We can have curvy roads. Let's have curvy cities.

[MatlockMan 370]

Just an idea- multiplayer will allow other players to see your cities. Not just your friends, but anyone. Thus the constant internet connection.

Possible? Plausible? Impossible?

[Mark Waybill 242]

I am still unsure as to how SimEarth will be managed. Will like in CXL there be specific locations geographically for cities? Would land have to eventually be bought, either with Simoleons or real cash? Would there be multiple planets? Would regions be connected like cities in a grid, or in a lose organic way? Will cities be tiles?

[mapboy 106]

I am still unsure as to how SimEarth will be managed. Will like in CXL there be specific locations geographically for cities? Would land have to eventually be bought, either with Simoleons or real cash? Would there be multiple planets? Would regions be connected like cities in a grid, or in a lose organic way? Will cities be tiles?

It's my understanding that regions will not be connected to other regions in any physical sense. Cities will be (therefore creating regions) but just the information about regions will be shared for resource purposes.

And I think SimNation is the proper term

[jacksunny 741]

More will be revealed as time goes along, just be patient.

[JcCali1214 34]

Though I can understand why ALWAYS ON online connectivity is disconcerting ("I'm not connected to the 'net, now I can't play Simcity!! !), like ^^^ jacksunny is saying, patience = accurate information. Lack of patience = (hurtful) speculation. Though it sure is fun.

Here's something I found via a link posted on another topic: http://www.dealspwn.com/simcity-interview-maxis-bret-berry-talks-glassbox-multiplayer-specialisation-99904

General Manager of the Series, Bret Berry:

t's perfectly possible to play every single city in the region, and play the game in singleplayer. But you're still connected on leaderboards, you can still buy and sell goods on the world market, there'll be endless challenges that will pop up that you can choose to participate in if you wish, so the options are there.

So there ya go - a full region to ourselves. Now there's no more reason to worry - we have Single Player!

  Edited April 22, 2012 by JcCali1214  

[Ocram's Razr 963]

Cities Unlimited made me look forward to multiplayer, Cities XL made me hate multiplayer BUT Anno 2070 made me like multiplayer again. I call Solo hooked up to the market a MSOG like Spore, it still can be a MMOG (city builder game ... cbg? so MMOCBG or MSOCBG?). I love Anno! I hate Planet Offer eternally.

[Mr_Maison 2,426]

So the real question is, how do we play multiplayer and have independence at the same time? What scenario of gameplay would be the perfect design for those conditions? I am waiting to see what they came up with. As far as custom content goes, it would make sense to let users have the ability to host servers with mods? Like what you would find in FPS games. Like when I play Call of Duty online, I look for servers with custom maps. What you don't have is automatically downloaded. Think there would be many servers made by fansites for SC?

[Mark Waybill 242]

I can imagine, in the future mind you, multiple planets, and even multiple virtual universes and parallactic universe groups.

In the near future I can certainly imagine the SimPlanet holding many regions, and while nations might not be created, if weather and climate etc is eventually done properly I would imagine progress in that field would also take place. GlassBox could simulate a universe, a solar system, pretty much anything based on normal evolutionary logic.

[cirugo 1,889]

Though I can understand why ALWAYS ON online connectivity is disconcerting ("I'm not connected to the 'net, now I can't play Simcity!! !), like ^^^ jacksunny is saying, patience = accurate information. Lack of patience = (hurtful) speculation. Though it sure is fun.

Here's something I found via a link posted on another topic: http://www.dealspwn....alisation-99904

General Manager of the Series, Bret Berry:

t's perfectly possible to play every single city in the region, and play the game in singleplayer. But you're still connected on leaderboards, you can still buy and sell goods on the world market, there'll be endless challenges that will pop up that you can choose to participate in if you wish, so the options are there.

So there ya go - a full region to ourselves. Now there's no more reason to worry - we have Single Player!

No, that's the point I've been trying to make...I don't WANT to have to be tied to everyone else playing in order to get the resources I need. The option to not participate is NOT there.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

^ Not only that, but I strongly object to the snoopware aspect of the EULA from Origin. Next they'll want us all to worship the Ori.

[NCGAIO 562]

http://www.dealspwn.com/simcity-interview-maxis-bret-berry-talks-glassbox-multiplayer-specialisation-9990 4

Well let's get this straight ... it is the general manager who is saying, then I suppose this is the way that the multiplayer will work in the game, without having to keep speculating!

CONCLUSIONS The obvious:

The game will be saved in the service (There is no way to synchronize with the upgrade requirements unless all leave their computers open to the service)

It will be possible to play single-player yet the online connection will be permanent.

When playing multyplayer each region can create your own and invite friends to just join it or leave it open for anyone to participate.

So any way you play, you will be logged and participating in what someone once called SimNation here so to speak.

In conclusion, there is no real option for stand-alone where you can effectively be in control of everything that happens!

[§haÅ--Ñ€ §hÅŽo 370]

http://www.dealspwn.com/simcity-interview-maxis-bret-berry-talks-glassbox-multiplayer-specialisation-9990 4

Well let's get this straight ... it is the general manager who is saying, then I suppose this is the way that the multiplayer will work in the game, without having to keep speculating!

CONCLUSIONS The obvious:

The game will be saved in the service (There is no way to synchronize with the upgrade requirements unless all leave their computers open to the service)

It will be possible to play single-player yet the online connection will be permanent.

When playing multyplayer each region can create your own and invite friends to just join it or leave it open for anyone to participate.

So any way you play, you will be logged and participating in what someone once called SimNation here so to speak.

In conclusion, there is no real option for stand-alone where you can effectively be in control of everything that happens!

Pretty much. They said that they were watching us when they announced SimCity, but I'm not so sure if they are watching us right now.

[Ocram's Razr 963]

This MUST mean there will be NO subscription fee!

  Edited April 22, 2012 by OcramSeattle  

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

This MUST mean there will be NO subscription fee!

"It ain't necessarily so, it ain't necessarily so, those things in the ..."

Sportin' Life in George and Ira Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.

  Edited April 23, 2012 by A Nonny Moose  

[jacksunny 741]

Well from what I've read there, it sounds like multiplayer includes everything I want and they are clearly putting a lot of focus and effort into it. I will definitely be trying it, at the least, even if it is with random people.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Well from what I've read there, it sounds like multiplayer includes everything I want and they are clearly putting a lot of focus and effort into it. I will definitely be trying it, at the least, even if it is with random people.

Jack, are you really going to let that snoopware flop around in your machine? Don't you have any sense of privacy?

[jacksunny 741]

Well from what I've read there, it sounds like multiplayer includes everything I want and they are clearly putting a lot of focus and effort into it. I will definitely be trying it, at the least, even if it is with random people.

Jack, are you really going to let that snoopware flop around in your machine? Don't you have any sense of privacy?

No way am I letting that thing onto my machine. There are ways around it though like sandboxing. I'm not exactly sure how that actually works, I looked it up and it seems like it would isolate Origin from everything else, preventing it from stealing info. If this is wrong, then please tell me.

[Ocram's Razr 963]

I could move all sensitive files to a different partition so Origin won't see it. Besides, my Admin account is once again Owner and my primary basic account is now MarzeM or something like that (EA looks at these forums). I look forward to Multiplayer if I don't need to pay a subscription, especially if I can keep Origin under lock and key.

[iEatRazorz 24]

I find it depressing that one has to safeguard their personal computer from commercial software. There should not be under any circumstance that I need isolate a program on a separate partition to quarantine it. Quarantines are for viral outbreaks such as raging bovine, frothing pig and stuttering hoof.

I has come down to a point where everyone wants a piece of that digital gold that advertisers lust after. I partially blame search engines for this. I now when installing most software have to opt out of programs that are for the "betterment" of the consumer experience. Norton Antivirus for example logs everything people run on their machines, more forgivable for obvious reasons then EA doing so.

I would love to build a set of regions that influence my own personal and isolated economy.

[Mark Waybill 242]

I think ideally in the long term we will have various 'Nations' or 'Planets' to colonise each with their own economy in a separate relativity, thus avoiding the issue of 'single player but connected' to an extent by giving one choices in which economic environment to play in.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Since I run under Linux with wine, I can see no reason not to create a separate wine prefix for this game. Wine sets up a "simulated" windows environment only and runs the code native mode except for calls to the windows O/S which it intercepts. It provides an isolated C: drive. Because Origin's little monster thinks it is on Windows, I don't see how it could even find anything outside this environment, which has its own file system, windows explorer and all. It even has a tricked-out version of the registry.

To make the cheese more binding, I could simply run this in an ID that did not have any permissions except those of a regular, isolated user. So, just maybe, if I can assure myself that this is correct, I might just purchase this game after the market has settled down. I sure won't be buying it in 2013 or 2014.

[zahrul3 471]

Makes me wondering if EA lets us have our own server as I know EA never keeps servers for a very long time.

If I played multiplayer, well, i'll play it like any other person, with slight autonomy.

[Dijego 66]

Good points. Do you think EA will make us pay for multiplayer to be able to keep these servers up and running? Or perhaps the game cost is as high as it is so they won't have to, although that doesn't seem fair to the people that aren't going to use multiplayer.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

I'd expect the initial license will include some server time, say three months. After that a monthly, quarterly or annual fee could be levied. EA/Origin is not a charitable organization and servers and staff are expensive.

A fee for multiplayer would break my heart, just saying.

[simfan 11]

Just Imagine, though. Sending UFO'S to another player's city would be awesome!

[nathanthemayor 1,261]

Even though I think the multiplayer is a good idea for a new game, i personally won't use it.

[Mark Waybill 242]

With the latest releases of info I remain optimistic about this game and multiplayer. Some of the ideas like 'grand projects' and inter-regional trade and intra-regional commuting and trade were ideas in my mind when I played 2000. Five years before I first played 2000 I drew an entire planet of interconnected regions on paper, with no knowledge of the SC franchise or video gaming in general. So you could say that what they are doing now has been my wish since before I began playing SC!