Do you think Maxis will acknowledge the discontent from the community?

[William Gates 84]

I'd say the two-part Q&A was what confirmed all the bad news and really fueled the anger. Since then, in every single outlet where feedback about the game can be expressed, the feedback has been 95% negative (and I am not exaggerating).

- On the official Maxis SimCity forums, practically all comments about SC2013 have been negative.

- On the official Maxis SimCity Facebook page, practically all comments relating to posts that announce news about the game have been negative.

- On Simtropolis (and I will assume other SimCity and city simulation builder fansites), practically all comments about SC2013 have been negative.

There has been virtually no positive feedback anywhere.

Do you think Maxis will even acknowledge this negative feedback (nevermind make changes to the game due to it)?

[cirugo 1,889]

you're asking the wrong question....what are they going to DO about it is the question I think should be asked...and to me it appears that they're going to try to wait it out and keep ignoring us.

[wozzar 154]

I'd say the two-part Q&A was what confirmed all the bad news and really fueled the anger. Since then, in every single outlet where feedback about the game can be expressed, the feedback has been 95% negative (and I am not exaggerating).

- On the official Maxis SimCity forums, practically all comments about SC2013 have been negative.

- On the official Maxis SimCity Facebook page, practically all comments relating to posts that announce news about the game have been negative.

- On Simtropolis (and I will assume other SimCity and city simulation builder fansites), practically all comments about SC2013 have been negative.

There has been virtually no positive feedback anywhere.

Do you think Maxis will even acknowledge this negative feedback (nevermind make changes to the game due to it)?

No they wont acknowledge the feedback because of EA and Maxis is owned by EA. And even if Maxis did acknowledge the negative feedback there isnt anything they can do about it because of EA. Remember TM they did acknowledge the negative feedback on SCS but there hands were tied because of EA.

[Mark Waybill 242]

I am pessimistic regarding 'Maxis', seeing as 1. what they've released about the game recently and 2. the fact that they aren't the same company that made 2000, they have evolved to become a very different company since that time, no matter how much we might like to read about Ocean being a SC veteran and this that and the other, the fact is this company has barely any connection with the company that gave us 2000 or with Mr Wright.

Putting aside whether Maxis is really the same 'Maxis' we know and love that gave us the various Sim games, they are now a tool of EA corporation, and while I tend to avoid using over emphasised generalisations like 'the Evil Empire' and so forth, Maxis is certainly a Lord Vader at best, and EA is probably to a large extent to blame.

However this is purely speculation. The fact remains however that whoever is in charge, or has the power to influence the course of the game, is either not in control of their own actions entirely, or is ignoring the fans for commercial reasons. I could understand releasing a limited versiuon of the game for starters to appeal to the quick-amuse crowd of Facebook gamers, and they have done that with SCSocial. In future the game could be modded to include further additions and more realism, or a separate version could be released simultaneously for the core crowd, which is what I assumed they were going to do.

The recent news appears to show that not only was my hypothesis incorrect, and SCSocial is not the limit of simplified casual gamer targeted play, but that the main game is, in addition to sounding highly simplified and restricted compared with 4, also restricted unecessarily. I do not see any reason why the recent information can be defended on the basis of making the game multiplayer. A SC4 style gridded region could be made multiplayer, by two people using the same region file. Multiplayer compatibility isn't rocket science, Maxis.

There is simply no excuse for these 'bubble' cities. Real regions are nothing like that except if each city was an arcology and this was 3000 ad. Also the 2 by 2 km limit means that these bubble cities are not only unexpandable, but very restricted with their space for development. And we can't terraform beyond simple civic terraforming within our bubbles. Great, Maxis. Really well thought out. We're listening to the fans now, sure.

Even casual gamers should wonder at these decisions. They can't be performance based. You could have a SC4 style grid array and still have 2 by 2 km limitations on individual lots for development. There is no excuse from a technological perspective. And another wham attack point, Maxis, is this; they speak of higher realism, 'you see what we sim' etc with GlassBox. What is the point of added simulation realism if our regions are composed of bubbles exactly 2 by 2 km connected by pre defined transportation infrastructure? Where is the added realism in that? Strategy games with dragons and princess rescuing gameplay that have more realistic urban development.

And to top it all off, they have included 'Heroes and Villains', a completely unecessary addition to the game. A unrealistic and silly scenario pack, and two or three highly stereotypical and predictable tilesets. Great, that was worth the extra dollars, not.

So they are definitely not at present listening to their fans, indeed it seems they are listening to Metallica at full volume with earphones and facing their backs to us and humming. They have half a year to rectify this trend, and I, despite really wishing I could trust 'good old Maxis that gave me 2000 etc', have very little hope they will change their course if it means lost time or money, although imho they could have created what we wanted and still reaped in the cash.

[alex macnamara 139]

And to top it all off, they have included 'Heroes and Villains', a completely unecessary addition to the game. A unrealistic and silly scenario pack, and two or three highly stereotypical and predictable tilesets. Great, that was worth the extra dollars, not.

yea I was wondering what compelling reason it was to make a retarded villians pack?! And hello to day 1 DLC including the Europe tiles sets! If they would have spent more time making a real game rather than worthless DLC we "could" have a real city builder.

[Essex 322]

It doesn't matter how you put it; Maxis is EA, Simcity will be a 2013 EA release, if you like recent EA releases you will most likely enjoy SC2013, if not, you won't.

[The Bluejay 40]

I think there's a good chance that EAxis's PR and Marketing departments have noticed the discontent and are running around like headless chickens trying to either mitigate or cover it up (I'm fairly sure that's what spurred the community interviews, ironically enough) but will there be any acknowledgement? Of course not; they still want to sell this game, and a statement that says "Yeah, people hate it" is not exactly going to engender much confidence.

Unfortunately, there won't be any changes either. The game is far too advanced for radical change, and EA have always gone for a stick-their-heels-in approach to criticism.

[Mark Waybill 242]

What you say, BlueJay, is what depresses me most about this. The game is way too complete now for them to, from a purely commercial perspective, chuck a u turn and rethink major aspects of it. Also, I always thought of Maxis as a company that listened to it's customers. I feel not only let down by EA but by a company that I respected it previously. It's like being ripped off by a good friend...

The way I am going to react is to continue voicing my discontented opinion, and try to offer constructive solutions wherever possible. But I truly believe that to succeed in creating a true proper '5' it's going to have to be independent like Simutrans and done by us, and not by a profit driven megacorp that isn't exactly synonymous with 'creative and intelligent gaming'.

[herob4u 34]

Knowing that EA owns Maxis, I am positively sure that the game will keep it's heading even with our discontent. I'm pretty sure Maxis do acknowledge these negative claims, but, it's either one of the two:

1) Can't do anything about it; EA holds them like dogs in leashes, it's not up to them to take direct actions to EVERYTHING. It might also be too late as the core of the game is probably done, waiting to be polished. Changing now would be radical.

2) So Certain of their product; Perhaps Maxis believe we only saw what's bad of this game and never paid good attention to what's good...maybe because we don't have sufficient info about them. I bet they think we would love the game ONLY when we try it, as it can be difficult to display the true fun features of the game by just telling us....it needs trail and experience maybe?

Personally, the lack of terraforming didn't ruin everything, I mean...I managed to live with it in CXL, why not here then? It's actually the online feature that pisses me off only. Put that away, and the game looks decent. Not as I wanted, but still...has potentials. I think the devs can pull it off, barely. It might not be the same as Simcity 4 but, who knows, it might even be better, but in a different way.

One Question left....who begged for Online/Multiplayer features in the first place?! D:

[The_City_Builder 299]

^ I'm guessing it's number 1.

[Mark Waybill 242]

The main reason I dislike the direction their taking things is it is unecessary and can't be excused from a technical perspective, and that if we wanted to play The Sims But Bigger, we'd play Simcity Social.

[MINIggy03 227]

The main reason I dislike the direction their taking things is it is unecessary and can't be excused from a technical perspective, and that if we wanted to play The Sims But Bigger, we'd play Simcity Social.

You don't think simulating hundreds of thousands of cars, sims, resources, etc in a 3D environment puts a technical limit on the scope of the game? Does anyone here really think SimCity 4 is possible in 3D with the glassbox engine?

  Edited July 29, 2012 by MINIggy03  

[Bipin 3,403]

If EA/Maxis could be manifested as a human being, and you were to hold a gun to their head, asking them what they thought of all 903485 negative comments this month, they would simply say "What are you talking about? There have only been 5 comments this month on our website. You know, the one about how multiplayer is great, the one about how terraforming is antiquated, that other about..."

[Wiimeiser 452]

I for one doubt we'll be getting grade-separated highways. Given the "Simplicity" route anything more advanced than dragging at-grade intersections would scare off 85% of the target demographic.

[Mark Waybill 242]

The main reason I dislike the direction their taking things is it is unecessary and can't be excused from a technical perspective, and that if we wanted to play The Sims But Bigger, we'd play Simcity Social.

You don't think simulating hundreds of thousands of cars, sims, resources, etc in a 3D environment puts a technical limit on the scope of the game? Does anyone here really think SimCity 4 is possible in 3D with the glassbox engine?

One could still have a sc4 style regional city array with a 2 by 2 km limit on individual tiles.

[Nevets13 27]

Yea, probably too late for them to change anything major now. I'm just hoping they acknowledge there is a problem and have plans to correct issues in an expansion.

[Superbacon 380]

No, they won't. Maxis is owned by EA. And EA will TELL Maxis to ignore all the negative feedback. After all EA is known for ignoring customer feedback. Sometimes I wonder why investors haven't sold off all their EA shares yet.

The 5% positive feedback is most likely either folks who have never played a SimCity game before, huge fans of EA or EA's force of Internet police that go around trolling forums and fansites with positive feedback. Starting arguments and trying to improve how the game looks in the players' eye. I'm not kidding they actually have a troll force for things like this. It's part of their marketing strategy.

[NCGAIO 562]

You don't think simulating hundreds of thousands of cars, sims, resources, etc in a 3D environment puts a technical limit on the scope of the game? Does anyone here really think SimCity 4 is possible in 3D with the glassbox engine?

Is dificult believe that even the Simcity new (If have what was seen in the videos) will run on minimum specifications disclosed.

Guess I'll put have something more powerful in my desk ...

If I do not like of the game keep him to a new version of the CXL, who knows ....

  Edited July 29, 2012 by NCGAIO  

[Nevets13 27]

What I still can't fathom is why they decided to have the whole game revolve around multiplayer in the first place(as Quigley has said was the focus since the start).

I'm assuming EA went to maxis and said "make an online sim city", but why? By the time this game started development I have to think they knew about the disaster that was CitiesXL planet offer.

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that room when the discussion took place about the direction they wanted to take this game. What reasons did they come up with for thinking there was any interest in an online focused city builder.

I understand adding some kind of online feature to a city builder, but having it as the main focus just seems absolutely crazy to me.

  Edited July 29, 2012 by Nevets13  

[Helevitia 38]

What I still can't fathom is why they decided to have the whole game revolve around multiplayer in the first place(as Quigley has said was the focus since the start).

I'm assuming EA went to maxis and said "make an online sim city", but why? By the time this game started development I have to think they knew about the disaster that was CitiesXL planet offer.

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that room when the discussion took place about the direction they wanted to take this game. What reasons did they come up with for thinking there was any interest in an online focused city builder.

I understand adding some kind of online feature to a city builder, but having it as the main focus just seems absolutely crazy to me.

I think the answer is slowly coming into view. They want to make Simcity subscription based maybe? Maximum profit gain. that's really the only way they can make Simcity affordable for them to make and keep expensive servers running. I ho[pe I'm wrong about the subscription. God I hope I'm wrong....

[cirugo 1,889]

What I still can't fathom is why they decided to have the whole game revolve around multiplayer in the first place(as Quigley has said was the focus since the start).

I'm assuming EA went to maxis and said "make an online sim city", but why? By the time this game started development I have to think they knew about the disaster that was CitiesXL planet offer.

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that room when the discussion took place about the direction they wanted to take this game. What reasons did they come up with for thinking there was any interest in an online focused city builder.

I understand adding some kind of online feature to a city builder, but having it as the main focus just seems absolutely crazy to me.

I think the answer is slowly coming into view. They want to make Simcity subscription based maybe? Maximum profit gain. that's really the only way they can make Simcity affordable for them to make and keep expensive servers running. I ho[pe I'm wrong about the subscription. God I hope I'm wrong....

that's exactly what sank Monte Cristo...

[aparrot7 82]

What I still can't fathom is why they decided to have the whole game revolve around multiplayer in the first place(as Quigley has said was the focus since the start).

I'm assuming EA went to maxis and said "make an online sim city", but why? By the time this game started development I have to think they knew about the disaster that was CitiesXL planet offer.

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that room when the discussion took place about the direction they wanted to take this game. What reasons did they come up with for thinking there was any interest in an online focused city builder.

I understand adding some kind of online feature to a city builder, but having it as the main focus just seems absolutely crazy to me.

I think the answer is slowly coming into view. They want to make Simcity subscription based maybe? Maximum profit gain. that's really the only way they can make Simcity affordable for them to make and keep expensive servers running. I ho[pe I'm wrong about the subscription. God I hope I'm wrong....

that's exactly what sank Monte Cristo...

That and the fact that its only advertised and popular in Europe. There's a very small number of people playing the the United States. Also it wasn't made a simulation game. It doesn't display cities like SC4 does, really all CXL is eye candy. Sure you can recreate amazing cities, but it's not as fun as simcity.

As for the topic, I hope they change a few things up- add some more features, and fix that annoying city connections/ regional play issue. But it doesn't seem that is going to happen right now. But i'll judge the game once its finally released, i still remain somewhat optimistic.

[Sandis_van_Great 346]

i belive they already know how big of a fail its gona be, but they cant do anything about it becouse of EA. plus the game is already to far in development

[NCGAIO 562]

According to the theme that seems to have already reached the peak of its development

Do you think Maxis will acknowledge the discontent from the community?

Unfortunately the studios are currently directed to the same interests the distributors so. think not likely to happen. For those who are unsure just follow the blogs and news from the official site

  Edited August 3, 2012 by CaptCity  
Removed image which has unnecessarily placed in every post.

[spiritbw 111]

At this point? It's starting to look like no. I still have hope but it's starting to feel like a fool's hope.

[parakompetisn 1]

when the new simcity was announced i think that everybodies (mine certianly) reaction was.

'Cool! It's gonna be Simcity Rush Hour with the coolest additions from the STEX but with new graphics and then when you zone against a diagonal road the zone will align with it, and...'

When I look back I remember I havent played much simcity 3000 because it was so much different to the 2000 and I didnt really like it. SC4 was good, but it was vastly improved with rush hour. After years of community modding it became the game we now play and expect to be bettered by SC5. It's not gonna happen.

They're making a new platform for Simcity and it looks like it's going to follow SC4 path - initial release then a expansion to implement whatever functionality they couldnt implement in the initial release ('Rush Hour mk2' if you will)

What I hope for from this iteration of the game is to at the very least enable the same, if not greater flexibility SC4 has given us. I dont really mind aboout the terraforming as long as we are given some sort of way of creating regions other than paying for them through the DLC. My biggest fear with the game is that it will lose the grand scale allure of (single player) region play and be drowned with The-Sims-like customizations that is, frankly, rubbish.

Otherwise I'm more than happy to stick with the Simcity that I enjoy now

[Mr_Maison 2,426]

Perhaps after years of fans signing petitions they thought we were so starved for a "Maxis" SimCity that they thought we would take whatever they dished out because they're "Maxis".

  Edited August 10, 2012 by Mr_Maison  

[Shark7 118]

Knowing that EA owns Maxis, I am positively sure that the game will keep it's heading even with our discontent. I'm pretty sure Maxis do acknowledge these negative claims, but, it's either one of the two:

1) Can't do anything about it; EA holds them like dogs in leashes, it's not up to them to take direct actions to EVERYTHING. It might also be too late as the core of the game is probably done, waiting to be polished. Changing now would be radical.

2) So Certain of their product; Perhaps Maxis believe we only saw what's bad of this game and never paid good attention to what's good...maybe because we don't have sufficient info about them. I bet they think we would love the game ONLY when we try it, as it can be difficult to display the true fun features of the game by just telling us....it needs trail and experience maybe?

Personally, the lack of terraforming didn't ruin everything, I mean...I managed to live with it in CXL, why not here then? It's actually the online feature that pisses me off only. Put that away, and the game looks decent. Not as I wanted, but still...has potentials. I think the devs can pull it off, barely. It might not be the same as Simcity 4 but, who knows, it might even be better, but in a different way.

One Question left....who begged for Online/Multiplayer features in the first place?! D:

There is of course a problem with #2. If most of the feedback is negative about a game, how many of you are willing to pay to try it? I know I am not. When I go looking for a new game, I do read reviews...not the 'professional' reviews, but the reviews of actual people who played the game. If the overall reviews from players are bad, then its a no sale...why waste my money on something I am likely to dislike?

If EA/Maxis doesn't do something to sooth the negative feelings of the player base, then it will hurt their sales...not just from the old time fans who won't buy it, but also from perspective customers who see all the negative reviews and opt to pass it by.

And my fear is that if/when the new SimCity flops, it is the end of the series, as EA is unlikely to try again if it doesn't make money. A bad release can destroy an otherwise good game series.

[Helevitia 38]

You don't think simulating hundreds of thousands of cars, sims, resources, etc in a 3D environment puts a technical limit on the scope of the game? Does anyone here really think SimCity 4 is possible in 3D with the glassbox engine?

Is dificult believe that even the Simcity new (If have what was seen in the videos) will run on minimum specifications disclosed.

Guess I'll put have something more powerful in my desk ...

If I do not like of the game keep him to a new version of the CXL, who knows ....

Do I think the glassbox engine will hold up to current hardware? Yes I do. I built an i920 system almost 3 years ago. I was going to upgrade when IvyBridge came out, but it really wasn't worth it for a nominal speed bump. So systems from 3 years ago(assuming i-core processors) with video cards from the last year, should run this game just fine. Hell, most game focus on the video card and much less load is placed on the CPU. if they actually code for multi-core processors, the simulation should be good. not too mention 64-bit which generally improves games by about 10%.

Too bad it's gonna suck and the servers will disappear after 2 or so years. Not to mention they monthly fees I am betting they will charge or if not monthly fees, than micro charges for DLC.

Knowing that EA owns Maxis, I am positively sure that the game will keep it's heading even with our discontent. I'm pretty sure Maxis do acknowledge these negative claims, but, it's either one of the two:

1) Can't do anything about it; EA holds them like dogs in leashes, it's not up to them to take direct actions to EVERYTHING. It might also be too late as the core of the game is probably done, waiting to be polished. Changing now would be radical.

2) So Certain of their product; Perhaps Maxis believe we only saw what's bad of this game and never paid good attention to what's good...maybe because we don't have sufficient info about them. I bet they think we would love the game ONLY when we try it, as it can be difficult to display the true fun features of the game by just telling us....it needs trail and experience maybe?

Personally, the lack of terraforming didn't ruin everything, I mean...I managed to live with it in CXL, why not here then? It's actually the online feature that pisses me off only. Put that away, and the game looks decent. Not as I wanted, but still...has potentials. I think the devs can pull it off, barely. It might not be the same as Simcity 4 but, who knows, it might even be better, but in a different way.

One Question left....who begged for Online/Multiplayer features in the first place?! D:

There is of course a problem with #2. If most of the feedback is negative about a game, how many of you are willing to pay to try it? I know I am not. When I go looking for a new game, I do read reviews...not the 'professional' reviews, but the reviews of actual people who played the game. If the overall reviews from players are bad, then its a no sale...why waste my money on something I am likely to dislike?

If EA/Maxis doesn't do something to sooth the negative feelings of the player base, then it will hurt their sales...not just from the old time fans who won't buy it, but also from perspective customers who see all the negative reviews and opt to pass it by.

And my fear is that if/when the new SimCity flops, it is the end of the series, as EA is unlikely to try again if it doesn't make money. A bad release can destroy an otherwise good game series.

I generally don't buy games that have less than 90 on metacritic. Cities XL received a 69, CXL2011 received a 70 and CXL2012 received a 61. Simcity 2013 has a lot to overcome. My guess is it will receive an 80-84 or there about. Not because it will deserve it, but some "fans" won't be able to let there bias go. Don't forget about the paid for reviews by EA. Yes reviewers are compensated for good reviews.

  Edited August 10, 2012 by Helevitia  

[wozzar 154]

You don't think simulating hundreds of thousands of cars, sims, resources, etc in a 3D environment puts a technical limit on the scope of the game? Does anyone here really think SimCity 4 is possible in 3D with the glassbox engine?

Is dificult believe that even the Simcity new (If have what was seen in the videos) will run on minimum specifications disclosed.

Guess I'll put have something more powerful in my desk ...

If I do not like of the game keep him to a new version of the CXL, who knows ....

Do I think the glassbox engine will hold up to current hardware? Yes I do. I built an i920 system almost 3 years ago. I was going to upgrade when IvyBridge came out, but it really wasn't worth it for a nominal speed bump. So systems from 3 years ago(assuming i-core processors) with video cards from the last year, should run this game just fine. Hell, most game focus on the video card and much less load is placed on the CPU. if they actually code for multi-core processors, the simulation should be good. not too mention 64-bit which generally improves games by about 10%.

Too bad it's gonna suck and the servers will disappear after 2 or so years. Not to mention they monthly fees I am betting they will charge or if not monthly fees, than micro charges for DLC.

Knowing that EA owns Maxis, I am positively sure that the game will keep it's heading even with our discontent. I'm pretty sure Maxis do acknowledge these negative claims, but, it's either one of the two:

1) Can't do anything about it; EA holds them like dogs in leashes, it's not up to them to take direct actions to EVERYTHING. It might also be too late as the core of the game is probably done, waiting to be polished. Changing now would be radical.

2) So Certain of their product; Perhaps Maxis believe we only saw what's bad of this game and never paid good attention to what's good...maybe because we don't have sufficient info about them. I bet they think we would love the game ONLY when we try it, as it can be difficult to display the true fun features of the game by just telling us....it needs trail and experience maybe?

Personally, the lack of terraforming didn't ruin everything, I mean...I managed to live with it in CXL, why not here then? It's actually the online feature that pisses me off only. Put that away, and the game looks decent. Not as I wanted, but still...has potentials. I think the devs can pull it off, barely. It might not be the same as Simcity 4 but, who knows, it might even be better, but in a different way.

One Question left....who begged for Online/Multiplayer features in the first place?! D:

There is of course a problem with #2. If most of the feedback is negative about a game, how many of you are willing to pay to try it? I know I am not. When I go looking for a new game, I do read reviews...not the 'professional' reviews, but the reviews of actual people who played the game. If the overall reviews from players are bad, then its a no sale...why waste my money on something I am likely to dislike?

If EA/Maxis doesn't do something to sooth the negative feelings of the player base, then it will hurt their sales...not just from the old time fans who won't buy it, but also from perspective customers who see all the negative reviews and opt to pass it by.

And my fear is that if/when the new SimCity flops, it is the end of the series, as EA is unlikely to try again if it doesn't make money. A bad release can destroy an otherwise good game series.

I generally don't buy games that have less than 90 on metacritic. Cities XL received a 69, CXL2011 received a 70 and CXL2012 received a 61. Simcity 2013 has a lot to overcome. My guess is it will receive an 80-84 or there about. Not because it will deserve it, but some "fans" won't be able to let there bias go. Don't forget about the paid for reviews by EA. Yes reviewers are compensated for good reviews.

And i have no doubt that the bad reviews on Amazon will be removed by EA did this to another game and demanded Amazon to remove it.

I also have a theory about Maxis and it only a theory. I wouldnt be surprised if EA approach TM again to make the game only for TM to refused because of the fallout that happen last time. I say this because Maxis was disabanded and resurected as a last resort perhaps. I mean if i was TM i dont think i would do it again after last time and TM really did cop it when it was EA who were to blame.