Simplification of Games - The path chosen by EA

[NCGAIO 562]

Simplification of Games - The wrong path chosen (by CEO) to E.A.

For many fans of SimCity left a bitter taste to as they were taking notice of what was being developed for the new game and simplifications compared to SC4. But everyone should know that this is not exclusive to the game from Maxis is rather a rule that is being applied to the entire contents of the products distributed by EA

The explanation for this can be achieved in the aggressive business model that CEO John Riccitiello in the company has implemented to transform the way it relates to its customers worldwide. In fact EA is seeking to replace the traditional sales model by an advanced model for service delivery.

There are several reasons for this transformation but two stand out:

The first is around the various laws involved in the sale process of the various countries where their consumers, thus avoiding the legal problems that disrupts your goals for the company like what happened this month in the European Community

- Equation of second-hand retail and digital versions

- After Abmahnwahn the consumer now wants to control the subscription traps

The second is certainly the most important would be to keep the profits on the rise constant loyalty of all the possible ways their customers to get a homogeneous mass market that can absorb any impact how the crisis happened in 2009. Although it seems quite contrary to the will of consumers the CEO has a conviction on the subject.

" When you are not six hours into playing Battlefield and you run out of ammo in your clip and we ask you for a dollar to reload, you're really that price-sensitive at that point in time. Essentially what ends up happening Sun, and the reason the play-first, pay-later model works nicely, is a consumer gets engaged in a property. They may spend th, twenty, thirty, fifty minutes in a game. And then, when they're deep into a game, they're well invested in it.

At that point in time the commitment can be pretty high. It's a great model and it represents a Substantially better future for the industry. " / / If there are six hours of Battlefield and starts playing one of ammunition, we want a dollar to recharge, because at this point the player is less preisempflindlich.

Essentially it is a "first-then-play-numbers" model that could work very well because a player is heavily invested and binds to a product. It may be that someone ten zwangig, thirty, fifty hours passionately invested time in a game and when it happens, it will generate sales at this point also can be very high. It is a great model and represents a bright future for the gaming industry".

Source:http://www.theorigin...nen-Euro-bitte!

In the case of SimCity will not be different from all other titles that have already undergone the same process, despite the huge mass of fans who would like to see an update of the old simulator without having to suffer with the reduction of many of its features in favor of gameplay .

The Criterion Games partner own graphic engine of the new Simcity will have to do the same with your title Need for Speed: Most Wanted also to be launched in 2013, according to the following passage makes it quite clear

" On 1 June 2012, EA announced Need for Speed: Most Wanted only a few days prior to the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012. It also was confirmed that Criterion Games are developing the game, and it will showcase at E3.[4] First trailer and gameplay was revealed at EA's press conference on June 4th, the game will be a reboot of the 2005 video game of the same name. The game features an open world and will be developed similarly to Criterion's Burnout Paradise and Hot Pursuit. It's was also confirmed that the Criterion's Autolog feature will return."

It is possible to realize that the criteria used for Burnout Paradise has a very close resemblance to what is being advertised to Simcity.

" Burnout Paradise is set in an open-world environment. Players have the opportunity to progress at their own pace and level; the game, unlike others, is not actually set to a rigid gameplay framework. According to Alex Ward, creative director of the game at developer Criterion Games, this game is a "complete reinvention" of the Burnout series. He also said "To create truly next-generation gameplay, we needed to create a truly next-generation game from the ground up."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyp0lkaUbRY&feature=player_detailpage

The conclusion so far ... is that it only remains for fans of the old SC4 are the hard-core hobbyists or just those who liked to show his realistic, landscapes, play forever with this icon of the past ...or hope that some studio independent appear to take this market niche left by EA

Edit: It seems that the contrary decisions in Europe are already creating reflections with low shares of EA. Read what he thinks now CEO John Riccitiello in:

- EA stock drops, CEO John Riccitiello thinks investors are confused about gaming

His worried face make much sense sense when rumors begin to emerge of its output.

Read about the Gamefront -

- RUMOR: EA CEO John Riccitiello to be Removed, Peter Moore to Step In

  Edited August 1, 2012 by NCGAIO  

[The_City_Builder 299]

Any new CEO could do a better job then him!

I sincerely hope he is removed as CEO.

  Edited July 29, 2012 by The_City_Builder  

[chimeran 208]

Freemium games are designed in a completely different way to premium games. Their success rests entirely on their ability to suck you into buying things. Sure they have to be fun, but if you don’t spend any money then the designers have failed. As such, freemium games employ various tactics to encourage you to invest.

This usually means putting the non-paying user at a disadvantage, with less powerful equipment, time caps and content restrictions. The design of such games often means that if you’re willing to spend money you can effectively pay to win. It’s not about skill, or reactions, or problem-solving acumen, it’s about cash. The worst freemium games aren’t really games at all, but skilfully constructed traps.

Super Meat Boy developer Edmund McMillan has even stronger opinions on the subject. In a recent blog post he said, “There is a whole sh*t load of wrong out there these days, from abusive and manipulative money making tactics, to flat out stealing.

“To us the core of what is wrong with the mobile platform is the lack of respect for players. It really seems like a large number of these companies out there view their audience as dumb cattle who they round up, milk and then send them on their way feeling empty or at times violated.”

He continued, “Words cannot express how f*cking wrong and horrible this is, for games, for gamers and for the platform as a whole. This business tactic is a slap in the face to actual game design and embodies everything that is wrong with the mobile/casual video game scene.”

Harsh words. Yet following the startling success of the model, such behaviour is now set to infect core AAA games. Speaking at a stockholder’s meeting last year, EA CEO John Riccitiello outlined the company’s vision of a free-to-play future. It makes for terrifying reading.

“When you are six hours into playing Battlefield and you run out of ammo in your clip and we ask you for a dollar to reload, you’re really not that price sensitive at that point in time.”

“So essentially what ends up happening, and the reason the play-first, pay-later model works nicely, is a consumer gets engaged in a property. They may spend ten, twenty, thirty, fifty hours in a game. And then, when they’re deep into a game, they’re well invested in it.

Riccitiello continued, “At that point in time the commitment can be pretty high. It’s a great model and it represents a substantially better future for the industry.”

Source : http://www.xbox360ac...ood-Thing-.html

so the verdict is in folks. EA doesn't care about the game or it's followers. it's all about the almighty dollar and SC5 is designed specifically to be mutli-player to force you to play with others. as much as i hate to say it, i'm not buying the game if the only thing thing EA wants to do is suck me in and then charge me ??? i would respond to that sentiment but it would be HEAVILY censored.

  Edited July 29, 2012 by Hamish  
: watch your language

[His Divine Hand 244]

EA doesn't care about the game or it's followers.

Huurrrrr Duuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I mean seriously, did you think anything else here? EA has ever given you the impression of a compassionate conglomerate? EA is all about making money, and all of it's properties, including Sim City, exist only to further that goal. Cry and whine all you want about it, but welcome to the brave new world of video gaming.

  Edited July 29, 2012 by His Divine Hand  

[chimeran 208]

EA doesn't care about the game or it's followers.

Huurrrrr Duuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I mean seriously, did you think anything else here? EA has ever given you the impression of a compassionate conglomerate? EA is all about making money, and all of it's properties, including Sim City, exist only to further that goal. Cry and whine all you want about it, but welcome to the brave new world of video gaming.

not whining but if this is future of gaming i'll join the legion of others who will stop buying new titles. i have better things to spend my money on like my kids instead of fattening the wallets of greedy corporate big wigs

[Ion_Cannon 677]

This is why the indie movement is so important, as is supporting those publishers who aren't treating their customers like human pinyatas. The only way to stop this happening though really, is simply to vote with your wallet, in the end it may make no difference, many people tend to have more money than sense, but if the word is spread, if people realise what the industry is trying to do to them on a massive scale, then we as gamers can show that we won't be played for fools.

[Mark Waybill 242]

I have made the proposal several times in the past for a fund to be set up to finance an independent project, that could be donated to by all interested in it (thus giving every skill lacking but enthusiastic person a way to contribute) which would involve skilled programmers who are enthusiastic, and members of the community of players, creating a real 5.

I have seen various projects grow and wither over the years, including my own Virtucity. If anyone likes the title feel free to use it, I would rather have Simcity 5 under a title I came up with and not receive any profit from it than have to put up with 2013 and force myself to believe it is 5. Whatever the project is called, we need to do this ourselves. The above comment regarding Indie gaming is a good point. The big wigs are in it for the money. We are in it for the game. It is like sport. We are amateurs, they are professionals.

Two things are required initially. One, a set of skilled people who have a passion for what we believe in, i.e Simcity/city building genre and the values (elements) we want to see in 5. Two an 'official' fund set up donated to by fans which would finance the time and effort of the skilled team, which could easily be set up using an online payment system.

That way even people with no skill, but who believe in the project, can contribute in some way. An 'official' forum/website/facebook page would also be essential. I am not suggesting this website would be the ideal place, whether or not it would be allowed to have a place here. But definitely I would suggest the skilled programmers be sourced from a site like this which is passionate about the game, and which will not fall into the traps and hurdles other projects have suffered from.

I personally find it hard using GML, so I am obviously only able to recommend such a cause.

I truly believe (sorry for being off topic) that EA's path has been made clear. The replacement CEO is just another big wig corporate profit eating carnivore, EA has made its stance on its future gaming endeavours quite plain. Simcity is dead. Maxis is dead. But Simcity 5 can still live if we fight in the hills, in the towns, on the beaches, to defend our island of rational intelligence in this sea of FPS madness. But it must be us who fight this time. Advocate all we like, the big developers have made their stance clear. They're just in it for the money.

[Essex 322]

I agree with Mark, some of the modders on this site are incredible, why not construct our own game? I'd be willing to dump a $100 in the project, if we all do that it would be possible. At the end share the profit over the investers and we'll have our desired game and some money in the pocket aswell!

I seriously believe we should start a "the Simtropolis game fund". I even believe "Simtropolis is a fitting name for the new game.

[Sandis_van_Great 346]

I have made the proposal several times in the past for a fund to be set up to finance an independent project, that could be donated to by all interested in it (thus giving every skill lacking but enthusiastic person a way to contribute) which would involve skilled programmers who are enthusiastic, and members of the community of players, creating a real 5.

I have seen various projects grow and wither over the years, including my own Virtucity. If anyone likes the title feel free to use it, I would rather have Simcity 5 under a title I came up with and not receive any profit from it than have to put up with 2013 and force myself to believe it is 5. Whatever the project is called, we need to do this ourselves. The above comment regarding Indie gaming is a good point. The big wigs are in it for the money. We are in it for the game. It is like sport. We are amateurs, they are professionals.

Two things are required initially. One, a set of skilled people who have a passion for what we believe in, i.e Simcity/city building genre and the values (elements) we want to see in 5. Two an 'official' fund set up donated to by fans which would finance the time and effort of the skilled team, which could easily be set up using an online payment system.

That way even people with no skill, but who believe in the project, can contribute in some way. An 'official' forum/website/facebook page would also be essential. I am not suggesting this website would be the ideal place, whether or not it would be allowed to have a place here. But definitely I would suggest the skilled programmers be sourced from a site like this which is passionate about the game, and which will not fall into the traps and hurdles other projects have suffered from.

I personally find it hard using GML, so I am obviously only able to recommend such a cause.

I truly believe (sorry for being off topic) that EA's path has been made clear. The replacement CEO is just another big wig corporate profit eating carnivore, EA has made its stance on its future gaming endeavours quite plain. Simcity is dead. Maxis is dead. But Simcity 5 can still live if we fight in the hills, in the towns, on the beaches, to defend our island of rational intelligence in this sea of FPS madness. But it must be us who fight this time. Advocate all we like, the big developers have made their stance clear. They're just in it for the money.

Ive been thinking about this several times also. Its only us the community that can make the game we trully like, we have soo much smart and skilled people around here. I wouldnt mind donating time to time.

[Mark Waybill 242]

Even though I'm on benefits and only just started my first paid job (one day a week) I would gladly contribute an initial 100 dollars or so to a fund just to make a point and do something. I agree a thread would be good. It would be super awesome if the mods could get involved and make a special board/thread for this idea, as I would be pessimistic about gaining the right amount and quality of support from another site as this is the premier Simcity fan site that isn't official, and thus independent of EA/Origin.

I think an important thing to do would be to make a design document/constitution for the game that everyone agrees with, by using the poll features here, so that even before the first lines of code are laid down we are all assured the game will not deviate from the direction we want it to go down. A sort of final ultimatum on what we want in a true 5, that would be our constitution and 'bible' by which we followed the right democratic path.

If Paypal or such a system of payment was used to contribute to the 5 fund then anyone with an interest in the project could donate, and I believe that once the word spread around the fund could get to the point where the skilled individuals chosen to program would have not only a personal reward for their hard work but it would allow funds for, say, research like what Maxis conducted, and for other things to help the project.

I may be getting a bit too businesslike, and naturally this idea is only going to work if it is not a for profit business style venture, but I think it would be the best method to employ to have all Simtropolitans 'citizens', and thus eligible to vote on the project decisions, and to have reports of how the funds were spent like in company annual meetings only more often, so that we all know where our donations are going. So, for instance, the report might say that 50 dollars was spent on research or computer repairs etc.

The main resource consideration would be, for people enthusiastic enough to do this as a hobby, the time taken. I think thus that not only should the project's staff be accountable and have to listen to poll results (terraforming yay or nay, for example) but we should try to be reasonable in the way we act too. For instance if there is a poll about an issue we feel strongly about, like say curvy roads, then we turn up so our voice is heard.

If the amount of people complaining about EA became an amount of people contributing to a solution to the failings of EA by making an alternative game, our time would be well spent.

I think it would be great to have mod support in this, but if for some reason they aren't wholly behind the idea may I suggest being able to advertise the project at this site, as it is a central hub for the sort of people who are interested in the proposal? Also, sorry if this is way off topic by now.

[Shishka 14]

EA is chasing after nickels and dimes by trying to appeal to the 'social gamer' sect - despite the fact that most companies in that area are foundering. Zynga (of FarmVille notoriety) stock has fallen from nearly $15/share to less than $2/share over the past few months, and the company is expected to enter bankruptcy before Thanksgiving. Much like the Dot-Com Bubble, the Social Gaming Bubble was generated almost exclusively on hype (as opposed to substance) and has burst. This FaceBook City crap EA is trying to foist on us is akin to betting on a dead horse that's already in the rendering chute.

Worse still is the simple undeniable fact that successful games create legacies, and legacies define what the public expects from any further releases in a series. Hulk doesn't use a shield, Iron Man doesn't turn green and yell 'TONY SMASH!', Thor doesn't wear power armor, and Captain America doesn't wield a legendary hammer. If Marvel tried any of these, they'd get crucified.

The people who have the money to sink $60, $80, or even $100 into a single-title game want Sim City - not FaceBook City. Sim City fans have waited through ten long years of abandonment for Maxis to release a new Sim City (one which is a worthy successor to Sim City 4), enduring disappointment after disappointment like Sim City Societies, Cities XL, and similar flops.

Civilization (which actually owes its very existence to Sim City) is a good example EA should study: While the game CAN be played online/multiplayer (as well as serving as a direct promotion for DLC) it remains at its core the same offline, single-player game which made the series so popular.

Rather than heed the cries of the fans they're counting on selling to, EA has clearly decided to take a massive dump on them and the game by trying to reinvent the wheel (which never works). They insist on adding features that few (if any) Sim City fans want while stripping away features that most (if not all) Sim City fans have loved for decades.

I'd buy TWO copies of Sim City 5 right now, even at $100 each, if EA/Maxis made one - but I refuse to even spend the time it would take to download on this online-only, cloud-only, stripped-down, dumbed-down, 'must pester everyone you know in order to accomplish anything' piece of dung they're polluting the Sim City name with.

[Ion_Cannon 677]

EA is chasing after nickels and dimes by trying to appeal to the 'social gamer' sect - despite the fact that most companies in that area are foundering. Zynga (of FarmVille notoriety) stock has fallen from nearly $15/share to less than $2/share over the past few months, and the company is expected to enter bankruptcy before Thanksgiving. Much like the Dot-Com Bubble, the Social Gaming Bubble was generated almost exclusively on hype (as opposed to substance) and has burst. This FaceBook City crap EA is trying to foist on us is akin to betting on a dead horse that's already in the rendering chute.

Worse still is the simple undeniable fact that successful games create legacies, and legacies define what the public expects from any further releases in a series. Hulk doesn't use a shield, Iron Man doesn't turn green and yell 'TONY SMASH!', Thor doesn't wear power armor, and Captain America doesn't wield a legendary hammer. If Marvel tried any of these, they'd get crucified.

The people who have the money to sink $60, $80, or even $100 into a single-title game want Sim City - not FaceBook City. Sim City fans have waited through ten long years of abandonment for Maxis to release a new Sim City (one which is a worthy successor to Sim City 4), enduring disappointment after disappointment like Sim City Societies, Cities XL, and similar flops.

Civilization (which actually owes its very existence to Sim City) is a good example EA should study: While the game CAN be played online/multiplayer (as well as serving as a direct promotion for DLC) it remains at its core the same offline, single-player game which made the series so popular.

Rather than heed the cries of the fans they're counting on selling to, EA has clearly decided to take a massive dump on them and the game by trying to reinvent the wheel (which never works). They insist on adding features that few (if any) Sim City fans want while stripping away features that most (if not all) Sim City fans have loved for decades.

I'd buy TWO copies of Sim City 5 right now, even at $100 each, if EA/Maxis made one - but I refuse to even spend the time it would take to download on this online-only, cloud-only, stripped-down, dumbed-down, 'must pester everyone you know in order to accomplish anything' piece of dung they're polluting the Sim City name with.

Indeed, the social gaming bubble was clearly never going to last. I don't know why analysts and marketing thought it would, I have been saying from day1 that it was not a long term sustainable profitable direction.

People may argue that a simcity game based on simcity 4 would be to complex for many, and that is true. However it is undeniable that there is a market for more complex, harder games - mostly full of people like ourselves which are not satisfied with the way the industry seems to be heading at the moment. If they need evidence simply look to the sales of Witcher 2 or Dark Souls. People like being challenged, maybe not quite as many as want to easymode dribble on keyboard everything, but the numbers are significant enough to warrant the creation of games for that audience.

I wonder how many of these "broadening the appeal" games need to flop before shareholders, analysts ect acknoweldge that not every game should appeal to everyone, because all it does is alienate the fans of the previous games and the new fans they're marketing to just don't give a monkeys.

[Gamma Stardust 50]

Path choosen by EA:

December 2011, EA (blue) shares decouple from Nasdaq (yellow), begining of redline coincides with BattleField 3 launch (late october '11).

Activision shares in red for reference.

  Edited July 29, 2012 by Gamma Stardust  

[GMT 389]

so we came from arcade to realistic gameplay (to a greater or smaller extend depending on release date and technics) to go back to ... well... arcade...

awesome.

why doesn't this work for gas prices... or living costs in general?

noo seriously, I totally know that the market for time consuming games, in an economic environment like ours, is shrinking and shrinking as people simply can't spent the time anymore, especially not if they're involved in family or social matters.

and it gets even worse if your 9-5 job doesn't pay the bills on it's own.

but still, there MUST be an alternative for those that, for whatever reason from unemployment over enthusiasm till true dedication aka hobby, can put down the time.

That is why there's so many evergreen games out there as they all work via their appeal to get lost in it, be it for the amount of content or the gameplay aspects or even the posibilities given to the player. And these are everything but fastpaced games that throw you right into it for a couple of hours of action.

Most of these fastpaced games only work via their name, think of all the big shooter games like BF or COD, they throw you right at it, give you a couple hours fastpaced fun, a "social" challenge by multiplayer and just when it grows old you get the 45th release under the same title, at best on an annular basis.

Of course we need new ideas in gameplay and, to make a game a brandnew experience this has to come from the base up, but this does not always work well. Sometimes there's just no need to reinvent the wheel for it is more use to both the player and the company to give the wheel a fine tuning.

A city builder was, is, and will ever be a city builder, no matter how often you turn it around and "redefine gameplay". So why even bother? A shooter is always a shooter and a racing game is always a racing game and all that changes is the visuals, both in quality and what is shown. Ok, the setting and the overall direction might define some boundaries, like a WW2 CoD aint a Modern Warfare CoD and an NFS Underground is certainly not a Gran Turismo...

But Ironically, in these fastpaced fun games, not reinventing the gameplay works like a charm, so why the hell do companies start to experiment around with games that ask for intense (compared to arcade fun) involvement?

After all, these niche games only work thanks to their core community and rarely suck in new players but if they do, they are at about the same wave length of the core community. And in this case, this very community are people that want a dedicating, complex gameplay and not a simplified one suitable for the casual few hrs per week

[Essex 322]

so we came from arcade to realistic gameplay (to a greater or smaller extend depending on release date and technics) to go back to ... well... arcade...

awesome.

why doesn't this work for gas prices... or living costs in general?

noo seriously, I totally know that the market for time consuming games, in an economic environment like ours, is shrinking and shrinking as people simply can't spent the time anymore, especially not if they're involved in family or social matters.

and it gets even worse if your 9-5 job doesn't pay the bills on it's own.

but still, there MUST be an alternative for those that, for whatever reason from unemployment over enthusiasm till true dedication aka hobby, can put down the time.

That is why there's so many evergreen games out there as they all work via their appeal to get lost in it, be it for the amount of content or the gameplay aspects or even the posibilities given to the player. And these are everything but fastpaced games that throw you right into it for a couple of hours of action.

Most of these fastpaced games only work via their name, think of all the big shooter games like BF or COD, they throw you right at it, give you a couple hours fastpaced fun, a "social" challenge by multiplayer and just when it grows old you get the 45th release under the same title, at best on an annular basis.

Of course we need new ideas in gameplay and, to make a game a brandnew experience this has to come from the base up, but this does not always work well. Sometimes there's just no need to reinvent the wheel for it is more use to both the player and the company to give the wheel a fine tuning.

A city builder was, is, and will ever be a city builder, no matter how often you turn it around and "redefine gameplay". So why even bother? A shooter is always a shooter and a racing game is always a racing game and all that changes is the visuals, both in quality and what is shown. Ok, the setting and the overall direction might define some boundaries, like a WW2 CoD aint a Modern Warfare CoD and an NFS Underground is certainly not a Gran Turismo...

But Ironically, in these fastpaced fun games, not reinventing the gameplay works like a charm, so why the hell do companies start to experiment around with games that ask for intense (compared to arcade fun) involvement?

After all, these niche games only work thanks to their core community and rarely suck in new players but if they do, they are at about the same wave length of the core community. And in this case, this very community are people that want a dedicating, complex gameplay and not a simplified one suitable for the casual few hrs per week

I find your satement unbelievable as most people I see spend more time looking down at their "smart" phones than looking at the people they're buying their food from etc. People don't have time? Then why is Facebook such a virus? Many hours are spent doing nothing... Most people are on FB at work... no one was on SC4 at work as I remember. Come up with something better next time.

[GMT 389]

why should I come up with something better? is this like a contest or something? or a matter of talking bout a topic where everyone brings up his/her ideas?

Anyways, you can't really compare living out your voyeurism and attention-graving on facebook with putting dedication into a game, except the fact that both takes up time that could be spent otherwise.

a quick check and status update on facebook (or any other social platform incl forums) is just so much easier than starting your favorite game at work, no matter if it's sim city or anything else.

The bottom line is the same, time wasted, but for any internet activity beyond gaming, it's more a matter of cumulative time than the consecutive time counterpart that games create.

you can bring yourself up to date with your facebook community in a course of a few minutes, barely enough to decide on what you actually wanna do in a game, let alone starting it.

And the sake of smartphones add to it. I doubt you can install and play sc4 on current gen smartphones, but most of them come with preinstalled facebook, twitter, whatever

[NCGAIO 562]

Without wishing in any way censor reviews.... the post has intention of clarifying those who do not understand the reasons why the distributors go counter to opnion the fans .... please if possible reply instead of quote and try to avoid polemics not to generate OT ok!

.... begining of redline coincides with BattleField 3 launch (late october '11).

Activision shares in red for reference.

It is not necessary even comment on the similarity of this case about reboot, just visit the game forums and read what his fans say

  Edited July 29, 2012 by NCGAIO  

[Urban Cartographer 601]

I support Mark Waybill's proposal to develop an independent game that builds upon the successes of SC4.

I would rather pledge $100 on a Kickstarter (unfortunately, Mark Waybill, like me, is an "international," so an equivalent will do) to finance an independent successor of SC4 than to pay even as low as $10 for EA's SC"5".

EA already created a simple version of SimCity and it is on Fakebook (whose shares are dropping rapidly like EA!).

EA needs to create a true successor to SC4. Unfortunately, they chose the route of greed, which will ultimately ruin the SimCity franchise.

An independently made SC4 successor will be millions of times better than EA, even at one thousandth of the budget EA would spend on SC"5".

  Edited July 29, 2012 by Urban Cartographer  

[alex macnamara 139]

Ill support the independent project!! Ill even do textures. No moddeling thou !

[Mark Waybill 242]

If anyone wants to use Virtucity for the title (I was surprised nobody had used that title when I came up with it in 2009) they are welcome to it.

I was going to go back to that project but it was in Game Maker. I would gladly learn a programming language if I felt it would lead to Simcity 5 in some way, but I think first we need an 'official' project, so that we all are contributing to something that we can trust will achieve something. I think the first step is coming up with a design document we all agree upon, which lists all the features we expect in the games initial release, and all the dos and don'ts it should include or not include (no offline mode, offline mode etc)

I think the important thing is developing a reliable, efficient engine for the game, a physics engine that allows for water flow and weather and so forth, a citizen simulation engine whereby each citizen is individually dealt with (may as well cross the Rubicon and decide on that one, like full 3d?) Once we have something really solid and reliable like GlassBox, we can do our thing and make a proper 5.

I liked GlassBox and the way it used a high level language but that it was itself written in base code, like Game Maker, the concept of which I also liked. I think that if we employed a similar system of making grouped macro commands the game could be far more easily moddable, so if we did want to change the behaviour of elements of the game we could do it easily.

Just an idea, mind you. The main thing is getting this project off the ground with the right wingspan so it doesn't crash.

[Crazy_Ivan80 35]

there's Buggi's boomtown idea a bit further down in the forum.

[Tarkus 6,933]

I agree with Mark, some of the modders on this site are incredible, why not construct our own game?

The ability to mod SC4 does not equal the ability to make a new game. We're doing a lot of stuff bordering on raw hex, instead of using a language like C++ (mainly as that's what the specification entails). It's a completely different animal.

-Tarkus

[brynhyfryd 222]

Simplification of games has been happening now for nearly a decade. The younger generation are part of the problem (not exclusively) as many (not all)don't have the patience and the will to learn to play more difficult games and choose to buy their way through the game with DLC. The other reason is Games developers/publisher dumbing down and simplifying games to appeal to a larger consumer base. Essentially profits are put before gameplay. This along with the huge push for free to play facebook and mmo games is not helping either.

As for developing a community based simcity, I think this is a brilliant idea but a few hurdles would need to be dealt with:-

1.Funding. This can be achieved using Kickstarter.

2.A team to program the code and how many would be needed.

3.How much would it cost to develop and how much time would this take.

4.Could we fund any existing projects such as "boom town"? ,How far along is this project in terms of development?

I am no programmer but I would gladly donate £100 towards any project if this results in a true sequel to SC4.

[The_City_Builder 299]

Looks like the CEO isn't being removed...

[Crazy_Ivan80 35]

The younger generation are part of the problem (not exclusively) as many (not all)don't have the patience and the will to learn to play more difficult games

patience is a skill that can be learned. If they didn't learn it, it's because someone wasn't willing to teach them.

[Essex 322]

The younger generation are part of the problem (not exclusively) as many (not all)don't have the patience and the will to learn to play more difficult games

patience is a skill that can be learned. If they didn't learn it, it's because someone wasn't willing to teach them.

It seems we're missing both these days.

[aparrot7 82]

Path choosen by EA:

December 2011, EA (blue) shares decouple from Nasdaq (yellow), begining of redline coincides with BattleField 3 launch (late october '11).

Activision shares in red for reference.

This is the problem. EA needs to please its shareholders, and that means making $$$. They need to make money off of SimCity so they don't scare away investors.

[basharg 0]

Pre-Order and get the Bonus SimCity™ Heroes and Villains set!

Limited Edition Bonus Content

• New Characters - Protector of SimCity™ MaxisMan vs. The Evil Dr. Vu and his henchman.
  
• Crime Waves - The EvilDr. Vu is loose and will create havoc in your city. Normal police have their hands full against this Super Villain. The Evil Dr. Vu will solicit Sims to become his henchmen and carry out his dastardly deeds.
  
• Super Hero HQ - Place MaxisMan’s headquarters in your city to combat crime and keep your Sims safe. Upgrade with the Turbo Machine garage and The Reticulator landing pad.
  
• Evil Villain Lair - Place Dr. Vu’s Lair in your city to unleash a crime wave. As The Evil Dr. Vu commits more crimes, upgrade his lair with a special laboratory and a garage for the Evil VuMobile.
  

http://www.ea.com/sim-city

I dont know about you guys,but this game is sounding more and more like a Sims game rather than Simcity : (

[NCGAIO 562]

All we'd love it to be possible to simply upgrade the SC4 for new technologies but unfortunately this is impractical.

Without extending the subject at the complicated technique we shall mention only three points.

- It is not possible to take advantage of current GPUs.

- It is not possible to port the code to Multitread which prevents the use of multicore CPUs.

- It is not possible to improve performance due to restrictions on compatibility with 32 bit systems.

So to have a Simcity 5 that were really competitive with current generations of similar programs would have to make something from scratch, using only the part of the conceptual structure and simulation of the ancient game.

At this point someone might say " But this it was that Maxis (EA) made with the new Rebooted Simcity " bringing the game to a graphic engine that now delivers improved performance and writing the code for the use of multicore processors( Fact announced but not yet confirmed ) .

Of course, yes, it was exactly what they did, but the intention behind all this investment was not exactly offer the same previous structure or the same concept to which all were accustomed to, but adapts it to the business model ....

That currently seems to be through the drift, also because the international crises that act deep into the investment expectations in any business, even in game's distributors

Join an award for worst company given by consumers to a flood of complaints from fans of the products and trigger a fall of two consecutive quarters (with no provision reversal) and is mounted on the scene to force some change.

If do not happen by the desire of consumers, so we make to happen by negative financial impact that certainly has a much greater weight.

In short - If you don't like what see and hear... not Buy

  Edited July 30, 2012 by NCGAIO  

[NCGAIO 562]

Looks like the CEO isn't being removed...

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter told an audience at the Develop Conference on Tuesday, “[Riccitiello is] worried about being fired and worried why his stock has hit such a low point.” While Pachter said he was kidding, an anonymous source told Game Front on Wednesday that Riccitiello will in fact be removed from his position after the company’s second quarter earnings

call on Jul. 30.

Read more about motif : http://www.digitaltrends.com/

Even if that happens, it does not necessarily represent the end of the problems with the politics of digital distribution and much less greed on the multiplayer mode.

His would be successor Peter Moore already has a vision for EA’s future in place. Cross-platform play is how EA will become the earning machine it used to be according to Moore. Good for EA’s shareholders, but for players already tired of purchasing games like in piecemeal DLC packs, the future is grim.

Read more about Cross-platform : Peter Moore talks about the cross platform future for gaming

That would be like exchanging six per half dozen

But in face of actual crisis in Europe that, by the recent juridical decisions already indicated that it intends to stop sucking and political uncertainties in the Asiatic continent that take away investments, EA will not only bet on the American market to survive with these plans so it is more than ever time for consumers to enforce their will.

Only the lack of profits is that the future can balance between the desirable conveniences multiplayer, web-based and multi-platform with the interest of the players for get best games, without having to dry the pocket.

  Edited July 30, 2012 by NCGAIO