This is utter heartbreaking.

[Trekker4747 75]

I've been a fan of Sim City since I first picked up that box at a Babbage's in a mall way back in 1991. Played that game for hours me, family, and friends would spend an entire Saturday afternoon taking turns playing with our cities. A simple, easy, game with nothing put simple tiled graphics and sprite animations. Heck, I still have the manual to that game because it was big, thick and utterly interesting manual to read. 

 

Sim City 2000 came out a few years later and I was blown away by the better graphics, the addition of water, highways and subways and invested so much time in that game it's no wonder I never got laid in high school.  Building huge cities with millions of "sims" in them. Making up stories that happened over the course of the decades of the city's life time even at times leveling a city with an apocalyptic series of disasters and having the city rebuild.  And, again, the manual for the game and the companion books that came out around it were great, great, reads. There's an old Prima book for SC2000 that's still fun and interesting to read. 

 

Sim City 3000 on indifferent towards. The look and mechanics of it just missed some "spark."

 

Sim City 4 (with Rush Hour/Deluxe): If we liken the first Sim City to grade school, 2000 to fun times in high school and 3000 to struggling/awkward college years Sim City 4 brings us into the adult world.  Time to get down to brasstacks and take things seriously. A fun game but for utterly different reasons. This was a serious game on running a city, add in some great transit additions with Rush Hour and then the 3rd-party creation of "NAM" which made the transit system more adapatable and adjustable you could really make something happen.  Region play, cities more interacting with one another. It was something to behold.  Ten years later and it's a game I can STILL play and enjoy even though I'm pretty adept at making a city successful and and some tweaks in NAM gives me a large influx of cash. (I charge my Sims a fraction of a cent to drive on the roads, considering it equivalent to car taxes/licensing fees.)  It has it hardness but, darn if that game isn't great to play.   Some quibbles with it (largely in no easy way to edit the entire region at once.)  But utter fascinating.

 

Now we're at Sim City "5" which, well, is sort of like going to a high school reunion and wondering why you're there. Especially when for an hour or two you try to get in and you can't even though the door is right in front of you. Once inside these people are shallow, not at all what you want them to be, the food buffet is filled with nothing but fillers and snack foods, and the bartender can barely make a simple rum and Coke and all of the other alcoholic beverages are watered down.

 

Okay, I stretched that metaphor too far.

 

Anyway, my point is I'm heart broken and disappointed. In the pre-release news I was sort of cautiously skeptical but still interested.  The game comes out and I buy some upgrades for my computer and spend a good amount off time installing everything and get going. 

 

Only to find out it doesn't work, I can't get into a game to start a city because of this stupid cloud computing.  Then I see all of my "fears" about the game from those who managed to play come true.  This game is a shadow of the greatness of Sim City 4.   Heck, all this game needed to be was Sim City 4 Deluxe (with some ideas taking from NAM) with some minor tweaks to the simulation with a modern GUI and massive graphical updates and full 3D motion and this thing would have been epic.  A simple "Sandbox" mode or a trimmed down option could have been in place to attract new users.

 

Instead... we get this. This which heavily relies on "cloud computing" requiring an always on connection to even play.   This is just heart breaking.  I'll keep giving this game a try but if I keep having the problems I've been having with it I'm going to give up and just suffer with the loss of $60 it cost me to buy it.   Thanks for nothing, EA.

 

 

[DrKing2020 8]

Dude give em a chance to get all the server stuff straightened out. You, your friends, and family will enjoy taking turns building cities once again.

[Linoa06 1,374]

Which is why I spared myself the costs and will instead go for Cities in Motion 2.

[Trekker4747 75]

Dude give em a chance to get all the server stuff straightened out. You, your friends, and family will enjoy taking turns building cities once again.

 

Yeah, silly me for buying a game on the day its released and expecting it to work right out of the box. 

[DrKing2020 8]

Yes, silly you. New tech rarely works perfectly right out of the box doesn't it. You waited 10 years, a few days or weeks won't kill you.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Yes, especially since this new tech was totally necessary and unavoidable, right?

 

In any case, EA has your 60 bucks, so you have proven their strategy right.

[Mr_Maison 2,426]

I remember when SC2013 was announced, I wrote positive posts with full confidence saying things like "it's Maxis...the real chefs of the best city simulator". When tilted Mill failed I was disappointed but got over it when I heard it wasn't Maxis. Then Monte Cristo came to seduce this community and I got on board as they came saying "this community is like a orphan and we started a forum where you guys can share your ideas and we will build the game accordingly" (something to that effect). Long story short, the forums were taken down as the "negative whiners" increased...especially once we got a taste of the beta. We saw the train wreck coming. I was disappointed but still optimistic because there was still a petition for Maxis to make a proper sequel floating around the web and I promptly signed it.

 

Now here we are in February 2012 with an announcement that Maxis is making a new Sim City. Nothing could've disturbed my good mood that day. I couldn't believe my ears after all these years. Finally the sun is shining for this community and justice is about to be served. Then came the news of the multilayer direction and I was annoyed but gave Maxis the benefit of the doubt that there will be a single player mode and even if it was only multiplayer it would be a proper Sim City and would somehow be fun because it's "Maxis" making this right? Then came more design decisions that made me really question if this was the same Maxis team and if any of the original Sim City staff was on board with this thing. I question anyone saying they grew up with a love for Sim City and make the kind of design decisions as was announced throughout the months leading to launch. Too many to mention but can be found in numerous threads.

 

This is like watching the fall of Mike Tyson all over again. The sad part is that it's self inflicted. I can't believe the current train wreck I'm watching has Maxis on board. It's surreal.

 

Now I predict how this is going to play out:

The initial problem reviewers and players had was the small tile size. Then the fact that has been warned about over and over comes into fruition.....no servers=no game. Those who have hope are saying it will get better once they stabilize the servers be patient. Ok now let fast forward and the servers are running better. Is it because of the IT guys or the fact that there are less people playing due to abandonment? and after getting over that those who waited patiently come back to the servers to play and "oh I forgot how small the tile is". The game mechanics and design causes further abandonment and so on. This situation is like they are a victim of the one highway bottleneck they created for themselves where there are issues after issues to be resolved. Even if they make a single player patch, it will not save this title. It's a red giant that exploded and if things are not changed and fixed real soon, it will become a white dwarf like CitiesXL. Maybe even something less shiny.

[Trekker4747 75]

No, sorry, you release a product it should work right out of the box. Sure, I can see bugs and issues cropping up that need to be fixed down the road but the person who just paid for your product should be able to sit down and use it right away.  This is like saying you buy a new car and they tow it to you on a flat-bed truck, drop it off and leave. Wow! You have a new car! So you get it in it, try to start it and then it doesn't start.  Turns out the company forgot to put a starter in the engine.  Oh well, should have waited to buy the car until the company knew the problems they have with it. 

 

No. Sorry. I should have been able to buy this game, install it, and played it right away. Not have to wait to be able to play it because EA sucks at life.

 

 

Yes, silly you. New tech rarely works perfectly right out of the box doesn't it. You waited 10 years, a few days or weeks won't kill you.

[GirlsDeadMonster 17]

Yes, silly you. New tech rarely works perfectly right out of the box doesn't it. You waited 10 years, a few days or weeks won't kill you.

Days? Weeks? EA knew they wanted to make this game playbale entirely online, it wasn't a last minute decision. So how can you make an online game and not have enough servers to run them? So we have to take turns playing after dropping $60? And if my internet connection goes down, I can't play at all. This is garbage.

[Scaley McSlither 1,714]

Maybe even something less shiny.

I'm eerily reminded of the saying, "you can polish a turd until it shines but all you get is a shiny turd." I was as thrilled as anyone about the new iteration of Simcity but upon seeing the result, I'm more than happy to stick with SC4.

So disappointed.

[Xenocity 343]

Funny enough EA claimed it was all the people downloading the game that was the primary cause to their server crashing on their forums.

 

 

So the rest of the world can now preload the game ahead of the other releases to prevent a repeat.

[snowhawk04 22]

Maybe even something less shiny.

I'm eerily reminded of the saying, "you can polish a turd until it shines but all you get is a shiny turd." I was as thrilled as anyone about the new iteration of Simcity but upon seeing the result, I'm more than happy to stick with SC4.

So disappointed.

Maybe you can use one of those fancy SC2013 filters

[jcole4lsu 32]

Yes, silly you. New tech rarely works perfectly right out of the box doesn't it. You waited 10 years, a few days or weeks won't kill you.

The fact that EA caused this problem themselves with the "always on" connection and no local save files just zips right past your head, huh?

[Fennis 4]

Yes, silly you. New tech rarely works perfectly right out of the box doesn't it. You waited 10 years, a few days or weeks won't kill you.

 

What was the point of beta then, especially the round last week which was stated entirely for the purpose of figuring out how to handle a heavy server load?  

[BravoGreenONE 120]

Yes, silly you. New tech rarely works perfectly right out of the box doesn't it. You waited 10 years, a few days or weeks won't kill you.

And this is why we as consumers receive half-arse products at premium prices.

[Vihzel 9]

Yes, silly you. New tech rarely works perfectly right out of the box doesn't it. You waited 10 years, a few days or weeks won't kill you.

And this is why we as consumers receive half-arse products at premium prices.

 

Are you talking about the actual game? or the launch? DrKing was talking about the launch. 

[shorty2 94]

Funny enough EA claimed it was all the people downloading the game that was the primary cause to their server crashing on their forums.

 

 

So the rest of the world can now preload the game ahead of the other releases to prevent a repeat.

 

And you trust their word on that? And even if it is true, that is a pathetic excuse to dish out. They had ample time and money to prepare for the launch, there are no excuses. I really do not understand people who are trying to smooth things over with assumptions on behalf of EA.. WHY?! You owe them nothing. People who paid for a game on the other hand, they are owed a game they can actually play. This isn't kindergarden and wait your turn.. people paid money for a product and they're not getting what they paid for, they have every right to be really miffed.

[baertooth 330]

Funny enough EA claimed it was all the people downloading the game that was the primary cause to their server crashing on their forums.

 

 

 

 

I have to say I don't buy this.  The game servers and the file servers being tied together is extremely amateur and I don't think Maxis/EA is that dumb.  Sounds like marketing  "Oh, we have soooo many downloads..." as if to say the response is heavy.

[Vorret 49]

Yes, silly you. New tech rarely works perfectly right out of the box doesn't it. You waited 10 years, a few days or weeks won't kill you.

 

Please tell me you are joking... That is the EXACT reason why companies are releasing game in beta state, untested with a crappy infrastructure to back it.... You are the reason why SimCity isn't working properly.

 

You know where this started? Greed.  Corporate greed, followed by consumer who suddently stopped caring about receiving a complete and working product and then we start making excuses, "Oh, it's an MMO of course there will be problem", "Creating a game cost alot of money they can't put everything in there right away" etc etc etc.

 

It's not that long ago that you went to the store, bought a game, brought it home, installed it and BAM you could play.

Now?

Haha, buy the game, install, oh wait there's 5gb of patches you need to install.

Wait...

Server busy/down whatever.

 

"Oh it's normal, it's launch day".  Screw that, no more excuses, if you can't deliver a working product you deserve all the hate you receive.

[StoNe220022 159]

This is just heart breaking.  I'll keep giving this game a try but if I keep having the problems I've been having with it I'm going to give up and just suffer with the loss of $60 it cost me to buy it.   Thanks for nothing, EA.

 

Shame on you for buying it.  Your $60 contribution has endorsed the online components and the lack luster content.

 

 

Whenever I get see hordes of people complain about EA selling The Sims 3 bathroom sets for $25 and accusing it as a rip off...I can't help but internally scream "THEN DON'T BUY IT!!!"

 

...but they'll keep making this junk...because people will keep buying it.  EA don't need you to be a loyal dedicated SimCity fan to support this game for years and be that champion to keep it alive...they only need you to have a single moment of weakness and make that once off purchase.

[RyanMorgan95 144]

The fact is the online elements should work without any hiccups from Day 1, if EA wants to offer this a credible, reliable way to play games. They haven't done this and instead have proved why cloud computing isn't a good idea, just yet.

[AkemiAzula 280]

I don't know if EA deserve all the hate they receive seeing as I don't know how the company is structured or who, if anyone, can be blamed for these issues. All I know is that these tiles from the videos look pathetically small, and I am giving Mr Quigley and his team the benefit of the doubt when he says the tile size is a necessary compromise.

 

However on the issue of this game V 4 I have to agree 4 is, putting graphics and GlassBox aside, way better. I reacted like Mr Maison when 2013 was announced. Maxis. Not Tilted Mill, not Monte Cristo, not some new upstart company keen on capitalising on our te years of misery and despondence. No. Maxis. The real deal. So yeah, i'm massively dissapointed with what 2013 has turned out to be. I'll still play the game, but then again I don't play any other games so why shouldn't I? But I have to say that they better be honest when they claim these limitations are necessary.

 

Cos this aint Simcity 5. It's Simcity Wannabe 5.

[thatsarap 25]

The OP is absolutely right.  For $80, this game should be awesome instead of what it appears to be so far.  Aside from the server issues, I'm dissapointed at the gameplay.  No zoos, no amusement parks, a small number of parks to choose from, lots of animation that will undoubtedly make modding impossible or near impossible.  No highway control, limited control of what dictates "tourism", limitations in industry, seemingly overly similar graphics - wondering where the hundreds of millions of dollars they are going to be earning has gone.  Did they really listen to the fans of Simcity 4? 

 

No so far this looks like EA took over Maxis and directed them to screw a good thing up.  Simcity4 is still better than this mess.

 

I do like the resources and region play.  But taking away so much that will undoubtedly be offered later as expensive "expansion packs" has left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. 

 

Sorry, not going to be overly complimentary simply because they pushed out a game they knew had a large fanbase. 

[BravoGreenONE 120]

Yes, silly you. New tech rarely works perfectly right out of the box doesn't it. You waited 10 years, a few days or weeks won't kill you.

And this is why we as consumers receive half-arse products at premium prices.

Are you talking about the actual game? or the launch? DrKing was talking about the launch.

Im talking about the unfinished product. People should have a working product. That just me.

[beyurslf 5]

Agree 100%! Huge simcity fan since day one back in high school,when almost no one played computer games. Been anxiously waiting for a year and have had nothing but problems from being unable to download on release to having to problems with my product key to the game freezing to crashes every 3 minutes to the game not recognizing the other cities in my region to starting a trade deal with one city and the other city not recognizing it to transportation gridlock in a city with 2000 people...and now the server crashes and i got locked out of the city i had been working on for over an hour and who knows if it is saved or not since i can't save my own game.

 

ugh, why is playing a game so much work? I don't think I am wrong that I feel like I should be able to start my game and play it immediately without having to wait for them to fix something on a brand new game. i wouldn't accept that from anything else I bought. 

[Bazkur 34]

I had a blast for the 2 hours I was able to play before it crashed and now fails to launch every time.

[lhrob 213]

For what it's worth, EA is offering refunds.  All I can say is, there's no way in the world I'd ever fork out the money to play a game that required a constant internet connection.  SC4 is a far far superior game, and I think its reign is going to continue.

[blunder 1,079]

Well i sure hope some hearts at EA break over the sheer beating SimVille is taking in the Amazon Reviews.  This is what you get for hamstringing the Maxis developers to follow your business model.

 

edit: I'm just going to slap a screen up here.

[SirChick 184]

Yes, silly you. New tech rarely works perfectly right out of the box doesn't it. You waited 10 years, a few days or weeks won't kill you.

 

 

New tech works fine. Simply because its not new... BF3 has 10 times the players and EA manages fine to handle it.....

[GenXisT 127]

I've been a fan of Sim City since I first picked up that box at a Babbage's in a mall way back in 1991. Played that game for hours me, family, and friends would spend an entire Saturday afternoon taking turns playing with our cities. A simple, easy, game with nothing put simple tiled graphics and sprite animations. Heck, I still have the manual to that game because it was big, thick and utterly interesting manual to read. 

 

Only to find out it doesn't work, I can't get into a game to start a city because of this stupid cloud computing.  Then I see all of my "fears" about the game from those who managed to play come true.  This game is a shadow of the greatness of Sim City 4.   Heck, all this game needed to be was Sim City 4 Deluxe (with some ideas taking from NAM) with some minor tweaks to the simulation with a modern GUI and massive graphical updates and full 3D motion and this thing would have been epic.  A simple "Sandbox" mode or a trimmed down option could have been in place to attract new users.

 

I started back in 1989 when I was in 8th grade.  Right after it was released.  I remember those days like it was yesterday.

 

your 2nd paragraph here is exactly right.  All they had to do was incorporate all the 10 years of work that the mod community had made to SC4 and then use the 3D modeling (that is nice) and do whatever they needed with Glass Box.  It would've been ACE.  All the rest of the changes only served to produce a steaming pile... 

 

I'll carry on playing,  for sure, cuz i'm a fan of Sim City.  

  Edited March 7, 2013 by CaptCity  
Language... See the rules.