Give Them A Break

[memedoug85 36]

I picked up my preordered, prepaid game in the morning of 7th March. Took it to work and started reading all the forums about how bad it was. I was optimistic all day and the install was fine. But when I got home I spent three hours trying to play this game, only to evenutally give up and go to bed. Was not happy but remained optimistic that they would fix the issue.

Woke up on 8th March (yesterday) and started the game without any problem. By this time there had been two or three more servers added. The only problem I experienced while playing all day was one ten minute period where servers disconnected. And this could partially be my own fault anyway as I Alt+Tabed to another program.

[metarvo 710]

Unfortunately, the cat's out of the bag.  We're not the only ones talking about it, either.  Game review sites and even the media are yelling and screaming, too.  I surmise that even if none of us had complained about this game, there would still be plenty of complaints to go around.

[Xenocity 343]

I played for almost 4 hours uninterrupted last night.

[memedoug85 36]

I'm definantly going to stick up for them because I am not completely dissatisfied... 

  Edited March 9, 2013 by CaptCity  
No, we're not.

[velve 16]

haha man this launch is entertaining! 

 

but yeah, I am not so worried about the server issues as I am with the gameplay itself and im not even talking about the map sizes it all just looks a bit .....silly

 

but I agree im sure theyre getting things sorted out but I am not looking in to purchasing it anytime soon.

[logintime 93]

People have legitimate complaints here, which EA has tacitly acknowledged across the board. They are allowed to express their opinions, as are you. What people should not be doing is denigrating the people who disagree with them. We can have different ideas on the state of this game without getting into petty namecalling.

[Indiana Joe 1,750]

If they would change the name, I'd be perfectly happy.  The only thing I'm mad about is that it claims to be a reboot of the SimCity franchise.  It's not in the spirit of SimCity; it's more in the spirit of The Sims.  It focuses much more on the social aspects and your citizens. This game looks like a great 3D town game, but SimCity 4 is just a much better city-building game.

 

The server issue is a whole different problem entirely.  Personally I think that's the fault of anyone who preorders or buys games on the release day.

[memedoug85 36]

One thing that surprised me was that in a 16 city region only 4 of the cities are connected by road and rail... After i got multiple highrises I decided to claim another city in the region to put power and other stinky stuff in there. Problem was that the three other cities were taken by this time and the 12 other cities would be useless for what I wanted to do with them

[cirugo 1,889]

no.  they designed the game this way and they have to live with the consequences.

[beyurslf 5]

I picked up my preordered, prepaid game in the morning of 7th March. Took it to work and started reading all the forums about how bad it was. I was optimistic all day and the install was fine. But when I got home I spent three hours trying to play this game, only to evenutally give up and go to bed. Was not happy but remained optimistic that they would fix the issue.

Woke up on 8th March (yesterday) and started the game without any problem. By this time there had been two or three more servers added. The only problem I experienced while playing all day was one ten minute period where servers disconnected. And this could partially be my own fault anyway as I Alt+Tabed to another program.

 

Stop yelling and screaming and give them a chance.

I am glad you have enjoyed it.  I have really tried but have never gotten more than an hour of playtime without interruption and I have never been able to log back into the same region once I leave it.  I do think I could enjoy the game if I was allowed to play it.  But I can't play it.  I waited all week.  Tonight,  I tried every server I played this week and could log into none of them even though 2 show they are available. I am not starting over again.  I just talked Amazon and got my refund processed.  Maybe when they figure it out I will try again, but I am waiting to see how things settle over the next month or so first. 

[Cyclone Boom 16,875]

It's not a problem that can be solved overnight. Servers will always take time to optimise and meet the demand. But somehow, I think the problems could have been reduced.

Up to release, the server load and performance had been tested during the betas. Now remember, these were limited to selected people -- those fortunate enough to obtain a beta key. They would have provided some useful data, but only as a guideline. The release demand has obviously exceeded their expectations. If the betas were open, perhaps the servers could have been more accurately tested.

This is one of the main challenges of operating an online game. It's so important that the servers are reliable. Without this foundation in place, the gameplay will be totally dysfunctional.

[Mdrizzle3 6]

I picked up my preordered, prepaid game in the morning of 7th March. Took it to work and started reading all the forums about how bad it was. I was optimistic all day and the install was fine. But when I got home I spent three hours trying to play this game, only to evenutally give up and go to bed. Was not happy but remained optimistic that they would fix the issue.

Woke up on 8th March (yesterday) and started the game without any problem. By this time there had been two or three more servers added. The only problem I experienced while playing all day was one ten minute period where servers disconnected. And this could partially be my own fault anyway as I Alt+Tabed to another program.

 

Stop yelling and screaming and give them a chance.

You sir are lucky then. I have played this game once since it has launched, and it was for about an hour, then I got kicked off the servers again and it crashed. Even with the added servers now, I still cannot play. Not to mention that there shouldn't be servers in the first place! They said it was always online DRM, but they never said it would be server based like this. 10 years of waiting for this crap and you are "not completely dissatisfied"?

[memedoug85 36]

In regards to how this game isn't like previous Simcity's, I completely disagree and think this is exactly where they should be heading. Dealing with people in the cities is optional as I got to over 100K population without paying too much attention to them.

[GoldenShadowGS 0]

I'll agree with the OP, the server problems were irritating at the end of day 1 and on day 2 and 3. But I have been able to play by myself with very little trouble all day today.

Of course its not the same thing as my experience at 6:00am on day 1. Everything was working beautifully, we had a public region fill up with mayors and we were trading and having fun playing. Then around noon, the server stresses out, boots me out of the game and that was that. I have spent most of my time reading the message boards while I see if the servers are back up yet.

If anything, I am getting a bit bored of playing by myself, I am anticipating the cooperation of multiplayer simcity again. That was fun.

[memedoug85 36]

GoldenShadowGS, you should add me on origin: my username is memedoug85

 

I'll be playing every chance I get (outside of 12 hour working days)

 

[PlyPlay665 0]

The problem is that people have been saying from day one that they didn't want the game to be online ONLY, let alone online at all. (I remember reading a many comments not even wanting it!) It's not a MMOG, it's a city simulator. I mean, I personally am mixed about it, I can see the positives to it, but I also have extremely unreliable and slow internet, so.. anyway, the fact the game isn't even able to play offline at all (I can understand a little online to update the markets, etc, but not to rely so heavily on the servers) and the servers being down so badly makes people rightfully angry. I mean, they should have looked at their preorders and known there were going to be server problems with their current set up.

 

Also, I think a huge reason is that EA has literally the WORST OF THE WORST reputation in the gaming community. I was in complete love with Sims and bought everything until Sims 3 came out and they already had multiple sets that didn't even come with the deluxe ready to buy on the store. Can anyone think of a game that costs a base $50 to play the game and then another $50 within the first month to have a complete collection? Complete rubbish! So yeah, when EA makes mistakes, people get mad at them. It's not like they try real hard to get people to like them.

[AIX 270]

I played for almost 4 hours uninterrupted last night.

 

Anyways If you say anything nice about this game, be prepared to be ran off this board by the Simcity 4 mob.

 

I don't feel anyone has been "ran off" this board. The topics that get locked or removed are the ones where the people started bickering and denigrating each other rather than talking about the issues.

 

If you love the game, no one is stopping you from enjoying it or posting about it on here. *sigh*

[Charizard 284]

The problem is that people have been saying from day one that they didn't want the game to be online ONLY, let alone online at all. (I remember reading a many comments not even wanting it!) It's not a MMOG, it's a city simulator. I mean, I personally am mixed about it, I can see the positives to it, but I also have extremely unreliable and slow internet, so.. anyway, the fact the game isn't even able to play offline at all (I can understand a little online to update the markets, etc, but not to rely so heavely on the servers) and the servers being down so badly makes people rightfully angry. I mean, they should have looked at their preorders and known there were going to be server problems with their current set up.

 

Also, I think a huge reason is that EA has literally the WORST OF THE WORST reputation in the gaming community. I was in complete love with Sims and bought everything until Sims 3 came out and they already had multiple sets that didn't even come with the deluxe ready to buy on the store. Can anyone think of a game that costs a base $50 to play the game and then another $50 withen the first month to have a complete collection? Complete rubbish! So yeah, when EA makes mistakes, people get mad at them. It's not like they try real hard to get people to like them.

 

Can anyone explain why Sims 3 was worse than Sims 3 to me? I bought the game and I thought it was better than Sims 2 because of the real time play. The obviously frustrating thing was all the micro DLC you were bombarded with and the content left out from the previous games. But thankfully there are other ways to acquire such content

[RepublicMaster 428]

We are not as evil as you think, us "SC4 mob", just because we have our opinion and creativity does not make us haters, the games just doesn't meet our needs. Simple as that. 

[Shadely 63]

The problem is that people have been saying from day one that they didn't want the game to be online ONLY, let alone online at all. (I remember reading a many comments not even wanting it!) It's not a MMOG, it's a city simulator. I mean, I personally am mixed about it, I can see the positives to it, but I also have extremely unreliable and slow internet, so.. anyway, the fact the game isn't even able to play offline at all (I can understand a little online to update the markets, etc, but not to rely so heavely on the servers) and the servers being down so badly makes people rightfully angry. I mean, they should have looked at their preorders and known there were going to be server problems with their current set up.

 

Also, I think a huge reason is that EA has literally the WORST OF THE WORST reputation in the gaming community. I was in complete love with Sims and bought everything until Sims 3 came out and they already had multiple sets that didn't even come with the deluxe ready to buy on the store. Can anyone think of a game that costs a base $50 to play the game and then another $50 withen the first month to have a complete collection? Complete rubbish! So yeah, when EA makes mistakes, people get mad at them. It's not like they try real hard to get people to like them.

 

Can anyone explain why Sims 3 was worse than Sims 3 to me? I bought the game and I thought it was better than Sims 2 because of the real time play. The obviously frustrating thing was all the micro DLC you were bombarded with and the content left out from the previous games. But thankfully there are other ways to acquire such content

 

Sure, I can try. Two words - Rod Humble.

 

He's without a doubt, the worst director of Sims Studio, ever.  He stripped much of what made the first two installments so charming and gave us text messages and rabbit holes. Babies who are always swaddled, Sims teleporting into their cars, etc. The seamless neighborhood is cool, and a necessary evolution in the franchise but it just seemed like so much of the game design was made with micro transactions in mind first and foremost, interactions were sorely lacking. Besides that, Humble made it very clear that he hated anything having to do with fantasy or the supernatural, I can't think of a worst trait for the director of Sims Studios to have. Thank goodness Mr. Boring is no longer running the show.

 

If it weren't for Twallan, there's no way I'd still be playing the Sims 3, his mods breath life into an otherwise soulless world.

 

Anyway, that's my take on it.

[el.lopan 54]

Many people are still not able to play the game or being kicked every so often and whatever. Strangely some can play some cannot. But OP is part of the lucky team, so everyone should stop complaining.

[telekinetic 3]

I have been playing about four hours a day.  I tend not to play at peak times since I am up late but I have not had any real problems and am constantly surprised by the response.
I

[memedoug85 36]

One thing that I am noticing is that by the time you get the population up to the 100K mark the amount of services and other buildings needed takes up alot of space... When comparing the texture of outside the city with inside the city there's no difference, so does this mean that city sizes will be adjustable in the future? Why put the same effort into the 'unplayable' area??

[Ocram's Razr 963]

The game has potential but until it reaches that potential, I will not purchase the game. 


--Ocram

[RepublicMaster 428]

You can fit 100,000 people in that wee space? Wow, new levels of realism. And they look the same because they did put equal effort into both, which was minimal.

[Zelgadis 638]

The game has potential but until it reaches that potential, I will not purchase the game. Does that make me a hater?

--Ocram

 

Nah, that makes you human. I will also be purchasing it later. I made that decision because I want to wait for the Mac version.  Turns out it was a good choice.

[piccboi824 1]

The game has potential but until it reaches that potential, I will not purchase the game. Does that make me a hater?

--Ocram

Nope, I'm on the same page. I did the same thing with The Sims and it was a) cheaper and b) all of the major problems and issues that made me unenthused about the game before were patched through and updated so you get to have a fully positive experience at a better deal. I'm also waiting to see how people feel about the game farther out from now. People are playing it for hours (if they can) and find it so engaging now because it's still new, but will it be as fun 3 months from now after you've done everything you can? And are there even going to be worthwhile expansion packs (The Sims 3 trend has shown they can be quite hit or miss)? Even then there are a lot of things about this game that I know are limiting factors for my style of game play that I'll have to watch pan out before I even consider trying it. 

[Sunfighter 186]

You can fit 100,000 people in that wee space? Wow, new levels of realism. And they look the same because they did put equal effort into both, which was minimal.

 

You can fit that many on a 1x1 size map, as ive done it with a map thats 50% water. Problem is, the population numbers are fake.  Only about 20% of the population actually works as agents, the rest only exist as numbers within the buildings.

[fatfreddy01 0]

i care, but thats cause i dont if you get what i mean? probably you dont

[RepublicMaster 428]

You know, if you don't like the game, stay with SimCity 4, its that simple, you don't need to share it with everyone else, cause nobody else really cares. You guys should have your own thread, so you crazy extremists don't have to bother us with your conspiracy theories and terrible ideas, and also, if you guys dont know something, ask, instead of stating something, because otherwise joe citizen taking a break from herding lamas at work, just believes it. If you guys have any problems with the actual game, follow this simple decisions tree.

You like it, buy it. You dislike it, decide whether you will or wont buy it yet. If you won't buy it, wait until you will, or just don't, but nobody cares about you dissing big companies for making good games, as people say, nothings perfect.

Us crazies are not what you think. We use SimCity 4 as a canvas to let our creativity flow, The new iteration of SimCity did not allow this as we were restricted to small maps and decisions which greatly compromised realism, such as the population issue listed above. The big company that makes good games? Where? I have yet to see EA make a "good" game on its own, SimCity 4 only survived because of the hard work and dedication of modders in the community who used SC4 as a creative tool, not a game. Don't hold that against us. And yes I will be staying with SimCity 4.