I don't know how much longer I can play this broken game

[Hybr1d 20]

I don't know why Maxis allowed the game to be released with all of the numerous problems that came with it. If they would have taken the time and ironed out all of the bugs, I wouldn't be having this conversation right now. I don't really know who is to blame here... EA or Maxis. This is really disappointing because I thought this game would be great... but it's just a let down.

[CosmicSpeed 28]

Please post any certain issues you are having.

 

The game certainly has its issues but it is far from broken. This term has been overused.

[Hybr1d 20]

Please post any certain issues you are having.

 

The game certainly has its issues but it is far from broken. This term has been overused.

 

- The recycling bug

- Terrible pathfinding. Sometimes a service vehicle will go in circles or all around the city to get to a fire or a crime

- Global market. This isn't a bug, but the only way in the game to make the most money is through electronics. The other specializations are not even worth it. Kind of one sided and boring.

- Traffic can kill a city. It takes a really long time for service vehicles or depot trucks to get to their destination. Again, might not be a bug, but still...

- Rollback on your city. This can erase minutes to over an hour of work on your city.

 

Those are a few issues. I can't name all of them, but there are a bunch more problems that not only I'm having, but pretty much everybody who has played the game.

[Districtopia 23]

My biggest issue is with the maps. They just feel incomplete. I hate the fact that train tracks usually just end up in a dead end. That alone is a dead giveaway that the game was incomplete when released. That having been said I am still enjoying it and hope for useful and large scale improvements in future patches.

[kgpurrs 107]

My biggest issue is with the maps. They just feel incomplete. I hate the fact that train tracks usually just end up in a dead end. That alone is a dead giveaway that the game was incomplete when released. That having been said I am still enjoying it and hope for useful and large scale improvements in future patches.

I think the Railroads were open ended so that you could put them where you wanted in your city.  You can move the railroad to the furthest corner of your map, put residential there and they do use the train to commute to jobs.

[nats 99]

Seriously you want to give this Simcity game up and try Kerbal Space Program instead. The best £18 I have ever spent in my life - its so much fun!

[CosmicSpeed 28]

My gripe isn't with you in particular so please don't get the wrong idea. But these issues have been documented and hey, it gives Maxis/EA something to improve upon.

 

I had the pleasure of having my computer crash unrelated to SC2013 and didnt play for the next few weeks after launch. Now it is fixed and I really enjoy playing.

 

Being connected to their servers is just part of the game but also allows them to fix things easier and quicker. It is a shame that it is causing headache for players but unless these complaints are directed on EA's forum, I feel they are merely farts in the wind.

 

I have read this forum for quite a while and I have never seen such complaining.

[Jahnri 21]

Well, I have learned to cope with the issues and quirks of the game. My cities are flourishing. However it is really grating at times. Thats a big problem for a game when the experience of playing it well feels bad. However thats my opinion.

 

Also Kerbals ROCKS! One of the best moding communities Ive seen.

[TuPhat 27]

A project like developing a game has to be mind boggling.  It would be a such a huge undertaking and I believe most of us have no idea what is involved.   We are talking about years of game development and testing.   It's very easy for us to state, debate, defend and attack Maxis/EA for this product but this is big business.   Once Maxis signs a contract with the publisher EA, deadlines are set and things are put into motion and big money has been invested.   From Maxis side, all development and testing has one deadline date, that is for when the game goes gold (cd/dvd production).  From a publisher standpoint (EA), you are expect the developer to meet this deadline for a substantial amount of marketing/advertising is invested, production facilities are queued up and ready to go and big money is invested.   Once these deadlines approach, one cannot simply delay the game easily without occurring huge penalties.

 

Now I'm neither defending or attacking EA/Maxis.   From a consumer standpoint, I want a functioning game.  Its what I paid for.   I don't expect Maxis to nail down every bug, but I expect things to work.  Do I think the game was rushed?  Yeah I do.  Probably could have been another 2-3 months of testing and bug fixing, but I seriously wouldn't want to be the position to decide whether to delay a game and face financial penalties or face customer backlash due to bugs and gameplay issues.   Either way, I do appreciate Maxis following up with patches and making things better.  It shows they care.  

[Larsz 7]

My gripe isn't with you in particular so please don't get the wrong idea. But these issues have been documented and hey, it gives Maxis/EA something to improve upon.

I had the pleasure of having my computer crash unrelated to SC2013 and didnt play for the next few weeks after launch. Now it is fixed and I really enjoy playing.

Being connected to their servers is just part of the game but also allows them to fix things easier and quicker. It is a shame that it is causing headache for players but unless these complaints are directed on EA's forum, I feel they are merely farts in the wind.

I have read this forum for quite a while and I have never seen such complaining.

 

As for the amount of complaints, you must not have been around when SC4 launched.

Players are much lazier and entitled then they were. EA dropped the launch and still continue to drop the ball when it comes to regional functionality. But it isn't broken or a con job.

[endorken 13]

Being connected to their servers is just part of the game but also allows them to fix things easier and quicker. It is a shame that it is causing headache for players but unless these complaints are directed on EA's forum, I feel they are merely farts in the wind.

 

 

I think all complaints are farts in the wind, as you put it, regardless of where they’re voiced. It’s still nice to let one out occasionally, isn’t it?

 

I doubt there are many real fans of the franchise who aren’t exasperated with the bugs, the rollbacks, the map size, the death of RCI, agent persistence, pathfinding, etc. There’s been very little real communication, inane corporate blog posts aside, between the developers and the community and very little to engender good will. Yeah, some of the leads will respond to the occasional tweet. OK. Welcome to 2013.

 

Anyway, won’t go into a rant – that’s what reddit is for. Just sayin’ – let the OP break his wind, it don’t hurt anyone

[Detrimental Era 0]

I agree with OP. The game is not up to the quality I expected. I don't know if it can reach it until they increase city sizes. So many other issues that I only log in each day to see if there is an update then close it out. 

[CosmicSpeed 28]

I didnt frequent the forums when sc4 launched but I can already see the entitlement of some sc2013 players as I look at posts around various forums.

I just wish we had a "complaints" section to post them there. It just seems that eventually, these threads turn into complaints about the game rather than play topics.

All in all, if you are fruatrated, maybe just take a break from the game and come back in a week.

[SplintDK 0]

I couldn't agree less. This game does feel broken.

 

Even tough I did not know about SC4 untill I found it somewhere, and got it.

 

I agree that it is horrible that train tracks end up in the middle of nowhere. I also dislike that everything needs a road for it to be connected, which means, you don't really need the big 16x maps, when you can do just fine with a 4 - 5 player map, because here you are at least connected by road, which leades to more interactivity between the cities.

[cirugo 1,889]

I didnt frequent the forums when sc4 launched but I can already see the entitlement of some sc2013 players as I look at posts around various forums.

I just wish we had a "complaints" section to post them there. It just seems that eventually, these threads turn into complaints about the game rather than play topics.

All in all, if you are fruatrated, maybe just take a break from the game and come back in a week.

SimCity 4 didn't come close to the problems with this game.  Even with the problems and bugs most people could see it was built on a solid and long-lasting game foundation.

[commanderkai 38]

I didnt frequent the forums when sc4 launched but I can already see the entitlement of some sc2013 players as I look at posts around various forums.

I just wish we had a "complaints" section to post them there. It just seems that eventually, these threads turn into complaints about the game rather than play topics.

All in all, if you are fruatrated, maybe just take a break from the game and come back in a week.

 

Aren't gamers entitled to a functioning, entertaining experience after many of them spent $60+ at release for a game? The server issue was a huge disaster upon release, but once people started playing, even regular gameplay is riddled with bugs and issues that can frustrate a player, especially as many of these bugs should have been noticed before release (Traffic, no implementation of RCI, the recycling bug, emergency vehicles being stupid, etc)

[CosmicSpeed 28]

I understand they botched the launch and paying $60 for a product that doesn't function is frustrating (I paid only 25 for mine on Amazon pre launch so maybe that's why I'm not mad in that respect.

Maybe I am just not as much of a 'core gamer as I was in the past. I have played simcity since the original and I don't feel like this one is a huge dissapointment. Granted, I did feel they announced and launched fairly quickly but personally, I do truly enjoy playing. Maybe I don't fully understand how these conplaints are ruining a game like this but my experience has been fairly rewarding.

[endorken 13]

Yeah, the part about entitlement also rubbed me the wrong way. Granted, I use this forum for gameplay related discussion and leave the complaining for /r/SimCity/, but to suggest that a complaint here is evidence of an unwarranted sense of entitlement? I dunno…

 

Personally, I didn’t even mind the launch or the DRM or the myriad of bugs. The lack of local saves and frequent city corruption and rollbacks – that’s more problematic.  But really, it’s the core of the game that’s at issue here. The agent system, as it is currently implemented, is neither an improvement on the statistical model employed in previous titles in the franchise nor working as advertised by the developers. And, of course, it’s the source of what most people consider “bugs.” Worse yet, it is the one aspect of the game that Maxis is least likely to properly overhaul.

[savagemuppet 0]

Starting to simply give up here as well.  Im absolutely over the stupid traffic, stupid garbage, stupid city sizes, one entry point to a city, railroads, missing textures, spaces between buildings, idiot road guides, stuffed up resources and great works, unrealistic populations and on and on.  Who would think each 2x2 city needs its own bloody power plant I mean get real.

[cstorvold 1]

"Broken" is the  accurate term and it's overused because it is so.  When you can't play a city because its constantly rolling back the only way to describe it is "broken".  This game is currently in an alpha testing state.  Beta stage games play better than this.  This should never have been released in the current "broken" state.

[fpdlskf 5]

Well, I have learned to cope with the issues and quirks of the game. My cities are flourishing. However it is really grating at times. Thats a big problem for a game when the experience of playing it well feels bad. However thats my opinion.

 

Also Kerbals ROCKS! One of the best moding communities Ive seen.

 

 

 

Yes, the game is still semi-playable but I didn't pay $60 to have to "cope"....

[Camlon 50]

Hey guys, you should try out Sim City 4. it might not have the 3D or glassbox, but it is a game that last. No reason to play a broken game, when we got Sim City 4.

 

I have had it for many years, and I am still playing it. 

[honam1021 1]

Seriously you want to give this Simcity game up and try Kerbal Space Program instead. The best £18 I have ever spent in my life - its so much fun!

You reminded me about the minecraft beta discount few years ago, it's the best $18 I've ever spent!

 

Same modding ability, but with tons of unique servers to play on.

 

I'm not saying KSP is bad, actually I enjoyed the demo very much 

[AlexMBrennan 11]

You forgot to mention supply depot trucks causing goods to vanish (e.g. A truck will pick up processors and try to deliver them to an electronics factory; if it is unable to do so it will return to the nearest garage and dump 50k if the closest supply depot doesn't have a processor storage lot).

[London-b 90]

Not played in 2 weeks. Don't miss it at all, played my beautiful regions on SC4 and was a breath of fresh air after the shackles of SC2013. 

[jacobhinds 36]

The whole thing about "modern gamer entitlement" seems like a bit of a cop out; if this was a free game and people were complaining about it then I would understand the use of that term. I didn't buy the game so I don't complain about it. but for the people who paid $60 (I'm from the UK, that looks like a lot to me) for a game that is all but unplayable, it's well within their rights to complain. even if some of the points have been beaten into the ground. 

I feel their frustration because I've bought far cheaper crappy games in the past, and even then i'm able to sell them on. 

[bz2king 3]

As i said in a previous thread, you have to love these threads about people quitting, frankly, I personally believe its a cry for attention, most people who get mad at a game, just quit and are done with it. These threads always make me laugh. Sorry if that offends anyone, but the cold reality is, unless hundreds of us stop playing all at once, it really wont make EA any more worried about the game, if they are at all

[AlexMBrennan 11]

I personally believe its a cry for attention

You know why people don't complain on forums about how a pair of trainers doesn't really fit and isn't fit for purpose? That's because you can try them on, or return them if you buy them online if you don't like them.

Video games are unique in that it is not possible to make an educated purchasing decision because you do not see the game until after you've paid - and it's understandable that people are getting upset if a game fails to deliver.

most people who get mad at a game, just quit and are done with it.

If you went to a restaurant and got an uncooked meal would you just pay and leave? Or would you ask for the manager and demand that the meal be re-made? Why should games be any different? Why are you so happy that the software game industry is uniquely unregulated? No other kind of business could get away with that.

[bz2king 3]

Never said i was unhappy with it, however you cant argue that 1 person can change the attitude of a game company like EA, sure, there are many people upset with it, including myself, however, as I said, 1 person wont change anything.

 

Now as i stated before, if enough people complain then sure, maybe something will change but, EA has a history of ignoring consumers, so, honestly, I'm tired of fighting it, I've played EA games for years and its always the same thing, so its of no surprise to me that Simcity would be any different

[Larsz 7]

I must be on the perfect server at the perfect time. I have had one city get corrupted. And got stung by recycling bug once. Yeah, we shouldn't have to deal with bugs like that. We should not have had to deal with possibly the worst online required launch in the history of mankind. They reacted, added servers and are fixing issues. Online/regional issues aside, I think the game is in better shape than sc4 at launch. The entitlement comment stems from the lack of patience and perspective. And the awful, disrespectful tone of the complaints. We were missing the entire top level of density when sc4 launched. The complaints were just as numerous but the tone of the complaints was puppy dogs and rainbows compared to the vitriol spewed forth now. There was a comradery in figuring out workarounds. And then modding started. I have over 100 hours into this new version and am just now starting to get a feel for how long it takes for my actions to be fully integrated into the simulation. And it is longer than I expected so I know I am overcorrecting. And based on a lot of complaints, others are too. There is a difference between broken and mature and a lot of the ragequits I have seen aren't due to gamebreaking bugs like corrupted save files but because the game isn't as mature as sc4. Software is still like hardware, early adoption comes with benefits and bummers. From software that costs millions of dollars to $60 games. I can play for hours and hours without my game being broken. I can't imagine I am the only one.

As for persistent agents. It is a lousy idea with little to nothing of an advantage and a ton of downsides. I can't even begin to fathom the possibilities of persistent agents gone rogue. They would have to be cleansed so often they would in effect no longer be persistent. For what benefit? The pathfinding has already been improved enough that a "caught up" simulation is hard to identify the lemming effect. with the ripple effect we have already seen with some of the bugs, I can't believe people are advocating persistent agents. look what happened when they changed how service vehicles enter the road so that emergency vehicles didn't get stuck in their garages. How well did persistent school bus agents fare when they all got stuck in the parking lot. Now you think workers, shoppers and students should be made persistent? Ewww...

If you are still constantly facing corrupted saves or not able to connect, I can sympathize. If you got bit by a bug that you can't recover from in a city you spent hours creating, I can sympathize. If your venting doesn't include a ragequit, I will offer some consolation, advice if I have some relevant experience and encouragement for your next attempt. I will be thankful for finding out a problem i may be able to avoid.

Ragequit? You are asking for pity.