Offline Mode Coming Soon

[simmerboy 19]

I haven't read this topic long enough to see if my question is asked, but, how in depth will we be able to mod Simcity Offline? Will we be able to write out own scripts to extend Simcity? I assume we will be able to edit more numbers in Simcity Offline than we would be able to online?

[hellmunkey 30]

 

Even if the everyone who owned the game as happy as a lark with the game, it would not quell the even greater amount of people who hate the fact this game is online and is not a 3D remake of Simcity 4 (which is odd since Smicty 4 was EA's doing).

 

 

No new Simcity would ever be good enough to warrant acceptance by the majority because it is an EA game.

 

IF this game was released by any other publisher (except for Nintendo) it would have been accepted as a good game and the launch issues would have been ignored as growning pains.

 

Hell Activision could have made this Simcity into a shooter and there is greater chance it  would have been accepted  without a second thought.

 

Yet Bethesda was given a free pass, even though Skyrim was suffering from near game breaking bugs at launch and it took 6 months of patching to get the base game fully functional. The Game wasn't fully fixed until the end of its first year.

The PS3 version on the other hand was unplayable at launch and was never fully fixed.

This happens to be the case with nearly every game Bethesda releases...

 

There is something wrong that Bethesda's games are more buggy and broken than EA's games, but no one hates on them.

 

Blizzard was given a free pass even though Diablo 3 was made unplayable due to servers being overwhelmed the first few weeks ( they didn't even compensate the launch users with anything).

Bilzzard is still fixing the game and remaining issues won't be resolved for a few more weeks.

 

I don't think this game was going to do good, no matter who published it.  There are just some games that don't need multiplayer.  Im not too sure Bethesda got a free pass. A lot of people bitched about how broken  Skyrim was, and rightly so.  Its part of the reason I tried it, but never bought it.  Also, D3 had launch issues for 1-2 days for most people.  Some did have issues for longer, but it was nothing like sc2013. 

 

Had Maxis/EA made this a 3d sc4, it would have been the first EA game I bought years.  I think the problem is EA did no realize that SimCity fans tend to not be your average "sheep" gamer that just buys what everyone else is buying.  They tend to be a bit smarter (it is a simulator and building series after all) and way more particular.

I haven't read this topic long enough to see if my question is asked, but, how in depth will we be able to mod Simcity Offline? Will we be able to write out own scripts to extend Simcity? I assume we will be able to edit more numbers in Simcity Offline than we would be able to online?

From the modding policy linked in the OP.  I think #3 might be the one that limits what modders can do, but it really depends on the tools and what people have access to.  Mods completely changed SC4, but there are still some goofy things that wont ever be fixed because the exe is still off limits.

 

What are the Rules?

We highly value our community, other content creators, and the integrity of our multiplayer experience in SimCity. We want to make sure that SimCity Mods used will reflect those values too and we expect you to follow these rules:

1. Mods must not jeopardize the integrity of the gameplay or harm the experience of others. Mods that affect the simulation for multiplayer games and multiplayer features, such as leaderboards or trading with other players, are not allowed.
2. Mods must not infringe any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or other intellectual property right of any third party and will not include content that is unlawful, tortious, defamatory, obscene, invasive of the privacy of another person, threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful, racist or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate. SimCity has an age rating of ESRB Everyone 10+ and PEGI 7, and similar ratings from other ratings boards around the world. EA requires that Mods not include any material that would not be allowed under these ratings.
3. Mods may not modify any .com, .exe, .dll, .so or other executable files.
4. The terms and conditions of SimCity EULA and EA’s Terms of Service are specifically incorporated into this policy by this reference. In the event that the terms of this policy are in conflict with the terms of the SimCity EULA or EA’s Terms of Service, the terms of this Policy shall supersede and govern over any such conflicting terms.
5. To maintain the integrity of SimCity and ensure the best possible gaming experience for our players, EA reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to revoke permission to use, distribute or make Mods at any time, to disable any Mod within SimCity and to take disciplinary action against players who harm the experience of others.

[SAGGG 47]

All of this shouldn't matter when offline arrives though, right? It's open season there?

[Hamish 1,370]

Well, no, not exactly. Their rules regarding modding should still be adhered too. The first rule is the only one they have stated to relate to online play, all other rules can be considered to be in effect no matter what mode you are playing in.

However, apart from jeopardising leaderboards and trading, the rules they put forward are essentially the same as the rules they had for modding SC4, so I don't see these rules being an issue.

[Bipin 3,403]

I'm excited to see the result of this, given the advent of offline opens so many doors with the Sim City 2013 scene. The constraints of EA's omniscience over one's own personal creations; your cities, has been more or less released, effectively bringing us back to the rhetoric behind SC4 modding, which poses little threat to our creative expression. On that note, someone let me know when the modding tools become available. I can't wait to get BATing for SC2013, taking into account the possibilities...

 

 

Mirror's Edge 2 and Sim City 2013 share many of the same characteristics in regards to graphics, so much so that what is seen above should in theory be possible.

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

I'm excited to see the result of this, given the advent of offline opens so many doors with the Sim City 2013 scene. The constraints of EA's omniscience over one's own personal creations; your cities, has been more or less released, effectively bringing us back to the rhetoric behind SC4 modding, which poses little threat to our creative expression. On that note, someone let me know when the modding tools become available. I can't wait to get BATing for SC2013, taking into account the possibilities...

 

 

Mirror's Edge 2 and Sim City 2013 share many of the same characteristics in regards to graphics, so much so that what is seen above should in theory be possible.

 

Dayum! If SC 2013's textures were dirtied and more diverse then everything would look so awesome! Maybe with such textures a SC picture emulating the one above could be possible in a few years.

[Xenocity 343]

That's fine, but I was primarily thinking about "normal folks" (unlike the ST crowd ) who may check out a new game, read a review or two, maybe play a demo or look at the game at a friend's and then move on to other stuff if they're not convinced. Not everybody is part of a geek community and follows the development of a game franchise for many years, after all.

 

Pretty much.

 

What they set out to do was to catch the casual, facebook type gamers.  That is a group with a short attention span, and yes, they probably all left to do their own thing within a couple months.    Everything about this was a fiasco in that regards.  They blew that chance big time and got hammered for it.

 

All that's left are the hardcore fans, who now have to decide if they will give EA/Maxis a chance as they slink int he backdoor promising to mend their ways.

You know simulation genre of gaming is classified as casual based on market data over the past decade.

Simcity is the flagship title of this genre and has always been labeled as a casual and kiddy game.

Most of the hardcore Simcity fans are casual gamers including most posters on this site, thanks to the definition of what casual gamers and games are.

 

So please learn the official definitions of what casual games and gamers are this day in age.

(I can repost the graph showing where each gaming genre falls and who plays them.)

 

At EA's last quarterly earnings report showed the majority of players were still regulary playing the game.

This is partially true, but it's too polarizing. For example, do you think X-Plane is a game geared towards casual gamers? It is impossible for a simulation game to be hardcore due to the very fundamentals of game design and content.

I've posted the graph before that shows what genres are hardcore and which are casual.

Simulation games are on the casual side.

  

If the game's release had been successful and the servers were full of happy users using the social mechanic that wished to impose on a game typically stand alone certainly us would not be talking about the availability of a offf-line mode at this moment....

Even if the everyone who owned the game as happy as a lark with the game, it would not quell the even greater amount of people who hate the fact this game is online and is not a 3D remake of Simcity 4 .... blah,blah,blah I do not see where the whole text of the post which is certainly useless to the topic has to do with what  quoted? Furthermore the fact of writing about what it not knows and then edit to suppress the own mistake  cited by others, without  justified, leaves the impression of someone that wants never be wrong It would be nice also avoid comments like "So please learn ..." because no one needs to be interested for the same subjects  in  that other someone else loses their time I think the basic basic question here is whether the availability of offline mode will bring more interest for modding  which does not seem very likely. First off my post showed how EA is one of the best publishers in the industry and how worse their competitors are in comparison.

Seriously many people who regularly post on this site and hate on this game don't know the official definitions of hardcore and casual game and gamers.

Those who misuse the words need to be set straight.

Lastly nearly everyone who posts on this site are casual gamers even though they don't realize they fit the definition and claim to be hardcore gamers.

Market data doesn't lie!!!

  

Even if the everyone who owned the game as happy as a lark with the game, it would not quell the even greater amount of people who hate the fact this game is online and is not a 3D remake of Simcity 4 (which is odd since Smicty 4 was EA's doing).

 

 

No new Simcity would ever be good enough to warrant acceptance by the majority because it is an EA game.

 

IF this game was released by any other publisher (except for Nintendo) it would have been accepted as a good game and the launch issues would have been ignored as growning pains.

 

Hell Activision could have made this Simcity into a shooter and there is greater chance it  would have been accepted  without a second thought.

 

Yet Bethesda was given a free pass, even though Skyrim was suffering from near game breaking bugs at launch and it took 6 months of patching to get the base game fully functional. The Game wasn't fully fixed until the end of its first year.

The PS3 version on the other hand was unplayable at launch and was never fully fixed.

This happens to be the case with nearly every game Bethesda releases...

 

There is something wrong that Bethesda's games are more buggy and broken than EA's games, but no one hates on them.

 

Blizzard was given a free pass even though Diablo 3 was made unplayable due to servers being overwhelmed the first few weeks ( they didn't even compensate the launch users with anything).

Bilzzard is still fixing the game and remaining issues won't be resolved for a few more weeks.

I don't think this game was going to do good, no matter who published it.  There are just some games that don't need multiplayer.  Im not too sure Bethesda got a free pass. A lot of people bitched about how broken  Skyrim was, and rightly so.  Its part of the reason I tried it, but never bought it.  Also, D3 had launch issues for 1-2 days for most people.  Some did have issues for longer, but it was nothing like sc2013. 

 

Had Maxis/EA made this a 3d sc4, it would have been the first EA game I bought years.  I think the problem is EA did no realize that SimCity fans tend to not be your average "sheep" gamer that just buys what everyone else is buying.  They tend to be a bit smarter (it is a simulator and building series after all) and way more particular.

Despite what Simcity 4 fans believe, Simcity 4 is labeled a kiddy and casual game.

Why?

1) it's the genre

2) it requires huge amount of time to play

3) lacks certain types of gameplay

4) lacks DLC

5) lacks online modes

6) lacks achievements

7) lacks multiplayer

the kiddie graphics

Also you do realize the things you claim make Simcity fans better consumers are many of points the industry claims are those of casuals.

Casual gamers by definition and by market data:

1) they buy very few games in a year (<6)

2) they generally ignore AAA titles and yearly staples.

3) they generally play alone and offline multiplayer

4) they generally ignore DLC

5) they generally buy games on sale instead off full price

6) they base their purchases on reviews

Etc...

You'll more hear more about them tomorrow night when NPD releases their sales data and analysis of the U.S. Gaming market.

I don't like the fact that many of my favorite games are labeled casual and kiddie.

I also don't like what hardcore gaming has done.

EA/Maxis like it or not designed Simcity 2013 based on hardcore gaming data to appeal to hardcore gamers.

The Simcity fanbase is mostly made up of casual gamers whether those people can accept it.

Long Story short the industry has changed a lot over the past ten years, Simcity fans didn't

(I personally think the industry has changed for the worst!)

[Ocram's Razr 964]

The thing is that SimCity 4 is very much a Niche game while SimCity 2013 is more mainstream. The fact of the matter is that SimCity 2013 is more profitable than a 3D version of SimCity 4 ever would be. Personally, I bought SimCity 2013 at a discount and enjoyed playing with my friend. SimCity 4 was fun for me for years, but a decade is a bit long. The only people bashing SC2013 and praising SC4 are a small group of SC4 fanatics. Anyway, I am glad that modding is coming to SimCity 2013.

--Ocram

 

If SC4 is so niche (as you claim) and the people bashing it (the "small group of SC4 fanatics") are really as small a group as you claim, then why are there so many naysayers, everywhere?  (and by everywhere, I mean every site that ever mentioned the game that I have seen).  All the SC4 people are not out trolling every game site on the planet bashing away at SC2013.  You may have an argument that a small number of them are, but that would not even be close to half of the people out there bashing 2013.

 

I suggest to you that the remaining group of SC4 players is much bigger than you theorize.  I might go so far as to suggest the SC4 player base is bigger than the SC2013 player base.  Of course that number cannot be substantiated in any way, but just perusing the Simcity Reddit stream will show you the 2013 activity died down over the past few months as the SC4 activity ramped back up.  Certainly activity on this site suggests that (but this site never caught on as a 2013 site)

 

I also doubt your assertion that SC2013 is mainstream.  It had a chance to be...but the tremendous amount of problems it had in the first month ended the mainstream train.   EA made a mistake...they went after the facebook/iphone/ipad crowd with SC2013, but they created a game that 1) cost way too much for that crowd, 2) didn't work for at least a month, 3) and in the process alienated all the old school SimCity base (which is a VERY big group) by dumbing it down well below acceptable for them and essentially trying to MMO it.  In essence, they decided the facebook crowd was bigger and dumb enough to spend $10 per BAT and to do it by the millions.  That crowd didn't bite.  The established, dependable SimCity crowd didn't either, but they would have if it had been SC4 made better.  That established crowd would never pay $10/BAT though, and EA's profit engine REALLY wants to make millions and millions off trivial content, so they abandoned their steady revenue crowd for the pie in the sky and now they are paying for it dearly....and trying to get that established crowd to buy the game.

 

As far as profits go...EA probably made 3-4 times as much off SC3 and SC4 (individually) as they did with SC2013 (probably more), and that was in 2003 and older money...which means they made even less than that when you convert 2003 to 2013 money.  I know at least 3 gamers IRL who never touched 2013 because it wasn't a better version of SC4...if every person who bought 2013 can say they even know one person in that category, that would suggest far more units sold of a new SC4 vs 2013.

 

The issue is perceived profitability vs actual.  EA perceived the SC2013 change would equate to massive profits vs a real SC5.  In actuality, it equated to probably massive losses as a result of the enumerated list I gave above. 

 

Back on topic of modding....I finally read through their list of requirements, and it certainly doesn't give me any hope.

I am pretty sure that 1.1 Million Sales within the first 2 weeks of release of the game (including preorders, mind you) despite the server issues during the first month goes to show how much of a hit, how mainstream, and how profitable it is. I cannot find exact official figures on Cities of Tomorrow but I am told that it sold quite a few copies as well. SimCity 4 base game did not sell even close to that fast (before Rush Hour). About SimCity 4 fans being on Reddit in higher numbers than SC2013 fans, you must consider that some people have accounts in the same place (I have accounts at EA, Ubisoft, ST, MCF, Planet Random, Tilted Mill, SC4D, and a few others).

--Ocram

[Hamish 1,370]

Lets keep this discussion on topic please.

 

The topic this thread is discussing is Offline mode and modding coming in the near future.

If you want to discuss sales, target demographic, or other websites there are dedicated threads already set up for you to participate in.

[consi 7]

I really wish to see modding community turns the game around, implements complicated RCI dynamics, makes the region seem integrated if possible with bigger maps but i don't really know glassbox allows these and yet again i don't really know enough dedicated community members willing to do it after all this dissapoinment of the core players. 

 

I am sad for Simcity franchise as a player who played it since day one. My only and tiny hope about it, is tied to this amazing community's talents.

 

Simtropolis vs. Glassbox.

[Lot Creator 304]

Still not going to buy, nothing personal, just that I don't look at this game seriously enough to take it, mod it, and play it. Besides, the color scheme would need an overhaul from my point of view. This is still a long way from me buying it.

[RP912 1]

I hope the update comes soon because it's kind of annoying that my game lags every so often because of my wifi signal.

[Charizard 284]

Sorry if this has already been answered but will the mods finally allow us to implement new buildings, textures, models, fix the traffic problems, terraform, increase map sizes, etc. for offline mode? Essentially the things that we were allowed to mod with SC4 (sans the map sizes of course)? I don't care about the multiplayer mode but if modders will be able to do all these things with the game then I will finally be tempted to buy the game. It's sad however if the game will be decent at last only when everyone has stopped playing it and it's been almost a year since release. Hopefully EA has learned their lesson and maybe the modding/offline features will bring more people back to the game. Who knows. Although I can't think of one instance where a game has rebounded after it has sunk low due to a horrible release.

[ebalosus 19]

Well, no, not exactly. Their rules regarding modding should still be adhered too. The first rule is the only one they have stated to relate to online play, all other rules can be considered to be in effect no matter what mode you are playing in.

However, apart from jeopardising leaderboards and trading, the rules they put forward are essentially the same as the rules they had for modding SC4, so I don't see these rules being an issue.

 

With all due respect, Patrick Buechner seems to have contradicted those rules in the interview he gave with IGN:

The chief remaining criticism of SimCity is its very limited city sizes. That, unfortunately, Maxis has said it is unable to expand without severely impacting performance on its users’ PCs. However, the addition of offline mode also promises to bring relatively unfettered mod support, which means that enterprising PC gamers might soon work their way around those limitations. While Buechner says he’d be surprised to see a fully functional large-city mod out in the first week due to the work involved, he’s optimistic about the possibilities. “I’m hopeful we’ll see all sorts of amazing things out of the modding community. I’m glad that we can support them by giving them the offline mode.”

[Sharpshade 0]

Okay so I realize I'm an idiot here but, other than modding, what are the benefits of "offline" mode? It seems a lot of people are happy about this but I don't know exactly what this does for the game.

[simmerboy 19]

Okay so I realize I'm an idiot here but, other than modding, what are the benefits of "offline" mode? It seems a lot of people are happy about this but I don't know exactly what this does for the game.

You won't have to have an internet connection to play Simcity. That is all. And you give up multiplayer, that's pretty much it.

[Prophet42 1,503]

I'm happy to see the offline mode coming.  The main reason for me not buying SC2013 was the always online requirement and not being able to save locally.  I guess with all this offline mode talk, I haven't seen any confirmation that you will be able to save your cities locally to your hard drive.  I assume you wil be able to you.  Does anybody know for sure?

[LivingInThePast 364]

Mods must not infringe any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or other intellectual property right of any third party and will not include content that is unlawful, tortious, defamatory, obscene, invasive of the privacy of another person, threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful, racist or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate. SimCity has an age rating of ESRB Everyone 10+ and PEGI 7, and similar ratings from other ratings boards around the world. EA requires that Mods not include any material that would not be allowed under these ratings.

 

Doesn't the ESRB have some disclaimer about Internet-connected games and how they can change? And does this mean I can't make a sketchy district full of bars, strip clubs, and adult novelty stores?

[Hamish 1,370]

 

Well, no, not exactly. Their rules regarding modding should still be adhered too. The first rule is the only one they have stated to relate to online play, all other rules can be considered to be in effect no matter what mode you are playing in.

However, apart from jeopardising leaderboards and trading, the rules they put forward are essentially the same as the rules they had for modding SC4, so I don't see these rules being an issue.

 

With all due respect, Patrick Buechner seems to have contradicted those rules in the interview he gave with IGN:

The chief remaining criticism of SimCity is its very limited city sizes. That, unfortunately, Maxis has said it is unable to expand without severely impacting performance on its users’ PCs. However, the addition of offline mode also promises to bring relatively unfettered mod support, which means that enterprising PC gamers might soon work their way around those limitations. While Buechner says he’d be surprised to see a fully functional large-city mod out in the first week due to the work involved, he’s optimistic about the possibilities. “I’m hopeful we’ll see all sorts of amazing things out of the modding community. I’m glad that we can support them by giving them the offline mode.”

 

 

I don't interpret that as contradicting their own rules. Its seems as if he is saying that while in offline mode you can do almost anything, for instance making large city tiles, which is within the scope of their rules.

It seems that where maxis and EA might have objection to mods is during online mode, however I don't know how mods are going to distinguish between online and offline.

[Xenocity 343]

I'm happy to see the offline mode coming.  The main reason for me not buying SC2013 was the always online requirement and not being able to save locally.  I guess with all this offline mode talk, I haven't seen any confirmation that you will be able to save your cities locally to your hard drive.  I assume you wil be able to you.  Does anybody know for sure?

Yes you save your cities locally if you create/play them in offline mode.

 

 

Mods must not infringe any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or other intellectual property right of any third party and will not include content that is unlawful, tortious, defamatory, obscene, invasive of the privacy of another person, threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful, racist or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate. SimCity has an age rating of ESRB Everyone 10+ and PEGI 7, and similar ratings from other ratings boards around the world. EA requires that Mods not include any material that would not be allowed under these ratings.

 

Doesn't the ESRB have some disclaimer about Internet-connected games and how they can change? And does this mean I can't make a sketchy district full of bars, strip clubs, and adult novelty stores?

 

Yes they do.

The disclaimer: includes online features that may expose players to unrated user-generated content (Macintosh, Windows PC)

http://www.esrb.org/ratings/search.jsp

EA is also required to tell you that  an online connection is needed to play the game and that online aspects are subject to change.

It is on the physical box, the product description at retail, and on origin.

[ebalosus 19]

 

 

Well, no, not exactly. Their rules regarding modding should still be adhered too. The first rule is the only one they have stated to relate to online play, all other rules can be considered to be in effect no matter what mode you are playing in.

However, apart from jeopardising leaderboards and trading, the rules they put forward are essentially the same as the rules they had for modding SC4, so I don't see these rules being an issue.

 

With all due respect, Patrick Buechner seems to have contradicted those rules in the interview he gave with IGN:

The chief remaining criticism of SimCity is its very limited city sizes. That, unfortunately, Maxis has said it is unable to expand without severely impacting performance on its users’ PCs. However, the addition of offline mode also promises to bring relatively unfettered mod support, which means that enterprising PC gamers might soon work their way around those limitations. While Buechner says he’d be surprised to see a fully functional large-city mod out in the first week due to the work involved, he’s optimistic about the possibilities. “I’m hopeful we’ll see all sorts of amazing things out of the modding community. I’m glad that we can support them by giving them the offline mode.”

 

 

I don't interpret that as contradicting their own rules. Its seems as if he is saying that while in offline mode you can do almost anything, for instance making large city tiles, which is within the scope of their rules.

It seems that where maxis and EA might have objection to mods is during online mode, however I don't know how mods are going to distinguish between online and offline.

 

(emphasis mine)

 

I will concede that the thought has crossed my mind that you could keep within the modding rules and modify essential components of the game (which you will surely need to do to increase map sizes), but to me at least, the question remains:

 

Can we mod the game to increase map sizes/modify the simulation and still keep within the rules?

 

Like you and others, I sincerely hope that an offline mode will allow us to modify the game in the ways we want; I just want clarification from Maxis/EA that offline mode will allow us to do that.

[§haÅ--Ñ€ §hÅŽo 370]

I'm very happy to see SimCity 2013 gaining an offline mode, along with no restrictions to modding on the offline mode. If they sold this game on Steam I would definitely buy it.

[SirChick 184]

So offline mode does this provide the option for online connectivity with friends where one PC is the host or even LAN?

If so that would be perfect.

[NCGAIO 562]

A reflection on the concept of the  mod for the new simcity in relation the comparative ideas of the what the community did to SC4.

 

As for new models that are most mods ...

 

The studio in the time of the SC4 took advantage of the wave of Autodesk to promote their products, like several others, and launched a package of specific rendering to the simple Gmax free for it to was possible to have new models in the game with your 3d file proprietary format.

 

Today will be necessary to use software with a much more steep learning curve and 3d models for RenderWare are obviously much more complex than the the old ones then I do not see how Maxis would provide a tool for that now 

 

As for all the rest as maps, terraforming, subway, better simulation, etc ... not to dwell too much it think suffice to say that even a dozen modders, full time, could not do this without a specific collaboration of the developers.

 

So unless the publisher really belive that would sell more  millions copies when meet these requests and put the developers for almost redesigning a new game all this is very unlikely. 

 

It's hard to miss seeing the launch of an offline mode now as anything other than open the possibility to reduce or even eliminate the service if ceases to be profitable without causing another uproar among buyers

[SirChick 184]

A reflection on the concept of the  mod for the new simcity in relation the comparative ideas of the what the community did to SC4.

 

As for new models that are most mods ...

 

The studio in the time of the SC4 took advantage of the wave of Autodesk to promote their products, like several others, and launched a package of specific rendering to the simple Gmax free for it to was possible to have new models in the game with your 3d file proprietary format.

 

Today will be necessary to use software with a much more steep learning curve and 3d models for RenderWare are obviously much more complex than the the old ones then I do not see how Maxis would provide a tool for that now 

 

As for all the rest as maps, terraforming, subway, better simulation, etc ... not to dwell too much it think suffice to say that even a dozen modders, full time, could not do this without a specific collaboration of the developers.

 

So unless the publisher really belive that would sell more  millions copies when meet these requests and put the developers for almost redesigning a new game all this is very unlikely. 

 

It's hard to miss seeing the launch of an offline mode now as anything other than open the possibility to reduce or even eliminate the service if ceases to be profitable without causing another uproar among buyers

 

Not sure i agree, there are big 3D games that are modded heavily like GTA and Skyrim. With the likes of Blender and Unity available to the masses, more and more people know how to program & make 3D art. Compared to the days of when SC4 was released.

[JaceTwice 115]

 

 

A reflection on the concept of the  mod for the new simcity in relation the comparative ideas of the what the community did to SC4.

 

As for new models that are most mods ...

 

The studio in the time of the SC4 took advantage of the wave of Autodesk to promote their products, like several others, and launched a package of specific rendering to the simple Gmax free for it to was possible to have new models in the game with your 3d file proprietary format.

 

Today will be necessary to use software with a much more steep learning curve and 3d models for RenderWare are obviously much more complex than the the old ones then I do not see how Maxis would provide a tool for that now 

 

As for all the rest as maps, terraforming, subway, better simulation, etc ... not to dwell too much it think suffice to say that even a dozen modders, full time, could not do this without a specific collaboration of the developers.

 

So unless the publisher really belive that would sell more  millions copies when meet these requests and put the developers for almost redesigning a new game all this is very unlikely. 

 

It's hard to miss seeing the launch of an offline mode now as anything other than open the possibility to reduce or even eliminate the service if ceases to be profitable without causing another uproar among buyers

 

 

 

Not sure i agree, there are big 3D games that are modded heavily like GTA and Skyrim. With the likes of Blender and Unity available to the masses, more and more people know how to program & make 3D art. Compared to the days of when SC4 was released.

 

 

Indeed, the 3D capabilities of the general public has grown exponentially since the launch of sc4. You really can't sell the general SimCity community short when it come to modding talent. I'm sure bringing CS4 to it's current point couldn't have been a cakewalk either.

[The_Balm 4]

It's also not like modeling a car for a game, it's just buildings and a low res ones at that.

[simmerboy 19]

So offline mode does this provide the option for online connectivity with friends where one PC is the host or even LAN?

If so that would be perfect.

 

Isn't that what multiplayer is for?

[Hybr1d 20]

This is great news. However, I will play SC2013 ONLY when modders figure out how to increase the city size and make it where the city borderlines connect to each other. Until that happens, I'll be patiently waiting.

[Mr_Maison 2,426]

I see this as good news but I am very cautiously optimistic. 

 

Now that the offline issue is being addressed, I would like to know how deep the modding can go and what tools can be used. Hopefully some of the game design decisions can be over-written. Like the one pre-planted highway thing. If having creative freedom to place transit networks anywhere on a map is possible that's another step forward for me. Another step would be the possibility of terraforming or at least being able to go in Photoshop or Gimp and create regions from greyscale maps with varying resolutions. And like many mentioned many times over......break the city size limit and being able to fill in the gaps between cities. I hope we would be able to use Blender or any other open source software to make assets for modding.

 

I only discovered this offline news last night (1/18/2014...been away for a while). I did not follow any developments for SC2013 for a while. Are the residents of the cities still homeless day-workers? If that cannot be fixed, I will never buy this game offline or not. It just ruins the "I imagine my citizens have a home and commute" thing for me.

 

If the things I wrote above are addressed, I will put SC2013 back on my shopping list.