I've just returned from North America (to the UK) and have been looking forward to this coming out. I find there's limited information about this game in comparision to others prelauch. Sadly due to me being away i missed out on the demo.
I am perturbed by alot of people disliking the Planet Offers subscription, but i dont think its tantamount to extortion that some people seem to be suggesting. Provided they deliver on providing content and support i think i'd quite happilly keep up with a subscription.
I think in a way the features delivered on release and those expected updates postrelease is alittle like a schoolboy whos asked for an extention. Basic mass transit like buses missing is alittle shocking. And like a couple of posts above i usually consider alternative transit first before roads, such as railroad. So i'm kinda thinking will i have to leave gaps in my cities so i can retrofit them? (I guess bizarrely this is kinda relaistic when considering european cities).
I will preorder CXL, and i believe it comes with a 7day trial (seems abit short) of the online play and then consider the subscription - which seems likely in my case. I think questions of how it'll mature are interesting... but i think people forget that you dont really need the same numbers as WoW to develop mature servers etc... infact the numbers needed may even be minute by comparrisson.