Plancus

Yeah just saw this: https://twitter.com/NrFive/status/309583968053895169 Nice customer service.

Thanks for your impressions during the visit. I personally think the specialisation scope is promising, and the concept they developed of regional play is interesting (if only the cities wouldn't look like isolated islands, it would be great). I think overall Maxis has been making many efforts to produce a game they're proud of. However, my biggest concerns regarding this game, and what will make me buy it only at a later date (and unfortunately for Maxis, most likely at a much much lower price) are: - Region size - Modding As mentioned before, these two were more or less mentioned as "yeah it would be good if we had it, but we'll see". For region size, I can understand it might be a technological constraint based on the engine. I'm not a programmer, I don't know the engine, so I take their word for that. There's not much we can do about it, but hope they are telling the truth (and it's not part of some delusive conspiracy theory where they'll make us pay to have an extra square kilometer just for fun) and will address it in the future. Now... modding. That's the problem. The whole concept of microtransactions and piecemeal DLC content, coupled with the need to be attached to a world market coordinated by the EA servers, makes me feel this aspect - exactly what makes SC4 be so long-lived - is going to be ignored or at least downplayed. Rather than a technical limitation, it's more a business limitation now. To give users the freedom of doing whatever they want and not having to go through a "Maxis-approved" process of certification due to the online aspect of the game is very important when it comes to truly modding the game. Sadly though, I suspect a lot of the vagueness about this. I don't want to buy a game to have a preset of buildings forever, and whenever I want to see a new police station, I have to spend 5€ in a building pack with a new building and 2 new textures, when I could've got that for free through modding. For the record I'm not a DLC hater, I do buy DLCs of games I like. I just don't like being forced to buy them if I want new content that could be introduced through the work of dedicated modders. If Maxis sees this, please don't consider it as mindless hating. It's just that I haven't seen anything so far that makes me believe some things will be supported without having the players being limited in what they can do, in favour of a milk-the-customer business system that's so popular nowadays. I understand Maxis and all the developers have been hard at work and developing a game that corresponds to a vision they have, and for that I say good job! However, when it comes to these things I mentioned, feel free to prove me wrong!

I personally don't think Glassbox is the problem resulting in small maps, the problem is actually the limit imposed by the online multiplayer architecture and the desire to reach the highest number of players with old systems in order for them to play online as well, leveling the playing field, so to speak. This is guesswork, of course, but in case Glassbox really is the deciding factor to consider, I'd say a degree of abstraction in the agent based system would be welcome to alleviate the problem. It is indeed nice to see where your sims are going, but for other services (like energy, water, sewage, each having their own agents crowding the simulation) a simplification wouldn't alter much the fun of the game, in my opinion. I don't really think noticing a brown "poo" agent coming from a household and following it to the other side of the town, to the sewage dump or whatever it's called, would add much to the gameplay for the 'normal' users.

That's really the whole problem. Modding allows freedom. Forced online play limits this freedom. Actually I'm not strictly against online play. I find the multiplayer aspect quite amusing and may yield interesting gameplay possibilities. But if that limits modding or if modding will have to go through a pre-approved Maxis App-Store-like process to come to life, I'm not so much in favour. And well... why allow mods so soon when you have DLC? I don't expect a long interval with a nice expansion pack like Rush Hour. I do expect a flood of small "improve your city and region with this OFFICIAL new cool looking superhero hospital for $5" DLCs before basic modding support is even taken care of. I feel awful for being such a skeptic, but I doubt Maxis put any thought into a future mod support and only talked about it to appease fans of SC4 who are used to all the custom content. That whole thing with leaderboards is to encourage people to play competitively. Selling a multitude of DLC fits well in this scenario. Hope I'm proven wrong.

But isn't Skyrim mainly a single-player campaign game, while in SimCity you'll be pretty much coerced to work in a region? Even with a mod manager, there would be differences. For example, private regions reserved for individual play would basically be only a simulated offline experience, because you're just locking out other people from playing in your region, but it's still part of the SimWorld. If someone decides to mod in a super power plant that produces clean fusion energy that could be sold for anyone in the entire world, that would still mean modding is impossible (assuming the EULA bit you posted doesn't necessarily mean an offline component at release, and that it's just legal wording). And I think the Skyrim DLC are more campaign oriented, introducing new dialogues/characters/mechanics, other than only 'horse armor' or some such However I could see it definitely happening in SimCity though with buildings instead of horse armor.

Thank you for the impressions, much appreciated. It's nice to see a personal analysis of both good and bad aspects, from someone who had a first hand experience, albeit limited. Now about my personal opinion. About the problems many have with the current state of the game, I see it simply this way: The always-online requirement was made, as some people said before, because EA sees it as a business opportunity. It should also work as a counter-piracy move and a way to get people hooked into the game when playing with others. People depending on the online servers also leads them to buy more DLC, as eventual extra content would be advertised as a sort of splash-screen, and give your city/region an advantage, whatever it may be. And we're not speaking about purely cosmetic changes. For people who care about leaderboards and stuff, it will be important to get an "edge". Content bought by others could be visualized in the region and neighbor cities (new overpasses, fancy service buildings, etc.), but not built in your own city unless you buy it. Of course that will be an incentive for people to buy stuff frequently ("What? That town across the river has a new shiny power plant?? Why can't I have one too?"), especially if these are slowly released in small packs costing a few dollars each. The sum of all these DLC would of course be more than a proper classical expansion pack, and that is good business in EA's eyes. I'm not saying I hate EA or want them to capsize in the sea of oblivion. It just makes sense as a business strategy for them. That leads us to the following idea: the online component is tied with the lack of development for modding tools. I don't see it as a minor problem. This is very important. Unless there is a totally offline component, there will be no modding. Yes, that's right. No modding support, even though Maxis says it's planned and they care about the community. It's not that they're evil, it's just that it's impossible to fit extensive modding with their current business system. If there's modding support, it will have to go through an official Maxis/EA exchange, pre-approved by staff, and making purely visual enhancements or minor changes. Without it, the game balance/economy will be upset as soon as anyone finds a way to "game" the system to get more money, climb up the leaderboards or some other nonsense... and that's not something anyone there wants. Now why am I saying all this? Again, modding is VERY important. If unrestricted or at least extensive modding is allowed, I'm sure someone would find a way to solve the following complaints people have: - Cartoony buildings and environment: New models and new textures modded in, whole sets of buildings gradually replacing the old ones, textures being improved upon. - Small tile sets: Although Maxis itself could well eventually release a sort of "big maps" DLC or some such for people with computers able to run it, modders could implement this before them. - Cities separated from one another, spread around the region: A wise modder could edit a region to eliminate this, given enough modding tools and editable game files. - Lack of X, Y or Z (transport systems, subways, etc.): Modders could theoretically mess around and implement at least a makeshift version of these. You could freely customize your game the way you want with mods. But because the game is focused on an always-online play mode, this kind of modding is impossible. Modding also interferes with DLC sales, it's obvious! Why would people buy the new "Police Station DLC" if they can get 20 different types for free say, here in Simtropolis. I'm not totally against the online-only mode. I understand why they want it to be that way from a money-making perspective (they're not running a charity for needy SimCity fans), but that unfortunately locks out a LOT of wonderful possibilities the game could have. I just hope that down the road this eventually changes, and when they finally start providing modding support, an offline component will also be provided. Until then, I'll sadly have to wait out and see what happens. "Sadly", because I'd be willing to spend a lot of money for something I could have full control for my personal customization purposes... but that's not the case Sorry Maxis... hope you reconsider it.

I can sum it up like this: "Ummm... we can't talk about this right now, but hey, look! Curvy Roads! SimCity is going to be awesome!" "Also guys... Don't forget you can preorder it. Preferably now. Exclusive stuff on Origin! Awesome, isn't it?" "Yes! Awesome! Curvy roads!"