I'd say Polygon is the worst high-profile site out there. They are consistently bad.
Right.
The seamless part does call for mandatory online.
Again, I'm not defending EA's implementation, just the idea. If you don't see the benefit that's fine and you are able to tell companies about your dissatisfaction by not buying the video games.
I'm more enraged at the idea that Maxis was able to release a broken ass game.
A few include:
Seamless multiplayer.
Sharing statistics.
Streaming game play.
Communication.
I realize the things I've listed above probably don't get you excited, but for some people this is where they want gaming to go.
Obviously EA put the horse before the cart in this specific instance, but the idea of 'Always Online' is fixable and will be a part of most games in 10 years with very little hiccups (probably).
Companies releasing broke ass games however, that's something else entirely.
Oh, I can see the value in these.The seamless part does call for mandatory online.
Again, I'm not defending EA's implementation, just the idea. If you don't see the benefit that's fine and you are able to tell companies about your dissatisfaction by not buying the video games.
I'm more enraged at the idea that Maxis was able to release a broken ass game.
I BEG someone to call him out on twitter. I don't know the guy but I HATE this attitude.
Oh get over yourself. They have made a few missteps here and there but they seem to be leagues above the typical Kotaku stuff we get here. Their feature articles are some of the best in the industry (take a look at the Levine one, or the KAOS Studios one) and their news reporting is generally solid. They do still need to nail down their reviews though.
I think having it an option is fine. "Mandatory online" as a phrase and a design philosophy for genres that haven't required it in the past is for the birds though. No one likes things that are mandatory. As soon as the game starts showing a prompt and giving you the choice similar to when you'd start a game with no memory card on your PS2 and being told you won't be able to save, you'll lose your data, and a memory card recommended would be fine. but "mandatory" is for MMO's and its easy for me to ignore those. You slap that on a SP game that you are trying to shoehorn into a multiplayer experience just to make me more reliant on your servers then I get a little pissed.
It's not about piracy though, it's about advertising. It's about shoving their DLC down your throat whenever you play, it's about ensuring that anyone who is playing is capable of buying and downloading the DLC.
That's not the attention span the internet is known for I would say two months at most.I thought Diablo 3 couldn't be topped - but this is some next-level stuff that people will talk about years to come
1)why seamless is a problem now?you can't wait for the 4 seconds your game needs to connect to a server?is that so important to justify not being able to play the game without an internet connection?
2)we already have those,they called these leaderboards,many games have it,and they don't need to be always connected,just a 1.5-seconds-long wait to access the server to retrieve the data.
3)you mean send data to the server that elaborates said data and gives it back to the game?well,it's not even a thing right know,it's a promise,but if that can actually be done properly is yet to be demonstrated..and anyay,in the PC world is not like there's lack of calculation power..sims city just use 1 core and not even completely...
4)again,is called multiplayer,if i want to play with other people,i'll play with an internet connection,if i want to play solo,i don't need it.
The seamless part does call for mandatory online.
In order to play multiplayer in all of these games you have to set it up in some way. It's not a completely seamless experience.
ok, I'm not disagreeing. I'm just saying that the days of every game having an offline mode may be coming to an end.
If it's handled poorly like SimCity then don't support it. If someone does something awesome I'll support it. We shouldn't rule it out entirely because EA don't know what they're doing.
You mean the same EA that made this game, lying about it the whole while? The one that wants to put microtransactions into all games? That EA?Thank god for the modding community. Hopefully, when it's all said and done maybe this purchase won't be a complete disappointment. At least the incredible backlash will maybe prevent EA from killing these types of mods.
It's embarrassing no matter who that is.That's just embarrassing if that's someone from GAF.
Nope, I'd rather not wait. That's what I mean by 'seamless'.
One suspects that, by the time you read this, the majority connection problems will have been remedied.
Do you agree that players should not be refunded a game specifically if it doesn't connect online straight away?
To what extent did initial demand outweigh server capacity, do you think?
It is fair to expect that some people at Maxis who have sacrificed so much to make SimCity an acclaimed game could be disgruntled or disillusioned by the whole episode.
BRADSHAW: I'm happy to say that we've addressed the accessibility issues we had at launch. We deployed new, higher performing servers and upgraded our original set so that everyone playing the game benefits from these enhancements; 40x server response times, 92% fewer crashes, better server navigation etc.
We've also addressed some issues that affected gameplay performance and we're happy to say that players are connecting and playing by the hundreds of thousands daily. We'll continue to make improvements both in the performance of our service and in game features as this game is very much a living and evolving experience that we will support.
At what? Because their feature stories are amazing, and they do solid news reporting. Reviews need some tweaking, but they're new.
I agree with the bolded entirely. Don't shoehorn in an implementation that is not necessary. As much as I'm excited for the future of online gaming, I do play single player experiences. Do I see a benefit for something like 'Armored Princess' to have always online connections? Yes. Do I think they should do it with the next release? Probably not.
I'm just a bit confused that people are still jumping on the always online hate bandwagon when there are more grievous issues that should be addressed currently then 'I have to be connected to play.'
It's embarrassing no matter who that is.
I hear that. I feel like i should be getting charged for all this entertainment.I've already had tons of fun with SimCity without even playing it!
only if we allow it to be the case.
we have reach the absurd situation where we,the customers,the one that SHOULD be served,that should be in command of the whole thing,are afraid of the industry.
it should be the opposite..it should be the industry to be afraid of us,it should be the industry that need to treat us well,or otherwise there will be repercussions.
WE have the power,WE have the money,WE can "vote" with our money what WE want and what WE don't.
Yes, calling people names and attacking them will get things done.
Are we 12 years old now? Come on Gaf, you're better than this.
What's that "seamless part" you keep talking about? It wouldn't, for example, affect anyone playing Diablo 3 online in its current form if Blizzard offered an optional offline mode for people who decide they don't want all that ladder/auction house/community stuff.
BU- BU- BU- SOEMBODY THINK OF TEH PIRAYTES!!!
It would have to be a toggle right? You couldn't switch from offline to online because that would hurt any theoretical 'economy' that was generated by the game. So now you're shutting out a certain percentage of potential users from a user generated and driven part of the game.
The features are great I agree, but please take a look at the news they posted regarding Sim City. The offline story was the first one, that did not had a serious EA/Maxis spin to it. All of that, only because they had a premature review. That is a serious issue imo.
You mean the same EA that made this game, lying about it the whole while? The one that wants to put microtransactions into all games? That EA?
Lucy from Maxis was caught(acting as a fan) saying in a thread "I wonder how Polygon get's all the interviews first, heh". Sounds suspicious as fuck.
Well that's what people see when you say things like you look forward to an always online future. Always online means every game requires you to always be connected. Meaning the developer is shoehorning multiplayer and social elements into SP games. At least I hope they, at the very least, put that up as a smoke screen. Hell, they may not even try to disguise it and just say say its DRM deal with it. You want to play Solitaire then you gotta be online just like everyone else, bub.
well we have different priorities..i prefer to be able to play the game
Yes, calling people names and attacking them will get things done.
It's embarrassing no matter who that is.
You're not shutting out anyone. These people are choosing not to be a part of it. Why do you want consumers to have fewer options?
If you want your seamless online game, just choose "online" when starting your character. If there's an optional online mode, it's my decision if I want to "shut out" myself. What's wrong with that?It would have to be a toggle right? You couldn't switch from offline to online because that would hurt any theoretical 'economy' that was generated by the game. So now you're shutting out a certain percentage of potential users from a user generated and driven part of the game.
I'll trade a few hours of spotty connectivity on launch day for years of hassle free gameplay.
Glassbox isn't Lucy as far as I know.
The features are great I agree, but please take a look at the news they posted regarding Sim City. The offline story was the first one, that did not had a serious EA/Maxis spin to it. All of that, only because they had a premature review. That is a serious issue imo.