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SimCity modded so it can be played offline indefinitely + editing of highways
- Thread starter nickcv
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What was this about?
SneakyStephan
Banned
Haha;D Golden.
Man that video makes me sad... it just screams 'look at all the fun you can't have' because you can't save your city, wreck it and reload normally
Oh awesome, haven't seen stuff from him in ages, thanks! links to 11 parts..wow hah
Why would you do that?
Member
That's interesting... It basically shows that the entire region (which is basically the size of a normal SimCity city) is editable. I wonder if one day hackers (or hopefully EA) will allow us to build like that.
Yyy? I dont know what to say, You dont really understand what i said?
He had knowledge about how online works [city is calculated on pc, region interaction is on the servers] year ago, but he made 3 articles about this 'revelation' based on reddit findings and his sources in last few days, instead of reading or reminding papers/presentation he got from Maxis year ago on gdc 2012 conference.
So, He do not understand them, he forgot that they exist [so havent done research at all, because they are public], or he wanted to make high traffic stories for his webside.
Those are only possibilities i can think of.
He also wrote article about Path-finding behavior, which was also explained in that gdc 2012 presentation, but he didnt use them, instead he used players findings.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/03/13/simcitys-sims-dont-seem-that-smart-after-all/
VibratingDonkey
Member
Yeah it's the same story with The War Z. After people on forums frowned upon it for being a lazy ripoff, it debuted as the top seller on Steam. Arguably had an even more flabbergastingly terrible launch than SimCity. Developer continued displaying its ineptitude at most things possible until the game relaunched on Steam, and has consistently been in the top 25 selling and top 40 played since. At this point the game has surely made back its budget several times over. The majority of the potential customers either remain ignorant, or buy the thing anyway.
See page 40 of 88 in the Vanquish OT.
3rdamention
Member
One thing I have learned from this whole Sim City thing is that Polygon is NOT some "other" gaming website. They have the same type of "journalists" who write what PR tell them without doing any type of researching themselves.
Polygon is just like all the other sites, with a much worse design. Plus, Polygon has one of the biggest tools I have been introduced to in the last several months working for them.
Also, I find it funny that he says he has nothing invested in this game, but is quick to tell other people what they know and don't know about how the game was designed, how it works, how much it does and doesn't rely on the connection. Sure, he probably doesn't have anything invested in Sim City, but don't talk down to everyone on twitter like your some fucking smart ass that knows so much more than everyone when you really don't. If you really have nothing invested in the game, don't try to tell others how it works when you clearly don't know what you are talking about.
Gies knew nothing about how Sim City worked, claimed he did, was proven to be full of shit, has egg on his face, now his feelings are hurt. What a toolbox.
Polygon is just like all the other sites, with a much worse design. Plus, Polygon has one of the biggest tools I have been introduced to in the last several months working for them.
Also, I find it funny that he says he has nothing invested in this game, but is quick to tell other people what they know and don't know about how the game was designed, how it works, how much it does and doesn't rely on the connection. Sure, he probably doesn't have anything invested in Sim City, but don't talk down to everyone on twitter like your some fucking smart ass that knows so much more than everyone when you really don't. If you really have nothing invested in the game, don't try to tell others how it works when you clearly don't know what you are talking about.
Gies knew nothing about how Sim City worked, claimed he did, was proven to be full of shit, has egg on his face, now his feelings are hurt. What a toolbox.
This was a presentation akin the the lengthy videos that Maxis put out, explaining Sim City's systems. Not some "now we show you our secrets, please keep them to yourself" event. He had no "inside" knowledge whatsoever. No one who attended that presentation did.
I very much doubt you know what you're talking about here.
Just watched part one of Day9's vid..onto part 2. I have to say, if my PC was working, I don't think I'd resist buying it. It looks so pretty. Really hope they can sort out the pathing. Surely they will. Maybe they'll be more flexible with the always online schtick. The sizes are still disappointing... I can almost feel the extra plot size dlc coming :/ Still, looks great otherwise, has potential to be fantastic down the line.
Thanks.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Damn, put on fucking blast. lol
EA should comment on this, the Mass Effect 3 one was blown out of proportion for some valid but a lot of not valid reasons. Sim city has been a lot of ridiculous issues that shouldn't have happpened.
valkillmore
Member
Looks like things are rife with potential. I'd even consider buying it for the sole purpose of cracking it and playing nothing but mods. I've never bought a game for that purpose in my life.
Reading Gies' Twitter gives me the opportunity to post this gif for the second time today:
First it was "you don't know what you're talking about if you think SimCity can be played offline", then when presented with evidence that said offline play is possible "BUT YOU CAN'T PLAY MULTIPLAYER"... when asked why people would expect to play multiplayer in an offline game "BUT REGIONS". Can the man ever admit when he's wrong?
Well, if we are posting old image, I have had this one around for a while.
Presenetation was based on those slides http://www.andrewwillmott.com/talks/inside-glassbox/GlassBox GDC 2012 Slides.pdf
Here is dev blog about this event - http://www.andrewwillmott.com/talks/inside-glassbox
Yeah, i know what i'm talking about.
Gamasutra made even short recap of game logic from presentation Maxis provided [and what You can read in slides above]
http://gamasutra.com/view/news/1648...own_SimCitys_Glassbox_engine.php#.UUJmULCtrwo
1up also wrote article about that - http://www.1up.com/news/radical-transparency-simcity from 03/07/2012
SneakyStephan
Banned
That's not how you use the word literally
Unless he had a shovel and moved 36 cubic feet of dirt with it.Ah ok, haha.
My bad.
You don't go from reviews editor to community manager by being honest about EA.
That's not how you use the word literally
I read it as a piss take of his now infamous tweet of 'you literally don't know what you're talking about'.
I don't know what you're trying to prove/say here. Again: none of this is insider information and nowhere does it say that an offline mode would be possible.
Oh well, he didn't carefully analyze those slides and didn't remember the wealth of bullet points after several months. That's what you're trying to fault him for? You're crazy.
He was the same in the post-Playstation Meeting PS4 reveal 'eating crow' thread.
He did admit he was wrong about the PS4 having 8GB, but what impressed me was his staunch refusal to admit being wrong about Gaikia and BC.
Ageis (before PS4 reveal): Gaikai will not be used to provide BC. It's just for demos.
Sony (SCEE tweet during PS4 reveal): Gaikia will be used to provide BC.
Ageis (after PS4 reveal in the eating crow thread): Nope, Sony are wrong and I'm right. Gaikai won't be used for BC.
To deny actual irrefutable facts just to save face is a trait to be admired. Most people would crumble under the weight of truth and reality. But not our Arthur. He is only wrong if he admits it. That's, like, legally binding, for reals.
I wasn't referring to the size of the problem, but that PR tactic to bunker down.
lol seriously?
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
SHOCKING!
hahahahahaha
rohlfinator
Member
Somebody installed another server next to Maxis and now all the traffic is just going there.
Slides 57 to 59? If You have some brain cells, You can figure out what asynchronous multiplayer means and what box stand for in their engine.
So he hasnt done his research before writing 3 articles. Yeah defend crappy journalism and call me crazy.
Rentahamster
Rodent Whores
I feel like there is a kind of "uncanny valley" mentality here. "uncanny valley" being the phenomenon where a live person is comfortable with a cartoon representation of a human, but then gets really uncomfortable at the area just before the representation achieves full human likeness. The "almost human" appearance somehow makes it even more apparent that something is wrong with it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley
A similar attitude seems to be going on here where it seems that a more complex simulation engine has made certain flaws in it to be a lot more significant in perception. SimCity 1 through 4 was basically an Excel spreadsheet with building graphics pasted onto it. No one gave a shit, though, because they were great games. I don't think many people really gave too much deep thought at what was going on "under the hood" so to speak, and, just like a cartoon representation of a human, people's minds just filled in the blanks.
With the new simulation engine of Glassbox, I think the inherent expectation of a really complicated simulation engine makes flaws in the system that much more obvious and distasteful. The closer and closer we get to a more realistic simulation, the more obvious that performance shortcuts and programming deficiencies stick out like sore thumbs.
In the end, SC5's simulation engine is more complex than the other games, and it can only improve from here on out. I'm just saddened that the EA PR doublespeak, stupid design decisions, and terrible launch preparations, among myriad other things, ruins what is otherwise a pretty decent first iteration of a reboot. Still, these recent paid betas are fucking ridiculous.
But maybe it's just me. After all, I did play Final Fantasy 14 and Diablo 3 for a while, too. XCOM didn't give me any problems, though. <3 Firaxis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley
A similar attitude seems to be going on here where it seems that a more complex simulation engine has made certain flaws in it to be a lot more significant in perception. SimCity 1 through 4 was basically an Excel spreadsheet with building graphics pasted onto it. No one gave a shit, though, because they were great games. I don't think many people really gave too much deep thought at what was going on "under the hood" so to speak, and, just like a cartoon representation of a human, people's minds just filled in the blanks.
With the new simulation engine of Glassbox, I think the inherent expectation of a really complicated simulation engine makes flaws in the system that much more obvious and distasteful. The closer and closer we get to a more realistic simulation, the more obvious that performance shortcuts and programming deficiencies stick out like sore thumbs.
In the end, SC5's simulation engine is more complex than the other games, and it can only improve from here on out. I'm just saddened that the EA PR doublespeak, stupid design decisions, and terrible launch preparations, among myriad other things, ruins what is otherwise a pretty decent first iteration of a reboot. Still, these recent paid betas are fucking ridiculous.
But maybe it's just me. After all, I did play Final Fantasy 14 and Diablo 3 for a while, too. XCOM didn't give me any problems, though. <3 Firaxis.
I will continue to do so.
And no, it's not evident to everyone what "asynchronous multiplayer" stands for. It obviously implies that players do not interact directly with each other but it could still incorporate "complex server-side calculations" for the clients. Faulting him for not blowing this shit up based on vague information and a few buzzword bullet-points IS crazy.
Also, that presentation happened months ago.
I haven't followed this too closely, but where did he do this? All I saw was him saying people who don't have proof shouldn't be acting like they did.
Rentahamster
Rodent Whores
Saying that other people "literally" didn't know what they were talking about, only to be proved wrong later. It implies that he knows more than they do.
He said that anyone who thought that the same could be played offline 'literally don't know what they're talking about'. That's pretty clear to me. He's stating that SimCity cannot, under any circumstance, be played offline.
So yeah, he claimed to know exactly how the game code worked (just like he claimed to know all about the PS4 and Orbis) and when facts emerged, he was found to be talking shit again. He wasn't making a subjective opinion, he was objectivity stating something as fact. That's why he's getting so much shit, as he does this a lot, only to have reality catch up to him and prove his statements wrong. The double whammey is he then never admits to being wrong, and tries to move the goal posts or spin his previous declarations.
"Yeah, well, SimCity will only be offline when hackers get all the online bits working offline too. Until then, I'm right and you're wrong".
So yeah, he claimed to know exactly how the game code worked (just like he claimed to know all about the PS4 and Orbis) and when facts emerged, he was found to be talking shit again. He wasn't making a subjective opinion, he was objectivity stating something as fact. That's why he's getting so much shit, as he does this a lot, only to have reality catch up to him and prove his statements wrong. The double whammey is he then never admits to being wrong, and tries to move the goal posts or spin his previous declarations.
"Yeah, well, SimCity will only be offline when hackers get all the online bits working offline too. Until then, I'm right and you're wrong".
rohlfinator
Member
Personally I'd have no problem with what they have now as long as it didn't noticeably break gameplay. I fully expected them to take some shortcuts, but it's baffling that they shipped the game in a state where the poor pathfinding causes huge unnecessary traffic jams and water/power not to be distributed like it's supposed to. That's where the goofy visual weirdness crosses a line into game-breaking.
The "Sims go to different houses each day" thing doesn't even bother me really, except that EA apparently hyped following a Sim's life as a feature.
endresults
Member
Awesome, maybe if I do some free beta testing for them I can play the game with all of its features intact someday!
NinjaTehFish
Banned
Stop acting so entitled jeesh!
BolognaSoup
Member
LMAO!
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
I really hope the modding community takes this further. I still won't be buying the game but at the very least this should provide remedy for those who did.
Speaking of Polygon, there're so much defenders on this site... yet all of their defense rests on "features!" Apparently "features!" take more precedence over quality. I bet these people defended Skyrim's terrible UI too.
Speaking of Polygon, there're so much defenders on this site... yet all of their defense rests on "features!" Apparently "features!" take more precedence over quality. I bet these people defended Skyrim's terrible UI too.
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
at least the UI works on ps3..
TheVampire
Banned
It looks like you can now download it and try for yourself !
http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1abddh/bagoftrix_version_3_added_unlimited_offline_timer/
http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1abddh/bagoftrix_version_3_added_unlimited_offline_timer/
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
now all we need is a way to save the city without online and I'll be happy
Not enough to buy it though but be close enough