SimCity
- Thread starter Araxen
- Start date
The beta EULA says if you're caught not reporting a bug you will be treated like you were exploiting that bug. A bit excessive...
To the point of reserving the right to ban you from all of your purchased EA products...
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013...s/#more-139180
EA retardation, the gift that keeps giving
The problem with them trying to make a new Simcity is that Simcity 4 is already basically the ultimate city builder. Really the biggest thing it can't do is real curved roads, where the zones actually line up neatly around the curves. Other than that, once you factor in all the user-made content (I have downloaded 3 GB of custom content) it's really not missing much. Trying to make a fully 3D game like the new Simcity just limits the size of the game too much because computers can't keep up. They should have just remade Simcity 4 with curved roads and called it good. I certainly won't be playing the new one. The maps are humorously tiny. In Simcity 4 you can literally make a city as big as you want, 50x50 miles if you want. In the new Simcity it's like one medium tile, and you can't even connect your cities together because there are gaps between them. They are just trying to appeal too much to kids and not the hardcore crowd.
Qhue
Tranny Chaser
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Here's the thing: What they are trying to do is move the nature of simulation ahead by a generation. Instead of having all properties of the sim controlled by various algorithms that work off of a series of tracked variables they are instead employing something akin to a finite element model where these discrete 'agents' each behave according to a series of priorities and interact with each other to create the simulation.
Where before you had traffic density tracked as a function of a chunk of road you now have discrete vehicles which are each trying to get somewhere and which are obeying the rules of the road and interacting with other vehicles as they move around the map. Traffic jams are thus not the result of the traffic_density exceeding a set value but rather the result of too many cars all trying to go the same way at the same time and being prevented from doing so by their fellow drivers.
The end result should (no guarantees mind you) be a much more robust and genuinely dynamic / interesting simulation experience. The tradeoff is that the cities will need to be much much smaller initially to prevent the game from grinding to a halt as all these seperate calculations are taking place in real time. The danger for Maxis/EA is just as we see here, the average end user doesnt care what is under the hood but rather is only interested in the game they see before them. In order for all this effort to be worthwhile it really does need to manifest in a more robust simulation or else there was no point.
Where before you had traffic density tracked as a function of a chunk of road you now have discrete vehicles which are each trying to get somewhere and which are obeying the rules of the road and interacting with other vehicles as they move around the map. Traffic jams are thus not the result of the traffic_density exceeding a set value but rather the result of too many cars all trying to go the same way at the same time and being prevented from doing so by their fellow drivers.
The end result should (no guarantees mind you) be a much more robust and genuinely dynamic / interesting simulation experience. The tradeoff is that the cities will need to be much much smaller initially to prevent the game from grinding to a halt as all these seperate calculations are taking place in real time. The danger for Maxis/EA is just as we see here, the average end user doesnt care what is under the hood but rather is only interested in the game they see before them. In order for all this effort to be worthwhile it really does need to manifest in a more robust simulation or else there was no point.
Melvin
Blackwing Lair Raider
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I bet you a dollar that the average desktop pc would handle all of the necessary calculations just fine, even if the cities were still SC4 sized. I agree that it does sound like it could potentially be a more interesting simulation if the discrete agents were implemented in the right way. But I think that trying to pass a village simulator off as if it were a city simulator is absolutely not the right way.
I bet you a second dollar that the move to 3-d models is the real technical hurdle that the average desktop pc isn't able to clear just yet. There are probably tons of people who are going to love that eye candy though, and just like you said, couldn't care less about what's under the hood, or even that the hood is now the size of a dinner plate.
I never looked into mods or custom content for SC4 - any tips to get me started? What's the basics/most required assets?
Djay
Trakanon Raider
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For years, people have used Beta as a free trial and/or to get a leg up when the game goes live. I'm ok with this provided it's not used for stupid stuff like typos. If there's evidence you're just there to find exploits to use for your benefit when it goes live, then I'm ok with this policy. Your responsibility, as a beta tester and not a paying customer, is to report any bugs that you find. I actually hope this becomes more common.
It doesn't matter if they actually give a shit or not. What matters is what's in the EULA. To just hope that the clauses in a contract won't be used is foolish, and most certainly should be considered when evaluating whether or not you want to take part in the product.
This isn't them saying "We'll ban you from the game" which is understandable. This is them reserving the right to cut off your access to ALL of your purchased EA games (presumably through Origin) if you simply hear about a bug and don't report it.
Here is a good start for mods:http://community.simtropolis.com/top...d-suggestions/
Here is how to add them to your game if you are on a Steam copy (I didn't know what folder to put them in when I first started):http://community.simtropolis.com/top...ty-4-on-steam/
Here is a good place to start downloading additional buildings (the most popular ones of all time on Simtropolis):http://community.simtropolis.com/fil...ilter_key__all
Just make sure if you plan to download lots of buildings/mods that you organize your Plugins folder so that you can find anything easily in case it doesn't work in-game. I usually place each building in its own folder with the exact name used on Simtropolis, so all I have to do is search for that name on Simtropolis to see all the details of the building and find out if you are missing anything.
If you are really serious I would recommend learning how to use the basics of ILives Reader. You can modify any statistics of any building with it, so it's really handy. One of my pet peeves was that none of the police stations, fire stations, hospitals, etc. cover more than about 1/4 mile in-game. So I modified all of them to cover an entire large map. Here is a basic tutorial:http://community.simtropolis.com/top...ginners-guide/
If you want to get an idea of what people are able to create in Simcity 4 see this forum:http://community.simtropolis.com/for...ding-concepts/
Falstaff
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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Here is the link:http://kotaku.com/5978108/ea-banning...-would-ever-do
and the text of the statement:
The clause in the EA Beta Agreement for the SimCity beta was intended to prohibit players from using known exploits to their advantage. However, the language as included is too broad. EA has never taken away access to a player's games for failing to report a bug. We are now updating the Beta Agreement to remove this point.
We have never taken away access to a player's games for not reporting a bug, and quite simply it's not something we would ever do. Players don't have anything to be concerned about there?just some language that was far too broad in the original agreement, and is being updated now.
Can we shut the fuck up about this and go back to bitching about city size now?
and the text of the statement:
The clause in the EA Beta Agreement for the SimCity beta was intended to prohibit players from using known exploits to their advantage. However, the language as included is too broad. EA has never taken away access to a player's games for failing to report a bug. We are now updating the Beta Agreement to remove this point.
We have never taken away access to a player's games for not reporting a bug, and quite simply it's not something we would ever do. Players don't have anything to be concerned about there?just some language that was far too broad in the original agreement, and is being updated now.
Can we shut the fuck up about this and go back to bitching about city size now?
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I believe EA is still entrenched in this idea that people are willing/wanting to follow the everyday activities of the individual inhabitants of the city. You can pick a sim and see their home, follow them to work, catch their mood, help them find a new home, a good place to eat.....but who gives a fuck? I want to build a city! Not make sure johnny gets to school on time. All of that agent stuff is fine and dandy but i, as a gamer, don't care. And i for sure won't see it since i'll spend 90% of the time scrolled way the fuck out thinking of the big picture and trying to cram thousands into skyscrapers since my arcologies were taken away.
That is to say i refuse to play this game on the premise of this being The SIMS scrolled out to encompass four neighborhoods instead of one. Now where's my SC2000 installer....
That is to say i refuse to play this game on the premise of this being The SIMS scrolled out to encompass four neighborhoods instead of one. Now where's my SC2000 installer....
Tuco
I got Tuco'd!
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Public beta is pretty bold and makes me more hopeful for the game. Usually when companies know they have a turd they try to keep it out of people's hands as much as possible.
Yeah I don't get it either but I bet a lot of their target demographic does.