49 replies to this topic

[Xandarb]

Some modders managed to disable the always online drm. Mind you, EA said that this is impossible.
http://www.geek.com/...itely-20130314/

[Voodoo_Operator]

So it took about, what, a week? Ha.

I bet someone's trying to figure out offline saves as we speak. Then again, I bet this guy's going to get raped by EA's lawyers by the end of the day.

[Newfoundking]

The game will eventually be cracked by someone and made to run offline some how.

And Square Enix did make Deux Ex, correct, however I believe they are partners with EA (they aren't owned by them, but they work together)

[Voodoo_Operator]

The game will eventually be cracked by someone and made to run offline some how.

I have no doubt that this will happen. However, I don't know if the general public will ever be able to benefit for it. EA is probably already lawyering up for that one, and whoever claims to be able to do it will have their blog posts, download links or Youtube videos taken down in a matter of hours - and that will probably just be the tip of the iceberg of their troubles.

Of course such a patch could make it into a torrent seeded from the darkest, coldest craphole in Siberia, but by then, I doubt it will be worth all the spyware and malware trouble.

[gunswat]

Should I get a torrent?

[ausavin26]

Probably some servers or premium have to be completed/purchased before download is available.

[Newfoundking]

No, no you should not.

[Voodoo_Operator]

No, no you should not.

Or, you know, just do whatever you want, but don't ask or tell us about it.

Anyway, even if you look past the always-online component, the game is buggy as hell, and a lot of lies have been told about gameplay components that aren't even there (Maxis says they're "working on fixing them", but we all know how profitable is work done on free patches, so don't count on it). As one reviewer put it, the game is nothing more than a pretty screensaver, but gameplay is utterly broken, and a big step down from previous titles. So meh.

Waste of bandwidth if you ask me.

[Newfoundking]

Okay, maybe I'm a sucker for punishment, maybe I'm just loyal. I took them up on their free game offer, solely because I could, and I kept playing Sim City:

Some things I've noticed that are much better:
Gameplay doesn't take years to happen
Traffic issues are slightly improved (No more stupid drivers)

Some things that are still not functional, or far from what I consider good:
-The advisors still suck. I've got the worst citizens in the world. "We're upset garbage wasn't being picked up." They were still complaining about it, three days after I fixed the issue, and then I decided to let the city burn to the ground. I closed the fire station and blocked the highway when a house fire started. Suddenly they forgot all about the fires.
-Money is way too ridiculous. I don't know how real cities function, but I don't have a positive hourly budget in any of my cities, it's almost all based on sales and kickbacks, but they're separate from your budget, so if you are making a million a day in deals with business and whatnot, but you are losing money in taxes, they complain about budgets.
-Emergency vehicles still suck. Fire trucks do not think, I had eight go to one trailer (it was a hillbilly burning to death) and leave the other 6 giant industrial buildings burning to the ground. Not to mention the priority system. They drive around with these whiny little sirens, which would be okay if they used them, but traffic doesn't pull over, they don't run lights or stop signs, they just patiently wait, which causes more emergencies to happen, like me getting angry and burning the city to the ground.


I thought I'd hate the game totally, until I unlocked the comet/meteor/asteroid thing, now I feel much better. "Bad day? Just sling a space rock at your citizens"

All in all, it's an addictive game, but it's nothing impressive really. It's far from perfect, and I'm still not happy with the MMO idea, but I don't hate it anymore

[hunter42]

So what free game did people choose? I went for Mass Effect 3. Been wanting it for a while, but not so much that I'd buy it. Also, I had every other game offered except Dead Space 3.

-Emergency vehicles still suck. Fire trucks do not think, I had eight go to one trailer (it was a hillbilly burning to death) and leave the other 6 giant industrial buildings burning to the ground. Not to mention the priority system. They drive around with these whiny little sirens, which would be okay if they used them, but traffic doesn't pull over, they don't run lights or stop signs, they just patiently wait, which causes more emergencies to happen, like me getting angry and burning the city to the ground.

My favourite bit is when you have lots of police cars patrolling and a crime is committed at night - Streets light up like a disco ball.

I'm annoyed at how dumb things can get in the game, especially since they boasted that the glassbox engine is smart.
-High Density Avenue leading to workplace? Nah, I'll just take the High density street like EVERYONE ELSE because it's a shorter drive.
-Your sims are going to your Neighbour's city for University education? That's cool, just don't expect to benefit from any of it.
-Mayor, there's people protesting outside the city hall! What do they want? idk,lol.

And I hate that disasters aren't unlocked in Sandbox worlds. All I've got is the stupid Lizard.