Spore Delayed until Spring 2008+

[beloved one]

Yes, I agree for the 12th time this thread that Spore's choice of a free limited play demo or paid stand-alone component business model d00ms free demos forever.

[Moore]

We'll see who's sad when you're "gladly" paying $10 for every game demo in the near future.

Also, I'm pretty sure the "galactic handbook" is an extended manual. Or, more accurately, the kind of manual you used to get with Maxis games.

Oh please, the demo is free. The entire creature creator is $10. Are we going to hear this again when Fable 2's arcade companions come out before the game? since the full game might let you gamble in a bar or something to earn gold for your character, just like the $10 arcade game does? I dont have much issue with this if there is value, like there is here.

Buy a demo? fuck no.

I agree on the manual thing though. I like big fucking manuals.

[flyinj]

Oh please, the demo is free. The entire creature creator is $10. Are we going to hear this again when Fable 2's arcade companions come out before the game? since the full game might let you gamble in a bar or something to earn gold for your character, just like the $10 arcade game does? I dont have much issue with this if there is value, like there is here.

Buy a demo? fuck no.

I agree on the manual thing though. I like big fucking manuals.

Fable 2 is releasing parts of the game early and charging for them too? Ugh.

[Coca Cola Zero]

If you have the creature creator open, you can load a picture just by dragging it directly off your browser window onto the creature creator window. For firefox, anyway.

Works in IE7 too. (As I posted to this blog here under my name, George McBay: http://nedbatchelder.com/blog/200806/spore_creature_creator_and_steganography.html )



They encode the creature's data inside the actual image pixels, so I can load up the Spore Creature Creator (trial edition), go into create creature mode, drag and drop Athryn's image posted in this thread to it, and get her creature right in my creature creator. It doesn't work with some other images in this thread because some people seem to have resized the background-less icons (which breaks this), but by and large anything that can copy one of those images in its original state to the creature creator via the clipboard will serve as a loader for the full 3D represenation of the creature.

[AndrewM]

I agree on the manual thing though. I like big fucking manuals.

I'm not a fan of manuals. Either the game is simple enough that it doesn't need a manual (like Doom) or the manual is out of date by the first patch. All of the information that is contained in manuals is better placed within the game itself via extensive tooltips and things like the Civilopedia. That way it can be easily updated and provide all of the hyperlinked niceties of electronic documentation.

[AndrewM]

They encode the creature's data inside the actual image pixels

It sounds like they aren't encoding it within the pixels themselves as much as within some kind of metadata that is part of the image file.

[Fugitive]

It sounds like they aren't encoding it within the pixels themselves as much as within some kind of metadata that is part of the image file.
Nah, it's in the pixels. I was curious and disassembled one with TweakPNG and there are only image data chunks in the files, no other metadata or custom chunks.

[Pod]

It sounds like they aren't encoding it within the pixels themselves as much as within some kind of metadata that is part of the image file.

It's encoded in the alpha channels somehow. I imagine it's to stop someone posting a pretty picture of a bunny and it actually being a goatse rape monster.

Also: The "large" pngs you get from the spore size don't work, the cunts :(

Alsoalso: My friend couldn't get it to work in Firefox3. Anyone else?

[Coca Cola Zero]

It sounds like they aren't encoding it within the pixels themselves as much as within some kind of metadata that is part of the image file.

Nope. The guy who wrote that blog was questioning *why* they didn't use metadata, not saying they do use metadata. If they used metadata like custom PNG chunks or EXIF information or similar it wouldn't survive a generic image clipboard copy, while encoding the data in the image pixels does. It is a very clever system.

[AndrewM]

Interesting. Thanks for the information everybody.

[Coca Cola Zero]

Alsoalso: My friend couldn't get it to work in Firefox3. Anyone else?

I've only tried it in FF2 and IE7 (both under Vista) , but both of those work fine, assuming you get a valid image like the one Athryn posted or the ones at the top of the blog link I posted. YMMV with random spore creature images because some being posted here and other places have been altered (resized, etc) and the data is corrupted/lost if you do that.

[Stroker Ace]

Companies charge what the market will bear. $10 AAA demos can only be good as they widen the niche for indie developers to publish free demos.

[Pod]

I've only tried it in FF2 and IE7 (both under Vista) , but both of those work fine, assuming you get a valid image like the one Athryn posted or the ones at the top of the blog link I posted. YMMV with random spore creature images because some being posted here and other places have been altered (resized, etc) and the data is corrupted/lost if you do that.

It's mroe of a drag drop "brokenness" in FF3. Ie, a drag and drop from FF3 into MSN just pasted a URL, whereas in IE or FF2 it starts a file transfer, for instance...


eg
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=677115&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

[EvilIdler]

The local EB actually charges 30% less for the Creature Creator than the online price. No discount on the full game, though.

[Chuck Jordan]

We'll see who's sad when you're "gladly" paying $10 for every game demo in the near future.
Mark my words! MARK MY WORDS!!!!

I'm a little tempted to get the collector's edition for the art book. The best game-related book I've ever seen was the "official" strategy guide for SimCity 2000 -- it wasn't just rules for the game, but asides on city planning and development, suggestions on how to make your own cities, why cities develop as they do, etc. Basically, all of the theorizing that goes into the early design stages of a game like SC2K. If I remember correctly, Ocean Quigley was involved in the making of that book, and he's also on the Spore team (if not the lead environment artist?)

If there were a book that combined the concept art from the game with all the theoretical stuff that went into the early development, I'd be all over that.

[flyinj]

Mark my words! MARK MY WORDS!!!!

I'm a little tempted to get the collector's edition for the art book. The best game-related book I've ever seen was the "official" strategy guide for SimCity 2000 -- it wasn't just rules for the game, but asides on city planning and development, suggestions on how to make your own cities, why cities develop as they do, etc. Basically, all of the theorizing that goes into the early design stages of a game like SC2K. If I remember correctly, Ocean Quigley was involved in the making of that book, and he's also on the Spore team (if not the lead environment artist?)

If there were a book that combined the concept art from the game with all the theoretical stuff that went into the early development, I'd be all over that.

According to my Maxis friend, the last he heard it's more of a making-of book to accompany the art book.

[Pod]

I got this off Soren Johnson's blog, but dear god is it brilliant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6mdrBhTAD0&eurl=http://www.google.com/reader/view/

http://ll-541.ea.com/spore/static/image/500/003/541/500003541865_lrg.png
http://ll-541.ea.com/spore/static/thumb/500/003/541/500003541865.png

[Lh'owon]

Dear god yes, that is easily the best thing I have ever seen. I will now die happy, because frankly life cannot offer something more awesome than that.

Spore is going to be incredible.

[zengonzo]

Incredible.

[AlanT]

Fucking hell. That is truly amazing.

[krayzkrok]

I'm guessing that was created with the complexity meter hack. Because how on Earth is it possible to create that much detail with the current limit?

[zengonzo]

Well, the pieces are more over-sized than detailed - which makes it look more significant, and overall the dudes are pretty simple .. But you'd just have to pull it into the CC to see.

[Pod]

I'm guessing that was created with the complexity meter hack. Because how on Earth is it possible to create that much detail with the current limit?

It's not that complex if you open it up in the CC. Especially as there are no legs.

[Drastic]

Actually, almost the entire thing is leg, or limb--just all the joints smashed together. Which is really neat.

[arctangent]

That is ... magnificent.

The next few years in gaming are going to be immensely fun as this technology is incorporated into more and more games.

[zengonzo]

They certainly could be.

[Fugitive]

That is ... magnificent.

The next few years in gaming are going to be immensely fun as this technology is incorporated into more and more games.
"I had a good build order going, but got hit with a cock rush too early."
"Remember what happened to the cleric last time we were there? We need a rogue with Detect Dongs."
"There is no way you could evolve wheels on that...thing, let alone get it up to racing speed."
"In deathmatch games, look for the noobs playing the giant wangs. *Every* hit on them is a critical hit, so they're easy points."

[zengonzo]

'p33ned!'

[flyinj]

I just got confirmation that the "galactic handbook" in the collector's edition is, indeed, an extended manual.

[nabeel]

RPS just pointed me to this nice interview Jeff Green did with Soren Johnson (http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=0&cId=3168266).

[Rock8man]

Gamasutra has a 7 page interview with Soren Johnson (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3722/interview_soren_johnson__spores_.php) about Spore.

[Mordrak]

There's a great new trailer (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36435.html) for E3.

[Angie Gallant]

There's a a great new trailer (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36435.html) for E3.

That trailer is freaking adorable.

[Dave Markell]

There's a great new trailer (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36435.html) for E3.

Nice, very nice. That may be the best game trailer I've ever seen.

[zengonzo]

Feels like it channeled Hitchhiker's Guide.

[Dave Markell]

Well, considering they used the same VO guy, it did.

[zengonzo]

Thought so, but it's been a little while.

[ducker]

wow... incredible trailer... They must of made it to trailer school for video games.
Good VO
Good showing of flashy graphics
And..
-gasp- they touched upon game play in parts of it.
Sure, I can't wait to see even more description of the game play, but it actually contained it!

[Drastic]

Yup, good trailer. The planetary "unification" gag was totally expected, and still made me laugh regardless.

[Pentadact]

Did you guys watch Will Wright's talk that preceded that trailer? It's also on Gametrailers:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36392.html

He's still my favourite game designer to listen to. He phrases everything as a discovery rather than an invention, and his excitement and humility is infectious. It also helps that he's bewilderingly smart and funny.

His numbers are a little off in the equation he posits, but I love the idea of measuring your player-base's creativity rate in God units.

-

[Strollen]

I guess the good news is my several year old PC officially exceeds the min specs for Spore. Still I am figuring that a 2.4 G P4, and FX 5900XT card with 128 Mb ain't going to bewonderful Spore experience

My question is will I really benefit for spending a $2K+ for Alienware game computer or will a $~1200 Dell "gaming" PC with Intel Core 2 Quad and 512Mb Video card be just as good for playing Spore.

If those of you who know but can't say. A PM would remain confidential and much appreciated.

[Therlun]

Since it was not posted here yet some might find this interesting.
Three short "developer walkthroughs"

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36760.html
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36761.html
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36757.html

[Naeblis]

And Shacknew has some information about the two last stages of the game, civ and space:
http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=942

[Pentadact]

Since it was not posted here yet some might find this interesting.
Three short "developer walkthroughs"

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36760.html
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36761.html
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36757.html

Holy shit.

-

[Aszurom]

Did anyone notice in the robot-tribe one that there was a randomly spawned Cthulhu stomping around eating critters?

[Pentadact]

Anyone made anything fun lately? I tried to make a creature that would be simultaneously surprised, saddened and annoyed by all he surveyed (http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=usr-Pentadact%3Asast-500006361716).

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3241/2683302900_6344ab7e7c_o.png

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2230/2683303088_6266dc0792_o.png

Then something cute but sinister. (http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=ast-500006349580%3Asast-500006349580)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3200/2682485523_e56de517eb_o.png

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3255/2682485353_5a3ac574ba_o.png

-

[Tom McNamara]

I guess the good news is my several year old PC officially exceeds the min specs for Spore. Still I am figuring that a 2.4 G P4, and FX 5900XT card with 128 Mb ain't going to bewonderful Spore experience

My question is will I really benefit for spending a $2K+ for Alienware game computer or will a $~1200 Dell "gaming" PC with Intel Core 2 Quad and 512Mb Video card be just as good for playing Spore.

If those of you who know but can't say. A PM would remain confidential and much appreciated.

You can get yourself a Core 2 Duo, a couple gigs of 1066 DDR2, a new motherboard, and a 9800 for about $500 at Newegg, including sales tax and shipping. You'll probably also want a new power supply, something in the 500w to 600w range. I wouldn't spend less than $100 on that.

The hidden costs of having Dell build a machine for you have gotten quite substantial. For example, they want about $300 for the upgrade to a 512MB video card, when you can buy one at retail for about $200.

The quad core is nice, and very competitively priced around $200 these days for the Q6600 -- but I think there are more games that take advantage of DX10 than there are games that take advantage of more than two cores. If you plan to a lot of video editing and rendering, then quad is the way to go. But it's not really being taken advantage of in the gaming space.

[Strollen]

Thanks for the feedback. When I lived in Silicon Valley, and worked for Intel, I use to build my on PCs, but out in the middle of the Pacific is hard to get parts, so lately I've gone the Dell route. I'll look into NewEgg or buy.com. In some of the PC configurators moving from 3 giga to 4 giga I was getting a message that you needed a 64 bit OS to take advantage of 4 gigabytes. Now my tech knowledge is really rusty by last I look 2^32= 4 Giga or did Microsoft do something to cripple XT and Vista. (of course compared to my Apple II with 48K of RAM and 140K floppy device....)

Spore sure has evolved a lot since the first GDC speech Will gave on it what 4+ years ago.
Sept can't come fast enough.

Doesn't anybody else find it a little strange to see somebody beside Will Wright give a demo of Spore? Will is certainly one of the top game designers in the world, but he is hands down the best demonstrator of games in the universe.

[barstein]

Spore VM? (http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2941186.html)

[Funkula]

Nothing gets me into "I don't care enough to click this link" mode faster than mousing over and seeing a link to Ananova. This is a habit I cultivated way, waaay back when as a Farker.

[RobotPants]

I sure hope that's fake. Either way it's going to give me nightmares. :(

[tiohn]

I sure hope that's fake. Either way it's going to give me nightmares. :(

If that gives you nightmares, then you have a shitty imagination.

[barstein]

Maybe I should have tagged it as NSFSI?

Edit: I neglected to disclose the link's via MeFi, and it's not a particularly great MeFi post in my opinion. But still, Spore was the first thing I thought of when I clicked it. Then again, maybe I was primed.

[Rob_Merritt]

Anyone else starting to lose interest in the homestretch? As the release date gets closer, I'm finding I'm more drawn to Sims 2 Apartments than this. :\

[RobotPants]

If that gives you nightmares, then you have a shitty imagination.

Eh, OK?

[Pentadact]

Reviewing this at the moment. Pod, Treybert and Balut - I've now had run-ins with creatures by you guys. I'm sad to say we were not able to come to a diplomatic solution. In Pod's case, we were not able to come to a solution that didn't involve me and every other creature on the continent running away and screaming.

-

[tiohn]

Eh, OK?

Yea, I have no idea what point I was trying to make there.

[Quitch]

I'm pretty interested, but I'll be waiting for the reviews to see if the game has any depth. I know my brother would be standing in line if need be though, he dies a little inside each time it's pushed back.

[Orinoco]

Reviewing this at the moment. Pod, Treybert and Balut - I've now had run-ins with creatures by you guys. I'm sad to say we were not able to come to a diplomatic solution. In Pod's case, we were not able to come to a solution that didn't involve me and every other creature on the continent running away and screaming.

-

Any pics of the Pod monster?

[Eric Majkut]

Wow, that new trailer is really great. Gave me goosebumps like only Will Wright and a few other developers really can.

Only another month or so to go. It's amazing to think we're finally almost there after so many years of waiting. I still remember how shocking that first GDC presentation was, and here we are about to get our hands on Spore finally :)

I can't wait!

[Clay]

I sure hope that's fake. Either way it's going to give me nightmares. :(

That looks like a pig with cyclopia. You can perform your own Google image search, but it's not going to make your nightmares go away.

[Pentadact]

Any pics of the Pod monster?

Many, but alas I can't publish them until our review is on-sale, which is quite some time from now.

PS. Roburky, I just met your Preyworm. God damn but those things can sing.

-

[Rock8man]

It sounds like easy to meet up with creatures made by your friends? That sounds pretty cool.

[Pogo]

It sounds like easy to meet up with creatures made by your friends? That sounds pretty cool.

I've heard about the feature that populates your galaxy with creatures made by others on the Sporepedia. I imagine from the large amount of customization allowed in the game that you could choose your friends' creations, or perhaps from a favorites list, to populate the gameworld. This may have been mentioned but there's so much scattered information about the game that I'm not even sure how to find it quickly. Can anyone confirm or deny?

[TomChick]

Yep, it's in there. I specifically asked Lucy Bradshaw about this at E3 and she confirmed that items, creatures, and themes from your buddy list are prioritized to occur in your galaxy.

-Tom

[Rorschach]

Does friending or buddy lists require approval or can I stalker buddy up all of my favorite Internet celebrities without their knowing? :)

[roBurky]

PS. Roburky, I just met your Preyworm. God damn but those things can sing.

-

Hah! Fantastic. I just had to go check myself what their singing voice is like. It's wonderful. Four mouths going Ah-la-bleh-bla-bleh-bleh-bla-bleh-BLEH!

Was the preyworm in its intended prey role? Or has it somehow survived to become intelligent?

[zengonzo]

I'm jealous ..

[Pentadact]

I was playing on Hard, so pretty much anything in numbers would kick my ass. So a nest of your Preyworms was more than I was willing to fight. So I attempted to charm them. However, the better a creature is at a given charm action, the harder it is to befriend them. And it turns out Preyworm song had me utterly outclassed. I moped off and vowed to fling them into space once I got my UFO.

-

[intruder]

“I would love to imagine that two years from now or a year from now the debate is whether or not we need a ‘Spore’ label inside of EA,” Riccitiello said, envisioning a franchise as successful as The Sims, which has its own label.
He said he’d love to “be able to monetize, if you will, body parts, plant parts, car parts and planets as a way to generate incremental revenue on an installed base of several million active users.”


http://www.videogaming247.com/2008/07/30/riccitiello-would-love-to-charge-for-spore-body-parts/


Isn't he a real cutie?

/excuses himself while he goes puking

[Mordrak]

http://www.videogaming247.com/2008/07/30/riccitiello-would-love-to-charge-for-spore-body-parts/


Isn't he a real cutie?

/excuses himself why he goes puking

Yeah, I think we kind of knew that given Sims was Will Wright's last game.

[AndrewM]

Yeah, I think we kind of knew that given Sims was Will Wright's last game.

Also given how much development time they seem to be willing to spend on it. This isn't just a little side project to keep Will Wright happy, this is Serious Business.

[Moore]

There seems to be plenty in the base package, so I don't see the problem.

[gamadict]

The planet editor they showed off in one of the demos was pretty wonderful, and I don't think it's included in the base game. I'd be willing to shell out some cash for that at some point

[Pentadact]

The planet editor they showed off in one of the demos was pretty wonderful, and I don't think it's included in the base game. I'd be willing to shell out some cash for that at some point

I don't think I've seen that - do you remember which one it was?

At the Space stage editing planets is sort of the game. You earn tools to do so in an RPG sort of way, starting with fundamental stuff to generate an atmosphere and adjust the temperature, moving up to different styles of coastlines to sculpt and flares that permanently repaint the sky.

I feel like Slartifreakingbartfast, it's awesome.

-

[Morkilus]

I hate you all. Between this and Hinterlands, it's going to be a long summer.

[EvilIdler]

Only 37 days and 14 hours left. Not long at all! I keep telling myself that, but it doesn't stick :(

[Moore]

The planet editor they showed off in one of the demos was pretty wonderful, and I don't think it's included in the base game. I'd be willing to shell out some cash for that at some point

Pretty sure it is part of the game.

[Pentadact]

Does friending or buddy lists require approval or can I stalker buddy up all of my favorite Internet celebrities without their knowing? :)

Yep, you can stalker all you like. Case in point, some of you guys are on my friends list already.

AhavoRaboTaco can never know of my forbidden love for his monsters.

-

[Lorini]

What do you guys think are the chances that the boxed version will have a DVD-not-required-in-the-drive install? Direct2Drive is offering this as a pre-order for $50. I'd really much rather have the box, but I know I won't play it much if I have to constantly look for the DVD to play. Any thoughts or knowledge?

[Rob_Merritt]

it was annouced that it has the same copy protection as mass effect so I assume a disk isn't required after installing and activating.

[Lorini]

it was annouced that it has the same copy protection as mass effect so I assume a disk isn't required after installing and activating.

Thanks. I'll pick it up as a boxed game then.

[RepoMan]

I've never gotten a "collector's edition" of anything before, but goddamn, the Galactic Edition (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/53290) seems pretty fucking Hottie McHotsalot.
Dubbed the Spore Galactic Edition, the package includes a "Making of Spore" DVD, a "How to Build a Better Being" DVD created by the National Geographic Channel, a hardback Spore artbook and fold-out poster, and a 100-page Galactic Handbook in addition to the game itself.
Note that Will Wright narrates the National Geographic DVD. Methinks me cannot resist.

[Charlatan]

Wow, Repo, I have to agree that does seem like a pretty interesting collector's ed. And like you, I'm usually immune to the extra junk they throw in the box.

And BTW, howza come nobody in this recent bump actually mentioned that EA has announced it's gone gold (http://investor.ea.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=88189&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1187508&highlight=) and will be on shelves Sept 7. We're not ALL telepathic.

[Disconnected]

In some of the PC configurators moving from 3 giga to 4 giga I was getting a message that you needed a 64 bit OS to take advantage of 4 gigabytes. Now my tech knowledge is really rusty by last I look 2^32= 4 Giga or did Microsoft do something to cripple XT and Vista.It's because they anticipate that your GFX card will have more than 0 RAM.

[Lorini]

Actually now that you mention it, I'd asked for the Galactic Edition as a birthday present. Don't think it's going to happen (poor me:) but I was really impressed by it too.

[roBurky]

I was going to get it from Direct2Drive, but that galactic edition does sound nice. Doing a shopping search on google.co.uk doesn't reveal anywhere selling the galactic edition to the uk, though, which is a bit disappointing.

[EvilIdler]

howza come nobody in this recent bump actually mentioned that EA has announced it's gone gold and will be on shelves Sept 7.

Some news have been so many places it's bloody pointless to repost here. Spore is such an enormously anticipated title that you CAN'T MISS the news if you hit any other gaming-related sites.

Try other sites occasionally :)

[BobJustBob]

Are you guys checking out the prototypes (http://www.spore.com/comm/prototypes)? The Space one is surprisingly full-featured.

[Pentadact]

Are you guys checking out the prototypes (http://www.spore.com/comm/prototypes)? The Space one is surprisingly full-featured.

Yeah, the space one is very like the full game. It's even cooler in some ways - the locals never applauded and clustered round my UFO when I visited them in the full thing. And gifts weren't big lumps of gold for them to cling to.

-

[Midnight Son]

Same copy protection as Mass Effect, eh? That's great! I was just about to stop buying PC games anyway.....

[Linoleum]

The evil SecuROM is now mandated for all EA PC releases.

It's really the authentication server aspect that I dislike the most. EA, after all, is notorious for turning off multiplayer servers for year-old games.

[BleedTheFreak]

Same copy protection as Mass Effect, eh? That's great! I was just about to stop buying PC games anyway.....

What does the DRM do that's so vile? I always hear about how evil it is, but I've been playing legit PC games for years (and I just installed Mass Effect and played it quite a bit over the last few days) and I've never run into any problems. What am I missing?

[Jab2565]

From descriptions about it, the game will require an authentication check every time it does a download. With ME it wasn't a big deal as you only needed it to download the bonus content when it came out. With Spore however it's going to do it everytime the game downloads something , which would be a lot considering it will do it on its own.

[Pentadact]

Isn't the only downside of an online authentication check that you have to be online to do it? If so, what's the drawback if it only happens when you're downloading something?

-

[BleedTheFreak]

Isn't the only downside of an online authentication check that you have to be online to do it? If so, what's the drawback if it only happens when you're downloading something?

-

Yeah, this is along the lines of my own question. Everyone hates DRM it seems like, but it's never been explained how it hurts the folks who legally purchase software.

With the possible exceptions of maybe an old DVD drive not supporting the DRM or something, which I could see as being a huge pain in the ass, but then again isn't a new DVD burner like $30 or something? Still, if a disc is going to include DRM it SHOULD work on any hardware, but as we all know that's not really feasible or practical. The other exception is if your internet connection is down, for whatever reason, and it's required to play, THAT would piss me off quite a bit. But other than MMO's is there such a game that requires online access just to play? I can't think of any.

Anyway, I never pirate games (or anything else) so I DO have to deal with the DRM stuff, but it hasn't yet caused me any problems, and I buy and play a new game more than once a month when WoW doesn't have it's claws in me.

[Quitch]

With the possible exceptions of maybe an old DVD drive not supporting the DRM or something, which I could see as being a huge pain in the ass, but then again isn't a new DVD burner like $30 or something? Still, if a disc is going to include DRM it SHOULD work on any hardware, but as we all know that's not really feasible or practical. The other exception is if your internet connection is down, for whatever reason, and it's required to play, THAT would piss me off quite a bit. But other than MMO's is there such a game that requires online access just to play? I can't think of any.

Company of Heroes CoF purchased via Steam. The only DRM that has pissed me off... oh, and the Shattered Steel DRM has problems under later Windows releases.

I actually like Starforce more than many other protection techniques because you can drop by the website and get the latest release, so more often than not it's the game that becomes incompatible over time, not the DRM.

[Jab2565]

EA's DRM has screwed me up in the past. Requiring the disc to spin for long periods of time to even work, and sometimes I can't get the game installed because of it ( that's what happened to Sim city societies). We still don't know how bad the check is going to be, such as causing performance issues when it runs. Does anyone know if the game will require either the dvd or the online check, or once you install it you don't need the disc period?

[Disconnected]

Isn't the only downside of an online authentication check that you have to be online to do it?The biggest drawback is that it reduces you to renting the game. What do you do when your 3 credits are spent? What do you do a decade later when you want to replay the game, or want to play a decade old game you never got around to before?

Of course, that's ignoring the fact that it's a fucking brutal ripoff to pay full price for what amounts to renting a game thrice. It's not copyprotection, it's a con.

There ought to be a law against shit like that. Especially against dumping it in expansions. Man.. Atari destroying the future of NWN2 really pisses me off.

[Midnight Son]

The biggest drawback is that it reduces you to renting the game. What do you do when your 3 credits are spent? What do you do a decade later when you want to replay the game, or want to play a decade old game you never got around to before?

Of course, that's ignoring the fact that it's a fucking brutal ripoff to pay full price for what amounts to renting a game thrice. It's not copyprotection, it's a con.

There ought to be a law against shit like that. Especially against dumping it in expansions. Man.. Atari destroying the future of NWN2 really pisses me off.

Thank you, brother from another mother!

I guess they want you to buy it and then get the pirate crack before you actually own it. That's so smart of them!

[Rorschach]

What do you do a decade later when you want to replay the game, or want to play a decade old game you never got around to before?

I've seen a lot of publishers roll back on the anti-copying protection (checking in, disk checks and whatnot) a few years after the release.

[Shadari]

I was just about to stop buying PC games anyway.....
Dude, just quit. It's not smoking or alchohol, it's just PC gaming, it shouldn't be too hard. ;)

[Talisker]

Yeah, this is along the lines of my own question. Everyone hates DRM it seems like, but it's never been explained how it hurts the folks who legally purchase software.
Like, say, when I liked the Spore Creature Creator demo, so I bought the full version download from EA's site, and the DRM made it crash consistently on startup?

[BleedTheFreak]

Like, say, when I liked the Spore Creature Creator demo, so I bought the full version download from EA's site, and the DRM made it crash consistently on startup?

Out of curiosity, how were you certain it was the DRM and not a hardware or software issue with your rig? Certainly, this can't be happening to EVERYONE who downloads the creature demo? It didn't happen to me, for example, with this same piece of software.

[Staff Sergeant]

Like, say, when I liked the Spore Creature Creator demo, so I bought the full version download from EA's site, and the DRM made it crash consistently on startup?

It isn't the DRM, it is the EA Updater. I had the same problem. Uninstall the updater and you'll be fine.

EDIT: And next time, instead of bitching about DRMs on a forum, use Google.

[Fugitive]

It isn't the DRM, it is the EA Updater. I had the same problem. Uninstall the updater and you'll be fine.

EDIT: And next time, instead of bitching about DRMs on a forum, use Google.
It can be a bigger problem than that in general, though. I've whined about it too much already, but if Spore uses the same SecuROM protection that Mass Effect does then I'm hosed, since it just does not agree with my system at all.

[Talisker]

It isn't the DRM, it is the EA Updater. I had the same problem. Uninstall the updater and you'll be fine.

EDIT: And next time, instead of bitching about DRMs on a forum, use Google.
Their instructions specifically said to not uninstall the EA downloader, as it was needed as part of the DRM. And thank you for your suggestion, I read that uninstalling it fixed the problem back when it was first happening to significant numbers of people (significant enough that when I googled for it, there were LOTS of people making "WTF, why is this broken?" posts all over the place).

EDIT: And next time, instead of bitching out another forum user, make sure you know what the fuck you're talking about.

[Talisker]

Out of curiosity, how were you certain it was the DRM and not a hardware or software issue with your rig? Certainly, this can't be happening to EVERYONE who downloads the creature demo? It didn't happen to me, for example, with this same piece of software.
It didn't happen to everyone, but it was a very common problem.

[Staff Sergeant]

Their instructions specifically said to not uninstall the EA downloader, as it was needed as part of the DRM. And thank you for your suggestion, I read that uninstalling it fixed the problem back when it was first happening to significant numbers of people (significant enough that when I googled for it, there were LOTS of people making "WTF, why is this broken?" posts all over the place).

EDIT: And next time, instead of bitching out another forum user, make sure you know what the fuck you're talking about.

Two things:

One, if the installer is part of the DRM then it's a pretty useless DRM, because I am still able to play the game and sign into Spore online without the updater, and all patches are available through methods other than the publishers intended delivery, eventually. If you never actually tried uninstalling the updater, I suggest at least giving it a shot. The game isn't working anyways, what have you got to lose? You can always reinstall it.

Two, I apologize if that came across as hostile. I didn't mean it to, but reading it again, it was.

[Tyjenks]

My biggest fear after reading some hands-on previews is that it just ain't gonna be that fun. Anyone else?

[AndrewM]

My biggest fear after reading some hands-on previews is that it just ain't gonna be that fun. Anyone else?

This has been my fear from the beginning, somewhat allayed by the addition of Soren Johnson to the staff.

[Naeblis]

My fear is, the game will be too light in the strategy (and sim) side, as surely is is focused more to casuals than hardcore gamers. The tribe phase looks like a very light rts game, the civ phase looks like a very light Civ game, etc etc. Very customizable gameplay yeah, but also very light.
It's not like i want a Paradox game in Spore, but i need a good piece of meat in the bones.

[zengonzo]

I'm expecting it to be light on the strategy - seems like the focus is on customization and design. I'm OK with that.

More so than that, my concern is that after you get to the tribal phase, every creature will essentially be the same. The specific lives you spend so much time evolving will become rather homogenous once the get hold of a spear.

That'd create little value in playing again with a new creature.

[Pentadact]

If you're not expecting to like Spore, you probably won't. It doesn't set out to try and win over the hardcore crowd with endless strategic depth. But if you're not open to what is amazing about because it doesn't fit your criteria, that'd be a shame.

-

[Tyjenks]

I have missed (intentionally) a lot of the intermediate previews. I basically heard about it initially as what seemed to be Civilization stretched out to growth of an entire species. Now it seems like a cluster of mini-games in stages with a lot of Sims-ish customization. Huge over-simplification...I hope.

Currently, I am trying to wipe my preconception slate clean so I can give it a fair assessment as I will most likely buy it regardless.

[intruder]

First review I saw from Gamestar (German magazine): 79%
It's from a forum thread where subscribers discuss about the new issue that contains the test (Subscribers get the magazine a week earlier than the unwashed rest).
Direct link (http://www.gamestar.de/community/gspinboard/showpost.php?p=9291218&postcount=40) to the test results (sorry German only).

They voice my fears that the game is a great sandbox but the actual campaign is boring.

Usually they nail most games to a great extend (they are a bit too soft to German games sometimes like Crysis though and they have problems judging RPGs once in a while).
I still hope that there is some decent single player storyline in there but I'm even more concerned than before about it and will definately wait for more reviews before eventually buying it.

Edit:

2nd biggest German game magazine "PC Games" gives 73%
Link to the very short summary of the printed article here (http://www.pcgames.de/?menu=0901&s=thread&bid=12&tid=7070623&x=24) (Last post on the first page of the thread. German only again sorry).

Ouch. :p

[Therlun]

In other Spore communities the discussion arose already if the Spore hype already crossed a certain threshold of "expectation generation" it never can fulfil, and I think for most people it did so to an great extend a while ago already.

Following the information over the years Spore was always intended as a collection of very "light" games and a general sandbox and I certainly see how compared to normal games it simply is less of a game.
That doesnt mean it cant be entertaining though...

A big part of Spore is it being a toy, a tool, a piece of blank paper and if you dont like such things as a basis for your computerized entertainment such "low" scores a certainly justified. (considering that 100% scores are stupid to begin with and all that stuff...)

The Space prototype alone is very intereresting, (http://www.spore.com/comm/prototypes) and despite some technical problems (slowdowns, cumbersome interface, general prototype status of many features) I could spend hours just seeding planets with different kinds if life, creating ocean worlds and mountain habitats.

[Marcus]

Yeah the space prototype is actually pretty damn cool.

[intruder]

A big part of Spore is it being a toy, a tool, a piece of blank paper and if you dont like such things as a basis for your computerized entertainment such "low" scores a certainly justified. (considering that 100% scores are stupid to begin with and all that stuff...)


Ok since I'm really short on time (working) I will only list the negative points of the first review to give you an idea what they critizise:

Graphics:
- low details (landscape)
- blurry textures

Sound:
- uninspiring music (roughly translated)

Balance:
- tons of text
- varying difficulty but in general too easy

Atmosphere:
- a lot of repetitive actions that are tireing

Controls:
- controls change in every phase (tribal, civilization etc.)
- often confusing
- complicated interface (roughly translated as "too small" as well)

Amount of content:
- 4 of the 5 phases are pretty shallow

AI:
- same behaviour of all AI controlled mobs
- pose no challenge
- not a lot of entertainment watching them (watching as in a zoo)

Units:
- lack of different abilities for possible different strategies

Campaign:
- hardly any challenge

Summary: A prefect toy box but a medicore game.

They calculate scores based on those categories for every game.
So they start with 100 / 100 and then deduct points.
That way they ended up with 79%.
It's debatable if that system works for every game and there was / is a lot of discussion about it but it's there way to do things.

I'm less interested in the actual score if 75% or 79% is more or less the same but I worry about the lack of single player gameplay / story.
I don't like playing in a sandbox therefore it seems Spore is not for me.
Those 2 reviews seem to enforce my original doubts.

[Naeblis]

I read the Pc Gamer UK review, i found it informative and insightful. They gave it a 91%, but the text was much more critical than the score, you should read it (hint, i found scans in the gamefaqs forum of Spore).

[intruder]

I read the Pc Gamer UK review, i found it informative and insightful. They gave it a 91%, but the text was much more critical than the score, you should read it (hint, i found scans in the gamefaqs forum of Spore).

What do they say concerning the single player campaign?

[Therlun]

What do they say concerning the single player campaign?

The difficulty is mentioned. The writer says that once entering space phase he was flooded with declarations of war and quickly made extinct.
He had not enough money to buy his enemies off and was bnot strong enough to fight them off. All that on "easy".
The other stages were described as being won without any effort at all.

He didnt spoil anything about the plot, but said it was "worth it" to follow it at least the first time.

One negative point that cropped up several times was that stats are tied to certain parts in the creature editor. If you want a high bite stat you are restricted to a very limited number of mouths, and the same applies to other stat/part combinations so that you have to either focus on the looks or the abilities of your creature.

The first four stages were described as extremely "light" with the cell phase being the one where your decisions actually matter the most.

[Naeblis]

What do they say concerning the single player campaign?

He explains every phase in detail. The cellular phase seems the best one in its simplicity, the other ones are more flawed is one or other form, as some of them are too much toy and not enough game, or not enough toy and too much game (but not a very interesting 'game'). In the space phase he had huge problems with the difficulty, it seemed a bit grindy with his description, having to win a lot of power before advancing.

He points out more flaws, but in the end he seems delighted with the core concept of customizability of Spore, so he gave it a high score.

[Therlun]

He points out more flaws, but in the end he seems delighted with the core concept of customizability of Spore, so he gave it a high score.

In a forum discussion he also said that the score was actually an average out of several scores from different editors and that his personal rating would have been lower.

[Pentadact]

I read the Pc Gamer UK review, i found it informative and insightful. They gave it a 91%, but the text was much more critical than the score, you should read it (hint, i found scans in the gamefaqs forum of Spore).

Thanks. Yeah, I generally use the text to try to tell you if you'll like it, and the score purely to say how much I did. A lot of people, particularly German games journalists, are going to be left a little cold by Spore, because it's not a game about challenge. But for what it's worth, I loved it and have been dipping back into it ever since.

In a forum discussion he also said that the score was actually an average out of several scores from different editors and that his personal rating would have been lower.

Naeblis is, I think, talking about my review PC Gamer UK in the bit you quote. I'm not sure who you're referring to, but that's not me and not at all how we score.

-

[Naeblis]

In a forum discussion he also said that the score was actually an average out of several scores from different editors and that his personal rating would have been lower.

edit: Pentadact already answered.

[Therlun]

Its the same review we are talking about... and I could have sworn I read this "several editors score" thing about it. :p
But if the author himself denies it I probably have to blame my memories.
Perhaps it was another review (or even another game ;) )

[intruder]

Thanks. Yeah, I generally use the text to try to tell you if you'll like it, and the score purely to say how much I did. A lot of people, particularly German games journalists, are going to be left a little cold by Spore, because it's not a game about challenge. But for what it's worth, I loved it and have been dipping back into it ever since.
-

So you say that your German colleagues are usually looking for challenge in games more than journalists from other countries?
I'm asking because I think I might not be able to see that since I'm surrounded by those magazines since years.
I occasionally pick up a PC Gamer UK or Edge if I'm on a business trip in the UK but the majority of magazines I read are in German (due to availability).

[Unicorn McGriddle]

The plot?

[Pentadact]

So you say that your German colleagues are usually looking for challenge in games more than journalists from other countries?

Heh. No, I was just kidding because the only two people whose opinion we know happen to both be German games journalists. I don't know the chaps myself, but I suspect they speak for a lot of gamers everywhere.

-

[Rorschach]

Nice to see the backlash making an early showing.

[zengonzo]

Dunno', seems like people have been voicing concerns that it isn't a deep strategy game for some time now. Do you mean from an official journalistic standpoint?

[Wobbo]

The fundamental problem with spore is this:

Good games must have meaningful choices with consequences. What the player does in level 1 should have some impact on level 2. All of the classic maxis games feature this critical idea; from SimCity to even the Sims, it's actually possible to make mistakes, plan a strategy, and slowly learn to master the game.

People who criticize the individual game sections of spore as being too toylike are missing an even greater issue: what the player does as an amoeba has no impact on his city, what the player does as a creature has no impact on his civilization, and what the player does as a city has no impact on his space colonization. At least this is how it seems from everything Maxis has shown thus far, I hope I'm wrong.

Spore would be a much more exciting game concept if the player actually had to make difficult decisions that affected the entire game experience. For example, if designing creatures that could fly made building roads and cars less important in the city phase, or if it was possible to take a deliberately water based evolutionary path for worlds covered in water. Or if certain types of amoeba evolved faster at the risk of mutating out of control. Anything where player decisions carried over into the other phases. Instead of designing 5 different casual minigames, Spore could be one coherent, challenging, and long game.

The problem is that this would violate the current videogame design ethic of holding the player's hand through every challenge, and never allowing for genuine mistakes. More and more videogames are becoming less and less like activities, and more like entertainment, and this is a bad thing. Games that don't make you think or experiment may be easier, but have less replay value - and thus less value for your dollar.

[Naeblis]

Dunno', seems like people have been voicing concerns that it isn't a deep strategy game for some time now. Do you mean from an official journalistic standpoint?

Yes, i was going to say that. Since the beginning a lot of people were saying "yeah cool idea, it's ambitious, but let's wait to try the gameplay before, it seems like too ambitious".

[noun]

The plot?

Yeah, exactly. Granted, I haven't been paying attention to recent articles, but I was under the impression Spore was a giant sandbox. Why the hell would you build a campaign around this concept?

[UncleSmoothie]

Yeah, exactly. Granted, I haven't been paying attention to recent articles, but I was under the impression Spore was a giant sandbox. Why the hell would you build a campaign around this concept?

Or how could you, even?

Unless the "plot" is as simple as goals that are generated based on the stage you're at - like "Conquer the tribe of whatchamahoozits the next hill over". That doesn't jibe with the sort of stuff I've been reading, though.

[intruder]

Yeah, exactly. Granted, I haven't been paying attention to recent articles, but I was under the impression Spore was a giant sandbox. Why the hell would you build a campaign around this concept?

I didn't see anywhere that it was sandbox only + I don't see a problem adding some campaign to it.
Generate some little fairy of something that guides you through the tutorial and then stays at your side while you progress through the 5 phases. Give some small tasks for each phase that correspond to the conditions that lead to the next phase in free play. Make the (optional) end goal to conquer a certain planet somewhere to prevent something bad to happen blah blah.
Once that planet is blown to pieces say "You win. Do you want to continue playing this scenario?".

I also recall that in some video Will said there will be a campaign when asked.

Some people don't like sanboxes so if you want to keep them interested you better have some campaign / goal / story lines. I want to complete games for example so I can mark them as "done" in my head.

I have no problem if you leave out a campaign but then I want to know before I decide whether I buy or not. That's what reviews are for.

Same thing applies to "Left 4 Dead" btw. I still don't know if there will be some meaningful single player or simply multiplayer with bots taking over my teammates.

* Edited to clarify how some campaign could look like.

[zengonzo]

Well, hopefully it's less along the lines of a loosely-connected campaign that interrupts your game (Black and White) and more of the opt-in style that the Sims have been employing for some time now, wherein you can start your own free-form or go into this particular campaign. In that case, I can't see the harm in giving folks who prefer it direction.

So .. Have any reviews addressed that?

[zengonzo]

Some people don't like sanboxes so if you want to keep them interested you better have some campaign / goal / story lines. I want to complete games for example so I can mark them as "done" in my head.

Wow, I'd say this game really isn't for you - but I remain a bit confused about what attracted you to it in the first place.

The roughest sketch of it - spore->organism->universe->spore - is a Mobius belt of a game.

[intruder]

Wow, I'd say this game really isn't for you - but I remain a bit confused about what attracted you to it in the first place.

The roughest sketch of it - spore->organism->universe->spore - is a Mobius belt of a game.


I give huge kudos to new ideas / concepts in my beloved "gaming" hobby.
I think the idea behind Spore sounds intriguing and I try to be open as much as possible towards all genres.
However I found out during the years that I have absolutely no fun to be tossed in a sandbox.
I want a story and some clear goals to reach in my games.

So yes it seems Spore will not be a game for me and that is fine as long as I can see that before spending money by the help of reviews / player opinions.

[Jeff Green]

The fundamental problem with spore is this:

Good games must have meaningful choices with consequences. What the player does in level 1 should have some impact on level 2. All of the classic maxis games feature this critical idea; from SimCity to even the Sims, it's actually possible to make mistakes, plan a strategy, and slowly learn to master the game.

People who criticize the individual game sections of spore as being too toylike are missing an even greater issue: what the player does as an amoeba has no impact on his city, what the player does as a creature has no impact on his civilization, and what the player does as a city has no impact on his space colonization. At least this is how it seems from everything Maxis has shown thus far, I hope I'm wrong.


I've played Spore all the way through the Space stage for many, many hours--and I think you're wrong...kind of. Choices you make early on do in fact impact you later. And you WILL need to make choices, in each stage, as to how you interact with other species, which will then affect how you play the game in each subsequent stage. Some are going to argue that maybe there's not *enough* choice, that the game isn't deep enough in that way---but I'm not having any problem with that whatsoever. I think, overall, it's incredible--and that those expecting some kind of Civilization-level strategic difficulty haven't been paying attention to Maxis' games over the years.

[Lorini]

Hmm, sounds like another SimCity Societies disaster (more hype, less game). This has now come off my 'must buy' list.

[Jeff Green]

I give huge kudos to new ideas / concepts in my beloved "gaming" hobby.
I think the idea behind Spore sounds intriguing and I try to be open as much as possible towards all genres.
However I found out during the years that I have absolutely no fun to be tossed in a sandbox.
I want a story and some clear goals to reach in my games.

So yes it seems Spore will not be a game for me and that is fine as long as I can see that before spending money by the help of reviews / player opinions.

There are clear goals---and there is a story.

Hmm, sounds like another SimCity Societies disaster (more hype, less game). This has now come off my 'must buy' list.

It's not going to be for everyone (like most games), but calling it a "disaster" is ludicrous--I can't imagine *any* review is going to go anywhere near that far, even if they don't like it. Let's not let the backlash whip up into this kind of hyperbole before the thing has even shipped.

[RobotPants]

I've noticed several people here have super-fickle "must-buy lists".

[ducker]

I've noticed several people here have super-fickle "must-buy lists".

with the list of games that released each year, there's only a limited amount of time. people need to draw the line somewhere.

[zengonzo]

And you WILL need to make choices, in each stage, as to how you interact with other species, which will then affect how you play the game in each subsequent stage.

I've been curious .. All the creatures I've been making in the Creator - how will their behavior be established?

Will carnivores/herbivores simply be established with the same aggressive/defensive posture? Or do features/ability levels actually influence behavior?

There was also no adjustment for brains - so it has no idea that my Hiphopopotamus is intended to be a lyrical dunce as compared to my Rhymenoceros ..

[zengonzo]

with the list of games that released each year, there's only a limited amount of time. people need to draw the line somewhere.

It's natural to have some relativity in a flush season (most of these games would've been definite must-buys during the summer drought) - however, there sure seems to be a tiny, tiny threshold between 'great game' and 'absolute disaster'. I think therein lies the perception of fickleness.

[ducker]

hm see.. I don't attribute not buying a game flag as an 'absolute disaster.' It's just a choice that I don't have the time/money/desire to put in to said game.

I'm ashamed to say I haven't even picked up Portal yet. And I know I want to play it, and I know I'd enjoy it!!! Just no time.

I can see how a game which is mostly a sandbox will most likely get pass on by with these type of early reports of game play.

Just like other sand box games.. I enjoy them, but they never get completed. eg. the Zoo Keeper /roller coaster tycoon series... love it, have great fun it it, but I'll never "finish it" because each of these sandboxes with little objects just take up SOOO much time.

[RobotPants]

It's natural to have some relativity in a flush season (most of these games would've been definite must-buys during the summer drought) - however, there sure seems to be a tiny, tiny threshold between 'great game' and 'absolute disaster'. I think therein lies the perception of fickleness.

Yes, that. It's not like the idea of balancing the number of games with the amount of time you have is foreign to anyone here. But some people just have this weird habit of rapidly fluctuating between absolute decisions on whether or not they want to get a game.

[intruder]

It's natural to have some relativity in a flush season (most of these games would've been definite must-buys during the summer drought) - however, there sure seems to be a tiny, tiny threshold between 'great game' and 'absolute disaster'. I think therein lies the perception of fickleness.

Some games balance on a tiny threshold for me like Spore.
I give you 3 examples:

1. Left 4 Dead
-> Does it have some real quality single player or not.
If it's multiplayer with bots taking over your team mates it goes to "do not buy" in a snap. I don't care about zombies that much and I don't play a lot of multiplayer so the 2 strongest points of that game are useless for me.
It's on my "interested" list because of Valve's track record mainly (Half-Life series).

2. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
-> Will AI stepping in for a human co-op player work or will it suck.
My friends don't play games so I don't have anyone for co-op.
I love the "Red Alert" setting including the cheesy videos but if the AI sucks the game will be bargain bin only for me.
Again it's on my "interested" list because of the former C&C games.

3. Prince of Persia
-> Will there still be a challenge in that game or is it dumbed down for casuals.
The latest videos made me worry that your AI sidekick might be too powerful and reduce the margin of error to zero (she seems to save you from botchered jumps and helps you in fights if you are get hurt therefore taking pressure of you and giving you time to recover).
If that is the case it would be a no-buy for me since I want a challenge.
The game is on my "interested" list because of the spectecular art style and the "Sands of Time" triology which was great fun.

As you can see in all 3 examples one aspect can make possible buys a no-go instantly. I don't know about any of the aspects yet so I hope for the best but once reviews will hit I will know whether to order those games or not.

If I'd only concentrate on "must buys" that list would be pretty short:

WoTLK
Starcraft II
Diablo III

All as Collector's Editions

[RobotPants]

Well, yeah, that's sorta how most people do it. That's not what my comment was about, though. I'm talking about the people who move things back and forth between their "must buy" list to a "do not buy" list in the span of several posts in any given game thread.

[Lorini]

SimCity Societies was touted as a great game, along with videos and everything else. It just wasn't a good game. It is now, but it took more than 6 months to get there. Spore seems to have some of the same lack of gameplay issues as SCS from what these reviewers are seeing. I want a game, not a creature creator, nor a sandbox nor a great graphical experience. And from these reviews, it doesn't look like Spore will be a great game. And so I may buy it later or whatever, but it's no longer a 'must buy'. I'm tired of spending my money on EA hype and getting little of what I want in return.

[zengonzo]

hm see.. I don't attribute not buying a game flag as an 'absolute disaster.' It's just a choice that I don't have the time/money/desire to put in to said game.

I totally agree, but I believe the original sentiment was comparing it to a SimCity Societies 'disaster'.

[Talisker]

Let's not let the backlash whip up into this kind of hyperbole before the thing has even shipped.
I call it "forelash" if the game isn't out yet.

[Jeff Green]

SimCity Societies was touted as a great game, along with videos and everything else. It just wasn't a good game. It is now, but it took more than 6 months to get there. Spore seems to have some of the same lack of gameplay issues as SCS from what these reviewers are seeing. I want a game, not a creature creator, nor a sandbox nor a great graphical experience. And from these reviews, it doesn't look like Spore will be a great game. And so I may buy it later or whatever, but it's no longer a 'must buy'. I'm tired of spending my money on EA hype and getting little of what I want in return.

Maxis games are always sandbox games. Sim City Societies had issues....but if you don't want a sandbox, then I dunno why you'd even be considering buying their games in the first place. And "lack of gameplay", again, is simply a matter of what you are looking for here. Plenty of people (like me) will argue that Spore has an *abundance* of gameplay. It may just not be the type you like, in which case, yeah, don't buy it. :)

[Naeblis]

I would like a sandbox game but still with a bit of structure and long term goals. Is too much to ask for?



Hey, one moment. Spore have a bit of structure (phase I->II->III->IV->V) and the goal of the center of the galaxy. Perhaps i will like it!

[zengonzo]

Eat or be eaten is a pretty good one in general.

[Andrew Mayer]

I call it "forelash" if the game isn't out yet.

I'm totally stealing that from you.

[Gendal]

I've noticed several people here have super-fickle "must-buy lists".
I wish mine was more fickle. My credit card grimaces every time it looks at the preorder list I have going on Amazon. Which reminds me I need to go order Spore.

[Talisker]

I'm totally stealing that from you.
Steal away, I coined the term three seconds before posting that :)

Edit: damn, looks like I'm fifteen years too late (http://www.wordspy.com/words/forelash.asp) to take credit.

[Quaro]

I'm glad to hear the endgame is difficult and the reviewer was exterminated. One of my concerns was that it'd be impossible to lose.

[JM]

I'm glad to hear the endgame is difficult and the reviewer was exterminated.

Jesus, I know there's a backlash against reviewers but that's pretty harsh!

[zengonzo]

One of my concerns was that it'd be impossible to lose.

Well, not that I believe it is necessarily the case - but impossible to win would be somewhat as bad as impossible to lose.

[Eric Majkut]

So why the hell are they releasing this on a SUNDAY of all days? How about a friday so people can have all weekend to play?

[Talisker]

So why the hell are they releasing this on a SUNDAY of all days? How about a friday so people can have all weekend to play?
So don't buy it until the 12th.

[EvilIdler]

Release date over here says Thursday..and so does Mercenaries 2. Sorry, mercs!

[Eric Majkut]

September 5th for Europe and 7th for North America. We save your asses in WW2, and this is the thanks we get!? :(

[wigglestick]

September 5th for Europe and 7th for North America. We save your asses in WW2, and this is the thanks we get!? :(

They're punishing us for sitting it out until the Japanese threw a few bombs up our asses.

[JM]

September 5th for Europe and 7th for North America. We save your asses in WW2, and this is the thanks we get!? :(


You're Russian? Who knew!

[Falcon554]

I trust Jeff Green!!!

[zengonzo]

Zingskied!

[wigglestick]

I call it "foreskin" if the head isn't out yet.

Is he calling us dicks?

He is, isn't he?

[Eric Majkut]

You're Russian? Who knew!

I live in the US, but I am Russian, actually :)

[Jeff Green]

I trust Jeff Green!!!

You're fuckin' doomed.

[Sol Invictus]

Every time I look at the title of this thread it makes me think "Spore Delayed until Spring 2009" and a little part of me dies.

[Falcon554]

You're fuckin' doomed.

Come on I got Space Siege because you said it was amazing!

[Charlatan]

Come on I got Space Siege because you said it was amazing!

I don't think that word means what he thinks it means.

[Eric Majkut]

EA sure is being (understandably) stingy about letting out review copies of this. My taxes last year involved less paperwork.

[wigglestick]

EA sure is being (understandably) stingy about letting out review copies of this. My taxes last year involved less paperwork.

Ouch. And also LOL.

[Eric Majkut]

Ouch. And also LOL.

Yeah, and I still haven't heard back from them either :\ Trying to do a column about Spore the week the game comes out, but apparently noone over at EA wants any free publicity.

Harumph.

[Sol Invictus]

EA knows it doesn't need reviews to generate publicity. The game sells itself.

[Therlun]

EA knows it doesn't need reviews to generate publicity. The game sells itself.

Almost that is...
I was going to buy/preorder Spore today, but then the Australia symptom hit me.

It costs 55€ in the online shop, which at least for Germany is pretty much on the upper limit for game prices. The US version is $50.

I really DON'T expect publishers to adjust their prices to international exchange rates all the time... but if a DOWNLOAD ONLY version of a game costs 60% more ($50 are about 34€) I wont buy it.
Not to mention that I think its pretty bold for a publisher to charge the brick and mortar price for a download only version (which costs a few cents to publish).

In the end it doesnt matter of course, as most people simply wont care or dont know.
Even Steam, the messiah of our gaming future does it (whith australia and THQ games, and with brick&mortar prices in general), so I guess its something I will have to live with.

I'll pick up the game once it hits budget price I guess.

[EvilIdler]

55€?! No frickin' way. I'll hold on until I get the nice, friendly UK price.

[RichardC]

Heh. The DD straight from EA in the UK is £40 ($80 - most high-profile games are officially priced £35). Actually, I take that back. It's £43 with that bullshit 'extended download thing', if you don't want it as a glorified rental. Hurrah for Amazon/Play...

Sigh. Why must Valve be the only company that actually seems to get it?

(Edit: And Blizzard. Their online store is pretty good too)

[EvilIdler]

I saw it for less than £30 on various UK sites, so to heck with direct downloads. Anyone know if the Mac version is on the same disc?

[ducker]

Heh. The DD straight from EA in the UK is £40 ($80 - most high-profile games are officially priced £35). Actually, I take that back. It's £43 with that bullshit 'extended download thing', if you don't want it as a glorified rental. Hurrah for Amazon/Play...

Sigh. Why must Valve be the only company that actually seems to get it?

(Edit: And Blizzard. Their online store is pretty good too)

hell, their store down right rocks... if you find your CD code to an old game you can simply input it and download the game again!! rock!

[RichardC]

Indeed. Ask my broken Diablo 2 CD.

[Fargull]

So.. last night went into Wallmart to pick up some additional school supplies for the kids and found two copies of SPORE on the shelf. Took them to the register and got denied. I talked to the guy at the counter and said they were for a midnight release on Tuesday. I am guessing that was just crap and the release is for Saturday midnight? Still find it odd that it is out this soon and still not available for sale.

[Jab2565]

Have there been any advance reviews that talk about the city stage and on? My only concern at this point about Spore is that the later stages aren't as developed as the earlier stages which we've seen and heard a lot more about.