Spore Delayed until Spring 2008+

[Jon Shafer]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6170303.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;0

Quite a long dev cycle, that game...

It's surprising how many people get upset about delays. Strange that EA keeps giving dates out that will only cause people to gnash their teeth further. :)

[Troy S Goodfellow]

You know this is Soren's fault. He joins the team, immediately thinks of five ways to make it better and they have to start all over again.

Troy

[SorenJohnson]

Sorry!

[Unicorn McGriddle]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Oh well, I do prefer finished games. Knock 'em out the box, Soren.

[Talisker]

Dammit! Really, really looking forward to this.

[Jasper Phillips]

You know this is Soren's fault. He joins the team, immediately thinks of five ways to make it better and they have to start all over again.

Troy
As soon as I heard they'd hired Soren I figured it would be delayed, otherwise there'd be no point in bringing in someone new so late.

I wouldn't be surprised if it slips even further.

[BobJustBob]

It'll be worth it.

[DustyTheHamster]

I wouldn't be surprised if it slips even further.

quoted cause that's exactly what I'm expecting too.

[RepoMan]

Yer, it's been pretty clear all along that it's not even a toy yet. It's been more of a creature construction kit. But any real social dynamics? Any ecological depth that people could relate to, even at the level of SimCity? Any actual... you know... game? Nope, haven't seen it, not yet, nope, nope.

I'm very happy that Soren will have over a year to have some kind of influence on the project. Because up until now, none of the people involved -- not Will Wright, not Chris Hecker, not any of the European demo hackers -- have had 10% of Soren's credibility when it comes to that just one more turn magic. And without a whole heaping boatload of that, Spore is going to be a big fat SimAnt-like letdown.

I hope they take all the time they need, because let's face it, if they don't, they're selling their insanely ambitious concept tragically short.

[Taranis]

Get me all excited then say "no I'm not yet ready yet", its high school all over again! :-/

[Not One Of Us]

And without a whole heaping boatload of that, Spore is going to be a big fat SimAnt-like letdown.
Hey! What was wrong with SimAnt?

[BobJustBob]

SimAnt was awesome. And no disrespect to Soren, but he's not even in the same league as Will Wright.

[UncleSmoothie]

Well, this makes me sort of sad in the abstract, but it'll probably take me until Spring of 2008 to be able to afford a computer that will even run Spore.

[Jason Becker]

So I wonder what the break even point in copies sold for Spore is going to end up being.

[mkozlows]

Yer, it's been pretty clear all along that it's not even a toy yet. It's been more of a creature construction kit. But any real social dynamics? Any ecological depth that people could relate to, even at the level of SimCity? Any actual... you know... game? Nope, haven't seen it, not yet, nope, nope.

It looks at LEAST as fun as SimEarth. WHOO, EUKARYOTES.

[BobJustBob]

SimEarth was great too.

[Cosmic Hippo]

Hey, cool! Maybe by the time it's out, I'll have a computer that can handle it!


Yer, it's been pretty clear all along that it's not even a toy yet. It's been more of a creature construction kit. But any real social dynamics? Any ecological depth that people could relate to, even at the level of SimCity? Any actual... you know... game? Nope, haven't seen it, not yet, nope, nope.Isn't that what the "Civilization Phase" and "Space Phase" are for? From the descriptions, both sound like they'll have plenty of that. Those phases look totally awesome.

[Quaro]

Hope they release the Creature Creator as a standalone demo in 2007.

[Alan Dunkin]

Soren why did you delay this game? Did you come onboard and immediately demand a raise or something, thereby causing a rift in Maxis and therefore the space-time continuum? Inquiring minds want to know!

--- Alan

[Jab]

Hope they release the Creature Creator as a standalone demo in 2007.

I really hope so, this game has been on my birthday wish list for the last two years, each time the game gets delayed. I would love to try out the creature creator .

[Coca Cola Zero]

I'm just about sick of Spore and I've never even played it. You guys need to go into stealth mode and never mention the title again until the day it ships. I think that Silicon Knights guy is right about this shit, the old ways of doing PR don't make sense given today's ridiculously long dev cycles.

[Rob_Merritt]

I'm not surprised. Its clearly a trouble project. All we've seen is the very beginning and the very end. They haven't shown us the middle sections which should make up the majority of the game play at all.

[Chris Nahr]

So that's what they needed Soren Johnson for. "Mr. Johnson, could you please write a little Civilization game for us? You know, neanderthals to astronauts..."

[quatoria]

I'm so glad that I don't read previews anymore. I'll be happy to see how good or bad spore is when it comes out, and until then, not spare a single thought for it. Easier to avoid frustration if you have no anticipation. And honestly, guys, would you rather they take as long as they need to make it fun, or would you prefer to end up with the next high-concept Black & White mess?

[cliffski]

I dont get the whole "games must be polished for 2 years before release" thing. Just finish what you have ffs. No amount of QA testing will equate with releasing it to 500,000 - 1,000,000 players who will give you the feedback you need to make Spore 2 that much more awesome. I would prefer more games, with less content, and less hype, than 1 game every 10 years that always ends up dissapointing the stypidly high expectations.

[Abbaon]

I'd prefer that the Spore team get it right the first time, while they still have Will's attention. He doesn't work on sequels these days.

[ducker]

bah and I just upgraded my PC so that I could happily run this come it's release... I hope they don't jack up the requirements through the roof to see a good high quality game.
(I rarely have a powerful PC - and right now I have a semi-powerful one) by the time Spore comes out it will, of course, no longer be up there.

[AlexxKay]

Isn't that what the "Civilization Phase" and "Space Phase" are for? From the descriptions, both sound like they'll have plenty of that. Those phases look totally awesome.

Have you actually *seen* any of the Civilization Phase? I don't think they've demoed that one at all, nor talked about in anything but the vaguest terms. The Space Phase got shown a tiny bit at E3 a year ago, but it was a carefully-constructed developer-driven demo that implied much more than it actually *showed*. Not that there's anything wrong with that sort of demo, I've done them myself. But until there's at least a hands-on demo, you shouldn't put too much faith in what developers promise. Sure, the vague descriptions sound great, but when the rubber hits the road, implementing them often turns out to be much harder than you initially thought.

[Kool Moe Dee]

Sure, the vague descriptions sound great, but when the rubber hits the road, implementing them often turns out to be much harder than you initially thought.

This is exactly why I am a Spore Skeptic (tm).

[StGabe]

I dont get the whole "games must be polished for 2 years before release" thing.

Look at WoW. 5 years of polishing. It seems to have worked.

If they don't succeed with the first one (and clearly a bug-ridden release can hurt sales quite a bit, see several recent releases), there won't be a second one. Also, all your reviews get written before release, not after 6 months of patching.

This isn't the downloadable market of "long tail" and "infinite shelf space". I wish it were. Instead it's a market where first month sales make or break a franchise.

[BobJustBob]

I'm just about sick of Spore and I've never even played it. You guys need to go into stealth mode and never mention the title again until the day it ships. I think that Silicon Knights guy is right about this shit, the old ways of doing PR don't make sense given today's ridiculously long dev cycles.

They've shown the game, what, twice ever? Will Wright unveiled it at GDC '05 and then there was that Popular Science article recently. All this supposed hype is of your own making.

[McBain]

Look at WoW. 5 years of polishing. It seems to have worked.

Five years of polishing? Wait, did you even play WoW at release?

All I can say is,

"RaidIDs."

[AndrewM]

They've shown the game, what, twice ever? Will Wright unveiled it at GDC '05 and then there was that Popular Science article recently. All this supposed hype is of your own making.

There was also a breathless New York Times article on it last October. Also (http://www.spore.com/press.php) there were a number of things last year.

[Alan Dunkin]

Five years of polishing? Wait, did you even play WoW at release?

All I can say is,

"RaidIDs."

Yeah, so, that would mean WoW was finished in 1999 and Blizzard spent the rest of the time just polishing?

--- Alan

[cliffski]

Look at WoW. 5 years of polishing. It seems to have worked.

If they don't succeed with the first one (and clearly a bug-ridden release can hurt sales quite a bit, see several recent releases), there won't be a second one. Also, all your reviews get written before release, not after 6 months of patching.

This isn't the downloadable market of "long tail" and "infinite shelf space". I wish it were. Instead it's a market where first month sales make or break a franchise.

Yes you are right, and thats a pity. I wish more games had ongoing development after the event, and some payment model where they could recoup that. Kind of like MMos that are released early, and get better as more dev effort goes into them, and they learn from their mistakes. If spore is as original as it claims, there is *no way* it will get it 100% right first time around. Far better to have shorter dev cycles and iterative development than a ten million dollar splurge on a single roll of the dice. But then, I work on small indie games so I guess I would think that. *shrug*.

[Rob_Merritt]

What does this mean for the next Sim City and The Sims 3? Spore was to come out this year, Sim City Next in 08 and Sims 3 in 09. I can't imagine EA would pull all three out close together.

[RepoMan]

Sim City and Sims 3 are walks in the park compared to Spore. I think EA will ship Spore the second Will and Soren say it's shippable. They really want return on investment on this.

Dennis Dyack notwithstanding, most major game companies are not yet ready to deliberately delay titles for any reason at all.

[Lunch of Kong]

How much does it cost to get custom chrome car emblems made?

Surely I can't be the only one thinking of making an emblem of my creature profile, with the word SPORE inside. I mean, heck, if you can get them made for the Flying Spaghetti Monster...

http://www.venganza.org/sighting/images/49.gif

[Brendan]

I've actually made the personal decision not to get sucked into marketing hype before a game is released. There is no way any game can live up to the massive hype that gets generated for AAA games anymore.

Just be aware of any game that might catch your interest and when you start reading reviews make an informed decision then.

[Brad Wardell]

With Soren being involved, there's no doubt in my mind it'll be worth the wait.

[chet]

Picking up arma at gamesstop, they just asked me if I wanted to reserve my copy of spore.

[Not One Of Us]

Picking up arma at gamesstop, they just asked me if I wanted to reserve my copy of spore.
If it's your copy, why would you need to reserve it?

[sluggo]

They've shown the game, what, twice ever? Will Wright unveiled it at GDC '05 and then there was that Popular Science article recently. All this supposed hype is of your own making.
The game was first shown at GDC '05. Then E3 '05. GDC '06. E3 '06. There was a long presentation on it at DICE '07. There were multiple sessions on it at GDC '07. And there have been isolated stories and movies at random points in between.

I don't know what the exact count is, but it's a lot more than "twice." :)

[BobJustBob]

I demand linkage! I've been following every scrap of news I could find about this game but I've heard nothing from the mainstream gaming press since the unveiling. I blame you, message board denizens. Now work on redeeming yourselves.

[RepoMan]

BJB, WTF yo? RTFM u L0S3R.

"This word 'mainstream' - I do not think it means what you think it means."

[JM]

They even had a video of Robin Williams playing it (linked in the Youtube thread).

[DeepT]

The previews I have seen go up to the "UFO" and then talk about how they haven't really figured out what gameplay they were going to add. I wonder what they have come up with in the past few years because anything I see never elaborates on that part.

Some features I hope spore will allow would be:

1. Allowing creatures to evolve in seemingly impossible environments, such as lava lizards, crystal creatures, etc... It would be neat to have really weird worlds and environments to explore.

2. Mapping a personality matrix for you civilization. If you play as a peaceful civ, then when it is 'uploaded' to the general library, everyone else who will find them will have a peaceful version. The same is true if they are warlike. It will be even better if they can map it more granularly. Maybe you creatures are OK with humanoids, but hate bugs. Although as far as I know there are no pheno-types, so there is no way for the game to determine if your critter is a bug, mammal, bird, etc...

3. Having your civ automatically explore, expand, terraform, etc... later in the game. I do not think it would be much fun if your UFO was doing all the work. It should help get things started, but most of the heavy lifting should done by your main race automatically. It would seem bad if in the end game your ufo went around blowing up worlds that were troublesome and weakening ones you wanted to conquer.

[BobJustBob]

BJB, WTF yo? RTFM u L0S3R.

"This word 'mainstream' - I do not think it means what you think it means."

Okay, let me try again: I don't go to gaming news sites. I read Eurogamer every so often (never would have known about Slitherlink for the DS without them) but I don't ever drop by 1UP or IGN or GameSpot or Jose Liz's Copy and Paste Emporium just to read what passes for daily content.

What I do is read message boards. This one and Planetcrap and NeoGAF, and when something newsworthy appears on one of these cursed sites, someone tells me about it. Like the preview of Crackdown's DLC on Gamespy. Sounds amazing.

Now, since Spore is without question the single most important game currently in development, a game that puts to shame an entire industry while simultaneously holding out hope for its redemption, every image and word, every scrap of information, is sacred. Thus it is vital and imperative that those of you who can stand to visit the awful news sites and do so, that you use your gift to bring us blessed news of our savior when such news appears.

[Tyjenks]

Well, shit. Only game to which I have been looking forward.

[quatoria]

Well, shit. Only game to which I have been looking forward.

Look at it this way: Now you can look forward to it even longer.

[Tyjenks]

Look at it this way: Now you can look forward to it even longer.

Excellent point.

[shift6]

Now, since Spore is without question the single most important game currently in development, a game that puts to shame an entire industry while simultaneously holding out hope for its redemption, every image and word, every scrap of information, is sacred. Thus it is vital and imperative that those of you who can stand to visit the awful news sites and do so, that you use your gift to bring us blessed news of our savior when such news appears.
Quoted for awesomeness.

On a sad panda note, I remember feeling this way about Thief 3. Knock on wood!

[Unicorn McGriddle]

On a sad panda note, I remember feeling this way about Thief 3. Knock on wood!

Thief 3 was not a bad game. Like most games, it could have been better. Like many sequels, it was a step back (although in this case a slight step confined to certain problems) from the original. But still, it was good.

[Libra]

Kotaku is reporting (http://kotaku.com/gaming/pc/spore-slip-sliding-away-270324.php) on an article in the latest Game Informer:


The latest Game Informer reports that Spore has been "delayed indefinitely", but reached for comment today, Electronic Arts says that "Spore has slipped out of fiscal 08 and into fiscal 09".

What the hell is happening to this game? I thought we were getting close to seeing this game materialize until the last delay reported in early May. Now we get this. Fiscal 2009? WTF. What is going on over there? Is Spore the next Duke Nukem Forever?

[Rob_Merritt]

When they got the guy from Firaxis to come on board, we all knew major delays were going to happen.

[RepoMan]

Dude, it takes a long time to seed the entire solar system with microbes that will eventually evolve into game designers who can finish your intergalactic game.

But yeah, this has "Will Wright has lost all ability to actually make a game, and Soren is starting almost from scratch" written all over it. Will's clearly a toymaker, and EA can't afford Spore to be just a toy. They need a GAME in there, and they don't have one at all yet.

[Alan Dunkin]

My take is that Spore has just way too many major systems and it's going to take a long while to either flesh all of them out or decide which ones to use and which parts to get rid of. Might be not so much that Wright has lost his ability to make the game as the addition of Soren can actually effectively build the game. I'm thinking that while Wright is still the brilliant figurehead and designer, they could lack the experienced and nuts-and-bolts-type person to actually run the boat.

I'm just guessing at this point obviously.

--- Alan

[BobJustBob]

It'll be worth it.

12345

[Coca Cola Zero]

I bet this turns out like Fable. The game will come out and it will be a pretty decent game, but when you compare it to the initial vision and hype and factor in the hype fatigue for having to hear about it for years and years before playing, it'll be kind of "meh".

[Rorschach]

Sounds like the pieces we haven't seen yet (tribe and civ) are getting a working over. I guess the devil is in the details when it's not a simple eat and be eaten mechanic or playing a god game with a spaceship avatar.

Still looking forward to the game though.

[dogbert]

Kotaku is reporting (http://kotaku.com/gaming/pc/spore-slip-sliding-away-270324.php) on an article in the latest Game Informer:



What the hell is happening to this game? I thought we were getting close to seeing this game materialize until the last delay reported in early May. Now we get this. Fiscal 2009? WTF. What is going on over there? Is Spore the next Duke Nukem Forever?

This /is/ the same delay, just being misreported by Game Informer/Kotaku & causing more stories about the same delay. Fiscal 2009 means May 2008 to April 2009.

[Union Carbide]

This /is/ the same delay, just being misreported by Game Informer/Kotaku & causing more stories about the same delay. Fiscal 2009 means May 2008 to April 2009.

I came here to post this. This is basically reporting the same delay as the May announcement, it's just everyone shit their pants because of the 09 in Fiscal 09.

[mouselock]

Will's clearly a toymaker, and EA can't afford Spore to be just a toy. They need a GAME in there, and they don't have one at all yet.

Why do you say EA can't afford Spore to be just a toy? The Sims was just a toy, and it did pretty fucking well by EA as near as I can figure.

[JD]

This is basically reporting the same delay as the May announcement
Well, there's a slight difference though - in May they said that *could* slip into fiscal '09 (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=13844). It wasn't definite and official until now. (Although quite obvious to everyone.)

-Julian

[DeepT]

It will really be interesting to see how much depth there is in the later phases. From the demo, the space phase just seemed all about terraforming worlds (slowly at first) and manually carting your critters around. Neat, but hardly hours of entertainment.

What I am hoping is that it will go more classically 4x with your creatures somewhat on auto-pilot. At some point they will start colonizing their own worlds, building their own war ships, and all that.

I didn't really like the idea of the planet destroyer. Its kind of an "I Win" button. That civ pissing you off? Just one shot them. Where is the challenge in that?

It will even be better if there is some kind of AI personality mapping, so that your creatures will carry over your personality when they are instanced into someone's game. IE: If you are an aggressive, militaristic player, then your race in anyone's game will be the same way.

I also hope he will allow creatures to have very different natual enviroments. Id like to have 'lava' creatures, or maybe even space creatures that do not need an atmosphere.

[SorenJohnson]

This /is/ the same delay, just being misreported by Game Informer/Kotaku & causing more stories about the same delay. Fiscal 2009 means May 2008 to April 2009.

This is correct. There is no new news regarding the release date. Obviously, I can't talk about our target date, but "delayed indefinitely" is going a bit overboard.

[Alex Hutchinson]

Here's an interesting tidbit for any industry gadfly's:

One theory internally as to why the Sims was so successful was that nobody knew anything about it before it came out and people could judge it on its merits. They were also okay with its scale and scope because they had not built up any expectations. And best of all, its 'freshness' was felt by everyone as they had not imagined the game much before buying it or seen dozens of demos (which IMO basically amount to screening the ending to the Sixth Sense over and over again and then expecting people to be surprised by the twist).

One fear internally relating to Spore is that everyone has built it up to such a ridiculous extent that it's going to be a 'fun' launch day no matter what we make.

The reality is that we're just trying to make a good game. And it's hard. And it takes a long time. :(

Alex

[Talisker]

This is correct. There is no new news regarding the release date. Obviously, I can't talk about our target date, but "delayed indefinitely" is going a bit overboard.
It's gonna be out this fall? WOOOO!

;-)

[Chuck Jordan]

Why do you say EA can't afford Spore to be just a toy? The Sims was just a toy, and it did pretty fucking well by EA as near as I can figure.
Well, not quite. The "just a toy" part, not the "it did pretty fucking well" part.

One of the things that impresses me so much about The Sims is that it's a strategy game so well designed and streamlined that it's universally accessible. (Note that "accessible" does not necessarily mean "enjoyable"). Balancing motives, skill levels, job advancement, and income gives you more to do than most RPGs, but it doesn't feel like a tedious RPG. It feels like a toy. That takes a lot of playtesting and iteration.

At least, it was and impressive strategy game, until EA decided to rape the Maxis philosophy and start cranking out game-less content packs.

[RepoMan]

Don't sweat it Alex. Take all the time you need. Seriously. Spore has such buzz around it because it really is a fabulous concept with some super-cool technology behind it.

Maybe it's better if you delay long enough that the buzz settles down or burns out, because it'll all be forgiven the minute people launch it and start having fun.

So don't worry. You, Soren, and Will just keep on doing what you're doing. All we ask is that you stay on target and make the game as totally brain-meltingly time-suckingly soul-capturingly fun as humanly possible.

That's all we ask of any game maker, really, and we know you in particular can do it. See you in 2009 :-D

[GreasyPig]

What DeepT said.

From all the previews I’ve seen there seems to be a huge chunk of “game” missing between just becoming space born and planet destroyer.

[Chuck Jordan]

One fear internally relating to Spore is that everyone has built it up to such a ridiculous extent that it's going to be a 'fun' launch day no matter what we make.
"Built up to a ridiculous extent?" Spore?

You make it sound like game magazines are misquoting old news, turning an already-announced schedule into "delayed indefinitely", which is then picked up and amplified by every game blog on the internets, which is then vectored along to message boards, which is then causing hundreds of easily-suggestible people to come out of the woodwork and claim that Will Wright (who, remember, has been making the entire game by himself) has completely lost it and is standing at the helm of a burning ship with a cargo hold full of lies, and/or that EA executives have been distracted from their usual business of biting the heads off babies to cancel the project because it's not lucrative enough.

Who ever said anything about making a fun game?

[mouselock]

Well, not quite. The "just a toy" part, not the "it did pretty fucking well" part.

Really? How do you win? That seems like a pretty fundamental descriptive difference between a toy and a game.

[Drastic]

It's gonna be out this fall? WOOOO!

;-)
Quickly! To the blogs!

[Quaro]

I'm most interested in whether changes at one level of the game can effect another. Ideally, small changes made at lower levels could create large changes at the civilization level. It boggles the mind to think about implementing it, but that's the dream.

[AndrewM]

I'd play a game called "Cargo Hold Full of Lies".

[Tyjenks]

My gameplan is to pretend I picked it up today, did not really enjoy it as I had built it up so much in my head as "The bestest game of all time and I will never have to buy another as it is a completely fresh experience each time through with unlimited replayability potential", and then be dissapointed and sad through Friday, say, noon-ish. Then, my anticipation will be quenched and I can pick it up when it comes out and be pleasantly surprised.

[Chuck Jordan]

Really? How do you win? That seems like a pretty fundamental descriptive difference between a toy and a game.
By getting to the top of the career ladder. Or by making enough money to buy the most expensive house in the neighborhood. Or, in the Sims 2, by getting the Lifetime Achievement Want.

Those are just some of the built-in ones; the expansion packs add more. And of course there are several other "win conditions" you can set up for yourself, e.g. "I 'win' when I break up this couple's marriage and make the guy so miserable he dies or at least loses his job."

I get your point, and the game is set up to be toy-like in that you're encouraged to (feel like you can) do whatever you want. All I'm saying is that there's a good bit of built-in game design and rewards, that people too frequently dismiss by saying "it's just a toy."

[AndrewM]

The Sims seemed to have more explicit goals to work towards than Sim City.

[mouselock]

I get your point, and the game is set up to be toy-like in that you're encouraged to (feel like you can) do whatever you want. All I'm saying is that there's a good bit of built-in game design and rewards, that people too frequently dismiss by saying "it's just a toy."

Well I think it depends on how you define a toy vs. a game at that point. I think Legos are clearly a toy (vs. a game) but I sure as hell wouldn't be dismissive of that. My point is more that I think there's plenty of room for "toy-like" character in the gamespace, versus having to have a game with a set narrative and progression path. (Which is what I felt the person I originally responded to meant.) I never thought that classifying The Sims as "a toy" was dismissive. I think it's more of high flattery. It's one thing to drive people because you hook into their basic need to see something through "til the end". It's quite another to hook them because they want to just play with what you've given them, and are happy whether or not they get to "the end" (and in fact can easily define "the end" for themselves).

[Skipper]

For those working on the game would it be safe to say the delay is based on enhancing the game or would it instead be delayed based on porting to multiple platforms with a simultaneous release?

If I remember right this is one of those games being released on everything known to man. I could see some extra time to enable that.

[Chuck Jordan]

My point is more that I think there's plenty of room for "toy-like" character in the gamespace, versus having to have a game with a set narrative and progression path. (Which is what I felt the person I originally responded to meant.) I never thought that classifying The Sims as "a toy" was dismissive.
Right, and that was clear in regards to Spore. I just like reminding people that The Sims is deceptively simple, and I believe its success isn't based on its open-endedness. I believe it's because there are so many components to it that people who play it for different reasons, don't even realize that those components are there (e.g. some people turn on the money cheat immediately, and don't even bother with that entire game system, and they still enjoy it).

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a fun toy. But I think there is a game there, and making the game feel so open-ended is probably difficult enough that it could cause the project to be delayed indefinitely!!!!!!

[Damien Neil]

The toy part of the Sims is that you can set your own goals and pretty much try to do whatever you want. The game part is that a lot of the things you might want to do aren't necessarily easy--getting to the top of the career ladder, affording all the neat furniture, and so on. I suspect much of the success of the Sims (and SimCity, for that matter) comes from blending the two.

Hopefully, Spore will get that balance right as well.

[StGabe]

The Sims hits people in the guts. That is to say, it's about all the stuff that we think about and worry about and dream about in real life, only packaged up such that it's not nearly so tedious. And so it's grabs people.

Now, sure, I love the idea of creating my own race of people from the ground up. But I'm a hardcore geek. The toyishness of the Sim's doesn't seem to be relevant to me. I just don't see this having anything like the wide appeal that the Sim's has just because of what it is.

Also, I'm very skeptical of big ideas. I much prefer lots of small ideas working together. The demos of Spore have shown us point A, point B and point C in the Spore world and they were all pretty cool. What they didn't really show us was anything that made me believe that going from A to B to C would be, well, terribly fun. It could be and I really hope it is. But that's what I think is going to make or break it.

[bago]

Yeah, who wants to be god?

[MyNameIsWill]

If Spore misses 2007 something will have gone horribly awry. We're working hard over here. :)

So, what happened? (http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?p=659651#post659651)

[DeepT]

Spore... the new DNF.

[Ben Sones]

Spore has many, many years of development to go if it wants to grab that title. And since DNF has a large head start and is never coming out... well, good luck.

[Kool Moe Dee]

So, what happened? (http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?p=659651#post659651)

Reality set in, one schedule slip at a time.

[BobJustBob]

Spore has many, many years of development to go if it wants to grab that title. And since DNF has a large head start and is never coming out... well, good luck.

Also even if DNF did come out and Spore came out 10 years later, DNF would still look far, far worse because it's merely a shooter.

[Chuck Jordan]

Spore... the new DNF.
Can somebody help me? My browser's broken. In the address bar it says I'm reading the Quarter to Three forums, but I keep seeing the doofusy comments threads from Joystiq, Kotaku, and Game|Life.

[MatthewF]

It's just DeepT. Are you surprised?

[Unicorn McGriddle]

To be fair, DeepT usually manages something more eccentric.

[DeepT]

I am sorry, Ill try and be more cryptic next time.

[Brendan]

...big fat SimAnt-like letdown.

You suck. Sim Ant was awesome.

[RepoMan]

You suck. Sim Ant was awesome.
Yeah, OK, I admit, I enjoyed it too for what it was. But it definitely wasn't much of a game. Play it for an hour and you've pretty much seen it all -- ironically for a game about ant farms, it wasn't deep.

Would make a great XBLA title though, especially with multi-core massive ant army simulation.

[JPR]

Just got an email from EA. September 7th.

Here (http://fun.ea.com/cgi-bin24/DM/y/niei0JfOTT0EVQ0BlNw0Eq)'s the announcement video.

[Charles]

Just got an email from EA. September 7th.

Here (http://fun.ea.com/cgi-bin24/DM/y/niei0JfOTT0EVQ0BlNw0Eq)'s the announcement video.

Wow, that video is so not worth it.

[UncleSmoothie]

Fair warning: we've all got to September 7th to upgrade PCs and/or buy Intel stock.

[JD]

There's an interview with Will Wright and some infos on the DS version (among other things) up at Croal's blog (http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/levelup/default.aspx).

-Julian

[AlanT]

Fair warning: we've all got to September 7th to upgrade PCs and/or buy Intel stock.
Do we know yet what kind of system it's going to need to run? I need to update anyway, though, whether or not Spore turns out to be all that.

[UncleSmoothie]

The Sim City games are a good windsock, I think. I had solid mid-range gaming rigs when Sim City 3000 and Sim City 4 came out, and they both brought my system to their knees as soon as I had a city of any appreciable size.

[DennyA]

Wow. That video so did not deliver.

Glad they had the warning about some material not being appropriate for children, though.

[Stroker Ace]

Spore due September 7, 2008:

http://www.spore.com/press_021208.php

[Guido Jones]

Spore due September 7, 2008:

http://www.spore.com/press_021208.php

Welcome to post #97.

[Stroker Ace]

Ow, my balls!

[Kunikos]

Damnit, stupid Croal interviews making me interested in a game not coming out for another 7 months.

[CustodianV131]

Finally!

Would have loved this before the summer, instead of when all the work is starting up again but that might just be me :)

Still having a date set for it now is good!


Damnit, stupid Croal interviews making me interested in a game not coming out for another 7 months.

You're so lucky, only seven months... I discovered it far far to early :)

[lesslucid]

Ooh, my birthday! Well, I guess I might have a computer powerful enough to run it... in time for the following birthday. :(

[Kunikos]

Would have loved this before the summer, instead of when all the work is starting up again but that might just be me :)

It's coming out the month where my work is releasing our product to state regulators and my wife is giving birth to our first child. If there is a god, he truly hates me. ;)

[AlanT]

Eh, you might have more time than you expect with the child. They sleep a lot in the first month, you know. The state regulators, though... yeah, you're right. God hates you, and you're fucked.

[Cosmic Hippo]

This news makes me happy. With Spore further delayed, I'll be more likely to have the hardware for it by the time it comes out!

[marxeil]

I hate it that whenever something interesting comes out the 'need to upgrade' beast raises its ugly head. I just upgraded dammit. Anybody knows what are the specs?
Indeed, PC gaming is DOMED!!!

[cliffski]

I think people are just assuming the worst. Why the hell would spore need a decent spec PC? Maybe I am underestimating the code that works out how a creature walks, because thats the bit that seems the most new and impressive, but I'm guessing that's an 'offline' once-only bit of wizardry, rather than a virtual brain for each leg.
Spore seems to me like a major design challenge, and a great idea, but I just can't see how it needs more processor, RAM or graphics power than Bioshock does, or Supreme Commander.
Plus its aiming at mass market, EA aren't idiots, the specs will not be stupidly high.

[marxeil]

I think people are just assuming the worst. Why the hell would spore need a decent spec PC? Maybe I am underestimating the code that works out how a creature walks, because thats the bit that seems the most new and impressive, but I'm guessing that's an 'offline' once-only bit of wizardry, rather than a virtual brain for each leg.
Spore seems to me like a major design challenge, and a great idea, but I just can't see how it needs more processor, RAM or graphics power than Bioshock does, or Supreme Commander.
Plus its aiming at mass market, EA aren't idiots, the specs will not be stupidly high.
I agree and hope you are right. Then again, I remember that Simcity4 was a hog when it came out.
There aren't many games that I am looking forward to but this was one is. I'll be really disappointed if I can't run it on my system.

[Talisker]

Why the hell would spore need a decent spec PC?
Depending on how sophisticated the behavior models are for the creatures, and how large the populations are, it could easily chew through as much CPU as you could possibly throw at it.

I'll make the haphazard prediction that it'll be the first blockbuster PC game to seriously take advantage of multiple CPU cores :)

[CustodianV131]

It's coming out the month where my work is releasing our product to state regulators and my wife is giving birth to our first child. If there is a god, he truly hates me. ;)

Hey glad I'm not alone in this and you've so much more on your mind then me even. Thanks a lot. cheers me up! :D Feel pretty good about it also, since part of your experience will beat any game! Best of luck during the pregnancy, hope all goes well! Oh and do say goodbye to us while you go MIA for a good while :D I’ve been there twice now...


On the system requirements
I'm looking forward to the system specs. If they play it smart they won't be to high. Its the sort of game targeted on a audience that doesn't have the newest and heaviest specs, think they are smart enough to keep that in mind.

[Wendelius]

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=92666


Speaking exclusively to Eurogamer, Maxis's Patrick Buechner has explained why the game is to be released in Europe on 5th September, two days earlier than in the US.

Asked if Maxis was always aiming for a simultaneous release Buechner said, "Oh, absolutely. Europe probably represents about 60 per cent or more of our PC business, so getting it right in Europe is going to be a real focus over the next few months."

"Getting the launch right, getting the game working right here, getting those online features working in Europe... Europe is the priority for Spore," he continued. Isn't it nice to feel loved?

...

I'll let you know what it's like... :D

Wendelius

[Gremlinclr]

Just got an email from EA. September 7th.

Here (http://fun.ea.com/cgi-bin24/DM/y/niei0JfOTT0EVQ0BlNw0Eq)'s the announcement video.

I decided to look that far ahead on the calender and it turns out the 7th is a Sunday. Buh? How can they release anything on a Sunday? That makes no sense to me. What about people that mail order? It's automatically one day early or late, probably late.

Also I've watched quite a few videos and have never seen anything with fur. Is there fur in the game? I wanna make some furry creatures and all I've seen is skin and scales. Not Furry mind you, there will be no yiffing in my Spore. Just, you know, fur.

[wisefool]

September 7, 2009 is a Monday.

Actually, Sims 2 is among the most CPU-intensive/bound games I've played (Along with Dwarf Fortress and FSX)

[Gremlinclr]

September 7, 2009 is a Monday.


True. But since the game is coming out this year that's not really relevant.

[Fugitive]

Interesting, they seem to be taking a cue from GT5P and will be releasing the creature editor (http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/866/866966p1.html) and a test area ahead of time, in free and pay versions.

I'm guessing that someone figures there's a sizable demographic that's interested in just playing around with the generator but not necessarily interested in the full game, so they might be able to squeeze a bit of cash out of them and convert some of them over into full purchasers.

[Quaro]

A retail version of just the creature creator? I'm sure it's cool, but if you can't jump into the world with your creature I can't imagine paying for it.

[Gedd]

nce you've made a creature, you can bring it into a test area where you can walk it around and try a variety of animations.

So you can't jump in the world necessarily, but you could play around.

I wonder if they're doing this in part to help get some early testing in on the Sporepedia, and possibly seed the "creature sharing" feature where the game pulls in random creatures created by others.

[Midnight Son]

I need me some spore. And I don't just mean hallucinogenic mushrooms....

[Gremlinclr]

Spore Creature Creator (http://pc.ign.com/articles/869/869473p1.html?RSSwhen2008-04-25_103500&RSSid=869473) will hit stores June 17th for $9.99. A free demo version will also come at the same time but it will only have about 25% of the content.

Damn EA for making me but I will pay for this.

[Rorschach]

Any word of a discount for the full game when it comes out? I'm much more willing to put $10 as a down payment on Spore and get the creature creator than paying $10 for a part of the game and then another $60 for the rest of the game.

[Fugitive]

Any word of a discount for the full game when it comes out? I'm much more willing to put $10 as a down payment on Spore and get the creature creator than paying $10 for a part of the game and then another $60 for the rest of the game.
I wouldn't count on it, since it seems like too much of a hassle for the retailers and their systems wouldn't be set up to account for it.

Unless they do it as a credit against some kind of DLC, or something like that.

[JD]

I wouldn't count on it, since it seems like too much of a hassle for the retailers and their systems wouldn't be set up to account for it.
It worked for for UT2004 though, which was cheaper if you already had bought UT2003 and had a voucher to prove it.

-Julian

[Marcin]

Excellent creature creator video (http://pc.ign.com/dor/objects/735340/spore/videos/sporecreation_tool_demo.html) at IGN.

I really like when he adds the frogs legs and the critter preens, examining them - despite the fact that its eyes were *just* added and the legs were in fact arms a second ago - and you know instantly it's admiring them from the overall critter movement. Cool.

[Rorschach]

Did he create a head or just bolt some eyes and horns onto a big mouth? I thought you'd use the mouse wheel to expand the body around the topmost vertebrae?

[JPR]

I wish I weren't positive I'm going to hate this game.

[Chuck Jordan]

Every time I see the creature editor I can't think of any word to describe it but "wonderful." Even the proto-version three years ago was amazing.

When I first heard EA was going to be charging for the "full" demo, I was griping like everybody else. But when I think about it -- if an indie game were released that did the same stuff the creature editor does, I'd pay 10 bucks for it in a heartbeat.

[Calistas]

I just can't help be sceptical. I can't imagine that your final creature will have any influence on how the game plays beyond the 'running around on your own' stage.

Sure, early on you might go for a fast running herbivore to get away from the creature eaters, or you might have a carnivore with lots of big teeth.. But once you get into the 'society' phase, will it really matter? And will the fidelity in the design mean that anything other than a rock, paper, scissors approach will matter in the wander around phase?

[BobJustBob]

I just can't help be sceptical. I can't imagine that your final creature will have any influence on how the game plays beyond the 'running around on your own' stage.

Sure, early on you might go for a fast running herbivore to get away from the creature eaters, or you might have a carnivore with lots of big teeth.. But once you get into the 'society' phase, will it really matter? And will the fidelity in the design mean that anything other than a rock, paper, scissors approach will matter in the wander around phase?

http://i29.tinypic.com/e0hnk.jpg

[Tyjenks]

Is this THE Spore thread?

Anywho, specs ahoy (http://www.spore.com/what/specs_spore).

Not too bad.

Less than a week until the Creature Creator comes out. Even the box art has me excited. I am trying not too get anxious about Spore, but it is ever-so hard not, too.

http://drh.img.digitalriver.com/DRHM/Storefront/Company/ea/images/detail/feature/15864_400x230_1.jpg

[Malcolm Tucker]

I like that my two year old Mac is well above the minimum specs (except for leopard.)

[EvilIdler]

I've tried to avoid as much as possible about Spore, but it's tough. I accidentally watched a video, and want it more.
I especially like that I can play it anywhere I am, with those friendly specs and even Mac and DS ports.
(I'm guessing the DS version will be something much more limited, though.)

[Eric Majkut]

I'm going to get the Creature Creator because I've been dying to get my hands on anything Spore related for years now. It's going to leave me with the biggest blue balls ever, though :(

[Funkula]

(I'm guessing the DS version will be something much more limited, though.)

So far as I've heard, the portable versions will be stages of the game, excised from context. I believe the DS version is going to be the creature phase, and the iPhone is getting a port of the microbe phase.

[ZekeDMS]

I'm really interested in playing with the creature created, but Spore itself, I have no interest in.

I always get bored with sandboxing, and while I'll play until the point I can explore the galaxy, once I get there I always feel like I've got nothing worth doing.

I share the worries of Calistas as well, regarding how much my creature matters in the long run.

[Tim James]

Anywho, specs ahoy (http://www.spore.com/what/specs_spore).Any idea what they could be doing with 6 gigs of hard drive space?

[Brendan]

Am I the only person who thinks that the full creature creator should be released as a free demo?

[Funkula]

Nope.

[CustodianV131]

No. I also feel they should have made it free. They don't get more money with the whole rebate thingy. (Although many people probably won't take the effort to get the rebate, but I can't imagine that being a worthwhile source of income) Guess PR thinks they can lure more people into buying the full product this way. Silly.

I'm going to get it anyway, but still silly.

[AndrewM]

Why does it matter so much? They are releasing a partial demo for free. Are you not satisfied with the number of choices available from the free demo? It isn't even out yet!

[zengonzo]

They reasonably stated their feelings without hyperbole or drama ..

[Ergo]

I always get bored with sandboxing, and while I'll play until the point I can explore the galaxy, once I get there I always feel like I've got nothing worth doing.
Same here. Sandbox games generally do nothing for me. I'm buying this one, however.

[Pogo]

I just can't help be sceptical. I can't imagine that your final creature will have any influence on how the game plays beyond the 'running around on your own' stage.

Sure, early on you might go for a fast running herbivore to get away from the creature eaters, or you might have a carnivore with lots of big teeth.. But once you get into the 'society' phase, will it really matter? And will the fidelity in the design mean that anything other than a rock, paper, scissors approach will matter in the wander around phase?

Shhhh, people might read this and realize you're absolutely right.
http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2005/20050527l.jpg

[ZekeDMS]

I've no doubt I'll enjoy the game right up to UFO point. Then I'll wonder why I'm still playing, since I'm just a roaming god and have nothing else to do.

[zengonzo]

Shhhh, people might read this and realize you're absolutely right.

Or maybe people have in mind other ways to enjoy the title, even if it isn't strategically deep?

[Tyjenks]

Or maybe people have in mind other ways to enjoy the title, even if it isn't strategically deep?

He means creating a race of Total Recall women with extra breasts.

[Jab]

My complaint with the creature demo is that a $5 rebate to buy a $10 demo seems like a cop out to me. Now if they gave me a $10 rebate for the demo (in effect getting the demo by preordering Spore) I wouldn't have a problem with it.

[zengonzo]

He means creating a race of Total Recall women with extra breasts.

Should that fail, I'll just make them one big breast.

[ducker]

I didn't even see anything regarding a rebate on their website.. everywhere on there it seems as if it's $10.. that's it.
I for one don't like the idea shelling out $10 for a part of a $50 game that I'll be most likely getting in the fall.

I'll just wait.

And for those that don't like sandbox games.. then why the hell would you get something that's even less of a "game" and more of a sandbox, with the creature editor?

Imho, they should of made some type of code to download the creature editor earlier if you pre-order a copy of spore.

This model sucks for those that don't run out and buy every frackin software title in the universe.

[zengonzo]

For the record, ducker, there will be a free version of the creature editor at the same time - it will simply have limited options.

I do agree about not allowing this as a preorder gift ..

[ducker]

For the record, ducker, there will be a free version of the creature editor at the same time - it will simply have limited options.

I do agree about not allowing this as a preorder gift ..

yea with about only 25% of the editor enabled. Sure I'll download it to see what it's like, but a bit of a buzz kill.. that's all. Then again it's just a fancy editor to create art/creatures.

[wildpokerman]

Uh no offence to Soren here but I mean he's most famous for updating a game that was already a classic bestseller. The magic was in the Civilization series when he was in short pants.

I mean working on an average to crappy console boxing title and not fucking up Civilization is not like climbing Mt. Everest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soren_Johnson
http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/197746.asp?q=knockout%20kings

Compare to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Hillary#1953_Everest_Expedition

If the spore doesn't have any gameplay behind it what's he going to do to make it (don't read this Tom) fun?

[EvilIdler]

I think Soren is the cooler person for choosing a career which doesn't involve the risk of death and dismemberment at any time.
Silly mountain climbers - all entertainment they provide is passive, although there's potential schadenfreude.

[zengonzo]

You establish a set of rules, consequences and advantages, and let players work that out within the environment with an engaging visual representation. You don't make it fun, people either find it fun or not.

[Tom Chick]

Yurislave, your post cut off at the last word, so I couldn't quite tell what you were getting at...

However, I think Soren deserves easily as much credit as Brian Reynolds as a designer. They both might have cut their teeth with Sid Meier's basic concepts, but they worked wonders with those concepts and move far beyond them. Soren didn't simply "update" the Civilization series. He pretty much reinvented it, slaughtering sacred cattle right and left. And you can tell from [url=http://www.designer-notes.com/]his blog/url] that he knows gaming much more than you let on by pointing out that he was an intern at EA eight years ago. Soren being young isn't a liability.

Frankly, the best news I've heard about Spore is that EA hired him. Because if there's anyone I trust to jam the necessary gameplay into Spore, it's Soren Johnson.

-Tom

[wildpokerman]

Yurislave, your post cut off at the last word, so I couldn't quite tell what you were getting at...

However, I think Soren deserves easily as much credit as Brian Reynolds as a designer. They both might have cut their teeth with Sid Meier's basic concepts, but they worked wonders with those concepts and move far beyond them. Soren didn't simply "update" the Civilization series. He pretty much reinvented it, slaughtering sacred cattle right and left. And you can tell from [url=http://www.designer-notes.com/]his blog/url] that he knows gaming much more than you let on by pointing out that he was an intern at EA eight years ago. Soren being young isn't a liability.

Frankly, the best news I've heard about Spore is that EA hired him. Because if there's anyone I trust to jam the necessary gameplay into Spore, it's Soren Johnson.

-Tom

Alright I'll lay off the man. My caution is mostly to myself because after reading his designer notes in the manual (yes I bought the collector's edition) I'm also prone to hero worship and I'm afraid of making what will probably be a $60 mistake next spring.

My main concern is that this will be a game equivalant of Ishtar or Waterworld and that I will get sucked in. I just want it to be good so badly!

[Tyjenks]

I would say royally screwing up a classic is easier to do than what Soren helped do with Civilization. And he certainly seems to have loads of insight when he dips into a conversation here. Not that insight makes a game more fun, but it certainly aids in the developing process one would think.

Just sayin'.

That said, I share your fear about the Waterworld effect.

[AndrewM]

Hey, I enjoyed Waterworld.

I'm sure Spore will be a fun game, but I don't know if the giant bet that EA seems to be placing on it will really pay off. I think The Sims did very well because it was a Will Wright design tied to a boring everyday setting that many people could relate to. Spore seems to lack this latter characteristic, so I don't know that it will reach the same heights. Though GTA has done very well, and it seems like a "gamer's game", so who knows.

[BobJustBob]

Spore will be huge. It'll probably take until Sims 3 to knock it off the top of the PC charts. Also I expect it to be the best game ever, but that's a different kind of prediction.

[Andrew Mayer]

Spore will be huge.

Sure, it's going to have a great launch, but (pun intended) will it have legs?

Creating alternate lives in the Sims has incredible mass appeal, but I'm not sure how long the masses are going to enjoy playing God.

[EvilIdler]

Even Bob is positive about it. Best thing since sliced milk!

[zengonzo]

Creating alternate lives in the Sims has incredible mass appeal, but I'm not sure how long the masses are going to enjoy playing God.

As quick and easy as it looks, I suspect people will have quite a bit of fun with it. I think it is similar to the Miis, and goes back as far as that old face maker game. People just love to make stuff. It's like Play-Doh for the digital generation.

I'm suspecting people will get much more mileage out of the creator than the full game - even if the full game is quite engaging.

[Tyjenks]

You Brit bastards will get it free with a preorder (http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/1355/spore-incentive-for-brits-creature-creator-free-in-the-uk-sort-of)it would seem. Since 90% of the people around these parts are gonna get it sight unseen, I think we would all appreciate similar treatment.



"In the UK, anyone pre-ordering the full Spore game, due out on September 5, through either EA Store or via selected retailers (GAME and Zavvi) will get a disc containing 100 per cent of the CC (Creature Creator). The only cash they will part with is whatever the pre-order deposit is (typically a £5). This money is deducted from the retail price of Spore when it arrives in September, meaning that the full CC is to all intents and purposes free in the UK."

[ducker]

You Brit bastards will get it free with a preorder (http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/1355/spore-incentive-for-brits-creature-creator-free-in-the-uk-sort-of)it would seem. Since 90% of the people around these parts are gonna get it sight unseen, I think we would all appreciate similar treatment.

now that would be nice, and I'll do that.

[ZekeDMS]

Even Bob is positive about it. Best thing since sliced milk!


Well, of course. This is the ultimate sandbox. The idea of just being whatever you please drives him insane at night for not getting to do it.

The first time a rule or perhaps, God willing, a scripted sequence pops up, he will die of fatal disappointment.

[RepoMan]

Actually, he'd better play on Ultra Easy difficulty, where you don't need to actually eat anything in order for your Spore-bacterium to grow. Otherwise he'll be back in Bioshock hell where he has to (gasp!) collect things in order to move forward in the game.

[BobJustBob]

he'd better play on Ultra Easy difficulty

Always do.

[biclops]

The Creature Creator demo is available from the spore website now:

http://eastore.ea.com/store/ea/en_US/DisplayProductDetailsPage/ThemeID.1252400&productID=101447000

Edit: Well, it was there, now there's a placeholder file. The actual demo is leaked all over the internet now though.

[Tyjenks]

oooh, maybe someone else can get banned in trying to make the arguement that they are justified in ripping off the Creature Creator when they plan on purchasing the full game anyway. I mean, surely it is OK in this case since EA is the devil and all.

[Roy Ziegler]

Isn't it just a demo being released a couple days early?

[biclops]

Yeah, it's the free demo. The full creature creator hasn't been leaked as far as I know.

[McBain]

I'm not sure why they'd pull it. The damage is already done, I've seen youtubes and screenshots of all the dick monsters people are rushing to create.

I mean, it's cheap advertising for the game, right?

[Kalle]

What I want to know is this.

If I get Spore and only Spore, what functionality am I missing out on that can only be had in the Creature Creator?

Or, to be a bit more cynical about it. What functionality has EA stripped from the main Spore game in order to make people pay for a 10$ demo?

[Ben Sones]

Or, to be a bit more cynical about it. What functionality has EA stripped from the main Spore game in order to make people pay for a 10$ demo?

None, AFAIK. They can't really rip creature creation functionality out of Spore, since it's part of the core gameplay. And I'm pretty sure they've said that the Creature Creator standalone is identical to the one that's in the game.

There have been rumors that buying the full Creature Creator will give you a discount on Spore; I'm not sure if that's something they are really doing, but it would definitely make me more willing to shell out $10 for the full version.

[Adree]

http://i27.tinypic.com/2wr291k.jpg

[AndrewM]

I guess we now know what Umber Hulk babies look like.

[Joel]

EA seeded some pre-release copies of the Creature Creator to various bloggers, etc.

[Adree]

http://i29.tinypic.com/27yspyw.jpg

http://i25.tinypic.com/2gy965w.jpg

[Chuck Jordan]

There have been rumors that buying the full Creature Creator will give you a discount on Spore; I'm not sure if that's something they are really doing, but it would definitely make me more willing to shell out $10 for the full version.
There are two dumb things about the whole kerfluffle over EA's charging for the "demo" of the Creature Creator:
1) If this were released as a self-contained indie game for 10 bucks, people would buy it in a heartbeat.
2) Complaints about charging for the creature creator are making me feel compelled to defend Electronic Arts, which is just wrong.

[Quaro]

They should make it free, but let you buy little plastic 3d action figures of creatures you create for 30 or 40 bucks. They'd get way more than 10 bucks out of me that way. Sell big ones for 100.

[Quaro]

5 minute impressions of demo, mostly questions: If you shrink the initial spine, and then expand it again, I couldn't figure out how to make the main body large rather than just long.

Doesn't seem to matter where things are on the creature? Just having the part is what increases your attack, or sight, or whatever?

Is there way way to test the glide ability?

Easily worth 10 bucks for more parts though. I hope I'm missing some advanced customization (you can't paint individual parts?)

[EvilIdler]

Mousewheel should grow the body and parts.

The difference between this demo and the full version is that this demo only has one column in each category of bodyparts.
There are 57 parts in the demo, and probably 228 parts in the full creator and the game.

[Quaro]

Yeah, I looked it up, have to put the mouse right on the bones and then mousewheel. The only thing so far that wasn't obvious.

[zengonzo]

Anyone have a link?

[zengonzo]

Found it .. It sure didn't like my attempts to make it walk. Everything else worked fine.

[Kalle]

Huh, more legs should technically make my creation faster, but cramming legs onto it just makes it shuffle about. I guess there's a balance to be struck.

[zengonzo]

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/731/audreyng0.png

[Pogo]

Haha, nice.

[Pogo]

Doesn't seem to matter where things are on the creature? Just having the part is what increases your attack, or sight, or whatever?

It seems to be just visual. It's hard to tell if there's a min/max system built into the game, or if it's possible to build an ideal spore.

[zengonzo]

Yeah, I'd gotten the impression it would end up that way - largely aesthetic. But I'm having a heck of a time just making things.

I managed to make a triple-breasted Total Recall creature, as per earlier in the thread ... Doesn't look like anything you'd want to touch, though.

[Joel]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3023/2578406213_dc9c648387_o.jpg

[Joel]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3164/2578421267_19e9a7566f_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3114/2579254470_9fe03d2db4_o.jpg

[checker]

Found it .. It sure didn't like my attempts to make it walk. Everything else worked fine.

Can you (and anybody else) tag any creatures you make that animate poorly with breakprocanim and we'll look at them?

Oh, and feel free to spread that request to tag with breakprocanim around on SA or GAF or any of the other forums with people posting. I only really hang out here.

Thanks,
Chris

[Tyjenks]

I managed to make a triple-breasted Total Recall creature, as per earlier in the thread ... Doesn't look like anything you'd want to touch, though.

Crap. Guess I don't need to try the demo then.

[Pogo]

I made a Pogo! I haven't been able to make him animate well though. The one-legged thing should make a pronounced hop, but as it stand now it's a very quick twitch-like movement.

I tried to make a spider as well but the same twitchiness occurred.
http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/2306/crepogo067e287esmlnu8.jpg

[zengonzo]

Can you (and anybody else) tag any creatures you make that animate poorly with breakprocanim and we'll look at them?


Actually, I wasn't even referring to that. My computer crashes.

Something about the effect that occurs when you click .. With the arrows. Because it spazzes out until that goes away, and then he walks just fine. Sometimes it brings down the whole system. So that's my real problem.

But, sure, I'll tag those that break. I find that long, bent legs seem to cause the most issue, both clipping and stretching.

[zengonzo]

Joel, Wark is awesome, and terror pig is hilarious.

[Sol Invictus]

Welp. The Chocobo is awesome.

http://i31.tinypic.com/67pi4y.jpg

http://i32.tinypic.com/wk3j2s.jpg

[jfletch]

Any fans of the old Monster Rancher games (http://ll-033.ea.com/spore/static/image/500/000/033/500000033882_lrg.png)?

[Lazy Shiftless Bastard]

From MoM and the whole MoO series, everybody loves the Klackons!
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/9250/creklackon067de5e3smlpm9.jpg

Oh wait, no no, that's right, everbody HATES the Klackons.
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/4632/creklackon067de5e4smlpy1.jpg

[balut]

A few of my experiments:

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/7662/cre067dd4a3smlmg8.jpg

http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/6740/cre067dd4a4smlpe8.jpg

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/116/creseptacharger067dd4a5rj6.jpg

[Sol Invictus]

My latest experiment, Setebos
http://i31.tinypic.com/2j0o7br.jpg

[Gendal]

I can't wait for the expansion Sim^H^H^HSpore:Fashion so I can dress the Terror Pig up in booties (http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?t=45099).

[Eric Majkut]

I found an easter egg :) At the main menu, you can grab and spin the galaxy in the background. If you spin it fast enough, Will Wright's head flies out, haha.

Here's my first halfway decent looking creature:

http://www.deskbreaker.com/drjonez/images/spore/lobstigator.png

http://www.deskbreaker.com/drjonez/images/spore/lobstigator2.png

[jfletch]

There are two dumb things about the whole kerfluffle over EA's charging for the "demo" of the Creature Creator:
1) If this were released as a self-contained indie game for 10 bucks, people would buy it in a heartbeat.
2) Complaints about charging for the creature creator are making me feel compelled to defend Electronic Arts, which is just wrong.

The only thing I don't like about charging for it is, since the full game will pull other creatures off the internets to populate your world/galaxy, we are essentially paying them to put content into their game at launch. I wondered how they were gonna to solve "first person who plays has no content" problem, but I was not cynical enough to think EA would charge us to solve it. But the demo seems pretty full featured so it's alright.

[Hugin]

Here's one I made. For whatever reason I got it into my head I wanted to make something that might fit in an old D&D monster manual.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3269/2579751318_9df313d5c2.jpg

[nutsak]

I am the most immature person on this board by far.

NSFA: http://www.deadbored.net/qt3/Spore/TheKoontz.jpg

[Brad Wardell]

I am the most immature person on this board by far.

NSFA: http://www.deadbored.net/qt3/Spore/TheKoontz.jpg

Lol.

I fear for his species... :)

[Chuck Jordan]

The only thing I don't like about charging for it is, since the full game will pull other creatures off the internets to populate your world/galaxy, we are essentially paying them to put content into their game at launch. I wondered how they were gonna to solve "first person who plays has no content" problem, but I was not cynical enough to think EA would charge us to solve it. But the demo seems pretty full featured so it's alright.
I don't get that mentality at all, though. The game is all about procedural and user-generated content. That's like saying that Tetris is a scam because you buy it and the bricks aren't already stacked for you. The game's not about seeing planets filled with dong creatures, it's about building your own dong creature and guiding it through evolution. The content isn't the creatures themselves, it's all the tools used to create and animate the creatures.

[Qmanol]

I don't get that mentality at all, though. The game is all about procedural and user-generated content. That's like saying that Tetris is a scam because you buy it and the bricks aren't already stacked for you. The game's not about seeing planets filled with dong creatures, it's about building your own dong creature and guiding it through evolution. The content isn't the creatures themselves, it's all the tools used to create and animate the creatures.

It's a scam because it's essentially charging for a demo.

[Chuck Jordan]

It's a scam because it's essentially charging for a demo.
Dude, I already said why I think the "charging for a demo" claim is dumb. It's back there in the middle of the penes.

Edit: Oh wait, nobody posted pictures of wang monsters on here, did they? I got this thread confused with the rest of the internet. Anyway, I meant, "It's back there on the previous page."

[Pogo]

Not a wang picture:
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/1595/cremythra067e7727smlpv1.jpg
I like this one personally because it's so... flagrant. Looks great animated, everything is all flopping around, except not like a wang.

edit: Also I assumed we'd be able to make legless flying creatures? Maybe not a flying creature that actually flies, but kind of hovers around instead of walking.

[Adree]

The wings give you a Hover attribute so maybe in the real game you can.

[jfletch]

I don't get that mentality at all, though. The game is all about procedural and user-generated content. That's like saying that Tetris is a scam because you buy it and the bricks aren't already stacked for you. The game's not about seeing planets filled with dong creatures, it's about building your own dong creature and guiding it through evolution. The content isn't the creatures themselves, it's all the tools used to create and animate the creatures.

Right, but isn't a big part of the game interacting with dong civilizations made by other people?

If I am wrong, and this has been de-emphasized as time has gone on, no problem - I really haven't kept up as this game slipped into development hell.

[checker]

edit: Also I assumed we'd be able to make legless flying creatures? Maybe not a flying creature that actually flies, but kind of hovers around instead of walking.

Don't put feet on it, and make sure a part or limb (anything but torso skin) is the lowest thing on the creature, and it will float.

For more protips, assuming you can stand the almost overwhelming onslaught of wang creatures, see the two SA threads.

I'm hoping a fansite will step in and rank and categorize all the wang creatures, since people are getting pretty creative (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Soym11zTMkY). I like to think of myself as a pretty highbrow kind of guy, but I laughed out loud multiple times today while reading forums at totally lowbrow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnUXnnH6sY0) stuff.

Chris

[balut]

My first attempt at a Raymond Feist-ian Cho-Ja:

http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/8685/crechoja067e53bcsmlyk3.jpg

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/613/crechoja067e53bbsmljf9.jpg

[Pogo]

checker: Tried that, but it seems like it's just faking a crawl with the hanging limb.

balut: Are the legs jittery when you move with that thing?

[Gendal]

I like to think of myself as a pretty highbrow kind of guy, but I laughed out loud multiple times today while reading forums at totally lowbrow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnUXnnH6sY0) stuff.

I laughed out loud half a second after that video started. Playing off the starting static screen expectation was kinda brilliant. Wonderfully stupid.

[balut]

checker: Tried that, but it seems like it's just faking a crawl with the hanging limb.

balut: Are the legs jittery when you move with that thing?

Surprisingly, no, the legs move normally. It doesn't look like it's doing a true 6-legged insect walk, but it's not jittery.

[checker]

checker: Tried that, but it seems like it's just faking a crawl with the hanging limb.

Try going to the sporepedia, search for float (http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=srch-float) or something similar, go to the "download" link on the asset page on one of the dudes, and that will give you the png in your browser. You can drag that onto the app while it's running and it will load that guy, and you can take him apart and see how he works.

Chris

[balut]

I'd like to figure out a floating mechanism for this guy:

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/4738/crebeholder067e6c93smlzm0.jpg

[Bill Dungsroman]

Here's one I made. For whatever reason I got it into my head I wanted to make something that might fit in an old D&D monster manual.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3269/2579751318_9df313d5c2.jpg

Umber Hulk!

[balut]

You know what time it is? It's PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdt0iSkvt6w)

http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/386/crepbjtime067e6c96smlvw6.jpg

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/1953/crepbjtime067e6c97smlgw1.jpg

I just need to figure out how to dub the music over the video now.

[Chuck Jordan]

balut, that's my favorite one yet.

[Therlun]

A mixed blessing this creature editor.
In some areas it is pretty limited (asymmetry for instance) and still has some problems with clipping.
But even with only 25% of the parts there are endless variations and unprecedented flexibility.

[Pentadact]

Clownpants The Unthinkable!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2254/2579582157_d62905decb.jpg

Joel's and Pogo's are my favourites so far: I love small but beautifully crafted creatures, probably because I'm patently incapable of building them myself. Would you folks mind including the creature file itself so we can test-drive it? It's a PNG image in the My Documents\My Spore Creations\Creatures folder, and you can just embed it like a normal image. It's an awesome system: your whole creature's DNA is in the metadata for a 25k thumbnail, and people only have to save that to their own creatures folder to try it out in-game. Here's mine:


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3134/2579586981_e989eb8178_o.png

His hyperwaddle is part of the personality, I feel. My Horncrested Bristlefrog (http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=ast-500000014362%3Asast-500000014362) moves rather more fluidly.

-

[Chuck Jordan]

Right, but isn't a big part of the game interacting with dong civilizations made by other people?

If I am wrong, and this has been de-emphasized as time has gone on, no problem - I really haven't kept up as this game slipped into development hell.
My impression isn't that it's been de-emphasized, it's just going to be like The Sims in that different players are going to emphasize different things. Some people are going to be most interested in making dong monsters, where others are going to be making wangs, peters, or choads.

Actually, it's like how some people in The Sims spend their whole time building houses or making Sims instead of "playing the game." I think a lot of people are going to be really, really into the creature editor as the game, much much more than anybody was with Create-a-Sim. You can already see that going on, and that's with a leaked copy of the demo with only a quarter of the full content. People can't not share pictures and video of what they've made.

And you already hear a lot of people saying "I've gotten attached to him." To me, that implies that players are going to enjoy the tribal and civilization modes a lot more than what they would if the "content" were supplied entirely by Maxis.

I've got to say I'm surprised, because as cool as the previews have looked and all the amazing tech that's gone into the game, I thought EA was being way too optimistic about player-generated content.

And whoever had the idea of putting the creature DNA data in the metadata for a PNG file should get a huge raise. That's just impossibly brilliant.

[biclops]

Wienermobile or Mobile Wiener?
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/6817/cremobilewiener067ededcjl2.jpg

This is Lucky, my greatest creation
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1183/luckyrp5.jpg

[Joel]

It's ET (http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=sast-500000069702%3Apg-24)! A raving rabbid! (http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=sast-500000064503%3Apg-144) Oh yeah! (http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=sast-500000063590%3Apg-288) A Hoover! (http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=sast-500000065156%3Apg-312) More self-fucking creatures! (http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=sast-500000063400%3Apg-384)

[RobotPants]

I really want this thing :(

[Pishtaco]

I've been trying to do some more conventional animals. Shoulders are hard.
http://www.picamatic.com/show/2008/06/15/08/456803_128x128.pnghttp://www.picamatic.com/show/2008/06/15/08/456815_128x128.pnghttp://www.picamatic.com/show/2008/06/15/08/456816_128x128.pnghttp://www.picamatic.com/show/2008/06/15/08/456818_128x128.png

[Kaigen]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3091/2581310612_01efeb9eeb.jpg

[tiohn]

I made a human fetus, but I'm having some trouble with the screenshots. Will post once I get that straightened out.

[XPav]

This demo isn't out for Mac yet, is it?

[Joel]

XPav: My disc came with an OS X version, too. If people are playing with a leaked one I don't know what's up.

[Mike O'Malley]

I made a human fetus, but I'm having some trouble with the screenshots. Will post once I get that straightened out.

Context is everything.

[XPav]

XPav: My disc came with an OS X version, too. If people are playing with a leaked one I don't know what's up.

Ok, that's good to know that the non-leaked version has a Mac OS version. I can swing that.

[Chuck Jordan]

I'm wondering if the Creature Creator that releases next week is going to have a Mac version, or just the Windows one. The only one you can preorder now says "Platform: PC" and lists XP or Vista as the required OS.

[XPav]

It says "Win/Mac" on the official spore site, so I think I'm ok.

[Eric Majkut]

Sorry that it doesn't have a huge cock or anything, but here's another one I made:

http://www.deskbreaker.com/drjonez/images/spore/CRE_Unocular-067f8392_ful.png

http://www.deskbreaker.com/drjonez/images/spore/CRE_Unocular-067f8393_ful.png

http://www.deskbreaker.com/drjonez/images/spore/CRE_Unocular-067f8395_ful.png

[arctangent]

http://jimala.com/webfootfoofner1.jpg

[Rob_Merritt]

Can any of the Spore creatures have fur?

[Bill Dungsroman]

Can any of the Spore creatures have fur?

Why Mr. Merritt, you ol' scalawag.

[roBurky]

Despite his unnatural appearance, Creepbeak here has actually got the most natural-looking walk animation of the creatures I've made.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3105/2581178055_99f45ab347_o.png

Limbalossus was my next experiment in multi-jointed limb technology. He has a very pleasant lolloping gait, rather than the alternating right/left of most multi-legged creatures.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3032/2581178413_569ab0765a_o.png



http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3138/2581825871_8c78bf5fbd_o.png http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3160/2581825931_5335fb2c74_o.png