SimCity 2013 - Oh how you sucker punched me in Love!

[Melbosa]

Or it could be different scenarios.  I know I've been disconnected from their sync servers for more than 2 hours according to the game notices and the afore mentioned functionality errors.  But in my case my internet was working so maybe their origin auth servers were up so it allowed me to play in "offline" mode till the sync servers came back. 

Perhaps I just received a different disconnect code than the testers above.  Who knows!!!

[Lazybones]

http://bgr.com/2013/03/13/simcity-pr-nightmare-analysis-372284/

Apparently now that users can play they are finding other bazaar issues with the game. IE the new simulations are kinda broke.

[Darren Dirt]

http://bgr.com/2013/03/13/simcity-pr-nightmare-analysis-372284/

...characters in the game don?t actually have any permanent jobs or homes. They simply walk to the nearest available open job or a suitable home at certain times, a simplification that creates major headaches in city planning. Sims that start walking don?t switch to mass transit if they don?t find a job nearby; kids don?t get to schools easily; all cops go to a single crime scene even if police stations are carefully spread in different parts of the city. School buses, fire trucks and tourist hordes all seem to have trouble finding obvious routes to their goals. As a result, designing a functional city may mean planning a street grid and placement of different facilities in a deeply counterintuitive way. Players have to design their cities to suit bad algorithms, not realistic goals.

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ermahgerd

[Mr. Analog]

I wondered about this as the first gameplay I saw showed busses and police cars forming convoys after brief amounts of time.

My face. There are palms on it.

[Tom]

More Funness:

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/03/fans-press-uncover-massive-holes-in-simcitys-ai-server-connection

[Mr. Analog]

More Funness:

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/03/fans-press-uncover-massive-holes-in-simcitys-ai-server-connection

The videos linked in that article are unbelievable to be honest.

This completely smacks of the "ship it" attitude some game publishers, like EA have and abuse to make a deadline.

I wonder how deep the rabbit hole goes?

[Mr. Analog]

The plot thickens:

Modder proves SimCity can run offline indefinitely:
http://www.geek.com/articles/games/modder-proves-simcity-can-run-offline-indefinitely-20130314/

dun-Dun-DUN!

[Lazybones]

Not the first video to show this but that large intersection pedestrian bug can get silly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVPEJ7QFXTI

[Darren Dirt]

The plot thickens:

Modder proves SimCity can run offline indefinitely:
http://www.geek.com/articles/games/modder-proves-simcity-can-run-offline-indefinitely-20130314/

dun-Dun-DUN!

Kickin' it up a Notch: https://twitter.com/notch/status/311535572596432896

Now the masses who are stuck inside MC will even know about this tomfoolery.

Can't Stop The Signal!


Oh, and GL denying this EA: http://www.geek.com/articles/games/maxis-developer-claims-simcity-doesnt-actually-need-servers-20130313/

On the face of it this looks like EA is making the features that require a server look far more important than they actually are. In reality, the main purpose of that server link is to ensure the game isn?t subject to piracy and remains linked to EA?s Origin system until such a time as they don?t want to pay for the servers required to run SimCity anymore.

The irony in all of this is that the compulsory server connection and terrible launch has meant there?s an even greater desire for the game to be cracked and an offline mode introduced.

EA and Maxis are now in a difficult position due to the growing evidence that SimCity doesn?t require a server. Do they come out and admit as much, or provide sufficient evidence to convince us otherwise? We don?t mind which of those we get, but we do need a definitive answer.

[Lazybones]

20min limit is a code thing
http://kotaku.com/5990997/coders-discover-20+minute-offline-timeout-in-simcity

[Tom]

I have read that the longer you're offline, the more likely it is that you'll loose progress when the server rolls your city back.

[Lazybones]

I have read that the longer you're offline, the more likely it is that you'll loose progress when the server rolls your city back.

O probably but then again the only part of the game that appears to be online based is the saves and some very forgiving syncing of friends regions.

[Tom]

I have read that the longer you're offline, the more likely it is that you'll loose progress when the server rolls your city back.

O probably but then again the only part of the game that appears to be online based is the saves and some very forgiving syncing of friends regions.

Pretty much.

[Darren Dirt]

20min limit is a code thing
http://kotaku.com/5990997/coders-discover-20+minute-offline-timeout-in-simcity

pastebin here -- http://pastebin.com/8NR1EdkN

FANTASTIC discussion here -- http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=525129 ( mobile less download = 100 posts/page )



and summed up so beautifully by NMA*:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uFEYIVKOwA



* you surely recognize the work of these talented and prolific animators right? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_Media_Animation (their website is http://www.nma.tv/ )

[Mr. Analog]

I lost my mind at the Diablo III part hahah