EA Hates You: SimCity Kneecaps The Modding Community
from the control-hungry dept
Hey, remember SimCity? You know, the game in which its creators botched the release so badly that it essentially became the how-to manual on how not to release a game? The game that the series creator came out against, calling the actions of the publishing company "inexcusable." The game that so pissed off its biggest fans with the online-requirement DRM, locked down platform, and anti-consumer behavior that they once again were voted as the worst company in America? You'd have thought they'd have learned their lesson at this point.
But you'd be wrong. See, SimCity is a PC game, and if PC games have any great advantage over their console competition, it's the ease with which gamers can mod the originals and make them better, more interesting, and even drive sales of the original product. Unless that game is SimCity, that is. Why? Because apparently EA hates you.
The good news is that SimCity will soon be allowing user-generated content. The bad news is that EA is looking to place so many restrictions on what you can actually mod that it seems almost pointless. In reaching out to the game's community with its initial plans, EA has already put its foot down on mods that change the way the game plays. Here are the two key points from its "first draft":In other words, EA took one of the greatest sandbox games of all time and is limiting what you can to with it to what color sand you put in that box. This is stupid. You just don't kneecap the expression of your biggest damned fans, of which the modding community for any game is certainly front and center, all for the same already-maligned "vision" you have for how the greater masses play the game. This is the same nonsense that started this whole debacle: EA insisting that the game only operate with everyone's cities to everyone else's, as if the game couldn't function otherwise. Except that it could, making this all stupid.
-UGC that effects the simulation for multiplay games and features are not allowed.P
-Examples of acceptable UGC include swapping art assets, like buildings and vehicles.
All they'd really have to do is relinquish an ounce of control and watch whatever community they've managed to retain build up some awesomeness around SimCity, likely driving further sales and/or plays of the original game. But no, instead they'll wave around their iron fist and release some talking points about vision and community and blah blah blah. Going for a "worst company" three-peat, guys?
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To be blunt, why should they care?
Now if those that objected to their practices were willing to put their wallet where their mouth was, and forgo a game or two(or even better, all future releases by them) until EA either shaped up or went under(both being equally unlikely), then they might care what the walking money-bags that are their customers think, but until then, this is hardly a surprise, but just more of the same.
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Re: To be blunt, why should they care?
Some people might even have stuck it out when they learned that Cities XL isn't very good.
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Re: Re: To be blunt, why should they care?
The game seems too expensive at $30 for me.
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At least that shows EA are willing to learn from other companies. Like Bethsoft...
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Re: To be blunt, why should they care?
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Re: To be blunt, why should they care?
To put it another way: EA customers DESERVE to be treated like shit, because they don't have the brains or the guts to do anything about it. They DESERVE to be mocked. They DESERVE to be ripped off. They DESERVE to suffer.
So please, no more of this EA-bashing: they're not the dummies here. They're displaying far more intelligence than their customers.
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Re: To be blunt, why should they care?
A lot of us do. Unfortunately, the educated consumer willing to stand up for their principals is not a breed in the majority. Not to mention that any title that underperforms just gets blamed on "piracy" anyway.
The best we can really do is try and push games that don't do this sort of crap and give money to more honest competitors. Sadly, EA's spent so much money buying up many of the best known franchises, developers and licences that the average clueless consumer finds it difficult to use alternatives. Hopefully things like the Steambox/OS and Kickstarter funded titles will help shake things up a little, but we'll see.
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In this article...
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Now watch EA claim that only proves the effectiveness of the digital restrictions malware on Sim City, conveniently 'forgetting' the fact that pirates can rip the DRM off anything within days if it's good enough to put the effort into doing so. Swing and a miss, EA. Swing and a miss.
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The executives of EA probably believe "PC" means another HR mandatory training class is coming up.
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Like not feeding trolls on techdirt.
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PC version too, so none of that DLC or "micro-transaction" bullshit either.
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https://code.google.com/p/pink-pony/
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A free market learns even if each actor's programming remains unchanged. What varies is access to capital.
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Not like I was going to anyway. I've played the sims since 1 was out. While 1 and 2 got better with each expansion, 3 has gotten worse and more unplayable and prone crashing and freezing up with each patch and expansion, even if you don't buy the expansion.
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Lincity
Simutrans
OpenCity
LGDb (Linux Game Database
Here are some games that caught my attention.
Mole Invasion
ZEQ2-Lite (I am curious to see the DB effects they talk about)
Escape The Toilet: A Triple Flush
Smokin' Guns
Seven Kingdoms
0 A.D.
Jammer the Gardener
Red Eclipse
Beats of Rage
OpenBOR
Zero Ballistics
Open Sonic
Ripples (Visual Novel seems boring)
Dink Smallwood
Lugaru
Go Ollie!
Those Funny Funguloids!
Thunder&Lightning
PainTown
Nimuh
CRRCsim
Stormbaan Coureur
OpenFracas
Ri-li
Cultivation
netPanzer
Blobby Volley 2
Dark Oberon
Frozen Bubble
World of Padman
Danger from the Deep
PlaneShift
I don't think I will have time to think about Simcity.
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Lol-worthy moments would be whenever I sent a spy to infiltrate, he gets promoted to general and the enemy king is killed and the spy succeeds him: does the spy surrender to you or betray you?
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Anyone still playing EA games deserves what they receive on this one. I long ago quit buying EA games and Ubisoft games, both companies that are up to their eyeballs in shenanigans against their customers.
If you agree to buy their games, you agree to their game. Simply, I don't.
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Which led me charging back every recent virtual purchase.
I fucking despise EA and I hope they all get an ass-full of **** from a *** hose wrapped with rusty brillo pads.
Sorry :( every single time I hear EA it blinds me with rage.
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Tropico
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The only mod I would make is concerning buildings and artwork...you had this option in Roller Coaster Tycoon 3...so yeah..
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Why?
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EA's crap shoot
They learned that to get the bucks, they need to restrict all content possible, make sure that the content that can actually work in the game is only from EA (anything else doesn't work), and charge outrageous prices for it.
Sims 3 was the culmination of all they learned, and now they're carrying it forward. I don't expect Sims 4 to be any great prize, even with improved design or content.
So, they're just carrying on the tradition with Sim City.
Another mark against a crappy game to begin with.
It's just business, you know.
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Re: EA's crap shoot
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Seriously, EA - spelling?
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Re: EA's crap shoot
Sims 2 was universally loved for the amount of freedom anyone had in creating content that others could use. EA did not stop anyone from creating things by locking up code, or making the game unplayable if you did.
EA did have a 'store' of sorts for 2, but they really got into gear with 3-and a lot of things are not available for modding or creation by players from that venue, such as 'worlds'.
Sims 3, on the other hand, is well-known as being the game where if you put in someone else's creation for the game, it will probably not work, or interfere with EA's stuff. EA planned it that way, and that's because they did learn the first rule of business: don't ever let the competition give away stuff for free-you can do it for a price!
Doesn't mean that creators have given up on doing that for 3, but it's infinitely more difficult and less rewarding.
After all, you can't improve on ugly unless you burn it, and lots of Sims 3 is flame proof, and still ugly after all efforts to salvage it are done.
Which is undoubtedly the way SimCity will go. Ugly and unplayable to the end.
EA just doesn't learn very well.
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