Author Topic: SimCity - EA shows us all how to ruin a landmark game with DRM. (Read 20706 times)

40hz · « **on:** March 08, 2013, 07:44 AM »

With all the ridiculous DRM nonsense going on it was bound to happen to some game sooner or later.

From OSNews:

EA botches SimCity launch, Amazon stops sales
posted by Thom Holwerda on Thu 7th Mar 2013 22:44 UTC

SimCity has been released - the fifth instalment in this venerable series of fantastic games. However, just as everyone suspected, the game has been completely ruined by the always-online DRM. So much so, in fact, that Amazon has ceased selling the game.

SimCity requires no introduction - from the first game onwards, it has captured the minds and hearts of gamers the world over. SimCity 2000 is my personal favourite, but I have played all versions to death. I was eagerly awaiting SimCity (no version number), but sadly, the game has been ruined even before it's been properly released.

The game requires an always-on internet connection to connect with EA's servers, partly because of online components, but mostly because of DRM. During a Reddit AmA with Maxis, the game's developers, the problems were already predicted, and they panned out: EA's servers couldn't handle the load, and the game became unplayable for large groups of people who just paid €60 for the privilege.

They were greeted by waiting screens, unable to play the game.

EA had to act, and they did. They have released a patch which... Disables several features of the game. Ironically, it mostly disables features that supposedly required the always-on connection in the first pace, such as leaderboards and achievements. A more dramatic step is the removal of the 'cheetah' speed. This is the highest simulation speed in the game, and at least in the way I play the game I require it - I switch between pause (build mode) and cheetah (develop mode).

As a consequence of all the troubles with players being unable to, well, play, Amazon has decided to remove the digital version of the game from its virtual shelves, while the physical copy now carries a warning about the game.

$:-\$

lanux128 · « **Reply #1 on:** March 08, 2013, 08:56 AM »

now EA will blame piracy among PC users for the declining sales.

wraith808 · « **Reply #2 on:** March 08, 2013, 08:56 AM »

Same thing happened with Assassin's Creed... and we see that ubisoft is still experimenting with it. They'll keep doing it until they can get it to work... no matter how it doesn't help with piracy, and no matter how much clamor there is. That is, unless someone can take a big enough hit that the shareholders complain.

Renegade · « **Reply #3 on:** March 08, 2013, 09:19 AM »

now EA will blame piracy among PC users for the declining sales.
-lanux128 (March 08, 2013, 08:56 AM)

Yep.

But truth be told, it will be the pirates that actually add value to the game by making it playable~!

app103 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 08, 2013, 11:15 AM »

Gothi[c] dropped this link in the IRC channel: http://sc2013thedeception.blogspot.com

The DRM problems seem to be just the tip of the iceberg. There are still a whole lot of other things to complain about, even if they got rid of the DRM.

This one is hilarious:

- Airport City (the city is only one International Airport, occupying the entire map 2x2km).

And they expect people to want to pay for that? And they expect some people to also want to pirate that?

now EA will blame piracy among PC users for the declining sales.
-lanux128 (March 08, 2013, 08:56 AM)

Yep.

But truth be told, it will be the pirates that actually add value to the game by making it playable~!
-Renegade (March 08, 2013, 09:19 AM)

As long as you don't build an airport.

Might not be a bad idea to save your money, skip this, and go play the free Facebook game, instead. It probably will let you build a bigger city.

f0dder · « **Reply #5 on:** March 08, 2013, 07:39 PM »

I wouldn't buy the game even if it didn't have DRM.

For one, I'm done with EA - they're some of the worst scumbags in the games industry at the moment. Absorbing good franchises and turning them into crap.

But I'm not even going to download the cracked version. From what I've seen so far, the game has purrrrdy graphics, but that's about it - the gameplay has been dumbed down, and the city size is ludicrously restricted.

Here's a link to a much better game :-)

Tinman57 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 08, 2013, 07:41 PM »

now EA will blame piracy among PC users for the declining sales.
-lanux128 (March 08, 2013, 08:56 AM)

Yep.

But truth be told, it will be the pirates that actually add value to the game by making it playable~!
-Renegade (March 08, 2013, 09:19 AM)

You stole the words right off my keyboard.

It will be up to our hero's, the hackers, to patch this game so it won't phone home and be more user friendly. I've had many games that refused to even run because of the DRM crap coded into it, and these games cost anywhere from $30 to $49 each. Thank god I was able to find either hacked patches or the complete hacked game online. The only problem there is now days ALMOST ALL of the hacked games you find on the internet now are loaded with viruses or malware, or the websites themselves have viruses/malware.

Tinman57 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 08, 2013, 07:48 PM »

I wouldn't buy the game even if it didn't have DRM.

For one, I'm done with EA - they're some of the worst scumbags in the games industry at the moment. Absorbing good franchises and turning them into crap.

But I'm not even going to download the cracked version. From what I've seen so far, the game has purrrrdy graphics, but that's about it - the gameplay has been dumbed down, and the city size is ludicrously restricted.

Here's a link to a much better game :-)
-f0dder (March 08, 2013, 07:39 PM)

True dat! I stopped buying EA games back in the Amiga days because of their insane DRM. (Read my last post)

I'm a member of GOG and have bought a bunch of games (more than 12) from them over the last couple of years. Only bad thing for me is their servers are over in Germany and takes forever to download, sometimes weeks using their GOG Downloader, because the download links are only good once and can't be re-connected after being dropped for more than 10 minutes.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #8 on:** March 08, 2013, 08:07 PM »

Only bad thing for me is their servers are over in Germany and takes forever to download
-Tinman57 (March 08, 2013, 07:48 PM)

Not been my experience at all - and I have downloaded some hefty sized games. OK I am in the UK so I am probably a bit closer but you shouldn't be getting very slow speeds and dropped connections!

lanux128 · « **Reply #9 on:** March 09, 2013, 04:13 AM »

EA is going to give a free game to owners of SimCity. hopefully not another always-online DRM game. $:-\$

• https://www.ea.com/n...ing-for-your-trouble

40hz · « **Reply #10 on:** March 09, 2013, 06:02 AM »

EA has now made the ultimate acknowledgement that there's a serious problem: they've suspended some of SimCity's online marketing.

In an email sent this morning to marketing affiliate partners, EA Origin says it has "deactivated all SimCity text links and creative and we ask you to please remove any copy promoting SimCity from your website for the time-being." The email, obtained by Polygon, is directed at affiliates of EA Origin's LinkShare program.

"To be clear we are continuing to payout commissions on all SimCity sales that are referred, however we are requesting that you please stop actively promoting the game," the email reads. "We will notify you as soon as the SimCity marketing campaigns have been resumed and our promotional links are once again live in the Linkshare interface. We apologize for any inconveniences that this may cause, and we thank you for your cooperation."

Full article here.

mwb1100 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 09, 2013, 01:47 PM »

I love the letter that this Forbes article is about: http://www.forbes.co...ty-in-public-letter/

An EA employee (unconfirmed) takes the company to task for not following the "core values" of EA - you know those BS lists of values that every big company (and many small ones) posts in hallways and lunchrooms at every workplace. EA's values:

Be Bold
Think Consumers First
Create Quality and Innovation
Act with Integrity
Be Accountable
Learn and Grow

I guess "Be Bold" might apply to the SimCity launch. So 1 for 6. We'll see if their reaction to the debacle will let them claim any other values.

f0dder · « **Reply #12 on:** March 09, 2013, 03:09 PM »

Well, have a look at this...

If you're not "seeing it", look again, hard.

wraith808 · « **Reply #13 on:** March 09, 2013, 04:15 PM »

retweeted by 'simcity'? Is that the official channel?

f0dder · « **Reply #14 on:** March 09, 2013, 04:37 PM »

retweeted by 'simcity'? Is that the official channel?
-wraith808 (March 09, 2013, 04:15 PM)

Spot on the sugar, baby.

wraith808 · « **Reply #15 on:** March 09, 2013, 04:38 PM »

Wow... I wonder how quickly that leaves the channel. Or Maxis leaves EA. Or both.

mwb1100 · « **Reply #16 on:** March 09, 2013, 04:46 PM »

@simcity tweeted this response:

@derekdonovan Hey, this is on Maxis. EA does not force design upon us. We own it, we are working 24/7 to fix it, and we are making progress

Deozaan · « **Reply #17 on:** March 09, 2013, 04:48 PM »

I take it you haven't seen this one yet?

KynloStephen66515 · « **Reply #18 on:** March 09, 2013, 09:22 PM »

And this, ladies and gentlemen...is why I pirate.

Fuck EA, Fuck DRM.

This is also why I no longer control my Steam account. I have simply given up paying for games. The ones I DO buy, I buy so I can play offline (Older games) - And I buy hard copies only.

I don't blame the devs, in fact, I feel quite sorry for them. But...Honestly...I won't be buying games with DRM anymore...Period.

Waffles.

Josh · « **Reply #19 on:** March 09, 2013, 09:24 PM »

Steam is actually quite decent. I thoroughly enjoy it.

wraith808 · « **Reply #20 on:** March 09, 2013, 10:34 PM »

Steam is actually quite decent. I thoroughly enjoy it.
-Josh (March 09, 2013, 09:24 PM)

This. But to each his own, I guess. No matter how much I don't like the way that some companies treat their customers, I've grown to the point that the more effective way to protest/combat it is to choose not to play rather than play someone's work for free. That's a personal decision... but one I feel better about.

40hz · « **Reply #21 on:** March 10, 2013, 10:00 AM »

Just thinking: as long as there's GoG.com I never really need to be bothered by any of this nonsense. Hmm...wonder what they have on sale this weekend?

wraith808 · « **Reply #22 on:** March 10, 2013, 12:25 PM »

As much as I love Gog... their lineup of games is somewhat limited.

As a gamer, I choose to deal with Steam on some terms... i.e. if a game has other DRM on steam, I won't use it. And steam has somewhat of an upside to me. I no longer have a huge collection of boxes to things that I will never install again, and I can delete stuff from my HD without worrying about where it is.

Deozaan · « **Reply #23 on:** March 14, 2013, 10:34 AM »

Two days ago, RPS published an article in which a Maxis insider revealed to us that SimCity does not, in fact, require the servers to run its non-regional game. Maxis reps had repeatedly insisted to the press that the game had to be online as it ran local computations on their own servers – a feature our source told us doesn’t exist at all. Extraordinarily, we’ve still yet to receive a statement from Maxis on the matter. Nor indeed have any of the rest of the games media who contacted EA for comments at the time of our story.

And now, if any further proof were needed, a modder has hacked the game to run entirely offline, and even play outside of the game’s ridiculously small borders.

Here it is:

-http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/03/14/modder-runs-simcity-offline-maxis-remains-silent/