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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 1:20 pm
by Malcolm
Complete disaster.
Ever since the city management game launched on Tuesday, countless gamers have found themselves battling error messages and random disconnections that prevent them from experiencing what the SimCity was supposed to deliver in the first place -- fun. In response, publisher Electronic Arts is working around the clock to try to fix the problems and add more servers so people can play without worry.
Game requires an always-on internet connection. Thank god, because otherwise, people might actually be able to play it.
Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 7:35 pm
by GORDON
Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 8:01 pm
by TheCatt
Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 8:26 pm
by GORDON
Let's help the google indexing a bit:
EA'S SIM CITY SUCKS!
Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 12:24 am
by Malcolm
Game idea right now ... Sim Sim City
As the servers crash one after the other, you, the admin and your army of underpaid technicians, must struggle against hordes of angry gamers burning you all in effigy, if you're lucky.
Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 7:50 am
by TheCatt
Nice. Do it.
Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 8:11 am
by GORDON
That kind of thing is only funny for like 3 days though. After that peeps would forget what the joke was supposed to be.
Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 9:34 am
by TPRJones
I like this. Maybe next time EA decides to put always-connected DRM into a single player game, they'll remember the millions lost on this mess and think again.
Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 10:04 am
by Leisher
Maybe next time EA decides to put always-connected DRM into a single player game, they'll remember the millions lost on this mess and think again.
I'll bet they don't.
Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 10:12 am
by Malcolm
GORDON wrote:That kind of thing is only funny for like 3 days though. After that peeps would forget what the joke was supposed to be.
It's infinitely recyclable. I'm banking on human stupidity.
Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 1:16 pm
by Leisher
Edited By GORDON on 1363088437
Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 2:40 pm
by Leisher
Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 2:52 pm
by Malcolm
Wow, from the Rick James "I did and didn't grind my boots into his couch" file...
SimCity’s critical reception is a sharp see-saw between positive outlet reviews and a considerable amount of unfavorable player feedback appearing on sites such as Metacritic and Amazon. Bradshaw’s response to the disapproval is refreshingly honest, if a bit sobering.
“I’d like to say it’s not fair that the game’s score should be punished for a server problem,” she explains. “But it is fair...
It doesn't matter what comes after those dots there, you're a dumb-ass for saying the part before.
Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 2:59 pm
by GORDON
"I'd like to say Leisher doesn't love the cock. I'd like to say that."
It implies a lot.
Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2013 3:37 pm
by Leisher
I do love MY cock, and so does your mom.
Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 3:47 pm
by Malcolm
Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 4:15 pm
by GORDON
She didn't lay any blame on EA, which I find a little interesting.
She lay the blame on "massive" unexpected demand, and not enough servers to handle it all. Which is strange. Hardware is cheap compared to the relative cost of creating a huge piece of software. They should have had double the capacity of what they thought they'd need.
All in all, I think a lot of their current PR headache would have been lessened if they'd called the game, "SimCity Online." She said online-only was the idea from the very beginning. They shouldn't have tried to hide that component in a sequel to a game that has been offline-only for 20 years.
My gut feeling is still that EA forced them online-only, as a DRM issue. She'd be fired if she tried to throw them under the bus.
Edited By GORDON on 1363032981
Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 4:27 pm
by Malcolm
Hardware is cheap compared to the relative cost of creating a huge piece of software.
I work on a rather profitable website that aggregates and analyzes billions of rows of data served up by a huge, multinational company. They still cheap out on their hardware and the dudes that build/maintain it.
My gut feeling is still that EA forced them online-only, as a DRM issue. She'd be fired if she tried to throw them under the bus.
Bingo.
Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 4:49 pm
by GORDON
And, possibly greater than the DRM issue, EA is trying to kill the used game markets. Can one purchase "SimCity Online used," and get it to work?
Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 7:39 am
by GORDON
http://www.pcgamer.com/2013....ossible
Maxis seem confident that online queues and congestion of SimCity’s launch will soon be a thing of the past. In the fourth update to the community, Senior VP Lucy Bradshaw reports that, thanks to an increase in servers and various fixes, they are now able to get “virtually everyone” into the game. Bradshaw also states that game crashes have been reduced by 92% from launch day.
I'd love to see the numbers on whether or not queues are getting shorter because so many people have given up and returned the game.
