An Explination From Ea

[Owenmweaver]

I think we've all had a little play on this so called 'new version' of the Sim City series and I think it's more than fair to say we're all a little dissapointed with it. Like most of the comment it seems people were hoping and expecting that the 'Society' and 'Influences' were mear additions to the already extensive range of affecting parameters withing the game. The thought of improved realism in trasport, crime, health, education and all the things that made the Sim City series such a hit was what the whole buzz was about. I did as much reasearch on the game as I could and to be honest, none of the reviews stated that there attributes would be abolished in exchange for the society influences. I am really dissapointed with the game, I think it's quite fun as a seperate game, there are many fun things to do and see but it's not what any of use where hoping for.

I think with all the rants on this forum it's about time we had an explination from EA as to why the game has taken such a huge turn! It seems that they've tried to fix something that was never broken in the first place. Could we have an official comment from EA regarding this issue.

• Why such a change in game play and style?
• Why abolish such great features as transport, water, garbage, crime etc?
• Why did you not build in a terrain editor so to sculpt the terrain in the city?
• Why weren't there more houses within the groups (ie: for tudor houses you've only got three styles,... your city can't look very intricate and unique when you've only got three 'looks' for each style?!)
• Who's idea was it to scrap all of Maxis' hard work and start afresh, and what is their view on the repulse from all these SimCITY fans?
• Seeing the response from all the fans, will EA be giving the contract back to Maxis to redesign SimCity 5, or will EA sack the last smart lalala and actually make a good improved and traditional SC game?
• Have Maxis sent EA a fax yet entitled 'I told you so' :-)

Anyways, these are just a few points that I think need an official comment from EA who I think will have to work hard to gain the respect and commitment of all the SC fans. It's such a let down because to be honest, EA is such a well respected games company with more than enough resources and expertise to make an absolutley mind blowing SC game it just doesn't make sense what they've done.

I hope to receive some comments on this matter from many fans supporting this thread but most of all I would like EA to release an 'official' comment to settle everyones querries.

[TheCultOfSam]

Originally Posted by Owenmweaver

I think it's more than fair to say we're all a little dissapointed with it. /snip

I'm not disappointed with it at all. I researched what the game was shaping up to be and I'm perfectly satisfied with my purchase.

Get it out of your head that this is Sim City and see it as an alternate take on City building. It's got plenty to offer, you just have to look for it.

[Roo]

Originally Posted by TheCultOfSam

...Get it out of your head that this is Sim City...

That's a bit hard to do though when major gaming sites like gamespy etc were marketing it as SC5, even saying things like "...from the stable of Sim City games...".

[dogtanian]

Completely agree. I want to know where the series is actually going, candy cane street lamps or something realistic?

[Calcius]

Originally Posted by Owenmweaver

• Why weren't there more houses within the groups (ie: for tudor houses you've only got three styles,... your city can't look very intricate and unique when you've only got three 'looks' for each style?!)

I've not yet bought the game and I'm reading all these posts before I do, but I read that only 15% of buildings are available at game start and the rest are unlockable - so if there's only 3 at start that means you can unlock 15 more.

[ladycashel]

I have to confess, i was really disappointed when i installed it. I thought i was playing something else? I don't like the quirky buldings, menus, it reminded me a bit of monopoly tycoon, which i hated crossed with a housing version of theme park (i liked). With less of the 'running of '. I think it should have been made clear that this is nothing like simcity....
Not only that it keeps crashing and i have to keep 'hard' restarting my Pc.
Nothing to do with specs i play loads of games all the sims2's etc no problem. I think i will be selling it, and spending my cash elsewhere.

[DarkRaven]

If EA is not listening to what you have to say and not answering what you want to know then I think the best way to get the message to them is to boycott this game.

Go and tell as many people as you can how awful this game is; do it on this site and as many other forums as you can.

However I'm not compete conviced that Maxis inteded to make this game rival and over take simcity 4. It seems to be a test template fo th next proper SimCity.

[Aaron]

Maxis had nothing to do with this game.

[hermandup]

If we have to "Get it out of your head that this is Sim City", why is it called "Sim City Societies"? Why not call it "The SIMS: City Edition" and make it part of the SIMS franchise. The jump from SIMS 2 to Societies would have been the same as the jump from SC4 to Societies and EA would have had thousands of unhappy SIMS fans rather than the currently unhappy SC fans.

[Aaron]

I agree, the name is causing problems. If they had called it something else, apparently people wouldn't mind.

However, if people can't see past a name, I worry.

[Omni]

We're always happy to accept your comments and criticism. I don't know the answers to your questions myself but I'll see if I can get some for you.

[MrCityPlayer]

Originally Posted by Owenmweaver

I think we've all had a little play on this so called 'new version' of the Sim City series and I think it's more than fair to say we're all a little dissapointed with it. Like most of the comment it seems people were hoping and expecting that the 'Society' and 'Influences' were mear additions to the already extensive range of affecting parameters withing the game. The thought of improved realism in trasport, crime, health, education and all the things that made the Sim City series such a hit was what the whole buzz was about. I did as much reasearch on the game as I could and to be honest, none of the reviews stated that there attributes would be abolished in exchange for the society influences. I am really dissapointed with the game, I think it's quite fun as a seperate game, there are many fun things to do and see but it's not what any of use where hoping for.

I think with all the rants on this forum it's about time we had an explination from EA as to why the game has taken such a huge turn! It seems that they've tried to fix something that was never broken in the first place. Could we have an official comment from EA regarding this issue.

• Why such a change in game play and style?
• Why abolish such great features as transport, water, garbage, crime etc?
• Why did you not build in a terrain editor so to sculpt the terrain in the city?
• Why weren't there more houses within the groups (ie: for tudor houses you've only got three styles,... your city can't look very intricate and unique when you've only got three 'looks' for each style?!)
• Who's idea was it to scrap all of Maxis' hard work and start afresh, and what is their view on the repulse from all these SimCITY fans?
• Seeing the response from all the fans, will EA be giving the contract back to Maxis to redesign SimCity 5, or will EA sack the last smart lalala and actually make a good improved and traditional SC game?
• Have Maxis sent EA a fax yet entitled 'I told you so' :-)

Anyways, these are just a few points that I think need an official comment from EA who I think will have to work hard to gain the respect and commitment of all the SC fans. It's such a let down because to be honest, EA is such a well respected games company with more than enough resources and expertise to make an absolutley mind blowing SC game it just doesn't make sense what they've done.

I hope to receive some comments on this matter from many fans supporting this thread but most of all I would like EA to release an 'official' comment to settle everyones querries.

Yes, I would like to hear what explanation EA has to offer to their customers. At least EA should show a bit of respect and explain what happened.

[LewysWhite]

Hmmm, saying this whole thing about them making an official comment about what went wrong sounds abit stupid to me. I mean your speaking as if EVERYONE hates the game. But thats not true at all, if EA made a comment saying they messed up it would be weird because I personally like the game and dont think they need to apologise.

The only thing really that is bad is all these crashes lots of people are having, so im just wating for the second patch.

[MrCityPlayer]

Originally Posted by LewysWhite

Hmmm, saying this whole thing about them making an official comment about what went wrong sounds abit stupid to me. I mean your speaking as if EVERYONE hates the game. But thats not true at all, if EA made a comment saying they messed up it would be weird because I personally like the game and dont think they need to apologise.

The only thing really that is bad is all these crashes lots of people are having, so im just wating for the second patch.

Nope! He wasn't implaying or saying as if everyone hates the game. He was talking on behalf of all those true fans of SC series who are really disappointed with this game. EA should have respected all SC fans who have been buying this game for years and years faithfully. So the opinion is not stupid at all. In another words: There isn't wrong or right opinion if you realize that they are still just opinions. Thanks.

[Uncle Red]

SCS is the first "SimCity" game (if you can call it that...) i've purchased since the old 3000 edition. Now i play SCS there are many, many details missed out. Terrain editing is a major strong point for anyone wanting to make a city.

If there's a hill in the way, go round it... Hell no! I'd like it flattened and turned into a residential area or a river!

Still, without Maxis, the editing/customising part of the game feels like it's been thrown into the toybox for the carboot sale (as i suspect some folks might consider with SCS.) It just feels really... empty knowing you cant move that ONE SQUARE allowing you to slap a road down.

[Shinyshoes]

Dear me you eveidently DID not do research, Tilted mill actually developed this game, ea jsut helped a little and it WAS said that the old attributes will be abloshied, your complaint is just another mistake that has been constantly repeated. THIS WAS NOT to be sims city 5 so you cant expect so much, it is for a wider audience not just the old players but for new ones aswell! further more this is sim city societies its not SC5 its a whole different game on its own.

[Shinyshoes]

Originally Posted by MrCityPlayer

Nope! He wasn't implaying or saying as if everyone hates the game. He was talking on behalf of all those true fans of SC series who are really disappointed with this game. EA should have respected all SC fans who have been buying this game for years and years faithfully. So the opinion is not stupid at all. In another words: There isn't wrong or right opinion if you realize that they are still just opinions. Thanks.

Actually it is stupid, if EA continually made the game for old fans, then the younger genertations would miss out and i think it's a bit selfish to be keeping only to older players. i myself bought SC4 ADN THREE about 4 years ago and i'm quite pleased they've made the CITY building more breative than teh terrain, building, and that it's acessable to newer players.

[BurnerPhoenixx]

Now I for one, am happy that someone has officially asked EA to give us some answers regarding the game. And appears that a representative of EA, in the form of EAOmni, has responded. I for one, was saying "I SO wish that I can just do this and that to my city in that game." when I purchased SC4 Deluxe. I was almost always working on plans to get people going to the places they wanted to in SC4 whenever I wasn't in front of my PC. I'm really sorry and sad to say that this just doen't happen anymore since I bought SCS. I'm actually thinking of reverting back to SC4 now.

I believe that TiltedMill has NOT captured the essence of the original SimCity and SC4, and so have created a game that really is like Munich (no offence). You go there saty in a wonderful hotel, the place is clean, services are good, but you come home and never think, "I wish I was still in Munich." It's a flop, that's all there is to it. And I believe I speak for much of the people on this forum when I say that.

[acsaczyNL]

I like this game. If you don't compare it with the simcity's before, then you will enjoy this game much more. I like the game play and style.. ofcourse some things are missing, but I find this style of building your town very refreshing. I don't need answers.. There will be coming a Simcity 5 (Isn't it?) but untill that time I enjoy this game because it is totally different. Why complaining? If you don't like it, just play Simcity 4 and waith untill Simcity 5 will launch..
And yes I've been playing Simcity from the start and I like it very much. But this new simple concept of building a town, a nice town, I also like!

[Uncle Red]

It is a good game. But like i said earlier, it's been rushed.

[Sim City Mayor]

Originally Posted by Uncle Red

It is a good game. But like i said earlier, it's been rushed.

Good? I'd hate to see your idea of a bad game then. This game is worse than anything I've ever played.

Originally Posted by nyaren

I agree, the name is causing problems. If they had called it something else, apparently people wouldn't mind.

However, if people can't see past a name, I worry.

Um, calling it "SIM CITY" Societies when it's nothing at all like Sim City is somewhat misleading don't you think?

The fundamental concept of Sim City, be it 1, 2, 3 or 4 was that you
created a space for people to move into, and THEY built the buildings. In this game you have to place every building one by one yourself, completely defeating the purpose of the game.

It's a major abuse of trust from people who were fans of the old Sim City games and expect to see something at least a little similar from the next game in the series.

This game is nothing to do with Maxis or Sim City, so should not use the name. It should be named "The Sims: make a stupid Sims playground" or something.

[FabianoHO]

Originally Posted by Sim City Mayor

Good? I'd hate to see your idea of a bad game then. This game is worse than anything I've ever played.



Um, calling it "SIM CITY" Societies when it's nothing at all like Sim City is somewhat misleading don't you think?

The fundamental concept of Sim City, be it 1, 2, 3 or 4 was that you
created a space for people to move into, and THEY built the buildings. In this game you have to place every building one by one yourself, completely defeating the purpose of the game.

It's a major abuse of trust from people who were fans of the old Sim City games and expect to see something at least a little similar from the next game in the series.

This game is nothing to do with Maxis or Sim City, so should not use the name. It should be named "The Sims: make a stupid Sims playground" or something.

I've been saying this for ages!!!! You said it all, they intentionaly called it SimCity to mislead users to buy it. Well, down there, it's just about money anyway isn't it?

[BurnerPhoenixx]

I see Sim City Mayor's point. Even in real life (which is what games today try to imitate), the government or city does not build homes and workplaces. Unless of course you talk about state housing, and it's pretty obvious that the city would build that simply because of the word "STATE". But otherwise, it's very unrealistic.

But one needs to look at this game without comparing it to the SimCity's of old and they'll find that this is a good game...sort of. Yes, yes, yes, I hear your call for a different name rather than abusing the respected SimCity name, but the name is copyrighted by EA so they can do what they want with it. Sell it, ruin it, better it, etc.

And FabianoHO says that they intentionally called it SimCity to mislead users to buy it. How do you know!? What evidence do you have!? And of course it's going to be about money, every business is about money. That's how businesses run. Don't say stupid things. Especially if you don't know what you're taling about.

This is a new step for EA, and I fully support you if you want to blaspheme the game, EA should know that you don't like it. After all, we are the buyers. Anyway, what other games have we heard of that was produced by TiltedMill. I doubt this is their first game, but I think (Look how I use the word "think", not "know" FabianoHO) this is their first major release.

If you think this is an awful game, the answer is simple. Don't play it. Express your views and opinions. But when you're done, put it into your game collection of take it back to the store where you bought it. I take it that since you all refer to SC4 that most of you have bought it, so play that rather. All I'm saying is that we should not compare it to the old SC's and think of it as a fresh way of doing things. Just give it a chance. Look at it in a different way and you might be surprised. I know I was. Just give it a try.

My post earlier on is a very good reflective of how I thought about the game BEFORE I looked at it differently, just to clear that up.

Feel free to dispute my points all you want.

[Uncle Red]

My idea of a bad game? Heh... It would have to be a cirtian game that's released "number 4" of its World War games. Cant beat the classic.

But i stick to what i said, This is a good game and it's a big shame that it dosn't run properly. Sorry if you hated it but perhaps you require a tad more patiance?