Spore news? Holy crap!

[rock_nog]

Well, it certainly has been a long journey. I remember when Spore was first announced, I was completely stunned. When, after so many years in development, a release date was FINALLY announced, I was just shocked. Now, even more great news - a trial version of the creature editor will be available for download in June! Woo hoo!

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/52332

[Warlock]

Yeah, except they are going to sell a retail version of the creature editor, which seems really stupid to me. What on earth are you going to do with that without the rest of the game? Trial I get - you are testing it out, seeing what it can do, etc. Basically getting ready for the full game. But who would go out and just buy the creature editor stand-alone?

[rock_nog]

They are? I hadn't heard that. Weird. What possible market could there be for that?

Oh, and don't forget, with Spore, the trial not only lets you try things out, but it helps create a diverse animal population for when the game launches.

[Warlock]

They are? I hadn't heard that. Weird. What possible market could there be for that?

Oh, and don't forget, with Spore, the trial not only lets you try things out, but it helps create a diverse animal population for when the game launches.

Yeah, apparently it's going to be around the same time the trial comes out. There will be the free trial (with like 25% of the content I think?) and the full retail stand-alone version (which they didn't list a price for):
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/21/free-retail-versions-of-spore-creature-editor-coming-in-june/


"The free Creature Creator has about 25-percent of the creature making parts from Spore. The retail version will have 100-percent," said Buechner. Any creations you conjure can be shared online via the upcoming Sporepedia, and they will be compatible with Spore once it's released. No price was given for the retail version, and it wasn't mentioned whether any discount would be given to those who pay a premium to be teased about Will Wright's evolutionary time sink.

Personally I'm very curious how powerful this creature editor is though. It *looks* powerful from what I've seen, but say, could I make a "human-like" creature? Or do they all have to be weird looking small quadrapeds?

[rock_nog]

No, there's a very wide range of creatures you can make with the editor. Basically, you start out with a torso, which you can basically mold into any shape you want like clay. Then you've got your body parts (eyes, nose, mouth, hands, tail, legs, etc.) that you just basically paste onto the torso, anywhere you like - so the only real limitation is what body parts you have access to. I see no reason you couldn't make a human-like creature.

Oh, and here's a photo gallery of some creatures so you can see the diverse range.
http://www.spore.com/screenshots.php

[Warlock]

No, there's a very wide range of creatures you can make with the editor. Basically, you start out with a torso, which you can basically mold into any shape you want like clay. Then you've got your body parts (eyes, nose, mouth, hands, tail, legs, etc.) that you just basically paste onto the torso, anywhere you like - so the only real limitation is what body parts you have access to. I see no reason you couldn't make a human-like creature.

Oh, and here's a photo gallery of some creatures so you can see the diverse range.
http://www.spore.com/screenshots.php

Oh that's good, I thought that was the case but they would never really show anything like that. Those pictures you linked are good though, that's pretty much what I was talking about. I hope there is more variety to the skin textures though - all of the creatures look very, very very shiny. Like they are basically all reptiles or something. I wonder if there will be fur options and such.

Edit: It looks like there might be in this:
http://www.spore.com/images/screens/screen_2_big.jpg

At least, the Zebra box looks like it could be fur.

[Warlock]

http://kotaku.com/384007/spore-creature-creator-date-and-price-detailed

Looks like the retail version is going to be $10. Coming out June 17th (looks like both retail and demo)


Edit: Someone suggested in the comments there that the retail version really should come with a $10 off coupon for Spore. That would totally make it worth it in my opinion.

[The_Amaster]

FINALLY! I HAVE BEEN WAITING SO DAMN FRICKIN LONG!

Oh man, this is gonna be like, the best game ever.

[Warlock]

The retail version of the creature editor, not Spore itself :P

[The_Amaster]

Yeah, but that means that it's nearing completion if they can release a trial CE.
Just a while longer.

[Dechipher]

Wrong. There is no spore. They're jsut making a character editor to make a few bucks so Will Wright can feed his kids.

[rock_nog]

The actual game is slated for an early September release, FYI.

[AtmaWeapon]

They've done a good job dragging development out to where my excitement for the game has gone from a flood to a trickle. When are development houses going to learn that it fosters more excitement to not open your mouth about release dates until you're ready to start marketing the product? I'll pick the stupid game up when it comes out, but the extended development after what looked like a very complete demo makes me worry what they've "improved".

[rock_nog]

I hold Will Wright personally responsible for that - he presented the game far, far before it was anywhere near being completed. Though understand, he was presenting it not only as a game, but as a paradigm shift in the gaming industry. He sees Spore as something of a revolution in the way games are played, and so a lot of its promotion has been in game development circles.

[The_Amaster]

Spore is something of a revolution in the way games are played, and so a lot of its promotion has been in game development circles.

Fixed.

Although yeah, they could have waited longer before telling us about how awesome it is. Brawl syndrome only worse.