Spore

[The_Amaster]

Okay, now that Spore's out, I feel the need to make the official Spore thread.
However...

ARGHHH! GODAMNIT! WHAT THE HELL!?
I mean, I placed down a pre-order, right? Usually that means that I get a copy right? I mean, isn't it supposed to be that the store then sends in an order for at least the minimum or pre-orders, plus regular stock? But noooo, that can't work here. Of course the store only recieves two copies, and both are sold on the hour. Which means I now have to wait till they get mroe in.

Noooo..............

[rock_nog]

What the hell? Goddamn that sucks. Anyway, I'm awaiting my copy in the mail - didn't pre-order, and didn't want to mess with going all over town trying to track down a copy. Oh boy, what a mess though - apparently a lot of people are upset with the game, because it's not living up to the game they made up in their heads and called Spore. Honestly, I haven't really seen anything that Will Wright promised that he failed to deliver on, but wow, there's a lot of griping about imaginary features that were never even promised in the first place.

[Radium]

Dude, glad we have Fry's electronics here. I never pre-order anything and as long as I show up early on the launch day I get a copy every time.

[The_Amaster]

What are people complaining wasn't included?

[rock_nog]

Honestly, I'm not even sure. There are a couple of specific points I'm aware of - blood, which is merely an aesthetic detail anyway... Some have complained that it's too cartoony, but I don't get that, as it's always been cartoony. Oh, and the gameplay being shallow - Will Wright said from the start that each stage would be a simplified version of other games.

[Icey]

From what I hear, there are lots of glitches and problems installing the game, for one. Lots of people are also complaining that the game is too short and there is little replay value, although I'm not sure I understand that (isn't the point of the game to explore each "stage" and immerse yourself in it?). I dunno, it seems like typical release day bitching to me... hype the game up so much that it can never meet your expectations, then whine when it doesn't meet your expectations.

I would be interested in seeing what the consensus is on the game from people on boards other than gamefaqs, IGN, etc - ie, members older than 5-10 years old (or at least with the mental capacity above that).

[The_Amaster]

...how can there be lack of replay value? The entire game is replay value. 80% of the reason I'm getting it is just to fiddle around in the editors, see what cool stuff I can make.

[AtmaWeapon]

I've heard about the "short" game length as well and it kind of mystifies me that people are amazed by it. It seems to me that the point of the game is to create a race, play with it until you're bored, then go off and repeat the process with another race. If it took days of work to move from the microscopic phase to the "can almost get on land" phase, there'd be so much hassle in starting over that no one would do it and the game would burn out fast.

One of the more interesting discussions I saw about the game went about like this:
A: So it's just a game about creating a creature and there's not much else? Count me out.
B: Keep in mind that SimCity 2000 is just a game about building a city and not much else.

I think kids today expect way too much out of their video games and there's just no pleasing them. I haven't bought it yet but I'll probably pick it up next weekend; if there's truly any problems with it I'm sure I'll have fun patching it.

[The_Amaster]

I think kids today expect way too much out of their video games and there's just no pleasing them.
Yeah, remember when people could spend hours in front of games like Snake Boxer 5?

Persoanlly, I really doubt I'll be dissapointed. I want some really cool, comprehensive editors, and if what I've heard is true, that's what I'm getting *shrug* I mean, the only reason I'm really going to play the game is to see my creations in motion and admire them. If I want Civilization, I'll go play Civilization. If I want a fleshed out action-adventure, I'll go find one.

[Icey]

Yeah, I think Atma hit the nail on the head. Especially when games are so hyped these days, people expect and hope for more than was ever promised, and more than what they will get. A lot of the discussion about Spore I've read recently just shows that the people who are complaining bought the game without knowing what it was really about or for.

[rock_nog]

Here's an interesting article with Will Wright's response to the negative stuff. It's pretty much what I thought - people should be comparing this game to the Sims, not to Civilization.

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/09/07/will-wright-reacts-to-crtical-spore-reviews/

[Prrkitty]

Go look at amazon.com ... and look at the reviews section for Spore. There's 1,908 votes of 1's (where 5 is best - 1 is worst).

Me thinks that everyone is pretty disappointed with the game...

[Dann Woolf]

My CD-ROM drive doesn't work, so I can't install games ;_;

No Spore for me ;_;

[Breaker]

i thought the game and it's creators sucked the day they created the "spore creature creator" before the game was even out. of course it was over hyped. it's like a bad movie starring everybody's favorite actor. you will all go see it on opening weekend regardless and the creators will take it to the bank. nobody gives a shit if you're unhappy with it.

[rock_nog]

I wouldn't say it's like a bad movie starring everybody's favorite actor. I mean, I personally think it's a decent game, and pretty much everything I expected. You're certainly right that it was overhyped - but I blame the idiots who are now crying about how they got screwed over. Will Wright explained exactly what the game would be, and people went off and made up fairy stories about how it would cure cancer and crap. If you're going to imagine things that were never promised, you deserve what you got.

[Cloral]

Nice! I no longer have to shout "Huge Fan!" whenever anyone asks me about the game.

[Icey]

Actually, I think the vast majority of those one star reviews are not even from people who played the game, but those who are bitching about the DRM. Which, yes, it sucks, but get over it. So amazon.com is not a reliable source at all for reviews of the actual game, as people are whining nonstop over this instead of actually reviewing the game.

Edit: http://www.fragland.net/news/Spore-players-express-DRM-anger-through-Amazon/19686/

[rock_nog]

Yeah - granted, I see their point in bitching over the DRM. I mean, the game was pirated before it was even officially released. So why force paying customers to suffer DRM when it clearly didn't stop the pirates? What's the point?

[The_Amaster]

...wait...it doesn't require a constant internet connection, does it?

[bigjoe]

It doesnt absolutely require one at all. The internet just expands the experience by populating your worlds with content created by other users.

By the way, theres not too much talk about personal experience with the game. How are you guys enjoying it?

Personally, I found it to be quite fun. The tidepool stage gave me goosebumps, with the size changing and the view zooming out. Right now Im on the creature stage. Its quite fun to run around mingling with other species (or destroying them, haha)

So far Ive really enjoyed.

[The_Amaster]

Oh yeah, I have an occasional connection. See, neither my personal Mac or PC are good enough to run Spore, so I use my dads work computer, which he brings home and is incompatable with our internet.

And I finalyl got a copy today! He's bringing the computer home tomorrow. can't wait, can't wait.

[rock_nog]

Personally, I'm a big fan of the earlier stages myself. Kinda funny that one of the complaints is that the game is too simple, but it's the simpler stages (cell, creature) that I really love the most. Honestly, I really wish they'd extend those a bit. Though I will say, space is pretty fun too, if a bit overwhelming.

[Cloral]

BTW, since this is kinda on-topic, did anybody see this post at antispore.com?

http://antispore.com/2008/09/11/understand-my-beliefs-please/

All I can say is wow.

[rock_nog]

I am so utterly confused - is this serious or not? DAMN YOU, POE'S LAW!!!

[Prrkitty]

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080912-amazon-gags-spore-critics-deletes-all-customer-reviews.html

Amazon.com deleted all the reviews for Spore (sometime today 9/12/08). I was under the impression that they were pretty liberal with letting users reviews of products stay.

I wonder who pressured them to do this?

[ShadowTiger]

This Topic (http://www.purezc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=37655) might explain it a bit.

[The_Amaster]

*gasp* Why, how dare they try to stop people from stealing the game. What right do they have to make sure that you aren't playing a stolen version? Just who do they think they are?
I mean, I am so mad, because this DRM thing has affected my gameplay in no way whatsoever and I didn't have to do anything out of my way to deal with it.
Can you believe it? The nerve!

...okay, maybe the DRM doesn't totally stop piracy, but it stops casual piracy, which is what counts. Yes, some people on the net already pirated the game, but how many people who would have purchased Spore legitimatly are deep enough into the 'net to actually get an illegal version. Whereas DRM stops the more casual, accessable piracy.

[ZTC]

DRM stops shit. Where there is some kind of copy protection, there's someone who is going to break it. That reminds me, I need to buy Half-Life and get the crack for it. :(
Eh, I'll have to see if my computer can run Spore.

[bigjoe]

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhbftrkr_04c8vx8dn

Here's my first tribal stage creature... He will kick your ass :p


http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhbftrkr_2d5czkvd6

And from the side...

[ShadowTiger]

I have a whole bunch of supernerd-type friends at the college I go to who were debating amongst themselves whether to get Spore or not because of the DRM, and they decided to pirate it instead of buying it.

At the most, DRM can lead to technical troubles right off the bat, preventing you from playing it. At the least, it can lead to technical troubles far, far down the road when you break out the game for old time's sake and find that you can't install it, but also can't find it on the shelves anymore. ... ... Or can even install it because the Spore maintenance activation database has been taken off because it's too costly to use.

But pirate it, and you can still use it forever. (Insert appropriate emoticon here.)

[Prrkitty]

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080912-amazon-gags-spore-critics-deletes-all-customer-reviews.html

amazon.com is now saying the removal of all those negative reviews was an "accident/glitch". Not sure I believe that.

[rock_nog]

Oh, by the way - here's a great music video to go along with Spore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoNmNmXExZ8

[The_Amaster]

Interesting...all reviewers say that Space stage is the bes,t but i find it boring. I'm basicly carting Spice betwene half a dozen planet,s because I never have enough money to afford enough of the tools to do all the stuff I want.


Civilization, on the other hand, I loved. Definitly favorite stage. I wouldn't say it's shallow, so much as lacking bells and whistles. It's a competent RTS, just not all that fancy.