SimCity 5 - Page 5

On March 21 2012 04:26 reki- wrote:
Looks really cool but most likely Origin is required and I really don't want to support EA Games...

Good news: If you want to download SimCity somewhere other than Origin, you'll have the option to do so. An EA representative confirmed with Joystiq that the title would be available for purchase on other digital distribution platforms, though a list of stores has yet to be finalized. SimCity is arriving sometime in 2013.

Lead designer Stone Librande confirmed that SimCity would be an internet-dependent experience. Players will need to be online on Origin while playing, even if that wasn't the point of purchase. The always-on connection becomes necessary with the game's emphasis on multiplayer and regional impact, and the use of a global economy that all players can influence.

The last game EA Maxis launched in the SimCity series was SimCity 4, almost ten years ago. It's still being played today, thanks in part to a Steam launch in 2010, but mostly thanks to the modding scene. However, EA Maxis will not launch the new SimCity in 2013 with mod support.

It's not entirely off the table, though. EA Maxis creative director Ocean Quigley said the ability to support mods is already built into GlassBox, the new engine powering SimCity, so there's potential for mod support down the road -- just not at launch.

One of the most interesting aspects of the new SimCity is the way pollution and the environment will play into the new multiplayer features. The latest installment of the franchise is set to launch sometime in 2013, so there's no playable version yet for me to see the mechanic in action; however, EA Maxis was willing to play out some scenarios during a visit to the Emeryville, CA, offices last week.

Once a new game is started, players can create a region and invite friends to add their own cities. Each city has the potential to share with its neighbors -- the citizens of one city may travel to the other to enjoy casinos or shopping, for example. Keeping Sims within the city happy keeps the economy flowing.

Connecting cities in this way opens the door to interesting scenarios: one city could be a supplier of coal to other locations, reaping the cash rewards of being a supplier and allowing its neighbors to progress in the game despite limitations. It encourages cooperation, something EA Maxis will support with added bonuses and possible achievements when SimCity launches in 2013.
SimCity (3/28/12)

Beyond cooperation between players, SimCity focuses on the environmental affects of each location. The aforementioned coal baron could be lining his or her pockets with its supply of the fossil fuel, but the factories built to distribute the resource and provide jobs to the city will pollute the entire region over time.

"These are real issues in the real world. These are things people talk about every day and it's a reality," lead producer Kip Katsarelis told Joystiq. "SimCity has always kind of had green options and we want, through this game, for people to look at the world differently. We just want to present these real-world issues, bring them into our game, model them after reality and give players options on if they want to even opt in to any of that, if they care about it, and options on how they want to deal with it. And then make the results something they're aware of through their actions."

A potential problem is whether or not other players will care about the outside affects of their developments -- perhaps even intentionally trying to pollute neighbors. Katsarelis didn't go into detail, but said there will be options to take care of pesky griefers. Nobody wants Crimeopolis next to their green sanctuary, right?

But Katsarelis is not trying to preach about the environment -- it's just a natural way to promote cooperation and illustrate the symbiotic relationship of neighboring cities. "We've done this in the past, and we definitely want to keep it as light as possible. This is not the game about building the greenest city, lower your carbon footprint and win -- 'good job!' This is a game where you're rewarded for many different states on where you want to take your city and it's really up to you where you want to take it. Go be the richest mayor ever, that could be your goal -- it doesn't matter how you want to do it."

SimCity will be bolstered by an optional mission system, which will provide rewards to players for completing certain actions. These haven't been finalized yet, so examples given were mostly hypothetical -- drop the crime rate, for instance. "The missions are opt-in, so the player who wants to just get in and rip through it, they can do what they want -- but we know gamers today really like that mission based system," Katsarelis said. "They know what the carrots are and they want to get there. And they want to be rewarded for doing it, so we're definitely going to offer that."

Katsarelis said EA Maxis is drawing inspiration from The Sims 2, its own sequel to the wildly popular SimCity offshoot. "I think we took a lot of inspiration from The Sims 2, what they did with want spheres and how they changed from the first Sims into a really different experience. That's gamers today and that's what we're targeting." That's from a gameplay standpoint; however, from a visual perspective, SimCity takes cues from tilt-shift photography.

SimCity is expected to launch sometime in 2013.

Ocean Quigley, creative and art director at EA Maxis, wants individual Sims to matter in 2013's SimCity. He wants them to have a real bearing on the world. He wants them to be less the uncharismatic specks they've been in previous games.

Each Sim has a set plan each day: They wake up and pay their rent -- surprisingly, it's only $1 -- and go to work. After work, if they have money, they spend it throughout the region. Spending money gives Sims more happiness, thus increasing their enjoyment of your city.

Sims have their own bank accounts, and can potentially become homeless if they don't have any funds. If you don't have a place for Sims to earn money, they'll start loitering in parks, decreasing happiness and forcing them to move out of your city.
SimCity (3/28/12)



"Each Sim is carrying resources. Like that Sim there is a medium wealth, poorly educated Sim who's mildly sick, so he's going home from work early," Quigley said while pointing out a particular Sim during a gameplay demonstration of SimCity. "So he's not just a generic dot in your city -- he's a person who's left this place and is trying to go home." So initially, the life of a Sim is pretty basic, but as you add more variables -- buildings, parks, and other destinations -- the life becomes more complex.

Sims can also get in the way, too. Every car on the road is owned by a Sim and lives in a Sim's driveway. If a building is on fire and there's a traffic jam there, the fire trucks won't be able to get to the fire and the building will burn down. If an ambulance is going down a road and there's enough room, cars will pull over to the shoulder -- if it's a tiny road, then a Sim could die. So each Sim has a bearing on the city they're living in.

"Because it's SimCity, we have to be able to simulate thousands of Sims," Quigley noted as he showed off how the GlassBox engine simulates each Sim's life. "It's not SimHamlet -- it's SimCity. So we built this simulation engine to support many, many thousands, tens of thousands of Sims and vehicles in flight simultaneously. So each one of those Sims is a real Sim."

There are also unique Sim characters within the game. One such character shown was a firebug -- an arsonist rolling around town in a black van blaring metal music. He gets his kicks by going around, setting buildings on fire. If you don't have police to actually apprehend this guy, he could potentially burn your entire city to the ground. Quigley wouldn't detail other specific characters, but not every character will have a negative impact on a city.

"There's rich Sims, and there's poor Sims, and there are Sims on their way to work and there are Sims on their way to home after work; sims going shopping. Each one is a real Sim in your city," Quigley said. "At the end of the work day, the factory whistle is going to blow and you're going to see all of the workers leave the factory."

SimCity is expected to launch sometime in 2013.