Spore

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Phife
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Spore

Post by Phife » 23 Sep 2008 21:45

Anyone else have Spore yet? It's the newest game from the Sims mastermind.

They've already released a patch for it as well.

My assessment so far is that it is a blast to play, though advancing is a bit too fast. I've not played it on the hard level yet, as I am still learning the ins and outs. But overall it is quite fun!
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exelis
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Re: Spore

Post by exelis » 24 Sep 2008 04:31

Spore looked interesting, but I wouldn't play the coolest game in the world if it had a drm scheme like that. No flipping way.

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Re: Spore

Post by smash » 24 Sep 2008 06:48

I thought of a gigant *yawn* at the thought of this game. The idea of playing from an amoeba up just seems too tedious to me.

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Re: Spore

Post by Phife » 24 Sep 2008 13:53

You move out of the lower lifeform stage rather quickly, even on hard, which I tried today. The other levels are much more interesting.
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exelis
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Re: Spore

Post by exelis » 26 Sep 2008 01:51

I actually was excited by the idea, Smash. It sounded fascinating, especially if there were enough evolutionary traits to create creatures that would likely be unique in the online mmog aspect. I almost picked up one of those pre-release creature creators. I'm so glad I didn't blow my $10, now.

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Re: Spore

Post by Phife » 26 Sep 2008 15:38

Why? Because of SecuROM?
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exelis
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Re: Spore

Post by exelis » 26 Sep 2008 20:41

If that's what they are calling their near-viral copy protection software, yes.

Word has it that if you even upgrade certain pieces of hardware in your system, it will recognize that as using a new computer, blowing the license you were using away.

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Re: Spore

Post by Phife » 27 Sep 2008 01:18

Well I've done extensive research on the issue since the only negative comments about the game had to do with the DRM and not the game itself. When Spore first came out they allowed you to install the game on 3 systems. Rumor had it that if you upgraded your system it would think it was a different one (as you noted), which makes sense because it would look like a new system to a program that wasn't designed to know better. So in response EA has decided to up the number to 5 and allow for people to receive more activations by calling customer service. So basically the question that you have to ask yourself is this: over the next 2-3 years (which is a reasonable lifespan for a good game) are you going to get 5 new computers or upgrade your system 5 times? If so, then the DRM might be a problem for you. If not, then its not big deal.

And BTW, get used to this. Piracy is causing game companies to do this more and more. EA is a major leader in the industry and I imagine that Blizzard/Activision will follow suit.
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exelis
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Re: Spore

Post by exelis » 27 Sep 2008 03:29

It is certainly possible that I could upgrade my pc that many times. It's also more than possible that I would finish playing and pass it on to my brother, and then my brother in law, and then sell it in the annual yard sale, which I should certainly have the right to do with a game that I purchased and own.

It's RE-TARDED and wrong. Essentially, EA is milking profits by making the game a rental. They are preventing resale, which is an integral part of ownership. You buy a car, use it for a few years, resell it. A game should be no different.

And no, I won't get used to it. I just won't buy games that do it. Not like my options are increasing, anyway, with most games going the way of the dodos. (The dodos, that is, that are dumb enough to pay that much money for a uni-tasking console system and then actually believe that it is better than a PC for gaming).

Oh, and piracy is just what they're paying lip-service to. You can get cracked copies of spore already, easily, if you know where to look. Their DRM is designed specifically to hurt the people that are honest and pay for the game to begin with.

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Re: Spore

Post by smash » 27 Sep 2008 20:18

Wow. I was unaware of this. EA deserves a public flogging...again. They've pulled this shit before.

Exelis example is very dead on. And unfortunately, I upgrade my computer about once a year and I trash and reinstall the operating system at least once a year. So it would be VERY conceivable for me to hit this limit.

Bottom line is, this isn't an effective anti-piracy solution...this just annoys the average honest consumer.

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Re: Spore

Post by Mike » 28 Sep 2008 02:49

I'll wait for the 360 version.

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Re: Spore

Post by Facetiously » 30 Sep 2008 06:14

Speaking of copy protection, there's an interesting post on the Penny Arcade site from a guy named Daniel James (a game designer and the CEO of a game company called Three Rings).
DRM takes a big poo on your best customers -- the ones who've given you money -- whilst doing nothing practical to prevent others from 'stealing' your precious content juices. Worse, it makes these renegades feel nice and righteous about sticking it to 'the man'. Stop trying to persuade people to love you more by hitting them a rusty pipe. Put down the pipe, and give up on DRM.
They've also done a few amusing strips lately about the topic.

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Re: Spore

Post by efilflah » 30 Sep 2008 07:22

Looks dull as shit, just like the sims was. :bah:

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Re: Spore

Post by smash » 30 Sep 2008 08:39

efilflah wrote:Looks dull as shit, just like the sims was. :bah:
It's eerie how much we think alike.

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Re: Spore

Post by Phife » 30 Sep 2008 10:46

This game is much more fun than the Sims. You get to kill stuff, which is cool in and of itself.

Plus, getting to design stuff and then actually play with it is fun too.
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