Anyone still playing Spore?

[Zoid]

I got it at a new years sale yesterday. It looks awesome, but it's not very kind to my laptop...

[Adagio]

Now and then, but haven't touched it in 2009 yet

One of the last-minute changes they made to the game kinda killed it

[Zoid]

And what was that?

[Adagio]

Before the release of the game (as seen in the editor that was released just before) each item you added to your creature mattered, but now having one ItemX gives the exact same effect as if you had 100 ItemX. Two pair of legs gives you the same as one leg, five spikes gives you the same as one spike
Basically if you have something that e.g. gives you +2 strike, you should not add anything extra to your creature that gives +1 or +2 strike (that's just wasted DNA points). When you add something that gives +3 strike, you remove the item that gives +2 strike

[Zoid]

That's stupid. That kinda defeats the whole purpose of designing your own creatures...

[Dale]

Yep. It's also the very basis of why Spore is not doing half as good as expected. People were hoping their design mattered.

To illustrate, you can just as easily pwn with a blob with no eyes, as with a fully designed creature.

[Adagio]

I wonder how successful Civilization would have been if you only needed to build a library/bank/aquaduct/etc in one of your cities, but giving you the full effect in all your cities. And if you wanted to build a university it would be best to sell the library first, then spend the money you got from that sale to finish 50% of the university

Kinda the same situation I'd say

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Whoever thought this was a good idea should find another job

[Zoid]

That's $20 down the drain then...

[Asher]

I wonder how successful Civilization would have been if you only needed to build a library/bank/aquaduct/etc in one of your cities, but giving you the full effect in all your cities. And if you wanted to build a university it would be best to sell the library first, then spend the money you got from that sale to finish 50% of the university

Kinda the same situation I'd say

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Whoever thought this was a good idea should find another job

Will Wright. Game designer extraordinaire.

Right Dale?

[FrostyBoy]

Something must have driven the designers to make that change; that sounds like the kind of change one would do if they had no other choice. That is a true game breaker though..

I stopped playing after the 1st game. That's how boring and stupid I realised it was.

Will Wright should have stuck with Sim City, at least it wasn't half bad.. most of the time. Oh wait, too late, CitiesXL is making the Sim City franchise look like **** on a stick.

[El_Cid]

Will Wright. Game designer extraordinaire.

Right Dale?

No in the case of Spore it was one(the?) of the big cheeses at EA that made Spore the game it is, rather than what it was and should have been. Will Wright and team designed a very complex sim - publishers dumbed it down for release. So even as a big name game designer this highlights exactly how scewed(and screwed imho) the power balance between publishers and developers is.

[Dale]

Will Wright. Game designer extraordinaire.

Right Dale?

I didn't say he was extraordinaire, I just pointed out that he wasn't a developer and that he could be classed (not my personal clarification but based on media, the industry and peers) as a good game designer for SimCity and The Sims franchises (you stated all good game designers were developers in their past).

Oh, and what did you say? Oh that's right, you lost the argument on that point and just started swearing at me.

You might also remember the post where I said I was mistaken on Spore and it actually sucked. I've yet to see you be man enough to admit you're wrong when proven outright.

EDIT:
BTW Asher, you may want to see his achievements commericially, by his peers and the media (which could also possibly imply that he's a good game designer):

EA published The Sims in February 2000 and it became Wright's biggest success yet. It eventually surpassed Myst as the best-selling computer game of all time and spawned numerous expansion packs and other games. He designed a massively multiplayer version of the game called The Sims Online, which was not as popular as the original.

Wright was given a "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the Game Developers Choice Awards in 2001. In 2002, he became the fifth person to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame. Until 2006, he was the only person to have been honored this way by both of these industry organizations. In 2007 the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awarded him a fellowship, the first given to a game designer.

He has been called one of the most important people in gaming, technology, and entertainment by publications such as Entertainment Weekly, Time, PC Gamer, Discover and GameSpy. Wright was also awarded the PC Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award in January 2005.

[FrostyBoy]

Don't bother trying to get Asher to admit when he's wrong. I've cornered him a few times before, but he's too proud of himself.

[Asher]

No in the case of Spore it was one(the?) of the big cheeses at EA that made Spore the game it is

Link it or can it.

[Asher]

Don't bother trying to get Asher to admit when he's wrong. I've cornered him a few times before, but he's too proud of himself.

Link an example of you cornering me. This should be good.