I’ve been pretty quiet on the forums, mostly I’ve been lurking around and reading what others have had to say. Keeping my thoughts to myself. I’m a leo though and keeping my thoughts to myself isn’t a long term strength of mine . I also want to add that it’s been my experience with EA games (from the Sims 2 forum) that Will’s team does in fact listen to its customer base, they may move slower then we would like but these things do take time.

That being said here is my review as it stands now: (Trying to be constructive and not overly critical)

First on the website…..

Navigation isn’t very good for me at least. I’d like to see them mod it more in the way of the Sims2 forums. Much easier to navigate, also I’d like to see peoples av’s in the threads, perhaps there is an option for them to show but I haven’t found it yet. Also I’d like it if not EVERY thing I make in my game ends up on the website, I have tons of cleaning up to do now. I think the only thing that should go to the site is the stuff we choose to share.


Second - Graphics….

I have my settings tweaked totally high, if I wasn’t aware of the capabilities of Will’s team then this would be satisfactory however, part of the reason I buy his games is that I based my expectations on what he did with the graphics in Sims2... They are amazing, this (spore) is disappointing as far as graphics go but livable and likely better for people with slower pc's.

User creative content…..

Again, based on what Wills team is capable of, this is disappointing the abilities we have for coloring and customizing are quite limited. I really hate the color/pattern pallet this goes for creature painting as well as objects. Also I wonder why there isnt a skin type option , like are they fury.... scaled, thick armore like skin... As a HUGE Sims 2 fan part of what sold me was the promise of creativity.

Evolution…..

It is just a game and I totally appreciate that fact, however aside from the chosen diet we can start as a cell and completely change everything…. For me it isn’t a problem in the scientific sense (because it is just a game) but, from a gaming stand point if the changes , adaptations and choices we were able to make were a direct result of learned behavior or choices made the game would be far more interesting (and is what I understood it was supose to be like).

Space….

Lost in space, need I say more? …. The attacks and eco disasters to me help keep the game somewhat interesting . Navigation though is crazy. If a creature evolved enough for interstellar space travel, I would think they would have better navigational tools.


Over all……

I want to like this game, I find myself trying to talk myself into liking it more then I actually do in hopes I can retain intrest long enough for an expansion pack to come out. I see a lot of features in this that seem to be useless as the game stands now but I suspect that the expansions will make them not useless. For instance all the actions that you can do in the “take it for a drive” section. In game you (the user) don’t use them aside from dancing and calling your mate.

I will buy the first expansion pack and that one will determine if I bother with any others, provided I don’t have to wait half a year to get it... providing I don't loose interest and forget about the game all together. My over all impression is that this game is only a partial release and it is my hopes that this isn’t the best part of what they had in mind. Even for a base game though it needs a bit more depth.

I am a Sims 2 addict and have every expansion and stuffs pack (some I had to buy more then once but it was worth it) Sims 2 however, the base game did have enough depth to hold peoples interest. Will I be a spore addict? I don’t know, I do want to be. I am rambling though so to the point.

Yes I like the game
Will it hold my interest though? Not if EA doesn’t fast get off their duff and release a much needed EP sooner then the normal 6 months.

I love the concept but expected a better mix of sims meets civ, but this lacks anything near the depth of either. I expected to be able to create more, and do more with what I create i.e. interactions and stuff.
I paid more for this base game then I did the sims2 base game and I feel that I got far less. I will try to continue playing and try to find more ways to extend my interest in hopes that an EP is soon coming.

If I had played a trial version of the game though I wouldn’t have bought this until an EP was already out. There is alot of potential here. The game however feels very unfinished.

Wanted to add this:
For me I am not experiencing any bugs aside from 1 crash and that was likely the fact i was running 3 seprate programs 2 of which are art programs and are hogs on my pc lol

im trying to like this game too but the cons are really starting to stack up.

ladybreid wrote:
Evolution…..

It is just a game and I totally appreciate that fact, however aside from the chosen diet we can start as a cell and completely change everything…. For me it isn’t a problem in the scientific sense (because it is just a game) but, from a gaming stand point if the changes , adaptations and choices we were able to make were a direct result of learned behavior or choices made the game would be far more interesting (and is what I understood it was supose to be like).

Ya' know, in the 'description' part of creatures, I've started calling my creatures 'super-evolutionary creatures' to account for how I change them to radically different features to meet given goals. So I have a lot variants like 'Epic hunter', 'warrior-evolution', 'social-evolution', and stuff like that. It actually makes for an interesting take on the idea.

ladybreid wrote: I’ve been pretty quiet on the forums, mostly I’ve been lurking around and reading what others have had to say. Keeping my thoughts to myself. I’m a leo though and keeping my thoughts to myself isn’t a long term strength of mine .

from one leo to another

don't I know the feeling


Interesting insight as one that has crossed over from playing Sims to Spore. I've been seeing mixed reviews on Sim's players reactions to Spore. Personally, I never got into the Sims....my own life was hard enough to manage aside from a games character. So I uninstalled and gave it to my daughter after about 3 days.

With Spore, I think the only reason it appeals to me more is the editors themselves. One of my passions is 3d art, and while the editor itself in spore is very good, from a 3d artist's perspective I do find is still rather limiting. I'm also sure it's the concept of the game that lends a hand to my liking. Spore = Creatures, (fantasy, not real...an escape from stress) where as Sims = Humans (real...why the hell am I adding more stress lol).

As much as I like the game, I do see many areas that could definitely use improvement. And if it's going to be anything be like their other titles...then yes I suppose there are going to be a multitude of expansion packs in the future.

Gothsheep- lol that's a good idea

Pixelatedchic- lol @ your take on the sims, I had moments like that too so I started to make my sims non human.
I've been noticing the mixed reviews from Simmers too, actually one thing that stood out in my mind when I bought it was an article I had read that stated that fans of sims2 were expected to really enjoy the creative aspect of it and in all honesty that is part of what sold me on it.

As it stands now I enjoy it enough to still play for now and thats where I'm heading.

I try to like the game as well, but my interest dies out after an hour or so of play. This is very unlike The Sims 2 which I can play for hours upon hours at a time.

The only real technical issue I get with the game is "Can't connect to the Spore server" about 50% of the time.

The only thing im annoyed with is that every time i try to do something fun like terraform a planet, one of my stupid allys gets raided by pirates or has an eco disaster. I think the eco disasters should come a lot less often and my weak allys should be able to handle somthing like that themselves.

I also would have liked to see a lot more user generated content in my game because everything is pretty much by maxis.

Don't worry ladybreid your not alone.

The problem is Maxis didn't make the game enough of a sandbox. There are just too many restrictions on what we do in the game . Unlike the sims 2 where you could pretty much do what ever you want, I for example liked building houses, while others prefered the social aspect of the game, just playing around with their sims to see how they interact. There is something for everyone to do unlike spore.

Hopefully we get a massive patch similiar to sim city societies to fix the broken gameplay. Otherwise like you said no one will be playing this game in a couple of months time, and if there's no one playing, EA will not be able to sell all the expansion packs they have planned.

If the reviews keep gettign worse (which they have been...if that is possible )
I am not sure they will even make an expansion.
This game is already in the hole for 20 million, I am not sure they are ready to commit another couple of million to a game that is setting a historical bar of dissappointment and anger.

We may find EA coming out with another "Will" game with more freedom before we see Spore get an expansion.
Not to knock Will. They took his great idea, dumbed it down, placed limits on the players, and have not really responded to any complaints or possible additions (and you know they have already thought of an expansion pack...now they might have to call it a "fix).

ladybreid, this is one of the most reasonable posts I've seen on here, (not the only reasonable one of course) but a fair assessment. I'm a Leo and hardcore simmer too (hence the screenname lol). I love Spore but am hoping for an ep to hold my interest and oh my goodness don't even get me started on space travel, I thought it was me, the worst pilot, like, ever! Anyway I enjoyed reading your post, so much nicer than some of the rants from people who hate the game, (not that they are not entitled to their opinions.)

Nicely said and thoroughly thought out.

Personally, I would rate everything except the graphics at a perfect 10, as they incorporate all the gaming styles listed in your review. And, why I say this about graphics, is that although this was geared originally towards the casual and hardcore gamers, I can't help but want the game to FEEL real, rather than LOOK real. Albeit, this game turned out the way it should have.

drlazy wrote:
The problem is Maxis didn't make the game enough of a sandbox. There are just too many restrictions on what we do in the game .

I agree with this comment. There is a lot of freedom in many ways with the game, but it is far more limited than I expected based on the earlier videos and reports we were getting. It seems almost like they got rid of some of the more "sandboxy" and "emergent" aspects of the game to make it more "gamey" -- all the missions and quest-like elements make it seem like half an MMORPG, which is not really what I was looking for in a cells-to-space-empires RTS style game.

I'm not saying I don't like Spore. It's a decent game as it stands right now... but it's not quite as open-ended and "emergent" as I expected. It's much more of a linear quest-based game than I thought it would be.

C

jla1987 wrote:I try to like the game as well, but my interest dies out after an hour or so of play. This is very unlike The Sims 2 which I can play for hours upon hours at a time.

The only real technical issue I get with the game is "Can't connect to the Spore server" about 50% of the time.

I hear you, I wont say how many hours I spend in one sitting playing Sims2 but It is at times a better part of the day. I haven't gotten the cannot connect error yet but now that I've said that I likely will

czazayrruc wrote:The only thing im annoyed with is that every time i try to do something fun like terraform a planet, one of my stupid allys gets raided by pirates or has an eco disaster.
.

I do Fly by terraforming for that same reason lol

drlazy wrote:Hopefully we get a massive patch similiar to sim city societies to fix the broken gameplay. Otherwise like you said no one will be playing this game in a couple of months time, and if there's no one playing, EA will not be able to sell all the expansion packs they have planned.

I hope so, because I really do like the potential that is in the game, I'd hate to see it fall by the wayside.

gronos wrote:If the reviews keep gettign worse (which they have been...if that is possible )
I am not sure they will even make an expansion.
This game is already in the hole for 20 million, I am not sure they are ready to commit another couple of million to a game that is setting a historical bar of dissappointment and anger..

20 million? I had no idea. Dd you see that someplace?

obsessisim wrote:ladybreid, this is one of the most reasonable posts I've seen on here, (not the only reasonable one of course) but a fair assessment. I'm a Leo and hardcore simmer too (hence the screenname lol). I love Spore but am hoping for an ep to hold my interest and oh my goodness don't even get me started on space travel, I thought it was me, the worst pilot, like, ever! Anyway I enjoyed reading your post, so much nicer than some of the rants from people who hate the game, (not that they are not entitled to their opinions.)

Awww yay and thank you ((leo hugz)) I try to not be over negitive when I do start to talk

roboraptor wrote:Nicely said and thoroughly thought out.

Personally, I would rate everything except the graphics at a perfect 10, as they incorporate all the gaming styles listed in your review.

Thank you and yes, I would LOVE them to have gone nuts on the graphics though I think they'd have reached an even smaller group, as it stands now I'm seeing many people saying thier pc isn't handling it well .... Actually they are saying the game is messed up but since it looks like most people aren't having issues then its more likely user side trouble.