I have refrained from posting in this thread for fear of being blasted by one side or another but I'm curious... why not install it on both computers for each party involved... bind it to one account and play one offline and the other online... then turn around and swap?

I know it may seem silly but the online component is nothing more than an automated content downloader that's all there are no special treats or gimmicks other than the achievements involved. But seriously having paid $50 to play and have spore... is it really worth the $50 USD for just having separate achievements and content downloads? To be honest I had to turn mine to buddy only because I'm on a quad core with 3gigs of RAM and at just over 2k in my everything sporepedia its actually taking around 20-30 seconds to load it up and I can personally live with the maxis creations.

Anyway I hope no one jumps down my throat or thinks I'm being condescending because I'm not. Just revealing that the only component one person maybe missing is the online component which isn't required by a long stretch.

Argh delete this... first my post didn't show up then when I tried to repost it double-posted. WTB forums that actually work.

(And yes I did refresh several times before reposting)

jeffandtami wrote:
The DRM is a nightmare, but the flat out lying to your consumers is what is really inexcusable. Yes, the game is great and I'm enjoying it, but definitely at a diminished level due to my wife and I having to share an account. Inexcusable, EA, simply inexcusable.

I really feel like this is an attempt to license software to the person instead of the machine in an effort to extort multiple licenses from families. There is no other explination that makes any real sense. Database space? Misprints?

There is so much evidence that they originally supported multiple profiles [which is what every other game supports].

I would like to see a class action on this for game refunds...

drish wrote:Don't expect industry sites to pick this up and report it. EA is WAY too big and influential. No game sites or magazine wants to have EA on their bad side.

Is Cosumerist a big enough industry site for you?:
http://consumerist.com/5048556/want-more-than-one-account-on-yourspore-game-buy-another-copy-sucker

Comlpete with a goatse spore.

theghostship wrote:I have refrained from posting in this thread for fear of being blasted by one side or another but I'm curious... why not install it on both computers for each party involved... bind it to one account and play one offline and the other online... then turn around and swap?

I know it may seem silly but the online component is nothing more than an automated content downloader that's all there are no special treats or gimmicks other than the achievements involved. But seriously having paid $50 to play and have spore... is it really worth the $50 USD for just having separate achievements and content downloads? To be honest I had to turn mine to buddy only because I'm on a quad core with 3gigs of RAM and at just over 2k in my everything sporepedia its actually taking around 20-30 seconds to load it up and I can personally live with the maxis creations.

Anyway I hope no one jumps down my throat or thinks I'm being condescending because I'm not. Just revealing that the only component one person maybe missing is the online component which isn't required by a long stretch.

Don't worry ghost someone will jump down your throat because it's not the solution they are looking for But it won't be me. It's also an interesting idea but I doubt it will work for the most vocal because they don't want to have to share achievements that have been unlocked.

Good thought though.

@Cysgodi:

You're missing the point. These are feasible solutions, but they are not solutions to the core issue at hand. We're not looking for a solution within the program itself because it's abundantly clear that having multiple accounts using the same installation was originally intended by the designers, and EA's activation/registration scheme is thwarting that. We want the original functionality restored the way it was intended.

hideflomein wrote:@Cysgodi:

You're missing the point. These are feasible solutions, but they are not solutions to the core issue at hand. We're not looking for a solution within the program itself because it's abundantly clear that having multiple accounts using the same installation was originally intended by the designers, and EA's activation/registration scheme is thwarting that. We want the original functionality restored the way it was intended.

Sigh, no Hide I'm not missing the point. I totally understand the point. But until EA either decides to end their silence by saying one way or the other, coming up with different approaches to the problem may help a few people. What is the harm in that?

cysgodi wrote:

hideflomein wrote:@Cysgodi:

You're missing the point. These are feasible solutions, but they are not solutions to the core issue at hand. We're not looking for a solution within the program itself because it's abundantly clear that having multiple accounts using the same installation was originally intended by the designers, and EA's activation/registration scheme is thwarting that. We want the original functionality restored the way it was intended.

Sigh, no Hide I'm not missing the point. I totally understand the point. But until EA either decides to end their silence by saying one way or the other, coming up with different approaches to the problem may help a few people. What is the harm in that?

NO HARM!

case closed. haha.

theghostship wrote:I have refrained from posting in this thread for fear of being blasted by one side or another but I'm curious... why not install it on both computers for each party involved... bind it to one account and play one offline and the other online... then turn around and swap?

I know it may seem silly but the online component is nothing more than an automated content downloader that's all there are no special treats or gimmicks other than the achievements involved. But seriously having paid $50 to play and have spore... is it really worth the $50 USD for just having separate achievements and content downloads? To be honest I had to turn mine to buddy only because I'm on a quad core with 3gigs of RAM and at just over 2k in my everything sporepedia its actually taking around 20-30 seconds to load it up and I can personally live with the maxis creations.

Anyway I hope no one jumps down my throat or thinks I'm being condescending because I'm not. Just revealing that the only component one person maybe missing is the online component which isn't required by a long stretch.

At least for me and mine - it's two things:

The the achievements and separation of game data is the main problem for us. She wants to have her own game data, and I want to have my own. So the game is really unplayable for us.

Secondly - it's the feeling that EA is doing something no one else is really doing. Licensing the software to the person and not the machine which forces families to buy mulitple licenses and computers. Obviously we wouldn't be complaining if we knew this upfront, we would have simply choose not to buy the game. But [whether intentionally or not] - their creator software allowed for multiple profiles, their manual said it supported mulitple profiles, and they made no effort to make it abundently clear that they were going against industry standard...

In my opinion - I think most people feel cheated because they did not get what they thought they were paying for and when it comes to something like this you don't just assume they would do this. When I buy a new computer keyboard, I don't ask if it has all of the letters a-z... I just assume it does. In this case EA removed the letter 'f' and the letter 'u'.

Cheers!

Not to mention the gameplay is shallow enough as it is that the Achievements and Badges actually constitute a large part of the player experience and taking that away from a player is taking a piece of the game away.

theghostship wrote:I have refrained from posting in this thread for fear of being blasted by one side or another but I'm curious... why not install it on both computers for each party involved... bind it to one account and play one offline and the other online... then turn around and swap?

Well, there are a few problems with that idea. One of the things we are trying to accomplish is to have seperate accounts on the same computer. A lot of families have only a single gaming computer, like me and my family, so this wouldn't work.

Also, installing twice will burn up two of the three installation allowed for Spore by the DRM. Plus, there would still be one online account. I don't know about anyone else, but my family wants their creations to be associated with their own account.

But thank you for the suggestion . We need more people looking for bright sides right now. Maybe someone will eventually come up with something that will fix this mess. Doubtful though.

cysgodi wrote:
Sigh, no Hide I'm not missing the point. I totally understand the point. But until EA either decides to end their silence by saying one way or the other, coming up with different approaches to the problem may help a few people. What is the harm in that?

The "harm" in coming up with workarounds that don't fix the central problem is twofold: 1) EA will view these workarounds as solutions to the problem and will continue to repeat them as the "solution" to cover their asses, and 2) players may take these workaround as solutions that keep them from being fired up about how badly EA has screwed up and it will hurt our cause in getting this fixed.

jjwalters3 wrote:

theghostship wrote:I have refrained from posting in this thread for fear of being blasted by one side or another but I'm curious... why not install it on both computers for each party involved... bind it to one account and play one offline and the other online... then turn around and swap?

I know it may seem silly but the online component is nothing more than an automated content downloader that's all there are no special treats or gimmicks other than the achievements involved. But seriously having paid $50 to play and have spore... is it really worth the $50 USD for just having separate achievements and content downloads? To be honest I had to turn mine to buddy only because I'm on a quad core with 3gigs of RAM and at just over 2k in my everything sporepedia its actually taking around 20-30 seconds to load it up and I can personally live with the maxis creations.

Anyway I hope no one jumps down my throat or thinks I'm being condescending because I'm not. Just revealing that the only component one person maybe missing is the online component which isn't required by a long stretch.

At least for me and mine - it's two things:

The the achievements and separation of game data is the main problem for us. She wants to have her own game data, and I want to have my own. So the game is really unplayable for us.

Secondly - it's the feeling that EA is doing something no one else is really doing. Licensing the software to the person and not the machine which forces families to buy mulitple licenses and computers. Obviously we wouldn't be complaining if we knew this upfront, we would have simply choose not to buy the game. But [whether intentionally or not] - their creator software allowed for multiple profiles, their manual said it supported mulitple profiles, and they made no effort to make it abundently clear that they were going against industry standard...

In my opinion - I think most people feel cheated because they did not get what they thought they were paying for and when it comes to something like this you don't just assume they would do this. When I buy a new computer keyboard, I don't ask if it has all of the letters a-z... I just assume it does. In this case EA removed the letter 'f' and the letter 'u'.

Cheers!

Well I am really sorry that it is as bad for you as you say. Though at this point I am pretty sure EA isn't going to admit fault because to do so means possible compensation. There's a lot that stinks about this game which is really sad because it is a great game and really its not the game itself that stinks just everything surrounding it. As far as the details of what it supported and what it didn't is really in many ways up for interpretation. I've actually seen I think 3-4 different interpretations of what was said in the manual and whenever there is an inconclusive interpretation behind a legal document... it tends to be thrown out. Which means that really all of the people claiming legal action and this and that are probably barking up the wrong tree.

And no offense but everyone got what they paid for with Spore... they have been fighting it every step of the way the moment they knew what was in motion. Didn't do any good what so ever I'd say to everyone if the options provided here aren't enough... take it up with EA's support. If needbe demand a refund. They're the only ones you can get a refund from at this point.

cysgodi wrote:
Sigh, no Hide I'm not missing the point. I totally understand the point. But until EA either decides to end their silence by saying one way or the other, coming up with different approaches to the problem may help a few people. What is the harm in that?

I think your words are valuable and may helpful for a few people, but some people who haven't had time to calm down are probably still frustrated at EA and may be feeling like you're some how sticking up for the bad guy.

I just hope everyone remembers that we have keep composed and focused in order to make sure that EA understands why we're frustrated. - We have to work together.

hideflomein wrote:

cysgodi wrote:
Sigh, no Hide I'm not missing the point. I totally understand the point. But until EA either decides to end their silence by saying one way or the other, coming up with different approaches to the problem may help a few people. What is the harm in that?

The "harm" in coming up with workarounds that don't fix the central problem is twofold: 1) EA will view these workarounds as solutions to the problem and will continue to repeat them as the "solution" to cover their asses, and 2) players may take these workaround as solutions that keep them from being fired up about how badly EA has screwed up and it will hurt our cause in getting this fixed.

Dang Hide, do you always go around disparaging everything and everyone? If you really think that such a small workaround that may only help or satisfy a few people would hurt your "cause", then you are a bit more paranoid than I first thought. Feel free to keep posting your opinions as I will continue to post my hopefully helpful opinions so that maybe a few people might be able to play the game they want to.