AtariMethod wrote:This is hands down the most wack thread ever. I don't even know to begin addressing the illogic when there's so much of it.

The last time I checked it was a free market enterprise system that was at work in most of the world today. If you don't like a company, or its products, you just don't buy them.

Example: I think Crest makes the worst teeth whitening products ever. They simply don't work. As a result I don't buy them because I'm not satisfied with the results. I don't mail Crest a bunch of letters, or email them, or place billboards up in an effort to stifle others. What a waste of time.

To even start a thread about EA, on an EA site about how they do business is stupid in my opinion. Just strip it out of your PC, burn the DVD, and use some of the cardboard package to pick up dog poo and get on with life. Did anyone read the Terms of Service Agreement that came with the product? It looks to me that when you click "I Agree" you no longer have much rights to anything that you make with their program. You also have no say as to what they think is appropriate or in appropriate in their forum. You're basiclly working for them and you "clicked" whatever rights you think you have away. Why cry about a choice you made?

Its like being a student in a public school. As soon as you get in the door, you have almost no rights. If you contest what the teacher says, then you're at their mercy as to whether you get a detention, suspension, or anything else for that matter. That's even if the teacher is factually dead wrong. Ever been in that situation before?

It's a good program. I have fun with it. Personally, I think some of their decisions are lame and they're abusive of power at times. I also know that's what the usual tendency of imperfect people is anyway. Ever see pictures of some of the people that work for EA? To be tactful I wouldn't say they're exactly "executive". Some could use a diet, a shave, a hair cut, a little make-up and a new wardrobe, but I don't even know if they can afford all that! I'm also only saying that because I care about the physical well-being of others. =]

What's the point is trying to tar an feather people like that? This is not a democracy -- it's their stuff. If they want to be liberal with it cool. If not, let them tick their customers off to the point of bankruptcy.

That's just my two cents.

You totally just killed the vibes...lol

But I at least see your point.

sporemasterblackbird wrote:

BenJammin1391 wrote:Holy crap.

EA IS A BUNCH OF FASCISTS!

nice job with the emails. You tore Cactus butt there a new SPOREhole

This is a very old thread.

Also, please watch your language.

i DID watch my language. I purposely typed the word S P O R E

trying to be funny.

I especially liked the blurb with the "It's not facism when we do it" poster picture.

As far as I see it, EAxis is depriving us of rights to post something saying that they're denying rights. This is incredibly ironic, as that is depriving people of the right to complain about depriving of rights...

SecuROM? I hope it doesn't incinerate my computer and delete all the data. Or make my game invalid after paying fifty bucks for it.

Hmm...if we charge five hundred thousand customers fifty bucks each for the game, then invalidate half of them and make them buy a second copy, we get 1.5 times as much money! BINGO!

The original was a bit easier to see, although it does look better as a smaller icon. It's not directly displayed at the request of our benefactors, as it was seen as being in support of fascism - although the image actually isn't of a fascist as that is not an Italian holding the flag, but rather its of a national socialist.

There's a big difference.

OP is full of win.

Argyuile wrote:OP is full of win.

Actually, ironically enough, many of the OP's "Truths" are now "Lies." So basically, the OP is now cake.

LIE
Install limit increased from 3 to 5. ~ EA
Please Note: This is merely a "half-truth" as not everyone who purchased spore is getting 5 installs ~ See Below

TRUTH
Dairuka wrote:
The total installation attempts on the first batch of games released in the month of September have a total of 3 installations. Any other versions of the game released have a total of 5 installations, leaving those of us suckers who bought the game early, SOL.

http://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/6800.page


Actual Truth: You can get installations via tech support (even, GASP!, beyond five!!!!!! OHNOES!).


LIE
Legitimate users can easily achieve new activations if they run out. ~ Public Misconception

TRUTH
If you believe that, read this...
http://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/6800.page

Thanks Dairuka


Actual Truth: Today we have an EA tech support liaison right here on the forums who readily makes lost CD-keys available to users and fixes other problems. Tech support success stories in which the user has obtained more installations are on the rise.

LIES FROM THE VIDEOS
See this thread for a detail of how we were misled about spore
http://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/8654.page

View the videos for yourself here
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8372603330...K3_5SIqnJ4mwrQLlo4TqDg&q=spore
and
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-394434397...Wn_5SNSAIJycrAK9oozNCg&q=spore

TRUTH
What you have installed on ur system

Actual Truth: An old demo or showcase of an in-development product does not equal a binding agreement with future customers to create a product exactly as seen. I think we've been down this road a lot, but people seem to have no grasp of the idea of "caveat lector" applied after an actual product is released. It's called research people; do it next time and don't just buy a product because you saw a cool demo over a year before actual release.

LIE
"...now we’re allowing more authentications and working with players to de-authenticate which makes it more in line like an iTunes." ~ Will Wright

TRUTH
Ummm....... Where's this de-authenticate wonder?? Oh yea, it doesn't exist yet o.0 so how are u allowing it now?

Actual Truth
This "Lie" was actually refuted by the OP's own post. See the "lie" about 5 authentications. We also have a wonderful de-authorization tool, which, GASP! they WERE ACTUALLY WORKING ON WHILE THE OP WAS BEATING ON THEM! OHNOES! You can find it here: http://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/15241.page

LIE
"I personally don't like DRM. It interrupts the user experience. We would like to get around that. But there is this problem called piracy out there." ~ EA CEO

That's actually not a lie. CEOs of companies using DRM actually believed it stopped/stops pirates, and I'm not sure how the OP thought he could refute that and it looks like he put it there just to make himself look better. It's something I think we all know.


I'd also like to point out that the whole PM conversation about "censorship" and this "freedom of speech" nonsense along with the existence of the OP is a self-defeating argument. If users were really being censored for discussing negative aspects of the product, half the feedback section would be deleted and this thread would not still be open. Not to mention that the very posting of said PM conversation was a violation of the forum rules and was allowed to continue to exist right here on the front page of this thread.

• Do not publicize private conversations between yourself and the moderators/staff Hmm, guess the OP forgot about this.

When you bought the game and signed up with your account, you all agreed to the TOS and EULA. It's a good idea to actually read these things before arguing about them.

And that whole section on in-game advertising is moot. It hasn't and likely will not have any effect on Spore in the future. If you look at gaming news these days, you'll find that in-game advertising is primarily being considered for online games like MMOs etc. where in-game billboard space is readily (and actually) available. It's kind of like the HOME system that Sony uses on their PS3s, where they advertise (and I think some other game-makers do too) on the billboards there. Basically, what the OP did was take a large statement out of context in order to start fearmongering amongst an already angry group of users.

In the end, if you step back and look at the OP's post today (which was, I might add, only 1 month after the game's release), you'll see the only truth there is that OP knows how to manipulate large groups of people into doing what he wants. He'd make a great politician.


And that's that, folks.

Actual Truth: An old demo or showcase of an in-development product does not equal a binding agreement with future customers to create a product exactly as seen. I think we've been down this road a lot, but people seem to have no grasp of the idea of "caveat lector" applied after an actual product is released. It's called research people; do it next time and don't just buy a product because you saw a cool demo over a year before actual release.

I agree, the we-want-2005-video-spore threads are getting rather cliched.

warmslime wrote:I agree, the we-want-2005-video-spore threads are getting rather cliched.

"Cliched"?

Why? Because the same sentiment is shared by a significant number of gaming enthusiasts and fans of Will Wright who bought into the deluge of pre-release hype and were disappointed by a product so naked in its attempt to appeal to the "lowest common denominator" and that failed to live up to the hype by even the wildest stretch of the imagination?


<--- Check my registered date.
Now check my Sporepedia account and note the last day of user activity.


I spent more than two years regularly looking up information on this game, dutifully watching any and all new publicity videos released, all public demonstrations, all interviews, all articles...

...and I spent about two weeks actually playing the game before I closed it for the last time and decided it wasn't worth running on my PC ever again.


I wanted to love this game...and part of me still does, I suppose that's why I'm spending any amount of time here right now.



I don't think EA or Maxis are "evil". I don't think they intentionally wanted to crush the hopes and dreams of eager gamers everywhere. I don't think they're cackling like witches and high-fiving each other when they read posts like this.

I *do* think that companies are motivated by profit like an indifferent force of nature; they have to be. Like water, they find the path of least resistance.

Whatever it was that resulted in a dev team's mistakes, lack of vision, or inability to step back and view their game from different perspectives, it wasn't a lack of resources, employees, funding, or support from EA. Maybe it was group-think, maybe they grew to love the concept so much they had already biased themselves and all become their own Yes-Men, I don't know.

Maybe, just maybe, Maxis and EA realized that the vision being offered by the 2005 demo was too complex, too "niche", too "overwhelming" for the average gamer, and they adjusted and refocused their development path in order to capture a wider audience and a bigger sales potential...in other words, to play to the lowest common denominator.

There was CONSTANT talk of Spore as a "franchise" in interviews, as the "beginning of a new brand".


I don't think Will Wright was lying when he said in an interview not long after Spore's release that he was happy with higher sales and mediocre reviews rather than stellar reviews and mediocre sales. He pretty much let the cat out of the bag there, and that was that.

"Meh" was fine, just along as lots of people bought it.


Problem is, you don't really make a successful brand without staying power, and a mediocre game perceived as a bitter disappointment by at least a significant and vocal portion of the enthusiast gaming community isn't likely to be a successful brand years down the road as Sim City or the The Sims became.


Spore is more or less dead in the water, and I seriously doubt that there will be further significant allocation of development resources for gameplay expansions or major game enhancements beyond the upcoming Galactic Adventures release. The most we're likely to see in the months and years ahead are additional themed parts packs or minor addons for Galactic Adventures (which will NOT be free).

After that, people will move on to other projects and abandon Spore (as Will Wright has wisely already done), though the game and the Sporepedia will remain in use as creative tools, which is really all Spore is; a 3D creation tool. An accomplishment to be sure, but it's not a "game", heck it's not even an experience.


I'm sure that some day some developer out there will make the kind of game that Spore COULD have been; a game that does justice to the wonders of evolutionary biology and the vastness of the cosmos....and not only that, but a game that actually has more than skin deep gameplay and complexity.

It's hard to imagine a scenario in which such a development team would get as much financial backing and support as Maxis did to create a game of such potential scope, and I'm not holding my breath, but I'm positive it will happen some day.

Spore wasn't that game.

"Cliched"?

Wasn't sure if such a word existed lol.

To answer your question, they are cliched or whatever you'd call it because if the people who requested this spent less than a minute to think, they'd know it is not possible, it is pointless and absurd to ask a company to release a demo or whatever that was that was made 4 years ago just do demonstrate the features of the final Spore they intended to release someday, and now that it is released that's the game, there's nothing we can do about it and asking them to release the demo is idiotic. What company in the world would do that?

OneBlackbird wrote:

Argyuile wrote:OP is full of win.

*Snip*

I wonder what blackbird would say if he wasn't a sporemaster (and therefore bent to EA's will by threat of loosing that position if he goes out of line). The one Sporemaster that lost his position went on an all out rant against EA before being banned, but as there's only been one Sporemaster who got the Sporemaster title removed...

Most likely I'd think he's currently refusing to admit the horrendous inefficiency of the EA customer service department, (conspiracy) so bad you'd think its deliberate (/conspiracy), which makes getting the extra authentications difficult.

Archereon wrote:

I wonder what blackbird would say if he wasn't a sporemaster (and therefore bent to EA's will by threat of loosing that position if he goes out of line). The one Sporemaster that lost his position went on an all out rant against EA before being banned, but as there's only been one Sporemaster who got the Sporemaster title removed...

Most likely I'd think he's currently refusing to admit the horrendous inefficiency of the EA customer service department, (conspiracy) so bad you'd think its deliberate (/conspiracy), which makes getting the extra authentications difficult.

Hey Archereon, please don't make claims like that. I'm a volunteer; I don't get paid to clean up people's mistakes and do tech support all day on these forums and I'd appreciate if you wouldn't insinuate that I'm "under EA's thumb." I don't even have contact with EA aside from their tech support guy here who pretty much just says "OK, I'll take a look" when we moderators point out something in the Help section.

Also, you've got history all backwards. The Sporemaster who had his position removed did not have it removed for "ranting against EA." He made improper claims about being banned for discussing SecuROM, which caused a big gaming news snafu and then posted private discussions between himself and Maxis staff all over the forums.

warmslime wrote:What company in the world would do that?

How about a company that can learn from Maxis's mistakes and our vocal disappointment?


If I didn't care, I probably wouldn't bother to say anything at all about it. There are plenty of crappy games that I've played and not given two seconds thought about afterward other than to come to the conclusion that it sucked.


I fell in love with the idea behind Spore, the concept behind what this game could've been.
I think the more people speak up and let their disappointment be known, the more of a lesson for the future Spore's development will become, and the more other developers (or Maxis themselves) will learn from their mistakes.

I want Maxis to succeed. Hell, I even want EA to succeed.

After all, I'm a gamer and they make games. The thing is....I want them to make good games....



No matter how much die-hard fanboys on this forum belly-ache about people like me, you'll NEVER be able to deny that a significant number of gamers were ultimately disappointed with this game and that less and less people play Spore, and that the popular public image of this game has declined a great deal in the months since its release.


I don't agree with blind hate for its own sake, but for the love of God, there's NOTHING wrong with constructive criticism, with people saying that Maxis should've stuck more closely to the vision presented in the 2005 demo.....FEEDBACK, EVEN IF ITS NEGATIVE, IS NOT A BAD THING!

A game's quality isn't measured by how many people blindly defend it; a game's quality is measured by the impact it has on the community of gamers at large and the place in history it eventually comes to inhabit.

I think that Spore's story in history will be one of what *could've been* rather than what was, and I hope that those that are vocal and persistent in telling this to EA and Maxis will help to ensure that the next game to attempt something as large in concept and scope as Spore won't suffer from the same flawed judgment that ruined this game.

Excellent points, OBB. Shame to see that the title of Spore Master gives a bad reputation.

Suddenly some angry users are jumping on EA for this old reason again? I thought this thread was buried too far down for any to remember its existence.

I'll admit I dislike the fact that Spore wasn't quite as good as I thought it would be, yet that's true for any game. Sadly, things get hyped up and dreams are dashed aside when reality sets in. One will always be dissatisfied with a product, though. This is how people in the gaming industry make money, and it is in human nature to tire of something or find fault with even the most mundane of things. There will never be a perfect game, aside from the legendary Pong.

As for the Customer Service I must say one thing, at least there is a service available.

Draycu wrote:Suddenly some angry users are jumping on EA for this old reason again? I thought this thread was buried too far down for any to remember its existence.

The reason it got buried is because most players who cared enough to voice their disappointment eventually stopped caring enough to post here at all and like the majority of all people who purchased Spore they went on to play other, vastly superior games that are worth playing.

Even Will Wright could see the writing on the wall, and he abandoned further development on the project.

Some of us are just stubborn and we keep coming back....which is probably pretty foolish since nowadays the only ones left here on the Sporum are the fanboys deluded enough to still be playing this game, so now most of the posts are just made by people like you who take every criticism of Spore as a personal insult and insist on berating the "haters" and calling them "stupid" and demanding that they leave the forums.

CarlSagan1942 wrote:

Draycu wrote:Suddenly some angry users are jumping on EA for this old reason again? I thought this thread was buried too far down for any to remember its existence.

The reason it got buried is because most players who cared enough to voice their disappointment eventually stopped caring enough to post here at all and like the majority of all people who purchased Spore they went on to play other, vastly superior games that are worth playing.

Even Will Wright could see the writing on the wall, and he abandoned further development on the project.

Some of us are just stubborn and we keep coming back....which is probably pretty foolish since nowadays the only ones left here on the Sporum are the fanboys deluded enough to still be playing this game, so now most of the posts are just made by people like you who take every criticism of Spore as a personal insult and insist on berating the "haters" and calling them "stupid" and demanding that they leave the forums.

There's something you don't know, and that is you think Will Wright abandoned Spore, think again:

Truth:
Will Wright has left EA:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30113023/

LIE:
Will Wright abandoned Spore!

NOT, he's still involved:
http://www.gamedaily.com/games/spore-creature-creator/pc/game-news/will-wright-confirms-future-involvement-in-spore-franchise/