Messages posted by: Blazur

There's no doubt TF2 is a stellar game, but much of that can be attributed to the developer. VALVe is so quick to fix any bugs and balance the game. Also, the fact that they're releasing these content updates for free is unprecedented in my eyes. I'd have grown tired of this game long from now, had it not been for the regular class updates, new maps, and new gameplay styles they've worked into the game. I think that, as much as anything, is responsible for making it as popular as it is now.

I wish more developers (and publishers) would take note of their business model and follow in their footsteps. Its efforts like this which can captivate the audience of gamers and keep them coming back for more. If Maxis took the same approach with Spore, it could easily be stamped with a tagline claiming "Absolutely the best sandbox game on the market."

The key is to not let EA interfere with good business practices...

morphosiscraft wrote:EA has implied that expansions and paying for extra content is the way their planning on going into the future.
I agree with OP and love TF2 to death, but sadly, I don't think other certain game companies will copy that business model.

VALVe's business model really does represent the pinnacle of the gaming community, and in a way EA is the antithesis of them. Think of EA on the left of the scale with a red face, with VALVe on the right with a happy green one. I'm not gonna even pretend I understand the inner politics between a developer and publisher of a high-profile game, but I think by now Maxis has enough clout to make this happen should they choose to.

Example: Releasing the creature creator ahead of time for $10, which would already be included in retail Spore. If it were me, I'd have released the full copy for free to entice users to buy the game, or even better offer them a $10 coupon towards the retail version if they bought this alone. I'd like to think it was EA who enforced the price on a demo of this game, and not Maxis.

First off, I'd like to commend you on a great game which I'm really enjoying. Very few developers are able to come up with ideas as innovative as Maxis, and your games truly stand out as being unique and creative.

It is clear Spore is a broad game. Each phase offers a distinctive gameplay style that differs from the last, and invites the user to explore their niche in whatever way seems fit to them. The multitude of easter eggs and random events you've sprinkled in the game endows users with a fascinating experience as they chart a path through the game discovering all the little secrets. The final stage alone has endless potential for new and updated content to keep users engaged over time.

I'm certain expansion packs are next up on your to do list, and you've already got several ideas in mind. Few that immediately come to mind for me are methods for creating your own planets or plants, colonizing gas planets somehow, as well as different types of missions, new artifacts, new achievements, etc. The possibilities are endless.

Not sure if any of you have heard of a little game called Team Fortress 2 or not, but it's a game published by VALVe which has received regular free content updates over the course of its first year on the shelves. This has had a dramatic effect on the game, mainly keeping it in an entertaining state for the gamers and enticing others to buy it. The fact that the company is willing to provide these updates for free has commanded a great deal of respect for VALVe, and the company is lauded for their efforts in every communication I've been privy to (personal, forums, blogs, etc).

Many people recognize the potential for expansion with Spore, and it's clear Maxis is not against releasing expansion packs (how many expansion did Sims receive?). All that I ask is that if it's even slightly within the realm of your capacity, that you consider providing the community with some complimentary updates to add more depth to the game over time. Sure Spore in of itself is deep, but I can see the novelty quickly wearing out as people grow tired of doing the same things over and over. Discovering new things in the broad galaxy of this game's multiverse could do much to immortalize it in the hearts of the gamers, and in the long run hopefully bring more profit your way and secure future buys.

Thanks for listening, and keep up the great work!

rush430 wrote:One thing I noticed, and I'd call it an exploitable glitch, is if you have a vehicle of whatever specific type (religious ground for me) out moving around, then change the design in your city planner, the pre-existing vehicle will also change design. Theoreticaly you can make a large fleet of really fast moving vehicles, drive them up near your target stopping just outside of their attack range, then go -back- to the planner and redesign the vehicle to have a lot of health and attack ability. Once you've made both models it's easy to switch back and forth, so if you want to exploit this feature you can have a fleet of tanks that zip around the map like race cars.

That is a VERY good tip!

The key to civ mode is aggressiveness and laying out your base in an optimal manor.

Check out this guys video for an efficient base layout, designed to maximize happiness and income.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWDF8yWeRfE

This is a valid concern, and an annoyance of mine as well. As you're going through evolutions of creature phase, every incantation of your creature gets uploaded to sporepedia AND your website. I only want to upload stuff I'm proud of.

I've checked around, and as far as I can tell there's no way to stop this from happening.

In my game it was actually incredibly easy to reach the center. There's a black hole near my home planet that brings me in fairly close to the center, and then it's just a few jumps in via a specific path to reach the core. I can pretty much hit it over and over having left all my Grox enemies intact, and without using energy or health if I'm efficient.

First time I did it I popped through the black hole, realized how close I was, and then decided to make a run for it just for the hell of it. Needless to say the end result was rather anticlimatic.

My next long-term goal is the complete elimination of the Grox. Shouldn't be too terribly difficult (as a militarist I have the best guns, and can demolish a cinty in a matter of seconds with minimal loss), just incredibly tedious and time consuming.

Right....

My computer is top of line as far as a gaming platform, and was constantly crashing over and over in tribal stage at one point, following the same scenario playing out before me. It hardly ever crashes otherwise. And yet somehow I'm supposed to believe this is a result of my inferior hardware?

See, it's random discoveries like these which make this game fascinating. Hopefully they keep adding this kind of stuff over time via content patches.

The super happy ray has immediate effects on nations, and can instantly raise them from blue to green. Simply zap it over their city, and watch the progress meter go up (see the meter by mousing over their face icon at the bottom, and you can see a breakdown analysis of your relationship). It takes alot of energy, however.

shardsofblue wrote:

HardKuhr wrote:I'd like to See a World Creator!

YES! I hope, especially with all the terasculpting tools, to see a Planet/World Creator eventually.

A wold creator would be an awesome add-on, in addition to plant creators

I give Maxis credit for developing a very original and neat game, and also am enjoying the hell out of it.

Cell phase - Charming and pleasant.

Creature phase - Kind of annoying and tedious, probably my least favorite part of the game.

Tribal phase - Ok, but still kinda lame and buggy as hell. Units have horrible AI and control.

Civ phase - Alot like risk which I enjoy. Not too challenging, however. If you're vigilant you can easily win with attrition. The key is to initially claim as many spice vents as possible and optimize your city layouts to maximize spice intake. Then just spam vehicles and send them in waves of 20 or so, and sell of any vehicles you no longer need.

Space phase - HELL YEAH, this is where the game truly shines! There's so much stuff to do, and so many different ways of going about it. Plus the endless depth of space provides and endless amount of gameplay and several dedicated goals (Grox elimination, all badges, achievements, expansion, etc). Unfortunately, after committing so much effort in space phase with one of my games, I don't think I can bring myself to play through it again with another empire.

Destroy them for their arrogance...that's what I've always done.

I was exploring the galaxy and found a distant solar system with a green spice planet, 2 pinks, and a purple. I managed to blast away the current inhabitant (after befriending them), and now intend to drop a staff of life on each to colonize them, as well as fortifying them with defenses and increasing their spice hold to 10. Then I'll visit it from time to time to pick up the spices and reap the rewards.

As I see it, it's basically to establish a repository of animals for you to tap into in your plight to terraform planets. You could probably conduct some fun social experiments on it too, or walk around with your hologram to observe how they all interact.

One thing to note is when you place the animals on the planet, a nest is permanently established at the drop off point...so try and space them out a bit.

In my home solar system I have a planet devoid of spices which I established as a wildlife preserve. I've terraformed the planet into 3 distinct continents, one each for herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. This way I can easily fly in and take what I need with relative ease.