Spore - Who is getting it?

[doc_bean]

So, basically, Wright is admitting that the game is "dumbed down" to attain better sales.

Honestly, that's just good marketing strategy (look at the Sims !). Wright can't be blamed for that. not every game has to go for the critical acclaim or the hearts of the so-called hardcore gamers

[Crandaeolon]

I'm not arguing that Wright doesn't know how to sell games, or even that games should appeal to the "hardcore" or critics. Hardcore players are, after all, a minority in a hobby that has only recently become mainstream and critics, well... let's just say they aren't worth much anymore.

The relevant bit here is that Spore is neither a good game nor a good "storytelling device" (which Wright envisioned it to be) in its current state. The charm and depth are superficial. Gamers are noticing it too, I'd wager that even the draconian DRM notwithstanding, public opinion of the game will steadily decline for a while. (Metacritic user score 5.5 out of 10 at the time of writing this.)

[Abokasee]

I've already got it, (many of you may of seen my creations, since it seemed to DL the creature alphabetically based on the creator, you can tell which ones are mine, mine are the Proper ones with names like: Cursed one and Ranixian Sand Traveler etc, and not: bob 2)

I have to say, its very good, but im slightly disappointed, for example theres no plant editor, I would of like to have a Carnivore and Ommivore mouth at the same time, and be able unlock parts for both, I'd perfer it, if I could assemble my own fleets from my own world using cash or the allies section for freebies.

Strangely though, I seemed more pissed off with the fact that my vehicles didnt fire the 2 auto-cannons I gave them, they just lopped some random chunk of earth 251 feet into the air.

More has come to mind, its too easy to win Tribal and Civ stage, and Space is just agtonizingly annoying, seriously don't declare war till you have at least most of the higher mid-range equipment and 4 allies.

[Kekvit Irae]

I am extremely disappointed in the game. Yes, I am having fun, and yes I am loving the game, but it just didn't live up to the hype for me. fl0w has more depth than the cell stage, tribal and civilization stages are just tacked-on RTS minigames, and the only enjoyment I get is from doing what I want, when I want, and to whom I want in the space stage.

Sadly, I wish I named my creatures Sisyphus, because that's what it feels like when I'm fighting the Grox. When I conquer one planet from their empire, two more pop up on the fringe. I popped my head in to a black hole and warped myself to the other side of the galaxy, and yep, the Grox are there too, thus making eliminating them an impossibility. I just don't have the time nor dedication to conquer the entire galaxy. Apparently the only enjoyment I have left with this game is trying to cut a swath through to the center of the galaxy to find out what is there, as well as searching for the Sol system (which is actually in the game).

[doc_bean]

The relevant bit here is that Spore is neither a good game nor a good "storytelling device" (which Wright envisioned it to be) in its current state. The charm and depth are superficial.

The same applies to The Sims. I don't think it was meant as a 'storytelling device', Soren (the guy who developped CivIV and then transferred to the Spore team) has said as much.

I figured out a long time ago that Spore just wasn't for me, and the comments I've read here and elsewhere confirm my views on what the game would turn out to be.

[shlin28]

I got it, and here's my opinions on the 5 stages:

Cell - great fun despite its simplicity.

Creature - I had imagined that it would feature wandering animals... instead of aninmals staying in their nests!

Tribe - Tried to act like an RTS but it is not, why can't they just stick to a RTS interface???

Civilisation - Short and simple, spam vehicles and bomb the others to oblivion. Still, it has a certain charm to it, unlike the Tribal phase.

Space - VERY VERY VERY fun! and I just started it (Hunting Pikachus right now )

[Kekvit Irae]

Well, I finally found Earth. It was only T-1 when I found it, so I

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

used my Galactic Core reward, the Staff of Life, to instantly terraform it into a T-3 planet.

Then, being the sadistic, evil little bish that I am,

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I used a Planet Buster to destroy Earth and gain the Oh The Humanity! achievement. Oddly enough, it destroyed Luna as well.

[Martok]

Then, being the sadistic, evil little bish that I am,

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I used a Planet Buster to destroy Earth and gain the Oh The Humanity! achievement. Oddly enough, it destroyed Luna as well.

Out of curiosity, what exactly does this achieve?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

In other words, what does the "Oh The Humanity" achievement actually mean/do?

[Kekvit Irae]

Out of curiosity, what exactly does this achieve?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

In other words, what does the "Oh The Humanity" achievement actually mean/do?

Like all Spore achievements, it does nothing but give you a warm-fuzzy feeling inside.
The achievement description couldn't be simpler on how to get it:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Oh The Humanity!
Destroy Earth

It's one of the hidden achievements, so you wont be able to know about it until you do it, or until someone tells you about it.

EDIT:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Martok]

Ah, okay. Looks like there's quite a few different achievements available.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I love the "42" achievement! A very cool shout-out to the late Douglas Adams.

[Mikeus Caesar]

So, i got it about 4 or 5 days ago. Not quite sure, as i lost track of time...

Contrary to what most of you are saying, i'm finding it great fun. I'd been playing it all day today, and had just spent the last 4 hours on my space campaign. I'd been working hard and was finally starting to beat the crap out of everyone after having saved up enough money for decent weapons and more health. I had even managed to buy the planet blowing-up weapon. I have a special solar system that i've set aside for testing out planet sculpting tools, and obviously, the big weapon. I was on my way there when suddenly! Oh snap! The sound is looping. Nothing is moving. Oh great, it crashed. As it always seems to do if you play it for too long. No worries, just load up from the last autosav-wait, what.

GOD DAMNIT WHY DOES THIS GAME NOT HAVE AN AUTOSAVE BUILT IN WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING?



This is the third time this has happened to me. The game is so engrossing that you forget to save, and subsequently end up paying the price. Seriously, what kind of large-scale RTS game these days doesn't have an autosave function that goes off every 5 minutes?

Baah, just thinking about all that progress i've lost, it makes me feel a slight twinge of rage...i never got to blow up a planet...and i don't think i have the patience to go through all that again...

[KarlXII]

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE.

Won't get it.

[Ja'chyra]

Got it and played it on the day that it arrived and since then I haven't touched it.

I only played it up to the city stage but really can't work up the will power to play any more, it really is a disappointment for me.

Just goes to show what I've known for years, play a demo first or don't buy it.

[TinCow]

My wife got it a while ago and I picked it up and started playing recently. It is entertaining in its own way, but bizarrely my main complaint is that it doesn't seem to have much replayability. The gameplay at each level is very much cut down and, while enjoyable in its own way, doesn't seem to hold much prospect of being different on a subsequent playthrough. I think the main problem is simply that despite all the 'customization' of every aspect of the game, nothing changes. About the only place it makes a difference is in the cell and creature phases, but those are too short and shallow to sustain the game by themselves. Beyond the creature phase, the actual makeup of your creature doesn't have any impact on the game at all. The tribe phase simply decorates your creature with some clothing, and the civ phase just generates some buildings and vehicles whose appearance has zero impact on anything. Once you get to the space phase, none of your customizations have any meaning to the game whatsoever. Terraforming a planet is a repetitive chore which quickly becomes mind-numbingly dull when you start to engage in it on a large scale. Warfare is just a grind of clicking rather than any real strategy, trading is just slow and boring without much skill or tactics, and diplomacy is absurd because the other AI civilizations don't do anything unless you are at war with them.

The whole Sim series has always been known for its essentially unlimited replayability. I don't quite understand how this has happened, but somehow Spore seems to have lost this entirely. It seems like a glorified character creation simulator with only a tiny veneer of gameplay placed on top of it. How could this game have spent this long in development and ended up in this state?

[Kekvit Irae]

Beyond the creature phase, the actual makeup of your creature doesn't have any impact on the game at all.

Not true, actually. A tribe of creatures with maxed stats in combat skills in the prior stage will fight much better than one without any combat stats. A good way of testing this is to make a creature with Spit and then advance to the Tribal stage. You will then find that your creatures can attack at range without needing throwing spears.

[TinCow]

Not true, actually. A tribe of creatures with maxed stats in combat skills in the prior stage will fight much better than one without any combat stats. A good way of testing this is to make a creature with Spit and then advance to the Tribal stage. You will then find that your creatures can attack at range without needing throwing spears.

That's good to know.

However, I'm very disappointed with the 'customization' of buildings, vehicles, spacecraft, and planets. Buildings are 100% visual and it doesn't matter what you do with them. None of the parts mean anything, and this is silly to me. There should be advantages and disadvantages for using various parts and building structures in various ways, just like with the cell and creature builders. Since it is purely visual, construction largely becomes a chore after it's been done a couple times, especially given how much time it takes to create a nice looking building.

The same is only slightly less true of vehicles. While vehicle parts do have an impact on their performance, it is merely via the 'balance' formula. A tiny vehicle with one gun can have the exact same stats as a massive vehicle with 6 guns if the other parts are built properly. It doesn't make any difference if you choose a gun, cannon, or missile. This applies equally to land, sea, and air vehicles, as well as to their economic and religious counterparts.

Spacecraft are identical to the buildings and are not impacted in any way by anything you do in their construction process. Why couldn't the purchased upgrade process have been linked into the spacecraft construction process? For example, make upgrades take up a certain amount of room. You can add on that mega laser, but you'll have to ditch the freeze ray, making it more difficult for your military craft to do terraforming.

The same is true of terraforming itself. There are tons and tons of ways to change the visual appearance of the planets, from the flora and fauna you place on them to the style of buildings and even the custom colors and land features you can 'paint' them with. Yet none of this has any impact on the game at all. An empire with 10 100% identical planets performs exactly the same way as an empire with 10 completely different planets, as long as the T level, number of cities and number of buildings is the same. Why bother spending hours making a single planet perfect when it has no impact at all and the galaxy is so vast that you'll never spend more than a few seconds per hour looking at a particular planet? Why don't large number of factories increase the risk of ecological disasters? Why does an entire planet instantly convert into your species?

So many possibilities for greater gameplay and decision making, but they've all been ignored in favor of an (admittedly very good) version of interstellar Barbie.

[Kekvit Irae]

I don't really mind my spaceship being the same as everyone else's. It's good to know that my Borg Cube (yes, I have made one) won't be penalized more than a ship with nothing but weapons.

[Mailman653]

Spore news
Two Spore Expansion Packs Announced

Hey Kekvit, do your creatures have Borg like implants as well?

[Kekvit Irae]

Nope, just variations of Looooooooongcats or various dragons.

[KarlXII]

Nope, just variations of Looooooooongcats or various dragons.

Pics or it didn't happen!

[Kekvit Irae]

Pics or it didn't happen!

[KarlXII]

You've made a lot of /b/tards happy by doing this. I applaud your efforts.

[Kekvit Irae]

I stopped playing before I made Tacgnol, but I guess you could take Longcat and paint it black.

[KarlXII]

I stopped playing before I made Tacgnol, but I guess you could take Longcat and paint it black.

I wish they actually made a single player demo. I don't know if I actually want to play, it looks so.....fun.

[TevashSzat]

I wish they actually made a single player demo. I don't know if I actually want to play, it looks so.....fun.

Well, I guess you can call the creature creator kind of like a single player demo so I'd check it out at least