<!--quoteo(post=1687612:date=Sep 8 2008, 01:49 PM:name=Retales)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Retales @ Sep 8 2008, 01:49 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1687612"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->tl;dr: Can you burn the install files (from the digital 'delivery') on a DVD?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Yeah, you can back up the install file in whatever manner you so choose.
Also, terraforming is a bit overpowered, if you ask me: <a href="http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs231&d=08371&f=spore_t3bluegiant895.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://xs231.xs.to/xs231/08371/spore_t3bluegiant895.png.xs.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a>
douchebagatronCustom member titleJoin Date: 2003-12-20Member: 24581Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
im guessing my problem was that i am an extremely military nation and an all around angry species, but there has to be some hints that will help me win.
does keeping a town happy do much? is it worth it to be happy or more profitable?
and i keep seeing the other teams sending troops at me, but i cant figure out how to make anything other than boats and tanks
X_StickmanNot good enough for a custom title.Join Date: 2003-04-15Member: 15533Members, Constellation
<!--quoteo(post=1687635:date=Sep 9 2008, 01:20 AM:name=6john)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(6john @ Sep 9 2008, 01:20 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1687635"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->im guessing my problem was that i am an extremely military nation and an all around angry species, but there has to be some hints that will help me win.
does keeping a town happy do much? is it worth it to be happy or more profitable?
and i keep seeing the other teams sending troops at me, but i cant figure out how to make anything other than boats and tanks<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Happiness makes it harder for other nations to capture your cities. If you have no entertainment, your cities fall pretty easily. If you have an abundance of entertainment, they'll hold out for ages (or until they destroy the entertainment buildings). So try to keep cities happy, especially if they're likely to come under attack. Also, when you go on the attack, target the entertainment buildings first, then attack the town hall. They fall pretty quickly (especially with mass religious-vehicle spam).
In the space stage, if your colonies don't have any entertainment buildings, you get a "mission" to go back and cheer them up (by using a special ability or building entertainment buildings). I don't know what happens if you don't cheer them up since it's only happened once and I responded fairly quick, but I assume they either stop producing spice or outright revolt.
You can only build tanks at first, then when you capture a city by the sea you can build boats, then when you capture 4 cities, you get to build planes.
<!--quoteo(post=1687635:date=Sep 8 2008, 05:20 PM:name=6john)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(6john @ Sep 8 2008, 05:20 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1687635"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->im guessing my problem was that i am an extremely military nation and an all around angry species, but there has to be some hints that will help me win.
does keeping a town happy do much? is it worth it to be happy or more profitable?
and i keep seeing the other teams sending troops at me, but i cant figure out how to make anything other than boats and tanks<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
High happiness levels only help against religious conversion. Negative happiness will however have a negative effect on your spice production. As a military empire, you can only make military boats and tanks until you either capture a city of a different civilization type or you capture enough cities to make planes.
<!--quoteo(post=1687639:date=Sep 8 2008, 07:16 PM:name=6john)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(6john @ Sep 8 2008, 07:16 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1687639"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->a city of a different type? does that mean i shouldnt have killed off ever other race on the planet?
diplomacy is for the weak<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> No, that happens regardless. However the opposing cities/nations in the civilization stage do not all share your type, and when you capture a city you get the choice of either converting it to your own city type, or leaving it as it is.
This is useful for when you're an economic nation and you realize your vehicles have no form of weaponry or defense, and you make enemies with someone who can blow them up.. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" />
In other news, I'm a little annoyed with some of the stuff in spore
For example, the cell creator, or lack of a cell creator. There are all sorts of cool looking cells that come with the game, with all sorts of variations of parts and such. However, you can't actually make any of these. Theres one cell that has a spike coming out of its mouth, another with bone-like fins that you can't bite through, a third with elongated, serrated jaws. You can't build any of these. You can't even enter the cell creator through the 'create' option in the main menu. Nor can you attempt to edit any of these special cells in an attempt to hijack their parts. I'm confused as to why a game that was supposed to put such an emphasis on user generated content and unique creations starts you off by making generic trash while flaunting all sorts of things at you that you can't create. Ever. On that note, the Grox. They suck for much the same reason. They are the only a-symmetrical creature in the game, there is no way to make your own grox, or anything similar to the grox, and its the one constant race that will appear in every universe. Maxis are jerks imo.
Next is the whole "Well, you can jump into any stage any time you want!" stuff. Yes, you can. It gives you that option, its true. However, jumping into the space stage on hard without having played through your race in every other stage is.. suicide really, you completely gimp yourself. Actually, its more like.. if you don't play as military, you're likely to run into troubles on hard. Unlike the other stages, hard mode will have a good amount of empires that just hate you. Outright. For no real reason. And the only way to change their mind is to kill every last one of them. This is a problem though, because without the bonus 50% ship health from the carnivore cell stage or the extra damage from the predator creature stage, you're going to die. A lot. Sure, you can pay an ally to try to take over the system for you, but then.. well, you'll have to pay them a fairly large amount per system attacked. It will strain your relations asking them a lot, so you'll have to bribe them some more to keep them doing the job. Then, if you actually want the systems for yourself, you'll have to open trade routes and then buy the systems from then wait to be able to purchase the systems from them. Sounds like fun doesn't it?
Sure, the other paths give you discounts on stuff, make people like you a bit more or increase production of spice.. but those are really just short term benefits, a few good colonies on pink or cyan producing planets will have you printing money, at which point discounts and not having to bribe people become really pointless.
EpidemicDark Force GorgeJoin Date: 2003-06-29Member: 17781Members
Fear the robo-chick of doom. <a href="http://img392.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sporecg5.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/6161/sporecg5.th.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a>
Kouji_SanSr. Hινε UÏкεεÏεг - EUPT DeputyThe NetherlandsJoin Date: 2003-05-13Member: 16271Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue
edited September 2008
Adaptive is pretty cool, you can have the power of pretty good attackpower and at the same time have loads of social contacts to use as your puppets.
In the creatures stage I had a group of venomous raptor like creatures that use pack attacks and can attack pretty well and I even had a 250HP insectoid bodyguard that tore up anything that was foolish enough to ignore my requests or just were stupid enough to attack me <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" /> I even kept the pet in the tribe phase in the domisticated pet thingy, still had his 250HP and atackpower, but was tiny (which was not cool, because in the creature phase he was large and menacing <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" /> )
Space stage is still not really my thing... I had more fun and feeling of acomplishment in the (somewhat short) creature stage...
[edit] I do have a few issues though. The gameplay is quite shallow and the "hard" setting is not that hard at all... Also I would've loved to have a "TAB" key to select enemies and a FPS like control in the creature stage (I did get it work a little bit like FPS though with some fancy middlemousebuttonWASD manouvres). But yeah the creature stage is so short it's over before it started imho so no need to develop it further, I guess...
douchebagatronCustom member titleJoin Date: 2003-12-20Member: 24581Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
edited September 2008
i spent the most time in the creature stage, but then again i wiped out almost the entire continent, and discovered every piece. and also had full points in every stat except sneak, because flying 3 legged spitting moose-raptors dont sneak.
and i think the problem i was having on the civ stage was that the game bugged out and everyone attacked me instead of each other. i went back to my save in the tribal stage and continued on to the civ stage and destroyed everyone.
I decided to skip it after learning about the 3 install limit.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Did you skip buying Windows after you heard about that install limit?
And it's not even an install limit. You can install it as many times as you want.
I decided to skip it after learning about the 3 install limit.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
My brother had it and so I tried it on his machine when he was out a few days ago. Yawn was my reaction. I barely got to space before I was bored senseless. So yes, I did not get it. Instead I got Fallout 1/2 off gog.com and am playing them <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />
NeonSpyder"Das est NTLDR?"Join Date: 2003-07-03Member: 17913Members
Hey yeah, fallout 2 was pretty damn good... maybe I'll dust off my copy again. To think of all the time I've spent enjoying that game and peering deeper and deeper beneath the myriad folds of the game to find scenarios and situations I'd never even glimpsed in previous games. Now there is a game with replay value! I don't think I've ever played the *same* fallout 2 game twice, each time is subtly or drastically different.
Just try playing the game all-melee one time <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
<!--quoteo(post=1687777:date=Sep 11 2008, 01:03 AM:name=TychoCelchuuu)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TychoCelchuuu @ Sep 11 2008, 01:03 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1687777"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Did you skip buying Windows after you heard about that install limit?
And it's not even an install limit. You can install it as many times as you want.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> I guess, but after 3 installs you have to call EA and EXPLAIN yourself, how you're not an evil pirate.
I don't see why I should buy it, if I'm going to be treated like a potential pirate even if I did.
<!--quoteo(post=1687814:date=Sep 11 2008, 12:17 AM:name=Retales)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Retales @ Sep 11 2008, 12:17 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1687814"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I guess, but after 3 installs you have to call EA and EXPLAIN yourself, how you're not an evil pirate.
I don't see why I should buy it, if I'm going to be treated like a potential pirate even if I did.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Did you buy Windows? Windows does the same thing. And the 3 install thing is only if you don't bother to uninstall it, I thought.
<!--quoteo(post=1687882:date=Sep 11 2008, 11:53 AM:name=6john)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(6john @ Sep 11 2008, 11:53 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1687882"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->does it still do the 3 install limit if you bought it retail?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yes, and it also has very intrusive DRM (secuROM). SecuROM is the main reason I did not buy Mass Effect, and I would have probably bought Spore as well, had it not had the DRM.
<!--quoteo(post=1687887:date=Sep 11 2008, 12:00 PM:name=SentrySteve)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SentrySteve @ Sep 11 2008, 12:00 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1687887"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Yes, and it also has very intrusive DRM (secuROM). SecuROM is the main reason I did not buy Mass Effect, and I would have probably bought Spore as well, had it not had the DRM.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Do you really not buy any game with SecuROM? That's a ton of stuff right there. I would contest with your description of it as "intrusive," though.
moultanoCreator of ns_shiva.Join Date: 2002-12-14Member: 10806Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Gold, NS2 Community Developer, Pistachionauts
Here's my general opinion being in the middle of the civ stage.
Cell mode: Awesome. Delivered every thing I'd hoped. It's like beautiful pac-man. The only thing that could make it better is having other people's creatures rather than a static set.
Creature mode: Lame. I like the flying, and I like the sneaking, but <i>I hate trying to impress my neighbors</i>. If you were making me impress my mates I would think, hey, at least this is realistic. As a herbivore I should be running from predators/ chasing them out of my territory, eating, and mating. Befriending other species is retarded both from a gameplay and evolutionary perspective. Also, the cross-species gene transfer that makes sense in the cell stage doesn't make much sense here.
Tribal mode: Pretty good. I think the elements are all here, but the controls leave a bit to be desired. I was finding it really hard to click on what I wanted to, and my tribe members would only selectively follow my orders.
Civ mode: Not much to say about this yet, but on hard my neighbors move way too quickly to develop. Two of them had conquered everyone else before I even learned the controls, and now my little city is like vietnam in the cold war.
The "game" is a better screen saver, mainly cause it lacks depth.
This starts with the fact, that not only a few things affect your creatures stats.
If you have 1 best foot, you are as fast as someone with 4 best feet.
It doesnt matter what eyes you use and where you attach them.
Your creatures size has no effect on its stats.
An overall lack of gameplay ressources means that there is no real depth. (Read as: There is just not enough stuff to do later on.)
Let me just name games with the desired amount of depth, I wanted Spores phases to match:
Cell: 400% Pacman Creature: 90% God of War (Yes, I want to either impress/dance or fight with combo moves etc) Tribe: 50% Age of Empires City: 60% CIV4 Galactic: 30% Master of Orion 3
<!--quoteo(post=1687897:date=Sep 11 2008, 02:27 PM:name=TychoCelchuuu)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TychoCelchuuu @ Sep 11 2008, 02:27 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1687897"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Do you really not buy any game with SecuROM? That's a ton of stuff right there. I would contest with your description of it as "intrusive," though.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Never said I "do not buy any game with SecuROM." I said Mass Effect and Spore including SecuROM was pretty much the only reason I did not buy those two games. I think of SecuROM as transfat. You always want to avoid it, unless the thing you're eating tastes really damn good.
I bite the bullet for well made games that I have a significant interest playing online, like Call of Duty 4 for example. However, if a game has SecuROM and is mainly single player I will not buy it. Remove SecuROM from a single player game, and I have no problem spending the money as was the case for Oblivion.
X_StickmanNot good enough for a custom title.Join Date: 2003-04-15Member: 15533Members, Constellation
edited September 2008
<!--quoteo(post=1687900:date=Sep 11 2008, 08:05 PM:name=moultano)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(moultano @ Sep 11 2008, 08:05 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1687900"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->... Befriending other species is retarded both from a gameplay and evolutionary perspective. ...<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The entire game is retarded from the evolutionary perspective. Spore is not evolutionary. It's a game.
You can't really criticise it for that.
And to Tycho:
The 3 install limit is 3 installs, whether you uninstall it or not. It also counts certain "configuration changes" to your computer as an extra install. So if you install it on your main computer, then on a laptop when you go to uni/holiday/whatever, then come back and change your graphics card or something, that's the 3 installs up.
Way to treat consumers like criminals. I really enjoy having to phone you up to explain that I'm not trying to steal your product, while pirates have been uploading and downloading the game since about a week before release. gg, securerom. All you do is piss off legit customers.
Comments
Yeah, you can back up the install file in whatever manner you so choose.
They go something like this:
NEOPhyte
Scythe
Famfamfam
MrAgent
Lonyo
drubo
TalesinBatBat
Align
XStickman
And anyone else who says their names.
Also, terraforming is a bit overpowered, if you ask me:
<a href="http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs231&d=08371&f=spore_t3bluegiant895.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://xs231.xs.to/xs231/08371/spore_t3bluegiant895.png.xs.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a>
!
does keeping a town happy do much? is it worth it to be happy or more profitable?
and i keep seeing the other teams sending troops at me, but i cant figure out how to make anything other than boats and tanks
does keeping a town happy do much? is it worth it to be happy or more profitable?
and i keep seeing the other teams sending troops at me, but i cant figure out how to make anything other than boats and tanks<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Happiness makes it harder for other nations to capture your cities. If you have no entertainment, your cities fall pretty easily. If you have an abundance of entertainment, they'll hold out for ages (or until they destroy the entertainment buildings). So try to keep cities happy, especially if they're likely to come under attack. Also, when you go on the attack, target the entertainment buildings first, then attack the town hall. They fall pretty quickly (especially with mass religious-vehicle spam).
In the space stage, if your colonies don't have any entertainment buildings, you get a "mission" to go back and cheer them up (by using a special ability or building entertainment buildings). I don't know what happens if you don't cheer them up since it's only happened once and I responded fairly quick, but I assume they either stop producing spice or outright revolt.
You can only build tanks at first, then when you capture a city by the sea you can build boats, then when you capture 4 cities, you get to build planes.
does keeping a town happy do much? is it worth it to be happy or more profitable?
and i keep seeing the other teams sending troops at me, but i cant figure out how to make anything other than boats and tanks<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
High happiness levels only help against religious conversion. Negative happiness will however have a negative effect on your spice production.
As a military empire, you can only make military boats and tanks until you either capture a city of a different civilization type or you capture enough cities to make planes.
diplomacy is for the weak
But military is easy mode anyway. Just spam vehicles at one city after another with your infinite money.
diplomacy is for the weak<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No, that happens regardless. However the opposing cities/nations in the civilization stage do not all share your type, and when you capture a city you get the choice of either converting it to your own city type, or leaving it as it is.
This is useful for when you're an economic nation and you realize your vehicles have no form of weaponry or defense, and you make enemies with someone who can blow them up.. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" />
In other news, I'm a little annoyed with some of the stuff in spore
For example, the cell creator, or lack of a cell creator. There are all sorts of cool looking cells that come with the game, with all sorts of variations of parts and such. However, you can't actually make any of these. Theres one cell that has a spike coming out of its mouth, another with bone-like fins that you can't bite through, a third with elongated, serrated jaws. You can't build any of these. You can't even enter the cell creator through the 'create' option in the main menu. Nor can you attempt to edit any of these special cells in an attempt to hijack their parts.
I'm confused as to why a game that was supposed to put such an emphasis on user generated content and unique creations starts you off by making generic trash while flaunting all sorts of things at you that you can't create. Ever.
On that note, the Grox. They suck for much the same reason. They are the only a-symmetrical creature in the game, there is no way to make your own grox, or anything similar to the grox, and its the one constant race that will appear in every universe. Maxis are jerks imo.
Next is the whole "Well, you can jump into any stage any time you want!" stuff. Yes, you can. It gives you that option, its true. However, jumping into the space stage on hard without having played through your race in every other stage is.. suicide really, you completely gimp yourself. Actually, its more like.. if you don't play as military, you're likely to run into troubles on hard. Unlike the other stages, hard mode will have a good amount of empires that just hate you. Outright. For no real reason. And the only way to change their mind is to kill every last one of them.
This is a problem though, because without the bonus 50% ship health from the carnivore cell stage or the extra damage from the predator creature stage, you're going to die. A lot. Sure, you can pay an ally to try to take over the system for you, but then.. well, you'll have to pay them a fairly large amount per system attacked. It will strain your relations asking them a lot, so you'll have to bribe them some more to keep them doing the job. Then, if you actually want the systems for yourself, you'll have to open trade routes and then buy the systems from then wait to be able to purchase the systems from them. Sounds like fun doesn't it?
Sure, the other paths give you discounts on stuff, make people like you a bit more or increase production of spice.. but those are really just short term benefits, a few good colonies on pink or cyan producing planets will have you printing money, at which point discounts and not having to bribe people become really pointless.
Omnivore Discount Standard equipment
Carnivore Increase Weapon effectiveness
Creature Social Increase Colony happiness
Adaptable Increase Travel speed
Predator Increase Total health
Tribe Friendly Increase Initial relationships
Industrious Discount Colonisation tools
Aggressive Discount Combat tools
Civilisation Economic Increase Spice production
Military Reduce Pirate raids
Religious Reduce Bio disasters
</div>
Quick table showing space abilities and how you get each one.
Useful if you want to plan ahead for how you might end up playing the space stage.
What's your species like?
In the creatures stage I had a group of venomous raptor like creatures that use pack attacks and can attack pretty well and I even had a 250HP insectoid bodyguard that tore up anything that was foolish enough to ignore my requests or just were stupid enough to attack me <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" /> I even kept the pet in the tribe phase in the domisticated pet thingy, still had his 250HP and atackpower, but was tiny (which was not cool, because in the creature phase he was large and menacing <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" /> )
Space stage is still not really my thing... I had more fun and feeling of acomplishment in the (somewhat short) creature stage...
[edit]
I do have a few issues though. The gameplay is quite shallow and the "hard" setting is not that hard at all... Also I would've loved to have a "TAB" key to select enemies and a FPS like control in the creature stage (I did get it work a little bit like FPS though with some fancy middlemousebuttonWASD manouvres). But yeah the creature stage is so short it's over before it started imho so no need to develop it further, I guess...
and i think the problem i was having on the civ stage was that the game bugged out and everyone attacked me instead of each other. i went back to my save in the tribal stage and continued on to the civ stage and destroyed everyone.
I decided to skip it after learning about the 3 install limit.
I decided to skip it after learning about the 3 install limit.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Did you skip buying Windows after you heard about that install limit?
And it's not even an install limit. You can install it as many times as you want.
I decided to skip it after learning about the 3 install limit.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
My brother had it and so I tried it on his machine when he was out a few days ago. Yawn was my reaction. I barely got to space before I was bored senseless. So yes, I did not get it. Instead I got Fallout 1/2 off gog.com and am playing them <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />
Just try playing the game all-melee one time <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
Super-Sledgehammer RAWWWRR.
And it's not even an install limit. You can install it as many times as you want.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I guess, but after 3 installs you have to call EA and EXPLAIN yourself, how you're not an evil pirate.
I don't see why I should buy it, if I'm going to be treated like a potential pirate even if I did.
I don't see why I should buy it, if I'm going to be treated like a potential pirate even if I did.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Did you buy Windows? Windows does the same thing. And the 3 install thing is only if you don't bother to uninstall it, I thought.
Yes, and it also has very intrusive DRM (secuROM). SecuROM is the main reason I did not buy Mass Effect, and I would have probably bought Spore as well, had it not had the DRM.
and I owns it. I look like T'm not a miniature tyrannosaurus with a fez. Of course i'm just to the tribal bit.
Do you really not buy any game with SecuROM? That's a ton of stuff right there. I would contest with your description of it as "intrusive," though.
Cell mode: Awesome. Delivered every thing I'd hoped. It's like beautiful pac-man. The only thing that could make it better is having other people's creatures rather than a static set.
Creature mode: Lame. I like the flying, and I like the sneaking, but <i>I hate trying to impress my neighbors</i>. If you were making me impress my mates I would think, hey, at least this is realistic. As a herbivore I should be running from predators/ chasing them out of my territory, eating, and mating. Befriending other species is retarded both from a gameplay and evolutionary perspective. Also, the cross-species gene transfer that makes sense in the cell stage doesn't make much sense here.
Tribal mode: Pretty good. I think the elements are all here, but the controls leave a bit to be desired. I was finding it really hard to click on what I wanted to, and my tribe members would only selectively follow my orders.
Civ mode: Not much to say about this yet, but on hard my neighbors move way too quickly to develop. Two of them had conquered everyone else before I even learned the controls, and now my little city is like vietnam in the cold war.
The "game" is a better screen saver, mainly cause it lacks depth.
This starts with the fact, that not only a few things affect your creatures stats.
If you have 1 best foot, you are as fast as someone with 4 best feet.
It doesnt matter what eyes you use and where you attach them.
Your creatures size has no effect on its stats.
An overall lack of gameplay ressources means that there is no real depth.
(Read as: There is just not enough stuff to do later on.)
Let me just name games with the desired amount of depth, I wanted Spores phases to match:
Cell: 400% Pacman
Creature: 90% God of War (Yes, I want to either impress/dance or fight with combo moves etc)
Tribe: 50% Age of Empires
City: 60% CIV4
Galactic: 30% Master of Orion 3
Never said I "do not buy any game with SecuROM." I said Mass Effect and Spore including SecuROM was pretty much the only reason I did not buy those two games. I think of SecuROM as transfat. You always want to avoid it, unless the thing you're eating tastes really damn good.
I bite the bullet for well made games that I have a significant interest playing online, like Call of Duty 4 for example. However, if a game has SecuROM and is mainly single player I will not buy it. Remove SecuROM from a single player game, and I have no problem spending the money as was the case for Oblivion.
The entire game is retarded from the evolutionary perspective. Spore is not evolutionary. It's a game.
You can't really criticise it for that.
And to Tycho:
The 3 install limit is 3 installs, whether you uninstall it or not. It also counts certain "configuration changes" to your computer as an extra install. So if you install it on your main computer, then on a laptop when you go to uni/holiday/whatever, then come back and change your graphics card or something, that's the 3 installs up.
Way to treat consumers like criminals. I really enjoy having to phone you up to explain that I'm not trying to steal your product, while pirates have been uploading and downloading the game since about a week before release. gg, securerom. All you do is piss off legit customers.