Spore

[Groundhog]

Holy shit.

hxxp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8372603330420559198&q=spore

[Flasch186]

im saving my money now.

[Mustang]

Thank God its Wright doing this and not Molyneaux.. (Or however you spell his name)

[Crapshoot]

Pre-order, no questions asked for me.

[rjolley]

Any idea on how far along they are? Looks like it's a few months away...

[wade moore]

This is possible the most absurd creation I have ever seen in my life, and I mean that in a good way...

[Mustang]

Any idea on how far along they are? Looks like it's a few months away...

I've seen 3rd quarter & November of 2006 so..

[Coffee Warlord]

I've seen 3rd quarter & November of 2006 so..

No way. I'm betting 2007.

[wade moore]

I'm still getting through this...

Maybe I'm overreacting, but I just can't put into words how amazing this is. I'm trying to explain it to someone who has google video blocked at work and the only thing I can think to say is "It's Black and White to the 999999999999999999th degree"

[Coffee Warlord]

I've been waiting for this since the day after he gave that presentation.

Will Wright is still the one developer I have total faith in in delivering a badass game. And this looks beyond badass.

[wade moore]

I've been waiting for this since the day after he gave that presentation.

Will Wright is still the one developer I have total faith in in delivering a badass game. And this looks beyond badass.
Is there more good info out there besides this presentation?

I too think Will Wright is a designer to be trusted...

[Coffee Warlord]

Is there more good info out there besides this presentation?

I too think Will Wright is a designer to be trusted...

Nope. There continues to be scant little press after this particular demo. Website's got nothing.

[JeeberD]

Wow, that looks amazing...

[Antmeister]

Will Wright = game design genius!

Revolutionary game designer that I have enjoyed through the decades. I want this game already and I would be willing to stay away from some sports titles to play it.

[RendeR]

Holy shit, this game freaking ROCKS! I want this! I haven't felt this way about a new game in years.

This looks awesome.

[albionmoonlight]

Is it a multiplayer game, or does it just bring elements from other people's games into your single player game?

[Coffee Warlord]

Is it a multiplayer game, or does it just bring elements from other people's games into your single player game?

It's the latter for certain, but I'd be willing to bet there'll be a way to play multiplayer as well. This game screams for it.

[KWhit]

Will Wright is still the one developer I have total faith in in delivering a badass game.
What else has he designed/developed?

[WSUCougar]

What else has he designed/developed?
Maximum Foot...er, never mind.

[SackAttack]

What else has he designed/developed?

Virtually any Maxis title you can think of.

Except probably <i>SimTower</i>, which I think was Yoot Saito's creation (and he's working on a military pinball game for the GameCube which should also be cool).

[Antmeister]

What else has he designed/developed?

SimCity and The Sims are the only things I am aware of/have played. Here you can find more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Wright

[Crapshoot]

I loved SimTower, but I know I was fairly alone in that. It drove a lot of people nuts.

[SackAttack]

I loved SimTower, but I know I was fairly alone in that. It drove a lot of people nuts.

Augh. I still have my Sim games from Windows 3.1 - Sim Tower, Sim City, etc - but they're all on floppy, and my computer has no floppy drive. :(

[KWhit]

SimCity and The Sims are the only things I am aware of/have played. Here you can find more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Wright
I loved SimCity, but the Sims was just horrible, IMO.

Looking forward to Spore, though. Looks very cool.

[SackAttack]

Hmm. Guess that's an era gone by, as even with Fast Mode turned off, my computer still runs SimTower so quickly that as I move the cursor, it's changing the sky before the game actually draws the change.

[SackAttack]

Which I guess is yet another reason why I prefer vintage console games on the consoles rather than on an emulator, I guess.

In addition to having the actual controller in my hand, I can play it the way it was originally meant to be played, without worrying if the speed of my processor is going to screw up the experience somehow.

[MikeVic]

What a crazy game. I can't wait. :D

[Groundhog]

I'm still getting through this...

Maybe I'm overreacting, but I just can't put into words how amazing this is. I'm trying to explain it to someone who has google video blocked at work and the only thing I can think to say is "It's Black and White to the 999999999999999999th degree"

I tried explaining it to my flatmate over dinner and he had a "WTF are you talking about" look on his face until I showed him the video. Then he had to go have a shower and change his underpants.

[Runtheball]

I want this now!

[kcchief19]

I haven't watch the whole thing, but the video and concept is very impressive.

The only thing that makes me have any reservations about this is the tiny voice in my suggesting that the working title for this was SimEarth: The Apology.

[Neuqua]

I don't think I quite understand the point of the game just yet but the video is looking dam impressive regardless. Something to keep an eye out on.

[MJ4H]

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/images/smilies/eek.gif

!

[MikeVic]

I don't think I quite understand the point of the game

To have fun and be creative! :) What was the point of The Sims?

[Groundhog]

To have fun and be creative! :) What was the point of The Sims?

To trap unsuspecting sims in 1x1 square rooms with no exit and make them panic, wet themselves, and starve to death?

[MikeVic]

To trap unsuspecting sims in 1x1 square rooms with no exit and make them panic, wet themselves, and starve to death?

Glad I'm not the only one to do that.

[Lorena]

...I would be willing to stay away from some sports titles to play it.

Ahem... it's in writing :D

[sabotai]

The only thing that makes me have any reservations about this is the tiny voice in my suggesting that the working title for this was SimEarth: The Apology.I loved SimEarth....

[sabotai]

Finally got around to watching this and I can't wait for it. It looks amazing.

I noticed it got cut off at the then end and did a bit of searching. Here's an hour long video (have not watched it yet. Will after I grab some dinner. Looks like a lot of just him talking.)

hxxp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-262774490184348066&q=Will+Wright

[Anthony]

WOW. that's possbily gonna be the greatest game of all time.

we've come a long way from Pong.

[Mustang]

New video...

hxxp://youtube.com/watch?v=WHaulHxmO4A&search=spore

[Coffee Warlord]

Pass the kleenex.

[Maple Leafs]

What was the point of The Sims?
According to my wife, it was to create virtual versions of me, put them in the same room with attractive virtual women, and then get very, very angry at the results.

Seriously. She did this. Several times.

[MJ4H]

According to my wife, it was to create virtual versions of me, put them in the same room with attractive virtual women, and then get very, very angry at the results.

Seriously. She did this. Several times.

That is so awesome.

[Ramzavail]

I just watched this for the first time.

This game is NASTY

[Julio Riddols]

Yeah, its nasty.. Like a Sidd Finch fastball.

[Ramzavail]

Sidd Finch was fake, this game is real.

[sachmo71]

this looks lke fun

[JeeberD]

Sidd Finch was fake, this game is real.

I think Julio is saying that it's too good to be true. Hopefully he's wrong, though..

[KevinNU7]

I'm still getting through this...

Maybe I'm overreacting, but I just can't put into words how amazing this is. I'm trying to explain it to someone who has google video blocked at work and the only thing I can think to say is "It's Black and White to the 999999999999999999th degree"
Can someone explain it better than this, thanks :)

[Julio Riddols]

No, no, no... My intention was to say this game looks so good, it is so head and shoulders above everything I have ever seen.. Its like the Paul Bunyan/John Henry/Chuck Norris of video games.

In fact, I heard Chuck Norris farted the code one night when he was visiting a hospital full of terminally ill patients to spit his healing saliva on them.

To me, this game represents a new way of programming games. I can see a football sim with this kind of play involved, where everything is generated based on what is actually happening, unique to each and every situation. Tackle animations that are literally never the same, way more intelligent and adaptive A.I., Announcers formulating their own words and personalities, etc.. I mean these types of things are a long way off, but the depth and immersion and uniqueness of Spore looks to be revolutionary, and I can only hope it is copied and improved and expanded upon until maybe one day I am having a discussion with the agent of my number one pick and he is really pushing a guaranteed contract, while I want one with incentives because the player has had injury problems in the past.. So then we stay after it, and over a couple weeks, we are able to give and take enough to come to an agreement before training camp. Then after a couple good years the player gets a big head, says stupid stuff to the media, becomes a total asshat in the locker room and alienates his teammates to the point that I have to trade him and his recently renegotiated deal to an owner who has been known to take risks on guys with character issues. I only get a 3rd rounder in return, etc.. You get the point.

I am more impressed and more confident in the quality of Spore than any game in my recent memory, and I think the excitement is justifiable after watching the game in action.

I hope I clarified enough there. :)

[cartman]

Here's a vid of Robin Williams demoing Spore at E3. Good stuff! He's creating stuff you KNOW others are going to be creating... :D

hxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3DRiREBm9Q&eurl=http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=17426

[Critch]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6638771.stm

Delayed until late 2008 now.

[MikeVic]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6638771.stm

Delayed until late 2008 now.

This isn't the news I wanted to see this morning!!

[flere-imsaho]

I'd expect the problem here is that this is more of a programming exercise for Wright than a concerted effort to make an actual game. Every time I read/hear him interviewed about Spore, he never really explains why it should have appear from a gaming standpoint, other than curiosity.

That's not to say it isn't really, really neat and interesting, but I think its delivery date will continue to suffer as long as Wright views it as a way to expand his programming prowess as opposed to producing something for people to play, for real.

[moriarty]

I'd expect the problem here is that this is more of a programming exercise for Wright than a concerted effort to make an actual game. Every time I read/hear him interviewed about Spore, he never really explains why it should have appear from a gaming standpoint, other than curiosity.

That's not to say it isn't really, really neat and interesting, but I think its delivery date will continue to suffer as long as Wright views it as a way to expand his programming prowess as opposed to producing something for people to play, for real.

I tend to agree with this. I was reading an article on 3D printers of all things and it mentioned how EA wanted to be able to have Spore print 3D images. I mean like WTF? If they really want to go there they either have massive scope creep or they've completely taken their eye off the ball.

[SunDevil]

Not a surprise about the delay.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=217805

Apolyton reports that Soren Johnson, the co-lead designer on Civilization III and lead designer on Civilization IV, has left Firaxis Games on April 2nd, after nearly seven years working at Firaxis.

Soren Johnson has returned to the West Coast and joined California-based Electronic Arts. He previously worked there as a programming intern for sports titles Knockout Kings 2000 and 2001 for the PlayStation.

Currently, he is working on the cross-platform "Spore", which the game's designer Will Wright has referred to as a Massively Single-Player game.

Soren is a very talented game designer and made lots of truly significant contribution to the Civilization series. We wish him the best of luck at EA!

You do not have the lead designer for Civ IV and co-lead designer for Civ III join the Spore team this late in the process unless you need some serious development still left to do.

[Crapshoot]

Whoa - I liked Soren a lot (his influence on Civ4 is clear). It will be interesting to see how Firaxis reacts.

[sabotai]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6638771.stm

Delayed until late 2008 now.

That makes me a sad panda. :(

[Toddzilla]

MaximumSpore!

[path12]

I'd expect the problem here is that this is more of a programming exercise for Wright than a concerted effort to make an actual game. Every time I read/hear him interviewed about Spore, he never really explains why it should have appear from a gaming standpoint, other than curiosity.

That's not to say it isn't really, really neat and interesting, but I think its delivery date will continue to suffer as long as Wright views it as a way to expand his programming prowess as opposed to producing something for people to play, for real.


You could have said the same thing about SimCity or the Sims though -- those weren't obvious 'games' either, though they obviously both had great appeal once released. (disclaimer, loved SimCity, never got the appeal of the Sims, not sure what I think about Spore).

[Chief Rum]

Okay, neither of these videos are loading up real easy for me. One (the 35 minute one) loads up really slow. The second one (youtube) justs tops loading after 25 seconds. And what little I have seen looks unspectacular. Am I missing something and you guys are having fun with a stupid game concept, or is there anything seirous to this?

I sure as heck am not trying to load any more stupid videos.

[RendeR]

Okay, neither of these videos are loading up real easy for me. One (the 35 minute one) loads up really slow. The second one (youtube) justs tops loading after 25 seconds. And what little I have seen looks unspectacular. Am I missing something and you guys are having fun with a stupid game concept, or is there anything seirous to this?

I sure as heck am not trying to load any more stupid videos.

I sat and watched the entire E3 video Chief, and from what i saw Spore looks to be buttlods of wasted ours of unadultered fun.

The main gimmik in the game is that everything anyone who plays the game creates gets uploaded to a central location and when you start a game you can bring all that info in to your game so you can explore a "user-created universe"

This is where the Massively Single player idea comes from. You never actually interact with anyone else, but you get to interact with all their creations.

[Chief Rum]

I sat and watched the entire E3 video Chief, and from what i saw Spore looks to be buttlods of wasted ours of unadultered fun.

The main gimmik in the game is that everything anyone who plays the game creates gets uploaded to a central location and when you start a game you can bring all that info in to your game so you can explore a "user-created universe"

This is where the Massively Single player idea comes from. You never actually interact with anyone else, but you get to interact with all their creations.

Hmm, I could see having fun with that. I would probably get a better feel for it if my Internet connection was better. Ugh.

[duff88]

Just found out about this game for the first time, don't know where I've been...

My reaction: :eek:

I haven't been this excited for a video game since EHM:FE!

[Mustang]

DAMN YOU TO HELL for bumping this thread!!!

I thought there was going to be some new news... got all giddy.

[RendeR]

Does anyone have ANY new info on Spore? Can we expect this daydream of gaming entertainment anytime soon? I'm starting to wory that it may never happen.

[Mustang]

Does anyone have ANY new info on Spore? Can we expect this daydream of gaming entertainment anytime soon? I'm starting to wory that it may never happen.

I thought I've seen several places that the game is basically done and they are doing testing. April 2008 seems to be the target date with a demo coming a few weeks before...

[MikeVic]

Stop bumping!!

[Mustang]

Per EA's Q3 conference call, appears Spore will be targeted for release before the holidays. Appears from what I've been reading that EA has marked this game more to bump sales for them so, while it might be done, it might not be time to release it from a business standpoint.

So, does not appear it will be about anytime in the next 6-8 months would be my guess.

[Groundhog]

they should bundle it with duke nukem 4eva

[WSUCougar]

Which holidays?

[flere-imsaho]

Which holidays?

The next millenium celebrations. You'll still need to wait a year or so to upgrade your gaming rig, though.

[Galaril]

The next millenium celebrations. You'll still need to wait a year or so to upgrade your gaming rig, though.

:D

[mauchow]

Just stop doing shit to it, my goodness. I've gotten to the point where since he's made us wait this long, I'm going to make him wait for my money and I'll wait long enough were it will be a $20 purchase. Nana na na

[Maple Leafs]

In fairness, the game is already finished. However, when they initially started work six years ago they signed an agreement to use songs from Chinese Democracy as the background music.

[Yossarian]

Just stop doing shit to it, my goodness.

From all accounts Spore, whilst functionally sound, wasn't fun. It's a fine line between engaging strategy game and interesting evolution simulation.

I hope they take as long as they need to make it fun.

[stevew]

games with maximum customization take awhile to develop. be calm.

LOL about chinese democracy.

[MikeVic]

I'll get this when it comes out just to support the awesome idea. But I really hope it's a fun game.

[cartman]

Sept. 7th, 2008!

http://www.spore.com/index.php

[MikeVic]

Nice!! But, umm, is it only for PC, DS, and Mac? I could've sworn it was coming out for all the next gen consoles.

I'll get it for PC probably, but still.

[Surtt]

From all accounts Spore, whilst functionally sound, wasn't fun. It's a fine line between engaging strategy game and interesting evolution simulation.

I hope they take as long as they need to make it fun.

When I saw the demo from g3 that is what I thought.
Nice toy, but I do note see a game.

It was just too open ended....
What can you do other then watch your creatures hop around?

[Mustang]

It was just too open ended....
What can you do other then watch your creatures hop around?

? ? ?

Are you sure you weren't just looking at a demo of the creature editor?

[Surtt]

? ? ?

Are you sure you weren't just looking at a demo of the creature editor?

I don't think so.
It was a couple of years ago, if I remember correctly it was about 15 min long.
He went from microscopic all the way through flying saucers.
There really did not seem to be any point to it other then to see what you ended up with.
I am not into The Sims or Simcity so maybe I am just not the target audience.
As always YMMV

[Coffee Warlord]

I am not into The Sims or Simcity so maybe I am just not the target audience.
As always YMMV

Prolly not your kind of game, then. Wil Wright makes open ended, sandbox style games. There's almost never any sort of 'goal' except what you decide for yourself.

[Surtt]

Prolly not your kind of game, then. Wil Wright makes open ended, sandbox style games. There's almost never any sort of 'goal' except what you decide for yourself.

Could be.
When I saw the "wasn't fun" comment I though maybe it wasn't just me.

[RendeR]

YAY SPORE!!!!

[Apathetic Lurker]

Augh. I still have my Sim games from Windows 3.1 - Sim Tower, Sim City, etc - but they're all on floppy, and my computer has no floppy drive. :(


I'll buy them from you! They are 5.25 floppies right?

[Bonegavel]

I'll get this when it comes out just to support the awesome idea. But I really hope it's a fun game.

I did this with Black and White and all it got us was Black and White 2.

[Mustang]

I did this with Black and White and all it got us was Black and White 2.

That's Peter Molyneux. Whenever he comes out with a new game, I expect it to be great on paper, but poorly executed.

[Bonegavel]

Well, Maxis gave SimCity to another dev and looks to have screwed up my favorite sim of all time (I still have the orginal box and disks of SimCity) and Spore, while it looks awesome in theory I'm not seeing much of a game here; open ended or not.

I think Will is spending too much time collecting Soviet-Era aerospace doo-dads and not enough time making games.

[Maple Leafs]

That's Peter Molyneux. Whenever he comes out with a new game, I expect it to be great on paper, but poorly executed.
Man, I remember when Sim City and Populous came out within a few weeks of each other about 700 years ago. Nice to see the Molyneux vs Wright debate still rages on.

[Big Fo]

Well, Maxis gave SimCity to another dev and looks to have screwed up my favorite sim of all time (I still have the orginal box and disks of SimCity) and Spore, while it looks awesome in theory I'm not seeing much of a game here; open ended or not.

I think Will is spending too much time collecting Soviet-Era aerospace doo-dads and not enough time making games.

So that Sim City: Societies game was rather poor then? I don't think I ever tried Sim City 4, that one was meant to be good right?

[Mustang]

Nice to see the Molyneux vs Wright debate still rages on.

Nah.. more debating that if you are using Black & White as a point to not support new ideas then that might be a poor choice given that alot of his games were really trumped up, but fell short. I just come to expect his games now to not live up to all the hype.

[Bonegavel]

So that Sim City: Societies game was rather poor then? I don't think I ever tried Sim City 4, that one was meant to be good right?

I have the most fond memories of the first SimCity (dittos for SM's Civilization), but the 4th was a good step forward for the series. I would be playing the SC4 now but the Copy Protection doesn't work with my motherboard (several games have this issue for me).

[Bonegavel]

had to cut that post short...

SimCity 4 is very entertaining and I think the best in the series to date. It was a decent step forward for the series and made me drool thinking of what the SimCity 5 would be able to offer. Sadly, that may not happen or be very far off.

the only hope I have is that the latest wasn't entitled SimCity 5.

[Coffee Warlord]

Well, Maxis gave SimCity to another dev and looks to have screwed up my favorite sim of all time (I still have the orginal box and disks of SimCity) and Spore, while it looks awesome in theory I'm not seeing much of a game here; open ended or not.

I think Will is spending too much time collecting Soviet-Era aerospace doo-dads and not enough time making games.

Will gets the benefit of the doubt (something Molyneux has completely lost for all eternity) for Spore. He, to date, has never hyped up a game that bombed, and has a long track record of doing pretty well when coming out with these new out-there ideas.

Though he loses a wholllle lot of credibility in my book if Spore winds up blowing goats.

[Izulde]

Don't even get me started on Molyneux.

[cartman]

Looks like they will be releasing the Creature Creator separately before the release of the game, so that there will be a bunch of user created content ready to go once the full game is released.

http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2008/02/13/spore-creature-creator-coming-prior-to-september-release

[Young Drachma]

So that Sim City: Societies game was rather poor then? I don't think I ever tried Sim City 4, that one was meant to be good right?

Rather poor is an understatement. It's awful. I've gone back to playing Sim City 4. With add-ons, it's playable versus Societies which is made for little kids.

[darkenigma510]

Rather poor is an understatement. It's awful. I've gone back to playing Sim City 4. With add-ons, it's playable versus Societies which is made for little kids.


I agree. The idea had potential but HORRIBLE execution. I haven't seen one positive review of it.

[Apathetic Lurker]

meh... EA will find a way to fuck this up.

[Mustang]

Spore Creature Creator will be out June 17th (June 16th overseas).

Last I saw, it was $10 for the full version or free for 25% of the content. Release of Spore seems to be targeted still for mid-September.

[sabotai]

What's the purpose of the Creature Creator (besides the obvious attempt to rack in mo' money)? What exactly will it do?

[Mustang]

What's the purpose of the Creature Creator (besides the obvious attempt to rack in mo' money)? What exactly will it do?

It's the main program to create creatures to be used in the game which can in turn be uploaded and populate everyone else's universe. It also runs through how your creature will look when animated.

I'm sure within 1 minute of release there will be all sorts of craptastical creations by people that want to 'be the first'

[spleen1015]

I downloaded the Creature Creator demo. It seems pretty cool. There are already ~25K creatures uploaded to the Spore website. Just messing around with this application is fun.

[Mustang]

I downloaded the Creature Creator demo. It seems pretty cool. There are already ~25K creatures uploaded to the Spore website. Just messing around with this application is fun.

I'd assume around 90% are just variations of a Penis Monster or 1000 variations of LOLcat and Pedo Bear.

I haven't looked. I assume the full version is out now too so, I'll be buying that tonight when I get home.

[spleen1015]

I'd assume around 90% are just variations of a Penis Monster or 1000 variations of LOLcat and Pedo Bear.

I haven't looked. I assume the full version is out now too so, I'll be buying that tonight when I get home.

It is out. I am going to buy it as well.

I haven't seen any obscene looking creations. If folks are doing it, I haven't seen it. If you refresh the page to see the latest uploads, it changes pretty quickly.

[Mustang]

I haven't seen any obscene looking creations. If folks are doing it, I haven't seen it. If you refresh the page to see the latest uploads, it changes pretty quickly.

I wonder if the items have to be approved before making it into the downloadable content?

Either that or the entire creator creature user base is mature...

Ya.. I'll go with the first guess.

[Anthony]

what is the full version?

[Antmeister]

what is the full version?

I believe they are talking about the $10 Creature Creator, not the full game of Spore.

[Mustang]

what is the full version?


The full version of the Spore Creature Creator has all the parts available to create creatures.

The free version of the creature has just 25% of the parts.

[spleen1015]

My creatures:

hxxp://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=usr-spleen1015

[King of New York]

My creatures:

hxxp://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=usr-spleen1015

Pretty cool.

I cannot wait to design some creatures that will rely on your creatures for their primary food source.

Especially Slim.

[sachmo71]

The full version of the Spore Creature Creator has all the parts available to create creatures.

The free version of the creature has just 25% of the parts.

The masters of squeezing blood out of a stone.

[JeeberD]

What does the full version offer that the free version doesn't? Other than the other 75% of the body parts, that is...

[spleen1015]

What does the full version offer that the free version doesn't? Other than the other 75% of the body parts, that is...

Other than body parts, I don't thin anything.

I have seen the additional mouths that come with the full version and there are a lot of better options. So, I think the full version is worth the $10. It's just $10.

[sabotai]

Downloading the free version now. How many parts are in the full version?

[spleen1015]

Here's the part counts

Mouths - 8 of 40
Eyes - 10 of 40
Arms - 3 of 12
Legs - 3 of 12
Graspers - 7 of 28
Feet - 8 of 32
Weapons - 6 of 24
Details - 10 of 40.

So, in the demo you get 55 of 224 body parts.

As far as your different painting types...

Complete styles 9 of 36
Base styles 6 of 36
Coating styles 9 of 36
Details 10 of 36

So, I think there is a lot the full version provides.

[Butter]

So, they're releasing the add-on 3 months before the game.

Wha????

[Mustang]

So, they're releasing the add-on 3 months before the game.
Wha????

Not really and add-on.. because you can pull various creatures to your game, allows them to have a nice database built up before the release in September of the full game.

Plus, I'd imagine an excellent way for them to Beta test given that they could also pull everyones creations in to do further testing.

Plus, they can make an extra $10.

[Flasch186]

FWIW, the more creatures I see the less interested I am in this game. It at least has fallen off the release date purchase shelf. I hope im wrong but the cheesy factor has gotten to me....much like the languages the advisors and figureheads speak in the Civ: Revolutions Demo on PS3.

[gi]

It looks interesting, but I'll wait for the demo/reviews before I purchase. I wouldn't want to pay 49.99 for biology experiment. Hopefully the 'fun' factor will be there.

[spleen1015]

FWIW, the more creatures I see the less interested I am in this game. It at least has fallen off the release date purchase shelf. I hope im wrong but the cheesy factor has gotten to me....much like the languages the advisors and figureheads speak in the Civ: Revolutions Demo on PS3.

There are a lot of creatures I see on the sharing website that are pretty bad, IMO. I like to keep my simple.

I don't think this takes anything away from the game though. Considering we haven't really seen any gameplay yet, I don't know how cheesy any of it is.

[Mustang]

Designs are pretty much what I thought they would be.

I downloaded the demo last night (couldn't buy the full version in the US until today) and I found it really easy to us and customize your creatures. Was pretty much able to show my wife how to use it within 2 minutes also. In the end though, your creatures will always have some level of cartoonishness to them.

I hope there is someway to limit what can be downloaded into your game and it is just not a free for all import.

[Coffee Warlord]

Last I heard, you can set it to allow content from specific people instead of a free-for-all.

[spleen1015]

I believe I read on the FAQs section yesterday that you can limit what gets imported into the game. I hope this is true because I don't want any creatures in my game that aren't designed by me at this point.

I like creatures that are bipedal. These ones that have really long legs and lots of spikes and shit sticking out every where don't appeal to me.

[Coffee Warlord]

http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=usr-CoffeeWarlord%3Asast-500000962655

Gravity? Bah. His body hangs from his leg.

[MacroGuru]

http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=usr-macroguru

Just messing around with it and showing it some of our research assistants at work

[mauchow]

http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=usr-mmau1

Which are your favorites of all my builds so far? I have two that I like, the rest I don't really like and will probably delete at some point. Lets see if my fave two are everyone else's fave two.

[RendeR]

http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=usr-RendeR


Just the few I've played with so far. I'm partial to flamer and Schmedley but ganges was my first creation and I keep getting drawn back to him =)

[spleen1015]

Hands-on preview from Gamespy.

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/spore/884718p1.html

[sachmo71]

sounds promising. i was getting nervous there for a while.

[RendeR]

I'm definitely getting psyched for this.

[Groundhog]

I played the creature creator demo and it worked fine. Then I bought the full creator and it loads the EA logo before it CTDs (strangely appropriate) about 98% of the time - the other rare 2% it actually loads, and I can find no rhyme or reason to it.

[spleen1015]

I played the creature creator demo and it worked fine. Then I bought the full creator and it loads the EA logo before it CTDs (strangely appropriate) about 98% of the time - the other rare 2% it actually loads, and I can find no rhyme or reason to it.

Uninstall the EA Downloader.

[Groundhog]

Uninstall the EA Downloader.

Oh, so it's a known issue then?

[spleen1015]

Oh, so it's a known issue then?

I had the same problem and that fixed it.

[Izulde]

I really hope you can block out other content in your game, because I want it just to be -my- creations, not anyone else's.

But yeah, definitely stoked about this. *goes to download the creature creator demo*

[spleen1015]

I really hope you can block out other content in your game, because I want it just to be -my- creations, not anyone else's.

But yeah, definitely stoked about this. *goes to download the creature creator demo*

There will be. I think you can block everything or allow certain users' creations through.

[Groundhog]

I really hope you can block out other content in your game, because I want it just to be -my- creations, not anyone else's.


Hey, if you want your creatures to miss out on interacting with my Razorfanged Crutchbiters, your loss.

[spleen1015]

Another short hands-on over at Gamespot. This one focuses on a stage later in the game.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/spore/news.html?sid=6193237&tag=topslot;title;1

[kingnebwsu]

So I've heard a lot about this game and I finally watched a video of it...the 2005 video. Wow. This game is going to be amazing. I don't know if it's my kind of game...but I may have to upgrade my PC just in case I want to play this. It sounds so ambitious and it looks really polished in the more recent videos (compared to the '05 one I first watched).

We'll see if it makes it in September. But dang, I'm quite impressed by everything it's trying to do.

[Izulde]

http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=usr-Izulde

I only have one creature up right now with the free editor, but I think I'm going to buy the full creator and experiment more with it. :)

[Peregrine]

Joystiq has a hands-on article with some really nice screenshots.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/01/joystiq-hands-on-spore-the-whole-thing/

[Bonegavel]

The more I'm reading on this I don't see how they are going to pull off any sort of gameplay. Every video they show looks identical. Some 4-legged creature is wooing a mate or is dancing around. Then, they show Dr. Seuss villages being attacked. That's it.

[Zelig]

The more I'm reading on this I don't see how they are going to pull off any sort of gameplay. Every video they show looks identical. Some 4-legged creature is wooing a mate or is dancing around. Then, they show Dr. Seuss villages being attacked. That's it.

I think you might be saying something alot of people want to say, but don't because they want to believe.

[Mustang]

All I know is that I'm going to build my creatures to have severals heads. That way, when they evolve and start building Sim-Coasters, they will be able to survive better.

[dontreadthis]

All I know is that I'm going to build my creatures to have severals heads. That way, when they evolve and start building Sim-Coasters, they will be able to survive better.
i see what you did there

[spleen1015]

Here is a really good interview with Soren Johnson. It covers Spore, but it gets into some really good gaming decision.

hxxp://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3722/interview_soren_johnson__spores_.php

[spleen1015]

This article over at Gamespy about a demo that Will Wright gave at Comic con gives some information about the space stage of the game. I was already excited about this game. The more news that comes out, the better it gets.

GameSpy: Spore Live Demo at Comic-Con (http://pc.gamespy.com/articles/893/893782p1.html)

[Mustang]

Pretty impressive that you can scroll your timeline all the way back. I'm looking forward to this even more now too, but with talk of Happiness Boosters, I know that won't play well with a segment of FOFC.

[spleen1015]

IGN has previewed the 1st stage of Spore evolution, the Cell Stage.

hxxp://pc.ign.com/articles/897/897975p1.html

This is going to be good stuff.

[RendeR]

Dear god I hope my copy gets here soon =)

[RendeR]

Pretty impressive that you can scroll your timeline all the way back. I'm looking forward to this even more now too, but with talk of Happiness Boosters, I know that won't play well with a segment of FOFC.


You never have to use stuff like that, so its good for everyone. I'm not thrilled with how cartoony some of the stuff is in the game, but for the sheer massivenes of the thing its worth putting up with a few silly graphics =)

[spleen1015]

Gamespot preview highlighting the Cell stage through the Tribal stage.

hxxp://uk.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/spore/news.html?sid=6195809&part=rss&tag=gs_previews&subj=6195809

[Bonegavel]

I'm definitely getting this. I've been messing around with the creature creator and while I'm not sure I see where the gameplay is going to come from, I'm going to trust Will to at least entertain me for the money I pay for the game.

[spleen1015]

Another hands on preview. This one covers the same areas as the Gamespot one, but goes beyond the Tribal stage some.

hxxp://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=212507

[TazFTW]

It has gone gold! :banana:


investor.ea.com - News Article (http://investor.ea.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=88189&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1187508&highlight)=




<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=modBgBodyTtl><TD class=xslFullColor vAlign=top><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=modBgTblTtl>EA and Maxis Announce That Spore Has Gone Gold</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>
<CENTER>Long-Anticipated Game from Gaming Luminary, Will Wright, is Complete and in Production; Hits Store Shelves September 7</CENTER>REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 14, 2008--The wait is almost over! Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) and Maxis today announced that Spore(TM), the most anticipated video game of the year from the creator of The Sims(TM), has gone gold and will be available for the Mac and PC at retailers September 5 in Europe and September 7 in North America and Asia Pacific. Spore(TM) Creatures for Nintendo DS(TM) and Spore(TM) Origins for mobile phones will also be available globally September 7.


Players who preorder Spore or Spore Galactic Edition from participating retailers will receive a coupon good for $10 off their next purchase of custom merchandise at Official Spore Store: Home: Zazzle.com Gallery (http://www.zazzle.com/sporestore). For the ultimate Spore fan, the limited Galactic Edition will contain the 'Making of Spore' DVD, 'How to Build a Better Being' DVD (a 50 minute National Geographic Channel documentary DVD hosted by Spore mastermind, Will Wright), 'The Art of Spore' hardback book, an exclusive Spore poster, and a premium 100-page Galactic Handbook.

"We are so excited to finally get Spore into the hands of fans and players," said Lucy Bradshaw, executive producer of Spore at Maxis. "The Maxis studio has had an absolute blast creating Spore, but the fun is just beginning. The most engaging stories are truly the ones people create themselves, and we can't wait to see how players not only craft and explore the Spore universe, but hear what stories they have to tell as a result."

Spore gives players their own personal universe in a box, allowing fans to create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe created by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even spaceships. Players can then seamlessly share their creations with the world via the Sporepedia(TM) and explore infinite new galaxies created by other gamers*.

For all the latest Spore news, screens, videos community content, and to try out the trial version of the hugely popular Spore Creature Creator, visit The Official Spore™ and Spore™ Creature Creator Site (http://www.spore.com).
*Internet connection required.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS(TM), EA(TM), EA SPORTS Freestyle(TM) and POGO(TM). In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is EA - Action, Fantasy, Sports, and Strategy Videogames (http://www.ea.com). More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S and/or other countries.
CONTACT: EA Games Label
Amanda Taggart, 650.628.2729
[email protected]
Bryce Baer, 650.628.5102
[email protected]
Tammy Schachter, 650.628.7223
[email protected]

SOURCE: Electronic Arts Inc.



</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[kingnebwsu]

Nice. September 7 is a Sunday. I wonder if Gamestop/Best Buy/anywhere else will do a midnight opening for this? It would save me a trip on Sunday afternoon :)

[RendeR]

Any of you guys that generally pre-order stuff, will those arrive earlier than the shelf date or do we get shafted and get it later?

[spleen1015]

hxxp://www.hookedonspore.com/index.php/2008/08/23/spore-demo-by-jenna-chalmers-at-leipzig-2008.html

Here are 2 videos of a demo that was given at Leipzig last week. This game is going to be a lot of fun.

[Ajaxab]

I don't know if anyone wants to mess around with a free version of the creature creator (don't know how it relates to the $10 one from a few month's back though). Here's the link to the download: hxxp://www.spore.com/trial

[Pumpy Tudors]

Any of you guys that generally pre-order stuff, will those arrive earlier than the shelf date or do we get shafted and get it later?
Generally, preorders arrive the same day as the street date. Given that it appears the street date is a Sunday (!), though, I have no clue.

[RainMaker]

I can't wait for this game. Been a long wait.

[RendeR]

I canot wait for this, I have been SOOOOO bored lately. I need something to suck me in and ive me horrible video-game-related nightmares.

[MikeVic]

Whoa, this game is out next week?

[mauchow]

Yessir! Whenever I walk into Wal Mart, I'm reminded of that fact.

I'll be there for a midnight release on Saturday night(hopefully)

[Anthony]

i'm gonna trade in a game for this. should be fun. i do want to look more into the game just to see what exactly you do other than eating lesser lifeforms to advance your own race. how exactly do you interact with other species once interstellar travel becomes available?

[Mustang]

how exactly do you interact with other species once interstellar travel becomes available?

Message boards.

[MikeVic]

How are they going to prevent half of the other worlds from being inhabited by penis people?

[Anthony]

are all the creatures cartoony looking or can you make some real vicious monster alien looking creatures?

[spleen1015]

How are they going to prevent half of the other worlds from being inhabited by penis people?

You can select which creatures get into your game.

[Calis]

I'm reading that the release date has been broken in Australia and some places in Europe.

Be hearing a lot more impressions about the game soon then.

[RendeR]

Broken? as in some places released it early?

[Alan T]

Broken? as in some places released it early?


I'm assuming they mean that the stores/distributors decided to release the game before the release date. Often stores or distributors will receive titles of software/movies early, and keep it in the back because of agreements to honor the release date.

From time to time those release dates are broken I assume with the store assuming the benefit from breaking the date with immediate sales will outweigh the future consequences from the publisher for breaking the date.

[RendeR]

ahh, I don't care about stores, I want my pre-ordered copy in my mailbox NOW =)

[spleen1015]

I downloaded loaded the game yesterday....

It just doesn't unlock until Sunday.

[JeeberD]

Dammit, why does the game have to come out when my free time is at an all-time low?

[Groundhog]

I'm reading that the release date has been broken in Australia and some places in Europe.


Interesting. I guess I'll find out if that's the case when my lunch break comes around in 2 hours. :D

[EagleFan]

Interesting. I guess I'll find out if that's the case when my lunch break comes around in 2 hours. :D

Let us know how you do, and how it is if you get it.

[Calis]

I must be one of the few who is still on the fence concerning this one. It all sounds very neat, but what little I've read on the gameplay makes it sound like it could get old pretty quick. It just depends on if the fun of designing the creatures and such is worth the rest.

The fact that I've also bought 3 other games in the last 4 days means I need an excuse to pass on this one. :)

That said, I'm sure when Sunday rolls around I'll run out and buy it the first glowing thing I read on here.

[RendeR]

Realize too Calis that "designing the creatures" isn't just plug n play like the creature creator makes it seem. You have to earn the points and find the diferent parts to change your creature, you don't always have every option available to you, so every game will be entirely different based on what items you find and how fast/slowly you earn points to add the parts you are finding.

Did that make any sense? It sounded good in my head, but typing it makes it sound funy to me.

[spleen1015]

I think the purpose of the Creature Creator is more for creating creatures that will populate your worlds. You actually build your creature as you play the game.

This is the impression I get from watching videos.

[RendeR]

Exactly. =) this is why the vast majority of people see a real fantastic game setting, because you may never have the opportunity to build the same creature twice in this game based on game play.

[Galaril]

So is it really going to in stores for ourchase here in north america on Sunday? If so I can see this being one game my wife and 6 year old daugther might enjoy even more than me.

[Galaril]

By the way, this thread is getting impressions of the game from those who have the game
xplore.com :Spore Community - Spore Gameplay Discussion (http://www.xspore.com/community/sporedom/9173-spore-gameplay-discussion.html)

and this thread at octopuss overloards.com:
Octopus Overlords &bull; View topic - SPORE Impressions (http://www.octopusoverlords.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=62753)

[Mustang]

So is it really going to in stores for ourchase here in north america on Sunday? If so I can see this being one game my wife and 6 year old daugther might enjoy even more than me.

Wondering that myself. I had preordered, but then realized the release date was on a Sunday so, not like Gamestop will get them in on a Sunday.... which means that I'll get it on Monday and not play until Tuesday because the Packers play Monday night and short of a holographic game being released that simulates Jennifer Aniston blowing me, I don't miss Packer games.

[SackAttack]

GameStop will very likely get it in on Friday or Saturday, and hold it until Sunday's release date.

Nintendo *always* does their major releases on a Sunday, and that's how they do it.

[spleen1015]

Yeah, I bet all retailers already have the game if not, they'll get it in time to sell it on Sunday.

[Calis]

I think you'll find Gamestop and the stores already have them. I'm sure it'll be out on Sunday. Now Gamestop has a tendency to not give a rat's ass about PC games so it might not be there, but Best Buy I'm sure will have them.

I picked up Mercenaries 2 which was released this last Sunday.

Yeah RendeR, I get what you're saying on how you build them up. I'm sure that'll be fun seeing what I can come up with, but I'm wondering if the actual gameplay to get to those points is going to be fun. I'm hoping it is though.

[RendeR]

I hate waiting

[Bonegavel]

I hate waiting

I don't mind waiting if it is due to the fact that it is in transit. But I don't like when the stuff shows up on Friday and doesn't go on sale until Sunday. That is frickin' stupid. It should go on sale the minute it gets off the delivery truck. Or, let pre-orders get it the moment it gets off the truck. Give me a reason to pre-order.

[Alan T]

I don't mind waiting if it is due to the fact that it is in transit. But I don't like when the stuff shows up on Friday and doesn't go on sale until Sunday. That is frickin' stupid. It should go on sale the minute it gets off the delivery truck. Or, let pre-orders get it the moment it gets off the truck. Give me a reason to pre-order.


This is pretty commonly done with virtually every major game, movie, music, novel, etc release around well the majority of the modern world as I understand it. I am sure there are many reasons why it is done, but I can imagine one of them is to make sure one store doesn't get their delivery early and sell them for a huge premium/profit over other stores.

[Bonegavel]

This is pretty commonly done with virtually every major game, movie, music, novel, etc release around well the majority of the modern world as I understand it. I am sure there are many reasons why it is done, but I can imagine one of them is to make sure one store doesn't get their delivery early and sell them for a huge premium/profit over other stores.

Good point, I guess they are at the mercy of UPS/USPS/FEDEX and this puts all the places on even footing since the opening first few days are extremely important to sales.

I'm still scratching my head at what this game is. I've watched every gameplay video (plus their E3 coverage, ad infinitum) and, as I've said before, I'm getting this game but I have a feeling this might be like the Sims Online where it just sucked super ass (and not in a good way). Will Wright is not bullet proof.

As much as I've enjoyed the Creature Creator, the game looks light on depth. And they better not follow the DLC trend where it costs another $100 / quarter to get more cool stuff for the game. I don't mind expansion packs for $19.99 every so often, but I caught a glimpse of the Sims DLC and they can stuff that up their ass.

[Groundhog]

Interesting. I guess I'll find out if that's the case when my lunch break comes around in 2 hours. :D

No luck yesterday. :(

Trying again today in a few hours.

[TazFTW]

IGN AU gives it a 9.2

IGN: Spore Review (http://pc.ign.com/articles/907/907287p1.html)

[Mustang]

Early returns suggest that Spore is going to be what most thought it was. Not very deep, alot of editors and more of a toy than a game (ala Sims). Looks like it is getting in the 8.9/9.0 average for these reasons.

If you were expecting stages to rival Master of Orion or Civ IV then it appears you are going to be disappointed.

I'm still looking forward to it in a few days though.

[Atocep]

I managed to get ahold of an early copy (same friend that got me into WAR beta). I don't have any in-depth impressions yet. I did, however, have quite a bit of fun in the time I spent with it yesterday. Not sure about its long-term replay value yet, but its been a blast so far.

[MikeVic]

As long as it's like The Sims, that's perfect for me. I think wanting Civ-level depth at that stage, plus having depth equal to that at each other stage is asking for way too much.

[Atocep]

If you were expecting stages to rival Master of Orion or Civ IV then it appears you are going to be disappointed.


It is definitely not this type of game. If you're a fan of Will Wright's other work, you'll probably like this game. If you go into it expecting something along the lines of Civ or MOO as far as depth goes, you'll be very disappointed.

[Warhammer]

I'm wondering if this wouldn't be the perfect kid's game...

[spleen1015]

I guess I'm a kid then.

[Mustang]

I'm wondering if this wouldn't be the perfect non-hardcore gamer game...

Really gives you a taste of alot of different games types/styles...

[Izulde]

Meh. The emphasis on space as the biggest and most developed stage is having me really back off on this.

[Anthony]

i'm starting to cool off on this, i'm thinking its gonna be a little too open ended that i'll find myself saying "just what is the point?". and i can't get past the aliens looking too G-rated/cartoony. they aren't even realistic looking aliens, more like stuff i'd see in a bad kid's animated movie. i'll probably wind up getting it if it proves to be as huge as the Sims, but i'll wait until there's an overwhelming response that it's a must-have game.

[Pumpy Tudors]

What were people expecting out of this game? Not that I've followed it religiously over the past 3 years or whatever, but it sounds exactly like what I expected ("it was what I thought it was!"). Where did anybody get the idea that there was going to be some kind of tactical building/war simulation to this? I guess there must have been some previews out there that I missed.

[Alan T]

What were people expecting out of this game? Not that I've followed it religiously over the past 3 years or whatever, but it sounds exactly like what I expected ("it was what I thought it was!"). Where did anybody get the idea that there was going to be some kind of tactical building/war simulation to this? I guess there must have been some previews out there that I missed.


You are probably right, but I think in my mind I figured that after creating these creatures and having them evolve from cells, there has to be "something" to do with them besides just eat and poop. Some kind of function or practical application for these creatures to live within. otherwise it just ends up being a fictional evolution simulator (which might have been the original intent)

[Anthony]

exactly - there needs to be something more to do with your species after all the time spent evolving them. without a purpose the game is basically a glorified version of the Creature Creator, just more drawn out.

[MikeVic]

I thought that was the whole purpose of the game... evolve your creatures.

[Anthony]

and then do what?

i can evolve a lump a turd in my toilet, but what the hell can i do with it afterwards?

[Anthony]

they should make it if you're a carnivore you want to take over other worlds so you have new sources of food. if you're a herbivore you want to take a more diplomatic approach and establish trade relations.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I thought that was the whole purpose of the game... evolve your creatures.
Yeah, this is where I'm coming from.

Frankly, I was a little annoyed by one of the videos I saw a few months back. If I remember correctly, Will Wright showed how you can send your creatures to another planet, and they can fight the native creatures and overtake the place. I was wondering when it turned from an evolution simulator into a war game. I mean, sure, some creatures are going to fight each other naturally, but I seem to recall creatures being sent someplace for the purpose of fighting. It was like some weird Battletech/Wild Kingdom fuckup.

[Atocep]

Early on you're controlling one creature and essentially you're just eating and spending points on various things to evolve your creature and add to its attributes. Once you hit land you're either allying with or wiping out the other species on the planet.

Once you hit the tribal stage it then becomes more of a RTS-type game. You're controlling your tribe as a whole and fighting with other species, hunting for food (which you can get by killing other species as well), allying with the others, or a mix of the two.

Then you hit the civilization stage, which I really haven't gotten into yet, but a friend playing has. He made his creatures very war-like and ended up developing ICBMs and nukes and such. Outside of that I don't know much about that stage, though.

As I said earlier, its not as deep as MOO or Civ, but thats not to say the game doesn't have depth beyond just "eating and pooping". So far I found the cell stage surprisingly fun and exciting, the first land stage interesting (but it did get a bit boring toward the end), and so far the tribal stage has been a blast.

[Mustang]

i can evolve a lump a turd in my toilet, but what the hell can i do with it afterwards?

Hire it to serve nachos at your football drafts?

[spleen1015]

they should make it if you're a carnivore you want to take over other worlds so you have new sources of food. if you're a herbivore you want to take a more diplomatic approach and establish trade relations.

Uh....they did.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Early on you're controlling one creature and essentially you're just eating and spending points on various things to evolve your creature and add to its attributes. Once you hit land you're either allying with or wiping out the other species on the planet.

Once you hit the tribal stage it then becomes more of a RTS-type game. You're controlling your tribe as a whole and fighting with other species, hunting for food (which you can get by killing other species as well), allying with the others, or a mix of the two.

Then you hit the civilization stage, which I really haven't gotten into yet, but a friend playing has. He made his creatures very war-like and ended up developing ICBMs and nukes and such. Outside of that I don't know much about that stage, though.

As I said earlier, its not as deep as MOO or Civ, but thats not to say the game doesn't have depth beyond just "eating and pooping". So far I found the cell stage surprisingly fun and exciting, the first land stage interesting (but it did get a bit boring toward the end), and so far the tribal stage has been a blast.
Well, I kinda don't want this game anymore.

[Anthony]

too many questions marks, i'm passing. i kinda thought it was gonna be a "Civilization:Universe" type thing. whereas in Civ you start at some early point in humanity - i thought this game took it one step further and made it that you start out from the cellular level, getting to shape how your species evolves. then the Civ portion of it starts and you want to become the dominant species in the world you live in, and then once you've overpopulated the world and resources start to become scarce it's a race to explore other worlds and galaxies to expand and either cooperate with other civs or control them. that's the ideal game for me. would be great if you had to prepare for alien invasions and really ramp up the research for nukes and other types of ways to defend your world.

i thought this game had a grander scope. it really is basically "Mr. Potato-Head meets Civ". create a doofy looking cartoon alien and make him do stuff with other cartoon aliens, like dancing with them or try to eat them.

[Galaril]

too many questions marks, i'm passing. i kinda thought it was gonna be a "Civilization:Universe" type thing. whereas in Civ you start at some early point in humanity - i thought this game took it one step further and made it that you start out from the cellular level, getting to shape how your species evolves. then the Civ portion of it starts and you want to become the dominant species in the world you live in, and then once you've overpopulated the world and resources start to become scarce it's a race to explore other worlds and galaxies to expand and either cooperate with other civs or control them. that's the ideal game for me. would be great if you had to prepare for alien invasions and really ramp up the research for nukes and other types of ways to defend your world.

i thought this game had a grander scope. it really is basically "Mr. Potato-Head meets Civ". create a doofy looking cartoon alien and make him do stuff with other cartoon aliens, like dancing with them or try to eat them.

I am passing on this too I will try tpo get it off Goovex in a trade when it is cheaper in a year or so after expansions too. Also, I read in the IGN review though it got a 9 there were alot of things noted. For example, the review noted that when he got to the space stage and he started to explore he came upon a aggressive civ who immediately attack hima nd chased him throughout the galaxy. He apparently ran nto the Borg or Cyclons. He spent the next 8 hours trying to just escape this civ. He had no fun since he spent all his time and resources trying to stay away from these guys. Like he noted the reason alot of people play single player game sis so they don't have some a-hole ruin there game. But in this case the a-hole is the AI.

[boberot]

I'm still impressed and mystified that HA can evolve lumps of turd in his toilet. What a unique gift.

[Warhammer]

I am passing on this too I will try tpo get it off Goovex in a trade when it is cheaper in a year or so after expansions too. Also, I read in the IGN review though it got a 9 there were alot of things noted. For example, the review noted that when he got to the space stage and he started to explore he came upon a aggressive civ who immediately attack hima nd chased him throughout the galaxy. He apparently ran nto the Borg or Cyclons. He spent the next 8 hours trying to just escape this civ. He had no fun since he spent all his time and resources trying to stay away from these guys. Like he noted the reason alot of people play single player game sis so they don't have some a-hole ruin there game. But in this case the a-hole is the AI.

Actually, if that is happening, you might have just turned me on to this game.

[Mustang]

Actually, if that is happening, you might have just turned me on to this game.

Glad I wasn't the only one thinking that.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I am passing on this too I will try tpo get it off Goovex in a trade when it is cheaper in a year or so after expansions too. Also, I read in the IGN review though it got a 9 there were alot of things noted. For example, the review noted that when he got to the space stage and he started to explore he came upon a aggressive civ who immediately attack hima nd chased him throughout the galaxy. He apparently ran nto the Borg or Cyclons. He spent the next 8 hours trying to just escape this civ. He had no fun since he spent all his time and resources trying to stay away from these guys. Like he noted the reason alot of people play single player game sis so they don't have some a-hole ruin there game. But in this case the a-hole is the AI.
Yikes. This is a completely different game than what I expected. Based on my original thinking, this is like playing "The Sims" and having to run away from muggers and murderers in the park. "I just want my Sims to sit on the swing and fall in love, but the damn rapist keeps showing up!"

Yeah, not really my thing. My wife has Spore preordered, and I don't think I want to tell her about any of this. She might cry. :(

[Atocep]

Yikes. This is a completely different game than what I expected. Based on my original thinking, this is like playing "The Sims" and having to run away from muggers and murderers in the park. "I just want my Sims to sit on the swing and fall in love, but the damn rapist keeps showing up!"

Yeah, not really my thing. My wife has Spore preordered, and I don't think I want to tell her about any of this. She might cry. :(

Its definitely not for everyone and I'm really begining to question its replay value. Parts of it are really fun and others cross over into the realm of tedium. If this were a console game I'd say rent it first, as a PC game I'd strongly suggest waiting for a demo.

[Galaril]

Yup, I got this quote from a co-worker ewho got the game overseas"every phase up to the space phase is tutorial.
After going through the space stage, I can say this game has almost no appeal to actual gamers. The "civilization phase" is laughably bad, comprising of stagnant cities in which you can build 4 building types, and, 3 units with which to attack other cities. A land unit, an air unit, and a sea unit.
Even the most complex stage :the space phase is still nothing remotely close to something like GalCiv, it's like a neutered version of Stars.

Spore is clearly not for actual gamers."

[Galaril]

On the bright side we can all go get the new NA release of Romance of the Three Kingdoms which is coming out next Tuesday via download.

[Pumpy Tudors]

The use The Sims and Civilization IV as baselines, here's what I'm gathering:

The game is too much like Civilization IV to be playable to people who want a Sims-style game.

The game is too much like The Sims to be playable to people who want a Civ-like game.

I'm on one end of this spectrum, and HA is on the other. Exactly who is this game for? Will Wright, I guess.

[Alan T]

. Exactly who is this game for? .

Microbiologists

[Atocep]

The game is too much like Civilization IV to be playable to people who want a Sims-style game.

The game is too much like The Sims to be playable to people who want a Civ-like game.


I think this sums up my experiences with it pretty well so far. There was a lot of fun initially and the first time you see some parts of the game there's without a doubt a "wow" factor, but once you get past that you start wondering what the hell the point is.

I'm sure some will love making different creatures and vehicles in the games plus, as I said, there are some enjoyable moments while playing. However, anyone looking for a well designed game experience is probably going to be disappointed.

FWIW, the friend who hooked me up with a copy played through and we've had more or less the same experiences so far. His wife, on the other hand, absolutely loves the game. Not surprising, though, she's not a gamer at all.

[Mustang]

Ok, I'm curious. Just what is a 'real gamer'?

[sachmo71]

On the bright side we can all go get the new NA release of Romanc eof the three Kingdoms which is coming out next tueday download.

slow down, please

[spleen1015]

Ok, I'm curious. Just what is a 'real gamer'?

You know, a real gamer.

[gstelmack]

I thought it was anybody who doesn't like the Wii...

[Mustang]

You know, a real gamer.

There is only one real gamer and his name is Tron

[Anthony]

Glad I wasn't the only one thinking that.

hahahaha, me too. i was like "hold up, if its gonna be like that...."

[Anthony]

Ok, I'm curious. Just what is a 'real gamer'?

well, the opposite of a real gamer is someone who isn't savvy when it comes to games, who thinks of games as super mario bros. or pacman (simplistic grpahics and purpose, ie run, jump and collect coins). with all of the advances in gaming today, non-gamers are impressed by outdated things we've all seen before. a non-gamer can have just as much fun playing Max Payne on the PS1 as someone would playing COD4 on XBox 360. basically its someone who doesn't know enough about game to expect a whole lot out of them, for a non-gamer the bar is set extremely low to the point where things real gamers were doing 8 years ago are things that non-gamers are enthralled and excited about today.

[Thomkal]

Just saw in the tv listings for tonight at 8pm EST on the Discovery Channel is something called "The Future is Wild." The episode is about the making of Spore and stuff about evolution

[sabotai]

Just saw in the tv listings for tonight at 8pm EST on the Discovery Channel is something called "The Future is Wild." The episode is about the making of Spore and stuff about evolution

Thanks, I generally skip Discovery Channel these days and would have missed it.

[Bonegavel]

Glad I'm headed off to Dorney Park/Wild Water Kingdom today as I won't have a chance to pick this up. Sounding worse and worse with every reveal.

Funny thing is, I wonder what the game was like when they first delayed it? Woof, must have been a sleep simulation app.

[gstelmack]

I'll be picking it up as soon as I can hit a store. The naysayers aren't scaring me off.

[nZane]

For what it's worth, I'm enjoying it. It's nowhere near as involved as Civ, but if you're a fan of the Sims, you should enjoy this. Does it live up to anywhere near the hype it's had? No, but no game could. Is it fun? I think so.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm still planning on picking it up when the stores open up around here in a few days (along with Head Coach.)

[Coffee Warlord]

Yeah, I'm giving it a shot, against my wiser judgement.

[Shepp]

There have been several reviews that have popped up over the weekend. This is the one that makes me think I will hold off on this until the price comes down a bit.

hxxp://pc.ign.com/articles/907/907454p1.html

A couple quotes kind of sum the article up:

Spore, the most ambitious Maxis product to date, and one that's as much as a game as it is a toy.

Rookie gamers are going to feel at home here, but veteran gamers may feel like they need more.

[MrBug708]

Microbiologists

Alan FTW!

[SackAttack]

well, the opposite of a real gamer is someone who isn't savvy when it comes to games, who thinks of games as super mario bros. or pacman (simplistic grpahics and purpose, ie run, jump and collect coins). with all of the advances in gaming today, non-gamers are impressed by outdated things we've all seen before. a non-gamer can have just as much fun playing Max Payne on the PS1 as someone would playing COD4 on XBox 360. basically its someone who doesn't know enough about game to expect a whole lot out of them, for a non-gamer the bar is set extremely low to the point where things real gamers were doing 8 years ago are things that non-gamers are enthralled and excited about today.

How do we know Anthony isn't a gamer?

Because he thinks Max Payne came out on the PS1.

Hi, Anthony!

[SackAttack]

Dolahint: a gamer keeps up-to-date enough with his hobby not to make stupid mistakes when talking down his nose to someone else.

[Marc Vaughan]

Actually, if that is happening, you might have just turned me on to this game.

Ditto - I was starting to think I wouldn't bother ... but now have a peaked curiousity ..

[SackAttack]

I'm enjoying the game, but I really don't like how the camera apparently takes a crap once you hit tribal stage. I guess that has to do with how it goes from "control one character" to an RTS-style game at that point, but I wish they could've made it easier to control the camera and follow tribal groups when you're commanding them to do something.

[Groundhog]

Hmmm.

Played it for basically all of yesterday evening. Had fun with all the stages, but up until the space stage it very much has a "tutorial" feel to it. I wasn't ever really challenged and breezed through all the pre-space stage. I'd say it took me 5 hours total to make it to space, and that was with a fair amount of time spent dicking around in the creator tools. I don't think their is going to be much replay value given the lack of depth in these first stages.

I didn't get much of a chance to play around with the space stage last night due to how late it was when I got there, but the "tutorial quest" part crapped out on me because to complete my current quest I have to return 'home' and communicate with the tutorial instructor dude, but when I go back to my home planet the communication panel flashes, but when I click it nothing happens? So I'm still stuck on the tutorial quest which prevented me from doing much. Hopefully when I re-load tonight it will fix itself.

So yeah, while I definately enjoyed my intial Spore experience, I'm really having a tough time seeing myself playing through this a bunch of times. The RTS game took me the longest, but once you conquer the first 4 cities and get the ability to build aircraft, it was game over - I had a ton of aircraft and a ton of ground vehicles and special weapons that could just destroy any city in about 5 seconds.

I was playing on 'normal' difficulty and went with the easiest possible life path (carnivore/warrior/kill everything path). I think next time I'm going to try a herbivore/diplomatic creature on the 'hard' difficulty and see if that alters the experience for me much.

[Young Drachma]

I'm curious, but I dunno...the hype deterred me and as have the comments here. I think I can't get past the goofy creatures.

I miss when Maxis used to create serious games.