http://www.ripten.com/2012/03/30/ne...le-player-mode/
New SimCity DRM To Require Internet Connection To Launch Single-Player Mode

March 30, 2012 10:00 am
New details regarding the upcoming release of SimCity, a modern reboot of the classic city-building simulator, are emerging and there is some news that may come as an unwelcome surprise to some. Being the first game in the SimCity cannon that offers online multiplayer definitely opens up some new possibilities, however Electonic Arts (EA) and Maxis have confirmed that an internet connection will also be a requirement to play the single-player campaign. Speaking with Joystiq, lead game designer Stone Librande noted that the internet intergration is required due to the global community and economy that the game emphasizes. This essentially means that you will need to be connected to the internet through EA’s Origin services if you wish to play SimCity in either the single-player or multiplayer modes.

Early reports on Gamespy stated that a constant connection will be needed and that a failed connection will effectively end your game in progress. However, EA has provided clarification to this by confirming that a functional internet connection is needed to start up even a single-player game, and that you will not get kicked out of your game if the connection is broken. The online-dependant DRM is intact regardless of how you wish to play SimCity, as it will play an integral part in maintaining a global economy and the leaderboards for all players, as well as control mods and cheats that will eventually come out of the woodwork. While the news of an internet connection being required for even private solo games may be off-putting to some, the clarification from EA that a static connection is not required for such games should assuage some of these concerns.

SimCity will be the fifth installment in the popular city-building simulation series and was officially announced on March 6, 2012 at the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC). It is scheduled for release in 2013, with an exact date yet to be confirmed.

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http://www.escapistmagazine.com/new...nternet-UPDATED

New SimCity Will Require Always-On Internet - UPDATED
Andy Chalk | 29 March 2012 11:05 am

The lead designer of the new SimCity says the game will be an "internet-dependent experience," so if you're not connected, you don't get to play.

The new SimCity looks awfully sweet. A lot has happened in the decade that's passed since SimCity 4 and the new game looks set to take advantage of that, with fantastic visuals and a far deeper simulation of a living, breathing city than has ever before been possible. But with the good comes the bad and that means you'll need a full-time connection to the internet in order to play.

The new game will be "the first truly multiplayer SimCity," Lead Producer Kip Katsarelis said earlier this month, with interconnected cities creating a greater "SimCity world" that will be impacted and influenced by individual, city-level decisions. That sounds pretty fantastic; the problem is that players will be forced to be a part of this world whether they want to or not.

The game will be an "internet-dependent experience," Lead Designer Stone Librande told Joystiq, which means that players will need to be connected to Origin when they play, even if the game was purchased elsewhere. The need for an always-on connection is necessitated by SimCity's "emphasis on multiplayer and regional impact, and the use of a global economy that all players can influence." But more relevant to a lot of gamers is the obvious DRM aspect. No internet connection? No play.

To be clear, this isn't the same as the usual quickie call home to Origin that drives so many people to distraction; that's not really a big deal, relatively speaking, since it's exactly the same thing Steam does and nobody seems to have a problem with that. What makes this particularly onerous is that the connection has to be on all the time, so if you're traveling, living in an area with crappy service or just plain don't want to be connected to the internet all the time, you're out of luck.

EA Maxis Creative Director Ocean Quigley also revealed that SimCity won't support mods at launch, although it's a possibility in the future. "After we ship, we'll make decisions about how we can and when exactly we'll support mods. But it's worth pointing out that the reason people are still playing SimCity 4 almost ten years later is because the modding community essentially re-created it and filled it with new content and fixed bugs and made it as much of a hobby as it is a game," he said. "We're very cognizant of that - we're not idiots."

How about an offline, single-player mode while you're at it? That'd be swell. The PC-exclusive SimCity is expected to come out sometime next year.

UPDATE: Electronic Arts has clarified SimCity's online requirements, saying that the game won't actually require an always-on connection. "You will have to register an Origin account in order to play, and yes, you must be online at all times while playing in order to start playing," according to Gamespy. "EA has confirmed that you will not be kicked out if your connection is interrupted."

That changes things pretty dramatically. I'm still not a fan of the mandatory "phone home" business and I think people on the fence should insist on getting the full DRM low-down before committing, but a Steam-style online check is a big improvement over DRM that gives you the boot if you get the boot.

SimCity dev: “We built this from the ground up to be a multiplayer game”

Orz...

will.......RIP
現在連自己搞個烏托邦(SC3000我曾建過農業都市，也搞過重工業城)，都要先和別人配對...

持續觀察，如果單人版規矩多多(需在線->我忍)那4K就是我的最後。

明年第一季才上市...
http://www.computerandvideogames.co...et-for-q1-2013/

EA啊...你就不能手下留情嗎...???

SimCity [Interview] - Building a multiplayer world

開發團隊並沒有正面回答是不是也要搞強制聯網的問題，不過至少表示有考慮到部分玩家想作弊的需求.

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