I'd forgotten how expensive computer games can be until I visited a shop on Thursday to grab Spore (55 Euros here in Belgium), but as far as I can tell, it's exceeding my expectations. Lots of fun, though I haven't got far in the space age.

Qualms so far:
- no way to re-use buildings & vehicles created for different purposes to truly match the design typical of a civilisation (i.e. you can't retouch an economic vehicle to make a military one - you have to build the military vehicle from scratch)
- if you move the Spore app somewhere else than the App folder on your Mac, it crashes every now and again
- doesn't support the integrated graphics card on my poor MacBook
- performance issues until you manually change the graphics settings: on my brother's iMac, which is supposed to handle most things, the auto-configuration had "shadows" set to the medium setting, and that caused huge lags...

And for some reason (overload, …?), connecting to the servers didn't work on the first day.

Other than that, I'm really enjoying the game. I now have started to refine my design of creatures and stuff, and conquer the galaxy. Not all that easy though, even in "Easy" mode.

Has anyone else tried it out?

I've only played the Creature Creator, but it runs splendidly well with an 8800 GT so I have good hopes for the full game.

As far as the servers go, well, there's over a million people registered now and God knows how many of those are newly registered. Probably is overload. Is your brother's iMac equipped with an x1600? I've been hearing reports of issues with x1600 and x1900-equipped Macs around the Web.

I'll report back more when I try the full game tomorrow.

I assume the full version keeps the whole dumb "No 10.4 and no GMA 950" requirements from the creature creator?

I'd buy it right now, but, if the Creature Creator is any indication, Spore says "screw you 10.4!"

Requirements: 10.5.3 or higher, and no GMA 950.

SecuROM is worrying me into waiting, and i've heard major complaints about certain areas of the game ,so i'm going to be giving it a few weeks before i decide.

If I were to buy it, I'd do it for Windows XP. EA ruins games on the Mac.

But it allows GMA 950 on Windows, right?

Yes. I'm thinking of trying it out with something like CrossOver, because I don't have Windows installed.

And by the way, the game DVD is for both Mac & PC.

It's out in Australia and Europe. The US doesn't officially get it until 12:01 AM September 7.

And yes, the GMA 950 under Windows is supported.

lightfire: actually, the Mac version of the Creature Creator plays surprisingly well. For once Cider didn't ruin a game.

Eji1700: their implementation of SecuROM used to be considerably more onerous. I'd say the only major limitation with the current use of it is it's limited to three installs before you have to call EA customer support and get it reset.

I'm putting off getting Leopard until I get a new mac. I usually don't upgrade my systems, figuring that when it's time to upgrade the software, it's time to upgrade the hardware.

Can anyone shed some light as to what's behind this Leopard requirement? Does Leopard offer something super compelling for developers to use that Tiger doesn't, or is it due to support issues?

Also, is it true that the OS X versions will have SecuROM as well? I've read the SecuROM developer said it'll be in Cider. If it does, I'll probably just wind up with the PC version; I'd rather that malware be on my PC than my mac. I actually do serious work on my mac, and in all likelihood, Sony hasn't responsibly developed their spykit/rootwares for OS X, since they have practically zero experience with it. Ironically, even on Windows their DRM messes up Bioshock if I've run Process Explorer (which is a damn good utility).

EA is a big dumb

Yeah i really don't like the idea of a rootkit sitting on my computer and i hate supporting companies that think that sort of behavior is ok.

I realize pirating is a problem but the solution is NOT to just hijack your clients computer and screw it up to maybe catch a pirate. Hell there's already a pirated version out so lots of people who don't want secuROM are actually going to pirate it when they wouldn't normally. Some are pirating it and buying an actual copy to make it semi legit and get around the whole, having your system compromised by a rootkit thing.

Yeah, that's what I'm going to do.

I miss the days when all you had to worry about was a 32 character software key or a CD in the drive.

Or a code wheel! Copy protection used to be fun!

Forgive my ignorance, but what is the problem with SecuROM? And what's the rootkit thing?

For more information on SecuROM read here. For Spore's use of DRM, read here. I don't think it's as onerous as it could've been, and it would have been great to not have it at all, but we've got what we've got (for now).

Umm... Crossover won't help too much. Spore is already a PC engine running under Cider (its another Crossover/WINE like app).




See above. Leopard is needed because EA didn't actually make an OSX version of the engine, and I assume their Cider app needs certain leopard-only libs and such. If it was a properly programmed OSX game, such GMA 950/10.4 issues probably wouldn't exist.

I've been thinking about picking this up. It'll give me something to do as I wait for LittleBigPlanet .

My wife and I just bought it last night. It won't run on my Mini, but her laptop (an HP running Vista) doesn't have any problems with it. She had a little fun with it last night, getting up onto land and running around for a while. I haven't had a chance to sit down and play with it as of yet, but I'm certainly looking forward to it.

So my understanding is that Spore comes on a hybrid disc? I can just go to Best Buy or whatever, pay for one box, and be able to play on Mac or Windows?

Aye.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080...ay-bad-drm.html
Once again, DRM FTL. Although some may find the 3-install limitation to be acceptable, it could be considered as being unfair to the consumer, and-- given the choice-- why support something that is unfair?

At any rate, I decided to get the game, and although I'm only in the creature phase, my first impression is that it's one of those games where you sorta have to work to make it fun, whereas there are certain games out there where it's very easy to make the game fun. This is something you see often in sandbox-style games, and it's one I grapple with in my own game; some games could amount to little more than a multiplayer 3D editor and entire virtual communities will spring up, but in my opinion, the best games find a way to balance the sandbox with strategy. Spore attempts to do this, however, in some ways it abstracts concepts far enough from the familiar that the strategy element is lacking. Perhaps the phases further on will be different, but I got so bored looking for all the evolutionary traits and trying to impress the other creatures, that I've kinda lost interest in the game already.

You missed my mention of the three-limit install earlier, didn't you.

I've enjoyed the game so far. I'm in the space phase at the moment and exploring the galaxy around me, though it'll take a while. Dataspot, if you can make it through the tribal stage you'll get to play with fighters, warships, and nukes later on.

Not what you were asking, but if you want a reason to upgrade, Xcode 3 is a good one.

I finally made it through the creature stage and I came up with something fairly decent. I started out pretty weak on the tribal stage, though. My little dudes got beat down by this one tribe-- who had spears-- before they could provide a hippie parade and peace offering. >:/

This is probably why I don't play games as much as I used to... I really suck at 'em. The only reason I saw the endings to Half-Life 2, Bioshock, and Crysis were because I had a friend come over to finish them for me. Yes, I'm lame. I've grown to accept that and continue on in the hopes of making a game that is actually interesting to me.

Also, about the three-limit install, you don't get one back when you uninstall, and, although I'm sure this person is basing their information from the precedent set by support for earlier EA games, it sounds plausible enough:



So, I find it to be understandable that people are upset.



I specialize in the creative use of scripting languages, so all I really need is a good syntax highlighter. Although I have TextMate, I prefer SubEthaEdit. I might upgrade once I build that array I've been needing, to back all my stuff up before upgrading. Backups are long overdue.

Probably no word from EA/Apple about supporting Tiger and the older macbooks with the 950, eh? I hear you can run it with bootcamp on the older macbooks, so there appears to be an issue with the apple drivers for the card. That's what I have been seeing, at least.

So can somebody explain why I can't play as the creatures I've made in the creature creator?

Haven't tried Spore that way yet, but did you try going straight into Tribal stage or more? Because at any stage lower than that, the game wouldn't make sense.

I was really looking forward to this game when they started hyping it a few years ago... but the hype wore off a while back, for me at least, and SecuROM was the clincher. I find pirating games that are still supported and sold to be morally repugnant, so... no Spore for me.

Yeah, the addition of SecuROM is a bad move for EA. I'm getting pretty concerned actually. They didn't even mention for those who downloaded or pre-ordered early. That sounds wrong to me. Nor is it expressly mentioned in the EULA. To be honest that whole agreement is probably a joke now anyway - Google clearly don't read what they write - 'It's our default license' - that doesn't mean it's ok, it just proves you don't read it more than we do.

Nor is EA a particularly great company. They've taken over Maxis, only to churn out more expansions packs for The Sims (milking the series way past it's limit - how many are there now? 7 for Sims 1, 8 + 'stuff packs for S2 it turns out. I think that Spore is probably going the same way.

In other areas we see the same boring sports titles year after year, 1 per year with only very minor updates. Also the infamous EA Spouse issue - clearly they don't treat employees any better!

As a final point, be glad it isn't the original version of SR - which would have seen re-activation every 10 days! - quoting a website:



That's just plain evil!

On the game issue, it seems more like a few mini-games than a single experience. Each mini-game has been highlighted by individual reviewers for it's lack of depth.

Nice idea, shame about the publisher and their impact on the game both in terms of content and copy-right protection.

A Review

Spore is amazing. I'm in the space stage and the number of options I have verge on overwhelming. I've tried out almost everything from dropping a monolith to uplift a creature to tripping through black-holes in an effort to reach the center of the galaxy. The space stage is whole game unto itself. My only regret is not having the money to actually buy Spore, so I don't have access to online content. But don't deride me as a pirate: my thorough play testing has convinced me to buy Spore at the first possible opportunity.

And Pace is right about the space stage not being easy in easy mode. No matter how much of an advantage you have over the computer, there are still thousands of them and only one of you. I can't imagine the work needed to completely conquer the galaxy.

Yeah, even 'easy' is hard. I'd hate to think how difficult 'hard' actually was. Space is infinite in the game (more or less).

If it's like Master of Orion 2, then I could see hard mode being incredibly difficult in space when 40+ races declare war on you for fabricated reasons when you've literally done nothing (as opposed to MoO2 sicking two or three on you for no reason).

MoO1 was the same way. Though at least they would suddenly offer a peace treaty a few turns later on, without even firing a shot... Unless it was because someone else won the unification vote in a 7CP game. Now those are wars that are difficult to win.

Though at least in those games you could build hundreds of thousands of ships and planetary defences worked. Nothing says "Go Away" quite like a one hundred MiRV missile volley.

Is there any way to access a plant or cell editor? It bugs me that the only way to create new cells is to start a new game. And it pisses me off that I can customize everything but the plants.

That would be an opening left vacant for future expansion packs.

Feh. EA is to blame then. Curse you, EA!

To be fair, I can't really blame them; the game is pretty comprehensive even without the expansion pack. To put it another way, the missing feature doesn't hinder gameplay, but it's addition will enhance it; that's the very definition of a good expansion pack, versus a purposeful crippling of a game to force people to buy the "optional" expansion.

I find space stage reasonable for difficulty. You just have to form some alliances with the folks around you, conquer the small and weak to earn badges, do lots and lots of spice trading to make money (some of the colors are worth a *ton*, if you get a good planet max out it's T-score and invest heavily in making it a mass producer). If you're going for a galactic conquest type game, don't just declare war on everyone, form alliances, like a buffer, pit them against your enemies, then crush them. You don't need to conquer an entire planet or system in one go either. Remember to have plenty of money, the spice must flow. If the spice is flowing, you can buy the crazy weapons you need when you need them, get the crazy planetary defense thing (it really helps when you're invaded), pay allies to help you, and of course you can upgrade your ship to its best ability. Yeah, there's thousands of them, but you don't have to be just you. You have allies, you have a fleet. Divide and conquer, don't just conquer, and things should be just fine.

The one thing I really hate about space stage is having to suddenly go save your homeworld every five minutes from pirate attacks or a bio disaster or whatever else despite the fact that once you get there they manage to take care of it themselves pretty easily.

There are things to buy that reduce the likelihood as well as give you longer to respond.

This is what happens when you don't listen to your consumers.

Does anyone want to share their Sporepedia user names?

mine is lemonyscapegoat, but I haven't uploaded very much yet.

Mine should be obvious.

"Mazca"?

You have some sweet Dune-themed creations, mrxak. The spice must flow!

If I recall correctly, mine is IsaacTigerheart. All I have there is a couple of Spore Creature Creator Demo creations, however. Whenever I do get a new computer or upgrade to Leopard and then get the game, more will be added. But that won't be for quite awhile.