Spore - How amazing does this look? [Archive]

Wendelius

03-03-2006, 15:36

That was amazing. How on earth are they going to squeeze all of that on to a tiny UMD?

I didn't have a chance to see the whole video yet but the speaker refers several times to the world being procedurally generated (ie no need to store all the information in a static manner) and you can put 1.8Gb of data on a UMD. Where do you see a storage problem?

The size of the savegames might be a different story altogether though. :)

Sounds like the ideal environment to play this would indeed be the PC but it might also be a very engrossing experience on the move if done right.

Wendelius

Woz

03-03-2006, 15:53

If they're putting it on a handheld, it cries out for the DS because of the stylus.

anephric

03-03-2006, 15:55

It wouldn't look a quarter as good on DS.

Woz

03-03-2006, 16:11

We've been doing some research here, and the whole PSP rumour seems to be based on a single job advert.
I doubt it's actually the full game that's going on the PSP.

Dan

03-03-2006, 16:12

When is this out?

Reverend Scapegoat

03-03-2006, 16:15

Later on this year, apparently.
"Fall" according to Wikipedia...

benjamyn

03-03-2006, 19:08

EA had a Job ad for someone to make Spore handheld titles, but it didnt say PSP or DS.
So where this "planned for PSP" is coming from I dont know.

I think it would be suited to Ds. If they try they could make it a beautiful game on Ds.

res

03-03-2006, 19:54

Wow... :eek:

dan13l

03-03-2006, 22:05

Just watched the video, it's an incredible idea, I just hope he manages to pull it off. It's potentially the only game you'll ever need :D

cochese

05-03-2006, 22:02

it reminds me of a game i had on the SNES called EVO- search for eden where you played a small fish that evolved through the levels allowing you to add limbs etc. as you evolved through time.

Bezzant

06-03-2006, 00:20

Wow... :eek:

Thought the same :o Looks and sounds amazing

GreyJackal

06-03-2006, 01:47

"World" simulator?

Watch the rest of the video..."Universe" simulator would be a better description :D

:clap: Incredible.

MetalGearAl

06-03-2006, 06:29

Bezzant

06-03-2006, 13:42

I remember when everyone thought The Sims looked amazing, I also remember playing it for 4-5 hours solid until 3am when I first got it.

I also remember what I thought about the game a few days later.

The Sims, although it did get boring, still was amazingly successful and kept a huge number of people playing for a very long time.

The sims turned out to be quite limited in a lot of ways but this looks pretty interesting. Plus i'm a will wright fanboy :D

Dean[SAS]

06-03-2006, 14:00

When I was a lad, all we had was seamen ;)

VintageWhino

06-03-2006, 14:30

I have nothingmoreto say than "wow"

Deano

07-03-2006, 00:45

I remember when everyone thought The Sims looked amazing, I also remember playing it for 4-5 hours solid until 3am when I first got it.

I also remember what I thought about the game a few days later.

I was the same - the problem: wasn't enough to do. Imagine if they'd spent a few more years on it and all the contents of the expansion packs was built into the game. It'd been classed as one of the greatest games ever. But by the time the first expansion came out most people were bored of it.

BeelzebubUK

07-03-2006, 01:49

To answer the thread title - Very amazing !!!!!!!!!!!

I couldn't work out if it will be a standalone game or an online one though ?

Reverend Scapegoat

07-03-2006, 10:08

Both.
You create your own world, and other races with space travel can download it to their games.

Not sure if there's single-creature interactivity... Probably will be, at least in the original authors' intentions...

Judicator

07-03-2006, 10:30

i love the idea of "hey, your a hostile planet!" and a few seconds later "boom - mwahahahahahah suckers" great!

simply amazing, if this runs on my computer i will be *the first* to buy it

target

07-03-2006, 12:18

Hmm. It could be great, or it could be the next Black and White...

VintageWhino

07-03-2006, 12:42

if this runs on my computer

this is one of my concerns

It could be great, or it could be the next Black and White...

This is my other concern

soberion

07-03-2006, 14:08

Am i alone it thinking "great concept, dull game"? It seems it's trying to be too much and not really doing any of it very well. I admit it does look 'technically' excellent.

xraystan

08-03-2006, 08:51

Soberion, I agree.

Technically impressive. As a game it looks like it will suck big time.
How long will it take for you to be able to do really cool stuff, rather than just swim around? The speaker is fast forwarding through a lot of the game. I think I would get bored if I had to spend more than an hour of real time on the first stage.

It's the age old question, why is game play taking second place to technical "wowness"?
You shouldn't have to play a game for hours or even days on end before you can do something interesting.

I think the biggest clue to why this is a tech-fest rather than a game is the way the speaker just keeps talking about how wonderful his procedural rendering and actions are. The gameplay is hardly, if ever mentioned.

Jazzatola

08-03-2006, 09:09

I think the game design is driven by Maxis' experience with the Sims. Many people spent more time in the building editor designing houses and creating new objects for their sims than they did actually playing the game. Wright mentions this a few times during the video. That's why they've gone for a more procedural style where the content is created on the fly with user input and then shared with other users. So if that's your thing, you won't have to play for hours until you can do something interesting. You're going to get a kick out of customising and sharing the creatures which occurs very early in the game.

Of course, this isn't everyone's cup of tea but I think the technology is there to serve this customisation and collaboration rather than purely for its own sake.

Wendelius

08-03-2006, 09:35

I think the biggest clue to why this is a tech-fest rather than a game is the way the speaker just keeps talking about how wonderful his procedural rendering and actions are. The gameplay is hardly, if ever mentioned.

Maybe because this was presented as a session at the GDC (Games Developers Conference) rather than E3? He was just catering to that particular audience. :shrug:

I love sandboxes. Personally, I think this has great potential. Even the early stages are not throwaway as that's where you start shaping your civilisation to come.

Whether it will all gel into a fun game remains to be seen. I agree. But open ended does not automatically have to mean boring.

Wendelius

007

08-03-2006, 22:42

Hmm. It could be great, or it could be the next Black and White...

Exactly what I was thinking.

nintendorevolution

09-03-2006, 05:59

im looking forward to treating my pc to this game

wakeupjake

09-03-2006, 15:49

generally i have grown tired of rts games, resource management games et al. I have to say tho that this has peaked my interest. That demonstration is outstanding but i reckon that the computer used was some kind of secret government equipment because that was all "too" smooth. I have a penchant for destroying things so with the idea of interplanetary destruction i shall keep an eye on this one.

theambient

11-03-2006, 12:50

Hmm. It could be great, or it could be the next Black and White...

What was wrong with Black and White?

Im not disagreeing, just didn't play it. I thought it got pretty good reviews across the board. :shrug:

target

13-03-2006, 13:28

Its stunning to start with but quickly gets pointless and boring. When you are over the technical impressiveness of it there's nothing actually worth doing in the game. Gameplay wise it's not a patch on Populous 2

sammyjankis

14-03-2006, 12:52

In the name of all that is sweet and pure in this world (and indeed any others): Wow. Glad I got a new PC recently - hope it's still relevant when this game ships...

Wendelius

05-06-2006, 21:59

Robin Williams presents the char creation in Spore (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1734727723734486891&q=spore) :clap:

Wendelius

VurtHed

12-03-2007, 23:30

More Spore:GDC 2007 Videos
Mar 09

It’s just about that time of year again! New videos for your enjoyment:
Tidepool phase Creature phase Tribal phase Civilization phase Space phaseHere (http://totalspore.com/articles/official-spore-news/gdc-2007-videos/)

Never-ending soundtrack
Jan 16

It’s been noted by Joystiq that Spore is going to have a quasi-procedural soundtrack behind the game mechanics. What does this mean? It means that Brian Eno has been hired to provide a program that composes bits and pieces of music together to create a soundtrack that doesn’t ever loop! Awesome!
The videos are very short, but show where things are at about now. An Eno soundtrack sounds interesting.

FishBoy

13-03-2007, 20:30

More Spore:
The videos are very short, but show where things are at about now. An Eno soundtrack sounds interesting.

Definitely. I think he also did the soundtrack for a game called Nile many years ago - the soundtrack was quite nice in a repetitive ambient Eno-ish way but the game was a heap of plop.

Questor

13-03-2007, 22:55

So any news on a release date....?

Thought not :)

VurtHed

18-04-2007, 15:10

So any news on a release date....?

Thought not :)There's a date mentioned in this (http://www.nimisis.com/posts/spore_uk_release_date_set) blog of 12.12.07 in the UK (there's also a link to an 18 minute demo video from E3 last year that I haven't seen before).

Amazon (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000FN7K2S/thedvdforums-21) now have it up for pre-order @ £25.99. Same due date - 12.12.07.

fitzpas

20-06-2007, 12:26

reached for comment today, Electronic Arts says that "Spore has slipped out of fiscal 08 and into fiscal 09"

http://kotaku.com/gaming/pc/spore-slip-sliding-away-270324.php

Why are you doing this to me??? :cry:

Edit: Not as bad as it seems. Apparently the EA fiscal year 2009 starts on April 2008.

Ian Vinten

23-01-2008, 09:34

Played this last week and it's looking pretty good.

The Creature Creator is gonna be fun.

Mr.The.Spoon

23-01-2008, 09:48

Any more news on when it's due out? On any format?

Ian Vinten

23-01-2008, 09:55

Yes but I'm not sure I'm allowed to say... :)

Let's say this summer.

swanny

12-02-2008, 18:23

Release date announced: 5th September 2008

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=92588

ShakeyJake

12-02-2008, 22:20

I hadn't really paid this game much attention till today. I thought it was just a game about creating a little creature that eats other creatures. :D I didn't realise they evolve and create civilisations. It sounds a lot of fun. Will certainly be putting this on my want list.

jester

13-02-2008, 07:07

Can anyone else remember "life" on the Atari ST ?

Damage Inc

09-05-2008, 17:29

got the ea newsletter today and there's a link on it to sign up for the 'Creature Creator'. In true ea style though the link is currently useless as the login functionality is ******.

http://europe-newsletter.ea.com/cgi-bin24/DM/y/hklK0J1XlQ0GI60BugU0EU

MetalGearAl

09-05-2008, 22:56

This game is so going to be the Black + White of 2008 (or 2009 if that's when it is released).

mikegray

10-05-2008, 08:55

That would be a real shame. B&W had some moments of comedy genius (while I was at uni I woke the next door neighbour up laughing so hard at something my idiot creature had done) but in general just wasn't rewarding enough. I've had a pre-order in for ages, hopefully it'll live up to the hype.

jester

10-05-2008, 12:02

mikegray

10-05-2008, 12:25

I remember Gene Wars on the PC... in some small way it feels similar.

MetalGearAl

10-05-2008, 13:33

I'm thinking it's going to be quite like The Sims too, great concept but in reality to play it's just a repetitive grind.

ShakeyJake

21-05-2008, 09:00

daboy3000

21-05-2008, 10:13

Can no-one else remember a similar(ish) game on the Atari ST, I thought it was called Life but I cannot find out anything about it.

Basically you had to evolve your lifeform and you could accdentally de-volve into a plant thereby ending the game.. It had wireframe graphics but was an interesting concept.

I remember it on the Atari lynx, i think it was hidden in another game like Gaunlet or APB, you put in a code a whala! I'm sure someone more nerdy than me will remember.

What spec pc is this going to need, i have a 2.8 P4, should i just give up thinking that i will be playing this?

ShakeyJake

14-06-2008, 18:29

http://kotaku.com/5016479/spore-creature-creator-demo-leaks-early

The demo version of the creature creator has leaked. Here's my, pretty shoddy, first attempt :D

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/8799/credinoclaw067e224csmlyf6.jpg

Dno

16-06-2008, 09:11

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/230016.html?playlist=featured

Filthy.

swanny

16-06-2008, 10:28

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/230016.html?playlist=featured

Filthy.

:lol:

ChrisHunt

16-06-2008, 10:58

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/230016.html?playlist=featured

Filthy.

lol - Also probably NSFW

Wendelius

17-06-2008, 22:25

The editor is here: http://eastore.ea.com/store/ea/en_US/DisplayProductDetailsPage/ThemeID.1252400&productID=101447000

Some of my creations:

http://www.gasperazzo.net/images/spore/madok-sad.jpg

A bath duckie gone wrong...

http://www.gasperazzo.net/images/spore/duckie.jpg

The shin kicker:

http://www.gasperazzo.net/images/spore/shinkicker-holdme.jpg

You can also upload your videos to Youtube from the editor itself, which is pretty cool:

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IrKsCuHMPJM"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IrKsCuHMPJM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

Wendelius

ShakeyJake

18-06-2008, 15:26

I've ordered the Creature Creator from Game (http://www.thedvdforums.com/affiliatelink.php?localaffiliateid=50&url=http://www.game.co.uk/PC/Strategy/~r335331/SPORE-Creature-Creator/) for £4.99 as they'll give you £5 of the full version of Spore, so it's pretty much free.

Dan

18-06-2008, 16:29

Here's mine.

http://www.zen82603.zen.co.uk/spore/CRE_limbasaurus-068348ab_sml.jpg

mythuk

20-06-2008, 15:52

I'm having a problem running the trial. Every time I run it, it loads up but my monitor doesn't like whatever frequency/resolution is being used and all I can see is a mess of wavy lines.

Does anyone know if I can edit one of the ini files to make it default to a resolution/frequency?

EDIT - sorted it by forcing it to display in a lower resolution via Vista compatibility mode, then changing settings in the demo. Had a bit of a play and it's great fun! Can't wait for the full game now, I'll prob pay for the Creature Creator while I wait.

ShakeyJake

20-06-2008, 17:46

Good old Game. They email out the £5 discount code for Spore so I go to the site to order and they've put the price up to £29.99 from the £26.99 it was yesterday.

cjb110

22-06-2008, 09:05

My profile page is here (http://www.spore.com/view/profile/cjb110)

Can't wait for the full game!

Flopsy

22-06-2008, 10:43

Good old Game. They email out the £5 discount code for Spore so I go to the site to order and they've put the price up to £29.99 from the £26.99 it was yesterday.

Aye - thought the same. I'm sending them an email, but I don't expect anything to come of it. Gits.

Funny, every time I shop with them I always come away with some level of annoyance that means I don't shop there again for a year or two.

Flopsy

22-06-2008, 10:54

You know what quite impresses me about this editor? The fact that the .PNG picture files of the creatures contain all the information for you to import the creature into the editor.

(Well, most of the time - looks like you need exactly the correct PNG for it to work - funnily enough, quite a lot of the pictures you download off the Spore site aren't right and don't work).

This means you can literally drag the icons from a web browser into the editor and they appear.

Like this one (nothing special - just a quick play):

http://www.ferneyhough.net/spore/Flobbydeedoo.png

Jazzatola

15-08-2008, 09:11

I've just been watching Wright's talk (http://www.eurogamer.net/tv_video.php?playlist_id=12726) and demo (http://www.eurogamer.net/tv_video.php?playlist_id=12766) from Comic-Con. Any fears I had about how Spore might work out have been banished, the game looks like lots of fun and much more detailed that I expected. This could be massive.

TonyG

15-08-2008, 09:57

Almost tempted to come out of PC-gaming retirement to play this. Does it require a good PC spec. to run well? ... I wouldn't have thought so as the visuals are quite basic.

The latter stage of the game (galaxy exploring) sounds like the most interesting element.

Jazzatola

23-08-2008, 09:11

91% in this month's PC Gamer. The review is quite mixed though, a flawed genius kind of thing.

MrSpeed

23-08-2008, 12:45

Best place to pre-order a mac version?

ShakeyJake

27-08-2008, 08:29

Best place to pre-order a mac version?

I'm not 100% but I think the PC and Mac versions are on the same disc

MrSpeed

29-08-2008, 09:54

That'll make it easier then...thanks :thumbs:

Ono

02-09-2008, 22:28

Out this Friday and I have to say that I may give it a miss as I doubt I would be able to devote enough time to it.

Creation/god games don't really do anything for me neither.

ShakeyJake

03-09-2008, 09:18

http://www.videogaming247.com/2008/09/02/pc-games-gives-spore-71-talk-of-release-date-online-embargo-emerges/

A couple of not-so-great reviews from German mags have emerged, and strict embargoes on European reviews till the game's release on Friday. Sounds a little ominous...

mikegray

03-09-2008, 18:08

The level of interest in this (i.e. a four page thread replete with the sound of crickets for months at a time) surprises me - isn't this the great white hope for PC gaming this year?

Hope it's good, it certainly looks interesting, but over-ambitious?

Ono

03-09-2008, 19:49

The problem is, despite the thread heading, I think it looks crap.

... and I hate god games :D

swanny

04-09-2008, 07:27

Eurogamer gives Spore a 9!!!

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=229057

ShakeyJake

04-09-2008, 08:28

Sounds awesome :D My postman better hurry up...

john316

04-09-2008, 08:35

The more I read the reviews, the more I'm intrigued.

MetalGearAl

04-09-2008, 08:40

The problem is, despite the thread heading, I think it looks crap.

... and I hate god games :D
Hear hear :)

Don't mind God Games as much but I'm still siding with the view that this is going to be the most over-hyped game of the decade.

ShakeyJake

04-09-2008, 08:42

Don't mind God Games as much but I'm still siding with the view that this is going to be the most over-hyped game of the decade.

Even more so than Halo 3? :eek:

Mr Majestik

04-09-2008, 08:50

Gets an 8.8 from the us IGN and a 9 for the UK reviewer.

"Yet while Spore is an amazing product, it's just not quite an amazing game. I can't help but feel that Spore is ambitious and memorable, but I also admit that, save for the cool Space Stage, there's not a lot of depth here. Rookie gamers are going to feel at home here, but veteran gamers may feel like they need more. Still, Spore proves to be one of the most unique products in recent memory, one that reaches for the stars and ends up giving us a universe in a box."

ShakeyJake

04-09-2008, 12:55

Can anyone login on this? Servers seem to be down

Wowbagger

04-09-2008, 13:52

Me neither. I'm guessing they'll be down until the official release date.

ShakeyJake

04-09-2008, 14:06

Seems to be online now, which is handy as I need to go out :p

Jazzatola

04-09-2008, 16:04

I'm still looking forward to my copy turning up but I have mixed feelings about the reviews. They all seem to contain lots of negative points but somehow end up giving a really positive score. Makes the game sound like a bit of a white elephant.

:thinking:

LeftHandedGuitarist

04-09-2008, 16:42

I don't see what people's interest in this game is, I think it would bore the pants off me. But then, I don't understand why anyone would play The Sims.

ShakeyJake

04-09-2008, 16:58

I got up to the second stage earlier and had to go out. It's hard to have much of an opinion of it so far but it kind of have RPG elements to the increasing your DNA and finding new body parts so you can make better creatures. The first stage is over fairly quickly and is very pretty, you have the choice of being a herbivore, omnivore or carnivore. Mine is a herbivore but it looks like you can chop and change as you go throughout the game.

Not seen any penis monsters yet as I couldn't connect to the Spore servers when I was playing. I guess that's something to look forward to :D

mikegray

04-09-2008, 20:49

My first reaction is that it's dull, dull, dull. The first (water) section was dull, the first half hour I've played on land has been dull and repetitive at best. I really hope there's more to it than this in the later stages.

ShakeyJake

04-09-2008, 20:58

I'm up to the tribal stage now which is a kind of basic RTS. I'm not blown away by it yet but apprently the Space stage is quite good...

Digital

05-09-2008, 05:29

Friggin EA seems to have screwed up the Galactic Edition, with numerous people unable to create an account, including myself!

ShakeyJake

05-09-2008, 10:28

Well I'm in the Civilisation stage now and as I'm a herbivore it means I have to be a religious nut so all I can do is convert other cities to my nutball religion all while the cities I have managed to convert are being taken over by the military based cities. I'm not entirely sure what's going on with my resources as they seem to be getting less and less as I take over more stuff. I'm probably doing something wrong.

What's everyone else's opinion so far?

saviola

05-09-2008, 12:12

Unfortunately, the game has failed to live up to the hype for me :(

Received it on Wednesday and spent most of yesterday trying to enjoy it, got to Civ stage too, but it just doesn't do anything for me. Been playing this morning and still nothing, seems more of a 'kiddy' game than I imagined it to be.

Luckily not registered it yet so will jusy ebay.

Ravenger

05-09-2008, 12:26

Just remember it's got the 3 activation limit, once they're gone you have to go beg EA for more, and it's not a quick and easy process from what I've read.

vast_girth

05-09-2008, 12:34

from what i've read, if you treat the first four stages as merely a long warm-up and tutorial, for the space stage, which is the main game, the game starts to make a lot more sense...

Mr Majestik

05-09-2008, 12:49

The Ds version looks very cute but it's a bit lacking gameplay wise.

mr_woo

05-09-2008, 13:01

Just remember it's got the 3 activation limit, once they're gone you have to go beg EA for more, and it's not a quick and easy process from what I've read.

Are you saying you only get to install it 3 times before having to ask for more install activations ?

If so that's a ******* disgrace, I was seriously considering buying this but if they're going to do that then I won't bother.

Ravenger

05-09-2008, 13:41

Are you saying you only get to install it 3 times before having to ask for more install activations ?

If so that's a ******* disgrace, I was seriously considering buying this but if they're going to do that then I won't bother.

That's essentially right, it's a bit more complex than that, but that's what it amounts to.

You can install/uninstall on the same computer on the same account as many times as you like, and only use 1 activation. However, unspecified hardware changes, installing on a different computer, different account, re-installing the OS and then re-installing the game will all use up activations. You have no way of knowing how many activations are left, or when an activation is used up. You do not get back an activation when you uninstall. There is no deactivation tool, or any way to manage your activations. It sucks.

I've got Mass Effect which uses the same system, and to be honest it's not caused me any problems so far, but I really hope EA get some better support in place for those legit users who have run out of activations and need some new ones. Atari used the same system for Alone In The Dark, but at least gave you back a credit when you uninstalled the game, and had a way to de-authorise it via the web.

What annoys me is there's no mention of this on the box (other than 'internet connectivity required') and none of the Spore reviews I've seen mention the DRM system.

Prufrock

07-09-2008, 17:15

I'm stuck! Can't get past the damn Grox on the Space stage. I'm currently "All Powerful", and 30 badge points of "Ultimate Being" (the last title being "Omnipotent"). I just can't get to the centre of the Universe because the Grox guard every single way in. I know I've got to take out the Grox to get to the centre, but that's the hard part. Now getting fed up flying around the Universe making Alliances, etc.

TheoGB

09-09-2008, 07:47

What annoys me is there's no mention of this on the box (other than 'internet connectivity required') and none of the Spore reviews I've seen mention the DRM system.

According to this guy here:
http://drownedinsoundtest.com/articles/3984658

Amazon are working with EA to delete any negative reviews, probably it's down to the review bombing being used to try to highlight the problem - http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080908-gamers-fight-back-against-lackluster-spore-gameplay-bad-drm.html - but it's still a bit concerning.

Flopsy

09-09-2008, 08:21

You see, they put on all that DRM stuff to ensure that nobody is able to pirate the game. Which has worked really well. Ah, hang on, it was on the internet to download on the day of release. That was worth it then :shrug:

I've got a simple system. If it has draconian DRM, I don't buy it. My one sale doesn't make a heap of difference in the long run, but I feel as if I am making a point. I enjoyed the creature creator, but I'm not going to bother with the full game just yet - I've got too much to play anyway.

Contrast this to, say, Sins of a Solar Empire - they decided not to add any protection to their stuff, and just restricted accounts on their website to genuine keys - in effect, they made patching/updates available to the registered users only. They just announced they had passed 500,000 sales, which for an "Indy" PC game is pretty good.

It has been said a thousand times before - DRM / Protection only hurts the genuine user. At best it protects against some low level piracy - kids doing a copy for their mates - but anyone with half an ounce of knowledge of these things will find a way of getting a pirate copy.

TigaSefi

09-09-2008, 17:42

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080908-gamers-fight-back-against-lackluster-spore-gameplay-bad-drm.html

EA are ******* idiots. When i was playing on my PC, EVERY game I had was off bit torrents to avoid all this marlarky!

AdamBrunt

09-09-2008, 21:12

what with this and the "free fuel" Mercanaries promotion, you could argue that EA aren't having a good week.

Although at least it's getting them plenty of publicity.

BlueDwarf

09-09-2008, 22:36

Who decided to **** on the control system when you get to the tribal stage? Awful.

Xenole

10-09-2008, 10:51

Quick questions:

I'm on the creature stage.. I've killed one or two species but now I'm trying to ally with some others as there are some nasty 250 health critters out there that easily kill me with my 29 health! (can't get any better).
I've found a few nice creatures and tried to impress them but other than the first one I try, I fail every single time. I've tried to mimic which doesn't seem to work, added various charm, danicng feet etc but 99% of the time, my bar either doesn't move or fails with a few % to go.

Combat: Do extra spikes etc help? I tried putting loads on me + spitting things etc and in every battle, the enemy's health goes down at the same rate regardless.

daboy3000

10-09-2008, 11:10

You need to get your dancing etc levels up first. Don't worry about the BIG creatures, just run!

No adding lots of the same item doesn't make a difference. If you look at the right of the screen you will see your stats going up and down when you buy or sell items. If an item is level 2 it doesn't make you a level 4 if you add 2 of them.

I'm quite dissapointed with the game, i thought it would have a lot more depth but you just keep doing the same thing over and over again untill you move to the next level, then repeat!

Gedalia

15-09-2008, 12:21

I was really looking forward to this game and actually paid for it.

Breezed through the first four stages in an afternoon. Creature stage was fun but tribal and civilization stage were very boring and not very difficult with very little depth. I had no skill or desire to start designing buildings. Very boring.

Space stage - looks promising but I'm a little confused.

I ended up accidentally starting a war with a powerful neighbour just by moving into their territory a few times and now I cant ever travel very far as I keep having to come back and defend my home planet.

I cant attack them as I am just one ship and they had loads and I get blasted to bits whenever I enter their systems.

How are you meant to defeat anyone? Oh and I have a space for an allied ship, can I not create another spaceship to follow me like in Creature stage?

Im thinking about starting Space stage from scratch because its all gone to pot. Any tips?

daboy3000

16-09-2008, 11:38

You need to make friends with another race, but to be honest you're still going to get attacked every five minutes.

Spore is a fantastic idea, they just didn't pull it off. Plays like a kids game.

Raziel

18-09-2008, 15:41

According to this guy here:
http://drownedinsoundtest.com/articles/3984658

Amazon are working with EA to delete any negative reviews, probably it's down to the review bombing being used to try to highlight the problem - http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080908-gamers-fight-back-against-lackluster-spore-gameplay-bad-drm.html - but it's still a bit concerning.

Certainly doesnt seem to be the case on the co.uk site as there are plenty of old and new reviews going on about the DRM stuff.

Any idea how high a spec PC you need for this to run well i.e. what Vista score/ Gfx card etc? Just want a feeler as was going to get this for someone and wondering if it would run on one of those Big Pockets IQONS from a few months ago (2Gb Ram Internal Gfx).