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SimCity PC beta registration open as soon as the site goes live [Update: It's up!]
Registration for a closed SimCity beta has now opened, EA and Maxis announced during their Gamescom press conference in Cologne, Germany. Or rather, it will be open as soon as the registration page goes live, which as of press time it has not.Eventually though, prospective PC mayors can register for their chance to benevolently/malevolently control the lives of millions ahead of the game's February release window. No word yet on when the beta will actually take place, or whether Mac mayors will get to join in on the fun of not getting to sign up for a SimCity beta.Update: The site is now live and accepting beta applications. Go get the key to your almost-guaranteed-to-be-obscenely-named city!
SimCity comes to Mac in February
What press conference? We just got an email from EA alerting us to the Mac release of the new SimCity, due in February.Sold digitally through Origin, the newly announced Mac version has the same release window as the previously announced PC version.
Build a SimCity with friends, challenges keep game moving along
SimCity returns next February and fans of the series have a lot to get excited about ... like, a lot a lot. Powered by a fancy new engine called Glassbox, the game uses a tilt-shift photography (miniature faking) visual style to fulfill fantasies of producing a model-like world come to life.The E3 demo I saw was played in real time, starting with curvy roads being laid and residential zones spawning home construction. Houses were formed, followed by Sims pulling up in moving vans and residents starting new lives. There is so much detail work, delivering a lot of visual cues. Houses with electricity light up, pollution turns the world brown and crime is represented by graffiti. These visual indicators present a lot of information intuitively."We were really inspired by Google maps and infographics. We have so much data and we want to present it in cool and easy to understand ways," a Maxis rep told us.%Gallery-157342%
SimCity building into your personal life February 2013
A press release (available after the break) detailing Electronic Arts' full E3 line-up has revealed a launch window for Maxis' forthcoming reboot of SimCity: February, 2013. Previously, we were left to ponder over a woefully vague "2013" release window for the reboot.Knowing that SimCity's launch won't happen until next year is actually super helpful, as it gives us plenty of time to collaborate with city planners, come up with street names, figure out efficient public transportation solutions and then construct a golden throne from which to watch it all burn.
Glassbox sets SimCity ablaze in latest trailer
In reality, fire is a mysterious force that takes what it pleases and threatens to devour us whole in our sleep. Within the confines of a video game, however, the flaming beast can be controlled.
SimCity trailer discusses water management, produces a civil action
This latest clip of next year's SimCity reboot shows how water distribution will work in the simulation. It also reveals how industrial pollution can poison groundwater. What it doesn't show is the multi-million dollar lawsuit that follows.
The life of a Sim in SimCity
Ocean Quigley, creative and art director at EA Maxis, wants individual Sims to matter in 2013's SimCity. He wants them to have a real bearing on the world. He wants them to be less the uncharismatic specks they've been in previous games.Each Sim has a set plan each day: They wake up and pay their rent -- surprisingly, it's only $1 -- and go to work. After work, if they have money, they spend it throughout the region. Spending money gives Sims more happiness, thus increasing their enjoyment of your city.Sims have their own bank accounts, and can potentially become homeless if they don't have any funds. If you don't have a place for Sims to earn money, they'll start loitering in parks, decreasing happiness and forcing them to move out of your city.%Gallery-151600%
Being a good neighbor in SimCity
One of the most interesting aspects of the new SimCity is the way pollution and the environment play into the new multiplayer features. The latest installment of the franchise is being prepared for next year, so there's no playable version yet for me to see the mechanic in action. In the meantime, EA Maxis was willing to play out some scenarios during a visit to the Emeryville, CA, offices last week.Once a new game is started, players can create a region and invite friends to add their own cities. Each city has the potential to share with its neighbors. The citizens of one city may travel to the other to enjoy casinos or shopping, for example. Keeping Sims within the city happy keeps the economy flowing.Connecting cities in this way opens the door to interesting scenarios. One city could be a supplier of coal to other locations, reaping the cash rewards of being a supplier and allowing its neighbors to progress in the game despite limitations. It encourages cooperation, something EA Maxis will support with added bonuses and possible achievements.%Gallery-151600%
SimCity will not support mods at launch
The last game EA Maxis launched in the SimCity series was SimCity 4, almost ten years ago. It's still being played today, thanks in part to a Steam launch in 2010, but mostly thanks to the modding scene. However, EA Maxis will not launch the new SimCity in 2013 with mod support.It's not entirely off the table, though. EA Maxis creative director Ocean Quigley said the ability to support mods is already built into GlassBox, the new engine powering SimCity, so there's potential for mod support down the road -- just not at launch."Right now we've got our work cut out for us to build the product up to the quality level it deserves as a SimCity," Quigley said. "Then 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."We're very cognizant of that -- we're not idiots."
SimCity requires internet connection to play, will be sold outside of Origin
Good news: If you want to download SimCity somewhere other than Origin, you'll have the option to do so. An EA representative confirmed with Joystiq that the title would be available for purchase on other digital distribution platforms, though a list of stores has yet to be finalized. SimCity is arriving sometime in 2013.Lead designer Stone Librande confirmed that SimCity would be an internet-dependent experience. Players will need to be online on Origin while playing, even if that wasn't the point of purchase. The always-on connection becomes necessary with the game's emphasis on multiplayer and regional impact, and the use of a global economy that all players can influence.%Gallery-151600%
Take a (second) first look at SimCity's GlassBox engine, debug graphics and all
We gave you the first brief glimpse of the new SimCity in action back at GDC, albeit via shaky cam footage of a presentation. Today, we've got a much clearer look at similar footage, directly from EA's Maxis studio.Like the GDC clips, this video isn't meant to be a trailer or show off the game's graphical prowess. Instead, it's intended as a way to articulate SimCity's backend GlassBox Engine and how it assists in powering next year's series reboot. Unfortunately, this video features approximately 100 percent less fire ravaged houses. This is only the first video in a promised "Insider's Look" series, so we're holding out hope for flaming houses in the next installment.
The new SimCity in video form, flaming houses and all
Would you like to get a look at SimCity before anyone else? So would we! But all we've got is these prototype videos shown off during a Maxis panel at GDC 2012 yesterday, which partially feature debug artwork (read: not final!). Also, hey, houses on fire!
SimCity saves heading to the clouds, bringing the game beyond the PC
During the highly technical SimCity engine talk today at GDC 2012, a trio of Maxis creative leads went into more depth on next year's simulation. Specifically with regards to online play, the game will feature cloud saving which will work continuously in the background as you play online.SimCity was described as "built from the ground up to support online," which goes beyond the asychronus online play we heard about at last night's event. "Play anywhere" was mentioned, with the idea being that you could play the game across a variety of devices. We're thinking mobile as well as PC and (perhaps) console offerings, but the example given was accessing your games via web browser.Several videos were also shown off of the game in action, though heavily laced with debug graphics (read: placeholder, and not so attractive). Each of the four demonstrated different aspects of the game's building blocks and we'll hopefully have them up for you shortly. The internet here is ... not so fast.
'The buck stops at the simulation' with new SimCity
"We're building a simulation that really captures the world we live in today, where your decisions go beyond the boundaries of the city." Speaking at an EA press conference in San Francisco tonight, Maxis Senior Vice President Lucy Bradshaw shared some of the high-level goals for the new SimCity game, coming to PC in 2013.Bradshaw recalled shipping the first city builder in 1989, and described the return of Maxis to the franchise proper with great enthusiasm. "It's been about ten years since we shipped the last, true SimCity by Maxis," she said. Despite that passage of time, the developer still seeks to impart inspiration in simulation. "The buck stops at the simulation," Bradshaw said.%Gallery-150003%
New SimCity scraping sky on PC in 2013
The permits are all set for a new SimCity to begin building the next great metropolis, EA and Maxis announced this evening at GDC 2012. It's coming to PC in 2013, and going back to Maxis.The official word follows a string of leaked screens and a prematurely outed trailer that seemed intended for GDC. The game will run on the GlassBox engine, which EA plans to describe in more detail at tomorrow's "Inside the GlassBox" presentation at GDC. So far, we've confirmed that it'll have curvy roads!
Rumor: Leaked pre-visualization SimCity 5 trailer purports 2013 launch window
This may be our first up-close and personal look at the still-rumored SimCity 5, or at least its debut trailer. Pre-visualization trailers like this serve as rendered storyboards, hence its distinct lack of actual motion, and are used by directors as a cinematic roadmap.It also gives us a glimpse of the game's roadmap, both literally and figuratively, by showcasing the layout of a simulated city and placing SimCity 5's release date in 2013. It's worth noting that the number five is mysteriously lacking from the title's logo, which may indicate a series reboot, rather than a sequel, should this end up being legitimate.Thankfully, we'll only have to wait a couple of days to find out if this trailer is The Real Deal with Bill McNeal, as EA and Maxis' GDC event takes place this Tuesday.
SimCity 5 rumors building
Rumors are pointing to an official reveal for SimCity 5 at next week's Game Developers Conference (GDC), with a launch sometime in 2013.The rumor katamari began earlier this week when AllGamesBeta posted alleged concept art of the upcoming city planning program, then things really got rolling as Gamespot reported on a translation of a German magazine article that all but confirms next year's launch details.VG247 has also been gathering details from all over, noting the "Inside the GlassBox" talk at next week's GDC, which introduces the "Glassbox" engine as "next-generation technology that is built from the ground up to power the next entry in one of their most beloved franchises."The EA and Maxis event will be held next Tuesday, March 6.
