It was really difficult to inspect how traffic and AI behaved. With only one hour, populations never got close to 100k (unless you were badass), and even then it takes time to start noticing patterns.

Now that servers are starting to finally get accustomed to use, they're able to look at more issues and get plans of action put together.

It's a step forward. Even if it took time for agents to get through, it should mean the "second" night or run should be cleared up there. I'm happier that in the end, the dirt road was largely ignored even when clear. Could be some bad side effects though in busy cities such as multiple blocks getting locked up, but I…

It was never said that sims were persistent like that, ever. They didn't lie about the sims (though they did lie about the deferred calculations as a reason to require always-online.)

In short, it's got the same exact problems as SimCity 4 in terms of traffic handling (except with SimCity 4 you can install NAM to help deal with it.) I was hoping this SimCity would improve on that glaring flaw. While I accept the idea of sims going to the first available house, I still don't like the idea of…

They've got a whole lotta people working on it, and you don't think they're sleeping at all? You're joking, right? Just means they have more crew than they'd have normally.

As much as they want to say improvements have been made, until I stop having to switch servers, lose out on my access to disasters and STOP losing access to region-wide departments, I don't believe it.

The problem is that the game is good.. the business is bad. Do I want the art, the core content to go away forever? Not really. Are there similar franchises? Yes, but they're nowhere near as good. At some point they'll get to the point where I can't bring myself to put up with it anymore and this week was close to…

Anyone who didn't expect this doesn't play often at game launches.

You just can't get as invested with other people around as most people don't consider whatever you're investing in emotionally important enough.

If only the political website also got politics right... than I'd be able to give them more leeway.

You missed the point so spectacularly, that I wonder why we're even having the conversation. I see your side of the argument, the least you could do is NOT try to ignore my points with an "it doesn't matter argument". If it doesn't matter to you, good. You can continue on doing what you were doing, but I'd certainly…

When they're playing on the easiest difficulty, they don't usually get the system telling everyone else they did the same accomplishment as someone who didn't. There's a reason why different achievements dictate difficulty, and why games like GTA block achievements when used.

There is when you have the social aspect injected into it. Achievements, stats, and so on inherently turn singleplayer games into multiplayer affairs even if you don't care for them.

At the same time, it fundamentally changes the game into something it wasn't. Going from having "x" level of difficulty, to letting people buy their way through (on top of still rewarding people with achievements for it too..) means that the same feats and challenges weren't tackled.

Orange Box Release Date

I think part of the concern comes up when you have to have the support to restrict it. Don't get me wrong, I like to buy games new for the most part, but what happens when a game is out of print? How do I solve that issue? What happens when the PS4's network shuts down like the original Xbox Live service? (I'm fully…

Competitive or not, buying your way through a game is pretty lame and destroys the work put in to balance and tweak the experience.

The whole problem with this is that "The Industry" is going exclusively to these kinds of models. When all of the games released are games-as-service, you've got no choice anymore. Sure you can get indie titles, but those aren't on the same level, and even THOSE guys are trying to turn these games into…

That's exactly the problem.