hal@athena.mit.edu (Hal Herhold) (09/17/90)
A while back I read in the Wall Street Journal that Maxis (of SimCity fame) was going to come out with SimWorld sometime soon. (This was a July paper.) Has anyone heard any rumors or anything about SimWorld????? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - "Steal my car, shoot my dog, take my woman... - - but DON'T touch my lab kit." - - Hal Herhold hal@athena.mit.edu herhold@rel.mit.edu 6-3 @ MIT - ----------------------"ho boy..." QUANTUM LEAP------------------------
firth@sei.cmu.edu (Robert Firth) (09/18/90)
In article <1990Sep17.163116.10443@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> hal@athena.mit.edu (Hal Herhold) writes: >A while back I read in the Wall Street Journal that Maxis (of >SimCity fame) was going to come out with SimWorld sometime soon. >(This was a July paper.) Has anyone heard any rumors or anything >about SimWorld????? I read the same article, and immediately telephoned Maxis. At that time, they gave a ship date at the end of September. Rest assured, I'll be calling them back on 1 October!
Bits_of_Magic@cup.portal.com (09/18/90)
I received a beta version of Gaia on 11 August. It was close to done, according to Will Wright (although Chris Crawford found a bug in that version before we broke up). Since then I have not found any other bugs in it, but I suspect they will have been doing some extra tuning on it. I thought it was a great toy to play with (until the copy ran out :-(). **************************************************************************** * Evan Robinson * "You have a very workable substitute for * * bits_of_magic@cup.portal.com * high intelligence" * * GEnie: EVANROB * Keith Rienzi, "Pick Up Axe" * ****************************************************************************
ins_apw@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Philip Wong) (10/12/90)
The hottest latest news is that SimWorld is due out soon. It looks (will look) very good. Basically it's SimCity, but on a global basis. You don't control cities here...instead of being a mayor, you are god. You control atmospheric condition, geothermal conditions, just about everything. You are more looking at the earth from a growth (aging) point of view. You see how the ecosphere interacts with all it's members. The point of the game is to cause a species to evolve to it's highest potential by making conditions on the earth condusive to propagation. It looks to be one intense game...I mean simulation. Anyone have any more news on this? Someone at Maxis maybe? I know that it will be in color (at least 16), but will it be 256? ins_apw@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU <--use this address, not the UUCP one
du4@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Ted Goldstein) (10/12/90)
In article <6629@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU> ins_apw@jhunix.UUCP (Philip Wong) writes: >The hottest latest news is that SimWorld is due out soon... >Anyone have any more news on this? >ins_apw@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU <--use this address, not the UUCP one The new simulation will be called 'SimEarth' and there is a anouncement about it in the October 9 issue of MacWeek, Page 20. A brief desription quoted without permission: "SimEarth - The living planet lets players manipulate the evolution of life from its origins in the ocean to the onset of the Nanotech Age, changing the shape of continents and oceans, laying down forests, jungles and deserts, introducing animal species, and loosing plagues on unsuspecting populations. If all else fails, the user can abandon Earth and play a Mars or Venus scenario. ... Due next month, SimEarth will be priced at $69.95 and distributed from Broderbund Software Inc." Sounds great! I can't wait to try it out. But wait, that's not all, there's even more good stuff to look foward to: "In addition, Maxis announced several related products that are scheduled for release this month: - 'The SimCity Planning Handbook' by Johnny L. Wilson explains the game, offers a history of cities and describes real-life urban planning problems and ways players can explore alternative solutions with SimCity models. Published by McGraw-Hill publishing Co., the book will be distributed through major booksellers for $14.95. - Two SimCity add-ons let users build cities in times and places not supported by the original SimCity or by Maxis' Terrain Editor. Graphics Set 1 - Ancient Cities incorporates buildings and technologies from ancient Asia, medieval times and the Wild West. Graphics set 2 - Future Cities opens a window on the future urban life in the United States, Europe and a moon colony, complete with fusion plants, space travel and a creeping acidic fungus. Each set will be priced at $34.95." Sounds like we got a lot of fun simulating to look foward to! -- Ted Goldstein E-mail: du4@mace.cc.purdue.edu Network and Systems Admninistrator Phone : (317) 494-9070 Purdue University School of Technology Office: Knoy Hall, Rm G009 Philosophy's alright, when you have a house to think about it in-Arlo Guthrie
llama@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Joe Francis) (10/13/90)
Ted Goldstein writes: >[SimEarth] will be priced at $69.95 and distributed from Broderbund Software $69 Dollars?!?!? What, is the cost of developing and marketing software linked to oil prices, or something? At least they chose a number suggestive of what they are doing to the buyer. Nothing like truth in advertising. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Read My Lips: No Nude Texans!" - George Bush clearing up a misunderstanding
farren@well.sf.ca.us (Mike Farren) (10/15/90)
llama@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Joe Francis) writes: >Ted Goldstein writes: >>[SimEarth] will be priced at $69.95 and distributed from Broderbund Software >$69 Dollars?!?!? What, is the cost of developing and marketing software >linked to oil prices, or something? At least they chose a number suggestive >of what they are doing to the buyer. Nothing like truth in advertising. You haven't seen this thing. I have. I'm amazed that they can get it out the door for only $69 - it's gigantic, it's incredibly dense, and it's one of the best pieces of work I've ever seen, as far as simulations go. If I had a Mac II and a big color monitor, I'd shell out the $69 in about one instant - this is a FANTASTIC game (if you even want to call it a game). -- Mike Farren farren@well.sf.ca.us
darweesh@zephyrus.crd.ge.com (Michael Darweesh) (10/15/90)
>$69 Dollars?!?!? What, is the cost of developing and marketing software >linked to oil prices, or something? At least they chose a number suggestive >of what they are doing to the buyer. Nothing like truth in advertising. Yea, well, I could go into a sorta long explaination of pirating and stuff, but I'll keep it short: If no one pirated software, then the price would go down substantially. One of the major reasons that there are so few Macintosh games (relatively speaking), is that Macintosh programs are so easy to copy in most cases and therefore many people pirate their favorite games instead of buying them. Disclaimer thingy: I don't mean to single-out or blame the person whom I quoted, nor do I claim to be perfect or know everything. And, by the way, my employer has nothing to do with this conversation. -Mike Darweesh weesh@crd.ge.com
rawdon@rex.cs.tulane.edu (Michael Rawdon) (10/16/90)
In article <21178@well.sf.ca.us> farren@well.sf.ca.us (Mike Farren) writes: >You haven't seen this thing. I have. I'm amazed that they can get it out >the door for only $69 - it's gigantic, it's incredibly dense, and it's one >of the best pieces of work I've ever seen, as far as simulations go. If I >had a Mac II and a big color monitor, I'd shell out the $69 in about one >instant - this is a FANTASTIC game (if you even want to call it a game). Umm... how is it on a Mac SE with B&W? Will it even run? Is 1 Mb enough RAM for it to work? (Can you tell I'm interested in the game? :-) -- Michael Rawdon Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Internet: rawdon@rex.cs.tulane.edu | "I trusted him like a brother; that is Usenet: rex!rawdon.uucp | to say, not at all." Bitnet: CS6FECU@TCSVM | - Roger Zelazny ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: Opinions mine, typos and grammar errors someone else's.
rawdon@rex.cs.tulane.edu (Michael Rawdon) (10/16/90)
In article <12740@crdgw1.crd.ge.com> darweesh@zephyrus.crd.ge.com (Michael Darweesh) writes: >If no one pirated software, then the price would go down substantially. One >of the major reasons that there are so few Macintosh games (relatively >speaking), is that Macintosh programs are so easy to copy in most cases and >therefore many people pirate their favorite games instead of buying them. I'm sure this has been discussed to death on the net before, so I hope I'm not starting a flamewar, but... I suspect that if the comapnies brought their prices down to something reasonable that people like college students could afford then there would be less pirating. Also if they offered incentives like little bonus things for people who registered their software. That's how I read it anyway. -- Michael Rawdon Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Internet: rawdon@rex.cs.tulane.edu | "I trusted him like a brother; that is Usenet: rex!rawdon.uucp | to say, not at all." Bitnet: CS6FECU@TCSVM | - Roger Zelazny ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: Opinions mine, typos and grammar errors someone else's.
meb4074@cec2.wustl.edu (Mark Edward Bradley) (10/16/90)
In article <4549@rex.cs.tulane.edu> rawdon@rex.cs.tulane.edu (Michael Rawdon) writes: >I suspect that if the comapnies brought their prices down to something >reasonable that people like college students could afford then there would >be less pirating. Also if they offered incentives like little bonus things >for people who registered their software. I was watching the movie Tough Guys last night and in one scene, Archie Long casually busts into a newspaper vending box and takes one out. When Harry Doyle admonishes him for it, Archie replies, "It's a lousy two bits, Harry!" Pirating will continue as long as someone doesn't want to pay a high price, thinks the price of their pirating is too small to make a difference, or does it just because it takes no effort or thought. Now in deference to the article header, can anyone give an in-depth review of Sim-Earth? I'm sure we'd all like to hear more about game play, objectives, rules, and details. Later, Mark Mark Bradley | "Wake up, dummy!!" <BONK!> meb4074@cec1.wustl.edu | "Hey! whadjadothatfor?" -- Chip 'n Dale
st801723@brownvm.brown.edu (Mike Fessler) (10/16/90)
In article <21178@well.sf.ca.us> farren@well.sf.ca.us (Mike Farren) writes: > If I > had a Mac II and a big color monitor, I'd shell out the $69 in about one > instant - this is a FANTASTIC game (if you even want to call it a game). Will it REQUIRE a Mac II, or will my lowly SE (with hard drive and 2.5 megs) run it? ----------------------- "On a clear disk, you can seek forever..." Mike Fessler st801723@brownvm.brown.edu -------------------------
awessels@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Allen Wessels) (10/16/90)
In article <12740@crdgw1.crd.ge.com> darweesh@zephyrus.crd.ge.com (Michael Darweesh) writes: >of the major reasons that there are so few Macintosh games (relatively >speaking), is that Macintosh programs are so easy to copy in most cases and >therefore many people pirate their favorite games instead of buying them. Say what? How are Mac games "easier" to copy. Any pirate for any CPU has got tools to crack "warez". There are fewer Mac games because there is a smaller Mac market, and the demographics distribution of Mac ownders is different that that of most other CPUs. It is hard to have a big game market on a box whose market is dominated by monochrome montiors. Bottom line: LC is out for 1 year -> Mac game market grows big time.
cej@ll1a.ATT.COM (C. E. T. L. Jones) (10/16/90)
In article <4549@rex.cs.tulane.edu> rawdon@rex.cs.tulane.edu (Michael Rawdon) writes: >I suspect that if the comapnies brought their prices down to something >reasonable that people like college students could afford then there would >be less pirating. Anybody remember Penquin Software? It was a company that sold games for the Apple II. They also thought their might be some truth in what you've said. They lowered there prices (around $19.00 list price for most games) and didn't copy protect anything. (Not copy protecting would help keep costs down) They lasted about a year in that mode. Seems people pirated reguardless of price. (Of course, they were having a few problems with sales that caused them to re-evaluate things in the first place, but pirating delivered the final blow.) In short - it's been tried and, sadly, failed. I doubt any company wants to risk it again. Charles Evan Thomas Llewellyn Jones "...and the contestant from Germany is a bi-lingual vacuum cleaner." ...att!ccsitn!cej [Just me, not AT&T] cej@ccsitn.att.com
billlund@hpindwa.cup.hp.com (Bill Lund) (10/16/90)
Mike Farren writes: > You haven't seen this thing. I have. I'm amazed that they can get it out > the door for only $69 - it's gigantic, it's incredibly dense, and it's one > of the best pieces of work I've ever seen, as far as simulations go. If I > had a Mac II and a big color monitor, I'd shell out the $69 in about one > instant - this is a FANTASTIC game (if you even want to call it a game). Do you have to have a Mac II to run SimWorld? What about all of us poor Mac+ owners who are hooked on SimCity? Bill Lund HP
plague@milton.u.washington.edu (Jack Brown) (10/19/90)
In article <7644@ll1a.ATT.COM> cej@ll1a.att.com (C. E. T. L. Jones) writes: > > Anybody remember Penquin Software? > It was a company that sold games for the Apple II. They also >thought their might be some truth in what you've said. > They lowered there prices (around $19.00 list price for most >games) and didn't copy protect anything. (Not copy protecting would >help keep costs down) They lasted about a year in that mode. Seems Yeah, I remember them. I wouldn't say that copying killed them. Their games were almost not worth the effort. I purchased one of their baseball games. It was nearly worthless. I got the impression that the rest of their software was of similar quality...