The Official Spore Thread

[Pseudonym]

I can't get an account but I figured that was because it was a leaked version. I'm just gonna uninstall it and install the full version and go from there.

[Unimatrix Xero]

I can't get an account but I figured that was because it was a leaked version. I'm just gonna uninstall it and install the full version and go from there.

yea i made sure i had the new version as i noticed the file size was different

All my creations (note you have to log in)

http://eu.spore.com/sporepedia/index.cfm?o...submitsearch=Go

[Pseudonym]

There's massive confusion on the Spore website and the EA Store (A horrible system I hope I never have to deal with again). Basically, the Spore website says that the Creature Creator (trial and full version) is available from the 17th (today) and it also give the option to buy (not preorder) it for ?4.99. However, following the "buy" link takes you to the EA Store so after registering, logging in, filling in shipping details (wtf, this is meant to be digital) and paying my ?5, I eventually get an e-mail telling me my order is ready. After more struggling with the ****-poor EA Store UI, I eventually find my "tracked orders" page and my purchase is listed there, but as a pre-order... When is this thing going to be released, is it 17th, 18th or 20th, I've now found three separate dates. To add to the confusion, the trial is available from the spore website directly.

[Unimatrix Xero]

I used the EA store last year to get some BF2142 stuff and i found it really bad to use just a shame this one be coming to steam

EDIT: i just made a quick website to showcase the Spore gadget and my creations: http://xero01uk.googlepages.com/

[Fourjays Veteran]

I just pre-ordered the full version of the Creature Creator and I only got options for "pre-order" on the EA Store, although the Spore site says "Buy" instead now.

I'm just getting a white box in the download manager though, which I'm not sure if it is because the download isn't available yet or the system is broken. :-/

[Pseudonym]

Fourjays, I've got exactly the same problem, its really frustrating. I think it hasn't been released yet because I found an FAQ on the EA Store which said that games won't appear in the EA download manager when they're still on pre-order. This is really annoying because it was supposed to be released in Europe today, so it can't be time difference thing either.

[Unimatrix Xero]

ohh well thats save me ?5 since i cant buy it yet

[Pseudonym]

Just discovered some very sneaky wording, todays just the demo release date and now they have our money (the bastards):

Q: When can I get the Creature Creator?

A: We know our fans are very excited to get started making Spore creatures. We are happy to confirm we will be releasing Spore Creature Creator to the world this Summer. The free trial will be available June 17th.

This also answers one of my previous questions about content some 3 year olds may find offensive:

Q: How will I be able to control content sharing in my Spore game?

A: First of all, the Spore Creature Creator does not automatically share content. To open another player's creature in your Spore Creature Creator you can download it from www.spore.com or drag the png file to your desktop and then onto the dias of your Spore Creature Creator once you have opened the application.

When Spore the full game ships, there are a number of features we've developed that will help you control what content ends up in your game or Sporepedia.

1. Sharing is optional. You can play offline and use only content that you or Maxis created.

2. You can enable the Buddies Only option in the Spore Online Settings options. With this setting on, only content from Spore players that you designate as Buddies in your Sporepedia will show up in your game.

3. You can Create and Subscribe to Sporecasts, which are collections of Spore content. Your game will be biased to select content from the Sporecasts that you're subscribed to.

4. If you do elect to have open sharing on, you can immediately Ban any content that appears in your game or Sporepedia with a simple click. This will delete the copy of that content from your computer as well as send a message to our servers. We review and address banned content regularly.

Source

[Fourjays Veteran]

Seems kind of sneaky. Any information on an actual release date?

I would guess it should be soon - the Spore site originally had "Pre-Order" on the button, now it says "Buy".

EDIT:

The article says tomorrow, although comments there suggest it will be late tonight for local time UK.

http://kotaku.com/5016569/spore-creature-c...e-delayed-a-day

EDIT 2:

http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/spore/3...ll-no-game.html

It annoys me that US companies release things in their local time. They shouldn't do it, especially as the US is the "last country in timezones" and therefore anyone before them doesn't necessarily get it on the same day.

Edited June 17, 2008 by Fourjays

[PyX]

The engineers who designed this game are just crazy. Everything seems so easy. :-\

I've tried this for a couple of minutes and... WOW. I really want to buy this game now.

Btw I didn't even know it was Maxis and EA working on this game, so no wonder why I haven't seen a sim city in a long time.

[Pseudonym]

I agree with pretty much everyone on the thread that Fourjays posted, this is ridiculous conduct by EA, I'm going to see if I can get my money back. EA Store is a joke and a feeble attempt to emulate the smooth and user-friendly Steam. EA, one of the world's biggest publishers, can't even organise a launch without making their users feel cheated and treated like idiots. Thinking back to the launch of the Orange Box, that was in a totally different league for the number of people buying it yet Steam remained open, easy to use and everyone had already preloaded the games to prevent a strain on Valve's servers. However, Valve had retained a vital part of the binary to prevent anyone hacking it and I'm sure people tried. Compared to this release which has been plagued with leaks, misinformation and near scams it was angelic.

[Fourjays Veteran]

I would cancel it and get it through Direct2Drive (which have released it just fine :rolleyes:) except they don't appear to accept Paypal. :(

[Pseudonym]

Reading about people's experience about trying to get their money back I don't think I can be bothered. Plus, I only have about ?1 in my card account now so I'd have to wait three days for a transfer from another account neway.

[Fourjays Veteran]

Moaning aside, I'm amazed at the flexibility of the creator. I've always thought the number of animations and details in the Sims was impressive, but to be able to create creatures with "morphable" shapes, and have the animations still apply accordingly, is pretty clever. I presume it is working on a kind of "simulated skeleton".

I'll definitely be pre-ordering Spore (when I get paid by my current client), although not from EA. :laugh: It's going to be an amazing game.

Edited June 17, 2008 by Fourjays

[Pseudonym]

Yeah, it is amazing isn't it (although sometimes the "head" moves a bit weirdly). It's a brilliant game, thought of by a gaming genius and implemented by a fantastic development company only to be ruined by an out-of-date and frankly rubbish publisher. This failure makes me frustrated because a lot of people will be put off buying it by EA's behaviour. I will definitely be pre-ordering it from Amazon when I have a bit more than ?1 to my name :-p.

[Pseudonym]

Dunno if this should be in spoiler marks so i put it in anyway:

SPOILERS!!!

When the galaxy on the home menu of Spore Creature Creator Trial is spun reeeeaaaalllly fast in reverse (might work both ways), Will Wright's face appears out of the centre. Its hilarious.

[+longgonebn Subscriber²]

Dunno if this should be in spoiler marks so i put it in anyway:

SPOILERS!!!

When the galaxy on the home menu of Spore Creature Creator Trial is spun reeeeaaaalllly fast in reverse (might work both ways), Will Wright's face appears out of the centre. Its hilarious.

haha thats awesome, i want the Ea Store to be updated arG!!

[Pseudonym]

Today has been such a let down, FX3 and SCC were both supposed to be released today and both have epicly failed. Mozilla, after having a massive ad campaign (V V) to get people to beat a "world record" failed to realise they would need some fairly sturdy servers. Meanwhile, as in my previous rant, EA have failed by not releasing their own product in their store. Madness, only success of today has ben the release of the GTX 280s.

[+longgonebn Subscriber²]

Yea EA is still a disappointment, FF is is now up and running here http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/?p=do...ure-newfeatures.

[Unimatrix Xero]

still preorder status

[Unimatrix Xero]

EDIT: its just been released

http://eastore.ea.com/DRHM/servlet/Control...mp;Currency=GBP

[Fourjays Veteran]

Yay! Got the email. :D

The white box in the download manager means it has nothing to do (a message there might be more useful than an empty space though). Copy and pasted the "eastore:" link to Firefox, it opened with the download manager and off it goes!

EDIT: Uninstall the trial before attempting to download the full version! You won't be able to extract it and it will say "Play" with "0Kb/0Kb" below it.

Uninstalling at this point worked for me but it appears some are having to re-download it or getting other problems.

Edited June 17, 2008 by Fourjays

[Unimatrix Xero]

aye currently got 2 mins left on download

[+longgonebn Subscriber²]

WTF http://eastore.ea.com/store/ea/DisplayProd...ductID.96890600 is still only pre-order!!

[Fourjays Veteran]

WTF http://eastore.ea.com/store/ea/DisplayProd...ductID.96890600 is still only pre-order!!

Because the release date for the US is June 18th at 12:00 CDT. Don't get too excited about that release time though... :p