Here is a link to the SimCity Reddit AMA, the link is uncensored and unedited by the SimCity marketing department.
It is very important to note that without being constantly online you will not be able to play the game. The worst kind of DRM.
You would think EA would have learn't from Blizzard's experience with Diablo 3, apparently not though.
Don't support aggressive DRM. Don't buy this game.
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/14umm1/we_are_the_simcity_dev_team...

Here is a link to the SimCity Reddit AMA, the link is uncensored and unedited by the SimCity marketing department.
It is very important to note that without hermes outlet being constantly online you will not be able to play the game. The worst kind of DRM.
You would think EA would have learn't from Blizzard's experience with Diablo 3, apparently not though.
Don't support aggressive DRM. Don't buy this game.

Kip,

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy day to answer my questions. Let me tell you that I feel a lot better now, with more understanding of the back end of the game then I did before. I work in IT and am actually in the process of putting together a cluster for my company. I understand the architecture behind data-centers and simulations, as we do computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and Finite element analysis (FEA). I am not your average gamer ;).
I appreciate your honesty and not trying to sell me on the “Live service” but honestly I am already hooked. I think it is going to work fantastically well and it’s apparent to me how hard the team has been working. I really do see the vision of Maxis and I really think the team is going in the right direction. I think you are putting together a beautiful game and I cannot wait to play it.

I wish there was a way for offline gameplay but if that’s not possible, I respect that as well. I did take comfort in the fact that Spore servers are still online. My main concern in listing that is I want to ability to play SimCity 10 years from now.

By the way: I would sell my kidney before I missed this game don’t worry :). Happy Holidays!

Thanks for weighing in, Kip.

So, ultimately, we do not 'own' the software in the traditional sense. We are renting it for the duration of EA's support--as if it were an MMO (with no option for private serves post pulling-of-the-plug).

I think this is something very important for players and fans of the series to know and understand before getting on-board. When (and it will happen eventually) EA decides to pull the plug on this great game, you will no longer be able to enjoy it; that box and the CD inside will sit on your shelf, unable to be utilized forever more. It's not even a matter of getting around system settings or firing up the old console--the game simply won't work without EA's hamsters doing the heavy lifting.

It's extremely unfortunate, given that the series hasn't been done this way at all before; I can still enjoy my original copy of Sim City 2000 (with some legwork), but that won't be the case when SimCity (5) is 19 years old. It's very disheartening and disappointing.

Leaderboards, Global Market/Challenges/Achievements in no way require (nor really benefit from) real-time interaction with the central server. Those operations are, at the end of the day, computed in huge parallel batch operations on a large dataset. Lazy/eventual consistency between the server and game would be more than fine.

Region play, however, does make more sense. But I'm having a hard time imagining how your region simulation is so amazingly complex and real-time that EA has to dedicate significant resources far beyond what my computer has just for my private region. Even if this was true, again, planning for eventual consistency and local files would still work and be far more user friendly.

There are many ways of making a "truly connected experience" beyond always online. EA chose a method that primarily benefits EA and disadvantages the player. And that's the problem.

Dear Kip Katsarelis,

As others have done, I would like to thank you for having taken the time to answer this question of weather or not to include an offline mode for gameplay, and I would like to say that there are a few concerns that I have, having played numerous games on "opening game day", with particular interest in MMORPG's. The Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game hits like Star Wars: The Old Republic, StarTrek Online, and World of Warcraft just to mention a few favorites of mine, have all been plagued by the same problems when a specific server for a game gets full and there has to be a wait queue before people can get into playing the game.

I know that this is not simply a MMORPG with a little information being computed by the client with the majority of the game experience dictated by the server, this is something different where there's much less information being sent back and forth at three minute intervals.

My question is this, in the event of a server going down for maintenance, and the service being unavailable, either through technical difficulties at EA - Maxis, or with the individual's computer (construction in the neighborhood interrupting cable service for example);

Is there an option to allow the player to continue with the game so the information is saved locally? I don't like the idea of having my enjoyment of the game interrupted because someone learning how to drive backed into a light-pole at the end of their driveway. I'd hope no-one would be injured, but their wrecking the street learning how to drive shouldn't keep me from enjoying years worth of talent spent on making a beautifully interactive and entertaining work of art.

DRM I can understand, you want to keep making games and not having them stolen out from under you, but I also don't want to lose a game because of an authentication server error either.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

EA's promotional materials are not "upfront" about the need for an Internet connection to play the game even in single-player mode. Equally worrisome, is your high-handed take it our leave it attitude about the game's restrictive Internet requirements. As you have admitted, there is no guarantee that we will be able to play this game even a year from now because it requires EA's servers to function. If I am going to pay $60+ for a game, I should be able to play that game whenever I want - and not have to hope that greedy EA will keep the servers up.

Although the game's aforementioned Internet restrictions and your tone are offensive, they are not as offensive as the facade EA seemingly is trying to create. It seems to me that all of these hyped online community features are a distraction from EA's real motive for the Internet connectivity requirement. Why don't you just admit that the connectivity requirement is mostly about DRM and is a futile, customer-punishing effort that will fail to prevent piracy from effective EA's already enormous bottom line. Although I have purchased several Sim City titles and was planning to buy this game, now I am going to "leave it" and everything it entails - EA's arrogant attitude and it's stupid DRM.

Except when there's no internet.
Here's hoping your little experiment in trying to sweet-talk people into online-only DRM crashes and burns.