Although we can now post in these sections, we still can't view topics in these sections.
http://thenexusforums.com/index.php?c=216,201,193
This means that any time someone wants to post their creations or discuss the game, they either have to post in whatever thread was last active, or make their own thread. I realize that Switch is gone, so there is no moderator which is entirely interested in the game, and it may still be a sore spot for some, but since people are going to talk about it anyway, we might as well facilitate them.

Ideally, the current general discussion thread could be broken up into two or three seperate areas. One being a discussion of the game and the creature creator, and another just a section where people can post their creations. A third option might be good later, for posting some tips and tricks, but would probably be of more use when the game comes out in 79 days.

The general idea isn't to resurrect Sport Source, or anything like that, but to provide people a place to discuss the game. Just as there is a place to discuss battlefield 2. If you should decide to support spore in the future, it would just make it an easier transition.

Just so you know, the creature format that Spore uses is entirely enclosed in a .png file 25-40kb.

Are there any people here who actually want to discuss Spore? Hmm..

Short Answer: Not by me.

Long Answer: I "was" interested in the game until I found out about the idiotic copy protection scheme they are using so I will simply avoid this game completely...EDIT: meaning, I refuse to support companies that make ridiculous copy protection schemes and this is one of them...the other is that junkware called StarForce.

LHammonds

I mention it because most other spore communities seem to be lacking good discussion boards and resources. If there were enough people interested around here, it might things easier to cater to them here, rather than have people register at 5 or 6 different, semi-active communities.

As for the copy protection, that's a seperate matter, and a growing necessity in this day and age. Almost every form of copy protection has either been broken, or prevents all use of the game, even by those who play it. Your reasons are your own, but you can't really expect a company to release a game without any copy protection, or with a simple CD key. Since Spore kinda requires an internet connection to get creatures and other stuff, this shouldn't impact things too much for most people. Although admittedly, the stuff most people come up with is utter crap, with just the base game resources, the game probably wouldn't be very interesting.

I suspect that the reason why the creature creator was released early was so that EA wouldn't need to spend the hundreds of man hours creating all those creatures themselves. I wouldn't be suprised if they included many of them with the game.

The other reason why we might want to setup something here is that people might not want to register at EA, or upload their creations there to compete with everyone else who has the game. At current, there's something like 240,000+ creatures already uploaded. Finding some cool stuff would probably be rather difficult by the time launch day rolls around. By having a smaller community, with uploads, it might allow people to find the cooler stuff easier.

I've heard of some of those schemes, but my question is .. what is Spore? I've never heard of it.

Aoikani

Is that copy protection thing still going? They decided not to use it for Mass Effect, so I expected Spore to follow...

Aoikani: Have a look at this video. There's also a small demo out there, which is a limited version of the creature editor.

If the Spore forums are resurrected after all, I don't mind moderating them.

What they're using at the moment is a toned down version of securerom, where the game needs to be activated through an online connection each time it's installed, and each CD key only has a few activations before you have to request more by calling in or something. It still has some of those questionable "features" os securerom, but most people don't even understand what those are. I've seen people claiming everything from killing DVD burners, to installing malware, to connecting to a database that calls you at home to make sure you're a liscensed user.

Regardless, doing a "I'm not going to buy such and such game" is kinda a wasted effort, the way companies see it, stuff like this "prevents" piracy, and as a result of forcing people who want to play the game into buying said game, they end up making more money than what they lose from those people. If you really wanted to make a difference, you'd be complaining to the owners of the security software for having such a troublesome product. Game companies HAVE to have some sort of copy protection in this day and age, they usually make their choices on what is more effective, and won't interfere too badly with the end game.

And, as is always the case, a crack will probably be possible. As long as you have a valid CD key from purchasing the game, it shouldn't interefere with anything about the game. With a game like spore, a crack is almost a certainty. There is no online play feature, so as long as it is a legally purchased game version, all you're really doing is bypassing all the bad stuff. People use no-CD patches for games they own, not too much of a difference here.

Starforce on the other hand is total crap, and any game company that uses it is just asking to piss off their player base.

Spore does have an online feature. Copies of other players creatures are added to your universe, though they are computer controlled like the rest. Wright calls it a 'massively single-player online game'.

I agree with the rest though.