Cell -> UFO...Game levels seem too disconnected? Watching the new gameplay movie at IGN on Spore, I am very excited about the way the game is turning out so far. I do have some problems with it, however. The biggest thing I see a problem with in Spore is that each "area" of the game seems too disconnected from each other. Cell -> Creature -> Tribe -> City -> Civ -> Space So far, from what we have seen in Spore is that once you are done playing the 3rd person RPG "Creature" game, you cannot actually play as a creature in "3rd person" again the rest of the game. You are able to control your population as a whole, and later you control your UFO, but you will not be able to take personal control of any one of your creatures again. This really dissapoints me. It's nice to be able to fly around the galaxy in a cool looking spaceship, but what would really make the game work well, is if you could actually "land" your ship, get out, and explore the alien planet on foot. If Will Wright really wants to be able to let players share their personal creations from the editor in your game, the best way to do that is get up-close and personal with the cool/weird things on other worlds. In the gameplay video from E3, it was hard to actually see what the other creatures/buildings/flora looked like, because the UFO could never get in close enough. You will never be able to fully appreciate life-forms in other worlds, if the only way to see it is from thousands of (virtual) feet from the planet's surface. I've already heard critics of Spore say that the game is not much more than a "toy" so far. Yes, there is a lot of time before spore is released, and although the game has a LOT of breadth, it won't win many awards for depth. I hope that exploring the galaxy becomes more than just flying around mindlessly shooting other lifeforms with a laser gun, from high above. I hope that we can still control our creature and really explore the creations of other players.
I'm assuming that you will be able to enter into different modes of play at your whim. Or, that is what I would hope at least. It seems one of the coolest things about the game is the creature editor, it would stink that you couldn't create a new creature for your galaxy after the third stage or so. PSpore
I read you can only play the earlier levels (before spaceflight) for a couple hours. I think you could play these levels longer, by not inventing stuff. Thus you could play the city stage for weeks if you wish to. I agree the gameplay seems non-existent except for creating cool creatures, but with a Wright game, non-gameplay games can be very cool. What's so cool about building a city in Simcity? Just add a firestation, lay some roads,etc. What's so cool about a life simulator? Taking out trash, send your sim to work, sleep,etc. This seems so boring and if you try to convince someone else it's not easy to tell WHY this is just so fun to play. I believe the same goes for Spore; It looks unplayable, but it may be the most addictive game you ever played.
I remember reading somewhere that after you reach the Space lever of the game you will be able to research a device of some sort that will allow you to create new creatures in the creature editor. Also as Snooty has pointed out I believe you don’t actually have to move on to the next lvl in the game until you want to. Edit : The technology that will allow you to access the creature editor is "genetic engineering." This information comes from the interview posted on the GamingSteve.com website. - Garan
In the most recent CGW magazine, the article claims that after reaching a certain level of UFO you can enter the creature creator for free and develope new speicies on other planets. However it sounds like you won't be able to play them, but you can see how they evolve (according to the CGW article). PSpore
I've been wondering about alot of this too. I'm gonna start from the top of the posts and work my way down For one, I would assume the UFO could get as close to the ground as you want and just kinda hover over the surface. As for getting out I don't know. It would be cute if your creature had a little space suit on with a bubble around it's head (or around where the eyes are atleast), but I don't think it's too far fetched of an idea that you'll be able to leave your ship at some point. As for lack of gameplay I'm going to have to completely disagree there. This is probably the one game Will's made that is similar to other games in gameplay. You get to play the survival game, going out and killing things, teaming up, running away from big things, mating, etc. City level you have to manage your city, build buildings, balance wants. Civ you get inter-city diplomacy and war. I could go on. So I don't see where you guys are getting the idea that this game is only about creature evolution. Also, this game will have missions. One example of this is the rescue mission Will has to go on in the E3 demo after he pisses off that one planet and they start to attack their home world. I assume this will be true for the rest of the game as well. Now, as for creating and playing other creatures, one thing I could easily see happening is you going to a planet and dropping something, either a primitive creature or even a bit of primordial ooze and then having the option to play through this creature's lifespan, putting your other species on pause like in The Sims, being able to switch between them whenever you like. And ofcourse you'll always have the option to start a new world. And now (I'm almost done, I swear) I imagine the cell to creature progression to be fairly gradual. Will said in the 2005 demo that in the cell phase, you get bigger with each generation, and everything else become smaller and smaller. So I'm guessing that you're going to get to a certain size and be able to leave the "petri dish" and begin swimming around a small portion of water, where you will again grow and grow. Obviously there's going to be a fairly obvious jump from 2-D to 3-D but that really can't be helped.
