When SimCity launched, arguably the biggest thing it was missing was an offline mode. The game's online connection requirement led to quite the conundrum during the game's launch, with overcrowded servers that left a number of players without the ability to play. Provided EA and Maxis had the foresight to ditch "always online," the problem never would've occurred. Now, almost a year later, it seems that the companies have finally come to their senses, as SimCity is finally getting an offline mode.
The news was confirmed in a recent post from Maxis General Manager, Patrick Buechner over at SimCity.com:
"Let's get right to it. SIMCITY OFFLINE IS COMING! I've wanted to say those words for quite some time, so my apologies that I didn't take the time to say Happy New Year first."
The new offline mode will be avaialble as soon as Sim City's Update 10 is here, Buechner detailed. "When we launch it, all of your previously downloaded content will be available to you anytime, anywhere, without the need for an internet connection. We are in the late phases of wrapping up its development and while we want to get it into your hands as soon as possible, our priority is to make sure that it's as polished as possible before we release it. So, until then... testing, testing and more testing. As one of the final steps, we're putting Offline into the hands of some of our most hardcore players, the DevTesters. This group of volunteers is going to put Offline through its paces before we release it."
For those of you who never had much of a problem with playing the game's online, you can rest easy as the offline update makes no changes to playing online. Wrote Buechner, "All of the benefits of being connected will remain including access to Multiplayer, the Global Market and Leaderboards. And all of your pre-existing saved cities and regions will still be accessible should you log-in to the Online game."
The news isn't just great for players who'd rather fly solo, but for modders as well.
"Bringing the game Offline means big things for our wonderful community of Modders. They can now make modifications to the game and its components without compromising the integrity of the Online game. Modding is a big part of our studio's legacy and we're excited to see what you guys create."
Any mods that meet the pre-established guidelines are now supported by the game. So if you're mod is kid-friendly, you should be fine. Make sure to check out the Modding Policy just to be safe. For anyone ambitious, Maxis plans on "rolling out a series of tutorials from the studio that surfaces how we've created some of the content that you've seen so far in hopes of inspiring your creativity."
When can you expect SimCity to finally go offline? No exact timing details on that just yet, but according to Buechner, "Our team will be delivering a follow-up blog that will outline the full details in the near future so stay tuned."
