Update: Turns out one simple line of code is all it takes to turn your SimCity into an offline game.
By modifying the game's code, the hacker has made it possible to play the game offline almost indefinitely.
Freedom-loving internet pirates soon cracked the code, and many players who would have bought the game, or even owned it already, decided to steal it to avoid such measures to be able to play the game offline, uninterrupted.
It is possible that, if it were easy to play the game offline, fewer fraudulent purchases would be being attempted simply because those who wished to play without paying would content themselves with the single-player game and cracked copies.
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Videos showing the game working offline were also posted to YouTube.
He also fiddled with other values to almost convert it to an offline, single-player game.
The alleged employee goes on to say that EA should actually patch the game to allow offline play.
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Allow the Sim City team to patch the game to run offline.
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In a blogpost, Ms Bradshaw said Maxis could have built a "subset offline mode" for the game that did away with the need to be constantly connected.
User-generated and real-time content will also play a central role in the gameplay, as will branded and professional entertainment partnerships which connect online and offline opportunities to audiences enjoying the game.
If a company turns a CSR goal like water conservation into a game, that can strengthen online and offline social ties.
The game could be played either online or offline with teams made up of individuals or departments who compete to save the most water.
We had high-profile hacks hit major and popular video game networks like the hack that took the PlayStation Network offline for almost a month.
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Maxis chief Lucy Bradshaw comes right out and says it: SimCity could have had an offline mode but it conflicted with the vision the developer had for the game.
By rewriting the game's code during "debug mode" AzzerUK turned off the game's disconnect timer so it never checked whether it was online or offline.
Modders have already enabled single-player mode for the game (or, rather, disabled always-online.) In fact, it appears that the game could run in a very similar fashion with a very similar vision while offline in single-player.
Unlike traditional offline games, the online world allows the industry to earn revenue even when people play the same game repeatedly.
Lucy Bradshaw, head of SimCity creator Maxis, said an offline, single-player mode did not fit with its "vision" for the urban-planning game.
To get around the always-on requirement, some players have tinkered with the game's computer code to trick it into thinking it is connected when it is being played offline.
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