Spore

[The Groke]

ETA - yup, found the copy....will download when I get home tonight.

Seems like I may have trouble finding a valid serial though.

 

[Crispy]

merged

I'm gonna PAY for this one, it's worth it

 

[The Groke]

I'm gonna PAY for this one, it's worth it

Oh I have no doubt that I will pay for it too when it comes out in a week - besides which, the dodgy copy won't get you involved in any of the online content which is likely to be 40-50% of the game!

Still, I am both impatient and bored - a formidable combination.

 

[ruffneck23]

yeah im gonna buy it on friday but just wanted to check it out


swarf , ive got a serial , pm me and there are a couple of other things youve got to do to make it work

 

[XR75]

Yep, looks awesome. I really like these types of games too. The concept reminds me of that creature breeding game from ages ago, name escapes me.

Idiot, it was called Creatures. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creatures_(artificial_life_program)

Funnily enough it looks like the same people made Bamzooki, a creature creation program used for a program by the BBC similar to Robot Wars but (mis)aimed at a younger audience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamzooki

 

[ruffneck23]

right , im out of the water and evolving quite slowly , shame its an ugly bugger

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Yep, looks awesome. I really like these types of games too. The concept reminds me of that creature breeding game from ages ago, name escapes me.

]

Pokemon?

 

[teecee]

Definitely going to give this one a try, been looking forward to seeing it ever since i saw his TED talk, (where he gives a brief overview of what he was trying to create)

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/will_wright_makes_toys_that_make_worlds.html

 

[XR75]

Pokemon?

He meant Creatures.Pokemon is fairly different.

Overview

In Creatures, the user hatches small furry creatures called Norns into a world called Albia, and teaches them how to talk, feed themselves, and protect themselves against vicious creatures called Grendels. Later games in the series introduced a third species, the Ettin. They are white, red eyed creatures that steal tools.

The program was significant as it was one of the first commercial titles to code alife organisms from the genetic level upwards using a sophisticated biochemistry and neural network brains. This meant that the Norns and their DNA could develop and "evolve" in increasingly diverse ways, unpredicted by the makers. By breeding certain Norns with others, some traits could be passed on to following generations. Most interestingly, the Norns turned out to behave similarly to living creatures. This was seen as an important insight into how real world organisms may function and evolve. Earlier alife programs had worked by giving their organisms a limited set of commands and parameters, and seeing whether the way the subjects behaved was realistic.

The genetics in Creatures are somewhat different from human genetics: they are haploid and therefore any "evolution" is a result of random cross-over mutations. There is no concept of dominant gene and recessive gene. Nevertheless, the complexity of the simulated biochemistry meant that Norn behaviour was highly unpredictable.

Among the fans of Creatures were the Oxford zoologist Richard Dawkins and author Douglas Adams.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

He meant Creatures.Pokemon is fairly different.

I know.


I was being 'hilarious'.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Heh have just er acquired an 'evaluation' copy of this for the DS, kinda fun so far, managed to give the lil fucker a scorpion type tale and get it eating and digesting stuff!

 

[Dravinian]

Heh have just er acquired an 'evaluation' copy of this for the DS, kinda fun so far, managed to give the lil fucker a scorpion type tale and get it eating and digesting stuff!

Yeah I got a version for hte PC.

Omg, what an amazing game. I too made a carnivore, I have him on two legs, with arms that hit. a massive spiked club of a tail and I just added a big spike to his forehead.

Awesome fun, I am looking forward to starting again with a herbivore so I can do all teh friendly stuff, I pretty much eaten everything that is smaller then me so far.

 

[Dravinian]

Oh I say forehead like he has a skull but I have not managed to find any skulls yet, so I basically boosted his highest neck bone so it became a bulbous lump at the top. A place to stick the eyes and mouth.

I am not sure, I think maybe I jumped to two legs a bit early and should have stayed with four a little longer, perhaps until I found a skull, but he runs around quite happily and I can kill most of what I seen so far, so its not a bad design.

I did make a mistake and accidently create a water based creature that had no means of propulsion, it does warn you, if you paying attention, but I quickly mated and re-created the drive system.

 

[cliche guevara]

I forgot about the DS version. Now downloading it... I'll probably have to wait until monday til the Mac version gets delivered. The DS version isn't the full game, is it?

 

[cliche guevara]

I've had a good play with the DS version this morning (hopefully the mac one will be waiting at home for me this evening). It was a bit confusing at first, but I've got to grips with it now (should've read the tutorial first I guess). You just wander around befriending other creatures, or fighting them. Eat stuff to gain health, and find extra body parts and increased intelligence by completing tasks. There's a spaceship which crashed, and I'm supposed to find parts from it. I think.

 

[dogmatique]

Loved playing it today, on a shitty rainy Saturday. Mrs Dgmtq kept asking what the strange noises coming from the computer were - loved the cell and creature stages, though I ended up with the ugliest motherfucker out there.

I've absolutely no idea how to control the tribe bit though, and I might go back and be a creature again and try creating something less freakish, and as an omnivore...

I'm hoping that I can start a new game on a different planet and not lose the first one.

I'm quite fond of my ugly stalk eyed, double mandible, stag horned, feathered shouldered, arse gassing creation. It's stripy too.

 

[Dravinian]

Loved playing it today, on a shitty rainy Saturday. Mrs Dgmtq kept asking what the strange noises coming from the computer were - loved the cell and creature stages, though I ended up with the ugliest motherfucker out there.

I've absolutely no idea how to control the tribe bit though, and I might go back and be a creature again and try creating something less freakish, and as an omnivore...

I'm hoping that I can start a new game on a different planet and not lose the first one.

I'm quite fond of my ugly stalk eyed, double mandible, stag horned, feathered shouldered, arse gassing creation. It's stripy too.

You can have loads on the go at the same time.

I died during the tribal part too, its quite difficult, I think you supposed to let your troops build up a bit, seems a bit micromanagement still though, as if you have to control each one, but lacks the controls of a good RTS.

 

[The Groke]

I died during the tribal part too, its quite difficult, I think you supposed to let your troops build up a bit, seems a bit micromanagement still though, as if you have to control each one, but lacks the controls of a good RTS.

Yeah, this is where I am struggling.

I have wiped out two of the other tribes, but the other two are giving me trouble.

I have upgraded outfits etc to give me better skills but still getting my arse kicked....

Not sure how you are supposed to "impress" rather than fight them either - I have lots of instruments but know idea how to use them.

 

[cliche guevara]

I've finished the creature stage, but don't want to evolve to the tribal stage until I've collected as many parts and done as much as possible here first. I've got a hell load of DNA, and am at the most advanced stage of several abilities. Haven't managed to even get close to defeating an Epic yet though, has anyone done this? Who's in the tribal stage? What's it like? I'm loving this game

 

[fogbat]

How demanding is it, hardware-wise?

This is a game I've been excited about for ages, but the best computer I can get my hands on is a year-old laptop with onboard graphics (Intel GMA 950?), 2gigs of RAM and a dual-core processor.

 

[cliche guevara]

It's not that demanding at all, that laptop should run it no problems.

 

[Dravinian]

Yeah, this is where I am struggling.

I have wiped out two of the other tribes, but the other two are giving me trouble.

I have upgraded outfits etc to give me better skills but still getting my arse kicked....

Not sure how you are supposed to "impress" rather than fight them either - I have lots of instruments but know idea how to use them.

If you playing on the PC you have to press Tab this turns you from Aggressive to Pasive and then you can dance, sing, play instruments I suppose.

 

[wiskey]

I seem to have been waiting for this FOREVER!

Just waiting for derv to remember BUY IT now

 

[Chairman Meow]

If anyone has a spare serial to share, it would be most appreciated.

 

[The Groke]

If you playing on the PC you have to press Tab this turns you from Aggressive to Pasive and then you can dance, sing, play instruments I suppose.

Yep - I worked this out last night!




I am now IIIIIIiiiin SPAAAAaaaaace.



Really starting to get the hang of the building tools now - my first few buildings and vehicles were pretty lame, but there is a surpirsing amount of depth to the creation system once you start to realise how to exploit it's full potential.


My Roflwasp ship is great.





Ok - this is important:

Can you all post your spore account names so we can add each other to the buddies list and enjoy/laugh at each other's creations in game.

I am The-Moog.

 

[The Groke]

How demanding is it, hardware-wise?

This is a game I've been excited about for ages, but the best computer I can get my hands on is a year-old laptop with onboard graphics (Intel GMA 950?), 2gigs of RAM and a dual-core processor.

Not that harsh really.

TBH although the art style is great, the graphics are pretty low quality - lots of pop in a low Poly models.

I am a little irked it has no in-game anti-aliasing or anisiotropic filtering options and I can't seem to force them on with my NVIDIA control panel or Nhance either.

 

[cliche guevara]

I have not managed to find any skulls yet

Me neither! It seems that there are a few parts which I simply cannot find. I'm reluctant to "evolve" into the tribasl phase without a skull... Am I doing something wrong?

 

[Dravinian]

Ok - this is important:

Can you all post your spore account names so we can add each other to the buddies list and enjoy/laugh at each other's creations in game.

I am The-Moog.

Pay for games?

Are you unwell, have you got a fever?

To be less faceitious, I am thinking about buying this game.

Unfortunately, I just got in a Star Wars kick, just finished Jedi: outcast and Jedi Academy (which I did in a single day wtf) and just started Knights of the Old Republic, then I got KoToR2 to finish cause i am halfway through it.
Then I am hoping that Star Wars: Force Unleashed should be released on the PC by then, it is due on Xbox/PS3 end of Sept.

So probably buy this in about a month or two when I binged out on Star Wars.

 

[Dravinian]

Me neither! It seems that there are a few parts which I simply cannot find. I'm reluctant to "evolve" into the tribasl phase without a skull... Am I doing something wrong?

I don't think there are any skulls, I not seen any. I think if you want a head, you just enlarge the highest Neck bone until it gets big enough to be classed as a head.

 

[cliche guevara]

I don't think there are any skulls, I not seen any. I think if you want a head, you just enlarge the highest Neck bone until it gets big enough to be classed as a head.

There must be, there's a space for them in the creature creature, and the pre release creature creator had them?