Topic: spore mistakes

[Drakkelian]

I think Vulcans point here is that do you think there'll be more things that will be in Spore that the developers didn't really intend to make but ended up finding it and leaving it there. They never intended for you to be able to throw things with the abduction beam, but when they found the bug that did it they realized it would be a fun thing to add to the game so they made it a feature.

I think it really adds to the games depth when it even surprises a developer. Like during one of the E3 demos, Will Wright was surprised to find a crop circle like feature carved into the surface of a barren rocky planet he'd happened across. That sorta thing makes the game look more fun overall.

[DaMuncha]

Well when you create a procedualy generated game of course you can expect to see alot of things you would not have dreamed of finding in a game of its type, being created purely by accedent. Same with the uplift game, I can imagine him going back to a race hes uplifted and seeing something that wasnt planned to go into the game being invented or some realy awsome looking creature that had evolved purely by chance. And yes I can imagine the game creating a supreme race purely by chance that does seem hell bent on populating the stars (or destroying them). Reminds me of LEXX.

[heylister]

I don't know perhaps we might find i glitch where two planets are fused together but then it'll turn out to be really fun and interesting and you'll be glad that the glitch was there and bookmark the spot where you found the planet.

[Luminar]

Remember that computer programs are precise and perfect. "Mistakes" with say, terraforming tools, are either down to simple human error, or have to be specifically programmed in. Though I like the concept of it not always being quite under your control, adds a little dash of realism without spoling the fun.

[dogzer]

I think the creature orbit thing wasn't done on purpose, but it makes sense that they orbit, it's not really a mistake, it's just unintended coolness right?

On the editor the creature speed and strength, etc, seems pretty much controled so doesn't sound like there's going to be much room for mistakes. But with the spaceship there seems to be a lot of tools and stuff that's going to allow you to do funny 'mistakes' like the orbiting thing.

[Noflunk]

Though its not a "mistake" id like to know how they'll combat someone who wants to put all three types of mouth (Carnivore, omnivore, and herbivore) on one creature...how will that work?

[Uroboros]

Though its not a "mistake" id like to know how they'll combat someone who wants to put all three types of mouth (Carnivore, omnivore, and herbivore) on one creature...how will that work?

Why would they want to combat that at all? Freedom of choice, given that those mouths will all cost the player DNA which could have otherwise been used for other more potentially useful things.

On the editor the creature speed and strength, etc, seems pretty much controled so doesn't sound like there's going to be much room for mistakes. But with the spaceship there seems to be a lot of tools and stuff that's going to allow you to do funny 'mistakes' like the orbiting thing.

I think most of the funny surprises will come from the procedural animation deal, personally. Im hoping to stumble across a configuration of parts that'll lead to an unusual, but cool way of running or attacking. As time has gone on, we're all aware that with the lack of new original demo videos, we're starting to notice the same old preset animations cropping up (the strides/backflip/happy/sad things), but im still hoping for the "cool animation bug" things. :3

[aligon]

OK, this is kind of completely off topic, but I was just wondering whether or not it is possible to abduct vehicles in the game...
It seems like it's harder to pick up larger creatures than smaller ones, but might the UFO's abduction system evolve as you gain more features/points/resources/etc. ?
What I mean is, maybe at first you can only pick up really small creatures while large ones are close to impossible to abduct, but as you continue to play, you might be able to pick up larger things, like actual vehicles, which you could bring back to your planet to experiment with.

[mccarty181]

OK, this is kind of completely off topic, but I was just wondering whether or not it is possible to abduct vehicles in the game...
It seems like it's harder to pick up larger creatures than smaller ones, but might the UFO's abduction system evolve as you gain more features/points/resources/etc. ?
What I mean is, maybe at first you can only pick up really small creatures while large ones are close to impossible to abduct, but as you continue to play, you might be able to pick up larger things, like actual vehicles, which you could bring back to your planet to experiment with.

I would think you could look at what WW says in the GDC 05 video when hes trrying to abduct its not confirmed but it hints at it

[Squirrel]

Though its not a "mistake" id like to know how they'll combat someone who wants to put all three types of mouth (Carnivore, omnivore, and herbivore) on one creature...how will that work?

Why would they want to combat that at all? Freedom of choice, given that those mouths will all cost the player DNA which could have otherwise been used for other more potentially useful things.

On the editor the creature speed and strength, etc, seems pretty much controled so doesn't sound like there's going to be much room for mistakes. But with the spaceship there seems to be a lot of tools and stuff that's going to allow you to do funny 'mistakes' like the orbiting thing.

I think most of the funny surprises will come from the procedural animation deal, personally. Im hoping to stumble across a configuration of parts that'll lead to an unusual, but cool way of running or attacking. As time has gone on, we're all aware that with the lack of new original demo videos, we're starting to notice the same old preset animations cropping up (the strides/backflip/happy/sad things), but im still hoping for the "cool animation bug" things. :3

It seems to me that the running/walking animations in the game have become less interesting as the game proceeds.  Now it seems only the legs move instead of the whole body moving.  Look at the old video with the bird with many mouths in it.  The head moves from side to side because of the weight, but in the more recent ones, such as the one with robin williams, the body seems frozen in place.

[DaMuncha]

I wonder if/how you could create a wheel creature, like those robots from star wars. That their body is basicaly a wheel with arms sticking out from the middle and the creature moves by rolling around. Or better yet have suction cups on the outside like a octopus so it can scale any surface.

[Oviraptor]

I wonder if/how you could create a wheel creature, like those robots from star wars. That their body is basicaly a wheel with arms sticking out from the middle and the creature moves by rolling around. Or better yet have suction cups on the outside like a octopus so it can scale any surface.

This is one of the classic debates here on this forum, dates back a long time: http://www.gamingsteve.com/blab/index.php?topic=817.0

[Uroboros]

It seems to me that the running/walking animations in the game have become less interesting as the game proceeds.  Now it seems only the legs move instead of the whole body moving.  Look at the old video with the bird with many mouths in it.  The head moves from side to side because of the weight, but in the more recent ones, such as the one with robin williams, the body seems frozen in place.

Yeah, i've noticed that too, but im not certain that they've completely done away with it. It was a long time between the initial spore demo and the more recent demo (with the odd half-spider-like creatures as the main, rather than the willosaur). The initial demo wanted to show off, and they were going to use premade creatures to demonstrate some of the things you could made. That may have allowed them to make creatures that didnt bug out the moment you told them to move. You have to bear in mind they didnt have a creature editor demo up for playing with at the old conferences/meets, maybe that was for a reason. It doesnt give a good impression if WW says "You can make anything", and when you do make something a little obscure, it either crashes or the slight, non-rigid body just happens to do a mexican wave due to an unforseen hiccup. The second demo we were shown didnt include loading up premade creatures, but still featured a preset world designed just for WW and his presentation. The difference? The creature editor demo that people eventually got their hands on.

The creature editor had to stand up to actual interested gamers making creatures. While that doesnt actually ammount to any more stress than usual, it means the game has a big chance to embarrass itself with major bugs, or crashing. The rigidness of the latest demo runs might have just been a temporary way of making it look more finished than it is. The core of the game might be nearing completion, but in my humble opinion, such an open creature editor would be difficult to polish if they were to use semi-rigid/flexible bodies/masses. Maybe im being a little too hopeful? Maybe after a length of testing, they decided that the flexible bodies were too much for the budget/time-scale they had in mind? I dont know, but im keeping my fingers crossed. I want my semi-werbly pudgemonsters and unsteady mantis-giraffes thankyouverymuch ;3

[Hectonkhyres]

I can say with a fair amount of certainty that EA is going to be providing a lot of patches to Spore. The good news is that there will be a million players working day and night as diligent playtesters who will (rightfully) take it as a mark of pride to be able to find a new way to break Spore. There will probably be at least one forum devoted purely to the topic of bugs and it, without a doubt, will be flooded.

But, after two or three months, things will die down as the more common bugs get weeded out one after another. Once in a while, but at decreasing intervals, someone will cook up a new abomination that can only occur only under horribly improbable circumstances. Then modders will start screwing with the laws of physics and whole new bugs start up because of incompatabilities.

[DaMuncha]

On that note. Do not play Gothic 3. It is highly ill advised, as no matter how many patches they put out that game will never be fixed.