SimCity Rolls Out “Impossible” Offline Single Player Mode

When SimCity was launched nearly a year ago, it quickly garnered a lot of fan rage due the choice of the game always requiring an online connection, whether you wanted to play by yourself or not.

This not only stirred the rage of those wanting to play the game without an internet connection, but also lead to a number of launch day issues including the inability to play due to server traffic or even lost save progress. Maxis at the time made the argument that the game was designed to be played in this manner, and that making an offline single player mode was “impossible”; well the impossible has just happened. Maxis has announced that in the game’s 10th update players will now be able to play the game in offline single player with local saves if they wish.

This announcement came from Maxis Emeryville’s General Manager Patrick Buechner, who wrote in a recent status update “In Update 10, you can still play solo in Regions on your own, or in Multiplayer with people from around the world,” he writes. “What’s new is the Single Player Mode, which allows you to play the game Offline by yourself. And because your saved games in this mode are stored locally, you can save and load to your heart’s content. Our team will be delivering a follow-up blog that will outline the full details in the near future so stay tuned.”

In his post, Buechner directly references fan made content, making it look as though the mod community has played a large part in Maxis’s decision to finally allow the game to be played offline “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”.

This news should come as a relief to many series’ fans who were unhappy with the game’s original direction, and this move may just be what it takes to help give SimCity a boost in sales thanks to those in the modding community who’ve been interested and waiting for the chance to experiment with it.

Source: Tom’s Hardware