SimCity Closed Beta EULA Sparks Controversy

[Guest]

According to the SimCity closed beta EULA, failing to report a bug may ban you from all EA games entirely.

SimCity Closed Beta EULA Sparks Controversy : Read more

 

[Northwestern]

I don't see why this is such a big problem. You should report every problem to prevent anyone from exploiting it, and while it is a bit excessive to ban someone over such a bug, no simple flaw should be left unattended and unreported.

 

[nukemaster]

Exploiting bugs then reporting(have to see how far it goes before a report ) them is the FUN of beta testing.

 

[upgrade_1977]

Ban from Origin? Another reason to stick with steam, lol.

 

[zubikov]

I hate EA. It gutted all its competition, lost creativity and now tries to rule the industry with an iron fist. It's all marketing, lawyers and shareholders over programming and art. Any talent still left in the company is afraid to show their true colors and stand out b/c it may interfere with some policy or objective. I'm all for making money and successful, responsible companies making quality products, but EA is a shame to a declining console/PC gaming industry. Won't be getting my money!

 

[bigdragon]

That clause was likely there because of competitive multiplayer games such as Battlefield. What bugs me though is that this means cheats won't exist in Sim City. Hell, I doubt there will even be mods with the way they've been trying to lock everything down. I used cheats from time to time in Sim City 4 and used mods every single time. I am really disappointed in the direction EA has taken with this new Sim City. It would have been nice if they sat down with the SC4Devotion people and hashed out how to make the perfect Sim City game instead of going off on this multiplayer always-online tangent.

 

[bak0n]

So... I'd lose access to the SimCity beta(if I were to test it) if they were to ban me for Origin. Not a big loss.

 

[Kami3k]

[citation][nom]Northwestern[/nom]I don't see why this is such a big problem. You should report every problem to prevent anyone from exploiting it, and while it is a bit excessive to ban someone over such a bug, no simple flaw should be left unattended and unreported.[/citation]

It's just a "bit excessive?

I'm assuming what Hitler did to the Jews was just a bit excessive as well?

You must be a EA employee paid to spew this drivel, I don't see how any could defend getting banned for missing a bug and not reporting it.

 

[ph1sh55]

Testing the limit of 'exploits' is part of beta testing. That's a pretty comical thing to have for a EULA for a BETA. Hell look at all of the fps games where's exploits 'abused' ended up being kept as features. (rocket jumping, movement quirks etc)

 

[hwangchan]

The way it was written, they would have the right to block your origin account if you didn't report a bug, even if you didn't personally experience said bug. That's moronic.

I don't think its the policy that was wrong exactly, just the way it was written. Apparently EA agreed, but it was easier to just exclude the clause than fix it.

 

[EnFission]

You are signing up for a closed beta, with the purpose of finding bugs for EA, not to actually playing the game. If you aren't reporting bugs, you are wasting EA's time and preventing another player from beta testing (presuming they have participant limit). You have reduced the efficiency of the closed beta.

Congrats Kami3k, you have compared being locked out of an account to mass genocide, next time try and get the scale a little closer.

 

[jn77]

I wonder if we get enough people together we can SUE EA to have Maxsis sold off to be an independent game company again.

Better yet.... Petition retailers "Not to Carry" any EA products anymore. That is not illegal. When sales drop, they revise the EULA or loose out.

 

[ko888]

If you don't have access to the code how would you know if an oddity is a bug or if it's a feature?

 

[ammaross]

Is it just me, or is everyone over-reacting simply because the company says they "reserve the right" to lock you out of all games, meaning that in certain cases, if you're being malicious and exploiting a server-crash bug and making the game as a whole unplayable for others, they could lock you out of all of your games (thus providing a heavy enough punishment to hopefully deter people from such an abuse of exploit). Obviously, if they didn't have this "reservation" in their EULA, they would have no legal ground to block users from unrelated game titles due to actions in another, thus why it was included. Nowhere in the text does it read "we will lock out every account that fails to report a bug." Honestly, having such an "ace" up the sleeve is the biggest stick they could carry to deter abusers, and I'd likely include the same (as well as fix server-crashing bugs promptly).

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

Don't beta test their games? Why do you care honestly. If they want to threaten you to use their product I would say don't use their product. Simple solution.

 

[RADIO_ACTIVE]

[citation][nom]ammaross[/nom]Is it just me, or is everyone over-reacting simply because the company says they "reserve the right" to lock you out of all games, meaning that in certain cases, if you're being malicious and exploiting a server-crash bug and making the game as a whole unplayable for others, they could lock you out of all of your games (thus providing a heavy enough punishment to hopefully deter people from such an abuse of exploit). Obviously, if they didn't have this "reservation" in their EULA, they would have no legal ground to block users from unrelated game titles due to actions in another, thus why it was included. Nowhere in the text does it read "we will lock out every account that fails to report a bug." Honestly, having such an "ace" up the sleeve is the biggest stick they could carry to deter abusers, and I'd likely include the same (as well as fix server-crashing bugs promptly).[/citation]
Also, to add to your perfect comment, people don't have to beta test it as well. It is their choice to.

 

[holyknight1121]

How are you supposed to know if a bug/glitch/runtime error is a problem or whether it was intended to be a new feature?

 

[egmccann]

[citation][nom]ko888[/nom]If you don't have access to the code how would you know if an oddity is a bug or if it's a feature?[/citation]
[citation][nom]holyknight1121[/nom]How are you supposed to know if a bug/glitch/runtime error is a problem or whether it was intended to be a new feature?[/citation]

"This program has closed unexpectedly."

Bug, or cool new feature?

I've been in a fair number of betas. Generally, you can tell something's supposed to be a bug vs a feature. ("Hey, I activated that power and I can walk through walls - look at this cool, yet unfinished at this point, architecture!" versus "Hey, I did nothing and can walk through walls at that point, nothing's back here, look, I'm falling to my death in a complete void!" for instance.)

Generally, if you pay attention to notes/the beta forum, you'll see features listed they want you to test.

And, in general, if you're not sure if it's a bug or a feature, either (A) ask or (B) report it anyway. Because it could very well be a new feature that isn't supposed to do that.

 

[gm0n3y]

Is being locked out of Origin really a punishment?

 

[ko888]

[citation][nom]egmccann[/nom]"This program has closed unexpectedly." Bug, or cool new feature?I've been in a fair number of betas. Generally, you can tell something's supposed to be a bug vs a feature. ("Hey, I activated that power and I can walk through walls - look at this cool, yet unfinished at this point, architecture!" versus "Hey, I did nothing and can walk through walls at that point, nothing's back here, look, I'm falling to my death in a complete void!" for instance.)Generally, if you pay attention to notes/the beta forum, you'll see features listed they want you to test. And, in general, if you're not sure if it's a bug or a feature, either (A) ask or (B) report it anyway. Because it could very well be a new feature that isn't supposed to do that.[/citation]Bugs that are that major should have been fixed during alpha testing.

 

[vittau]

Typical EA bull****, can't say I'm surprised...

 

[Northwestern]

[citation][nom]Kami3k[/nom]It's just a "bit excessive?I'm assuming what Hitler did to the Jews was just a bit excessive as well?You must be a EA employee paid to spew this drivel, I don't see how any could defend getting banned for missing a bug and not reporting it.[/citation]
If you're going to act like a child over it and compare apples to oranges over someone's simple opinion then you should seriously consider less time off the internet and more time outside.

 

[Northwestern]

less time on the internet*

 

[bllue]

?????? They updated the EULA like two days ago to reflect that this is no the case. Go read it and see there's no mention of getting banned for not reporting bugs.

 

[tomfreak]

[citation][nom]upgrade_1977[/nom]Ban from Origin? Another reason to stick with steam, lol.[/citation]Actually I disagree on the steam part. We should not have allow these companies to control us.

DRM free is the only way. U bought the game u actually own it. Nobody can take away from u. May be it is time for u to start supporting the indie developers who are actually treating u as a customer than a half pirates.