What do you think about the game?

Most people on this board like the game. That's why they are here.

Like most complicated computer games, TS2 and its EPs have bugs that weren't found before the game was released. So, EA/Maxis has released patches to fix those things that haven't been found during pre-release testing.

Fans, however, have a *very* high standard for what they want to see in the game. So, when they find something, they get very upset and talk about it a lot. Some deliberately go overboard with their complaints (even though they like the game) by trying to get people to boycott the game. They think that this pressure will make things happen faster. (It doesn't, however. Calm, rational posts to the Maxoids work *much* better than people putting inflammatory or threatening posts on the official BBS.)

There are a lot of people who say "they shouldn't release it until the game has no glitches or bugs. I don't mind waiting if they'd give us a better game." Well, there might be a few individuals who feel that way, but the vast majority of people want the game now, with or without the bugs. (We know this because of the responses people gave back in 2004 when the game release was delayed by 6 months to fix major problems. The "I want it now no matter what!" people were far more numerous than the "I can wait" group.)

I have a number of friends who are actually in the game developing business (nonEA). One of my friends has a phd in game theory and works for a software development company in the game testing department. He's the one who actually develops the tests for finding bugs and glitches. He's looked at the TS2 code and says that it's the most complicated one that he's seen. (And he's worked on some of the most complicated ones available.) He says he's glad he doesn't have to develop tests for TS2 because there is no way to completely test a game like this with the budget and time deadlines that game companies have to have.

Several of my other friends have told me the stories about their (nonEA) games that they've developed and the bug/glitch problems they've encountered in their games. It's on a par with what we find wrong with TS2 and its EPs.

On a personal level, I love the game. It's open ended enough that there's always something new to try or something to perfect. I suppose if you only like predigested scenarios you can get pretty bored, but premade scenerios are not something I enjoy. I like creating my own "scenerios".