Described as the “gift that keeps on giving LOL”, Maxis’s SimCity, as revealed by a NeoGAF user, contains a line that forcefully shuts down the game if you are inactive for 20 minutes while playing the game online. Editing or modifying this code can, it has been revealed, lead to indefinite offline play.
However, the player won’t be able to save the game as all saves are synced to EA’ servers. It still adds more credence to the belief that SimCity’s always-online play is little more than a ploy to use DRM.
Maxis GM Lucy Bradshaw continues to disagree with that notion, saying that the game’s always-online feature “didn’t come down as an order from corporate and it isn’t a clandestine strategy to control players.”
“We recognize that there are fans – people who loved the original SimCity – who want that [offline play]. But we’re also hearing from thousands of people who are playing across regions, trading, communicating and loving the Always-Connected functionality.”
Wonder what she thinks of the millions cursing Maxis and EA for not being able to connect online due to server woes?