SimCity 2013 is finally playable | Bangkok Post: learning

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Soon after its launch on March 5, the new SimCity was playing like Bangkok at rush hour, with long wait times and annoying crashes. It now works, but the controversy continues over its on-line-only requirement

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Click button to listen to Sim City and rightclick to download

The new SimCity is finally playable

My son spent several hours last night building his first city in the new SimCity game, experiencing none of the internet connection problems that plagued early users.

Soon after its launch on March 5, the game was playing like Bangkok at rush hour, with long wait times and annoying crashes.

In fact, it was worse. People who bought the game couldn't play it for the first few days. The available servers couldn't handle the load, prompting a deafening outcry from angry buyers. Yesterday, publisher Electronic Arts (EA) announced that John Riccitiello is stepping down as CEO of the company.

The game is now playable, however, after EA increased server capacity by 400 percent. As of yesterday, users had logged more than 15 million hours of online play. EA says sales have exceeded one million in the first two weeks.

SimCity is one of the classic computer games, first released in 1989. It is an open-ended game in which players try to build their own cities while coping with a limited budget and the need to keep city residents happy.

SimCity 2013 is the first multi-player version and the first to include global warming as a consideration. Heavy polluters are likely to hear complaints from their neighbours in the online community.

The biggest point of contention so far is the requirement that gamers must be connected to the internet. Game developers say the game makes extensive use of the "cloud", allowing users to interact, to play in their own cities from any location and to allow for frequent updates.

Some users complain, however, that most people simply build their own cities and rarely use the multi-player options. Some game experts suspect the real reason for the on-line-only requirement is to prevent piracy.

SimCity 2013 is for the PC only.

Here is a one-minute video introducing SimCity 2013.

plague – to cause a lot of problems for someone or something for a long period of time ทำให้ยุ่งยากมานาน
launch – to start selling a new product or service to the public  เริ่มวางขาย
annoying – making you feel slightly angry or impatient น่ารำคาญ
load – the amount of work, traffic, information someone/something has to deal with; burden ภาระ
prompt – to cause someone to take action กระตุ้น
deafening – extremely loud หูดับตับไหม้
outcry – a strong expression of anger and disapproval about something, made by a group of people or by the public การคัดค้านอย่างรุนแรงจากผู้คน
publisher – a person or company that prepares and prints books, magazines, newspapers or electronic products and makes them available to the public ผู้จัดพิมพ์
chief executive officer (CEO) – the person with the highest rank in a company or an organisation ผู้บริหารสูงสุด, ซีอีโอ (ประธานบริหาร)
capacity – the amount of something that can be produced or done  ความสามารถในการ (ระบาย, ผลิต etc.)
log – to put information in an official record or write a record of events ลงบันทึก
exceed – to go beyond an official limit; to be greater than a number or amount เกินปริมาณ
classic – with all the features you would expect to find; very typical; very good เป็นแบบอย่าง, ที่มีคุณภาพสูง
release – to make something available to the public  ออกวางตลาด, ออกวางจำหน่าย
cope – to deal successfully with a difficult situation  รับมือกับ
limited – stopped from increasing beyond a particular amount or level ถูกจำกัด
budget – an amount of money able to be spent on something งบประมาณ
residents – people who live in a particular area ประชาชนที่อาศัยในท้องที่
consideration – something that must be thought about when you are planning or deciding something สิ่งที่ควรพิจารณา
complaint – when someone says that something is wrong or not satisfactory การร้องเรียน
neighbour – someone (or towns, cities, countries) who lives or is located near you  เพื่อนบ้าน
community – a group of people who share the same  job, interests, religion, etc สังคม
contention – (angry) disagreement between people  การโต้แย้ง
extensive – great in amount กว้างขวาง
cloud – a way of using computers in which data and software are stored mainly on a central computer, to which users have access over the Internet  คลาวด์
interact – communicate with or react to มีปฏิกิริยากับ
frequent – happening often เกิดขึ้นบ่อย
update – to make a piece of machinery, computer system, etc. more powerful and efficient ยกระดับ
rarely – not happening often นานๆ ครั้ง, ไม่บ่อย
option – a choice; something that you can choose in a particular situation ทางเลือก
suspect – to believe that something is true สงสัย
prevent – to stop somebody from doing something; to stop something from happening  ขัดขวาง, กัน, กีดขวาง
piracy– illegally copying movies, computer programs, etc.  การละเมิดลิขสิทธิ์

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