What the difference between Cities XL and Cities 2011

[nrnoble]

I have both Cities XL and Cities 2011, and I really haven't played either yet, so I am wondering what's the difference between the versions.

Can I assume that Cities 2011 has all the content of Cities XL, but a lot more stuff has been added?

I've read the store page, but I'm not clear on differences. What else is different?

Thanks!

[Zeuserich]

Originally Posted by nrnoble

I have both Cities XL and Cities 2011, and I really haven't played either yet, so I am wondering what's the difference between the versions.

Can I assume that Cities 2011 has all the content of Cities XL, but a lot more stuff has been added?

I've read the store page, but I'm not clear on differences. What else is different?

Thanks!

Nothing new was added except metro. Citiesxl 2011 has everything from 2009, all those features that were locked and unfinished are now working (like traffic sounds, hidden buildings etc)... more or less. Most of the bugs haven't been fixed, music is the same, UI is the same, gameplay is the same.

[Sharkfood]

The main difference is Cities XL 2010 is almost completely unplayable on Steam. It has a game-breaking bug that makes it so the whole game locks up for several seconds EVERY time you click the mouse.. lol.

How it shipped like that is beyond me, but until they fix this, you are best to STEER CLEAR and save your money.

[Zeuserich]

Originally Posted by Sharkfood

The main difference is Cities XL 2010 is almost completely unplayable on Steam. It has a game-breaking bug that makes it so the whole game locks up for several seconds EVERY time you click the mouse.. lol.

How it shipped like that is beyond me, but until they fix this, you are best to STEER CLEAR and save your money.

First of all its called Cities XL 2011 -_- and its more of a stutter really, rather than

game-breaking bug that makes it so the whole game locks up for several seconds

You can still play the game, its just annoying.

[Drasta]

I can run STEAM version without this lock up problem but there is not much new stuff in there. Some new maps but dont expect miracles (random maps or editor is still a big dream). Nice subway but as it seems that it is pretty useless because only unskilled workers are using it. Blueprints are working. UI is improved and trade is easier now. You can trade with other cities on planet and with Omnicorp now. Some new midage, asian houses and some seahouses houses on logs.
Memory leaks seems to be fixed.

Almost everything else is the same as SP in Cities XL 2009.

[nrnoble]

Is Cities 2011 just basically the same game as XL with all the content that had been reserved for the online version which has been shut down?

My general impression is that Cities was intended to be a blockbuster type game, but it bombed really bad, and now they are hoping to get some of their money back. Bombed doesn't mean the game is a bad game, it just suggests that it wasn't a great game and various mistakes were made that caused it to fail.

When it first game out, I did not buy it because it clearly was centered around a subscription model, and I wasn't interested enough to pay a monthly fee to play the game.

[sfade]

Originally Posted by nrnoble

Is Cities 2011 just basically the same game as XL with all the content that had been reserved for the online version which has been shut down?

My general impression is that Cities was intended to be a blockbuster type game, but it bombed really bad, and now they are hoping to get some of their money back. Bombed doesn't mean the game is a bad game, it just suggests that it wasn't a great game and various mistakes were made that caused it to fail.

When it first game out, I did not buy it because it clearly was centered around a subscription model, and I wasn't interested enough to pay a monthly fee to play the game.

One note before explaining the rest: Cities XL 2011 is NOT under the same company. FI bought up the rights to the existing game resources and went about trying to fix what was broken and add what was popularly requested. Whether they succeeded depends on who you ask, it runs great for some and others have problems (and there is currently an annoying bug related to Steam that should get sorted out, I've seen it happen in other games as well).

So understanding that the original product and the new one are under two different organizations...

I'm sure the original dev team/publisher hoped it would be very successful, but the real intention was an aim at a 'massively multiplayer' city builder in which the participants traded resources from their various cities (up to 5 per account I believe) and competed to make the biggest most efficient cities (or in some cases, the best looking) through an online subscription service.

It did have some appeal and you still see people asking about it on various forums, but unfortunately the genre is somewhat niche - city builders are traditionally a very single player game, and the game itself had some serious issues (memory leak, trade system was practically broken at launch, etc). It needed more development time.

As is too often the case, the publisher pushed a niche game with an interesting concept out the door before it was ready, and the result was a complete clusterf---. They didn't get anywhere near enough subscriptions to get out of the red and the game pretty much collapsed on launch after some efforts to patch (they did issue a number, but never addressed some of the very critical problems).

They tried to innovate and make something new for the genre, unfortunately it was rushed, incomplete, and suffered massive failure as a result. Had they taken the time needed, and not released it in such a buggy state, I still think it could have been a success... the game-breaking bugs drove off most people who might have been interested in subscribing.

Focus Interactive has taken the reigns and overhauled the entire project into the more traditional single player city builder with the addition of achievements, more maps, additional travel options, roads, and some option packs. I think it's much closer now to what people were hoping for, and I look forward to see how it goes from here.

[3Form]

does it still have the memory leak, that's the question?

[sfade]

Originally Posted by 3Form

does it still have the memory leak, that's the question?

From what I've experienced playing since the release, I'd have to say they managed to fix that particular problem - at least in regards to running on my system. I can play for one hour or four (and I have) and there is no loss in responsiveness and no crashing / bugging I've seen yet.

I can't speak to the Steam version, as I'm using the direct download version.

[jonvan]

Originally Posted by sfade

From what I've experienced playing since the release, I'd have to say they managed to fix that particular problem - at least in regards to running on my system. I can play for one hour or four (and I have) and there is no loss in responsiveness and no crashing / bugging I've seen yet.

I can't speak to the Steam version, as I'm using the direct download version.

I played the Steam version last night for about 4-5 hours without any hiccups.

[3Form]

Very tempted then as I really enjoyed the demo of the original, thanks guys

[jonvan]

Don't forget, if you own the original (which costs $20) you can get the new one for $20 as well.

[squall0833]

Game packaging design, Cover
and name. lolz