One of the weirder side effects of SimCity being an MMO, or not-an-MMO, or whatever, is that updates are something that happen server-side. Rather than downloading the long-awaited 2.0 patch from a mirror site called something like GameFlib at your leisure, you’ll be getting the update later today at the same time as everybody else, whether you’re ready for casinos to become more profitable or not.
The update will be released at 8pm GMT / 1pm PST, and servers are expected to be down for the preceding two hours.
While previous patches have more or less uniformly been in the name of server fire-fighting or rapid bug-fixing, 2.0 is a more considered affair that takes in some of the “top-requested” issues players have had with the game. Not the always-online thing, obvs, but a slew of other improvements, ranging from a sensible reduction in tourist fluctuation, to more attractive casinos with higher turnovers.
Have a poke about the complete SimCity 2.0 changelog for more of that, or sit tight and see what comes during downtime this evening. What are most excited to see shaken up or straightened out?
Thanks, Eurogamer.