Yoot Tower: Don't I already own this game?
atholbrose
the game. (As an aside, the manual for YT deserves a post all of its own;
I'd be willing to wager nobody who was a native speaker of English even
got NEAR the thing. Facilities are called items, rooms are called tenants,
the section on how time works in the game makes NO sense at all...it's a
mess.) They added some new things -- plug-in capability, a whole bunch
more restaurants, a different setting, external views, billboards, and so
on. I couldn't wait to get home and try it.
I played SimTower way back when for quite a long time. I enjoyed it a lot
(even more after I figured out how to turn the elevator sounds off!) and
eventually played it out.
This evening, I got home and installed Yoot Tower, and played it for about
forty minutes. Bruising things about the game included a fairly mangled
UI, mistranslations in the installation program ("Setup now starts
installation of the DirectX Media."), insistance that the game NEEDS to
run at 256 colors ("Game play may become slow or strange").
But the worst thing was the sameness. The game looks exactly the same.
Well, maybe not exactly; lobbies are now three stories high (?) and more
elaborate. Stairs look like stairs. But elevators look the same, the
stores -- even the new ones -- look the same, the offices are the same,
the sims are the same, just little silhouettes sliding back and forth and
piling up in the elevators. The game sounds exactly the same, and that's
what most damns it for me. I have heard the phone ring and a Japanese
woman answering it once too many times in my adult game-playing life, and
the exact same sound is in this game. The elevators sound the same.
Even now, I just can't get over it: it looks and sounds EXACTLY like
SimTower. (Even now I can hear people saying "Well, looks don't count, the
*game* does"; well, if the game looks the same and plays the same, it is
the same, isn't it? And play the same it does.)
Oh, but there's more. There's now a little boom mike icon that you can use
to see what different sims are thinking. But what does "that's not enough
food" mean when someone is waiting for the elevator on an office floor? I
saw someone who was thinking "I'm late. If I don't hurry I'll miss m[]"
([] being that little box you get for an unprintable character in
Windows). Plus, the thoughts change each time you pass over someone and
the hot-spot is very iffy; thus, you may see a flash of "Oh, let me have
the potato too", but lose it, and then backing up to see what it said,
find out that the person is now thinking "I'm going to play Yoot Tower".
On a P166, the game zips along at the next-to-slowest speed setting, yet
is unreasonably slow at the lowest. Only one sound can be played at once.
Argh argh argh. I'm frustrated, especially after reading the rave reviews
the Mac version got. Are they really this starved for games? Or did every
reviewer just miss SimTower?
This has to be the fastest I've ever decided to return a game (which I
almost never ever do, even with all the games I buy).
--
r. n. dominick -- cinn...@one.net
"Time is running out for the planet Earth."
Aaron Baugher
> But the worst thing was the sameness. The game looks exactly the
> same. Well, maybe not exactly; lobbies are now three stories high
> (?) and more elaborate.
Three-story lobbies were possible in Sim Tower, but I forget what the
trick was to build them.
> Even now, I just can't get over it: it looks and sounds EXACTLY like
> SimTower. (Even now I can hear people saying "Well, looks don't
> count, the *game* does"; well, if the game looks the same and plays
> the same, it is the same, isn't it? And play the same it does.)
I haven't seen the game, but when I say a full-page ad in CSG+, I said
"Gee, that looks exactly like Sim Tower!" I'm looking at it again now,
and I can't see the slightest difference. I assume there must be some
new facilities or some changes in gameplay, but I can't spot anything
different in this ad.
Not having seen the new game at all, I don't want to be too critical.
Sim Tower had some playability problems, so if those were cleaned up,
it might be worth a re-release.
Aaron
--
Aaron Baugher - abau...@rnet.com - Quincy, IL, USA
Extreme Systems Consulting - http://haruchai.rnet.com/esc/
CGI, Perl, Java, and Linux/Unix Administration
Lars Andersen
cinn...@shell.one.net says...
>
> Even now, I just can't get over it: it looks and sounds EXACTLY like
> SimTower. (Even now I can hear people saying "Well, looks don't count, the
> *game* does"; well, if the game looks the same and plays the same, it is
> the same, isn't it? And play the same it does.)
>
I know I said this already, but I think this is near-criminal in
similarity! If I was Maxis and saw this, I'd be thinking SimLawsuit
awfully fast because this game _IS_ SimTower. You pretty much summed it
up in the post, everything is the same as SimTower, even the graphics
didn't get an update.
Lars
Jeff Jones
past QA.
Lars Andersen
says...
>
> Who published it? I want to make sure I boycott them for allowing YT to get
> past QA.
>
Sega published it I believe.
Lars
Jason McCullough
>the Mac version got. Are they really this starved for games? Or did every
>reviewer just miss SimTower?
You *believed* a Mac review? They're so desperate for games to play
they'll rave about anything. It's almost as bad as N64 owners. ;0
To respond by email, remove "blort" from the front of my email
address.
blort...@ou.edu
Jason McCullough
".....to identify Flavor Flav as a clown with a clock is to lose sight
of Public Enemy's goal to inspire, entertain and educate."
(from www.public-enemy.com)
Jeff Jones
>> Who published it? I want to make sure I boycott them for allowing YT to
get
>> past QA.
>>
>
>Sega published it I believe.
>
>Lars
Oh well, I've never bought any of their games anyway. I thought they only
did crappy console ports, but I guess they do crappy PC ports too.
UEasterly
I stopped playing ST for a few reasons, one being a decided Oriental bias. For
every one burger joint, there were ten japanese or chinese places. If you
listen closely to the sound effects, it is said you can hear the office
secretaries saying "mosh moshi" (the japanese "hello"). I don't have anything
against China or Japan, but try to balance it out next time.
Mark Shields
want him to do? sue himself?
Mark Shields
Lars Andersen
>
> Jesus Christ how many times do we have to say, it's by the same guy. What do you
> want him to do? sue himself?
>
I think you misunderstand my point, earlier I had only the website to go
by when saying it looked similar and at that time it was a valid point
that the designer was the same(since we were talking about how it looked
from a website). Now I've gotten my hands on the game, and agree with the
creator of this thread that this is not a new game, it's SimTower with a
new name. See the difference?
The interesting part is who has the rights to SimTower. Not even Sid
Meier has the rights to Civilization(right?), does this Japanese-sounding
guy have the rights to SimTower to a point where he can re-release it
from another company? I don't know, but either way if you have SimTower
then you shouldn't buy Yoots Tower, they are essentially the same.
Lars
Jeff Jones
>Yeah the way American games are so ethnically balanced. Geez the guys
Japanese.
Ok, so he's Japanese. But does it make good business sense to simulate
Japanese culture in a game sold in the US? Why not just print the manual in
Japanese too? (it probably would've made more sense, btw)
When in Rome ............
richar...@hotmail.com
cinn...@shell.one.net (atholbrose) wrote:
... Tons of points about
> Argh argh argh. I'm frustrated, especially after reading the rave reviews
> the Mac version got. Are they really this starved for games? Or did every
> reviewer just miss SimTower?
>
> This has to be the fastest I've ever decided to return a game (which I
> almost never ever do, even with all the games I buy).
So, is this proof that the Mac lacking titles to such a large degree that the
fact that a sim game was released on it first, results in the game being
praised as the second coming or something by those who are owners of that
platform?
- Richard Hutnik
Visit DocReason's Strategy HQ for free games, reviews, and
support and opponent finding for obscure/orphan games at:
http://www.geocities.com/timessquare/fortress/7537/
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richar...@hotmail.com
Snak...@WriteMe.com (Lars Andersen) wrote:
> In article <ZU8T2.722$WG....@news.rdc1.tn.home.com>, jtjo...@email.com
> says...
> >
> > past QA.
> >
>
> Sega published it I believe.
I remember reading how Sega was going to release a "mystery sequel" to a
"multimillion selling" game. I guess Yoot Tower is it. Who woulda thunk it
would be a sequel to "SimTower", arguably one of the worst titles in the Sim
series.
atholbrose
>In article <371E0239...@teron.com>, ms...@teron.com says...
>> Jesus Christ how many times do we have to say, it's by the same guy. What do you
>> want him to do? sue himself?
>I think you misunderstand my point, earlier I had only the website to go
>by when saying it looked similar and at that time it was a valid point
>that the designer was the same(since we were talking about how it looked
>from a website). Now I've gotten my hands on the game, and agree with the
>creator of this thread that this is not a new game, it's SimTower with a
>new name. See the difference?
Yes, exactly. It is a Yoot Saito game, true, but it is the same game
without even a new coat of paint. I actually re-installed SimTower last
night to make sure -- after returning YT because I was sure I didn't want
to play it in any case -- and the sounds were the same and the graphics
were the same. It's not so much a case of someone ripping off someone
else's game design, but someone releasing a game that is very essentially
EXACTLY like another game.
Invid Fan
<richar...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> In article <slrn7hq0ja....@shell.one.net>,
> cinn...@shell.one.net (atholbrose) wrote:
>
> ... Tons of points about
>
> > Argh argh argh. I'm frustrated, especially after reading the rave reviews
> > the Mac version got. Are they really this starved for games? Or did every
> > reviewer just miss SimTower?
> >
> > This has to be the fastest I've ever decided to return a game (which I
> > almost never ever do, even with all the games I buy).
>
> So, is this proof that the Mac lacking titles to such a large degree that the
> fact that a sim game was released on it first, results in the game being
> praised as the second coming or something by those who are owners of that
> platform?
>
Given that all the posts I saw about it in the mac groups were
lukewarm, I don't think you could draw that conclution. However, I like
the game myself.
Tempora
developed games all have some Japanese cultural influence on them. By your
logic, does it make sense to release Quake 2 or Mortal Kombat in Japan
without adding a Japanese twist to it??? Hey, maybe the manual would make
more sene if it was printed in Japanese. Crack out the Japanese dictionary
;)
Jeff Jones <jtjo...@email.com> wrote in message
news:%2pT2.1593$WG....@news.rdc1.tn.home.com...
Tempora
news:210419991943510524%in...@localnet.com...
Well, the thing people complaining about isn't that the game isn't good,
it's just that the game seems identical to a game released in 1995(?) by the
same guy.
Dan Helmick
: I stopped playing ST for a few reasons, one being a decided Oriental bias. For
: every one burger joint, there were ten japanese or chinese places. If you
: listen closely to the sound effects, it is said you can hear the office
: secretaries saying "mosh moshi" (the japanese "hello"). I don't have anything
: against China or Japan, but try to balance it out next time.
Oh, sure--why can't the rest of the world be American? :-P
Dan
--
Ken
>
> So, is this proof that the Mac lacking titles to such a large degree that the
> fact that a sim game was released on it first, results in the game being
> praised as the second coming or something by those who are owners of that
> platform?
Perhaps it's proof that people like to base possible conclusions on very
little information.
:/
Phaedrus
Aaron Baugher <abau...@rnet.com> wrote:
>cinn...@shell.one.net (atholbrose) writes:
>
>> But the worst thing was the sameness. The game looks exactly the
>> same. Well, maybe not exactly; lobbies are now three stories high
>> (?) and more elaborate.
>
>Three-story lobbies were possible in Sim Tower, but I forget what the
>trick was to build them.
It was something like: Hold down the Option key while laying lobby
tiles to lay double-tall ones; hold down Option-Shift to lay triple-tall
ones. All your lobby tiles on a floor have to be the same, so you have
to do it from the beginning. This was from the Mac version, of course; on
the PC version, just play around with modifier keys until you find one that
works. :)
--
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Kevin Nikolai Payne
<temp...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Invid Fan <in...@localnet.com> wrote in message
>news:210419991943510524%in...@localnet.com...
>> In article <7flgmg$t22$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>,
>> <richar...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > In article <slrn7hq0ja....@shell.one.net>,
>> > > Argh argh argh. I'm frustrated, especially after reading the rave
>reviews
>> > > the Mac version got. Are they really this starved for games? Or did
>every
>> > > reviewer just miss SimTower?
>Well, the thing people complaining about isn't that the game isn't good,
>it's just that the game seems identical to a game released in 1995(?) by the
>same guy.
It's not *identical*, though it includes many of the features which made
SimTower enjoyable. What would be truly wild would be a more 3D version
of either game, allowing you to lay out not just a cross section of the
building, but entire floors (with appropriate zooming in and out).
I like Yoot Tower just fine, even with the similarities to SimTower. The
fun is in the designing and influencing the behavior of the resisdents in
the tower, and it should be compounded as folks who do like the game begin
to experiment with plugins and creating new locales. It's NOT SimCityXXXX,
or Railroad Tycoon, or Roller Coaster Tycoon or any of the other fine sims
out there. It's NOT everyone's cup of tea either.I dislike first person
shooters--that doesn't make them bad games, just not what I like to play.
Two complaints: there are no instructions anywhere on HOW to create
plugins and new locales. I was able to change pictures on billboards and
the interiors of busineses with ResEdit and ColorIt but I haven't a clue
as to how to change the functions and qualities of the various businesses,
apartments, offices, etc.
And No. 2, I LIKED tweaking the elevators, but you can no longer do that.
Please Yoot, do an update that allows us to fiddle with elevators again,
and let us have our sky lobbies back too....I suppose one could design a
plugin to do sky lobbies, but as I said, theres no info on HOW to do so.
--
Kevin Nikolai Payne
nik...@accessus.net
Orthodox Christian/radio announcer/barbershopper/
railfan/wargamer/history buff/avid reader
all-around slightly oddball nice guy