Civitas, the DRM-free alternative to SimCity hits Kickstarter

Shawn Knight

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Interested in playing a city building game that isn’t weighed down by always-on DRM, a lack of modding and a lack of terraforming? Turns out, you aren’t the only one as a group of ragtag developers that have worked on games like Borderlands 2, Darksiders 2, F.E.A.R. and Quake 4 feel the same way. They have banded together to develop a new city building game called Civitas and have taken to Kickstarter for funding.

The team says their game will cover a number aspects including terraforming the land, zoning the land for your city, building structures that make up your city and managing all aspects of the city. The latter includes things like transportation, utilities, emergency management, natural resources and commerce. The game will also include a full-featured day / night system for added realism.

kickstarter drm simcity civitas city building game

The developers claim they want to build a community as well as an amazing game and will be asking for feedback from beta users through the entire development cycle.

A pledge of just $15 guarantees you one digital download copy of the first release version of Civitas. You’ll also have your name put on the game’s website and in the title’s credits as a contributor. A $25 donation gets you into the game’s beta program will full access to all updates and revisions as well as the above mentioned perks. Estimated delivery of the game is currently set for November 2013.

kickstarter drm simcity civitas city building game

Civitas needs to meet a goal of $250,000 in order for the game to reach production. As of writing, nearly 1,400 backers have pledged more than $40,000 and with 24 days to go, things are looking hopeful for the budding city simulator.

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Lol no reason to kick start it, I bet you can pirate it already, just download the crack, yeah I know your not supposed to say such things but really they are shooting themselves in the foot with drm, drm does not stop cracks or pirating, it simply does not allow people to share the game with their friends, there is nothing wrong with that, but the gaming industry always says its to combat piracy, which is a lie.
 
I am so mad at EA right now. I spent 70 dollars for the new Sim and its ok but definately not worth 70 dollars I should have just paid this, which I think I still will. This is the last time I buy anything from EA.
 
SEVENTY dollars? dont support it, because it will become the new premium for all games if you do...
 
I feel your pain buddy but realize that you're not alone. Thankfully that type of game is not my cup of tea. That said, with any game from EA you should wait until they're practically giving it away before shelling out because if you're ever in need of their tech support... Don't bother, rather chuck the game away and cut your losses.
 
Civitas - 22 hours and $12,000
That's right! I am not embellishing or lying about this. When I last checked the numbers yesterday, about 5:00 PM PST, the Kickstarter was at $58,880 and now it is at $71,340!! To be exact that's $12,460 in less than a day for a game that has yet to show nothing more than a few screenies and some promises. What is the key to this rapid success: community focused growth. The game will be touted to have: tools that can help the player create new buildings; a whole new focus/programming developed around realistic planning and city growth; transit systems that will work from day one; a SINGLEPLAYER (SimCity FAIL!!) and multiplayer, both having the same features; multiplayer mode is a battle for citizens so watch out for the tax wars; the most important feature of all: terraforming. Want to know the upside to all this? If you invest now and G.A.M. gets the funding you get the game you pay for ($15 for the game or $25 or more for the game plus BETA access, along with other goodies as the donations go up). If G.A.M. falls short you get your money back. Worried about being scammed? I have tried the Kickstarter method and one becomes legally bound, through Kickstarter, to create the product/project or return the money; there is no room for scamming innocent people. They have my $25!!
 
Water looks amazing.. grass has DOS-era textures. Haha, what? Anyway, this will be an interesting project.
 
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