A new patch for EA Maxis' Spore is now available to download from FileShack. The update resolves a few bugs and adds 24 free exoskeleton limbs for enhanced creature creation, bringing the PC lifeform management game up to v1.03 in the process.

Bug Fixes
• Fix for esc key not bringing up Options in Galaxy Game Entry
• Fix for creator backgrounds appearing on small sporepedia cards
• Update to help keep achievements on the server in sync with achievements in the game
New Exoskeleton Limbs
• Arm Plated
• Spiker
• Lesser Tubercle ... Read more

If word of Barack Obama and Sarah Palin's appearances as playable characters in Mercenaries 2 wasn't enough for you, perhaps Maxis and EA's official Spore renditions of the popular politicians will sate that desire.

Yes, on the eve of the national election, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his running mate Joe Biden are now in Spore as spaceships, along with Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin.

Owners of EA Maxis' Spore (PC) can get the politician-shaped spaceships in their game by subscribing to the Election 08 Sporecast.

"Who knows, you just might see Obama firing 'YesYouCannons' around the galaxy, or witness firsthand John McCain being 'mavericky,'" reads a note from publisher and studio owner EA, which was sent to MTV Multiplayer.

EA Maxis' sim-evolution game Spore (PC) has been named as Time magazine's 20th best invention of 2008, with the publication referred to it as "the everything game."

Writes Time:

It's blasphemy, brilliance or both to take the entire evolution of a species--from a single-celled animalcule in a drop of water to a space-faring, galaxy-exploring sentient being--and turn it into a video game. But that's exactly what Will Wright has done. Wright is the man who created The Sims, a game about everyday life in suburbia, but apparently he found the vast panorama of human experience too confining, because he then spent seven years creating Spore, in which players design their own life-form and then manage every aspect of its progress through the centuries, from savagery to civilization.

For reference, the best invention of 2008 was awarded to 23andMe's retail DNA test, which came to the market care of co-founders Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki. By the way, Wojcicki is the wife of Google technology president Sergey Brin.

Meanwhile, Nintendo's Wii Fit is listed among Time's Top 10 Gadgets of 2008, with the publication asking readers to vote for device that deserves "Gadget of the Year."

Following up on the late August release of Mercenaries 2 (PC, PS2, PS3, 360), EA publishing COO John Pleasants has stated that "there will be a Mercenaries 3, and if I can have anything to do with it, there will be a Mercenaries 10."

The Pandemic-developed open-world action game sequel has sold 1.9 million copies since it hit retailers, the company revealed during a conference call yesterday.

With EA riding a wave of planned sequels--Dead Space 2, Army of Two 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 along with Mirror's Edge 2 and 3--Pleasants noted that future Dead Space and Mirror's Edge games "are not likely to be annual sequels."

He also promised a strong future for the Spore franchise, vowing that both expansion packs and new business models are coming for the Maxis-helmed evolution series.

Will Wright himself has finally spoken up on the downright ugly DRM controversy surrounding his latest creation, Spore (PC). Kotaku asked Wright for his thoughts and the designer came off as, in a single word, understanding:

It was something I probably should have tuned into more. It was a corporate decision to go with DRM on Spore. They had a plan and the parameters, but now we're allowing more authentications and working with players to de-authenticate which makes it more in line like an iTunes. I think one of the most valid concerns about it was you could only install it so many times. For most players it's not an issue, it's a pretty small percentage, but some people do like wiping their hard disk and installing it 20 times or they want to play it 10 years later.

When asked where to go from here, The Sims mastermind thinks that the dynamic of game commerce will eventually shift entirely online.

I think it's an interim solution to an interim problem. You have games like Battlefield Heroes coming out where the idea is... Read more

The second patch for the PC version of EA Maxis' Spore is now available on FileShack, addressing several bugs, adding cube-shaped planets and axing the "Bad Baby" achievement all while bringing the evolution simulator up to version 1.02.

The now-removed Bad Baby award was a secret achievement granted when a player's created creature was banned from the Sporepedia, according to the SporeWiki.

The change log for the patch follows:

Features

• Hold down the Control key in Sporepedia to select multiple creations for deleting or banning.
• Hold down the Shift key in Sporepedia to select a range of creations for deleting or banning.
• New planet style: Cubes... Read more

EA Maxis' evolution simulator Spore is getting a bit cuter with the November 18 release of the Spore Creepy & Cute Parts pack. To provide a better idea of the expansion's 60 new parts and 14 new animations, EA provided Kotaku with some screenshots.

A full-fledged expansion pack is due out next spring, and will add the ability for players to hop out of their spaceships and engage in new missions on alien planets with their adorable, scary, suggestive and or downright disturbing creations.

Electronic Arts today announced that a Space stage expansion pack is in development for Spore, with a release expected next spring.

The expansion will allow players to beam down their creatures from their spaceships, exploring new planets and going on missions. A new Adventure Creator will allow for the creation of custom missions, which can be shared online.

The company also confirmed earlier retailer listings, officially announcing the Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack. In stores worldwide November 18, the Creepy & Cute pack will include 100 new components for creating creatures.

These components will be themed in two styles: charming / cartoony and scary / monster-like.

Retail entries for the first Spore expansion pack, reportedly entitled the "Cute & Creepy Parts Pack," appeared on online retailers including GameStop and Amazon, only to be quickly taken down.

Fan site Hooked on Spore, pointing to Google caches of GameStop and Amazon pages, noticed that both retailers listed the product as releasing on November 18, while GameStop pegged the game at a $19.99 price point as well.

Listings by retailers change often and are not a guarantee of release dates or prices, though when multiple retailers offer the same information simultaneously it suggests a central source, likely the game's publisher.

Ever wonder what would happen if StarCraft and Spore were combined? Here you go:

In a rather impressive display of the ingenuity, players of Maxis' PC evolution effort Spore have manged to recreate numerous units from Blizzard's acclaimed PC RTS series StarCraft, resulting in the bodacious screenshots above.

Unfortunately, the original report, as found by StarCraftWire.net, appeared over at Korean website Ruliweb, making it difficult to discern how or even if players can take control of these creations within their own Spore universe.

Update: Spore players can find the creatures on this Sporecast.

Following up on the "mis-communication" that threatened to ban Spore users from their game if they discussed the title's controversial DRM on the official forum, publisher EA has explained that the fiasco stemmed from an "over-zealous community volunteer."

"These comments are absolutely not true or in-line with EA's moderation policy," Electronic Arts informed Kotaku. The post in question claimed that DRM discussion would put users "at risk of banning which in some cases would mean you would need to buy a new copy to play Spore."

The game's official message board ties posting privileges to the Spore account one creates upon installation and uses to access the actual game, with EA stressing that the volunteer is not considered an employee.

EA's official word corroborates earlier information from another forum moderator.

"You are not going to lose your game for posting a comment," moderator sporemasterladym wrote in response to the initial outcry. "It is okay to discuss issues on this forum as long as it's done in a respectful manner and there are no personal attacks. This includes the DRM and other controversial issues. Just keep it civil."

Maxis' chart-topping evolution simulator Spore has sold over a million units since it was released on PC, Mac and Nintendo DS earlier this month, publisher EA revealed today.

Sales were not broken down by platform, which will undoubtedly lead to more arguments regarding the game's controversial copy protection. However, EA noted that over 25 million user-made creatures have been uploaded to the Sporepedia--a feature only available in the PC and Mac release of Spore and the Creature Creator.

"Spore is a hit," declared EA Games president Frank Gibeau. "Will Wright's latest delivers an incredibly diverse game that appeals to casual gamers and the core alike. We're off to a great start moving into the holiday season and believe Spore will deliver a platform of creativity for gamers of all stripes for years to come."

The controversy surrounding EA Maxis' PC evolution simulator Spore and its DRM continues to escalate, with studio owner and publisher Electronic Arts now facing a class action lawsuit due to the title's use of SecuROM copy protection software.

Whereas most of the controversy thus far has stemmed from the limited number of installs available to legitimate owners, the claims of plaintiff Melissa Thomas lay with the undisclosed installation of the SecuROM software that enables the above practice.

Filed on September 22, the suit argues that Thomas and "all others similarly situated" would not have bought the game had EA disclosed the title's installation of SecuROM. It claims that SecuROM prevents unspecified user actions and programs from operating, with the software only removable if "the consumer completely wipes their hard drive through reformatting or replacement of the drive."

The "aggregate claims of plaintiff and the proposed class members" are said to exceed the sum of $5 million, according to legal documents obtained by Courthouse News Service, with the suit specifically seeking "actual damages, individual restitution, equitable relief, civil penalties, cost and expenses of litigation, including attorneys' fees, and all further relief available" from Electronic Arts.

Relevant quotes from the document follow... Read more

An apparent case of "mis-communication" led to moderators on the official Spore message board threatening to ban posters from playing EA Maxis' PC evolution simulator if they discussed the title's controversial DRM.

After inquiring about the DRM situation on the official Spore board, jpfrostfox's thread was locked, with the following added by a forum moderator:

SecuROM as been discussed and discussed so much and it causes arguments in threads. If you want to talk about DRM SecuROM then please use another fansite forum. If there is any change you will be able to read it on the official Spore site.

Please do not continue to post theses thread or you account may be at risk of banning which in some cases would mean you would need to buy a new copy to play Spore.

In order to post on the forum, posters must sign in with the Spore account tied to their game, with players only allowed one account for each copy of the game they purchase.

Following the initial posting, moderator sporemasterladym stepped in, claiming that the above was representative of "a mis-communication issue somewhere."

"You are not going to lose your game for posting a comment," the moderator wrote in a separate thread found by Kotaku. "It is okay to discuss issues on this forum as long as it's done in a respectful manner and there are no personal attacks. This includes the DRM and other controversial issues. Just keep it civil."

Faylor's Take: As a former forum moderator, I certainly sympathize with the plight of those that have been tasked with watching over the official Spore forums.

I'm also familiar with the practice of empty threats, such as this... Read more

EA Games president Frank Gibeau promised to revamp and further loosen the controversial DRM requirements in recent releases Spore (PC) and Crysis Warhead (PC). His statement was not without a few backhanded comments in the direction of the very vocal anti-DRM community.

"We're extremely pleased with the reception Spore has received from critics and consumers but we're disappointed by the misunderstanding surrounding the use of DRM software," Gibeau wrote in the statement on MTV Multiplayer. He also announced that Spore would soon gain the ability to be authorized on five computers instead of three.

Gibeau reminded Multiplayer that the coming deactivation capability is still in the works. It was separately announced today that Crytek's EA-published Crysis Warhead would get the same deactivation program.

"We assumed that consumers understand piracy is a huge problem... Read more

Responding to fan outcry that legitimate owners of Spore (PC) could only create one online account for the evolution simulator, developer Maxis has announced plans to implement a new system that will allow multiple screen names per account.

In essence, the move allows each account to have up to five sub-accounts, dubbed screen names. Each screen name has almost all the perks of an individual account, including proper accreditation for created creatures in the Sporepedia.

The one flaw in the system lies with achievements. Until an update for the game is released, achievements may be improperly awarded to the wrong screen name.

"If I'm logged and play for 99 hours, and then I log off and my sister logs in and plays for 1 hour, she'll get the honor of the 100 hours achievement, and I won't... Read more

Now available at FileShack is the v1.01 patch for Spore (PC), courtesy publisher Electronic Arts and developer Maxis.

The update is said to fix some bugs, address some community complaints, and implement a few new cheat codes in the recently released evolution simulator. It is not yet known if this patch provides the promised DRM loosening.

The complete patch notes follow:

Features
• New Cheat: "evoadvantage". Enter this cheat when are starting a new Creature game to choose any creature from the Sporepedia. Start a new game with one of your more evolved creatures!... Read more

EA Maxis' PC everything-sim Spore will soon get an update loosening one of its copy protection limits and allowing customers to de-activate existing installations of the game.

The game's three-installation limit has sparked full-blown Internet Rage for users' inability to de-activate installations in a method like Apple's iTunes. "Right now, with our solution, you can't. But there is a patch coming for that," EA representative Mariam Sughayer told MTV Multiplayer. No timeframe other than "near future" was given for the update.

EA also provided some numbers which it claims are a sample--not actual sales figures--backing up earlier claims that the three-install limit affected less than one percent of users. Sure enough, by EA's numbers, 0.9% of Mass Effect PC owners had tried to exceed the limit, while only 0.4% have managed to hit the same barrier with Spore. 83% of Spore owners had installed the game just once.

Spore's other DRM limitations, like restricting online accounts to one per copy, will stay in place.

Consumers upset over the anti-piracy measures imposed on Maxis' Spore by publisher Electronic Arts are now fighting back using the game's creature creator.

Several DRM-themed, anti-EA creatures were found in the Sporepedia by GameCulture. Many make reference to Spore's use of SecuROM technology, which limits users from installing the game more than three times before having to contact Electronic Arts for further installs.

Last week, the Spore product page on Amazon.com was flooded with hundreds of negative reviews of the game, nearly all citing the title's install-limiting DRM.

In response, Electronic Arts downplayed the controversy by stating that fewer than 25 percent of users will ever install the game on more than one machine, with less than 1 percent installing on more than three computers.

Spore publisher Electronic Arts has confirmed that legitimate buyers of Maxis' celebrated PC evolution game can only create one online account per copy, sparking outrage in households with more than one player.

Though the game's manual clearly states that "you may have multiple Spore accounts for each installation of the game," EA representative Violet confirmed "that section in the manual was a misprint" on the title's official forum.

One of the game's major selling points, a Spore account allows players to access the game's online functionality and Sporepedia, allowing them to share creations online and automatically populate the in-game universe with new lifeforms.

"There is one Spore registration/account per game/serial code so you... Read more