See various Maxis members tell us a little about of their work on Spore and in general.

Weather is definitely in. Belgian magazine PC GamePlay reports in a new hands-on preview that Spore features a number of different types; including:

• Rain.
• Storms with thunder.
• Fog.
• A complete day/night cycle.

Not only that, but in the creature phase you have to watch out for nocturnal predators at night. Apart from that little tidbit the preview offered no further surprises.

Thanks to The_Kev over at gamingsteve.com.

The fansite kit is now also available for download at the official site, at a considerably faster download speed. So grab it if you haven’t already, it’s worth it.

There’s also a small FAQ online with some interesting Q&A’s. On the topic of the much talked about system requirements they say that “While Spore offers a unique gameplay experience, our team is working hard to make sure Spore will be accessible to as broad an audience as possible.” So what to make of this? Wise from previous spec discussions and Maxis track record I think it’s safe to say that we are going to have to up our predictions a bit. The wording hints that such a complex game has to be somewhat demanding, and that they’re currently fine-tuning it to cut hardware requirements, but with no promises; hence the as possible. Hopefully though I’m just reading too much into it and we’ll end up with an acceptable result.

As previously mentioned there were some wallpapers in the fansite kit released. Since it was a pretty hefty download they have been uploaded for your pleasure to our wallpaper galleries, along with five Spore EVolve exclusives; chose between standard 4:3 format or widescreen. Our galleries now total over 200 items, so if you’re looking for some eye-candy head on over.

ComputerAndVideoGames.com got a one-page preview up that delivers some interesting pieces to the puzzle. Editor Tom Francis tells us of maracas producing factories, the art of diplomacy, and the epic monsters you might encounter during the different phases of the game.

…that race of fanged bunnies you experimented with on your first time through may come back to haunt you in hundred-foot-high form.

We are also told that the five sub-games are simple but addictive, and that you can unlock new features and bodyparts by eating and studying other creatures.

A fan site kit with lots of goodies inside has been released for the public. The 397 Mb zip got tons of cool stuff; including:

• Glyphic backgrounds.
• High-res wallpapers.
• Icons and logos.
• Renders of creatures and vehicles.
• Photoshop layered images.

So check it out, even if you don’t have a web site that needs some extra glitter.

Hi guys and gals! If you’ve been here before I hope you all like the polishing that has been to the design of this place. We needed something new now that Spore is getting ready for launch later this year. Take a look around.

We used to have an old forum at this place too, but it had to be taken down to be juiced up a bit. Unfortunately all the posts and users got wiped in the process. However, to be honest, they weren’t that many to begin with. So hop on in and check it out too while you’re at it, maybe you’ll get to be the first user who registers!

(if things look a bit weird, press ctrl+f5)

British based magazine Total PC Gaming got a huge preview of Spore in their latest issue. Captainrave over at hookedonspore.com got a hold of it and reports the following:

• You don’t have to evolve if you don’t want to. Create a super creature at any stage.
• After you’ve reach the tribal phase you can longer evolve physically.
• Civilization phase will feature different stages like medieval, modern and future.
• There are over 500,000 procedurally generated star systems in the game.
• EA promises to bring us the standalone editor soon!

What EA showed us was almost the complete game - every phase, plus their respective editors, with virtually no glitches. The only thing that remains to be seen is Spore’s online features” - Confirming what we already thought. Much of the work now is on the online part of the game.

More of this and scanned images can be found here. Hurry on and get it if you can! Below is the cover.

As expected - but now definitely confirmed in a community day with Maxis in Madrid, Spain - there will be no water or air creatures in Spore; though the game will feature a glide capability with the right body parts. Furthermore we learn that there will be no moons, the game will run well on a mid-range PC, and you might get engaged in mass battles. There’s a bunch of other questions answered too so check it out! Thanks to spore.es for translating this to english.

Brian Appleyard, with the Times, recently had a look at Spore and got the opportunity to create his own animal; a dinosaurish beast, appropriately called Bryan. The article however is more about Will Wright, Spore’s focus, and its heritage from The Sims, rather than a preview of the actual gameplay. No news, but an interesting take on the phenomena we know as Spore.