Does this make me feel better? Not really. I still want to know more about the new spore authentication system that is causing such an uproar. What happens when the authentication servers go down? (Think Bioshock) Do I have to authenticate every ten days? Why are honest users behing punished for the actions of hackers?

Anyway, it’s nice to see the Spore team talking to us and addressing our concerns. I’m sure there will be more to come. The following is the letter, in its entirety. Original letter HERE. Thanks Lady M from the Gaming Steve Spore Forms

“Hey Spore Fans -

We wanted to let you know that we’ve been hearing your concerns about
the online authentication mentioned earlier this week. I didn’t want to
head into the weekend without getting back to you with some information
about how Spore is planning on using this new system.

A few things we wanted you to know:

– We authenticate your game online when you install and launch it the
first time.
– We’ll re-authenticate when a player uses online features, downloads
new content or a patch for their game.
– The new system means you don’t have to play with the disc in your
computer. And if you are like me, always losing discs, this will be a
huge benefit.
– You’ll still be able to install and play on multiple computers.
– You can play offline.

We do hope that players will play online - sharing creatures, buildings
and vehicles with other players is something that is unique to Spore and
one of the coolest features of the game. Every day, when I play the
Creature Stage, I get to see wacky and awesome new creatures from my
Buddies on the team coming over the hill at me and I can’t wait to see
what happens when our creative, passionate community starts sharing
their creations.

I’d love to write more - but I need to get back to work. We’ve got a
game to finish.

-caryl”

Hop over to GeekToys at Etsy (that’s me!) to get your creature custom created for you. The creatures are created in Sculpey or other polymer clay and stand 2-3 inches high. Not just from Spore, they can be any creatures/monsters from your favorite video games. Also available are Sackboy from Little Big Planet, Diz, Baz and Dao from Kartrider and the Pyro from Team Fortress 2.

An awesome new newsletter just arrived and it officially announces the Creator Creator! There is also a new video on Procedural Animation and it’s very cool!  Also, be sure to check out the creatures the Spore Team created from fan submitted art. Hydromancerx, from the Gaming Steve forums even had his Naucean show up! I’m so excited now, I can’t contain myself!!

 Get on over to the Creature Cave, sign up and get ready to post your creatures!

Sim Programs has 8 videos up of Will Wright presenting Spore at Yuri’s Night 2008. The party is in honor of Yuri Gagarin, the first human to go into space. The videos give a great view of the creature editor. Check them out!

Hop on over to Spores Illustrated for a neat little Spore wallpaper gallery. On the main page they even have a spore countdown!

Gaming Steve of course! All of the latest information, great people and loads of great conversation. Check it out!

“When you see how much work has gone into the creature creation, from evolution from primal sludge to interplanetary colonist, you see that Maxis have created a game that is plain special.” Now that’s what I like to hear! Ed Zitron writes a great preview of the game and there are some new screenshots as well.

Check it out here

Our host seems to have fixed it’s database issues and we’re ready to roll. Head on over to the cave and upload your artwork and screenshots. If any of you have been lucky enough to make your own creature, feel free to upload that as well! I’m still working on permissions and such for the gallery, so if you have any issues signing up or uploading, drop me an email at sporezoo@gmail.com or post a comment here.

You can find the cave at http://creaturecave.com

We’re back! SporeZoo has made it’s return and as you can see, we no longer offer forums. Instead, we’re just going to keep you updated with the latest SPORE news and give you a place to host your creature pictures! In the news, the SPORE website has been updated and there are new videos and a fansite kit available. The kit is chock full of Sporey goodness. You’ll need Photoshop to open some of the files, but there is still lots to check out even if you don’t have it. There are renders, layered images, icons and more!

Check out the videos here
Get the fansite kit here

Happy to be back with you guys. I’ll be getting this site together over the next few days. You may have noticed that the site is running a little slow. Our host is aware of the issue and they assure us it is being worked on!

If you would like your blog added to the BlogRoll drop me an email at sporezoo@gmail.com