A new blog has been posted on the official CXL site, focussing on the differences between solo and online mode.

The first bullit on solo-mode caught immediately catches the eye:

25 maps featuring varying landscapes – from canyons to grassy hills and snowy mountains

That appears to indicate that the maps will not be editable…and no region play…

Prices for online play were also revealed:

Monthly costs:
1 Month = 7€
3 Months = 5€/month
6 Months = 4.5€/month

With current Euro to dollar and GBP exchange rates that comes down to
1 Month = 7€/$9.75/£6.08
3 Months = 5€/$6.95/£4.35 month
6 Months = 4.5€/$6.25/£3.90 month

In the words of the Monte Cristo:

We think that with a price point of 7€ for one month or 5€ per month for 3 months, the Planet offer offers tremendous value for money. There are countless hours of gameplay, fun and sub-objectives in the Planet Mode that players will discover with time. We really intend to continually expand the game, and together with the community keep on enriching it and improving it.

An interesting remark made on the online player mode is:

Regular upgrades :
All Buildings, Maps, simulation and functionality upgrades are free with the planet offer

Ouch: that appears to indicate that these upgrades to the game will not be available free of charge, but only through the Planet offer… It certainly appears to have struck a nerve in the CXL community. A user named dedgren says in relation to this remark:

If you, the reader of this thread, don’t do anything else today, write that down and stick it aside somewhere. We’ll all get back together in six months and talk about how Monte Cristo is going about selling you user-community created custom content- the same stuff that is on the SC4 exchanges at Simtropolis and SC4Devotion for nothing more than the time it takes to download it.

It appears the blog has caused a lot of confusion, and even anger with some future CXL players. What do you think? Please tell us in the forums.