Maybe I'm jaded but I actually EXPECT this kind of fiasco during launches so its not terribly surprising or rage inducing. Maybe it comes from working in the industry, because I personally know how much shit can go wrong despite any amount of preparation and work by the technical folks.
Still no excuse, especially when they said that they felt their servers would be able to handle the load.
How is it 'no excuse' when a technical glitch happens? The biggest problem with the PC as a platform is that there is no hardware standardization so there is no way to test every use case. For whatever reason, you and others are having trouble connecting. This is nothing new. I remember paying $60 dollars for a game and finding out it didn't work with my hardware years ago, or that some driver hasn't been updated, or whatever. You work through it. The first time I bought the original xcom it wouldn't work with my shitty old computer and I had to work for hours to find a work-around on the pitiful excuse for an internet we had. It wasn't MY fault that it didn't work with my computer. It wasn't Their fault either. Shit happens. I'm certainly not defending their fucked up launch, but going RABBLE RABBLE RAEG doesn't really help. They're working on it, obviously. If shit is broke, shit is broke. Get your refund and don't look back, or wait and play when you can.
Just tested mine and I was able to load into my city. Not gonna play for now since I'm busy working but just wanted to see if it was nonfunctional for me too.
Off Topic: Anyone here remember the World of Warcraft launch? That made this look smooth as hell.