Cities: Skylines - Xbox One Reveal

[Ronyx69 2,413]

 

My question is why?

The game already is hard to run, how is a console going to perform here? Is it going to be even more limited?

Isn't it inconvenient to play this type of a game with a controller?

I don't know about you, but the game is nothing without mods and assets to me, and I really doubt a console could run mods, maybe just some assets.

Is there really an audience for this game on Xbox? 

 

[Kaschperl 92]

Since I'm not a console player I'd have to ask all those questions as well at the first look, and they all have a point. However I can imagine that there are potential buyers out there for all the CSL-related stuff that CO makes. The kind of people on this forum don't seem to be the game's main target group, to me it's clear that they rather try to target a segment of players who play the game more casually, perhaps even children. The art style speaks for itself, and all the DLC features that seem half-baked to us may be alright for people who don't deal with the game and it's inner workings as much.

As for the controls I think it might actually work out just fine if it's well done. I once played Tropico on a console and I was surprised of how well it handled with the controller. Of course nothing beats mouse controls for this type of game though.

Anyway, the console release isn't for the dedicated players and modders, in other words most of the people who are active in this forum section. Maybe we have to be aware of the bigger picture and deal with it. To be honest, from the announcements before the game was released I expected something that was better thought-out than the game we actually got. I think most of us will agree when I say that the modding tools and support aren't the greatest, even though they were included at least. Realism wasn't as high on the developer's list as it would have been on mine and many others' who have to make CSL feel as realistic as possible via modding. Everything about ths game feels like a compromise somehow, but without the success that this ensured we might not even have the half-decent platform to build upon that CSL is now. I still haven't lost all my hopes for future DLCs, but they have been dwindling since the release of Snowfall.

[merc187 46]

I'm sure this was an attempt at reaching for the "Minecraft" and sandbox building game crowds on consoles, just not sure how successful it will be.  I'm sure they'll sell copies but I just dont see the appeal in the console gaming crowd that I do in the PC gaming crowd for these genres.  I can see a group of players out there enjoying this type of game on XBox but I can't find it at all as well done as it would have been on the PC version.  It makes me think this is why they've kept the limitations on the simulation etc.  Perhaps - and I speak from complete ignorance about how to make games at any professional level - it was to borrow some of the elements in the PC game to port over to the console side.  By increasing the simulation elements, such as the traffic AI, that would have needed to be reworked for the console plans.  Who knows in that regard, but I do think that this was a mis-step rather focusing on the core group of PC gamers who play simulation & city building games like this and who will eventually be the bread and butter gamers that carry the title.

I remember as a teenager playing one of the first strategy/building games on console, Dune for Sega Genesis.  Looking back at how cumbersome and simplistic it was I have mixed feelings on how well this will do.  I hope that once this is released, CO/PDX will revisit the core game and improve upon the simulation and game design.  If not the AI and other hardwired elements of the game, through new elements that enhance the game play.  Transport & traffic content have been mentioned in other forums but I really desire to see an increase in the way the user handles his city.  There is just no real challenges or interesting micro-managing capability for economics & logistics of your city or elsewhere outside of transit/network design.

[Roadman20 601]

Well, I remember my first time playing a city simulator was the original Sim City on Super Nintendo, that was on a controller.  We forget that city simulation was first on multiple platforms, although the SNES port took an additional three years to happen after Mac/PC release.  It can be done, and vanilla C:SL is so simplistic with no virtual challenge to build a 100k city with the Xbox One specs.

Little kids and their families are more inclined to have a console and they'll see C:SL and it's happy, kid friendly alternative to other game to build a city from the landscape.  The professional detailers and realism folks like myself and others will continue on PC master race and publish screenshots of quality handiwork of what is possible if you have the right hardware.

Thing is, we all do not have the same hardware to play C:SL, nor should we try to get everybody there.  Nothing is equal in life, and neither is getting a level playing field to enjoy the maximum of the game.  Is CO wasting their resources on a Xbox One port, arguably to the PC folks, but from an economic standpoint, probably very reasonable to open up a new sales market.

[rigurat 6]

Just like Roadman20, I was introduced to SimCity on the SNES, this was when I was at a friend's house during my pre-teen years, I got addicted to it on the first 20 minutes.  This is what got me to get (my mom to buy) SimCity 2000 for our PC, then I went to SC3000, then SC4, then SC 2013, and now Cities Skylines.

Console city builders can be effective tools for introducing the genre to new players.

And city building games can be like drugs, try it once and you're addicted.

[rsc204 21,866]

Well done CO, almost two years after announcing a simple PC port to XBox One, you've finally managed to announce a release... in 6 months time. Seriously? Doesn't the XBox One play native PC code? You have to wonder what took so long?

Sure, I started with SimCity on the SNES, but remember how simple that game was? You know, very few items/menus to choose between/navigate? That's why it worked on a console. Did you play SC2K on Sega Saturn on the original PS? Sure it was possible, but it wasn't anything like as easy as the original on the SNES. Now consider both consoles had the option of purchasing a mouse for them, the PCX-Box still won't allow you to plug one into it's native USB ports!

No way will modding be supported, how does one make those mods, if not using a PC? Not to mention, if anyone can list a game for a console which integrates with the Steam Workshop, I'll happily shut up and concede this might happen. Since that's never been a thing, we can be absolutely sure mods won't come to the console version. Probably for the best really, I don't think the Xbox has sufficient RAM/Resources to handle mods, given how utterly inefficient the base PC code is.

So what are we looking at here? A chance to sell some more copies to a different audience. I'm not saying there won't be a market for the game on Xbox, I'm sure they will sell some copies. But given the lack of any challenge whatsoever, I have to wonder what the point of a city painter with a restricted tool box is? So how big will that audience be? Let's be honest, this is just Paradox/CO once more trying to make more money off the success all the PC sales gave them. Personally, I'd rather the dev time was focussed on rewarding us who made it a success, by improving the base game. But that's OK right, modders can fix everything for them, can't they?

 

[_Michael 2,681]

I don't have, or have ever had an Xbox or similar console, so the actual product won't affect me in the slightest.

I am concerned, however, that the game simply isn't designed for consoles. The trailer makes the UI look clunky, I doubt there is a Steam Workshop integration and I highly doubt any mod would work on the console anyway. Without this custom content side, I think the lifespan of this version will be short. And they have mentioned After Dark, but no mention of the other DLC content. 

I really don't think a game like this, that needs precision and fine control, is suited to a console environment.

[vintagamer 75]

I kind of had the same reaction when they announced the release of Prison Architect on consoles. Not so much concerning the power of the console, obviously, but the lack of accurate input and mods for the game. It seems kind of silly to port games when they don't work well.

[Hamish 1,370]

Pretty cool for Xbox only players! Good on them for expanding to other platforms  More players is always good for the game 

[Roadman20 601]

On 2/17/2017 at 0:06 PM, _Michael said:

I don't have, or have ever had an Xbox or similar console, so the actual product won't affect me in the slightest.

I am concerned, however, that the game simply isn't designed for consoles. The trailer makes the UI look clunky, I doubt there is a Steam Workshop integration and I highly doubt any mod would work on the console anyway. Without this custom content side, I think the lifespan of this version will be short. And they have mentioned After Dark, but no mention of the other DLC content. 

I really don't think a game like this, that needs precision and fine control, is suited to a console environment.

The UI for vanilla C:SL is fairly straight-forward.  Just about everything for the vanilla build is geared for simplistic controls with a controller later down the line.

C:SL for Xbox One is for the casual player and kids, and vanilla C:SL is perfectly fine for that.

Precision and fine controls were only possible with mods for every aspect of the game that CO didn't bring to the table.  Myself and others who take detailing and precision seriously (just look at my Seattle build to see that I understand), but if I was a kids under 12, I would be hard pressed to play with all the modded tools available.  Hell, the amount of city builders that are super detailed and into accuracy of everything is extremely rare.  When I picked up Sim City on SNES when I was like 8, then my family finally got a decent PC with Win98 so I could finally play SC2K and being 10 years old, that upped the difficulty level to another level that I never fully mastered until diving through SC4 over the years.

For the older 20+ folks, complexity offered by the modding community is what keeps the hard-core in the game.  However, there is a need for simplicity for the newcomers that the base vanilla game does offer if you look at the matter objectivity.

[MisterBlueStar4 1,004]

I don't really know if the console version of Cities Skylines is going to work but I'll give it a try.However,all xbox one players are warned that they are missing out on mods.

[ChiefLEGOMAN1 0]

It's been a couple months after the Xbox One edition released and my friend and I have not experienced any major issues or bugs. I'm aware there are some users that experience major lag and frequent game crashes (mostly when tying to launch the game), even in the latest version. My friend owns the game on PC and Xbox One and I've seen the game run on both. I must say that the game on PC runs really smooth without mods and little to no lag. On the Xbox One (my friends Xbox One S and normal Xbox One) though, it runs really smooth with little bits of lag every couple minutes and when zooming in to burning building and crowds of people. Even with my large city, which has over 160,000 population and 75% full map (all 9 tiles), the game still runs really smooth.

[Mattyd 1]

Ive had the game for about a week now, after my computer died and I was having city building withdrawals. Man I had the shakes on bad. 

Anyway, I had been playing SC4 and had not played Skylines before and the game is pretty good overall. But the lack of being able to add my own content is driving me insane. The content the game has is nice and all but I like me some realistic looking train stations and being able to customise my city. 

The controls work fine (when the controller works properly) but still nothing beats a movie and keyboard!