Cities Skylines II Announced - Release Date and Pricing

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

I just want to get some gameplay footage. 

[gviper 922]

@ilikehotdogsalot

exactly. probably a while off though...unfortunately.

[Sim Trekker 41]

Uh...

Wow! This is what SimCity 2013 SHOULD have been!

Gameplay trailer, sceens, and release date: October 24th!

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/cities-skylines-ii/about

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

This is a huge relief, looks great! I never got SimCity 2013 or any other Cities Skylines game but I'm looking forward to getting this one! Hopefully optimistic that this will be my SimCity 5!

[Samerton 833]

Honestly I think it's looking promising, still early days but the art style appears to be sharper and, dare I say it, more realistic than the original (which I felt was a bit too "cartoony" personally)

We also have some more information on the pricing and the first DLCs which will be available (it was inevitable... )

[Ulisse Wolf 4,444]

I'm puzzled about CS2.

The graphics are very reminiscent of Cities XXL. Ok the mechanics of SC 2013. They finally introduced medium density but I am amazed that they created more density zones to save potential calculation on the various stages of growth. From the trailer you can see the mixed zone but it seems that it is only for the medium density which does not make sense. The high density must also have the mixed zone.

But paying again for a DLC that I have already purchased on CS1 seems to me a legalized scam. The price is also exaggerated for an aesthetic and functionality update of CS1.  Also CS2 is a game developed in the COVID era and unfortunately I will expect that day one will have critical issues considering the current trend of the video game industry to release overpriced and incomplete games.

But it will be interesting to make a comparison of the San Francisco map of SC4 and that of CS2

[Sim Trekker 41]

I am exited for this. I agree that SC4Deluxe is still a better simulator than CS1, but CO has an great opportunity to finally achieve what SC4 has, not just as city maker, but a true city builder. Honestly, SC4 is tough to get into, veteran players, newbies, casuals and hardcores alike. The work that this community has done is easily the best for any game in any genre, but let's face it- SC4 is old, and it is being stretched beyond what it was designed to do. I'd like to see a true SC4 successor, and I am cautiously optimistic this might be it. I could be 100% wrong though, like I was in 2013. My chief concern is what has already been pointed out- Paradox Interactive's business practices. Advertising DLC for a game that hasn't even come out yet? That is something that never would have happened 20 years ago.

[rsc204 21,859]

I watched the trailer and it seems they’ve made some solid changes. But what initially stands out for me, unless you buy the Ultimate Edition, you can’t make use of the content creator pack. Does that mean you need the special version if you want to make mods? Seems a bit sucky to have that tied to what is essentially Day One DLC.

Otherwise yeah it’s a slightly better CS, honestly what else would you expect?

[Jasoncw 11,940]

On 6/12/2023 at 1:42 PM, rsc204 said:

But what initially stands out for me, unless you buy the Ultimate Edition, you can’t make use of the content creator pack. Does that mean you need the special version if you want to make mods? Seems a bit sucky to have that tied to what is essentially Day One DLC.

The content creator packs aren't tools for making mods, they're packs of mods made by content creators (they invite modders to make official DLCs).

[Tarkus 6,933]

The big thing that killed the original C:S for me was the particular node-based implementation of roads.  Combined with a lack of a global grid to which would could snap things, and no way of telling what angle things were without the Road Protractor mod, caused the process of trying to build a simple grid-based road layout to become monitor-punchingly annoying (and was why I stopped playing the game after 4 hours in November 2015, and haven't touched it since).  I also wasn't a fan of the shallow zones, and the fact that my city of 9,000 already had small skyscrapers.

Seeing them draw a road right through another and get a 4-way/+-intersection out of it in the C:S2 trailer was quite satisfying, after my experiences with its predecessor, and has skeptical me a little more intrigued than I expected.  I'd definitely want to try a demo before shelling out $50, though.

-Tarkus

[Mister_Vintage 67]

^^ Features like bikes won't be in the base game.. Also map is smaller
190 sq km ... CS1 map is 324 sq km.....

Also i'm going back to SimCity 4....And it seems that Sc4devotion is...dead  there were some great mods there like the stuff by MATTB and the treecontrollers and so many other assets. Are those also here? 

[Haljackey 17,385]

I've been looking for an excuse to get a new computer. This may finally be it, along with Stormgate (possible successor to Starcraft II)

[Tarkus 6,933]

10 hours ago, Mister_Vintage said:

^^ Features like bikes won't be in the base game.. Also map is smaller
190 sq km ... CS1 map is 324 sq km.....

Also i'm going back to SimCity 4....And it seems that Sc4devotion is...dead  there were some great mods there like the stuff by MATTB and the treecontrollers and so many other assets. Are those also here? 

Smaller map sounds like the demands of agent-based simulation rearing their ugly heads again.  The obsession with agent-based seems to stem from city-sim makers paying way too much attention to the "but the cars disappear!" segment of the SC4 community, and along with the added strain of going true-3D, it's been an Achilles' heel for the post-SC4 entries in the genre.

Off-topic, but speaking as owner of SC4 Devotion, as mentioned on the current front page, the site is not dead, but our whole software ecosystem got thrown completely for a loop by a massive change our webhost made on very short notice.  Depending on the trajectory of our repair process, I'll probably be adding more files to the "temporary LEX" on the front page in the coming days.  The thread here should help keep you apprised.

-Tarkus

[Max4k 727]

On 3/7/2023 at 2:13 AM, rsc204 said:

Lol, so like absolutely nothing shown of the game and not one single bit of information that’s tangible. Sign me up for a pre-order (not).

It worries me they feel the need to show off something that’s clearly not even a video game. It’s like they want people to feel it will be this good, it won’t mark my words. It’s just a bunch of CGI to get people wetting their pants and opening their wallets.

CO - Give me a stable and functioning version of CS and you can have my money. We’ll assuming I don’t need two grand worth of new PC to play it - probably will. But when you literally reveal nothing, it makes me worry you’ve nothing of substance to show off. 

The last 20 years all video games do this, the trailer looks nothing like the physical game. The proper term is cutscenes or whatever.

About 2 years ago, there was some video showing off the Unreal Engine with Mars, and it was so realistic. Adding rocks in places. But the program was as sophisticated as Photoshop or Dreamweaver with the options.

The graphics were so realistic, they could fake a Mars landing and just use that program. It was super HD quality

 

It was like this video.

 

[Samerton 833]

Dev diary #1 discussing the road tools has been published: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/development-diary-1-road-tools.1590300/

[Samerton 833]

Dev diary #2 focuses on traffic AI - hopefully some improvements over the first game! 

 

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/cities-skylines-ii/features/traffic-ai

[Samerton 833]

Dev diary #3 covers public and cargo transportation: 

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/cities-skylines-ii/features/public-cargo-transportation

[Samerton 833]

Dev diary #4 has been released, confirming new zoning types including mixed commercial/residential and medium density row houses, along with new "Signature buildings":

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/cities-skylines-ii/features/zones-signature-buildings

[Samerton 833]

This week's instalment covers city services, introducing communications (including the internet) and also the concept of upgrading city service buildings - presumably to increase their capacity and service area

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/cities-skylines-ii/features/city-services-districts-policies

[Samerton 833]

Dev diary #6 covers electricity and water services

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/cities-skylines-ii/features/electricity-water

[JohnnyLeuter 2]

Cities Skylines 2 is available for pre-installation on PC Game Pass, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Pre-installation DOES NOT install the full game, full installation will only happen when it's released.

[Samerton 833]

Key figures from this week's feature highlights:

• 441 total tiles available
• 159km² total area
• Tiles can be chosen in isolation, they do not have to be adjacent to already unlocked land
• Increased height limits
• Possible to create new external city connections
• European + North American themes affect things like building styles, road markings, cop cars

 

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/cities-skylines-ii/features/maps-themes

[greenOak 25]

So maps are slightly larger than 3x3 large SC4 tiles. Disappointing that in the 20 years since SC4 we haven't got anything close to the scale of SC4 regions. 

[mosonče 75]

On 31.07.2023 at 11:46 PM, greenOak said:

So maps are slightly larger than 3x3 large SC4 tiles. Disappointing that in the 20 years since SC4 we haven't got anything close to the scale of SC4 regions. 

It's because they are making a bleh game wrapped in a fancy package (again) by heading to wrong direction.

[Samerton 833]

This week we gain an insight into climate and seasons, which are part of the base game this time around:

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/cities-skylines-ii/features/climate-seasons

[Samerton 833]

Episode 9 of the feature highlights series covers economy and production. 

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/cities-skylines-ii/features/economy-production

[koumus corporation 715]

Yeah leaves me cold once more, as much as I am a fan of some paradox titles like EU4( Which is basically all in the mind, and plays on historic resentments really ), you just know that for what a city builder is supposed to be able to do, this game is fundamentally flawed. Seems to be the same affair as with CS1 - you hit the simulator's limits around 200k pop, if not your pc''s limits before that, in your Manhattan-sized town consisting of 20 floor towerettes with 20-40 households or jobs, surrounded by pristine land and 6 or so nuclear power plants. All in the theme of the desultory blandness of the content and harshness of the Unreal engine, which seems to have become their identity.

I don't know who came up with those bloated over/under-scaled classical American boxes to represent high density housing, I guess they take more inspiration from SC2013 this time around. It is probably 10 years too late now, but they need their Ocean Quigley, who is an actual artist. He was the key to SC3 and SC4, as much as Will Wright, if not moreso.

[Samerton 833]

This week we're introduced to the game's progression, including milestones and the concept of development points

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/cities-skylines-ii/features/game-progression

[Samerton 833]

Week 11 covers citizen simulation and life path: 

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/cities-skylines-ii/features/citizen-simulation-lifepath

[Samerton 833]

Sound & music are covered this week: 

 

https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/cities-skylines-ii/features/sound-music

Next week marks the final dev diary according to the schedule which will feature cinematic camera and photo mode.