Vanilla Asset Review – Cities: Skylines

Source for architecture classification and year: https://www.popchartlab.com/products/the-architecture-of-american-houses

1) Name this asset: Suburban Hacienda

Variety 1: Hacienda Alto Videtur

2) Rating (number between 0 and 10):

• Architecture & Proportions:      6
• Colour (vanilla):                2
• Colour (improved):               7
• Illumination:                    9
• Model & Texture Quality:         8
• Decoration (props & trees):      6
• Overall Rating:                  7

3) Stat Classification 

• Zone Type:            Residential
• Wealth Level:         Upper-Middle Class  
• Density:              0.5   1   1.5   2   3
• Household Count:      1                   2
• Ideal lot size:       3x8  3x6  3x4  3x3  3x5

4) Style Classification (you can specify one or multiple values):

• Commonness:                             5
• Construction date:              1985-2030
• Continent or Region:        Southwest USA
• Architecture Style:   New Spanish Revival     

5) Suggestions for improvement:

Give it a nice & big upper-middle class back yard, move furniture to left side of house (over a patio decal), give the walls a clean beige stucco texture, replace roof texture with actual tiles and give it orange-brown, red, blue, and green recolors.

 

Variety 2: Casa [de] Tres Familias

2) Rating (number between 0 and 10):

• Architecture & Proportions:      7
• Colour (vanilla):                1
• Colour (improved):              10
• Illumination:                    9
• Model & Texture Quality:         9
• Decoration (props & trees):      5
• Overall Rating:                  8

3) Stat Classification:

• Zone Type:               Residential
• Wealth Level:            Middle Class
• Density:                  4     3
• Household Count:          3
• Ideal lot size:          3x3   3x4

4) Style Classification:

• Commonness:             7

5) Suggestions for improvement:

Keep current textures and improved recolors but remove flower pots, put door under the front roof wide enough for a door, remove patio table, remove solar panels, move grill to back, put cement wall (change texture on hedge) on left and right sides of property, make side building into garage.

Variety 3: Hacienda Bella Rica

2) Rating (number between 0 and 10):

• Architecture & Proportions:      6
• Colour (vanilla):                1.5
• Colour (improved):               6
• Illumination:                    8
• Model & Texture Quality:         7
• Decoration (props & trees):      4
• Overall Rating:                  6

3) Stat Classification 

• Zone Type:            Residential
• Wealth Level:         Upper Class  
• Density:              0.5    1   1.5   2   2.5   3
• Household Count:      1                   
• Ideal lot size:       16x8  8x8  6x8  4x8  6x6  5x5

5) Suggestions for improvement:

Give it a nice & big upper class back yard with a fancy patio with fancy patio furniture, replace bright flower pots with classier ones, remove antennae, give the walls a clean beige stucco texture, replace cement with paving stones or tile, replace roof texture with actual tiles, turn garage doors into Spanish paned windows, give detached 2-car garage prop, give backyard swimming pool, give tall cedar perimeter hedge, give wrought-iron gate in front of left and right entrances, put an ersatz Ferrari on the pavement of the left entrance.

1) Name this asset: Something something hacienda?  

2) Rating (number between 0 and 10):

• Architecture & Proportions: 8
• Colour (with vanilla colour variations): 5
• Colour (improved colour variations): 9 (love them! The red is my fav)
• Illumination: 8
• Model & Texture Quality: 7
• Decoration (props & trees): 4
• Overall Rating: 7

3) Stat Classification (you can specify one or multiple values):

• Zone Type (RCIO): R
• Wealth Level ($, $$, $$$): $$$
• Density ([1 rural] – [10 megacity]): 2-4 (rich surburbs)
• Household & Workplace Count: 4
• Ideal lot size (with garden/parking, 1x1 – 16x8): 3x4, 4x4 or 4x5

4) Style Classification (you can specify one or multiple values):

• Commonness ([1 rare, unique] – [10 widespread, large accumulations]): 6
• Construction date (1800 – 2100): -
• Continent or Region: Spain, Portuegal & Italy
• Architecture Style (if known): -

5) Suggestions for improvement:

Away with some of all that concrete, some nice tiles (decal) as patio and some garden in the back. And a pool  Move the solar panels a bit down or get completely rid of them.

I consolidated my suggestions into 1 post.

 

This model isn't as versatile but it can range anywhere from a middle-class triplex to an upper-class mansion.

1) Name this asset: Rancho Relaxo / Tuscany Belle

2) Rating (number between 0 and 10):

• Architecture & Proportions: 8
• Colour (with vanilla colour variations): 4
• Colour (improved colour variations): 8
• Illumination: 6
• Model & Texture Quality: 8
• Decoration (props & trees): 5
• Overall Rating: 7

3) Stat Classification (you can specify one or multiple values):

• Zone Type (RCIO): R
• Wealth Level ($, $$, $$$): $$ / $$$
• Density ([1 rural] – [10 megacity]): 3~4
• Household & Workplace Count: 2~3
• Ideal lot size (with garden/parking, 1x1 – 16x8): 3x4  3x5  4x4

4) Style Classification (you can specify one or multiple values):

• Commonness ([1 rare, unique] – [10 widespread, large accumulations]): 5~7
• Construction date (1800 – 2100): 1970~present
• Continent or Region: Southern Europe
• Architecture Style (if known): what  OcramsRzr said.

5) Suggestions for improvement:

Like the others suggested, move garden furniture / plants to the left or back and replace concrete floor with patio tiles. Maybe add a med-size tree at the back and a dim porch light between the 2 garage doors. I did a quick rearranging of props for better visual :)

14 hours ago, Bach2Baroque said:

Like the others suggested, move garden furniture / plants to the left or back and replace concrete floor with patio tiles. Maybe add a med-size tree at the back and a dim porch light between the 2 garage doors. I did a quick rearranging of props for better visual :)

Not bad! Though I think that this home needs a larger backyard maybe 4x6.

3 hours ago, boformer said:

Not bad! Though I think that this home needs a larger backyard maybe 4x6.

A 4x6 lot would be a 1-2 family upper-middle class minimansion.

Your color schemes with cleaned-up (less grungy) textures and a sports car would look good. An expanded back yard should have a pool.

BTW, I operate on the assumption that some buildings will be evenly split between 2 wealth levels and realistic workplace and household counts are used. 

EDIT: I will update my posts to reflect new information regarding density (Low/Medium/High density, 5 density levels per)

29 minutes ago, OcramsRzr said:

EDIT: I will update my posts to reflect new information regarding density (Low/Medium/High density, 5 density levels per)

Right now the plan is to have 9 or 10 density levels (3 for low-density, 3 for medium density and 4 for high-density). That's why the questionnaire says 1-10.

On 3/4/2016 at 8:27 PM, boformer said:

Right now the plan is to have 9 or 10 density levels (3 for low-density, 3 for medium density and 4 for high-density). That's why the questionnaire says 1-10.

Single Family

1) Rural (small house, huuuuuugeeee property)
2) Exurb (standard house, spacious property)
3) Suburb (2-4 tiles wide lots, house might be big enough to remove side yard)
4) Inner Suburb (single-family detached with optional yards and duplexes with yards)
___________________________________________________

Multi-Family

4.5) Inner Suburb (single-family houses and duplexes without yards)
5) Semi-detached Duplexes and Triplexes
6) Low-rise apartments
7) Mid-rise apartments and low-rise wall-to-wall
8.) Mid-rise wall-to-wall

____________________________________________________

High Density Housing

8.5) Mid-rise wall-to-wall or barely high-rise with green space
9) Proper high-rise
10) Almost skyscrapers
11) Barely skyscrapers
12) Proper skyscrapers

13) Super tall (best suited as uniques)

Another thought that you would probably prefer is automatic growth stage calculation using various factors:

The most important ones are the household count we are defining here, and the minimum and maximum plot size.

Another factor would be the height of the building.

 

1) Name this asset:

2) Rating (number between 0 and 10):

• Architecture & Proportions: 7
• Colour (with vanilla colour variations): 5
• Colour (improved colour variations): 7
• Illumination: 9
• Model & Texture Quality: 8 (I found the the texture to be very nice)
• Decoration (props & trees): 5
• Overall Rating: 7

3) Stat Classification (you can specify one or multiple values):

• Zone Type (RCIO): R
• Wealth Level ($, $$, $$$): $$
• Density ([1 rural] – [10 megacity]): 4-5
• Household & Workplace Count: 1
• Ideal lot size (with garden/parking, 1x1 – 16x8): 4x4 to 8, 5x4 to 8

4) Style Classification (you can specify one or multiple values):

• Commonness ([1 rare, unique] – [10 widespread, large accumulations]): 7
• Construction date (1800 – 2100):
• Continent or Region:
• Architecture Style (if known):

5) Suggestions for improvement: Too much variation in the roof is happening. Since we mostly play the game from a higher POV.. I'd rather see a bit of the building under those roof overhang.

1) Name this asset: Villa De Santa

2) Rating (number between 0 and 10):

• Architecture & Proportions: 7
• Colour (with vanilla colour variations): 5
• Colour (improved colour variations):7
• Illumination: 8
• Model & Texture Quality: 8
• Decoration (props & trees): 3
• Overall Rating: 7

3) Stat Classification (you can specify one or multiple values):

• Zone Type (RCIO): R
• Wealth Level ($, $$, $$$): $$$
• Density ([1 rural] – [10 megacity]): 3
• Household & Workplace Count: 2-3
• Ideal lot size (with garden/parking, 1x1 – 16x8): 4x6 - 6x8

4) Style Classification (you can specify one or multiple values):

• Commonness ([1 rare, unique] – [10 widespread, large accumulations]): 4
• Construction date (1800 – 2100): 1980s - 2000s
• Continent or Region: Southwest US, Mediterranean
• Architecture Style (if known): Again, looks a bit like Spanish Revival

5) Suggestions for improvement: The building itself is good, what bothers me a bit are the props and the lot. I think it needs way more grass, not just a concrete base. The brightly coloured parasol and the flowerpots in the front somehow look out of place, I'd replace them with some bushes.

9 hours ago, Kaschperl said:

5) Suggestions for improvement: The building itself is good, what bothers me a bit are the props and the lot. I think it needs way more grass, not just a concrete base. The brightly coloured parasol and the flowerpots in the front somehow look out of place, I'd replace them with some bushes.

Yeah, most of the props in this game are totally off. too bright, too childish, too many. Maybe I will add a feature that allows you to replace the props to my Resource Replacer mod.