Performance: Post-Release Plans & Goals

[co_avanya]

Cities: Skylines II is built for the future with modern hardware in mind, allowing us to add more depth and detail to the game than its predecessor had. Earlier this month, we shared a note on performance as we had not reached the benchmark target we had set for the game. Following this, we have seen some concerns about performance and what it means for the game as a whole. We’d like to give some context to the issues the game is currently facing, what we’re doing to address them, and what you can do if you are among the players experiencing performance issues.

Firstly, we want to assure you that the issues are not deeply rooted in the game’s foundation, so we fully expect to be able to improve performance going forward. The issues we are currently facing are tied to the rendering of the game, and decreasing the quality of visual effects such as Depth of Field, Global Illumination, and Volumetrics will get you a fair performance without affecting simulation - at the cost of some eye candy. If you experience low FPS we recommend the following:

• Reduce screen resolution to 1080p
• Disable Depth of Field and Volumetrics
• Reduce Global Illumination
• Check the full guide for more tips

WHAT HAPPENS POST-RELEASE​

Following the release, we intend to push a series of small patches (and likely a big one) as we significantly improve different areas of performance. We have identified some issues tied to certain hardware setups that yielded unexpected results, and following those discoveries, we're working on improvements to:

• Remove stutters, generally caused by some synchronization condition in the simulation. They can vary greatly from one CPU to another, as well as how your city is built.
• Optimize and balance GPU performances by reducing the number of vertices processed per frame and optimizing/balancing the effects that affect fillrate (mainly Depth of Field, Global Illumination, and Volumetrics), which you can turn off or reduce in the settings for the time being to get a decent FPS.
• Pushing any CPU optimizations that are not already done that we come across in this process.

It’s worth noting that balancing GPU performances does not mean reducing quality overall but, for example, taking fewer samples with smarter distribution to achieve identical or very similar results.

We are also looking at expanding the options for upscaling solutions. Right now, the game includes AMD FSR1, which does not look that good when the scale ratio is 50% (you can enable it with Dynamic resolution scale setting), but it is supported by Unity out of the box, so it made sense to include.

Both FSR2 and DLSS2 require the use of Temporal Anti-aliasing, which is not possible at the moment due to some objects being incompatible with that technique. We are currently working towards making this possible, which will not only help to boost performances but also provide a better quality anti-aliasing solution than the one we currently use (SMAA by default).

OUR GOALS​

With the upcoming patches, the situation will largely improve with default settings. It is worth mentioning that for a game like this, the performance target is to run at a steady 30FPS minimum. There is no real benefit in a city builder to aim for higher FPS (unlike a multiplayer shooter) as a growing city will inevitably become CPU-bound. What matters more with this type of game is to avoid stutters and have a responsive UI.

For that reason, our simulation is also built around an expected update rate given 30fps. However, it does not hurt to get 60fps as it can contribute to better visuals in relation to temporal effects, so while our target is 30fps, we don't intend to limit or stop the optimization work just because we reach it on the recommended hardware. We just don't believe there would be a long-term benefit in setting the target to 60fps, especially because we face rendering challenges both from close-ups and far distances.

A NOTE ON RELEASE TIMING​

While some setups on PC have challenges, we concluded the performance is not a dealbreaker for all the players. For us, the number one priority is for the players to have fun with the game, and we had seen enough feedback from players enjoying the game that it would be more unfair to postpone. We know we will keep working on the game and do our best to fix issues as fast as possible, so we wanted to respect the announced release date and allow people to start playing the game.

 

[stumpy2233]

I know there's gonna be a lot of unhappy people still, and rightly so, but man the communication is refreshing.

 

[wmzombie]

My cpu has almost no utilization seems very GPU heavy maybe there needs to be more utilization on it? Either way this is a really bad release recommended specs are getting 30fps

 

[lathrixarmy]

I saw all the bad reviews on steam but when I tried the game I was having a lot of fun the performance was lacking but I was still having a great time the performance is definitely not a deal breaker for me keep up the great work.

 

[[Delta ²k5]]

I know there's gonna be a lot of unhappy people still, and rightly so, but man the communication is refreshing.

There are always unhappy people, you cannot please everyone. I'm running the game on rather old hardware from 2018 good enough (better than I expected) to have some fun until I upgrade my system one day (which is planned).

Thank you PDX/CO for the post!

 

[cieux instables]

Bonjour j'ai un problème au niveau des textures des routes sa me fait un bug

 

[mcwithwes]

I have been one of the fortunate.

Game works well besides some jitters and the lighting is really funky.

 

[phako]

Coming from an age where we were happily enjoying games with 10FPS on 320x240 screens with 8 colours, I am still seriously enjoying it on my 1060 with max. 20 fps. Even though it looks like a potato, it's still a lot of fun -there are some gameplay issues I find much more annoying that the visuals.

I wish we'd live in times where you could've taken your time, but it is what it is. Thanks for the communication

 

[valerislysander]

I think many people need to understand that for a city builder 30fps is absolutely fine on any hardware. Do you want more of course but cs1 never ran 60fps and never needed too.
Thanks for the detailed information. It's clear to see if you turn off volumetrics, DoF and global illumination performance it's absolutely fine and the game runs really smoothly.

 

[jamesbrave64]

Cities: Skylines II is built for the future with modern hardware in mind, allowing us to add more depth and detail to the game than its predecessor had. Earlier this month, we shared a note on performance as we had not reached the benchmark target we had set for the game. Following this, we have seen some concerns about performance and what it means for the game as a whole. We’d like to give some context to the issues the game is currently facing, what we’re doing to address them, and what you can do if you are among the players experiencing performance issues.

Firstly, we want to assure you that the issues are not deeply rooted in the game’s foundation, so we fully expect to be able to improve performance going forward. The issues we are currently facing are tied to the rendering of the game, and decreasing the quality of visual effects such as Depth of Field, Global Illumination, and Volumetrics will get you a fair performance without affecting simulation - at the cost of some eye candy. If you experience low FPS we recommend the following:

• Reduce screen resolution to 1080p
• Disable Depth of Field and Volumetrics
• Reduce Global Illumination

WHAT HAPPENS POST-RELEASE​

Following the release, we intend to push a series of small patches (and likely a big one) as we significantly improve different areas of performance. We have identified some issues tied to certain hardware setups that yielded unexpected results, and following those discoveries, we're working on improvements to:

• Remove stutters, generally caused by some synchronization condition in the simulation. They can vary greatly from one CPU to another, as well as how your city is built.
• Optimize and balance GPU performances by reducing the number of vertices processed per frame and optimizing/balancing the effects that affect fillrate (mainly Depth of Field, Global Illumination, and Volumetrics), which you can turn off or reduce in the settings for the time being to get a decent FPS.
• Pushing any CPU optimizations that are not already done that we come across in this process.

It’s worth noting that balancing GPU performances does not mean reducing quality overall but, for example, taking fewer samples with smarter distribution to achieve identical or very similar results.

We are also looking at expanding the options for upscaling solutions. Right now, the game includes AMD FSR1, which does not look that good when the scale ratio is 50% (you can enable it with Dynamic resolution scale setting), but it is supported by Unity out of the box, so it made sense to include.

Both FSR2 and DLSS2 require the use of Temporal Anti-aliasing, which is not possible at the moment due to some objects being incompatible with that technique. We are currently working towards making this possible, which will not only help to boost performances but also provide a better quality anti-aliasing solution than the one we currently use (SMAA by default).

OUR GOALS​

With the upcoming patches, the situation will largely improve with default settings. It is worth mentioning that for a game like this, the performance target is to run at a steady 30FPS minimum. There is no real benefit in a city builder to aim for higher FPS (unlike a multiplayer shooter) as a growing city will inevitably become CPU-bound. What matters more with this type of game is to avoid stutters and have a responsive UI.

For that reason, our simulation is also built around an expected update rate given 30fps. However, it does not hurt to get 60fps as it can contribute to better visuals in relation to temporal effects, so while our target is 30fps, we don't intend to limit or stop the optimization work just because we reach it on the recommended hardware. We just don't believe there would be a long-term benefit in setting the target to 60fps, especially because we face rendering challenges both from close-ups and far distances.

A NOTE ON RELEASE TIMING​

While some setups on PC have challenges, we concluded the performance is not a dealbreaker for all the players. For us, the number one priority is for the players to have fun with the game, and we had seen enough feedback from players enjoying the game that it would be more unfair to postpone. We know we will keep working on the game and do our best to fix issues as fast as possible, so we wanted to respect the announced release date and allow people to start playing the game.

That sounds great. Any chance on having a mouse sensitivity slider as the mouse moves very slow, and edge scrolling sensitivity. The camera is slow with ASDW keyboard keys too... thanks.

 

[Tullaris]

CO, for your own sake. DISABLE Depth of FIELD by DEFAULT. It will make a great difference in unhappy customers.

 

[Dushess]

It’s worth noting that balancing GPU performances does not mean reducing quality overall

Correct, especially for overdetailed citizens modeling.

I have been one of the fortunate.
Game works well besides some jitters and the lighting is really funky.

Congtats about your rig is more compatible with current state of the game.

 

[FrithiofeN]

3600x 2070s 32GB ram 8GB VRAM,

1440p and various medium to low settings SMAA 8x no motion blur no dynamic resolution.

Runs like a clock around 70-80 fps G-Sync.

2000 citisens. With the occasional drop when saving or doing crazy camera movements. Happily surprised over how well it works so far!

 

[Maver1ckK]

"we concluded the performance is not a dealbreaker for all the players"

I don't know where you got this from. It sure is a deal breaker for many including me. This is really disappointing. I don't want to be negative but you guys are not making this easy for me.

 

[Zeyon]

The open communication with the players is refreshing however I find it inexcusable to release an obviously unfinished product.

 

[keisnyders05]

Although the preformance is not great (mine averaging 20 fps on mostly medium settings) it’s not a dealbreaker and it’s still a great improvement from its predecessor. Yes, there are some issues and bugs too but that is to be expected with a new release title. Keep up the good work guys!

 

[Tullaris]

The open communication with the players is refreshing however I find it inexcusable to release an obviously unfinished product.

I have no problems with them releasing CS2. Having a great time.

 

[Zephyrghost]

Dear Paradox/Colossal Order,

Firstly, I'd like to commend the team for the hard work on the recent release of the new CS game. Seeing new content from a series I've followed and admired since 2013 is always exciting. However, I have some feedback that might help enhance the user experience:

Considering we're in 2023, I believe a 60fps baseline would suit most modern titles. Many PC gamers have come to expect this as a standard, especially if the primary audience isn't console-based.

For reference, my system includes an Intel i7-13700K, 64 GB 6000mhz RAM, Samsung 990 NVMe SSD on PCIE 5.0, and an RTX 4090. I'm finding it challenging to achieve a stable 60fps on 2K resolution, even on medium settings. I trust the team will look into optimizing the game further to ensure smoother gameplay for systems with specifications like mine.

I noticed that in discussions about the game's framerate, there's been mention that high FPS might not be as crucial for simulation games. However, the inclusion of motion blur, which can impact performance, seems contradictory. It might be worth reconsidering features that could affect optimization, especially if they're not integral to the gaming experience.

An observation: when playing intensive titles like Cyberpunk with ray tracing on ultra settings (including path tracing on overdrive), my GPU temperature stabilizes at around 60 degrees Celsius. Interestingly, while playing CS2 on medium settings, my GPU experiences the same temperature. This suggests some background optimization is severely lacking.

In conclusion, while I appreciate the effort put into releasing a new title in the CS series, I do hope to see some of these optimization concerns addressed in future updates. I believe with some fine-tuning, the game's performance can match its potential in gameplay quality.

Thank you.



[Unpolite version]

HOW THE HECK CAN YOU RELEASE SUCH AN UNPOLISHED GAME? MY DEEPEST SYMPATHIES TO THE DEVS WHO WOULD HAVE FOUGHT HARD WITH THE MANAGEMENT AND BOARD, TO DEFER THE LAUNCH TO ANOTHER DATE, BUT THE C-SUITES WOULD HAVE WON AS USUAL.

 

[odaro]

Cities: Skylines II is built for the future with modern hardware in mind, allowing us to add more depth and detail to the game than its predecessor had. Earlier this month, we shared a note on performance as we had not reached the benchmark target we had set for the game. Following this, we have seen some concerns about performance and what it means for the game as a whole. We’d like to give some context to the issues the game is currently facing, what we’re doing to address them, and what you can do if you are among the players experiencing performance issues.

Firstly, we want to assure you that the issues are not deeply rooted in the game’s foundation, so we fully expect to be able to improve performance going forward. The issues we are currently facing are tied to the rendering of the game, and decreasing the quality of visual effects such as Depth of Field, Global Illumination, and Volumetrics will get you a fair performance without affecting simulation - at the cost of some eye candy. If you experience low FPS we recommend the following:

• Reduce screen resolution to 1080p
• Disable Depth of Field and Volumetrics
• Reduce Global Illumination

WHAT HAPPENS POST-RELEASE​

Following the release, we intend to push a series of small patches (and likely a big one) as we significantly improve different areas of performance. We have identified some issues tied to certain hardware setups that yielded unexpected results, and following those discoveries, we're working on improvements to:

• Remove stutters, generally caused by some synchronization condition in the simulation. They can vary greatly from one CPU to another, as well as how your city is built.
• Optimize and balance GPU performances by reducing the number of vertices processed per frame and optimizing/balancing the effects that affect fillrate (mainly Depth of Field, Global Illumination, and Volumetrics), which you can turn off or reduce in the settings for the time being to get a decent FPS.
• Pushing any CPU optimizations that are not already done that we come across in this process.

It’s worth noting that balancing GPU performances does not mean reducing quality overall but, for example, taking fewer samples with smarter distribution to achieve identical or very similar results.

We are also looking at expanding the options for upscaling solutions. Right now, the game includes AMD FSR1, which does not look that good when the scale ratio is 50% (you can enable it with Dynamic resolution scale setting), but it is supported by Unity out of the box, so it made sense to include.

Both FSR2 and DLSS2 require the use of Temporal Anti-aliasing, which is not possible at the moment due to some objects being incompatible with that technique. We are currently working towards making this possible, which will not only help to boost performances but also provide a better quality anti-aliasing solution than the one we currently use (SMAA by default).

OUR GOALS​

With the upcoming patches, the situation will largely improve with default settings. It is worth mentioning that for a game like this, the performance target is to run at a steady 30FPS minimum. There is no real benefit in a city builder to aim for higher FPS (unlike a multiplayer shooter) as a growing city will inevitably become CPU-bound. What matters more with this type of game is to avoid stutters and have a responsive UI.

For that reason, our simulation is also built around an expected update rate given 30fps. However, it does not hurt to get 60fps as it can contribute to better visuals in relation to temporal effects, so while our target is 30fps, we don't intend to limit or stop the optimization work just because we reach it on the recommended hardware. We just don't believe there would be a long-term benefit in setting the target to 60fps, especially because we face rendering challenges both from close-ups and far distances.

A NOTE ON RELEASE TIMING​

While some setups on PC have challenges, we concluded the performance is not a dealbreaker for all the players. For us, the number one priority is for the players to have fun with the game, and we had seen enough feedback from players enjoying the game that it would be more unfair to postpone. We know we will keep working on the game and do our best to fix issues as fast as possible, so we wanted to respect the announced release date and allow people to start playing the game.

ik yall will come through but the this blue screening i’m having need to be top priority

 

[Danon2]

I remember the requirements were changed just before the game was released, but if you're going to make sure you're optimising for users, I think you should either lower the game requirements to the previous level (2080ti), or at least make it so that there are very few performance issues when you start running the city on the latest generation of CPUs and GPUs.

Such a policy should be bold and innovative.