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We at Colossal have a long history of doing games with public transport. Cities in Motion and its sequel are all about building and managing a public transportation system in existing real world cities. Naturally we are very excited to get to expand the transport systems in Skylines too.

Mass Transit is not just about new transportation methods. There are numerous improvements to traffic and public transport. Train stations can be set to accept or not accept intercity traffic, so you can decide if trains coming from outside the city stop at all stations or maybe use just one where passengers can then transfer to other transportation modes. Selecting a line now shows a list of stops and the amount of passengers waiting on each stop. A new slider allows for more detailed adjusting of how many vehicles each line gets from the shared budget. One-way train tracks can be used to better define where you want trains to go without any extra tracks taking up space. A whole new info view has been added to help you find out where citizens are going to and from.

devdiary-trainsation.png

A passenger train station which can receive intercity trains

Traffic routes info view

Open Traffic Routes info view and click on a citizen, vehicle, building or road segment to see a visualization of trips. If you have chosen a citizen or a vehicle, you can see where they are coming from and what is the destination as usual, but now this information is visual and you can also see the route they are using. Buildings and road segments highlight trips made to and from them, so it is easy to see where the traffic is coming from. Visualization allows you to quickly swap between selections and instantly see where the traffic is coming from. This information is very useful when for example you are looking a a segment of road that is prone to traffic congestion. Finding out where traffic originates can help you plan alternative routes or separate trips from different areas to different roads, so there is more capacity available.

devdiary-trafficroutes.png

The piece of road showing in green in the middle of the screen has been selected while the info view is open. Trips made through it recently are painted on the map. Pedestrians and vehicles are in different colours and can be filtered in the info view legend panel.


Visual aids to road building

Building roads is a big part of the game, so it should be even more intuitive and easy. While the road tool is very flexible and allows for all kinds of interesting intersections, there are now improvements to the basic use. New line guides and dots help you place roads just where you want them to be. The lines show distances between roads and how existing roads would continue. Dots mark places where you can start building a road at a 90 degree angle and get the zoning grids to meet perfectly with no gaps. There are many exceptions to these basic rules, but the main point is that when building roads, there is a lot more visual information available, so the dream road grids will be easier to build. These visual aids are something I’m personally very excited for. The team has played the game so much that naturally we almost always get the zoning spacing right, but it does still feel frustrating when its one square too much to the side and you have to cancel the road and try again. We will have much less of that when Mass Transit comes out!

devdiary-visualaids1.png

When building a road connected to an existing road, you can now see its angle compared to the existing road, as well as guide dots on where to place roads for zoning to have no gaps.

devdiary-visualaids2.png

The road tool now has a circle around the cursor circle to signify where zoning will will be marked. Blue dashed lines mark how existing roads would continue.


Public Transport improvements

As mentioned, passenger train stations now have a new setting. When you have outside connection train tracks coming to your city, you can now choose where the train will stop. Previously trains stopped at all encountered stations, which could end up in very slow train connections. Having more control over where trains stop helps a lot with this.

devdiary-modifyline.png

Passengers view shows the amount an location of passengers on a line. The blue dots are vehicles on the line, also showing their maximum capacity. Stops show the amount of passengers waiting for this line on a stop.

When you select a line, you can see in the line info panel all the stops and vehicles on the line. Both stops and vehicles show how many passengers are on board or waiting on a stop. Vehicles also show the maximum capacity, so you know if they are full or not. The vehicle markers move between the stop markers, so you can basically see the whole line easily at one glance. This helps you identify bottlenecks so you can check more closely where passengers are going to and why are they packing into one station. Or you can see if some stop is almost always empty, maybe it can be removed or it needs some lines feeding passengers to it.


Free update

As usual, the DLC pack will come with a free update which has all of the features listed in this text. For even more features and content of the DLC pack, check out the next Development Diary in a couple of weeks!

Cheers,
Karoliina, Lead Game Designer on Cities: Skylines
 
Great job @CO and great job by the modding community. Their dedication, your willingness to support the modding community and your continued goal of growing the base game insures we get a fully fleshed out game that we have always wanted. You have a dedicated, passionate community of players who will continue to financially support the game - and while we know we won't get everything we want - you are listening. Please keep listening and I think you will find the revenue will keep pouring in. I have all the DLC and will continue to buy and play!! Cheers
 
Next question is WHEN do we get our hands on this beauty?

We don't have a release date yet, but during 2017 for sure! Aren't I helpful :D

Great job @CO and great job by the modding community. Their dedication, your willingness to support the modding community and your continued goal of growing the base game insures we get a fully fleshed out game that we have always wanted. You have a dedicated, passionate community of players who will continue to financially support the game - and while we know we won't get everything we want - you are listening. Please keep listening and I think you will find the revenue will keep pouring in. I have all the DLC and will continue to buy and play!! Cheers

Thank you and we will!
 
Ideally, trams and metro should be merged, since there's no meaningful real-world distinction between the two.

The track gauge is the *big* difference, which makes the systems largely incompatible in real life (the exception being, add an additional rail in either system). In Finland, for example, trains and metro use 1524 mm Finnish gauge (compatible with 1520 mm Russian) whereas trams use 1000 mm.

Power transmission is the other possible distinction between trains, the metro and trams: not only the height of the wires, but also the voltage and type of electricity (AC/DC). Metro typically uses third rail.

Platform heights are also usually different. Trams stops in the streets have less space for long ramps, so platforms and and doors are quite close to the track (platforms and doors need to be on the same level for accessibility). Trains and Metro, in contrast, can use much larger platform heights.

Impressive suite of new free features. Can I raise my concern at the difficulty to read the figures on the road tool- font needs to needs much larger if its to be of any use. Also need length as well as angle

Note that the images are 960x600, so they're 50% reduced from the original 1920x1200 display, which also means the text is half size. It's a thing to keep in mind, though.

As an aside, it would be neat if the game included options for text size. Maybe have one general setting that scaled all fonts and text elements, and another setting that only increased the size of the smallest ones. I don't know how the UI scales for large display sizes, but if it doesn't, these settings could help there, too.
 
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The track gauge is the *big* difference, which makes the systems largely incompatible in real life (the exception being, add an additional rail in either system). In Finland, for example, trains and metro use 1524 mm Finnish gauge (compatible with 1520 mm Russian) whereas trams use 1000 mm.

Power transmission is the other possible distinction between trains, the metro and trams: not only the height of the wires, but also the voltage and type of electricity (AC/DC). Metro typically uses third rail.

Platform heights are also usually different. Trams stops in the streets have less space for long ramps, so platforms and and doors are quite close to the track (platforms and doors need to be on the same level for accessibility). Trains and Metro, in contrast, can use much larger platform heights.

Largely irrelevant to my argument, but I'll respond anyway.

It's possible to cherry-pick examples of incompatible rail systems, or of anything else for that matter. However, rail-based mass transit is not inherently incompatible. For example, New York City at the turn of the century had a tram network which ran at-grade, in mixed traffic, above-ground, and below-ground. Rail-based mass transit is not necessarily compatible, but it is also not inherently incompatible -- compatibility or lack thereof is a choice which this game does not offer to players. The metro system in Buffalo, New York, uses elevated platforms underground and extending stairs above-ground where it runs in mixed traffic. Most importantly, nothing stops Finland from building underground or elevated trams using 1000mm gauge.

In-game, the artificial segregation of mass transit forces players to use unrealistic and cumbersome mode transitions. For example, I might upgrade existing arterials to accept trams when first expanding my city. I run those arterials to new sections as the city expands. Later, say I want to add more transit capacity to the old core without demolishing several city blocks. Currently, I cannot build underground tram stations, and so must use either metro or heavy rail. I also cannot build realistic above-ground tram stops, since elevated tram stops are not connected to the street grid. Alternatively, say I build a nice metro line, but then want it to run above-ground in new city sections to save money. Currently I have to terminate the metro and use either trams or heavy rail, because metro is artificially restricted to run solely underground.

Ideally, we need:
  1. Underground tram stations.
  2. Elevated tram stations.
  3. More options for trams at-grade.
  4. Integrate trams and metro. Add trams to base game and call it Skylines+, and charge an extra $5 or something.
 
This reads everything very well, even if it is all based on ideas of the modder, but nice to see the CO is willing to take good ideas. The modders also look forward to (hopefully). I would wish that it is not only one-way rails but that these one-way rails in both directions can be traveled in real life, of course we need also signals for the trains, why this feature is missing I do not understand anyway, just for a DLC that itself Mass transit calls that would fit the super. There are also traffic lights for the cars, so there are no signals and waypoints for the trains, so we can tell ourselves where the train is going.

Please build a signals and waypoints or let the signals be simultaneously waypoints, anyway.

Modular Stations (bigger / longer) for longer/larger trains would also be great, and not only other new building for cars or events.

Have fun :)
 
I would wish that it is not only one-way rails but that these one-way rails in both directions can be traveled in real life, of course we need also signals for the trains, why this feature is missing I do not understand anyway, just for a DLC that itself Mass transit calls that would fit the super.

CO could take a look at the train system for OpenTTD and implement it. That way we can make proper train networks where trains might overtake each other on different tracks when one of them is waiting at a station or something. Would also add a nice visual with all the signals doing their thing.
 
Ideally, trams and metro should be merged, since there's no meaningful real-world distinction between the two.
Largely irrelevant to my argument, but I'll respond anyway.

It's possible to cherry-pick examples of incompatible rail systems, or of anything else for that matter. However, rail-based mass transit is not inherently incompatible. For example, New York City at the turn of the century had a tram network which ran at-grade, in mixed traffic, above-ground, and below-ground. Rail-based mass transit is not necessarily compatible, but it is also not inherently incompatible -- compatibility or lack thereof is a choice which this game does not offer to players. The metro system in Buffalo, New York, uses elevated platforms underground and extending stairs above-ground where it runs in mixed traffic. Most importantly, nothing stops Finland from building underground or elevated trams using 1000mm gauge.

[...]

Ideally, we need:
  1. Underground tram stations.
  2. Elevated tram stations.
  3. More options for trams at-grade.
  4. Integrate trams and metro. Add trams to base game and call it Skylines+, and charge an extra $5 or something.
Here in Europe, Trams and Metros are in the vast majority of the cities separated systems. While here in Germany Tram and Metro are by law the same thing, they still have really big differences in signaling as well as vehicles and dimensions. These factors apply to all europe countries.
Metro vehicles usually are dimensioned like the big trains (except length) by sharing the same 1435mm track gauge. Metros have a length of around 150m, third rail, 4 seats in a row and platform height is something above 700mm (but differs from city to city).
Tram vehicles on the other hand are much more smaller due to the street restrictions and curve radius. Track gauge is around 1000mm, platform height is about street level and 3 seats in a row.
With metros you can transport a huge amount of people. Cities with a merged metro-tram-system (here in Germany it is called "Stadtbahn", roughly translated to "Cityrail") are restricted to a not so much mass transit system, as the tram vehicles do not have enough space for huge amount of people and are limited in width and length of the streets.
So while I highly disapprove of your recommendation to merge these two systems in-game because these are totally different things in europe, I fully support your ideas 1-3 ;).

Take a look at these two videos:
Munich subway:
Munich tram:

Most transportation maps here in Europe don't even include tram lines, only trains and U-Bahn (metro), as metro is seen as the superior system (of tram and metro).

You cannot just merge these things by default, maybe in the US, but the US has some serious bus, train and metro transportation design flaws in my opinion as everything is built around cars.

[...] of course we need also signals for the trains, why this feature is missing I do not understand anyway, just for a DLC that itself Mass transit calls that would fit the super. There are also traffic lights for the cars, so there are no signals and waypoints for the trains, so we can tell ourselves where the train is going.

Please build a signals and waypoints or let the signals be simultaneously waypoints, anyway.
Agreed. I'm a train engineer/driver here in Germany and I honestly cannot stand that tracks have no signals, it's literally just anarchy and so unrealisticly wrong.
It would seriously help if some sort of optional signalling would be implemented. The normal user would stick to the "rail anarchy" but advanced users could place their own signals and define own sections. The simpliest form of logic would be for CO to implement: "Past this point till the next signal, only one train can enter". All user signals/sections are user defined so no automatic system has to be developed by CO which would be messed up after all I think, cause rail systems in some C:S cities are so complex that no system could ever auto-place signals.
 
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Largely irrelevant to my argument, but I'll respond anyway.

It's possible to cherry-pick examples of incompatible rail systems, or of anything else for that matter. However, rail-based mass transit is not inherently incompatible. For example, New York City at the turn of the century had a tram network which ran at-grade, in mixed traffic, above-ground, and below-ground. Rail-based mass transit is not necessarily compatible, but it is also not inherently incompatible -- compatibility or lack thereof is a choice which this game does not offer to players. The metro system in Buffalo, New York, uses elevated platforms underground and extending stairs above-ground where it runs in mixed traffic. Most importantly, nothing stops Finland from building underground or elevated trams using 1000mm gauge.

In-game, the artificial segregation of mass transit forces players to use unrealistic and cumbersome mode transitions. For example, I might upgrade existing arterials to accept trams when first expanding my city. I run those arterials to new sections as the city expands. Later, say I want to add more transit capacity to the old core without demolishing several city blocks. Currently, I cannot build underground tram stations, and so must use either metro or heavy rail. I also cannot build realistic above-ground tram stops, since elevated tram stops are not connected to the street grid. Alternatively, say I build a nice metro line, but then want it to run above-ground in new city sections to save money. Currently I have to terminate the metro and use either trams or heavy rail, because metro is artificially restricted to run solely underground.

Ideally, we need:
  1. Underground tram stations.
  2. Elevated tram stations.
  3. More options for trams at-grade.
  4. Integrate trams and metro. Add trams to base game and call it Skylines+, and charge an extra $5 or something.

I agree also. There are exceptions and combinations of everything and another good example is Boston's MBTA (aka the "T"), which has subways (metros), trolleys (trams), trolley buses, and a new hybrid bus subway line. The original subway, the 2nd oldest in the world outside of London, is actually a trolley line. The green line combines all of the above-mentioned ROWs including an elevated section with an elevated station, stations underground, street running, and even a high speed ROW. The Newton Riverside line and the Mattapan High Speed line were once regular railroad ROWs which were taken over by the then Metropolitan Transit Authority, and the Mattapan line used to have a parallel railroad branch up until 10 years ago. The Newton Riverside line was once the Newton loop branch which belonged to the Boston and Albany (New York Central), and lost regular steam-powered passenger trains in the 1950s when it became the Newton trolley line.

At one time, the elevated portion of the line, albeit very short for the Green line, was made in the typical EL type construction. This short portion also included a station for the parallel underground to elevated Orange line EL, which came down in the 1970s.

There are then the various underground and over ground sections of the subways, the Red line, which has the longest subway cars ever made, the orange line, and the blue line. All of these are unique in some fashion. The Orange line was once the EL from Forrest Hills to Everett. During the 1970s and 1980s, this was moved to parallel railroad lines belonging to the former New Haven and Boston and Maine railroads, the EL was taken down, and the line extended north to Medford at Oak Grove. Then finally there's the Blue line which has both catenary on the outside stretches above ground and third-rail underground. This line was built on the former "Narrow Gauge" Yes the former 3-foot 6-inch Boston Revere Beach and Lynn ROW. The Red line also runs above ground down on the South Shore to Braintree, and this was done in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Trying to build such a system now in Cities-Skylines is nearly impossible.
 
Agree on the train signal thing as well. We really need a way to control rail traffic not just at junctions but also use block-control signals to spread traffic out and assist with the flow of trains along the line. I put this in as a suggestion sometime ago now that I think about it.
 
Is there any chance we can select which vehicles will be running on each transport line? There are so many assets available on the workshop and I want to see some form of management on that within the game. Like, it would be great if I can choose high capacity vehicles running on a high capacity inner city line, while smaller vehicles running on a country line - it would be more realistic.

Also, there is an issue with left-hand-drive vehicles popping up on right-hand-drive map and vice versa, I hope there will be a way to manage it.
 
Don't know if you already found this mod, but until the feature is in the vanilla game you could use this: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=408875519
Within the mod lines can be prefixed and each prefix has assigned assets and budgets. Prefixes are "global" in the savegame, so one prefix can be used by multiple lines. Also a (bus/tram-)depot for a specific line can be selected but never used that one before. There's even the line overview which is now included in the vanilla game (how many passengers waiting on a stop and where are the vehicles, etc) :)

Everyone talks about the IPT mod and not about this but I think this mod is much more convenient.
 
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Looks like a few mods will become obsolete with the free DLC content, just hope that it matches or exceeds the look/finish of what those mods do. Atleast we will get less loading times :D

Might pick up this DLC at launch, i waited a few months for holiday price drops on Snowfall and After Dark. Even though its Paradox's dlc policy rather than CO, i like the updates and free patches/content, and seeing as the game can be picked up anytime like Simcity 4, you constantly have something new to play with and look forward to.

At launch, i felt the game was lacking but the assets and player mods made up for it. But now i think the only failure with Cities: Skylines is snow being locked to Snowfall maps, hope this is addressed and a more seasonal update is released.
 
But now i think the only failure with Cities: Skylines is snow being locked to Snowfall maps, hope this is addressed and a more seasonal update is released.

I do not think the "snow" is a failure - the idea is very good but it has not been fully implemented. The problem is that you only have snow on snow cards. CO should better be a DLC that includes 4-seasons without extra maps, so you could use all the benefits of all DLC's and the seasons would go together .. I think that should not be so difficult that the trees are already changing the color. We can see by industry/pollution, snow and green for summer, we have already.

So you could always play Snowfall using the assets in each game and the possibilities would increase and improve the game even further and stand out from other games.
Perhaps with one exception, Tropical maps because of the climate

Have Fun
 
This looks all very good!
I was very confused with all the mods so it's very good news that we can finally have everything included in one single free update :)

I just wanted to add a suggestion to the developpers: could you add an option so we can change the names displayed on the buildings? And especially train stations and airports (maybe also tram and bus stations?). I think it would be really enjoyable and realistic if we could see the name we give to each airport or station on it, instead of the generic "international airport" or "city railway".
As you can see there:
http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2017/12/1490086863-tokyo-international-airport-01.jpg

http://www.noelshack.com/2017-12-1490086844-gare-st-jean-bordeaux-france.jpg

I know it's a detail but details make perfect :p

Also are you going to add options from Improved Public Transport in the update?

Tx!
 
I just wanted to add a suggestion to the developpers: could you add an option so we can change the names displayed on the buildings? And especially train stations and airports (maybe also tram and bus stations?). I think it would be really enjoyable and realistic if we could see the name we give to each airport or station on it, instead of the generic "international airport" or "city railway".

You already can. Click on the building, then on the name. Change it. Make sure you hit "ENTER" (if you don't, the change will not take effect).

Screenshot 124.png

Example above: I named the district "Greenhill Industrial Park". Then selected the fire station and changed the name to "Greenhill Fire Station". The trucks that come from it will be identified as from the "Greenhill Fire Station".
 
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