Cities: Skylines - Natural Disasters - Dev Diary 1: Meteors and Helicopters

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So there will be tsunamis, earthquakes besides fires?
I would really like plagues, sickness, traffic jams or accidents (even though I know they're not "natural", they're very common)
Would you be rewriting the priorities of hearses, police cars, ambulances also?
Also, do you have an ETA for the release?
The images looks very promising, keep the DD coming :)
 
Will we be able to choose the intensity of each disaster or will it be random?

Regarding the meteor, will there be a difference if it hits water?

(And this maybe a stretch but if you plan to add volcanoes to the game, could you consider making a violent volcanic eruption like Vesuvius or Krakatoa with pyroclastic flows and volcanic rock chunks?)
 
What level was the asteroid that hit the city in the screenshot? To be honest, if it was a 10 then this damage looks really small. The crater is nearly as big as the damage radius. With such a crater it should kill atleast a few blocks.

EDIT: I also hope you do something like floods or that if a meteor hits the water it creates a Tsunami. I mean, come on, you have such good water physics in the game!

Also, Earthquakes and Tornados pls :D AND a tornado siren! I love my sirens!
 
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I like what I am seeing so far. Now the question ofcourse: Can you select or de-select what dissasters you want in the options?
I love having all dissasters but let's say you got aliens in as part of the game and I don't wish for that as I don't see that as a dissaster. Would that possibility be explored (if not already)?

Besides all that, keep up the great work!

Thanks for the positive feedback! There won't be aliens in Natural Disasters, but you will have the control over which disasters are randomly happening in the sandbox play.

Will we be able to choose the intensity of each disaster or will it be random?

Regarding the meteor, will there be a difference if it hits water?

(And this maybe a stretch but if you plan to add volcanoes to the game, could you consider making a violent volcanic eruption like Vesuvius or Krakatoa with pyroclastic flows and volcanic rock chunks?)

In the scenario editor the severity a disaster can be adjusted. Meteor hitting the water sounds like waves, but I'm just speculating here. No volcanoes I'm afraid.

Can we limit disastors to realistic things such as no crater forming meteors that'd actually wipe a city off the map?

I'm not exactly sure about the question, but the meteor strike won't wipe out the entire city. We're still looking into the sizes of them, but the biggest will have to still be reasonably sized for you to be able to continue playing after the impact.

What level was the asteroid that hit the city in the screenshot? To be honest, if it was a 10 then this damage looks really small. The crater is nearly as big as the damage radius. With such a crater it should kill atleast a few blocks.

EDIT: I also hope you do something like floods or that if a meteor hits the water it creates a Tsunami. I mean, come on, you have such good water physics in the game!

Also, Earthquakes and Tornados pls :D AND a tornado siren! I love my sirens!

I'm not sure about the size of that exact meteor at this time I'm afraid, but the affected area is surrounding the crater and fires may spread if you don't have sufficient fire department working.

Yes, the dynamic water in the game is pretty cool ;)
 
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What about an early warning system?
Will we be able to evacuate buildings to safe our citizens? Natural disasters sounds pretty nice, but I really hope there will be some options to safe people before a meteor / earthquake will hit my city

Uh and a kind of disease pandemic would be great too ^^ but I thinks that's not really a natural disaster -.-'
 
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Thanks for the positive feedback! There won't be aliens in Natural Disasters, but you will have the control over which disasters are randomly happening in the sandbox play.



In the scenario editor the severity a disaster can be adjusted. Meteor hitting the water sounds like waves, but I'm just speculating here. No volcanoes I'm afraid.



I'm not exactly sure about the question, but the meteor strike won't wipe out the entire city. We're still looking into the sizes of them, but the biggest will have to still be reasonably sized for you to be able to continue playing after the impact.



I'm not sure about the size of that exact meteor at this time I'm afraid, but the affected area is surrounding the crater and fires may spread if you don't have sufficient fire department working.

Yes, the dynamic water in the game is pretty cool ;)

My question is along the lines of disabling things like the meteors or other more fantastical disastors outside things like quakes and fires due to it being unrealistic as a 'large crater' forming 'meteor' (it's more an asteroid at that point) like that in real life would wipe a city out and likely have global ramifications.
 
What about an early warning system?
Will we be able to evacuate buildings to safe our citizens? Natural disasters sounds pretty nice, but I really hope there will be some options to safe people before a meteor / earthquake will hit my city

Uh and a kind of disease pandemic would be great too ^^ but I thinks that's not really a natural disaster -.-'

This is something we'll be talking about later on ;)

My question is along the lines of disabling things like the meteors or other more fantastical disastors outside things like quakes and fires due to it being unrealistic as a 'large crater' forming 'meteor' (it's more an asteroid at that point) like that in real life would wipe a city out and likely have global ramifications.

Ok, I see! Yes, you will have control over the types of disasters happening randomly in the sandbox play.

I hope you guys can eventually add in monster and UFO attacks! They were always my favorites in SimCity!

I would like to have some unnatural disasters added to the game, but it really doesn't fit this expansion I'm afraid.

I would like to see pollution spread disaster (polution cloud) which causes illness / deaths, evacuating part of the city which way it goes.

This is not a bad idea, but we don't have a concept or air pollution in the game, and it would require quite a bit of thinking on how to fit it with the other systems in play. So we'll definitely think about it, but unfortunately it's not something that can be added to the Natural Disasters expansion.
 
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I'm not sure about the size of that exact meteor at this time I'm afraid, but the affected area is surrounding the crater and fires may spread if you don't have sufficient fire department working.
I believe he/she was thinking the same as me... With a crater that large, the impact would have destroyed a larger radius of buildings, not by fire but by force of impact :)
 
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This is something we'll be talking about later on ;)



Ok, I see! Yes, you will have control over the types of disasters happening randomly in the sandbox play.



I would like to have some unnatural disasters added to the game, but it really doesn't fit this expansion I'm afraid.



This is not a bad idea, but we don't have a concept or air pollution in the game, and it would require quite a bit of thinking on how to fit it with the other systems in play. So we'll definitely think about it, but unfortunately it's not something that can be added to the Natural Disasters expansion.

Thanks for reaction, it was just an idea. Air polution is big issue in our city, so this is something near to me :)

I bought all DLCs and never regretted that. So keep up the great work! (And of course huge thanks to modding community)
 
what happens if the meteor hits a river ?

firefighting helicopters ? wouldn't it be better to have planes (Canadair, especially if you work on forests fires) ?
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Looks awesome! It would look even more awesome if the roads showed some damage instead of just getting a magic sidewalk ;)

Hah! I came in to say exactly that. It even got an answer already - hopefully the roads will have "damaged ends" and not sidewalks, indeed :p

I really like the concept of this expansion and I'm SO HAPPY that we are not getting some really supernatural disasters like zombies, aliens or giant bots. I mean, they're cool - but they're kind of old already, too. There are many incredible disasters that are yet to be added to a game and one thing that has always made me happy about CSL is how CO looks for new and interesting twists to a genre that is somehow very traditional already. (i.e: day/night budgets, deathcare, actual meaning to snow and rain, etc... - love you guys! )

So... I don't post here much :( but considering how early in development this is and a lot can change yet, I've decided to list a few things I'd love to see. I'll try to avoid some disasters a lot of other people have already mentioned like floods and tsunamis and focus on the ones I haven't seen much.

But first of all, KUDOS for the emergency response thing! It's exactly what I just said, about you guys always thinking of different twists. While every other city sim always focused on the disaster itself, you guys will focus on the early alarms and aftermath as well. This is so awesome!

So, things I'd love to see:
  • Emergency hospitals - maybe stadiums and schools could "function" as temporary hospitals during the aftermath of a disaster? I'm guessing we'll have some kind of "emergency state" toggle and these could work as hospitals during that time, increasing the efficiency of healthcare (albeit nullyfying education). It would be cool to see a lot of tents and people inside the stadiums, the helicopters bringing people down, etc...
  • Alarms and Shelters - I know there's a lot coming for the "early prevention" systems that we have no idea yet, but I really hope we'll get shelters and alarms. I hope to see POLICIES on that too, like encouraging the construction of home shelters and cellars, a policy for alarms, this kind of thing... Maybe even policies for voluntary rescuers and search parties, etc... The Policy system has so much potential! Also, SUBWAY tunnels and stations can easily become "Emergency shelters" just like the emergency hospitals mentioned above.
  • External Relief measures - the ability to call (for a fee ?) or receive willingly (if you have a happy and prosperous city others would like to help) external assistance like airplanes with meds and food (needs airport), "red cross" teams, etc... Some kind of thing that relates to the outside world and makes us feel like part of a greater thing. This could also include a "special emergency loan" that you can only request in case of emergency. Value could be increased according to the type and size of disaster.
  • Monuments and Memorials - perhaps some special monuments that can be unlocked with disasters stats. Just like the Lazarus Square, a statue that unlocks if a meteor kills 1000+ people, etc... This kind of thing. Different monuments for each disaster type and size. Just imagine this HUGE crater transformed into a beautiful park with a monument in the middle... beautiful :3
As for disasters themselves, here are some ideas of both small and big ones:
  • Traffic accidents - simple, day-to-day accidents to make traffic a bit more realistic. Clogs a street for a few in-game minutes, can be represented by little cars crashed and then an ambulance has to come for the rescue. This can encourage the creation of alternate roads, parallel roads, etc... And can also be mitigated by new policies on safer driving and things like that. Not to mention interactions with things already in the game: slippery roads when snowing or raining, etc...
  • Train accidents - a slightly bigger type of accident, trains could go out of rails. Considering that rails aren't always near roads, this would be a great use for helicopters!
  • Sinkings - boats could sometimes sink - or have technical problems that require rescue and evacuation. I know this might not be in the plans, but... Coast Guard station and boats, please? :3 I'm sure it could be integrated with that Tsunami disaster you guys certainly have planned! :D
  • Gas explosion - Just like a fire, but wilder and instantly explodes the initial building, requiring a rescue team for the debris (but not being a huge disaster like a meteor)
  • Micro-burst - Tornadoes are very probably already planned but there's another kind of phenomenon that is pretty cool and could be slightly weaker: the micro-burst. It's like a swooping force that comes crashing down on a single area instead of sweeping across a path. These can be wet (thunderstorms) or dry and look pretty cool from a distance.
  • Electrical Storm - Fires, fires everywhere! Also, power disruptions.
  • Landslides - Think twice before building steep :D
  • Tunnel collapse - You lose a tunnel and it becomes "salvageable" by rescue teams (for the people that were inside). A new tunnel must be built.
  • Bridge collapse - Please, just think of how awesome it could look :D
  • Cold Snap - an unnaturaly cold season for winter maps, bringing a lot of snow that can't really be plowed, clogging the whole city into chaos and even killing some people if no helicopters or rescue teams are ready to help everyone.
  • Airplane Crash - Should be a really rare thing, but a sad thing that happens and we must be ready to deal with by having deathcare and firefighters always ready to respond.
  • Typhoons/hurricanes for coastal maps. Big storms and floods, a true mayhem and challenge for the best mayors.
  • Heat Stroke - just like the Cold Snap, but for tropical maps. A heat wave that causes increased health issues, risk of fires and such. As someone living on a tropical country, believe me: that's quite serious, especially in major cities with no nature and a lot of pollution.
  • Chemical leak - massive health needs caused by chemical leakings from dirty industry. Can be mitigated by having higher education (just like nuclear accident risks). It could also create a massive pollution blob on the ground where it happened, more durable than the standard industry pollution.
  • High tide/low tide - Not really a tsunami or flood (though it can cause floods) but variation in the average tide of the map. Could cause problems for water pumps, city planning, etc... Could be followed by some other kind of disaster (like a warning) for example: There seems to be an abnormal undertow (low tide) right before tsunamis, and turbulent/windy oceans can cause coastal cities to face a period of breakers (high tide)
  • Network Breakdowns - a complete breakdown of a service network like Water or Electricity, forcing the city to endure a moment of difficulty until the system is restored/repaired.
Well, these are just ideas :)
Feel free to consider them as much as you'd like :D

Hope it helps somehow and keep up the awesome work!
- Dani
 
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Sinkings - boats could sometimes sink - or have technical problems that require rescue and evacuation. I know this might not be in the plans, but... Coast Guard station and boats, please? :3 I'm sure it could be integrated with that Tsunami disaster you guys certainly have planned! :D
Really came to think of Concordia I think it was called :-D that italian captain who ran on ground in italy :p
 
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