Cities: Skylines 2 - Wishlist

[Dalaar]

So assuming that there is a Cities: Skylines 2 in the works somewhere I thought it would be great to have community suggestions and input into what form that it takes. I've read somewhere that there is talk of introducing countries or something but that doesn't especially interest me. It would be great if Colossal / Paradox setup some sort of user voice forum where people could submit suggestions and vote on them to help shape the new game. If anyone knows of such a thing please let me know - I've not been able to find it.
Barring that I thought I might use the forums here to at least submit some of my thoughts. Now some of this might be included in mods available but this is what I would like to see added to the base (un-modded) game.

Roads/Network/Traffic

• Enable PROPER MERGING LANES like those you might find in real life, with various options for lane markings like you might find.
• Customisable road builder available in game, allow the creation of custom roads in game specifying number of lanes in each direction, with each lane being able to be of a different type sidewalk, car, bike, bus, tram and allow the addition of regular props along the way, trees, lights, signs, post boxes, seating. Allow these to be created as presets that you can save to use in your city.
• Improved Traffic AI that lets cars change lanes anywhere and not just on nodes but also makes better use of multi-lane roads instead of queueing up in one lane the whole way.
• Allow trams to return without needing a roundabout!!! In fact can you bring this into the current game also - this is ridiculous.
• Include some basic features from Traffic Manager mod such adding Give Way/Stop/Through, adding and removing stop lights and setting which lanes can turn or go straight (I know that you can add and remove stop lights and stop signs in game currently but the UI for that is awful).
• Include a net picker so piece of network on the map can be selected and then used to lay down more of that network. (Yes I know there is a mod for this - build it into the game! So handy.)
• Include a basic roundabout builder that can select the type of road to be used and size. Roundabouts are fundamental and building them should be part of the base game. Doesn't need all the bells and whistles of the mod as long as it can still be enhanced in a mod.

Infrastructure

• Allow power networks to be created underground similar to water pipes.
• Remove the power zone created around structures and introduce overhead street power lines instead that can then be replaced with underground power networks as a later unlock. More like real life city planning considerations.
• Add data networks to the game so that internet cabling and 3G, 4G 5G towers can be added potentially onto existing building structures. Make data networks improve happiness of people and efficiency of businesses.

Graphics

• Improve the graphics engine to allow even greater detail - Unreal Engine 5 anyone?
  
  The more the game looks like a real city the better!

Assets

• Allow assets to be stretchable to match (to a certain extent) the curve of the road. This might leave the building unchanged but stretch the garden/outdoor (Fencing/hedges) area to stretch bed around the road, creating less gaps between assets, or allow all or part of a structure to flex a certain amount to the curve. This would create more realistic blocks where there is no no-man's land like there is in the game now.
• Introduce the concept of seasons and allow Assets to have different appearances based on seasons, particularly trees & vegetation. Maybe the option to have snow or not on other assets.
• Allow some assets particularly train stations to be placed without being connected to a road or to connect onto an existing train line instead!!!
  Currently if I want a station to line up to a rail network I need to guess where the rail bit of the station will be and create a road in about the right place to put the station then hope that the rail lines up nicely.
• Ability to have more rounded assets and structures
• Find It mod built in.
• Ploppable RICO built in.

Terraforming

• Improve the UI to smooth terrain, perhaps be able to paint an area and then have it smooth it out to the edges or surrounding roads.
• Allow placement of Trees and vegetation on steep slopes
• Be able to paint an area or brush with a combination of vegetation, select a mix of tree, plant or rock assets adjust the % of each and have the game randomly place these assets in the area in the desired concentrations.
• Paintable pavement and other surfaces that can optionally be bordered by roads or structures (rather than plopping down odd shapes to try and fit). Have these surfaces be able to crop the vegetation underneath. (I hate seeing the grass come through an outdoor pool asset - very annoying.)
• More tools to make more natural looking terrain like water courses and cliffs would be nice - I'm not sure how what exactly here, I just know that I find this a challenge.

Audio

• Allow music to be pulled from playlists in Google Play Music or Spotify. Allow the option to insert the in game adds in between these tracks through.
  I grow tired of the ones in game and I find it somewhat objectionable to buy music packs that have a few more songs that I'm not that keen on either.
• MORE in game radio adverts! These are awesome but there needs to be more!
  Can this be modded or become assets that the community can add into the game also?

Other features:

• Asset and mod profiles - allow the game to be started up with different sets of mods and assets available as presets defined by the player to play the game in different styles. Or make these presets shareable also in the community so that people can start with recommended packs from community members.
• Challenge mode - I really enjoyed the community challenges that Biffa put out for biggest city in 30 mins and worst traffic, it would be great if these challenges could somehow be defined and then posted out to the community to attempt with all the appropriate restrictions in place.
• EDIT: Almost forgot 81 tiles in the base game, & perhaps with option to go larger if resources permit.

Anyhow I think there's a few other things that I've though about while playing the game that I've forgotten to include in here. Mostly I just want more/better of the same game - not too dramatically different from the present game, if significant new features are added that take the game in a whole new direction then they need to be done as options so that the people who have come to love this game for what it is can continue to do so.

Finally I would love to hear what others think of this list of mine and especially if you too would like to see a feature list / suggestions site that can take community votes on each feature like the Microsoft User Voice or other software companies use.
What other features would you like to see that I have not thought of or included here?

 

[guguizg]

If your PC is powerful enough, it can manage the larger cities you can build. If your PC is less powerful, or a console, well, there is a reason there's only 9 tiles unlockable.

Hey man u seem to understand the performance side of things, do you think my idea could work?

2. "Versus" mode: Its not actually one versus the other but i couldn't think of a better name. In this mode, each players controlls their own "governments". Each one has their own tiles, so if one wants a tile, they have to buy it first or make an offer to buy from the other person's tile. A lot of cool interactions can happen, for instance: migrations mechanics, import and export between player cities, making player-to-player loans, one can charge the other for using their cargo ships or something. The interactions possibilities are endless. Maybe if the map was bigger, there could be 20 players in the same map creating a whole country, with city hierarchy, election for a president that can choose some policies to be universal, like electric cars. I'm just saying a bunch of random things because there is so much to explore, it's hard to organize it all.

 

[Greenstar-lion]

All maps are 9x9 (81 tiles). The game lets you build 9 tiles within the 5x5 (25 tiles) in the middle. This always leaves at least 2 tiles to the "edge of the world" from where you can build. Helps keep things looking a little more real. Also allows you to buy different tiles on different playthroughs of the same map.

There are 25 tile and 81 tile unlock mods for PC on the Steam workshop. If your PC is powerful enough, it can manage the larger cities you can build. If your PC is less powerful, or a console, well, there is a reason there's only 9 tiles unlockable.

Services and resources/goods (industry) can come from anywhere on the map, not always the closest source. This can cause some difficulty in 9 tile (or less) cities. Can be much worse on the larger 25/81 tile cities.

Yes, but that makes creating maps of real cities with proposed transit improvements much more difficult when you are stuck on Xbox edition

 

[guguizg]

Yes, but that makes creating maps of real cities with proposed transit improvements much more difficult when you are stuck on Xbox edition

Maybe this could be a PC exclusive feature?
Also about the performance issue i thought that maybe each user could render and process the information on their own tiles and the rest of the tiles get unloaded or something similar

 

[Greenstar-lion]

Mo

Maybe this could be a PC exclusive feature?
Also about the performance issue i thought that maybe each user could render and process the information on their own tiles and the rest of the tiles get unloaded or something similar

More tiles for PC only again? That makes playing on console a little more difficult, we run out of room for all of the stuff from the current one as is, and I speak from having all of the Major DLCs

 

[guguizg]

maybe with new console generations they have more processing

 

[Greenstar-lion]

maybe with new console generations they have more processing

I hope so as well, and I hope they add an ability to transfer old game data and DLCs to the newer consoles

 

[Fox_NS_CAN]

Yes, but that makes creating maps of real cities with proposed transit improvements much more difficult when you are stuck on Xbox edition

How do you think the Xbox (or PS4) players would feel when they finally get their wish to have 81 tiles (and TMPE maybe), and they get 1-2 FPS? They'd all be mad and screaming "this game is unplayable!"

 

[Fox_NS_CAN]

Hey man u seem to understand the performance side of things, do you think my idea could work?

I think that the hardware would not be up to the task.
I think that multiplayer would not be as wonderful as people imagine it.
That's just what I think, but I'm just another person on the internet.

 

[Greenstar-lion]

How do you think the Xbox (or PS4) players would feel when they finally get their wish to have 81 tiles (and TMPE maybe), and they get 1-2 FPS? They'd all be mad and screaming "this game is unplayable!"

Are you saying that it will take more space to run Cities Skylines than my MASSIVE Minecraft world, which I run online, with up to five other people on my XBOX? Because I highly doubt that, considering how much space my world takes compared to my current largest city in Cities Skylines . Are you also a console player like me?

 

[Greenstar-lion]

I think that the hardware would not be up to the task.
I think that multiplayer would not be as wonderful as people imagine it.
That's just what I think, but I'm just another person on the internet.

Yeah, I could see it causing some issues, but Multiplayer could be limited to one or two other people on Console

 

[TTJ]

Just my two cents: There's a big difference between BUYING more than 9 tiles ans actually FILLING them! Sometimes you need just 100m more land to access a coast or railway that was placed just out of your reach.

 

[Fox_NS_CAN]

Are you saying that it will take more space to run Cities Skylines than my MASSIVE Minecraft world, which I run online, with up to five other people on my XBOX? Because I highly doubt that, considering how much space my world takes compared to my current largest city in Cities Skylines . Are you also a console player like me?

It's not just "space" (I'm going to assume RAM), although it is easy enough to use all of that. It's processing power. Calculating where each cim/vehicle is going (the actual simulation) keeps the CPU pretty busy.

 

[Greenstar-lion]

Just my two cents: There's a big difference between BUYING more than 9 tiles ans actually FILLING them! Sometimes you need just 100m more land to access a coast or railway that was placed just out of your reach.

You do have a point there, however, it is difficult to build a real city at a reasonable scale on only nine tiles, I’m working on my own hometown right now to show proposed Improvements to the transit infrastructure in the city, another idea I have is the possibility of splitting each tile into four smaller tiles to allow for more customization, but that’s only an idea and all those tiles would take the same space as the larger ones

 

[Greenstar-lion]

It's not just "space" (I'm going to assume RAM), although it is easy enough to use all of that. It's processing power. Calculating where each cim/vehicle is going (the actual simulation) keeps the CPU pretty busy.

That makes sense. However, I have Minecart lines I run, which I’m sure Minecraft also uses processing power to keep said carts running on my larger lines, especially where Redstone is involved.

 

[Greenstar-lion]

I have more suggestions for Cities Skylines 2 now.

How about some more roads that allow multiple forms of transit to ride on them, such as trams and monorails, or elevated metro and Guided buses. You get the point , more variety of roads would be useful

An idea for underground metro is to have special roads with the Metro Tracks right underneath them, this would make keeping underground metro systems lined up with the city streets in some cases. Also needed are special street pieces with a metro station underneath of them and an entrance on each side of the street

 

[guguizg]

Minecart lines I run, which I’m sure Minecraft also uses processing power to keep said carts running on my larger lines

That requires close to no processing, because it has no pathfinding. In C:S cars have to choose the best path to go for and also the lane swiching and traffic stuff, like stopping on red lights, pedestrians, etc

 

[Greenstar-lion]

That requires close to no processing, because it has no pathfinding. In C:S cars have to choose the best path to go for and also the lane swiching and traffic stuff, like stopping on red lights, pedestrians, etc

That’s fair. I utilise a system that allows up to three lines on a single track with automatic switching, but that’s controlled, unlike C:S, so I can see your point there

 

[Cityplanner 53]

1. I've written it before in another thread but the ability to set residential for specific tasks, such as tourist housing (holiday parks, moving hotels to residential etc), student housing near universities, etc.

2. Zoneable paths/ pedestrian only roads

3. Buildings with multiple entry/exit points (In concert with point 2, you can set up systems such as pedestrian only shopping districts with rear access for deliveries)

4. Not my suggestion but, if possible, maintain compatibility to the Cities 1 Steam Workshop, for those of us that use mods and assets the workshop is an essential part of the game, and is a massive and extensive collection (243,347 at last counting), and while Major Mods such as Traffic Manager and MOM would likely be updated/replicated for Cities 2 within weeks of launch many minor mods and assets would likely not be, and that loss would likely see many of us choosing to remain with the original game, at least for quite some time while the new workshop library attempts to build up to even a shadow of the original one.

 

[Fox_NS_CAN]

4. Not my suggestion but, if possible, maintain compatibility to the Cities 1 Steam Workshop, for those of us that use mods and assets the workshop is an essential part of the game, and is a massive and extensive collection (243,347 at last counting), and while Major Mods such as Traffic Manager and MOM would likely be updated/replicated for Cities 2 within weeks of launch many minor mods and assets would likely not be, and that loss would likely see many of us choosing to remain with the original game, at least for quite some time while the new workshop library attempts to build up to even a shadow of the original one.

It might be reasonable for assets to be compatible, but for mods to be compatible, they'd basically have to give you Cities 1 with no changes. Even small changes in DLCs can break mods, it's not reasonable to expect mods to be compatible with CS2.

 

[Greenstar-lion]

It might be reasonable for assets to be compatible, but for mods to be compatible, they'd basically have to give you Cities 1 with no changes. Even small changes in DLCs can break mods, it's not reasonable to expect mods to be compatible with CS2.

That’s a fair point, however, the only “mods” we get on console edition are really just assets anyways