Updates on Modding and Performance for Cities: Skylines II

[Cities: Skylines Official]

MORE MODS FOR EVERYONE

We know you have been waiting, and now it's time to share the latest developments regarding modding in Cities: Skylines II.

First and foremost, our in-game editor is currently in its beta phase and will launch shortly after release. While we look forward to unleashing the power of creative modification to all of you, in preparation, we are collaborating with a talented group of creators working behind the scenes - ensuring you'll have amazing mods to dive into on the launch of the mods platform.

While the modding tool will have a basic framework at its inception, we are dedicated to its continuous expansion and enhancement, making it a central focus of our development efforts moving forward. More in-depth details about the editor and its roadmap ahead will be shared shortly - keep an eye out for our dev diaries.

Secondly, we're introducing Paradox Mods as the new mods platform for Cities: Skylines II. One of the core reasons for this is its inclusivity; modding capabilities will be extended to players across platforms - both PC and console - aligning with our commitment to provide as many as possible with the opportunity to modify and enjoy the game.

For console users, this means you will be able to access Asset Mods in the library. Yes, you read that right! We know it is a huge part of the Cities: Skylines experience and we're beyond excited to introduce a solution that makes mods available to everyone. As with all major updates, we are fully aware of the learning curve it might present, but we're committed to providing resources to ensure a smooth transition to Paradox Mods.


A NOTE ON PERFORMANCE AND OUR COMMITMENT TO PLAYERS

On another note, we've noticed the concerns raised about Cities: Skylines II performance, especially after our previous statement with raised minimum and recommended specs. As we've always believed in transparency, we'd like to further shed some light on the current state of the build.

Cities: Skylines II is a next-gen title, and naturally, it demands certain hardware requirements. With that said, while our team has worked tirelessly to deliver the best experience possible, we have not achieved the benchmark we targeted.

In light of this, we still think for the long-term of the project, releasing now is the best way forward. We are proud of the unique gameplay and features in Cities: Skylines II, and we genuinely believe that it offers a great experience that you will enjoy.

We will continually improve the game over the coming months, but we also want to manage expectations on performance for the coming release. Our ambition is for Cities: Skylines II to be enjoyed by as many players as possible, and we're committed to ensuring it reaches its full potential.

Thanks for your understanding and continuous support. We're lucky to have a community as passionate and dedicated as you.

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If you have more questions on the topic, please refer to our FAQ here :
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/cities-skylines-ii-modding-and-performance-faq.1601872/

 

[cvfunstuff]

Happy to hear about the mods! I’m hoping they also work on cloud gaming systems since it’s separate from Steam. And the performance thing - I think most players understood that the performance level the game is currently at was not CO’s goal. I personally trust that you all will work hard to get it to an acceptable level and get this game to more platforms (after console, check out Mac please ).

This is going to be the city builder for the next decade. I have no doubt that the experience CO has put together so far is terrific and will continue to be improved. Can’t wait for the 24th!

 

[ruffiØ]

Excited but cautious. Just spent a lot of money making a special project for the cities community and I’m hoping this move to an internal mod platform doesn’t derail everything I poured into it.

 

[Cities: Skylines Official]

Excited but cautious. Just spent a lot of money making a special project for the cities community and I’m hoping this move to an internal mod platform doesn’t derail everything I poured into it.

Here's to hoping!

 

[tamsi99]

Thank you very much for stepping up and addressing the performance challenge. By that, it is now officially confirmed what I wrote in several posts here already. While this is not a pleasant situation as such, I truly appreciate that you finally address it in a public, honest and transparent way. It gives me some hope that over the upcoming months we might see at least parts of the improvements we're hoping for. With your transparent message, I also decided to keep up my pre-order of the Ultimate edition from an authorized license dealer to support you in the process. With that latest message of truth, I hope lots of other customers will do the same.

Based on your message today, it sounded like the performance challenge is rather related to graphics level (GPU) and not so much about the simulation (CPU)? Or did you simply just mention the graphics settings because that is the only area a user can influence? Any further transparency would be appreciated on where the biggest challenges are that you want to target in the upcoming months (simulation optimization, visualization, etc.). Also, if the visualization is part of the performance challenge, do you have any plans to implement DLSS 2 / 3 to mitigate it?

 

[Approach]

No Steam workshop is unacceptable!

 

[FieldMedic]

Holding back PC users for the sake of consoles is a pretty ridiculous decision but rest assured that if there's a way to mod CSII without this Paradox Mods you can expect to see mods on Nexus or other places. The only thing taking the Steam Workshop away from us is going to do is inconvenience and alienate PC gamers.

 

[ruffiØ]

Here's to hoping!

If there is a way to hook paradox SSO into it. It could be a slam dunk for both of us.

just announced it: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...he-mod-bounty-platform-build-my-city.1602426/

 

[Lolongistor]

We will release an unfinished game. Thanks for your money.

 

[Approach]

We will release an unfinished game. Thanks for your money.

And removed the Steam workshop support, so cool

 

[StenKilla]

Damn shame. If no steam workshop i will not buy it

 

[homerCCCP]

No Steam workshop is unacceptable!

Note I am playing on a PC. Personally I don't like Steam Workshop a lot as it is a nightmare to find what I search for. Usually I use Google to search for mods in the Workshop.

That being said, with steam workshop console players would not have access to a lot of mods.
That was a major complaint in CS:1.

So now I ask you a question: What weights more?
Console players having no access to mods at all or PC players having to get used to another platform?

Sounds kind of easy. But sure, people will not buy the game because they need to use Paradox Mods instead of Steam Workshop (sarcasm)

Btw., everybody can press "disagree" as much as he wants, but I absolutely do not believe anybody by a little bit that this will finally impact the buy decision. Such posts are just immature and embarrassing IMHO. But do what you want...

 

[Shady311]

A player launching a game via Steam will first of all look for modifications in the Steam Workshop. He will not go somewhere else in a place that is incomprehensible to him. Now you will simply weed out a huge part of your audience, including those who make these mods, since everyone is accustomed to the convenience of the Steam workshop.

Bring back the Steam Workshop, don't make a biggest mistake.

 

[Approach]

Note I am playing on a PC. Personally I don't like Steam Workshop a lot as it is a nightmare to find what I search for. Usually I use Google to search for mods in the Workshop.

That being said, with steam workshop console players would not have access to a lot of mods.
That was a major complaint in CS:1.

So now I ask you a question: What weights more?
Console players having no access to mods at all or PC players having to get used to another platform?

Sounds kind of easy. But sure, people will not buy the game because they need to use Paradox Mods instead of Steam Workshop (sarcasm)

Btw., everybody can press "disagree" as much as he wants, but I absolutely do not believe anybody by a little bit that this will finally impact the buy decision. Such posts are just immature and embarrassing IMHO. But do what you want...

Do you really have an idea about what you are talking about?

Console players having no access to mods at all

So what is this? https://mods.paradoxplaza.com/games/cities_skylines?orderBy=desc&platforms=Xbox_one&sortBy=best
Can you explain what the word "Xbox_one" in this link means to you?

You ask me what weighs more, but I don't remember that I am ever against Paradox having its own platform for players outside Steam.

I am just disappointed that they decided to kill Steam Workshop support.

Why can't we have BOTH?

Don't even get me started on the new pricing, current poor performance, and so-called "next-gen graphic." I don't think that asking for parallel support for both Steam workshop and their own platform is "asking too much."

 

[akiraredacted]

Maybe there’s a way to keep workshop, where mods uploaded to it will also appear on the paradox mods page. Similar to how Wallpaper Engine works. This would be the best outcome for everyone.

 

[davidmrc]

Do you really have an idea about what you are talking about?

So what is this? https://mods.paradoxplaza.com/games/cities_skylines?orderBy=desc&platforms=Xbox_one&sortBy=best
Can you explain what the word "Xbox_one" in this link means to you?

You ask me what weighs more, but I don't remember that I am ever against Paradox having its own platform for players outside Steam.

I am just disappointed that they decided to kill Steam Workshop support.

Why can't we have BOTH?

Control over the content and need to monetize everything. If Paradox/CO decides to release a DLC that a very popular mod covers, all of the sudden, that mod will take a stroll to The Twilight Zone. And there is a bonus, when(not if) Paradox shuts down the support for this thing, it will heavily impact the player base and give them an easy planned obsolescence button. Paradox is now taking pointers not just from EA, but also from Apple.

 

[Chieron]

A player launching a game via Steam will first of all look for modifications in the Steam Workshop. He will not go somewhere else in a place that is incomprehensible to him. Now you will simply weed out a huge part of your audience, including those who make these mods, since everyone is accustomed to the convenience of the Steam workshop.

Bring back the Steam Workshop, don't make a biggest mistake.

There appears to be a Mods-menu entry in the main menu of the game. I suspect that people will figure out, how to mod the game.

The Steam Workshop is merely okay when we are talking about the number of mods and assets CS used. I would not really call it convenient (compared to tools like Nexusmods).
Of course, there is a certain hurdle to get used to a new tool and it might be better to keep the Steam Workshop integration. Really depends on unknown factors, though.

 

[Lucododosor]

Do you really have an idea about what you are talking about?
So what is this? https://mods.paradoxplaza.com/games/cities_skylines?orderBy=desc&platforms=Xbox_one&sortBy=best
Can you explain what the word "Xbox_one" in this link means to you?

Xbox players don't have mods per se, just some special assets that were added years ago. Those are called "mods" in-game for some reason, but they really aren't

 

[Meesmoth]

Why was support for Steam Workshop removed? It is basically the reason why Cities: Skylines is still alive even to this day, and now it's basically replaced with another website that fewer people use. If Steam Workshop isn't the main modding hub for this game, then it will never reach or surpass the longevity and diverse custom content that the first game had.

 

[Kliekie]

our in-game editor is currently in its beta phase and will launch shortly after release

Could you define 'Shortly after release'? Are we talking about a week? Month? Spring 2024?

To be honest I don't really play the game, I'll be only using the asset editor. I made several assets for C:S1 as well in the early days. Is it possible to get beta access to the asset editor when I buy the game?
I got multiple half finished projects for CS2 already but I can't finish them yet because of missing information.

Other than that: great to hear console players get asset mods as well!