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CO Word of the Week #15

Let’s discuss the status of the modding support today. The Editor has been in the works and we have shared versions of it with a closed group of a few selected modders for feedback. We are very fortunate to have this dedicated group of people eager to try experimental solutions and voice their opinions on them. Their feedback helps us understand how tools are used and how we can improve them. We have been surprised by the modders so many times in Cities in Motion and Cities: Skylines that we have stopped trying to guess what you might want to do or achieve. It’s much more helpful for us to just ask directly how to support those efforts instead.

Collaboration with the closed group has been going on behind the scenes for months now. Together, we have put a lot of effort towards the beta version of the modding tools, and we really can’t wait to share them with you! We believe modding is a pivotal part of the experience with a Cities: Skylines game and we want to encourage everyone to be as creative as possible.

As we’re preparing for the public release with support for Code Modding and the Map Editor, Paradox is running a broader Early Access for modders and creators chosen from the sign-up earlier this year. This gives creators the early opportunity to give the team direct feedback on using Paradox Mods, the new Modding Toolchain, and the Map Editor. We’re looking forward to seeing their feedback, and having the first Code Mods, Maps, and Savegames uploaded to the platform and ready for you on its release! This is all to support the quest of making sure we have a robust start when the tools are released, and this is a good opportunity to test Paradox Mods as well. We’ll be sharing more information on each part: Paradox Mods, Code Modding, and Map Editing later on so you’ll know what to expect.

I would like to emphasize again that there is still a lot of work still to be done: Asset editing is not in a shape or form to be used as-is. We’ll still need more time to make importing the assets work. The Region Packs teased at the end of last year are bundles of assets of varying sizes and content made by some of your favorite creators from the community. These assets rely on us finalizing the asset editor to a point where we are happy that the import pipeline and saving will be in a future-proof state. This is an ongoing effort, alongside improving the Code Modding and Map Editing based on the feedback we’ll receive from the Early Access and eventually from all of you. We have dedicated devs working on the modding support, eager to tackle bugs and implement improvements, so we’ll keep patching the tools throughout the public Beta phase until we have Modding 1.0 available. Naturally, the work will continue even past that as we receive more feedback and suggestions from you.

The creators and modders of Cities: Skylines brought so much cool and innovative content to the game, and we can’t wait to see what you come up with for Cities: Skylines II. There are already some exciting mods and beautiful maps out there (yes, we see you!) and it will be very exciting to see what you create with the added support!

Sincerely,
Mariina
 
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I'm very scared on the comments that are going to appear on this thread...after 1 week we would've liked to have a little bit more information..
Yes, such as, "Paradox Mods will be up and running by next week!" I was expecting a substantial announcement that would move things forward. No need to be frightened of comments on here. See the new forum rules. Negativity has been disallowed. It's okay! It's all GREAT!
 
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This is what was "cooking" according to the twitter account? This game is in such dire straits, lol.

The only fun I get out of this game anymore is to check the Steam reviews to see when the recent reviews will drop to Negative rather than Mostly Negative.
 
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The publisher will handle all announcements and therefore there will be no timelines in the communication from us devs. The only thing we can say is that we're working on both the modding support and the Ultimate Edition content. I can assure you that we have not abandoned the game and will keep working on it. So we all need a bit more patience.
I'm sorry but the absolute nerve to come here and ask for more patience...

First, your excuse that Paradox are the ones who will handle timing announcements is ridiculous. We are on the Paradox forum. You apparently keep getting calls from the folks at Paradox, but I assume that works both ways, no? Why not get that information from them to pass along to us, since they're the ones setting dates? Are you not communicating the state of the community to Paradox? Is Paradox aware of the mess that's been made?

Second, you are not entitled to or deserving of anymore patience. Frankly, your communication stinks; it's evasive, non-committal, dismissive, and erratic. Most of the communication by you, in particular, comes across as attempts to hold onto a job rather than have a frank and honest conversation with players. But we're not just players, right? We're also paying customers who made purchasing decisions based on advertising which is now looking more and more like smoke and mirrors. And despite frequent and many calls for reimbursement, you've ignored us.

You get no more patience from me, and I suspect (based on responses in here) many others who have been holding on for some kind of light at the end of the tunnel. If we have to take the conversation directly to Paradox so they can be made aware of the absolute mess this has been, I suppose now's the time.
 
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I ve paid so much hard earned money for a game that is not playable. Modding is core element of the game and so many months after release and we dont know when mod support will be released. Its a shame. The least you can do is give us a refund or give us the next expansion for free.
 
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'A bit more patience.'

(Hears whistling from the Guns N' Roses song in head and decides to keep mouth shut)

On a lighter note...

CO really missed the boat by not using the term "Citieszens"™ for their population.
 
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I don't fully understand how we went from WotW #14 to #15. 14 was amazing, finally some real talk. But 15 has no real substance to it. The (mis)communication of the art WotW didn't really help here either.

CO, the following part I kept deleting and rewriting because I really wanted to make sure it's as constructive as possible:
But basically, I'm afraid you're about to reach your tipping point, in a negative sense. If you continue like this, Cities Skyline will be Sim City 2.0. The communication is beyond ideal. There's no sign you're taking full responsibility. Your community is constantly asked to be patient after spending $80. There's no mentioning of actual compensation in any form/way.
However, if you do things right, you might be able to catch the curve. I just feel like this whole situations has became a now or never situation. We are aware, fixes and changes take its time. But unfortunately, you cannot keep asking for patience and hope things will be good.
Wishing you luck and wisdom for the next few days!
 
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So try not to build big grids and zone a hundred buildings on it while paused. AFAIK, this has been an issue since last patch and unfortunately, it happens to some players who just pause the game to fix an interchange, which isnt too big of a change in my opinion that it should crash the game.
Last time I had a crash, I tried to build twisted downhill road, which was connected only from one side and terraform terain around it. One simple connection to existing grid. As it was highway it even did not have any zones.

As you mentioned big grids and complicated interchanges I get it. Yes, I did not liked it, but I understand how it is possible. But with with the simple twisted road, I lost my will to play this game any more as it was not fun more like a chore.
 
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The publisher will handle all announcements and therefore there will be no timelines in the communication from us devs. The only thing we can say is that we're working on both the modding support and the Ultimate Edition content. I can assure you that we have not abandoned the game and will keep working on it. So we all need a bit more patience.
No, I don't need more patience. I've waited 5 months for the game that I paid for, with no end in sight.

I'm out of patience. Please, give me my money back.
 
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At this point there are 43 "Disagree" and 20 "Haha" reactions and only 31 "Likes". I hope you understand it's something wrong with your communication and you will not come out with the same argument of "We don't like toxicity".
 
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At this point, I believe you should provide a roadmap and a timeline for planned development. I know that CO and Paradox have rejected this idea in the past, but the WotW has been insubstantial and inconsequential. In fact, with caveats stating that a roadmap or timeline is only a guide, you could dispense with WotW, and hire a professional social media director. I think Mariina has better things to do than to dither with composing a WotW for the plebs.

Personally, I have been taking a break from this game for a while now, and will return to it once things get ironed out. I know it will happen, it is just my own impatience that is deterring me from enjoying the game as it is. If you are interested in an example of a good roadmap, go over to see the Big Ambitions website. That guy is an indie developer who made an excellent roadmap with rough dates. CO and Paradox could learn a thing or two about doing this, even though you are a AA studio.
 
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I don't understand why this could not be posted last week, given how generic this is (unless you planned a bigger announcement, but things did not work out?). IMHO, this sort of thing is sending a very negative signal on eventually getting the game in good shape.
 
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Honestly, I feel like the community does have to chill a bit.

At this point, it is obvious the devs have heard our complaints and are actively working on it. Development takes time, so now all we can do is just wait for the work to come out when it does. I have faith that the game as not been abandoned.

Can we all just chill a bit? It honestly does sound a little childish how demanding everyone is being. No one can possibly meet all expectations that the community seems to have placed.
 
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Who's in charge of getting PDXMods ready for C:S2? If Paradox created the platform, why isn't it ready? Where's the disconnect happening that the platform still can't be put into the game and "just work"? This is getting ridiculous; being ready "shortly after launch" does not mean almost 6 months or more post-launch. Some wording (and grammatical choices) needs to be adjusted to better convey what will soon be announced. Today's WOTW was not "cooking"; it sounded more or less like some previous WOTWs that were "less than well-received". I'm really hoping something good comes out of this, but I'm getting tired of getting excited, only for it to, more often than not, be a "nothing burger"... :/
 
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My guess is that CSI started much smaller than it is now. It evolved and slowly there were more aspects of the game to play and it grew to what we experience now. Unfortunately, we are starting with what we experienced on CSI after years (I imagine) of development and evolution and now our expectations are ramped up. CSII has similarities to CSI but my understanding is that despite similarities it is evolving as a different game. CSII started from a different point and didn't start from the high point of CSI. I'm not a techie so only assume that there is much more to developing and refining a game than I want to know. I appreciate a game that works well and evolves with new challenges. That is my expectation for CSII. So for now I play some other games that are further along in their development and enjoy them. I play CSII as well.
 
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