CO Word of the Week #3

[co_martsu]

Last week I promised to give you an update on where we are with the modding of Cities: Skylines II. The Editor is in the works and we shared an updated version of it with the closed Modding Beta group for a feedback round just last Friday. The Editor currently includes only maps and support for code modding and we’re looking forward to getting those ready for an initial release. I’m calling it an initial release as we will be adding to the modding tools throughout the game's lifetime, just like we did with Cities: Skylines.

We do not have the asset import feature available yet, so the creators are currently unable to import their own assets into the game. After we have the import feature in place we’ll be running it through the Modding Beta group. When the asset part of the Editor is ready, we’ll have the Paradox Mods nicely populated with the Region pack assets that the asset creators have been working on. The assets are looking amazing, and I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun choosing the ones most fitting to your cities! If you haven’t already, check out the Region Pack teaser here:

Our goal is to release the Editor as soon as possible, and we will keep you updated on the progress. We expect it will take a couple of months to get the Editor in a shape where we can release it, but we don’t have a concrete timeline yet as we don’t want to make promises we can’t keep. Once the Editor is out we will continue to work on it with your feedback and suggestions to help us prioritize the most wanted features and improvements. We’re very much looking forward to seeing your creations and mods too!

As an update on console, the game will have all the intended Editor features in place when the console versions are released, so you’ll be able to catch up to the PC players in no time. The Editor on console will be on par with the PC version in all but two features: code modding and asset importing as these are not possible within the console restrictions. However, you will be able to download user-created assets from Paradox Mods and create custom maps! The performance improvements we are currently working on also benefit the console version, and we’re actively working on the console versions so they will be ready for you in the first half of 2024.

In the last three weeks, we’ve had a very quick pace with the patches. There is one more of those landing soon, but after that, we’ll be focusing on bigger fixes that take longer to work on. The team is now focusing on LODs and improving GPU performances, and while geometric LODs are largely automated, there are a ton of tweaks and adjustments required. We are expecting a relevant performance boost with these asset fixes. The workload is significant and unfortunately, there is no silver bullet to improve the performance at once, instead, it requires several tasks completed before we are happy with it. This results in less frequent updates so we won’t have weekly patches going forward. Please check the future Word of the Weeks for more information, as I plan to keep writing one every week until further notice.

Before I go, here’s a link to last week’s patch notes if you want to check what it brought! Thanks to everyone who reported an issue and gave feedback. Your effort is most appreciated!

Sincerely,
Mariina

 

[co_avanya]

For those of us who aren't so much interested in city painting: What does that mean for the myriad of bugs and issues with the simulation? When will we see improvements to the gaming part of the game?

Last week we released a patch to address some of the gameplay issues you have reported, and we're investigating several others as we're working our way through the issues that have been brought to our attention.

 

[co_avanya]

Hello Mariina

At the moment it seems like the map editor can only allow for existing climates chosen from presets.

Will we be able to create our custom climate and weather patterns in the future?
Cities 1 kinda allowed a similar thing within its limitations

The Editor that some people have been able to access in the live version of the game is an early version lacking features and functionality. It is not ready for use and I do not recommend using it as we cannot guarantee maps created with it will work correctly. As previously mentioned, our goal with the Editor is to provide you will all the same options that we have when creating content for the game, which also includes setting up custom climates and weather for maps.

some questions:
- will there still be pre-order bonuses on consoles?
- will there be a limit on the assets downloadable via paradox mods on console?
- in the long term, is this how the industrial system will evolve, particularly with regard to the fact that assets pop up on their own and without any real coherence?

We're looking into the options for the pre-order content so players on console also have an opportunity to receive it, however, at this time we don't have any information about what that will look like. We'll share more about this in the future.

There are likely to be some limits on console when it comes to downloading assets. For example, assets that rely on code mods will not work correctly and likely won't be available on console.

I'm not sure I quite understand your last question. Do you mean if there will be a system to control which zoned buildings appear, similar to how the original Cities: Skylines had district styles? Or do you have something else in mind?

How are Free Region packs tied to the Editor? So we won't be getting those for at least another two months? Why tease us with the trailer saying "coming soon" 3 months prior then? Damage control?

I get that things are getting delayed because of all the fixes and issues but I don't think it needs to be said that this Editor should've been part of the initial release.

Custom assets need to be imported into the game and set up in the Editor.

Thanks for the update. I love the game so far but I'm really disappointed that it will be months until we finally get an editor. And even after waiting months you are telling me that the editor won't feature asset creation? One month ago the CO’s community manager announced that mods will be available days after release, what happened to that?

I'm quite sure I haven't shared a schedule as we did not have one at release, so I'm guessing this might have been a community manager from the Cities: Skylines team (There's only me on the CO side of things, but I know it's hard to keep track of us community managers ). I'm sorry for the confusion, I can absolutely understand it's frustrating to hear we are looking at months when you had the impression it would be days after release. I'll look into how we can improve communication so all us community managers are on the same page and you aren't given incorrect information in the future.

Not gonna lie, I'm pretty disappointed. I asked several times when you expected the asset editor to be released and all I got was 'shortly after release' and Maddie was talking about 'days after release' in a livestream, so I took the plunge and pre-ordered the game. I don't really play the game, all I'm interested in is the asset editor so hearing it will now be a 'couple of months' feels like a slap in the face.

I asked before but I'm gonna try again: Is it possible to join the asset editor beta? I'm mainly interested in building and vehicle assets, I made several for CS1 as well in the early days.

My apologies for not getting back to you and any other creators who are interested in joining the beta. We're currently not looking to invite more people, but you're always welcome to send me a private message with a bit about yourself, your prior experience modding and a link to any content you have created for our games. I'm probably not able to get back to everyone right away, but messages are easier to find again in the future.

 

[co_martsu]

Thanks for all the feedback and apologies for not having time yesterday to write answers to your questions! I see some already answered so I'll just write a summary that hopefully answers at least some of the concerns raised.

You have the right to feel disappointed for the Editor not being already available. We have no intention to delay its release more than necessary. The asset import feature (where a user imports an asset created in a 3D modeling software to the game) is severely delayed due to various technical issues related to it and given it's mid November now we have zero chance of getting it ready before the Christmas break. When it comes to the map editor we'll see if it can be released before the asset import is ready. Regardless of when the Editor is released it is planned to be supported and improved upon based on the feedback from the creators and modders using it. The delay is most unfortunate but we are doing our best to getting the Editor out as soon as possible.

Gameplay issues are being actively worked on and we've been also looking into some pathfinding errors. Some bugs take longer to fix than others and it would cause added stress to try and keep a specific cadence so at no point have we committed to one. Since we've had weekly patches thus far I found it best to warn that it's not to be expected in the future, with the sole purpose of trying to manage expectations. While the patch cadence is expected to be longer going forward it doesn't mean we have stopped working on bugfixes.

We are also working on the performance not only because it's necessary for the console release but also for PC platforms to allow the creation of huge cities. I'm sensing that most are actually able to play with acceptable performance level if it starts to feel like we should be focusing on the other things more, but we are internally not satisfied with the current situation and will keep working on improving the performance until we are.

I will keep bringing you news every week, hopefully good ones but we must be able to discuss setbacks as well, if more occur. For those wanting to leave the game behind, I fully understand and respect that and I hope you will find your way back again later in time. We're not going anywhere.

 

[co_martsu]

We're investigating the bug reports and fixing issues. There's a lot of people enjoying the game so we are not looking to pull it of the market.

Actions speak louder than words: patches will be released and the game improved. I'll share the latest news next week and I hope to see you all then!

 

[co_martsu]

If you need someone to blame you should blame me. As the CEO of Colossal Order I carry the responsibility for the quality of our products. I'm sorry the game didn't meet the expectations and we'll take the feedback onboard.

And we have indeed gone through a ton of feedback and bug reports. Some bugs are already fixed and we're working on the rest. The designers and gameplay programmers are focusing solely on this while those working on performance get results.

Performance is important for all platforms. PC is the the primary development platform and all performance work is done there first and will help the console versions. Therefore PC players will get access to the optimizations as soon as they are done.

We have no intention to abandon Cities: Skylines II. We think it's a better game than the first one. We will keep working on it and like I said actions speak louder than words so stay tuned for the news about patches. There won't be a patch next week, but the patches will come out when ready.

And for those concerned about the team I want you to know that we are working normal workhours and we are very happy to see so many players enjoying the game. Thanks for caring!

 

[co_martsu]

No-one is rushing the console versions, the development of them doesn't slow down the work we are doing for the game.

The post/export is being investigated, so there's not a fix for it yet. I'll include the gameplay focus in the word of the week next time!

 

[co_martsu]

Whats holding a console release back? Performance. Because the hardware is fixed and not variable like a PC, it doesnt meet the quality benchmarks youve set. You've said in your word of the week the focus is now on editor/performance instead of continuing the focus on weekly bug patches. That to me says the games good enough in its current state, the team can focus our attention on the next task at hand.

Please, personally have a look at reddit/citiesskylines and reddit/cityskylines2 and see what your players are discussing. Theres an overtly strong negative overtone about bugs/gameplay mechanics. Please consider polishing what you've released so you have a strong game foundation to build upon. The rewards will come from that.

Thanks for the great games, I just want to see the game and your team achieve the best outcome , but I feel your charting in the wrong direction with the focus.

P.S. We getting our ritual weekly [final] Thursday patch by COB today ?

Yes, there is a patch on its way. The next one after it hasn't been scheduled as we need to get a bigger performance issue sorted out for it. All future patches will most likely include also gameplay fixes as we have several team members working on them. The pace is slower because the quicker fixes have been done and released and we just need more time between the patches. A weekly patch takes time each week and that's time away from further fixes.

I personally check Reddit quite often and have even participated in some discussion, but right now I need to save up some strength before going there again.

 

[co_martsu]

If Paradox Mods is available in the games menu on GeForce Now and the game can download and install mods while it's already launched, in theory mod support on GeForce Now is possible with the small inconvenience that mods have to be downloaded every time you start the game.

This is exactly the problem as it's not a small inconvenience having to download all the mods every time the game is started, that is no way for an official mod support to work. We will look into this later and see if the issue can be resolved.

Generally when it comes to mods we must follow the rules set by each platform. We will always support modding to the best of our abilities. We have no reason to restrict the modders and all the reasons to help them create something amazing.