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Dev Diary: Decorations Patch

Hi everyone. We’re back with a development diary as patch 1.1.8, also known as Decorations Patch, is almost ready for you. Yes, it isn’t Detailer’s Patch #2 as this patch is not as big as the last one, but we hope you will still enjoy it. Since we wanted to get the homeless fix out as soon as possible and the decorations menu was ready to ship, we decided to bundle them together, along with a bunch of other bug fixes of course. Today, we’ll go through the new menu, how props work, and what has changed with homelessness. So let’s dive in!

DECORATIONS MENU​

We have been impressed by the creative use of the many props included in the game and when we first started putting Detailer’s Patch together, we knew we wanted to include an official and supported way to access them. For those who aren’t aware, it’s been possible to access and place props through developer mode, but as the name suggests, this isn’t a feature intended for everyday use, and as such can break things. So we’re excited to introduce the new Decorations Menu as part of the Landscaping options bringing you access to many props you can use to decorate your cities.

Detailers 1.1 - 1 Decorations menu.png

Add a personal touch to any empty area of your city using the props in the decorations menu

Landscaping now includes 8 new categories packed full of props, from stones in Nature to benches and fountains in Park to crates and silos in Industrial Props. We looked at all the existing props in the game and selected the ones that both make sense and work when placed in game. As an example, we haven’t included props that only make sense when placed on a building, like chimneys or air condition units, as prop placement on buildings is not supported. In total, you will have access to 298 props to decorate any area of your city that needs a little something extra.

Placing a prop from one of the new categories works a lot like placing trees or buildings. They have a collision area based on the item’s size and shape, and just like trees, they can be placed on top of surface areas to create beautiful plazas or manicured gardens. Once placed, they can be selected, moved using the Relocate button in the Selected Info Panel, or removed using the Bulldozer. And perhaps best of all, props are free to place as they are decoration items that don’t impact the city - well, besides making it look cool of course!

Detailers 1.1 - 2 Decorated area.png

Create plazas, parks, gardens, back alleys, or more using props and surfaces

HOMELESSNESS​

Now, let’s talk about homelessness in the game. When citizens lose their homes, either because they cannot afford them or because they get destroyed, they become homeless. If they can afford it, they will leave the city, and if they cannot, they will find temporary shelter in your city’s parks or abandoned buildings. This is where they tended to get stuck, unable to find new homes or leave the city. Patch 1.1.8 contains a series of fixes to make sure those homeless households have a chance to get back on their feet.

Previously, we had a random check for whether homeless households would look for suitable homes in the city. This has been removed so with patch 1.1.8 homeless will always try to find a suitable home in the city. But that in itself isn’t enough, it requires homes for them to move into, and that those homes are not filled by newly created households instead of the city’s homeless population. To ensure this, homelessness now affects demand in two ways. It causes fewer new households to spawn while increasing the demand for high density residential housing.

Depending on how many homeless households your city has, it may take a while before all of them get back on their feet or find their way out of the city, but you can help the process along by fulfilling the demand for residential zoning and providing public transportation out of the city, such as intercity buses or trains.

That brings us to the end of this development diary. We hope this has given you some idea of what to expect for the next patch, and we will of course release the full patch notes when patch 1.1.8f1 goes live. We’re excited to see what you create using the Decorations Menu, so don’t hesitate to post screenshots (and tag us on social media if you do) showing off your creations!
 
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Great stuff! Is there any more news on the asset creator?
Nothing concrete we can share yet, but it's a high priority for us. We'll let you know as soon as we have news on the situation.
 

HOMELESSNESS​

When citizens lose their homes, either because they cannot afford them or because they get destroyed, they become homeless. If they can afford it, they will leave the city, and if they cannot, they will find temporary shelter in your city’s parks or abandoned buildings. (...)

Previously, we had a random check for whether homeless households would look for suitable homes in the city. This has been removed so with patch 1.1.8 homeless will always try to find a suitable home in the city. But that in itself isn’t enough, it requires homes for them to move into, and that those homes are not filled by newly created households instead of the city’s homeless population. To ensure this, homelessness now affects demand in two ways. It causes fewer new households to spawn while increasing the demand for high density residential housing.
I don't get your design decisions. Not at all.

Homelessness should increase the demand for residential buildings in addition to the demand already existing. But in contrast, you let fewer people move into our cities???
About the "Previously ... " I will even not comment at all.
And why homelessness should increase the demand for high density buildings isn't completely clear either. Look at the highlighted part of the quote.
If, for whatever reason, a low density building was destroyed, wouldn't one expect that the former residents would want to move into another low density building?
 
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Great news, thanks ❤️! So, there is still in plans detailers patch 2? And second question, DLCs Modern architecture and Urban Promenades are still planned for 3Q 24'?
 
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Hi everyone. We’re back with a development diary as patch 1.1.8, also known as Decorations Patch, is almost ready for you. Yes, it isn’t Detailer’s Patch #2 as this patch is not as big as the last one, but we hope you will still enjoy it. Since we wanted to get the homeless fix out as soon as possible and the decorations menu was ready to ship, we decided to bundle them together, along with a bunch of other bug fixes of course. Today, we’ll go through the new menu, how props work, and what has changed with homelessness. So let’s dive in!

DECORATIONS MENU​

We have been impressed by the creative use of the many props included in the game and when we first started putting Detailer’s Patch together, we knew we wanted to include an official and supported way to access them. For those who aren’t aware, it’s been possible to access and place props through developer mode, but as the name suggests, this isn’t a feature intended for everyday use, and as such can break things. So we’re excited to introduce the new Decorations Menu as part of the Landscaping options bringing you access to many props you can use to decorate your cities.

View attachment 1182501
Add a personal touch to any empty area of your city using the props in the decorations menu

Landscaping now includes 8 new categories packed full of props, from stones in Nature to benches and fountains in Park to crates and silos in Industrial Props. We looked at all the existing props in the game and selected the ones that both make sense and work when placed in game. As an example, we haven’t included props that only make sense when placed on a building, like chimneys or air condition units, as prop placement on buildings is not supported. In total, you will have access to 298 props to decorate any area of your city that needs a little something extra.

Placing a prop from one of the new categories works a lot like placing trees or buildings. They have a collision area based on the item’s size and shape, and just like trees, they can be placed on top of surface areas to create beautiful plazas or manicured gardens. Once placed, they can be selected, moved using the Relocate button in the Selected Info Panel, or removed using the Bulldozer. And perhaps best of all, props are free to place as they are decoration items that don’t impact the city - well, besides making it look cool of course!

View attachment 1182502
Create plazas, parks, gardens, back alleys, or more using props and surfaces

HOMELESSNESS​

Now, let’s talk about homelessness in the game. When citizens lose their homes, either because they cannot afford them or because they get destroyed, they become homeless. If they can afford it, they will leave the city, and if they cannot, they will find temporary shelter in your city’s parks or abandoned buildings. This is where they tended to get stuck, unable to find new homes or leave the city. Patch 1.1.8 contains a series of fixes to make sure those homeless households have a chance to get back on their feet.

Previously, we had a random check for whether homeless households would look for suitable homes in the city. This has been removed so with patch 1.1.8 homeless will always try to find a suitable home in the city. But that in itself isn’t enough, it requires homes for them to move into, and that those homes are not filled by newly created households instead of the city’s homeless population. To ensure this, homelessness now affects demand in two ways. It causes fewer new households to spawn while increasing the demand for high density residential housing.

Depending on how many homeless households your city has, it may take a while before all of them get back on their feet or find their way out of the city, but you can help the process along by fulfilling the demand for residential zoning and providing public transportation out of the city, such as intercity buses or trains.

That brings us to the end of this development diary. We hope this has given you some idea of what to expect for the next patch, and we will of course release the full patch notes when patch 1.1.8f1 goes live. We’re excited to see what you create using the Decorations Menu, so don’t hesitate to post screenshots (and tag us on social media if you do) showing off your creations!
Can you say whether Find It and Plop the Growables will work along the new prop menu?
 
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Nothing concrete we can share yet, but it's a high priority for us. We'll let you know as soon as we have news on the situation.
This has been the same answer for a very long time. Please, tell at least what you've managed to do on asset editor recently. Have you added something, removed something, is someone writing new code to take care of it?
 
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So a thought...
IF the citizens, when stuck are because they don't have enough money or means to either leave the city or move to another house.

This could be fixed by the budget to welfare system (welfare office). In that sense money is given to homeless families to afford a new home IF there is home available or move away from the city when there's no free affordable housing available.
In conjunction, the low rent apartment blocks are a good solution to homeless families to move in using the welfare system.

So, the higher the homeless, the higher is the demand for welfare. The higher affordable housing availability, the higher chances of the homeless staying in city.
 
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Hi everyone. We’re back with a development diary as patch 1.1.8, also known as Decorations Patch, is almost ready for you. Yes, it isn’t Detailer’s Patch #2 as this patch is not as big as the last one, but we hope you will still enjoy it. Since we wanted to get the homeless fix out as soon as possible and the decorations menu was ready to ship, we decided to bundle them together, along with a bunch of other bug fixes of course. Today, we’ll go through the new menu, how props work, and what has changed with homelessness. So let’s dive in!

DECORATIONS MENU​

We have been impressed by the creative use of the many props included in the game and when we first started putting Detailer’s Patch together, we knew we wanted to include an official and supported way to access them. For those who aren’t aware, it’s been possible to access and place props through developer mode, but as the name suggests, this isn’t a feature intended for everyday use, and as such can break things. So we’re excited to introduce the new Decorations Menu as part of the Landscaping options bringing you access to many props you can use to decorate your cities.

View attachment 1182501
Add a personal touch to any empty area of your city using the props in the decorations menu

Landscaping now includes 8 new categories packed full of props, from stones in Nature to benches and fountains in Park to crates and silos in Industrial Props. We looked at all the existing props in the game and selected the ones that both make sense and work when placed in game. As an example, we haven’t included props that only make sense when placed on a building, like chimneys or air condition units, as prop placement on buildings is not supported. In total, you will have access to 298 props to decorate any area of your city that needs a little something extra.

Placing a prop from one of the new categories works a lot like placing trees or buildings. They have a collision area based on the item’s size and shape, and just like trees, they can be placed on top of surface areas to create beautiful plazas or manicured gardens. Once placed, they can be selected, moved using the Relocate button in the Selected Info Panel, or removed using the Bulldozer. And perhaps best of all, props are free to place as they are decoration items that don’t impact the city - well, besides making it look cool of course!

View attachment 1182502
Create plazas, parks, gardens, back alleys, or more using props and surfaces

HOMELESSNESS​

Now, let’s talk about homelessness in the game. When citizens lose their homes, either because they cannot afford them or because they get destroyed, they become homeless. If they can afford it, they will leave the city, and if they cannot, they will find temporary shelter in your city’s parks or abandoned buildings. This is where they tended to get stuck, unable to find new homes or leave the city. Patch 1.1.8 contains a series of fixes to make sure those homeless households have a chance to get back on their feet.

Previously, we had a random check for whether homeless households would look for suitable homes in the city. This has been removed so with patch 1.1.8 homeless will always try to find a suitable home in the city. But that in itself isn’t enough, it requires homes for them to move into, and that those homes are not filled by newly created households instead of the city’s homeless population. To ensure this, homelessness now affects demand in two ways. It causes fewer new households to spawn while increasing the demand for high density residential housing.

Depending on how many homeless households your city has, it may take a while before all of them get back on their feet or find their way out of the city, but you can help the process along by fulfilling the demand for residential zoning and providing public transportation out of the city, such as intercity buses or trains.

That brings us to the end of this development diary. We hope this has given you some idea of what to expect for the next patch, and we will of course release the full patch notes when patch 1.1.8f1 goes live. We’re excited to see what you create using the Decorations Menu, so don’t hesitate to post screenshots (and tag us on social media if you do) showing off your creations!
That’s absolutely incredible, thank you and definitely craving for more.
 
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Would it be possible to add a surface painter with procedurally generated prop placement? It would be a great addition for those who would like to place additional parks and plazas here and there without spending so much time on finding and placing the right props.
 
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