Free Patch and Updated Plans

[unoace1006]

Anyway, I was expecting a delay — but not one this big. There’s clearly something fundamentally wrong with the development, and that really saddens me.

There are definitely significant issues that are sucking up a lot of time. It’s also unclear how much work is left to do/how much has been accomplished.

That’s frustrating. They’ve said that Serialization and Virtual Texturing were holding the Editor back. Were those items complete? Are they 90% done? It’s unclear. The next update mentioned removing a significant number of Unity dependencies. Did they realize that after the VT/S update or did they simply not share it with us?

And what about “smaller” items like snow, animations, bikes, and other small quality of life improvements? Why haven’t we seen progress on that end, but we have seen a line tool, as well as a hard mode. Are bikes really so far down on the priority list or are there underlying issues affecting their ability to develop and complete bikes?

I’ve theorized for a while now that they must be working on getting the game engine updated to Unity 6 before doing anything substantial like DLC/animations.

Whatever the issue/issues are, it’s frustrating that progress isn’t being clearly communicated. It feels like a shell game where we have no idea what the truth is.

 

[Civ5rako]

That said it is clear the top leadership at Colossal doesn't take any accountability for all the terrible mistakes they made over the past years. I would have been fired 10 times for one tenth of the mistakes they made. So as long that doesn't change, I won't expect major breakthroughs anymore.

Fun fact: they were asked by investors at the last financial call if the CS2 expansion would be released on time and they said then that no delays are expected (and this was like 2 weeks ago). So I assume things must be pretty bad if they changed their minds last minute.

That is what baffles me the most.

The state the game was in when released.
Both DLC's postponed, one now for the fourth or fifth time if memory serves me correctly. The other one literally historically bad with it's 4% Steam rating.
I have strong reason to believe that at least three patches were late, one even just to save them a weekday holiday.
The endless horror stories of consoles versions and Asset Editor.
Patches which introduce nearly as many new bugs as they are supposed to repair.

And none of that causes any consequences? Unbelievable.
I did have a really good relationship with my last boss which certainly gave me some leeway in some ways. But with such a track record I would have lost my job in half the time.

 

[Arararamba]

Lead designer of all their previous games left the company (the lady in the CS1 TED talk [1, 2], she really was passionate about what she was creating). Some senior devs left too. Based on data glanced here, it seems to have happened in year 2 of development. This is when they said they had to "restart from scratch". We can probably assume there were a huge disagreement.

My guess is the game that would have been was probably less ambitious, but would have been something actually good.

[1] https://www.ted.com/talks/karoliina...might_help_us_build_better_cities?language=en

[2[ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karoliina_Korppoo

EDIT: as of 2025 she is working on a yet to be announced "simulation game" in a new studio.

Maybe there is some more money in this business.

 

[backface]

Maybe I am lost between all the messages and other announcements on X and another social networks, but there has been any other communication or answer from CO to this topic? All I can see is a couple of replays on X linking to previous statements about assest and console version.

 

[IHOR MISKO]

Maybe I am lost between all the messages and other announcements on X and another social networks, but there has been any other communication or answer from CO to this topic? All I can see is a couple of replays on X linking to previous statements about assest and console version.

no

 

[Civ5rako]

Maybe I am lost between all the messages and other announcements on X and another social networks, but there has been any other communication or answer from CO to this topic? All I can see is a couple of replays on X linking to previous statements about assest and console version.

Nope.

 

[Stevo Wallis]

I think they are rewriting and rebalancing the economy and trade systems so the new ports and freight work properly. That would explain the rather large delay. Only time will tell. If they get it wrong after this I think they are done.

 

[exi123]

I think they are rewriting and rebalancing the economy and trade systems so the new ports and freight work properly. That would explain the rather large delay. Only time will tell. If they get it wrong after this I think they are done.

There are only these two options:

- As you said, they are really working on fixing the game and try to establish a long term content plan to have a paying audience for their game;
- There is only a skeleton crew working on the last fixes on promised content to get the last things out of the door and then end the production of the game, the rest of the team has already moved on.

There are of course hints, one is that they are officially not hiring. That at least tellst you that they have no big ambitions for current and new projects. The silence about the content and tools promised is a very bad sign for me, it always feels like they are waiting for the right time to make the announcent to cancel further production.

 

[Civ5rako]

I think they are rewriting and rebalancing the economy and trade systems so the new ports and freight work properly. That would explain the rather large delay. Only time will tell. If they get it wrong after this I think they are done.

That would be shocking, as the rebalancing can be done with an Excel sheet. That does require like 3 days, 1 for setting the sheet up and 2 for entering all the values.

Similar it is with the ports. Receiving and delivering goods is the same for all buildings fulfilling such a task, may it be a port, a train statin, an airport, you name it. The difference is only in the amounts which have to be handled, which brings us back to the balancing part.

In total I really don't see any reason why they weren't able within five months at least to come up with something working. Unbelievable.

 

[BoraBora]

THIS is what concerns me the most in the long term, more than the bugs, delays, and unkept promises. It seems they don’t know what a good product looks like and can’t gauge how much effort is required to finish it. I hate to say it, but from the outside looking in they appear to have lost whatever effective talent they had, and the remaining organization is oblivious about the quality of their own work.

I think they're as able as us to judge the quality of their work but their narrative since april 2024 is to shift the responsability on us because of our "high expectations". They do a good job, you understand, but we're soooooo demanding (in addition to being negative or even toxic). This latest announcement is based on the same elements of language than the previous one. They shared this "beautiful expansion" developed in 5 months of "hard work" to the EA group and their answer was: "oh no, try again, this won't be good enough for them".

It's an astute rhetoric. They're the good guys, wanting the best for us and we're the spoiled children forcing them to delay the releases again and again. Even between the release and "the way forward", the expectations excuse was used as often as they could. Like "sorry we had no idea you were expecting a game with modding support, less than 23 549 bugs and no need for a NASA supercomputer. Now we know and we'll work hard to satisfy you. Thank you for your feedback".

 

[LordTridus]

Maybe I am an old fart, but last decade or so, seems to be a shift in people thinking things take moments to make, definitely more entitlement in the newer generations who want huge pay checks at 22 because they have done a job for a couple of years.. patience and earning it, not so much.

Seriously? Their estimates have been consistently so far off that it defies reason. Estimating software development time is hard (speaking as someone who does it), but if you're off by literally years on every estimate, multiple times, something is fundamentally wrong. I don't know if its the estimate process or that the development process itself is a mess, but there's a core problem here that everything takes far, far longer than they think it will.

That's going to happen sometimes in software development. When it happens all the time, on everything, repeatedly, there's a fundamental problem.

What still relates today though, is good old honesty and communication.
I see both sides on this game, definitely some justified anger, but at the same time, how many people on here have developed a huge game, or piece of software, setup a new business, a factory or large supply chain to get an idea of scale, scope and effort required? Not many I bet.

I don't build anything this big, but I do write software for a living. Delivering years late is a problem. Delivering buggy stuff is a problem. Doing both at the same time is a big problem.

More importantly: they have. CO has done this before, and Paradox does this for lots of games. The DLC is years late and somehow still needs months more work. The asset editor is nowhere in sight despite being hugely late. At this point they should know how development is going and how their tools work, so they should be able to know if something needs 6 months of effort or 18 months of effort. That they still don't seem to have a handle on that is a gigantic red flag.

Also why is everything taking so long in general? Their progress is glacial compared to other game devs, which suggests either the team has had a lot of turnover and people just don't have the experience to move fast, or there is major technical debt and the code is just hard to do anything in.

The only thing they can really do at this point to earn back trust is either deliver what was promised, or come out and explain in detail what the problems are. A roadmap at this point won't mean anything: we've had those more than once and they clearly are unattainable.

 

[Didoland82]

There are only these two options:

- As you said, they are really working on fixing the game and try to establish a long term content plan to have a paying audience for their game;
- There is only a skeleton crew working on the last fixes on promised content to get the last things out of the door and then end the production of the game, the rest of the team has already moved on.

There are of course hints, one is that they are officially not hiring. That at least tellst you that they have no big ambitions for current and new projects. The silence about the content and tools promised is a very bad sign for me, it always feels like they are waiting for the right time to make the announcent to cancel further production.

I mean.. we've gone full circle by now. Pyrotechnic presentation, bad launch, overpromised engagement in "doing better", overpromised new features "almost there", releases falling short and delayed, constant reduction of communication and content talk missing one at a time at each statement release, delays after delays..
It sure looks like the curtains on this game are set to go down exactly like they went up: by the end of the year, to let investors pickpocket us one last time.

 

[SanicK]

We really need a sad reaction on the forum...

 

[The_Official_JW]

Another delay without proper explanation, any teaser about new features, or even an update on the Asset Editor, is just so disappointing. It’s been months you didn’t share any news.

Enjoy your summer vacation, your fan base won’t forget this move.

I mean at this point Paradox is a laughing stock. My only issue?? Wasting my money on the season pass. I'm done trying to find the positive with the company. They are a failure and a disgrace at this point and I say that because if this was EA or Rockstar, this would not have happend.

 

[TheRedBarron]

While I’m happy we will be getting some cool new bridges soon(desperately needed) I’m sad that everything is taking so long. I don’t know anything about coding or making a game but is there a reason that everything seems to be going so slow? Short staffing? Difficult code? It feels like you are abandoning the game…

 

[The_Official_JW]

View attachment 1306957

Hello Cities: Skylines players,

Since the release of the Detailers patch, we’ve spent the last five months working hard on the Bridges & Ports DLC, and towards our upcoming expected release. After reviewing the content ourselves and sharing it with our early access group, we’ve received consistent feedback: the bridges are super exciting, and the port works well, but there are aspects of the expansion that are not as polished as they could be.

That left us with a difficult choice: delay the release once again to add more depth, or release it as-is, knowing players may feel it falls short. We believe the current content is enjoyable, but we’re not blind to what’s missing, and to bring it to the level you deserve, we need more time.

The free update that was intended to come alongside Bridges & Ports will release on June 11th, with a bit of content that gives a slight sneak peek of what is to come in the expansion. In the meantime, we’re assessing feedback from our early access group and mapping out what we want to improve when the expansion launches - which we are now expecting in Q4 of this year.

That said, this is still a beautiful expansion, and we’re excited about what it will add to your city. We just want to ensure it adds enough to meet your deservedly high expectations.

The full patch notes for the free update will be shared on June 11th, together with the release of the patch. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek of the free assets included to enhance your waterfronts.

2 New Bridges
Including Combination bridge:
• Four-Lane Highway Double Train Track Double-Decked Extradosed Bridge
• Double Train Track Truss Arch Bridge

3 Leisure Piers
Piers are shoreline/harbor assets created using the net tools. They are divided into leisure and
industrial piers.

3 Quays
Quays are a way to beautify the cities' shorelines. Quays can be updated with trees and piers can connect to them. Container Crane can be placed over the Cargo Port Quay that is designed to be wider than normal quays to work with the Reach Stackers. Quays work similarly to other roads in that buildings can be snapped to them when the zoning grid is visible.

// the Cities: Skylines Team

At this point, just release the game and let the modders fix it. This game has been nothing but issues since launch (granted it's gotten better but still). With the delays and the lack of communication alongside the promise to get better at communicating...it only shows one thing...you don't care about your fan base. Look at Frontier with Planet Coaster 2 with the issues they had. What did they do? Create an open line of communication, free updates, plus a true roadmap. Paradox has failed again and again to the point, why are we as players still supporting this company? The only regret I have is buying the season pass and being lied to. But yeah go ahead and work your little 8 hours on a pack and go on vacation. This PR nightmare you have needs to have all hands on deck and 12 hour work days to make this game become what was promised.

 

[Foxosaur]

I think they will turn this around btw. Because I think they can sell DLC already and I think Paradox will invest in that, similar to one of their 'forever games', as a model, it aligns to PDX. Them delaying is probably a good decision in reality and at least as as they'll be an a patch soon but they could have offset the news with a preview of fixes or something else positive but my guess is this post was made by someone else maybe.

We really need a sad reaction on the forum...

In all seriousness, I agree.

 

[ClemiMD]

• Four-Lane Highway Double Train Track Double-Decked Extradosed Bridge

Yeah... this rocks. I already love it just because of its name!
...double train track double-decked extradosed... savor this slowly!

 

[TrevorHall]

We really need a sad reaction on the forum...

 

[Soinus]

What worries me most about this news is that there is a lack of any excitement or positivity in the message.

When even a prepared message fails to give some positivity...