Cities: Skylines II: Modding and Performance FAQ

[KingHenryVIII.]

But the Workshop is exclusive to Steam players, and with Cities: Skylines II we didn't want to limit modding to just players on Steam.

Why not integrate both workshops, just like in all the latest PDX game releases? CK3, for instance, seamlessly combines both workshops without any issues. You could have had the best of both worlds...

In my view, you should have at least contemplated upgrading your solution to be on par with the Steam Workshop before making it the only solution. Even better, you could have enhanced the synchronization between the two workshops and encouraged people to upload to both platforms. But this... this is not a justifiable decision.

 

[sfh0525]

But obviously it's on modder's side who is actually fixing mods after version update.
In Steam workshop, it's relatively "easy" environment to upload or abandoned mods.
Also, I dont have high hope for complex mods like TMPE, Real time to work across platform. Does this means CSL2 will no longer have ability to get complex and also very important game changing mods?

Also, for profit mods. How will you guarantee its warranty? It's still by modder's preference to keep update or ditch the mod. But THIS TIME, we PAY for it.

 

[Denis0192]

I actually would be fine with a change away from Steam Workshop if we knew exactly how Paradox Mods worked and if PC users etc would be constrained due to console requirements and vice versa. Instead it’s very vague wording, we have no confirmed release date, no way of mentioning how it actually works.

From my experience when Paradox does a new thing, from the forums to the launchers, it’s been a very rough and negative launch, so I’m very sceptical this will work.

I'm just afraid that this system will seem inconvenient to many, and the creators will not bother with it, as a result of which we will get fewer assets and everything else. I'll be glad to make a mistake. But now I really think that it might be worth refraining from buying the game and first look at how it will work.

 

[gekj]

No steamworkshop and game will run like potatoe at launch.

Like they really want to screw the release.

 

[marcosvfg]

With respect, the sims is definitely not one of the best ways to get mods. U have to search it up through multiple third party websites like modthesims and install the mods urself, and hope that you installed it correctly as the last time I played, it simply listed the .package that were active and not of the mod was actually actively.

The steam workshop is a very simple clock and subscribe, which we can then play to our hearts content in the launcher. It’s a working and functional system despite some flaws, why change it to a system which no one knows how to use? What is wrong with giving players more options to use?

It's not difficult to use mods in The Sims or Stardew Valley. The evidence lies in the sheer number of mods these games have and the number of downloads each mod receives. It's so feasible that there are content creators working and earning money by creating content for The Sims, something that would never be possible on Steam Workshop. Additionally, the world is facing a financial crisis, and in Brazil, for instance, the game costs 200 bucks+ on Steam, which is beyond my means. If they open up the Steam Workshop, essentially no one will use Paradox's platform, and my mods will probably get very few downloads, discouraging me from creating content for the game. So the game will lose one creator, and this is likely to be the case for many others.

 

[marcosvfg]

I believe our role as a community is to demand from Paradox a stable platform, easy to use for both creators and users, whatever that platform may be.

 

[sbadkins4]

I believe our role as a community is to demand from Paradox a stable platform, easy to use for both creators and users, whatever that platform may be.

Stable, easy to use, and not censored or limited by fiat.

 

[ClemiMD]

I will not judge anything until I see it.

 

[Doctor Machete]

Seriously, a paid mod is called DLC, paid mods would basically, just be an euphemism for DLC, similar to content creator packs.

That's not what I think 99.999% of the people understand by "mods". By that token, if a developer uses assets or code created by third parties then that's modding too, are all AAA games modded by default on launch?.

If it is curated, endorsed, supported and directly sold by the company (and not as an intermediary) then it's not a mod.

 

[Cymsdale]

PC users just love when they are given a worse version of something they are used to in order to make the console version better.

Good mod authors don't need to be forced to use the paradox platform, they'd want as many people to use their mod as possible so they'd naturally publish on both so console players would have access to their mod too (assuming the Paradox platform is not a nightmare to use). With both options available, the Paradox platform would practically curate itself.

 

[Deleted user]

Paradox mods is not a bad idea. It might help to release the games on GOG in the future as it removes Steam Workshop dependency.

 

[Kliekie]

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!

 

[Meesmoth]

Since when Paradox Mods became "more easily accesible" than the Steam Workshop? If there's no Steam Workshop support, then it basically means this game is already dead, combined with the poor optimization. It will never reach or surpass the longevity, accessibility, and convenience the first game had.

Edit; @akeela84, @marcosvfg, @prismaticmarcus, what do you disagree with on my statements? Quote me rather than clicking the disagree button. What I said is basically fact, try it yourself and open both Paradox Mods and Steam Workshop and you'll see that it is nowhere near close to what Steam Workshop provides. Also, it is one of the reasons why the first game is so successful, not because of DLCs or added features like day/night cycle, it's the custom content that is diverse, accessible, and hassle-free to download and use. Paradox Mods doesn't even have an option to automatically update mods, so if you have 5k worth of subscribed items, you have to update them manually, which is one small example of how it's less convenient to use than the Steam Workshop.

 

[GoodCharles]

For the love of everything we love about Paradox, let CS2 have Workshop.
People before me have already commented thoroughly about the subject so I won't.
Just thinking of the sheer amount of international communities and groups that flourished in CS1 Workshop makes me extremely sad about the future of CS2.
No matter what, it will see a decrease in many of those superbly talented Mod & Asset creators if they can't be in Workshop.

 

[Doctor Machete]

Among many other things (like organizing collections, subscribing to many assets at the same time...) I'd like to know how's going to work sharing links to collections from outside of the game?. Because that's very convenient in the Steam Workshop. You can click a link from a CS1 youtube video to look at the mods/assets used, and subscribe to some/all of them in one go if you want to without even having the game loaded, perhaps not even installed in that rig.

 

[GonDragon]

You are correct. At the same time players on Nvidia Now, Xbox Gamepass, Epic game store, console did not have access to the wealth of mods available. I think the reasoning at CO/PDX was: How can we bring mods to these players too?

Well, the easiest solution to that problem, is to make a mirror. There are already dozens of sites that do this, albeit with not so legal intentions in mind (like, providing workshop mods to pirated games).

So, they just have to make a Paradox Mod Center, that checks for new mods and updates on a weekly basis. Also, anyone should be able to upload his mod directly to del Pdx Mod Center, so it should have both: Original mods, and mirrors from the workshop.

This one is not an "ideal" solution, but certainly is easier than improving the Pdx Mod Center enough to be as useful as the Steam Workshop.

 

[lucasprins]

Will there be more detailed documentation for the modding framework than with CS1?

 

[marcosvfg]

Will there be more detailed documentation for the modding framework than with CS1?

Please. Back in the day, we used to create mods for CS1 practically in the dark. To figure out how to do something, we had to ask other content creators. I spent days trying to figure out how the textures worked in the game, and I still discover things when I venture. It would be much easier if the documentation was clearer and more comprehensive. And preferably in multiple languages because some technical things are quite challenging to understand outside of our native language.

 

[131sean131]

If the PDX mod platform is feature rich I can understand the want to have it in house. Steam Workshop is not perfect and modding is a massive part of this game so having a internal way to get and distribute mods is cool. I do hope stuff like collections of mods that can be subscribed to with once click is a thing. I suspect this will be bear bones to start with the promises of better in the future.


The thing is I am damn near at my limit on promises of better in the future. Paradox is spending good will here I hope it pays off.

 

[Windlife]

I knew when I saw footage of YouTubers moving over their cities in a cool 15fps the game was going to have massive performance issues. That was a week ago and, no, they won't fix much/anything with some magic day 1 patch - they never do. Look at Victoria 3: the leaked, laggy footage a whole month from launch turned out to be pretty close to the "finished" product.

And now no workshop support. Do you really believe that players have any trust in Paradox in-house managers? Their game launcher is notorious for crashing, failing to update mods, failing to update itself, failing to display mods, and randomly signing players out whilst saying they're still logged-in. And that's no where near all of its issues.

I'll say this: CS2 will be severely handicapped by this decision - and that's the truth. Paradox Mods will not have anywhere near the accessibility or viability the Workshop has. CS1 was literally given life through the Workshop. It wasn't the DLC, it wasn't the day and night cycle, and it wasn't the radio stations, it was the Workshop. You remove that, you kill CS2 before it even has a chance to stand.