Save Game Checklist | Economy 2.0 - 1.1.4.f1

[Cities: Skylines Official]

The patch for Economy 2.0 will be one of our biggest to date, and that also means that there will be many changes in how the game functions, especially with the economy.

We are now close to releasing the Economy 2.0 patch! The final checks are being made before we push the buttons, and it might be in your hands already tomorrow. Before the patch is released, though, we wanted to share a list of things you might encounter while loading up your saves after the Economy 2.0 patch; this post should explain in advance how your previous saves will be impacted so that there won’t be any surprises.

We have already published two Developer Diaries about what the Economy 2.0 patch contains. If you want to read them, you can find them here;

DD#1 - https://pdxint.at/3R8OSRY | DD#2 - https://pdxint.at/3yF8RBr​

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SAVES​

• Saves from before the economy rework will still work but may require a transition period. This extensive rework will affect how the simulation runs and impact the saves you have been building on when the patch goes live on Patch Day. Read below on what takes time to take effect.

MODS​

• With the new patch, there are no guarantees for modded saves; you will have to check for updates or instructions from modders.
• Mods affecting the simulation are likely impacted by the update.

Mods have to be updated to work with the new version of the game and its new functions. Please be patient with the modders that make the mods you love, and while some mod creators have been given Early Access to the patch to be able to update their mods, they might be unable to update them immediately. Please don't hound mod creators to update their mods; if they're able, they will update them as soon as they are able.

If you want to play the game without mods while you wait for mods to be patched, you can use a new playset empty of mods or temporarily add --disableModding to the game's Steam launch options to disable all mods.

WHAT WILL CHANGE?​

• By popular request, we're making the game less easy:
  • Government Subsidies are removed, and City Service upkeep costs are increased.
• Are you relying on external City Services?
  • Cities relying on external services need to enable the Import City Services policy to continue using neighboring city services, which now come with a fee.
• Upkeep Cost for Tiles
  • Tiles now have an Upkeep Cost, and if you have many tiles unlocked you will notice a major change to your budget. If you’re struggling to balance your budget after the patch but want to keep playing on the same save, we recommend enabling “Unlimited Money” in your saves Map Options. If you start a new map and enable the new Map Option "Unlock All Tiles", the tiles won't have an upkeep cost, and you won't have to pay 22,000,000 per month for all the tiles.

THIS TAKES SOME TIME TO TAKE EFFECT​

• Death Wave
  • There will be a Death Wave in your city lasting about 1-2 in-game months. The older your citizens are, the more severe it will be. This is because we want to vary the age at which citizens can die to avoid future death waves - but it will take a while as the Grim Reaper usually doesn't get so much paperwork all at once.
• New Budget Calculations
  • Expect a negative money trend initially, but tax income may offset new costs after recalculations. If your city struggles financially, consider increasing taxes, reducing service budgets, or temporarily turning off buildings to save costs.
• New Production and Employment Calculations
  • Companies need time to adjust production and employee numbers, potentially increasing unemployment.
• New Demand Calculations
  • Demand adjustments may occur quickly, affecting demand bars, so don't be surprised if they are very different from before the patch. Increased industrial manufacturing space may drive up residential demand unless there are already job-seeking workers.
• New Residential Demand Calculations
  • Don't be surprised if this new calculation causes citizens to seek different housing types or relocate after the patch.
• New rent and Resource Consumption Calculations
  • These calculations should help citizens afford preferred housing, reducing "High Rent" notifications over time.
• Do you still have "High Rent" notifications?
  • Persistent "High Rent" notifications even after an extended period of playing? This may indicate unemployment issues. Ensure citizens have jobs to pay rent.

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We value your opinion on the development of Cities Skylines II and have, along with this patch, created a survey where you can add your opinions, concerns, and suggestions about Economy 2.0.

When the patch is out, you will find this survey as one of the Tiles in the Cities: Skylines II Launcher!​

 

[Cities: Skylines Official]

One quick question: Why do bought tiles have an upkeep cost? And also 22,000,000?? PER MONTH??? Couldn't this be an option if we want to pay the upkeep costs for the land tiles we bought?

Quick clarification: if you have unlocked ALL the tiles, then the upkeep cost is 22 million per month, and each tile is much less individually. I've also updated the text to clarify this!

 

[Cities: Skylines Official]

Will the new build be 1.1.3 or 1.2?

The version will be 1.1.5f1.

 

[Cities: Skylines Official]

I don’t recall seeing this in either of the two previous dev diaries. Did I just miss it? Was it not included? A new addition to the patch?

It was a pretty recent addition; the team has been working on the patch even after the DDs were posted.

And follow-up question… if the max number of tiles one can access in a game is 441 (=529-88) that means each tile is roughly ₡50K/monthly. Correct?

It depends on the tile. It varies because of the Buildable Area, the available Natural Resources, and the available Groundwater.

The Tile Upkeep Cost is also based on the Tile Cost, but we apply a multiplier that varies depending on how many tiles are owned. The multiplier changes based on a set curve, so the first few tiles you buy have a lower multiplier, which then increases more and more as you expand until it levels off toward the last few tiles.

The Tile Upkeep Cost is shown when the player purchases a tile, so you can see what you end up paying for it.

Lastly, if unlocking all tiles at the beginning of a game eliminates this feature from the simulation in-game, it seems like a strong incentive for players to just unlock all from the git-go.

This would depend on the player. If you want more of a challenge, adding more cost and balancing to your progression would be a welcome addition, but if you want to build more Sandbox-y, that cost would be irrelevant to your play style.

 

[co_avanya]

I am writing to you about something very important.

In the current version we are well funded.
Therefore, there are many players who have unlocked all the tiles.
Only a limited number of those players can afford to pay 22,000,000 per month after the update.


There needs to be the ability to re-lock tiles into the game.

Without this feature, you are forcing players to have unlimited funds.
Or you are forcing them to start the game over.

Paradox is aware of this, right?
I fear Paradox will be criticized.

We tested a bunch of different cities of varying sizes to see how they handle the upkeep cost. Generally, if you have played with progression and unlocked tiles as you received permits and could afford to expand, your city will likely be able to afford the upkeep cost. You may need to make some adjustments to the budget.

In the case of cities built with Unlock All or ones that used mods to unlock all tiles, it really depends on the size of the city and how much income it's making. Some will probably be able to adjust while some cannot afford all the land. In those cases, it may be worth enabling Unlimited Money to continue the city. We understand that this isn't ideal, but we believe the Tile Upkeep Cost will make for more meaningful decisions in the future.

Lastly, we will of course keep an eye on feedback. We can only test so many cities, so we want to hear how the changes to the economy feel to determine if we hit the right balance or if it needs to be harder or easier.

 

[co_avanya]

I just wanted to thank you for your reply.
I didn't expect to get a reply so soon, so I am very touched.
Also, I could feel your passion for this update.
Thank you.

I am positive about this update because I like the challenge of difficult economic issues.
However, I have already unlocked all the tiles in my most favorite city.
If I try to continue the challenge in my most favorite city, I will be faced with an unrealistic payment of 22,000,000 per month.
I could continue the challenge by making the funds unlimited, but that is not my favorite challenge.
With this update I will no longer be able to take on difficult economic problems in my most favorite city.

Hopefully someday the ability to re-lock tiles will be implemented.

My English is not good,
If I came across as harsh, I apologize.
I am always supportive.

How large is your city? If it's over the 100k citizens mark there's a decent chance that you can still turn a profit with some adjustments to tax and services. I managed to get my 122k city into the green with the maximum tiles unlocked, but the citizens will be paying a bit more tax for a while until I can grow the city some more.

Thank you very much for this information. I will get back to you with my feedback later as my grandma has passed away and I won't be able to play it for the time being.

I really hope to have more responsibilities as mayor of my city and citizens.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Take good care of yourself, the game will be here when you come back.

I'm having a minor surgery on 27th, pls release before that so I can play during my recovery

We aim for it to be out by then. Wishing you a smooth recovery!

I wanted to ask a few things that still are really important to me for this game:

- Will we have elevated subway/train stations? Today we can create invisible paths but it takes a long time to build and the sims always go down the platform

- When will the empty parks be fixed? Today, when we have multiple parks in the city, sims only use the ones high the highest attraction value. In this game we can create park areas but they are irrelevant because of this issue. Will this ever be fixed? This would be a big addition to make the game feel more real

Elevated stations are on our wishlist, but I can't promise them at this time. As for the issue with only the most popular park being used, I'll check up on this and make sure it's an issue we have logged already (and if not, make sure it gets looked into).

All of this looks great!

I might have missed the new tile upkeep costs but I am weary of it. What is the simulation behind what justifies an upkeep costs for tiles or is it simply an upkeep costs to make the game harder?

With the Tile Upkeep Cost we hope to give your choices more meaning, especially in medium or large cities. Currently, the only things to consider when expanding your city are 1) can you afford to buy a tile, and 2) what the tile offers (resources, connections, buildable area, etc). When you have an established city with a good economy, it often ends up just being a matter of time before you can afford the tiles. The Tile Upkeep Cost adds another thing to consider that affects your city, not just in the moment you buy it but also going forward. We think of it as a land tax paid to the government that increases as your city grows and is expected to have a larger income.

If the Tile Upkeep isn't your cup of tea, the new option to "Unlock Map Tiles" can be enabled. This unlocks the entire map and disables the Tile Upkeep Cost, so you're free to expand your city as you want to without having to worry about the cost.

 

[co_avanya]

I like this idea in general - But why not just add an option to specifically turn off this upkeep cost? Why not give players choices, other than "the full experience" and "completely sandbox"?

While it doesn't just turn off the Tile Upkeep Cost, the newly added option "Unlock Map Tiles" will do that.

The community has asked for a more challenging, more difficult game since the beginning. This is the end result.

Let's wait and see how tough the game will be first, and then we can make additional tweaks later in the next patch.


Does this mean, per #2, if the tile is mostly water, the water will not be counted towards the Tile Upkeep Cost?

This would be wonderful if it's officially confirmed. Because you can't build on water. I guess that means, we can buy out the tiles full of water, and we would have no tile upkeep costs associated because of 0% buildable areas.

Tiles with mostly water have a significantly lower purchasing cost and as a result will have a lower Tile Upkeep Cost.

Be careful with this - it does not mean that you can play on the "entire map" (in the graphic below named "C:S II: Maximum Available Area" - available but not playable).

Actually the playable area stays the same with the outside regions being just cosmetic.
The C:S2 completely buildable area is a bit smaller than the 81 tiles area of C:S1:

View attachment 1150236

Also the area which is unloackable from the normal gameplay perspective is 441 tiles (bright green) which is what Avanya is referring to

To make the maximum available area playable mods will be needed, just like in C:S1.

Just to make sure there are no misunderstandings: Unlock Map Tiles unlocks all the 529 tiles.

 

[SimNationJan]

 

[SimNationJan]

thank you for the update
any chance we can get preliminary release notes today?

Final patch notes will be released on Monday together with the patch, however, our two published Dev Diaries outline the major changes.

 

[SimNationJan]

I do not know what you mean. They said they were going to publish a survey and it isn’t there.

The survey is also available here https://pdxint.at/4cbxjsR