The Way Forward, an update from the team behind Cities: Skylines

[ASGeek2012]

it seems beach properties was removed from the steam store completely. So now there is no history of the bad reception. maybe thats the actual intention behind all this.

Considering that the DLC would be removed anyway once the asset pack becomes part of the base game, I don't think it makes much of a difference whether it's taken down now or later. Either way the history would be gone (and would be a moot point, since they've already admitted their mistake and are refunding the cost).

 

[ihateuselesssoftware]

Considering that the DLC would be removed anyway once the asset pack becomes part of the base game, I don't think it makes much of a difference whether it's taken down now or later. Either way the history would be gone (and would be a moot point, since they've already admitted their mistake and are refunding the cost).

I dont completely understand what you are saying.
until yesterday it was out of question that the dlc would become part of the base game.

The dlc is being removed because they are giving it away for free. Firstly they wont have to pay for many refunds because i dont believe many people actually bought it seperately. UE-owners dont get the refund and people who got it from key resellers probably wont get it either. And Secondly they get rid of all the negative reviews at the same time.
so i guess you could call it a clever strategy by them. At the same time it feels a bit shady from my perspective. You could argue that they are actually profiting more then the consumers, they appear to compensate.

 

[Abitus]

Thanks for answering my previous questions.

This is how we count the amount of assets since they are technically different in their values and their visual appearance with different props and surfaces. While this is unlikely to change, we can strive to clarify what we mean by that in the future!

I perfectly understand that internally you count assets this way, but that's a totally different thing than how you advertise them. From a player perspective, different versions/levels of the same asset will never be seen as different assets, regardless of textures and props variations. Now I know that inflating numbers can be very tempting marketing-wise, but I also can assure you that's something that's always badly perceived by customers. If you want better steam reviews on the future content packs I suggest you be careful with this practice.

Also not something that we can share, but we can share that bikes are high up on the list of features we'd like to add!

Thanks, it's good to know for bikes. I just want to push a bit for stairs too, since with bikes those are the two main missing features for building no-car-focused cities. Ideally it could be great if both were released at the same time.
That being said, I still agree that bugfixes and performance improvements should come first, so I'm perfectly okay with CO taking the time they need to focus on these first.

Lastly, speaking about this makes me think about the roadmap question again. At this point I can only insist on the fact that it could be the best way to bring a lot of transparency to your communication with the community. I think many of us are really waiting for this. We don't expect something engraved in stone, I truly believe that most of us understand that estimations are likely to change over time. But we want more visibility on your current and next focus points, and a roadmap could bring exactly that. Like, for example, knowing that bikes are high up on you list without having to ask this question somewhere in the middle of hundreds of forum replies and hope you'll notice it and answer (this time you did so thanks again for that, but we unfortunately don't always have that chance).

 

[WiSimler]

You cant change the past and the strange decisions already made - rightly people are angry.

What you can do is work on the present and future, this is a good start.

However, we have heard it all before and I can't truly believe what is being said until it is delivered, as so many of these sort of posts have already been made and promises not delivered. You have to deliver tangible results now, and fast. It's the only way to get the community onside after what we have had to put up with so far.

They can't deliver tangible results fast.
"Fast" is bad. "Fast" was the reason for the problem we actually have.

Me, for my person, is onside.
I know, that it will need much more time to let grow Cities 2 to a game, good as CS 1. And more money.
No problem. I have time and I'm willing to give some more money. Because it's worth it. Even now, in this state it is.


By the way: I'm not interested in the radio stations. Please find something else.

 

[alcarcalimo2364]

Hi Mariina!

Thanks for the update. I've been quite patient with CO regarding the CS2 release. I am not as unsatisfied as other people are, but I understand that a lot of people have problems with the game and I don't want to discount anyone's concerns. That being said, I do have one request. Many of us have been making assets in preparation for assets to finally be able to be loaded into the game. I know that there are some guidelines around asset creation on the wiki, but I was wondering if it would be able to get more detailed information about asset creation and expectations around our models. Or release asset creators who have been working closely with CO for CCPs and the regional asset packs from their NDAs (or at least portions of the NDA specifically regarding asset creation) so they are free to discuss asset creation with the rest of the community.

I know there are a lot of us who are ready to pull the trigger as soon as asset importing is available, and it would make the process a lot smoother for those of us who aren't in the beta if we were able to get more information.

 

[TripleAgent]

They can't deliver tangible results fast.
"Fast" is bad. "Fast" was the reason for the problem we actually have.

The game was delayed for over 3 years, I don't think "fast" is necessarily the problem.

 

[WiSimler]

The game was delayed for over 3 years, I don't think "fast" is necessarily the problem.

But everything points to it being the early release. And the reason for the release (imho) was a) lack of money and b) missing a massive of player feedback.
What do you mean with "delayed for over 3 years"? Did they ever give a year for the release?
But apart from that: 3 years are nothing with a complex program like this. Add another 2 years.

 

[Civ5rako]

But everything points to it being the early release. And the reason for the release (imho) was a) lack of money and b) missing a massive of player feedback.
What do you mean with "delayed for over 3 years"? Did they ever give a year for the release?
But apart from that: 3 years are nothing with a complex program like this. Add another 2 years.

What he means is that the game was late by three years when released. It should have been released late 2020/early 2021.
So, the two years you mentioned are already in.
And meanwhile we are already another half a year past release.

 

[raf8655]

Since you are starting to respond more to the community, I'll try to ask this very bold but legitimate question: is it possible to know what the insurmountable bugs are that still don't allow the introduction assets Mod into the game?

 

[ASGeek2012]

until yesterday it was out of question that the dlc would become part of the base game.

Um, okay?

But now it IS going to be part of the base game. Not sure what point you're making here. The DLC came down when they decided to make it part of the base game. That's the logical sequence of events.

The dlc is being removed because they are giving it away for free. Firstly they wont have to pay for many refunds because i dont believe many people actually bought it seperately. UE-owners dont get the refund and people who got it from key resellers probably wont get it either. And Secondly they get rid of all the negative reviews at the same time.

While all technically true, it still does not explain how getting rid of negative reviews is going to help them somehow, since at some point the DLC was coming down anyway. My point is there's no difference as to whether they take it down now or later.

You could argue that they are actually profiting more then the consumers, they appear to compensate.

Er what?

I'm baffled by this statement. With the DLC down and not being paid for, they've ceased to make profit from it as of now. How is that "profiting more"?

 

[Kedryn]

The wildly differing tones each week are hard to follow along with. I like the general words you used this week, but not so much the near-obsequiousness.

I do hope you manage to finish the game how you envisioned it before time constraints due to <redacted to keep my account safe> set in.

 

[ihateuselesssoftware]

With the DLC down and not being paid for, they've ceased to make profit from it as of now. How is that "profiting more"?

not directly in a monetary sense , no. but they are trying rebuild trust and they do that by giving away this dlc for free. Since im pretty sure it wouldnt have made much money anyways, they not really investing much. at the same time the make the reviews disappear by removing the item from steam so they dont are the creators of the historically lowest rated item on steam. This i would argue will help potential future purchases. in that sense they are profiting. i hope i made it clearer.

 

[EustaceCS]

Can't wait to see a refund of DLC activated with a retail key. Probably for the first time in Steam's history.

 

[Greng]

I'll watch what you do, not what you say. I genuinely hope this is a sea change but your communication since launch has so far been a disaster. Get some PR tips from the other development teams from Paradox... and fix this mess. I genuinely want to see you do well.

 

[ASGeek2012]

not directly in a monetary sense , no. but they are trying rebuild trust and they do that by giving away this dlc for free. Since im pretty sure it wouldnt have made much money anyways, they not really investing much. at the same time the make the reviews disappear by removing the item from steam so they dont are the creators of the historically lowest rated item on steam. This i would argue will help potential future purchases. in that sense they are profiting. i hope i made it clearer.

OK, I guess that makes more sense.

In either case, I don't think anything shady is going on. Like I said, the DLC would come down at some point anyway. I also don't have a problem with wiping the slate clean so long as they follow this up with concrete actions, and only time will tell if that comes to fruition.

 

[WiSimler]

What he means is that the game was late by three years when released. It should have been released late 2020/early 2021.
So, the two years you mentioned are already in.
And meanwhile we are already another half a year past release.

I know, what he means.
But: who said, the game should have been released late 2020/early 2021? That was a business plan, a estimation, no promise.
I played long enough in my life to experience, that planned release dates are .... nothing.

Cities skylines is a big project. A very complex one. And it's obvious they underestimated the amount of work remaining until release. So 2023 wasn't the year we wished, you're right. It was just the year, which was a little bit(!) more realistic. Additionally it might have been still a little early.
There is a time, when you have to let go the game and give it to the players. But that doesn't mean, that it's ready. No, that just mean, that now all that problems and errors come to the surface, which were hidden until know. In the depth of librarys or behind operational blindness.
The two years I mean, started with the release.

And 2032 we will see the next identical loop with CS 3, which will be perfect 2037. I hope, I will see it.
But first I will give feedback for CS 2, enjoying it to go along, while it is riping.

 

[MayorWanze]

Though I don't agree to KingHenryVIII.s posting, you don't know his motivation for buying the Ultimate Edition. Maybe he just wanted to support CO/PDX?

Best regards,
sys

So first they prepurchase 3 radio stations they arent interested in to support CO/PDX and then they feel the need to notify them they arent interested in radio stations they will get for free?

 

[WiSimler]

So first they prepurchase 3 radio stations they arent interested in to support CO/PDX and then they feel the need to notify them they arent interested in radio stations they will get for free?

That's easy to answer. I'm one of them.
They don't need the radio stations, because they don't listen to the music in game. But they bought tht Ultimate Edition for the other content, which they liked/like. And to support Collossal Order.
Now, after the first dlc caused trouble, they still support CO, but they like to have something different for compensation, for example a fourth creator pack or some special buildings.

 

[The Aziz]

Okay but like, are 3 content packs in exchange for one that was implemented into the game (so not taken away) not enough?

 

[ihateuselesssoftware]

Normally both parties have to agree to a contract change