Upcoming Patch & Content

[Civ5rako]

The Region Packs will be available for free on PDXMods!

???

Official additions to the game will come as mods?

 

[ClaudiusWhite]

???

Official additions to the game will come as mods?

The region packs are asset mods and not considered DLC. Colossal Order isn't even directly involved in them, as region packs are being developed as part of a contract between the creators of the region packs and Paradox (not Colossal Order). This has all been explained in previous dev posts here in the forums.

 

[Civ5rako]

The region packs are asset mods and not considered DLC. Colossal Order isn't even directly involved in them, as region packs are being developed as part of a contract between the creators of the region packs and Paradox (not Colossal Order). This has all been explained in previous dev posts here in the forums.

It doesn't matter who created them and who did have a contract with whom.
They are "official" add-ons to the game and therefore should not be distributed as "mods" (typically understood as fan-made and free of charge). Unless the intention is to blur the line between mods and content made/distributed by the developing studio and the distributor and therefore often enough coming at a price.
And one may very well question that intention, given the experiences we have gathered over the past months.

 

[BoraBora]

It doesn't matter who created them and who did have a contract with whom.

Authors and contracts are the only things that matter. These region packs were made by modders and will be released as mods which mean they're not "official" and PDX isn't responsible for anything. They may be bugged or even break your savegame but the complaints have to be directed to the mod's author, not CO or PDX. Yes, PDX announced them and included them in their marketing campaign ("soon" they said ) but they also announced and marketed their mod platform. Mods for CS 1 were regularly promoted for years on the official YT channel and that didn't made these mods official.

I don't know if the authors of these region packs have been paid. I hope so but honestly it's none of my business.

 

[unoace1006]

@co_avanya

When the Asset Editor releases in Beta this fall, is the plan still that it will only support buildings?

I know that trees, cims, and vehicles were on your internal list of assets to include in the future. I'm wondering if the amount of work/time that has gone into polishing/fixing the asset import/saving pipeline has allowed for parallel development of other asset types within the editor?

 

[YorkshirePilgrim]

I just want the product that was promised at the time I bought the game, pre-release. Is that really too much to expect after another seven months have passed? You need to stop console development entirely and concentrate on fulfilling your obligations to the people who have actually financed your development work, i.e. me and every other PC owner who trusted you. I feel cheated.

As a console player at this rate I tend to agree with you. Stop stringing us along with release date after release date that gets pushed back and back for console. Just bite the bullet and tell us it won’t be released for console.

This has been one of the worst game releases ever! Almost a year after the supposed release date and still not released for console! Guess CS 1 will be the best console players will ever get.

 

[co_avanya]

@co_avanya

When the Asset Editor releases in Beta this fall, is the plan still that it will only support buildings?

I know that trees, cims, and vehicles were on your internal list of assets to include in the future. I'm wondering if the amount of work/time that has gone into polishing/fixing the asset import/saving pipeline has allowed for parallel development of other asset types within the editor?

The only thing I can promise right now is buildings. We'll need the asset pipeline to be in a more final state to properly determine what needs to be done (if anything) to get other asset types working.

 

[Foxosaur]

Honestly this transparency is so refreshing. Rather than the sugar-coated and at times tone deaf updates which we received right after launch, I believe CO/Paradox have chosen a better path forward. Of course this does not erase the frustration of not being able to enjoy the game in its final and polished form (I hear you console players), but I hope that this is a learning experience for devs/publishers.

Not that there has to be a silver lining (and certainly not to diminish our frustrations), but perhaps this experience will lead to a more collaborative approach in fine-tuning the game, resulting in something better than originally planned.

There are likely more forks in the road ahead (no pun intended), but I hope CO continues to choose the path which regains our trust.

I am cautiously optimistic and am looking forward to the upcoming patch.

I hope so, I purchased skylines1 base game last year and I'd like to get into a city builder and don't want to spend out on the old game, if things might turning around here. More free assets and information on performance are what I'm looking for, as well as continual positive communication.

It's been at best tepid and commonly farcical so far as a mere voyeur, not including the latest communication which was a positive.

 

[TetraDax]

The only thing I can promise right now is buildings. We'll need the asset pipeline to be in a more final state to properly determine what needs to be done (if anything) to get other asset types working.

Could we, at some point, get an actual thorough answer on why the asset editor is taking so long? Like, what the actual problems are?

 

[timfrombriz]

Could we, at some point, get an actual thorough answer on why the asset editor is taking so long? Like, what the actual problems are?

I agree.

I fail to comprehend what thr technical issue could be. Import mesh and uv data is not complex, most proprietary file formats have documentation about their file structure if you need to manually write an importer.

 

[Civ5rako]

Could we, at some point, get an actual thorough answer on why the asset editor is taking so long? Like, what the actual problems are?

The answer to the first question is obvious: a lack of manpower and skills.

The actual problems which prohibit solving the first problem seem to be the design of the game as initially planned. And here it becomes a bit complicated as it seems that there was no consistent design philosophy at play.

CS2 isn't a city builder, as it lacks main ingredients of that genre, most prominently the option to fail. Or one could say it even lacks options, as one is just as good or bad as the other. That has been discussed ad nauseam now.

CS2 isn't a city painter either, as it lacks the assets (or easy access to them) and well, the infamous asset editor/importer.

There seems to have been at least at a vital point during "development" (if one really dares to call it that way) the idea to transform it into Cities:Sims. Zombies with teeth and unobedient dogs which you can "follow" when they stay at home although they should be at work.
And that is in accordance with the two other points: it is only meant to be watched (that is, if you have a RTX 4090 in your system).
Make some zones, place some roads (or not, doesn't matter) and watch the game do its thing.

In total, it seems to have been designed for a completely different audience. Nobody who loved CS1 for what it offered really is satisfied with CS2.
There is a reason why they proudly yelled "We haven't used ANYTHING from CS1!"

They wanted to have a "game" which had nothing to do with the predecessor.

And now they don't have a way back.

 

[unoace1006]

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

Dear Cities fans, We see and understand the disappointment many of you have expressed after the release of Cities: Skylines II and the recent release of Beach Properties. We asked for your patience and support, and you’ve shown those. In...

forum.paradoxplaza.com

I think co_avanya answered this as best they could. See link above.

The answer to the first question is obvious: a lack of manpower and skills.

The actual problems which prohibit solving the first problem seem to be the design of the game as initially planned. And here it becomes a bit complicated as it seems that there was no consistent design philosophy at play.

CS2 isn't a city builder, as it lacks main ingredients of that genre, most prominently the option to fail. Or one could say it even lacks options, as one is just as good or bad as the other. That has been discussed ad nauseam now.

CS2 isn't a city painter either, as it lacks the assets (or easy access to them) and well, the infamous asset editor/importer.

There seems to have been at least at a vital point during "development" (if one really dares to call it that way) the idea to transform it into Cities:Sims. Zombies with teeth and unobedient dogs which you can "follow" when they stay at home although they should be at work.
And that is in accordance with the two other points: it is only meant to be watched (that is, if you have a RTX 4090 in your system).
Make some zones, place some roads (or not, doesn't matter) and watch the game do its thing.

In total, it seems to have been designed for a completely different audience. Nobody who loved CS1 for what it offered really is satisfied with CS2.
There is a reason why they proudly yelled "We haven't used ANYTHING from CS1!"

They wanted to have a "game" which had nothing to do with the predecessor.

And now they don't have a way back.

Could we, at some point, get an actual thorough answer on why the asset editor is taking so long? Like, what the actual problems are?

 

[co_avanya]

Could we, at some point, get an actual thorough answer on why the asset editor is taking so long? Like, what the actual problems are?

A thorough answer means I need to pick the brains of a few of our (currently very busy) programmers, but I'll look into whether this is something we can cover at some point. Perhaps a dev diary on the asset import and the challenges we faced makes sense when we add the asset pipeline.

 

[cestes]

A thorough answer means I need to pick the brains of a few of our (currently very busy) programmers, but I'll look into whether this is something we can cover at some point. Perhaps a dev diary on the asset import and the challenges we faced makes sense when we add the asset pipeline.

Respectfully, CO has used the "we're too busy" mantra for so long at this point it has lost all meaning. We're a month out from "Looking ahead, we also want to make immediate and meaningful changes in the way we approach the game’s development and our communication with you." Realistically, it doesn't seem like anything has changed. Nearly every communication is "we're to busy" or "in the future" or "if we have time." That's not meaningful. At this point the very busy programmers had all the time leading up to the launch and seven plus months since launch to address this issue. They continue to fail.

Perhaps the programmers time might be better suited writing up a dev blog about what's going on and see if there are some smart folks within the community that might be able to offer a fresh perspective or some different ideas, because so far the status quo hasn't been successful. Why not try something different and meaningfully communicate to your customers what the problem is rather than just saying it's broken.

 

[Foxosaur]

Respectfully, CO has used the "we're too busy" mantra for so long at this point it has lost all meaning. We're a month out from "Looking ahead, we also want to make immediate and meaningful changes in the way we approach the game’s development and our communication with you." Realistically, it doesn't seem like anything has changed. Nearly every communication is "we're to busy" or "in the future" or "if we have time." That's not meaningful. At this point the very busy programmers had all the time leading up to the launch and seven plus months since launch to address this issue. They continue to fail.

Perhaps the programmers time might be better suited writing up a dev blog about what's going on and see if there are some smart folks within the community that might be able to offer a fresh perspective or some different ideas, because so far the status quo hasn't been successful. Why not try something different and meaningfully communicate to your customers what the problem is rather than just saying it's broken.

I've long suspected that the business contract didn't include some of the community management we're a bit more expectant of in our respective PDX games and neither was PDX fronting it on this occasion until recently.

That and mixed with a over the top marketing campaign that on the face of it delivered figuratively but was also a bit disingenuous of the state of the game. And that's the distrust that maybe PDX is more responsible for. They wanted the revenue as publisher no matter the truth and well, CO just had to go with the consequences but also push back on the community just to protect staff.

Getting a representative has been helpful but it does leave a lingering sour taste of a business decision that's a bit obvious to read for the customers and definitely has knocked my confidence towards purchasing other PDX games and dlc. So I think PDX has reaped what it sowed and dragged CO with it and their mutual customers.

I'll remain hopeful things will be better addressed in future though

 

[Civ5rako]

A thorough answer means I need to pick the brains of a few of our (currently very busy) programmers, but I'll look into whether this is something we can cover at some point. Perhaps a dev diary on the asset import and the challenges we faced makes sense when we add the asset pipeline.

I am sorry but this answer again leaves me speechless.

You don't know what the problem is?
Nobody expects you (or any other person communicating with the public) to dive into programming details. But you make it sound like your company isn't really aware of the problems at some kind of general level.
You are confronted with this kind of questions since release, since SEVEN months!

I really don't get it.

Edit: Since release we only get answers like "we will tell you more in the future", "unfortunately xyz will be late", "we have heard you", "we will try to improve, promised".
Evasive all the time, not really tackling the questions. And not really building trust of which you have lost so much already.
Let your programmers do their thing, but you really have to rethink your communication strategy as patience is running thin on the customers side.

 

[raf8655]

Respectfully, CO has used the "we're too busy" mantra for so long at this point it has lost all meaning. We're a month out from "Looking ahead, we also want to make immediate and meaningful changes in the way we approach the game’s development and our communication with you." Realistically, it doesn't seem like anything has changed. Nearly every communication is "we're to busy" or "in the future" or "if we have time." That's not meaningful. At this point the very busy programmers had all the time leading up to the launch and seven plus months since launch to address this issue. They continue to fail.

Perhaps the programmers time might be better suited writing up a dev blog about what's going on and see if there are some smart folks within the community that might be able to offer a fresh perspective or some different ideas, because so far the status quo hasn't been successful. Why not try something different and meaningfully communicate to your customers what the problem is rather than just saying it's broken.

I am sorry but this answer again leaves me speechless.

You don't know what the problem is?
Nobody expects you (or any other person communicating with the public) to dive into programming details. But you make it sound like your company isn't really aware of the problems at some kind of general level.
You are confronted with this kind of questions since release, since SEVEN months!

I really don't get it.

Edit: Since release we only get answers like "we will tell you more in the future", "unfortunately xyz will be late", "we have heard you", "we will try to improve, promised".
Evasive all the time, not really tackling the questions. And not really building trust of which you have lost so much already.
Let your programmers do their thing, but you really have to rethink your communication strategy as patience is running thin on the customers side.

Totally agree.

I would add that it is unacceptable and there are no justifications of any kind, the lack of MOD assets to date and who knows for how long is terrible.
I don't want to offend anyone but it's a fact: if at work I can't solve a problem for which I have the skills, I get paid and I also work specifically on that...well I'm probably replaced or at least taken awareness that I need help because I can't do it alone...

But since these solutions are disarmingly banal enough to not be taken into consideration, and since we receive banal and non-exhaustive answers on the matter, I suppose, and I repeat that it is only my supposition, that there is something shady underneath, I don't know what but I can't find any other explanation.
It's probably impossible for there to be a bug that major blocks something apparently so simple, it is impossible that a group of expert and professionals workers who dedicate themselves to that in almost 1 year of work cannot resolve the situation...

 

[bluefoliot]

I am sorry but this answer again leaves me speechless.

You don't know what the problem is?
Nobody expects you (or any other person communicating with the public) to dive into programming details. But you make it sound like your company isn't really aware of the problems at some kind of general level.
You are confronted with this kind of questions since release, since SEVEN months!

I really don't get it.

Edit: Since release we only get answers like "we will tell you more in the future", "unfortunately xyz will be late", "we have heard you", "we will try to improve, promised".
Evasive all the time, not really tackling the questions. And not really building trust of which you have lost so much already.
Let your programmers do their thing, but you really have to rethink your communication strategy as patience is running thin on the customers side.

I think you need to work on your reading comprehension. Someone linked the answer a few posts before you

I'll copy paste the answer here (from avanya)

The short explanation is that the Editor needs to import and package asset files in a way that does not require having Unity installed and access to the project itself, and the file format needs to be future-proof so assets created with the Editor are functional down the line too. As the Region Packs are to be released on Paradox Mods, they need this before they can released, while we can directly implement assets for DLCs.

While working on the asset import and saving, we've encountered some frustrating technical issues, that have caused the work to take significantly longer than we had expected.

Now if you want to know the details, the developers would need to provide it themselves, maybe in the form of dev diaries. Does that clear things up?

 

[Civ5rako]

I think you need to work on your reading comprehension. Someone linked the answer a few posts before you
Does that clear things up?

No, it does not and you should have noticed that by yourself while typing.

Where is the difference in the quoted procedure to CS1's procedure?
Wasn't it possible to import assets in CS1? Oh yes, it was.
Did we have to install Unity for that? No, we did not.
Was it future proof, so that it did work for years? Yes, it did.

And out of a sudden, all that isn't possible anymore?
It should be obvious that here some vital information was not given. Under the assumption that said information is available at CO at all.

 

[speedbrake]

Respectfully, CO has used the "we're too busy" mantra for so long at this point it has lost all meaning. We're a month out from "Looking ahead, we also want to make immediate and meaningful changes in the way we approach the game’s development and our communication with you." Realistically, it doesn't seem like anything has changed. Nearly every communication is "we're to busy" or "in the future" or "if we have time." That's not meaningful. At this point the very busy programmers had all the time leading up to the launch and seven plus months since launch to address this issue. They continue to fail.

Perhaps the programmers time might be better suited writing up a dev blog about what's going on and see if there are some smart folks within the community that might be able to offer a fresh perspective or some different ideas, because so far the status quo hasn't been successful. Why not try something different and meaningfully communicate to your customers what the problem is rather than just saying it's broken.

As a programmer myself, the idea of a programmer ever having time is hilarious.