Updates on Modding and Performance for Cities: Skylines II

[zubozrout]

By keeping the content within their control, they can also keep an eye on the quality-control ...

I don't want them to have control over what players do. And the fact some server is operational for over 20 years doesn't neglect the fact most games don't last that long. Once the sales get below their expectations it will most likely be dead.

 

[antrachton]

There was a good idea... and it's gone.
As much as i didn't like Steam for their... failures...

Fantastic that other console players and so on will have a chance to have a variaty of assets in their game ...
What's the point of it though if you have to keep going through them manually, updating them manually, there doesn't seem to be any syncing, there is just a button "Add latest version". I mean... what's that supposed to mean?

If an asset needs an update cos for some reason is faulty or got broken after several game updates, and that also breakes the game... how on earth do you want gamers to go through 100, 1000 or 10K assets just to find that single one causing a havoc?
And not to mention the mods that get updated and changed constantly? Who's gonna know about it? Are we supposed to keep opening their pages (30 or 130 of them) each day before even starting the game, just to know what got updated?

And before you're even back in your game ... it's 3am and is nearly time to go to work.

Also.... "download a mod" option - Is this a bad joke? A zip file? You want us to keep unpacking hundreds of zip files? And then to keep updating them and guessing which ones require an update (another update , and another, and one more update - that's a reality with a single mod, and there is tons of them). Not to mention constantly explaining which folder they are going to (map themes? assets? mods?). Hasn't Avanya anything better to do like solving the real issues with the game?

Can you shed a bit more light on what that's gonna work like? At the moment it looks like the most "terrific" decision... and I can't see the point of having the game now?
I was hoping that it was thought through... it doesn't look like it.

I don't want to be visiting any mod or asset pages constantly, every day, even if it's just 5 of them (never mind 5K). And that's how wonderful Paradox mods platform looks to me at the moment after having, again (I checked it few years ago, and few months ago too), checking it. So much for "cross-platform modding compatibility" (what's the point of it now?).

 

[Doctor Machete]

Note I am playing on a PC. Personally I don't like Steam Workshop a lot as it is a nightmare to find what I search for. Usually I use Google to search for mods in the Workshop.

And what if the Paradox Workshop ends being even worse than the SW, more cumbersome to use and harder to organize mods and assets. What would you say in that case?.

That being said, with steam workshop console players would not have access to a lot of mods.
That was a major complaint in CS:1.

It was a complain but I think not a major one. The Steam Workshop is what made CS1 very popular in my opinion.

So now I ask you a question: What weights more?
Console players having no access to mods at all or PC players having to get used to another platform?

You know that's not exclusive, right?. You can have the Paradox Workshop and still be in the Steam Workshop as well. Custom modders I don't think would have much issue uploading to both. And if the PDX Workshop ends being better then it would become the de-facto standard.

As it is right now Paradox Mods is actually a terrible workshop. I'd assume that's going to change, if only just for CS2.

Sounds kind of easy. But sure, people will not buy the game because they need to use Paradox Mods instead of Steam Workshop (sarcasm)

In my case I don't mind if the new workshop is at the very least as functional as the SW. If it is worse then goodbye, because the SW is already not great and I'm not very interested in the vanilla experience.

 

[antrachton]

With Steam Workshop gone it will also limit the lifespan of the game as the usual approach is for the developers to shut down their servers when they see fit. While C:S1 will stay functional until Steam dies. Quite sad to see that approach taken although I understand it will allow console players the same content. Though perhaps they could have their own separate place for add-ons as even the consoles they will be playing the game on can't be expected to last too long.

Steam was dying quite a lot I really... disliked it.
But Paradox mods platform???? Gee... it's like telling us to play CS2 without a PC or console. Good luck.

 

[antrachton]

In my case I don't mind if the new workshop is at the very least as functional as the SW. If it is worse then goodbye, because the SW is already not great and I'm not very interested in the vanilla experience.

I'd love that too.
At the moment it seems terribly out of date and out of touch - just see other games - all they have is a button to update the mod or an asset. If you're lucky to know that 500 of them has just been updated, keep searching for them in your vast library of 5000 assets (never mind 10K )

 

[HairyC]

Im happy with this change in direction. Means I can play the game on Xbox game pass and still enjoy mods.

 

[antrachton]

Im happy with this change in direction. Means I can play the game on Xbox game pass and still enjoy mods.

you won't enjoy it when you learn that you yourself will have to keep updating them manually. And if such an asset breaks the game... good luck searching for it.

 

[MaxtorMCK]

There was a good idea... and it's gone.
As much as i didn't like Steam for their... failures...
...
And before you even back in your game ... it's 3am and is nearly time to go to work.
...
I don't want to be visiting any mod or asset pages constantly, every day, even if it's just 5 of them (never mind 5K). And that's how wonderful Paradox mods platform looks to me at the moment after having, again (I checked it few years ago, and few months ago too), checking it. So much for "cross-platform modding compatibility" (what's the point of it now?).

You touched on a few of the concerns I have. At least with Steam Workshop if I didn't play for a couple months and came back, I knew that any mods updated automatically as they got their updates and I didn't have to run anything else or do anything manually. Even if I have to keep the Paradox launcher active is not acceptable to me to get the automatic downloads. At least with Steam Workshop sure some might still be broken if a patch happened in that time to the game, but I could manage that and get into game pretty quickly.

If it means hours now before I can play after a patch, etc. Or be forced to just go to vanilla until I have the time to sit and patch things, then I am not interested.

My other issue is that they waited until a week before the release to announce this when they knew it would be a controversial item. Frankly this was enough for me, I submit a refund request on steam for my ultimate preorder and I will wait to see how things go post launch with this now. Its disappointing because I have been excited about this since the announcement. I knew there would be some growing pains and not all features/dlc from CS:1 would be in at launch, but I will just continue to play that and hope that my fears for this will prove unjustified.

 

[Aart]

Okay. Now tell me, how this will work for cloud gaming? For some reason I think the answer will be "it won't"
Thanks a lot, exactly what I needed /s

Edit: my concerns are more about gameplay mods, than asset mods. For example I would like to have a mod that regulates the specific type of zone demand

 

[PhillyUrbs]

Does this mean that all delivery platforms on PC will have the same modding support (Steam, Xbox App, Epic, etc.)?

 

[Blackoutttt]

Am I the only one not bothered about Steam?
I find the performance issue a real killer.
I’ve recently upgraded my GPU to 7900XT and the thought of poor performance is the worst that could happen.
Let’s face it though, if there is a problem with performance, it will never be fixed like with Anno 1800.
They’ll just release new DLCs and won’t bother about performance.

 

[DerFremde]

@Paradox Can you rule out that "Paradox Mods" will ever turn into a subscription based service? Will it stay a free service for the foreseeable future?

 

[quigglypoo]

I really don’t like this at all. You’ve thrown a wet blanket on my excitement for the game by not supporting steam workshop. Huge L on y’all’s part. Why should those of us with very powerful machines be held back for the console players with weak hardware? In the name of uniformity you’re choosing to make the game objectively worse. That stinks. Hope this doesn’t become the norm with your games.

Might actually skip CS2 just bc of this dumb decision. Massive L

 

[DiNardo1910]

sounds like the game isn't release-ready, but you're pushing it out anyway to meet a due date.
not cool.

and no Steam workshop is a *stunningly* bad decision.

 

[novapaddy]

My other issue is that they waited until a week before the release to announce this when they knew it would be a controversial item. Frankly this was enough for me, I submit a refund request on steam for my ultimate preorder and I will wait to see how things go post launch with this now. Its disappointing because I have been excited about this since the announcement. I knew there would be some growing pains and not all features/dlc from CS:1 would be in at launch, but I will just continue to play that and hope that my fears for this will prove unjustified.

I absolutely agree with you!
For years CO have stated how proud they are of the CS1 modding community, the modders, the thousands of assets created... And yet for CS2, the main reason many of us play CS1 (the mods and assets), they wait until a week before release... !!

And they are switching from Steam Workshop to Paradox Mods. Hmm! Can Paradox Mods handle it, well reading the replies above, the answer is NO!

I dunno, I have been waiting for a reason to go buy CS2 and I'm still inclined to wait and see how things work out.

Pity, Biffa had almost 99% encouraged me to go buy the game, but now after today's news, I'll wait and see.

 

[quigglypoo]

Another downside to this I just realized is archival of old mods. With Steam workshop you can find mods for older version of the game or mods that have been abandoned. You can then update the and fix them. If you think for one secound the new mod platform will keep broken mods around that will break Xbox versions because they are out of date you are deluding yourself.

This is a loss for those of us who love to go and fix old mods for the community. The more I think about the wider implications of this on other games the angrier and more disappointed at paradox I get.

 

[homerCCCP]

sounds like the game isn't release-ready, but you're pushing it out anyway to meet a due date.
not cool.

and no Steam workshop is a *stunningly* bad decision.

I see that for a company it might be better to wait with the release, in order to avoid the sh*tstorm for a badly optimized release.

However, I don't see my advantage as user when they delay the release, which is virtually the same as just buying the game later, or buying it and playing it later, when on the other hand it could be already fine enough for me personally to play it, but I would have to wait because Publisher is to afraid some other people would b*tch about it?

 

[quigglypoo]

I don't want them to have control over what players do. And the fact some server is operational for over 20 years doesn't neglect the fact most games don't last that long. Once the sales get below their expectations it will most likely be dead.

And if something should ever happen to paradox (like going out of business or acquired by someone else) we could lose potentially years of mod history because they wouldnt be hosting them anymore. On Steam workshop there are mods still being uploaded for games the devs have abandoned. Including paradox (cough cough Rome Imperator cough cough)

 

[RyanIONIC]

Creating a seperate mod platform that PC and Console players can both enjoy means that the work of asset creators can reach an even wider audience. Would i prefer steam workshop mods? Sure, its what ive grown used to. But its a great announcement for console players and the asset creators themselves.

Im curious to see if console players will only be able to download assets, as opposed to mods that affect gameplay. These are crucial for PC players but i get the limitation for consoles. Hopefully thats not the case though

 

[Liamacer1]

Happy to hear about the mods! I’m hoping they also work on cloud gaming systems since it’s separate from Steam. And the performance thing - I think most players understood that the performance level the game is currently at was not CO’s goal. I personally trust that you all will work hard to get it to an acceptable level and get this game to more platforms (after console, check out Mac please ).

This is going to be the city builder for the next decade. I have no doubt that the experience CO has put together so far is terrific and will continue to be improved. Can’t wait for the 24th!

Yeah, I hope they can get this game up and running on Mac too. As legend says, “with time comes Mac support”!