When can we expect another patch ?

[AvgConsumer]

Why should they communicate? Everyone treats them like garbage. I wouldn't communicate with this community, either.

They get what they give. They're the "professionals" in this, and customers expect products that work as advertised. They failed to meet that very simple expectation, then chose to be flippant in their response to their customers.

So here we are months down the road, with a *barely* improved product since launch, still the same vague communication though props on handing it off to someone more competent.

And despite my criticisms, I *want* CS2 to be a good game. I'd love for it to be a quality successor to the first. It's just that there's apparently a whole lot of incompetence in the way of that.

 

[maarten_714]

Why should they communicate? Everyone treats them like garbage. I wouldn't communicate with this community, either.

Do you think that if Colossal Order had delivered the perfect CS2 game, with everything we wanted and no/few bugs and mods and assets available from the start...... that people would still treat them like garbage?

While I 100% agree that treating people like garbage is NEVER the way you should handle your concerns and criticisms of the game, it is something that they have control over. They made decisions where the deadline was more important than anything else, to the point that even the content creators and mod creators that had access to the beta were more or less blindsided by the release date...... and that came back to bite them in the most unfortunate ways possible.

But in the end, if you make mistakes, you have to sit on the blisters and take the heat. Stopping most of the communication with the community only leaves an even worse taste in many mouths. I understand they themselves aren't keen on being chastised once again for the mistakes they already made and are trying to fix now, but that comes as part of making bad decisions. The decisions were made, and now they have to live with it.

Regardless of how toxic and vile the players become, there is still a core set of players who really want the game to succeed, and communication about what is happening is very much appreciated.

I have been (and still am) on some official game forums where devs post at least 2 or 3 times a week, answering questions, elaborating on upcoming plans and patches, explaining why something can, and cannot be done, etc..... and just in general, even if it is the news no one wanted to hear, just be open and frank with the community, including when they made mistakes.

Communication, and frequent communication at that is absolutely key to the success of the game after such a dismal launch. And I am very sorry that because of that they now have to deal with toxic people..... but such is life.

 

[maarten_714]

Each patch progresses at a different pace, some fixes are easier and quick to implement, and others might take more time. I know the team is working on getting the patches to you as soon as they can, and we share news about it when we are able to. At the moment the next patch is in the works, and making good progress, although some work remains.

Thank you for the update!

 

[[Delta ²k5]]

They made decisions where the deadline was more important than anything else, to the point that even the content creators and mod creators that had access to the beta were more or less blindsided by the release date...

I simply cannot stress enough that this isn't how things usually work - not CO decided when the game was ready, it was the sole customer of CO who decided to start a marketing campaign and set a release date which is Paradox.

Everyone who bought the game is not a Colossal Order customer. Paradox in first place paid for the whole development process in advance and sells the game under their brand

I have been (and still am) on some official game forums where devs post at least 2 or 3 times a week, answering questions, elaborating on upcoming plans and patches, explaining why something can, and cannot be done, etc..... and just in general, even if it is the news no one wanted to hear, just be open and frank with the community, including when they made mistakes.

While such places may exist I barely know them. Usually it's community managers from the publisher side communicating with the community, not developers - at least on simulations (so not on casual predefined games which follow a fixed storyline). On smaller scale projects that might happen but usually PR and DEV are independent fields.

As I followed all official communication from CO I also noticed that they told they'll reduce the level of communication because many complained that too much irrelevant information was shared and still people rip apart every piece of official information which ends up here just to make "fun" of it or to do some finger pointing.

Communication, and frequent communication at that is absolutely key to the success of the game after such a dismal launch.

Imho, that's not a must - there are many examples around in which studios went completely radio silent for months just to pop up again. No Man's Sky would be one example, also on CP2077 was a period of silence until they finally came up with v. 2.0. Also the Flight Simulator team from Microsoft did not mention much by now about specific exclusive features coming to MSFS2024 even if the release is expected for Q4 and as it's "just" a reworked and expanded version of the current iteration.

I personally think CO collected a fair amount of feedback by now on the release version. They also released some patches and improvements to see if they are on the right path so they can now simply focus on larger patches, reworks and new features. They don't really have to talk this down into detail as they most likely have to find the best balance.

For example they likely cannot adjust economy alone to a level "players are fine with" without also touching other aspects of the game as the economy affects everything from industrial demand to traffic and to residents moving in/out of a city.
It requires a fair amount of rebalancing while also keeping an eye on overall performance. Likely there is much trail and error involved as you cannot simulate the simulation on paper, so they know only what works best whenever they have the results ready - after that they can in detail speak about what was adjusted and why.

 

[The Aziz]

So they will have gone on two vacations since launching the game and before getting it into a 1.0 state, I guess. That's really sad.

How DARE they take a break twice a year like pretty much everyone in the world does. I mean how dare...

Oh wait no sorry I forgot that americans are money printing machines and they aren't allowed to have vacations, my bad

 

[ArtPTarkovsky]

It's really scary to see what PDX did with Prision Architect 2.
I complained a lot, there is a lot to complain, but I'm playing Cities 2 everyday. I have 500 hours already. I really love it and hope they keep working on it.

 

[ArtPTarkovsky]

How DARE they take a break twice a year like pretty much everyone in the world does. I mean how dare...

Oh wait no sorry I forgot that americans are money printing machines and they aren't allowed to have vacations, my bad

It's insane how "gamers" are a brand of consumers so annoying, so full of man childs, they will personally attack and threaten workers as if they owned their lives.

 

[BoraBora]

I simply cannot stress enough that this isn't how things usually work - not CO decided when the game was ready, it was the sole customer of CO who decided to start a marketing campaign and set a release date which is Paradox.

Everyone who bought the game is not a Colossal Order customer. Paradox in first place paid for the whole development process in advance and sells the game under their brand

Since you're obviously working at CO or PDX at a high level of management, why don't you post with your official account?

I personally think CO collected a fair amount of feedback by now on the release version.

They already collected enough feedback before the release to know their game was a complete mess with a year or two needed to finish it. This whole "feedback needed" thing is a joke.

For example they likely cannot adjust economy alone to a level "players are fine with" without also touching other aspects of the game as the economy affects everything from industrial demand to traffic and to residents moving in/out of a city.

They don't have to adjust it, they have to write it from nearly scratch. Just like the land value mechanic which wasn't bugged but nearly non-existent.

Improved Land Value System

• Service Coverage of Healthcare, Education, Police and Telecom now affects Land Value
• Reachability of Commercial Services now affects Land Value
• Stops and Stations of Public Transportation now affect Land Value
• Noise, Water, Air and Ground Pollution now affect Land Value
• Shorelines now affects Land Value
• Added a max limit to Land Value bonus factor
• Replaced "Building Land Value" Info Mode with "Land Value Source" Info Mode in Land Value Info View
• "Rent Too High" warning notifications are now highlighted when Land Value Info View is active
• Added Land Value Tooltip to a cursor which shows the monetary value of the land or building where the building is located when Land Value Info View is active

 

[elGendo87]

Biffa`s chatted with CO. Big and deep patch to come...

So We Had a Chat with Colossal Order & Paradox About Cities Skylines 2​

 

[[Delta ²k5]]

Since you're obviously working at CO or PDX at a high level of management, why don't you post with your official account?

Nice sarcasm - at least I hope you don't really think I'm associated with them
On the other hand you are not that wrong when it comes down to my actual job, but surely I not gonna share my LinkedIn with you. So sorry.

Not much more for me to answer here as you clearly only wanted to vent something.

 

[AvgConsumer]

Biffa`s chatted with CO. Big and deep patch to come...

So We Had a Chat with Colossal Order & Paradox About Cities Skylines 2​

Yeah, not taking anything that shill has to say seriously. He was part of the problem in the run up to release.

 

[BoraBora]

Nice sarcasm - at least I hope you don't really think I'm associated with them
On the other hand you are not that wrong when it comes down to my actual job, but surely I not gonna share my LinkedIn with you. So sorry.

Not much more for me to answer here as you clearly only wanted to vent something.

Not venting, just saying you don't have any more credibility as a source than any other unknown nickname on social networks when giving some supposed "insider" info. And no, I don't think you're associated with them, which is exactly why everything you can write about the CO/PDX business relationship and the contracts they signed are only some guesses, not facts.

 

[MohawkWolfo98]

Yeah, not taking anything that shill has to say seriously. He was part of the problem in the run up to release.

Hes the one that said that for the $10 Beach properties you get more than you bargain for (underselling it I believe is the term he used) and on his Twitter implying that criticizers of the game are toxic and lack intelligence with memes. Fantastic.

I really hope City Planner Plays was talked to and listened more, because he is one of the few that actually is balanced in his views and aiming for constructive but proper feedback without blaming everyone for toxicity or being fanboys.

Edit: He’s proceeding to now call people asking respectfully for a summary on an hour long video boneheads. *shrugs*

 

[Civ5rako]

Biffa`s chatted with CO. Big and deep patch to come...

I had to stop watching that video after like 20 minutes or so.

I can understand that he is trying everything to paint CS2 in rosier colors as he has built his whole YT channel almost solely on the predecessor. Nevertheless, the first 20 minutes were a mixture of barely hidden advertising and endless, meaningless bla bla bla.

If he would have had something meaningful to say, he should have done it in at least some kind of consistent way. The way he did however didn't keep my interest alive. That clip however was just an attempt to revitalise his channel.

Anyway, seems it was him, Overcharged Egg and CPP who were talking with PDX/CO. And at least one of those three has lost any credibility when it comes to discussing this game.

We will see what the future brings. Any "announcements" or "critique" by him I will simply disregard.

 

[TripleAgent]

The fact Biffa was given this opportunity to act as a representative of the community and openly admits he didn't even bother to take notes really rubs me the wrong way.

 

[thenewking79]

Yeah, not taking anything that shill has to say seriously. He was part of the problem in the run up to release.

ya I had to stop part way through his video as I was so sick of him just talking about city painting or sliders to turn off simulation aspects instead of the core problems with the game it self outside of making nice looking cities. main item is traffic management and trip routes weather it be cim or service vehicles. exp follow a garbage truck or mail truck and watch as it drives from point to point all over the cities and not in straight lines or the road repair where you get like 4 of them following each other in the same lane

 

[RedellSlowey]

They talked to Biffa? Why did they talk to Biffa? Didn't Biffa make a video a month or two ago about how the game was doing great calling everyone thinking it had problems whiners? Am I imagining that?

Why on earth did they pick Biffa?

Biffa's whole claim to fame with this series is being able to count lanes and do basic addition and subtraction for people who can't figure it out themselves, what input does he have on the quality of the game? WHY BIFFA?

Also, he starts the video saying they met with CO "Yesterday". So this "We're gonna talk to youtubers and get their input" thing only started YESTERDAY? Didn't they announce it a MONTH AGO? Is this company run by actual snails? Do they have to slowly crawl the keyboard to send an email?

 

[RedellSlowey]

I just watched 40 minutes of it at 2x speed (he talks so slow, it was still too slow) and he seems like he really doesn't understand what people want. I guess he told them good stuff about the game needs challenge and conflict (and he said stuff that made it sound like the devs somehow didn't know that...do they know what a game is?), but then he goes on and on and on and on about "There should be toggles and sliders for stuff" that is imbalanced and just plain needs fixing. Then he goes on and on about "I told them the game needs these free updates..." and just lists updates adding things that are already available on PDX mods! What a waste of time that would be at this point!

They definitely should've built the game with the big mods from CS1 right there in it from the start but at this point that's just wasted development time. They don't need to do that anymore. He says this over a video where he's using the line tool, the lane tools, the surface tools, the prop tools...they don't need to do this stuff officially anymore.

He also says the stuff they talked about wasn't NDA but then doesn't talk about what they talked about. I hope City Planner Plays actually took notes and tells us what they told him, instead of just going on and on for an hour about what HE told THEM.

I really don't like Biffa, I don't know why he was on this committee. It should've been Diana.

Edit: Biffa is in the post on reddit about this complaining that it was shared on the cities skylines subreddit. He says he wishes people wouldn't link his videos there. He doesn't want his content being linked to in the community?

https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/1cx9eh8

 

[The Aziz]

They definitely should've built the game with the big mods from CS1 right there in it from the start but at this point that's just wasted development time. They don't need to do that anymore. He says this over a video where he's using the line tool, the lane tools, the surface tools, the prop tools...they don't need to do this stuff officially anymore.

Oh but they do. I'd very much rather have a set of tools properly and seamlessly integrated into the game, than a set of different mods slapped on top of the game, with partially overlapping functionalities, made by a hundred different people, possibly conflicting with each other, quadrupling the game loading time.
And the future console users could use that as well. They won't if every single useful thing will remain forever a code mod.

 

[RedellSlowey]

Something tells me that having 4 mods isn't exactly "a hundred different people possibly conflicting with each other quadrupling the game loading time"