Cities: Skylines II beginner’s guide: tips and tricks to get started

1 month ago

The city-building genre has served a niche assemblage for nan decades since nan original Sim City popularized nan thought of allowing players to creation and negociate their ain small utopias. With that original franchise connected ice, it fell to a newcomer, Cities: Skylines, to return up nan mantle arsenic nan awesome subordinate successful nan genre, and it managed to beryllium a well-received replacement. That title sewage tons of support from nan developers and community, but it yet came clip for a sequel to freshen things up. Cities: Skylines II is building connected nan aforesaid instauration arsenic metropolis builders of nan past, but it besides brings successful caller features and mechanics that moreover seasoned metropolis planners will request to wrap their heads around. Whether this is your first clip raising a metropolis from scratch aliases you’ve poured hundreds of hours into municipality design, these are nan basal tips and tricks you request to cognize erstwhile starting retired successful Cities: Skylines II.

Picking your plot

A metropolis parkland successful winter.

The first awesome prime you will request to make successful Cities: Skylines II is wherever you want to really spell astir building your dream society. At launch, nan crippled comes pinch six maps to prime between, but this determination carries much weight than conscionable artistic differences. Yes, each representation has its ain look that will find really your buildings, homes, and moreover vehicles look, but location are deeper mechanical changes you want to scheme for.

First are nan terrain and resources of a map. The terrain of a representation will people limit and power nan ways you tin and cannot grow and turn your city, but it besides has a monolithic effect connected your thoroughfare and proscription design. Maps successful Cities: Skylines II are astir 5 times larger than they were successful nan first game, but really overmuch of that abstraction you tin freely build connected will alteration depending connected nan map. Along pinch nan wide terrain, each representation will person different resources successful varying amounts. Depending connected what type of power is astir plentiful connected a map, and successful what locations, should beryllium accounted for beforehand to decently area and conception your different districts.

Finally, each representation is meant to correspond a different portion of nan world that experiences unsocial climates. Again, sn0w and sun are not conscionable for show here. A map’s latitude will mean days are longer aliases shorter, and whether nan upwind is much aliases little extreme. What this intends for you arsenic a metropolis planner is that your population’s behaviour will beryllium different depending connected these factors. On apical of that, if you are successful an area prone to inclement weather, you request to person other preparations successful spot for accrued power usage and much attraction services for erstwhile nan infrastructure goes down. Note nan seasonal, continental, and polar climates of each representation earlier making your choice.

Manage your early budget

As overmuch arsenic you whitethorn want to get correct to nan “good” worldly and commencement building up elephantine skyscrapers, Cities: Skylines II requires you to return it slow each and each clip you commencement a caller city. This is particularly important if you’re caller to nan genre. Your starting fund whitethorn look generous, but it will commencement draining faster than you mightiness think. Initially instrumentality to establishing a functional residential area, complete pinch smaller-sized homes and capable power, roads, and different utilities, to support your monthly costs debased earlier gradually taking connected bigger zones pinch larger buildings arsenic you make profits.

For newcomers especially, retrieve to region often successful nan beginning. Before you person immoderate income flowing in, clip passing is conscionable a drain connected your budget, truthful don’t discarded it readying things retired successful existent clip erstwhile you tin extremity nan timepiece and make a plan. This is particularly important erstwhile you person citizens, but haven’t afloat established services for illustration trash removal and moving water.

Milestones and Development Points

Cities: SkylinesII uses a Milestone and Development strategy to supply you pinch gradual upgrades and caller features arsenic your metropolis grows. There are 20 Milestones to complete earlier you’ve maxed retired and reached nan highest level of metropolis that you unlock by earning XP. You don’t person to spell retired of your measurement to gain aliases walk XP, conscionable support building, upgrading, and expanding and it will travel naturally. As you deed Milestone levels, you will get Development Points that you want to salary acold much attraction to.

Development Points are spent connected accomplishment trees successful nan Development tab of your menu. There are almost a twelve tabs present you tin walk these points on, including caller roads, tourer attractions, upgraded education, emergency services, parks, and more. What class you will want to put successful depends connected wherever you group your metropolis and what your needs are, but sitting connected these points will clasp you backmost from increasing astatine nan complaint you should.

Don’t overreach early and scheme ahead

Going manus successful manus pinch managing your early fund is creating a scheme early and sticking to it arsenic overmuch arsenic possible. Zoning whitethorn look for illustration nan champion measurement to laic retired your early metropolis, but you request to defy that urge. Go up and scheme retired your roadworthy and territory network, but don’t designate immoderate zones for circumstantial purposes until you cognize that’s what you need. Being a simulation game, you tin ne'er beryllium 100% judge what your budding metropolis will request arsenic it gets disconnected nan ground. If you area retired excessively overmuch abstraction for 1 thing, but extremity up needing different first, past you not only person wasted space, but will person an wide little businesslike city.

Always cheque your existent metropolis needs successful nan City Information tab. This will show you each nan places wherever your metropolis is lacking and what zones should beryllium prioritized first.

Don’t upgrade until needed

Finally, don’t beryllium excessively eager to upgrade your existing buildings arsenic soon arsenic you can. These mightiness look for illustration awesome investments, particularly for your work buildings, but unless you’re going to instantly return advantage of that upgrade, it is simply a monolithic money pit. There’s nan first upgrade cost, of course, but upgrading a building besides increases its monthly costs arsenic well, which tin easy bring you into nan antagonistic if you’re not getting worth retired of it. You besides can’t undo upgrading a building, truthful this is an early correction that could spiral into your eventual illness if you’re not careful.