Cities: Skylines 2 had a rocky start, to say the least. Major performance issues and bugs have dragged out planned content patches, and the situation has been made worse by the lack of modding support at launch – something that Colossal Order's CEO says is their team's “biggest regret.”
While redemption stories aren't all that rare in gaming (just look at Cyberpunk 2077 or Warhammer 40k: Darktide), the long road to player goodwill is particularly painful here, as recent reviews of the game on Steam were “mostly negative” at the time. were writing.
Still, there may be a small glimmer of hope for the downtrodden urban designers. Colossal Order has announced the game's first post-launch asset pack and, most importantly, the start of official mod support for the game.
“Together with Beach Properties, the first wave of Cities: Skylines 2 modding will be available,” an announcement said Game official forums. While it looks like it will be a “beta release,” these official mod tools will include a map editor and “code tools.”
“The Map Editor lets you create maps using familiar terraforming tools, import elevation maps to create highly accurate representations of your hometown, and upload your creations to Paradox Mods… Code tools let you show off your coding skills and create code mods that match your heart’s desires!”
If you are a modding fan and want to start doing your homework, there are some entries for these tools on the site City silhouettes 2 Wiki right now. The update will also bring a “significant amount of performance updates as well as general fixes and improvements.”
When it comes to the actual DLC, the Beach Properties asset pack adds a waterfront residential neighborhood with its own custom buildings and – get this – four whole trees. I know you probably don't need that many tree species to create a compelling view, but I can't help but feel for whoever was forced to put this graphic together.
The developer has also released a new roadmap for its delayed content plan, which you can see below:
The Beach Properties asset packs remain paid content – which has upset some players, especially considering the announcement wipes out the lead in bug fixes. It's also a tough sell considering the first “Cities: Skylines” is cheaper, more content-rich, and just overall better than its sequel.
Still, Cities: Skylines 2 was released with an optimistic expansion pass that players like did pay, which means that Paradox has backed itself into a corner: give this stuff away for free as a gesture of goodwill, and the people who spent more might feel short-changed. Keep the content as paid content and you'll be accused of squeezing money out of a product that wasn't released in great condition. It's not a situation I envy, even if the publisher did it to themselves. Beach Properties will still publish next week, on March 25th.
