For PC at least.
Such a busy time for games right now. There are so many I want to play! Especially after the last couple years have had some very lean seasons for interesting things.
But I ordered CS2 a while ago, and did the Preload yesterday. So it was good to go, and I got about 15 minutes in. I did start the tutorial so I wouldn’t overlook anything new, But really didn’t see anything that struck me as new in the short time.
Probably a mistake though. I really got the Jones to make a glorious city. But have no idea how I’m going to fit it into the 4-5 other games I’m playing plus that stupid job thing.
Anybody been keeping up with it and know of any can’t miss features early in the game?
Colossal Order wasn’t kidding about their performance warning. It makes Starfield feel like an idtech game.
At first pass, they really stepped up the complexity of the simulation, which is a nice improvement. I remember folks criticizing the original as a “city painter” and I thought was pretty much spot-on.
It has a ton of negative reviews on Steam right now, all performance-based. I bought it, then had to turn all of the settings way down to play it on a computer that has no problem playing anything else. I can run Red Dead Redemption at the highest setting and it is flawless. This game, not so much.
Which sucks, because it really looks like a big improvement over the original, which I enjoyed.
Years ago, I recall purchasing Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, only to find that it was really developed for the next generation of computers. That’s what this feels like. I’m still within the window where I can return it, and I’m strongly considering it.
Map editor, mods, custom buildings and other assets, DLCs. I’m sure it will be great eventually, just like the first one. But right now it feels a little plain vanilla, just like the first one when it came out.
The first Cities Skylines is great because it has 8+ years of mods and DLC (although the DLC is expensive).
While this has some improvements it needs a little more time in the oven I think. I’m gonna wait a bit and let the mod community get rolling, some bug fixes out and maybe a DLC or three before I go for it.
Is there a good modlist you’d recommend? CS2 coming out means CS1 is “locked in” so now may be the best time to get back into it but playing it previously I agree that it’s mostly a city painter (with a dash of traffic simulator) and I’d love a slightly more “hardcore” ruleset.
There are a bunch that always seem to land on various “must have mods” list like “MoveIt” (for tweaking placement of…everything) or “Traffic Manager” (for fine tuning your road networks.
Fortunately a lot of them seem to be baked in to CS2. CS1 was a great game and I have logged thousands of hours crafting all sorts of cities. But I’m also realizing a big reason it was so “good” was because they offloaded a ton of what IMHO should have been included features onto the modding community.
I’ve only had time to play a little bit of CS2 but I’m often finding myself trying to do something that I forgot was actually only possible in CS1 because of a mod.
Is that what it’s called now? I remember it being called TMPE, which I think stood for traffic manager president edition.
I am legitimately thinking about getting back into CS1. Just yesterday I rewatched my 30-minute “vanilla start” video and started remembering how fun it was.
It’s been on my wishlist since I heard about it. I’ll be getting the ultimate edition around Christmas; my SO always gives me $50 for Christmas (and my birthday). I hope at least most of the issues will have been addressed by then.
Been playing it on Game Pass with my shiny new PC, so performance isn’t an issue.
Having fun so far, even though I’m pretty bad at city builders. I’m on my fourth attempt to not fuck up. I was doing pretty well on #3, but tried to get fancy with high-traffic roads leading into self-contained suburban enclaves and completely fucked my traffic patterns. I’m back to a much simpler grid.
Handy tip: it asks for “high-density housing” pretty early on, but you don’t unlock high-density zoning until level 8. What it actually wants is low-rent housing, which is also high density even though it doesn’t say so.
The first time I read any of the “performance fix” reviews, I was flabbergasted by the fact that this game has motion blur (which I hate in all games, but what is its purpose in a city builder?).
I think the idea of the motion blur is to help the camera panning feel smooth and natural. In contrast to a “rotoscope” effect. But it’s only effective if the frame rate is high enough and not stuttering.
but playing it previously I agree that it’s mostly a city painter (with a dash of traffic simulator) and I’d love a slightly more “hardcore” ruleset.