This 25-minute video, from YouTuber TDB Games, begins like a standard flythrough of a Cities: Skylines city build, albeit an impressive, sprawling one. And then the meteors start falling, and it turns into an epic disaster film.
The introduction is arguably a tad too drawn out—the first ten minutes are basically made up of detailed shots of the city at work set to upbeat music. But I enjoyed them all the same, and they made me remember just how satisfying it can be to tinker with a Cities: Skylines build.
But it really picks up when disaster strikes. Multiple meteors, tornadoes, raging fires: the city of Yoko, which is styled after a Japanese metropolis, is battered by the elements.
The camera work is excellent, and the scene selection perfectly captures the city's response to the disasters. You'll see a sky filled with emergency helicopters, buzzing around like wasps, and ambulances stacking up bumper-to-bumper on the streets, struggling to meet demand.
I had no idea you could make something this good in Cities: Skylines, and it's led me down a rabbit hole of impressive creators showing off their imaginations (just click on any of the related videos to get lost yourself).
This article was originally published inPC Gamer issue 318. For more quality articles about all things PC gaming, you can subscribe now in theUKand theUS.
Arguably the best city builder available right now, Cities: Skylines is a regular fixture in PC Gamer’s annual Top 100. It’s been further bolstered by DLC, updates and a huge Steam Workshop library of mods. Wanting to take a look at the breadth and variety now available, the PC Gamer team is embarking on a shared project to build a utopia.
The AI civilians of a Cities: Skylines city aren’t capable of democracy, so we’re going to utilise the next best method: taking it in turns, regardless of experience. Each team member gets two years to craft their utopia. To make things interesting, we get unlimited money and all buildings are unlocked. But we also have to aim to make our city profitable, ensuring its viability should the infinite money bubble ever burst.
Phase one: Phil Savage
UK mag editor Phil goes on a mod hunt.
Opening the Steam Workshop, I spend a while playing with various district styles. My plan is to give each district a theme. I want vibrant, contrasting communities—pockets of cyberpunk technoliving next to medieval townships and fantasy wonderlands. But then I change my mind. After all, isn’t PC gaming one big melting pot—a confluence of community and individuality? I hope so, because using district mods is complicated, and keeps making the game crash.
Instead, I just download pages and pages of buildings that will automatically construct on any residential, commercial or industrial zones I lay. We’ve got neon skyscrapers, we’ve got classical architecture, we’ve even got a KFC. When I’m done, we’re subscribed to 528 items on the Steam Workshop. I open up Cities: Skylines and wait for a new map to load. It takes a long time.
I christen this land ‘XxxxxxXxx’ in the hope that something clever will come to me once the city starts to take shape. I hit pause to stop the clock, giving me time to lay some bones. Roads are built, zones are designated, power and water is sourced. I build fire stations and schools and hospitals. I create suburbs in tidy rows. It’s efficient, but I soon get bored of forming grids. I’m British, and that means I’m used to cities that sort of fall together by accident. I start putting in curves and odd angles. 102 degrees! 84 degrees! I’m tearing the rulebook apart.
I know from experience that I’m terrible at creating intersections that link the state highway to the sprawl of the town proper. Inevitably, I end up with an unworkable mess that causes massive traffic problems years down the line. To this end, I download Timboh’s Marvelous Interchange Emporium, the most popular mod collection on Cities: Skylines’ Steam Workshop page. I look through Timboh’s creations, but they’re all massive—far too big to fit into the space I have remaining. Instead I botch something together, once again ensuring massive traffic problems. I name this junction Please Fix This, in the hope that the next mayor will try to do better.
I create a district for agricultural industry, named ‘Farming Simulator 2018’, and a district for nightlife and tourism, named ‘Just Dance 2018’. Then I set up a transport network consisting entirely of blimps. Finally ready, I unpause and wait for the magic to happen. It does, but slowly. Six months in, and most of my land is empty. I panic-build more roads and designate more residential land—I’d vastly underestimated how much you need to support even a small amount of industry and commerce. I drop taxes to 1%, tanking profits, but boosting growth.
My tenure flies by, and I’m largely happy with what I’ve created. I need to put the city in profit before handing it over—it’s not a utopia if you’re in debt, even if you’ve got an unlimited cashflow. I crank up tax, and turn down funding on all the public services. Good luck with that, Andy. I email him the save file, only remembering at the last second that I forgot to name the place.
Phase two: Andy Kelly
Section editor Andy tackles disaster.
I take over from Phil and find a small, pleasant city buzzing with blimps, and I’m appalled. There isn’t enough sin in this town. I build a long four-lane road, which I name the ‘Alley of Sin’, and line it with clubs, commercial zones, and an enormous, garish casino. That’s more like it. People in this as-yet-unnamed city have somewhere to take a load off and indulge in some good old-fashioned hedonism. But to ensure the crime rate doesn’t get out of control, I build the police tower from Blade Runner—a reminder for all the crooks in the Alley of Sin that the future-police are watching, always.
I notice that pretty much the entire city is blinking with the ‘abandoned building’ icon, and I realise that it’s because I don’t have enough citizens to staff all these new casinos and commercial zones. So I build a large high-density residential zone just off the Alley of Sin, which simply refuses to develop. Not a problem: I simply lower the taxes for residents to 1% and suddenly the tenants and homeowners come flooding in. But, as a result, I’m starting to absolutely haemorrhage money. It’s a good thing it’s unlimited, otherwise I don’t think this place would make it through another year without collapsing.
Suddenly, disaster. A meteor rains down from the sky, smashing into the industrial zone that Phil so carefully constructed, destroying buildings, starting fires, and leaving a bloody great crater behind. I actually like how the crater stays there. It’s become a landmark, and I’m annoyed the game isn’t sufficiently complex to allow me to charge people to come and see it. I repair the damage and get back to trying to make money. I build a stadium and a giant, gaudy shopping mall, which is making the city incredibly noisy. The roads are starting to get jammed up with traffic too, and the city is starting to look rather dystopian.
Phil’s blimp system is cool and all, but I need a way for outsiders to come to the city and indulge in all that lovely entertainment I’ve so graciously supplied. So I build an international airport on the edge of town, which brings with it all manner of pollution, noise and skyrocketing operating costs, but surely the influx of tourists will counteract that? I don’t know the game well enough to know if any of these strategies make sense, but I go with it. Pip can always clean up any mess I make. My tenure is almost over. Planes start taking off and landing in the airport, which is a good sign, but elsewhere in the city there are more job shortages and abandoned buildings sprouting up.
I survey what I’ve created so far, and this is a very ugly city. I’ve been quite scattershot with my building and road creation, and the place is a damn mess. But I prefer these sprawling, messy cityscapes to the rigid, grid-like streets of the United States. There’s a problem, though. Many, in fact. I’ve neglected to build more sewage outlets and water pumps, and the city is both suffering a major water crisis and is backed up with tonnes of stinking sewage. I don’t have time to fix it, so I’ll leave it to my successor. Also, there seem to be dead bodies everywhere, lining the streets. I forgot to build a cemetery. Sorry, Pip.
Phase three: Philippa Warr
Deputy editor Pip adds whales.
I don’t really remember how to play Cities: Skylines, much less how to make a functional city with a vaguely healthy economy. But I did just install a whale from the Steam Workshop so there will be at least one element I understand. (I do not understand where the whale will live yet.)
Figuring all of that out can wait though, because Andy’s version of leaving the city in profit involves a $34,000 deficit. My initial inspection of the city also reveals that at least one building is on fire and several buildings appear to be accumulating dead folk.
I plonk an emergency cemetery into the first chunk of available space I see and throw down a few fire stations to bring the fire hazard rating for swathes of the city back into a safe range.
I find myself doing similar crisis-management for all the city’s rating systems. It’s pretty straightforward for the first few but noise pollution seems to be a huge problem. I blanket-upgrade every single road in the main town hub to ones lined with trees to dampen the noise of traffic. The impact is nowhere near what I’d hoped, though. I’ve also destroyed whatever one-way systems Andy and Phil might have set up.
Speaking of problems inherited from the last two governments, neither of my predecessors seem to have gotten round to naming the city. I christen the metropolis ‘Pipville’. This also doesn’t solve the noise pollution problem, so I try creating tunnels for the most congested routes; underground no one can hear you beep. I end up with one tunnel and one entirely missing segment of road which I accidentally upgraded into not existing.
It’s at this point I lose my temper. You know what’s noisy? Living people. You know what’s really quiet? A necropolis.
It s a glorious diorama a mysterious necropolis next to an equally mysterious whale-spewing crater.
I find a cul-de-sac and install multiple cemeteries. It is blissfully quiet. I can feel the stresses of the city ebbing away as I pick out new trees and bushes from the Steam Workshop to decorate Pipville’s necropolis. Soon, lovely hibiscus bushes and cherry blossom trees are hugging the graveyards.
Then I remember the whale. I mod the game to allow props and put a whale at the entrance of the necropolis. While adding additional whales (for company, of course) I notice their bodies hug the terrain. That means when I place them on the lip of a nearby crater they bend around the slope and look like they’re crawling out of the ground.
It’s a glorious diorama—a mysterious necropolis next to an equally mysterious whale-spewing crater. In case the next player somehow misses ‘Necropowhale Zone’, I also leave a trail of whales going from the crater to the edge of the city.
With my remaining months in power I build a canal in an attempt to fill the bottom of the whale crater with water. Ignoring the multiple instances of massive flooding across the city, this is a resounding success. I end my rule in profit by making taxes 10% across the board and hit save. Good luck making sense of any of this, Samuel!
Phase four: Samuel Roberts
UK editor in chief Samuel ushers the city to its final form.
I want to extend the city in my time as mayor, and put my mark on this place. I’m going to build a new district that has high-end shopping and nice houses. I lay down some road to a quiet area of the map and build a pentagonal region that links to the Just Dance 2018 district. The site of my new utopia for bastards.
How do you connect pipes again? I’ve forgotten. Everyone needs electricity and water and I’m not ready! I should’ve put the utilities down first. I’ve barely built my new area of the city and we’re over $30,000 in debt. I start to panic that my city is doomed to never break even, and I’ve only been mayor for two months.
I don’t know how you demolish buildings in this game, but I bet doing that will balance the books a bit. Hey, what about this natural disasters panel? How about I just call in a meteor and pretend this never happened? I didn’t realise it takes a while to call in these events, so I might have clicked too many times. Now seven meteors have hit the city, as well as two fires and a hurricane, entirely wiping out the district. It’s pretty grim, but on the bright side we’re soon back in profit!
The road is now cut off from the rest of the city. Everyone is dead. I name the district ‘Failed Experiment V1’ and pledge never to think about it again.
It’s time for a fresh start: Pipville has been through some dark times (of which I’ll take some responsibility), so I rename it ‘Robtropolis’. I name the industrial district ‘Chemical Plant Zone’ and the populated area ‘Bathtub Geralt’. I build a space shuttle, which is never ready in my two years as mayor and therefore never takes off, meaning that I’ve failed my space manifesto. On the plus side, however, I think some of the fun buildings I pop around the city do some good for happiness, which is generally positive during my time—stuff like botanical gardens, a sci-fi skyscraper and a casino/hotel.
I try again with my gentrified area idea, buying a new patch of land off to the south east and creating another pentagonal set of roads. What I call ‘New Haven’ goes loads better than Failed Experiment V1—indeed, it’s a thriving district that just has a bit of noise pollution. I give it an expo centre (next to a crematorium—a bold choice by the mayor), a festival venue and some other niceties. It’s a neat blend of dense commercial and residential living areas. I bet it costs a honking fortune to live there. Just like every major city in the UK. Success!
Dropping the industrial tax to 1% seems to do some good for the money side of things—I thought this might bring the abandoned industrial area back to life, but it doesn’t. That area is done for, and never recovers. While I tax everyone to hell in an effort to make the city break a profit before 1 May 2025, I end up $700 down on the day, thereby failing the task that Phil set us. I got so close, though.
Show me another mayor who would murder loads of their own people with asteroids just to balance the budget.
Debriefing
Phil: I was worried this would be a broadly pleasant feature in which we had a nice time building a picturesque city. So congratulations on all of the murders, everybody. Other than the enforced disaster, how did you all get on?
Samuel: I tried to build a new part of the city but instead felt I had no choice but to murder lots of my own people with natural disasters. That was during the era of Pipville, though. Nothing like that happened after the city was renamed Robtropolis. Coincidence?
Pip: I want to make it clear that when Pipville was under the leadership of the great and benevolent Pip there was an influx of whales, which are a great indicator of, uh, environmental responsibility. They were clearly attracted by the robust economy or the affordable rent or the thriving nightlife. Maybe all three. If you inherited problems they must have come from Andy.
Andy: Going second, I had it fairly easy. Phil didn’t leave many problems for me to deal with, and left me with a blank canvas to make a mess. A mess that resulted in a lot of dead bodies and backed-up sewage. A parting gift from me to Pip.
The PC Gamer team return for a freewheelin’ discussion about (mostly) PC gaming. Pip is annoyed by a fish, Phil is confused by a jungle, and Sam is nauseated by a corpse. Also, a mysterious signal; a transmission from a far off land. But who is its sender, and why are they surrounded by cardboard?
The PC Gamer UK Podcast is a weekly podcast about PC gaming. Thoughts? Feedback? Requests? Tweet us @PCGamerPod, or email letters@pcgamer.com. This week’s music is from Tomb Raider 3.
After announcing its latest slice of DLC, Parklife, earlier in the month, Colossal Order have given us a slightly closer look at Cities: Skylines’ upcoming expansion in a new trailer. Look above to cram it into your eyes.
The last expansion, Green Cities, stole countless hours from me as I tried to fashion the perfect, pollution-free utopia, but I always felt it could be a little greener. And soon it will be. The biggest hook in Parklife is that parks are no longer single structures that you plonk down. They’re districts rather than buildings, so they’re modular and customisable.
What was once just an empty bit of green space can be painted over with the district tool, turning it into an official park that you can tailor to your citizens needs. You’ll be able to make zoos, amusement parks, public spaces in the middle of a city and sprawling national parks. And just like other districts, there are policies to set, along with unique features like guided tours and firework displays.
Given the diligence of the modding community, I suspect we’ll soon see a lot of Jurassic Park knock-offs in our future. A dino park right in the heart of a city? Sounds safe to me.
Cities: Skylines' next expansion is called Parklife, and is due next month.
Stick on some classic Blur in the background, and we'll sing through this news post. It's almost the weekend, let's let our hair down:
Cities: Skylines is a preference for the habitual city-builder who's next expansion is known as...
(Parklife)
It adds zoos and coasters and campsites and flowerbeds into what is known as…
(Parklife)
There’s a new park area tool, five new maps, new assets and level-up features that increase your park’s property values…
(Parklife)
Placing buildings next to paths in park districts, and turning building recesses green will make you wanna get some exercise.
All the peopleSo many peopleAnd they all go hand-in-handHand-in-hand through their Parklife
Okay, so that was possibly funnier in my head than it was in practice—but once I commit to a joke, I make a point of seeing it through. Particularly when singing is involved.
Anyway, here's Parklife's announcement trailer:
With that, Paradox and Colossal Order explain that the aforementioned park area tool lets players create park districts wherever they have empty land. Across five new maps, players can employ a new sightseeing bus line, new service buildings and new attractions—not least amusement parks, nature reserves, city parks and zoos.
Another highlight is that, for the first time, buildings can be placed next to paths in park districts—while three new city policies and eight new park policies mean recreational hazards such as 'Fireworks' and 'Animal Ethics' must be considered. More on all of that, and the latest complimentary main game update, can be read here.
Cities: Skylines' Parklife is due on May 24, 2018. It costs £10.25/$13.49, with a limited-time ten percent Steam discount.
Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive’s city builder, Cities: Skylines, turns three this weekend, on March 10. Paradox has also announced that 5 million copies have been sold on PC alone. To celebrate the anniversary and sales milestone, everyone’s getting free DLC inspired by Surviving Mars, the colony survival sim that’s due out on March 15.
The Surviving Mars DLC will contain a new radio station, Official Mars Radio; an astronaut Chirper, if you’ve not killed the bird already; and a new building, the Xchirp Launcher. Everything your city needs to get in on the space race. You could even rename one of your citizens Elon Musk and treat him terribly. I know I will.
If Surviving Mars also tickles your fancy, Cities: Skylines owners get a 10% discount until March 30. Keep an eye out for my review next week.
Addictive city builder Cities: Skylines is currently free to try on Steam, meaning you too could build a town where blimps blot out the sun. The free offer ends at 1 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, February 11. If you dip your toes in and decide it's worth a dive, you can also buy the game or any of its DLC for cheap through 10 a.m. Pacific Monday, February 12.
The base game is just under $8 at 75 percent off, and the deluxe edition package is $10 at 75 percent off. If you already own the game and want the deluxe edition content (a handful of new buildings, the soundtrack and a digital art book), you can get the deluxe upgrade pack for under $3 at 75 percent off.
There are also two big ol' bundles. The $56 Cities: Skylines collection comes with all major and minor DLCs, including Natural Disasters, Green Cities and Mass Transit, as well as several content creator packs made with help from modders. Then there's the $19 new player bundle, which comes with the Natural Disasters and Snowfall DLCs.
Cities: Skylines is pretty much the best city builder ever made, for two reasons: it's very fun to play, and reading Chris Livingston write about it is among my greatest pleasures. If you haven't picked it up yet, you can do so now for $10 as part of the new Humble Strategy Simulator Bundle.
Although, if you have picked it up, the bundle will still be of interest. The "pay what you want" tier includes Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadsville, SimplePlanes and Out of the Park Baseball 18. Pay above the average (which is currently $6.15) and you'll also get Mad Games Tycoon, Plague Inc and TS 2017 Train Simulator. But pay the $10 and you'll get all those in addition to Cities: Skylines.
Go forth and peruse. There's also currently an offer where every purchase nets you 10 percent off a Humble Monthly instalment, which have to date been very generous.
The coughing citizens of your Cities: Skylines metropolis can breath again—the game's eco-friendly expansion is out now. Green Cities, which is £9.99/$12.99 on Steam and Humble Store, adds more that 350 assets to the game, from Geothermal Power Plants to Yoga Gardens and Bee Havens.
The DLC also adds new specialisations for your buildings, all of which help keep pollution at bay. You can design self-sufficient apartment blocks, for example, or plonk down shops that only sell organic and locally-produced goods.
To make sure you get your hands dirty (or clean in this case), developer Colossal Order has created three new scenarios in which you can test your green credentials, as well as four new policy options and a new monument, the 'Ultimate Recycling Plant'.
Players that don't want to pay to battle pollution get some free options courtesy of an update released at the same time as the DLC. The 1.9.0 patch adds electric cars, reworks noise pollution, introduces three new types of park (including a tropical garden) and new trees. There's the customary bug fixes, too.
You can read the full notes on the DLC and the free update in the patch notes.
To the delight of countless smog-choked digital civilians, an eco-friendly expansion is coming to Cities: Skylines next month. The Green Cities expansion will cost $12.99 and arrive on October 19, publisher Paradox Interactive announced today.
As previously reported, Green Cities adds 350 objects and assets to help you clean up your no-doubt horribly polluted cities, including self-sufficient buildings equipped with solar panels and rooftop gardens, sustainable power plants and spiffy little electric cars. As revealed in the announcement trailer above, there are 200 new buildings and 100 other assets in total. New visual options, more parks, and new services such as recycling are also included, along with three new scenarios and four policy options.
"Players can go completely green as the urban population grows," Paradox says, "and create more diversified cities with new specialized options for all zones, such as a combustion engine ban in the inner city or waste filtering requirements for industrial buildings."
As always, a free update will also accompany the expansion. This update will add a smaller selection of electric cars, road mods, beautification items like trees and parks, and changes to noise pollution.
