Anyone play Cities: Skylines yet?

[CoreySamson]

There are two types of CS players: There are people who actually want to build a functioning city, and then there's RTGame, the player who constantly destroys cities and proved that a 1 road city is actually not as bad as it sounds.

I watch his other stuff too. He's quite possibly the most humorous Youtuber I've watched.

[CoreySamson]

I've been playing the vanilla game for 2 years (without mods and DLCs, I'm on console and I'm a cheapskate), but my cities are continuously around 80-85% traffic flow, which makes me think you don't really need TM:PE to truly make a functioning city. So I came up with a couple of tips that have really helped me keep up such good traffic flow:

1. Give your industry easy access to the highway
Industry traffic is the bane of the game, but it can be somewhat averted by giving industry access to the highway, making it so trucks don't go through other areas, which will cause traffic.

2. Spread out your junctions
Keep your junctions far apart from each other, as it prevents weaving, which is one of the aspects that makes the AI kinda dumb. If you must put junctions close together, try using braided ramps instead of normal ones.

3. Don't add "Band-Aids" to troublesome junctions
One mistake I see a lot of somewhat new players make (I also made it myself) is that they build a diamond interchange or something like that and trucks are causing congestion issues at the junction. They see the problem and bypass the junction with a ramp, effectively putting a "Band-Aid" on the junction. Don't do that! Usually all the other ramp does is move the problem somewhere else, and it doesn't fix the real problem (or it creates a new problem). Instead, I would save up in-game money and rebuild the problematic junction entirely (for interchanges with normal roads, grade separated DDIs are excellent, and for normal junctions, roundabouts can usually work). This fixes the problem instead of moving it somewhere else.

4. Use express lanes
Express lanes are really good for industrial traffic, especially if you have well-used cargo train terminals and ports in your city. They separate industrial traffic from the other cars in the city, which helps with weaving.

5. Have well-established street hierarchies
This is another problem I see new players make. Not every road needs to be 4 lanes, but major traffic-carrying roads should be at all times.

6. Don't be afraid to try new things
My last tip acknowledges that every city is different and may have problems that are hard to solve by basic interchanges. Instead, don't be afraid to try new ideas (but be prepared to rebuild if they don't work out!). I've done odd things like having grade separated DDIs on freeway-to-freeway junctions and just recently I built a diamond interchange with flyovers instead of left turns. Both were odd ideas, but they work extremely well.

[Ned Weasel]

I haven't tried the Node Controller mod yet, but I've found, with the combination of TMPE, Fine Roads/Anarchy, and Move It, I can do three nice things: (1) Make interchanges with mostly correct geometry (although my toll plaza connections are still a bit wonky, (2) make DDIs that actually make sense, and (3) make jughandles that actually make sense.  The only thing I haven't yet found the solution for is correct lane striping, but I've been having too much fun trying to build out an 81-tile city with the other mods, plus the Mass Transit and After Dark DLCs.  Move It is really a godsend if you care about ramp geometry.

[johndoe]

Has anyone by chance experienced a lot of crashes lately?  I NEVER used to have this issue, and now it's happening every 5-10 min.  It's happening in different maps and on different screens.  I play vanilla, although I did download some patch a few months ago for some reason...I forget why... something about a new pop up or something that happens on launch?

Anyway, I can't think of anything that's changed on my machine and don't feel like thinking too hard about this so I was hoping one of you might have a hint.  Thanks!

[hotdogPi]

There are two types of CS players:

Cities: Skylines: Global Offensive?

[rickmastfan67]

johndoe, how much ram do you have in your rig?

Also, read this on how to 'bypass' the popup on start: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1976349559

[johndoe]

johndoe, how much ram do you have in your rig?

Also, read this on how to 'bypass' the popup on start: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1976349559

12MB RAM.  I think I have the "Fast Method" and I still see the command prompt open as Cities runs.  Not sure how to uninstall that

[jakeroot]

12MB RAM.

That might be your problem. Those early 90s computers aren't really known for C:S compatibility.

Has anyone by chance experienced a lot of crashes lately?  I NEVER used to have this issue, and now it's happening every 5-10 min.  It's happening in different maps and on different screens.  I play vanilla, although I did download some patch a few months ago for some reason...I forget why... something about a new pop up or something that happens on launch?

If you go to the workshop, go to "Browse" > "Subscribed items". On the right, sort by "Date updated" and see if anything you've subscribed to has been recently updated. One of the updates might be broken (hopefully with a fix on the way). Alternatively, the game may have recently updated and broken an older mod. In that case, go to the last couple pages (if you have that many mod subscriptions) and see if you see people commenting about crashes like what you've experienced. It's fairly common for old mods to work well beyond when they were intended to break, before eventually breaking with a small update.

[jakeroot]

The only thing I haven't yet found the solution for is correct lane striping

Intersection Marking Tool now allows users to mark road segments and not just intersections. You can't delete existing markings without other mods or decals, but you can finally add your own markings without resorting to annoying things like placing your own decals and props. My last screenshot above shows that I've added some HOV lanes to my roads and added solid lines to intersection approaches using that mod.

[Ned Weasel]

The only thing I haven't yet found the solution for is correct lane striping

Intersection Marking Tool now allows users to mark road segments and not just intersections. You can't delete existing markings without other mods or decals, but you can finally add your own markings without resorting to annoying things like placing your own decals and props. My last screenshot above shows that I've added some HOV lanes to my roads and added solid lines to intersection approaches using that mod.

Thanks for the tip!  By the way, what do you use for signs?  I'd love to start making some good ones in my game at some point. 

[jakeroot]

The only thing I haven't yet found the solution for is correct lane striping

Intersection Marking Tool now allows users to mark road segments and not just intersections. You can't delete existing markings without other mods or decals, but you can finally add your own markings without resorting to annoying things like placing your own decals and props. My last screenshot above shows that I've added some HOV lanes to my roads and added solid lines to intersection approaches using that mod.

Thanks for the tip!  By the way, what do you use for signs?  I'd love to start making some good ones in my game at some point. 

The signs I make using Illustrator, by way of importing the PSD files provided below. I made a little write-up a while back describing the process. Once you do it a couple times, it becomes pretty quick.

Is making custom signs easy? I haven't looked into modding CSL, but I made some stuff back in my SimCity 4 days which took a lot of work. I've installed a mod to give me some Swedish signs instead of the default European ones for speed limits, etc, but traffic lights and signs on motorways are still the standard ugly ones.

Yeah, it's pretty easy. I use these signs, and place them using Procedural Objects. This guide has links to .psd files that you can download and edit (or, like me, convert to .ai files) and then export as PNGs that can be added as a texture to those linked signs (Procedural Objects immediately asks for the texture for the signs when you go to place it). It's a very robust and thorough guide. It's actually quite simple. Hardest part for me was changing the scale of my pre-made sign elements that I use in the 'redesign this' thread to be larger. But it's not impossible.

You will want to use "Hide it!" to disable the game's built-in highway signs, assuming you don't use another pre-made highway from the workshop (as I do).

[rickmastfan67]

johndoe, how much ram do you have in your rig?

Also, read this on how to 'bypass' the popup on start: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1976349559

12MB RAM.  I think I have the "Fast Method" and I still see the command prompt open as Cities runs.  Not sure how to uninstall that

1) Read this then since you only have 12GB (no way it can only be 12MB): https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2114415052  All I know is that even with 16GB of RAM in my system, the game occasionally crashed a few minutes into playing since I was close to completely maxing out my RAM.  Once I upped my pagefile to 12GB, I no longer had any issues playing and crashing a few minutes in.  Plus it didn't hurt that I had a lot of space on my SSD's that I could place my pagefile on one of them. (I also have the game on a SSD.)

2) You should be able to undo that setup.
2a) First, undo the tweak in the "Launch Options" that you did in the "Properties" for the game inside of Steam which added the "cs.exe %command%".
2b) Next, go back into "Properties" and go to "Local Files" and click "Verify integrity of game files...".  This should undo the what that 'patch' tool did, as it will have Steam double check the game files and redownload the original "dowser.exe" file that the 'fast mode' overwritten.
2c) Go follow the steps from the " Steam Overlay-enabled method (Windows) " selection next (once the Steam verification is finished in 2b).  This is the mode I personally use, and it works perfectly fine for me.

[johndoe]

@jakeroot @rickmastfan67 haha yeah 12GB... thanks for the suggestions!  This morning I didn't have a crash so maybe the "verify integrity..." helped.

[vtk]

Intersection Marking Tool now allows users to mark road segments and not just intersections.

Oh sweet! When did that update drop?

[jakeroot]

Intersection Marking Tool now allows users to mark road segments and not just intersections.

Oh sweet! When did that update drop?

Late November, but only for the beta version (which is currently on 1.6.0.176). The normal mod is still on 1.5 which does not have the function.

The beta version is extremely stable and I would advise anyone who does not use that version, to use it over the regular non-beta version. The creator, macsergey, is taking a break from C:S for a bit, but only after dozens of updates to the beta that improved stability and reduced errors to basically zero.

[Ned Weasel]

Highly recommend this mod:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=844180955

I'm so glad you recommended this mod, because I'm having way too much fun with it now:

https://youtu.be/UH9Jf-doPaA

Of course, you can't use TM:PE with it, so I'm going mostly vanilla now, but it's still way too much fun.

[paulthemapguy]

Hopefully that CityDrive mod demonstrates how jarring all the broken-back curves are in your city and how that's a big no-no in real-life roadway geometry.  That's something I noticed in the introductory video on Steam.

[Ned Weasel]

Hopefully that CityDrive mod demonstrates how jarring all the broken-back curves are in your city and how that's a big no-no in real-life roadway geometry.  That's something I noticed in the introductory video on Steam.

I'm so not a fan of the way ramps merge and converge in the vanilla game.  But, without being able to use TM:PE, I'm not sure I'd trust Fine Roads Anarchy and Move It, and I've already noticed a bug when using Move It: building a road doesn't automatically push boulders out of the way, so you end up having to move them manually (if you care about your road not having boulders all over it).

[jakeroot]

I find it rather incredible that there are mods being made that are incompatible with major, widely-used mods. Like hey, good for you, but maybe work with those mod-makers to try and integrate your mod into theirs? Because asking users to give up TM:PE just to have that City Drive mod is a lot to ask. I have heard about it, but I know I will never use it since TM:PE is too important.

[Ned Weasel]

I find it rather incredible that there are mods being made that are incompatible with major, widely-used mods. Like hey, good for you, but maybe work with those mod-makers to try and integrate your mod into theirs? Because asking users to give up TM:PE just to have that City Drive mod is a lot to ask. I have heard about it, but I know I will never use it since TM:PE is too important.

I'm having jughandle withdrawls after not using TM:PE for a while.

Hi, my name is Strident Weasel, and I have a problem.

***

Edit: Here's another one for anyone interested.  Still no jughandles, though.  (Warning: there's an F-bomb in the music.)

https://youtu.be/we9Qm6eyDcQ

[Ned Weasel]

I'm so not a fan of the way ramps merge and converge in the vanilla game.  But, without being able to use TM:PE, I'm not sure I'd trust Fine Roads Anarchy and Move It, and I've already noticed a bug when using Move It: building a road doesn't automatically push boulders out of the way, so you end up having to move them manually (if you care about your road not having boulders all over it).

I think it's actually Prop and Tree Anarchy that results in boulders getting left all over my roads.  I tried turning it on so I could make overhead signs, but I found the boulder problem again, so I'm not using it.  I refuse!

[jakeroot]

Those boulders are called "sprites" and there's at least a couple of mods that can remove them if you want: "Theme Mixer 2" and "Hide It!".

I used to keep them off since I've had issues with them appearing when they shouldn't, but they are working fine right now so I'm leaving them on.

[Ned Weasel]

Those boulders are called "sprites" and there's at least a couple of mods that can remove them if you want: "Theme Mixer 2" and "Hide It!".

I used to keep them off since I've had issues with them appearing when they shouldn't, but they are working fine right now so I'm leaving them on.

Thanks again for the tip!  In the meantime, I found a workaround to get semi-overhead signs without messing with Prop Anarchy.





Yes, I used Sign Maker for the second one, with minimal graphics editing.  The most important part is knowing the canvas size.

Edit:  I swapped out the images, (1) to use JPEGs instead of PNGs, and (2) to get a better shot of my text signs.  I'm actually really liking how you can import simple signs from Sign Maker with minimal editing, because all I wanted were guide signs that had some sort of relation to the road network within the game, rather than the meaningless in-game overhead signs. 

[vtk]

Yes, I used Sign Maker

Which Sign Maker is this?

[Ned Weasel]

Yes, I used Sign Maker

Which Sign Maker is this?

BrenStro's Sign Maker: https://www.brenstro.me/SignMaker/

I love it because it's great for providing base features, which you can use in fancier signs with free graphics editing software, and sometimes it helps to import Zeffy's BGS arrows.  Here's one example I made: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=9539.msg2542746#msg2542746

For Cities: Skylines, you can use Sign Maker to make a simple panel like this:


All you have to do is paste the sign panels onto a gray panel sized to specifications (552x187 for 2-lane medium), bucket-fill and paste the gray over Sign Maker's background and gantry arms, and then paste the panel into the sign panel template for use in Procedural Objects.  In this example, I also manually stretched the left-hand sign panel vertically to match its height to the right-hand panel.

It took me some trial and error with Cities: Skylines, mods, and props, but I'm glad I at least got that far.