Info about Cities: Skylines II:

Official game description:
Ultimate Edition
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Cities: Skylines II - Ultimate Edition gives you access to the **Base Game**, the **Waterfronts Expansion Pass**, and an additional **3 Creator Packs** and **3 Radio Stations**.
Included in the **Waterfronts Expansion Pass** is the San Francisco Set, the Creator Packs Modern Architecture and Urban Promenades, the Bridges & Ports Expansion and the radio packs Deluxe Relax Station, Soft Rock Radio and Cold Wave Channel.
San Francisco Set
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Bring some sunny vibes to your city with this San Francisco themed set. A Muscle Car Garage building, 5 different Muscle car models and a police vehicle will spruce up your bustling beach city. Included in the set is also the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and of course - a San Francisco map.
_Exclusive when buying the Expansion Pass_
Content Creator Packs x 2 (Urban Promenades/Modern Architecture)
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Introducing more than 30 assets each, these packs will infuse your city with some extra personality. Crafted by two of the Cities: Skylines community’s favorite creators, these packs truly highlight the talent and artistry of our modders.
Bridges & Ports Expansion
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Livelier coasts are now available with this new expansion, Bridges & Ports! With a new set of tools you are now able to create a bustling port to your city, and add beautiful new details like draw bridges and lighthouses. With over 100 new assets as well as the new addition of Marine Industries you can expand your waterfront landscape and connect your city in exciting new ways.
Radio Stations x 3 (Deluxe Relax Station/Soft Rock Radio/Cold Wave Channel)
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Set the tone in your city! Introducing a new host and 60 min of music, each Radio pack will give your city building experience a new vibe. The Radio stations are paired with each release.
About the Game
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Raise a city from the ground up and transform it into the thriving metropolis only you can imagine. You've never experienced building on this scale. With deep simulation and a living economy, Cities: Skylines II delivers world-building without limits.  
Lay the foundations for your city to begin. Create the roads, infrastructure, and systems that make life possible day to day. It's up to you – all of it.  
How your city grows is your call too, but plan strategically. Every decision has an impact. Can you energize local industries while also using trade to boost the economy? What will make residential districts flourish without killing the buzz downtown? How will you meet the needs and desires of citizens while balancing the city's budget?  
Your city never rests. Like any living, breathing world, it changes over time. Some changes will be slow and gradual, while others will be sudden and unexpected. So while seasons turn and night follows day, be ready to act when life doesn't go to plan.  
The most realistic and detailed city builder ever, Cities: Skylines II pushes your creativity and problem-solving to another level. With beautifully rendered high-resolution graphics, it also inspires you to build the city of your dreams.  
AI and intricate economics mean your choices ripple through the fabric of the city. Remember that as you strategize, problem-solve, and react to change, challenges, and opportunities.  
Cities: Skylines II lets you create without compromise. Now you can build sky-high and sprawl across the map like never before. Why not? Your city is you.  
Your decisions shape each citizen's life path, a chain of events that defines who they are. From love and loss to wealth and wellbeing, follow their life's ups and downs.  
Pick a map to set the climate of your city. These are the natural forces you'll negotiate to expand your city amid rising pollution, changeable weather, and seasonal challenges.

Release date: 24 Oct, 2023

Categories: City Builder, Economic Simulation, Management Simulation, Strategic Planning, Citizen Management, Environmental Simulation, Single-player


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Significant improvements since launch (weight 0.86): The game has seen significant improvements since its initial release, with developers actively addressing community feedback through updates and patches. These updates have enhanced performance, stability, and gameplay, making it more enjoyable and comparable to its predecessor. Many features from DLCs of the first game are now included in the base game.
- Improved and detailed graphics (weight 0.52): The game boasts significantly improved graphics compared to its predecessor, featuring more detailed environments, dynamic weather effects, and enhanced textures. These visual enhancements contribute to a more immersive and realistic city-building experience, making the game more visually appealing and enjoyable.
- Improved road construction tools (weight 0.47): The game features significantly improved road construction tools, offering greater flexibility and control in creating road layouts and intersections. These enhancements make road building more enjoyable and intuitive, allowing for the creation of realistic and complex highway interchanges.
- Excellent mod support and integration (weight 0.45): The game has excellent mod support, with a mature and well-integrated modding community that provides tools, enhancements, and custom content. The integration of Paradox Mods simplifies mod management and ensures compatibility, enhancing the game's replayability and customization options.
- More customization and control (weight 0.43): The game offers more customization options, including building upgrades, detailed economic balance, and the ability to tailor cities to specific needs. These features provide players with greater control over their city's development and management, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
- Engaging and satisfying gameplay (weight 0.37): The game offers a satisfying and engaging city-building experience, with a well-designed progression system and a variety of tools for city customization. The game's mechanics are well-balanced, providing a challenging and rewarding experience for both casual and hardcore players.
- Variety of assets and options (weight 0.36): The game offers a wide variety of assets and options for city building, including mixed-use zones, parking lots, and farms. These features provide players with more creative freedom and flexibility in designing their cities.
- Good performance and optimization (weight 0.22): The game runs smoothly on a variety of systems, with visually appealing graphics even on mid-range PCs. The game's optimization has improved, allowing for enjoyable gameplay without significant performance issues.
- Detailed and realistic simulation (weight 0.22): The game offers a more detailed and realistic simulation of city life, with citizens having individual lives and the economy, traffic, and citizen behavior being more intricately simulated. This creates a more immersive and engaging experience, making the game feel closer to the real world.

Common complaints:
- Frequent crashes and instability (weight 0.96): The game suffers from frequent crashes, freezes, and performance issues, often leading to lost progress and save game corruption. These issues persist even on high-end hardware and after multiple patches, making the game unstable and frustrating to play. Some players suspect review bombing due to the high number of mentions and emotional language.
- Inferior to predecessor (CS1) (weight 0.3): The game is often compared unfavorably to its predecessor, lacking content, features, and polish. Many reviewers feel that core mechanics and details that made the first game enjoyable are missing or simplified in the sequel, making it a disappointing experience.
- Unfinished state, slow fixes (weight 0.29): The game was released in an unfinished state with numerous bugs and performance issues, and updates have been slow to address these problems. Some reviewers feel that the developers are prioritizing DLC over fixing core issues, leading to a perception that the game is not worth the price.
- Problematic traffic AI/management (weight 0.24): The game's traffic AI and road tools are flawed, leading to illogical traffic jams, poor pathfinding, and frustrating road construction. Reviewers note that the AI often disregards lane markings and makes unrealistic maneuvers, making traffic management difficult and unrealistic.
- Unrealistic economic simulation (weight 0.11): The game's economic simulation is criticized for being unrealistic, lacking depth, and requiring mods to function correctly. Reviewers note that the economic system often fluctuates unpredictably and lacks meaningful feedback, making it difficult to manage the city's finances effectively.
- Missing traffic management features (weight 0.06): The game lacks essential traffic management tools and features compared to its predecessor, such as lane control and advanced intersection options. Reviewers also note that the traffic AI is worse than in the first game, leading to more frequent and illogical traffic jams.
- Broken/unrealistic game mechanics (weight 0.06): The game suffers from broken mechanics, such as flawed sickness and hearse systems, leading to unrealistic scenarios and traffic jams. Reviewers also note issues with public transportation and citizen behavior, making the simulation feel untrustworthy and frustrating.
- Lacks depth/meaningful gameplay (weight 0.05): The game lacks depth and meaningful gameplay beyond traffic management, with shallow tourism mechanics and a confusing interface. Reviewers also note the absence of key features like a fishing industry and the ability to move buildings, making the game feel incomplete and unrewarding.

Gameplay feedback:
- Deep, customizable city-building mechanics (weight 0.19): The game offers robust city-building mechanics, including detailed simulation of citizens, versatile planning tools, and extensive customization options for roads, zones, and services. Compared to its predecessor, the game features improvements to road systems, traffic management, and economic depth, providing players with more control and complexity in designing and managing their cities.
- Complex, challenging learning curve (weight 0.08): The game presents a complex simulation that can be initially challenging for new players, requiring time to learn the mechanics and understand the economic systems. While tutorials and milestones are helpful, the early game can be difficult to balance, and some players may find the interface confusing.
- New zoning and building options (weight 0.03): The game introduces new features such as mixed-use zoning, modular buildings, and upgradeable service buildings, expanding creative options and requiring more strategic planning. These additions provide more depth and customization compared to the previous game.
- Extensive modding support available (weight 0.03): The game offers modding support, allowing players to enhance and customize their experience with community-created content. While the game uses a specific modding platform instead of Steam Workshop, the internal system works smoothly and provides access to a variety of mods, some of which address content gaps in the base game.
- No story or narrative present (weight 0.02): The game does not offer a narrative or story-driven missions. The core gameplay loop is traditional, with few innovations compared to the first game.
- Helpful gameplay tips provided (weight 0.02): Some reviewers offer specific gameplay tips, such as starting with multiple small villages and prioritizing road development early on. These suggestions can help players navigate the game's mechanics and optimize their city designs.
- Zoning options have limitations (weight 0.01): The game's zoning options have some limitations, such as commercial and office zones only coming in low and high density, and industrial zones being difficult to draw borders for. These limitations can impact city design and development.
- Desire for more updates (weight 0.01): The reviewer wants more variety in disasters and updates focusing on specific areas. Due to the lack of specific details, this point has a low importance score.
- Desire for more content (weight 0.01): The reviewer wants more content in the game. Due to the lack of specific details, this point has a low importance score.

Performance notes:
- Poor performance, especially late-game (weight 0.55): The game suffers from significant performance issues, including low frame rates, stuttering, lag, and simulation slowdowns. These problems occur even on high-end hardware, especially in larger cities or later stages of the game, making it difficult to play comfortably. Some users are reporting that the game is unplayable due to these issues.
- Long loading times (weight 0.34): The game has long loading times, which can be frustrating for players. This issue is exacerbated when using mods, which further increases loading times. Some users have reported that the game freezes during loading.
- Performance improved, but not optimal (weight 0.07): Some reviewers note that performance has improved since launch due to patches and updates, but it is still not optimal. While some users report smoother gameplay and reduced crashes, others say that the improvements are not significant enough, especially in larger cities or on less powerful computers.
- Inconsistent GPU utilization (weight 0.02): Some reviewers have reported that the game does not fully utilize the GPU, with usage never exceeding 80%. Others have reported that GPU usage spikes to 100% before crashes.
- Graphical glitches and artifacts (weight 0.02): Some users have reported graphical glitches, such as flickering weather and lighting effects, shadows not fully refined, and display bugs when zoomed out. Additionally, DLSS can create ghosting issues and degrade visual quality.

Recommendations:
- Unstable, buggy, and poorly optimized (weight 0.61): The game suffers from significant technical issues, including bugs, crashes, poor optimization, and simulation problems. Many reviewers recommend waiting for patches or sales before purchasing, or suggest playing Cities: Skylines 1 instead. Some reviewers mention losing progress due to crashes and save file issues.
- Fun and engaging despite flaws (weight 0.22): Despite its flaws, many reviewers find the game enjoyable and engaging, particularly for fans of the city-building genre. They appreciate the depth of the simulation, the creative possibilities, and the potential for future improvements. Some reviewers recommend the game despite its issues, emphasizing its fun factor and addictive gameplay.
- CS1 may be better currently (weight 0.22): Many reviewers feel that Cities: Skylines 2 does not offer enough improvements over the original to justify the purchase, especially for those who already own Cities: Skylines 1 with DLCs. Some suggest sticking with the first game due to its more complete feature set, better mod support, and superior performance. Others find the sequel to be a worthwhile upgrade despite its flaws.
- Hopes for future improvements (weight 0.09): Many reviewers express hope that the developers will continue to improve the game through updates and expansions. They suggest waiting for future updates, the asset editor, or a more polished experience before purchasing. Some reviewers draw comparisons to No Man's Sky, suggesting the game could undergo a similar redemption arc.
- Aimed at more casual players (weight 0.08): Some reviewers suggest that the game is targeted at a more casual audience than the original Cities: Skylines. They note that the game is easier to get started with but lacks depth and detail. This point highlights a potential shift in the game's design philosophy.
- Only worth it on sale (weight 0.03): Many reviewers suggest that the game is only worth buying on sale due to its current state. Some suggest a specific price point or discount percentage that would make the game a worthwhile purchase. This point is frequently mentioned alongside concerns about bugs and performance.
- Re-evaluation after improvements (weight 0.02): Some reviewers mention that they will revisit their review or recommendation after future updates or improvements. This indicates a willingness to re-evaluate the game based on its progress. Some reviewers had to research optimization methods, indicating significant performance problems.
- Balance between realism lacking (weight 0.01): Some reviewers feel that the game fails to strike a correct balance between realism and encouraging creative gameplay due to problematic tuning and far too complex a simulation model. The poor traffic simulation ruins the overall impression of the game.

Other player notes:
- Game improving through updates (weight 0.11): The game launched with issues, leading to mixed reviews and community negativity. However, the developers are dedicated to improvements through updates, fixes, and new content. Paradox has acknowledged the issues and is actively working to address them, earning some recognition from reviewers.
- Content deficiencies versus predecessor (weight 0.08): Compared to its predecessor, the game feels incomplete and lacks content, with many features missing or underdeveloped. Reviewers feel spoiled by the amount of content in the first game and expect more from the sequel, especially considering the larger file size.
- Demanding PC requirements (weight 0.03): The game is large in size and requires a decent PC to run smoothly due to its detailed simulations. High-end PCs may still experience crashes with excessive mods or large cities.
- Helpful updates and region packs (weight 0.02): The game has received helpful updates, including free themed building packs, since its release. Region packs introduce different building styles and provide a variety of assets, enhancing the gameplay experience.
- Lacks specific goals/story (weight 0.02): The game lacks a specific goal or story, making it easy to get lost in the details. Some reviewers describe it as a 'city painter' due to its open-ended nature.
- Similarities to predecessor game (weight 0.02): The game shares similarities with its predecessor, aiming to improve upon it with new features and a larger scale. The visuals are more detailed but retain a cartoonish style, which some find appealing while others consider it dated.
- PC specs provided for reference (weight 0.01): Reviewers are providing their PC configurations as a reference point for other players. This helps to give context to their performance observations.
- Requests for more detailed features (weight 0.01): Reviewers are requesting more detailed and comprehensive features related to city infrastructure and citizen activity. Specific examples include parking lots, bicycle paths, service areas, and more realistic depictions of people's movements.
- Active developer engagement (weight 0.01): The developers are actively fixing bugs and adding missing features based on community feedback. This ongoing engagement is seen as a positive sign for the game's future.
- Concerns about release state (weight 0.01): Some reviewers express concern about the trend of releasing unfinished games and the need to wait years for fixes and content. However, other reviewers note that the game is up to date.

Emotions:
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