It’s been a while since the last update from the developers of Cities: Skylines 2. Today’s news focuses on ongoing improvements to the production system, fixes for building abandonment, and upcoming changes to water simulation and map updates. These tweaks might seem small, but they’re pretty essential for keeping your city running smoothly.
Let’s start with the production chains. Patch 1.3.3f1, known as Quays & Piers, brought fixes to cargo transport and storage UI. Now, the team is working on redoing the Production tab in the Economy panel to give a clearer picture of resource flow. Instead of the old layout, a new Sankey diagram will visually show production, consumption, and surplus of resources, making it easier to compare how materials move through your city’s industries.
For example, if your city produces 852 tons of chemicals, the diagram breaks down how much goes into plastics, pharmaceuticals, or is stored for later. It’s kinda neat to see those flows laid out like that, right? The current version is still a work in progress, and some numbers don’t add up perfectly yet. Also, the text doesn’t scale well with different resolutions, but the devs wanted to share a sneak peek anyway.
Now, why the need for this overhaul? The production chains have been out of balance because earlier bugs affected resource outputs. With those bugs fixed, the numbers need updating. The game has 36 resources: 10 raw materials, 18 material goods, and 8 immaterial goods, all interacting in complex ways that impact your city’s economy. Rebalancing them is a big job, but the new Production tab helps spot what needs tweaking.
One example of an imbalance is an office downsizing its workforce to just 5 workers. Offices shrink when demand for their goods, like Finance or Telecom, is too low. Five workers is the minimum allowed, so they end up really understaffed. The devs are working on rebalancing production and consumption to make offices more viable with a workforce that fits their size. No quick fixes here, but a more solid solution for the whole city economy is in progress.
A very lonely place to work.
Speaking of buildings, have you noticed that none of yours are becoming abandoned or collapsing lately? The team found a bug causing issues with abandonment, so they temporarily disabled the feature to keep cities functional. Now, a fix is being tested. Buildings have an Upkeep Cost paid by renters alongside rent. When both are paid, the building improves and levels up. If upkeep isn’t paid, the building deteriorates and can become abandoned.
Abandoned buildings can attract homeless people and noise pollution, and if left too long, might collapse. Both abandoned and collapsed buildings negatively affect the well-being of nearby residents and increase crime risk. It’s a bit of a balancing act to get this right, but it should bring back more realistic city dynamics once fixed.
Water simulation is also getting attention. The team is updating how water behaves and fills rivers or lakes that go beyond playable map areas. This update will apply only to new cities created after release, so your current cities won’t be affected. It should prevent unexpected flooding caused by previous simulation issues. Along with this, maps are getting updates with new bridges, minor terrain tweaks, and resource fixes.
About the Bridges & Ports expansion, its delay has allowed the developers to polish features and add more water-related content. They’re working on new building “white boxes” to test functionality before final art is done. The expansion aims to let you build more detailed seaside cities beyond the current quays and leisure piers. More info will come closer to release.
Whiteboxes define the general size and prepare of a building and are used in-game to test functionality before finalizing the art.
So, what are you most curious about? The new production visuals, abandoned buildings coming back, or the water simulation changes? I’m kinda interested in seeing how offices will behave after the rebalancing. It feels like the economy system is getting a solid tune-up. Wow, who knew city management could be this detailed?
