Back in November, Cities: Skylines 2 publisher Paradox made the surprising announcement that longtime series developer Colossal Order would be ceasing work on the series as part of a “mutual” breakup. Now, we’re getting our first glimpse into the kinds of patches and upgrades new developer Iceflake (Surviving the Aftermath) is prioritizing for the popular city-builder going forward.
In a City Corner Developer Diary posted late last week, Iceflake focuses mainly on the visual improvements it’s planning for its first major Cities: Skylines 2 patch. Chief among these is improvements to the game’s user interface that Iceflake admits can “sometimes be a bit confusing when it comes to communicating things.”
The new patch will include a “streamlined” onboarding process for new cities, more expressive and context-aware icons, and toolbars with clearer colors and visual style. A new in-game Encyclopedia will also let players search through information about different gameplay topics, though that feature likely won’t be ready for Iceflake’s first patch.
As far as the look of the cities themselves, Iceflake says it’s taking inspiration from an existing “recolor” patch, integrating the ability to set custom colors for buildings, props, and vehicles into the base game. Players will eventually be able to recolor trees, plants, and other props as well, but this will also have to wait for a later patch.
The game’s weather systems will also be getting an overhaul, with easier customization options to get a distinct look and feel based on location. That includes snow that’s more likely to fall on boreal maps that also will coat a city’s rooftops and lawns with a solid white blanket. Players will also be able to directly control cloud cover and should be able to see a direct effect on the lighting and fog levels as they do.
Iceflake says it plans to publish another developer diary focusing on mechanical and gameplay updates and bug fixes before rolling out its first patch by the second half of February “if all goes well.” Longtime series fans can only hope that things do go well under the new development order, long after the game’s 2023 launch was hampered by performance issues and missing features that the community is still unhappy about.
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