Fair Banks County prepares a straight shoreline for a future cargo harbour, builds a gated hillside community (with homes under a bridge, which CS2 finally allows), spreads mailboxes and internet coverage, adds a water treatment plant against old sewage, lays out a beachfront strip with a parking lot and cottages, opens the first passenger line, and replaces 143,000 a month in power imports with a geothermal plant — reaching Big Town.
What happens in this episode
A quick honest word first: at this point Cities: Skylines II still felt like a beta to me, with graphics and performance issues and doubts about whether trade worked properly. Many players had already left the game. I kept playing because I love this genre. Episode 4 of Fair Banks County tackles a hillside district, the industrial area and some long-term planning.
How it was built
Land for a future harbour
A cargo harbour will need a lot of land. The shoreline is extended with the landscaping tool well before the harbour arrives. A helper road at 90 degrees keeps the line straight, and the edges are smoothed afterwards. Prepared like this, the harbour front will be almost straight when the time comes. More tiles are bought, and more industrial zones follow. A small, wobbly overpass will have to do until there’s a Move It mod for Cities: Skylines II.
A gated hillside community
The hillside becomes a distinct residential area for people who want a gated community, looking out towards the future skyscrapers by the beach. Cities: Skylines II finally lets you build houses under bridges. You see that in so many countries, and it’s far more realistic.
Mailboxes, internet and services
Mailboxes matter in the countryside, and also in industrial areas and at the university: businesses and students benefit from one around the corner. A communications tower, upgraded twice, covers the harbour zone. A doctor’s office goes into the new district, and another crematorium may follow.
A water treatment plant
The development points go into the water treatment plant. The old wastewater outlet takes a very long time to clear, so better to start now. It needs a large flat area right by the water, so more terraforming and tiles. After that it’s processing the city’s wastewater with 0% pollution.
A beachfront strip
The first beachfront row has small houses with gaps between them for a beachy feel, medium-density homes behind, and low-density homes on the slopes once the landscaping is done. The lesson again: landscape first. Woodland Lane had to be rebuilt before a beach parking lot fit. A school drop-off parking lot, a park with hickories, beach cottages and a clinic round it off.
The first passenger line
A new passenger station gets its first line between two stations. It didn’t take the expected route, because the lines weren’t connected yet, but at least one line runs. Residential taxes come down to attract people.
Geothermal instead of imports
The city consumed about 30 MW, and importing it cost 143,000 a month. A geothermal power plant on a suitable water resource replaces the imports and can even export, although it ran at only 57% efficiency until it had enough staff. Its highway connection is the ugliest I’ve ever built. Districts get roadside parking fees and a heavy-traffic ban, but not the gated-community policy on the beach, because a beach should be open to everyone.
Big Town
Big Town unlocks EU and North American high-density housing. A medical university is now possible, but it’s huge and has to wait.
Video chapters
- 00:00Honest thoughts on the game, the plan
- 09:08Preparing land for a cargo harbour
- 13:32A gated community on the hillside
- 17:38Mailboxes, internet and services
- 22:00A water treatment plant by the sea
- 26:44A beachfront strip
- 31:58Landscaping first, a beach parking lot
- 41:44The first passenger train line
- 46:14Geothermal power instead of imports
- 55:51Big Town
Clicking a chapter starts the video above at that point.
FAQ
How do you prepare land for a harbour in Cities: Skylines 2?
Extend the shoreline with the landscaping tool well before you need the harbour. Pick the height of the existing land, push it out in a straight line (a helper road at 90° keeps it straight), then smooth it. A straight harbour front saves a lot of rework later.
Is importing electricity expensive?
It can be. By this point Fair Banks County was paying around 143,000 a month for imported power, so a geothermal plant — which can also export — was the obvious step.
Can you build houses under bridges in Cities: Skylines 2?
Yes, and I love it. Unlike the first game, zoned houses can sit underneath bridges, which is far more realistic.