At 40,000 residents, Fair Banks County keeps building suburbs in vanilla Cities: Skylines II: parks squeezed into Birdsong Glen, a neighbourhood around a stadium parking lot with the Vista signature building, the Victoria Peak district, a streamline diner once enough low-density businesses exist, and Hillside Crest on gently sloping land with mailboxes and a post office.
What happens in this episode
Fair Banks County just reached 40,000 residents, which still feels far too few for a city that looks this big. I wish the game, and our hardware, could simulate something closer to reality. Where parking is allowed, the number of parked cars is ridiculous. Episode 12 continues the suburban belt from episode 11.
How it was built
Parks in Birdsong Glen
A larger park goes into the middle of Birdsong Glen. Only one of the two I wanted fit, but road snapping helped. Parks in Cities: Skylines II look much more interesting than in the first game, even if some park lots change the grass texture and others don’t. The developers were back from their winter break, and I asked everyone to be patient and fair with criticism. Developers are human too.
Why still vanilla
The usual decoration (hickories, lindens, bushes, empty space for a cozy feel) is all done without mods. I’d tested plenty, but without a Move It mod for Cities: Skylines II, I wasn’t willing to risk the save.
A stadium neighbourhood and the Vista
Next to the stadium’s huge parking lot, few people will want to live because of the noise, but a neighbourhood forms anyway. The Vista signature building, one of my favourites, goes in right away. The film academy mansion I’d forgotten is huge and took a whole block, apart from one stubborn little garden. The parking lot got decoration so it doesn’t look out of place. I still wish we had something like Parklife for custom parks.
Victoria Peak and district borders
Victoria Peak is finished, and the district borders are expanded to cover it. Hillside Crest gets its own district, and Empire Glade grows to include the forestry area, one of the biggest districts in the city. Managing an industrial zone as one district makes sense.
Hillside Crest
As the name says, Hillside Crest sits on gently sloping land, deliberately looser and more mixed than the straight-lined blocks nearby. The streamline diner finally unlocked once enough low-density businesses were running, and it fits perfectly here. A few gaps get small homes, but no extra pathways, because they’d spoil the loose feel. Mailboxes cover every street, and a small post office handles the area the sorting facility didn’t reach. I also announced that I’d jump back to Cities: Skylines 1 at some point to compare.
Video chapters
- 00:0040,000 residents and too many parked cars
- 04:04Parks in Birdsong Glen
- 08:04Why still no mods
- 12:15The Vista building and a stadium neighbourhood
- 16:44Victoria Peak and district borders
- 22:26Starting Hillside Crest
- 28:32A streamline diner, mailboxes, post office
Clicking a chapter starts the video above at that point.
FAQ
Why not use mods in Fair Banks County?
At the time I'd tested many, but without a Move It mod for Cities: Skylines II I didn't want to risk the save. The whole season stayed vanilla.
How do you unlock the streamline diner?
It's a signature building that needs enough low-density commercial businesses running in the city. Once they're there, it appears in the signature buildings menu.
Is 40,000 residents realistic for a city this size?
Not really — the population feels far too small for the buildings you see, a limitation I already felt in the first game. It's a hardware and simulation trade-off.