With unlimited oil and ore switched on and resource paint cleaned up, I let the lakeside districts grow, including offices that keep commuters out of downtown. Then Springvalley gets a contrast: a small, deliberately unplanned-looking rural town in the hills. National roads keep buildings off the through route, wind turbines supply power, and a recycling centre sits outside town. It gets forestry-style industry and a farm by the entrance. Finally I level a large area and paint an airport zone for a future custom-built passenger airport.
What happens in this episode
The industrial and cargo area is crowded, and I don’t love the oil industry, but you need it to grow. Since Episode 46 I’ve installed unlimited oil and ore. That’s cheating, I know, but I didn’t want to repaint resources every episode. Leftover resource paint is cleaned up, and the farm fields get better soil.
How it was built
Letting the lakeside grow
Growth is still the struggle. Some areas of the map still wait for a good idea. Applegate Hills, Underhill Heights and Willow Hills fill in, with offices, so residents don’t travel all the way downtown to work. Some traffic lights stay for now. One crossing is always a challenge.
Into the hills
As a contrast to everything else, Springvalley gets a small rural community up in the hills. I lead Cook Boulevard under the highway and lay a very basic road network, with farmland and maybe oil planned too. The main route uses two-lane national roads, which don’t allow buildings along them. Some rocks need moving. Up here, wind turbines are the only power that makes sense, so the first ones go in.
The first rural town
Not a grid: something meaningful around a centre point. Partway through, a massive thunderstorm forced a short break. The town stays small on purpose. A recycling centre sits outside town, and a smaller water tower goes in on its own network.
Worries about CS2
I’m slightly worried Cities: Skylines II could feel like a heavily modded CS1 with a new look and get boring soon. I used to love the weekly dev diaries, but I stopped watching reaction videos. Why watch someone react instead of going to the source? Release is on 24 October, and I’m still curious.
Forestry, not generic industry
The town’s industry is switched to forestry, which feels more natural here. A farm sits at the entrance from the national road. I wanted wider fields than the vanilla ones, but couldn’t find the assets.
An airport site
The big empty plain gets levelled and painted as an airport area for a future custom passenger airport. The landscaping costs are ridiculous. Three highway exits nearby should handle the traffic. It sometimes looks unplanned, and sometimes it is, but that’s my way of playing.
Video chapters
- 00:00Unlimited oil and ore
- 04:16Applegate Hills grows
- 08:27Roads into the hills
- 14:21National roads and power lines
- 18:30Wind power and a first rural town
- 22:56Services outside town
- 27:05Forestry instead of generic industry
- 31:10A farm at the entrance
- 35:23Levelling land for an airport
- 39:43Three exits for future air traffic
Clicking a chapter starts the video above at that point.
FAQ
Which road keeps buildings off a through route?
Two-lane national roads don't allow zoning along them, so buildings face side streets instead. That's useful for a rural route through hills.
Where should services go in a small town?
Put noisy services like recycling just outside town and keep the centre for small shops and homes.
Should you plan an airport early?
Reserve and level the land early, with good highway access. Airports draw a lot of traffic, so plan several access points.