The last Verville episode is a big rebuild: the two unconnected highways get a cross connection running through downtown, sketched with regular roads, raised to stack over the old highway and squeezed past buildings like in Tokyo. Traffic improves, road maintenance and radio coverage are filled in, a scenic hillside district with hotels and Briarwood City Park opens, and emergency shelters across town bring citizens back — though they still need canned food, which means oil and plastics.
What happens in this episode
Verville grew so much over the last few episodes that traffic got harder and harder. The biggest issue: one big highway and a smaller one, not connected to each other. I’d already tried this episode once, and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted. Today’s goal is a cross connection through downtown without wrecking the city.
How it was built
Test before you build
Sometimes you have to lay things out roughly to understand your network. It’s not cheating; it’s planning. A test highway goes through town, with a few buildings lost. Directions are changed one segment at a time, because neighbouring roads sometimes change too. I sketch interchanges with regular roads because they behave differently and are easier to shape.
Raising the highway
I learned to select several nodes at once and level them. The new highway is raised above the old one, up to 18 and 27 m for the interchange. The game doesn’t punish highways over parks, which is reasonable: many real cities use that space for parks. A hospital, a school and a crematorium were moved. After the rough layout, the regular roads become ramp pieces, and lane management comes last: one lane down to one and back up to two at each ramp, plus sound-barrier sections.
Like Tokyo
A highway running right alongside buildings is something you see all the time in Japan. Trucks from the ore and forestry areas started using the new link immediately.
Housekeeping
I went through every info view: more power, water towers (money isn’t a problem), fire stations for the industry, road maintenance depots I’d neglected, radio masts, an earthquake sensor and another post office. Unemployment was 20%. Lane rules, more offices and a one-way road for trucks fixed another hotspot. The school shortage is real in a city this big, even with many schools.
A hillside district
The hills get a scenic district with bike-lane roads, hotels, recreational use, self-sufficient homes, schools, an Institute of Creative Arts, clinics, police and fire, and Briarwood City Park.
Emergency shelters
A second disaster response unit and emergency shelters across the city, and citizens started moving in again. Maybe the game simply requires them. Shelters need canned food, which needs plastics from oil. The only oil fields are far away, so that’s the next job. Briarwood Park, offices and an intelligence agency round it off. The rebuild went much better than expected, without losing much of the city.
Video chapters
- 00:00Two highways that don't connect
- 05:39Testing a layout roughly first
- 11:14Regular roads for interchanges
- 16:14Raising the highway over parks
- 21:33Swapping in ramps, then lane rules
- 31:42Highways next to buildings, like Tokyo
- 37:13Checking every info view
- 42:19Road maintenance and post offices
- 52:34Lanes, offices and a truck one-way
- 1:09:34A hillside district with hotels
- 1:19:57Emergency shelters
- 1:30:21Offices, Briarwood Park and oil next
Clicking a chapter starts the video above at that point.
FAQ
How do you plan a highway through an existing city?
Lay it out roughly first to test the idea, sketch interchanges with regular roads (they behave differently and are easier to shape), level the nodes with Move It, then swap in ramp pieces and do the lane management last.
Do emergency shelters affect population in Cities: Skylines?
In Verville, citizens started moving in again after shelters covered most of the city. Shelters later need food supplies, which depend on plastics from oil.
Can highways run over parks?
Yes — the game doesn't penalise it, and many real cities use the space under highways for parks.