Cities: Skylines II, the sequel to Cities: Skylines promises to be one of the most brilliantly designed city-builder games to date, and that comes as no surprise. As a befitting sequel to the initial title, Skylines II has released trailers, teasers, and gameplay material, and all of it seems exhilarating. Most recently Gamescom had a pre-release Xbox event.
City: Skylines II promises to take everything that the first did and make it bigger; bigger maps, bigger cities, and bigger economies. Because of the insane visuals and excellent build workflow, Skylines II also promises to be an awesome teacher, especially for Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC), and urban planning students.
In this quick read, we’ll highlight 5 crucial elements that make Cities: Skylines II an excellent game, and why it’s a must-play for students in the AEC field. Let’s skip right ahead!
- Roads Building
Cities: Skylines 2 takes road management to a new level. Roads are the backbone of any city, and this game is meticulous to the tee. The game introduces expanded road tools that allow you to create the perfect road layout. This includes features like roundabouts, cut-and-fill roads, and parking lots, making it an ideal learning tool for understanding the complexities of road infrastructure planning.
With grid mode, you can do your layout seamlessly, and you can also make changes to the dimensions of your road grid intuitively. You can also add green spaces, trees, parking lots, wider sidewalks, or sound barriers. You’ll also get to use enhanced curve tools, empowering you to craft the road network of your dreams.
The Roads Infoview provides data on road conditions. Players get to understand the relationship between road quality and traffic flow. Roads, it seems, are also coming preinstalled with sewage and drinking water pipes, which adds a nice modern touch to the game.
- Advanced Traffic Management
AEC professionals thinking about “I need someone to write me an essay on urban transportation design” should know that Road Building and Traffic Management, whilst related, are different sub-disciplines of the road function.
In Skylines II, there is a revamped pathfinding system. Unlike its predecessor, which relied on proximity-based calculations, the sequel employs a more sophisticated approach. Pathfinding in the game revolves around four primary aspects: Time, Comfort, Money, and Behavior.
Agents in the game now consider multiple factors, including road network efficiency, travel time, agent preferences, and more when selecting their routes. This realistic approach allows students to understand the importance of optimizing road networks for efficient traffic flow.
Other features within traffic management include age-based and demographic traffic optimization and simulation. There is also roundabout behavior, realistic lane usage, traffic accidents, emergency vehicle navigation, and real-time events influencing traffic behavior, all important for AEC students and urban planners.
- Public & Cargo Transportation
Road building and traffic management are quite essential to a public transportation system. However, the basis for these including traffic surveys is public and cargo transportation options, providing valuable insights into real-world transportation systems for AEC and urban planners.
The host of public transportation options includes buses, taxis, trains, trams, the subway, and passenger ships. For cargo, options include cargo trains, cargo ships, and air. All these are capacity-based and offer AEC students practical insights into designing efficient urban transportation networks.
- Zones & Signature Buildings
Cities: Skylines II offers players the chance to explore zoning and signature buildings, which have practical applications for AEC and urban planning professionals.
Zoning tools provide familiar options for filling, marking, and painting zones. These tools allow for precise zoning, enabling the creation of various zone types to accommodate different urban planning needs.
Skylines II introduces six different residential zone types, catering to diverse housing needs. Players can choose from low-density detached houses, medium-density row housing, apartment buildings, mixed housing with shops on the ground floor, and low-rent housing for low-income residents. The game also offers commercial and industrial zones and recreational spaces.
Signature buildings are a new feature, with unique, zoned buildings falling into residential, commercial, industrial, or office categories. Each signature building has specific unlocking requirements, such as reaching progression milestones or achieving citizen happiness levels.
AEC professionals and urban planners can learn practical applications in this section, for example, by understanding zoning strategies, demand analysis, infrastructure planning, and resource management.
- Water and Electricity
As an AEC student, you might be tasked with writing an essay or research paper on water and electricity as fundamental components of a city’s infrastructure. You can have an online writer craft a sample for you on such a topic. Start by reading reviews such as this writemyessays review before choosing a writer.
Another alternative is to play Cities: Skylines II. This virtual sandbox has everything you need to understand the fundamentals of water and power infrastructure layout in cities.
The Water & Sewage Info View complements your management efforts, providing valuable insights into water consumption, trade, and sewage status. It offers a visual representation of water and sewage pipes, pollution levels, and water flow directions.
Now, buildings connect to the electricity grid through above-ground or underground cables. There’s also an array of power options available, including solar, wind, and nuclear energy.
Other features to keep in mind include managing power demand, emergencies or spikes in electricity usage, sustainability, and fuel logistics. All these are important for AEC and urban planning students who want to learn about electricity and water distribution.
- Economy and Production in Cities
Cities: Skylines II introduces an intricate economic simulation that mirrors real-world dynamics. Economy and production spur infrastructure growth and vice-versa. The game allows players to focus on city-building while managing resources, evaluating profit potential, and nurturing a thriving urban economy.
The key elements for AEC and urban planners to capture from the game include the economic cycle, taxation and resource management, and the production chain. The game also includes an Economy Panel, providing insights into the city’s financial health. It allows gamers to manage loans, adjust taxes, fine-tune service budgets, and monitor resource production and consumption.
Wrapping Up
That’s about it for Cities: Skyline II, a great game for everyone and especially for AEC students who now have a practical gaming tool on their hands. This game not only offers an engaging gaming experience but also serves as a valuable educational resource for understanding real-world city economics.
With the October 24th release date drawing near, fans and enthusiasts couldn’t be more excited about a city-building game like they are for Skyline II. Mark that very important date on your calendar.
