Long time readers of GeekaWhat will know if there is one game in which I can sink 100s of hours, it is Cities Skylines. The open world city builder is everything SimCity 5 should have been. The perfect culmination of creativity, realism and stimulation for anyone with big ideas and a powerful gaming PC. But the first game, which has been around for a staggering 8 years now, always struggled to get one thing right: traffic. And boy did players make their frustrations abundantly clear to game developers on this subject. Despite the community pouring it’s best ideas into creating ‘traffic busting’ mods, no one could ever get a handle on the constant gridlock, traffic jams and lack of logic in the original traffic system of Cities Skylines 1.
That made me understandably overjoyed when Cities Skylines 2 was announced, a euphoria which only ballooned further when announced that a radically improved traffic AI was at the top of the hit list for new features this time around. In fact, Colossal Order have made it abundantly clear that improvements in this realm are here, with it being the first focus of their new Feature Highlights and Developer Dive YouTube series.
Traffic AI Hits Cities Skylines for the First Time
This time around, Cities Skylines 2 will feature a traffic AI, with complex layered rules, and a ‘points-based decision system’, replacing the more basic logic employed in the original title. To their credit, the neural engines available when the first game was developed were no where near as advanced as they are now, and if the advent of AI will provide useful for one thing, Cities Skylines traffic busting seems a certainty.
In the upcoming title, drivers will consider factors weighed up by people in real-life when they plan out their journeys. This means the shortest route will no longer be the default action for in-game drivers. Instead, drivers will consider the speed of routes, convenience of a route and potential ‘ease’ of driving certain ways. The AI is so advanced that Colossal Order claims some drivers will even consider routes with less complicated junctions, fewer traffic lights and less hazards! That makes ring road designs and better highway networks a more valuable investment of time in your Cities Skylines 2 metropolis.
More gradual control will also be provided over individual roads, with the ability to restrict turning lanes, remove traffic lights and stop signs and alter road layouts without the need for aftermarket mods. Roads can be more easily upgraded, and roundabouts are supported too this time around!
Parking a Big Factor in CS2
The cost of a route will also be more closely be considered by characters in the game, allowing you to not only incentivise certain in game road routes, but even particular public transport modes, allowing you to dynamically shift demand to align with capacity.
This cost consideration will also be passed over to parking – that’s right, car parking! In the original game, cars would arrive at their final destination and disappear into one of the limited car parking spaces or, more likely, vanish full stop! In Cities Skylines 2 that changes as in-game car parks become a reality, and a necessity in order for someone to start or complete their journeys. Of course, on road parking will also remain on certain road types, but will no doubt be insufficient in large built-up areas.
This makes good planning of public transport even more important in this improved version of the game, and could catch out newbie players who provide insufficient ways for their population to travel between destinations in the form of either public transit or parking.
Dynamic Routing Works Mid-Journey
Another thing which is sure to help fix traffic is vehicles’ abilities to dynamically re-route mid-journey to avoid congestion and collisions, and to turn around when they reach a blockage in the road. No more aimless vehicles driving between fire engines as the extinguish a virtual house fire – hallelujah!
These changes to the traffic in Cities Skylines should make changes to the road network more quickly apparent, with traffic more likely to take advantage of new routes and methods this time around.
Improved Road Tools
The new game also comes with far improved road tools – the ability to generate in game grids springs to mind as a fantastic new feature, as does the ability to draw new roads through existing ones without the need to demolish or construct in limited sections.
But these new traffic and road upgrades do come with a word of warning: these changes are not designed to rid your cities of bad traffic, but to give you more ability to control it. This traffic AI is not intended to be a fix for poor city design and, in fact, will likely extenuate poor road layouts and unrealistic city design.
Conclusion
Personally, I’m incredibly excited for these changes in the new game, and feel like the developers are off on a great foot with fixing and improving my initial gripes with the first Cities Skylines title. In a day and age of bad sequels, I have a good feeling about Cities Skylines 2. Make sure to tune back in to the GeekaWhat site as we continue to document the improvements coming in Cities Skylines 2!
