Editor for Cities: Skylines 2
Editor for Cities: Skylines 2
The developers are hard at work, making sure that the Editor for Cities: Skylines 2 is good to go as soon as possible. Right now, it’s not part of the base game. However, it’s already in beta – and we can expect the release updates very soon.
From the beginning, the developers were looking to create an editor that can help you make the most advanced mods ever made on a game. With plenty of knowledge and insights coming from the original Cities: Skylines 2 game, this new and updated version combines all the previous experience in one great package.
The Editor is created closely in tandem with the modding community, taking a lot of inspiration, help, and support from them. This makes sense – after all, the modders will be the ones using this tool and using it to keep the Cities: Skylines 2 updated and relevant for years to come. The original Cities was released in 2015 – but to this day, it remains one of the gold standard games in the city-building genre. With this editor, the vision is to do it all over again.
One Editor For Everything
Modders will remember this very well: on the original Cities game, there were plenty of different editors, each for its own specific purpose. For example, if a developer was looking to create assets, they would have to use the asset editor, with each category offering fewer and fewer features. For maps, they would need a separate editor as well.
With the release of Cities: Skylines 2, the developers are working on one, completely unified Editor, which allows the modders to make everything in one place. The same editor works perfectly for drawing up a concept for a brand new building, or crafting a completely custom map.
Because everything is all-in-one, you will also get access to plenty of different options. While everything might look overwhelming at first, it opens a world of possibilities – and as the game should be the main Cities release for several years, there’s plenty of time to practice.
An unified system also means that your assets are not created in a void. For example, when making a building, you will also have to upload it onto an existing place. This will help you see how the building interacts in real-world settings, next to other buildings, and how it behaves with infrastructure – like roads.
This should help the modders to get a better look at how their creations will adapt to the real world, helping them test their assets the same way the players would. It’s a smart, holistic approach to city building. It will also help avoid various errors, as well as help you see the assets in context of the infrastructure and landscapes.
Roadmap to Editor
The Editor is currently still in beta phase. At the time of writing, it’s still unclear when exactly it will be released – but we assume it to be available by the end of 2023. But either way, don’t expect it to be an all-in-one drop. It’s going to be a phased process, beginning with less-extensive but important tasks like crafting maps, importing assets, and doing code modifications. Only later, modders will finally be able to share their assets with the world – but this time, using the custom Paradox Mods system, and not the Steam Workshop.
The custom map development on Cities: Skylines 2 works as expected. Modders can easily create landscapes, create intricate water systems with clear origins, edit natural reserves, and make foundation-level city connections. Plus, map crafting now includes more external factors, such as weather conditions, and changing temperatures.
However, by far the strongest part of the new Editor will be the custom building creation, and there are also additional plans to do improved asset-type support later. Edited .fbx files, their textures, can all be uploaded, and there are options for corresponding textures, color variations, modify stars, and embellish assets. Existing assets can also be edited to get the best out of the editor’s new features, and give them a proper new-generation facelift. The Wiki is full of a lot of details on texturing and modeling – so modders will have plenty to learn from.
Code modding is also an important part of the editor. Modders from the previous game have worked closely with the game’s developers to get a headstart, learn the system, and help improve it. However, Cities 2 is completely brand new, and for most modding, it’ll be best to start fresh.
Right out of the box, existing Cities 1 mods won’t be transferable to Cities 2. We will see how the modders will deal with this challenge – and how, if at all, they’ll be able to adapt their creations to the new game.
This new Editor update, together with Paradox Mods, will help make sharing very simple, letting easy mod swaps for maps, buildings, and code. It will also open the door for incredible city explorations and cross-platform capabilities, as Paradox Mods will be available for both PC and console gamers.
What Happens Next for the Cities Skylines 2 Editor
After the Editor is done, the work won’t stop – the game devs will continue updating its functionalities, helping to make easier edits for foliage, citizen, and vehicle building. Foliage and trees are expected to get massive updates.
Trees are important – as they go through transitions each season, the designs will also require them to change accordingly. The citizens will also have to change, from young to old age. The developers will share more details on how to deal with this challenge.
All in all, the journey for the Editor continues every day, before its release and after. The edits will constantly be made, trying to make it the best possible tool for the modders. Here, the feedback will be the most important thing.
The relationship between developers and modders has been one of the building blocks for the first game’s success: and we hope that this partnership will continue later on. Good luck building, everyone!
Credits:Cities: Skylines 2 Mods
