Cities: Skylines (the Sim City we deserve)

[Touring Mars]

I set about rectifying my ludicrous railway system over the weekend with mixed results.

I actually had to get my pad and coloured pencils out and literally draw my city in order to map out the train lines...

I wish it were a bit easier to see lines on the PS4 (maybe I'm not looking at them right), but having a physical map made a huge difference.

My central 'hub' also helps... instead of trying to connect everything up, I now have discrete 'loops' that all meet in the central hub of two stations. I now have four loops, that cover the whole city, barring one awkwardly placed station that just has a point-to-point connection with a station on a loop. I've also moved my cargo terminals, as they were completely misplaced

It was a job well done though, and passenger numbers are high and my city is now very well connected.

-

The bad news: my city appears to be on the decline - zero demand for any type of zone, and after peaking at 110k, my population has dropped back to 95k, with no improvement in sight.

I think that I've maybe spread myself too thin and may need to 'consolidate' a few areas, and focus on making a smaller number of zones better, rather than building big new areas in the hope of boosting the population.

 

[MatskiMonk]

The bad news: my city appears to be on the decline - zero demand for any type of zone, and after peaking at 110k, my population has dropped back to 95k, with no improvement in sight.

How are your employment stats? For an established city you need to create jobs to stimulate residential demand. Remember that this demand is also being met organically as your residential areas level up, so even though you're not seeing the demand metre doing anything, it doesn't mean the situation has stagnated. Those cims that are dying make your overall population fall, but don't necessarily change your employment stats if the young people in levelling up areas are commencing work... once areas have finished levelling up the demand becomes more transparent. If your jobs available is closely matched by the number of workers and unemployment is low you could slowly start to zone ICO.

These flat spots can be emphasised if you're zoning big amounts of residential in one go, which with a big death spike can see populations drop dramatically. Always best to zone slowly, bit by bit, wherever possible.

edit: Just to add to the above, you can use the import/export chart in outside connections to see what industry you're importing most of, and zone/build that. It's been ages since I relied on vanilla Industry specialisations, but I would have thought that technique would give you the most robust new industry to create residential demand.

 

[HarVee]

I have a lot of highly educated (level 5) CIMs and uneducated (level 1) CIMs in my city, hardly any regular educated (level 2) CIMs. This is really putting a damper on my economy as a lot of the buildings I've built rely on the "middle class". I'm currently in the hole for about 12k per week, and I'm not sure what I can do to get out of it. I do have 28 million saved up though so it's not too big of an issue at the moment. But I do need to complete my monorail network (affectionately nicknamed "The Rail" by the citizens) and connect the Black District, Slum District, and District 3B (low-level commerce/res buildings) together better.

I have a lot of futuristic assets, mainly in the form of vehicles and props since a lot of vanilla buildings already look futuristic to me, but I have noticed a distinct lack of futuristic stoplights and ambulances on the workshop. I defaulted to just using the base game vanilla ambulance for the time being. But the stoplights irritate me more than the ambulance does. It's just weird seeing those vanilla 21st century stoplights in a 22nd century city. For the ambulance I just pretend that Mr. Whisper doesn't invest in the medical infrastructure enough for them to afford hovering vehicles. I do have some custom vehicles with tires, but they're mainly the rusty '50s/'60s cars from author ontheminefield (good author if you want some classic low-poly cars).

I wish I knew how to convert and/or make assets for the game. I'd remake or convert the stoplights from Saints Row IV, as I always kinda liked those designs.

Edit; might wanna think twice if you plan to use the skyway without a hover car...

 

[MatskiMonk]

It's just weird seeing those vanilla 21st century stoplights in a 22nd century city.

Could you use procedural objects and other props (frames, dangling cables etc.) to disguise them a bit? Might be a bit of work, but at least you can just copy/paste where needed.

 

[HarVee]

Could you use procedural objects and other props (frames, dangling cables etc.) to disguise them a bit? Might be a bit of work, but at least you can just copy/paste where needed.

That is certainly a bit of an undertaking there. I might honestly just "hide" the stoplights using BOB for now.

 

[Touring Mars]

How are your employment stats?

Well... it was ticking over nicely at around 95% since the start of the city (2021), but then from 2039-2043 it plummetted to 50% . It's recovering a bit now (2045), but I don't know what caused the employment rate to disappear.

'Influx' is also at zero 😕

 

[MatskiMonk]

but I don't know what caused the employment rate to disappear.

Working age population increasing much faster than jobs maybe? On the population tab how many jobs are available versus the population and people employed?

I've installed a mod that's borked everything so I can't load any cities to populate this tab...

... but ...

Only young Adults and Adults work, so add their percentages together and apply it to the population to see what your working age population is, then compare it to jobs available.

 

[HarVee]

Got a two quick questions that maybe someone more experience can shed some light on.

1) When dealing with vehicle assets is it better to create new asset or edit an existing asset?

I'm trying to add more variety to traffic via more colour variations, but I don't know which is better long-term.

2) When dealing vehicle assets would changing the itemclass (unlocked via mod) change the vehicle's functionality?

I want to 'add' some of the cyber vehicles to function in different industries and services than they do by author default. For example, Quad's Pack Mouse I wanted make a copy and change it to a deathcare vehicle, and Quad's Cyber Buffalo also a copy but into Industries DLC vehicles.

I have two mods that unlock both the prefabAI and asset itemclass in the editor.

 

[HarVee]

Did some testing, changing the prefrabAI and itemclass let me to use one of the cyber vehicles as a hearse without errors, but when I changed it to function as an ambulance, I ended up getting exception errors. I am wondering if it has to do with the lack of sirens.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Gotta say I've got no experience in messing around with settings like that, but the program requesting something the asset doesn't have assigned does sound plausible for an error.

 

[Touring Mars]

I asked Bing Create AI to make some promotional materials for my town of Enivri - a billboard, a magazine and some promotional text!




Enivri: The Town That Has It All!

Are you looking for a place to spend your next vacation? Do you want to experience the best of nature, culture, and technology? Then look no further than Enivri, the town that has it all!

Enivri is a hidden gem in the heart of the country, where you can enjoy a variety of attractions and activities that will make your trip unforgettable. Here are some of the highlights of Enivri that you don’t want to miss:

• Potma Airport: The gateway to Enivri, Potma Airport is a state-of-the-art facility that offers fast and convenient flights to and from major cities. Whether you are traveling for business or pleasure, Potma Airport will make your journey smooth and hassle-free. Plus, you can admire the stunning views of the Knoxville oil fields from the air, as they sparkle like jewels in the sun.
  
  
• Knoxville Oil Fields: The pride of Enivri, the Knoxville oil fields are a source of wealth and prosperity for the town. They also provide a unique opportunity for visitors to learn about the history and technology of oil production. You can take a guided tour of the fields, where you can see the drilling rigs, pipelines, and refineries in action. You can also visit the Oil Museum, where you can explore the exhibits and artifacts that tell the story of Enivri’s oil industry.
  
  
• Shigeng's ***** Works: The secret behind Enivri’s fresh and clean environment, the Shigeng sewage works are a marvel of engineering and innovation. They process and treat the wastewater from the town, using advanced methods and equipment. They also produce biogas and fertilizer, which are used for energy and agriculture. You can take a guided tour of the works, where you can see how they operate and how they contribute to Enivri’s sustainability.
  
  
• Emerson Lake: The jewel of Enivri, Emerson Lake is a beautiful and serene body of water that offers a range of recreational activities for all ages and tastes. You can swim, fish, boat, or picnic on the shore of the lake, which has recently been unpolluted thanks to the efforts of the town’s environmentalists. You can also enjoy the scenic views of the lake, which are especially breathtaking at sunrise and sunset.

These are just some of the reasons why you should visit Enivri, the town that has it all. But don’t take our word for it, come and see for yourself! Book your trip today and discover why Enivri is the perfect destination for your next vacation!

 

[eran0004]

Developed a few new blocks on some old farm fields. I'm trying to preserve the old buildings when possible, but when it's not I'm moving them to an outdoor museum area in the oldest part of the town. A few new industries moved in across the railroad tracks and the population is now 4000.

Some detailing around the church, I added a cemetery and a small plaza. Behind the school there's a new sports facility and some open park space

 

[MatskiMonk]

Thought I'd start one last project in C:S, to scratch the modded itch one last time before C:S2 vanilla comes along.

It's not a small project, but I liked the idea of not really having to put much thought into it...

So I decided on London 1:1 in 81 tiles.

.. I got a couple of days in, Shadwell Basin was a 'landmark' in the first tile, so I thought I'd start there... After a couple of days I came to the conclusion that it's a fruitless endeavour if the assets for each area don't really match up with the real thing (which is compounded by the scaling issue when space is already tight - you need compact assets), which bought me back to needing to make assets again. Thing is, I play GeoGuessr alot, and I spend a lot of time in Google Streetview, I've also spent a few weekends this year just pounding the tarmac in London looking at buildings - the look of the buildings is really key to a place even if you never really zoom in, and now I'm thinking any effort I put it to not only learning how to make assets properly, but also in a streamlined fashion needs to be easy to transfer to C:S2, but we're kind of in Limbo with that for a while, so I feel in Limbo with the game, and I'm thinking I'm going to struggle to go back to a vanilla play style - been years since I zoned anything...

.. I sense I'm just going to end up playing Wreckfest instead.

 

[JohnBM01]

I made my "Cities: Skylines" debut! While people now are playing "Cities: Skylines 2," I am playing the first game. I bought it overnight on Steam to gain experience and see what it is all about. Initial reaction? VERY impressed. As a SimCity veteran of many years, city building is different in "Cities: Skylines" than even the 2013 SimCity game. I'm staying away from "Cities: Skylines 2" once it clears all of the bugs and such it has. I am also staying away from any DLC packs. It is all plain jane "Cities: Skylines" for me right now as I prepare some more musings and first impressions.

This game feels a lot different than any of the SimCity games I've played in the past. The strategy of building up the city is different from SimCity 4. I played one map just to get a feel for the game. I was originally scared I ran out of money early. It felt like I easily blew my money from 70K Credits to 7K Credits (I am saying Credits because I don't know the official currency in the game). I then tried a new city and built it up past the "Little Hamlet" level. So I can now make a Clinic, an Elementary School, and a Landfill Site. Compared to SimCity games of the past, growth seems slow, yet methodical. I mean, I could easily boost a new city to 500 to 1K citizens in short order in SimCity. In this game, It's more like 50-100 citizens at a time at best. I kind of felt sad I can't go for public services and parks and such without growing my city first.

My thoughts of this game letting you run out of money early was alleviated when I saw I was actually gaining income after some time. I usually did a lot of spending in SimCity 4 until I learned to pace the growth of my city better and to try not to build everything early. SimCity 4 taught me to try not to let expenses outpace income.

As for city building itself, I am not trying to complicate design too much. So here, I am doing things in the 90-degree, grid-like city layouts. I may change things up for areas I don't intend to use for zoning. In other words, stuff like coastal roads or roads I simply do not intend to populate.

Suffice to say, I am very impressed with "Cities: Skylines" in my debut. It out SimCity'd SimCity. True to this thread's name, this is "...the SimCity we deserve," and not the SimCity 5/2013 given lukewarm reception. I will surely invest a lot of time trying to develop my cities and land in this game. Glad I finally got to jump aboard this game!

 

[MatskiMonk]

Better late than never @JohnBM01 !

Once you've gotten used to it, and if you're still enjoying it, I recommend basically all the DLC (though not necessarily content creator packs or radio stations).

 

[HarVee]

Better late than never @JohnBM01 !

Once you've gotten used to it, and if you're still enjoying it, I recommend basically all the DLC (though not necessarily content creator packs or radio stations).

Content creator packs are good if you want more 'official' content. I really like the Brooklyn one for example and use those buildings in every city. Radio stations are pointless, especially if you use the CSL Music Mod. There are plenty of good custom stations out there.

or just use Spotify in the background...

 

[MatskiMonk]

Content creator packs are good if you want more 'official' content.

Yeah, but with the amount of assets on the workshop, I think it makes more sense to spend the money on the functionality DLC's before the asset ones.

__

Speaking of assets, I thought I'd got my workflow sorted for making assets sorted based on some really half-assed modelling and textures, so I put two hours in last night to modelling one building for my London project in Sketchup...

... But, upon import to Blender it looks like it's been victim of a transporter accident in Star Trek.

Need to figure out why because I ******* hate trying to model stuff in Blender.

 

[eran0004]

Yeah, but with the amount of assets on the workshop, I think it makes more sense to spend the money on the functionality DLC's before the asset ones.

__

Speaking of assets, I thought I'd got my workflow sorted for making assets sorted based on some really half-assed modelling and textures, so I put two hours in last night to modelling one building for my London project in Sketchup...

View attachment 1298501

... But, upon import to Blender it looks like it's been victim of a transporter accident in Star Trek.

Need to figure out why because I ******* hate trying to model stuff in Blender.

Are you exporting/importing in the collada file format?

 

[MatskiMonk]

Are you exporting/importing in the collada file format?

Yes, though I've had more success with X3D, FBX and OBJ, they at least bring in all the faces, which DAE does not...

The problem is with those formats is they triangulate every face as a separate thing and the UV Unwrap looks like a thousand shards of glass.

I think I know what's happening, because the windows are separate things (for copy paste purposes, the aperture is effectively a cut out, and any face that completely encircles a cut out isn't getting treated as a face.

If I run an edge in to effectively remove the cut out, I get faces, but then I also get this to have line back up in the UV map...

 

[eran0004]

Yes, though I've had more success with X3D, FBX and OBJ, they at least bring in all the faces, which DAE does not...

View attachment 1298574

The problem is with those formats is they triangulate every face as a separate thing and the UV Unwrap looks like a thousand shards of glass.

I think I know what's happening, because the windows are separate things (for copy paste purposes, the aperture is effectively a cut out, and any face that completely encircles a cut out isn't getting treated as a face.

If I run an edge in to effectively remove the cut out, I get faces, but then I also get this to have line back up in the UV map...

View attachment 1298578

I see. I think adding those lines is the best solution. You should still be able to unwrap the whole wall together if you select all the faces of the wall and then hit unwrap.

 

[MatskiMonk]

You should still be able to unwrap the whole wall together if you select all the faces of the wall and then hit unwrap.

That's what I'd done in the example above, you have to fix the view to the face and then 'project from view'.

edit:

On the plus side, I'm pretty happy with the brick texture, which is made from an SVG file that's automatically created from a bunch of variables I put in to a Google sheet.

 

[JohnBM01]

Here is a quick look at my progress so far.

I grew out my city to over 55K citizens, and I have over 1 million Credits. I think I'm making about 30K Credits income. I am loving the downtown section I been developing. Seeing such beautiful tall towers is a joy to see. I still maintain a small series of villages and small towns. Once I utilized the Districts aspect and started tinkering with making certain specializations, I feel there is greater importance in regulating these sections and taking advantage of available resources. I recently started developing one area rich in oil resources, and I want to expand the industrial sector there.

I've been a SimCity veteran for many years. However, I don't think I've ever enjoyed city building in any SimCity as much as I'm enjoying city building in Cities: Skylines. I stand by my statement that "Cities: Skylines" out SimCity's SimCity. I am even learning techniques and tips to try to enhance the quality of my cities. This game surely occupies my time of late. I'm satisfied even having just plain "Cities: Skylines" and no DLC.

Another thing I am realizing is that the goal is over 80K or 90K citizens. Judging on one of my latest screenshots, I am fairly past the halfway mark of 80K-90K citizens.


[OMISSION] Here is one picture showcasing the downtown area of my city:

Cool, huh?

 

[JohnBM01]

Latest musings of my experience...

I surpassed 8K Citizens, so I now have a Megalopolis! I have just over 90K citizens in my city at present. I am going to attempt the 100K citizens Achievement with my main city. As long as the Monuments aren't DLC or anything, I'll try to get enough money to make all of the Monuments you can make. Speaking of money, there was a point where I was making as much as 30K Credits income in the game... then my weekly income dipped to about as deep as -15K Credits in the red before coming right back up. Last I remember, I'm back up to about 12K Credits income in the black. I learned base "Cities: Skylines" only lets you purchase so many plots of land to expand your city. Once you reach Megalopolis and buy your last plot of land, THAT'S IT. Choose your land plots wisely.

I am feeling bad about a lot of my city because I have two main issues- a lot of small roads I haven't upgraded to large roads, and most of my concentrated industry districts having many abandoned buildings. I do have residential areas to try to enhance the workforce. I also find myself having to re-structure the city to get over things like not empty landfills or cemeteries. That even means getting rid of some of the lovely towers in my city. The industry woes relate to a lot of abandoned buildings and not enough workers. Some even struggle from a lack of raw resources. I am too scared to develop industial land because of pollution fears.

Speaking of pollution, I am realizing that drain pipes should be avoided once you unlock the Water Treatment Plant. I was thinking it was my Drain Pipes that was causing the water pollution. I began thinking about how the water operates. If you pollute water that goes upstream, it can impact a LOT of your city and its drinking water. So to that end, I moved my Water Pumps to where they wouldn't be compromised by a source of land pollution or water pollution. Take note of how the water flows and make the adjustments to prevent water getting contaminated.

If there was one thing I consider the biggest difference between "Cities: Skylines" and the SimCity series, commerce and offices are different. As a SimCity veteran, offices are part of commerce. Not zoning enough commerce means you do not get as much commercial development in a SimCity game. This game does things differently. If you wonder why the Offices option is right of the Industry zoning, that is because offices are part of the "Industrial" category, even though Offices don't pollute. You need commerce to provide business and then offices to service the community. You have to educate citizens with Colleges to make offices and industrial structures operate properly.

Maybe my biggest problem with the game is that the base version seems VERY... basic. It is as if you can only do so much in the game's basic form that you have to go for something bigger and enhanced. In fact, I sort of wanted to get the Deluxe Version of "Cities: Skylines," but I wanted to gain experience playing the game and therefore did not go for the extra stuff. Part of me now wants to try to get the DLC content, the Deluxe Content, or just something enhanced within my budget. If I am feeling game, I may even get "Cities: Skylines 2" while in its unoptimized state. Stay tuned if I drop by the "Cities: Skylines 2" thread on GTPlanet if I do get that game. Oh, and don't forget to view the image I posted of one part of my city when I edited my previous post!

 

[TheCracker]

Speaking of pollution, I am realizing that drain pipes should be avoided once you unlock the Water Treatment Plant. I was thinking it was my Drain Pipes that was causing the water pollution. I began thinking about how the water operates. If you pollute water that goes upstream, it can impact a LOT of your city and its drinking water. So to that end, I moved my Water Pumps to where they wouldn't be compromised by a source of land pollution or water pollution. Take note of how the water flows and make the adjustments to prevent water getting contaminated.

You need to be careful with where you place Water Treatment Plants. They still contaminate the ground around them so if you place one near to houses and apartment blocks your citizens will still get sick. But it's a slow burn, it does take a while to contaminate that ground so usually you'll place one and it starts doing it's job, so you'll move on to something else in the city and then struggle to find out why you suddenly have a spate of sick citizens in an area you thought was fine.

Once you've built a decent sized 'vanilla' (base game) city, you will invariably soon get bored with it and start yearning for more DLC content. As has been mentioned many times already on the thread, Industries, Park Life & Mass Transit are the must have add-ons for expansion. They are game-changers.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Part of me now wants to try to get the DLC content, the Deluxe Content, or just something enhanced within my budget. If I am feeling game, I may even get "Cities: Skylines 2" while in its unoptimized state. Stay tuned if I drop by the "Cities: Skylines 2" thread on GTPlanet if I do get that game. Oh, and don't forget to view the image I posted of one part of my city when I edited my previous post!

C:S1 DLC from vanilla versus C:S2 is a tricky proposition.

C:S1 with all/most of the DLC already feels like a sequel to the base game, and with the more 'realistic' nature of the assets that the DLC introduces, it does inspire you to put more time into the look and layout of the city. Also worth considering that they all come with more maps to play too.

I'd probably be tempted to go with some DLC, and give C:S2 some time to mature.

If you do go down the DLC route and have concerns about the games over enthusiastic pollution generation, Green Cities and Sunset Harbour both have assets that deal with removing pollution from power generation, waste, water etc, as well as a number of assets that promote citizen health, reduce service consumption and offer new specialisations.

 

[JohnBM01]

There were a few interesting discoveries and experiments I tried recently.

First of all, I'm nearing 100K Citizens to my city. The weird thing I discovered is that if you have a tree-lined road, you can actually upgrade the road to include different styles of trees! It is a very interesting detail. So for example, if you don't like the generic trees that line a road, you can replace them with blossom trees. The only way this works is if you have tree-lined roads either in the middle or on the sides.

I also experimented making a small village. I used two-lane gravel roads instead of any paved roads. The only near paved roads are the ones that lead into this village. I was thinking of maybe having small towns here and there outside of my major development areas. Maybe since it was fairly close to one of my more developed cities, a lot of my buildings were rather tall and sophisticated. I did, however, implement a High-Rise Ban and Heavy Traffic ban to this village. It was a nice little experiment.

One other thing I found out is that the Monuments are DLC. So there was no wonder why I couldn't build the Monuments in the game once I accessed it. Anyone who has never played "Cities: Skylines 1" may as well get the Deluxe Edition to really get the full experience of the game outside of its base. The base (or "Vanilla") version can only take you so far.


Once I feel I did enough for my current city, I may start some new cities using different environments. I will see if I can build cities 80K Citizens or more in different settings with different challenges.

 

[eran0004]

There were a few interesting discoveries and experiments I tried recently.

First of all, I'm nearing 100K Citizens to my city. The weird thing I discovered is that if you have a tree-lined road, you can actually upgrade the road to include different styles of trees! It is a very interesting detail. So for example, if you don't like the generic trees that line a road, you can replace them with blossom trees. The only way this works is if you have tree-lined roads either in the middle or on the sides.

I also experimented making a small village. I used two-lane gravel roads instead of any paved roads. The only near paved roads are the ones that lead into this village. I was thinking of maybe having small towns here and there outside of my major development areas. Maybe since it was fairly close to one of my more developed cities, a lot of my buildings were rather tall and sophisticated. I did, however, implement a High-Rise Ban and Heavy Traffic ban to this village. It was a nice little experiment.

One other thing I found out is that the Monuments are DLC. So there was no wonder why I couldn't build the Monuments in the game once I accessed it. Anyone who has never played "Cities: Skylines 1" may as well get the Deluxe Edition to really get the full experience of the game outside of its base. The base (or "Vanilla") version can only take you so far.


Once I feel I did enough for my current city, I may start some new cities using different environments. I will see if I can build cities 80K Citizens or more in different settings with different challenges.

The monuments require you to meet certain criteria before you can place them. The deluxe edition contain some extra unique buildings, but no extra monuments. You will never see any buildings in the menu that you can’t unlock, buildings requiring DLC will not be visible to you unless you own said DLC.

 

[MatskiMonk]

One other thing I found out is that the Monuments are DLC. So there was no wonder why I couldn't build the Monuments in the game once I accessed it

Vanilla monuments need you to have built the Unique buildings.

 

[JohnBM01]

Before I get to my latest discovery... 100K+ citizens to my city!

Just overnight, I did not notice the extra tabs in some of the menus. I did notice the extra tabs for the Unique Buildings. I thought "Level X Buildings" related to the style of my buildings. Turns out, the "Level X Buildings" were these leisurely items you can add to your city. Constructing some of these can help you gain access to the big Monuments. Some of them, though, require you to do some incredibly foul things. For instance, I let my city's finances go to Hell by trying to satisfy the requirements to create both the Statue of Spending and the Posh Mall. The finances went down to about -1.1M Credits in the red. Either I had a good financial base or it's too easy to make money, but I would easily return to being in the black after getting to unlock the Posh Mall. All that remains is being able to build the Hadron Collider once I get enough money.

I basically constructed every single Unique Building in my city as I was able to unlock them. I may try to create all of the Monuments. The Monuments in "Cities: Skylines" reminds me of the Arcologies from SimCity 2000. I'm just hoping this game doesn't have that SC2000 moment of "the exodus has begun" with the Arcologies...

 

[MatskiMonk]

So, between C:S2 and GT7 Spec 2 and some other set backs, I've only made a little progress with sorting out making an asset.

Finished texturing it in Blender, and reminding myself of what all the various diffuse, normal, illumination, colour etc. texture assets are, so I've now got something to import in to the game at least. This was a mission in itself, it's recommended to use FBX to import to the game, but that doesn't seem to work, so I'm using OBJ, which are bigger file size wise.

Anyhow...

This is roughly how it looks in Blender...

For those that haven't tried this, the game renders things significantly different in game to how it looks in blender. I think there's multiplication of the various texture files, so you have to darken the diffuse texture (the main one) a lot, and kill the vibrance, contrast and brightness... I've not got a formula for this, so I'm still messing around with it. The above overcast looking building actually shows up like this in game...

... very much blown out, too bright ...

So still a lot of tweaking to be done, the window textures aren't right either, too much solid colour opacity, and at night, the windows are far too bright (the _i texture). Since OBJ imports don't support vertex colouring, I can't set it to accumulate snow, though for this London project that wouldn't be a problem.

For reference, this is what I'd gone with originally (before I decided the project will need thousands of assets)...

... and this is what this area looks like in real life ...

The structure that links the building still needs to be done, but I'll make that as a standalone building and mush them up in game.

It's coming along slowly, my objective at this stage is to nail the workflow for asset creation, rather than be too much of a perfectionist. For this tiny area of what the London map will be, I've identified 5 building types, and one prop (the Truss bridge) that need to be made, the rest I can fudge with other assets. I'm aiming to be able to do 2 simple assets or 1 more involved asset per day (a few hours in the evening). I'm still working on quick creation of meshes using a few variables in a spreadsheet to write X3D files, which works, but there's a big discrepancy in effort versus use at the moment - the 'making windows automatically' element of it might actually be worth it on it's own though.

I'd like to understand how to make Networks, specifically quays, since a lot of the river front and docklands areas will use them, but it looks complicated as ****. Most of the ingame ones I have are too 'big'. You can use node controller to skinny them down, but it's not ideal.

C:S2 is great, but I'm going to allocate more time to this.