Cities Skylines 2 developers prepare major patch with UI overhaul and deathwave fixes

Iceflake Studios, the new developer of Cities Skylines 2, is preparing to release its first major update for the city-building simulator since taking charge of the game. One of the key decisions is implementing legacy toggles for most significant changes. Players will be able to choose between Iceflake's new implementation or revert to the previous version from Colossal Order. The most prominent example is the completely overhauled user interface, which the studio made more streamlined and easier to understand. However, those familiar with the old design can switch back to it at any time.

Terraforming tools will receive substantial improvements. The update will save settings for each tool separately without transferring parameters when switching between them. Iceflake adjusted the strength of tools "to better reflect the percentage" and the minimum brush size can now be reduced all the way down to one instead of the previous ten. Players will also gain the ability to use custom colors for buildings, props, and vehicles – a feature inspired by the popular Recolor mod.

Developers discovered an issue causing deaths in the city to concentrate between midnight and 6am, triggering "massive deathwaves across your city." Death distribution has been made more even. Another curious situation emerged on easy difficulty, where citizens "were breaking records in lifespan and almost refusing to die of old age" – this has also been corrected.

Bicycles turned out to be too numerous, so their quantity was reduced by 80%. The studio continues working on deeper traffic problems – cars changing lanes at the last second and making unnecessary U-turns. These adjustments will require additional time.

Beyond that, Iceflake overhauled lighting during daytime and nighttime, adjusted weather and climate of various maps to create a more "distinct look and feel based on their location." Inspired by the studio's Finnish heritage, snow will now settle onto most surfaces – a feature that was curiously absent from the game until now. The plan is to expand the effect to roads and cars in the future.

The patch includes numerous visual fixes – improved shadow quality and reduced screen flickering at dawn and dusk. The update is expected to launch next week.