17d (edited) • General discussion
Vanilla Foundations — Key Differences Between CS1 and CS2
A lot of people have been asking whether the same planning principles apply, and whether you can carry Cities: Skylines 1 habits straight into Cities: Skylines 2. Or opposite.
Some principles still apply — but the underlying simulation has changed in important ways.
This post breaks down the key vanilla differences that directly affect grid sizing, zoning behaviour, road hierarchy, and early planning decisions.
1. Scale & Units
CS1
- Grid logic is based on cells
- Zoning depth like 4 / 8 / 16
- Block planning is abstract and forgiving
CS2
- Everything is measured in real distances (meters)
- Block size, road length, and service reach are literal
➡️ In CS2, block size matters much more
2. Zoning Behaviour
CS1
- Zoning fills aggressively and uniformly
- Large blocks rarely punish you early
CS2
- Zoning is slower and depth-sensitive
- Reacts to access, noise, land value, and services
➡️ Oversized blocks in CS2 reduce flexibility in the early game
3. Road Hierarchy
CS1
- Traffic is more arcade-like
- You can brute-force problems with wider roads
CS2
- Road hierarchy is structural
- Lane count, spacing, and junction frequency directly affect simulation stability
➡️ CS2 punishes skipping hierarchy
4. Services & Coverage
CS1
- Services cover large areas
- Placement is forgiving
CS2
- Coverage is tighter and layered(education, health, transit, noise, pollution)
➡️ Human-scale blocks align better with service overlap
5. Terrain Interaction
CS1
- Flattening terrain is cheap and mostly consequence-free
CS2
- Terrain affects:
➡️ CS2 rewards working with terrain, not against it
✨ Summary:
Cities: Skylines II takes the foundation of the original and builds a deeper simulation on top of it. The sequel introduces more realistic traffic behavior, smarter agent pathfinding, expanded economy and production systems, and advanced road and zoning tools that used to require mods in the first game. What's Really Different: Cities: Skylines 1 vs. Cities: Skylines II - Chill Place Gaming
It also supports more tiles and climate systems, giving a larger and more dynamic world than the original Cities: Skylines.
CS2 simulates every individual vehicle and citizen with their own behavior routines — as one of the biggest simulation upgrades over the first game.
Sources & References:
📌 Cities: Skylines II Feature Overview — ✔️ Traffic AI, Tools, Weather & Seasons🔗 https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/cities-skylines-ii/features/
📌 Comparison of CS1 vs CS2 Mechanics — long-form analysis🔗 https://chillplacegaming.com/cities-skylines-1-vs-cities-skylines-ii/
📌 CS2 Expanded Map Tile Information🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cities%3A_Skylines_II
📌 Built-in Tools vs. Mod Tools Overview🔗 https://en.number13.de/cities-skylines-2-all-features-of-the-city-building-simulation/
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Vanilla Foundations — Key Differences Between CS1 and CS2
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