Hi everyone, and welcome to this dev diary covering the content added in Quays & Piers Patch - 1.3.3f1. While we’re hard at work to ensure the Bridges & Ports expansion is polished and in great shape for you, we hope that this content, originally planned to be released in the free update alongside the expansion, will find a place along your cities’ waterfronts.
Today, we’ll go through the new quays and piers, how they are different, and how they can be used together. We’ll also take a look at the two new bridges, one rail bridge and one double-decked road and rail bridge. Then we’ll finish with a quick chat about the bug fixes coming in this patch.
QUAY TO THE CITY
We’ve seen how you have used the cut-and-fill roads to create makeshift quays in your cities, but we also know how challenging they can be to build. Where roads and pedestrian paths are designed to follow the terrain, creating retaining walls and bridges only when there is a significant elevation change, quays detect the slightest change in elevation and create a retaining wall on the lower side. This makes lining your waterfronts with quays much easier than if you were using regular roads. Additionally, quays can also be extended into the water to create jetties.
Quays come in three different sizes: The narrow quay only supports pedestrian traffic and can be found in the Landscaping Menu alongside pedestrian paths. The medium and wide quays have both vehicle lanes and sidewalks, and support road upgrades all the way from wide sidewalks and trees to bus lanes and tram tracks. These can be found in the Roads Menu under Small and Medium roads, respectively.
Add trees, grass, or public transport lanes to your quays using the road upgrade tool.
SHORING UP IN STYLE
When placing any of the quays, you will notice a new snapping option: Snap to shoreline. As the name suggests, this option makes quays “stick” to the edge of the water and keeps them at a consistent height above the water surface, which can, of course, be raised based on the selected elevation steps. This option is enabled by default and is ideal if you want to line your natural waterfronts with any of the new quays. Quays can still be placed extending into the water while this option is enabled.
When “Snap to shoreline” is disabled, quays not only stop snapping to the shoreline, but they also follow the terrain height as soon as they are out of water. If you have a specific vision in mind and want more control over where and at what height the quays are placed, disabling “Snap to shoreline” is the way to go. While quays do have a lower limit for how close to water they can be, so they’re not flooded, we hope that the snapping option, along with all the regular options for networks, allows enough freedom to create the waterfronts you dream of.
Speaking of freedom, quays may be intended for shorelines, but they do not require water, so you can also build them on slopes to create terraces in the landscape. Just note that they automatically push the terrain down on the retaining wall side, so you’ll need at least a 10-meter height difference in the terraces if you’re using quays for this.
Narrow quays come in two variations and can be used by pedestrians.
FROM PIER TO THERE
Piers in Cities: Skylines II are all about leisure. These elevated networks are pedestrian-only and can be found in the Landscaping Menu under Paths. They come in three different sizes: Narrow, Medium, and Wide, which can be combined to create intricate pier networks. Similar to bridges, they have a minimum height, and they can be built stretching into the water or as a viewing deck overlooking the city.
When built in your preferred location, size, and shape, piers provide a new option for citizens looking for outdoor leisure. They will visit piers for a walk or simply to relax and enjoy nature. Of course, piers need to be connected to the city, so citizens can reach them. You can connect them using pedestrian paths or attach them directly to a road or quay. The choice is yours.
Build piers that fit your city and watch as citizens visit the waterfront for some leisure time.
The update also includes two new bridges with new designs and functions. In the Train Transportation Menu, you will find a truss arch bridge that supports two train tracks. This classic style bridge provides a stunning visual regardless of whether your train tracks cross a gorge or waterway - and if it’s built at a high enough elevation, it can easily cross a narrow seaway.
If you’re looking for something more flexible and elaborate, we have the first double-decked bridge in Cities: Skylines II. It combines a four-lane two-way highway on the upper deck with a double train track, providing a compact and cheaper option when you need both a highway and a rail bridge. And with its extradosed bridge design, it looks incredible in any city.
Connect your railway lines with the new double-track bridge or elevate your city’s network with the first double-decked bridge.
FIXES AHOY!
Since cargo transportation is part of the Bridges & Ports gameplay, it was important to us that we also looked at the base game and fixed as many issues related to the flow of goods as we could. Some of these fixes are pretty easy to spot: when deactivating the Cargo Harbor, trucks stop visiting it after completing their already begun trip. Other fixes are less visible as they fix or improve the systems themselves, resulting in a smoother distribution of resources throughout your city.
Along with the fixes, we also took the opportunity to improve the Selected Info Panel of cargo transportation buildings to better visualize how they import and export various goods. Now, all resources that can be stored are listed in a section that can be collapsed. Resources are color-coded to easily tell you which resources the building is seeking to import and which are taking up so much space that it’s looking to export.
Cargo transportation buildings aim to store a consistent supply of all resources and raw materials, so industry and commercial buildings in the city can refill their internal storage quickly. Any resource that is highlighted in red shows a deficit, not in the city, but in the building’s desired reserve. It will attempt to import this resource to reach a balanced state. If you produce more than the city needs of a raw material or product, it often ends up in the transportation building’s storage, resulting in a surplus, which is highlighted in green. If possible, these resources will be sold to Outside Connections and exported.
Besides cargo-related fixes and improvements, Quays & Piers Patch also contains a lot of other bug fixes to improve your experience with the game. While we know there are still things that need attention, we continue to work through the reported bugs and want to thank you all for sharing the issues you’ve come across while playing. If you encounter a bug after this patch, the best thing you can do is report it on our support forum so we can look into it. Fixes may not happen immediately, but we truly appreciate the time and effort you put into reporting them. It helps us prioritize and catch the issues that impact your gameplay experience.
That’s all we have for you today. We hope you enjoy the new content and fixes, all of which can be found in the patch notes. If you feel like showing off your improved waterfronts, we would love to see what you create.