Colossal Order has delivered another developer deep dive involving Cities: Skylines 2, the upcoming highly-anticipated city building game. This update is focused on the title's intricate electricity and water management systems that will be available at players' fingertips, with some major changes being made over the first game.
The developer is introducing low voltage and high voltage electricity into the sequel. Unlike in the original, placing roads will automatically lay low voltage lines under them to easily connect buildings and neighborhoods. However, high voltage power lines must be used when dealing directly with power plants and imported/exported electricity, which go through the new Transformer Stations for distribution.
Depending on the temperature, the electricity consumption can drastically change too, with hot or cold weather causing spikes due to citizens turning on air conditioning units or heaters, respectively. Battery stations are also a new addition, letting players store excess energy from green energy initiatives to use up when the city needs it later.
Speaking of energy sources, power stations using fossil, renewable, and nuclear fuels are all options for cities, and each come with their own benefits and drawbacks. As SimCity-like upgradable service buildings are a part of the new game too, as detailed in last week's deep dive, power stations also feature various overhauls to change their power output, capacity, and even pollution levels.
Meanwhile in the water management side, while distribution using pipes is remaining largely the same, Colossal Order is adding Groundwater as a new source alongside the classic Surface water option. As fans may remember, Surface water can be rivers, lakes, or oceans, with their flow and pollution affecting the city's water usage. As expected, the new Groundwater deposits are found underground in various areas in the map that must be pumped up for city usage.
This new type can provide ample water, and even electricity via Geothermal Power Plants, for growing cities. Unlike Surface water, however, Groundwater points can dry up temporarily if a city's water usage is higher than the source's replenishment rate. Ground pollution can also affect these areas easily.
Read the complete Electricity and Water deep dive over here. Colossal Order will go over the sequel's Climate and Seasons features in next week's developer update.
Cities: Skylines 2 is releasing across PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 on October 24, 2023. It is also releasing to Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass subscribers on day one.
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