There are big benefits to this approach. Since all propped elements are using randomized versions, we can achieve a greater amount of variation without touching the building mesh itself. Also, if we ever decide to add more visual variations to any of these props, they will pop into the already finalized buildings automatically if those have been propped with randomized props.

From the first days of developing Cities: Skylines II, the building color schemes have been a big part of creating subtle but noticeable differences between the two themes. That’s why we wanted our new European props to fit in perfectly with the buildings they are used on which meant the system we already had in the game where company brand colors can control different parts of color variations on the commercial and office buildings. All the new European props have been set up so that the parent building colors are overriding the color variations of props used in that building. This means that the new props will never look too out of place. Good stuff!

While there are benefits to this prop-heavy approach, there are also some challenges. To ensure that all our assets will actually work together in the end, we needed to set some additional rules for the creation of both buildings and props, which can be frustrating for our artists. For example, there was a situation where we needed to change the design of some higher window ornaments so that they didn’t end up clipping through the eaves of certain buildings. We were able to work around the issues, but of course, too strict rules will always limit the creativity of individual artists, and limiting creativity too much will never benefit the final outcome. It’s a balancing act and we will keep evaluating case by case how beneficial this approach will be for us in the future, but overall we all learned a lot and for sure keep using this approach whenever it suits our art needs. Individual modders will most definitely push this system even further and we’re excited to see what we can achieve with the system together!

With the spawning buildings come Signature Buildings. We have three for both North America and Europe and boy are they glamorous. While base game low density residential Signatures could be viewed as “modest” in some way, there’s nothing modest in some of the monsters included in this package. We took inspiration from the same regions as the zoned buildings but, as we wanted the Signature Buildings to really stand out, we allowed ourselves more variation in the architectural style to bring some luxurious mansions to the city. Prepare to bulldoze small family homes and make room for the mansion of a professional golfer.