The new developer for Cities: Skylines 2, Iceflake Studios, has launched the first update to the simulator with First Frost, bringing visual improvements and a few gameplay adjustments.
To start with, several of the changes revolve around citizen deaths. Citizens will now pass away more regularly around the clock instead of fixed times, and there are 16 death checks throughout the day instead of 4. Additionally, Easy Mode will see an increase in citizen deaths.
Bike trips have also been reduced by 80%. A more thorough explanation of this change and some of the potential traffic changes can be found here, but the gist of it is that Iceflake Studios is looking for ways to improve the flow of traffic.
Most of the changes in Cities: Skylines 2’s First Frost Update revolve around visual changes. These are meant to make the game look better than ever while also increasing the realistic feel of some of the effects. For example, fog is now dependent on the weather, and snow will accumulate on surfaces with decals. A full list of all the visual changes can be found here, along with notes for the entire patch.
The main HUD has also been updated, including over 10 new UI icons. The onboarding tutorial has also been updated, along with adjustments to terraforming. There’s also an option to keep legacy options for several of the changes, including the UI.
This is the first update from Iceflake Studios, which recently took over the development of Cities: Skylines 2 after Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order split ways.
Cities: Skylines 2 is available on PC. For more of the latest news on the city-management simulator, check out the Bike Patch and Supply Chains and Skyscrapers Packs from late last year.
