5 Tips to Plan and Start a Long-term City in Cities: Skylines

[@rolandaustria7926]

The technique I do so that I don’t get bored with my city (even if it’s filled with problems or the game becomes too easy!) is that I create neighborhoods/districts with a purpose. Each time I construct an area, I imagine its character and story. So it gives my city life and a natural growth. My city has a soul and I spend so much time exploring my city! I never get tired of it.

[@7Millionaire7]

I love history and reading about how cities have grown and shrank over time so I often have a made up history that helps as well

[@TURBOMIKEIFY]

So kind of like how Spike Viper did when he played. Gosh I miss those days.

[@yxngkinkel6985]

this is the reason i downloaded lol

[@BiffaPlaysCitiesSkylines]

Some great tips, thanks for sharing :-)

[@siddharthtotla8277]

Hey Biffa nice to see you everywhere!!

[@nah88]

Tip #6 - Always have a nice hot brew ready at hand! 😁

[@finlayoreilly2828]

TEEAA

[@millerxbishop1959]

Yep

[@Squisheddd]

God

[@Sportsmonkey]

#3 Planning the highway for long term growth is the hardest part...... just my opinion

[@lickkittysplit3871]

Ditto

[@danielbylund8937]

Yes I agree.

[@abebuckingham8198]

Lets call when two highways meet an interchange and where people get off the highway onto medium density roads exchanges. You should have at least one exchange between each interchange and you need to leave room between them so the lane switching isn't bunched up. I will often have more than one exchanges but no more than three between interchanges. For rough or narrow terrain like mountains on a small island national roads work well. Every neighborhood should have at least two ways to get onto a highway to prevent choke points from creating traffic. Be careful with slip lanes. As a rule of thumb they should go out of industrial zones and into residential zones. Commercial zones have traffic from industry and residential so slip lanes for them can create logjams fast as people try to cut in line. Also, make sure that pedestrians can cross the highway. This is always the first thing I do when I unlock parks. People will walk everywhere if you help them. An elevated pathway over a busy intersection can radically improve traffic without changing the roads at all. I can maintain 80% traffic with no mass transit up to 40,000 people just by managing the pedestrians so it's worth the time. You can also monetize it with the parklife DLC by putting an entrance and side gate on each side of the highway. This can be a lot of easy money early in the game as the cims prefer walkways to sidewalks.

[@ayush21399]

You should have a solid future vision to do so.

[@wewillrockyou1986]

It's a bit daunting to visualise how you want to lay out your roads on that large a scale because you can't just draft stuff in the game... I often sketch on a piece of paper the outlines of large areas of city with just the arterials before building them in.

[@saulocodes]

I wish I could build highways the way you do. thanks for all the tips! I loved it. Ironically this will lead me to start yet another city

[@adyatamar.h.nugroho7693]

Building the highway intersections are frustrating :)

[@Denmon0728]

​@@adyatamar.h.nugroho7693 It's definetly abit tricky without mods with clearences, smooth bends and so on but it's pretty fun once you get the hang of it. A few tips are to build alot of temporary roads so you can align your bends to the road guidlines. Always having the same seperation between your right and left highways so you can fit a pillar between them, also helpful if you make your own interchange assets so they connect properly. Having the same elevation steps between diffrent levels, so for example always having 10m elevation diffrence between road levels if that makes any sense. Most important tip when starting building interchanges though, build them big. It's much easier to make sure you have the right clearences and get nice bends when you have more space to work with, building tighter interchanges comes naturally once you get the hang of it. When I was learning I made a save with infinate money and all unlocks enabled and just practiced building interchanges. When you get into it the loading screen has a good tip too, build a few in the asset editor so you can plop them when you need them.

[@hadifelani]

@@Denmon0728 and develop a "pausing the game" habit will also help to save a bit of money when building infrastructure as they dont give refunds after being placed for a while :)

[@Sabamonster]

@@hadifelani I am a habitual 'game pauser' I spend more time in pause than I do out of it. Lol.

[@hadifelani]

@@Sabamonster that's great, as long as you enjoy it 😁

[@Tchelow]

The 'don't rush it' is the most important in my opinion. Most of the times it kills your city.

[@mikepalmer1971]

Tchelow I find myself doing that. I get caught up in trying to jus satisfy the needs of the city early n and work myself into something I don't like.

[@minkles1330]

I'm just learning this now..... about to start my 4th city. Last one I started all nice by doing walkways n parks n trees and making it pretty but soon got lost in the whole expanding as quick as possible and ticking boxes that my city hit a wall at 55k. Not sad, can't wait to start this new one as they keep getting better :)

[@seangibbons4713]

I wish more content creators took this kind of top down look at planning the “big picture.” Great work.

[@MrGovtCheese]

Good video. Especially tip #5: Be patient & don't rush it. I stopped looking at it as a competitive game to get a high population as quickly as possible. Instead, build each area as if you, your family, and friends had to live or work there every day and it will completely change your perspective and how your city looks. You'll care a lot more about leisure, parks, and aesthetics if you occasionally drop to street-view and imagine yourself living there.

[@garyspeed8961]

great intro -- finally someone talking about strategies not details... only just started CS but i now take a snapshot of the entire map and sketch ideas on the screen image before building... it would be great if CS had a built in sketch overlay that you could mark up sketch concepts... something similar to the districts tool but independant of the actual model,, able to his or show as a reference

[@oliwiam7255]

very helpful. i usually work on one city for months, till it gets as big as my computer cant handle it anymore hahha. what i always look at is perfect map, i can spend days choosing and trying out maps because i must love it. then im cleaning in my mods and assets folders so i wont get annoyed and have to look for new assets during gameplay. i also sketch a lot of ideas on my ipad. i download the map pictures and draw over them. and of course i plan highway connections ahead. i usually play without infinite money so drawning and sketching off gameplay is essential since i cant just buy everything at once.

[@lukaslyngas1805]

Sounds like you got it all clear...

[@rahileshanbi5551]

@@lukaslyngas1805 you sound like you should be a real city planner

[@Anne5440_]

Where can you find map pictures to download? I am just learning the game.

[@kr6302]

I enjoyed both seasons a lot. You're videos are cozy, especially with a hot cup of tea or coffee. Can't wait for season 3

[@JoCE2305]

Console is so crippled without mods. All I need is traffic manager, 25 tiles, and maybe a map editor. It's so annoying.

[@lazybones2831]

Mods took this game to another level and enjoyment for me. Even something so simple as the highway ramp designs that you just cut and paste.

[@mediterraneanclassic]

Yes, I can confirm, That was the main reason I buy Cities Skylines in PC, in console is SO LIMITED, at least put assets or something, you can't build a real city in Console.

[@xanderdom]

@@lazybones2831 that’s the beauty of this game. It’s amazing playing vanilla, but it’s out of this world good when apply mods and assets to your liking. It’s just such a great game

[@cadetred2695]

Fr I can barely get anything done on console

[@CrypticCreator9052]

What do you mean? your telling me a new building model wont solve all your issues?

[@macnolds4145]

A few things: You got me exactly, when you talked about players who quit after the first major traffic issue (lol). Secondly, those illustrative maps where you discussed planning your city were amazing.

[@johnterpack3940]

I've learned to open every new map in the map editor before playing on it. It's amazing how many maps have broken roads or just unplayable layouts. The editor lets me fix major problems and do a bit of tidying without having to worry about city maintenance.

[@chiarag2756]

Hey! I just wanted you to know that I adore your videos. I've been following you for a while and your timelapse builds have helped me through very difficult times - they are a little happy place for me to come back to when I'm feeling down. You are talented, creative and always choose the best background music. I really appreciate all of your more technical videos as well - building such huge maps seems really complicated, but you make it seem so easy. Love

[@chiliplayer3510]

Having an initial plan about the highway layout is something I actually enjoy a lot - unfortunately I had so many cities started, where the layout wasn't sufficient in the long run. On a new city I just tend to think "too small" and that's getting back, once the city grew bigger. So planning the main nodes ahead is a real thing when it comes to big cities. Also always plan for some highway bypass, so all the traffic just going from one side of the map to the other side isn't clogging up the city

[@MohammadImranM]

Perfect timing, just started a new city build. Will use the guidelines to set some plans. Thanks Target!

[@farhanari9547]

I like how you design road, because it match with my preference! It always irritate me when, the zoning blocks unaligned between the roads. And yes, symmetrical or geometrical(?) road is pleasing to the eyes! Keep up the work!

[@niknak3039]

Thank you for this video! Tip 5 is so simple but I need it constantly reminded to me because once I get a couple milestones I start speeding up what I build and then get upset how it turns. Gonna try slowwwww right down next time I play! Loving the content between the main D&M series!

[@farisshinichi8438]

The last one of tips really really a true problem for me.. sometimes when I watch other players like u is building a city that looks so stunning so I try to follow it.. but what I've done is just messed it up..😆 anyway thanks for these tips.. hope I can apply it in the future..😁

[@mmettler42]

Great video! You described my cycle of 'traffic causes a headache so I quit' perfectly, and this was the first video I watched after not playing for 8 months. Definitely motivating!!

[@Sabamonster]

Even with 11k likes... this video is still underrated. Extremely well articulated and thought through. More importantly, it's relatable. You touch on things most people don't even though most (If not at all) experience them. Getting frustrated with a city because it didn't turn out the way you wanted is something that is GOING to happen. It's not a matter of if but when and how you deal with that could be the difference between ending up with a city you love or quitting the game. Well done man.

[@matthewhook3375]

Thanks for the tips, since watching s1 of design and manage I'm having great difficulty breaking away from the 11x33 grid structure with an elevated pathway network occupying the central one block gap - it looks fantastic and works so well! In my latest city I'm trying to reserve this layout for my downtown area and force myself to build something more organic and spacious for the smaller lumber/farming/oil/ore industry towns. I always fail to plan rail connections adequately at the start - this is a great tip to analyse the layout that comes with the map and figure out what you're going to do with it from the outset.

[@alohatigers1199]

I realize NY being the worse case of what happens when you build a grid city = Too many cars, perfect for traffic congestion. Barcelona’s grid encourages walking distance. In my city, I create modified grids to create a neighborhood or “blocks”. I create 4 blocks in 1 tile. I use the “T” road layout for the residential area, then surround it with Offices and then surround the offices with Commercial because it produces noise and the offices blocks the noise. The commercial is the main road. Thanks for my planning because the main road is perfect for placing down my water pipes, it covers the area perfectly. So, it’s a rectangle grid.

[@kajetansroczynski5633]

thanks mate, I need to wake up in 5 hours and you made me turn on cities skylines

[@SFStransit]

Something I’ve learned after playing on the same city for 3 years and have been attempting to start a new one for half a year… always start new cities every few months, even if you don’t stick with it for more than a week because it keeps you fresh on the art of starting vs the art of going.

[@120420]

T4rget Gaming. I don't know what happened or whats going on, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm praying for you and you're family. We all miss you and you're videos and hope you come back as soon as possible!!

[@Banthah]

Really good video that addresses an issue that other content creators miss. Planning long term from the start, mapping it out in your head so you know what the end will more or less look like.

[@jessechristopher9878]

Awesome video T4rget....I watch your design & manage series everyday and get a lot of inspiration from you. I admire how much time and effort you put into one city. Detail is definitely key. This is a great video for players (including myself) who struggle putting the same time and effort into their own cities. Keep up the great content. 😃

[@moggetunleashed]

Thank you! These tips were very helpful for getting me in the right frame of mind to build a more aesthetic-focused city rather than a "hit milestones with minimum effort" one.

[@aliciagrossmann]

Te acompanho a algum tempo e nunca tinha pensado em colocar a legenda automatica porque nunca fica correta. Mas como você fala muuuito bem, de forma clara e devagar, funcionou o/ Amo seus videos e fico perplexa com suas rodovias, não consigo fazer nada próximo. Parabéns, são incríveis. Sou do Brasil

[@daviddeng6777]

Great video, which encourages me to open a new map

[@SKH116]

Thank you for this video! I love starting new cities, Guilty! But i would absolutely LOVE to finally stick with a city and see the progress. I just keep learning so much and then im like, yes lets start over haha

[@Javitomanzano]

I tend to save the game after each milestone or before doing some major changes in case I mess it up.

[@zahirbiban9149]

Javitomanzano Thanks for the tip. Once I bought a new tile and started a farm then I started to lose a lot of money

[@Pakistani890]

true

[@Ornacity0]

You definitely gave me a lot of inspiration to play again, thank you for sharing. You deserve more subs :)

[@TechnicalHotDog]

Great video, gave me some inspiration. I do think having tiles unlocked from the start might be the most important thing for me; being constrained by those arbitrary cutoffs really kills my city-building desire. I have the 81 tiles unlocked mod and it's awesome the freedom it gives.

[@lukaslyngas1805]

I guess this is the most helpfull video i’ve ever seen! Thank you so much T4RGET👏👏👏

[@adri3al]

Great job T4rget! You are very knowledgeable and proficient when it comes to building cities. You said it best when you described how someone will lose interest in a city when things don't go as planned and you start all over again and never put time and effort into it day in and day out. I kept running into this issue and stopped playing for a while but I was inspired to play Cities again and discovered your Design and Manage S2 and it is great the way you produce that series. I keep watching it and I hope you continue to do more like this. You have a subscriber 4 life!

[@amitkrupal1234]

Great tips, loved the video, I have started playing the Azure Gulf map you have shown in this video yesterday, had similar planing & taking it slow. Absolutely loving it

[@Prognox]

Hey Target, thanks for posting this video. It's a nice change and a great insight into your thought process. Maybe one of these every 5-10 videos?

[@minkles1330]

Late comer that only started playing this a couple of weeks ago and I'm about to start my 4th city, 1st one just learning the mechanics, 2nd one I got to 30k pop before traffic issues and my 3rd one I got to 55k pop before I hit a wall where the game wants nothing but industrial and my whole layout is all wrong. I've learned so much each time from videos like this and I know this one is gonna be even better.... thank you.

[@Spido68_the_spectator]

Another major tipp regarding highways/ main roads : if you don't mind and can, always plan a ring road (not too close but also not too far from the epicenter of the city) to dustribute traffic around the city in a more simple way. But for coastal cities it's complicated (or impossible).

[@tilleisbaer3560]

Good tips, especially the last one not to rush in building a city is crucial to me. I usually play CS with limited money and no milestones available and try to get to the milestone with building a train system as fast as possible ( I love the train cam).

[@PerogieLeigh]

This video was fantastic. I absolutely love the map overviews you provided with zoning and road layouts. Awesome job! Thank you.

[@RonakDhakan]

I think the last point is the most important. Some people play it like work, to be finished as soon as possible. We should play it as if we are creating a masterpiece.

[@vitoriagiacobboluchi6453]

Great tips Target! I got some of it by watching your gameplays but some never came to my mind, like the "scout game" and the highway planning. Amazing! Will surely use these tips when starting a new city.

[@julioleonardus7958]

Wow... I never see your Design & Manage snowcity in summer! those +1 year memories (and fires)

[@okamishiranui7841]

I've been watching your vids recently, and after watching this I decided I should just subscribe, the dirt roads and scout mode are really handy. Much appreciated man, keep up the great work 👍

[@LegacyofKine]

Tip 5 was such a good reminder. Thank you for this video, well made - appreciate the effort.

[@mattiaskongsmark1862]

Just wanted to come here and tell you that i watched this video right when it came out and always had problems with building long term cities, now im still working in the same city i started right agter this video, thank you so much! :)

[@MiguelMateo]

We have not heard from you in a month, everything OK? I hope it is ...

[@elis8133]

I really like your accent, makes it even more enjoyable to watch your videos! your content is really good!

[@Pablo-js6vn]

Elis omg I though I was the only one, was even kind of ashamed to share that I love his accent 😳 but besides being amazed by his building abilities, I use these videos kinda ASMR and even helps me to sleep. But when I wake up oc I watch the parts I missed

[@elis8133]

@@Pablo-js6vn hahaha same! I also use these to sleep sometimes. We have the same last name, so I assume you're brazilian as well! Eu sou Elis Araújo kkkk

[@Pablo-js6vn]

Eita! Sim, brasileiros em cada esquina da internet 😅

[@claraabelha]

Great!!! Came here from @Majestic! Loved it!

[@arthurpedrosacorreia]

So good tips, I can see my biggest mistakes, but it's hard build a city without the dlc's and they are so expensive for Xbox one in my country..

[@MartinSparkes-BadDragon]

I play with no DLC, and while it is challenging, it can be done. I think the big take away is that you need patience to build a big city that works

[@arthurpedrosacorreia]

@@MartinSparkes-BadDragon maybe you're right, I know that I failed on planning my steps for grow a city nicely, sometimes I just attend the demand without urban planning. But the dlc have so nice features to improve, like others ways to deal with garbage, others types of roads that helps a lot.

[@renamedanglerfishwholivesi3424]

The MOST useful guide I have found. You have inspired me to create and manage a city just as beautiful as yours and those tips you gave were amazing. I will not fail you!

[@thadsteel4300]

How did you change the theme of the winter map? I'd love to see seasons added to the gameplay adding yet another challenging element to the game. Great work, by the way. Keep it up.

[@dinkledankle]

A mod called Environment Changer. You can change the base map theme, which will change the trees(might change other things, but for me only the trees are important), and also apply a custom theme on top which mostly changes the textures(grass, ground covers(oil, fertile, forest, ore), water color, etc). It's a good mod 👍🏻

[@SFStransit]

Another thing to add to the picking and appropriate map, do not be afraid to edit it before you start your city. I enjoy editing already fantastic maps to help fit what I envision. I also sometimes choose those god awful vanilla maps and slowly turn them into something that doesn’t look like it was designed by a lobotomized child.

[@AllDayBikes]

You just made me reinstall and start another city, after quickly looking over all my old ones lmao

[@AxeTheViking]

Thank you so much for these tips! Now San Rico can be a reality!

[@lumpy3lumpy3]

Like you design and manage series. Very helpful. Thanks and keep the videos coming!

[@CF-Gaming01]

I have restarted countless times not that I find it easier but because I cannot see a way out other than destroying the lot and some time I have and just had more money the rebuild. Your city is amazing. I just find it hard to do a layout and get the connections right.lots of research needed

[@JessieColt2]

I love that you included Palm Beach, FL USA as a "tourist" option @ 2:18, except it isn't Palm Beach, Florida, USA. The picture is actually Singer Island, Florida, USA. Although just north of the city of Palm Beach it is still in Palm Beach County. Great shot of the island though!

[@davidwooden4175]

Of all the tips that have been produced I would say that these 5 are the best tips to date. I especially love #5 "Be Patient & Don't Rush it"

[@kemalkaandurmus1985]

Patience is the key i think. Thank you for all of your handy tips !

[@abihardin1946]

Amazing tips!! Love your highways

[@rachelthornton4161]

Excellent Videos , Thank you ^^

[@Clandestinemonkey]

perfect choice of topics. love the scout game concept

[@LenhaRDT0130]

Very on point Tips.. that first one really hit me hard.. I started so many cities and eventually finished none..

[@Josiah_Trelawny1]

The key for me was to play this game like an Anno or Transport Tycoon. Building a City around the Industry DLC is really fun and youve got a motivation to let your city grow.

[@ajhd2005]

I needed this to motivate me again, thank you!

[@pedroivo2388]

Hi T4rget! Regards from Brazil. Your videos are a great inspiration to me. We start to play CS after see your series. Every week I look forward to your videos and I wish one video a day hahahha Waiting for next episode from your current serie.

[@Zess-fk5zf]

Thanks for the video! Really helpful. CSL Map View is a great little mod that allow you to basicly screenshot your map and export it in a file that you could check and plan on!

[@teofilusnatanael7811]

Great tips ,God bless you brother

[@Anna-kn5lj]

great tips, thank you! i especially liked the last one :)

[@zahirbiban9149]

12:25 is that Design and Manage S1 without snowfall dlc? If yes OH MY GOD

[@adfadf32342]

Eventhough I love that series... If there was no snow it would even been better. Looks so good with those colours!

[@eddieash6189]

Dick

[@spartanangel6726]

Wow, this was very informative, great video 👍

[@hadifelani]

zoom-related mods are also useful for scouting as some will allow you to move your camera outside of the purchased tiles :)

[@jnero8141]

This was a great video and completely changed the way I will go about building my city in the future! thanks!

[@johns9940]

Ironic this is his second to last upload in five months

[@ryanthes9133]

Hi he comeback bro

[@larrylindgren9484]

I usually only plan out where the highways will go (sort of). Because no matter what you do if you highway network fails your whole city falls apart. If your highways flow the rest of your city does too (sort of). Most people fail the highway part. Traffic backup off the map because of it. If you plan where your highway goes then an area has easy ways of getting on and off of it. Your planning splits the traffic. Not forcing an area into 1 place but letting it flow to and from two places or even 3 onto the highway(s).

[@CharlieKiloSierra8893]

Hi @T4rget Gaming thank you so much on this tips to plan and start a city projects. I really appreciate this video. Actually I came up into the situation that I don't really wanted to play CS because of frustration in building my own city due to many challenges. But what I learn on this video is to really planned out a city project. What I try to do to make a plan is to use the scout game method a I took a screen shot of the whole map that I wanted to play on and I open it on a photo editor app to plan out the Highway network road I hope I could do it on actual game. Thank you so much to you men T4rget i'm excited to play this game again..

[@AbrahamDakin]

I miss your videos. They were my favourite Cities Skylines videos.

[@b-building]

I'm a planner, I'm new to the game. This is how I play: 1. open a map 2. zoom out to see the geography 3. grab a sketchpaper and start sketching zones 4. stop playing because I already satisfied with the sketch :)

[@b-building]

T4rget is undoubtfully a very patient planner with a lot of experience, one stroke of his line is much more toughtful than the amateurs...

[@ananasique4208]

I really love your videos. They are so inspiring!

[@br2266]

"without further ado let's begin" gets hit with a fucking commercial right away....

[@haddib]

Me who has never played this game: "Ah yes, interesting"

[@molotov6844]

Do try it out, because of the almost turn to turn way the day counter works, it doesn’t need heavy hardware. You can easily find a pirated version of the game on igg or repack, with working mods.

[@maulucio]

Awesome video! I'll to relax and chill more when playing.

[@sarsippius2005]

Your roads at about 8:09 reminds me of Houston Texas... one ways with turn arounds here and there. I might try that more as i kind of like that style. Also my main highway is going right into the center of my zoned area; always end up with congestion right there. I should try to build around it instead, giving them multiple access points.

[@Sycamoret]

I am Not a City Planner but this video helped me! I'm about to build a Los Angeles Inspired City!

[@danibullo]

Great video. Unvaluable planning information!

[@rainierjacobs]

Loved the Portugal images 🤍

[@bryanreed8206]

This is awesome! Thanks.

[@davwekamel3289]

Thank you a lot, it helped very much, great tips!

[@brunomello7499]

perfect! Thank you so much for this video just one question: what tool did you use to draw all this identifiers above the map? Thinking about planning my next city using the same methodology, instead of doing it on paper or on my mind

[@bjorn1684]

fantastic video, let's get into it then :D

[@KindandDarkOne]

Oddly enough, the map you used to thoerycraft your city is the one I'm planning to make a city on :) thank you

[@robertvalotta8645]

Thank you for helping me hope you make more tips

[@Hestia23]

Holy wow! Your city is goals!

[@MylarDaleToloMDTTV]

My latest city on my PC's Cities Skylines 1 (not 2) install is called "Remigia", which I first created in 2022 and uses the Roslyn Peninsula map and I still work on it.

[@garyortolano7374]

Love your fires target...they are epic !

[@matthewyang7893]

I need to start utilizing terrain to allow for highway overlaps to allow traffic to be a very easy obstacle to overcome instead of just investing into giant roads which costs a ton :)

[@sinnetgraham7711]

I almost gave up on my first major build. But my only problem was me not understanding how this is life like. Solve my problems for my next build. Ive only played a week but im hooked 😂