Cities Skylines | Franklin, Episode 1: Prehistory

[@jakubcesarzdakos5442]

A youtuber says something about realistic hydrology I... I respect this guy

[@samdaley8484]

This might be the best "first ever video" I've ever seen on a channel. I love your deadpan humor.

[@michaelm3691]

It might be great, but all that non-stop fast-forward fucks up my head

[@ImpulseEqualsVCubed]

Great video! I wanted to comment on a small but important detail: the density of trees. The current consensus among geographers is that North America had fewer forests and lower density forests before 1492. This is because the substantial Native American population was engaged in agriculture but also simply cleared forests and maintained open fields for social reasons: it's much harder to gather in a dense forest. The thick forests described by Thoreau's generation had undergone hundreds of years of reforestation. This is because a huge number of Native Americans died from disease (at first) and then later genocide in the intervening centuries. The data to support this comes from a mix of analysis done on the forests themselves (I'm more a human geography person so I can't talk details on this, unfortunately) and from the historical record. The earliest European explorers, slavers, and settlers describe a landscape far more open than what Thoreau described. Meadows and fields are common, and the forests (while extensive) are much easier to navigate. The brambles and assorted brush are not as overwhelming as they would become. This is important because it changes the general notion that Native Americans had no impact on their landscape. On the contrary, the dramatic "untouched wilderness" of colonial America was in fact an eerie ghost town. The landscape was a new one, not a reflection of what had existed in centuries past. Anyway, I really liked your video and just wanted to add a small critique.

[@tomtrask_YT]

This may be the first time I came away from reading the comments that I say it was unquestionably a good time to read the comments

[@chris_d]

This feels like deja vu - the latest Factually episode was on this exact subject and I just finished learning about it for the first time. Apparently the population of America was pretty comparable to that of Europe too :o www.earwolf.com/episode/the-truth-about-the-americas-in-1491-with-charles-c-mann/

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

I assume my stomping ground of South Jersey was still largely the pine-dune post-apocalypse it is today from the soil acidity, if nothing else. Nothing lasts long here unless much is expelled to keep it going.

[@baxswisher7661]

I've heard also the forests were cleared to allow for more deer forage plant species and for increased mobility of hunters to hunt those deer

[@DivePlane13]

It’s almost like as if whole entire civilizations of different people with different languages and religions lived in North America. Kinda crazy to think about

[@SMFCNA]

Someone that is a lot smarter than me: make a realistic mayor simulator, where you mostly glad-handed with the local big shots and if you try to change anything ever you get bogged down in city council meetings over possible conflicts of interest and you have to keep your crack addition secret too.

[@diidelphiis]

SMFCNA I see you live in Toronto as well

[@gregoryborton6598]

Ah yeah, I played that. Eventually your character gets cancer and is overshadowed by his more 'successful' younger brother, right?

[@AbsolXGuardian]

For The People is basically that, except it's set in a fair handed USSR parody (the Stalin guy is dead, but the current party leader isn't trying to transition into capitalism). Really captures the feeling of communism being hard because other people suck so bloody much.

[@liska_dae]

Many tribes had a tradition of burning hundreds of square miles every fall to clear underbrush. The 'untouched wilderness' myth was presented a hundred years or so after they were forced out. Place of Pigeon Droppings reminds me of the island off South America that was basically thousands of years of accumulated bird droppings. The Europeans forced the Natives to excavate that so they could sell it back home for fertilizer.

[@teslashark]

Guano! They even hired peasants from asia to mine it. And then the islands are abandoned when chemical fertilizer was invented.

[@ClaudiaNW]

Place of Pigeon Droppings reminds me of my balcony!

[@uhhhscizo6531]

Yes, but it does look nice

[@jesinchen7282]

I love that the street to the ancient native village is calles "Lewis Str". Immersion over 9000.

[@NavidIsANoob]

First 3 minutes I thought "what is this trash" but you completely subverted my expectations which was your intention I suppose. Definitely subbed, always love listening to someone who knows what they're talking about.

[@tophitsofficial6225]

Yep i agre tu yu

[@christianknuchel]

What'are you talking about? These first 3 minutes were brilliant. XD

[@muhammadfathonihanif5500]

@@christianknuchel A brilliant satire.

[@zab5980]

Thanks for pushing me to watch past 3 minutes ! I didn't regret it

[@lespaddick6248]

I was the sameI almost moved on but stayed with it

[@kerim.peardon5551]

I was watching a video on Curiosity Stream the other day about the agricultural revolution and it pointed out that prior to the invention of the plow, ALL agricultural civilizations were built in flood plains (think the Nile Valley) because regular flooding was needed to replenish nutrients in the soil that farming took away. Once the plow was invented, people had a way to dredge up nutrients from deeper in the soil, as well as mix in their own (i.e. manure), and that allowed farmers to get out of flood plains. So, if this tribe farmed, they would HAVE to have lived in the flood plain, as you depict. Or, at the very least, they would have farmed in the flood plain and had their villages up higher, like people do around the Nile. But, more likely, they would have had villages where they farmed and seasonal villages higher up where they could retreat to during flooding events. Many settled Indian tribes had multiple villages that they used only during certain seasons. Houses were fairly easily and quickly built, so it made sense to build several houses or hunting camps in a variety of locations and then live out of them when necessary, rather than building once and doing a lot of walking between hunting, fishing, and farming locations every single day.

[@delandamorris9027]

I watched this series last year, and after spending time learning more about many other aspects of American living I am back for a refresher course. Thank you for providing this information. I heard a question on the radio yesterday, "Now that you've completed school and are an adult, what would have liked to have been taught in school?" I thought to myself. It would be nice if History were taught in a more useful way. Instead of teaching us event #1, #2, and #3, teach us the implications on all of them and help us all to see how they relate and influence our present. I feel like you accomplish this in your series.

[@Dragonatrix]

I am down for this wild ride of edutainment

[@SergeiAndropov]

Wait, a Cities: Skylines KZbinr who actually knows something about urban development? Holy zamboni, Batman! Can I ask what your background is? Activist, planning commissioner, city council member...?

[@donoteat01]

some dude with a civil engineering degree

[@safe-keeper1042]

Always enjoyable to listen to/watch people who actually know what they're doing :) .

[@donoteat01]

Midgard Eagle oh man, if y'all think civil engineers know what they're doing, i gotta bridge to sell y'all

[@ausintune9014]

donoteat01 well you at least know how to design something realistic. Most of the other youtubers make stuff look nice but not very realistic.

[@alliecat6281]

donoteat01 considering you're a civil engineer at least it's (hopefully) a structurally sound one :P

[@takipsilim0]

Saw the article on Kotaku. We need more content like this. Thank you for taking the time to upload.

[@Zilla12]

They brought me here too.

[@tonypop1007]

Same

[@kylehagerty9771]

me too, strapping in.

[@pmbartoli919]

Rock Paper Shotgun article quoting Kotaku brought me there xD

[@blujitsu2180]

That commentary was kind of a rollercoaster. But I’m still excited to see where this goes. People have always thought about time-based series, but now we have the resources and it’s super cool.

[@oregonjohnson]

this is amazing. was totally cracking up the whole opening segment. the way he says "a municipally owned crematorium" is golden

[@knockshinnoch1950]

Discovered this channel today. A uniquely creative use of Cities Skylines to entertain, educate and inform fans of the game- providing insight and basic principles to help with gameplay. Look forward to seeing the series unfold. The deadpan narration should infuriate but actually is quite engaging!

[@bottledwaterprod]

As for getting better recording equipment, try pawn shops. I work at a small pawn shop chain and the amount of pro audio equipment we get is staggering. Plus, that kinda stuff often comes in great condition. You can can often get stuff for 1/4 of the retail price. Just remember to forget about the price tag. Grab an employee (politely) and start a dialog.

[@ConnorEllisMusic]

oof

[@teslashark]

Pawn shops definitely. I'm trained as a film and audio editor; I'm not accusing any past or future colleagues of larceny, but trading pro equipment in great condition is a colorful thing with a lot of great deals.

[@BookofAeons]

I lost it at "Aramingo" and "More of Aramingo"

[@zackbobby5550]

"I'm not an expert but this shit I found online is pretty cool." The monotone brutal honesty is fucking hilarious man that's a sub right there.

[@HipsterShiningArmor]

can i just say that i love the little detail of Nockamixon having more then three houses. aside from just being a humorous little in-joke of "they obviously named it before more people moved in", its a helpful little reminder that Lenape and other indigenous communities weren't stagnant before europeans showed up, that they grew and changed and evolved.

[@TheCaptan200]

I was sooooo close to clicking away after two seconds of watching. You truly used your first impression to lower expectations, then right when I people click away you take it to the next level! You're amazing.

[@yourneighbour5738]

We live in a society.

[@snappycaster]

Might want to unlike comment, looks like a pretty vile person.

[@TheDavidN]

"...maybe we want some higher-dense mixed used density next to the [high use] road. Our zoning codes from the 60's... we don't have that." - Yup. That's why we have what we can't have nice things.

[@Peace_And_Love42]

I'm here from Three Arrows. Thanks for letting him borrow your projector!

[@TheLaughingDove]

Place of pigeon droppings immediately had me thinking of the ecological and cultural footprint of the passenger pigeon (extinct native) vs the rock pigeon (an introduced species from Europe!). Love the concept of this series and glad to have discovered it through the city skylines KZbin feature!

[@hydrosailor1]

This is such a cool concept! Plus being around Philadelphia I can’t wait to see where this goes! Much props!

[@rome9067]

Finding this now, starting the binge

[@TheCommanderFluffy]

This scratches an itch that I never knew I had.

[@TheCommanderFluffy]

Also, your presentation is stellar. Especially considering that this channel is fairly new to my knowledge.

[@alan6707]

Native settletments always had like a rubbish pile way in the back corner were tgey dumbed rocks extra dirt they dont need shells broken pottery and what ever else they use and dont need its never in the walls though

[@lespaddick6248]

the Midden

[@humanbeing7504]

THIS IS ART. THIS IS LITERALLY THE BEST THING I HAVE SEEN REGARDING THIS GAME. YOU SIR DESERVE A SHIT LOAD OF PRAISE.

[@-Cece]

I luv Justin. This is ASMR to me. Man, you are so special. Sincere words.

[@verderuso]

As an archaeologist I must say that this a fantastic series idea. Uncritical portrayals of human societies are something I've always been bothered by concerning city-builders and other "historical" management games. I think that games like Dawn of Man are a step in a good direction in informative edutainment, but often end up portraying human adaptation as simple and linear progression of steps towards "civilization" on one end, or an utopia of "noble savages" living in "harmony with nature" in the other.

[@DealingWithDylan]

A true combination of AOE and City Skylines/Sim City with actual era progression would be the greatest game ever made. I already know I'm about to enjoy this series. Thank you.

[@smgibb]

Ha. I never knew Manayunk means "Place where we go to drink". That's a little apropos.

[@lowlight8316]

Many have talked the talk but great to see someone walk the walk. It'll be great to see a city emerge which has a sense of history and a style of it's own. I look forward to following this with interest and can't wait to see how this city's story unfolds. Really like your wry style of delivery and your creativity. I sense a cult following for Franklin. Thanks @Bsquiklehausen for the heads up.

[@ryleyw3684]

wow I thought that was a dirt race track in the thumbnail but this was cooler. it would be awesome if it was possible to mod the whole game to work in a 1700s to 1800s setting cars were horses and house and buggy, and people looked the time. different groups of people act differently and dress different. I think it would be cool to take inspiration from assassin's creed 3 and do a 1700s-1800s map, have Boston, new York, and a few others. little settlements and homesteads and native lands along with forts. I didn't know there were historic native assets, that's cool

[@Kastor992]

5 minutes in and you've got my sub. Tbh the audio doesn't bother me at all though I understand why some people might mind. I always appreciate when someone uses a game for education as well as entertainment. Keep it up!

[@hxdmain]

good royalty free music choice

[@danielrogers2026]

Good music choice

[@ahauptfeld]

What's the first song? So recognizable but I can't name it.

[@Video_Game_Channel]

​@@ahauptfeld It's "Night on Bald Mountain" composed by Modest Mussorgsky, and performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Here's the youtube video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXapnX2LiMqGaMU I hope this belated answer helps out, take care!

[@lionlol]

This is some chef's kiss level content.

[@boombam5214]

thank god Three Arrows recommended you, this is awesome

[@elizanieman5576]

Honestly the best gaming video I've seen on KZbin and defintly one of the best Educational videos. I can't wait for more!

[@Quboid]

This looks great, fantastic idea! I recommend Garbage Bin Controller by TPB, you can set the maximum number of trash cans to zero.

[@grinndex]

Great video and great job on 3MA. One critique- forest wouldn't have been so dense around native villages. Would've been more like parkland due to firewood collection, controlled burning, etc.

[@BernieSnowden]

Searched "Cities Skyline Philadelphia" and got this, not disappointed at all. "Manayunk: Place where we go to drink" Love it

[@lost_gecko8152]

Promising first 3 minutes then it turned weird… Can't wait for parking lots and urban interchanges to cover this mess! … or not, keep it up, it's an awesome concept!

[@Bacony_Cakes]

Yeah, take a giant concrete, asphalt, and electrical shit on it!

[@singularityghost6290]

I'm totally blown away by this. I watched the start a while ago when I was looking for ideas on building a new or otherwise different city but turned it off because I thought it was just another one of those poorly put together "look at my town" videos. After seeing this pop up again on r/Breadtube with recommendations, I decided to give the whole thing a look and its amazing really. I've fiddled with Skylines a bit and never come up with anything so complex or even remotely interesting. Look forward to more of these

[@StrelkaArrow]

Discovered you from Harry's stream and boy am I glad i did.

[@scottanderson8167]

I am only watching this for the orchestral triangle playing. The triangle is my favorite instrument.

[@yesn95]

I already cannot wait until the next episode

[@philiproszak1678]

Love seeing the Phily place names. Always loved hearing the traffic report on XPN.

[@curiousepic]

Oof, the default street names! Right in the colonialism. Nice that you repurposed them for the indigenous village names!

[@suity_nosh5910]

The first 3 minutes highlighted almost every grievance I have with this game. Love it!

[@ryane3703]

Miss that crisp audio from these earlier videos

[@retailboy3675]

I’ve never fallen in love with a KZbinr so fast. I came for your city planning and politics videos but I found this and now I’m staying for good.

[@bros1083]

I really enjoy how much effort went into this With the assets, time, etc

[@jacktherussell6950]

This is defiantly a unique way of playing this game, and I think I like it.

[@marcozolo3536]

As passionate as the skylines community is about this game being the best city builder in the market, I have to say this sincerely... In that this video perfectly illustrates why CS will never be a true city builder but merely a prop modeller with little functionality or complex gameplay features. There are a million videos like this one using CS as a city painter. PS: no disregard to the enthusiasm and obvious imaginative flair of this videos creator. My only gripe is that people insist this is a city builder when it clearly isn't

[@evywthingseemsdiffagain921]

This seems super awesome, subbed and will share with those I know

[@N312RB]

Possibly the best intro in the history of KZbin, take my subscription

[@richie7045]

This seriously has me hooked like I just want to keep watching episodes after episodes good job 👍

[@manictiger]

YT recommended this to me. I wasn't sure what to expect, but that sarcasm is pure platinum!

[@hopperthemarxist8533]

Brilliant content !!! Love this series - a gem of a channel

[@FrerolXIII]

Best narration ever with that Ledger Joker voice.

[@aidanwilds1419]

Hopefully you could right a few wrongs in Philly history like tearing down the old red terracotta station building for PRR's Broad Street Station, the train shed (what remained after a few fires) and the Chinese Wall needed to go and Suburban was somewhat of an improvement originally, but the building itself was a gem

[@The0Richardcolu]

Liked an subbed! This is a very interessting concept and I am definitely excited for the next episode ! The information you are giving concerning the landscape and culture is very insightful. The only thing I can wish for is a asset list/collection, but I can imagine, with the scale of this project, that a collection is more of a quality of life, instead of a necessity.

[@BorkDoggo]

Dude you've got a great dry sense of humor. You clearly put a lot of work and thought into these videos. Nice.

[@seriyooow310]

2 minutes in, and I can already tell this is quality content. Good to hear some deadpan humour and engineering perspective of cities skylines from a fellow civil engineer :)

[@bentleykennedy-stone673]

Im pretty blown away. Five seconds in i had zero confidence in the vid. 30 seconds and im starting to get it. Two minutes and im laughing my ass off. 10 minutes my head is spinning. Definitely gonna watch this whole series.

[@timinator31]

Subbed thanks to Bisquickelmisspelling. Very neat series! Going to follow this closely!

[@ethanharner7674]

This is actually so amazing

[@godlymoose9118]

It's honestly been so long since any series on KZbin interested me, well done mate

[@GrijzePilion]

Right, this is the proper stuff. I can't wait to see the whole story from start to finish.

[@aturchomicz821]

I mean theres a reason why I keep revisiting this video.... Best 1st Video ever!!!

[@LuckeWent]

Actual pigeon taking a dump @17:25 ? Awsome series idea! Instant sub!

[@lastweektonightwithoutthet650]

7 seconds in, you had me 1 minute in, i was sold 2 minutes in I'm in love this is great

[@AmbientMorality]

"Maybe I want some higher-density mixed use next to the road. Oh wait, our zoning code's from the sixties."

[@ndv135]

This is a great idea, and I'm glad someone was ambitious enough to do it. You sir, deserve far more attention for this.

[@duckwhistle]

Love the street names in those Prehistoric villages

[@wildfox184]

"Place of pigeon droppings"

[@donoteat01]

that's not even a completely made up place, lol

[@wildfox184]

donoteat01 Must be a pretty unfortunate place to get a name like that

[@yltraviole]

Sounds like my city

[@aangitano]

I totally said, "that's probably where I'd end up living..." 😅

[@teslashark]

@@donoteat01 I felt like I've seen some of these words in Philadelphia and New Brunswick

[@tobin834]

This is absolutely incredible. Great work.

[@christophervanerp1133]

Oh I can tell this is gonna be a SPICY series.

[@jimmypetrock]

great also finally someone who uses classical royalty free music instead of pop rock and EDM

[@mikuhatsunegoshujin]

Why haven't I watched you before? This is gold.

[@wildfox184]

Great first video, so much potential.

[@cookies23z]

2 min in im dying :) As someone on his way to becoming an electrician, the powerlines bit made me laugh out loud at 3am

[@cookies23z]

My god the intro bit is golden

[@madebywera5048]

WOw, this started really weird but turned out to be really amazing and worth watching. And I love your choice of music!

[@failburn]

Fuck yeah comrade, this is great. Thank you! Informative and fun.

Damn dude! I'm subscribing for sure! This was awesome! The intro almost turned me away but then you took this to a whole new level!

[@FreeMan-zb7xe]

this is a great idea bro, gonna watch all this series so far.

[@anwalborn]

I was so confused the first few minutes lmao. But I absolutely love this concept!

[@FBIIlIlIlIIlIl]

This dude is already worried about hydrology in his map, I haven't even figured out how to put a bench on a sidewalk

[@Scissorbag]

His voice alone makes my nono throb, LECTURE ME ON CIVILISATION DADDY

[@literallysquidward7170]

That intro got me hooked man it was hilarious

[@K162-y1b]

Very impressive attention to detail, and even more impressive is you admitting you don't know something. Don't see too much of that on YT today. This is a Good Video.

[@MisanthropicMarxist]

Something about the term "municipally-owned crematorium" is unsettling to me

[@MisanthropicMarxist]

Nah, more like it makes me think that the mayor is killing so many dudes that he needs a special place to dispose of all the bodies. The guys at the dump won't take any more, they say that the arms are starting to stick out of the trash mountains

[@nsytr06]

In just one video you became my favorite KZbin channel. I'm stunned.

[@uasj2]

I really enjoyed your gravelly accent, dry as dust delivery (improved by the bad mic) and refreshing cynicism. Your list of political issues has sparked my interest too. I’m going to subscribe and check out where Franklin ends up.

[@joshhuffines5978]

During the first few mins I was thinking isn’t this supposed to be something else, then bam here it is. I loved the video and your commentary. I look forward to watching the city develop over time and I really look forward to hearing your commentary on all the political and developmental issues in regards to society and the life of a city. New sub right now, glad I stumbled across this video. I’ll be riding this train till the end of the line.

[@las347]

I just found this...love the humor and the hidden advise in your channels' name to fix America obesity problem.

[@danielsantos6437]

Best Cities skylines series ever

[@TheGheseExperience]

I miss this series so badly. I wish you would have kept it going instead of whatever it is you are doing. Thanks for the inspiration, once I get a PC capable of running CS, I will reminisce this series for how I conduct my city's growth.