15 Absolutely Essential Cities Skylines 2 Mods & How to Use Them

[@CityPlannerPlays]

EDIT AS OF 4/9/24 - I am aware that a number of the CS2 Modding Community's Mods have been removed from Paradox Mods. This includes one that I recommended in this video in the Honorable mentions, Extended Tooltip. If you have the mod downloaded, it will still work and you can add it to new playsets as long as it is on your system. However, these mods will show as "banned," though that is not really why they are gone from the workshop. The creators behind the mods have retired from CS2 modding, and removed the mods as a result. From my perspective, it makes the sentiment I tried to share with this video - that we need to support the modding community as best we can - all the more salient. A HUGE thank you to all of the modders that helped review this video for accuracy. If you want to support them directly, you can find their donation links here: ► Algernon - ko-fi.com/algernon ► Cgameworld - www.youtube.com/@cgameworld (provide superchat on video) ► CS2Modding Community - tinyurl.com/cities2donation (requests donation to this charity in lieu of donation) ► Mimonsi - paypal.com/paypalme/KonstantinSchwarze ► Quboid - paypal.com/paypalme/QuboidCSL1 ► ST-Apps - paypal.com/paypalme/STApps ► TDW - buymeacoffee.com/tdwsvillage ► Yengyeng - paypal.com/paypalme/YenyangsMods Links to mods are in the video description!

[@SanderHollebrand]

A number of the removed mods have been adopted by new developers and are back in the PDX mods list. These mods are published anew so you have to add them again to use them.

[@PlayGames-nb6fz]

Hey my graphics settings and mod settings aren't saving. If I restart the game after saving it properly, all settings gets reset.

[@glaro_dra737]

Hey, thx a lot for that modlist. Sadly the "Dependency Pack" and "Legacy Flavour" and a dependency mod called "Gooee" are broken since a while now... Do you recommend any similar mods? What do you use? Sadly most stuff doesnt work properly without these... :(

[@tyleralberico]

The irony of a mod that improves the mod manager is not lost on me

[@JaCrispy3060]

Real. Leave it to some modder working for free with no obligations to make a huge improvement to the system lol. PC modding is full of things like this.

[@ExpedientFalcon]

Also worth noting that Skyve has a built-in dark theme, for those who love their eyes.

[@jmcdonald.1998]

It’s incredible how quickly mods have rapidly transformed the direction of the game. Admittedly, they did as much with CS1, and I think that played a part in people’s dissatisfaction with CS2 on launch - the huge difference in what is possible, but now mods are here I can see many more people picking up CS2 and enjoying it

[@toweri_li]

I concur. I have been waiting for CS II to to mature - to get more bug fixes, updates etc, so that it would be closer to CS I in functionality when I switch over. This video *alone* has made me thinking "Is it the right time now...?"

[@nichameleon2523]

@@toweri_li I'd say still give it another year at least assuming the game doesn't become abandonware which is becoming increasingly likely

[@DocNo27]

@@nichameleon2523 lol - this game is not going to be abandoned. People are beyond freaking ridiculous 🤣

[@Foxfire_forty-nine]

@@DocNo27 beyond ridiculous? You're not referring to the people trying to salvage this broken, buggy bad game like slapping duct tape on a leaky rowboat?

[@michielvandersijs6257]

@@nichameleon2523 you don't know the meaning of abandonware if you think it applies to CS2

[@Liamshavingfun]

Waiting for TMPE (traffic management mod), but i like to move, it move it! 😂

[@Kennyancat]

Last two I still need (besides extra assets) is traffic manager for lane management and an option to turn off specific notifications floating above the city.

[@pilkycrc]

Yeah, TPME is probably the biggest missing mod. But it’s also one of the biggest and most complex CS1 mods so does not surprise me that it may take a while before we see it in CS2

[@Pandion1872]

I am wondering why First Person Camera and Extended Tooltip were removed. I loved Extended tooltip.

[@WeilianTing]

It's good not to release so soon, I already can explore so many new thing now, by the time it release later day, then yes, I got new great mods to play then 😆

[@devoid9421]

Traffic Panager Mesidential Edition

[@oraniuk9271]

I really hope that there will be a traffic manager where I can draw the lines for each individual lane again

[@CityPlannerPlays]

I imagine it's under development, but i have nothing that I can personally confirm

[@oraniuk9271]

@@CityPlannerPlays I could bet that it is in progress, they have already given the basis, but I don't know why they only did it so superficially, but I think that's the smallest problem at the moment anyway :D I really hope that the mods save the game where they can't do it themselves. I want to love this game as much as C:S1 :D

[@JonnyRay82]

I'd love to change individual lane directions at intersections to left, right or straight.

[@PlayGames-nb6fz]

​@@CityPlannerPlaysI think it is out already. Lane cinnector

[@davyprendergast82]

I cant believe it's even necessary. That was one simple task that any team worth their salt would have got right for the sequel: make the damn traffic work

[@VaingloriousGaming]

casually teasing everyone with a Verde Beach map...

[@thinksi7715]

As a total noob to modding, you have no idea how much I needed this!

[@inyobill]

Midnight here, I need to watch tomorrow. One of my favorites is being able to control despawning. It drives me mad when public transit vehicles despawn because they were held up for 5 seconds. They should NEVER despawn.

[@goldber_g]

a lot of these mods i've seen in paradox mods but their descriptions didn't do justice just how powerful they are, really liked this video

[@vexal]

Thanks for showing my Cim Route Highlighter mod. I just updated it to show the incoming routes of buildings you click on and routes of transit passengers, if you ever want to try it again at some point. I’m hoping to ultimately fully replicate the traffic tools from CS1, but the biggest hurdle is performance - the code doesn’t efficiently provide this data. Still, it’s definitely possible (I don’t understand why CO said it’s not - with the ability to change the vanilla code base it would be much easier), and I wish it had been included in the base game. One other modding-related difficulty I’ve had with this game is the inability to easily be notified of what changes in a mod you’ve subscribed to. There’s a little update icon that shows on the screen when it updates, but if you blink you miss it, and you have to think to check the page for the mod in PDX again manually to get any real information.

[@starcitizen6651]

I really Love this game it has its problems but does not deserve the hate it gets. With support and mods it could become the greatest city builder ever. It has a good foundation.

[@wyntoniscringe]

I really hope TMPE or something similar will be released soon, it'd be really useful imo

[@foamingstuffye3951]

One more honourable mention for me at least is the mod called Lumina, which makes the game look so much less grim and bleak, colours are nicer, can adjust saturation, brightness etc. Really great vid, superhelpful, thanks!

[@Salient-n7c]

Lets not forget Anarchy makes your UI more punk rock!

[@jengoh3826]

Not only do you have great content, but your voice is so gentle and soothing. Thank you for your videos

[@MultiJalmari]

This game is really coming around! (Actually I have been playing almost 200 hours completely vanilla and enjoying myself like some sort of an idiot.)

[@trate1609]

I've been waiting for a video like this since they dropped paradox mods. Thank you for making this. Well done!

[@macaidwin]

Very Great video! Thank you for all the explanation about the mods. One other use of anarchy is the zones of special industries can be larger (and working) than the circle around the main building or even outside the city boundaries.

[@Rhamses220]

Only thing missing from paradox mods at this point is the traffic management mod. I need my protected left turns and lane management!

[@HairyAl1969]

And timed traffic lights!

[@makdims]

Traffic Light Enhancement too, the one reason I still use Thunderstore is because this mod not on pdx yet.

[@Rhamses220]

@@slavplaysgames of course it should, unfortunately it’s not. CO and Paradox have gotten too used to the community fixing their games for them

[@Rhamses220]

@@makdims yeah that’s the mod I’m talking about. It’s probably one of the more crucial mods

[@ryneevansiii8663]

@@makdims how do things work with PDX and thunderstore?

[@Bosselady-TV]

There is so much in this video, I'll be watching it over and over again.

[@maximumHengist]

good to have you back at your enthusiastic best!

[@martinbowman4761]

Your presentation to camera is excellent. 🎉🎉🎉

[@michaelfoland2007]

Also -- I did add your music from Paradox Mods :) One of my favs is Landscaping :) Keep up the amazing work!

[@VaingloriousGaming]

an hour and five minutes... this is gonna be good. I really wish I could have the ability to have the mods update without launching the game first. Plus, that back button functionality dumping you back to the top of the list is just clunky. I'm still not convinced that PDX has the potential to be as useful as the steam workshop.

[@CityPlannerPlays]

Use Skyve. It will do exactly what you want

[@VaingloriousGaming]

@@CityPlannerPlays sort of. unless Skyve runs in the background at system startup (which I wouldn't want it to; I had a VERY negative experience with Skyve for the original CS), then it can't really just automatically update things for me. With steam workshop and the original CS, if a mod updates, I probably won't even know it because of autoupdates happening in the background. The feature parity of PDX mods with Steam workshop is just... non-existent.

[@t.635]

@@VaingloriousGaming The new skyve does all of that

[@VaingloriousGaming]

@@t.635 but does it run all the time in the background so the updates just happen without me launching anything? Even if it did, I don't really trust skyve after a really bad incident with the version for the original CS, so I wouldn't *want* it running in the background. Steam workshop is just better; everything in one client, one place, one set it and forget it.

[@ExpedientFalcon]

I think Skyve for CS2 is unlikely to give any issues with the mods themselves, since the mechanism for mods being integrated into the game is completely different and playsets are built in to CS2, whereas in CS1 playsets were a feature created by Skyve and the way they had to be hacked into CS caused me some headaches as well. Skyve itself still seems a little glitchy with its search and sorting functionality, but I suspect they'll be quicker to sort those things out than the in-game Paradox Mods.

[@VentureProIsMe]

Thanks you’re enthusiasm has kept me believing in CS2!

[@anon2969]

I need the same faith you have in CS2 in Counter Strike 2😢

[@VentureProIsMe]

@@anon2969 CS2?

[@jasonjtg21]

Thank you so much for the breakdown of not only the mods you are using but how to use them. I was having some usability issues with move it and a few others and thankfully with your walk through I was able to learn and do it myself thank you!

[@edwinb.2756]

A huge thank you for this vid and all the mod creators!!!! You guys rock!!

[@entrcpy]

🙏🏾 thank you so much, Phil. Super helpful and exactly what I wanted yesterday when I was puttering around my save and looking at new mods.

[@swedenontwowheels]

Amazing content! Thank you so much for making this video. It is comprehensive and to the point. I've played CS (1) for a long time and have been thinking about getting CS 2 but many bugs were reported at the beginning and the lack of mods made it much less fun. I'm glad to learn that there are so many mods now.

[@harbuggley]

Always out here with the top tier videos Phil. Thank you for the tremendous effort you put into every single video you put out. So glad I clicked on that Episode 1 of Clearwater County just to give another creator a go - have stuck around since then. Just immaculate content, always. ❤

[@Quboid]

Thanks for the showcase. There's a lot more to come from Move It!

[@Volkain10]

Oh man the custom train stations is super cool. Now you can make small town train stations where passengers essentially just get on off at the tracks like it is in some more low density towns.

[@Toll99725]

57:03 thanks to you, I and probably many other people just learned about these different brushes. that would be a gamechanger

[@tranquilitybase8100]

Phil was so happy to make this video, it shows. ❤

[@lowbar77]

Dude! this is so helpful. I am not excited to get back into the game again now that there is more flexibility in building detailed builds. Thanks so much.

[@Pandion1872]

Love your videos mate. I also love your mods, I've payed on both Magnolia and Verde Beach. Your radio stations are great as well and I was hoping I could talk you into making a parody station. Thunderstore had 4 of them but they have not been brought over. Cheers.

[@RaebEeffoc]

Whoo! Despite the negativity, I still enjoy Cities Skylines 2. I know its rough around the edges but CO still has my support. Im glad to see content creators and modders haven't given up on CS2 yet. I truely think that CS2 will become the game we all wanted. Im a patient person and I overlook the flaws. Im grateful that I have something to play. Might not be perfect but I can still play.

[@ScaredyGinge]

I needed this video, thank you! While it's straightforward, it's also so different from CS1 haha. I can't decide if I like this better than going through the workshop. 😅

[@keenviewer]

This is tremendously helpful and easy to watch. Thank you.

[@neoncherry6698]

Thank you for the video! I really wish they would have public collections of mods and assets. I used to always pop over to CityPlanner's mod collection and look through what he's using in his videos.

[@CityPlannerPlays]

Head to my website and I have a page with every mod I’m using and links to them on PDX. Cityplannerplays.com

[@TamaraWiens]

You are such a good salesman Phil! "But wait, there's more!" 😍🤣😍

Oh man this video is everything I needed. THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@bobgrey6137]

The main mod I still use Thunderstore for is Traffic Lights Enhancement, and was surprised it wasn't mentioned when you said you still used Thunderstore for the Legacy Flavor mod. Traffic Lights Enhancement is a must-use for everyone. It allows you to specify which lanes can turn which way in each direction of an intersection as well as allowing right-on-red, protected left turns, or split-phasing.

[@CameronSalazar2113]

Skyve is a mod that adds an independent program to your PC it's a huge help because you can add and update mods without having to start the game and restart it over and over again, but also make sure to read all the materials for this mod because it does run in the background after you start your PC up but you can remove the Services for the Mod if you dont want it to run unless you start the program. It also will give you the Logs in a easy way for both the game and every single mod independently if you add them 1 at a time. Its a amazing mod that allows your use of these mods to be more independent from the game. It will also let you know if you have a mod that is game breaking installed. Try it out and make sure to read all materials about the mod for use and for what it offers and runs. Next one is the tools addon for landscaping, such a amazing tools mod, but they also have been having issues with Gooee so if you having issues with mods not showing make sure to read the comments on the page for the mods because a lot have fixed like this one were Gooee was preventing the Landscaping tools mods from showing on your UI even though the Mod was loading okay, also get to know all the folder where mods are sitting, I say this because you may need to go and find a mod after it showing in logs and learning how to read the mod number and go and find the folder and delete it is a huge help to guarantee the mod was removed but it will auto reinstall if still in you playset so if you dont want it at all remove from playset, look at the mod number which will be the folder name for some mods, find it on your pc if not there it got deleted, but if still there delete it, also some mods like Gooee sits in a main folder and it was added to my PC without me knowing so even if you have not added it check to make sure another mod did not add it for you.

[@michaelgrantwood]

Thanks!

[@Nathan-of3io]

Great video! Definitely going to try them out! Was trying to make a Amsterdam like city and that extended road upgrade mod is going to save a lot of time😂😅

[@inyobill]

Now to sit down and watch! This presentation is average. Average for you, Phil, that is, which means it's clear, detailed, and interesting. Thanks, appreciate the help. I keep wanting to stop the presentation, and open my game and try some of these things, but, nope, not gonna do it, gonna show some discipline (for a change).

[@berndalischer3783]

Thanks to the Water Features mod i was able to create a flooding scenario map. The America mod also gives an extra challenge by making you pay for terraforming. The game just makes more fun with mods.

[@DragoNYC]

Omg thank you for this. Your MODs videos are helpful. Thank you

[@JaCrispy3060]

Glad to see I wasnt wrong for thinking the mods could 'save' this game lol

[@cptnwilly]

Oh no Phil now has access to creating his own parking lots... 🤣

[@CityPlannerPlays]

Coming soon to the next episode of Magnolia County... hahah!

[@artistfkaW]

Super helpful since I’m not nearly as plugged in yet as I was with cs1. Thanks philliam

[@AdamBurianek92]

Can't wait for Road Builder mod similar to the one in CS1 by T. D. W. which was an absolute game changer for me

[@inyobill]

Precision Engineering?

[@transgirl2106]

Thank you so much these are all definitely must-haves! Love your channel❤

[@realmynameshiro]

4:07 Oh my god! Finally! So many hours wasted activating and deactivating specific mods!!! 😍🙏

[@Speglritz]

Great choice of mods and thanks for the helpful introduction. Looking forward to traffic manager

[@davidcampbell2143]

Thnx for the great video. CO might have had a false start with CS2, but they have improved the performance and the thing this video shows is that the basic architecture of this game is so much more flexible, that it holds potential to be a really rich game.

[@Foxfire_forty-nine]

Rich because they're probably gonna drip feed 15 dollar expansion packs that should've been put in a sequel to begin with over the next several years

[@davidcampbell2143]

​@@Foxfire_forty-nine you're probably right, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. It is quite clear from what I am seeing that the open and modular architecture of various aspects of the game (UI, networks, objects) maken it very moddable and expandable. CS was a mess near the end, clearly modded and expanded to it's limits. I can see this game look fresh and cohesive in 6 years time.

[@laritest]

Thanks for this Video! Very Helpful!

[@sully_skylines]

Great list CPP 👏

[@CityPlannerPlays]

Thank you so much, Sully!! Thank you for all you've been doing to showcase mods yourself!

[@gavin.d.m]

So many mods that, after CS1, you'd expect to see in base game CS2.

[@AmberGTL]

👁️👄👁️ Me, intensely watching all 1hr and 5mins of this knowing damn well I don’t have the game or a computer that could actually run it

[@quadtrailz7630]

Great list. I use almost all of them. I'd like to see a mod that allows you to name streets differently on each side of an intersection. Some roads/streets change names when crossing a certain boundary.

[@williamhuang8309]

The zoning tool could be improved even more by making it so that the side of the road you click on is the side where zoning disappears/reappears

[@DawnClark-wj9ix]

I love City Skylines 1 , I am not getting City Skylines 2 due to 6 months of little or care of the love they saw for CS1. Waking up today says BOO to them.

[@marianodn]

OH MY GOD, NOW THE VOICE HAVE FACE!! Nice to Meet you! jajaja

[@hugobourniche6025]

Nice ! Thanks for the video

[@Squad-xk7jp]

currently have a problem that my mods just dont show up anymore... i had them for a few startups but now they dont show up anymore in my game or in my options. they do update though when i startup my game. anyone has this same problem?

[@ProHolmes]

I do.

[@dshoti_tv]

Let's go I've been waiting for this

[@tobinkern5389]

Any reason why my mods aren't coming up since the update? They are all still in my active playlist, but they arent available for use in game. Im at a loss.

[@yuanzhang5544]

Thank you! Very useful video

[@DudokX]

God I see so much potential and already built in tools that are just not available to regular players. I see that the whole logic of custom parking lots is already in the game, you can even draw asphalt surfaces with the dev mode, ai recognizes it and uses it. Custom parks and lots are possible too. Its just that they are not finished and integrated into the UI because they did release so early

[@gillking49]

Hi - watched your video when it first appeared. Thank you - it was really helpful. Not sure if you'll see this, but do think you could make another video for mods as of Dec 24? Know it's a big ask. After the 'issues' with certain mods I stopped using a lot of them, and am worried about corrupting my cities in the future.

[@nimruth]

once again modders came in to save another title, such a great and godsend community.

[@TehWever]

praise the CIM route highlighter, by far the most useful one. The game is still severely lacking in analytycs tools department, something that CS1 excelled at. It is tremendously tedious or flat out impossible to know where people travel from and to and how the roads are being utilised. This alleviates the problem a little bit.

[@AdhdShift]

Perfect guide in my opinion. Top work again Phil!

[@Dewey-CheathamAndHowe]

Another very informative video, thanks.

[@Mayalost]

As a mac user, this is the first time since the release that I feel like I'm missing out with CS2 (that Verde Beach map

[@Sean-l4t6z]

vidoes like this are always welcome.

[@Phoenixcaptain46]

0:40 but you're Phil

[@mikeg5848]

Hello long time, first time! Love your content for CS2, and was wondering if you have an update for a list of mods that are most useful after the 2.0/content update. Did some modes become no longer necessary and others redundant? Any info that you could share would be great!! Keep up the great work, as your insight always makes CS2 more enjoyable to play!!

[@CityPlannerPlays]

Thanks for the kind words! The update did make a number of mods redundant, and other have been depreciated. I'll get an updated video soon!

[@breakingthenumbers3367]

Hi, I have watched your channel since the first video and thank you for your help for noobs like me as it comes to this game even after a couple of years of playing. I need to ask two questions. Am I to understand that on an old system that I have this game most likely not work? Also, and I saw your comment below, that once the mods are downloaded they stay on the computer. Because how I use windows. Once the mods are downloaded would I need internet connection to a server or any other place to make them or the game work? Thank you for your answer and keep up the videos that are helping many here.

[@tomfranz8365]

Thanks for the collection CPP. As a side note, I hate the search function within the mod browser.

[@CityPlannerPlays]

Thank you and I completely agree. It's about a million times better in both Skyve and on the website. Not sure why it is so bad within the game itself.

[@moo1253]

Thanks for the informative vid yet again. Added these mods to the list for when I finally purchase the game...After CO/Paradox fix their bugs 🐛 ....Until then....CS1 it is 😀

[@Bulkinc]

really good video thanks Phill

[@dominicanfrankster]

It might actually be time to get CS2. Thanks for restoring my hope. Thank you modders, too

[@sgxpress95]

I have some of the mods installed and was wary of adding other mentioned mods since there isn't much information. But after watching this video and learning how the mods complement each other, cant wait to add them and make full use.

[@uselessvad2444]

Mods make games a lot easier and better looking. You can customize everything to your liking

[@inyobill]

It helps mimic real-world (lane management, others)

[@Nerderkips]

Ngl paradox mods seems so much better than steam workshop, i was so sceptical at first but its nice

[@avrilashobbychannel808]

When you use Better Bulldozer on a cim or dog, are they absolutely gone or just sent home? We have a savefile with a dog stuck at the cemetery -- we think he might have followed his person there, bc when we first noticed him, the household he was associated had one adult and one child, like the other parent had died. I would feel bad about deleting him, but if he teleports home I could take headcanon that animal control collected and returned him.

[@avrilashobbychannel808]

Hey, good news!!! I loaded up an old savefile to try, and both people and dogs get teleported home!

[@simonnylund]

Thank you so much for showing me how to delete those maps I for the life of me could not figure out how to get rid of!

[@MatteoBucci95]

I must admit, I tried using the mods but I didn't managed to see 5% of what you have shown. This video really shows how the foundation of the game are there, and theres a ton of direction the game can improve for the next 10 years. My only concern at the moment is the managerial part of the game: when I play I feel guilty to even put an asset if I'm not billed for that. If such flexibility on props come completely for free, like landscaping and most of the things you can do, how can I get the nice managerial challenge I'm looking for?

[@hakizuri]

OMG thank you. The zoning part is so frustating

[@bbbenj]

Very useful, thanks.

[@stevekirkby6570]

Very useful, thanks bid!

[@Macronaso]

The #1 recommended mod for the Mod Manager we've waited for months and surely took a huge chunk of development time from CS2 is... a third party mod manager. I don't have to wonder why the game is in the state it's in.

[@infamouschris8607]

For all who searching for, Legacy Flavour is deleted. Most of the functions can be found in a couple different mods.

[@jetswift]

Thank you so much, you're the best!

[@SparkyTheSKUM]

Great run-through!!! Very concise & informative!

[@fernandojcatalano]

Hi Phil! First of all, great videos! Second, I'm having a problem that I see you are not having, but I can't find out why. (maybe your comunity knows) I use almost the same mods as you, I started a city in a modified map of Keyford, and I'm about 16k population in a Great Town. But it doesn't matter what I do, I don't get Low Residential demand! I'm trying everything I find in the web, but nothing seems to bring back the demand. Any clue?