With the introduction of 8 fresh road types and the innovative Traffic Routes feature, managing the flow of vehicles in your city becomes more intuitive. New Parking Lots, Halls, and Roads offer diverse and adaptable solutions for urban parking, while unique cul-de-sac designs add authenticity to suburban areas. Additionally, the Line Tool and Roadside Tree Selector provide creative opportunities for city decoration, complemented by 10 Pocket Parks that integrate seamlessly into various locales. Without further delay, let’s delve into the specifics.
Efficient traffic management is crucial for a thriving city, yet understanding traffic patterns and implementing improvements can be challenging. The Traffic Routes tool comes to the rescue. By selecting any vehicle, pedestrian, road, or building, you can access the Toggle Traffic Routes button in the Selected Info Panel. Activating this option reveals the traffic paths for the chosen item, organized by type: Road, Water, Air, Rail, and Pedestrian, each represented by a distinct color for easy differentiation. Heavier traffic is indicated by thicker lines, allowing you to quickly pinpoint your busiest routes and make adjustments as necessary.
Traffic Routes illustrating how neighborhood traffic channels into a main thoroughfare.
In terms of road enhancements, you’re now offered 8 new road types. These range from compact, one-tile-wide one-way roads to larger options. For rural settings or cost-conscious decisions, the One-Way Gravel Road is ideal for directing traffic. Its paved counterpart, the One-Way Alley, is perfect for constricted urban streets, both providing roadside parking to accommodate citizens. If pedestrian access is the priority, the new Small Pedestrian Street may be of interest, designed as one-way to favor foot traffic, requiring an alternate route for service vehicles.
Pedestrianize your lanes or control traffic in rural zones with the new one-way road options.
Moreover, an assortment of 5 new asymmetric roads expands the variety of lanes available for Medium Roads, Large Roads, and Highways. The Four-Lane Asymmetric Road is optimal for routes with heavy one-directional flow, utilizing a 3-plus-1 lane configuration. In the domain of large roads, options have increased to include the Six-Lane Asymmetric Road, with 4 lanes in one direction and 2 in the other, and the Seven-Lane Asymmetric Road, offering a 5-plus-2 lane structure. Additionally, there are 2 new asymmetric highways, well-suited for densely built urban areas needing extensive highway lanes. The Four-Lane Asymmetric Highway also adopts a 3-plus-1 lane system, and the Five-Lane Asymmetric Highway provides a 3-plus-2 configuration.
Asymmetric Roads add extra lanes for turns in busy junctions.
Our exploration of new roads continues with the addition of specialized Parking Roads, designed to increase available parking spaces compared to standard road alternatives. Featuring both perpendicular and angled parking options, we introduce 12 new parking roads, enabling highly adaptable parking lot creation. Design winding parking for attractions, compact alleys behind commercial properties, or align transportation hubs with new parking solutions. In the Small Roads category, you’ll find Two-Lane Parking Roads, Two-Lane Divided Parking Roads, One-Way One-Lane Parking Roads, Parking Alleys, and One-Way Parking Alleys. For Medium Roads, their counterparts include Four-Lane Parking Roads, accommodating both parking orientations.
Craft customized parking lots of various shapes and dimensions with the new parking roads.
If prefabricated parking lots appeal to you, or if you seek additional variety, 9 new parking lots and halls await. Starting with smaller options, the Small and Medium Gravel Parking Lots suit rural vibes, while the Small and Medium Single-Row Parking Lots offer straightforward paved solutions. Added to this is the Moderate Parking Lot, providing an intermediate choice between Medium and Large Parking Lots.
Gravel parking lots offer an economical alternative with diverse appearances.
Do you seek features befitting a large, modern city? The Solar Panel-Covered Parking Lots, available in small and medium sizes, are energy-efficient and prioritize electric vehicle use, aligning perfectly with an eco-conscious cityscape. If maximizing downtown parking is your goal, the two new parking halls may be the solution. At half the size, the Small Parking Building offers a capacity comparable to the Medium Parking Lot, while the Multi-Level Parking Building is scalable to host 300 spaces.
Elevate your city’s parking capabilities with the Multi-Level Parking Building and Solar Panel-Covered Lots.
Before concluding our discussion on parking, let’s touch on Service Vehicle Parking. Base game service structures that deploy vehicles, such as police stations or hospitals, now come fitted with allocated spaces for service vehicles when inactive. While some buildings allocate parking resources internally, most buildings now exhibit parking for related service vehicles. Re-plopping existing buildings may be required to utilize these new features, after which you can witness patrol cars and taxis embarking on their city duties from updated facilities.
Observe the flow of service vehicles from newly provided parking spaces, like taxis departing from the rejuvenated Small Taxi Depot.
Transitioning from paved areas to verdant zones, let’s explore the 10 New Pocket Parks integrated into the base game. As the name indicates, these compact parks are designed to snugly fit between buildings or nestle into corner intersections. With one-tile configurations fitting virtually anywhere, and the 2-by-2 and 1-by-6 varieties offering strategic placement potential, each park is unique, laden with diverse props and textures along with charming flower arrangements and seating facilities. As they belong to the essential Parks & Recreation service, they become available once you attain the Grand Village milestone.
The new pocket parks come in varied sizes, shapes, and designs to accommodate any space.
Though not technically parks, roundabout embellishments enhance city streets with colorful accents and Detailer’s Patch #2 introduces 7 new variations. Each offers 4 size options, ensuring there’s a suitable fit for every intersection. The Striped Roundabout featuring a Flower Bed, or the Mosaic Roundabout, for instance, provides varied stylistic choices. Alongside roundabout decoration, a novel Roads menu category is introduced: Cul-de-sacs. Within this section, discover 3 innovative designs that function similarly to roundabouts but are tailored specifically for cul-de-sac setups. While the Asphalt variant lends a classic paved appearance, Grass and Tree variants introduce more vitality to dead-end streets.
Personalize your city with select roundabout and cul-de-sac designs to suit your urban style.
A “Detailer’s Patch” wouldn’t be complete without tools for enhancing city minutiae. Continuing with the theme of roads, we bring you the Line Tool and Roadside Tree Selector. The Line Tool is accessible when selecting a tree or prop and located alongside single placement or brush options. It features Straight and Curve functions, allowing adjustment of spacing. With trees specifically, various life stages can be selected, making it easy to plant tree lines that harmonize with the landscape.
Add lines of trees easily, adjusting distance to suit your vision.
The Roadside Tree Selector gives you comparable control, enabling selection of tree stages added to roads. Choose your favorite tree and apply it to chosen road segments. Existing roadside trees can be upgraded to your selection, and trees can be added to roads irrespective of existing tree upgrades, using this method, simplifying the addition of preferred tree varieties to roads. Much like the tree road upgrade feature, you control which road sides receive trees, including medians on supported roads. Moreover, all assets from the Vegetation menu are compatible with the Roadside Tree Selector, allowing for bush-lined roads if desired.
Choose any tree and effortlessly add it to your roads with a click.
This concludes our development diary and comprehensive overview of what’s in store with Detailer’s Patch #2. In tandem with these newfound features, a host of bug fixes are detailed in the patch notes, available upon release. We eagerly anticipate seeing the imaginative ways you’ll utilize these tools. Which feature are you most excited to implement? Share your thoughts in the comments.