Guten Tag and welcome to the Developer Diary for the German Region Pack. Today, we will delve into the creation journey of this latest addition to Paradox Mods, marking the second of our Region packs. The German Pack was crafted by Armesto, Feindbold, and Titan – familiar names from the Cities: Skylines workshop. We’re thrilled to bring you another iteration of content for our beloved city builder.
If you haven’t done so yet, feel free to download the pack now!
Our aim is to illustrate the stylistic choices we made, the rationale behind the selection of buildings, and the challenges, learning curves, and obstacles encountered in crafting these models.
Initially, before commencing work on the pack, we needed to settle on a style. As those who are either from or have visited Germany might know, there is no definitive “German” style. The country represents a mosaic of diverse landscapes, regions, dialects, and architectural styles. You’ll notice abundant use of brick in the north, while the south is known for its traditional half-timbered houses – though these are broad generalizations.
Diverse architectural styles in German cities.
Globally, Germany is often linked with these charming half-timbered houses. However, such structures are a rare sight in larger urban areas today – which is precisely Cities: Skylines II’s mission, after all. To forge dynamic neighborhoods brimming with life, something more robust is required.
Introducing “Gründerzeit,” a term enveloping the architectural styles dominant around the late 19th century – a period marked by cities bursting beyond their ancient cores amidst industrialization. Extensive grids of streets emerged on meadows, enticing developers to settle and bring vitality.
German Gründerzeit architecture
There isn’t a singular German style; however, there exists a prevalent style apt for any region within Germany. Furthermore, while certain styles may be notable in churches, some in palaces, and some in ancient coastal towns – “Gründerzeit” suits every function and purpose. As cities expanded, every conceivable type of structure was required to serve the influx of new citizens modernizing city services – a narrative familiar to us in Cities: Skylines.
This visual style was thus established, and our objective crystallized. The subsequent step was compiling diverse examples for each building type we sought to include – from service buildings to iconic landmarks and zones.
Illustration from an early planning document.
Years have passed since then, and things have evolved. Our team has undergone some changes over the years, altering the scope and scheme of our pack. Ultimately, we encompassed the most crucial services and zones to convey the essence necessary for a city to feel unequivocally German. We chose structures from Braunschweig, Berlin, Dresden, and Leipzig to encapsulate the spirit of Germany. You decide our success, but you’ll find they cohesively blend, forming a cityscape characteristically German – with influences spanning to Polish, Czech, or Austrian environments.
The development phase began with strategic planning and asset fabrication
Despite our limited understanding of creating content for Cities: Skylines II back then, planning commenced in early 2020. Fortunately, Colossal Order furnished us with detailed early documentation and guidelines, enabling us to establish our production methodologies.
Adapting to the technical specifications required us to significantly modify our workflow from established Cities: Skylines procedures. Noteworthy differences in the sequel include higher model complexity limitations and a transition to square 4096×4096 textures. Some tweaks to our UV mapping techniques were also essential.
Lacking access to the game then, we turned to various tools and engines to gain a comprehensive grasp of how assets and materials appear and behave in a PBR environment. For instance, we utilized Twinmotion, a visualization software powered by UnrealEngine.
Diverse German Pack buildings in a PBR setting.
Our team was renowned and accustomed to exceedingly intricate meshes, even by Cities: Skylines standards. The most substantial adjustment in mesh fidelity was adapting to the novel parallax window system.
Showcasing German Pack Team workshop content in Cities: Skylines.
Windows necessitate separate meshes, mandating detailed modeling of each frame to ensure seamless transitions. Since possible window frames multiply considerably with more intricate structures, detailing these frames can substantially deplete the available budget, necessitating innovative techniques. Some structures boast up to 250 window frames, so economizing a few triangles for each frame markedly decreases the building’s overall complexity by thousands of triangles.
Three distinct window frame types reapplicable across building facades.
Upon acquiring access to the editor, we commenced importing assets and initiating propping. Most assets were pre-complete, prompting a preliminary quality assessment by importing each asset and capturing screenshots of potential issues for later correction.
The editor workflow was streamlined to bolster efficiency. Given the German Pack’s reliance on color maps for facade variety, setting up color variations aesthetically pleasing in-game was paramount. Finalized color variations were saved as hex codes to facilitate easy transfer to other assets.
The next phase involved the propping of assets. Ten to twenty assets were prepared simultaneously for this step, with the ultimate action being the duplication of L1 and L3 as L2 and L4, akin to what’s standard in the base game, forming a cohesive set.
A selection of German Pack structures within the editor, propped together in L5, L3, and L1 levels.
The German pack introduces two zoning categories: a medium-density zone and a mixed-density zone. The medium-density zone draws inspiration from dense “Gründerzeit” districts encircling urban centers throughout Germany.
The height of these structures often hints at the city’s size they inhabit, or for larger cities, their proximity to the city center. Typically, smaller German towns feature three-story structures, medium-sized cities host four-story buildings, whereas inner-city buildings sometimes rise up to five stories. Contrastingly, in Berlin, these five-story buildings may appear up to 10 km from the core. Thus, our buildings commence with three floors at Level 1, elevating subsequently at Level 3 and Level 5.
Compact clusters of the medium residential zone.
Compact clusters of the medium residential zone.
The mixed zone portrays slightly less detailed buildings from the early 1910s, constrained by various technical limitations associated with mixed zones.
Dense groups within the mixed zone.
The German Pack incorporates three iconic buildings, each serving a commercial function.
An expansive 1920s German department store inspired by Karstadt am Hermannplatz.
A corner department store drawing inspiration from early 1900s architecture.
A department store derived from early 1900s architectural trends.
Emphasis was placed on service buildings complementing the “Gründerzeit” setting while providing essential services. Each service building offers a minimum of two intriguing upgrades. The pack includes:
- Firehouse and Fire Station
- Police Station and Police Headquarters
- Elementary School, High School
- Train Station
Fire station, Elementary School, and Police Headquarters, each portrayed with their upgrades.
A modest German firehouse accommodating several fire engines.
A grand German station housing numerous fire engines, inspired by a Leipzig fire station.
The fully upgraded Elementary School and –
– the fully upgraded High School.
An expansive urban German police headquarters. Upgradable with an office extension and extended garages, modeled after a Braunschweig police building.
A modest German local police station.
Our Region Packs initiative kicked off in 2020, soon after confirming Cities: Skylines II’s development. Our target was to provide specialized content crafted by adept community members for everyone’s enjoyment in Cities: Skylines II. We are elated that this creation is now available for players and fans alike.
We trust that the entire Cities: Skylines community relishes the fruits of this endeavor. As the German team, we eagerly anticipate producing more content for Cities: Skylines II!
Thank you for reading, and we invite you to share any feedback or inquiries in this thread or on the PDX forums. Connect with us also on the Cities: Skylines Modding Discord and PDXMods.
Modding Discord – https://discord.gg/ExfdGrYvS4
Armesto PDXMods – https://mods.paradoxplaza.com/authors/AArmesto
Feindbold PDXMods – https://mods.paradoxplaza.com/authors/Feindbold
Titan PDXMods – https://mods.paradoxplaza.com/authors/_Titann_
In a fortnight, we embark on our next adventure. Prepare your teabags and kettles as we journey to the UK!