Greetings to all, and a warm welcome to this week’s developer diary for the USA Southwest Pack! BadPeanut here, ready to provide insights into the making of this thrilling new pack. Let’s dive into the creative process behind it.
As I pen the final two developer diaries for both the Southwest and Northeast packs, you might observe some overlapping content between them.
This pack is presently available, without any charge, on Paradox Mods: https://mods.paradoxplaza.com/mods/101898/Windows
An impressive assembly of creators joined forces to make these packs a reality! The principal team behind the Southwest Pack comprises Badi_dea, BadPeanut, Bsquiklehausen, Darf, Gèze, Gruny, King Leno, and Smilies.
Many of you might recognize Badi_dea from various community initiatives, especially their innovative Parking Lot Roads, which revolutionized our ability to construct realistic parking solutions. Along with numerous intelligent, network-based assets, Badi_dea also focused on industrial assets, collaborating on an oil refinery with other acclaimed community creators.
You’re likely familiar with my array of train stations, stadiums, and vehicles available over time on my Cities: Skylines workshop, in addition to the two Content Creator Packs I released: Train Stations and Sports Venues.
Known for their remarkable, transit-themed models, often inspired by real-life American infrastructure, Bsquiklehausen needs little introduction. In 2022, they crafted the outstanding Content Creator Pack Vehicles of the World, showcasing an extensive variety of vehicles. Bsquiklehausen also narrates the trailers for both USA Region Packs and manages a YouTube channel focusing on Cities: Skylines, transportation, and the occasional Lego project!
Darf’s contribution to the Cities: Skylines community emphasizes creating meticulously accurate and intricately detailed structures, often drawing inspiration from real buildings in the United States. Whether crafting a vibrant urban district or a historic city center, Darf offers comprehensive coverage.
Fresh from their exceptional work on the French Pack, Gèze returns for the Southwest pack – we are immensely grateful for it! Their attention to detail, accuracy, and passion for architecture is instrumental in this effort. Gèze was also responsible for the Seaside Resorts pack in 2022, featuring heritage-style buildings from the US.
Also joining us from the French Pack, Gruny has already left a significant impression. Their previous contributions to the Cities: Skylines community include an impressive collection of Parisian assets, vehicles, commercial assets, residential buildings, and inventive props.
Known for two standout Content Creator Packs, University City and Shopping Mall, King Leno’s workshop teems with American-influenced assets. Their modding career spans a substantial 400 contributions, ranging from suburban elements to infrastructure, medium- and high-rise buildings, offices, parks, and beyond.
Finally, may we introduce Smilies! With nearly 400 contributions, Smilies is another prolific creator, and their assets are likely familiar to many of you. Focused predominantly on American architecture, their workshop features a diverse array of low-density housing typical of “American dream” living, alongside higher-density options and small-town commercial assets.
Working alongside these talents has been a genuine pleasure. Knowing them over the years makes it gratifying to see what we can accomplish as a cohesive team!
The team overlap for both USA packs was significant, leading us to approach them as complementary “Parts 1 and 2.” While each pack’s contents are specific to different US regions, they integrate seamlessly, mirroring the architectural diversity across America.
The decision to create two distinct packs stemmed from the United States’ immense diversity, avoiding the constraints of a singular pack. This split allowed an expanded range of assets across both packs, capturing unique regional characteristics more effectively.
Southwest content organization
We used a storyboard organizer during planning to log various references that would serve as inspiration and to monitor individual progress in crafting complete meshes and textures.
Collaborating through video calls – an enjoyable venture during pandemic restrictions – we explored intriguing locations on Google Maps to identify architectural examples we wanted to include. We then documented images and links in posts on the board, allowing each member to claim a project. Some landmarks you see were born from these inspirations, while others await future exploration.
Aiming for more low-rise buildings in the Southwest pack, we included some high-density structures, yet smaller in stature compared to the Northeast “Part 2” pack.
Unique to the Southwest pack is the introduction of a zone not represented in the Northeast: Low Density Housing. We focused on the sprawling suburbs common in the Southwest, offering tools to craft urban sprawl to your vision.
The array of features in the USA Southwest Pack includes:
- Service Buildings
- Signature Buildings
- Zones:
- Low Density Housing
- Medium Density Row Housing
- Medium Density Housing
- Mixed Housing
- High Density Housing
- Low Density Offices
- Low Density Business
Below, my fellow team members have shared their firsthand experiences in developing some of the assets they chose to work on for the pack. Please note that some assets were in progress when I requested their input, and not all may be in the final pack. However, we hope to see them in future projects!
With extensive experience in IT consulting across the USA, I aimed to contribute five distinct office styles to the USA Southwest Region Pack.
Starting with something small, the first office merges a bistro and office, envisioning employees dashing down for lunch at their desks while juggling spreadsheets.
Office Style 01
Echoing the ubiquitous appearance of numerous bank branches, the second office features a rounded front theme, common along the West Coast and Rockies.
Office Style 02
To encapsulate that quintessential Corporate America vibe, some remarkably nondescript offices were necessary, crafted intentionally to appear as unremarkable as possible.
Office Style 03
Undoubtedly the most unique of the series, this office became my personal favorite, meticulously planned for a sophisticated leveling progression.
As you may observe, the levels of these buildings increase in complexity with each advancement. This is most evident here, with each ascending level adding architectural intricacies.
Office Style 04
The final addition in this series conveys my strategy to incorporate subtle prestige indicators for each building level. This includes darker paved parking areas, signifying recent surfacing, and more pronounced landscaping as levels progress.
Office Style 05
Creating these assets was immensely gratifying, and I hope you enjoy utilizing them!
Among my contributions was the USA SW High School, rooted in an inspiration from an Arizona-based school. Initially in development, when Cities: Skylines lacked the upgrade system we see now with expandable sub-buildings around a central structure, I designed the high school’s primary lot to be quite expansive. This empowers players to enhance city capacity significantly.
USA SW High School
Later updates to Cities: Skylines II introduced a feature allowing sub-buildings to be placed within a defined radius, yet I retained the vast size of the primary lot. I developed several sub-building variations, crafting a dynamic high school campus that offers players exceptional flexibility for designing educational spaces.
USA SW High School Sub Buildings
Conjuring an iteration of the General Hospital, inspired by the Los Angeles Medical Center, was a longstanding aspiration of mine, albeit a challenging one with the first Cities: Skylines.
Sporting a colossal footprint, approximately 180,000 tris, this structure has the largest area of any American building in the pack—it’s indeed a giant. My modeling began in SketchUp with texturing in Photoshop and Blender, refining the concrete materials multiple times until I attained the desired look.
Rich with Art Deco influences, careful panel painting aimed to make the building’s architectural details truly standout. The window frames, crafted with golden metallic material, capture an essence of Art Deco that wasn’t achievable in the original Cities: Skylines.
USA SW Central Hospital
Balancing propping within the game, particularly due to extensions, was challenging yet illuminating regarding network mechanics. An abundance of props represents the significant number of HVAC bays adorning the building.
USA SW Central Hospital
This model’s creation spanned several years, culminating during a two-week modeling session in 2023. I’m hopeful you’ll appreciate the effort poured into bringing this model to life.
Post-French Pack, my tasks extended into both USA packs. For the USA Southwest, my assignment of a mixed residential building allowed minimal restrictions in asset creation.
The textures introduced in this package offer extensive recoloring options, facilitating excellent integration with existing game assets.
Mixed Housing
My initial reference, though not a mixed residential in nature, was optimized to seamlessly adapt to in-game mechanics. This involved adjustments to ground-floor height, element spacing, and decor while preserving the overarching building shape.
Mixed Housing with Fire Escapes
Art Deco facades, interspersed with fire escape ladders, mirror common architectural features along the West Coast. Roof curvatures, subtle yet substantial, enhance authenticity and aesthetic integrity within the final design.
Mixed Housing rooftop detail
Drawing from Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and San Antonio, my Southwestern-themed assets embody influences from within and beyond the Southwest, including coastal cities with Spanish architectural elements. Stucco walls and terracotta roofs, prevalent across the Southwest, underscore the intended thematic integrity. Selected homes cater to diverse environments: desert, urban, and tropical.
Low Density Housing
Modern, vibrant apartment buildings exemplify Medium Density zoning, blending harmoniously across U.S. locales. While some assets support wall-to-wall configurations, others serve just as effectively as stand-alones. Strategic road placement unlocks sprawling apartment community possibilities.
Medium Density Housing
The primary challenge in crafting substantial assets within the initial Cities: Skylines was managing prop constraints per building. In contrast, Cities: Skylines II embraces intricately detailed props, streamlining the creation process considerably. Efforts focused on adeptly navigating and controlling the ample prop library proved instructive, as did utilizing surfaces, pathways, effects, and area markings within each asset.
This expansive apartment complex features pedestrian networks weaving between buildings distanced from the main street. Striving for path symmetry and large surface alignment required significant trial and error, culminating in a collective 155 surface areas containing up to 96 nodes for any singular large area.
Low Rent Signature Buildings
My focus was primarily on low-density residences, medium-density, and mixed-use residential structures for this locale. The stylistic blend encompasses the Spanish Revival houses seen across California and Craftsman-style dwellings prevalent in Washington.
Low Density Housing
Initial efforts poured into low-density housing acquainted me with the tools of the trade. Error-laden forays into Substance Painter and Substance Designer were best reserved for these smaller structures, ensuring high-rise modifications weren’t necessitated later.
However, for medium and mixed-residential narratives, pristine modern architecture took precedence, heavily influenced by Los Angeles’ aesthetic.
Medium Density Housing
Medium Density Housing and Mixed Housing
Color variation mechanics in this iteration substantially elevated design potential. It delivers a broad spectrum of paint schemes across low, medium, and mixed-density categories.
However, not all corners are devoted to sleek modernism!
Mixed Housing
It’s BadPeanut, back at the helm as we conclude this week’s developer diary. Rest assured, I’ll return alongside our brilliant creators to delve further into the USA Northeast Pack journey, scheduled for release next Monday, March 3, 2025! Until then, enjoy exploring the dynamic possibilities with the USA Southwest Pack, now accessible on Paradox Mods: https://mods.paradoxplaza.com/mods/101898/Windows