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When players ofCities: Skylinesreachthe Tiny Town milestone, they unlock a new feature called landscaping. The name doesn’t say much, but the landscaping feature has the potential to be the most game-breaking aspect of an unmodded playthrough.
Using the tools in the landscaping toolbox,Cities: Skylinesplayers can redirect rivers, clear and flatten land for development, build right up to the edge of the water, and even cause natural disasters without getting the DLC. These tools can also create pedestrian-only pathways that can create shortcuts and discourage driving. But all of this depends on knowing what these tools are and how best to use them.
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Landscaping Tools
The first tab in the landscaping menu is, quite naturally, the landscaping tools tab. The options in this tab are all about changing the land height in different ways. The first tool lets players raise and lower the height of a single spot using a primary and secondary button. On PC, these are the main two mouse buttons. Players can also change the brush width and strength using the options on the left, and these changes apply to all the landscaping features in this tab.
The next option is to level terrain, which can be very helpful when players are getting an area ready for a new development. Players must use the secondary button to set the preferred terrain height and then hold down the primary button to move the terrain up or down to reach that level.
Option three is to soften terrain. This keeps the general difference in height between two areas, but it makes the slope between both heights smoother. For this function, the secondary button has a stronger effect. Players can think of this option as working the same as level terrain but without having to set a preferred altitude. That means this function works best on hilly terrain.
The last option is called “slope terrain.” Like with level terrain, players use the secondary button to set a specific height and location and then the primary button will create a smooth slope that rises up or down to the chosen location. Players who don’t want to spend money on flattening an entire mountain can use this function to create a gentle path that a road or a railroad can traverse.
One last thing players should note about this tab is the “soil availability” bar that appears in the upper left. At the start of each game, this bar begins at the halfway point, and it goes down as players raise terrain and goes up when players lower terrain. If the bar ever completely fills or empties, players will need to choose one of the buttons next to the bar to get rid of excess dirt or get a new supply. This is to encourage players to act realistically by either digging up dirt from elsewhere on the map or depositing piles of the stuff to clear it out. Doing either ismuch cheaper than pressing those buttons.
Pedestrian Paths
The second tab in landscaping is for pedestrian paths. These paths come in concrete and gravel, but either way they give pedestrians a way to walk between roads without letting car traffic through. This can be a very effective way to connect dead-end roads to main roads while keeping road traffic down and encouraging people to walk instead. A full set of pedestrian paths and walking options are available inthe Plazas and Promenades expansion, but even the base game has something to offer.
However, players may need to turn snapping completely off when placing pedestrian paths (check the square button on the lower left). Pedestrian paths can go close to streets to connect them, but they aren’t allowed to overlap, and snappingwill cause this to happen more often than not.
Players can alsoraise and lower pathsto create overpasses and underpasses. This can keep pedestrians out of crosswalks so they don’t slow down traffic, but there needs to be plenty of open space on both sides of the road.
Trees and Rocks
If players haveone of the right expansions, they’ll get fences that allow players to permanently block zone squares so they don’t accidentally get filled in. Aside from that, the next four tabs all have various trees, rocks, and other natural decorations.
For the most part, these objects are only useful as decorations. However, enough trees in one spot can reduce noise pollution, and player-planted trees can support a forestry industry just as well as the natural treesthat start on the map. The best way to cut noise pollution from roads is to upgrade to roads with tree decorations, but quiet neighborhoods can benefit from a large screen of trees between them and commercial zones.
Water Structures
The last tab in landscaping (at least in the unmodded base game) is water structures. The first option in this list is the quay, which players can build along the shores of rivers, lakes, and other waterfronts. As the description says, quays flatten out the adjacent land, making it much easier to add construction zones right up to the water’s edge. Since waterfront property is always worth more, a quay is very much worth the investment.
Players can also use this tab to build canals of various depths and widths. Players can use canals to bring ferries and cargo ships to locations they otherwise couldn’t reach, making them an alternative to other forms of mass transit. However, players should keep in mind that ferries and ships will only appear when cities have at least one dock and an active connection to a shipping lane.
Something else to be careful ofis the water physics. When players first open a new canal, water will rush in and spill out the other side, which can cause flooding. The water level should eventually even out, but a shallow canal connected to a fast-moving river may end up flooding regularly as water keeps splashing in too fast for the canal to control. This is why canals have several depth options. Water will also come flooding out when players destroy a canal.
Another option is the flood wall, which is also available in this tab. The flood wall adds extra height next to a canal and can help keep the water from overflowing. It’s also sometimes useful against tsunamis, assuming players havethe Natural Disasters expansion.
Cities: Skylinesis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
