Cities: Skylines II News

Additional information regarding malware suspicion on the Mod “Traffic” on Cities: Skylines II.

Over the weekend, we have had our experts - along with other DFIR teams - investigating the file, and we believe our initial suspicion of malware was accurate. While we cannot 100% confirm its purpose as of yet, our current belief is that it is a file designed to target Crypto Wallets on exposed systems, specifically Exodus crypto wallet. Regardless of whether this turns out to be confirmed or not, the file has enough suspicious activity that it should still be considered harmful.


Since our initial identification of the .dll file, 30 out of 72 security vendors now flag it as malware in their scans. Please update your antivirus/antimalware software as a general preventative measure. All mods uploaded to Paradox mods always get run through a virus scan as a general precaution.

If you have not read the original alert, you can find it here and the additional update with the precautions put in place since 24-11-01:

• We have conducted a specific, thorough scan of other files on the Paradox Mods platform for this malicious file, and no other mods appear to have it.
  
• We have worked in close cooperation with the author of the affected Mod “Traffic” to ensure their account is secure and no further tampering should occur with their work.
  

We will continue to share updates as we receive them, and we thank you for your cooperation.

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Original statement shared on 2024-10-31:

Important update for all Cities: Skylines II Players:

There is a potential security issue that has affected the “Traffic” mod for Cities: Skylines II. Late Monday evening, an outside actor pushed an update to the mod, which includes a .dll file which we believe is malicious. We have already removed it and the current version as of 2024-10-31 15:35 CET is safe to download and use, but if your mod synced and you played the game using the mod between Monday and then, there is a possibility that you may have the malicious file.

• We are working to determine the nature of this .dll, and we will update you as soon as possible. In the meantime, please take the following steps as soon as possible to secure your system:
  
• If you have not played with the Traffic mod and have not subscribed nor downloaded it, there should be no risk to your system and nothing you need to do.
  
• If you have the Traffic mod and have not played Cities: Skylines 2 between Monday and today, let the mod sync as normal, and the malicious file should be deleted automatically. Please still scan your system with an anti-malware program like Windows Defender.
  
• If you have played using the affected version, please check your local files. If you have any malicious files installed, you will find them here; %AppData%\LocalLow\Colossal Order\Cities Skylines II\.cache\Mods\mods_subscribed\80095_13.
  
• Note that it is only specifically the 80095_13 folder that will contain malicious files; if you do not see this folder, you do not have the compromised version of the mod.
  
• If you do locate this folder, use an antivirus or antimalware program to quarantine it and/or remove it from your system, and run a thorough scan of your drives.
  
• As a precaution, we recommend changing your passwords.
  

We are working on the following steps to ensure you can enjoy our mods safely and securely:

• We will be going through all files uploaded to Paradox Mods and see if any other mods have had unexpected updates.
  
• We have contacted the modder whose mod was compromised and discussed our recommended steps to secure their account. They have updated Traffic to a safe version, so anyone playing with version v.0.2.4 is playing with a safe version.
  
• Paradox Mods will receive an update that notifies modders when their mods have been updated so that creators are quickly alerted to changes they have not personally made.
  

Sharing creative game content is at the heart of our community at Paradox, and we will continue to ensure you can explore mods safely.

As an important reminder, do not share your account information or passwords with anyone; we will never directly ask for your password or personal information.

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Update added on 2024-11-01:

We are still working to determine the nature of the malicious file that was added to the “Traffic” mod. As a rule, all mods uploaded to Paradox mods have always been run through a virus scan as a general precaution. We are hard at work to secure our platform against further issues.

Since our original alert, we have taken the following steps to ensure the safety of our community:

• We have conducted a specific, thorough scan of other files on the Paradox Mods platform for this malicious file, and no other mods appear to have it.
  
• We have worked in close cooperation with the author of the affected Mod “Traffic” to ensure their account is secure and no further tampering should occur with their work.
  
• We have engaged a team of IT experts to analyze the malicious file and better understand any current and subsequent risks it may pose.
  
• 
  

As of now, the precautions we suggested in our original statement are still suggested in order to protect your system. Cities: Skylines II should be perfectly safe to play, and will not put you at further risk. We will issue further updates when our security experts have finished their thorough analysis.

There is a potential security issue that has affected the “Traffic” mod for Cities: Skylines II. Late Monday evening, an outside actor pushed an update to the mod, which includes a .dll file which we believe is malicious. We have already removed it and the current version as of 2024-10-31 15:35 CET is safe to download and use, but if your mod synced and you played the game using the mod between Monday and then, there is a possibility that you may have the malicious file.

We are working to determine the nature of this .dll, and we will update you as soon as possible. In the meantime, please take the following steps as soon as possible to secure your system:

• If you have not played with the Traffic mod and have not subscribed nor downloaded it, there should be no risk to your system and nothing you need to do.
  
• If you have the Traffic mod and have not played Cities: Skylines 2 between Monday and today, let the mod sync as normal, and the malicious file should be deleted automatically. Please still scan your system with an anti-malware program like Windows Defender.
  
• If you have played using the affected version, please check your local files. If you have any malicious files installed, you will find them here; %localappdata%low\Colossal Order\Cities Skylines II\.cache\Mods\mods_subscribed\ inside the folder 80095_13 Note that it is only specifically the 80095_13 folder that will contain malicious files; if you do not see this folder, you do not have the compromised version of the mod.
  If you do locate this folder, use an antivirus or antimalware program to quarantine it and/or remove it from your system, and run a thorough scan of your drives.
• As a precaution, we recommend changing your passwords.
  

We are working on the following steps to ensure you can enjoy our mods safely and securely:

• We will be going through all files uploaded to Paradox Mods and see if any other mods have had unexpected updates.
  
• We have contacted the modder whose mod was compromised and discussed our recommended steps to secure their account. They have updated Traffic to a safe version, so anyone playing with version v.0.2.4 is playing with a safe version.
  
• Paradox Mods will receive an update that notifies modders when their mods have been updated so that creators are quickly alerted to changes they have not personally made.
  

Sharing creative game content is at the heart of our community at Paradox, and we will continue to ensure you can explore mods safely.

As an important reminder, do not share your account information or passwords with anyone; we will never directly ask for your password or personal information.

We’ve made it to our first stop on our journey across Cities Around The World, Welcome to France!

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Introducing the French Pack, inspired by Paris's iconic architecture, brings the heart of France straight to your virtual cityscape.

Crafted by our talented community creators, Gèze, Gruny, Jerenable, and REV0, this asset pack invites you to infuse your city with the allure of Parisian streets.

Designed as a starter pack for our mayors, featuring a range of service buildings & 5 different zones, each designed to mirror the vibrant districts of Paris, let the French Pack be your gateway to a city filled with charm and elegance.

Download the pack now for free on Paradox Mods.

Included in the French Pack:
Service Buildings
Zones:
Mixed Housing
Medium Density Housing
Medium Density Row Housing
Low Rent Housing
High Density Offices
Signature Buildings


Creator Dev Diary
We also just released a Creator Dev Diary that takes you behind-the-scenes into the design and development of the French Pack from the creators themselves.
Read the full Dev Diary here - https://pdxint.at/3BROhz5


Stay tuned for Travel Tips
Explore the most exciting ways to integrate French style into your builds! We’ll be sharing design tips and elements to inspire you to make the most of your new assets.

Cities Around the World Giveaway
Remember we’re also kicking off some cool giveaways as we kick off our journey and that can be your chance to play weekly and win exclusive limited-edition CSII collectibles, find out more about the Cities Around The World Giveaway here - https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/join-the-journey-cities-around-the-world-giveaway.1710301/


Stay on top of your travel itinerary
The next pack is the German pack set for release on the 11th of November. Keep an eye on all our social channels for more news, updates and information!
​

Bonjour everyone, and welcome to the first dev diary of the upcoming Region Packs - starting with France. In this thread, we will explain our region pack's background and artistic and technical development process, which is now out on Paradox Mods. Download the pack for free on Paradox Mods. The French team comprises four content creators: Gèze, Gruny, REV0, and Jerenable, with whom you are familiar from Cities: Skylines Workshop. The French Pack includes a variety of zones, including medium row, medium, mixed, office, and low rent, as well as service buildings covering most of your urban needs. Before we get to the details of our pack, let’s talk about the background of Region Pack: France.

Once the French team was created, the area of focus was clear. Paris. The City of Light was selected as it reflected the perfect urban landscape, ideal for Cities Skylines II. The city itself had seen a large-scale urban transformation in the late 19th century under the directives of Eugène Haussmann, the chief architect of Paris. Haussmann oversaw the re-development of Paris and drafted a new city plan, including the large avenues, the many public spaces, and infrastructure, including sewage system and gas lighting across the city, which would later give the city its nickname. He also created an architectural design made for the specific demands of Paris and a building code that would feature central heating systems, tall windows, balconies, and decorated facades.

Haussmann’s mix of classical and modern architecture became the new face of Paris and France. The massive urban planning and the World Expo of Paris in 1889 would set the city at the centre of global attention, setting itself as an example of ideal urban planning and development.



Two examples of building blueprints from Paris.

The historical and cultural background of Paris set the tone for our pack as well. When we were developing our pack, we focused on Haussmannian architecture, aiming to represent this unique and recognizable style in each of our assets. We also picked service buildings that would still look ageless in the context of a city builder game with a contemporary art style and buildings that would make visual sense in terms of the service range and quantity they provide.

Historic blueprints, diagrams, and books were used to set standards for the pack content. Based on these parameters and zoning instructions given by Colossal Order, we started cataloging inspirational material, locations, and buildings and separated them by zone and lot. Later, some members of the team took references on-site during a trip to Paris.



Photo collage from the Paris trip.

Creation of the Pack: Mesh and Texturework
The planning process of region packs started around 2020. At the time, there were a lot of unknowns regarding the development process of a “Cities: Skylines II” asset. However, we were lucky to be provided with early technical documents by Colossal Order. With official specifications in mind, we started to prototype assets. We tried to establish a modeling pipeline to develop the pack content. This involved creating a set of textures and testing them in a PBR-compatible render software since importing them into the game was not possible at the time. This was the phase during which we tried to get used to Cities: Skylines II's different asset creation requirements. Compared to the original game, Cities: Skylines II relies on a higher level of detail, gives the player the ability to get much closer to buildings, and uses a higher standard texture resolution compared to the original game (1024x1024 for the original and 4096x4096 for the sequel).

Aside from the texture resolution, the level of detail on the mesh was also different compared to the original game. This time, elements that were previously textured, such as window frames, handles, and other surface details, would have to be modeled. Anything involving windows would also have to be modeled due to the separation of window glass with the use of a parallax interior shader.



A Cities: Skylines growable vs. The Commercial Signature from our pack – both assets were made by Gèze.

We also switched texturing software for Cities: Skylines II content creation. As Cities: Skylines II is a PBR game, our team switched its pipeline in early development from Photoshop to Substance Painter/Design, which we would use to texture our assets.

Once the basics were established, we developed a texturing pipeline in which we would quickly swap textures per asset when needed. We applied the basics of the trim sheet method, as it’s commonly known in the industry, in which we used a set of tileable textures on assets to maximize the texture space.

To save time and standardize the production quality across all assets and team members, we created a set of meshes that could be used across the pack. This set included roof vents, windows, doors, handles, dormers, rain gutters, and other elements.


Some of the standard elements were created ahead of building production.

Since Haussmannian design relied on decorative elements, we also created around a hundred custom balcony fences and decorative elements to be used on assets. These are based on historical and real-life references, as shown earlier. Aside from fences, a set of corbels and trims were made and then baked to be included in our texture template. Later in production, a set of chimney props and walls were created. Parisian chimneys are a very recognizable part of the roof skyline, and we tried to reflect that as accurately as possible.


A classic Parisian rooftop vs. Region Pack France content.

Creation of the Pack: Propping
Once all the mesh and texture work was completed, we started importing assets into the game. Propping around 400 assets took the team about two weeks.

As mentioned previously, rooftops received special attention since these are the areas that players will see most of the time. They are decorated with a plethora of chimneys and antennas to represent the chaotic rooftops of Paris. For the backyards, we used a variety of base-game hedge lanes and props, benches, surfaces, props, and trees.

Each growable in the French Pack comes with colour variations assigned to different parts of the building, sometimes the ground floor, sometimes doors or window frames, adding an extra layer of variety. We also tried to pay attention to picking neutral and realistic colors, which are common on Parisian streets.


Buildings are plopped in batches in the editor and then propped per set.

Pack Content

Growables
Each Pack in Region Pack comes with their unique zone type, allowing you to zone specifically the content of the region pack in question.

When we picked the zone types, we looked at the most important ones that players would need the moment the game was out. After assessing the art of the vanilla game and available content, the team prioritized the following zone types to provide maximum and coherent custom content in order to create a fully functioning city.


A few different areas with different zones.

The French Pack includes the following zone types:
-Mixed Housing
-Medium Density Housing
-Medium Density Row Housing
-Low Rent Housing
-High Density Offices

The level progression of buildings is represented in various ways, depending on the asset;
-Buildings gain height as they level up,
-Buildings gain decorative elements towards the maximum level,
-Buildings change construction elements towards the maximum level;
-From plaster to brick facades
-From ceramic roofing to zinc roofing

These combinations allowed us to represent the visual evolution of a skyline, from a humble small city on level 1 to a prestigious capitol skyline at level 5.

Aside from the visual changes on mesh/textures, some buildings also have different decorations in backyards to further pronounce the wealth change on buildings. While Level 1 buildings may have basic propping in the backyard, Level 5 buildings are usually decorated with benches, tables, and other elements to make them more interesting.



Buildings at different levels.

Services

We prioritised service buildings that would be the most important in a city, such as healthcare, law enforcement, and education. By including these buildings, we aimed to let players create an artistically cohesive skyline. Therefore, the pack contains the following buildings:
-Fire House and Fire Station
-Police Station and Police Headquarters
-Clinic, Hospital, Crematorium
-Elementary School, High School, College
-Water Tower, Power Station
-Train Station
-City Hall

These buildings also come with upgrades, providing various benefits for the city and boost the services they provide.


From left to right: City Hall, Fire House, Fire Station, and Hospital – default vs. all upgrades applied.

Signatures

The French Pack contains five signature buildings for the following zone types: residential, commercial, and office. The ‘cool’ factor for these buildings was important, as we wanted to pick buildings that would stand out compared to the growable or service assets and immediately give the player visual feedback on which RCOI type these buildings belong to. Aside from looks, signature buildings provide various city effects.


Folies Bèrgere is inspired by its real-life counterpart, located in the 9th Arrondissement of Paris. In real life, Folie Bergère is a music and cabaret hall, but it serves as a commercial signature building in Cities: Skylines II.



Maison des Savoirs Numériques is the office signature building of the pack, and it stands out with its size compared to the modestly sized growable.



Au coin de la Bouteille is the signature residential building of the French Pack. Its bottle-shaped rooftop gives the building its French name.



Café de Paris is one of the two mixed signature buildings. In its backyard, it houses a Parisian café where your citizens can have their breakfast or relax after a busy day.



Le Carré Gastronomique is the second mixed signature building featuring a restaurant establishment on its ground floor.


Team’s Favorites
French pack has more than 400 assets, but of course, we have some favourites to pick:



The train station of French Pack is inspired by the Biarritz station, located southwest of France. Built in a strategic location as a gateway to the Basque Coast, its design and compact size make it suitable for most cities.



City Hall is inspired by the Mairie of Clichy-la-Garenne in Hauts-de-Seine, built in 1878 and expanded in 1907. In Cities: Skylines II, the city hall and its upgrades provide various city effects.



Police Headquarters is based on the actual police headquarters located on Quai de Gesvres. In the game, the building has extra upgrades that increase jail capacity and reduce crime city-wide.




The water tower is inspired by the Neo-Byzantine one atop Montmartre hill in Paris. Its design will make it a landmark wherever it is placed.

Final Notes
The Region Pack initiative started in 2020 following our confirmation that Cities: Skylines II was in development. The goal was to provide custom content created by community veterans ready for the community to enjoy in Cities: Skylines II. We are happy and proud that our work has finally reached its destination and is now available for players and fans to use.

A lot has happened since we started development; some creators have not been able to be part of the full journey, but to all who were originally part of region packs who set sail into the sea of the unknown to the recent additions, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all content creators who, in any shape or form, took part in this project despite its initially challenging nature.

We hope that the Cities: Skylines community as a whole enjoys the results of this colossal project. As the French team, we look forward to creating more content for Cities: Skylines II!

Thank you for reading, and if you have any feedback or questions, don’t hesitate to comment in this thread or on PDXforums.
You can find us on Cities: Skylines Modding Discord and, of course, PDXMods:
Modding Discord - https://discord.gg/ExfdGrYvS4
Gèze PDXMods - https://mods.paradoxplaza.com/authors/Gèze
Gruny PDXMods - https://mods.paradoxplaza.com/authors/Gruny
REV0 PDXMods - https://mods.paradoxplaza.com/authors/R3V0_76
Jerenable - https://mods.paradoxplaza.com/authors/Jerenable

Today, we’re posting on behalf of pdx_Peanut our Content Creator Manager for Cities: Skylines II. The Dev Diary takes you behind the scenes into the making of the Region Packs! Let’s dive in and see what they’ve got to say!

Introduction

Hello everyone! I’m pdx_Peanut, but you may know me as BadPeanut! I’m the Content Creator Manager for Cities: Skylines II at Paradox Interactive. Today, I’ll be taking you behind the scenes to explore the creation of the Region Packs from my perspective. We’re getting ready to upload the Region Packs to Paradox Mods where you will be able to download them for free to use in your favorite city! These packs have been created by a long list of your favorite community creators, split across 8 different packs.

As Content Creator Manager, my responsibilities (among others) include knowing the asset creation process inside and out to guide our creators, networking with community creators, providing hands-on tutorials, resource management, helping with scheduling and time management, and keeping them informed with project timelines as they evolve.

Asset Pipeline and Planning a Region Pack

At the start of the Region Packs project in 2020, I worked at Colossal Order, and as such, I was the main developer contact for the Region Pack creators. I provided them with an Asset Creation Guide — the precursor to what’s now available on the official wiki — answered any questions they had so early on in the process, and updated them with news or changes in the pipeline as pre-release development continued.



An early draft of the Asset Creation Guide

I became Content Creator Manager a little over halfway through the Region Packs project timeline, so when I joined Paradox, I jumped straight into a more hands-on role. I assisted the creators with managing their packs and evaluated the contents based on the agreements from the creators' sign-up agreements.

My first step was to ensure each team had a comprehensive asset list that included every detail - from assets to prefabs and, later, any props they wished to include. This way, we could keep track of everything and avoid overlooking any stunning buildings!



An early example of the French Pack asset list

Most teams were already using some form of content tracker, but it was important to unify them into a single format for easier viewing and management. This allowed me to assist the creators in monitoring their progress while maintaining a healthy balance between timelines and their personal lives.

Throughout the project, we experienced a handful of timeline changes, making the asset list a valuable reference for adjustments. Whether a team member had to step away for personal reasons or we brought on new creators to distribute the workload, we could easily update the document. It was also incredibly satisfying for both me and the creators to mark tasks as completed - it gave us a great sense of accomplishment!

Collaborating with Creators

From the start of the project, we created a private space for the creators to view information, ask questions, and collaborate with each other. It was important for everyone on each team to work together and plan the content they wanted to include in their packs.

When I became Content Creator Manager, I upgraded our workspace by setting up a dedicated Discord section for the Region Packs. This included channels for each pack, a general collaboration channel, how-to guide channels, and the essential voice channel, where we frequently gathered to work together and tackle challenges.

In these channels, creators could post questions with screenshots, seek direct feedback from me or their teammates, share techniques in modeling, texturing, and propping, or request one-on-one voice calls for hands-on assistance. Whenever a creator needed me in the voice channel, I prioritised being there as quickly as possible to offer support. I truly valued the time and effort of each creator, so I made myself as accessible as possible to collaborate with everyone.



Collaborating with the French Pack creators on Discord

Managing Feedback and Iterations

Since we began working on the Region Packs before gaining access to the editor, I dedicated a significant amount of time to reviewing the meshes and textures created by our teams. I highlighted areas for improvement and identified specific issues that could hinder a smooth import once they had the opportunity to test in-game. This approach ensured that when the creators finally began importing and testing their assets, they encountered minimal obstacles. And for any challenges that did arise, I was always available to help troubleshoot and resolve any issues.

This feedback loop was essential to the packs' success, allowing our creators' creative freedoms to thrive while providing space for edits and iterations as we gained experience with the game. This collaborative flow continued into the realms of importing and propping. Once we got our hands on the early versions of the editor, we began exploring the new propping tools and developing a smoother, more efficient workflow over time.



Propping the French Pack - credit to REV0 for the image

All our creators were fantastic to work with; everyone was receptive to feedback from their peers and myself throughout the process. This openness fostered a creatively expressive environment and helped maintain excitement for the new game both before and after its launch.

Ironing out the Issues

Along the way we’ve faced our fair share of trials and tribulations. While we started this project, and had our lovely creators on board in early 2020, we experienced the delays to the asset editor that the community still faces today.

With the editor being out of reach, we broke the timeline into sections - the first part focused the creator’s efforts on making meshes and textures so that once we got the ability to import into an alpha version of the editor they could.

More recently, we gave our creators access to an early version of the editor that allowed them to import and test out their meshes and textures - to see them in the game for the first time and make any adjustments they thought were best. While this version of the editor isn’t ready for public use, it allowed the Region Pack creators to begin propping and getting their assets to a close-to-final state.

Since then, with a collaborative effort between Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive, we devised a temporary back-end solution that allowed us to manually take the creator’s nearly finished assets, add any missing components (like texts, translations and thumbnails) and package them ready to be uploaded manually to Paradox Mods. This required quite an effort of manual, not so user-friendly work and testing to get them to a place where you can enjoy them.

Work continues on getting the editor in a more final state, but that’s for another day!

Balancing Creativity with Constraints

At the start of the project, we provided creators with a general understanding of the technical constraints to ensure their work would be compatible with the game once we received the editor. This included guidance on texture composition and modeling detail.

For each zone type, we established average, minimum, and soft maximum triangle counts based on the existing assets’ triangle counts in the base game. While Cities: Skylines II doesn’t impose strict triangle limits, creators requested guidelines to help them gauge the appropriate level of detail. Below is a diagram illustrating that smaller lot sizes should aim closer to the minimum values, while larger lot sizes could utilise a higher triangle budget, approaching the soft maximum. Most assets created for a zone type would typically align with the average triangle count provided.



An early guide provided to creators of the Region Packs

Ultimately, asset creation for Cities: Skylines II is free from hard limits. We intentionally chose not to include this visual guide in the wiki Asset Creation Guide to avoid imposing restrictions on our talented community of asset creators, though we have shared the zoned building triangle counts for those who really wanted them. Primarily, we encourage the same design principles we shared with the creators: model what needs to be modeled without overdoing it. In essence, be mindful of triangle usage, but not at the expense of your design. This approach empowers asset creators to craft beautifully detailed assets while maintaining a sensible approach to detail.

If there was any doubt from a creator, or they just wanted reassurance, I was ready to take a look and review their model, giving tips on where they could adjust their techniques or make improvements.

Conclusion

That’s a glimpse into the creative journey for the Region Packs. Working alongside such talented creators has been a rewarding experience, and I look forward to continuing to work with our community. Thank you for reading, and feel free to ask any questions on the forums. I will try to pop in to answer whenever I have a spare moment. In the meantime, share with us what region you would like to see represented in any potential future packs! I hope you all enjoy the French Pack when it releases on Monday, October 28!