SimCity: Skylines Beginner's Guide

SimCity: Skylines Beginner's Guide

It's 2025, and the second generation of the game has been released for 2 years, but there are still many new players joining in, so this guide is written.

Disclaimer: The following content is based on personal experience. If there are any inaccuracies, please feel free to point them out. Most of the images are from game screenshots, with a few from the internet. If there is any infringement, please contact for deletion.

SimCity: Skylines is a deeply simulated city-building game that provides a wealth of tools and elements to allow players to create their ideal city. The following is a comprehensive beginner's guide to help new players embark on their city-building journey.

1. Planning and Layout - The Most Important Aspect

Before starting the game, carefully study the terrain. Flat terrain is suitable for basic construction, while mountains, rivers, etc. can add to the city's character. Reasonably divide functional areas, such as placing residential areas in quiet and environmentally friendly areas, considering land prices; commercial areas should be located in places with convenient transportation to attract customers; industrial areas should be located to avoid polluting residential areas and facilitate cargo transportation, otherwise, the residents will directly report high temperatures.

2. Road Construction

Roads are the arteries of the city. Initially, main roads should be laid to connect various areas, and then secondary roads and branch roads should be used to refine the traffic network. Pay attention to the design of intersections, reasonably set traffic lights and TM:PEmod to avoid traffic congestion. One-way streets can effectively guide traffic flow, and roundabouts can optimize complex intersection traffic. As the city develops, roads should be widened and the number of lanes increased according to needs.
Be careful not to turn it into a traffic jam simulator

3. Resource Management

1. Power Supply: In the early stages of the game, a fuel power plant can meet the demand. As the city expands, choose an appropriate power generation method based on energy needs and environmental protection requirements, such as wind, solar, thermal, or nuclear power generation. Pay attention to the reasonable layout of power plants to avoid negative impacts on the surrounding environment. Wind turbines need to consider actual wind direction and wind force.
2. Water Supply: Build pumping stations by the river to ensure adequate urban water supply. At the same time, treat sewage to ensure safe drinking water for residents. Reasonably plan the water pipe network to cover every corner of the city. Don't build drainage machines upstream, otherwise, you will become a living hell, and remember to power them up.
3. Waste Management: Set up landfills or incineration plants to promptly handle urban waste. Pay attention to site selection to avoid adverse effects on residents' lives. As the city develops, introduce garbage classification and recycling systems to improve resource utilization.

4. Public Service Facility Construction

1. Educational Facilities: Based on urban population growth and demand, build schools, universities, etc. Reasonably plan school layouts to ensure students' convenience in attending school. Provide diverse educational courses to meet the needs of different students. Be careful of high education levels in the later stages, which may result in a lack of workers.
2. Medical Facilities: Establish hospitals, clinics, etc. to ensure residents' health. Reasonably allocate medical resources based on urban scale and population distribution. Provide emergency rescue services to ensure timely rescue in emergencies.
3. Fire and Public Security: Set up fire stations and police stations to ensure urban safety. Reasonably layout fire and public security facilities to ensure rapid response in emergencies. Improve the quality and equipment level of fire and public security personnel to enhance the ability to deal with emergencies.
   

5. Economic Development, Money Rolls In

Commercial areas attract consumption , should be close to residential areas, industrial areas create employment and tax revenue, should be far from residential areas. Based on urban resources and market demand, choose an appropriate industrial development direction. Encourage innovation and technological development to improve the city's competitiveness.

6. Others

The game provides various policies and regulations. Reasonable use can promote urban development. For example, environmental protection policies can improve environmental quality, and tax policies can regulate the economy. There is also important loan, which is commonly used in the early stage.

Mod Recommendations

1. 81 Tiles 2: Unlock the map to 81 grids or only the central 25 grids, and set the function of no need for electricity, water pipes, and road electrification.
2. ACME CAMERA MOD 0.6.5: Used to set the lens height and position, convenient for video recording, and the lens is not affected by building and tree collisions.
3. AD Cloud Replacer: Replace the AD cloud to improve image quality.
4. Adaptive Networks (AN) V3.18 (STABLE): Achieve adaptive road functions.
5. Advanced Building Level Control 1.3.2: Can perform fine control on growing buildings.
6. Advanced Stop Selection Revisited 2.1: Allows Shift to select specific platforms for public transportation.
7. BOB, the Tree and Prop Replacer 1.0.1: Can modify, replace, and delete trees and props on the road.
8. Building Control 1.1.3: Provides building collision-free mode and other functions.
9. Building Spawn Points 1.4.1: Can change and add vehicle generation points (default shortcut key Ctrl+P).
10. Campus Industries Housing Mod: Modify campus dormitories and industrial dormitories, update industrial and campus DLC dormitories to apartments to accommodate workers and students.
    Mod Jump