Citizen Simulation & Lifepath in Cities: Skylines II

This weeks feature highlight is focused on Citizen Simluation and Lifepath. Below is a summary of the written version. 

• Citizens are essential agents in the game, residing in residential zones, working in various zones, and acting as customers.
• They engage in activities like work, school, shopping, sleeping, and more, affecting traffic, the economy, and healthcare.
• Some citizens own pets, adding a cosmetic touch to the city without affecting gameplay.
• Each citizen has a Lifepath detailing major life events, including moving in, education, work, leisure, health, and eventually aging and passing away.

Happiness

• Citizen Happiness combines Well-being and Health, impacting behavior and work
• Well-being depends on basic needs fulfillment, avoiding pollution, providing amenities, and access to goods
• Health is affected by healthcare availability, pollution exposure, sewage treatment, and waste management
• Sickness risk depends on Health, with worse Health increasing the chance, and sick citizens seek treatment
• Injuries from accidents also require medical attention, with ambulances transporting the injured
• Recovery occurs after treatment, but sick or injured citizens have a small chance of dying, linked to their Health level

Age Group

• Citizens age through four life stages: children, teens, adults, and seniors
• Families can consist of multiple generations
• Health varies with age, with children and teens having a boost and seniors’ health slowly decreasing
• Citizens can choose to work once they reach the “Teen” age group, with some continuing education first
• Different age groups have preferences for transportation: teens prefer cheap options, adults value speed, and seniors prioritize comfort
• Age groups also have shopping preferences; for example, households with teens are more likely to buy Electronics, while seniors prefer financial Goods

Citizen Lifepath & Chirper

• Citizens’ lifepaths involve events like graduating, finding a spouse, new jobs, and relocations
• Lifepath Journal allows tracking citizens’ events through the Follow button and shows their details
• Lifepath Journal records citizens’ names, home addresses, jobs, Happiness, and Chirper feeds
• Chirper returns in Cities: Skylines II, integrated more into gameplay for citizen expressions
• Chirps reflect citizens’ happiness, frustrations, and events, giving insights into city dynamics
• Chirps can highlight service needs, leisure satisfaction, and personal life events
• Chirps integrate with the Citizen Lifepath, offering an overview of followed citizens’ lives

Education

• There are 5 levels of education in Cities: Skylines II: Uneducated, Poorly Educated, Educated, Well Educated, and Highly Educated
• Education levels progress through school stages: Elementary School (Uneducated to Poorly Educated), High School (Poorly Educated to Educated), College (Educated to Well Educated), and University (Well Educated to Highly Educated)
• Children start as Uneducated and move to Poorly Educated after finishing Elementary School.
• Teens attend High School and become Educated
• Adults and teens can go to College for Well Educated status
• Adults can attend Universities for the Highly Educated level
• Teens and adults choose between school and work based on potential income calculations
• Some citizens have a preference for working despite potential long-term benefits of education

Employment

• Companies and city services have workplaces for citizens
• Workplaces are divided into complexity levels based on citizen Education levels
• City service workplaces remain constant, but zoned building workplaces change when the building levels up
• Higher complexity companies require employees with higher education levels
• Zoned companies can adjust their workforce size based on performance
• Industrial companies require lower education levels, while commercial and office companies need higher education levels as they level up
• Employee Education level affects work efficiency and production output
• Employees can work at their Education level or lower
• Citizen Happiness impacts company Efficiency and production
• Sick or injured employees result in decreased Efficiency until they recover and return to work

Criminal Behavior

• Citizens may become criminals with low probability, increased by low Well-being
• Criminals target buildings for robbery, selected based on crime probability
• Targeted building residents experience temporary Well-being loss
• Criminal travels to target, commits crime, and leaves
• Crime triggers alarm, police alerted with slight response delay
• Police arrest criminal if they arrive before the criminal leaves
• Arrested criminals go to jail at Police Stations or Headquarters
• Some criminals serve sentences in the city’s prison or Outside Connections
• Released criminals return as regular citizens
• Age affects the possibility of dying in prison due to old age

Leisure & Tourists

• Citizens prioritize leisure during free time for well-being
• Different locations offer varied leisure options and times
• Citizens factor in leisure gain speed and pathfinding costs
• Tourists are temporary city visitors, stay in hotels
• City Attractiveness determines tourist numbers
• Tourists choose leisure spots based on value and distance
• Leisure sources include city recreation, commercial zones
• Entertainment options include bars, restaurants, meals
• Citizens can become tourists in other cities for leisure
• Weather influences leisure location choice:
  • Sunny and warm: outdoor recreation (parks, plazas)
  • Rainy, snowy, cold: indoor leisure (shopping, entertainment)

Citizen Conditions

• Events lead to Conditions in citizens, visible on info panels
• Conditions are not directly removed, but their causes can be managed
• Example: sickness caused by sewage issues, pollution, or lack of healthcare
• Improve by expanding city services, like sewage treatment or medical facilities
• Overview of various citizen conditions available

These are the conditions in the game. 

• Sick. Sick citizens cannot work. As long as they remain Sick, they are in increased danger of dying. Medical treatment is required to recover from the Sick condition.
• Injured. Injured citizens cannot work. Citizens become injured when involved in traffic accidents, building fires and collapse, and natural disasters. Medical treatment is required to recover from the Injured condition.
• Homeless. Citizens who cannot pay the rent where they live and with no means to move to another home or out of the city become homeless. They have no permanent residence and end up living in the various city parks.
• Unwell. Citizens who are Unwell have a low Well-being value. Their Happiness value decreases and their contribution to work is also negatively affected. Additionally, they are at risk of becoming criminals if their Well-being doesn’t increase.
• Weak. Citizens who are Weak have a low Health value. This decreases their Happiness and negatively affects their contribution to work. Citizens with low Health are at a high risk of becoming sick, and when a Weak citizen becomes sick, their Health value decreases to very low putting them at an increased risk of dying if they don’t get medical treatment.
• Distressed. Citizens who are in Danger or Trapped, are Distressed. Citizens are in Danger when they are in a burning building while Trapped citizens are involved in a building collapse and are buried under the rubble. Sometimes citizens who are in a burning building can also become Trapped, unable to escape.
• Evacuated. Evacuated citizens are in an emergency shelter. Citizens can travel to an emergency shelter by themselves or they can be picked up by an Evacuation Bus which transports them to the emergency shelter.

This was quite an info packed entry so I’m guessing we might get even more info later in the week for the developers insight videos.