Cities: Skylines 2’s Hailstorms and Scientific Accuracy
Cities: Skylines 2’s hailstorms are coming under fire from fans, who claim that the weather events in the city-builder game are inaccurate. Although developer Colossal Order is known for its dedication to realism in city simulation, the feature video and dev diary for Cities: Skylines 2 appear to suggest that hailstorms can occur when the weather is ‘cold, but not freezing’ – something that contradicts meteorological knowledge.
Hailstorms typically occur in warmer months, and can damage crops, buildings, and even people. In the video below, Colossal Order shows how hailstorms can damage crops, buildings, and even people – but the studio implies that these extreme weather events can occur when the temperature is not very low.
“Hail is produced within thundercloud formations,” explains The Weather Network, “and is more likely to happen during spring and summer, when the ground is warm and can more easily absorb the energy of the falling hailstones.” The dev diary also downplays the destructive nature of hailstorms, as they can cause significant damage to buildings and even result in the loss of livestock.
Despite the scientific inaccuracies, fans still seem excited to experience the chaos of extreme weather events in the game. In one thread on the Steam forums, fans speculate that the decision to deviate from scientific accuracy was made to enhance gameplay balance and enjoyment – hail is notoriously difficult to predict accurately, after all.
Others point out that Cities: Skylines 2 is not meant to be a science textbook – rather, it is a game that aims to simulate the impact of real-world weather catastrophes, like car crashes, traffic congestion, and damage to buildings.
“Weather is a great addition to the game,” another player writes, “and I hope it will be expanded upon in future iterations, like Cities: Skylines 3.” The fan continues, “I appreciate Colossal Order’s attention to detail in simulating such a realistic city-building experience.”
If you are interested in the game’s dedication to realism, you can check out our Cities: Skylines 2 features overview, where we discuss everything from the game’s new districts to its water management features. Alternatively, keep up to date with all the other upcoming games, which we have broken down by genre and platform.
Featured image courtesy of Steam.
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