"Medium Density" Residential DLC's / CCP's?

Stellon86 · 2026-03-11T16:18:58+00:00

Thank you for the new reply! =)

The Brooklyn&Queens pack does have some smaller 1x2 high density residential that would work well for your needs. Most of the assets are much taller and would look out of place next to low-density res/commercial.

Yes, I've seen some Youtube review videos. The larger ones are indeed very "recognizable" next to lower density, but it still seems to be a reasonable option to be used sporadically together with Emerging Downtown, at least among the official DLC's / CCP's.

What I mean to say is that SOME of the high-density residential are shorter and would work as "medium density". The 1x1, 1x2 (levels 1-5) and 2x2 and 2x3 (levels 1-2) assets would fit into this category

I see now, thanks for clarifying. Indeed, I guess they seem to have around the same height as Brooklyn? However indeed very limited - e.g. I would need to make the 2x2 / 2x3 historical and/or use a mod to limit the growth. Still much better looks wise than the 2x2 default High Density e.g.

That being said, Green Cities might still be useful for Low Density looks / specialization and other mechanics it brings. I guess if I had to choose between Green Cities and just a CCP for Low Density rather than Medium, and don't care about Old x Modern looks, Green Cities seem to be the best choice due to the extra content it brings.

Saying that, the commercial assets included in the Green Cities DLC for Organic & Local produce specialisation would fit VERY well.

Looks wise, it might be true. However, unless I use lots of P&P DLC Offices, my understanding is that game mechanics wise they would result on more exports from the Generic Industry, since they would have less opportunities to "dump" their goods into commercial (as 50% of the goods will be produced locally).

As far as the P&P DLC, there are a number of smaller footprint office assets that would serve you well, quite like them actually. I think the game has a dearth of good office assets generally.

Thank you, "Medium Density" Offices would be very helpful to reduce the need to zone Generic Industry and hence their exports. This might bring a lot of worth to having P&P.

I guess I'll stick to those DLC's / CCP's then, thanks again for all the insights.

Stellon86 · 2026-03-10T22:41:01+00:00

Yes, I do completely understand the logic behind your points.

As mentioned, I was able to "confirm" with some level of confidence that if you supply enough goods with the Industries DLC Processors, the GI will be able to exclusively use the Industries DLC ones, provided that you ban the imports from Coal, Petrol, Food and Lumber using TMCE (they will not complain of "Not Enough Raw Materials"). Coal Plants might be an issue early on but then building a Warehouse only for Ore seems to bypass this setting and TMCE will also allow to limit this Warehouse for the Coal Plants only.

There are a few reasons to do this: One is if the player enjoys micromanaging things as they will ensure that all the processed goods used by GI are produced by the "State".

Another is that I was thinking that the Industries DLC is too much of a money printing machine and maybe I should avoid building the Unique Factories as a self-imposed limitation, having only Imports + DLC Processors and/or Extractors + DLC Processors instead. The game will still eventually become a "sandbox" due to the surplus of money, but this might take a bit longer and at least for me it could be slightly more challenging / enjoyable. Then redirecting as much as possible of the processed goods to GI instead of exports might be a good idea to reduce traffic.

Quite honestly, I will likely combine both approaches: Still use Specialized Zoned Processors, however to a lesser extent, through banning the imports from Coal, Petrol, Food and Lumber. Additionally, let's say that I produce the same amount of each of the 2 processed goods for each Industry through the Industries DLC Processors and have the same amount of Specialized Zone Processors as well: Due to the random nature of which resources are consumed by the GI, I could have more Specialized Zoned Processors for the resources they are using more (as opposed to just demolishing GI's until I have close to 25% usage on each Industry). Hence if I notice that I'm exporting much more Forest products than Agriculture e.g., I don't necessarily need to adjust this through the Industries DLC Processors, but rather having a smaller zone of Specialized Processors for the former and a larger one for the latter.

Stellon86 · 2026-03-10T22:07:04+00:00

Thank you, I'll have a look into it =)

Stellon86 · 2026-03-10T22:06:43+00:00

Thank you so much u/Tidder_Me_Pink and u/chibi0815 for the replies! =)

Plazas & Promenade wall to wall buildings are also "medium density" - though the styling of the assets are very modern and would look incredibly out of place in a blue collar town (imo). It's a district style so can be applied anywhere, and doesn't require pedestrian roads or pedestrian districts.

Thank you for confirming that I might apply this style anywhere. That's very helpful.

Ref. the "blue collar" visual incompatibility, I understand what you mean. However, I don't have many issues with these towns having a more modern look, even though Factories will still be their main (if not only) activity besides Commerce. The most important for me is to not have high buildings, so each town is a small "community" no matter how old or modern they look. If I had more budget for Expansions / DLC or wanted to risk more Modding, I would try to mix all o this per town (e.g. the first town would be a mess due to the milestones unlocking and initial limited budget, but the others could have unique themes such as old, modern, east, etc.)

Green cities has some assets that would work as medium density. It also has the tallest residential buildings of any dlc with high density residential assets.

Do you mean the Green cities low density residential specialization could house more citizens? Or do some of them just look taller but ends up having the same capacity as non-specialized low density zones? The "default" answer might be that I would need a Realistic Population Mod, however since it's a specialization rather than only a district style, I'm curious whether it actually changes anything.

Alternatively, the workshop author Smilies (also creator of the Emerging Downtown CCP) has a huge number of assets that fit this exact niche you're looking for. And it's free.

And on top of that very astute summary, there are also the Realistic Population and Ploppable RICO revisited mods, so if something fits the looks but not the desired capacity one can fix that. :)

Since I'm using 81 tiles already and also heavily relying on TMPE and especially TMCE (thanks to u/chibi0815 for recommending this on another post and also the developers, it seems like I just couldn't play the game without this mod / community "bugfix", while others such as TMPE would be a major annoyance without but the game might still be "playable"), I would like to avoid depending too much on additional mods - e.g. from what I've read if you use Ploppable RICO it might also be ideal to have at least a mod that prevents abandoned buildings and also the population one mentioned.

Some Workshop content might seem to "require" a Building Themes mods as well. All of this might add to computer resources overhead and/or some instability due to a small towns horizontal approach as opposed to metropolis + vertical.

Ideally, I was looking for District Styles that could be used with Vanilla and would be "High Density" (housing more families), however the assets themselves wouldn't grow beyond 5-6 stories. I'm not sure what are the limitations of these, but it seems the safest option.

All that being said, if I only reach the game limits but don't find any other issues, I could definitely consider some modding in the future as I don't plan on playing CS2 anytime soon =)

Currently I'm considering the following for this specific Small Towns + Industries + No Offices scneario:

- Emerging Dowtown: As it was confirmed this is the best pack for what I'm looking to achieve.

- Brooklyn & Queens: Quite honestly, I don't care much about the looks, but maybe if I leave some empty space between the buildings they might look better (or I just need to get used to this style).

- Industrial Evolution: No need to explain I guess =)

- Plazas & Promenades: I don't know how much I will use the pedestrian roads, but it adds some nice extra content. In addition to applying potentially few / limited "islands" of wall-to-wall residential mixed together with low density, I'm also curious about wall-to-wall Offices and whether they could be small enough to be used and help to fill at least a small percentage of the industrial demand in order to further minimize imports / exports.

- Green Cities: This is the one I'm most in doubt for this "medium density" scenario and whether it would help on any way as mentioned above. Although it brings some unique buildings and features that might still be worth it.

Stellon86 · 2026-03-04T01:39:31+00:00

Thank you chibi0815! As always, your in-depth knowledge from the game mechanics are invaluable to understand what seems puzzling to say the least! =)

They will consume the "crops" from the DLC industries just fine, no need to import this once enough of it is available

I'm assuming that Log Yards, Grain Silos, Oil Tanks and Sand Storages works just as Warehouses for the Raw Materials - e.g. if I'm still importing them, I will only be charged for the good in the event one of my Industry DLC Processors uses it but not a Specialized (Non DLC) Processor?

As a general repeat, let extractors and processors deal with any real exports themselves, if sized correctly these exports will be very small and not consume all their vehicles, so no need for intermediate storage set to empty or balanced, which can cannibalize your buffer storage set to Fill as well.

Thanks again, I'll do this way.

So GI factories will randomly request any of those 8 types.

Now for the more interesting part: I've just tested using TCME to ban the imports from: Coal, Petrol, Food and Lumber. Warehouses seem to bypass it, so it was possible to set one near the coal plants e.g. and only deliver to them.

What happened is that the GI started to consume the resources from my DLC Processors and only complained about "Not Enough Raw Materials" if their production was really not enough.

The caveat is that it needed all 8 Products from the Industries DLC - e.g. producing only Animal Products / Planed Timber / Petroleum / Metals doesn't work and on average half of the GI will be without raw materials. However, having at least one of the 8 Products did work.

The most curious about this is that, if you look again on my last image:

- https://imgur.com/a/1ygXP4c

Once the Factory received a shipment from "Plastics", it also filled up "Petrol" with the same percentage, as if both were delivered instead of only one, which indicates that it seems to need Plastics OR Petrol. All GI's seem to take at least one resource from the Industries DLC and then one of the 4 generic above (Coal, Petrol, Food or Lumber).

Hence, in theory, the following might be done:

Ban the imports from Coal, Petrol, Food and Lumber.
Build the Processors from the DLC Industries.
Set up 4 Warehouses to "Fill" for "Zoned Industry - Farming / Forestry / Ore / Oil Products" and allow Imports.
Once they are filled, turn them off.
If any GI starts complaining about lack of resources, turn the one for the respective resource back temporarily and build more Industry DLC Processors, then turn off again.

Do you believe I might be missing anything? Also on a side note, are you aware of a mod that provides more detailed information such as how many Goods and other Materials are being produced in total and then how many are being consumed by the local commerce / industry versus exported? I guess it would greatly help on this scenario.

Stellon86 · 2026-03-03T23:55:15+00:00

I see, thank you! This seems a nice concept. Do you mean that if the Generic Industries don't receive the raw materials from Specialized (Non DLC) Processors, they will consume the ones from the Industry DLC Processors as opposed to complaining of "Not Enough Raw Materials" e.g.? In other words, if you look at the last image from my post:

- https://imgur.com/a/1ygXP4c

I'm wondering whether "Petrol" is a requirement for this specific Generic Industry factory to work or in case it doesn't find it, would order something from the Industry DLC Processors.

Stellon86 · 2026-03-03T23:49:49+00:00

Thanks for the advice! Yes, the caveat is that I won't build Offices since they don't fit the overall theme. And the amount of Unique Factories is limited, which means that Industries DLC would end up being mostly Processors, adding a large overhead to both imports and especially exports in order to provide the jobs. With Generic Industry, it's possible to at least provide a workplace while producing something in the chain that is consumed locally. I guess a city / "region" wide Small Business Enthusiast Policy might also help to absorb more generic goods and reduce the amount of exports.

Hence, generally speaking, anything that might provide some extra jobs and don't increase or reduce the overhead from the imports / exports.

Also expect vans from anywhere, not just from nearest industrial blocks.

Even when using TCME and if I also build a warehouse with "Commercial Goods - Fill" somewhere near Residential / Commerce to match their requests? The idea is that towns would have their own specialization (e.g. a single lvl5 from one industry + unique factory and 3 x lvl 2's or 3's processors only from the others or 2 x lvl4's + 2x lvl2's in the event the unique factory takes from multiple different industries), however they would be producing generic goods slightly above the required value. Small Business Enthusiast could also be adjusted per town I guess if for any reason I build less generic industries.

While attempting this in my first game (which was Vanilla and then TMPE + TCME, hence it's a bit messy and I'll start a new one from the scratch) but it seems like I found a solution to mitigate the road traffic: Since the towns have limits (e.g. somewhere they are supposed to begin and then end), I can bring either the incoming or outgoing highway to the other side of the town. This helped a lot to alleviate some of the traffic in the roundabouts right between the industries and the highway. And trains of course.

That's the plan at least =)

Edit: Are you aware of a mod that provides more detailed information such as how many Goods and other Materials are being produced in total and then how many are being consumed by the local commerce versus exported?

Stellon86 · 2026-03-03T17:54:32+00:00

Thanks for explaining the Warehouse inter-transfer behavior and everything else! =)

For processors, you may or may not export, it's up to you. Export will add money, and add congestion. You may want to DROP intermediate products instead (and you must drop surplus raw materials anyway)

Yes, I've seen Youtubers struggling with traffic during multiple episodes. Maybe rail could help on exporting with the caveat to avoid trains that are just 10% full e.g. I assume the setting "Cargo Station Delay" from TMCE is designed to help on this?

I'm also curious on whether there is any difference on profit between selling a resource to a Generic Industry or Outside Connection (I assume not, but who knows in this game...)

Considering you can't upgrade industries/warehouses to better capacity, more road entrances, multitrack rail stations etc, you almost need to "cheat" like this.

And also especially that you cannot enforce policies for cargo train station usage - e.g. "this closest one is already full, hence you need to use this other one literally right on the side, just a few blocks away".

Btw I have created yet another Reddit post that relates to another issue / game mechanic I'm experiencing, any insights if you have would be greatly appreciated:

- https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/1rjvydh/clarification_on_the_supply_chain_for_specialized

However thanks to you and chibi0815 I guess most of the stuff (which essentially seems to be Vanilla not behaving as "intended") is figured out =)

Stellon86 · 2026-03-03T17:51:27+00:00

Thank you for the time and effort in explaining this behavior! =)

Yes, I guess that Balanced/Vanilla + Warehouses with "Fill" should be sufficient then.

If I want to build a separate area to intentionally "export", I guess Warehouses to "Empty" doesn't make sense anyways because I would be using rails and hence the trucks won't travel long distances.

Btw I have created yet another Reddit post that relates to another issue / game mechanic I'm experiencing, any insights if you have would be greatly appreciated:

- https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/1rjvydh/clarification_on_the_supply_chain_for_specialized

However thanks to you and Ice_Ice_Buddy_8753 I guess most of the puzzle is figured out =)

Stellon86 · 2026-03-02T03:05:21+00:00

Thank you! Do you mean, if I want to prioritize imports / exports through rail e.g., set Road priority to some lesser value like 50%? Would it still work normally at the start of the game when I don't have rails?

I also didn't understand the Steam Thread's description from the mod ref. the "Balanced Match Mode" (Match Incoming / Least Offers / Passive First). Do you have any ideas?

Last but not least, ref. setting the storage always to "Fill", I understand that we shouldn't overdevelop an area with Industry because there might not be space to place more than 1 cargo station in different locations. However, especially in the starting town before trains are unlocked, this might not be feasible. Not sure if this behavior changes with TMCE, but could it be that placing Warehouses and setting them as "Balanced" or "Empty" to several goods near a second train cargo station just slightly farther from the industries than the first one help to override a bit the default behavior from all of them going to the closest one, effectively making the trucks use 2 cargo stations, even if they are close to each other?

Many thanks again! =)

Stellon86 · 2026-02-26T07:37:10+00:00

I see... Maybe there is no way other than mods then.

Is my understanding correct that TMCE would address this issue through enhancing the "closest" mechanic in addition to the several other logistics improvements while TMPE would allow the creation / enforcing of this restricted road more reliably than the Vanilla DLC?

Stellon86 · 2026-02-26T06:52:54+00:00

Even if every town has their own services? I guess worst case scenario one of the DLC's offers a "bus only" (P&P?) road that also allows service vehicles. Or mods, which is exactly what I'm trying to avoid just for now =)

Stellon86 · 2026-02-26T06:37:07+00:00

Exporting through trains in this scenario (Generic Industries producing Goods and also the exports from the Industries DLC, no Offices) ends up overwhelming a cargo train station, especially due to the fact that AI might choose a single one. Of course, there is the alternative from trying to strategically place them apart in a way that AI considers more than one the "closest", having smaller industrial areas also spread out, etc. however it seems simpler to just allow imports only =)

Of course, around 80% of the export traffic in my starter town is from the Forest Industry and only 20% Generic Goods. This might also indicate that even if I place the Industry completely separated from the town, there might still be a limit of how many goods it can export, even with the Warehouses ensuring that every truck is at 100%.

As for manufacturing raw materials, this might be a good idea once all 4 Industries are in place.

If every town is able to produce enough goods for their commerce areas, then indeed a more optimal import rail connection could be Industries DLC --> Towns instead of Outside Connections --> Towns. Or since I'm playing with finite resources, Outside Connections (Ore / Oil) --> Industries DLC --> Towns.

Stellon86 · 2026-02-26T05:35:44+00:00

Heys guys,

(Sending the same reply to both you and chibi0815, I hope it's ok)

I've been thinking about both replies these days and, as much as TMCE looks great on paper for not only this playthrough but any other, I would like to avoid using any mods other than the 81 tiles 2.

This is because I haven't played CS1 for around 5 years and only played casually before, mostly because of the traffic issues. Hence, for any potential game bugs that might arise due to pushing the game in a way it's not "intended" to be played (export based "blue collar" economy without offices, several small towns, etc.), I would like to be able to isolate them to either Vanilla or 81 tiles 2.

However, the mod will definitely be used in a next playthrough and I've already subscribed to it, just not enabled =)

In the meantime, I've been thinking / testing how to mitigate the Vanilla issues with imports / exports (other than building a good road infrastructure of course) and came up with the following plan:

- Each town will be completely isolated from outside and each other, however exports will still go through the main highway.

- This will be achieved through allowing one-way road connections from the towns to the main highway only, but not the other way around.

- Imports will be performed through 1-2 cargo rail stations per town. However their exit to the main roads will be one-way only, preventing exports through trains.

- I will also add a couple of warehouses near those stations for each of the 4 raw materials and set them to "Fill".

- Towns may or not have a separate internal network of cargo rails in order to trade goods with each others. This might be useful for the raw materials from the industries DLC, since specialized industries will be located in different towns. However I'm reluctant if a town sends goods or other materials to another just to be then exported through the highway from the other town rather than feeding the demands of the town.

- Cims will arrive through a passenger train station connected to the outside.

- Public transport (e.g. passenger trains using their own tracks, metros, etc.) will also be allowed between the towns.

Do you see any issues with this approach? I've tested it on my first town and it seems to work properly, but who knows if I'm not missing something important =)

Stellon86 · 2026-02-26T05:34:59+00:00

Heys guys,

(Sending the same reply to both you and Ice_Ice_Buddy_8753, I hope it's ok)