1.5.4|Feb 18, 2026
View on Steam↗1.5.4f1 - First Frost
4/5 Significant
The First Frost update overhauls death simulation, reduces bicycle trips by 80%, and introduces a major HUD redesign alongside manual hex code asset coloring.
Key Changes
- 1Bicycle trips reduced by 80% to fix transport balancing.
- 2Death simulation overhauled with 16x daily calculations and time-of-day fixes.
- 3Main HUD redesigned with a new focus on demand bars and updated icons.
- 4Manual hex code coloring added for asset color scheme management.
- 5Tree age preservation toggle and adjusted colliders for better landscaping.
- 6Nighttime lighting brightened for improved visibility and usability.
- 7Terraforming tools updated with more precise presets and brush modes.
- 8Autosaves are now enabled by default for all players.
- 9Legacy camera and UI options added for player preference.
- 10Snow support added for decal-based lot surfaces.
All Changes
⚙️Simulation & Gameplay(4)
- nerfBicycles: Reduced bicycle trips by 80% to balance transport usage.
- fixCitizens: Fixed time of day not being considered for deaths, which previously caused most citizens to die between 0:00 and 6:00.
- changeCitizens: Increased death calculation frequency from 4 to 16 times per citizen per day to smooth out death distributions.
- changeEasy Mode: Enabled citizen death from old age in Easy Mode; previously 80% of citizens never died of old age in this mode.
🖥️User Interface(14)
- changeHUD: Redesigned the main HUD with a primary focus on demand bars.
- changeUI Icons: New icons for roundabouts.
- changeUI Icons: New icons for cul-de-sacs.
- changeUI Icons: Replaced several road services icons.
- changeRoad Maintenance Depot: New 2D icon for the Road Maintenance Depot.
- changeUI Icons: Updated Trees and Grass icons with more natural colors.
- changeUI Icons: Replaced several info view icons.
- changeUI Icons: New icons for various pollution types.
- changeUI Icons: New icons for building level, land value, household wealth, and company profitability.
- changeUI Icons: New icon for toolbar city demand.
- changeUI Icons: New icons for citizen happiness emojis.
- changeTutorial: Updated the onboarding tutorial for new players.
- fixUrban Cycling Initiative: Fixed a typo in the Urban Cycling Initiative policy text.
- newUI: Added an option to enable the legacy UI.
🎨Visuals & Graphics(12)
- fixShadows: Improved shadow rendering and reduced flicker for high-quality settings.
- newSnow: Added snow support for decal-based lot surfaces.
- removeVehicles: Temporarily removed snow rendering from vehicles.
- fixTerrain: Fixed terrain material discontinuity between playable areas and surrounding terrain for smoother blending.
- changeGraphics: Disabled global illumination post-processing effect by default.
- newLighting: Added the ability to limit the sun's maximum height per map.
- changeFog: Fog density is now dynamically controlled by weather and cloudiness.
- changeSeasons: Adjusted post-processing values for tropical, temperate, and boreal seasons.
- changeClouds: Balanced cloud amounts to reduce the frequency of perfectly clear skies.
- buffNight: Brightened nighttime lighting to improve gameplay usability.
- changeNight: Updated the night sky texture.
- changeWater: Improved water settings specifically for tropical maps.
🛠️Tools & Customization(8)
- newAsset Coloring: Added a coloring option for manual control via hex codes to manage asset color schemes.
- newTrees: Added a tree age preservation toggle to place and keep specific tree asset visuals.
- buffTrees: Adjusted tree colliders to enable tighter and more flexible placement.
- buffLine Tool: Adjusted line tool spacing to allow trees and objects to be placed closer together.
- changeTerraforming: Made elevation tool default presets more precise and less aggressive.
- newTerraforming: Added mode-specific brush presets and adjustment values for terraforming.
- newCamera: Added new camera limits.
- newCamera: Added an option to enable the legacy camera.
⚙️General & Performance(2)
- changeGraphics: Optimized default graphics quality settings for first-time players.
- changeAutosave: Enabled autosaves by default.
Summary
Cities: Skylines II's First Frost update (1.5.4f1) focuses on critical simulation balancing and a significant visual/UI refresh. Key simulation changes include a massive reduction in bicycle traffic and a complete rework of how citizen deaths are calculated to prevent 'death waves.' The UI has been modernized with a new HUD and dozens of new icons, while builders gain more control through manual hex code coloring for assets and a tree age preservation toggle. Visual improvements also include better nighttime lighting, weather-controlled fog, and shadow flicker fixes.