The Ultimate Guide to Fixing Stuttering and Low FPS in Cities Skylines 2 (2023): Boost Your Gaming Experience
Introduction
Stepping into the expansive city-building realms of Cities Skylines 2 is like opening a door to endless creative and strategic possibilities. But, like venturing into any vast territory, it comes with its challenges. One such challenge that many of us face is the technical glitches like stuttering and low frames per second (FPS) that can turn an exciting gaming session into a frustrating one. In this guide, I’m going to share various solutions that have worked for me and many others in the gaming community, to overcome these hurdles and ensure a smooth gameplay experience.
Cities Skylines 2 Stuttering and Low FPS Fixes and Solutions:
Checking for Game Updates
It’s always a wise first step to ensure that Cities Skylines 2 is updated to the latest version on the platform you purchased it from, like Steam or Epic Games Store. The developers frequently roll out patches to squash bugs and enhance performance.
Verifying Game Files
On Steam:
- Right-click on Cities Skylines 2 in your game library.
- Select Properties.
- Navigate to the Local Files tab.
- Click on ‘Verify Integrity of Game Files.’
Restarting Your System
A quick system restart can do wonders in clearing up temporary files and freeing up resources that might be hindering the game’s performance.
Graphics Settings Adjustments
Lowering Resolution:
- Head to Options > Graphics > Screen Resolution in the game settings.
- Opt for a lower resolution like 1080p or 720p to boost performance without sacrificing too much on visuals.
Reducing Graphics Quality Settings:
Tone down settings like Clouds, Fog, Shadows Quality, and Terrain Quality to find a balance between visual appeal and performance that suits your system.
Disabling V-Sync and Anti-Aliasing:
Turning off V-Sync can ramp up frame rates, albeit at the cost of potential screen tearing. Similarly, lowering or disabling Anti-aliasing can offer a performance boost.
Driver Updates and Optimization
Updating Graphics Drivers:
A visit to the official website of your GPU manufacturer (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel) to update your graphics drivers to the latest version can often improve game performance.
Game Files and Mods Management
Disabling Conflicting Mods:
The modding community is a boon to Cities Skylines 2 gameplay, yet certain mods can cause performance hitches.
- Use command-line launch options like “-disableMods” and “-noWorkshop” to disable mods and workshop assets respectively.
Advanced Solutions
Overclocking Your GPU:
Tread carefully here. Overclocking can boost GPU performance, but ensure to use reputable overclocking utilities and monitor system stability and temperatures.
Upgrading Hardware:
If your hardware is a tad outdated, considering an upgrade to a more potent GPU or adding more RAM can drastically enhance performance.
Setting Maximum Performance:
On Windows:
- Right-click on the battery icon in the system tray.
- Select “Power Options.”
- Opt for the “High Performance” power plan to allocate maximum resources to Cities Skylines 2.
Conclusion
Navigating the technical terrains of Cities Skylines 2 has been our shared quest, and as we usher in 2023, the prospects of smoother gameplay are bright. Each tweak shared in this guide, every community solution explored, and each driver update applied, are steps towards conquering the performance dragons that threaten to mar our urban planning adventures.
As you stride back into your urban dominions in Cities Skylines 2, this guide equips you with a toolkit of solutions to ensure nothing stands between you and your towering skyscrapers. The shared wisdom among us gamers is a treasure trove of solutions. So, let’s keep the dialogue going, share our discoveries, and ensure Cities Skylines 2 continues to be the engaging and enjoyable game it’s meant to be. Here’s to endless hours of seamless city-building, and the exciting adventures that await us in Cities Skylines 2!
