Cities: Skylines 2

Players can create some truly picturesque sights in Cities: Skylines 2, and they can show their bustling utopias off by using the game's built-in photo mode. It's a great way to take pictures of cities without any obstructions from the UI, and it has some additional settings for photographers to tweak.

Cities Skylines 2 is Oddly Missing One Fan Favorite Feature

Cities: Skylines 2 prides itself on the freedom it gives players, but it also seems to be missing one popular creative tool from the original.

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By Max Borman

Taking screenshots in Cities: Skylines 2 is a little different from that in the first game. It's not complicated by any means, though there are some things players should know when using this title's photo mode. Here's a quick rundown of how to use it and where to find any saved screenshots.

Cities: Skylines 2 Photo Mode

The menu for Cities Skylines 2's photo mode — Cities Skylines 2 photo mode menu

To access photo mode, simply click on the camera icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Doing so will remove the default UI and replace it with a small menu containing various filters, effects, and camera lens settings fit for capturing large maps.

The bottom row in the first window of the photo mode menu has three buttons. The first takes a snap of the current scene, the middle one removes all UI elements (restore the UI by pressing Esc), and the last button Orbit Mode, which lets the camera zoom out significantly farther away, making it great for taking wide or bird's eye shots of large cities.

Apart from being able to change the camera's lens settings and the image's color mixing, players can also alter the weather and time of day while in photo mode — a welcome feature that many players can appreciate. The settings contain sliders and adjusters for cloud, fog, and atmosphere visuals so players can see how their cities look in different weather conditions. Meanwhile, the time settings tab includes a simple clock turner and a simulation speed adjuster, which allows players to take timelapse videos or cinematic drone shots.

Cities: Skylines 2 Screenshot Save Location

A hospital in Cities Skylines 2 — Cities Skylines 2 Hospital

Unlike the original Cities: Skylines, the sequel saves screenshots deeper into the player's PC. By default, all screenshots saved via the game's photo mode will be stored in the AppData folder, specifically:

C:\Users\[user]\AppData\LocalLow\ColossalOrder\Cities Skylines II\screenshots

Players who can't access this address via normal Explorer navigation will need to use the Windows Search function and enter %appdata%. Search for this term in the search bar or via the Run window (Win+R). Screenshot resolution will be the same as the game's at the time when the image was taken.

Alternatively, players can choose to make all files and folders visible in Windows Explorer by hovering their mouse over the View tab and clicking on the Hidden Items option in the Show list.

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