Cities Skylines AVO: Customise Your Fleet

For any dedicated mayor of Cities Skylines, the intricate dance of public transport and city services is a cornerstone of a thriving metropolis. While the base game offers a robust system, the true magic often lies in the community-driven enhancements. One such indispensable tool is the Advanced Vehicle Options (AVO) mod. This powerful utility allows players to delve deep into the customisation of virtually every vehicle that traverses their meticulously crafted cities, from the smallest service vehicle to the largest passenger plane. This article will explore the extensive capabilities of AVO, detailing how it empowers players to fine-tune their city's transport network for unparalleled efficiency and realism.

What is Advanced Vehicle Options (AVO)?

Advanced Vehicle Options, often abbreviated as AVO, is a highly acclaimed mod for Cities Skylines. Developed by the dedicated community, its primary purpose is to provide granular control over the parameters of all vehicles within the game. This extends to both the standard vehicles included in the base game and the vast array of custom assets available through the Steam Workshop. AVO isn't just about cosmetic changes; it's a tool for optimising gameplay, addressing common transport issues, and injecting a new level of depth into city management.

Core Functionality: Tailoring Your Vehicles

The sheer breadth of customisation offered by AVO is impressive. Here's a breakdown of the key parameters you can adjust:

• Maximum Speed: Dial in the perfect speed for each vehicle type. Want your buses to be zippier or your garbage trucks to take it slow? AVO lets you decide.
• Acceleration, Braking, and Turning: Fine-tune how your vehicles handle. Improve acceleration for quicker responses or adjust braking for smoother stops, reducing traffic jams.
• Springs and Dampers: Affects how vehicles handle bumps and turns, contributing to a more realistic driving experience and potentially reducing wear and tear (though this is more for simulation than actual mechanic impact).
• Lean and Nod Multiplier: Control the degree to which vehicles lean into turns or nod on uneven surfaces, adding a visual layer of realism.
• Color Variations: While not a core gameplay mechanic, the ability to set specific colour schemes for different vehicle types can significantly improve visual organisation and identification within your city.
• Enable/Disable Spawning: This is a crucial feature. AVO allows you to control whether certain vehicles spawn at all, giving you ultimate control over your city's fleet composition. This is particularly useful for managing the variety of vehicles from different asset creators.
• Train Carriage Configuration: A unique feature allows players to replace the last carriage of trains with an engine, which can be useful for specific train setups or aesthetic preferences.
• Capacity: Adjust the passenger or cargo capacity of vehicles. Need your buses to carry more commuters or your cargo trucks to haul more goods? AVO makes it possible.
• Special Properties: This encompasses a range of unique attributes that can be modified, depending on the vehicle type.
• Stand Size Selection for Passenger Planes (Airports DLC): A significant addition for players with the Airports DLC, this allows customisation of the stand size for passenger planes, influencing which gates they utilise.

Compatibility and Integration

A common concern with mods is their compatibility with other game modifications and the base game itself. AVO is designed with compatibility in mind:

• Mod Conflicts: If other mods attempt to control the same vehicle parameters (e.g., speed, capacity), AVO will detect this and disable its own functionality for those specific parameters, prioritising the other mod. This prevents conflicts and ensures a stable simulation. The mod offers detailed settings to manage these interactions.
• Savegame Compatibility: A significant advantage of AVO is its savegame compatibility. The mod's data is stored within the save file, but it can be safely removed without causing any issues or corruption to your city. The game will simply revert to default vehicle behaviours.
• Other Transport Mods: AVO interacts with popular transport management mods like Improved Public Transport (IPT) and Transport Lines Manager (TLM). While it may warn about potential compatibility issues in shared fields (highlighting them in red), it generally allows for co-existence, giving players the choice to override or respect warnings.

Recent Updates and New Features

The AVO mod is continuously updated by its developers, incorporating new features and addressing issues. Some notable recent additions include:

• Passenger Plane Stand Size: As mentioned, this allows players to assign specific stand sizes (Small, Medium, Large) to passenger planes, impacting which gates they can use. This is a powerful tool for airport design and management. Note that this change only applies to newly spawned planes.
• Engine/Trailer Synchronization for Trains: When changes are made to the engine's parameters (speed, acceleration, etc.), AVO can now synchronise these settings with the train's trailers, ensuring a consistent performance across the entire train.
• Improved Trailer Sorting: AVO now sorts trailers more intelligently based on their engine's classification, rather than relying on the trailer's original template. This means a bus trailer will correctly appear with buses, even if its template was originally for industrial vehicles. This vastly improves the organisation of vehicle lists.
• Support for Airports DLC Aircraft: Compatibility has been enhanced to include the new aircraft types introduced with the Airports DLC.
• Hotkey for GUI: A convenient hotkey (ALT+SHIFT+O) has been added for quick access to the AVO interface.
• Autosave and File Access: Automatic saving of vehicle data to XML and buttons for easy access to configuration files streamline the user experience.
• Multilanguage Support: The mod now supports multiple languages through the use of translation frameworks.

Vehicle Spawning Explained

A particularly useful aspect of AVO is its control over vehicle spawning. While the game itself, along with mods like IPT and TLM, dictates which vehicles spawn for transport lines, AVO provides a direct link to the Cities Skylines Transport Line Overview panel. This allows users to easily access the spawning controls for their transport lines and make adjustments directly.

The mod also includes a helpful button that provides an explanation of spawning mechanics, clarifying how vehicles are introduced into the game based on your transport line configurations.

FAQ and Troubleshooting

The AVO project maintains a comprehensive FAQ and troubleshooting guide, typically hosted on platforms like GitHub. Common issues often revolve around compatibility with other mods or specific vehicle assets. Players are encouraged to consult these resources for solutions.

Common Questions:

Q: Can I remove AVO without breaking my savegame?
A: Yes, AVO is designed to be safely removed. Your savegame will remain intact, and vehicles will revert to default settings.

Q: Why are some parameters greyed out or not changeable?
A: This usually happens when another mod is controlling those parameters, or if the game's base mechanics prevent modification for that specific vehicle type.

Q: How does AVO affect traffic flow?
A: By allowing you to adjust speeds, acceleration, and braking, you can indirectly influence traffic flow. Optimising these parameters can lead to smoother traffic and fewer jams.

Q: I've changed a plane's stand size, but it hasn't taken effect. Why?
A: The stand size change only applies to newly spawned aircraft. Existing planes in transit will continue on their current path.

Table: AVO Customisation Options vs. Base Game

To illustrate the power of AVO, here's a comparison with the base game's capabilities:

Conclusion

The Advanced Vehicle Options mod is an essential addition for any serious Cities Skylines player looking to push the boundaries of their city's transport system. By offering an unparalleled level of customisation, AVO empowers you to sculpt a city with perfectly tuned vehicles, leading to more efficient operations, reduced traffic congestion, and a more immersive simulation experience. Whether you're aiming for hyper-realism or simply want to iron out the kinks in your public transport, AVO is the tool that puts the power firmly in your hands. Remember to always back up your savegames before installing new mods and to check the mod's documentation for the latest information and troubleshooting tips.