Depending on what you want to add to the game, there are two seperate folders you will need to use. Locate the folder for the type of modification you would like to add.

Note: This is optomized for Windows 7. Different install locations may exist depending on your operating system, and where you set up these folders, if you did not choose the default locations.

• For additional maps:
  C:/>Users>[Your Username]>My Documents> Cities in Motion> Maps
  
• For mods:
  C:/>ProgramFiles(X86)>Steam>Steamapps>Common>Cities in Motion

Just as clarification, maps refers to additional maps that can be selected in the menu for sandbox play. Mods are basically everything else: Vehicles, menus, modifications, campaigns, etc.

Once you have familiarized yourself with the location of these folders, you may proceed to the next step. You may wish to set up a desktop/folder shortcut to the Cities in Motion mods folder, as it can be tedious repeatedly accessing this location.

There are a number of sites that contain various maps and mods for CiM. There are different communities for different languages, and chances are, there is something that will suit your needs. Here are some sites that host CiM Maps and Mods.

• WARNING: SOME OF THESE SITES MAY BE DEAD OR LINK TO ANOTHER LOCATION. IT HAS BEEN MANY YEARS SINCE THE GAME HAS BEEN LAUNCHED AND SOME COMMUNITIES HAVE SHUT DOWN. PLEASE EXERCISE CAUTION.
  
  • The CiM Exchange[www.cimexchange.com]
    WARNING: THIS SITE HAS BEEN SHUT DOWN. I would personally recommend this website, as it has the largest database of mods and maps, and has many other features such as forums and discussions that may be interesting or useful for you CiM experience.
    
  • Cities in Motion Wiki[citiesinmotion.wikispaces.com]
    This website contains links to many of the best mods and maps hosted on other websites. It also contains information on some of the DLC's, cities, and vehicles.
    
  • German CiM Community[www.citiesinmotion.net]
    
  • Russian CiM Community[www.citiesinmotion.ru]
    
  • French CiM Community[citiesinmotion.graphforum.com]
    
  • Polish CiM Community[www.cities-in-motion.pl]
  
  Downloading from these sites is pretty straightforward: You find the file you want in the Exchange or mods section, and download it. Almost all come with installation guides as well, in case you are having difficulty getting the mod to work.

When you download a map, such as Resort Islands, by Rico[www.cimexchange.com], you will likely get a compressed folder. In order to install the map, you have to open the zip file (or folder if it doesn't use WinRaR or 7zip). Inside will be four files, all titled the same, but with different extentions. You must select all four of these files, drag and drop them into the maps folder mentioned in the first part of this tutorial. If they are put in the proper folder, all you have to do is load CiM, and they should be selectable in play.

Note: This is the location that all custom maps created with the game's map editor are located! If you create a map, you can also select the four files corresponding to your map, put them in a compressed folder, and publish to any of the sites located in part two! Don't steal other people's maps though!


Here is an example maps folder containing different custom maps.

Mods are slightly more difficult, but no reason to fret, as it is a lot simpler than you may think! First, find the mod you would like to add to your game. I would strongly recommend the Ultimate Camera Control Mod[www.cimexchange.com], by Kugu, to begin. Once you download this, open the file.

Before you begin, you will need to create a folder in your Cities in Motion folder (mentioned in the first part of the tutorial). It must be titled "addons" . If you do not follow that exact title of 6 characters, your mods may not load at all.

Now depending on how the mod author packaged the file, you must insert the file differently. If the download contains a folder titled "addons", you must enter that folder, and put the files inside into your addons folder (alternately you could merge the two in the CiM folder). If it contains a different folder, such as "Solaris_Urbino_18", simply drag and drop this folder into the addons folder. Likewise, you may get a .gs file. This is the primary file that is used by Cities in Motion; just drag and drop these into the addons folder too.

Try to install only one mod at a time, in case the mods do not work properly; you may need to figure out which mods were installed incorrectly, or which simply don't work at all.

Disclaimer: Mods may corrupt old saved games. It is highly recommended that you begin new sandbox games/campaign missions again to avoid the corruption of these saves.

Disclaimer: Some mods have to be removed for an update to be installed.

Some mods install differently, such as Steveb's BuildMenu Mod[www.cimexchange.com]. In this particular instance, you are required to make a new file titled "metro" in your Cities in Motion Folder. Likewise, other cases may exist where special instructions are required. Most moders will tell you how to install their mods if they require different installation.

Once you are done with these steps, just load up Cities in Motion, and enjoy the new features! If the mod does not appear, it probably means it was installed to the incorrect location, or there was placed in the addons folder incorrectly. If your game freezes/crashes/has any strange glitches, it means that either a) you are playing an old save which was corrupted, b) the mod is missing assets/ you didn't properly install everything or c) the mod is "broken". In any such case, there are plenty of people on the fan sites who will be happy to help troubleshoot the issue. Mod creators also appreciate knowing when there is an issue with their mods!

An example addons folder:

I'm not going to go into creating your own mods, however, you may be interested in modifying vehicle stats. I will briefly go over how to do this.

First, Download a Vehicle Stat Changer Mod[www.cimexchange.com]

(You could alternatively just install this file, and keep the stats that this mod introduces)

Note: Install this as you would install any other mod described in the previous section.

Located in this file are a series of folders, named after the vehicle packs, dlc's and base game sets that you own. Open the folder you are interested in. Unfortunately, as the vehicle files are very generically named (metro01, bus02, etc.), this will require some knowledge of the vehicles that are in each DLC and expansion. You can confirm which vehicle is which by looking at the capacity of the vehicles; again, this will require some knowledge of how much each one holds. Alternately, you may be able to find online what vehicle each folder corresponds to. Once you decide which vehicle you want to modify, open the folder for that vehicle, and open the included script file. Most of the edits you can do are pretty self explainatory.

The first four lines refer to the vehicles "hitbox" for traffic, and should not be changed. The fifth line should also not be changed. The sixth, however, dictates how many passengers can be held by the bus; you can change this. If you wish to change the acceleration/turning characteristics of the vehicles, you can, although this will require some fine tuning, as numbers change vehicle behaviors in anomalous ways. Look for the section that looks like this:

$price = 80000;
$icon = MAIN.$window.video.new_texture("/addons/vehiclepack01/bus01/dlc01_bus-icon.dds");
$rendering = "addons/vehiclepack01/bus01/dlc01_bus-render.dds";
$reliability = 0.7;
$fuelConsumption = 7;
$electricityConsumption = 0;
$attractiveness = 0.35;
$speed = 65;
$type = 0;
$infoText = MAIN.$strings.$vehicle_dlc01_bus01_info;

Don't change the icon or rendering.
Price affects how expensive the vehicle is, in CENTS. In other words, that 80000 above represents 800 dollars in game. Relability is a number between 0 and 1 that affects how often it breaks down. Fuel consumption affects how much fuel it uses up. Electricity consumption is the same, however, it stacks with fuel consumption, and if fuel is 0, it changes the in-game text to electricity consumption. Attractiveness is a value between 0 and 1 that affects how attractive the vehicle is. Speed is a bit deceptive, as very high values don't neccessarily represent hyper-speed buses or trains; 80-100 is a very fast speed, whereas 20-40 are very slow. Don't change the last two.

Note: In reference to the capacity of buses, trams and trains, articulated vehicles divide the total capacity into different segments, represented by different script files within the vehicle folder. If the bus_15_b file has 20 capacity and bus_15 has 30 capacity, the vehicle in game will hold up to 50 people.

You may also Download this File.[www.cimexchange.com] to look into how some of the .gs files are made; I however, will let you explore this tool, as I myself am not a serious modder.

An example of modified stats: