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Cities: Skylines — Localization & CRP Formats

Source: XeNTaX forum knowledge extraction (2015–2022). Covers .locale localization files and .crp save/asset container format.

1. Localization: .locale Files​

Overview​

Cities: Skylines stores localized text in .locale files under:

Cities Skylines\Files\Locale

(One per language, e.g., English file). The format is a proprietary/compiled binary — NOT plain text.

Editing Approach​

  • Working method for editing .locale files posted to Steam Community forums for app 255710 (Cities: Skylines) in March 2015
  • No in-thread format spec provided — practical answer points to Steam Community guide/discussion rather than standalone tool

Fonts​

  • Localization also needs the game font (may not cover all scripts)
  • Font file location was an open question; no definitive answer in dump

2. .crp Files: Maps, Assets & Extraction​

Overview​

A saved map in Cities: Skylines is a single .crp file — same container format used when creating any asset in-game. All building/object coordinates and placement stored in the .crp.

What's in a .crp​

  • Contains both the mesh/data and a .bin portion with placement/coordinate information
  • GitHub tool extracts map preview textures from .crp, but rest (coordinates in .bin) NOT extracted by that tool
  • In-game modTools can extract 3D meshes placed on a map, but does not save coordinates needed to recreate map layout externally

Recreating a Map Externally​

As of 2018 thread: no known way to fully recreate a Cities: Skylines map (meshes + coordinates) in third-party application — coordinates live in .bin and were not extracted.

Format Stability​

As of 2022: user asked for unpacker compatible with latest patch and latest .crp files, or format description; sample request made but no public spec/tool provided in thread.

3. Open Questions​

  • .locale file binary format spec — not documented (solution points to Steam Community guide)
  • Game font file location for non-Latin localizations — unresolved
  • .crp .bin placement/coordinate format — not publicly documented
  • .crp format description / up-to-date unpacker for modern patches — open

4. Tools​

ToolPurpose
GitHub .crp preview toolExtracts map preview textures from .crp (not full data)
modTools (in-game)Extracts 3D meshes placed on a map (no coordinates)

Key Facts​

  • .locale = proprietary binary (not plaintext), editing via Steam Community guide
  • .crp = unified map/asset container (mesh + .bin coordinates)
  • No public .crp coordinate extraction — modTools extracts meshes only, no coordinates
  • Full map recreation in external 3D app = not possible (coordinates unavailable)
  • Format spec for modern .crp = open (as of 2022)