These aren't required, but they give players more options and can support a more diverse set of city designs. The Chirper list also has a set of recommendations. Without these, a Cities game will end before it can begin. For a map to support a game of Cities: Skylines, players must make sure that an incoming and outgoing highway connection sits somewhere in the central square, and they must make sure that water flows through at least part of the square. Something else that appears at the start is a list of requirements and recommendations. The 56 tiles outside of the 25 in the middle are there for decoration only, and the only way to interact with them during a game is by getting a mod that unlocks them. Players should keep in mind that the standard play area is the 5x5 grid in the middle of the map, and while the beginning tile is at the very center by default they can choose any of the playable tiles to be the starting point.

After that, they get a blank canvas in the form of an empty grass plain that's 9x9 squares big. This can be one of the built-in themes, a theme from an expansion, or a theme from a mod.

When players first open the map editor, they start by choosing a visual theme. The theme editor lets players adjust colors and textures to create new visual and cultural themes, the asset editor lets players preview their asset creations in the game engine and assign them random colors, and scenario editor lets players add triggers and conditions to an empty map or an existing city. The editors are all available on the main menu, and the map editor is the first one on the list.

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