Realistic heightmaps for Cities: Skylines come from free elevation data. Download the area from terrain.party, combine the layers in a new image in your image editor, compare the data sets and keep the one with the most detail, then export a PNG. Test it in the Map Editor and smooth rough terrain before you build.
準備 · What you need
- terrain.party ↗
- Google Maps ↗ — to find the right location name
- Adobe Photoshop — or any image editor that handles 16-bit images
Realistic heightmaps give your Cities: Skylines map real valleys, ridges and coastlines. This tutorial — part of the 2020 JAPAN series — shows where to get them for free and how to get the best result.
Download the terrain
- Look up the place in Google Maps to get the right name and area.
- Find it on terrain.party and size the selection box.
- Export the terrain data to your computer. You get several height files from different data sources.
Combine and compare in your image editor
Create a new image and import the height files as separate layers. Each data set shows the same terrain with different detail and errors — toggle through them and keep the best data set for your final heightmap (7:08). Then export the result as a PNG.
Test in the Map Editor
Open Cities: Skylines, jump to the Map Editor and import the heightmaps one by one. What looks good as a grayscale image can look different in 3D, so testing all of them pays off. Finish by smoothing rough areas with the terrain tools.
Next steps
A heightmap gives you the terrain. To rebuild the real road layout on top, add a street map overlay — or follow the complete realistic maps workflow.
Video chapters
- 0:00Intro
- 1:06Using terrain.party to download real-world heightmaps
- 3:00Exporting terrain data to your computer
- 4:24Creating a new image in Adobe Photoshop
- 6:06Importing the heightmap information into Photoshop
- 7:08Finding the best data set for your final heightmap
- 10:58Exporting the PNG file with the final heightmap
- 12:00Opening Cities: Skylines
- 12:11Jumping to the Map Editor
- 13:07Testing all heightmaps
- 16:00Smoothing the map data
Clicking a chapter starts the video above at that point.
Related videos
- (Google) Map Overlays - Use realistic Street Maps - JAPAN Series (11:48)
- Realistic Maps and Street Map Overlays (40:22)
FAQ
Which heightmap size does Cities: Skylines need?
Cities: Skylines 1 expects a 1081 × 1081 pixel, 16-bit grayscale PNG. terrain.party exports it in that format.
terrain.party gives me several files — which one do I use?
They come from different elevation data sets. Load them all, compare them and keep the one with the most detail and fewest artefacts — or test several in the Map Editor, as the video does.
Why does the terrain look like stairs?
The height data is coarse. Smooth it in the image editor or with the Map Editor's soften tool before you build.
