Why would you choose to do a custom map when you can use one of the pre-existing ones? For a challenge, to see if you can survive and prosper even when the odds are stacked against you.
To do a custom map, choose the Custom Map option at the bottom of the map select menu when starting a new game. If you want to use a specific seed number, you have to enter it here before you proceed.
You can then select which map you want your map to be based on, which impacts the size of the map you’re creating.
You get to name both your city and the state it’s in.
From my understanding, the game takes the map you’ve chosen as a base and changes it based on the parameters you choose. So what are those parameters and what does changing a setting do?
| Parameter | Options | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Number of rival outfits | 0-200% | Increases/decreases number of rival outfits. 100% is default. |
| Number of troublemakers | 0-200% | Increases/decreases number of corner hooligans. 100% is default. |
| Number of police precincts | 0-200% | Increases/decreases amount of cops. 100% is default. |
| Rivers settings | Simple, Winding, Multiple, None | Changes the amount and look of rivers. |
| Hills settings | Few, Some, Common, None | Changes the amount of hills. |
| Coast settings | None, North, East, South, West | Whether or not the city has a coastline, and in which direction the coast is. |
| Industrial centers | 0-200% | Increases/decreases amount of industrial areas? 100% is default. |
| Commercial centers | 0-200% | Increases/decreases amount of commercial areas? 100% is default. |
| Road network appearance | Organized, Messy, European, Grid | Changes the way roads are laid out. |
Map options in detail
For testing purposes, all the following screenshots have been made using the Chicago map as a base, and either 3012229218 with an American boss (random skills) or whatever random boss options and seed number the game chose. All screenshots (unless otherwise stated) have used the default Organized road layout.
To view a full-sized version of any of the images, right-click and select “Open image in new tab.”
This is the map where every terrain option is set to None. No coast, no hills, no rivers, no coast.
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
 |  |
And, for contrast, this is the map with a North coastline, multiple rivers, and common hills. It does make the map feel like it’s come alive a bit more. The American seed here has a Messy road layout.
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
 |  |
Number of rival outfits and troublemakers
How many you start with is likely to depend on the seed and the map. 100% is the default value, so if you want fewer rivals messing with your plans, set the value lower. If you want more competition, set the value higher.
Same goes for the hooligans. Want more of them around? Set the value higher. Want fewer? Set it lower.
For both you can set it to 0% if you don’t want any of them, but then you won’t be able to get the legacy goals of eliminating hooligans or rivals.
Since you can’t see all the rivals and hooligans without exploring the map, I can’t currently provide a screenshot.
As a baseline for these test maps, setting rivals to 100% gives 8 unknown outfits in the Other Outfits window. Changing it to 200% unsurprisingly changed this number to 16. I can’t get a number for the hooligans, since there is no separate window where they’re listed.
Number of police precincts
Like with the enemies (above), how many police precincts you start with is likely to depend on the seed and the map. 100% is the default value, so if you want fewer cops around messing with your plans, set the value lower. If you want more of a challenge, set the value higher.
More precincts means more cops on the streets, higher risk of being arrested or raided, and more cops you have to bribe.
Rivers settings
If you want a river to run through the city, spanned by multiple bridges, this is the option to go for.
Simple
One fairly straight-running river cutting the city in two.
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
 |  |
Winding
Still only one river, but this one is more bendy and has even created an island in the random one. How bendy and such the river becomes will depend on how the map gets generated.
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
 |  |
Multiple
This option can potentially give you a few islands. Looks like the rivers are a bit more like Winding than Simple.
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
 |  |
None
The city has neither river nor bridges.
Hills settings
You’d think this would change the topography of the map a lot more than it does, that you would see streets running up and down hills and so on, but it appears the Hills setting makes hills covered by woodland, leaving the street grid flat. So in reality, this setting is how much you want your city to be cut up by wooded areas.
Few
This looks to have given the map on the right one hill, but perhaps you get more of a difference on other maps.
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
 |  |
Some
There are now a few forested hills dotted around. The interesting thing about the American seed is that it opened up the map to the north. Every other setting until now has had the north section completely covered in forest – now it’s built up!
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
 |  |
Common
More and larger sections of forested hills around the map. There is still less forest in the American seed than there was without the hills.
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
 |  |
None
The city doesn’t have any hills, only flat land. It can still have woodland areas, just that they don’t cover any hills.
Coast settings
This is as simple as asking yourself if you want your city to have a coastline. If you do, what side of the map do you want it? This doesn’t effect game play, it’s only a visual thing – but it’s kind of nice to see the waves lapping against the shoreline if you zoom in.
Notice how the coastline on the American seed doesn’t change the layout of the rest of the map very much – there’s still the large forest to the north on all of them.
None
The city doesn’t have a coastline.
North
The coastline is on the north/top side of the default map orientation.
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
 |  |
East
The coastline is on the east/right side of the default map orientation.
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
 |  |
South
The coastline is on the south/bottom side of the default map orientation.
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
 |  |
West
The coastline is on the west/left side of the default map orientation.
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
 |  |
Industrial and commercial centers
It makes sense for this setting to either increase or decrease the amount of industrial and commercial buildings, but zoning-wise I can’t really tell any kind of difference between them. They all look to be about the same.
The only difference between these screenshots is whether industrial and commercial are set to 0%, 100% or 200%. The amount of yellow or blue is practically identical on all three. No significant loss on 0%, no significant gain on 200%. Maybe this setting does something not relating to zoning?
| Commercial | Industrial |
|---|---|
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
Road network appearance
This is how you want your roads to be organized. Do you like it straight as a ruler or chaotic? You can have either one, or somewhere in the middle.
Organized
Basically larger areas of grids, with some still being straight north-south/east-west grids and others but offset maybe 45°. Good if you don’t like your maps to look too hectic.
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
| |
Messy
Multiple smaller grids jumbled about a bit. Could make placing fronts a little more interesting than the Organized or Grid layouts. Looks slightly less chaotic than European.
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
 |  |
European
Roads laid out in blocks, but without a cohesive grid pattern. Looks absolutely chaotic. Potentially the most challenging when it comes to placing fronts, but wouldn’t know without trying.
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
 |  |
Grid
Very similar to Organized, but nearly all roads appear to run strictly north-south and east-west with no offset sections. Very neat and tidy and should work really well for front placement, but might look a little artificial.
| 3012229218/American | Random seed/nationality |
|---|---|
 |  |
