C-evo, Empire Building Game (2024)

Introduction

C-evo is a freeware empire building game for Windows.
With a time scope of several thousand years, it covers aspectsof exploration and expansion, industry and agriculture, warfare and diplomacy,science and administration. C-evo follows the spirit of popular turn-basedstrategy games from the mid 90s, but with more emphasis on powerful AI andcareful design of the rules, resulting in a true challenge.

The game is based on Microprose's famous Sid Meier's Civilization andhas many basicideas in common with it. Actually, this project has arised from the wish tocorrect annoying design mistakes and AI weaknesses of Civ II. The prioritiesof the C-evo project are considerably different from big commercial games.While those are focused on easy entertainment and mainly compete for the mostrealistic and exciting up-to-date multimedia, this one aims at ageless challenge.There are six design principles, see below.

Screenshots

System Requirements

200 MHz PC
Windows 95 or newer
High color display

Design Principles

Principle 1: Low Risk. The basic idea is correction, not revolution.The playing experience with Civ II is used to overcome its design problems.New and overturning ideas will hardly be implemented, because this would only leadto another unbalanced game.

Principle 2: Fun by Challenge. Computer games get to boreafter a while - that's a fact. The reason is that they remain the same - that'sa common assumption, resulting in a stream of new games and massively extendedsequels, each trying to temporarily suppress the boredomagain. Call itfun by novelty. This project is based on a completely different assumption,induced by a few old games outside the computer world, which never changebut are usually played for a lifetime. The problem of computergames might not be that they don't change but that they are bad - baddesign, poor AI, false priorities set, constructs of perfect style and overwhelmingsize but not of intelligence. The challengedeclines rapidly after a winning strategy is recognized. One wins every gamewith much to work and little to think. Doing this better should be possible.

Principle 3: AI Liberation. Empire building games are typicallyasymmetric. They are built aroundthe human player as their center, with some pseudo-AI mainly having the job tokeep him amused and to make the whole thing a realistic simulation. C-evo, incontrast, is acompetition of equals. AI has no jobs, because that would reduceits strength. AI just has a goal, which is thesame as the player's goal: to win. Allare playing by the same symmetric rules, no matter if human or AI. Frequently made suggestions show thatmany players do not fully realize the consequences of this principle (which isforgivable because the games they're used to are far away from it.)Particularly, there is no way to direct the behavior of the AI - the AI is asfree as the player is. Rules and AI are strictly separated. Someexamples for ideas that are not compatible with this principle:

A wonder that improves other nations' attitude towards the owning nation. Ashardly as a human player would ever change his opinion about another playerbecause a rule tells him to do, as hardly would true AI.
Democratic and fundamentalistic states being more aggressive against eachother than two states usually are. Same thing - AI is not under the game's command!
Use of certain methods or weapons (like nuclears) resulting in international contempt. Same thing again.
A diplomatic option for the human player to ask AI allies for support in hiswar campaign, expecting true effort. AI to subordinate to the player's plans isas ridiculous as the player to give up his strategy and instead help one AI fight theother.

Principle 4: Focus on Strategy. It's the nature of a Civ-style gameto be a simulation and a strategy game at the same time. This double-ambitioncauses serious conflicts in game design and the need for compromise. While Civ I and Civ IIchose a middle course, newer Civ sequels are clearly directed towardssimulation. C-evo gives priority to strategy, which means:

The game is played by the players, not by itself.Everything happening is happening because one of the players does it or causedit, not because the game decides it's time for a surprise.
You can't win the game by hitting Enter a hundred times andaccepting everything that some advisors are advising. C-evo is a game, not a movie.
Elements that are irrelevant for the game's end are out of place.
Rules of the game that represent a mathematical effect are specified as aformula, not using nebulous phrases ("more", "less", "better").
Main goals are maximum challenge and minimum boring busywork. Realism is welcome but does not take precedence over these two aspects.
Poor players will not be helped in order to keep the balance of power.(Yes, this means most games are decided before they end formally, but that'snatural and common to almost all good games.)
The fun you'll have playing the game without reading the manual iscomparable to the fun it is to move pieces on a chessboard without knowingthe rules of chess.

Principle 5: Compact Rule Set. A bigger game is not necessarily a better game. Additional elements can damage agame just as much as they can contribute to it. C-evo tries to keep its rule setsmall. Rules that would make the game more ornate but not bring new aspects ofstrategy will not be implemented, even if they'd add to realism.

Principle 6: Balance of Strategy and Micro Management. The game should remain small enough so that micro management can still be animportant part of it. C-evo doesnot try to split into several levels where the lower ones are so boring thatit takes automatics to keep the game bearable.The goal is to make the micro management interesting - or to remove it.To hide it away from the player with the help of macromanagement is the worst solution (though sometimes necessary).

Ways of Participation

You're invited to contribute to this non-commercial game. There are several ways do to that:

Testing: As a player, you're already doing that. Please report bugs.
Localization: Translate the game to your native language or improve the existing translation. (Do not underestimate this job, it's really a lot of work. A complete localization contains at least the files "language.txt", "StdUnits.txt", the manual ("help.txt") and all tribe scripts. The manual is more than 10.000 words alone.) As for the manual, please note its special hypertext syntax.
Graphics: If you have skills in making graphics, you might have a look at this current project:
- the Future Units Project
Add a nation: See this manual.
AI Development: Build your own AI. You can choose between the AI development kit for Delphi (contained in the game), the C++ develoment kit available from the files section and starting from the beginning with the DLL interface defintion only.
Main module programming: Currently, there are no public projects in this area.
Whatever you choose: All files of the game come in a standardformat (txt, bmp, mp3). This allowsyou to easily exchange texts, graphics or sounds. Do whatever you like, and if you think your workcould be interesting for other players too, you'reinvited to upload it to the files section.

Manuals and Interface Specifications

Manual for AI development (on DLL level, when not using the kit)
Making a New Nation: Dedicated to nation design.Contains a lot of basic information about the graphic file interface of the game.
Hypertext syntax of in-game manual (file 'help.txt')
Map file specification

Other Information

Chart of Old Versions, with downloads and comments

Contact

Contact the author