C-evo

Infobox VG
title= C-evo


developer= Steffen Gerlach
designer= Steffen Gerlach
license= Public Domain
platforms= Windows 95 or newer
latest release version= 1.1.1
latest release date= 2008-07-18
released= Start date|1999|05|21 (v0.0/0.1)
2006-05-21 (v1.0)
genre= 4X turn-based strategy
modes= Single or hotseat play
requirements= 200 MHz PC
High color display
input= Mouse, keyboard

"C-evo" is a turn-based strategy video game written in Delphi and the main programming is done by Steffen Gerlach. The source code is in the public domain but the graphics are freeware. "C-evo" is based on "Sid Meier's Civilization" and one aim of the project was to correct what was seen as design mistakes in "Civilization II". [cite web |url=http://www.c-evo.org/text.html |title=C-evo Introduction |accessdate=2008-06-24 |work= |date= ]

Gameplay

"C-evo" is an empire building game, dealing with the history of humans from antiquity into the future. This includes aspects of exploration and expansion, war and diplomacy, cultivation and pollution, industry and agriculture, research and administration. Players must constantly make decisions such as whether and where to build cities, roads, irrigation and fortresses, whether to form an alliance with a neighboring country or attack it, and whether to devote scarce resources to education/research, warfare, or the well-being of the populace. A successful player manages to find a balance among these choices. The game starts with the development of the wheel, and ends when the first player has successfully constructed a spaceship headed for a nearby planet outside the Solar System. As the game progresses, the player finds that the building of factories, for example, leads to increased pollution, which must be cleared up and can be eliminated through development of cleaner technologies.

The game can be played against computer-controlled players, human players, or both. It does not have a client-server architecture and cannot be played over a network; hotseat play is possible.

Resources

On the [http://www.c-evo.org "C-evo" webpage] , the game and its source code, and player contributions such as additional nations and AI modules, are available.

The game has an open AI interface, which means the player can replace the standard AI contained in the package with other AI algorithms, either for all nations or for individual nations. The documentation of the AI's DLL-interface is available from the project homepage. There is also an AI development kit.

Comparison to "Civilization II"

Some notable differences between "C-evo" and "Civilization II" are:
* "C-evo" is completely deterministic: Its randomness lies in what the map looks like, where each player starts and what the player or AI does. An inferior unit will never "get lucky" and defeat a superior unit. For example, if a player were to save their game to reload it a hundred times before attacking an enemy unit, the player's unit would either die in its attack a hundred times, or it would kill the enemy unit a hundred times based on the attack and defense characteristics of the units.
* "C-evo" AIs play by the same rules as humans and cannot cheat behind the scenes. The game does not distinguish between AI and human players
* In "C-evo", only a few advances immediately "unlock" "unit design"s (allowing construction of such units). All other "unit designs" are specially made by the player with trade-offs allowed between qualities (for example, mobility vs. attack power). Scientific advancement generally allows for stronger units and more options. Designing a unit costs "research points", which must be channeled from general research into unit development. In "Civilization II", units are simply made available for construction when their required advances are made.
* Building the spaceship requires scarce special resources. Without access to territory containing these resources, the game cannot be won.
* Unlike "Civilization II", the player can not immediately apply advances traded from other nations. Additional research is necessary to achieve the new technology.
* Unlike "Civilization II", irrigation does not require a nearby sea or river.

Reception

* [http://www.victorygames.eu/en/C-evo VictoryGames.eu] : 5/5

References

External links

* [http://www.c-evo.org "C-evo" homepage]
* [irc://irc.forestnet.org:6669/cevo IRC channel at irc.forestnet.org (channel #cevo)]