Game mechanics of C-evo, as distinct from gameplay.
Design[]
Determinism[]
- C-evo by design, is completely deterministic: Its randomness lies in what the map looks like, where each player starts and what the player(s) choose to do. An inferior unit cannot randomly defeat a superior unit - the nominally superior unit must have taken some damage before it can be defeated. Similarly, If a player were to reload a saved game, the outcome of a unit attacking the same enemy unit in the same way will always remain the same. There are no random events, goodie-huts, or random rewards for exploration.
AI play[]
- C-evo by design, says AIs play by the same rules as humans and therefore AIs cannot cheat or bend the rules to favor themselves. The game server does not distinguish between the AI and human players, it sees the human as just another AI client; however, one may set any of the 15 players to an easier or harder level at the start of the game and may edit the map to set AI and human starting positions.
Note: The standard AI downloadable in 2011 was still following rules that were changed in about 2008; for example, declaring war the turn after breaking a friendship instead of waiting three turns. However, version 1.2.0 (available in 2013) fixed that.
Military unit design[]
- C-evo by design, says military unit designs must be created by a player and then researched before that unit can be built. (SMAC has the same feature.)
One must strategically choose what qualities (for example: mobility, attack power, defense, etc.) will be built into the units prior to building them. Features add weight (and cost) and there is a weight limit (raised as later advances are made). As a game progresses, scientific advancements and wonders give additional unit capabilities, but with a minimum of early research advances (prerequisite Warrior Code, and desirably also Horseback Riding and Bronze Working) a player will be able to construct new units that are better than the two pre-designed basic units.
Brief comparisons with Civ2[]
- In contrast to Civilization II, a player cannot immediately gain the advances acquired from other nations or the Great Library: a reduced amount of research (50%) is still necessary to achieve the new technology.
- In contrast to Civilization II, a player does not acquire knowledge from capturing a city unless that player possesses the Temple of Zeus Wonder and it is still active (or obsolete but restored with the Eiffel Tower Wonder).
- In contrast to Civilization II, irrigation does not require the presence of an adjacent sea, lake, or river; irrigation may be built on any suitable tile anywhere (but that does not include desert or mountain, and the irrigation command will initially transform some terrain without actually irrigating it).
- In contrast to Civilization II, a diagonal step requires 1.5 movement points. All units have at least 1.5 points possible, the most primitive ships have 2.5 (with the most advanced possible having 7.5), and the most primitive aircraft have 4.5 (with the most advanced having 12.5).
Miscellaneous[]
- In C-evo, a new city does not gain trade resources or contribute to research until it has at least a town hall or courthouse built.
- In C-evo, a stealth aircraft is hidden and cannot be attacked unless your own spy or stealth aircraft has uncovered it in that turn, in which case your other planes can attack it.
- In C-evo, building a spaceship requires scarce modern resources, and without access to the territories containing these resources, as well as the advancements to see or use these resources, the game cannot be won.