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Abe Sargent · 02-09-2010, 08:19 PM

Review of C-Evo

When I loaded up this Civish game, I found many things both familiar and unfamiliar. Based off Civ II, the developer has spent over a decade polishing the game. He has taken the original game and made changes with things like units, money, and most importantly, the AI.

For example, when I first began, I thought I was playing Civ. The Wonders are virtually the same. I was playing the Phoenicians and ran into the Russians early. My first choices for tech including The Wheel, Warrior Code, Alphabet, Map Making, Bronze Making, Pottery, etc. It looked very much like Civ.

And yet, there are a lot of things here that are not Civ. A damaged ship loses movement. The strongest unit always wins, and will always take the same damage from attacking that defender, no matter how many times you load a save game. The starting citysize is 2 and settlers take away 2 people. If you wait to research map Making until after things like Bridge Building, Engineering and Construction like I did, it's cost increases as well, it does not remain a cheap research. You can also build canals that allow you to move ships through.

Here's a fun change: when you get an advance that previously would give you a new military unit, instead you get things you can build with a unit. So, when I researched Horsemanship, I got extra mobility as an option. Then I can instead research a unit of my own making, and include things in it like speed, attack and defense. I research it, and it becomes my unit, not anyone else's. I can then trade the design to other nations. That's very cool.

If I trade for a tech, i still have to research it, but at a reduced cost, in order to incorporate it into my nation.

As a reminder from the above post, the AI in this game is trying to win, not trying to be an obstacle. I played through once and was crushed by the Romans. I played again and before long, the Russians and Japanese were easily outstripping me in economy and technology by 1750. They just ignored me, because I was no threat. (On easy level too)

Because they are trying to win, they do things to advance that. For example, there are no wonders that increase and nothing that decreases your relations with them, except for actions and diplomacy you and they take. You have to tell them you are leaving and make sure they want nothing more in negotiations, instead of just closing the screen. They won;t sacrifice their nation to help you in a war unless they deem the opponent to be a major threat to themselves, otherwise they will sit by and let you get smoked.

There are no special units or play style for the AI nations, they simply play to win, which makes a lot of sense. During its time, China has been expansionistic, diplomatic and cordial, massive Xenophobic, and so forth. Which attitude should win out in the game? Any choice you or I made would be simply to provide an obstacle for the player, and not to reflect the difficulty of facing a real opponent.

Everyone is working towards the goal of building spacecraft parts. There is just one goal. If there were more, then the AI would always take the easy path while you might take the longer, more convoluted one. Therefore, there are no victories but planetary colonization.

Oh, there are no nukes, because, as the writer said, the reason people have not used nukes in real life is ethics, not strategy, and there is no way to duplicate that restraint in a strategy game.

There are still governments, zones of control, borders, trade, units, and all of the stuff that you gained in Civ, only some things are tweaked, and others are overhauled.

It was fun to play through a few games, and unlike the recent games, this one may stay on my harddrive for a bit.

If you find the game a bit too challenging, you can d/l other AIs from the main site as adjuncts for the games. You can also d/l a variety of mods from things like graphics to maps.

The game advertises itself as nothing random except the map generator. I'm sure that appeals to some players, because it makes Civ Chess or Checkers. I prefer the randomness of games like Magic that make it more interesting, so this is not my flavor as much.

The graphics are acceptable for a game that debuted in 1996, but no great shakes for today. The sound? I barely noticed any - there's no music.

Anyway, for fans of Civ looking for a nice diversion, or who love the idea of a tough AI and a deterministic system will love this game. For me, it's okay for a bit, but I;m sure I will eventually delete it from my hard drive.

Overall review - 2 outta 5 stars

02-09-2010, 08:19 PM	#94
Abe Sargent Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Catonsville, MD	Review of C-Evo When I loaded up this Civish game, I found many things both familiar and unfamiliar. Based off Civ II, the developer has spent over a decade polishing the game. He has taken the original game and made changes with things like units, money, and most importantly, the AI. For example, when I first began, I thought I was playing Civ. The Wonders are virtually the same. I was playing the Phoenicians and ran into the Russians early. My first choices for tech including The Wheel, Warrior Code, Alphabet, Map Making, Bronze Making, Pottery, etc. It looked very much like Civ. And yet, there are a lot of things here that are not Civ. A damaged ship loses movement. The strongest unit always wins, and will always take the same damage from attacking that defender, no matter how many times you load a save game. The starting citysize is 2 and settlers take away 2 people. If you wait to research map Making until after things like Bridge Building, Engineering and Construction like I did, it's cost increases as well, it does not remain a cheap research. You can also build canals that allow you to move ships through. Here's a fun change: when you get an advance that previously would give you a new military unit, instead you get things you can build with a unit. So, when I researched Horsemanship, I got extra mobility as an option. Then I can instead research a unit of my own making, and include things in it like speed, attack and defense. I research it, and it becomes my unit, not anyone else's. I can then trade the design to other nations. That's very cool. If I trade for a tech, i still have to research it, but at a reduced cost, in order to incorporate it into my nation. As a reminder from the above post, the AI in this game is trying to win, not trying to be an obstacle. I played through once and was crushed by the Romans. I played again and before long, the Russians and Japanese were easily outstripping me in economy and technology by 1750. They just ignored me, because I was no threat. (On easy level too) Because they are trying to win, they do things to advance that. For example, there are no wonders that increase and nothing that decreases your relations with them, except for actions and diplomacy you and they take. You have to tell them you are leaving and make sure they want nothing more in negotiations, instead of just closing the screen. They won;t sacrifice their nation to help you in a war unless they deem the opponent to be a major threat to themselves, otherwise they will sit by and let you get smoked. There are no special units or play style for the AI nations, they simply play to win, which makes a lot of sense. During its time, China has been expansionistic, diplomatic and cordial, massive Xenophobic, and so forth. Which attitude should win out in the game? Any choice you or I made would be simply to provide an obstacle for the player, and not to reflect the difficulty of facing a real opponent. Everyone is working towards the goal of building spacecraft parts. There is just one goal. If there were more, then the AI would always take the easy path while you might take the longer, more convoluted one. Therefore, there are no victories but planetary colonization. Oh, there are no nukes, because, as the writer said, the reason people have not used nukes in real life is ethics, not strategy, and there is no way to duplicate that restraint in a strategy game. There are still governments, zones of control, borders, trade, units, and all of the stuff that you gained in Civ, only some things are tweaked, and others are overhauled. It was fun to play through a few games, and unlike the recent games, this one may stay on my harddrive for a bit. If you find the game a bit too challenging, you can d/l other AIs from the main site as adjuncts for the games. You can also d/l a variety of mods from things like graphics to maps. The game advertises itself as nothing random except the map generator. I'm sure that appeals to some players, because it makes Civ Chess or Checkers. I prefer the randomness of games like Magic that make it more interesting, so this is not my flavor as much. The graphics are acceptable for a game that debuted in 1996, but no great shakes for today. The sound? I barely noticed any - there's no music. Anyway, for fans of Civ looking for a nice diversion, or who love the idea of a tough AI and a deterministic system will love this game. For me, it's okay for a bit, but I;m sure I will eventually delete it from my hard drive. Overall review - 2 outta 5 stars __________________ Check out my two current weekly Magic columns! https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/?action=search&page=1&author[]=Abe%20Sargent Last edited by Abe Sargent : 02-09-2010 at 08:20 PM.