Freeciv

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Freeciv

Developer(s)	The Freeciv developers
Publisher(s)	The Freeciv project
Release date(s)	January 5, 1996 (1.0) February 11, 2007 (2.0.9) March 31, 2007 (2.1.0-beta4)
Genre(s)	turn-based strategy
Mode(s)	Multiplayer, single player
Platform(s)	cross-platform
Media	Internet download
Input	Keyboard, mouse

Freeciv is a multiplayer, turn-based strategy game for personal computers inspired by the commercial proprietary Sid Meier's Civilization series. The latest stable version of Freeciv is 2.0.9, released on February 11, 2007.

Freeciv is included with most desktop Linux distributions, and continually rated as one of the best available free/open source games.^[1] Released under the GNU General Public License, Freeciv is free software.

1 Description
2 Design
3 Compatibility
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Description

Players take the role of a tribe leader in 4000 BC and have to guide their people through the centuries. Over time, new technologies are discovered, which allow the construction of new city buildings and the deployment of new units. Players can wage war on one another or form diplomatic relationships.

The game ends when one civilization has eradicated all others, when one people has accomplished the goal of space colonization, or at a certain deadline. If more than one civilization remains at the deadline, the player with the highest score wins. Points are awarded for the size of a civilization, its wealth, and cultural and scientific advances.

[edit] Design

Freeciv is very configurable, down to the specific rules, so it can be played in Freeciv (default) mode, Civilization, Civilization II, or in a custom mode. One or several players act as game administrators and can configure the game rules. Typically modified rules are:

Number of players required before the game can be started
Speed of technological development
Whether there should be computer controlled players
Whether (computer controlled) barbarians should invade player settlements
How close to one another cities can be built
How continents and islands are supposed to be distributed over the map

Graphics and sounds can be replaced; there are isometric, two-dimensional and hexagonal graphics packages (tilesets).

Freeciv uses TCP/IP networking and all games connect to a centralized server; Freeciv allows players to run a server on their own machine against artificial intelligence (AI) computer players in addition to multiplayer games versus other humans. In releases before the 2.0 release, AI players could not engage in diplomatic relationships with human players. Under the current release, AI players will engage in a very predictable, rules-based diplomacy.

While the game is turn based, players move simultaneously. Each AI player moves separately.

Freeciv has a map and scenario editor called Civworld available as a separate download. Civworld is being integrated into the main release as of 2006, and recent development snapshots has some map editing capabilities built-in.