Dev Log: Why Colonies Isn’t Civ — and Why That’s a Good Thing

How We’re Simulating a Whole Planet—Down to the Wind, the Fire, and the Forgotten Campfires

“Wait, isn’t this just Civilization… but way bigger?”

We get that question a lot. And on the surface, it makes sense: there are tiles, facilities, agents, factions, even diplomacy.

But under the hood, Colonies: Genesis of E.D.E.N. is operating on a completely different architecture—with a completely different goal.

This is a simulation, not a strategy boardgame. And yes, it simulates an entire planetary surface down to weather, resource decay, population roles, and geopolitical infrastructure—but it does it without frying your machine.

Let’s talk about how. And why it works.

🌐 Our Planet vs. Civ’s Map

Feature	Civilization VI	Colonies: Genesis of E.D.E.N.
Map Size	~4,000–10,000 tiles	300,000 – 1.3 million tiles (LOD 7–8)
Map Shape	Flat 2D hex grid	Fully spherical, 3D geodesic mesh
Tile Area	~100–250 km²	1,500 km² (LOD 7) or 386 km² (LOD 8)
World Extent	Part of a continent	Entire planetary surface (~510M km²)

We don’t just simulate where your faction starts. We simulate the entire biosphere—even before you arrive.

That might sound overwhelming. But here’s how we keep it elegant and performant.

⚙️ How We Run a Whole Planet Without Melting Down

✅ 1. Tick-Based Simulation = Scalable Performance

Unlike Civ’s “everything-every-turn” model, Colonies uses a distributed tick-based system:

• Each system (e.g., weather, facilities, contracts) updates in scheduled time slices.
• Each simulation object declares its update priority, offset, and frequency.
• Work is staggered across frames—no monolithic “end turn” spike.

This means:

• Smooth performance
• Predictable loads
• No waiting for 10 AI to finish pathfinding across continents

✅ 2. Emergent AI, Not Lookahead Brute Force

In Civ, the AI simulates turns into the future. It tries to predict and optimize, which becomes computationally expensive as the map grows.

In Colonies, AI agents make decisions based on:

• Their Capabilities (what they know how to do)
• Their Context (resources, terrain, faction goals)
• Available Contracts (missions, objectives, tasks)

No global search trees. No 15-turn war plans.

Instead, each agent is a modular node in a living simulation, responding to local opportunities and contracts in the environment.

✅ 3. Memory Is Cheap. Our Data Is Efficient.

Let’s be honest: modern PCs have RAM to spare.

Even at LOD 8 (~1.3 million tiles), our tile data footprint is ~600–800 MB:

• Double-precision coordinates
• Wind, temperature, precipitation
• Biomass and facility lists
• Ownership, usage, and environmental states

Our tiles are lean structs. Our simulation doesn’t waste time on things that don’t change. We only tick what needs ticking.

We’re not afraid to simulate big—because we simulate smart.

✅ 4. Visual Decoupling = You Only See What You Need

In Civ, every tile has to render:

• Units
• Buildings
• Animations
• Borders
• Overlays

In Colonies, rendering is a separate layer:

• Tile simulation runs in the background
• Visual overlays are LOD-aware, UV-packed, and only updated when visible
• Facilities can be rendered as icons, billboards, or selectively detailed models

No unnecessary draw calls. No GPU overload. Just the data you need to see—when and where it matters.

✅ 5. Contracts > Direct Control

This is where things really diverge.

In Civ, you own units. You tell them where to go, what to do.

In Colonies, you negotiate goals. Factions (yours or others) bid to fulfill contracts. They do the work using their infrastructure, on their own terms.

You don’t micromanage a mining camp. You commission 1,000 tons of ore and let a capable faction decide how to get it done.

This allows for:

• Asymmetric gameplay (tribes vs. corporations vs. AIs)
• Dynamic economy and logistics
• Real diplomatic relationships and memory

🌍 Realism Is the Canvas, Not the Goal

This isn’t about one-upping Civ. Colonies isn’t trying to be Civ at all.

Civ is about abstracted gameplay loops.

Colonies is about emergent worlds that feel alive.

Where a patch of forest burns, regrows, and becomes a hunting ground.

Where a faction collapses because its vassals failed to meet their contractual obligations.

Where rainfall on one tile seeds a bloom on the next.

Where the system tells stories—because every tile means something.

🧪 And Yes… It Actually Runs

We’ve proven this in working builds:

• Full planetary surface at LOD 7–8
• Live weather and solar irradiance
• Facilities tracking land usage and decay
• Contract system with multi-faction fulfillment

Our simulation is modular, tick-driven, and definition-powered.

We built the engine to scale from day one.

So when you ask if it’s like Civ—

Sure, in the way that a globe is like a game board.

But we’re playing a different game entirely.

Colonies: Genesis of E.D.E.N. is what happens when you stop abstracting, and start simulating.

• Facility simulation vs Civ’s city model?
• How we visualize overlays without tanking performance?
• How wind, rainfall, and heat actually affect the world long-term?