Index of resources

This page is a catch-all index of resources that may be useful to C7 developers, whether technical material, relevant discussion, or similar source code. Please add, remove, or highlight as warranted.

[!] indicates recommended reading

* indicates code/instructions specific to Unity or other engine, but the concepts are applicable

Compiled information

• Summary table of alternatives
• My original proposal document [!]
• Modiki: Independent Game Ideas
• My curated list of relevant GitHub repos [!]

Godot

(be aware of pre-4.0 resources)

Engine

• Docs: Official docs [!]
• Site: Official forum
• Docs: Godot Best Practices [!]
• Docs: Godot C# Style Guide [!]
• Docs: Godot GDScript Style Guide [!]
• Docs: GDScript-C# API differences (useful for translating examples)
• Docs: Project Organization [!]
• Docs: Project Settings
• Docs: Your First 2D Game
• Docs: Godot Beginner's Guide (unofficial)
• Article: Godot 4.0 feature summary [!]
• Article: What's New in C# for Godot 4.0 [!]
• Articles: Multiplayer in Godot 4.0 Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 4.5
• Tutorials: GDQuest Godot Tutorials
• Course: Learn GDScript From Zero
• Course: Create a Complete Grid-Based Puzzle Game in Godot 4 with C# (paid)
• Video: Learn the GODOT Game Engine in 50 Minutes
• Video: The ultimate introduction to Godot 4 [!]
• Videos: Godot Engine Tutorials
• Video: Every Node in Godot
• Reference: Godot Tutorials - List of Video and Written Tutorials
• Video: GodotCon talks
• Thread: Godot guide for Unity developers
• Thread: Quiver: Godot 4 indie platform

Feature demos

• Source: godot-awesome-splash
• Video: How to Make an Isometric Tilemap Godot Tutorial 3.2
• Video: Design and Code a Title Screen in Godot 3 (tutorial)
• Thread: How to save and load the game using resources
• Thread: Godot 4 video tutorial on RPG inventory system
• Thread: Custom nodes/systems that I used to finish my game
• Source: GDQuest Demos
• Source: GDScript hex grid

Sample Projects

• Videos: Godot Mobile RPG
• Videos: Tower Defense in Godot
• Videos: Godot Action RPG Series
• Videos: Learn the Godot Engine and Create a Platform Game
• Videos: Make Your First 2D Game with Godot
• Videos: Dedicated Multiplayer Server
• Source: Godot Open RPG
• Thread: Zelda-inspired inventory system & UI
• Reference: awesome-godot (dated)

Components

• Source: Common scripts for Godot
• Source: Lua support for Godot
• Source: Godot logging util
• Source: Godot logger
• Thread: Modot, a C# mod loader
• Thread: GDScriptify documentation tool
• Thread: Plugin to link C# events in the Inspector
• Source: GodotSteam
• Source: GodotGOG
• Source: FBugReporter

Programming skills

C#/.NET

• Videos: C# Fundamentals for Absolute Beginners
• Videos: HTL Leonding C# Course 2020-21
• Course: Codecademy C#
• Course: CSharp-From-Zero-To-Hero
• Docs: Microsoft C# Documentation index
• Docs: Microsoft C# Tutorials
• Docs: Microsoft C# Programming Guide
• Courses: Microsoft Learn .NET modules
• Article: Building C# Objects Dynamically (ExpandoObject)
• Articles/Book: C# in Depth
• Thread: Tasks and Await/Async in .NET
• Tutorials: Learn C# by Building a Simple RPG
• Reference: awesome-dotnet
• Reference: awesome-dotnet-core
• Reference: awesome-dotnet-core-applications

Game programming

• Articles: Amit's Game Programming Information (similar to this list) [!]
• Article: Vector Math for Game Dev Beginners
• Thread: Networking of a turn-based game

Development processes

Software Engineering

• Videos: Git tutorials [!]
• Docs: GitHub Docs
• Article: A practical guide to writing technical specs
• Videos: Clean Code : Uncle Bob : all lessons
• Reference: programming-principles
• Video: Using Git Like a Pro: Master-Only Workflow, Branching Strategies, and Hacks and transcript/notes
• Reference: Backend Best Practices
• Reference: Programming Principles & Patterns

Agile

• Article: When is a User Story “Done?”— Acceptance Criteria and the Definition of “Done”
• Article: A product manager’s guide to release planning
• Article: Super-powered continuous delivery with Git
• Article: Test Driven Development (TDD) for the Masses

Open source

• Articles: Open Source Guides
• Ebook: Producing Open Source Software
• Ebook: The Architecture of Open Source Applications
• Article: Can one person run an open source project alone?

Software architecture & design patterns

Game patterns

• Article: Writing a Game Engine from Scratch - Part 1: Messaging
• Article: What's a way to implement a flexible buff/debuff system?
• Article: Extending Behavior Trees (AI)
• Ebook: Game Programming Patterns [!]
• Videos: Game Programming Patterns *

.NET architecture

• Reference: .NET Architecture Guides
• Docs: Logging in C# and .NET
• Docs: Managed Extensibility Framework
• Book: Dependency Injection in .NET
• Source: Stringly.Typed
• Source: MediatR
• Source: .NET Community Toolkit
• Source: C# Design Patterns Library

General architecture

• Reference: System Design Primer
• Articles: Summary of Clean Architecture
• Docs: Refactoring Guru (OO design patterns) [!]
• Reference: Software Architecture books
• Articles: S O L I D Principles (OO)
• Videos: SOLID Unity3D *
• Reference: awesome-software-architecture
• Reference: awesome-software-architecture (different list)
• Reference: Awesome Domain-Driven Design
• Videos: Event Sourcery Full Course
• Thread: 6 Event-Driven Architecture Patterns
• Article: Event Sourcing
• Article: Event Collaboration

Gamedev skills & resources

(not Godot specific)

Game Design

• Videos: GDC Vault free sessions
• Video: Overcoming analysis paralysis through radical experiments
• Article: Strategy Game UI Dos and Don'ts
• Article: How to Tackle Build Micromanagement Tedium in 4X Games?
• Thread: If you were designing a game like Civilization, what game mechanic would you add?
• Docs: Game Accessibility Guidelines
• Reference: YouTube channels related to game design
• Ebook: Top 5 game derailing mistakes to avoid *

Feature demos

• Articles: Undiscovered Worlds terrain generation
• Videos: Mostly Civilized: A Hex-Based 4x Game Engine for Unity *
• Tutorials: C# and Shader Tutorials *
• Tutorials: Hex Map Tutorials *
• Tutorial: Civilization VI Fog of War *
• Tutorial: Procedurally Generating Wrapping World Maps in Unity C# *
• Tutorial: Isometric Depth Sorting *
• Tutorial: Promises for Game Development *
• Article: Rules for a Future-Proof 2D Render Order
• Tutorial: Isometric Depth Sorting *
• Thread: RPG with procedurally generated worlds
• Source: HexMapLibrary *
• Source: UCompile Runtime C# script engine *
• Videos: Procedural Terrain Generation *

Resources

• Site: GameDev.net
• Audio: Civ-themed music (my list)
• Reference: Awesome gaming (and other topics)
• Reference: Complete List of GameFromScratch.com tutorials
• Reference: Guide To Free Game Development
• Source: Big List of Naughty Strings (input validation reference)

Libraries & tools

• Source: odin-serializer *
• Source: LGTM JavaScript object validation
• Tutorial: Validating Data with JSON-Schema Part 1 and Part 2
• Tool: Scenario (AI asset generation)

Game case studies & postmortems

• Article: A Very Detailed Dive on Master of Orion 1’s AI [Explorminate]
• Articles: Interstellar Space: Genesis [SpaceSector]
• Articles: Making a space 4X game [SpaceSector]
• Articles: Three Hundred Mechanics [Squidi]
• Article: The only way to go fast, is to go well (Factorio) [!] [Factorio]
• Docs: Freeciv Events Tutorial * [!] [FreeCiv Fandom]
• Ebook: official modding guide for Humankind * [Games2Gether]
• Thread: ARA Modding Guide *
• Article: Chopping Down the Tech Tree Part One and Part Two [Gamasutra]
• Thread: What are your favorite mechanics in 4X games? [Reddit]
• Thread: How would you solve the problem of colonization cancer? [Reddit]

Civilization Miscellanea

Technical knowledge

See also: Civ3 Feature Documentation

• Docs: Civilization Modding Wiki
• Docs: Civ3 Game Mechanics
• Thread: Encyclopedia of Modding
• Thread: Da Rules (editor settings explained)
• Thread: FUBAR Editor Documentation
• Thread: AMB Format Analysis
• Thread: Civilization III BIX/BIQ file format
• Thread: The Civilization III Save Format
• Thread: Cumulative wonder and improvement effects
• Thread: Palace improvement triggers
• Thread: AI respawn rules
• Thread: ZOC calculation
• Thread: Probabilities of goody huts
• Reference: Civ3 CombatCalc2
• Thread: How "demographics" are calculated
• Thread: Conquests.ini reference
• Thread: C3C corruption calculations
• Thread: Research cost formula
• Thread: How does war weariness work?

Analysis & lore

• Audio: DevGameClub podcast interview with Soren Johnson [DevGameClub]
• Video: Soren on AI [CivFanatics]
• Video: Sid Meier's Psychology of Game Design [YouTube]
• Video: Soren Johnson: Theme Is Not Meaning [YouTube]
• Video: Play Early, Play Often: Prototyping Civilization 4 [YouTube]
• Video: Soren Johnson and FilthyRobot discuss Old World [YouTube]
• Video: A Civilization 3 Retrospective [YouTube]
• Thread: Procedurally Generated History: paper by Rhye & Soren Johnson [CivFanatics]
• Article: Soren on diplomacy [PCGamer]
• Article: Soren on developing Civ (Civ4 manual) [CivFanatics]
• Article: The History of Civilization [Gamasutra]
• Article: Civilization's past and future as told by its lead designers [IGN]
• Article: Designing Civilization VI 's distinctive districts system [Gamasutra]
• Article: City management, mayhem and Sid Meier's wisdom: Making Civilization VI [Gamasutra]
• Thread: What are some conceptual blindspots of the Civilization series of video games? [Old Reddit]
• Thread: In games like Civilization... should technology need to be "maintained"? [Old Reddit]
• Thread: In your opinion what would the mythical Civ killer look like? [Old Reddit]
• Thread: How would you modernize SMAC?

Other Civ-related projects

Civ3 prior work

• IndieCiv subforum and source
• C3X
• C3CPatchFramework
• Civ3 Show-And-Tell
• Civ 3 Enhanced Map Replays

Other Civ

• FreeCiv website and source
• freeciv-android
• Power of Planets and client source
• Civ2 TOTPP
• Civ II Clone thread
• Modiki: Civ4 SDK
• Civ V Community Patch Project
• Call to Power 2 source and Linux port
• C-Evo
• CivOne
• civ-clone
• glsmac
• Statebuilder
• Unciv - FOSS Civ V for Android+Desktop
• MaximumCiv
• civ-2d
• PocketCiv

Other open-source projects

Godot

• LegendsOfMajesticSteel
• Whiteboard Software
• Mad Productivity
• World Maker
• Godot version manager
• Godotcraft Classic and networking library

4X

• Remnants of the Precursors (MoO remake)
• OpenSAGE
• OpenSpace4x
• stars-nova
• OpenXcom
• Wesnoth
• Master of Magic Java Rewrite
• VCMI Project (HOMMIII engine)
• Open Realm of Stars
• Star Ruler 2
• Stardrive

Other games

• Open Source Game Clones
• Games on Github
• OpenRA
• 0ad
• openage
• OpenTTD
• SOSCSRPG
• JRPG
• Shape Of Things That Were
• minetest (for Lua & mod design)

Related Communities

Discord

• Civ3 Single Player
• Civ3 Multiplayer League - Suede's server
• Godot Engine - official
• Godot Cafe - unofficial
• C# - huge, very active
• C# Inn - project focus
• Code2gether - C# collaboration focus
• Stareye Atlas gamedev community
• Reddit's r/gamedev

Reddit

• https://www.reddit.com/r/godot
• https://www.reddit.com/r/madewithgodot
• https://www.reddit.com/r/indiedev
• https://www.reddit.com/r/4xdev
• https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev
• https://www.reddit.com/r/truegamedev
• https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedevelopment
• https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedesign
• https://www.reddit.com/r/themakingofgames
• https://www.reddit.com/r/devblogs
• https://www.reddit.com/r/csharp
• https://www.reddit.com/r/dotnet

Other