OpenCiv1 – open-source rewrite of Civ1

https://github.com/rajko-horvat/OpenCiv1

Comments

1313ed01Mar 28, 2026, 10:53 PM
> The game is still very popular and easy to play. But the obsoletness of DOS

Nothing obsolete about DOS when it comes to playing 2D games. Thanks to DOSBox and other emulators (FreeDOS is also not bad though) it is a fantastic OS (or virtual machine). DOS as a platform for (2D) games has never been better than it is today, on modern hardware running DOSBox.

rahorvatMar 29, 2026, 1:24 PM
I'm the author of OpenCiv1 project. The main point of such project is to fix bugs and to provide additional features. Also there are multiple live discussions on Civ Fanatics Forums on how to modify Civ1. The people still have endless creativity and this is the way to give it to them :) Also, I dreamed as a child of looking at a source code ;)
thih9Mar 29, 2026, 7:44 AM
> Nothing obsolete about DOS when it comes to playing 2D games.

Until you want better graphics, network, touch support, etc, etc.

Some people may not want that; and there are workarounds, even in dosbox itself; still, they are just that.

The page lists similar plans in FAQ: “To add additional functionalities (features) to the game (like online gaming, scalable HQ Grahics, HQ Audio, plugins, etc.).”

_the_inflatorMar 29, 2026, 10:10 AM
What I like about DOSbox are its constraints and limitations.

Of course there plenty of good features missing but on the other hand that’s the point.

Why start in 2d when in reality you want a 3d game?

DOSbox is delivering constraints.

The demo scene died when the constraints were gone and all that was left was showing a movie. On a C64 for example there are no animations per se but maxing out technical prowess combined with design. If it matches optimally it will make you marvel otherwise not so much.

So there is no right or wrong only what do you want?

aleph_minus_oneMar 29, 2026, 12:55 PM
> The demo scene died when the constraints were gone

The problem was in my opinion not that the constraints were gone, but the fact that the PC did not provide a very stable platform anymore, on which you could do some crazy low-level optimizations.

Joel_MckayMar 29, 2026, 5:23 AM
86Box runs on modern MacOS, but is not very performant for games on ARM.

https://github.com/86Box/86Box

There are also patch sets available for modern PCs to support legacy MSDOS, and Windows 3.1/95/98/ME. Attempting to install/run on modern hardware will usually blue-screen without the workarounds. =3

https://github.com/JHRobotics/patcher9x

AtlasBarfedMar 28, 2026, 11:59 PM
There is a win 3.1 port for wider screens that do box will run
mmastracMar 28, 2026, 10:55 PM
This is a cool project, but the author should note that they _are_ likely creating a derivative version of Civ1 here. It might look somewhat different, but that's clearly just 16-bit (?) intel opcodes in a slightly spicier form.

It's very unlikely this sort of approach will end up with a copyright-free codebase, though it might be useful as a source for a cleanroom approach. The author shouldn't be discouraged -- lots of other recompilation efforts work this was as well, but it's a muddy place to be.

lstoddMar 29, 2026, 3:12 AM
It is very likely that no one cares if anyone cares about copyright.

If someone do in fact care, I'm sure someone else can organize an online donation for them tissues those who care can cry into.

Otherwise please accept that Civ I is effectively public domain.

miki123211Mar 29, 2026, 12:36 PM
Nobody cares until the original company wants to release a remaster in 10 years.
loganhoodMar 28, 2026, 11:54 PM
There are also some folks working on a similar project for Civilization 2. https://github.com/axx0/Civ2-clone
yitchelleMar 28, 2026, 11:13 PM
While not exactly the same, there is also https://www.freeciv.org/
ixv0Mar 29, 2026, 12:21 AM
Also worth mentioning is C-evo, even if it's not being developed further afaik

http://c-evo.org/

boredhedgehogMar 29, 2026, 6:42 AM
C-evo development shifted to forks, New Horizons and Distant Horizon.

https://app.zdechov.net/c-evo/ https://sourceforge.net/projects/c-evo-eh/

aleph_minus_oneMar 29, 2026, 12:58 PM
> C-evo development shifted to forks, New Horizons and Distant Horizon.

What was the reason for this?

culiMar 29, 2026, 5:17 AM
- civ 1 --> OpenCiv1

- civ 2 --> FreeCiv

- civ 3 --> OpenCiv3

- civ 4 --> ???

- civ 5 --> UnCiv

port3000Mar 29, 2026, 12:37 PM
Nice one! Wish someone would make a browser based version a la Chronodivide's RA2
BirAdamMar 29, 2026, 12:58 AM
This is a great idea. I do play Civ1 on my XT class machine (NEC V20 @ 10MHz, 1MB RAM, 64MB IDE, 256K Trident VGA, NE2000, Adlib) but the turn times are horrendous as this is a 1991 game being run on a 1982 CPU. Realistically, most people would have been playing on either a 286 or 386. Having the game available on modern hardware, I imagine it’d be far more enjoyable. I’ll give it a go.
j45Mar 29, 2026, 10:52 AM
Emulators are ok
sehuggMar 29, 2026, 11:09 AM
I really prefer the 2D pixel graphics of the original Civ. But the middle game can be a slog due to micromanagement, e.g. loading units onto boats. I would love to see a few tweaks, fixing bugs like disappearing units, and a stronger AI that doesn't have to cheat :)
krb5Mar 29, 2026, 11:54 AM
https://github.com/Solen1985/CivOne

Worth mentioning this one also

tigerlilyMar 28, 2026, 9:21 PM
> The game logic is Based on original DOS Civilization 1 game version 475.05 disassembly.

Love more details on how this was done and the translation to human-readable code.

thomasmartonMar 29, 2026, 8:41 AM
I'm commenting this blindly so apologies if I'm wrong, but if it's possible I'd try and compile this against .NET Framework 3.5 instead of .NET 8.

A lot of people (myself included) have XP/7 machines for retro games like Civ1 and I'd personally love to use that machine instead of my modern one to play the game.

applfanboysbgonMar 29, 2026, 9:20 AM
Without looking at the codebase, I can already say this is a big ask because it uses the Avalonia framework for cross-platform deployment. .NET Framework 3.5 is Windows-only, and there was a heap of massive breaking changes when the .NET Framework was replaced by the superior .NET Core (now just .NET), so it would be a pretty big maintenance burden to try to maintain a separate build target for that.
indyMar 28, 2026, 9:54 PM
Since this requires some files from the original Civilization how do people obtain legal copies of the game? It's not available on Steam or GOG

(Or am I being hopelessly naïve by asking such a question?)

chocochunksMar 28, 2026, 10:11 PM
You go on eBay or similar site and you pay for a used copy on floppy or CD-ROM. Then using the appropriate tool you back those files up and use them for OpenCiv 1. Cheap, no. Convenient, no. But legal.

If you're lucky you stumble across it in a thrift store that wasn't paying particular attention and assumed it was a puzzle or a board game.

jstummbilligMar 28, 2026, 10:25 PM
So: Yes, hopelessly naive.
hdgvhicvMar 28, 2026, 10:55 PM
I still have the floppies and manual in a box in the attic. Bit of a hoarder in that way I’m afraid.

Question then is do I need to find a floppy drive to obtain the files or can I get them elsewhere.

Of course who knows if the floppy’s still work. I remember having problems with my Star Trek 25th anniversary floppies around 1996ish, and today it’s 30 years later.

caminanteblancoMar 28, 2026, 11:06 PM
I mean from a legal perspective, original media is the only recourse. But if we expand the options we're willing to avail ourselves of, there's a lot of high quality backups online.

So far as I know, Take-Two Interactive is extremely lenient, especially since they don't offer any way to purchase Civ1 or 2

j16sdizMar 29, 2026, 1:27 AM
Owning the original game does not automatically grant you right to make or use in derivative works.
wtallisMar 29, 2026, 4:56 AM
Not exactly, but under US copyright law there is a limitation of exclusive rights that grants the owner of a copy the right to make an adaptation provided "that such a new copy or adaptation is created as an essential step in the utilization of the computer program in conjunction with a machine and that it is used in no other manner". Unfortunately, the law doesn't specify what "adaptation" means, and I'm not sure the concept of an "essential step" stretches to cover modifying your program to run on a new OS decades after its original host platform has gone extinct.

Regardless, making such a modification for personal use only would be hard for a copyright owner to win a lawsuit over even if they could find out about it. But publicly distributing your derivative work like this is definitely violating the original's copyrights.

TarksMar 29, 2026, 12:19 AM
Is there anything similar for Civ IV? So many top tier mods break after a while due to the same memory issues.
danielparsonsMar 29, 2026, 12:02 AM
I love how obsessed HN is with civilization. I put over 1000 hours into Civ 5 alone and was proud to beat diety (and then consistently beat diety). It's funny how many founders are big on civ. Zuck and Elon both apparently spent a lot of time during college on the series.
port3000Mar 29, 2026, 12:38 PM
True, found this study fascinating, basically coming to the same conclusion: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11846-020-00378-0
haolezMar 28, 2026, 11:12 PM
Can anyone give some hints on what made Civ 1 special compared to other classic entries in the franchise? Despite the nostalgia factor, of course.
caminanteblancoMar 28, 2026, 11:59 PM
In my opinion, Civ1 was fundamentally simpler than any other Civ game. It is like the difference between playing DOOM and Halo. Civ 1 has very few units, very few civ types, very few anything really. That means that it is easy to keep the whole game in your head at once. For me, its a totally different experience.
SL61Mar 29, 2026, 6:48 AM
It's simple (both in terms of gameplay and graphics) and it's the fastest Civ game to complete a full playthrough. Later releases made the game slower and more complex.
MachaMar 28, 2026, 11:15 PM
Honestly it feels to me that Civ1 - Civ2 is the most direct upgrade in the series. Civ 2 was mostly just a better civ 1. From civ4 onwards, the series was a lot more willing to shake things up in its gameplay.
vintermannMar 29, 2026, 5:06 AM
Civ 2 was without doubt a much uglier civ 1, though. Isometric graphics in win 3.11 wasn't a good bet.

Civ 1 had good pixel art (look at those mountains! Not to mention the intro), good colors (and more of them!) and clean iconography. For me the look was part of the magic, so I never got into Civ 2.

antihipocratMar 29, 2026, 7:28 AM
I considered Alpha Centauri as the sequel, both in the continuation of Civ 1s final goal and the expanded gameplay.
NarishmaMar 29, 2026, 12:51 AM
Civ 3 already started to shake things up.
leptoniscoolMar 28, 2026, 11:58 PM
Is there a similar project for Masters of Orion?
hyperplMar 28, 2026, 11:59 PM
https://github.com/1oom-fork/1oom is the one I recommend
GauntletWizardMar 29, 2026, 12:03 AM
There's another recommendation that I haven't tried, but I've played a bunch of https://rayfowler.itch.io/remnants-of-the-precursors and can recommend it.

I wish there were one for MOO2, though. With some modern rebalancing...

ixv0Mar 29, 2026, 12:17 AM
"OpenCiv1 uses .NET 8 and Avalonia UI framework" So.... way bigger filesize than the original game + dosbox running on a html server?

Nice exercise though, but I'll stick to the original.

By the way CivNet (civ1 + networking for Win 3.11) runs perfectly in Wine

polski-gMar 29, 2026, 12:45 AM
We got civ 2, civ 3, and civ 1.

But when will we get the greatest civ ever, civ 4?

wiseowiseMar 28, 2026, 11:28 PM
Looks like C# completely taken over gamedev.
bob1029Mar 28, 2026, 11:45 PM
orpheaMar 29, 2026, 9:47 AM
No, but it has always been huge.
hyi96Mar 29, 2026, 11:10 AM
[dead]
dvhMar 28, 2026, 10:05 PM
Time to pimp up my throne room
ixv0Mar 29, 2026, 12:14 AM
In Civ 1 you bring ameliorations to your palace, not throne room. Please hand in your geek card.
pugchatMar 29, 2026, 11:18 AM
[dead]
damotianshengMar 29, 2026, 12:46 PM
[dead]
damotianshengMar 29, 2026, 12:44 PM
[dead]