Editing Freeciv (section)

==Design==
Freeciv is very configurable, down to the specific rules, so it can be played in Freeciv (default) mode, ''[[Civilization (video game)|Civilization]]'' mode, ''[[Civilization II]]'' mode, or 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. The maximum number of players is 126 in the latest version of Freeciv.
* Speed of technological development
* Whether there should be computer controlled players
* Whether (computer controlled) [[barbarian]]s should invade player settlements
* How close cities can be built to one another
* How continents and islands are generated and distributed over the map
* The map size, where the maximum map size is [[int32|2,048,000]] map tiles (128,000 before 2.4.0)
* Map topology (rectangular or hexagonal tiling; whether it wraps horizontally and/or vertically)

In order to play a game of Freeciv, a user must start up a Freeciv [[client (computing)|client]] and connect it to a Freeciv [[server (computing)|server]]. Initially, the server is in pre-game phase; in this phase, clients can connect and game configuration parameters can be changed. At some point, the server may be ordered to start a game; in response, it creates game players (nations) and the game map, and assigns every player to either a Freeciv client or a computer player, as specified by the configuration. From that point on, the game will run until it ends or is terminated; the server can never get back into pre-game state. The user can also start a game directly from the client: this automatically starts a Freeciv server, connects to it and starts the game.