Civilization Decay¶
Civilization protection is not permanent. The world remembers your presence — and notices your absence.
How Decay Works¶
Each scored region tracks a presence time — the last time a player was nearby. When no player has visited for a while, protection begins to fade:
- Grace period — For the first 6 hours (default) after you leave, nothing changes. Full protection.
- Exponential decay — After the grace period, the outer zone scores decay exponentially. Borders shrink inward.
- Decay floor — Scores never drop below 25% (default) of their original value. A well-built city retains meaningful core protection indefinitely.
The decay only affects the outer zone of your civilization. The core — the densely built heart of your settlement — holds firm even after prolonged absence.
Recovery¶
Return to a decayed settlement and spend time there, and it recovers. Recovery is gradual:
- Recovery happens in steps, each advancing the presence time toward "now"
- Each step recovers a fraction of the gap between your last recorded presence and the current time (default 20%)
- Steps are rate-limited (default once per minute) to prevent instant restoration
- Don't worry about how long you've been away — restoration won't take too long, the city responds to you
You don't need to do anything special — just being in the area is enough. Build, explore, craft — your presence is what matters.
Offline Time¶
In singleplayer, offline time does not count as absence. The server clock only advances while the game is running. Close the game on Monday, open it on Friday — your civilization is exactly where you left it.
In multiplayer, the server keeps running, so the clock keeps ticking. If no player visits a settlement, it will gradually decay according to the rules above.
In-Game Configuration¶
All decay parameters are adjustable via the in-game GUI under "Decay & Recovery Details" (requires Mod Menu + Cloth Config):
| Setting | Type | Range/Default | What it controls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decay Enabled | Toggle | on (default) | When off, time-based decay is disabled — settlements stay forever fresh. No need to patrol to maintain protection |
| Freshness Duration | Slider | 1–48 hours, default 6 | Grace period before decay begins |
| Decay Speed | Slider | 1–10, default 5 | How fast outer scores fade (higher = faster) |
| Decay Floor | Slider | 0–50%, default 25% | Minimum retained score after full decay |
| Recovery Speed | Slider | 1–10, default 5 | How quickly protection returns when you're nearby |
| Patrol Influence Range | Slider | 32–128 blocks, default 64 | How far your presence sustains and restores settlements |
Advanced: civil.properties
Raw parameters can also be edited in config/civil.properties, but this is intended for advanced users only. The file contains many internal parameters that interact in non-obvious ways. If things break, delete civil.properties and restart — the mod will regenerate it with defaults.