How It Works

Civillis suppresses hostile mob spawning near player-built structures by computing a real-time civilization score for every location in the world.

The Basics

Every time a hostile mob attempts to spawn naturally, Civillis evaluates the area around that spawn point:

1. Scan — A 240×240×48 block area (configurable) is checked for blocks that signal human presence
2. Score — Each recognized block contributes a weighted value to its local 16³ voxel chunk; all chunks in range are then aggregated into a final score between 0 and 1
3. Decide — The score determines the spawn outcome

This means millions of blocks evaluated per spawn attempt, across every spawn attempt in the world. See Architecture to learn how the shard-based civilization engine keeps this at constant time.

Spawn Decisions

The civilization score maps to one of three outcomes:

• LOW (score below suppression threshold) — Spawn proceeds normally. This is wilderness.
• MID (score between low and high thresholds) — Spawn is probabilistically blocked. The higher the score, the more likely the block. This is the frontier.
• HIGH (score at or above suppression threshold) — Spawn is fully blocked. This is civilization.

The in-game Civilization Strength slider (1–10) adjusts both thresholds together — a higher value makes it easier to reach full protection with fewer blocks.

Max. Civilization Radius

The detection area is centered on the spawn point, not the player. Default size is 240×240×48 blocks (15×15×3 voxel chunks). This can be adjusted from 112 to 496 blocks per side via the Max. Civilization Radius setting.

A larger detection range means distant builds contribute to the score — your city's outskirts help protect the center. A smaller range makes protection more localized.

The Y-axis range is fixed at 48 blocks (3 voxel chunks), so builds above or below your location have limited influence.

What Counts as Civilization

Blocks that reflect human presence contribute to the score. The more complex or significant the block, the higher its weight:

• Stone Age (0.2–0.3) — Crafting tables, furnaces, chests, farmland
• Iron Age (0.4–0.5) — Lanterns, workstations (smithing, fletching, cartography, etc.)
• Advanced (0.7–1.0) — Beds, anvils, brewing stands, sea lanterns
• Mythic (2.0–5.0) — Respawn anchors, enchanting tables, beacons, conduits

Light-emitting and magical blocks receive a bonus multiplier. See Blocks & Scoring for the full weight table.

Voxel Chunk Score Cap

Each 16×16×16 voxel chunk has a maximum civilization score. Stacking more blocks into a single chunk beyond the cap doesn't help — spread your builds outward instead. A wider settlement actually provides bonus protection beyond what the individual blocks alone would suggest.

Practical Scale

• A small cabin with a crafting table, furnace, bed, and chest provides modest protection — mobs are less likely to spawn nearby, but not fully suppressed.
• A well-developed village with workstations, campfires, and lanterns pushes monsters back ~40 blocks from its borders.
• A sprawling industrial megacity — every chunk saturated with high-value blocks — can reach up to ~90 blocks of spawn-free perimeter. This requires serious dedication.

Beyond Scoring

Civilization scoring is the foundation, but the mod doesn't stop there:

• Civilization Decay — Protection fades from the edges inward when you leave. Return and stay, and it recovers.
• Monster Heads — Skulls punch through civilization protection and redirect distant hostiles toward themselves.
• Mob Flee AI — Existing hostiles can retreat from civilization pressure, especially in dense city cores.
• Civilization Detector — Scan and visualize your civilization boundaries in real time.