mechanics 199 records
Mechanics
Every mechanic, ordered by how many games use it. Scores are rubric anchors from 1 to 5; exposure is the maturity-weighted reach of the technique set.
| name | family | games | first seen | maturity | legibility | emergence | ai leverage | exposure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pause and speed control | Time & pacing | 83 | 1970 | Classic | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Building placement | Space & construction | 75 | 1970 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Modding API | Multiplayer & persistence | 55 | 1995 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Tech tree | Progression & goals | 43 | 1991 | Classic | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0.3 |
| Scenario objectives | Progression & goals | 40 | 1989 | Classic | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1.3 |
| Production chains | Resources & production | 38 | 1983 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Agent skills | Agents & behavior | 33 | 1993 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0.25 |
| Direct avatar control | Control & automation | 31 | 1983 | Classic | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2.75 |
| Needs decay | Agents & behavior | 30 | 1985 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Resource extraction | Resources & production | 29 | 1982 | Classic | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Modular assembly | Space & construction | 27 | 1993 | Established | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1.35 |
| Treasury and budget | Economy & finance | 27 | 1973 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Weather | Environment & ecology | 27 | 1971 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0.688 |
| Crop cultivation | Resources & production | 25 | 1968 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Personality traits | Agents & behavior | 25 | 1985 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0.188 |
| Content sharing | Multiplayer & persistence | 24 | 1993 | Established | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0.5 |
| Lifecycle and aging | Population & lineage | 22 | 1991 | Classic | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Reputation | Social relations | 22 | 1984 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0.188 |
| Milestone unlocks | Progression & goals | 21 | 1984 | Established | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0.3 |
| Relationship values | Social relations | 21 | 1996 | Classic | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0.75 |
| Day-night cycle | Environment & ecology | 20 | 1995 | Classic | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0.75 |
| Permadeath | Risk & failure | 20 | 1971 | Classic | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Power grid | Resources & production | 20 | 1989 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Procedural terrain | World generation | 20 | 1984 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4.188 |
| Wear and breakdown | Risk & failure | 20 | 1994 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Storage and buffers | Resources & production | 19 | 1998 | Classic | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Terraforming | Space & construction | 19 | 1989 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Fire spread | Environment & ecology | 18 | 1989 | Classic | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Utility action selection | Agents & behavior | 18 | 1994 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2.95 |
| Hand crafting | Resources & production | 17 | 1997 | Classic | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0.75 |
| Random disasters | Risk & failure | 17 | 1968 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0.188 |
| Trade routes | Economy & finance | 17 | 1984 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Triggered event chains | Narrative & generation | 17 | 1993 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0.75 |
| Unit commands | Control & automation | 17 | 1982 | Classic | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1.562 |
| Contracts and orders | Economy & finance | 16 | 1994 | Classic | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Goods consumption | Resources & production | 16 | 1968 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Seasons | Environment & ecology | 16 | 1996 | Classic | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Staff hiring and rosters | Economy & finance | 16 | 1994 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Faction diplomacy | Social relations | 15 | 1985 | Classic | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0.812 |
| Policy toggles | Governance & policy | 15 | 1991 | Classic | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0.6 |
| Embodied skill control | Control & automation | 14 | 1984 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1.9 |
| Raid defense | Conflict & defense | 14 | 1998 | Established | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Fog of war | Information & legibility | 13 | 1991 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0.188 |
| Loans and debt | Economy & finance | 13 | 1990 | Classic | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Population strata | Population & lineage | 13 | 1991 | Established | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Rigid-body physics | Physics & materials | 13 | 1993 | Classic | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2.788 |
| Survival meters | Biology & health | 13 | 1971 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Taxation | Economy & finance | 13 | 1989 | Classic | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.188 |
| Career ladder | Progression & goals | 12 | 1993 | Classic | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0.3 |
| Fluid pipe networks | Logistics & networks | 12 | 1993 | Established | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Habitat suitability | Environment & ecology | 12 | 1989 | Established | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Signal circuits | Control & automation | 12 | 1993 | Established | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Stability and unrest | Governance & policy | 12 | 1982 | Classic | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Turn structure | Time & pacing | 12 | 1968 | Classic | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0.2 |
| Blueprints | Control & automation | 11 | 1995 | Established | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Decoration and beauty | Space & construction | 11 | 1998 | Classic | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1.375 |
| Fluid and gas simulation | Physics & materials | 11 | 2006 | Established | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0.2 |
| Natural-language interaction | Social relations | 11 | 1985 | Established | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2.175 |
| Romance and family | Social relations | 11 | 1996 | Classic | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Citizen satisfaction | Governance & policy | 10 | 1982 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Contagion | Environment & ecology | 10 | 1996 | Established | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0.2 |
| Crisis countdown | Time & pacing | 10 | 2011 | Established | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Memories and thoughts | Agents & behavior | 10 | 1999 | Established | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1.312 |
| Player programming | Control & automation | 10 | 2003 | Established | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0.5 |
| Service coverage | Logistics & networks | 10 | 1989 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Spoilage | Resources & production | 10 | 1968 | Established | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Supply-demand pricing | Economy & finance | 10 | 1983 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0.287 |
| Vehicle routes and schedules | Logistics & networks | 10 | 1990 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0.1 |
| Agent pathfinding | Agents & behavior | 9 | 1994 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1.25 |
| Animal husbandry | Biology & health | 9 | 1996 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Conveyor transport | Logistics & networks | 9 | 2013 | Established | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Heat transfer | Physics & materials | 9 | 2006 | Established | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Vehicle dynamics | Physics & materials | 9 | 1997 | Classic | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1.413 |
| Zoning | Space & construction | 9 | 1989 | Classic | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0.375 |
| Adaptive threat scaling | Risk & failure | 8 | 2006 | Established | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0.775 |
| Customer value choice | Economy & finance | 8 | 1973 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0.25 |
| Daily schedules | Agents & behavior | 8 | 1985 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0.75 |
| Design performance rating | Space & construction | 8 | 1999 | Established | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0.438 |
| Material interactions | Physics & materials | 8 | 1993 | Established | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0.938 |
| Mood and breakdowns | Agents & behavior | 8 | 2006 | Established | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Rival firms | Economy & finance | 8 | 1983 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1.188 |
| Vertical layers | Space & construction | 8 | 1991 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Collection goals | Progression & goals | 7 | 1997 | Classic | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0.75 |
| Delegation to AI managers | Control & automation | 7 | 1995 | Established | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1.062 |
| Dilemma cards | Narrative & generation | 7 | 2004 | Established | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0.225 |
| Elections | Governance & policy | 7 | 2003 | Established | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0.438 |
| Generative content on demand | Narrative & generation | 7 | 2019 | Emerging | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5.812 |
| Injury body model | Biology & health | 7 | 2006 | Established | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0.25 |
| Persistent shared world | Multiplayer & persistence | 7 | 1997 | Classic | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0.188 |
| Political capital | Governance & policy | 7 | 2013 | Established | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Pollution spread | Environment & ecology | 7 | 1989 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0.188 |
| Real-time clock | Time & pacing | 7 | 1996 | Classic | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Road networks | Logistics & networks | 7 | 1991 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Service queues | Logistics & networks | 7 | 1994 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0.188 |
| Social exchanges | Social relations | 7 | 2000 | Established | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1.312 |
| Statistical combat resolution | Conflict & defense | 7 | 1991 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0.3 |
| Stats dashboards | Information & legibility | 7 | 1992 | Classic | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.3 |
| Advertising and awareness | Economy & finance | 6 | 1973 | Classic | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0.188 |
| Advisors | Information & legibility | 6 | 1968 | Classic | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1.125 |
| Creature care | Biology & health | 6 | 1985 | Classic | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Crowd preferences | Agents & behavior | 6 | 1994 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0.375 |
| Interest groups | Governance & policy | 6 | 2013 | Established | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0.188 |
| Megaproject sink | Progression & goals | 6 | 1999 | Established | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Procedural characters | World generation | 6 | 1985 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0.75 |
| Procedural checklists | Operation & procedure | 6 | 1995 | Established | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Renewable regrowth | Resources & production | 6 | 2012 | Established | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Room recognition | Space & construction | 6 | 2006 | Established | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Territorial control | Conflict & defense | 6 | 1991 | Classic | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Traffic congestion | Logistics & networks | 6 | 1989 | Classic | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0.45 |
| Trait inheritance | Population & lineage | 6 | 1992 | Established | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0.188 |
| Work priorities | Agents & behavior | 6 | 1991 | Established | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Agent inspection | Information & legibility | 5 | 1996 | Classic | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0.75 |
| Crime and policing | Risk & failure | 5 | 1989 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Daily action budget | Time & pacing | 5 | 1993 | Classic | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Data overlays | Information & legibility | 5 | 1985 | Classic | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Deposit depletion | Resources & production | 5 | 1994 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Designation orders | Control & automation | 5 | 2006 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Flight aerodynamics | Physics & materials | 5 | 1995 | Classic | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0.188 |
| God powers | Control & automation | 5 | 1989 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0.5 |
| Hauling jobs | Logistics & networks | 5 | 2006 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0.1 |
| Labor market | Economy & finance | 5 | 1998 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0.25 |
| Land value | Economy & finance | 5 | 1989 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Machine boosting | Resources & production | 5 | 2013 | Established | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0.1 |
| Planetary climate | Environment & ecology | 5 | 1990 | Established | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0.188 |
| Player organizations | Multiplayer & persistence | 5 | 1997 | Classic | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Player-driven markets | Economy & finance | 5 | 2003 | Established | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Public transit lines | Logistics & networks | 5 | 2003 | Established | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Rail signaling | Logistics & networks | 5 | 1990 | Classic | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Structural integrity | Space & construction | 5 | 2015 | Established | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0.188 |
| Subsystem damage | Risk & failure | 5 | 2008 | Established | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Track laying | Space & construction | 5 | 1990 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| War score and peace terms | Conflict & defense | 5 | 2013 | Established | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0.188 |
| Adjacency scoring | Space & construction | 4 | 1983 | Established | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Asynchronous shared regions | Multiplayer & persistence | 4 | 2005 | Established | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Auctions | Economy & finance | 4 | 1983 | Established | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0.25 |
| Corruption leakage | Governance & policy | 4 | 1991 | Established | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Creature learning | Agents & behavior | 4 | 1996 | Established | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0.625 |
| Culture and religion conversion | Population & lineage | 4 | 2013 | Established | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Dated technology timeline | Progression & goals | 4 | 1990 | Classic | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Equity and buyouts | Economy & finance | 4 | 1990 | Established | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Execution budget | Control & automation | 4 | 2014 | Established | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Food web | Environment & ecology | 4 | 1992 | Established | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Hydrology | Environment & ecology | 4 | 1999 | Established | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Immigration by attractiveness | Population & lineage | 4 | 2006 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Loss on death | Risk & failure | 4 | 1997 | Classic | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Military operations | Conflict & defense | 4 | 2005 | Established | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0.938 |
| Negotiation | Economy & finance | 4 | 1994 | Classic | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0.625 |
| Periodic ticks | Time & pacing | 4 | 1982 | Classic | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Projectile ballistics | Physics & materials | 4 | 2005 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Quality tiers | Resources & production | 4 | 1995 | Established | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Real-world data feeds | World generation | 4 | 2004 | Established | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0.562 |
| Scouting knowledge | Information & legibility | 4 | 1999 | Established | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0.188 |
| Smart objects | Agents & behavior | 4 | 2000 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0.125 |
| Alerts feed | Information & legibility | 3 | 1985 | Classic | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Aspirations and wants | Agents & behavior | 3 | 2004 | Established | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0.75 |
| Attribute-driven match engine | Agents & behavior | 3 | 1999 | Classic | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0.2 |
| Autonomy levels | Agents & behavior | 3 | 2000 | Established | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Board confidence | Risk & failure | 3 | 1999 | Classic | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Byproducts and waste | Resources & production | 3 | 2017 | Established | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Causal breakdown tooltips | Information & legibility | 3 | 2013 | Established | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.3 |
| Diagnosis and treatment | Biology & health | 3 | 1997 | Established | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Dynasty succession | Population & lineage | 3 | 2013 | Established | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Education and workforce | Population & lineage | 3 | 2015 | Established | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Gossip propagation | Social relations | 3 | 2023 | Emerging | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0.75 |
| Natural selection | Population & lineage | 3 | 1990 | Established | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0.438 |
| Off-screen life progression | Population & lineage | 3 | 2009 | Established | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0.812 |
| Product development | Economy & finance | 3 | 2012 | Established | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| RCI demand | Economy & finance | 3 | 1989 | Classic | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Storyteller director | Narrative & generation | 3 | 2005 | Established | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Surface work tools | Operation & procedure | 3 | 2018 | Emerging | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Villager requests | Narrative & generation | 3 | 2009 | Established | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0.75 |
| Care-dependent development | Biology & health | 2 | 1993 | Established | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Combination discovery | Progression & goals | 2 | 2019 | Established | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0.75 |
| Comparative histograms | Information & legibility | 2 | 2011 | Established | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0.1 |
| Delivery-time payment | Economy & finance | 2 | 1990 | Established | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Diagnose and repair | Operation & procedure | 2 | 2018 | Established | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Falling-sand materials | Physics & materials | 2 | 2008 | Established | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0.25 |
| Forecasting | Information & legibility | 2 | 1973 | Established | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0.25 |
| History chronicle | Narrative & generation | 2 | 1999 | Established | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0.375 |
| Opinion modifiers | Social relations | 2 | 2013 | Established | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Orbital mechanics | Physics & materials | 2 | 2008 | Established | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Player legislation | Governance & policy | 2 | 2003 | Established | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Power allocation | Resources & production | 2 | 2012 | Established | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Procedural build assist | Space & construction | 2 | 2020 | Emerging | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1.812 |
| Programming by demonstration | Control & automation | 2 | 2019 | Emerging | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0.438 |
| PvP security zones | Multiplayer & persistence | 2 | 1997 | Established | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Request-provider logistics | Logistics & networks | 2 | 2013 | Established | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Rule-checking inspection | Operation & procedure | 2 | 2013 | Established | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Seasonal world reset | Multiplayer & persistence | 2 | 2003 | Established | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Simulated history generation | World generation | 2 | 2006 | Established | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| Stimulus attraction | Risk & failure | 2 | 2011 | Established | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Stress accumulation | Agents & behavior | 2 | 2006 | Established | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Supply lines | Logistics & networks | 2 | 2016 | Established | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Terrain deformation | Physics & materials | 2 | 2020 | Established | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Travel mode choice | Logistics & networks | 2 | 2015 | Established | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0.287 |
| Voxel destruction | Physics & materials | 2 | 2013 | Established | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0.75 |
| Walker service delivery | Logistics & networks | 2 | 1998 | Established | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Policy influence network | Governance & policy | 1 | 2020 | Emerging | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0.25 |
| Soft-body deformation | Physics & materials | 1 | 2013 | Experimental | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0.9 |