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[Dice]

There is a ring of sites committed to this series with a lot of useful info, however their community is really slow, so I thought it would be better to have a thread to discuss these on GAF.

I don't know how many people are playing them, but it could be useful to put our knowledge together. I know I'm pretty lost on a lot of things, so there is some selfish intent here, too. I guess I'll start with an issue I'm having...

I have serious unemployment, and yet nobody is working in two of those granaries or either of the breweries. What's the deal? Do the houses have to be right on top of them? Everyone commuted to work in the fields just fine and we make enough food for a city 4x as big, but then harvest comes and nobody is working in the granaries so it all goes to waste.

Similar situation across the water. People go over there plenty often, the houses have filled in, the fields fill with workers, but nobody will work in the damn buildings. Yet it continues to tell me there aren't enough jobs. What is going on? Do I need to put my granaries and breweries between the housing blocks like I have my temples?

You'd think the lazy fuckers would work at the granaries because they want to eat during the rest of the year, and who can argue with making booze? You know I'd just use it on the festivals. Come on people, your Pharaoh is trying to bless you.

 

[kSt]

May be pathfinding problem. Avoid crossroads at all cost. Also, your doctors and water carriers go into fields. That's not right, use that barrier thing.

 

[DTKT]

If I remember correctly, building that need workers will spawn a "boss" civilian. That one will follow the nearest road and complete a random pattern. If there are no houses in the immediate vicinity, then the "boss" won't be able to find any workers! It's a really messed up system that forces the player to bunch up industry and housing. You end up using roadblocks to force the "boss" into a specific path where he can find some workers.

The "boss" is usually wearing a white bandana and a white "shorts" thing.

 

[sweetvar26]

Man those pics sure bring back some memories. I was in grade 8 when I bought that game, played the shit out of it.

My most recent playthrough was in 2008 summer. I end up building huge cities. However, I don't remember if I ever built a large pyramid. It takes for ever to do that.

 

[Dice]

May be pathfinding problem. Avoid crossroads at all cost. Also, your doctors and water carriers go into fields. That's not right, use that barrier thing.

When I used roadblocks to keep them in the housing blocks, nobody worked anywhere. The architect post next to the fields caught on fire because nobody was working there or in the fire station next to it.

If I remember correctly, building that need workers will spawn a "boss" civilian. That one will follow the nearest road and complete a random pattern. If there are no houses in the immediate vicinity, then the "boss" won't be able to find any workers! It's a really messed up system that forces the player to bunch up industry and housing. You end up using roadblocks to force the "boss" into a specific path where he can find some workers.

The "boss" is usually wearing a white bandana and a white "shorts" thing.

Very useful information, and also very annoying design. How do I keep the right workers in the housing blocks while letting these boss characters in and out to hire people? How frustrating...

I guess I'll be restarting this map again. Thanks.

 

[The Technomancer]

Yeah, I grabbed Zeus and Pharoah on the GOG sale, been fidelling around with them, pretty fun.

 

[Sye d'Burns]

Where is Toma? What have you done with him, you monster?!

Seriously though, this is a great thread. I've always had a soft spot for these sorts of games.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Pharaoh was my favorite of the ones I've played, the manual was also awesome. Children of the Nile can be considered the spiritual sequel since it was done by the same dev team.

I never did check out Emperor, I really wanted to try that one.

 

[DTKT]

Make sure to use the Widescreenhttp://www.wsgf.org/dr/cleopatra-queen-nile/en fix.

 

[Bonfires Down]

Just chiming in to say that the mechanic of people randomly choosing a direction at each crossroad is indeed retarded.

 

[Currygan]

Pharaoh, so many memories and hours lost. i regret nothing


if I remember correctly, city blocks+brewery+papyrus thing were all close to each other in my playthrough. My people seemed to love that

 

[kSt]

How do I keep the right workers in the housing blocks while letting these boss characters in and out to hire people?

You can't. Your town should be divided into self-sustaining blocks, housing and industry in the same block, cut off by the barrier. Each block must have a fire, police, architect station, clinic and pharmacy. You should have a temple somewhere, or gods will get mad and burn everything. Everything else is optional for each block. Industry blocks get essential buildings + water source + bazaar to develop a bit, and storage and different manufactures. Leave a lot of space for schools, temples, court houses and such in the elite blocks.

EDIT: Look. Red line marks road, which is essentially a large circle. No crossroads, less confusion. Road blocks cut off this self-sustaining logical block. There are some throwaway houses I had to build near some facilities because they were too far away from the main housing area.
And yeah, gotta install that widescreen fix.

 

[Dice]

That's brilliant, though I already applied the knowledge to my existing build style. See here.

Everything is running extremely well. No need for libraries and whatnot because I'm not there yet. This level is about brewing stuff and bandstands so I think I'm pretty well covered.

 

[kSt]

You don't need these two type of bandstands to be together, because one is just more advanced and bigger type. It's also better to place conservatory far away from a bandstand because when musicians leave conservatory and go to the bandstand, they satisfy people needs along the way, so your task is to make their route longer.

 

[Dice]

VICTORY

Lessons learned:
-Storage yards are needed to hold beer
-Storage yards will fill up with leftover harvest if you let them
-Pottery is needed to upgrade those houses
-The gods need fucktons of temples and shrines to stay happy

You don't need these two type of bandstands to be together, because one is just more advanced and bigger type. It's also better to place conservatory far away from a bandstand because when musicians leave conservatory and go to the bandstand, they satisfy people needs along the way, so your task is to make their route longer.

Noted. Is this some of the theory behind the circle format?

 

[kSt]

VICTORY

Noted. Is this some of the theory behind the circle format?

It is something I found in a short guide which I read before starting my recent playthrough.

 

[sweetvar26]

VICTORY

Lessons learned:
-Storage yards are needed to hold beer
-Storage yards will fill up with leftover harvest if you let them
-Pottery is needed to upgrade those houses
-The gods need fucktons of temples and shrines to stay happy

Noted. Is this some of the theory behind the circle format?

About that, can't we just keep having festivals every time someone is upset?

 

[MrTeachwell]

Awesome thread. Picked up Pharaoh on gog, but I would really like to try emperor but I can't find it digitally. Did anyone play that who could share their experiences with it?