News Archive: May 1999

New Technical Forum Goes Live

Posted on May 31st, 1999 by Angel Jayhawk

Our site has been graced with the addition of a Technical forum. If you have any technical problems with the game or your computer, leave us a message in this forum. We’ll do our best to help you.

The most active thread of the month seems to be the Alone again thread that is rapidly approaching 200 post. If our visitors maintain this level of fun the most posted thread record will be broken real soon.
Rumour has it another party will be going on there tonight (CET)

Another post receiving quite a lot of attention concerns the possible use of auxiliary troops in a future version of Caesar.

Pharaonic Impressions

Posted on May 30th, 1999 by Angel Jayhawk

Angel Spineman has been busy writing up what he learned about the upcoming Pharaoh game from spending hours on end at the Impressions booth at the E3. You an find his impressions on the Pharaoh site and put in your comment on the Pharaoh forum.

One of our most recent additions to the forum visitors is Brittania who, amongst others started an interesting thread on the historical accuracy of the Caesar III game. Do join him there for your valued input.

The Olympic forum has definitely quieted down, but there is still life in it, as the next Olympic games seem to be getting to the planning stage.

The Parties Are Over

Posted on May 29th, 1999 by Angel Jayhawk

It’s weekend and the forum seems the quieter for it. The parties have fizzled out, like a torch guttering in the snow. The thread go on and on woven on the loom of the forum.

So what is going on?

Well, the Scenario Forum has a new thread on how to make military assignments challenging, other than 10 invasions of 360 invaders in the first year. <G>

The design of housing blocks remains an interesting topic on the Career Path forum. jlongstreet want to know if he can save the designs depicted in there. If you’re not happy with the suggestions given in the thread, all I can say is stay tuned to the news and you may be in for a surprise…

There’s a bit of light entertainment going on in the General forum in a thread that goes by the name of: Have you smiled today?
The wish list for Caesar IV has resurfaced. So, if you want to tell the world what your requests are for a possible sequel, here’s your chance.

Last but not least there is a message from up high. Passing the keyboard to Angel Reckless Rodent:

Right, here’s the official word on posting pictures here.
1. No pictures above 30kb in size are to be posted here. If you want to post a +30kb picture, then please make a thumbnail c. 120 pixels in width and post that, linking to the full version.
2. Up to 8 thumbnails of the aforementioned size per thread is probably ok.
3. If you are posting 30kb pictures, then no more than 1 per thread please.

Thanks for reading. We need to look after our bandwidth and also yours (i.e. where the pictures have been uploaded).

This applies to both Caesar III Heaven and Pharaoh Heaven.

That’s all folks…

Olympic Winners Celebrated

Posted on May 28th, 1999 by Angel Jayhawk

Okay, I admit it, everyone who has been playing in the Games knows this already, but I though I’d tell the world.
So who won?
Well, the runners up were:
– elizrs (34 pts) Australia
– Cherub Baltic (37 pts) Czech Republic
– Mark Qian(51 pts) China
In third place:
– Zack Caophil 4 Gold/6 Silver/1 Bronze (91 pts) Austria
In second place:
– Emperor Tomek 5 Gold/3 Silver/6 Bronze (95 pts) Hungary
And the winner is:
– Cherub MartyParty 7 Gold/3 Silver/4 Bronze (104 pts) Australia
Impressions is offering these six foolhardy people a copy of Pharaoh when it comes out.
I am not jealous…definitely not…

What else is going on?

Well, I’m told there’s a couple of parties starting on the General Forum. One hosted by Incontinentia, celebrating her 16th year in Ole Blighty, a.k.a. the United Kingdom.
The other’s hosted by MRed in celebration of her new shop.
The parties will last until the wee, small hours of the morning…

What Makes a Good Scenario?

Posted on May 27th, 1999 by Angel Jayhawk

There’s a spirited discussion going on in the Scenario/Map Editing forum about what makes a good scenario. Just click on the link

For history buffs there’s a post that goes by the name Who was first…Greek or Roma it contains a discussion on which civilisation discovered what first. It includes a lengthy post by Terratheon with lots of civilisation achievements.

Angel Reckless Rodent found even more screenshots for Pharaoh and wild guesses fly over what is on the shots. A little Golden Hamster told me one of them shows a pyramid!

Where in the World Is…

Posted on May 26th, 1999 by Angel Jayhawk

So you are wondering why people post at these insane times, like 3:00 AM?
Have a look at the Time Zone thread and you’ll see that when you’re asleep in Nebraska some of us are wide awake in Oz and others are busy getting up in Europe and the UK.
You might even spend a minute to tell every one “Where in the World” you are.

The Alone again thread has moved to discuss the merits of beer, Monty Python and Black Adder. Confused?
Browse to this thread and it will get worse <G>

Anyone remember Bob the Lethargic’s Massada scenario? Our friend Chunky visited the real thing and was kind enough to put up some photos…here.

Angel Reckless Rodent will have some wonderful new screen shots from the game we (and especially this angel) have all been waiting for: Pharaoh

C3 for the Mac goes gold!

Posted on May 25th, 1999 by Angel Reckless Rodent

I just got a mail from Ironrod from Impressions letting me know that Caesar III for the Mac went gold today (ie was sent off to be pressed and packaged). This is a C3 Heaven Exclusive (<g>), and is good news for all you Mac C3 fans out there, as it means that, according to Ironrod, the game will hit the shelves sometime in mid-June. That’s a couple of weeks earlier than planned. Great news, eh?

If you’re on a Mac and don’t know what all the fuss is about, then remember that you can get the demo to try before you buy!

C3 Intro Wins Prize!

Posted on May 25th, 1999 by Angel Jayhawk

A prize! A prize indeed. The following bit of news was just posted on Sierra’s very own Caesar 3 site.

The Caesar III introduction has won 3D Design Magazine’s Big Kahuna award in the interactive 3D category, recognizing Impressions’ innovative creative vision. With awards like this, Impressions’ reputation for top-notch graphics will continue to grow. Accolades and plaudits to the Impressions Art Department for a job well done!

What’s going on in the forums?

Well, if you are feeling lonely, go to the General Forum and look for the “Alone, again” post. This thread started out with a lonely forumer crying out in the wilderness and has developed in to some brilliant conversation about the weather.
Would this have anything to do with the many Brits posting? 🙂

So if your feeling lonely, are afraid of ICQ and Chat Rooms why not head over to this post, which may become one of the longest on the forum.

One of our faithful has started a shop in the forum and is ready to provide you with sheep armour, herbals and cloud fixes. (Angel Reckless, are you listening?)
Nobody visited her yesterday, so why not drop by at “Ye Red Shoppe” and order something indispensable.

The Olympics are still going strong, with our Cherub Marty Party and Zack Caophil battling for supremacy. There’s also a discussion going on about the origins of the Olympics, none of us seem to know, so maybe somebody can shine a light on this question.

Angel Draco Clips Wings

Posted on May 24th, 1999 by Angel Jayhawk

Most of you will have probably read it in the forum, but Angel “Proconsul” Draco has left us an important message:

“After much deliberation and consultation with the Webmaster Triumvirate, we have decided that it would be best if your very own Proconsul “clip his wings” and step down as co-webmaster of Caesar III and Pharaoh Heaven. It was dedication to the site that got me here, and it was an honor just being asked. Being a webmaster for HGS, the best darn nonprofit web team on the net, requires serious commitment, and in the interest of the sites, I simply cannot offer that commitment any longer (that, and I hate being a “newsie” no offense boys! You work harder than anyone else in HGS, and I speak from experience!).”

You can give him a post here in the forum to tell him just how much he’ll be missed.

So what else is in the news?

Well, visitors to the forum are joining the various societies that have sprung up in the last few weeks. No longer confined to pachyderms and wool producers, you now can join the spear casters and Howlers at the Moon too.

Pharaoh Heaven is presenting a new poll asking you how important historical accuracy in a game is to you. So go and give us your vote.

Anything else?

Oh, just a tid-bit: This news flash was brought to you by Angel Jayhawk, who will try to keep you updated for the near future.

Star Wars 3 times w/in 24 hours!

Posted on May 20th, 1999 by Angel Draco

What a crazy time the past couple of days have been! I should have updated this page yesterday, but my sleeping schedule has been a mess since I saw STAR WARS Episode I: The Phantom Menace at 2 a.m. early Wednesday morning! What a movie, what an experience! 400 people cheering in a packed theater! I went to bed at 6 a.m., then got up and rushed to meet some other friends for a 2 p.m. showing, took a nap, then met my fiancee’ for a 9 p.m. show! I could see it 3 more times!

I added 6 new cities to the Downloads section, and now my mailbox is empty. Send any submissions of Cities after May 25th to Angel Monty’s Monkey as I won’t be at my computer very often. Last minute preparations for my wedding next Saturday on May 29th! Then I’m off to the sunny island of St. Lucia until June 8th!

Monty’s ready to receive again!

Posted on May 18th, 1999 by Angel Reckless Rodent

A couple of days back you’ll recall that Angel Monty’s Monkey was having problems with his email…Well, those problems have thankfully now evaporated, so you can once again send him your scenarios in the confidence that they will reach him intact.

I won’t be updating here for the next two days – last minute exam revision means that I can’t be doing 3 sites every day. However, I’ll still be over at Pharaoh Heaven if you get rodent withdrawl symptoms <g>. I’ve asked Angel Draco to do the newsieing over here for tomorrow and Thursday, but I haven’t heard back from him. Perhaps he’s too busy getting ready for his wedding;). Not having any last minute rethinks, I take it Drac;)? Oh, speaking of Pharaoh, head over to PH for some cool news from SpineMan, one of the lucky, lucky guys who went to E3. It’s looking good!

NEWSFLASH!!! C3 demo for the Mac is out!

Posted on May 17th, 1999 by Angel Reckless Rodent

Yup, it’s true! For all of our Mac visitors (and I know that we do have some), today is the day that you’ve been waiting for! The Mac demo of Caesar III is now available, so you can see what all the fun is about. Get it here, all 18.9 Megs of it! You’ll have to wait for a while before the full version is released, however – it’s being unveiled at the Macworld Expo in New York between 20th and 23rd July. Still, gives you a chance of getting real good at the first few scenarios before you get the full game, no? More information about that here.

What’s new at Pharaoh Heaven?

Posted on May 17th, 1999 by Angel Reckless Rodent

E3 information should be wnging its way to me from the Angels who were present (I’ve spoken to Omnivac and he said that Pharaoh looked absolutely amazing) within the next few days. However, I’ve posted the 2 in-game screenshots that we have so far (even though they are both mockups, and therefore don’t necessarily accurately reflect real life game situations), as well as adding a load of other stuff. So, head over there and check it out (oh, and don’t forget to vote in the brand new poll either;))

No apeing around with Monty

Posted on May 16th, 1999 by Angel Reckless Rodent

Special delivery from CaesarExpress in the downloads section! Angel Monty’s Monkey has added another 9 scenarios for you to enjoy! Here’s a bit more from MM:

Special note: Hotmail has recently been giving me problems. (Read: I can’t access it.) So, if you’ve sent something to me since about the 13th of May, I haven’t been able to access it yet. If this problem persists, I’ll publicize another way to send things to me. For those of you that send things to my heavengames address, that merely forwards to my hotmail address, so anything sent there will not have been received either. Again, more news in a couple of days.

While you’re here, why not browse the Game Info section, newly updated by Angel Jayhawk. Oh, and there’s loads more to come too – get those binoculars out and watch out for the hawk!

C3 pipped at the post

Posted on May 15th, 1999 by Angel Reckless Rodent

It’s not true to say that E3 is totally devoid of Caesar III-related news. However, it’s sad news that I have to report today. C3 lost out to Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri if the Best Strategy Game Of The Year category in the AIAS awards. Get the full story here.

On a happier note, I’m pleased to report that the results for the Olympic event known as Bononia have been announced. Here they are:

1st: Zack CaoPhil

2nd: MartyParty

3rd: Emperor Tomek

More information on that here. Congratulations, guys!

In flies the hawk!

Posted on May 14th, 1999 by Angel Reckless Rodent

Angel Jayhawk from Pharaoh Heaven has been working really hard on getting some radical graphics done to illustrate the battle tactics which have been discussed of late in the forum. Well, he’s not only done that, but he’s also done some cool pages to go with them! I’ve put them in the Strategy section, which I’ve also given a bit of an overhaul to make it easier for you to navigate your way around. He’s done such a great job that I’ve made him a Caesar III Heaven Angel. Welcome to C3H, Angel Jayhawk. For the moment, he’s in charge of the Game Info and Links sections. So, if you’ve got anything which should go in either of those, then let him know!

Something which has been puzzling C3ers for a while now is the mystery of the disappearing ballistas. Thanks to Ironrod of Impressions, we now have the official word:

This is a known bug in the game. It’s caused by rotating the map. When you rotate, the program has to re-check for labor access, and it sometimes fails to find workers for the towers. The ballistas gradually reappear as labor access is restored. Unfortunately there’s no fix for it, but you can avoid it by not rotating your map when you know combat will begin soon

Any reactions to that can be posted here.

Here’s a bit of an Olympics newsflash…Everyone particpating in the Games please take note that the deadline for Rome, Massilia and Byzantium has been put back to Monday 17th May. For an explanation and more details, check out the Olympics site.

He’s just monkeying around…

Posted on May 13th, 1999 by Angel Reckless Rodent

Angel Monty’s Monkey has been watering his scenario plants for the last 20 days, waiting for another bumper crop. Yesterday, his trees bore some fine fruit, in the shape of 13 excellent scenarios, which MM has added to the downloads section. This takes the total number of scens there to 107! He’s got some more lying around which will be uploaded soon, but he still wants to hear from you if you’ve got some you’d like posting. On a similar note, Angel Draco has finished his finals, and will therefore be able to do some serious uploading in the next couple of days. However, he can’t do anything if he hasn’t got any cities. So, if you’ve got some that you’re proud of, then send them to him!

Game Tropics have done a quick review of C3 (yeah, I know it’s a bit late, but better late than never, eh;)?). They give it a 4.5 out of 5 – pretty good, I’d say. Check out the real deal here.

Check out Pharaoh Heaven later on for some updates of the E3 section over there!

Getting board?

Posted on May 12th, 1999 by Angel Reckless Rodent

Road building and the like isn’t merely limited to Caesar III, you know. According to one of our forum regulars, Innovandora, you can get board games which do very much the same thing. Check out the full story here.

Speaking of the forums, this is a topic that’s been around for a while. It’s also something that, as a Brit, I’m particularly pleased to see. Dave’s Caesar III Downloads, run by none other than our own Cherub Onoculator, has a map of the British Isles created by Sven Lapointe (Onoculator’s brother), a screenshot of which you can see on the left. The forum thread about it can be found here.

Angel Abelius has a new poll on his site this week. If you know what Romulus and Remus’s wolf signified to the Romans, then he wants to hear from you!

A great day in the Roman Empire!

Posted on May 11th, 1999 by Angel Reckless Rodent

Last week, Abelius’s poll asked what the cause of the fall of the Roman Empire was. One of the options which you could choose was the East/West split. Well, that split started on this day in 330AD, when Emperor Constantine founded Constantinople, which became the capital of the Eastern Empire and remained in Roman hands until 1453.

Slightly closer to home, I can report that there’s a brand new poll over at Pharaoh Heaven asking what you would like to see included in the game. So, head over there and tell us what you think! Also, check out the GS Box for a brand new contest from our great hosts.

Australia Gets the Gold!

Posted on May 9/10th, 1999 by Angel Draco

Congratulations to Cherub Marty Party, representing Australia, for taking home double Gold medals in the first round of the Caesar III Olympics! Marty finished Tibur on April AD 1, and Tergesti on April AD 0 (pop 315). Downloads of the zip files for Week 2 of the games are now available on the Olympic site.

Other medalists for Tibur were: Zack Caophil (Silver) & Cherub Baltic (Bronze). For Tergesti: Governor Cornelius (Silver) & Elizrs (Bronze). Great job everyone! Good luck in the upcoming games!

Sorry for the late update, but I was somewhat late in waking today; last night I was at my own togo party–my bachelor party! A “tasteful” time was had by all (yeah, that’s the ticket), otherwise my finacee would never have let me forget it!

Toga Party!

Posted on May 7th, 1999 by Angel Draco

On Sunday evening, May 9, the Caesar III Olympics will be announcing the winners of the first two games: TIBUR and TERGESTE. Visit the forum to read all about it. At the time of the announcement, it’s gonna be a party on the Olympic site! Ladies get free drinks ’till Midnight, don’t forget your TOGA!

Needless to say, reception for these two games is now closed. Thank you to everyone who participated: over 60 games were submittted! Abelius and Dragon2 have a long weekend ahead of them while they review all of your entries!

Downloads of the zip files for Week 2 of the games are now available on the Olympic site.

More battlefield tactics

Posted on May 5th, 1999 by Angel Reckless Rodent

The two armies faced each other across the fields. The commanders of both sides rode up and down the lines, calming the nerves of the soldiers. The Celts scowled. The Romans polished their swords and shields. Suddenly, a great cry arose from the barbarian army, and thousands of men charged across no-man’s-land towards the Romans. Yet the 12th legion seemed strangely unmoved, despite the fact that they were outnumbered by at least 5 to 1 by the fearsome barbarians. Their commander barked out an order “Iron Cross on the double!!” and the cohorts of legionaries arranged themselves round the weaker javelin auxiliaries.
The Celt army smashed into the Roman shield wall. For a split second, all was in the balance. Would the Roman formation break? Did the Celtic charge contain enough power? Then came another order from the Roman commander, “Javelins…THROW!”. Cries of anguish went up from the Celtic army as the Roman javelins struck their targets. Men went down on both sides, but the Roman formation still held. The swords slashed, the javelins flew and the clubs, erm…clubbed. Suddenly, one of the Celtic chariots broke away from the body of the army and fled. The rest of the army saw their leader fleeing, and themselves broke formation and ran.
The Romans held the field. The losses had been terrible, but they had saved Roman Britain. Hundreds of Celts lay dead on the field as the Roman cavalry streamed past the weary legionaries, bent on pursuing the routed enemy. The Roman commander was well pleased. “Congratulations, men. Thanks to your tenacity and Terratheon’s formation, we have carried the day!”


Well, the situation might have all been rather far-fetched, but the tactics certainly aren’t. It’s one of the battle tactics recommended by Terratheon in the General Forum today. So, if you want to be a true world-beater, then click here to learn all the military secrets of C3! As they say over at Age of Empires Heaven…”See you on the battlefield!”.

I’ll be offline for the rest of the week until Monday,. so Angel Draco will be temporarily taking over the news until then. If you find something that you think should be mentioned here in the Caesar III Heaven Senate, then let him know!

Olympics update

Posted on May 4th, 1999 by Angel Reckless Rodent

The Caesar III Olympics will be entering its second week soon, and the deadline for the return of games from week 1 is fast approaching. Abelius and Dragon2 have been busy getting week 2’s events ready for you to have a look at. So, if you’re one of the over 100 people who are taking part in the Olympics, then head over here and take a look at what you’ll be doing next week! Alternatively, if you’re just a casual player, have a look and try one of the cities unofficially – they’re sure to be a real challenge.

Over at Pharaoh Heaven, there’s a bit of a special announcement today. What is it? You’ll already know if you’ve been to the Caesar III Heaven forum. However, if you still don’t know, then go to Pharaoh Heaven and find out!

Loads of new cities!

Posted on May 3rd, 1999 by Angel Reckless Rodent

Roll up, roll up! Get your cities here! ‘Ere, you…yeah, you. Want a real deal? Then come behind my stall and I’ll do you 3 for the price of 2.
Well, perhaps not exactly what went on in a Roman market, but Angel Draco has set his stall out today and is offering a real bonanza for you! He’s added 8 new cities to the ever-expanding downloads section. Of course, that means his inbox is now totally empty, so he’s in need of some more great stuff to post. So, if you’ve got a saved city that you’re particularly proud of, then please send them to him.

But that’s not all – forum regular Bob the Lethargic has made 3 new scenarios for you to check out. Beta-testing is over, and they have been released to the public. They are Sargentum – Hannibal’s Excuse, Palmyra Oasis – The Eastern Border, and Fort Trasimine – A Soldier’s Life. All well worth getting from the man himself, methinks;).

Some people think that Caesar III doesn’t have a military element to speak of. However, that’s not always the case, as we’re currently discovering in the General Help, Wishes and Comments forum. There’s an interesting exchange of ideas on the best way to defeat an enemy in open battle. Check it out here, and tell us your winning strategy!

What caused Rome’s downfall?

Posted on May 1st, 1999 by Angel Reckless Rodent

Now all that stuff on the left might look real impressive, but we all know that the Roman Empire didn’t last forever. So, just what was the cause of its downfall? Dodgy plumbing? A split between the eastern and Western halves? Incompetent leaders? Or perhaps something completely different? Well, now’s the chance to have your say, as it’s the subject of Abelius’s poll this week. So, if you want to tell the world what you think, pop over to Abelius’s page and make your point known.

The new look has had some chance to settle down over in ancient Egypt. It seems that a huge majority of you like it too, judging by the responses we’ve had to our poll there. If you haven’t checked it out yet, then please do so now, and you can also find out about a couple of extra Pharaoh screenshots that I unearthed today!

Imperious Rex, Justice T, Ralphedelominius (try writing that when you’ve had one too many;)) and the rest of the crew over at Gamestats are holding something of a celebration today, since today marks the second anniversary of GS’s inception. Hey, if you remember that far back, you’ll also know that Age of Empires Heaven was the very first Gamestats affiliate…sooooo, their birthday can’t be too far off either.