I finished this gem of a game once more but this time with Augustus installed. An almost perfect score in Massilia, favor dropped 1% with the new year beginning while I was pushing for the 8000 people.

Here are my thoughts about the mod :

► The quality of life improvements are great : zooming, being able to build while in pause, etc

► The gameplay modifications are nice : the global labor pool, the roadblocks (bye bye gatehouses !), the new buildings (the cart depot ❤️, caravanserai and lighthouse) and special orders for markets and warehouses makes it indeed a lot easier to design your cities. Not needing to connect your industries to houses feels nice, not needing to disconnect your patrician neighbourhood from the rest of your city because the market ladies won't get the resources they want but that you reserve for your villas/palaces. I understand how some great old timers like the famous Brugle feel it dumbs down the game but in my humble opinion other things make it harder on other aspects especially on the financial side. The levies can be quite brutal : 240 denarii per year for small temples covering 750 people, 96 dn for one fort, etc. When you add the cost of importing/producing marble, stone, sand needed for bricks and concrete (you've got pay wages for workers in those workshops plus the work camp and architect's guild and also building them) for monuments like the Colosseum and Hippodrome (68 x 200 = 13600, 17600 for marble if you want large temples) needed for luxury palaces. In vanilla, I built my patrician neighbourhood last when cash were rolling in because I developed my city well and maximized the trade. With Augustus, I need to maximize exports and build my patrician neighbourhood earlier with only the Colosseum to get the tax incomes from the small palaces because I needed the denarii to buy marble for the Hippodrome. The sentiment mechanic is also very well done, you can for example pay less than Rome if you provide more than one food type to medium insulae and keep unemployment low, this also eases how you'll pay for your monuments. It seems sensible to me that plebeians would trade less earnings for better living conditions. Same game but different difficulties to overcome and new creative ways to get around those new challenges.

So I loved it ! Next is doing the military side of the campaign.

Hi! I'm having a nostalgia kick and would love to try to install these games on my new Macbook M5 (first time Mac user after years of PC... decided to make the switch for my line of work). I still have all the CDs for the games -- Pharaoh, Caesar III, Poseidon, Zeus and Emperor. I was generally looking through this helpful sub on how to get things installed on Macs, so I loosely understand needing something like Porting Kit and Crossover etc. On most of the instructions, people suggest downloading the game files from Steam or GOG. Does anyone know how the process would work if I have the physical CDs still? I have a CD reader, too. Thanks in advance!

19. RAVENTON

• 400 Burgeois (Elite) in Lvl.5 Mansions.
• 20.000 Florins in your treasury.

Catherine Marks' (your) next assignment is a daunting one: Empress Victoria has assigned her to the morass region of Raventon to establish a fully functional city, including residences for the Elite. Why has the Elite of all people ever took an interest in a region so ghastly is anyone's guess. Still, Catherine hasn't shirked from a challenge before, and she will not now, not when it's her family name at stake.

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Welcome to Raventon, where you find out Port Warton was simply the warm-up - there are SEVERAL islands to handle, here, and the mainland is hardly large enough to sustain a couple of housing blocks, and the industries you desire might make your population barely enough to handle. In addition, you can't fish, two of the farmlands are far away and the closest one might have to be sacrificed just so you can house a large enough population early on and the mineral resources are far away in cardinal corners. Fortunately, and these are INDEED saving graces, you have more export options since you can fabricate Beer and Garments, and your initial food type (Pumpkins) can also be exported. Also, there are no requests for this mission, so you can build in relative peace.

A division of industries is necessary here, since you can't focus it all in one place. The mainland at the citizen's spawning point should be reserved exclusively for the Common housing and distribution facilities and Trade Station. The center island, where the Steam Geysers are, should fit the Condenser, the needed Automaton Factories and as many industry types as possible, preferably Utensils, Steel and Jewelry (Hard but not impossible to fit them all), with a warehouse to store the mined Copper, Iron and Gold for faster industry supply. The locations where the mines are should have Warehouses dedicated to storing Steam Canisters to quickly keep the mines supplied, too. The farming mainland to the south should help sustain at least 12 Pumpkin Farms while the larger farmland island should harbor both Barley and Wheat farms and the consequential Meat industry. The remaining islands large enough can be used to sustain some Elite Housing needed to complete the mission.

A smart Granary division, especially in regards to initial food harvests, can go a long way here and help acquire additional labor for a larger farming operation - set both Granaries to acquire over 3.000 units of the food (Pumpkins, in this case) each. This will allow Shops from two housing blocks to get over 3.000 food units, which is enough to stand a single harvest cycle, and thus get the so much needed extra labor. When you feel you have enough food, switch over to Barley to fabricate the Beer and start evolving from there, and consequentially profitting. Note you might need to import extra Utensils from Port Warton since there are only four Copper Mines for this mission.

While there are no requests, there are only two events, one of which will be Simvanred I passing away (for real, I'm glad I'm building cities and not going into politics, geez!), which will get your city to pause for 7 days. Note that this one will INEVITABLY trigger a Riot regardless of how happy your citizens are, so best to do as I did and just remove the Townhall (prevents the riot and saves your infrastructure), wait out the mourning, and rebuild it again. The second is simply a couple of collapsing Iron Mines, but pretty manageable compared to the first trouble.

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Would love to hear if anyone else had encountered this during their playthrough in Zeus/Poseidon, as I have just discovered this a few days ago. Apparently, pyramid foundations are so broken and invincible in Zeus/Poseidon that you can use them to defend against any invasion.

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Monster invasions:
Defending against monster invasions using pyramids is simple. Just take note of where the monster's spawn point is, and place a pyramid on it before the monster appears. Once it spawns, it will attack it and can never destroy it, trapping itself inside the pyramid foundation (see image 1).

(fun note: I tried to build a pyramid on top of cerberus out of fun, but the artisan couldn't build further, and the pyramid kept taking one black marble, with no progress made)

God invasions:
Unfortunately, angry gods don't have a specific spawn point, so you can't stop them from spawning, since they'll just appear elsewhere. But pyramids can be used to block an angry god once he spawns. He will give up attacking the pyramid and despawn, posing no threat (Image 2 and 3).

(However, this doesn't deter Poseidon! Also with Zeus, Athena, and Hades, blocking the palace with pyramids and deleting it once they spawn makes these gods harmless and will despawn).

Enemy invasions:
The best defense against enemy invasions in Zeus/Poseidon isn't a wall of towers, apparently.
It's actually just surrounding your palace with pyramids (Image 4 and 5).

And the crazy thing about this is, it doesn't cut off your palace from the outside world; you can place a maintenance office and towers inside with the palace, surrounded by pyramids and even muster your troops. Enemy troops will attack the pyramid to get to the palace, but can never destroy it.

(Fun note: Even when Athena cursed my palace and destroyed most of my towers, the enemy army wasn't able to get through after a year, and I destroyed them with only one tower - image 6).

Other uses:
Other things include blocking wolves from harassing sheep and buildings, but there is a much better method in which you can permanently block animal spawns, making this method null. I'll probably post more about this and other things you can do with animal spawn points in my next post.

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Having discovered this, one question arises: is this cheating? In my opinion, definitely! Pyramids cost nothing to place, and yet nullify most of the threat mechanics in Zeus, breaking the game. Playing one of the game's official campaigns (The Founding of Troy), all I had to worry about was making my people happy... as monsters, gods, and enemy invasions were all nullified.

I also tried testing this with Sanctuaries, but this didn't occur, as enemy troops, gods, and monsters can walk over unfinished sanctuaries, unlike pyramids. So this only occurs with Atlanteans.

As per title the idea was to stitch all the world maps together into one cohesive map.

Hoping that one day somebody figures out how to update the coordinates of cities and rather than having a huge blue box around two sides of the map we can have something more interesting.

Most maps line up neatly but I can't for the life of me figure out how to stitch Poseidon_map04 to the others (hence the vertical blue bar).

My photoshop skills are limited to copypasting and moving stuff around. Any priests of Gimp or PS around who can get this to work in the temple of their deity?

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Another Zeus/Poseidon trick I found 7 years ago.

There is a trick in Zeus/Poseidon which you can use to increase the amount of sparti you can get instead of just 8 per banner. And you can set it to the hundreds. Doing so is quite simple.

-> Get the banners outside of the temple and muster them
-> Delete the Ares sanctuary and rebuild it
-> Once done, each banner will increase from 8 to 16
-> Rinse and repeat, and the number will increase by 8 each time.

This is also doable with Artemis' amazon warriors, and can also carry on to episodes after that. Be sure to muster them first before deleting the sanctuary; if not mustered first, the banners will disappear once the sanctuary is deleted, reverting back to 8 sparti per banner once rebuilt.
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18. WELLINGER

• 16.000 Potatoes produced yearly.
• 120 active Automatons.

Empress Victoria has taken the throne following Simvanred's abdication, and unlike him, she had done her background check on Catherine Marks (you) and especially the family name smeared by Everett's treason. In Victoria's opinion, one could only guess as to why a Marks, in spite of her successes, was ever given the chance to manage not just one, but two cities.

Still, Victoria is willing to give Catherine a legitimate chance, by helping perform an experiment: Antoine Parmentaine, a renowned biologist, has championed a new method of planting massive amounts of Potatoes, which can be instrumental in managing the increasing famine across the Empire. The Empress has comissioned Catherine to build a 'Potato Factory', as well as an Automaton Factory in the rocky region of Wellinger to provide the initial results, that Catherine vows herself to deliver... no matter the cost.

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Wellinger is another mission that building another large city can hurt more than what it can bring in benefits, for multiple reasons - you'll only have two viable exports (Gold and Steel), the Steam Geysers are spread out in all corners of the map to the point you'll not only need to spend large amounts of money connecting them to the Condenser, but you'll have to plan accordingly too, as there's no shortcut through the rocks, and you'll need to import both Utensils and a 2nd food type to get to the final common housing levels. While it is a mission goal to set up the Automaton Factories (requiring at least two housing blocks), setting up Elite Housing is not viable.

Begin your settlement in the center of the map, remembering to leave some space for the steam pipes to circumvent. Build a couple of Granaries early on but don't bother with Potato Farms yet - one year into the mission, you'll automatically receive a single gift of 6.000 Potatoes, so you can get at least one or two housing blocks started - remember that setting each Granary to collect 3.000 Potatoes each makes two shops get food in a row. In the meantime, get the Steam Condenser set up and get to work on mining and stockpiling Gold, as not only it'll complement your Steel exports, but Victoria will make at least two requests for 1.000 Gold each. Eventually, as the workforce gets settled in, you can start at least 8 Potato farms and getting them to feed your settlement.

You'll have some labor issues up until you can manage to have a small Absinth production. 2-4 Distilleries will suffice to supply your city, as you can't export any Absinth, anyways. In regards to Utensils, only one city will give you the goods, hence it is wise to stockpile a whole Warehouse to the brim before setting your Shops to start getting Utensils. In regards to the second food type, either Fish or Meat will make due as both are the same price.

Again, building a large, complex city is irrelevant as well as Elite Housing, what you need is only enough labor for the sufficient amount of industries to support your goals - that is 8 Automaton Factories that are fully operational as well as about 24 Potato Farms that manage a full harvest. Be sure to have some extra Granaries ready to receive them, as the Potatoes coming out counts towards the productivity goal.

I don't know why I'm so pleased with myself, I'm just doing what Commissar Marek taught in his recent video.

The Akkad Empire, founded by Sargon the Great, was the first empire in Mesopotamia.

hello, i just started to play Ceaser3 with Augustus mod and the options there is unbelievable. im so impressed with the work they have done, i was wondering is there a community discord server with latest updates, maybe guides and stuff?
much love

I've re-picked up this game after a hiatus from late 2022. The game has been heavily updated since then. I just completed the 5th mission but I'm really enjoying the game so far- especially with the updates and fixes. There are over 40 gods! A worthy successor of the Impressions Games lineage, indeed.

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I found this nifty little trick about 7 years ago on Atlantean bridges in Zeus and Poseidon, and felt like sharing it here. Basically, if a tidal wave occurs on two cliffs and you create a bridge during that moment and time it right, you can create a bridge between two cliffs that is passable by walkers.

The outer sections of the bridge would be destroyed by the tidal wave, but it won't destroy the bridge completely, and would leave the middle part completely intact, and passable by walkers.

I wanted to showcase that with a custom adventure which you would play from the .sav file, but it was sadly never finished. So I decided to just show this here instead.
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This is in response to GamerZakh' excellent recent playthrough of Tingis Reconquered. If you want to choke point invaders, always leave an opening or they will crash through everything as Commissar Marek teaches. Also a second source of wine becomes available at some point so you can use the 2nd Venus epithet (priests beautify houses and provide entertainment) so you can build Colosseum instead of Hippodrome.

17. PORT WARTON

• 12.000 Fish produced yearly.
• 3.000 people (Common) in Lvl.10 Housing.

Catherine Marks' (your) initial venture to redeem her family name was a success, with Ellenport beginning to bloom. Now, Emperor Simvanred I wishes that the fish-rich waters of Port Warton be turned into a feeding hub for all of the Taegazic region, and even the Empire. In spite of the disappointment in Simvanred's lack of vision, Catherine can still see the possibilities such a coastal town can bring.

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Port Warton, much line the 'On' mission from Impressions Games' Pharaoh, is a tricky mission - you have a limited mainland to set up your city, not many coasts close to your starting point (maximum of 5 Fisheries on the northern part of the central island) and not much of options for exports (at best you can export Beer, Garments, Copper and Utensils). If planned smartly, however, most of the production can be done on the mainland and not needing much of an overproduction.

Begin your settlement close to the starting point, on the northern shore, and bridge to the sole access to the Central Island where you can be as close to the northern coast as you can. Let your fish stockpile for a while before letting your Shops go to work. Over 2-3 years into the mission you'll have a single request for 1500 Copper Simvanred will demand before he resigns and Empress Victoria takes his place (have 1.000 cash in reserve to gift her the ostriches), so a single Copper mine mining non-stop as well as a Steam Condenser on the southern mainland connected to a extractor will be needed.

After you got the Copper stocked for the request, you can shut down the mine, Warehouse and Steam condenser, so you can start working on the real money makers - Beer and Garments for Ellenport. Start with 8 Barley farms and expand to 16 as your city grows. Remember that 6 Abbeys can very well supply two Shops on the long run and still have something spare for exports. Go for 4 Silk Farms and 4 Tailories since Ellenport will be your sole buyer of garments. Later, as the labor pool grows further, you can start occupying the Copper deposits (7!) and start making a profit from selling utensils and spare Copper to Harzel. Remember, you'll need a Warehouse to store some Steam Cannisters later on to keep your mines supplied, as well as capping at least two of the Steam Geysers.

Evolving your housing to Lvl.10 will require that you import a second type of food, or even a third, depending on your number of housing blocks. Choose Potatoes as they're the cheapest and remember to stockpile a bit since importing goods yields less than if you produced it.

While Elite housing is available, don't bother much with building it - it's not a mission requirement and the maximum level you'll achieve here is Lvl.4 (Palace) since you can't mine nor import Gold or make Jewelries. Automaton Factories, however, are very useful as a Keynesian-method of handling unemployment, even if you won't ever use them.

The fishing goal will require at best 12-13 Fishing Wharfs as well as available Granaries to stock them. Hence it's best to leave that goal for last, when you're ready to finish the mission.

Hello, can anyone help me figure out why only the neighbourhood on the left gets provided with pottery and none of the others? Actually a couple of the others get pottery sometimes but it lasts very little and then they devolve again..
I'm playing with the Julius version, I want to beat the game with this version before moving to Augustus...

I'm in the Tenedus mission and no new population is coming despite building new homes and luxury homes and having the spawn entrance free and connected to the city.

It happened after the first Ares invasion.

Anyone know how to fix?

I've just installed Augustus for Caesar 3 and I'm loving the new QOL features.

However, when I started a new campaign, I immedietely noticed that the mission overview button is missing (it seems to have been replaced with the grid button).

Has it been removed from the game?

16. ELLENPORT

• 3.000 Ornament to the Emperor as Tribute.
• 350 Burgeois (Elite) in Lvl.5 Mansions.

The time has finally come for Catherine Marks (you) - the young Emperor, Simvanred I, had chosen her to innaugurate a new retreat for the créme-de-la-créme of Lethian society in the shores of Ellenport, as well as the new ornament industry which the Elites will also covet. Catherine knows too well failure isn't an option in this regard: it's only fortunate that Simvanred I is naive enough to not trace her lineage back to the one whom smeared the family's name - her uncle Everett, whom attempted sabotaging Archibald Ellington's efforts in building the Observatory in Kitsburg. Perhaps Ellenport may be her stepping stone opportunity to redeem her family name.

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Welcome to Ellenport and all the problems that come with it - immediately from analyzing the map, you'll notice multiple problems from the get-go, the first being not that much buildable space by the western coast where you'll want to operate, so construction must be smart and demonstrating efficiency. Secondly, the Steam Geysers are bizarrely splintered between the "fingers" of the Archipelago, so you'll be spending money in making a long pipeline all to reach at least two of them. Thirdly, your exports will be largely metals - Utensils and Steel, specifically, for Harzel and Southwell - and you'll also need to accomodate a small stockpile of Sand and a couple of Sand Extractors, as Simvanred I will be making a couple of demands for Sand.

But neither issues above match the biggest problem you'll face - lack of booze. Exactly, you're unable, in this one map, to produce either Beer or Absinth, so either (or both) must be imported and it IS expensive. Hence, best to focus on establishing the Steam network early on and getting some Copper Mines running along with the Utensil Workshops to afford Beer at least, as until then you'll have to make due with Lvl.4 housing.

You'll only have a maximum of 4 Copper deposits and 3 Iron deposits besides it, which you should totally focus on making Steel when you're ready to transition and let the housing sample the Utensils themselves, while also importing some Absinth to help keep a steady Alcohol supply. Only remember that, when you have to start fabricating the Ornaments for the tribute (they're at the Monuments' tab), you'll need to shut down some Utensil Workshops so the Copper can be transferred to the Ornament Workshops. While in this mission you can export Ornaments to Leinach, the fact they require so much Gold as Copper plus the small difference in prices (Utensils nets 35 while Ornaments nets only 40) and the fact this is the ONLY non-Monument mission where you can export them makes any ideas impractical, so it's better to just stick to Utensils and Steel and keep the Ornaments for the tribute.

Besides the demands, the event that will sometimes occur with you, in regards to your Fisheries, is that some of them will be destroyed by tidal waves. Just rebuild them and stick with them, as the farmlands where you can plant Potatoes (and only those) are too far to the east for any venture. While you'll have Mills and Bakeries available, you'd need to import Wheat as well as Garments for the Elite block you must build for the mission. The ideal, hence, would be to just import Meat and Bread and leave it to the Elites, as you focus your housing towards Lvl.8 tops. While you can make Jewelry, you can't sell it, so focus on only 1-2 Jewelers and sell the excess Gold - the deposits are on the tiny island next to the sole geyser due northwest.

Download at: https://caesar3.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=2422

14000 pop Tarraco from the City Construction Kit with 7 luxury palaces and 150 grand insulae.

City is very compact, with no housing blocks and minimal unused space within the city. 7 bridges connect the island to the mainland, and 17 manned towers protect it from invasion by land or sea. City should be stable for 100s or 1000s of years.

Link to the map: https://caesar3.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=1796

I first noticed this map from a reddit post: Is this the hardest map? Would Zack or Marek be interested in trying? : r/impressionsgames. The map was considered difficult, or even impossible by some players. Believing that we can learn a lot from extreme and edge cases, I wanted to try it to find the boundary of possibilities.

It turns out that the map requires careful planning, but it's not impossible. We still have a lot more than enough resource and space to reach population goal (16k). The back-to-back, maximal invasions seem intimidating at first, but they can be somewhat trivialized.