PHARAOH CHAT - June 17th, 1999

Greg Sheppard & Ken Parker - Co-Producers
Darrin Horbal - Art Director
Doug Gonya - Co-Designer
Tony Leier & Hans Wang - QA
Chris Beatrice - Director of Design and Development (left early)
and Alex Rodberg as the Moderator

Special Guest Moderator - Meghan Rodberg

Note: This IRC log has been heavily modified so as to give the IRC session a consistent cycle of question and answer.

(IMP-Alex) OK, we're ready to start. Does someone have a question ready?

(observer) I think Dock has a good one...

(Dockaych) Yes

(IMP-Alex) Go ahead Doc

(Dockaych) Have you 'made up' anything in order to make the game work better...or have you pretty much stuck to real Egyptian history?

(Dockaych) Should I elaborate?

(IMP-Alex) We've done A LOT of research into Egyptian history, and you will find it pretty accurately represented, but in some cases we've have to take liberties in order to make it fun to play.

(Dockaych) Okay, well that's good ^_^

(true) Hi

(IMP-Ken_Parker) without giving too much away, we've had to compress and stretch time somewhat in the campaign, but the general sequence is right

(Dockaych) Ahhh!

(IMP-Ken_Parker) historians don't entirely agree on dates and durations anyway

(IMP-Alex) For example, we didn't include EVERY product the Egyptians traded, just a lot of them.

(Dockaych) That's true, especially with the Egyptian stuff.

(HappyCat) says hi and waves to everybody

(true) cool, my name is Alex too. Nice name. :)

(Arctos1) How are you resolving the market lady problem?

(IMP-Ken_Parker) market traders (now bazaar traders) are getting all-new marching orders

(IMP-Alex) Arc, they're called bazaar ladies in Pharaoh, and they have been made considrably more functional in Pharaoh

(IMP-Ken_Parker) and you'll have some Special Orders to control them if you choose, too

(Arctos1) Good

(Evill) impressions.. heh

(Dockaych) By the way, my first impressions of Pharoah are excellent!!

(IMP-Alex) Heheh, thanks!

(Dockaych) You're welcome, of course. Can you run the game at a higher resolution than 640x480.

(IMP-Doug) yes

(IMP-Ken_Parker) yes to resolutions

(IMP-Alex) Just like Caesar, you'll be able to run it as high as 1024. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

(Meghan) For the record, is anyone here press?

(observer) Yes me...

(Meghan) From where?

(Dockaych) Press? Well.. I write for a website, but that's strictly Sega.

(observer) Me ? Portugal, I write for a weekly newspaper and a games mag, Mega Score

(true) Can you order sacrifices to the Gods in Pharaoh?

(IMP-Greg_Sheppard) No sacrifices

(IMP-Alex) You can, however do other things to please the gods.

(true) Can you name a few?

(Dockaych) Do you think you might port this game accross to the Sega Dreamcast?

(IMP-Alex) We have no plans for Pharaoh Dreamcast... yet.

(IMP-Ken_Parker) no plans for ports have been announced yet

(Dockaych) yet? ^_^ I like that

(Dockaych) Well... I think it would work well, but I'm sure you already know that.

(observer) Can I ask again did you just "transplant" , and I use your words , Caesar 3 to the ancient Egypt or can we expect more? What more?

(IMP-Ken_Parker) the game will be a recognizable descendant of Caesar III, but it's definitely more than a transplant -- you will recognize it as a whole new game

(IMP-Doug) Well, monument building for starters, and the next most important change would be all of the effects from the annual flooding

(IMP-Alex) Good question, observer. For example, the farming model is different, the water system is different, and also monuments.

(IMP-Doug) The effects of Religion have also been substantially upgraded

(Dockaych) Is there any sort of internet or network play?

(IMP-hans) not that i know of

(observer) Was it harder to convey a feeling of Egypt than it was to work on Caesar ?

(true) In Pharaoh, can you actually enter and see your neighbor's cities instead of just knowing how many people they have, what they export/import, etc?

(IMP-Ken_Parker) no, true, that hasn't changed

(IMP-Alex) No, true, you will not be able to enter other cities than your own.

(IMP-Alex) OK, there are way too many people here for an unmoderated chat.

(Evill) Have you kept count in amusement, the number of news sites that misspell it as Pharoah? :)

(IMP-Alex) LOL Yes, I'm keeping count... :)

(IMP-Alex) moderates the channel

(IMP-Ken_Parker) have you seen where your browser takes you if you type in our URL wrong?

(Meghan) Uh oh, I can only imagine.

(IMP-Ken_Parker) it's a New Age site

(Meghan) The channel is moderated - we'll go to a Q&A session in just a sec.

(Meghan) So don't leave :)

(IMP-Alex) Sorry, everyone, I've had to de-voice you. Please /msg (or whisper) to Meghan "add me" to get in line to ask a question

(Meghan) Welcome to the Pharaoh chat! If you have a question for Impressions Games, here's how to get on the general public list: If you are using an IRC client, type "/msg meghan add me" without quotes. You MUST be in #impressions when your turn comes up or you will be skipped.

(Meghan) If you are using your browser to chat, click on my name to highlight it, click on the Whisper button in the lower right of the chat window, and type "add me" without the quotes. Remember to click on the Talk button again after whispering!

(IMP-Alex) OK, let's take the next question

(IMP-hans) caller go ahead

(Meghan) Okay, observer is first.

(Meghan) Go ahead, observer

(observer) Was it harder to convey a feeling of Egypt than it was to work on Caesar ?

(IMP-Alex) That would be a good question for our Art Director. Darrin?

(Meghan) (You can get back in the queue if you have more than one question. Send me another add me after you've asked yours.)

(Imp-Darrin) Not really, in some ways it was easier.

(IMP-Alex) Egypt is a very picturesque topic, so there was a lot to work from...

(IMP-Alex) ga

(Imp-Darrin) Egypt has a lot of visual style

(Meghan) Go ahead, Dockaych

(Dockaych) How much do you plan to develop Pharaoh?

(IMP-Alex) I'm not sure what you mean?

(Dockaych) Is there a Pharah expansion pack in the works... or a Pharaoh 2?

(IMP-Alex) :) We're still working on Pharaoh 1!!!

(IMP-Ken_Parker) whoa, you are getting WAY ahead of us!!!

(IMP-Alex) Pharaoh is the 4th game in the City-Building series.

(IMP-Alex) There will likely be others

(Meghan) Go ahead, true

(true) How in depth will religion be? Can I order my armies to capture a town in the name of a God? Any other things that you've added/improved in the religion department? And do you plan to get out of history? How about a futuristic fitting into this series?

(IMP-Alex) You can prepare your question in advance in notepad and CTRL-V paste it in when it's your turn.

(true) did I type too much? ;)

(Meghan) If you're waiting in line to ask a question, now is a good time to type it into a text editor like Notepad, highlight the text, hit ctrl-c to copy it, and when your turn comes up, hit ctrl-v to paste it in. Remember to keep questions short and sweet :)

(IMP-Alex) Whew... :)

(Meghan) No, true, you're all good :)

(IMP-Alex) First religion... We've expanded the number of gods, and the effects they have.

(IMP-Alex) Some of them will now be able to empower their priest with additional bonuses if they're worshipped properly.

(IMP-Doug) For Religion, each of the main gods has a Large Temple that you can build, each Large Temple has two upgrades dedicated to lesser gods. These upgrades have game effects

(IMP-Tony) There are many more things that the gods will do, both good and bad.

(IMP-hans) futuristic...now that would be cool...

(Imp_-_Greg_Sheppard) The gods are more political then they were in C3, they are less inclined to share the devotion of the people

(IMP-Ken_Parker) re: the last part of your question -- we haven't thought that far ahead. we are totally focussed on pharaoh right now

(true) great! thanks for your time :)..

(IMP-Alex) No problem!

(Meghan) Thanks true!

(Meghan) Go ahead, Evill

(Evill) Caesar III (at least the demo) has been very popular on the Mac. Do you see Pharaoh being ported as well?

* IMP-Ken_Parker laughs diabolically

(IMP-Alex) We'll be making an announcement at Macworld in July regarding that... ;)

(IMP-Doug) :)

* IMP-Alex comforts Ken

(Evill) Oooh.. excellent :)

(IMP-Alex) Thanks

(Meghan) Go ahead, observer

(observer) There is a "cultural" side to this game as there was to Caesar. Do you really intend to go on that direction , exploring games that have an educational side. I mean, do you see Pharoah being used on the schools as a tool to look at Egypt (using the concept that you learn better when you play?)

(IMP-Tony) Ken's still a little slappy from the C3 port.

(IMP-Ken_Parker) absolutely, observer. the focus is entirely on fun and gameplay, but accuracy adds to the fun for lots of players

(IMP-Doug) I think the monument building and flood plain farming aspects of the game would be well worth using in that way

(IMP-Alex) We don't want to speculate beyond Pharaoh, our current project.

(IMP-hans) well, playing what we have so far has been fairly educational for me...reading doug's design doc earned me a masters degree in egyptian history

(IMP-Doug) hey, you haven't passed your final yet

(IMP-Alex) We certainly think that Pharaoh will have more value to children (of all ages) than some other games...

(Imp_-_Greg_Sheppard) Caesar III and Pharaoh are educational in the sense that the player learns to juggle multiple variables in a more sophisticated manner over time

(IMP-Alex) Thanks

(Meghan) Go ahead, true

(true) In Pharaoh, will the 'king' or 'ruler' be physically in the game? Or will I still be hovering over my city, building and destroying? I would love to be assassinated. :)

(true) ....adds the excitment, and tension

(IMP-Alex) Interesting request... You will still be omnipresent, although you will have a seat of power, and a seat of wealth, both of which are vulnerable

(IMP-Doug) In later scenarios, the player himself will be pharoah, and the game model will change to reflect that

(IMP-Alex) Money, which is naturally very important, is kept in several buildings throughout town, and they can be robbed...

(Meghan) Go ahead, Dockaych

(Dockaych) Have you had any sort of inspiration or influence from current Egyptian based movies (the Prince of Egypt, The Mummy), or from the game 'PowerSlave' (known as Exhumed in the UK)?

(Dockaych) (or perhaps from the ancient Egypt based manga comic I've been writing for over a year!)

(IMP-Alex) LOL Most of our inspiration comes from historical text, although Egypt has been in the news quite a bit recently, with the discovery of many mummies outside Cairo

(Imp-Darrin) Artistically we look at everything we can find, and then come up with our own style.

(IMP-Alex) ALthough I certainly can't speak for everyone... :)

(Meghan) Go ahead, observer

(observer) What are you going to do next? A city building game based on the Chinese, with the Imperial City and the Great Wall ?

(IMP-Alex) Our next game after Pharaoh will probably be Civil War Generals 3, continuing that line...

(Imp_-_Greg_Sheppard) Ken, please pass the ulcer medication

(IMP-Alex) We don't know what we will do for the next City-Building Series game.

(Meghan) Go ahead, true

(true) How deep will the economic structure of Pharaoh be? How many things can my people do to grow/forge for wealth?

* IMP-Ken_Parker slide greg some malox

(IMP-Alex) I think Hans and Tony can better answer that question. They've been playing a lot of it lately... :)

(IMP-Doug) The economic model has a good bit more depth to it than Caesar III did

(IMP-Ken_Parker) oooo, you're gonna like the new economic model

(IMP-Alex) There are considerably more raw materials and finished goods than in Caesar

(IMP-hans) for one thing, there's quite a bit more resources and products in pharaoh

(Imp_-_Greg_Sheppard) and more cities to trade with

(IMP-Ken_Parker) resources are more precious, some commodities take 2 resources

(IMP-Alex) Farms include barley, chckpeas, flax. You can gather papyrus or hunt. There are more things to mine...

(IMP-Alex) And naturally, from more raw materials you can produce more finished goods.

(IMP-Doug) Some commodities require more than one resource

(IMP-hans) wheat farms produce 2 resources which is a bit of a departure from caesar III's single resource sources

(IMP-Ken_Parker) controls for warehouses and granaries have been refined, and added to bazaars

(IMP-Alex) I mean gather reeds for papyrus, above.

(IMP-Doug) Also, some buildings that produce access walkers require resources to operate

(true) cool

(IMP-Alex) Thanks, true!

(Meghan) Go ahead, Evill

(Evill) Any plans to extend these (or future) City-Building games with networking? Ideally over the internet?

(IMP-Alex) That's certainly something we're often asked about...

(IMP-Ken_Parker) it's hard to imagine how it could work without radically changing the game, making it more like age of empires

(IMP-Alex) At this point, adding networking would make it a totally different game... it's not something we could slip in at the last moment

(IMP-Doug) The problem is, once you go to a multiplayer environment combat becomes so much more important that the game becomes a standard RTS game rather than a city-builder

(Evill) I could understand that, yeah.

(IMP-Alex) We haven't ruled out multiplayer in general, but it won't happen for Pharaoh...

(IMP-Alex) Thanks

(Meghan) Go ahead, observer

(observer) You state that after becoming Pharaoh you can go and conquer foreign land... How far in that direction does the game go? Can it go forever? The other option is to stay home and build a huge statue? Pure fun?

(IMP-Alex) You have the option of continuing to play any city after you have completed the objectives. There is also a City Construction Kit included with the game

(IMP-hans) well, there will be a set number of assignments much like caesar III, but more and more involved

(IMP-Ken_Parker) no, the campaign will still have an ending on both branches

(IMP-Alex) You are also able to create your own maps and create your own scenarios.

(IMP-Ken_Parker) we saw chris' preliminary design for the campaign today for the first time, and i, for one, am quite excited about it

(IMP-Alex) Thanks, observer!

(Meghan) Go ahead, true

(true) How many buildings can I build? And will there be more levels of growth in Pharaoh? Maybe custom design by the player..? hmm. :)

* IMP-Ken_Parker has to go let his cat out

(IMP-Alex) I dont' think we intend to add any custom design features.... As far as growth, you can expect similar to Caesar

(IMP-Alex) There are certainly more buildings you can build.

(true) Also, if you dont mind, will gold be the only resource needed to build?

(IMP-Alex) No, many other resources will be required...

(IMP-hans) not by a long shot!

(IMP-Doug) For most buildings, yes, but larger structures will require quite a bit more

(IMP-Alex) For example, a large monument may require 2 different types of stone, carpenters, wood, grave goods, jewelry, etc..

* IMP-Ken_Parker is back on duty, sir!

(IMP-Alex) Remember, as you build your pyramid, you'll see it come together stone by stone!

(true) cool!

(Meghan) Go ahead, Dockaych

(Dockaych) How difficult is it to achieve the 'higher' status of building Pyramids, a Sphinx, etc? Will the sphinx have it's original Lion's head when it is originally built? Do these have to be built *exactly* as they were originally, or can you have a small collection of sphinxes, and a pyramid for every finger? :)

(IMP-Alex) There are different sized pyramids. The sphinx starts out as a hunk of stone that you slowly refine over time.

(IMP-Alex) There are limits on the giant monuments...

(Imp_-_Greg_Sheppard) There is some flexibility as to which monuments (and how many of each) you can build

(IMP-Alex) but you'd hardly have the resources to construct a pyramid for every finger anyway... :)

(IMP-Doug) The scenarios in the campaign will assign the player the task of building specific monuments to complete the scenario, up to 3 different monuments per scenario

(IMP-Ken_Parker) well, the game's graphics and map sizes will limit what you can build

(IMP-Doug) The city construction kit has more options, and users can make their own scenarios with whatever construction goals they like

(Dockaych) So... who is on the sphinx? Any of you guys? :)

(IMP-Ken_Parker) lol

(IMP-Alex) It's Peter Haffenreffer, our GM. ;)

(IMP-hans) heh heh

(IMP-Ken_Parker) people would return the game in droves if my mug was on the sphinx!

(Meghan) Go ahead, observer

(observer) Do you reveal the secret of pyramid building?

(IMP-hans) no way, we promised the greys...

(Imp_-_Greg_Sheppard) No aliens appear in the game

(IMP-Ken_Parker) i don't believe we have UFOs helping you out, unless there's something i don't know about

(IMP-Alex) Well, since you'll see them being built, you'll see ONE of the methods that scientists think the Egyptians used.

(IMP-Doug) Well, we certainly reveal the details of a prominent theory on pyramid building, but the topic is still hotly debated

(IMP-Ken_Parker) a very plausible and logical method, for sure

(Imp_-_Greg_Sheppard) The trick is, you build it stone by stone

(Meghan) Go ahead, HappyCat

(HappyCat) How deep will the micro-management be? Like, do we have more control for the warehouses?

(IMP-Alex) You sure will...

(IMP-hans) warehouses and granaries for sure

(HappyCat) so we can restrict what the traders can trade?

(IMP-Alex) Although the exact settings are still being developed, you'll have more options and more individual control

(Imp_-_Greg_Sheppard) Special orders allow for more detailed control then in C3

(IMP-Ken_Parker) it won't be more complicated, except the addition of controls to bazaars, but it will be more complex under the hood -- deeper control

(IMP-Doug) The goal with that was to improve the basic behaviour of the walkers so that less micromanagement would be necessary while, at the same time, adding some controls for more advanced players to use if they want more direct control

(IMP-Alex) A lot of it will be transparent, but there will be more menus on those buildings. :)

(Meghan) Go ahead, true

(true) Will there still be homeless ? It seems like to me in Egypt that if you dont have a home, you're a slave. :)

(IMP-hans) yes, there will still be homeless people in pharaoh

(true) and if there are, can I kick them out? :)

(IMP-Ken_Parker) there are vagrants, i don't know if they're exactly equivalent to homeless

(IMP-hans) where will you kick them out to? :)

(Imp_-_Greg_Sheppard) they are between homes

(true) a nice deep pit

(IMP-hans) hah hah :D

(IMP-Alex) It will work a lot like in Caesar...

(IMP-Doug) The homeless people basically move from a house that has devolved to a house that hasn't reached its occupancy limit

(true) ah

(Meghan) Go ahead, Dogmess

(Dogmess) Caesar 3 was a very stable piece of software; most user problems were based on their own mistakes, like cutting off the road to Rome. Will Pharoah contain the same warnings that the patched Caesar 3 does?

(IMP-Alex) Pharaoh will enjoy all the benfits of the Caesar III patch, and a lot more

(IMP-Ken_Parker) that part gets developed very late, after extensive testing, so we can't say yet what limits and warnings will be needed

(IMP-Doug) Indeed, the game pretty much tells you what to do if something is going wrong, and you can always right click on anything to see if some improvement is possible

(IMP-Alex) You'll have multiple difficulty levels, you'll be able to turn off god effects... etc.

(Dogmess) Sounds good.

(IMP-Alex) Thanks!

(Meghan) Go ahead, Dockaych

(Dockaych) What are the weather and time (night and day) effects like in Pharoah? Should we see sandstorms, rain, wind in Egypt - or is that expecting too much?

(Dockaych) (I'm not asking for snow!)

(Imp_-_Greg_Sheppard) The timescale does not really support day/night transitions

(IMP-Alex) The whole screen would be flashing like a strobe!

(IMP-Ken_Parker) the passage of time is like caesar, so daily weather doesn't make sense. it would sweep by too fast. the seasons of the nile are prominent

(IMP-Doug) Their will be big 'random event' type things like that, but given how quickly time passes day/night changes would be extremely annoying :)

(IMP-hans) there will be a factor of the flooding of the nile to take into consideration

(Dockaych) Okay understood :)

(IMP-Alex) You will, however be able to see the Nile overflow its banks annually

(IMP-Alex) This is a big part of the game...

(Meghan) Go ahead, observer

(observer) I guess there's a question I really want to know: do we get to see Moses in the game?

(IMP-Alex) LOL

(IMP-Ken_Parker) the dreaded Moses question

(IMP-Alex) You'd be surprised how often we get this question... :)

(IMP-hans) it's a first for me! :)

(IMP-Alex) We're not planning any Moses cameos in the game right now... :)

(IMP-Ken_Parker) let's say that if he's there at all, it'll be news to me. this is a game about egyptian culture and mythology. besides, the time ends before Moses' reputed career

(Meghan) Go ahead, Dockaych

(Dockaych) Is there any music in Pharoah?

(IMP-Ken_Parker) oh man, i love the music

(IMP-hans) same here! our sound/music guys are the best!

(Imp-Darrin) The music is great!

(IMP-Alex) Of course. You mean the in-game music, or as part of the culture, because we certainly have both...

(Imp_-_Greg_Sheppard) It's hypnotic

(IMP-Ken_Parker) keith zizza did the music for lords of the realm 2

(IMP-Ken_Parker) and he's back for pharaoh

(Dockaych) That's cool... so there's a general background theme, or sporatic 'spurts' like in Tomb Raider (sorry for the comparison)

(IMP-Alex) There are conservatory buildings you can build and train musician, who will then perform on the entertainment plazas you build!

(Imp-Darrin) The music evolves over time as well

(IMP-Ken_Parker) as in caesar, there are several themes that will alternate depending on what's going on

(IMP-hans) more like diablo than tomb raider, more background thematic music than ambient noise

(Dockaych) Ah... so it's not just streamed off CD?

(IMP-Tony) Streaming will probably depend on your install size

(IMP-Alex) There is also context and location sensitive music as well...

(IMP-Alex) Thanks Doc

(Meghan) Go ahead, observer

(observer) Do you base your top ten reasons to work at IMP into the Ten Commandments? LOL

(IMP-Alex) Anything that includes free beer is commandment! :)

(IMP-Alex) Actually, we included that piece because it really is a very fun place to work, and we wanted to share that with our fans. :)

(IMP-Alex) We'll take a couple more questions and wrap this up at 8, OK?

(Meghan) Go ahead, Dockaych

(Dockaych) How much customisation is there?

(IMP-Alex) That's a really broad question, Doc.

(Dockaych) Could a budding artistic type make specilised temples?

(IMP-Doug) Significantly more than Caesar III

(IMP-Alex) You will be able to customize most of the ways the game plays. You will not be able to change to look or function of the buildings or people, though.

(Dockaych) ...or, can you have specific hyrogyphes?

(Dockaych) We can always hope :)

(Dockaych) Is there any room in IMP for another graphic artist?

(IMP-Alex) You can set your own goals, turn off god effects, even create a chain of events scenario, but not make your own temples.. :)

(IMP-Doug) Darrin?

(Imp-Darrin) you can place certain statues in various orientations to create a nice Egyptian look.

(IMP-Ken_Parker) there's no mechanism for importing player graphics -- we think our art department has it covered. :)

* Imp-Darrin thinks: yup

(Meghan) Go ahead, observer

(observer) back to sound, how about the environment sound ? do you get the noise of pyramid building a.s.o. in the game. was it hard to do? hey, and thanks for your answers, we'll be waiting for the game 8-))

(IMP-Alex) Glad to do it. Yes, there are a lot of environmental sounds, but I can't tell you how hard it was to make. Out sound guys aren't here :(

(IMP-Doug) The sound effects will be based on what is currently in view on your screen

(observer) I could not hear it at E3 with all the BHUNF. around 8-))

(IMP-Doug) so, if you center on an industrial area, the sounds will be quite different than if you're looking at some farmland or housing

(IMP-hans) it really makes you feel like you're right there in the city

(IMP-hans) yes...our sound/music guys deserve all the praise we give them because they've been doing such an awesome job collecting and implementing sounds thus far

(IMP-Alex) It WAS very loud at our booth...

(observer) yes it WAS

(Meghan) Go ahead, true

(true) Will the 'advisors' be more intelligent, instead of relying on set code, maybe have different advisors who tell you different things, one might be right, one wrong. Put more of the control into the player's hands? :) Alsol, thanks for your patience and your willingness to do this!

(IMP-Doug) Yes, the advisors have certainly been upgraded to provide information that is a lot more useful to the player

(IMP-Alex) The advisors have been refined based on what we learned from Caesar III, but they will appear much the same in Pharaoh. Most of the changes are in the code, making sure their advice is even more specific and appropriate to your situation.

(IMP-Ken_Parker) we have not finished that part of the game yet, so it's hard to very specific

(Imp_-_Greg_Sheppard) And in general the game provides more feedback then in C3 so you will be less reliant upon your advisors.

(Meghan) Go ahead, Dockaych

(Dockaych) Did any of you guy's ever play the Saturn/PC/Playstation game Powerslave (Exhumed in the UK)?? What did you think? (not entirely related, but it's one of the best Egypt based video-games... so far)

* IMP-Ken_Parker would like to ask the questioners a question

(IMP-Alex) I didn't. Sorry. :(

(Dockaych) (you ought to!)

(IMP-Alex) Yeah, Ken, go ahead!

(IMP-Ken_Parker) any of you played civil war generals 2?

*** IMP-Alex unmoderates the room

(IMP-Tony) I haven't played it, but One of our programmers has (Jim) I think he's going to show it to us sometime.

(Dockaych) Oh... crap, no.

(observer) yes, but not for long, not my kind of game or story

(IMP-Alex) Before everyone rips into an answer...

(IMP-Ken_Parker) just curious, off topic i know

(IMP-Alex) Thanks for coming to the pharaoh chat. We'll open the room up for discussion now...

(IMP-Alex) Look for Pharaoh in October! Yeah!

(Dockaych) Will do! Yeah!!

(Dockaych) What's the install setup like on Pharoah?

(Dockaych) Can you install the whole thing?

(IMP-Ken_Parker) the install gets written almost last, so that's impossible to answer right now

(IMP-Doug) The install hasn't been determined yet

(Dockaych) Okay fair enough..

(IMP-Tony) I suspect the install will be similar to C3, but it's done near the end, so who knows exactly.

(Dockaych) ...but I *would* like to play it on my laptop. :)

(Chris[GN]) hey

(true) I want sacrifices!

(true) everyone chant it with me! :)

(Dockaych) I want live mummification.

(true) the people have spoken...sacrifices are needed!

(Human) any tutorial stuff included in this game? I'm not much of a strategy/war game player - I'm interested in it, but I'd need some help to start from a tutorial I think :)

(IMP-Ken_Parker) oh yes, we will hold your hand and teach you as you go

(Human) thank you...these games have just gotten too complicated to start as a beginner now :)

(Imp_-_Greg_Sheppard) Human, there will be several tutorial missions & new elements will be introduced throughout the campaign

(IMP-Doug) The learning curve will be much more gradual, so you'll have less things to learn in the first several scenarios. We learned from our mistakes on this point for C3

(Human) very cool!

(HappyCat) something's wrong with the Pharaoh preview videos?

(Dockaych) Any general Egyptian history info included within the game?

(IMP-Ken_Parker) the online help system will include historical entries, just as caesar's did

(IMP-hans) i think there's a significant amount of general egyptian history in the game

(IMP-hans) and i truly believe the general player will end up learning a few things after an assignment or two of the way life must have been at that time in egypt

(Dockaych) Do you plan to expand the game at all through downloads?

(IMP-Ken_Parker) we can't think of anything but finishing the game right now

(Dockaych) Good good :)

(IMP-Alex) It's something we're thinking about, but we don't want to add it haphazzardly. It's got to be somethign cool, not a cheezy marketing ploy... :)

(IMP-Ken_Parker) lol

(Dockaych) Wow, I can't wait!!

(IMP-Ken_Parker) that was our marketing weasel who said that

(Meghan) He's not your ordinary marketing weasel >:)

(IMP-Doug) Also, user made scenarios will be possible from the initial launch, and they will have more power in creating them than with the C3 editor

(IMP-Tony) he knows all about cheezy marketing (at least I hope so)

(IMP-Ken_Parker) (full disclosure)

(sleeper) could we fight against the roman army ??

(IMP-Doug) The timeline doesn't progress that far

(IMP-Ken_Parker) no, rome isn't even born when our game ends

(IMP-Alex) The romans ARE one of the enemies you'll face. One of about a dozen...

(IMP-Alex) I COULD be wrong. :)

(Dockaych) Tell me that you haven't ruled out the idea of a Dreamcast conversion completely!

(IMP-Ken_Parker) we never rule anything out, dock

(Dockaych) Phew

(Human) so you think this is an educational game, eh?

(IMP-hans) i believe it has quite a bit to teach the player about ancient egypt, yes!

(Imp_-_Greg_Sheppard) I think it's a fun game that happens to be educational in several respects

(Dockaych) So.. can I cover this game a little on the Sega site I work for?

(Dockaych) As a *potential* Dreamcast conversion? :)

(IMP-Ken_Parker) we like ink, dock, but remember that we didnt encourage you :)

(IMP-Alex) I can tell you officially that we have NOT ruled OUT a Dreamcast conversion. Is that non-committal enough? :)

(Dockaych) Okay that's all I needed.

(IMP-Doug) It is much harder to put a strategy game on a console than an action game, but with the latest advances in consoles we're becoming much more interested in them

(observer) BTw, any Playstation 2 port?

(IMP-Alex) None announced... :)

(Dockaych) Observer, a DC port makes more sense.

(observer) More sense why Dock

(observer) why ?

(Dockaych) More sense because it uses Windows CE as a architecture.

(Evill) Hey what about the gameboy port? :)

(IMP-Ken_Parker) lol

(sleeper) it would be nice a network fight between C3 and Pharaoh. It's only an idea =) Maybe in the future ?

(IMP-hans) we'll keep that in mind!

(Human) yes...gameboy rules

(IMP-Ken_Parker) an atari version! a unix version! (guess that should be a eunuchs version)

(sleeper) cool :)

(IMP-Alex) Oh, Ken!

(Human) well at least you have the important (MAC!) version down :)

(observer) yeah, but imagine the magnific imagery of Pharaoh on a NGPS

(Dockaych) lol

(IMP-Doug) that's my fault, I told him earlier that if we did an Ancient Chinese city-sim he'd have to be the Eunuch

(IMP-hans) macs...oy! if it's anything like caesar III mac...i can't wait! ;)

(IMP-Alex) The whole Caesar series is on the Mac. We've always loved you guys... :)

(IMP-Ken_Parker) i am willing to make that sacrifice for my company

(IMP-Alex) OMG

(IMP-Ken_Parker) (hans is a closet mac-head)

(Human) a closet? I'll help bring him out..

(Evill) http://www.mac-games.com is their website, Human.

* IMP-Alex knocks on the closet door...

(IMP-hans) nooooooooo......

(IMP-hans) i like it in here!

(Dockaych) So... how would I go about applying for a job with you guys?

(IMP-Ken_Parker) well doc, you can do what i did

(Dockaych) What is that Ken?

(Dockaych) Stalk the other employees?

(IMP-Ken_Parker) get a bachelor's degree in english, work in bookstores for 16 years, play a lot of games, then answer a want ad for QA testers

(IMP-Alex) LOL

(IMP-Ken_Parker) worked for me

(Dockaych) Where are you based?

(Dockaych) lol Ken

(IMP-Alex) We're in Cambridge, MA

(IMP-Ken_Parker) cambridge, mass

(Dockaych) Ah.. okeeday.

(IMP-Alex) Damn, Ken, you're a fast typist... but not faster... :)

(IMP-Ken_Parker) i got tired of waiting for you

(ANYWHERE) Hey you guys, have you considered the x-factor in reference to streamlining the traffic through the bi-latteral port hole.

(IMP-Alex) It conflicts with the x-y bi-factor of the hexadecimal trisystem...

(Evill) Which guys worked on the Mac version of Lords of the Realm II ?

(IMP-hans) i don't remember, evill...maybe ken does

(IMP-Ken_Parker) uhhh

(IMP-Ken_Parker) sure

(IMP-Ken_Parker) of course

(Dockaych) What's your favourite Egpyt-based movie?

(Dockaych) (EVERYONE)

(IMP-Doug) I'd say Moses, up until he leaves Egypt anyway, some of the scenes are just awesome

(Meghan) Doh, I can't remember the name of it!

(IMP-Alex) OK, guys, time for me to head home. I have a long drive ahead of me...

(sleeper) well, it's 2:12 am here. I need to sleep. I wish you a great success with Pharaoh

(Dockaych) Okay bye Alex, thanks a lot!

(IMP-Alex) Thanks. Thanks for coming everyone!

(Meghan) Okay, I'll smack Alex for you.

(IMP-han) wow, thanks for staying up late sleeper...

(sleeper) thanks for your time ;)

(IMP-Ken_Parker) cya xander

(Dockaych) You're in Europe Sleeper? :)

(sleeper) yeah, in Spain

(Dockaych) Okay, bye Sleeper :)

(Meghan) G'night folks. I'm off to play eBay.

(sleeper) bye

(Meghan) Thanks for coming :)

*** Disconnected Session Close: Thu Jun 17 20:15:24 1999