Author's
Description:
"Last Stronghold"
Mission Briefing:
A new and previously unknown enemy invaded Egypt in 1720 BC. These Hyksos, as they came to be known, made use of a fearsome new weapon, the Chariot, and quickly overran the cities of the Two Lands. Pharaoh and most of his household were slain when Men-nefr fell to the Hyksos. Only you, untried and little more than a child, remain as the last scion of the true dynasty.
Now, late in the year 1717 BC, only the city of Perwadjyt is still in Egyptian hands --- or so it was thought. The Hyksos are making their final assault on Perwadjyt, and the city will surely fall soon.
Your Vizier has recently learned that the once prosperous outpost at Timna in the Sinai was bypassed by the Hyksos and still stands as an Egyptian city. It is hoped that the Hyksos are unaware of the existence of Timna.
And so, with heavy heart, even as he sees to the last defense of Perwadjyt, your Vizier has made plans to spirit you away to Timna, in hopes that you may in time liberate Egypt from the heavy hand of the Hyksos. To this end, he had earlier sent what was left of the Royal Treasury to Timna for safekeeping.
With the last demoralized remnants of the Egyptian army, you set sail from Perwadjyt for Timna. Your Vizier has stayed behind to hold the city as long as possible, that you may escape. But, alas, a Hyksos band has captured some Egyptians ships and forced the crews to carry them in pursuit of you.
The situation at Timna is bleak, but not hopeless.
The formerly abundant veins of Gold and Copper are all but exhausted, though Granite and Gemstones are still found in quantity. Even in the midst of calamity, people will want jewelry.
The Egyptian military has learned the craft of making Chariots, and your Vizier has sent craftsmen with you. There are some trees at Timna, though ultimately, additional sources of wood must be found.
Timna was once a mightily fortified city, as befitting its former status; and while the walls and towers have suffered neglect during the city's decline, they are mostly intact. There is minor damage to the fortifications, which ought to be repaired as time and resources permit.
The Sinai is a vast desert, and the climate has turned even more arid, causing the oases at Timna to dwindle to little more than fetid swamps. But the land is still fertile, if water can be brought to it, and the local waters have many fish.
The city is crowded with refugees (with more arriving daily), who must be housed and fed and gainfully employed. But even this can be to your advantage, for it will require many workers so build up the mighty armies you will require to liberate the other cities of Egypt.
The Hyksos care nothing for the welfare of the people, and famine stalks the Two Lands. As the years pass with the Hyksos warlord calling himself Pharaoh and ruling from Men-nefr, the people grow more hopeless. Any aid you may send the cities of Egypt will keep alive that small hope; so that when you are ready to reclaim your birthright, the people will rise up against the Hyksos.
Note on the contents of this ZIP file:
Besides this document, the .zip file contain 3 saved games:
1) LS-10.sav will be easier. I had lowered the KR requirement to 90%, the city has a population of @6200, with available workers, and a treasury of @2300. On the downside, there isn’t much city-building required of the player, since it’s pretty much laid out.
2) LS-10_Win.sav was played from LS-10.sav (it’s included as an example, only). The city has a population of @11800 and funds of @24,000 (I’d had much higher funds in other tests). There are two outstanding requests, either of which will take the KR above the required 90%.
3) LS-11.sav will be more difficult. I took the KR requirement back to the original 100% and lowered the KR bonus for liberating the cities. The city has a population of @3800 and funds of -3555. I had tried to hold the population down, but finally had to ramp it up, and still the city is short of workers and most industry is turned off. Since I didn’t have the workers to support industry while building it, the city made no money during that time.
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