PHARAOH GOES GOLD!

After tremendous toil and the loss of blood (those paper cuts will get you every time), sweat and even some tears, the mighty monument is complete. Pharaoh for the PC is complete, and there is much rejoicing.  Expect to see it on the shelves of your local game store in the second week of November.  By now, you know what to expect from Pharaoh: you'll erect massive monuments that stand throughout the ages while leading your family to world-renown and building a kingdom unmatched in history. Here are the answers to a couple of questions that we haven't yet addressed:

Will the sprite limits be raised?

The minimum system requirement for Pharaoh is 32 MB of RAM, and Pharaoh uses a different routine to handle walker and military sprites than Caesar III. So, the limits we had to impose to maintain performance integrity will affect far fewer users than did the sprite limits in Caesar III. We have made every effort to accommodate the range of systems on which Pharaoh will be played.

How many missions are there?

Pharaoh ships with 38 campaign missions and 12 stand-alone missions. Not all campaign missions are available as you progress through your career. You must decide which cities your family will rule, and which it will leave for others to tend. Set aside plenty of late nights to finish this game.

Will you release the editor? Will we be able to edit the Kingdom level?

We never make promises we're not sure we can keep, but our current plan is to make available a very robust editor that allows users to modify pretty much anything and everything to do with a mission. It won't be included with the release, but should be available in the not-too-distant future.

The Mission Editor includes an 'event editor' which allows the scenario creator to define a number of different types of events, and string them together in cause and effect chains. This, essentially, allows users to sculpt a unique story line for each mission. There will be a number of other parameters which users can set in the scenario editor, such as victory conditions
(monuments to be built, burial provisions required, enemies, climate, flood conditions, buildings allowed, gods, ratings, etc.), ... almost anything you can imagine.

>FROM THE MARKETING WEASEL
The Pharaoh soundtrack "Music to Build Pyramids By" has been released to enthusiastic fan response. The 24-track instrumental compilation brings to life the atmosphere and sound of ancient Egypt. A limited number of these will be available for free when you pre-order Pharaoh from these retailers:

Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com)
Gamedealer.com (http://www.gamedealer.com)
Beyond.com (http://www.beyond.com)
Etoys.com (http://www.etoys.com)
Barnesandnoble.com (http://www.barnesandnoble.com)
EBWorld (http://www.ebworld.com)
Babbages Etc.,
Electronics Boutique, and others.