News: March 1999

Wednesday, March 31st 1999
Advance warning

Just thought I’d let y’all know that I might not be able to update for the next couple of days, since I might well be heading off somewhere where there isn’t a phone line (and therefore no Internet connection – how will I survive;)?). However, nothing’s been finalised yet, so check back tomorrow in case I haven’t disappeared and am therefore able to update. If I do have to go away, then I’ll be back on Saturday (perhaps Friday evening, but I probably won’t have time to update).

Angel Reckless Rodent


Tuesday, March 30th, 1999
Controversy in the forums!

There’s a heated debate in the forums about one of the aspects of Egyptian life that has been seen as central to their very existence by some historians over the past years. Did the Egyptians actually build the Sphinx and the Pyramids? Anyone who saw the Quest for the Lost Civilisation programme on Channel 4 here in the UK will be familiar of the arguments on all sides. If you didn’t see the prog, then get up to speed with the arguments in the forum.

Our sister site, Caesar III Heaven, has been fortunate enough to receive an award from the great guys over at GoneGold! Cool, eh?   Head over to the Roman Empire for the full story:)!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Monday, March 29th, 1999
New Stuff from Gamestats

Our hosts Gamestats have another little competition for you to enter this week.   Following last week’s excitement with Asheron’s Call and Starsiege, Irex, Justice T and the crew have decided to make the pace a little more sedate this time. Enter Elite Darts. If you want to have a go at hitting the perfect 9-darter both on the computer and in real life, then take a peek at this contest. Not only can you win one of 7 copies of Elite Darts, but you will also receive a real set of darts for you to hone your skills in the local pub. 180!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Weekend, March 27th/28th, 1999
Egyptian TV Prog for the UK!

After plugging The Learning Channel and Discovery for you in the USofA, it seems as if the good old BBC is finally catching up on the Egypt theme. Why? Well, on Saturday 3rd April there’s a programme on BBC2 at 8.15pm called “Egypt’s Lost City” that might be of interest. Here’s what the Culture section of the Sunday Times had to say about it:

The archaeologist Tony Spawforth presents an engrossing programme on Akhenaten, the megalomaniac 14th-century BC pharaoh who fathered and preceded Tutankhamen. Spawforth identifies Akhenaten’s doomed attempts to overturn Egypt’s traditional religion as the first recorded instances of monotheism. Some evidence suggests that he and Tut were whacked by polytheistic assassins.

Well, I’d say that sounds pretty interesting. It’s virtually bang in the middle of the period which will be covered by the game, so it’s probably worth a look if you’re in the UK or can receive BBC2. For you outside the UK, don’t worry – it’ll probably turn up on BBC World in a few months or so. However, I’ll try to watch it if I’m around at 8.15 next Saturday evening, and I’ll post in the forum telling you all about it:)!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Friday, March 26th, 1999
Release Date Talk Already!!?

Hmm…personally, I think it might be somewhat premature to start talking about possible release dates, but who am I to stifle the free speech expressed in the forums;)? Anyway, some people have wondered when the game might be released this autumn. Myself, I reckon that even an autumn release date might not be attainable – it might just be out by Christmas, but IMHO don’t hold your breath. Remember, those are my own personal views, not those of Impressions or Sierra, and I would love to see the above thesis disproved. However, Tiberian Sun and Daikatana are only the most recent games to show how release dates can rapidly disappear weeks, then months, then even years, into the distance. We’ll see, eh? For the moment, though, give your 2p in the forum.

Another hot topic in the aforementioned forum at the moment is what the gods will be able to do to you if you fail to please them.   Here’s what one of our forumers had to say:

My thoughts about the game would include a priesthood capable of placing a ‘curse’ on your neighbors crops…thus creating dependence and servitude to Egypt. Also health and prosperity links related to the manipulation of priestly duties. The Pharaoh’s were totally dependent on the advise of the priesthood, who tranlated the will of the gods into the machinations promoting their control of the Egyptian Empire. Pharaoh’s were treated ‘as gods’ and by the passing of time ‘became’ gods in the fokelore of their greatest as a deified ruler.

To say what you think, head over here.

Angel Reckless Rodent


Thursday, March 25th, 1999
Back to the forums:)

The forums are growing nicely and are even beginning to bear some fruit (hence the pic on the right;)). In particular, the thread about the Natives is getting someinteresting responses. The subject has now broadened out into the aspect of trading, and not just with the natives. Here is one of the latest comments to appear there:

I think being able to set each warehouse for export or not is an excellent idea! That way market ladies (or whatever they will be in Pharaoh) don’t take goods you want to trade and traders (natives and others) don’t take from the warehouse you wanted to use for a certain neighborhood. Also, I wish we could use the natives for labor. I hate seeing all that manpower wandering around and not doing anything. Maybe over time they could slowly start helping out more and more.

So, what do you think? Do you agree or not? Have your say now in the Natives thread!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Wednesday, March 24th, 1999
It never rains, but it pours…

This has not been a good week. First I get stuck in a traffic jam, and then I come down with the flu:(. I’m feeling a bit better at the moment, though, so expect the updates to come more regularly from now on (unless I suffer a relapse or something).

However, there is some great news to be brought to you today:). Read on…

Do you like to get games before they are available in the stores – legally? One of the most anticipated games to come along in a while is Starsiege by Dynamix, and guess what – JT has gotten his hands on 7 full copies before most stores even have price-tags on them. Would you like one of them for your own? Click here to enter the Starsiege Contest!!

And that’s not all – check out the GS Competition box for more competitions from out hosts:).

Angel Reckless Rodent


Weekend, March 20th/21st 1999
Muchos Apologios

Sorry for the lack of an update yesterday. I moved back to London from uni in Bristol, and there was a massive traffic jam on the M4 motorway. After having been stuck there for three hours, I was absolutely shattered. Hence why there was no update yesterday. I’m still sorting myself out down here, so if the updates are a wee bit sporadic, then you’ll know why;)

The forums continue to expand, however – the question of the natives has reared its head again today.

Finally, I just thought I’d let y’all know that the new look is within touching distance as I write this – it just needs a few final tweaks and then it will be ready to be released:). Hopefully (fingers majorly crossed) it should appear within the next couple of days!

See you in the forums!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Thursday, March 18th, 1999
Egyptian links from the forum

Two of our forum regulars have been real busy today looking for the best in Egyptian links for visitors to Pharaoh Heaven. And what bounty they’ve come up with! First up is Jayhawk, who’s found another Egypt-related website. Here’s what he has to say about it:

It goes by the name of the Theban Mapping Project. And contains lots of large and detailed maps of temples, graves and terrain. It contains beautiful pictures and oodles of information.
Ther is also a wonderful illustrated timeline.

Definitely one of the best sites around.

Click here to get to the full story!

Next up is Innovandora, who’s found something that’s sure to whet your appetite for when Pharaoh hits the shelves later this year. Ever wondered what games the ancient Egyptians played? Well now’s your chance to find out! And, you can download them onto your computer to have a go yourself. Here’s a little snippet of that Innovandora says:

As Chess is to the middle ages, Bul is to Central American warfare. Send out troops, capture slaves and bring them back to your city. The two variants of the game (only two troops out at a time vs as many as you want from your reserves) are both worth playing. Getting an ambush set up correctly for the other city’s troops to blunder into is an important strategy. Again, highly recommended, surprising relevant to the whole “Mayan City Building Game” thread that keeps resurfacing.

So, what are you waiting for? Head over to the forums to find out about Egyptian Shareware Games!

See you in the forums!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Wednesday, March 17th, 1999
Site update update

Yes, I know I said the new-look site would be up by now, and I apologise for the fact that it isn’t. However, we cannot go with the new look until we’ve got a file from someone, and he’s having major ISP problems at the moment. However, apart from that, everything’s ready to go. I will keep you all updated, of course.

Meanwhile, why not hit the forums and see what you think about the idea of a PURK. A what!? A PURK – Pharaoh Urban Renewal Kit. What does that do? Hey, I’m not going to say here…you’ll have to check it out for yourselves!

See you in the forums!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Tuesday, March 16th, 1999
Funky Forums

Yet more cool stuff in the forums today. It seems like Rah has made another appearance, but is he issuing a challenge of some sort? Decide for yourself here. Also to be found there today is a lively discussion about the merits of natives, whether they should be in Pharaoh, and what function they should preform. Share your thoughts on that here.

When you’ve checked that little lot out, head over to Caesar III Heaven for great news about the appearance today of patches for non-US versions of the game. Wahay!

See you in the forums!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Monday, March 15th, 1999
Gamestats Compos!

Our hosts, Gamestats, are running 3 competitions this week! As well as the continuing Babywatch (probably due sometime this week), Justice T has 2 new ones for you. First, there’s a chance to win a copy of The Godfather on video. And, if that’s not enough for you, then you can also win a copy of Gruntz. Cool, eh? Oh, and watch out for the wierd noises when you enter the Gruntz competition…

Angel Reckless Rodent


Sunday, March 14th, 1999
Forum Stuff

There’s always plenty going on in the Pharaoh Heaven forums. Don’t believe me? Well, there’s only 1 way to be sure – get in there and check it all out:)

To get you started, here are a couple of threads in there at the moment:

Cherub Onoculator from C3H has found a great site which deals with ancient Egypt. Check it out here.

Also, there’s the smell of conspiracy – is Rah actually Lion Tamer in disguise? There’s only 1 way to find out…don your hat and take up your pipe and magnifying glass and find out for yourself!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Satuday, March 13th, 1999
Discovery on Cleopatra

At the moment, Discovery are in the middle of a season of Cleopatra-related documentaries. There are quite a few coming up in the next couple of weeks and I just thought that I’d make you aware of them, so that you can either watch or record them for future reference. I know that Pharaoh won’t go as far as the time of Cleopatra, but the shows might give you a feel of what it was like to live in Egypt over two millenia ago. Check out the Cleopatra season’s schedule here. Most of the progs are late at night, so it’s probably something for the VCR;).

Of course, if and when you watch them, then please feel free to post what you thought of them in the forum! There will be many of our loyal visitors who will not be able to get the programs, either because we don’t live in the States or because we don’t have Cable (in my case, both:( ). So, you can educate us in the ways of the Ancient Egyptians!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Friday, March 12th, 1999
A Little Reminder!

If you’ve already participated in the GS survey, then may I use this opportunity to thank you for your help – the GS guys read every submitted form, and the information that they gather will greatly help them and us in our joint quest to make the HGS sites run better for you, our visitors. So, if you’re still not sure about whether to join in or not, go ahead! Take the plunge!   You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain (oh, and there’s a prize draw too!)

Angel Reckless Rodent


Thursday, March 11th, 1999
What can we do for you?

We’re always on the lookout for your views on the site, and how we can make it better. Hence why we opened a Website Comments forum earlier this week. So, if you’ve got any ideas that we could perhaps implement on the site to make it more informative or generally better, then let us know. All suggestions are gratefully received and will be considered by the Angels here.

On a general HGS note, have you been to the HGS Main News page? If not, then why not take a look now – it’s the place to go for all the news relayed on the HGS network. Oh, and I’m updating it at the moment (is that a good thing or a bad thing? I’ll let you decide on that one;)).

Angel Reckless Rodent


Wednesday, March 10th, 1999
Remember this?

Do any of you remember playing a BBS game called Legend of the Red Dragon? Anyone who has seen my cloud will know all about it, it’s greatest claim to fame being that it’s where I first used my RR handle;). Seriously, though, it was a fantastic game – highly and strangely addictive. Well, if you missed it first time around on the BBS circuit, then you can make up for it now, since it’s on the web! Click here to get there (if there’s any room on Server 3, join up there and you’ll see yours truly). Oh, and watch out for the Death Knights;).

Cool news from Gamestats today – they’ve done something to the network (added a pipe or something) which means that all sites hosted by them will go wayyy quicker! Cool, eh? Thanks GS from the PH team on behalf of our loyal visitors!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Tuesday, March 9th, 1999
Another Pharaoh Screenshot!!

Yes, everyone…it’s true:)!! Impressions have released another screenshot from Pharaoh. And if you thought the other one looked impressive, just wait till you check this one out! Head over to the forums to find it – if you just want to go straight to it, though, there’s a link to it here.

Over to the news from the forums now, and there’s some controversy over there, because it seems as if the General Forum has procreated. Yes, folks, there is another forum there today – if you’ve got any comments or suggestions about the site, then the place to put them is in the new Website Comments forum (surprise, surprise;) ). Enjoy!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Monday, March 8th, 1999
Get educated with Pharaoh Heaven!

Angel Draco sent me news this morning of some television programs that will almost certainly be of interest to our visitors. Both are on The Learning Channel (so cable is a prerequisite, and probably applies to the US only). Here’s the info:

On Thursday (March 11th), there is “King of the Pyramids” at 9pm Eastern (8 Central)
On Friday (March 12th), you can see “Ramses the Great” at 9pm Eastern (8 Central)

So, if you are around on Thursday and Friday, and you watch those programs, post in the forum afterwards what you thought of them.   Also, you could let us poor folks outside the US or without cable what the programs discussed. I’ll look forward to hearing from y’all!

Also today, there’s the cool news that our illustrious hosts, Gamestats, are starting another competition! If you’re a bit of a warlord, then how would you like to command the Russian armies in WWII? So, if you fancy yourself as a bit of a Timoshenko or a Zhukov, then click on the image on the right and enter!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Weekend, March 6th/7th, 1999
Poll results are in!

Yes, everyone! The poll has now officially closed and the results are in. Thanks to all the 165 people who took the time to vote. And now for the results:

136 of you wanted a “governor” unit – that’s 82% of all votes cast
29 of you said that a governor was a no-no – that’s 18%

Those results have been sent off to Impressions. Hopefully, they’ll listen to the voice of the fans and will act upon your votes. Once again, thanks for participating!

“When’s the next vote up?” I hear you cry. Well, there will be one up as soon as we get the new look going, which will hopefully be sometime next week. Something worth keeping tuned for, don’t you think;)?

Angel Reckless Rodent


Friday, March 5th, 1999
Something cool from Gamestats!

Our august hosts, Gamestats, have got something special for you today.   They would like to get to know more about the people who visit them and their affiliates (of which Pharaoh Heaven is one). Their ultimate aim is to be able to provide a better service to us and you. So, don’t delay, participate today! (Yeah, I know that was lame, but it’s the best I could come up with)

Moving back to Pharaoh Heaven, Dark Angel contacted me this morning with this little picture. He refused to say what it was, but I would assume that it’s in some way related to the new look for PH that I promised you yesterday. He also refused to say when the new look would be ready to go, so I guess you’ll all just have to stay tuned;).

Angel Reckless Rodent


Thursday, March 4th, 1999
Watch this space…;)

Coming up soon, expect to see some layout changes here on the Pharaoh Heaven news page. Angel b:real is at this moment working round the clock to get it sorted and ready to present to you for public consumption. So, keep it here!

While you’re waiting, why not head over to the forum? The hottest topic in there at the moment is whether vermin should be included in the game. Seems like (are you ready for this shock?) some people think we rodents are vermin! Shock!! Horror!! Well, head over to the ferret thread in the forum and put your opinion forward!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Wednesday, March 3rd 1999
Poll Update

Thanks for your continued participation in the poll up there:). Currently, the “pro governor walker” lobby is still winning, but the margin is steadily decreasing. Currently, 82% of you are in favour of this little addition – that’s down from 87% earlier in the week. So, if you still haven’t voted, then what are you waiting for? A couple of clicks can make a difference!

Can I just use this opportunity to thank Impressions yet again for their cooperation in getting this site up and running, for continuing to take on board the comments made in the forum here, and for making Pharaoh Heaven an oasis of goodwill. We all really appreciate it, and hope that our relationship will continue to aid you in producing the game that the fans want to see. Nice one, guys!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Tuesday, March 2nd, 1999
Forum Action

The forums are buzzing today! There are loads of great topics being discussed…here are just a few of them:

How about dynasties in Pharaoh?

Should there be army leaders?

What about Pharaoh’s home?

Also, don’t forget to vote;)!

Angel Reckless Rodent


Monday, March 1st 1999
Argh! The Nile’s flooding!

Flooding has come up several times in the PH forum, with some people wondering whether it will be an important part of the game. Well, according to someone at Impressions, it will…

Flooding in the game will be “fact of life” that occurs with regularity, not as a punishment from a displeased god.

Now does that sound kewl or what?!

If you head down to the bottom of the page, you’ll see that there’s a link to the newest part of the site, the Pharaoh Heaven News Archives – the place to be for news that you might have missed. It’s been added today, with the result that this page should load quite a bit quicker then it did yesterday.

Just one more thing today – a reminder to vote in the poll above. Thanks to all who have already: remember – no vote, no voice;).

Angel Reckless Rodent