News: May 1999

May 31, 1999 17:20 PM EST
Jayhawk’s pick of the pics

He’s been gawping like the rest of us at the lurvely screenshots for the past week or so, but Angel Jayhawk hasn’t allowed his slide scanner to get all dusty…

And here’s his latest offering in the forum.   Here’s his explanation:

This picture shows the almost modern looking lines of Queen Hatshepsut’s temple. Hatshepsut wrestled the Pharaoh title from her kid brother and sent him out to protect the Sinai. The pharaoh that followed her tried to erase her from memory by destroying all her images and cartouches (name shields)

You can check out the full version here.

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 30, 1999 17:30 PM EST
SpineMan’s Impressions of Pharaoh

SpineMan didn’t just take pictures at E3, he spent quite a bit of time at the Pharaoh booth becoming acquainted with the ins and outs of the game. Well, he’s now written down what we can expect and what he thought of Pharaoh for you all to see.  Here’s his overall impression (no pun intended):

Pharaoh is looking to be a fabulous addition to the city building series. While it looks similar to Caesar 3, the gameplay will be significantly different because the life style and geographic location of Egypt is so much different from the life style and location of Rome. This one’s sure to be another hit – don’t miss it!

Just what was it that made him come to this conclusion? You can find out here. As always, any comments about info in there can be posted and discussed in the forum. There’s still plenty of time for some unpopular aspects of the game to be changed, but Impressions need your feedback!

This pic, the latest to get the slide scanner treatment from Angel Jayhawk, has been up here in the forum for the last little while, but I haven’t posted it here yet. Well, voila – just absorb that Egyptian culture!

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 29, 1999 17:30 PM EST
All the E3 pics are up!

Yup, I’ve finally got them all posted here at Pharaoh Heaven. They can be found in the newly updated E3 section, and they’re well worth taking a look at…some nice looking screenshots in there too<g>.

Just a short news update today – it took me ages to get those pics uploaded (don’t ask) and I’ve still got some revision to do this evening. However, I will mention a couple more things. I’ve updated the Archive section with the news from last week – if you’ve only recently arrived here (where have you been?), then it’s a good place to check out what has gone before news-wise. Also, speaking of updates, the Sierra Studios Website has been given a major overhaul and now appears in glorious Technicolor blue…Their Pharaoh section is well worth looking at, if only for the cool animation and music at the start.

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 28, 1999 17:00 PM EST
What!? No more screenshots?

No screenshots today, at least not those to which you have all become accustomed over the past couple of days. Oh, talking of screenshots, there are now threads up in the forum dealing with all the screens that were posted here yesterday for y’all to comment on…that’s the waterfront part II, the Pyramid, and the better housing.

When I said that there were no more screenshots today, I neglected to mention that there are still 12 (I think) pics to come from Spiney at E3. Some of these are photos of Pharaoh at work, like this one. Who knows? There might even be some things in there that the other screens haven’t shown yet.

Who’s this chap snapped by Spiney at E3? No, it’s not Michael J. Fox coming to check out all the latest news on Pharaoh, but in fact Eric Ouellette, producer of Pharaoh…

And the guy in the yellow t-shirt here is Chris Beatrice, the head honcho at Impressions, explaining the ins and outs of Pharaoh to an eager member of the press. At least you can no put some faces to the names you hear, eh?

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 27, 1999 12:35 PM EST
3 more screenshots!

I promised you some more screenshots yesterday, and so here they are. Before I get underway, however, let me just say that threads have been started in the forum dealing with each of the screenshots released yesterday, so you can now comment on the waterfront, the temple and the farmland if you so wish.

Ok, on with the show. Here’s screenshot number four. It seems to show pretty much the same thing as yesterday’s waterfront one did, except this one goes further inland to show off more of the adobe housing.

This is the one that you’ve all been waiting for – the first look at a Pharaoh pyramid. This one is still in the process of being constructed, as you can see by the workers climbing up the ramps dragging stone blocks behind them.

Here’s the last one. Every civilisation has had its richer citizens, and it seems like we’re looking at some here. The housing is clearly much superior to that shown in the 2 waterfront screens, and I’m sure that you guys and gals will find loads more tidbits in there too<g>.

To go with all these new pictures there’s some more stuff from Spineman today. In my mail this morning I received the text of two handouts that were provided for consumption at E3. The first one details some of the features of Pharaoh:

  • Farm at the mercy of the River Nile
  • Build giant monuments including the Great Pyramids, the Sphinx and the temples of Luxor
  • Destroy enemies in land and naval combat or simply build the perfect Egyptian city with the City Construction Kit
  • Included map and scenario editor enables users to build, play and trade custom maps of all difficulty levels

The full version of that can be found here. That’s not all – there’s also the other handout, which compares Caesar III to Pharaoh:

Ph: Monuments such as pyramids and temples take a long time to complete – nearly as long as the whole mission. All require various raw materials to build. Such buildings are assembled, finished and decorated piece by piece.

C3:  All buildings are built instantly with no waiting times. Some buildings such as orcles and large temples require a rew material such as marble to create.

If you want to get all the information about aspects such as Gods and the like, then you can do so here.

What? Not yet more pictures! Yup, here’s another one of the pics taken by Spineman on the HeavenCam. This is a closer version of the pic of the Pharaoh booth which I showed yesterday. And there are still 13 pics which I haven’t posted yet!

Actually, make that another 12 which I haven’t posted yet. In the light of the pic of the pyramid further up the page, I thought “why not show a pyramid being build so everyone could see how it’s constructed?”. Well, so here it is!

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 26, 1999 16:20 PM EST
Picfest!

Wow, doing Pharaoh Heaven is like waiting for a bus.   You wait for ages for something and then loads come along at once. This is certainly the case with pics and screenshots at the moment. No sooner do I get a mail from SpineMan sending 15 pics which he took at E3 than another bucketload pops into my inbox from the Impressions guys. 6 mails to be precise, each one containing a lovely Pharaoh screenshot. Yes folks, 6 screenshots!! I’ll be showing you 3 of them today, and then the other 3 will follow tomorrow. After all, I don’t want to excite you all too much in one go;)

Here’s number one. It looks like the temple has gone a serious look change since the pre-alpha version. That is assuming that what we have here is a temple, of course – if anyone has any thoughts as to what it might be, then let us know in the forum. Click on the pic to see the full version.

Now on to number two. I guess that this is the sort of sight you’ll get on the banks of the Nile during the dry season, before the river floods. Yup, looks like farmland to me. The thing that interested me here was the large building on the left. Initially, I thought it might be a warehouse…

until I saw this pic, that is. It’s clear that the warehouse here (on the shore, just behind the docks – note the papyrus piled up there waiting to be collected) is different to the other one. Once again, that presupposes that the large building in the second shot is a warehouse. Once again, we’d be pleased to hear from you in the forum if you have any ideas about this.

All these pics will eventually find their way into the various sections we have here at Pharaoh Heaven for displaying pictures. I’ll also dissect each one minutely to see what other goodies are there. I can’t do that right now, however, because I’m far too busy with exam revision. Be assured though, it will be done.

I was going to leave SpineMan’s pictures until a later date but I couldn’t resist giving you a peek at the sort of thing we have in store. This is a pic of the Pharaoh booth at E3 (you can make out the Pharaoh poster on the left).

Right, that’s enough for today. Tomorrow there will be some more pics going up, including the other three Pharaoh screenshots (one of which shows a pyramid<g>) and perhaps a couple more from E3.

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 25, 1999 15:30 PM EST
Correction from yesterday

Yesterday, I said that the statue in Karnak was a sphinx. Well, I was subsequently told by Jayhawk that he’d made a snafu…in fact, it’s a statue of Ramses II…

Our hosts, GameStats, have returned to their usual ways after a week’s hiatus and have put up yet another contest for you lucky people out there to win a cool game. This week, Baseball 2000 is the game that gets the treatment. So, if you want to win it, you can do so here.

It looks like the Angels who were at E3 are getting their collective acts together now. Over at Age of Kings Heaven, they’ve put up a fantastic write-up of what they thought of Age of Kings (the sequel to Age of Empires). It’s really well written, and is well worth taking a look at. Spineman also told me that he’s got 120+ pics back from the developers (pretty good chance that some of those will show Pharaoh-related goodies<g>).

The Impressions guys are celebrating another feather being added to their caps today. The introduction to Caesar III won 3D Design Magazine’s Big Kahuna award. A good omen for Pharaoh, no? Anyway, get all the details here.

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 24, 1999 16:00 PM EST
Hawkie swoops in yet again!

A new poll now graces the right hand navbar here in Pharaoh’s court. This week, we want to know whether you reckon historical accuracy to be an important part of Pharaoh or not. Once again, thanks to WhoElseButMe for providing me with the inspiration. Last week’s poll has been added to the Poll Archive page if you want to know what the final result was.

Here’s Angel Jayhawk’s latest offering in the forum. It’s a pic taken at the historical site of Karnak, and shows a Sphinx looking out across the desert. For those of you wanting a closer look, then take a peek in the forum, where you can also post your comments.

The comments are flowing into the forum about the Cleopatra thingy on television over the weekend. So far, they’ve all been pretty negative. If you’ve got something positive to say about it, then you can do so here.

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 21, 1999 18:00 PM EST
Cleopatra on NBC!

There’s something on this weekend that those of you who have cable shouldn’t miss. If you are a fan of Caesar III and are also looking forward to the arrival of Pharaoh, then you can witness the two civilisations that we love collide in Cleopatra, which is on NBC at 7pm EST (8 Central) on Sunday and Monday. If you are one of the lucky ones who gets to see this, then pop over to the forum afterwards and let us poor souls without cable know what happened!

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 21, 1999 18:00 PM EST
Cleopatra on NBC!

There’s something on this weekend that those of you who have cable shouldn’t miss. If you are a fan of Caesar III and are also looking forward to the arrival of Pharaoh, then you can witness the two civilisations that we love collide in Cleopatra, which is on NBC at 7pm EST (8 Central) on Sunday and Monday. If you are one of the lucky ones who gets to see this, then pop over to the forum afterwards and let us poor souls without cable know what happened!

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 20, 1999 18:00 PM EST
1 down, 2 to go

Well, that’s one of my exams done, just another 2 to go in a couple of weeks time, and then I’m off for the Summer! Wahay!

Enough about me, let’s get on to the news.   What’s up today in the land of Pharaoh? Well, Angel Jayhawk is putting his slide scanner to good use by grabbing some of the pics he took when in Egypt a few years back. Today’s image is the one on the right – the pyramid at Djoser. Find out more about it here. Stay tuned for a load more pics from the Hawkster!

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 19, 1999 17:33 PM EST
IGN interviews Chris Beatrice

While I was surfing round last night looking for some E3 stuff about Pharaoh, I came across this piece over at IGN. It’s a fantastic interview with Chris Beatrice, the head honcho over at Impressions, and deals exclusively with what we can expect to find in Pharaoh. Here are a couple of wee examples – mortuaries, reed cutters, papyrus makers and so on. If that’s whetted your appetite, then head over there and check it out! After you’ve seen it, you can post your comments here in the forum.

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 18, 1999 16:00 PM EST
E3 Stuff from SpineMan!

One of the Angels who went to E3, SpineMan, has posted a message in the forum telling us some of the things that he found out about Pharaoh there. Here’s a bit of the post:

There is hunting in the game of both ostrich and gazelle. There are now 15 gods (5 major gods each with 2 sub gods) but they aren’t as harsh as in C3. Worshipping certain gods will give bonuses but not worshipping others will not bring down wrath from on high. It’s a more friendly gods structure.

The Nile floods once a year and your harvest is gathered once a year. That means you must collect enough food to last the remainder of the year.

The water system is no more – all water is handled by wells and distributed by carriers and is limited to a certain area close to the Nile.

Obviously, your highest level of housing exists where there is water but beware, mosquitos also breed on the Nile and therefore the chance of Malaria is high there as well.

As I said, that’s only a small snippet of the info that SpineMan posted (and he says there will be more to come). If you want to see the rest of the post, and add your comments, then click here.

If you’re wondering where you can download all the screenshots that have been released to date, then fear no more! I’ve put them into a couple of zip files in the download section which you can check out if you so wish.

If you’ve passed your mouse pointer over the above links, then you’ll see that the hover properties have changed (or at least, you should have;)). This will hopefully make them a bit easier to see (as well as looking better IMHO). Any thoughts can, as always, be posted in the Website Comments forum.

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 17, 1999 13:00 PM EST
I sense a big update coming on…

Nope, I haven’t heard from the Angels who were at E3 yet, but someone from Impressions told me that they should have loads of great stuff to report! So, keep coming back here for news from them. However, this immediate lack of Angelic information won’t stop me doing a nice big update today:).

I’ve added a few things to the navbar on the right hand side of the screen today, including 2 screenshots, one of which is shown on the left (well, these were actually mock-ups rather than screenshots and don’t really reflect how you will go about building your cities in Pharaoh. Still, they’re nice to look at, aren’t they?).

This thing on the right looks like a pic, no? Well click on it and you’ll discover that it is, in fact, a 1 minute movie with some music and a few animations that we might see in the finished version. Beware, it’s 15mb or so in size, so you might have to go put the kettle on or groom the cat while it’s loading (bad luck Jayhawk;)). However, it’s probably worth the wait (and phone bill).

Those amongst you who are of an observant disposition (i.e. all of you) will notice that there’s a brand new poll on the right today. This time, it’s asking what your expectations of Pharaoh are and is adapted from a suggestion made by WhoElseButMe in the forum. I know that we haven’t had too much information yet, but we’ll probably do a similar poll closer to release date in order to see how peoples’ expectations have changed. I’ve put the old poll in the poll archive if you want to check out the final results.

Any of you who were or are regular visitors to Caesar III Heaven will surely remember Angel Stef, otherwise known as the Techanator. Well, she pointed me in the direction of Sierra’s Pharaoh site, which seems to have undergone a bit of a look change since I last saw it. Not that they’re copying us, of course…;). Still, it’s worth checking out – you can even send people email postcards with a picture from the game if you so wish!

I said today was a big update, didn’t I?   Well, in case you’re wondering what that picture on the left is, then it’s something that was taken by Angel Jayhawk on his last trip to Egypt. It goes with the following poem, posted here in the forum by the Hawk himself. I’ll leave you with the poem – have a nice day and see y’all tomorrow!

Ozymandias
by Percy Bysshe Shelly

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 16, 1999 17:00 PM EST
E3 over, now the harrying begins

All good things must come to an end, and E3 is regrettably no exception. However, the good news is that the Angels who have been charging around LA absorbing the atmosphere and getting the info on all the latest games will be heading home soon. Why is that good? Well, for a start it means that articles can be written up and photos developed. So, with any luck (if they weren’t all too captivated by Age of Kings, that is) there will be a couple of articles from them about Pharaoh appearing here soon.

To tide you over ’til then, one of our forumers, WhoElseButMe, found an article about Pharaoh at E3 over at Gamecenter. Check it out here and post your comments here.

Our forums have exploded somewhat in the past days or so…Here’s a post about trade:

An option to use the barter method as a form of trade would also add to the gameplay.
(Exchange rate based on the resouces of a given partner and the time period)
e.g. 3 ostrichs for 2 oil, that type of thing.

It would be positive since it wouldn’t cut into the “actual money on hand” funds, but it would also require increased managing to be sure you weren’t trading a good that you needed for your own use.

I agree that micromanagement would have to be optional; it would give the players who prefer more control the ability to have it, while others may prefer to have the option off and let the AI manage things. ( Ladies chasing crows comes to mind…)

Comments about that can be put here. But that’s not all – here are some thoughts about being able to tell warehouses which part of the city they should supply (thread is here):

How about the ability to “zone” warehouses? That is, tell the game where you want the warehouse goods to be delivered. This would allow for several warehouses in a palace area which supply the palace area only. In C3, you sometimes had market ladies walking right across town to nick oil from a warehouse when it was needed to support a group of palaces.

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 15, 1999 18:30 PM EST
Alpha version of Pharaoh at E3

I’d suspected that there might be a playable version of Pharaoh at E3 this year, and my suspicions were confirmed today be Ironrod from Impressions. In the forum over at the official site, he confirmed that there was indeed an early version of the game on display in LA (an alpha or pre-alpha version, one assumes). He also hinted that the public showing of this version might result in the removal of those dreaded NDAs which have kept the Impressions guys quiet about what’s in Pharaoh. Oh well, we live in hope, eh? Also, I guess that there might be more screenshots coming too, something made more likely by the showing of this alpha version.

There’s one forum-related thing to report too today. I’m looking for ideas from you great guys and gals as to what we should have in our forthcoming polls. So, if you’ve got some ideas, then let me know here. Thanks in advance!

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 14, 1999 17:00 PM EST
A Heavenly Appointment!

That “none at the moment” bit under the Cherubs heading on the left was starting to bug me, so I’ve appointed a new Cherub who can amply fill the gap. She’s been doing some great work over at Caesar III Heaven with her lively conversation in the forums, so why not have her on board here too? Will everyone please welcome Cherub mouse to Pharaoh Heaven!

With any luck, E3 will see the release of loads of new Pharaoh screenshots. So, I’ve opened a topic in the forum where links to these will be posted and where they can be taken apart and debated. Check it out here.

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 13, 1999 15:30 PM EST
E3 is upon us!

We’ve been waiting for today ever since Pharaoh was first announced. It’s the first day of E3 today, so we’ll hopefully learn loads more about Pharaoh in the next 3 days. Don’t forget, Pharaoh Heaven is the place to be to get all the latest up-to-the-minute coverage! I’ve updated our E3 section today, so check it out!

Here are a couple of pics I found on Avault today. No new in-game screenshots yet, but they’ll hopefully appear as E3 goes on. Click on either of the images for the full version.

If you come across any E3-related stes while you’re surfing the Net, and it’s a site that I haven’t got yet, then I want to hear about it so that I can add it to our E3 section.

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 12, 1999 12:30 PM EST
Site updates and Jayhawk strikes again

I’ve added and updated a couple of pages on the site today. For a start, there’s a new page detailing all the previous polls which have been featured here on Pharaoh Heaven. Check it out here or follow the link beneath this week’s poll (have you voted in that yet?). Also, I’ve updated our E3-related section today with a couple of new links, one of them being in the Coverage section from our hosts, Gamestats.

This might be somewhat old news, but it hasn’t been mentioned here before, so here we go. Jayhawk has once again been trawling the web to find the best Egypt-related links to be had in cyberspace. He found 2 more – a Virtual Temple and the Duke University Papyrus Library. Check out what he has to say here.

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 11, 1999 4:30 PM EST
A New Poll Today!

The old topic had expired, so I thought it might be a good idea to change the poll over on the right. This week, we want to know what you’re like to see in Pharaoh – I wont’ describe the choices, as you can all see them pretty clearly for yourselves.

One of my fave PC magazines here in the UK is PC Zone. Well, they’ve done a very short little piece on Pharaoh…here it is:

Compared to the giddy anticipation that preceded the release of Settlers III, Caesar III didn’t get a look in. However, since both titles have been on the market, it’s the latter that has justly received most of the acclaim.

Now Pharaoh, due to be released by Sierra in September, features the same belnd of real0time resource management and economics, but is set at the time of the growing Egyptian Empire. As well as contending with the flooding Nile, your taks is to set about irrigating the barren lands and grappling with a reluctant labour force (slaves, in other words), to create the pyramids. We’ll have to wait and see whether Pharaoh will be a wonder of the gaming world, but anticipation is high.

Did they mention a September release date?   Hmm…somewhat hopeful in my opinion – after all, one of the recent articles in a US gaming mag mentioned a potential “holidays” release date. Still, it’s all a matter of conjecture at the moment. Fun though, isn’t it?

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 9/10, 1999 3:30 PM EST
Ancient Egypt Rules The Box Office!

Here in America, an incredible new movie came out over the weekend:
Early returns from theaters indicate that it ruled the weekend box office grossing over $30 million and counting! It’s an incredible re-make of the classic 1932 B&W Mummy movie staring Boris Karloff, telling the story of Imhotep, High Priest of Osiris, who has risen from his tomb. Fantastic speical effects! Visit the website for some great multimedia such as Egyptian icons, screensavers, and wallpapers! Interest in the mysteries beneath the sands has never died! Literally!

Angel Draco


May 7, 1999 3:30 PM EST
New Wallpaper in the Downloads!

There’s a cool new wallpaper that you can get in the Downloads section. It’s the first advertisement for Pharaoh in the latest PC Gamer magazine. Go get it right now!

Angel Draco


May 5, 1999 5:25 PM EST
Jayhawk tried out his new wings

There’s been a thread in the forum about this for quite a while now, but I thought I’d bring it to light following Jayhawk’s promoton to angelic status. It’s another example of just why he’s such a valuable addition to the team. Have you ever wondered about what the Egyptian calendar was? Well wonder no more! Let’s listen to the hawk:

Month of Thoth, day 17 (Aug.4) Sunset: Festival of the Dead.
Month of Hathor, day 5 (Sep.21) Autumn Equinox, festival of Hathor
Month of Rekhur, day 10 (Dec.25) Birth of Horus
Month of Khonsu, day 8 (Mar.8) Festival of Isis
Month of Heru-Khuiti, day 30 (Jul.13) B’day of Re


Followed by the five extra days
Jul.14 B’day of Osiris
Jul.15 B’day of Heru-Dunawhy
Jul.16 B’day of Set
Jul.17 B’day of Iris
Jul.18 B’day of Nephthys

If you want to learn more, then you can do so here!

I’m not going to be here from tomorrow until Monday, so i’ll be leaving you in the more than capable hands of Angel Draco. Take care with him – he’s fragile;). See y’all Monday!

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 4, 1999 5:00 PM EST
Promotion!? Already!?

This won’t come as a surprise to any of you, so I’ll get straight to the point. Last week, we appointed our first Pharaoh Heaven Cherub. Well, this week our only Pharaoh Heaven Cherub has become a Pharaoh Heaven Angel! Everyone please welcome Angel Jayhawk to HGS! Over time, he will be helping me and Angel Alexander I out with the news here, as well as performing various other tasks around Pharaoh Heaven. Congratulations, AJ!

There’s another link for you to check out in our E3 section. E3 Zone is a site dedicated to bringing you the latest news from E3 as it happens, as well as letting us all know what’s happening where. Check it out in the E3 links section.

Don’t be too surprised in the news here isn’t updated every day over the next couple of weeks. Until E3 arrives, I’m not really expecting any great announcements from Impressions about Pharaoh. However, after E3, there should be loads of great stuff to bring to you here on this very page. So, please bear with us – it’s hard to report non-existant news, but the wait will almost certainly be worth it!

Depending on what time it is when you’re reading this, it might be worth your while popping over to our sister site Age of Kings Heaven to check out coverage of the Britons Showcase on GameSpot. Not sure what I’m talking about? Check AoKH out and Angel Omnivac will fill you in with all the details!

Angel Reckless Rodent


May 1, 1999 1:20 PM EST
A couple more Pharaoh screenshots…

I was taking a break in my revision schedule today and decided to surf around the Sierra website. A wasted journey? I think not! I found a couple of screenshots from Pharaoh that I hadn’t seen before. Before you get all excited, these are not in-game shots – they look more like the sort of thing one might expect to find incorporated into the animations which accompany the game. However, they are well worth checking out, as they give you an idea of the feel that the finished product will have.

But that’s not all I found when I was over there. I also discovered a page dealing with Sierra’s (and therefore Impressions’s) activities at E3. So, if you’re interested, check out the E3 Links page.

The forums continue to buzz, and everyone seems pretty pleased with the new look (well, I haven’t heard any complaints voiced in the Website Comments Forum). To celebrate the new look, Innovandora has come up with what I consider to be a rather clever little idea about how it might be possible to make Pharaoh multiplayer:

I like the idea more of being able to grow a city with its walls, towers and defenses, then being able to post it to the internet where other people can attempt invading it with an army they’ve built from their own city. People could also have “city challenges” where each player tries to invade (on their own time at home) the other player’s city with his own local army. Having the AI fill in for people instead of playing real time will allow a lot more flexibility in schedules for players –particularly when it comes to cross-time zone international competitions!

If you want to see the rest of his post, and post your own comments, then you can do so here.

Happy Birthday to our hosts, Gamestats! Yup, they have turned 2 years old today! Congratulations, guys. May you long continue to provide gamers with the best gaming news on the Net. Hey, better watch out over at Age of Empires Heaven now – I think they turn 2 on the 15th…

Angel Reckless Rodent