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* SpiritualSuccessor : If you count the games made by the staff that went on to create Firefly Studios, then the ''{{Stronghold}}'' series is probably the best example.
to:
* SpiritualSuccessor : If you count the games made by the staff that went on to create Firefly Studios, then the ''{{Stronghold}}'' ''{{VideoGame/Stronghold}}'' series is probably the best example.
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* VideoGameDelegationPenalty:
** Inverted in ''Zeus'' and ''Emperor'': Rise of the Middle Kingdom: both allow you to simply bribe invading armies to go away. This is much faster than actually fighting, which cuts into your manpower, slowing down production for months, and frees you from having to maintain expensive troops. That said, if you maintain zero troops whatsoever other cities will happily attack you.
** In ''Zeus'' and ''Pharaoh'', honoring the gods can net you some very interesting blessings such as increasing trade frequency or instantly killing enemy armies. However, to prevent you from getting overly reliant on them there is a limit to how often you can pray/hold festivals per year, and in ''Zeus'', sacrifices regularly lower your sheep/goats/cattle, which need to be manually replaced (there's no automatic warning that your livestock population is getting low).
** Inverted in ''Zeus'' and ''Emperor'': Rise of the Middle Kingdom: both allow you to simply bribe invading armies to go away. This is much faster than actually fighting, which cuts into your manpower, slowing down production for months, and frees you from having to maintain expensive troops. That said, if you maintain zero troops whatsoever other cities will happily attack you.
** In ''Zeus'' and ''Pharaoh'', honoring the gods can net you some very interesting blessings such as increasing trade frequency or instantly killing enemy armies. However, to prevent you from getting overly reliant on them there is a limit to how often you can pray/hold festivals per year, and in ''Zeus'', sacrifices regularly lower your sheep/goats/cattle, which need to be manually replaced (there's no automatic warning that your livestock population is getting low).
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** The exception to this being Zeus. There was a Ephesian leader so infatuated (without effort) during the Hercules' Labors adventure that he bailed her out of extreme debt. Ad nauseam.
** In Caesar II, you can often get promoted while your city is deep in debt, leaving the mess for someone else to fix while you abscond with the treasury (which you then use to fund your next city).
** In Caesar II, you can often get promoted while your city is deep in debt, leaving the mess for someone else to fix while you abscond with the treasury (which you then use to fund your next city).
to:
** The exception to this being Zeus.''Zeus''. There was a Ephesian leader so infatuated (without effort) during the Hercules' Labors adventure that he bailed her out of extreme debt. Ad nauseam.
** InCaesar II, ''Caesar II'', you can often get promoted while your city is deep in debt, leaving the mess for someone else to fix while you abscond with the treasury (which you then use to fund your next city).
** In
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* IsometricProjection: All games up to and including Emperor. ChildrenOfTheNile and Caesar IV, however, were both fully 3D.
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* IsometricProjection: All games up to and including Emperor. ChildrenOfTheNile ''VideoGame/ImmortalCitiesChildrenOfTheNile'' and Caesar IV, however, were both fully 3D.
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** ''Master of Olympus - Zeus'' (2000) and its expansion pack ''Master of Atlantis - Poseidon'' (2001), set in UsefulNotes/AncientGreece and UsefulNotes/{{Atlantis}} respectively, change the mood from relatively realistic and historically accurate-ish to myth-centric with a dash of humor. It gives monsters, gods walking (or destroying) your city and some of the more famous heroes of Myth/ClassicalMythology a much more prominent role than in earlier games. This created somewhat of a BrokenBase between those who saw these two games as too childish and cartoonish and those who thought it was a new, creative and funny approach.
to:
** ''Master of Olympus - Zeus'' ''VideoGame/ZeusMasterOfOlympus'' (2000) and its expansion pack ''Master of Atlantis - Poseidon'' ''VideoGame/PoseidonMasterOfAtlantis'' (2001), set in UsefulNotes/AncientGreece and UsefulNotes/{{Atlantis}} respectively, change the mood from relatively realistic and historically accurate-ish to myth-centric with a dash of humor. It gives monsters, gods walking (or destroying) your city and some of the more famous heroes of Myth/ClassicalMythology a much more prominent role than in earlier games. This created somewhat of a BrokenBase between those who saw these two games as too childish and cartoonish and those who thought it was a new, creative and funny approach.
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A series of [[SimulationGame Simulation]] {{Space Management Game}}s in which your primary task is to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin build a city]]. First developed by Impressions Games, then Breakaway Games and finally Tilted Mill Entertainment, most of the titles were published by {{Sierra}} and are among its few games where not [[EverythingTryingToKillYou everything is trying to kill you]] - only your neighbors, their gods, ''your gods'', wild animals...
to:
A series of [[SimulationGame Simulation]] {{Space Management Game}}s in which your primary task is to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin build a city]]. First developed by Impressions Games, then Breakaway Games and finally Tilted Mill Entertainment, most of the titles were published by {{Sierra}} {{Creator/Sierra}} and are among its few games where not [[EverythingTryingToKillYou everything is trying to kill you]] - only your neighbors, their gods, ''your gods'', wild animals...
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** ''Zeus'' features watchman names such as [[Film/DirtyHarry Dirtyharricles]] and {{Film/Shaft}}ocles (one standard line is even "Shut your mouth"), while water carriers refer to LaurelAndHardy or SturmUndDrang.
to:
** ''Zeus'' features watchman names such as [[Film/DirtyHarry Dirtyharricles]] and {{Film/Shaft}}ocles (one standard line is even "Shut your mouth"), while water carriers refer to LaurelAndHardy Creator/LaurelAndHardy or SturmUndDrang.[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturm_und_Drang Sturm Und Drang]].
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* BrickJoke: In ''Zeus'', one of the lines you'll hear around Drama Schools is "Has anyone seen my spear? How can I be a spear carrier without my spear?" Come ''Poseidon'', Atlantean Spearmen will, when there isn't anything to fight, wonder if maybe there's a spear carrier somewhere who could use a spear.
to:
* BrickJoke: In ''Zeus'', one of the lines you'll hear around Drama Schools is "Has anyone seen my spear? How can I be a spear carrier SpearCarrier without my spear?" Come ''Poseidon'', Atlantean Spearmen will, when there isn't anything to fight, wonder if maybe there's a spear carrier somewhere who could use a spear.
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* CripplingOverspecialization: In ''Zeus'', one hero gets summoned to take out one monster (and can't be summoned until the monster shows up).
* CriticalStaffingShortage: Somewhat lessened (compared to ''Pharaoh'') in ''Zeus, as buildings get workers automatically instead of looking for staff in nearby housing, and standard housing won't turn into IdleRich neighborhoods. However, as the army is taken from the population, drafting large amounts of Rabble units will cause services to bleed workers.
* CriticalStaffingShortage: Somewhat lessened (compared to ''Pharaoh'') in ''Zeus, as buildings get workers automatically instead of looking for staff in nearby housing, and standard housing won't turn into IdleRich neighborhoods. However, as the army is taken from the population, drafting large amounts of Rabble units will cause services to bleed workers.
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* FunnyBackgroundEvent:
** Most building animations feature some kind of amusing mishap, like a cheesemaker banging his hand, a kid throwing rocks at a palace guard or an Icarus-playing actor stuck spinning in circles.
** A loaded trireme has three hoplites on deck... and a fourth ''water-skiing'' behind.
** Most building animations feature some kind of amusing mishap, like a cheesemaker banging his hand, a kid throwing rocks at a palace guard or an Icarus-playing actor stuck spinning in circles.
** A loaded trireme has three hoplites on deck... and a fourth ''water-skiing'' behind.
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* GuileHero: Averted with Odysseus: When summoned to fight the Cyclops, he goes up and beats the crap out of him instead of tricking him (though the scene shows up in a loading screen).
* IdleAnimation: Literally in ''Zeus'' where staffed building with no materials show the workers lounging around or playing with yo-yos.
* IdleAnimation: Literally in ''Zeus'' where staffed building with no materials show the workers lounging around or playing with yo-yos.
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* PunnyName: ''Zeus'' features apothecaries named Aspiridos.
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* ShoutOut:
** ''Zeus'' features watchman names such as [[Film/DirtyHarry Dirtyharricles]] and {{Film/Shaft}}ocles (one standard line is even "Shut your mouth"), while water carriers refer to LaurelAndHardy or SturmUndDrang.
** Every philosopher walker is a Greek philosopher or playwright.
** ''Zeus'' features watchman names such as [[Film/DirtyHarry Dirtyharricles]] and {{Film/Shaft}}ocles (one standard line is even "Shut your mouth"), while water carriers refer to LaurelAndHardy or SturmUndDrang.
** Every philosopher walker is a Greek philosopher or playwright.
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** ''Pharaoh'' makes your family take over the throne of Egypt in the middle of the campaign, and rule a united Egypt until the end.
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** ''Pharaoh'' makes your family take over the throne of Egypt in the middle of the campaign, and rule a united Egypt until the end.end (although the time period corresponds to an actual usurpation).
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** ''Immortal Cities: ChildrenOfTheNile'' (2004) was the first title published by Tilted Mills, and is more of a SpiritualSuccessor than a direct continuation. It radically breaks with established concepts (such as walkers, apartment blocks for workers or active gods). It was also the first in the series to go fully 3D, but the graphics were found to be a bit lacking. It remains something of an odd one out among the games.
to:
** ''Immortal Cities: ChildrenOfTheNile'' ''VideoGame/ImmortalCitiesChildrenOfTheNile'' (2004) was the first title published by Tilted Mills, and is more of a SpiritualSuccessor than a direct continuation. It radically breaks with established concepts (such as walkers, apartment blocks for workers or active gods). It was also the first in the series to go fully 3D, but the graphics were found to be a bit lacking. It remains something of an odd one out among the games.
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* AncientRome: The {{Videogame/Caesar}} series:
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[[index]]
*AncientRome: The {{Videogame/Caesar}} series:''{{Videogame/Caesar}}'' series (UsefulNotes/AncientRome):
*
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* AncientEgypt:
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[[/index]]
*AncientEgypt:UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt:[[index]]
*
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* AncientGreece:
** ''Master of Olympus - Zeus'' (2000) and its expansion pack ''Master of Atlantis - Poseidon'' (2001), set in AncientGreece and {{Atlantis}} respectively, change the mood from relatively realistic and historically accurate-ish to myth-centric with a dash of humor. It gives monsters, gods walking (or destroying) your city and some of the more famous heroes of Myth/ClassicalMythology a much more prominent role than in earlier games. This created somewhat of a BrokenBase between those who saw these two games as too childish and cartoonish and those who thought it was a new, creative and funny approach.
* [[ImperialChina Ancient China]]:
** ''Master of Olympus - Zeus'' (2000) and its expansion pack ''Master of Atlantis - Poseidon'' (2001), set in AncientGreece and {{Atlantis}} respectively, change the mood from relatively realistic and historically accurate-ish to myth-centric with a dash of humor. It gives monsters, gods walking (or destroying) your city and some of the more famous heroes of Myth/ClassicalMythology a much more prominent role than in earlier games. This created somewhat of a BrokenBase between those who saw these two games as too childish and cartoonish and those who thought it was a new, creative and funny approach.
* [[ImperialChina Ancient China]]:
to:
[[/index]]
*AncientGreece:
UsefulNotes/AncientGreece:
** ''Master of Olympus - Zeus'' (2000) and its expansion pack ''Master of Atlantis - Poseidon'' (2001), set inAncientGreece UsefulNotes/AncientGreece and {{Atlantis}} UsefulNotes/{{Atlantis}} respectively, change the mood from relatively realistic and historically accurate-ish to myth-centric with a dash of humor. It gives monsters, gods walking (or destroying) your city and some of the more famous heroes of Myth/ClassicalMythology a much more prominent role than in earlier games. This created somewhat of a BrokenBase between those who saw these two games as too childish and cartoonish and those who thought it was a new, creative and funny approach.
* [[ImperialChina AncientChina]]:China]]:[[index]]
*
** ''Master of Olympus - Zeus'' (2000) and its expansion pack ''Master of Atlantis - Poseidon'' (2001), set in
* [[ImperialChina Ancient
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[[/index]]
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* MookChivalry: Melee soldiers engage the enemy in one-on-one fights, except in ''Emperor'', where every man in a company of 16 soliders will spear the same single guy at the same time if the odds allow it.
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* MookChivalry: Melee soldiers engage the enemy in one-on-one fights, except in ''Emperor'', where every man in a company of 16 soliders soldiers will spear the same single guy at the same time if the odds allow it.
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* SequelDifficultyDrop: ''Zeus'' is considerably easier and way more forgiving than ''Pharaoh''; buildings are automatically staffed, as there are no labor-seeking walkers anymore. A single building provides maintenance and fires can be put out before the building is consumed. There is only one single type of food and fewer types of goods and services required to fully evolve houses, and no fertility system. Taxation can be implemented from the start, as unlike in ''Phraoh'', the infrastructure to set it up is quite cheap. Wages can quickly lower or rise the labor pool. There is no rating system, no gods to appease by default (the hostile ones can still damage the city), and no painfully slow recruitment system, as the basic housing provides weak but free and numerous soldier from the start to defend the city, with elite housing providing strong soldiers and cavalry. Invasions are not always inherently deadly, as the enemy can be bribed off or the city can lose/surrender once and become a vassal, even to several cities. Everything is cheaper, and fortifications are no longer prohibitibely expensive. In campaign mode, all the treasury carries over from one mission to the next, which usually translates to only the first episode being a financial challenge. ''Emperor'' is a slightly less simplified game and regains some of the complexity from ''Pharaoh'', specially in the food and wares department.
to:
* SequelDifficultyDrop: ''Zeus'' is considerably easier and way more forgiving than ''Pharaoh''; buildings are automatically staffed, as there are no labor-seeking walkers anymore. A single building provides maintenance and fires can be put out before the building is consumed. There is only one single type of food and fewer types of goods and services required to fully evolve houses, and no fertility system. Taxation can be implemented from the start, as unlike in ''Phraoh'', the infrastructure to set it up is quite cheap. Wages can quickly lower or rise the labor pool. There is no rating system, no gods to appease by default (the hostile ones can still damage the city), and no painfully slow recruitment system, as the basic housing provides weak but free and numerous soldier soldiers from the start to defend the city, with elite housing providing strong soldiers and cavalry. Invasions are not always inherently deadly, as the enemy can be bribed off or the city can lose/surrender once and become a vassal, even to several cities. Everything is cheaper, and fortifications are no longer prohibitibely expensive. In campaign mode, all the treasury carries is carried over from one mission to the next, which usually translates to only the first episode being a financial challenge. ''Emperor'' is a slightly less simplified game and regains some of the complexity from ''Pharaoh'', specially in the food and wares department.
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* MookChivalry: Soldiers engage the enemy in one-on-one fights, except in ''Emperor'', where every man in a company of 16 soliders will spear the same single guy at the same time if the odds allow it.
to:
* MookChivalry: Soldiers Melee soldiers engage the enemy in one-on-one fights, except in ''Emperor'', where every man in a company of 16 soliders will spear the same single guy at the same time if the odds allow it.
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* MookChivalry: Soldiers engage the enemy in one-on-one fights, except in ''Emperor'', where every man in a company of 16 soliders will spear the same single guy at the same time if the odds allow it.
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* SequelDifficultyDrop: ''Zeus'' is considerably easier and more forgiving than ''Pharaoh''; buildings are automatically staffed, as there are no labor-seeking walkers anymore. A single building provides maintenance and fires can be put out before the building is consumed. There is only one single type of food and fewer types of goods and services required to fully evolve houses, and no fertility system. Taxation can be implemented from the start, as unlike in ''Phraoh'', the infrastructure to set it up is quite cheap. Wages can quickly lower or rise the labor pool. There is no rating system, no gods to appease by default (the hostile ones can still damage the city), and no recruitment system, with the basic housing provides weak but free and numerous soldier from the start to defend the city, and, in addition, fortifictions are much cheaper. ''Emperor'' is a less simplified game and regains some of the complexity from ''Pharaoh'', specially in the food and wares department.
to:
* SequelDifficultyDrop: ''Zeus'' is considerably easier and way more forgiving than ''Pharaoh''; buildings are automatically staffed, as there are no labor-seeking walkers anymore. A single building provides maintenance and fires can be put out before the building is consumed. There is only one single type of food and fewer types of goods and services required to fully evolve houses, and no fertility system. Taxation can be implemented from the start, as unlike in ''Phraoh'', the infrastructure to set it up is quite cheap. Wages can quickly lower or rise the labor pool. There is no rating system, no gods to appease by default (the hostile ones can still damage the city), and no painfully slow recruitment system, with as the basic housing provides weak but free and numerous soldier from the start to defend the city, and, in addition, fortifictions with elite housing providing strong soldiers and cavalry. Invasions are much cheaper. not always inherently deadly, as the enemy can be bribed off or the city can lose/surrender once and become a vassal, even to several cities. Everything is cheaper, and fortifications are no longer prohibitibely expensive. In campaign mode, all the treasury carries over from one mission to the next, which usually translates to only the first episode being a financial challenge. ''Emperor'' is a slightly less simplified game and regains some of the complexity from ''Pharaoh'', specially in the food and wares department.
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* SequelDifficultyDrop: ''Zeus'' is considerably easier and more forgiving than ''Pharaoh''; buildings are automatically staffed, as there are no labor-seeking walkers anymore. A single building provides maintenance and fires can be put out before the building is consumed. There is only one single type of food and fewer types of goods and services required to fully evolve houses, and no fertility system. Taxation can be implemented from the start, as unlike in ''Phraoh'', the infrastructure to set it up is quite cheap. Wages can quickly lower or rise the labor pool. There is no rating system, no gods to appease by default (the hostile ones can still damage the city), the basic housing provides weak but free and numerous from the start soldiers to defend the city. Fortifictions are much cheaper. ''Emperor'' is a less simplified game and regains some of the complexity from ''Pharaoh'', specially in the food and wares department.
to:
* SequelDifficultyDrop: ''Zeus'' is considerably easier and more forgiving than ''Pharaoh''; buildings are automatically staffed, as there are no labor-seeking walkers anymore. A single building provides maintenance and fires can be put out before the building is consumed. There is only one single type of food and fewer types of goods and services required to fully evolve houses, and no fertility system. Taxation can be implemented from the start, as unlike in ''Phraoh'', the infrastructure to set it up is quite cheap. Wages can quickly lower or rise the labor pool. There is no rating system, no gods to appease by default (the hostile ones can still damage the city), and no recruitment system, with the basic housing provides weak but free and numerous soldier from the start soldiers to defend the city. Fortifictions city, and, in addition, fortifictions are much cheaper. ''Emperor'' is a less simplified game and regains some of the complexity from ''Pharaoh'', specially in the food and wares department.
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* SequelDifficultyDrop: ''Zeus'' is considerably easier and more forgiving than ''Pharaoh''; buildings are automatically staffed, as there are no labor-seeking walkers anymore. A single building provides maintenance and fires can be put out before the building is consumed. There is only one single type of food and fewer types of goods and services required to fully evolve houses, and no fertility system. Taxation can be implemented from the start, as unlike in ''Phraoh'', the infrastructure to set it up is quite cheap. Wages can quickly lower or rise the labor pool. There is no rating system, no gods to appease by default (the hostile ones can still damage the city), the basic housing provides weak but free and numerous from the start soldiers to defend the city. Fortifictions are much cheaper. ''Emperor'' is a less simplified game and regains some of the complexity from ''Pharaoh'', specially in the food and wares department.
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[[http://www.games-arena.ro/2012/10/26/interview-chris-beatrice-medieval-mayor/ A new installment]], ''Medieval Mayor'', is under development by Tilted Mill. Originally scheduled for a 2013 release and set in medieval Europe, it will return to a 2D representation and a walker system. Unfortunately, the game is currently in [[DevelopmentHell development hell]] due to funding issues.
to:
[[http://www.games-arena.ro/2012/10/26/interview-chris-beatrice-medieval-mayor/ A new installment]], ''Medieval Mayor'', is was announced as being under development by Tilted Mill. Originally Mill and originally scheduled for a 2013 release and set release. Set in medieval Europe, it will return would have returned to a 2D representation and a walker system. Unfortunately, the game is currently in felt to [[DevelopmentHell development hell]] due to funding issues.
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** ''EmperorRiseOfTheMiddleKingdom'' (2002) was the last 'traditional game', with walkers, housing blocks, etc. It featured a good deal more SceneryPorn and ArchitecturePorn than its predecessors. The only one not designed by series creator Chris Beatrice.
to:
** ''EmperorRiseOfTheMiddleKingdom'' ''VideoGame/EmperorRiseOfTheMiddleKingdom'' (2002) was the last 'traditional game', with walkers, housing blocks, etc. It featured a good deal more SceneryPorn and ArchitecturePorn than its predecessors. The only one not designed by series creator Chris Beatrice.
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** ''{{Pharaoh}}'' (1999) and its ExpansionPack ''Cleopatra'' (''2000'') departed from the Roman setting and featured monumental building efforts, agriculture adapted to the flooding of the Nile and roadblocks for walkers.
to:
** ''{{Pharaoh}}'' ''VideoGame/{{Pharaoh}}'' (1999) and its ExpansionPack ''Cleopatra'' (''2000'') departed from the Roman setting and featured monumental building efforts, agriculture adapted to the flooding of the Nile and roadblocks for walkers.
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[[http://www.games-arena.ro/2012/10/26/interview-chris-beatrice-medieval-mayor/ A new installment]], ''Medieval Mayor'', is under development by Tilted Mill. Scheduled for a 2013 release and set in medieval Europe, it will return to a 2D representation and a walker system. Unfortunately, the game is currently in [[DevelopmentHell development hell]] due to funding issues.
to:
[[http://www.games-arena.ro/2012/10/26/interview-chris-beatrice-medieval-mayor/ A new installment]], ''Medieval Mayor'', is under development by Tilted Mill. Scheduled Originally scheduled for a 2013 release and set in medieval Europe, it will return to a 2D representation and a walker system. Unfortunately, the game is currently in [[DevelopmentHell development hell]] due to funding issues.
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namespacing
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** ''Master of Olympus - Zeus'' (2000) and its expansion pack ''Master of Atlantis - Poseidon'' (2001), set in AncientGreece and {{Atlantis}} respectively, change the mood from relatively realistic and historically accurate-ish to myth-centric with a dash of humor. It gives monsters, gods walking (or destroying) your city and some of the more famous heroes of ClassicalMythology a much more prominent role than in earlier games. This created somewhat of a BrokenBase between those who saw these two games as too childish and cartoonish and those who thought it was a new, creative and funny approach.
to:
** ''Master of Olympus - Zeus'' (2000) and its expansion pack ''Master of Atlantis - Poseidon'' (2001), set in AncientGreece and {{Atlantis}} respectively, change the mood from relatively realistic and historically accurate-ish to myth-centric with a dash of humor. It gives monsters, gods walking (or destroying) your city and some of the more famous heroes of ClassicalMythology Myth/ClassicalMythology a much more prominent role than in earlier games. This created somewhat of a BrokenBase between those who saw these two games as too childish and cartoonish and those who thought it was a new, creative and funny approach.
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** ''Emperor'' has the Song and Jin Dynasties defeatUsefulNotes/ GenghisKhan and prevent the establishment of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_Dynasty Yuan Dynasty]].
to:
** ''Emperor'' has the Song and Jin Dynasties defeatUsefulNotes/ GenghisKhan defeat UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan and prevent the establishment of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_Dynasty Yuan Dynasty]].
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** ''Emperor'' has the Song and Jin Dynasties defeat GenghisKhan and prevent the establishment of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_Dynasty Yuan Dynasty]].
to:
** ''Emperor'' has the Song and Jin Dynasties defeat defeatUsefulNotes/ GenghisKhan and prevent the establishment of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_Dynasty Yuan Dynasty]].
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* {{Orichalcum}}: Naturally, a resource in ''Poseidon'', known there as orichalc. Can be used as either monument decoration, or fuel for the deadly Atlantean Fire.
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* EveryoneHatesHades: A rare aversion from ''Zeus.'' Hades is no more or less likely to be a nuisance than any other god. He can defeat any invading god that isn't Zeus or Poseidon, and he rewards you with infinite silver veins around his temple (Hades is also the god of mineral weath!) and protects your city with his Cerberus. Of course, depending on the scenario, Hades could wind up being an invading god.
to:
* EveryoneHatesHades: A rare aversion from ''Zeus.'' Hades is no more or less likely to be a nuisance than any other god. He can defeat any invading god that isn't Zeus or Poseidon, and he rewards you with infinite silver veins around his temple (Hades is also the god of mineral weath!) wealth!) and protects your city with his Cerberus. Of course, depending on the scenario, Hades could wind up being an invading god.
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* BrickJoke: In ''Zeus'', one of the lines you'll hear around Drama Schools is "Has anyone seen my spear? How can I be a spear carrier without my spear?" Come ''Poseidon'', Atlantean Spearmen will, when there isn't anything to fight, wonder if maybe there's a spear carrier somewhere who could use a spear.
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Medieval Mayor is in development hell :(
Changed line(s) 18,19 (click to see context) from:
[[http://www.games-arena.ro/2012/10/26/interview-chris-beatrice-medieval-mayor/ A new installment]], ''Medieval Mayor'', is under development by Tilted Mill. Scheduled for a 2013 release and set in medieval Europe, it will return to a 2D representation and a walker system.
to:
[[http://www.games-arena.ro/2012/10/26/interview-chris-beatrice-medieval-mayor/ A new installment]], ''Medieval Mayor'', is under development by Tilted Mill. Scheduled for a 2013 release and set in medieval Europe, it will return to a 2D representation and a walker system.
system. Unfortunately, the game is currently in [[DevelopmentHell development hell]] due to funding issues.
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[[redirect:CityBuildingSeries]]
to:
A series of [[SimulationGame Simulation]] {{Space Management Game}}s in which your primary task is to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin build a city]]. First developed by Impressions Games, then Breakaway Games and finally Tilted Mill Entertainment, most of the titles were published by {{Sierra}} and are among its few games where not [[EverythingTryingToKillYou everything is trying to kill you]] - only your neighbors, their gods, ''your gods'', wild animals...
The settings for the games are all famous ancient cultures, but the devs at least tried not to fall wholly into HollywoodHistory:
* AncientRome: The {{Videogame/Caesar}} series:
** ''Caesar I'' (1992) and ''Caesar II'' (1995) started the series off, but are mostly forgotten nowadays, even by the hardcore fans of the series.
** ''Caesar III'' (1998) is the earliest of the games that might still be recommended as a classic today.
** ''Caesar IV'' (2006) is the latest release in the series.
* AncientEgypt:
** ''{{Pharaoh}}'' (1999) and its ExpansionPack ''Cleopatra'' (''2000'') departed from the Roman setting and featured monumental building efforts, agriculture adapted to the flooding of the Nile and roadblocks for walkers.
** ''Immortal Cities: ChildrenOfTheNile'' (2004) was the first title published by Tilted Mills, and is more of a SpiritualSuccessor than a direct continuation. It radically breaks with established concepts (such as walkers, apartment blocks for workers or active gods). It was also the first in the series to go fully 3D, but the graphics were found to be a bit lacking. It remains something of an odd one out among the games.
* AncientGreece:
** ''Master of Olympus - Zeus'' (2000) and its expansion pack ''Master of Atlantis - Poseidon'' (2001), set in AncientGreece and {{Atlantis}} respectively, change the mood from relatively realistic and historically accurate-ish to myth-centric with a dash of humor. It gives monsters, gods walking (or destroying) your city and some of the more famous heroes of ClassicalMythology a much more prominent role than in earlier games. This created somewhat of a BrokenBase between those who saw these two games as too childish and cartoonish and those who thought it was a new, creative and funny approach.
* [[ImperialChina Ancient China]]:
** ''EmperorRiseOfTheMiddleKingdom'' (2002) was the last 'traditional game', with walkers, housing blocks, etc. It featured a good deal more SceneryPorn and ArchitecturePorn than its predecessors. The only one not designed by series creator Chris Beatrice.
[[http://www.games-arena.ro/2012/10/26/interview-chris-beatrice-medieval-mayor/ A new installment]], ''Medieval Mayor'', is under development by Tilted Mill. Scheduled for a 2013 release and set in medieval Europe, it will return to a 2D representation and a walker system.
!!The series provides examples of:
* AlternateHistory: While the more history-centered games start off following history relatively closely, most games take a turn towards alternate history later on.
** The Campaign maps for the ''Caesar'' games included some provinces that were never actually under Roman rule.
** ''Pharaoh'' makes your family take over the throne of Egypt in the middle of the campaign, and rule a united Egypt until the end.
** ''Cleopatra'' requires you to change history by winning the Battle of Actium.
** ''Emperor'' has the Song and Jin Dynasties defeat GenghisKhan and prevent the establishment of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_Dynasty Yuan Dynasty]].
** ''Poseidon'', which makes no pretense at having any historical accuracy, offers two campaigns as alternate histories to each other. In one you play the Atlanteans and defeat the Greeks, in the other, you play the Greeks defeating the Atlanteans.
* ApatheticCitizens: Averted. You can right-click on your citizens and they will complain about everything from a lack of employment to a lack of workers, inadequate healthcare or worship services. Even if there are only 10 workers needed in a city of 7000. Very unhappy homes also spawn muggers, vandals or looters.
** On the other hand, if you manage your city well, your citizens will give you unending praise.
* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: While there is no population cap, there is a cap on the number of companies of soldiers you can have.
* ArrowsOnFire: In ''Poseidon'', the Atlanteans can use [[{{Orichalcum}} orichalc]] to enhance the power of their towers.
* CommandAndConquerEconomy
* ConstructAdditionalPylons: The whole purpose of the game. Also literally, in order to reach perfect coverage of the city for your various service buildings, you need to build additional apothecaries/schools/gymnasia/whatever, even if all your citizens actually already receive it, but the statistic that keeps track of it (and influences some modifiers) works on a Number of Citizens/Number of Buildings basis.
** [[ArtificialBrilliance Thus inadvertently simulating a free market economy.]]
* DifficultyLevels: Most game offer difficulties from Very Easy to Very Hard, which changes various in-game modifiers, such as good consumption rates.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Most of the tropes of the series were standardized by ''Caesar III''. I and II have their own quirks, such as being far less battle-focused (if such a thing is possible), having separate city and province maps and the "loot and scoot" strategy (where you pour your city treasury into your personal chest right before you get promoted, leaving yourself rich and the city badly in debt).
** The first games also lacked a "stop sign" the player could drop on a road to tell walkers to stay within a given area, and those of Caesar 3 blocked all walkers, including those that have specific destinations(in the later games, only walkers that have specific destinations can pass through roadblocks). As a result, an efficient road and supply network could turn out pretty darn weird as good players tried to avoid crossroads at all costs, often resulting in one lonesome meandering road snaking around the entire city. Hope nobody's in a hurry to get anywhere.
* ElectricBoogaloo: For original games, even.
** ''Queen of the Nile: Cleopatra''
** ''Master of Olympus - Zeus'' and ''Master of Atlantis - Poseidon''
** ''Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom''
** ''Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile''
* GameMod: Every game offers a scenario editor. New scenarios and campaigns are still being released.
* GameOver: In most games, running into debt leads to a game-over.
** The exception to this being Zeus. There was a Ephesian leader so infatuated (without effort) during the Hercules' Labors adventure that he bailed her out of extreme debt. Ad nauseam.
** In Caesar II, you can often get promoted while your city is deep in debt, leaving the mess for someone else to fix while you abscond with the treasury (which you then use to fund your next city).
* EveryoneHatesHades: A rare aversion from ''Zeus.'' Hades is no more or less likely to be a nuisance than any other god. He can defeat any invading god that isn't Zeus or Poseidon, and he rewards you with infinite silver veins around his temple (Hades is also the god of mineral weath!) and protects your city with his Cerberus. Of course, depending on the scenario, Hades could wind up being an invading god.
* GlobalCurrency: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in most games, as you simply build one city in a large empire, but the Greek city states all accepting drachmae is a bit of a stretch... then the expansion pack has the Atlanteans use the same currency, as well.
** The drachmae example is partly justified (or even an aversion of global currency), as they were made of silver, and city states with silver ore deposits would mint their own money. With intrinsic value it could be accepted anywhere, and only the lack of exchange rates or variations in weight and purity needs to be handwaved.
* IsometricProjection: All games up to and including Emperor. ChildrenOfTheNile and Caesar IV, however, were both fully 3D.
* LevelEditor: See GameMod.
* MoraleMechanic: Most of the games have separate counters for an army's health and morale. If morale goes too low, they [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere scram back to their fort]].
* OffscreenMomentofAwesome: Zeus and Poseidon feature quests given to you by the gods, where you need to summon a hero such as Hercules, Achilles, or Perseus, to your city, who must then be sent to fulfill some sort of important task (such as Perseus retrieving the items needed to fight the Medusa, or Hercules performing some of his labors). Said tasks takes place entirely offscreen, with nothing but an eventual message telling you that the hero has succeeded. Averted when a hero is summoned specifically for the task of slaying a monster attacking your city.
* PyrrhicVictory: Potentially for the cities, if not necessarily for the player. Because most of the games feature campaigns where you build up one city, and then move on to the next one, it is at times possible to simply make a mad dash for victory, leaving the city in a poor, unsustainable state that you won't have to bother fixing. Your city needs a few hundred more inhabitants for you to achieve victory? Don't bother making sure that your infrastructure can feed and supply that many, just place down low-level housing until victory is achieved. Your city is under attack? Doesn't matter, you just finished the monument needed to complete the mission, someone else will have to deal with the invaders. In Zeus and Poseidon, this is much less of a viable strategy, with campaigns featuring the same city from start to finish (meaning that whatever mess you get yourself into, you will actually have to clean up yourself), with an exception for the occasional one-off colony mission.
* RealTimeWithPause: Up until Zeus, it wasn't possible to lay down buildings while in pause mode.
** As a workaround, it was possible to adjust the game's speed to a crawl before complex builds.
* RecycledInSpace: The original ''Caesar'' was described as ''VideoGame/SimCity'' in AncientRome with a military aspect added. Also the games that share the same engine (from Caesar III to Emperor) can be recursively defined in this way; ''Pharaoh'' is ''Caesar III'' in Egypt, ''Zeus'' is ''Pharaoh'' or ''Caesar III'' in Greece and ''Emperor'' is ''Caesar III'' in China.
* RefiningResources: The goods required by the population can be made by the local industries or imported from the world market. Gaining access to the cheaper raw materials to then manufacture expensive/strategic goods on your own becomes an important gameplay aspect.
* RidiculouslyFastConstruction: Except the monuments.
** The greek temples take a long time to make, even if you already have everything needed to build them.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: In the first two games, you can bribe the Emperor with your personal funds, so he'll lower the tribute that your city has to pay to the Senate. Also, when you receive a promotion, the size of the city treasury is irrelevant, but you can carry your personal treasury to your next city (either to fund the new city's growth, or to pay off the Emperor). And yes, you can pay your own salary while the city is 9000 denarii in debt.
* ScriptedEvent: By the truckload. Each game contains numerous scripted events, be they requests from other cities for goods, cash or troops, invasions, opportunities for conquering other cities, droughts, earthquakes, divine wrath...
* SequenceBreaking: In ''Zeus'' it's possible to delay your first mission of the Trojan War campaign and build up your forces in preparation for the war. With the right preparation, you can even conquer Troy ''before the war begins''.
* SpiritualSuccessor : If you count the games made by the staff that went on to create Firefly Studios, then the ''{{Stronghold}}'' series is probably the best example.
* VideoGameTutorial: Every game offers some form of tutorial.
** ForcedTutorial: In ''Pharaoh'', the tutorial is spread over the first fifth or so of the campaign, as new concepts keep getting introduced. While single scenarios and sub-parts of the grand campaign can be played on their own once they've been unlocked, playing the grand campaign forces you to learn how water is distributed over and over again.
* YouRequireMoreVespeneGas: Your citizens require food (in most games more variety means better houses and happier citizens), basic commodities (whether pottery, linen, olive oil or tea) and luxury goods (exotic furs, incense, wine, silk...). For the grander construction projects you may need wood, stone, marble... and everything needs to be paid for, whether in debens or drachmae or food.
** Averted in the first two games. Here, your citizens require amenities to advance their housing quality, but not food, and their consumption of goods from your manufacturing businesses is one of your two main sources of income.
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