Zeus + Poseidon

[uaciaut]

Welp i found no thread in this subforum about what was the best sim game of my childhood so i decided to make one, any chances anyone else enjoyed it?

 

[The Brazilian Slaughter]

Excellent game, some scenarios can be cruel on harder dificulties.

 

[Xor]

I never had the Poseidon expansion, just the original game. Haven't played it in years, I think the last time was on my old pentium 3 box. I remember it being really fun, though. I should go dig up the CD, it's probably in my garage in a box somewhere.

 

[tyrannosaurus rex]

Excellent soundtrack. The best looking city builder I've ever played too. You can see that the people who made it had taste.

Unsurprisingly the Lead designer was a sculptor and if you look at his resume :

• Caesar (1993, 1995, 1998) series – Art Director, Creative Director, General Manager
• Lords of the Realm (1994, 1996, 2004) series – Art Director; Interface Designer, Lead Designer, Project Lead, Director of Development
• Lords of Magic (1997, 1998) series – Co-Designer & Creative Director
• Pharaoh (1999, 2000) series – Lead Designer & Project Lead
• Zeus (2000, 2001) series – Lead Designer & Project Lead
• Children of the Nile (2004, 2005) - Lead Designer
• Caesar IV (2006) - Lead Designer
• SimCity Societies (2007) - Lead Designer

A truly individual.

He was about to remake a Zeus in the medieval world but ran out of money a few month ago.

 

[uaciaut]

A truly individual.

He was about to remake a Zeus in the medieval world but ran out of money a few month ago.

Got any specific info on that? I've been looking for a zeus/caesar/pharaoh like for a while now, been also thinking of giving the tropico series a shot at one point (i've never tried any).

 

[laclongquan]

Zeus is nice, I replay to finish it many times.

Poseidon is meh. Finish it about once. It's easier than the Zeus, and more boring somehow.

 

[catfood]

Excellent soundtrack. The best looking city builder I've ever played too. You can see that the people who made it had taste.

Unsurprisingly the Lead designer was a sculptor and if you look at his resume :

• Caesar (1993, 1995, 1998) series – Art Director, Creative Director, General Manager
• Lords of the Realm (1994, 1996, 2004) series – Art Director; Interface Designer, Lead Designer, Project Lead, Director of Development
• Lords of Magic (1997, 1998) series – Co-Designer & Creative Director
• Pharaoh (1999, 2000) series – Lead Designer & Project Lead
• Zeus (2000, 2001) series – Lead Designer & Project Lead
• Children of the Nile (2004, 2005) - Lead Designer
• Caesar IV (2006) - Lead Designer
• SimCity Societies (2007) - Lead Designer

A truly individual.

He was about to remake a Zeus in the medieval world but ran out of money a few month ago.

You mean Medieval Mayor? They ran out of money? Source?

 

[Ashery]

You mean Medieval Mayor? They ran out of money? Source?

Don't have a source, but I've also heard that Tilted Mill shelved Medieval Mayor.

Never could really get into Zeus, though, as the episodic nature of the game turned me off. Caesar3 and Pharaoh give you your end game objectives (Save for the tutorial missions) and let you go at it, whereas Zeus has the missions broken up into smaller chunks.

 

[uaciaut]

You mean Medieval Mayor? They ran out of money? Source?

Don't have a source, but I've also heard that Tilted Mill shelved Medieval Mayor.

Never could really get into Zeus, though, as the episodic nature of the game turned me off. Caesar3 and Pharaoh give you your end game objectives (Save for the tutorial missions) and let you go at it, whereas Zeus has the missions broken up into smaller chunks.

Zeus has sandbox missions (called scenarios iirc) as well, i spent most of my time playing those rather than the campaigns, plus there are quite a few custom made scenarios out there as well.

 

[subotaiy]

A truly individual.

He was about to remake a Zeus in the medieval world but ran out of money a few month ago.

Got any specific info on that? I've been looking for a zeus/caesar/pharaoh like for a while now, been also thinking of giving the tropico series a shot at one point (i've never tried any).

Try Anno series if you haven't already.

 

[tyrannosaurus rex]

Got any specific info on that? I've been looking for a zeus/caesar/pharaoh like for a while now

Hey all,

First my deepest apologies for not updating things sooner or more regularly - I guess I was hoping I'd have some better news to post. So I'll get right to it - after careful and painful consideration we've decided we need to put our beloved Medieval Mayor on hiatus.

It's not at all that we don't believe in and cherish this game, it's just that various other project commitments as well as the usual funding challenges have caused the process to move so slowly that it's not fair to you and not viable for us to keep going with it right now.

I can't say when we will return to Medieval Mayor - the wheels just need to line up right - and I sincerely hope and believe that will happen. I just don't want to keep our fans hanging out there any longer.

We do have some other projects in the works, but I'm not going to release any information about that until things are more certain. We do hope to bring you a new game in the near future.

You guys have been great - better than we hope for and probably deserve. I can't tell you how much we appreciate your ongoing support and faith in us, and your patience (and also your lack of patience when that is appropriate - you know who you are!!).

Medieval Mayor is not dead, just... taking a nap, so we'd love to continue to hear your great ideas and thoughts for the game, and we'll keep the forums open for that. Hopefully it won't be long before we're back to it.

Once again my sincere thanks to all of you.

http://tiltedmill.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27339



Also for those doubting the of this individual :

At the same time, the medieval and medieval fantasy setting was and has remained very well represented in other genres, usually with a focus on combat, castles, adventuring, etc. Somewhere along the lines we stopped associating the Middle Ages with learning, culture and advancement, which is kind of funny when you think of it, because the ancient classical civilizations ended in collapse, whereas the medieval period culminated in the Renaissance.

...

yes, we do have cathedrals and other large religious buildings and monuments, but not castles. As I alluded to in the first question, in Medieval Mayor the focus is not on the rural countryside, castles and combat, but rather on the (relatively advanced) life of the city. Relative to so many other medieval games, this is almost a twist, even though it’s fairly historical.

You won't hear that often from a game develloper. They always think a medieval setting has to be dark and gritty because their general knowledge doesn't go past elementary school class.

CB:Nope, it’s 2d isometric. We’ve pretty much come full circle in seeing the gameplay value of a clear, 2D representation. Like many things with city-building games, it’s nice in theory to be able to “walk the streets”, but not necessarily valuable in reality (ok, it’s nice in reality too, but maybe not worth the sacrifice in gameplay clarity and accessibility). We think 2D works better in terms of players being able to tell what’s going on at a glance, even at the expense of a more “realistic” representation of the game world.

http://www.games-arena.ro/2012/10/26/interview-chris-beatrice-medieval-mayor/

 

[Ashery]

You mean Medieval Mayor? They ran out of money? Source?

Don't have a source, but I've also heard that Tilted Mill shelved Medieval Mayor.

Never could really get into Zeus, though, as the episodic nature of the game turned me off. Caesar3 and Pharaoh give you your end game objectives (Save for the tutorial missions) and let you go at it, whereas Zeus has the missions broken up into smaller chunks.

Zeus has sandbox missions (called scenarios iirc) as well, i spent most of my time playing those rather than the campaigns, plus there are quite a few custom made scenarios out there as well.

I don't know...it's weird, really. The pacing in the C3/Pharaoh campaigns pulled me deep into the game, but standalone scenarios never really scratched that particular itch of mine.

I also seem to recall the missions in Zeus forcing the player it a slightly more...linear(?) development. The events in C3/Pharaoh didn't seem to force your development to follow a certain path. Then again, the resources available in any given scenario in C3/Pharaoh can be argued to do the exact same thing...

As I said, I don't quite know why I prefer C3 and Pharaoh to Zeus, but those are what I remember of my impressions back when I played through half a dozen or so missions in Zeus a few years back.

 

[laclongquan]

Zeus is a bit too rigid, what's with the huge ass house/manor blocks and god exploitation. Caesar 3 and Pharaoh are just purely economic, with maybe some slight benefit in ancient egypt thrown in. So it's better, and harder to break the game.

 

[tyrannosaurus rex]

Zeus is a bit too rigid, what's with the huge ass house/manor blocks and god exploitation. Caesar 3 and Pharaoh are just purely economic, with maybe some slight benefit in ancient egypt thrown in. So it's better, and harder to break the game.

Nothing was more satisfying than finishing a temple in Zeus. Caesar and Cleopatra lacked this feature.
All great games though.

 

[Carceri]

I've been looking for a zeus/caesar/pharaoh like for a while now

Have you tried Emperor: Rise of The Middle Kingdom?


Edit: also, my favorite exploit:

What's yours?

 

[Borelli]

While still a great Impressions games style city builder i would put it to be the weakest of the three i have played (haven't played the chinese one). Primarily it is the removal of the need for workplaces to be near the houses. While it IS a gamey and sometimes frustrating rule (due to people not having an AI when hitting crossroads) it is at the core of Impressions city builder's challenge. Without it the game became should i say streamlined. Of all the Zeus campaign i remember very few places where my city planning skills got tested (mostly at the invasion of Troy mission, man that one was hard).

Second biggest problem was you being able to get ALL the money from the previous mission to the next one. I loved it how in Caesar you would draw your own salary which reduced funds for this city but increased it for the next one. While being excused by the story (main city is founding colonies), starting a new map with 60k denars in your pocket was just decline.

The game however has some improvements. Citizen soldier concept is wonderful (although that too makes the game easy since army is now "free") although it is lulzy when 50% of your population dies fending of an attack and then they get replaced by immigrants in a minute. Gods spice up the game and give your city some direction to aspire to although i preferred the more subtle effects of previous games. Founding colonies during a campaign is a joyful thing to do especially once you establish contact with your hometown which you yourself built in the previous mission. The warehouse and trade system - easily the most frustrating aspect of Caesar 3 - has gone up another notch from Pharaoh and is the best in the series (again i haven't played the chinese themed one). The ability to attack your neighbors and demand tribute from them really fits this period despite this being a city builder.

Finally the art style sucks. And that building that houses philosophers(amphitheater probably) annoyingly loops its sound.
Poseidon i tried but stopped at the first mission. Didn't like the circular terrain nor the high techness being thrown in the Greek world. And i was burned out from playing the whole campaign nonstop.

 

[MoLAoS]

Emperor is fucking fantastic. I'd say way better than any of the others. I dunno why its the least well known.

 

[laclongquan]

Yeah, I dont know why either. I intended to try but fail to play the game beyond first 5 minutes, at least twice that I remember. And the game is not that bad from my impression

 

[AzraelDR]

Emperor also did not have walkers to hire workers, but added the feng shui mechanic, which I have mixed feelings with. On one hand, the rules are fairly simple and easy to remember--just place the building to a feature in the map associated with the element needed. However, it does feel a bit constricting, as you can clearly see some "rock formations" in the map that obviously hint that some buildings associated with that element should be placed near those rocks. Still a great game though.

I liked Zeus, although as Ashery mentioned, the episodic pacing is something that I likewise do not prefer. Borelli's mention of the money carrying over is also another weakness of that particular game.

 

[Fart Master]

This game had a stupidly good manual. Remember reading that on the toilet for months and still not finishing it.

 

[suejak]

Zeus was the simplest and most decline of that series, but I loved this game too. Definitely a kids/young adult title, though.

Pharaoh was the best.

 

[uaciaut]

Zeus was the simplest and most decline of that series, but I loved this game too. Definitely a kids/young adult title, though.

Pharaoh was the best.

How was it the "most decline" of the series? I thought the deity interaction was really cool, roadblocks worked better and you didn't have to create poor "neighbourhoods" for the industrial areas (though i guess you could argue that made it simpler, i didn't find that to make a huge impact on the difficulty tbh).

 

[suejak]

How was it the "most decline" of the series? I thought the deity interaction was really cool, roadblocks worked better and you didn't have to create poor "neighbourhoods" for the industrial areas (though i guess you could argue that made it simpler, i didn't find that to make a huge impact on the difficulty tbh).

I don't really remember, but it's much easier to get max-upgraded houses and the combat is really simple (something like two unit types?). Games like Pharaoh had complicated multi-step processes for making goods and services that were necessary for even a minor house upgrade, but Zeus made all that much simpler.

The deity thing was cool and fun, although for the most part it was all hand-crafted. You didn't have to juggle multiple jealous gods like you did in Pharaoh -- there was typically one god and/or hero who needed your help for that level, so you just did your best to do what he said.

 

[Ashery]

How was it the "most decline" of the series? I thought the deity interaction was really cool, roadblocks worked better and you didn't have to create poor "neighbourhoods" for the industrial areas (though i guess you could argue that made it simpler, i didn't find that to make a huge impact on the difficulty tbh).

I don't really remember, but it's much easier to get max-upgraded houses and the combat is really simple (something like two unit types?). Games like Pharaoh had complicated multi-step processes for making goods and services that were necessary for even a minor house upgrade, but Zeus made all that much simpler.

The deity thing was cool and fun, although for the most part it was all hand-crafted. You didn't have to juggle multiple jealous gods like you did in Pharaoh -- there was typically one god and/or hero who needed your help for that level, so you just did your best to do what he said.

Adding onto that, it felt like a "hero" was just a way for the game to demand you get so much of x and y goods before proceeding with the map. It was a part of what contributed to the episodic and restricted feel of Zeus when compared to its predecessors.

 

[uaciaut]

How was it the "most decline" of the series? I thought the deity interaction was really cool, roadblocks worked better and you didn't have to create poor "neighbourhoods" for the industrial areas (though i guess you could argue that made it simpler, i didn't find that to make a huge impact on the difficulty tbh).

I don't really remember, but it's much easier to get max-upgraded houses and the combat is really simple (something like two unit types?). Games like Pharaoh had complicated multi-step processes for making goods and services that were necessary for even a minor house upgrade, but Zeus made all that much simpler.

Actually playing Pharaoh atm you're pretty much right.
There are details about the complexity of Pharaoh that are probably unneeded -i.e. http://pharaoh.heavengames.com/strategy/housinglevels.shtml i don't think you need THAT many levels of housing, you basically need low-level slums for industry work-force, maxed 2x2 types for the rest of the workforce and then maybe some manors for cash-milking (do elite residents count for elite military like in Zeus? if not i see no other purpose than the money). This is probably the main reason i liked having more housing types from the get-go more.

Industry definitely seemed to have more depth and to be better layered - housing needing multiple types of products to evolve (food, luxury), some crafted stuff required 2 raw materials (don't remember this being the case with Zeus).

Religion/mythology-wise i still like Zeus better, i think priests in Pharaoh being able to fulfill the roles of other workers with some buildings was the only thing it had over Zeus, otherwise i think the greek city-builder did it better.

Zeus definitely simplified some things in most areas. I still like it more though. Maybe partly because it's simpler/easier, partly because i'm a sucker for that hero/god system.