Pharaoh (Windows)

Pharaoh is a strategic city-building game set in Ancient Egypt, that uses the same engine and principles as Caesar III, a game from a city-building series also developed by Impressions Games and published by Sierra Entertainment.

Sub-Page#

Prototype Info

Unused Graphics#

Buildings#

There exist unused graphics for buildings in the game's data files.

	Unused	Used
Library		The used version is bigger.
Academy		The used version is smaller.
Common Stone Quarry
Limestone Quarry

(Source: Caesar IV Heaven)

Housing Placeholder Tile#

This tile can be found in the game's files among the housing-related images.

Blank Tile#

If a square on the map cannot be loaded, the game will show purple black squares. These can occasionally appear in normal gameplay due to glitches, such as when saving and reloading a savegame shortly after a building collapses or when a plague infests a 3x3 house. Players sometimes refer to this occurrence as the Blackhole Glitch.

Blank tiles as the result of a glitch.

Blank tiles as they appear out of the boundaries of the map.

Locust Button#

This button is a left-over from early versions of the game. It is supposed to let you go to disasters and was later combined with the already-existing go to troubles button.

Demo Leftovers#

Preview for the full version of Pharaoh.

Preview for the full version of Caesar III.

Mudbrick Pyramid Placeholder#

This placeholder can be found in the game's files among the images for the Mudbrick Pyramid.

Unused Audio#

Name	File	Information
fanfare1a
fanfare1b
fanfare2
market
no
temple2_r		This was presumably used in a demo version for a popup notifying the player of a contest.

Unused Goods#

Unused12#

Unused12

There are unused goods named Unused12. These goods can be obtained by editing the memory of goods that are carried by a cartpusher or located in a storage yard to ID 1B. It will show up as limestone in a storage yard, or as grain on a cartpusher and either has a glitched or a blank icon.

It can also appear in normal gameplay on rare occurrence, when a caravan is selling goods at a storage yard that accepts multiple goods that you are importing from their city. Due to a glitch, the caravan might deliver anything, even goods it won't normally sell or that aren't part of the mission, or even Unused12.

Unused12 may also be referred to as unused line812 (ID 4C), similar to how the game may refer to "Clay" as "bags of clay", or to "Linen" as "rolls of linen".

(Source: Ceasar IV Heaven)

This space left blank#

There also exist goods named This space left blank which corresponds to ID 31. It is basically the game's alternative name for "Nothing" (ID 00).

Unused Walkers#

ID	Name	Notes
0E	Standard Bearer
1C	Schoolchild	Scribal Schools already spawn teachers. It's unknown what this was meant for.
29	Indigenous native (not used?)	Related to the buildings with the IDs 58 and 59 probably (see the Unused Buildings section below).
31	unused 2722	An enemy soldier placeholder.
32	unused 2723	An enemy soldier placeholder.
33	unused 2724	An enemy soldier placeholder.
34	unused 2725	An enemy soldier placeholder.
3A	unused 2731
3F	Creature
40	Missionary
41	Seagulls
5B	Festival Priest	Shows up as Nobody in-game.
5E	Funeral walker
61	Showman

Unused Buildings#

Senet Master#

ID	Name	Notes	Image
25	Senet Master	This building would have trained and spawned walkers by the name of senet master who would go to Senet Houses to keep them active. The final game has Senet Houses spawn labor seekers instead. If placed, it will show up with the same graphics as the Senet House, but will only occupy 3x3 space instead of 4x4. It will have the curious title Senet trainers? Was Bullfighting Trainer and will spawn a labor seeker, but will not actually gather any workers. If it could gather workers, it would have shown the description The master strategists who work here train expert senet masters to run the city's ever-popular Senet Houses. Given the title, the graphic used for the Senet House was possibly initially planned for a building where bullfighting was practised.

Mud and Brick Versions of Defensive Structures#

It seems there were initially two types of defensive structures, mud and brick. Presumably the brick version would have required bricks to build. The final game uses the menu option "Defensive structures" which contains simply "Wall", "Gatehouse" and "Tower" instead.

ID	Name	Notes
AE	Mud Structures	Would have been used as a menu option.
06	Mud Wall	If placed, behaves like a regular wall but with the name Mud Wall.
3B	Mud Tower	Can't be placed.
3A	Mud Gatehouse	Can't be placed.
AF	Brick Structures	Would have been used as a menu option.
A8	Brick Wall	If placed, behaves like a regular wall but with the name Brick Wall.
AC	Brick Tower	Can't be placed.
AA	Brick Gatehouse	Can't be placed.

Temple and Shrine Placeholders#

The building names God 5 ~ God 9 make it seem more than five gods were planned for the game.

91	Shrine to	If placed, will show up as a Shrine to Osiris. When right-clicked on, only buttons will appear, but no window.
92	Shrine to	Same as above.
93	Shrine to	Same as above.
94	Shrine to	Same as above.
95	Shrine to	Same as above.
98	Temple to Osiris	If placed, will show up as a Temple to Osiris. When right-clicked on, only buttons will appear, but no window.
99	Temple to Ra	Same as above.
9A	Temple to Ptah	Same as above.
9B	Temple to Seth	Same as above.
9C	Temple to Bast	Same as above.
9D	God 5	If placed, will show up as a Temple Complex to Osiris, with glitched graphics. Can be placed on top of other terrain and other buildings. When right-clicked on, only buttons will appear, but no window.
9E	God 6	Same as above.
9F	God 7	Same as above.
A0	God 8	Same as above.
A1	God 9	Same as above.

Disembark Point#

ID	Name	Notes
D7	unused 1080	If placed, shows up as the 1x1 wooden tile which is the entry point to certain monuments. As such, despite its name this is probably used. D6 is named Disembark point but can't be placed. Basically, the devs mismatched the names.

Miscellaneous#

ID	Name	Notes
50	unused 945	If placed, will show up as a 2x2 Common Residence with the title Mission post and the description Where did this text appear?. The ?-button leads to the Work Camp help text.
53	unused 948	Behaves the same way like the Bridge. It is graphically glitched but functional.
58	Nothing	If placed, will show up as a 1x1 Meager Shanty with the title Native hut and the description Does this text appear anywhere?. The ?-button leads to the Table of Contents.
59	Nothing	If placed, will show up as a 2x2 Common Shanty with the title Native meeting hut and the description Is this entry used anywhere?. The ?-button leads to the Table of Contents.
5D	Nothing	If placed, will show up as a 1x1 glitched tile with the title Simple crops and the description This entry is probably unused. The ?-button leads to the Table of Contents.
B9	Military Academy 2	Same as the Military Academy that's used, but requires 25 workers as opposed to 20.
BA	Military Academy 3	Same as the Military Academy that's used, but requires 30 workers as opposed to 20.

Nonfunctional#

These buildings cannot be placed.

ID	Name	Notes
38	unused 921
62	Oracle	Presumably the developers first wanted to implement Temple Complex add-ons to have individual IDs, before they decided to use IDs D3 and D4 and make it dependent on which god the Temple Complex is dedicated to.
74	Nothing
75	Nothing
76	Nothing
77	Nothing
78	unused 985
79	Crack (not used?)	Possibly meant as scenery.
7A	unused 987
7B	Nothing
7C	Nothing
7D	Nothing
7E	Nothing
7F	Nothing
80	Nothing
81	Nothing
82	TXT_BUILDING_130
83	TXT_BUILDING_131
84	TXT_BUILDING_132
85	TXT_BUILDING_133
86	TXT_BUILDING_134
87	TXT_BUILDING_135
89	TXT_BUILDING_137
8B	TXT_BUILDING_139
96	Shrine to
A5	Unused 1030
A6	Unused 1031
CF	Unused 1072	Possibly meant as an alternative, 3x3 Festival Square.
D0	Unused 1073	Possibly meant as an alternative, 5x5 Festival Square.
D6	Disembark point	See the Disembark Point section above.

Unused Text#

Leftover Demo Text#

Play Pharaoh Demo

This text appears alongside the text for other menu entries in the Pharaoh_text.ENG file, but the demo cannot be accessed in the full version of the game. Additionally, this string is present:

Not available in the demo!

Building Descriptions#

Nearly every building has a section in Pharaoh_Text.eng that begins with its name and a brief description of its purpose. Some buildings display that description at the bottom of their right-click popup window, but many others do not. Here's what they'd like to say for themselves:

Building	Description
Apothecary	Apothecaries improve citizens' health as they make house-calls in the neighborhoods on their route. Wealthy areas want an Apothecary nearby.
Architect's Post	Egyptian architects are the most advanced the world has ever known. Their vigilance prevents buildings from collapsing.
Bandstand	People come here to watch the latest juggling tricks and listen to music.
Bazaar	Our Bazaars make the Kingdom's bounty available to every nearby citizen. Every home needs Bazaar access, although no one wants to live next door to one.
Booth	Citizens enjoy clever juggling acts and general nonsense here.
Brewery	Brewers turn barley into beer, without which the Senet Houses would be empty and the city's festivals boring. Beer is a widely-demanded trade commodity.
Bricklayers Guild	Bricklayers gather here to swap stories and tips about their profession, find work assignments and lay plans for the future.
Brickworks	Clay and straw are combined here to form sturdy, durable bricks.
Carpenters Guild	Carpenters gather here to swap stories and tips about their profession, find work assignments and hammer out their problems.
Chariot Workshop	Expert craftsmen produce 'war wheels,' one of Egypt's deadliest weapons, here.
Conservatory	Egyptian people are always eager to hear the latest renditions from new musicians.
Dance School	Dancers delight audiences with graceful and tantalizing new moves.
Dentist	Sand gets into everything, including food. Constant abrasion makes plenty of work for Egyptian dentists.
Dock	Trading ships from all over the world moor here to deliver imports and pick up exports. You cannot conduct waterborne trade without Docks.
Fishing Wharf	Boats sail here from the Shipwright to take on crews and begin fishing local waters. Each Wharf can service one fishing boat.
Granary	Full Granaries are vital for keeping the people's bellies filled, and help attract new citizens. A Granary can store any type of food.
Hunting Lodge	Hunters based here track and hunt local wildlife. The Hunting Lodge then distributes game meat to local Storage Yards or Granaries.
Jeweler	The craftsmen here turn gemstones into jewelry (a luxury good). Some citizens want jewelry for themselves, and you can often export any surplus, although it is seldom worth much.
Juggler School	New jugglers with inventive new routines are always in demand.
Library	Literary works of all kinds are produced and stored here. Scribes insist that Libraries are crucial for an important city.
Mortuary	Although no one wants to live near one, Mortuaries save lives when disease strikes. The city should have the capacity to embalm all of its dead.
Palace	The Palace is among your city's most desirable buildings and the cornerstone of the city economy. It turns gold nuggets to debens and stores some of the city's funds.
Papyrus Maker	Here reeds are bound together to make papyrus, which educational institutions require for writing down information and sharing knowledge. Papyrus may also be profitably traded.
Pavilion	Dancing, music and juggling...what more could a citizen desire?
Physician	A pomegranate a day keeps the doctor away, or so the saying goes. Physicians improve health as they make their rounds.
Police Station	Police Stations send constables into the city to keep the peace. Civic order is assured when constables patrol the city evenly.
Potter	Here, potters mould clay into pots that citizens use for storing commodities. Trade pottery, or let your Bazaars distribute it so that people can build better housing.
Recruiter	No one can join the Egyptian army without first passing through here; it's the city's training school for new recruits.
Scribal School	Children of the wealthy must attend neighborhood schools to learn reading and writing if they are to attain their parents' status.
Senet House	Games of skill and chance can make or break the fortunes of the players.
Shipwright	With enough workers, the Shipwright builds military vessels and fishing boats for the city's Wharves. Wood is required to build warships and transport ships; no raw materials are needed to build fishing boats.
Shrine/Temple to Osiris	Osiris brings fertility to the land and makes the crops grow. Appease him, or prepare to go hungry.
Shrine/Temple to Ra	Merchants know well the value in pleasing Ra. Trade is safer and more profitable with Ra's blessing, and your city's esteem is greater.
Shrine/Temple to Ptah	Laborers and craftsmen worship Ptah to ease their toil. When Ptah is angered, no industry is safe from catastrophe.
Shrine/Temple to Seth	Seth watches over soldiers and encourages valor in combat. No man dares fight without the blessing of Seth.
Shrine/Temple to Bast	When Bast is displeased, nobody's home is safe. Some blame Bast for disease, too.
Stonemasons Guild	Stonemasons meet here to swap stories and tips about their profession, find work assignments and hew plans for the future.
Storage Yard	All manner of goods need storage. Caravans trade at Storage Yards, Docks swap exports for imports at nearby yards, and Bazaars stock up here, too.
Tax Collector's office	Although not the most popular workers in the city, tax collectors make possible our great Kingdom and all the benefits that flow to us.
Water Lift	This Water Lift can pump large volumes of water when Irrigation Ditches are connected to its front or back sluices.
Water Supply	Water carriers get clean water from this desirable source, and improve health and happiness as they deliver it to houses on their routes.
Weaponsmith	Armorers transform copper into spears, which you may trade for a handsome profit or use to equip your own companies.
Weaver	Here flax is processed into linen, which Mortuaries need for embalming. Linen may also be profitably traded.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Miscellaneous#

These strings are present throughout the Pharaoh_text.ENG file.

unused - demo1
unused 2636 (demo message)
unused - alabaster1
unused - alabaster2
TIP: Use the comma and full stop keys to quickly move through these and other objects
(this text should not appear anywhere)
(not used)

Unused Cheat Codes#

Mock Attacks#

To do:
Offsets for other versions.

According to a post by Local_Yokel on Pharaoh Heaven, the codes mockattack1, triggering a land invasion, and mockattack2, triggering a naval invasion, were published in a list of cheat codes on the game's official website, but got removed from the site within hours because they didn't work.

These codes are implemented in the game but are disabled. They can be enabled by changing offsets 13e3f4 and 13e3e8 of Pharaoh.exe (version 1.2) from 00 to 01. Then they can be entered in-game by pressing Ctrl + Alt + C to open the cheat dialog.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Frame Counter#

The code framecounter is also present but disabled in the game's internal list of cheat codes. Even if enabled, it does nothing because the associated function is dummied out.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Dummy Files#

PyramidDummy

The Cleopatra expansion includes dummy files for various monuments. If a monument's files are replaced with the corresponding dummy version, the game will display yellow squares at where masons are supposed to go to next.

Miscellaneous#

A farm being placed on the 1x1 meadow.

A 1x1 square of meadow can be found in the campaign mission Men-nefer (Memphis) due to an oversight on the developers' part. The concept of meadow farming isn't introduced to the player until six missions later, in Saqqara.

(Source: Caesar IV Heaven)

Revisional Differences#

There are at least five versions of Pharaoh; v1.0, v1.1, v1.2, v2.0 and v2.1.

Changes from v1.0 to v1.1#

Version 1.1 mostly featured bug fixes and made the game easier.

New content:
- Mission editor.
- New custom missions (including all of the January 2000 missions).
Gameplay-related changes:
- Storage Yards and Granaries are now capable of spawning labor seeking walkers and two cartpushers at the same time in v1.1, rather than one kind of walker at a time in v1.0.
- Certain missions could become unwinnable if the player made decisions that led to critical trade goods becoming unavailable. These missions were adjusted in v1.1 to allow the player to recover from their mistakes.
- Certain missions are quite unforgiving (and at least one mission was even unwinnable on Very Hard). These missions were adjusted in v1.1 to make them more playable.
- Carpenter Guilds consume less wood when creating a carpenter in v1.1.
- Required housing level is now shown on the Ratings Overseer panel.
Various bugs have been fixed:
- A game crash that occasionally happened when soldiers embarked/debarked on transport ships.
- Monument contruction foremen were often clueless as to why monument construction has halted. They give more accurate feedback in v1.1.
- Missions could be won even before a monument was completed.
- Stone Masons that worked on a pyramid complex causeway could randomly disappear.
- A game crash that happened when viewing rotated Temple Complexes while an overlay was selected.
- A bug where Ra blessings could cause an issue with dock trading.
- Caravans could get stuck if the Ferry Landing they needed to use was unstaffed.
- Monument construction could be halted due to weird Stone Mason/Brick Mason behavior.
- An issue with very long loading start-up times related to network settings was fixed in v1.1.
- Music now works under Windows 2000.
One bug was reportedly introduced:
- An issue relating to accidental double mouse-clicks.

Changes from v1.1 to v1.2#

The v1.1 double-click issue was fixed in v1.2.
The rotate view icon displays the correct mouse help text now.
An issue with the Kingdom rating repeatedly dropping in the campaign mission Iunet was fixed in v1.2.

Changes from v1.2 to v2.1 (Cleopatra Expansion)#

4 new campaigns with 15 missions that focus on the lives of Tutankhaman, Ramses II and Cleopatra.
New monuments, buildings, enemies, animals and other additions.
When receiving a Ra blessing, there is now a small chance of receiving a construction blessing which boosts monument construction by a bit.
Personal money savings will be carried over between campaign missions now.
Certain issues introduced in v2.0 have been fixed in v2.1 (such as: monuments that got reverted to an earlier state after dispatching burial provisions, and invisible scaffolding in custom missions when a Cleopatra-only monument and an Obelisk had been placed on the same map).