Caesar3 Augustus Ultimate Handbook

ongratulations, citizen! Caesar has approved your application to enter the Empire's government. The Emperor is eager to expand his settlements and reward citizens who can implement his will. The Roman Empire is so vast, and growing so rapidly, that even our divine Caesar cannot hope to rule it alone. He needs capable provincial governors, and that is where you come in.

Caesar appointed me, Pius Perplexus, to teach you the skills of governing. Your scribe, Clarus Lucidus, will add notes as we go along. My main interest is in teaching you what you should do, and why you should do it. When Clarus thinks you need information about how to do whatever I am discussing at the time, he adds his comments in obvious sections called “Scribe's Notes.”

Your goal is to build a thriving Roman city. CaesarIII has two “styles” of play: The Career Game and the City Construction Kit. In a Career, Caesar rewards success with promotions and more challenging assignments. All new governors begin their careers with the same sequence of two assignments. After you complete them, Caesar lets you choose between accepting a “peaceful” or a “dangerous” new assignment each time you earn a promotion. As long as you continue to meet Caesar's ever escalating expectations, you win by becoming Rome's next Emperor.

If the second style of play, the City Construction Kit, is more to your liking, you can ignore the Emperor and set your own goals. There is no “winning” in the Construction Kit, beyond satisfying whatever objectives you set for yourself. You can lose either type of game if you fall very much out of Caesar's favor. The Favor rating, which measures Caesar's current opinion of you, is affected by your performance – especially your handling of your province's funds. Don't worry, though – Caesar may be a tough master, but he is fair, and will give you the chance to recover if you do fall far out of favor. Use the considerable information within the game to avoid this unfortunate outcome.

CaesarIII is not a war game, although you might sometimes have to defend your city against Rome's enemies. It's not a historical reference or educational program, either. It is about building cities where people can live productive, happy lives, and having fun in the process. Caesar III gives you a strong feeling of what life might have been like in ancient Rome, but the game does sometimes depart from history. In some places, strict historical accuracy would have made the game complicated or restrictive. Wherever they faced such choices, Caesar III's designers emphasized simplicity and fun.