Hi all,

I'm glad Rome: Caesar's Will, an edutainment game on CD from 2000, or Rome: le testament de César, as the original French release was called, is relatively easy to install and run on Windows 8.1.

So, if you still have it somewhere in your attic or cellar, or come across it at a bargain - and aren't allergic to fact-based history games - give it a go!

Instructions:

• On the installation CD, right-click the Autorun.exe-file to edit its Properties.
  Set Compatibility for Autorun.exe to Windows 98 / Windows ME.
• Run Autorun.exe.
• Install game with Custom Setup (option 4).
• Select all options (tick boxes), except DirectX 7, DXmedia 6, Media Player 6.4
  In other words, the final three options should be left blank.
• Default installation will be to C:\Program Files (x86)\Montparnasse Multimedia\Rome
• Restart your computer, as the installation menu indicates.
• Set compatibility properties for Rome.exe-executable to Windows XP (Service Pack 3).
• Do NOT set the screen resolution for Rome.exe to 640 x 480, as the game is designed for 800 x 600.

Saving the game should not be a problem.

Good luck!

Best,

Rich

Thanks for the info, Rich.

I believe I still have this game somewhere in the house - good to know that it will run. Thank you for the instructions.

I have this game too, though I've never tried playing it.

Kind of like Timeline and Wild Wild West: The Steel Assassin, games from around the same time period that I never got around to playing.

Thanks for your replies!

Though the characters have a strange 'origami marionette' (polygonal projections) kind of look, comparable to the In Utero productions Odyssey and Jekyll & Hyde from the same era - it takes some getting used to - one quite interesting aspect is its non-linear design.

That is, for each dialogue, you can choose to interrogate non-player characters in three moods: friendly, terse/businesslike or hostile, which will influence their replies and thus your quest. Each option is represented by the familiar Greek tragedy/comedy theatre masks. This is a bit similar to the dialogue options in Odyssey.

You can also visit 16 quite nicely rendered historical locations in the order you choose. Obviously, your choices should be motivated by the information you gathered, and inevitably, there are limitations (also time constraints), and some flaws to this design, but I think this is to be expected from a game made in 2000.

Best,

Rich

Yes, that clunky primitive 3D look for characters isn't a favorite.
The backgrounds are interesting though.


I can't remember Odyssey that well, though I do remember some weird glitchiness in the graphics (which I mentioned in my ***review of Odyssey*** from way back when) and problems moving around in some areas due to camera angles changing and invisible boundaries. I wasn't happy when Cryo decided they had to make their games keyboard-controlled 3D. Their previous point-and-click game engine was a lot easier to use.


I've never liked time constraints, and it wouldn't surprise me if the time constraints were the reason I put off playing it. I bought the game because it was supposedly a "historical" adventure and I collected those.

Nor are "conversation puzzles" a favorite of mine.

***This archived review by Tom Houston*** doesn't make Rome: Caesar's Will sound very good. It's not the review I remember though.
It wasn't *** this CDmag review*** either, though it's slightly more positive.
***The gamesdomain review*** is the most negative, and the reviewer seems to have had quite a lot of bugs.
***This review from gamerspulse*** gives it 70% overall, and some of what he says about conversations seems to contradict the gamesdomain review (the part about being able to replay conversations).

I have vague memories of attempting this game.

But wasn't there was a time element to completing the game ??

Which could be why I gave up on it

Wow, this does appear to stir up memories, regardless of the quality of the game - which I'm still playing, by the way.

Yes, Jenny (thanks for all the links!), this 3rd-person view game does have camera angle issues like Syberia 3 and Odyssey, though it's mouse-controlled point-and-click, unlike the other games. You have to position your character well to start a dialogue, and when your hero moves to the edge of the screen, you can end up with a reverse angle in the next scene, or any other perspective, which is often disorienting.

Indeed, Mad & Jenny, it's a timed game as a whole (represented by a sun dial, obviously!), because you have to complete your mission before Aurelia gets executed. I think it is an added, quite realistic challenge (unlike some random timed puzzle), as you have to be efficient and dexterous at your interrogations and movements about town. I think the reviews, however, indicate it's not that you have to be frantic about it.

Dialogues can only be replayed in a different mood, though a log is kept, and the documentary base contains character descriptions. So I assume it's still best to take notes yourself at certain points. And save often, to make sure your harsh interrogations (if chosen) don't end you up in prison or worse.

So I agree this wouldn't be the first vintage game you'd want to play, but as for me, I'm quite used to installation and playing issues, and I usually get a lot out of it regardless (as with Odyssey, Pompeii/Timescape and Jerusalem), if I can soak up the atmosphere, authentic background and lose myself in some historical graphic details. For me, the ability to walk around in a different world for days or weeks, without being forced into a linear narrative, as in a book or a movie, is essential.

One disadvantage in this case would be there is no visiting mode, as it's all against the clock.

So it would depend largely on the player's attitude, and what s/he is willing to put up with.

Best,

Rich

P.S. The game originally cost about 35 dollars/euros, now between 3 (used) and 6 (new) dollars/euros on Amazon.

Oh, I remember this game as well. It was not very nice when compared to superb historical adventures by Cryo / Arxel Tribe / Index+.
And crude characters looked quite terrible against the photo-realistic backgrounds...

Ha, well, nobody is perfect, especially if you're French. Or Belgian. Or Dutch, for that matter.

I think the French and some Belgians carved out a really nice niche for games that weren't kick-punch-jump or shoot-'m-up, with very limited means and the added burden of having to translate every bit of dialogue and documentation many times over. You can't expect the technical razzle-dazzle of big American budgets, but you gain something in creativity and individuality.

I think you can compare it to French/Belgian animation by people like Raoul Servais, Roland Topor (Planète Sauvage), Michel Ocelot (Kirikou series), Sylvain Chomet, Vincent Paronnaud (Persepolis) and the studios that made the Tintin and Asterix series. Limited means, but more variation and more artistic freedom than Disney/Pixar.

I agree, though, I have to play some Index+ games at some point. If I can still get them to run on Windoze Trilennium Edition, that is.

Best,

Rich

I think the timer is what spoiled Rome: Caesar's Will the most, even if it wasn't timed by-the-clock so much as timed by how many places you visit. They should have made that optional, or at least offer a "Visit Mode" for people who just want to wander around seeing what things look like.

***Some screenshots***

Was this early 2.5D? The backgrounds look pre-rendered.

I think you nailed it: prerendered backgrounds.

(The screenshots don't appear to be available. I guess some nasty person claimed the domain and inserted an anti-crawling robot into it, to keep people from browsing archived sites. Such a pest!)

See also Planète Aventure site for some screenshots.

And here at history-adventures.com.

Best,

Rich

It's working for me, but not through the direct link anymore.
Try starting ***here***, click R, scroll down to Rome, and click the Screenshots link. Sometimes I'm getting a "bad gateway" error but next time it works. The main site may take a few seconds to come up (longer than most archived links) and may time out.



You mean like Crusader and Vikings?

I've never really understood the connection is between Index+, Canal+ Multimedia, Wanadoo, and France Telecom Multimedia.

My Crusader and Vikings boxes say Index+ and France Telecom Multimedia. My Genesys box, which claims to be from "the same collection" on the back of the box, says Wanadoo, France Telecom Group, and Galilea.

Then my Pilgrim game box mentions Anne Carriere Multimedia, Arxel Tribe, and Infogrames Multimedia.

Then my Dracula Resurrection box says Index (without the +), Canal+ Multimedia, France Telecom, and Microids. I guess Microids would be the publisher of this particular edition, but what about the others? Are they ALL developers? Did they develop different parts of the game? Did one do the research while the other made the game?

Mobygames isn't much help because they list Anne Carriere Multimedia as the co-publisher of Pilgrim but the co-developer of Faust. So was Anne Carriere Multimedia a developer or a publisher?
http://www.mobygames.com/game/pilgrim-faith-as-a-weapon
http://www.mobygames.com/game/seven-games-of-the-soul

I attempted most of those games you list, Jenny100, but only managed to complete some of them

However, I enjoyed all my plays whether they were successful or not

Yes, Jenny, thanks for the Rome screenshots link. It works for me now!


Yes, plus Paris 1313, and Louvre: The Final Curse (The Messenger).

I really don't understand all the company names either. Probably lots of confusing takeovers and mergers, as is still happening to European ICT-companies.

For instance - I looked this up - Euronet was bought by France Telecom, but as a branch kept its name, then was renamed Wanadoo, until it merged with Orange, and now operates mainly as Online.nl! That is, according to some Wikipedia page.

My educated guess is that European game developers, and ICT-companies in general, were never successful enough, despite many valiant attempts, to make it on their own, considering the major investments, with all the limited markets and their language and cultural differences.

The same applies to the movie industry. We all remember Philips' considerable but brief Phonogram/Polygram multimedia successes ... followed by its swift demise.

Just another example: my mobile phone provider started out as Telfort, then became O2, then reverted to Telfort, until it was bought by KPN ...

Probably nearly impossible to disentangle .....

Best,

Rich

I couldn't find Louvre/The Messenger at first.
Apparently I didn't think it was "historical" enough to be on the same shelf with my historical games. I do remember I didn't like the main character -- thought she was murderous.

Yes, those merges are quite a long story!

In short, as far as my knowledge goes, there was Index company founded by Emmanuel Olivier, who added "+" to its name a little bit later. They often colaborated with France Télécom Multimédia - and in 2000 they merged into one company Wanadoo Edition, just in time for 'Genesys' new box look
I am not sure why they asked another little company Galiléa to develop it and other games - maybe some people left them after the merge.
And in 2003 Microids bought it all (with Olivier becoming its CEO).

Anne Carriere Multimedia - now, that's more interesting! Anne is from the old family of Parisian book sellers and publishers, and when her son Stefan cofounded Arxel Tribe company, his mother helped them a lot - like by providing the rights to Paulo Coelho (whose books were published in French by Anne Carriere) for 'Piligrim'. So she was like a coproducer with Arxel Tribe, and Cryo often was their partner as well. To say nothing of Réunion des Musées Nationaux who helped to make almost all historical adventures.
They sure were like a big family

Thanks, Iurii, for clearing up some of the considerable confusion!

It's nice to know that Paulo Coelho developed three games with Arxel Tribe as part of this deal. I've only recently come across his name in relation to games.

It must have been hard for those companies to plan the design and production of their games, when so many partners merged or folded, and funding was limited. You can imagine that's where some of these aborted projects, postponed releases and flawed implementations come from. Not that they are unique to this set of games, but I reckon they played a large part in them.

Though "one big family" is a far more positive characterization, I agree!

Best,

Rich

Very interesting, Iurii. Are any of those companies still around?


You mean Pilgrim, Legend of the Prophet, and Secrets of Alamut?
Those are the ones I know about.

Dreamcatcher sold Legend of the Prophet and Secrets of Alamut in the same box in North America. I didn't realize that at the time, and thought Dreamcatcher had only published the first half of the story. So I bought both Legend of the Prophet and Secrets of Alamut from overseas.

I don't remember where I bought Legend of the Prophet and Secrets of Alamut but mine both came in the same box, too

Yes, these three. Wikipedia happens to be a very extensive source on this subject:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrim:_Faith_as_a_Weapon

And concept art by Moebius (Jean Giraud)! I actually own two of his comic books, and he was also designer for movies like TRON, Alien (though the Alien itself was created by Swiss artist Hans Giger), Willow and The Abyss.

Best,

Rich

Jenny100, as far as I know, only Microïds is still alive. And it is no longer a company - just a trade mark of Anuman who bought the brand Microïds in 2010 (it was merged with MC2 and Wanadoo in 2003 but made a label again by Olivier in 2007). I am not sure if Emmanuel Olivier is still there. But at least Benoit Sokal is.
And Anne Carriere books are still alive of course. It seems they are no longer engaged in games.

RichAlexis, concept art of Moebius for 'Pilgrim' is great indeed! I have a French collector's edition with the third disk showing his graphic work. Too bad the 3D characters of the game have little to do with his superb drawings...

Hi Iurii,

What a complicated company history! No wonder people lose track.

Great to have these editions with making of's and the like! I love them. I guess the transfer of the designs was plagued by the 'curse of the polygons' at the time. If you wanted to create moving figures with some interaction, greater realism and detail wasn't possible.

Which is why I think it's a pity in general that adventure games became a sort of marginal genre after the turn of the millennium, or relegated to small-scale, low-res platforms like tablets and smartphones.

Just to think what would have been possible with historical or fantasy games like the ones we mentioned with the graphic resolution available now! Similar to CGI in movies: wonderful potential, but rarely applied to do more than shock and thrill, or create fake surroundings and extras (i.e. anonymous bit players) on the cheap, not to develop an immersive experience you can enjoy at leisure.

Best,

Rich

"Which is why I think it's a pity in general that adventure games became a sort of marginal genre after the turn of the millennium, or relegated to small-scale, low-res platforms like tablets and smartphones."

I can't agree with you there, RichAlexis ....

I have purchased and played many excellent Adventures on my PC since the turn of the millennium !!

I'd agree with Rich Alexis about adventure games being marginalized. They were marginalized from before I'd even started playing them. That doesn't mean there weren't any being made after year 2000, but there weren't any being made with the really big budgets to rival other genres. Compare to the early to mid 1990's, when there were FMV adventure games being made that were very expensive to produce and had huge budgets for the time.

Do you know of a single modern adventure game that offers an experience like walking down the street in ancient Rome? or Greece? or Egypt? or more recent time periods, like 18th century London? or the time of Leonardo da Vinci? There are older games from developers like Cryo that simulate this kind of thing as best they can using 2D images. But they are still images. I don't remember any that had animations like a breeze stirring tree branches or birds in the sky, and they certainly don't have lighting effects to simulate the sun moving across the sky during the day from morning to afternoon.

As far back as Myst IV there were scenes in adventure games with animations, more recently Dear Esther. But these are not (and never were) real places. They may look pretty with the tree branches blowing around and the realistic "live" look of the scenes, but they aren't historical and have nothing to teach about the way people used to live or what it was like to live in ancient times.