Pharaoh, Zeus...on widescreen

[crudelios]

wtfhits: Right-click the exe, select properties, compatibility mode, run in 16-bit color mode.

Also, if you have sound issues, try downloading and installing IndirectSound (google it, it's the first result).

[wtfhits]

wtfhits: Right-click the exe, select properties, compatibility mode, run in 16-bit color mode.

Also, if you have sound issues, try downloading and installing IndirectSound (google it, it's the first result).

You sir, are a legend! BG + 16-bit mode (+ the modified c3.exe for 1360x768) means I can finally play full screen on my tablet.

Now I just need to figure out the settings used in each case so I can use 1920x1080 on one, and that setup on the other... (I keep the game on an SD card so I can switch between them). But that should be easy enough.

[crudelios]

Hello everyone.

After having finished Caesar III, I wanted to play Pharaoh.

However, jackfuste's widescreen patch for the english version of Cleopatra was rather outdated and didn't fully fix the UI.

So, based on the Russian version of jackfuste's fix (which didn't have any black areas), I ported the changes to the English version.

However, the UI still had some bugs: the collapsed bar didn't work at all (not to mention the dragging animation, which didn't work at all), the background image in the mission display and advisor window wasn't centered, and popup menus (the ones that appear when you right-click a building) were showing up at the top left corner.

Adding to that, changing the resolution was incredibly difficult, requiring one to change lots of code to add textures where there were none, so there would be no black areas.

So I decided to kill two birds with one stone: entirely fix the UI, and allow the game to support custom resolutions, by dynamically adding the needed textures.

This is the result:



Link to the exe (1920x1080 resolution): Pharaoh.exe

Missing feature:

- The "special orders" submenu of the Bazaar, Granary and Storage Yard always shows up at the top of the screen. Unfortunately changing the position of the window is too much of a hassle right now, as all its contents need to be manually changed. I have yet to figure where all the contents are located (including mouse click positions!!)

How to change the custom resolution:



Download Pharaoh Resizer (Souce code)

1. Set Horizontal Resolution
2. Set Vertical Resolution
3. Save the file to the game's main directory
4. Open the game using the new file
5. Enjoy!

If the resizer complains about missing DLL's, please download the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015

Some words of warning: First note that due to the way the game is coded, the horizontal resolution must be a multiple of 4, otherwise graphics will appear garbled. That's why a resolution of 1366x768 will not work, since 1366 is not a multiple of 4.
Also, this only works for the Pharaoh + Cleopatra version. For the standalone Pharaoh install, use the old files provided by jackfuste.


If you want to manually change the resolution, you'll need an hex editor. If you don't know what that is, or don't know what little-endianess means, this may not be for you. In that case, use PharaohResizer.

1. Open the Pharaoh.exe I uploaded with the hex editor.
2. Go to offset 0xcfa0a. Change the horizontal resolution (4 bytes, default 0x780 or 80 07 00 00).
3. Go to offset 0xcfa0f. Change the vertical resolution (4 bytes, default 0x438 or 38 04 00 00).
4. Go to offset 0xcfda3. Change the horizontal resolution (4 bytes, default 0x780 or 80 07 00 00).
5. Go to offset 0xcfdad. Change the vertical resolution (4 bytes, default 0x438 or 38 04 00 00).
6. Save the changed exe.
7. Enjoy the game!


Any questions, bugs, problems, etc, please feel free to ask.

Any help finding the missing values for the "special orders" menu will also be very welcome!

[Tzetze]

Hi! i can't download the patch for zeus widescreen rez , my pc block because it says that is a virus can u help me?

[Dr.Phil]

Hey.

So i bought Caesar 3 from GoG and downloaded the 1980x1080 exe but when i'm playing the game the screens starts to flash black and the game seems likes it running on 3fps. Anyone know a way to fix it.

[newbiez]

A big hug to both you and jackfuste, thank you guys for the great work of making this great vintage game fits modern resolution again.

And with your permission, I would like to transfer the "resizer" to a Chinese forum to share with them. We have some hardcore fans here who would definitely love to use it.

[crudelios]

A big hug to both you and jackfuste, thank you guys for the great work of making this great vintage game fits modern resolution again.

And with your permission, I would like to transfer the "resizer" to a Chinese forum to share with them. We have some hardcore fans here who would definitely love to use it.

Hello!

Feel free to share the resizer and to translate it if you want to! The source code is available for that.

[Jtown]

Hi! What am I doing wrong? Bought the game on gog, installed it and replaced the exe file with the new. I'm not good with these things. Dying to play in 1920x1080. Help me.
Thanks before hand.

Edit: I use win 10, the regular works just fine

[crudelios]

Hi! What am I doing wrong? Bought the game on gog, installed it and replaced the exe file with the new. I'm not good with these things. Dying to play in 1920x1080. Help me.
Thanks before hand.

Edit: I use win 10, the regular works just fine

Hello,

What is the actual problem you're having?

The hack I created is fully compatible with the GOG version of Pharaoh.

Make sure you set the game resolution to 1024x768 in the "Display options" menu. 1024x768 is actually 1920x1080 in the changed exe

Also, make sure you open the right executable file. You should open the "Pharaoh - 1920x1080.exe" file, not the standard "Pharaoh.exe" file!

[Jtown]

My problem was that nothing was happening, did not realise I had to change in the display option. Expected it to be 1080 right out the gate. Feel so silly, but thanks a lot. Looks amazing!

[Loretta]

Hi ! Thanks a lot for the update, crudelios. The new Pharaoh.exe works like a charm !

Just a small request : your exe works really well with the French Gold Edition, except for the accented letters, which are unaligned with the other letters. Chuck Boris and Olibrius wrote about that and MadPianist had the same problem (now corrected) with Zeus. Is there a way to easily fix that ?

Thanks again !

[crudelios]

Hello!

I don't really know if the problem is easy to fix, if the French exe's internal file structure is similar to the English version, it should be trivial to change it.

If not, it's still very possible to change the exe, just not as simple/fast to do.

In either case, can you please upload the french exe so I can have a look at it?

Thanks in advance!

[Loretta]

Sorry, I thought Chuck Boris' link was still up.

I've toyed with a lot of .exe from this topic but I think that's the original french Pharaoh Gold exe. I'm hoping to play in 1920x1080.

Thanks !

[crudelios]

Humm this is very strange, the exe you sent me is exactly the same as the one I used to make the changes to the game, so it should work without any issues.

Can you please send me a screenshot of the problem you're having?

[Loretta]

Here's some screenshots of the issue.





é, ô, à and others accented letters are weirdly higher that the others.

I've tested a little and I've noticed that the issue occurs even without the widescreen exe. There's no problem with Pharaoh alone (I also have a CD vanilla version), but when I install the Gold Edition (i.e. with Cleopatra), the letters are messed up.

[crudelios]

It that case it makes sense that it doesn't work, you're using the English exe and not the French one! I have no idea why the game installed an English exe for the French version.

Anyway, if you manage to obtain the French exe, test it out to see if it works at the original resolution. If you upload it here, I'll then try to make it work at 1080p res!

[Loretta]

Ok, you were right : the exe I uploaded was an english exe. I don't know why. So, I've made a clean install from my french CDs : first, Pharaoh + patch 1.1 then Cleopatra + patch 2.1.

So here's the Cleopatra french exe :

BUT... there's a problem with Windows 10. This exe won't run, even in compatibility mode. In version 2.0, the following error appears. In version 2.1, there isn't any message, the game just doesn't start.

So my question is : does anyone know what's the difference between CD exe and digital exe and why, for exemple, the GoG version run without problem ? If so, is it possible to modify my french exe to apply the widescren patch AND the Windows 10 "compatibilty patch" from GoG ?

Thanks again.

[crudelios]

Is that the original french 2.1 exe? Try this one instead: (link removed)

If it doesn't work at first, try setting the compatibility mode to Windows 2000.

[Loretta]

Is that the original french 2.1 exe?

Can't be more original : french CDs and french patch for Pharaoh and Cleopatra.

With your new exe, the game's now launching but crashes every time I start a map/mission. I can go through the menus and the missions' briefings but when I click "Go to the city", it crashes.
Same issue with every compatibility mode available in Windows 10 (Win 2000 compatibility is no more available in Win 10, there's just Win 98/ME).

[Chuck Boris]

Hello everyone,

I'm glad that finally someone cares about the french version of Pharaoh
I uploaded again my french version of the .exe

I also have Windows 10 and the game works without any compatibily mode.