Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.
If you’re a fan of classic PC strategy games, you’re probably aware of 1998 epic Caesar III. Almost 30 years old and graphically dated, an open source reworking is now available, and looks ready to play.
Labelled Julius, this open source re-implementation of Caesar III requires the original game’s files, which you can find on GOG or Steam, or you can run it with the original CD-ROM. This upgrading of the original game adds UI enhancements, and can be played on Windows, macOS, Linux, PS Vita, and even Nintendo Switch and Android.
Julius has been conceived to add the following improvements to Caesar III:
- Support for widescreen resolutions
- Windowed mode support for 32-bit desktops
- A lot of small in-game quality of life improvements
- Support for the high-quality MP3 files once provided on the Sierra website
New Caesar III updates in Julius
The game’s latest update features:
- The game now enters military mode when going to a legion with hotkey
- Water range is always shown when building a reservoir, even when it cannot be placed
- Added on-screen notice when a screenshot is saved
- Editor: allowed map editors to set player rank to “Caesar”
- Campaign: Brundisium can now be played for 2 years after winning the mission
- Added option to invert direction of right-click-to-drag-map
In addition, new command line options determine some display options (monitor choice, full screen, etc.), various bug fixes have been made, and language support for Czech, Greek, and Japanese has been included.
Running Julius is straightforward — install the original game, then copy the new files across, which you can download via the Julius GitHub project page. If you need them, full instructions for running the game on your PC or mobile device can also be found.
Intriguingly, while Julius is faithful to Caesar III, there is a fork called Augustus, which adds new gameplay features.
(Via GamingOnLinux)
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.
