Emperor – Rise of the Middle Kingdom

Emperor - Rise of the Middle Kingdom

FAQ by dreen
Version 1.0
Email: foxeye05@hotmail.com
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I. Table of Contents
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I.    Table of Contents
II.   Version History
III.  Introduction
IV.   Basic Gameplay
V.    Ministries (Building descriptions) (Incomplete)
      ~ Population
      ~ Agriculture
      ~ Industry
      ~ Commerce
      ~ Safety
      ~ Government
      ~ Entertainment
      ~ Religion
      ~ Military
      ~ Aesthetics
      ~ Monuments
      ~ Others
VI.   Walkthrough (Incomplete)
      ~ Xia Dynasty - Tutorials
      ~ Shang Dynasty
      ~ Zhou Dynasty
      ~ Qin Dynasty
      ~ Han Dynasty
      ~ Sui - Tang Dynasty
      ~ Song - Jin Dynasty
VII.  Hotkeys
VIII. Hints and Tips (incomplete)
IX.   Contact Information
X.    Credits
XI.   Disclaimer


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II. Version History
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Version 1.0 (25th September 2002)
~ Completed first draft of FAQ.


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III. Introduction
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I have not had a lot of experience at FAQ writing, and this is a major
challenge
for me as it'd be the first full FAQ I attempt. So please bear with me, and
do email me any feedback, requests, questions you may have so I can improve
this further.

Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom is a city building game, I do not claim
to know the best way to build the city, what I'll be doing is offer you my
way of doing, and hopefully it'll help you


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IV. Basic Gameplay
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You can choose to play either single or multiplayer. Since I have no
multiplayer experience, I will not be covering it (may change later, but I'm
not too hopeful). In the single player mode, there's two kind of play, you
can choose the open play or the historical campaigns. Open play is, well,
open play, there's no real goals to meet, good if you just want to
concentrate
on building without distractions. In historical campaigns, you'll be
building your city for the king, fulfilling your mission goals will be your
top priority.
Hopefully, you'll be here with the basic knowledge of city building, if not,
I recommend you play the tutorial mission first (History campaign, "Xia
dynasty - tutorial"). It's a very useful tutorial, although it does not
cover
everything, it will provide you with a really useful tool on the basics.
~ Landscape
(To be added later)
~ Buildings
  -Most buildings (except aesthetic buildings) need access to a road,
otherwise, your people will not be able to get to it, thus rendering the
building useless. So, be sure to place your building next to the road.
  -It is important to maintain your buildings by having them inspected by
an inspector. When a building is left without inspection too long, it will
collapse or catch fire, neither of which you want happen, so be sure to
build
inspector tower(s) where they're needed. Thankfully, there are some
buildings that can stand without the hassle, like the following:
     - All agriculture buildings (except fishing quays)
     - All military buildings (except weaponsmith)
     - All aesthetic buildings
     - All monuments and monument ministry buildings.
~ People
  - Once you have browse through the landscape and have an idea on where to
place what, start building houses. Immigrants takes a while to arrive, so
it's a good idea to place the house first, then go on to build other stuff,
that way, you won't have to wait too long. Or, if you prefer, you can pause
the game when you're drafting out the initial city plan. Either way, there's
no big deal.
  - After the immigrants have settled in, job vacancies will start to fill.
You will beging seeing people of different professions walking your streets,
some of them have a destination (we call these the destination walkers),
others don't (roaming walkers). Destination walkers will move from their
building to wherever they have to go in what they judge to be the shortest
route. Roaming walkers moves all over the place with no fixed destination
in mind, and after a period of time, they will return to their buildings.
They are usually some kind of "provider", providing goods or service
wherever
they roam, which brings us to the next point.
  - Since the roaming walkers has no fixed routes, they are eligible to go
wherever the roads take them. It is important to make sure that they don't
roam too far out, because you want them to be providing for where they are
needed most. This is where the roadblocks came in, place the strategically
along the roads. They act as a deterrant to the roaming walkers, to keep
them
from wandering. Roadblocks have no effects on the destination walkers.
~ Right-clicking
  - If you need additional information on anything on the map, right-click
on it.
~ Feng Shui
  - When you are placing a building, you may notice that the footprint (the
image of the building you're about to place) sometimes turn green or yellow.
That's just an indication of the harmony rating of the building you're about
to place in accordance with its surrounding. It's ideal to place a building
where it's "green", but you don't have to overly enforce it. A building will
still function normally, you'll just suffer some minor (very minor) side
effects (people are less happy, and less effective homage). You can't place
a building if it turns red.

~ Outside world
  - On the bottom of the screen to your right, you will find an icon of a
globe, click on that will take you to the map of the country. Here, you can
contact other cities, be it to trade, war or give/request stuff. It's
important to keep a close tab of the world, and what the other city rulers
think of you. Try to maintain good relations with them, tis better to have
a friend than enemy. If you see a city, click on it for more information.
A stranger city will provide you with no information, it's up to you to take
the first step in getting to know your neighbours. Sending them a gift will
make them open up to you, once contact has been established, information on
what they need/produce and how you stand in the eye of its ruler will be
displayed. If they have what you want, or vice versa, it may be a good idea
to open up a trade route (by sending a diplomatic request) so money can
flow.


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V. Ministries (Buildings) (Incomplete)
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Each different ministry governs a different aspect of the city. Included in
this section is the function of the ministry and the buildings under its
care.
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Population
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Agriculture
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Industry
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Commerce
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Safety
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Government
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Entertainment
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Religion
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Military
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Aesthetics
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Monuments
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Others
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  - roads
  - roadblocks


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VI. Walkthrough (incomplete)
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The walkthrough is for the historical campaigns (single player). There is
no right or wrong way to build a city, so I won't attempt to tell you how
to get about with your planning and layouts. All I'll do is add some of my
own notes on each game, hopefully, you'll find them useful. Sorry if this
seem disorganized, I only decided to write this FAQ after a couple days into
the game, and I haven't been around to backtrack for the information of what
I've completed, please bear with me, I'll try to sort that out as soon as
possible.

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~ Xia Dynasty - Tutorials
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(I will not include any notes on this chapter. The tutorials have very
explicit instructions and there's really not much I can add that has not
been
covered.)

~ Intro:
Begin your journey into ancient China here, with these simple tutorial
missions. It is here, in the time of the prehistoric Xia Dynasty, that our
people first learned to work the land for sustenance and shelter. To prevent
stumbles later, travel now down the path of the Xia. Listen closely, and
learn
all that our venerated ancestors have to teach us.

  - Beginning: Shelter and Sustenance
  - Mission goals:
    - 150 people in Plain Cottage or better
  -Story:
Welcome to ancient China, home to the world's oldest continous civilization.
You are about to travel back in time over four thousand years! For it was
then, along the fertile banks of the Wei River, that several families banded
together, discarded their nomads' cloaks, and established a small
settlement.

As village elder, it is your duty to plan the layout of this new settlement.
You will be called upon to provide your people with food and water, as well
as a means to slake their spiritual thirst.

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Shang Dynasty - City States of Shang
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~ Intro:
The end of 400 years of Xia rule resulted in the rise of the Shang Dynasty.
During this period, powerful warlord-kings used wise seers to predict the
future, based on interpretations of cracks in fire-heated oracle bones. Many
of these predictions were then etched into the bones, planting the seed for
a written language. Elaborate bronzewares were cast and used during
important
ceremonies to pay homage to ancestors and heroic figures. Take this path to
walk in the footsteps of the Shang...

~ Beginning: Start of a Dynasty
  - Mission goals:
    - 600 people in Spacious Dwelling or better
    - Produce 12 crates of ceramics in one year
  - Story:
During the time of the Xia, our people learned the art of farming and
settled
along the fertile banks of the northern rivers. But the self-indulgent kings
of Xia grew fat and lazy with power, and lost touch with their subjects.
Cities
attacked cities, and barbarians burned our fields. But the people were not
forgotten by all, for in the distant province of Shang, a bold new leader,
Tang, came forth and vanquished the pitiful Xia. The victorious banners of
the Shang now flutter in the breeze over the capital at Hsiang.

To strengthen his base of power, our new king wishes that new towns be
established. It is for this important endeavor that you have been appointed.
Build a new settlement at Bo. Fill the town larders with meat and millet and
the noble Tang will see to it that the settlers arrive! Do not be surprised,
however, if you receive a few requests from Hsiang for some handcrafted
ceramics.


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Zhou Dynasty - Turbulent Winds
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~ Intro:
When a ruler does not retain the Mandate from Heaven, his reign will surely
end. Thus it is that the mighty family of Zhou has been victorious in
battle,
and now rules supreme over the fertile valleys and rough peaks of the Yellow
River basin. Truth be known: though the Shang people left us much
painstakingly crafted bronzeware, their rulers lost their heavenly mandate.
It is now time for change and progress -- and time for the Zhou!

~ The beginning: Hao and Wei
  - Mission goals:
    - 1 Allied Cities Required
    - 40 people in Humble Compound or better
    - Rule 3 cities.
  - Story:
Toppling the paper tiger kingdom of Shang was easy compared to the task now
at hand. The far-flung lands need to be united and ruled by a strong, but
just, hand. Our new king, Wu Wang, the Son off Heaven, is well suited for
the job. As royal administrator of the Zhou capital of Hao, the burden on
the King will be eased if you perform well. There are vassals that must be
controlled, and rivals usurped. As you guide the development of the city,
you should keep a watchful eye on the other cities of the kingdom,
particularly Shu. If a hen strays too far from the flock, she must be
promptly
brought back before becoming lost. Do not hesitate to use the King's army
if the need arise.

As for the capital itself, ornate sculptures should be built to beautify the
boulevards of the upper class, and graceful arched bridges used to span the
powerful Wei river - a river that at times can be quite unpredictable and
dangerous, especially during the Spring rains.

  - Notes:
    - The real challenge in this episode is ruling 3 cities, you not only
have to conquer them, you have to be able to keep them as well. Once a city
revolt, it's not considered "ruled", keeping them happy is apparently not
enough, I've had a city go from "dedicated" to "rebelling" in a heartbeat.
Keep sending them gifts, and meanwhile, have enough infantry/chariot troops
in your city so you can quell the rebellions when they happen. Don't send
all your troops out to quell one city, keep some as backup. It's important
to get the rebellions sorted out as soon as possible, because it's quite
likely that another city will be rebelling at the same time, that way, you
won't have too much on your hand. Try to complete this one fast, because the
sooner you get this done, the less complications you'll get.
    - Trade is quite vital in this quest. It's important that you have a lot
of money to pay off the occasional invaders, as your military will probably
be tied up dealing with the rebelling cities. The ancestor Huang Di plays
quite an important role here. If he's in the city, you can send him off to
war with you, quite useful.


~ Episode 2:  Salt Mines of Anyi
  - Mission goals:
    - Produce 28 canisters of salt in one year
    - Yearly profit of 1500
    - Treasury of 13000
  - Story:
A valuable product lies buried in the hills surrounding Anyi, for it is
there
that underground deposits of salty brine lay hidden. If the brine is pumped
to the surfact and evaporated in kettles under big fires, the product is
crystallized salt. Surely it is a gift from the dragon! It is past time for
the government to take control of this lucrative industry so that more
people
can enjoy the delicious flavor that salt adds to the daily meal. Go to Anyi,
locate the salt deposits, and construct salt mines. Open trade with the
distant cities of the Zhou kingdom, for most have already acquired a taste
for salt that is not easily satisfied. Ceremics and bronze can be imported
from Hao, for the hills of Anyi, though rich in many ways, lack these
commodities.

  - Notes:
    - All in all, this is a fairly easy episode. 3 salt mines should be
enough
to fulfil the required amount nicely. Trade is very important since it's the
biggest money maker. Import some jade and fancy it up with your jade
carvers,
it's a very high profit move.
    - For some reason, my administrative building kept catching fire when
I'm nearing completion, I have no idea what happened, or if it's suppose to
happen, but just watch out for it. Build a few inspector's tower around when
that happened so you can put out the fire faster.


~ Episode 3: Edge of the Ordos
  - Mission goals:
    - Population of 2000
    - Produce 10 racks of weapons in one year
    - 1500 people in Elegant Dwelling or better
  - Story:
To the west, in the great loop of the mighty Yellow River, the arid Ordos
Desert serves as a less than secure buffer from the troublesome nomads of
the Northern Waste. Our clever ruler, Xuan Wang, has devised a simple plan:
outposts shall be established in the Ordos region. These shall serve both
to warn of barbarian incursions and to exploit the area's resources. Though
the land is dry, it is not barren. Deposits of salt and copper are present,
if not plentiful. Smelt the copper to bronze and fashion weapons.

Wood is scarce, and must be imported, but that is understandable given the
conditions. Using irrigation, your farmers should be able to grow enough
millet, and hunters catch enough game, to feed the population. Settlers
venturing into the desert should watch for predators. Scouts report that
fearsome bears have ventured south from their home in the Gobi. They are not
to be trifled with!

One last thing: The King can spare one company of charioteers or one of
infantry, but not both. Choose Wisely!

  - Notes:
    - Farming is a bit tough here because of the desert condition, irrigate
your farm well, building more farms will yield more crops.
    - There is only one hunting spot, and unfortunately, it's very near the
breeding spot of the Gobi bears, your hunter CAN kill the bear, but it takes
them a long while, and usually, they're dead before they manage the feat.
Here's where your military troops come in handy. As you're only not given
the option to build a palace, you're restricted to having just one troop.
I recommend the infantry. Once you have your army, station them near the
bear's breeding ground by the deers'. That way, they can get rid of the
bears
when they turn up, thus saving the asses of your hunters. Don't let the
bears
get to your people, it's a waste of resources.
    - To upgrade to elegant dwelling, you'll need at least 3 food groups,
or 2 food groups with salt/spice. Fill your mill with some salt (4 units are
good enough). It's more economical, since only a little bit is required
along
with the food. Also, if you find you have troubles getting enough game meat
or millet, you can import cabbage from Pingyang and wheat from Shu.


~ Episode 4: Spring and Autumn Weather
  - Mission goals:
    - Population of 3200
    - 50 people in Humble Compound or better
    - Temple Complex must be built

Story:
Most trusted advisor, it seems nothing can stop the detestable Xiongnu.
Despite strenuous efforts to halt their forays into the Ordos, they managed
to break through -- and now our once proud city of Hao has be ignominiously
sacked! It seems the soldiers did not rally when the beacon fires were lit,
as too many times before King You had them fired just to see a smile on the
face of a petulant concubine. You Wang now lies dead in the ashes of Hao,
and our new regent, Ping Wang, fears for his life. For this reason, the
capital
is being moved eastward.

It is your good fortune, noble commissioner, that engineers have already
constructed strong defenses at Loyi. However, the site for a Temple Complex
must still be staked out. More imcome from trade can be had by striking
coins
at the mint, and soldiers armed with powerful crossbows can now protect the
city. Nutritious soybeans will supplement your citizens' diet. The river
provides tasty fish, but also a certain danger, as heavy spring rains can
cause flash floods.

(to be continued)

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Qin Dynasty - The Mighty Qin
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~ Intro:
For many years the once powerful Zhou Dynasty has been disintegrating into
a morass of feuding, quarreling cities. Now their strength is at an end and
they have lost the favour of heaven. Meanwhile, we, the people of Qin, have
grown mighty. The wisdom of our rulers is keen, and the strength of our iron
weapons is all powerful. Destiny beckons for the people of Qin to grab the
reins of power and reclaim the Mandate of Heaven.


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Han Dynasty - The Silk Road
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~ Intro:
How the mighty have fallen! When one rules with and unjust iron hand, it
quickly rusts and withers away. Thus is ended the oppressive rule of the
short-lived Qin Dynasty. Though they gathered up and bound the many
quarrelsome states of our land into a unified whole, their methods were too
harsh. Their Mandate from Heaven has been lost! The people have thrown off
the heavy shackles of Qin and now embrace the humble Liu Bang, recently
crowned Gaodi, Son of Heaven and King of Han.


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Sui - Tang Dynasty - A Time of Grandeur
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~ Intro:
Like leaves blown aimlessly by the wind, for many hundreds of years the
people
of this great land have wandered this way and that in search of a strong
leader
to bind them. Now, a new Mandate from Heaven has been issued! It is not
without
much struggle and determination that the kingdom of Sui, led by the noble
Yang Jian, has finally stepped forward to grab the yoke of all lands between
the Yellow and Yangzi rivers. Let the grandeur that was the China of our
ancestors be given a new birth.


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Song - Jin Dynasty - Invaders From the North
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~ Intro:
For fifty years, China has been in disarray, with no kingdom or leader
strong
enough to earn the Mandate for Heaven and restore the glory of the shattered
Tang dynasty. Are you up to the task of reuniting China and founding the
Song
dynasty? If so, a period of great advances in art, literature, and higher
learning await. However, even a Golden Age such as this will pass
eventually,
for dark storm clouds continue to arise from the northern steppes. How long
can these marauding riders be kept at bay?


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VII. Hotkeys (To be added)
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Stuff..

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VIII. Hints and Tips
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~ As mentioned in one of the notes, jade carving is a rather ludicurous
business. Importing jade costs only about 95 gold, but a carved jade sells
for around 230.

~ Animals are priceless (meaning, they don't cost zit), it's good to have
animal(s) in your palace menagerie as soon as you can. Use them as
diplomatic
gifts to your neighbours, they're more often than not, well received, and
they cost nothing. Since you'll only be sending their offsprings away, your
supply will never wear out.

~ Try to place your residential areas on less fertile land. You'll never
know
when you might need to place an extra farm or two.

~ You can pay off invaders instead of having to fight them, so it's always
good to save up some money for when your military's caught unawares.


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IX. Contact Information
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If you have any questions or information you'd like me to add to this FAQ,
feel free to email me at foxeye05@hotmail.com
To prevent me unknowingly trashing your mail, please indicate the name of
the game clearly on the subject line of your email.

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X. Credits
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Thanks to:
Hubby, for stuff!
Impression Games, for making this really really pretty game.
The Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom's manual (hard copy and Electronics)
for being such a comprehensive source of reference.
sam, because I feel like thanking him.
sharc, ditto.
CJayC, if he posts this.

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XI Disclaimer
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