I arrived at this site just this week and am ecstatic to see Ceaser III available! I have always enjoyed city management games and have heard tons of good reviews about this game. I'm just starting out for the first time with this game and was wondering if there are any guides/explanations about what each building does? Any advice is most welcome!

I've read through several of the posts so far and general consensus is to set the game speed much slower when starting out to plan things. I've also read that high wealth (patricians?) need housing that isn't near negative buildings, how can I tell which buildings give a negative growth effect?

Thank you and I am super excited to play this game!!!!!
-Proeton

For higher wealth residents to move in, it's about what you would expect: warehouses, farms, mines, granaries, etc ... places of business and industry make a residence less appealing to a patrician, but temples, gardens, pavilions, fountains, baths, etc ... make an area more appealing. Hovels (poor people living near them), crime, etc ... also detract from an area. In general you'll be told what they need to progress (access to more entertainment, religion, security, etc ...).

You may have seen these already since you looked through the forum, but I'll repost some threads with tips:

http://www.gog.com/en/forum/caesar_3/confusion_over_commodoties_and_how_to_manage_them

http://www.gog.com/en/forum/caesar_3/how_to_make_population_stop_taking_something_fruit_in_this_case

http://www.gog.com/en/forum/caesar_3/range_of_influence_indicator_is_there_an_easy_way

http://www.gog.com/en/forum/caesar_3/some_dumb_questions

The game levels progress quite nicely in difficulty and introducing you to the various mechanics in the game. I think the manual is pretty good, but someone posted this as well (I can't verify information, not read it myself, but it seems long):

http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/63635/2419

The most annoying thing in Caesar III is the mechanic by which a house gets access to service. A house gets access to service by someone of that profession walking by the residence. Now normally this is a cool mechanic that works alright and is sometimes better/more interesting than strict zones of influence. However it can be annoying in the sense that say, a house can be right next to a market, but never get any food because the market lady always seems to turn right and never left at a fork. So you'll find yourself doing some ... creative city planning and temporarily cutting off & repairing roads to get someone to turn off a certain way occasionally. There is an indicator view to help you see what a house or building is missing or needs (food, repair, desirability, etc ...).

Welcome to GOG (and the community)! I hope you enjoy the game!

Wow thanks for the info links! That gamefaq has some good detailed info not only about the game but also the historical context in which you govern. I am already loving the game. Playing on the scenarios to tinker around with different city designs before i dig into the campaign.

A side little thank you to Reddit Gaming for linking me to this site. For far too long I've been looking for a place to find my favorite old games. Now if they would just upload Lords of the Realm 2 and Pharoh i'd be all set for the next year...

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/lords_of_the_realm_royal_edition

Includes both Lords of the Realm 1 & 2 :)

Enjoy!