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dalerank/Akhenaten

An open-source, community-driven engine that reimplements the 1999 city-building game Pharaoh for modern systems, using your original game files.

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What is it?

Akhenaten is a fork of the Julius/Augustus project, redirected from Caesar III to the 1999 city-building game Pharaoh. It is a redesigned engine that lets the original game run on modern Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and web browsers via Emscripten. It does not ship any game assets; you must supply files from an unmodified, patched install of Pharaoh plus the Cleopatra expansion, and the project can unpack GOG/Inno Setup installers or InstallShield media itself.

The project can load original Pharaoh save games and play the initial campaign missions, though the README describes the work as still in progress. The Pharaoh demo and files from the 2023 remake Pharaoh: A New Era are not supported. Developers can configure builds with CMake presets, where dependencies such as SDL2 are fetched automatically.

For modding and scripting, the engine runs gameplay scripts in an embedded mujs VM, supports loading .sgx mod archives, and offers a Debug Adapter Protocol server so VS Code or Cursor can set breakpoints in those scripts. It also includes command-line options for logging, display scaling, language selection and optional OpenH264 screen recording.

Key features

  • 01Runs the original Pharaoh and Cleopatra data on modern Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and web builds.
  • 02Loads original Pharaoh save games and plays the initial campaign missions.
  • 03Extracts assets from GOG/Inno Setup and InstallShield installers.
  • 04Supports mods via .sgx archives and hot-reloading of JavaScript scripts.
  • 05Provides a Debug Adapter Protocol server for debugging scripts in VS Code or Cursor.
  • 06Builds with CMake presets, fetching dependencies such as SDL2 automatically.

Use cases

  • Replaying Pharaoh on a modern operating system without the original executable's compatibility issues.
  • Creating or testing mods for Pharaoh using JavaScript scripts and .sgx archives.
  • Studying or contributing to a C++ city-builder engine derived from Julius and Augustus.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Clone the repository

  2. 2

    Configure with a CMake preset (Linux example)

    cmake --preset linux-gcc-debug-make
  3. 3

    Build the project

    cmake --build --preset linux-gcc-debug-make
  4. 4

    Start Akhenaten and point it to your original Pharaoh + Cleopatra installation folder

Things to know

  • Requires original Pharaoh with the Cleopatra expansion and the patched 1.3 version; the Pharaoh demo is not supported.
  • Work in progress, so it is not feature-complete and some issues may remain.
  • Licensed under AGPL-3.0, a copyleft license that requires derivative network-served versions to share source.

Topics

#game-engine#cpp#sdl2#emulation#cmake#javascript-modding#retro-games

FAQ

What is Akhenaten?
An open-source, community-driven engine that reimplements the 1999 city-building game Pharaoh for modern systems, using your original game files. Akhenaten is a fork of the Julius/Augustus project, redirected from Caesar III to the 1999 city-building game Pharaoh. It is a redesigned engine that lets the original game run on modern Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and web browsers via Emscripten. It does not ship any game assets; you must supply files from an unmodified, patched install of Pharaoh plus the Cleopatra expansion, and the project can unpack GOG/Inno Setup installers or InstallShield media itself.
Is Akhenaten free to use? What license does it have?
Akhenaten is open source under the AGPL-3.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is Akhenaten still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to Akhenaten was on Oct 12, 2026.
What can I use Akhenaten for?
Replaying Pharaoh on a modern operating system without the original executable's compatibility issues. Creating or testing mods for Pharaoh using JavaScript scripts and .sgx archives. Studying or contributing to a C++ city-builder engine derived from Julius and Augustus.
How do I install Akhenaten?
Clone the repository Configure with a CMake preset (Linux example): cmake --preset linux-gcc-debug-make Build the project: cmake --build --preset linux-gcc-debug-make Start Akhenaten and point it to your original Pharaoh + Cleopatra installation folder
Where can I get Akhenaten?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/dalerank/Akhenaten

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