Selima — The Road to Africa

Mission: 8 of 38 — Choice A (vs Abu)
Era: Old Kingdom · Dynasty 3 · Pharaoh Nebka
Classical name: Selima Oasis
Starting funds: Very Easy 7 500 Db Easy 5 000 Db Normal 3 750 Db Hard 2 500 Db Very Hard 2 000 Db
Debt interest: Very Easy 10% Easy 15% Normal 20% (pak) Hard 25% Very Hard 30%
Deities: Ra · Seth
Trade: Men-nefer · Timna · Behdet · Abedju · Kerma (all land, start closed)
Previous mission: Behdet or Abedju (choice)
Next mission: Saqqara (10)
Status: Choice A Implemented

Briefing

On load the script shows message_the_finer_things_tutorial. Campaign history is message_history_selima:

A new Pharaoh, Nebka, has been proclaimed, heralding the beginning of the third dynasty of Egyptian rulers. Nebka has brought great organization and structure to Egypt, ordering that all our realm be divided into districts, or nomes… Merchant caravans, travelling oasis by oasis from deep within the African interior, have begun to provide Egypt with many rare and exotic luxury goods… To secure these trade routes, Pharaoh Nebka wishes you to establish a military post at the Selima Oasis… From the Selima Oasis, you may import ebony from the African nation of Kerma.

Selima is a desert oasis outpost: hunt and fell timber, import copper from Timna, and open Kerma for luxury goods (ebony) while Hyksos raids threaten the caravan hub.

Objectives

Population3 000
Culture20
Prosperity20
Kingdom55
Housing level10
Monumentsnone

Goals match mission1.pak scenario 8. No monument requirement — military and trade ratings dominate.

Scripted events

Verified against pak scenario 8 (2026-07-25 dump). Enemy is Hyksos (ENEMY_5_HYKSOS). Favour-KR Pharaoh army size 63 via shared helper. No distant-battle event in pak.

Year 0 · month 2 Luxury goods price decrease (amount 10).

Year 1+ Pharaoh requests 2 luxury goods (4 months), recurring every 2 years. KR +10 / refuse −19 / late → KR +2 → Kerma siege → 4 troops (same chain as Hyksos×22 wipe).

Year 2+ · month 4 Hyksos raid, size 9 (recurring yearly). Wipe → KR +2.

Year 7 Hyksos raid, size 22 (once). Wipe → KR +2 → Kerma siege → 4 troops (distant-battle subtype); destroy-goal leave → KR −2 → same troops request.

Year 7 · month 8 Kerma under siege → Pharaoh asks for 7 troops (12 months, city-asks subtype). Success: city-saved message → opens Men-nefer trade. Refuse: battle-lost → KR −10.

Year 8 Reeds price increase (amount 7).

Year 8+ · month 8 Timber demand increase (amount 2; recurring yearly).

Year 10 · month 4 Wage increase (kingdom wages rise).

Year 19+ · month 2 Luxury goods demand increase (amount 3; recurring yearly).

Favour KR Pharaoh punishment army size 63.

Strategy

Open Kerma early for luxury goods (cheap at 450 Db) and sell timber from wood cutters. Import copper from Timna for weapons before the year-2 Hyksos raid. Keep kingdom rating healthy — favour punishment is a large Pharaoh army (63).

Phase 1 — Oasis economy

Hunting lodge for game meat, wood cutters for timber export. Pottery / beer / papyrus from imports or local workshops. Seth / Ra temples for desert religion coverage.

Phase 2 — Trade and copper

Cheap openers: Behdet (400 Db), Kerma (450 Db), Abedju (500 Db). Timna (1 650 Db) for copper/weapons; Men-nefer (1 100 Db) for chickpeas/papyrus. Stock luxury goods for Pharaoh’s recurring requests.

Phase 3 — Defense

Recruiter + infantry/archer/chariot forts before year 2. Year 7 needs spare companies for both the Kerma siege troops request (×7) and the Hyksos×22 follow-up (×4).

Available buildings

Military (including charioteers), Seth temple complex, hunting, wood cutters, pottery/beer/papyrus, and standard civic buildings — no farms or Nile docks (desert oasis). See buildings[] in the script.

Developer reference

Paths relative to repository root.

Mission script — src/scripts/mission/m_008_selima.js

Imported by src/scripts/missions.js. Full empire redefine: hide_pak_cities / hide_pak_routes / hide_pak_objects, map_background, empire id 0, cities with pos/idx, land empire_routes, region texts, ornaments.

win_criteria {
  population 3000 · culture 20 · prosperity 20
  kingdom 55 · housing_level 10 · monuments off
}
// Trade: Men-nefer r1 1100 · Timna r2 1650 · Behdet r3 400
//         Abedju r4 500 · Kerma r9 450 · approach r6
// Display routes: Nekhen 6 (pak pts); Nubt 7 / Kyrene 8 / Byblos 10 — 2-pt stubs

Event handlers

event_mission_start ~on_start Hyksos/Egyptian/Seth sprites; finer-things message; empire.set_id(0) / set_expanded(false); advisors. mission8_on_start
event_advance_month requests Luxury recurring +10/−19/late→+2→Kerma siege→troops 4; Kerma siege y7→troops 7 (MESSAGE→open Men-nefer / −10); Hyksos×22→+2→siege→troops 4 (MESSAGE→open Men-nefer→+2 / −2); demand timber/luxury; wage; price luxury↓ / reeds↑. mission8_pharaoh_request_* / kerma_siege / demands
event_advance_month invasions Hyksos 9 yearly m4 (clear → +2) / 22 once (clear → +2, destroy-goal → −2); favour 63. Demand timber y8+ m8 / luxury y19+ m2 yearly. mission8_hyksos_* / demands / favour

Game messages

Key	ID	When
`message_history_selima`	208	History — “The Road to Africa” / Nebka
`message_the_finer_things_tutorial`	—	`start_message` — luxury goods tutorial

Save / map

bin_x64/Missions/mission_08.sav · Voice 208_mission.mp3 / 20_victory.mp3.

Dump helper: src/js/js_test_mission_pak_dump.cpp (__test_mission_pak_dump(8) via ad-hoc tests/99_tmp_*.js).

7 · Abedju 9 · Abu (choice B)