Hi,

How can I play in Windowed mode ?

Thank you for your answer. In fact my question was not accurate. I can switch to windowed mode but it is buggy as you can see on the screenshot attached :(

Try changing your display color settings to 16 bit before starting the game.

You need to use 16-bit colours to use Windowed Mode, it simply breaks. I don't know why you want to play in Windowed Mode though, there is no reason to do so.

Thanks for your answer. It works :) Thanks for your answer. It works :)

I want to play in windowed mode so I can see my task bar/time etc. I am playing on a laptop so only have 1 display and full screen doesn't allow me to see that.

Is this the only solution? I'm fairly certain I've played Caesar III in windowed mode previously but my settings aren't allowing me to change to 16bit, 32 only.

Currently running windows 8.1

You could just get the time through some other device than your laptop though...

And yes, this is the only solution. You must change your colour depth to 16-bit or Caesar 3 simply screws up and the colours are wrecked. I think when that happens, you are essentially forced to reinstalling the game because it gets corrupted from it.

Check this guide, it should help: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/faq/id-1865158/change-color-bits-windows.html

Thanks for the response. I actually checked out that very site before I posted my response :D Unfortunately the issue I have is that all the res options are 32bit and there are no options for me to make it 16.

I guess it is full screen fun for me or none at all.

Fail, it doesn't help much. Win7 would let you choose the full range of resolutions and color depths; but Win8 (WinHate?) will not at all, it's as if they took away all form of control from us.

Also, when the game runs in full screen, you can't switch to another task, and windowed mode is a display mess. It's no wonder I played these games on ancient hardware in the past. :-(

I never said my solution would work on Windows 8, especially as I don't have it (and never plan to). If you can't change the colour depth, you can't play the game in windowed mode.

I've found a working solution to the problem if setting 16-bit colors isn't working out (like it wasn't for me). It is using DXWnd which is a software that wraps around other applications running them in a window. So start off with downloading that and potentially the 1920x1080 resolution exe file if you want to play in a higher resolution.

Download DXWnd: sourceforge.net/projects/dxwnd/
Download C3 1920x1080.exe: dl.dropbox.com/s/9rujui8kqlm4cql/c3%20-%201920x1080.exe

The later isn't 100% needed but I like to run it in that resolution.

Step 1a) Copy the c3 - 1920x1080.exe file to your Caesar 3 installation folder. It should be the same folder as the c3.exe file is located in.

Step 1b) Extract, to anywhere you like, and run DXWnd.

Step 2) The program is pretty self explanatory but essentially right click in the middle and select "Add". Then select either c3.exe or the c3 - 1920x1080.exe file depending on which you intend to run. Depending on your .exe enter either 1024x768 or 1920x1080 in the Window initial position & size section. The rest of the settings here are mostly flavor.

Step 3) Go to the video tab. Make sure that the window size & position is set to floating.

Step 4a) Click okay and run the game. If you're running from Steam you might have to manually click the c3 - 1920x1080.exe to run it after the launcher window appears.

Step 4b) If the window isn't showing the entire area then move the window slightly, such as down and then maximize it.

Step 5) Start your game. Go to the Options menu and the Display Settings. Select "Windowed Screen". Otherwise the area for the mouse will be limited to the resolution which makes it impossible to play.
That's it. It can seem like a bit of a hassle but once you've got it setup it's really quick to do. This should work the same for the other games such as Pharaoh if you're having similar issues.
There's a bunch of other tweaks you can do with input in DXWnd to best suit your needs too.

Link no longer works.
I got it here (other resolutions too):
http://www.moddb.com/mods/caesar-3-full-hd/downloads/caesar-iii-hd-support

I came across this issue also when I wanted to play the game in windowed mode. 32 bit color is the issue like mentioned in the earlier comments. For windows 10 there is an easy fix by using the compatibility mode options:

- From GOG Galaxy go to Caesar 3 -> More -> Manage installation -> Show folder
- Find c3.exe and right click -> Properties
- Go to Compatibility tab -> Under settings check "Reduced color mode" and from dropdown choose 16 bit
- Click apply or OK

After this you can launch the game in working windowed mode either from c3.exe or from gog galaxy as you usually do.

Fixes the issue without extra software needed, hope it helps :)

I draw your attention
The widescreen patches (by JackFuste, 2012) has a bug that prevents Caesar3 + Zeus + Emperor (but not Pharaoh) from switching to Windowed mode.
(And it has nothing to do with Color Rendering not 16bit)

web.archive.org/web/20190910005136/www.wsgf.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=14149&start=160#p145033 It depends on the value of only one byte.
When I noticed the difference in CRC32, XJDHDR explained the reason to me: Outdated patches without patch "noWindowed" bug
www.moddb.com/mods/caesar-3-full-hd/downloads/caesar-iii-hd-support

XJDHDR Widescreen Pack 2018 with patched "noWindowed" bug
sourceforge.net/projects/xjdhdr-random-code/files/Game_related_files/City_Building_Strategy_Games_Series_files /

Now, if you're can't switch to Windowed Mode, then you know why.
Use a resizer from XJDHDR or apply a patch to the old ones.


After replacing .EXE with the patched one, you NEED to confirm in the Game that the new permission is applied and saved (in binary .INF)
We enter any mission, Menu =>Options =>Video =>"1024x768"
(it says "1024x768", but the real value will be what was replaced)