I've downloaded the exe files with the new resolution, but none of them match this resolution, and when I try any of the files with the new resolution all I get is a black screen with the cursor in the middle.

I decided to modify the exe file myself to try and get the resolution, but now only a small portion of the screen is used by the graphics of the game, while the rest is black. (see attached screenshot).

Tried different combinations of exes and compatibility settings in Win10 with no luck. It's getting a bit frustrating.

Does anyone has an idea on how to solve any of the two issues above?

Thanks in advance for any help.

You have downloaded an old set of pre-made widescreen patches (05 Feb 2012, JackFuste).
They have a lot of unfixed issues with the Interface.
Windows, Control Panel, Expert Advisors, World Map, Editor have defects.
Fixing the resolution yourself in the HEX-editor is not at all easy.
For example, Emperor needs to change 26 bytes in 21 places, and the logic of the values ​​is not obvious.
Also these patches were calculated for FullHD 1080p (max 1920x1080).
Those few who managed to successfully make edits were disappointed - the Game crashes when opening the World Map.

Therefore, later (2016) a Resizer appeared, which creates an .EXE for an arbitrary 4K resolution.
And at the same time fixes interface bugs.
(08 Nov 2016, crudelios) (CRC32:36CA5C14)
www.wsgf.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=14149&start=280#p165662
www.wsgf.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=14149&start=320#p167799

Unfortunately, an early version of the Resizer is very common.
(04 May 2016, crudelios) (CRC32:2D858F21)
www.moddb.com/mods/pharaoh-resizer-full-hd-enfr/downloads/pharaoh-resizer-custom-resolution
This is an early release, it does not fix a bug on the World Map and there is a crash at 4K.
(outwardly, it is no different, the author did not provide a version system)

Resizer requires x64 Windows, ".NET Framework 4",
"Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 x86"
www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48145

Attention! The horizontal resolution must be a multiple of 4.
(otherwise the graphics of the game will be distorted)
Therefore, a resolution of 1366x768 will not work, since 1366 is not a multiple of 4.

It is necessary to explain what a Resizer is.
This is not a Patcher, but in fact it is a Builder. It already contains EN Pharaoh.exe v2.1.
You choose the resolution and specify the location and file name to save.
It inserts the specified permission and saves to the specified location.

Therefore, it is impossible to patch your NOEN Pharaoh.exe v?.? with this Resizer.
He doesn't patch! It creates a new file EN Pharaoh.exe v2.1.
For other languages, only FR Pharaoh.exe v2.0 was made.

However, in the patched EN Pharaoh.exe, can replace lang.
Using any convenient HEX editor, you can find the "text encoding" string in the native .EXE and transfer it to the new EN .EXE;
How to do this, I will tell in the appropriate topic.

All in 1one
Widescreen Pack 2018 Caesar3 + Pharaoh + Zeus + Emperor
sourceforge.net/projects/xjdhdr-random-code/files/Game_related_files/City_Building_Strategy_Games_Series_files /

Try right clicking on the .EXE, Properties
"Run as Admin" + "Windows98/XP Compatibility" (+ "Disable Scaling" + "Color Rendering 16bit")

When the Game starts for the 1st time, it tries to run in full screen (not windowed) mode at a resolution of 640x480.
Some modern graphics cards and monitors don't like this.
(now often the minimum supported native resolution is 800x600 or even 1024x768)
You can only change these settings from the Mission Menu, but it does not reach it.

The Game saves all settings in the .INF binary file.
There are special .INF sets for changing Game settings bypassing the Menu.
From the most primitive
support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/213038885-Windowed-mode
support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013499854-Pharaoh-Launch-crash
Up to improved
"Resolution Switcher EXEs"
"Windowed mode On or Off EXEs"
sourceforge.net/projects/xjdhdr-random-code/files/Game_related_files/City_Building_Strategy_Games_Series_files /

To run Windowed Mode, it is very important:
1) Color Rendering equal 16bit;
2) Scaling equal 100%;

During game development, Color Rendering was 16bit (Today 32bit);
(the eye of an ordinary person almost does not see the difference)

If you have a laptop or 4K monitor or TV.
Scaling over 100% (125% or 150%) is often used at high screen resolutions.
(this is to make the elements larger and the text to be readable)
Because of this, the picture or buttons are displaced, the mouse click does not fall.

For Windows 10, it is possible to set options only for the Game
(to avoid changes to the entire System)
Right click on the .EXE
Properties =>Compatibility =>LowColorMode =>16bit
Properties =>Compatibility =>HighDPISettings
check the box OverrideScalingBehaviour and "Application"

For Windows 7, you will have to set options of the entire System
Start =>ControlPanel =>Screen =>Resolution =>AdvancedSettings =>Monitor =>Color Quality =>16bit
Start =>ControlPanel =>Screen =>EaseScreenReader =>Small-100%

Overlays are known to interfere with the Game
(we are not talking about overlay-filters from the Game)
Disable overlays or close these programs:
- AMD GPU (delete GPU gaming profile)
- Nvidia GPU (GeForce Experience, Shadowplay as Share)
- AfterBurner, RivaTuner
- Origin (evil, 100%)
- Discord, Skype
- Windows Xbox
- Steam? (Steam overlay doesn't seem to interfere)
- other
Shadowplay, known as Share, must be disabled in the GeForce Experience Settings Panel.
Closing the process in Task Manager will not disable Shadowplay!

Try renaming the "/BINKS" folder
Actually the Game works, but it crashes when try to play Video.
Sometimes the Game works but crashes when trying to play a Video.
This is due to the fact that the Video briefly changes the screen resolution to fit, which may not be available for your monitor.

You need to install DirectX 9.0c on the system
DirectX 9.0с Runtime Pack (June 2010)
www.microsoft.com/en-au/download/details.aspx?id=8109

Regular freezes/crashes of the game are associated with a bug in the playback of sounds.
Especially strong when "Compatibility WindowsXP(sp2/sp3)"
Use "Compatibility Windows95/98"
Or update mss32.dll+Mp3dec.asi (from Zeus+Poseidon v2.1)
CRC32:9BD81E9D mss32.dll (Version:6.0m)
CRC32:FA4BC870 Mp3dec.asi
wdfiles . ru/e11658

Looping audio problem
When you have more than 2 speakers (2.1 or 5.1 or 7.1 sound)
Older games don't know what surround sound is.
Also, modern sound cards can work in surround sound emulation mode.
Download, unpack and copy-paste with replace to game folder.
www.indirectsound.com/downloads.html
Try v12 (EAX=ON) or v14 (EAX=OFF) or v15 (noX3DAudio)
This dsound.dll replaces the native one from DirectX, like a wrapper, reconciles the old with the new.

Spaces and Unicode (umlauts, cyrillic, hieroglyphs) in the path to the Games folder can lead to missing sounds.

More
steamcommunity . com/app/564530/discussions/0/3185737486660609902/