Author: root

German urban planning series Anno includes already six parts, and in its homeland (that is, in Germany) it is considered one of the best strategies of all time, second only to the series Settlers.

The secret of success is, of course, clear. With each release, the developers, firstly, raise the bar for graphics quality higher and higher, and secondly, constantly modernize and improve the gameplay. And new Anno 1404 was no exception. This game, by God, you can just admire. Neat boats ply the dazzlingly beautiful sea, where real life is in full swing: huge sharks swim by, seagulls fly in the sky, waves lazily roll onto the shore, the sun is shining. There is also something to see on land. Residents of the city are rushing about their business; you can see workers in the fields mowing wheat, and a woodcutter chopping down the forest by the sweat of his brow. The picture here is so lively and cozy that sometimes you regret that you are on the wrong side of the screen.

The economy must be economical

But in all its glory Anno 1404 does not appear immediately. After all, the traditions and rules of city-planning entertainment have not changed for years, so at the beginning of the game you are greeted by a dull, empty land and several far from the happiest inhabitants. Each mission starts, as a rule, from a wretched village where two and a half grandmothers live, but our task does not always boil down to turning a godforsaken outback into a huge city. Often the process of evolution happens somehow by itself, while we are working hard to carry out numerous tasks from our superiors.

The fact is that at each level there is a certain number of story characters who constantly need something from you. One demands to send wheat, give another stones and iron, the third has to collect tons of weapons. In addition to one global task (with its completion the mission ends), there are dozens of such secondary tasks.

The thing is that while you are moving towards your goal, the entrusted settlement has to be developed in every possible way. According to a familiar, though true, pattern. First, we invite ordinary peasants to the city, building houses for them and providing them with some basic provisions: at first, for example, all citizens eat tons of fish and don’t show off. Then the residents of the capital need to be given water, provided with access to the church, organized a market, and so on. Only when the lower strata of society are more or less satisfied with life can jobs be created – some can be sent to the mines, others can pick cotton, others sew clothes.

However, it quickly turns out that maintaining even a small village requires serious financial expenses, so the city treasury is rapidly emptying. The main way to earn money in the game is through taxes. Moreover, the richer your townspeople, the more contributions to the city treasury come from their wallets. Therefore, the most important task becomes, let’s say, the constant upgrade of the entrusted settlement. In order for citizens to turn from unwashed pigs into the middle class, all their desires must first be satisfied, which is why the mood of the inhabitants improves accordingly, so that after a few minutes they move on to the next stage of development. The only problem is that rich residents have higher demands. They no longer want to eat only fish and begin to demand (horror, horror!) bread, clothes, circuses and so on. Accordingly, the game develops according to the classic pyramid scheme: the more residents we have, and the richer they are, the more goods and buildings are needed. The city is growing rapidly, there are more and more inhabitants, the one pub that was once built is no longer enough for everyone, we are building another drinking establishment, and for it we need more hops, so we are building a couple more farms, and we must not forget to build roads… Gradually the village turns into a village, and that into a city.

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Here are, so to speak, chains of enterprises. To bake a loaf of bread, it is not enough to build a beautiful bakery. Please, first organize wheat farms, sow the fields, then build a mill where the grain will turn into flour, only after that you can build a bakery.

In order for all goods to quickly reach their intended destination, it is vital to either build well-thought-out networks of roads, preferably stone ones (they significantly increase the speed of movement of loaders), or build a city in such a way that one building is within the coverage area of ​​another. A simple example: to produce weapons you need metal and coal, which means it is best to build a forge next to the mines that extract these resources. In this case, the blacksmith will personally pick up the materials he needs, without standing idle for a minute.

As the city grows, however, more problems arise. Some buildings create fire hazards, so fire stations have to be built, there are regularly shortages of warehouses, markets are overcrowded, and citizens are also trying to start a riot. Solving problem after problem, building house after house, you simply don’t notice how you fall out of real life. While building a successful village and solving numerous problems, time flies by at some cosmic speed, so you come to your senses at the moment when your relatives hit you on the head with a frying pan, and it’s dawn outside the window.

We should not forget that in Anno 1404 two settlement development schemes. We control mainly European cities, but since the plot takes us to the Middle East, we constantly have to take control of Arab villages. But they live and develop according to completely different laws. Their main problem is the almost complete absence of water, because eastern people live only in deserts. To start, for example, growing dates, you will first have to build some kind of irrigation post that will turn part of the land into green and fertile fields. Over time, the water, however, runs out, but no one forbids installing exactly the same irrigation in the same place and starting all over again.

The main advantage of Arab settlements is that they can produce unique goods. For example, especially wealthy Europeans without a twinge of conscience demand that they be provided with spices and glass. They themselves don’t do such overseas miracles, but their eastern friends have no problem. As a result, as you understand, we have to actively develop two large settlements, while simultaneously organizing the transportation of goods by sea.

All cards Anno 1404 consist of small islands scattered across vast expanses of sea. There are ownerless lands that must be captured in order to gain access to resources, and there are also those where neighbors already live. By the way, they will pull you out of a financial hole more than once, since trading is the second most effective way to make money. And quickly too: by throwing off a couple of tons of iron or rope, you can immediately make a good profit and use it for the development of settlements.

At first, of course, you can engage in trade manually – by personally driving the boat, loading and unloading goods. Then, however, there will be many routes, so you will have to organize delivery routes. Thanks to the developers for the convenient interface, so creating tasks for merchant ships is very simple: indicate the port of loading and unloading, the number of goods transported, and that’s it – the money goes to the treasury. The same thing needs to be done when, say, spices need to be transported from Arab colonies to your European cities. Here, after all, constant replenishment of the rapidly emptying warehouse is required, so a regular flight is vital.

However, not every settlement you have will turn into a big city. Some islands will remain exclusively production villages that extract valuable resources. The fact is that not all resources can be obtained on each island. For example, in one place it is possible to build wheat farms, in another coffee grows well, etc.d. So, by the end of a particularly large mission, at least a couple of large cities and several industrial villages are under your control, and at this moment, frankly speaking, your head is spinning from the mayor’s difficult affairs.

But don’t focus only on urban development. After all, each location hides many different secrets. At first, a good part of the map is hidden by fog, in which you can find anything. And a new island with valuable resources, and a settlement with which you can establish mutually beneficial trade, and even treasures.

In addition, do not forget about the numerous tasks that we mentioned. They must be completed not only in order to pass the next level, but also for the sake of rewards. By receiving unique experience points, you unlock a variety of pleasant bonuses: new buildings, coats of arms, flags. Also, exploring the sea allows you to find secret things. They are also given out as gratitude for completing missions: you can get hold of a magic hammer that reduces the cost of building buildings, find a hook that increases the combat effectiveness of ships, and the like.

But lovers of hot military action will be seriously disappointed. IN Anno 1404 there are no battles as such, and what remains is greatly simplified. For example, to organize a ground battle, you just need to demolish the castle, then build a tent for the knights, and then they themselves will go into battle. If it is too far from the front line, you will have to move the tent. You don’t have to worry about producing weapons either. All swords, bows and other chain mail are combined into some kind of schematic “weapons”, which are forged in the forge. On the one hand, life has become easier, on the other, there is no former sharpness.

Sea battles also cannot be called particularly spectacular. To arrange a naval battle, it is enough to build a ship at the shipyard and then send it towards the enemy. Somewhere the ships will meet and stupidly begin exchanging cannon salvos until one of them goes to the bottom. There are no ship upgrades provided, and the one who has an advantage in quantity rather than quality wins. The enemy is not distinguished by a particularly sophisticated military mind, so he is happy to expose his army to your mighty blows. True, outwardly the battles look good: bluish smoke envelops the ships after a salvo; after catching a particularly powerful salvo, the ship begins to glow beautifully – in general, not bad. The only pity is that all ships are equipped with a vulgar health scale, so they go to the bottom only at the moment when it drops to zero.

Anno 1404 turned out to be a real gift to all connoisseurs of leisurely urban planning strategies. This game has the main thing – purely German charm. It seems that only the Germans know how to create such cozy, pleasant and easy-to-use strategies. It’s incredibly exciting to build settlements, develop, explore the map, find treasures and complete various tasks. But there is also a quite good plot, which, although naive, is interesting to follow. Well, besides, Anno 1404 it turned out to be a game, as they say, for everyone. Even if a person has never seen such projects, he will still be able to get used to Anno 1404 literally in an hour or two. In general, we highly recommend. Games like this rarely appear these days.

Pros: excellent graphics; enjoyable and addictive gameplay; player friendliness.
Cons: the battles could have been more spectacular.

Pentagon Wars
We can talk for a long time about propaganda. Arguing whose propaganda is the most propaganda. But it seems to me that among the typical brave propaganda of American films, where the US army is the strongest, the most powerful and, in general, single-handedly wins everything and against everyone, this film was not in vain forgotten and lost. After all, he breaks out of the general outline of jingoism-patriotism. Released in 1998, the film "Pentagon Wars" is based on real facts and tells the story of how the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle was developed and put into service. Although the genre is listed as a comedy, if you think about it, it’s a tragedy. Drama. And there is no happy ending. The whole film is a story of corruption, lobbying of interests and disregard for soldiers.

The plot begins with Air Force Colonel Brandon being sent to test the Bradley Vehicle on behalf of Congress. Without his signature the car will not be sent into production. At the very first tests of the armor, the vehicle showed itself worthy. But the colonel is not allowed to see Bradley so that he can take a closer look at her. In the end, it turns out that she was shot at by a Romanian missile, and she can’t even break through the door of the ammunition depot. This is where the conflict begins. The colonel is trying to carry out normal tests, but he is being interfered with. Bradley’s Creation Story Revealed. The note in the margin of the head of the design department speaks volumes about it: “Oh my God, I’m going crazy.”. Beginning as an armored taxi for soldiers on the battlefield, the Bradley degenerated into an "Infantry Fighting Vehicle – too small to carry infantrymen, into a scout vehicle too large to conduct reconnaissance, and with weapons capable of destroying half a force.". When trying to make an amphibian out of it, four cars sank. But this does not stop the officers involved in the development and testing. Money pays. . So the vehicle, dangerous for infantrymen and virtually useless, was very vigorously promoted. Until Brandon intervened. As a result of the paper war, knowledge of the regulations and thanks to the help of the BMP developer, he achieved his goal. The Bradley Project was revised. Reimagined. But it’s a happy ending? No. The system remains. A local, small victory didn’t solve anything. Everyone Brandon fought against received promotions or high-paying positions in the defense industry. And he himself resigned. Nothing has changed. The life of a soldier is worthless in front of another star on his shoulder straps. Enough numbers – they spent 14 billion dollars on Bradley and developed it for 17 years, but they could not make it become anything more than a mass grave. War is business. And if someone dies, then let him. Collective irresponsibility. Brandon’s story about the first batches of M-16 rifles and about a man who lay in a coma for 20 years because of them is eloquent. They were constantly jammed in the jungles of Vietnam. As a result, soldiers died.
But besides corruption and lobbying, to use the American term, the film reveals another problem. This is a desire to serve, multiplied by army idiocy. He is the reason Bradley was so disfigured. No wonder there is a saying: “There is nothing worse in the army than a fool with initiative.”. . Making more and more ridiculous demands. And the colonel in charge of the project, in order to become a general, agreed with everything. And what happened is what happened. And even after rethinking the car was not as good as it could have been.
And you know, the entire history of American weapons is the endless “Pentagon Wars”. In addition to cutting and the desire to get promotions at any cost, another problem was added to the US military-industrial complex after the collapse of the USSR. For Americans, the wheel of History has stopped. Their weapons are suitable for the democratization of the Papuans. But not for a war with an equal enemy. The USA was supposed to become the sole master of the world, with the most powerful army. This is their sacred mission. They thought they would stay like this. But the wheel of History did not stop. Like a phoenix from the ashes, the Russian army was reborn. Close on the heels of the PLA. The world is changing once again. And I’m interested in how the US military industry will rebuild on new tracks. I am not belittling the performance characteristics of US vehicles, they have formidable and effective vehicles. But they have problems. As with the heaviest industry, the only US tank plant in Lima is going through difficult times. New Abrams are not produced there, but old ones are modernized. Or were they going to close it altogether?. And so, briefly. Without going deeper
LA Times: Failed Projects Punched a Hole in US Defense Capacity
ria.ru/world/20150406/1056969570.html
The Bundeswehr still has huge problems. After 20 years of operation of the G-36 rifle, it suddenly turned out that it was impossible to get anywhere with it
ria.ru/world/20150330/1055500060.html
If we discard the political background and high matters, then we have a light comedy. The plot synopsis is very original. Usually comedy is about losers, or about unusual people – eccentrics. Here – about bureaucracy. I can’t call it satire, it’s not malicious. Satire is, first of all, a sharp blade, a surgical scalpel, mercilessly opening and exposing the vices of society and mercilessly scourged by it. This is not the case in Pentagon Wars.
This is a tour in an armored bus through the dangerous Ghetto. It seems dangerous, it seems scary, but you are absolutely safe. You are passing by serious problems. If necessary, take photos. But usually you forget. Just like this movie. Although, maybe they wanted to forget him?
The movie looks easy and not tense. The jokes are good and don’t fall below the belt. And this is the main thing for comedy. This is certainly not a masterpiece, but the film deserves attention. Plus, for Scrubs fans, the film stars John K. McGinley. I don’t know why I wrote this. Seemed important. Take the time to watch the film, you won’t regret it.

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Best comments

I read this opus. It seemed like it was stitched together from comments.
As someone who hasn’t seen the film (I’m already downloading it), I can say that it’s written in an interesting and exciting way.
But I’ll add on my own. Although the United States has weapons that are “suitable only for democratizing the Papuans,” they have a trump card that, unfortunately, no one else in the world has. Dollar. World currency. And the impact on Europe. Often deceitful and with double standards, but that’s the policy. Especially the world.
Thanks to the competent actions of their “subordinates”, they do not fight with their own army, but pit against peoples who are overseas from them and do not particularly pose a danger to them.
These peoples go to war under their flags with their weapons (with a bit of American) for the interests of a country they have never seen, in the name of a piece of paper that is not backed by anything.

They wage war in other ways. We Russians know how to fight and win the old fashioned way – “with fire and sword”. But so far they have learned to wage an information war only in their own country. It’s a pity..

But we say that we are better than America, we admire our country, we discuss this topic and defend our homeland, and then we go eat American food, watch American films, read American books and play American games (in the latter, unfortunately, there is no alternative, and there is little in the cinema, as can be seen from the next movie post

Is anyone forcing https://jackpotpiratencasino.co.uk/bonus/ you to do this?? I don’t eat at McDucks or other burger joints, I read only classics and scientific fiction, and I almost never watch American films anymore. I was offered here to go see Fast and Furious Seven. . I won’t support Hollywood’s sequel production line. Everyone chooses for themselves. But I personally am already beginning to despise American culture. I don’t like the lying and hypocritical West.

American food, watch American movies, read American books and play American games

Lol.Is it right to separate food, movies, games and books by nationality?? As for me, these are global things and stupid, for example, because you don’t like America, let’s say stop reading all American books.

Looked at this Bradley of yours on Poklonnaya Hill. This is a normal shed)

The simplest thing is that there are many places where Russians appear as global terrorists. And we sowed over this “cranberry” for a long time. Until they actually started treating us like that.

So this is aimed at the stupidest representatives of society. A reasonable person wouldn’t believe all this crap. Many interviews, for example, with people who lived during the Cold War, indeed, in every propaganda film, they painted us as monsters and barbarians, but thank God there are also many reasonable people who do not believe in this. Our news makes similar crap. .

Who are constantly trying to deprive the license to broadcast in the USA

American experts recognized Russia’s victory in the information war
in the news yes. But we say that we are better than America, we admire our country, we discuss this topic and defend our homeland, and then we go eat American food, watch American films, read American books and play American games (in the latter, unfortunately, there is no alternative, and there is little in the cinema, as can be seen from the next movie post).

Well, the mass consumer does not want to delve into the intricacies of relations between countries. I’m not saying that it’s shameful and bad to watch, read, play something foreign. It’s bad to believe what they show there (the same “American Sniper”) and be a hypocrite with the fact that we are the best, but it’s crap. The state and the people think differently. And they have good films. even my favorite trilogy is “Back to the Future”.

If these are books promoting their lifestyle. I would be happy for all art to be global, but this is not the case. American culture and art (mainly cinema) are propaganda to the core.
The simplest thing is that there are many places where Russians appear as global terrorists. And we sowed over this “cranberry” for a long time. Until they actually started treating us like that.

so there is already an economic and information war with the USA. De-dollarization of the economy is already underway. In fact, so far we have successfully repelled all attacks.

American experts recognized Russia’s victory in the information war
More details on RBC:
top.rbc.ru/politics/25/03/2015/5512f2a89a794708245b954f
And RT is also a popular channel.