One of the most severe punishments for an outstanding personality is to constantly be behind someone's back, to be a kind of "wallpaper" that serves as a favorable background for a more famous person. This definition fits very well. Brian Reynolds responsible for the design of projects such as Civilization 2 or Alpha Centauri. Is it easy to see how the results of your labors are labeled "Sid Meier" s, and all the glory goes to the spoiled favorite of the crowd, and you are almost unknown to anyone? Not wanting to put up with such injustice, Reynolds left Firaxis, moved under the wing of Microsoft and, together with the Big Huge Games team, undertook to prove what he could do ... the best clone Age of Empires in history. The value of this intention is very doubtful, but even to implement it at the proper level failed.

Normal heroes always go to...

While Ensemble Studios has gone down a path proven over the years by improving the graphics, simplifying tactics and light cosmetic innovations, Reynolds decided to radically transform the gameplay and get as close as possible to the definition of " Civilization in real time". At the start of the campaign to conquer the globe, we are not given the usual first training task explaining how to move units and collect resources, but are forced to choose a controlled nation and transferred to a strategic world map, somewhat reminiscent of Shogun .

The main goal is to take over most of the continents divided into separate regions, first fighting with barbarian tribes, and then with stubborn neighboring nations, also obsessed with ideas of world domination. In practice, all neutral areas are very quickly occupied, and weaker states are destroyed. This is achieved mainly by capturing the enemy capital, after which all the lands subject to the enemy pass into the possession of the aggressor power.

In one turn, you can perform several actions: attack a neighboring territory, repel an invasion, buy bonus cards and increase the level of protection of one of your provinces. Diplomacy lovers can take advantage of a special menu for making alliances, declaring war, and even buying land. An alliance with another nation allows you to receive reinforcements if suddenly one of the common neighbors decides to attack.

Captured plots each turn bring income in the form of tribute coming to the treasury (tribute). It is this substance that allows you to prepare for war, strengthen your position in a particular region (at the beginning of the battle, more buildings will be rebuilt, more units will be issued and several technologies will be researched) or even acquire a neighboring one without entering into a military conflict. Of course, one should not expect that the enemy will calmly squander his provinces and thus self-destruct.

Finally, tribute allows you to get "cards" that give various bonuses in battles. This can be a simple increase in the starting amount of resources, and certain technologies, and more troops, or speeding up production. You can use them during one battle, when the troops are trying to storm the region where the capital is located. In practice, when playing with a computer, such cards are really needed only at the highest levels of complexity, but in general it is advisable to use them in multiplayer mode. A separate type of card - the construction of wonders of the world - allows you to build a majestic structure in a certain area and acquire permanent bonuses in the form of all the same resources, increasing the effectiveness of certain types of troops or technologies.

The last thing to note is the additional bonuses received after conquering a certain region. Among them, of course, an increase in tribute, resources, sometimes all the same useful cards or getting a "supply center", which allows you to get hold of an additional military corps. The computer will offer to place it on one of the controlled land plots. In the event of an enemy attack on the territory adjacent to such an army, we will receive reinforcements at the opening of the battle.

Veni, vidi, vici

Having dealt with all the above nuances, we are looking at a piece of land fatter and starting the genocide of the local population in the name of a brighter future for our own people. Since there is no plot at all, there is no question of a variety of tasks, which is the most vulnerable spot Rise of Nations. If we attacked the barbarians, it means that in two hours we need to destroy all their cities or capture the capitals. Invaded the territory of a neighboring state? We get an hour and a half to take control of the largest city. Are we defending? It is necessary to withstand the siege for fifteen minutes or the same one and a half hours. Yes, the time factor is always present, and it is extremely annoying. The only exception is the capture of very weak regions, when a small detachment is issued into the hands, sufficient to destroy a couple of barracks or a city, along with the garrison guarding them at the other end of the map.

The second unpleasant moment is the generation of maps: the next mission may not only be identical to the previous one; sometimes the starting points, the location of buildings, resources, the number and types of units, as well as the location of the traditional sawmill in exactly the same forest as last time, coincide. Of course, all this ultimately generates incredible boredom. The only way to avoid it is to abandon the campaign in favor of the quick battle mode, and even preferably not with stupid AI (shamefully taking the amount as the difficulty level increases), but with a live enemy.

Daily bread

The tutorial mode is still worth going through in order to properly understand all the nuances of local micromanagement, which is quite different from Age of . Firstly, the amount of resources has been expanded: from now on, not only food, gold, timber and ore, but also "knowledge", and at later stages, oil will have to be mined. And now all sources are eternal. The forest will never disappear, no matter how much you cut it down, the oil well will not dry up, the field will not stop producing crops (the latter, however, has already been implemented in Age of Mythology). At the same time, there was a limit on the number of peasants employed in procurement work. Depending on the technological level of the state, from one to nine workers can be put into a mine or sawmill. Oil is always produced by a single rig operator.

"Knowledge" is supplied to us by university students. Each university accommodates up to seven academics breaking their teeth on the granite of science. With food and gold, everything is much more complicated. From now on, the player is in possession of not just a set of abstract "bases", but cities belonging to a single state. In order not to be too lazy to rebuild them, gold mines have been abolished in principle, and agriculture for each settlement is limited to five arable lands. Moreover, bonuses from a woodworking factory, a mill and an ore processing enterprise are valid only within the same city. Willy-nilly, you have to build new villages, develop the mining industry, and at the same time produce caravans that automatically run between them and increase the amount of coins entering the treasury. An additional source is taxes, which are collected by the temple for all eight eras, where the corresponding upgrades are carried out.

To increase the strengthening of the economy, it is possible to purchase a merchant and send him to a settlement next to one of the rare resources located randomly on the map. The result is a slight acceleration in obtaining basic resources. If there is water on the map, then oil and fish (food) can be mined there as well.

Another important function cities is to expand the boundaries of subject lands. This not only makes it possible to capture more ordinary and rare resources, but also makes it difficult for the enemy to advance through their own territory. If you are at war with another state, and its army crossed the border on the tactical map, the health of the soldiers begins to plummet, and the combat abilities weaken. Thanks "attrition damage". And, accordingly, at home they receive a bonus. Convoys help mitigate such an unpleasant effect, within the radius of action of which the "penalty" is reduced, as well as the "fall" of health. Moreover, artillery starts firing much faster. From era to era, the influence of "attrition damage" weakens, but long-distance campaigns in the early stages of the game become dangerous.

research institute

The upgrade system has also undergone a significant overhaul. In the library building, you can study twenty-eight technologies, divided into four groups: military, civil, commercial (overcoming the limit of the amount of extracted resources) and scientific. The benefit is most direct - new buildings, units, upgrades in other buildings, and even an increase in the maximum population size. Farewell, annoying construction of endless houses to accommodate the population.

AT Rise of Nations eight historical eras, and the ability to move to the next requires the study of any four technologies in the library, but this only applies to multiplayer and single player mode. In campaign mode, there is a global transition from one period to another for all nations every few turns. In other words, if we are in the "antiquity" period, then in a tactical battle we will be able to explore the "medieval" and "build" more advanced armies, but in the next mission we will have to start all over again. When there is a global transition to the "Middle Ages", the corresponding level of technology will be already at the beginning of the mission, and the "Gunpowder Age" will open for research. Remembering what was said about the monotony of missions, we put an additional tick in the column "boring gameplay". What, right, is the interest on an almost identical map to take out the enemy three times in a row for a certain period of time, and even when the upgrades are exactly the same?

charge!

Trying to avoid the "tank strike" traditional for RTS, the authors used a no less traditional way of dividing the effectiveness of units, popularly known as "rock-paper-scissors". That is, one type of troops is very effective against another type, but also immensely weak against the third. For example, the cavalry brilliantly cuts off the heads of arrows and stably dies at the hands of spearmen. In my opinion, developers Rise of Nations, adhering to a similar scheme, could not create a decent level tactic Age of Empires 2 .

Like Age of Mythology, RoN suffers from excessive simplification of combat. Even the walls were taken away from us, and castles and towers are not a serious obstacle to invasion. It turns out that you can easily build a cavalry detachment, a cavalry rifle detachment, an artillery division (relatively speaking) and a baggage regiment, and then defeat the enemy at any level of difficulty. No elaborate siege, no search for a breach in the defense, even reconnaissance is practically not needed. The available modes of tactical formation are useless. Boring.

Any city has a certain number of hit points. When it drops to zero, foot troops get the opportunity to capture the settlement, which after a certain time ("assimilation") passes under the control of the player along with civilian buildings. The capital is generally a tasty morsel. If it is occupied and held for a couple of minutes, the enemy will automatically lose the battle.

Each nation has several unique combat units that are advanced counterparts of ordinary ones, plus a number of "saboteurs". With the help of a spy or a researcher, you can send a "cossack" into an enemy building or, conversely, identify one, buy it or eliminate one unit. They can also work effectively in counterintelligence. The general is able to strengthen the defense, forcing the army to dig trenches, carry out a forced march, instantly moving it to the specified point, set up an ambush (almost complete invisibility) or distract the enemy with "fake" units. These actions require craft, which replaces the more traditional, sorry, mana and limits the use of special "skills".

Water expanses are used very poorly. In addition to the collection of a couple of resources mentioned above, you can rebuild the fleet, but it turns out to be completely unnecessary in the presence of one of the main innovations Rise of Nations: if you build a dock and conduct the necessary research, the army automatically turns into a transport on the water and is able to get to any territory separated by water. If some enemy flotilla decides to fire on the landing force, it will always be answered by its own prudently captured artillery.

Aviation is a similar pampering. It is practically pointless to carry out raids, because there is an effective air defense, and also in the form of ground mobile howitzers. Yes, no one bothers us once to build an airport, spawn a dozen attack aircraft or bombers (no longer fits) and annoy the neighbors a little, but the benefits from them are small. A more or less effective means is nuclear weapons, but it can only be used 10 times per mission, otherwise "argmageddon" will happen.

my precious

From Age of Mythology RoN favorably distinguishes the spectacle of the battles, especially when firearms appear. Watching the cannonades and skirmishes is very interesting; I dare to assume that many players will discard the "dark ages" and start the battle right away with "Modern age". On the other hand, the graphic design is bewildering. Animation of polygonal units is not satisfactory. It's nice to watch how the gunners dismantle the battering ram, harness/unharness the horse, put the cannonball into the muzzle of the cannon and light the fuse. The developers' attention to detail even touched the daily life of the peasants; suffice it to recall at least lumberjacks who, at the dawn of civilization, use axes, and then take up chainsaws.

The polygonal landscape looks good with craters from falling planes, special effects and lighting are very nicely done. But why are these horribly ugly building sprites rising up in the midst of all this? Trying to give them a decent look, the artists took a desperate step and screwed in some polygonal elements, like horses standing in the stable or shutters on the windows, but the result was strange mutants with a terrible appearance.

For some reason, the voice acting of the troops was forgotten, although this can be taken as a peculiar style, because not everyone likes to listen to the hackneyed "I obey and obey, sir king." However, the disadvantage is compensated by excellent musical accompaniment, which is absolutely not annoying during the passage of boring missions.

Big Huge Miss

I have no doubt that the creation of Big Huge Games can be liked by someone, especially if you try out its multiplayer part. And so, in terms of face-to-face communication, the game should be purchased solely to get acquainted with a certain number of new ideas. She is not able to replace even an iota Civilization in strategic and Age of Empires 2 in tactical terms, it cannot please the eye with unprecedented visual effects and only systematically finishes off the viewer with dullness and the same type of action. The mixing of genres is not always beneficial for the project, which is once again demonstrated by the example Rise of Nations. Looking forward to new attempts to impress the audience in performance Brian Reynolds. So far, without the Maestro, he has not succeeded.

AT Rise of Nations eighteen different nations and they are all very different. In the previous issues we have described the strategies for the twelve - it's time to finish off the topic and talk about the strategies of the game for the last six nations. We'll talk about Mongol raids, Nubian riches, Roman empires, Russian winters, Spanish sailors and Turkish guns.

Mongols

lining up character traits for each nation, the developers primarily used historical stereotypes. In history, the Mongols became famous for their conquests and steppe raids. Therefore, in the game, the alpha and omega of the Mongols are cavalry, especially their traditional horse archers. The main and only strategy of the Mongols is continuous and frequent raids. They are absolutely necessary for victory, because this nation has no economic goodies.

Playing as the Mughals, you can use the tactics of a quick attack. Make your way to the Classical Age, develop a second military science, rebuild three stables, and stage a raid that slows down the opponent's economy - so you can buy time for yourself. Run wisely so that the cost of the army pays off by the economic backlog of the enemy.

The point here is that the Mongols, after researching the second military science, receive a free horse archer when building a stable. In the Middle Ages, you can easily arrange a devastating raid using free archers and knights built with saved money. The combination is absolutely lethal - the knights will eliminate the light cavalry, and the archers will deal with the local population.

It is not so expensive for the Mongols to build knights, because all their horsemen are built faster and are cheaper. The numbers here are not very large, but the trend is obvious - the developers are simply pushing you to use cavalry on a massive scale. At the same time, one should not forget that large armies are very expensive. If you want to save on horse archers, then rebuild a few stables after you have got a medium-sized cavalry army.

Mongols receive additional unit food for every percentage of the card they control. This way, when you expand, you solve your nutritional problems at the same time, without wasting wood to build farms. You just need to grab a little more territory than you need. True, this is not the main goal, but a side one, since the effect is not very large.

Finally, the Mongols have very good relations with the partisans. First, all of their units take only half damage from guerrilla resistance, allowing them to move deeper into enemy territory and stay there longer. And this means easing the conditions for raids on cities. The only nation that levels this Mongolian plus is the Russians with their enhanced partisanism. Otherwise, don't worry, you'll have time to make a raid and leave before the resistance seriously damages your troops.

Secondly, the Mongols receive for free all improvements related to the weakening of the enemy partisans - this is also a very strong feature. And the conclusion from all of the above is simple: the Mongols must constantly and competently organize raids - only this will help this warlike nation to stay afloat and defeat the enemies.

Nubians

The developers seemed to know little about the African civilization of the Nubians, and therefore they decided, out of harm's way, to make an economic nation. The three pillars on which the success of the Nubians is based are markets, trade and scarce strategic resources. Playing in the market allows the Nubians to eliminate distortions in the economy in time, if any. And such situations with an inexperienced player are very common. It is important to understand that when playing as Nubians, you need to pay great attention to the development of valuable rare resources. If you play against this nation, regularly survey the map and take out the Nubian trade bases, this will undermine their economy (go broke on the construction of new trade bases).

When playing as Nubians, one of the most useful wonders of the world for them is the Porcelain Tower, which, together with their natural intelligence, will make the effect of rare resources simply stunning. Do not forget that finding a rare resource for a Nubian is very easy, since they have a nose for these things, and in an open area the resource will be visible to them immediately. This will allow immediately and quickly, as soon as such an opportunity arises, to send two or three merchants to open resources. Merchants will collect the resource at a high rate (fifty percent higher), so "close" all the resources you find - it will pay off handsomely.

If your trade base is liquidated, build a new trader immediately. It will not be difficult to do this, since from the very beginning of the game you will have a market. Even if some resource is missing, it doesn’t matter - the Nubians can also trade (sell and buy resources on the market) from the very beginning. In the early stages of the game, this helps create a lot of merchants and caravans - and they, of course, need to be built.

Here he is - a Nubian warrior.

By the way, you will also have more caravans than the rest. Limit maximum number"camels" among the Nubians are higher by one. This unit can give you a lot of money, especially over time, when the value of caravans increases. Finally, the construction of these very caravans, markets and traders costs the Nubians half the price, which simply imposes on you a strategy of reinforced economic development. Build a market in every city and as early as you can (after farms or other critical mining buildings, of course), start caravans and don't forget about rare resources. And no one will ever defeat you!

Romans

The Romans are more defensive than offensive. They have a huge capacity to capture territories, and of their unique units, the "anti-personnel" legions can be especially noted.

Playing as this nation, you can use a curious strategy called "pushing the enemy with borders." Build a second city, and organize a fort on its edge. By the end of its construction, you should already have a third city and a second civil technology. The third city must be built as far away as possible. Don't forget caravans. Build the next fort as close as possible to the main cities of the opponent - it will become your base for organizing attacks. Raising funds for it can be difficult, and if you don't have enough money, you can demolish your first fort.

Now build barracks and stables, form an army and watch out for the enemy. Find out where he's going to attack from. Do not forget about the attacks yourself, this will allow you to attract his attention to yourself. Thanks to the fort at its very borders, you will have a serious advantage. The fact is that all Roman forts expand your borders much more efficiently than others. With one or two rebuilt forts, you will push your borders very far and you can even drive the enemy into a corner. If a fort is built near your city, then the approach of enemy troops will not go unnoticed. To make the most of this advantage, don't forget about fort upgrades. It will be more convenient and profitable for you to build these structures, since they will cost you a quarter cheaper and can be built by the Romans from the very beginning of the game. This is another reason to build them early and in bulk.

For military purposes, the Romans have another advantage: with the construction of barracks, they get free heavy infantry, moreover, at first one, from the gunpowder era (the third military science) - three, and from the industrial age (fifth science) - five. (Unfortunately, this property does not work when restoring a destroyed barracks.) This way you can dilute your troops with free legionnaires and arrange early attacks - for example, the classic early attack with five units of heavy infantry and a couple of units of light infantry in the ancient era. And, of course, do not let the enemy destroy your barracks - this is very dangerous for your military potential.

The legions of the Romans are victorious, but if the infantry that came to you with the barracks is not enough for you, then you can build a new one, just as heavy. They are slightly cheaper with the Romans and move a little faster (almost like light infantry).

Russians

Russian developers have made a defensive nation. The Russians not only have huge partisan boosts, but also free upgrades to partisan effects. The light cavalry of the Russians has good fighting qualities, and is especially effective against enemy supplies. Russian supply vans endure very easily - let's remember Borodino and dashing Cossack raids on the rear of Napoleon.

If you expand your easily defended territory and use light cavalry to patrol the borders, then all other forces can be thrown into rebuilding the economy. If an enemy player or computer attacks our doorstep, checkers unsheathed - by knocking out the supplies in the invading army, you will doom the enemy either to a quick retreat or to death from guerrilla resistance.

Cossack raid.

It is especially useful for Russians to rebuild the Colosseum or the Kremlin - while the Russian "club of the people's war" begins to literally burn the heels of the invaders. I can also advise you to attack the enemy in order to then lure his troops into your territory. But if you, playing for the Russians, do not pay attention to the economy in time (Russians, unfortunately, do not have economically oriented properties), then an enemy that is stronger in the economy will be able to crush you.

Russia's borders expand by one with each additional civilian technology developed. This will allow you to quietly surround the enemy with your borders and collect large taxes. They also do well with spies - the fighters of the invisible front are cheaper and after using their skills they do not “light up” - they will live longer in battle. Set your spies on enemy armies, especially their siege weapons and supplies.

Russians produce oil at a one-fifth increment, and this helps with late development, especially with nuclear weapons and unique tanks.

Spaniards

The Spaniards are a nation of explorers aimed at early exploration of the ruins. They start with two advanced scouts (walk faster, see farther) and with a fully open map (of course, the fog of war remains). In this case, it is better to take control of intelligence in your own hands in order to check the corners of the maps for ruins. Develop a mining plan right away - you know where they are.

The ruins give the Spaniards a lot more resources than the rest, this will help you in an early start. Sometimes the ruins can not be opened immediately, but left for later, because with each scientific technology the amount of resources increases by thirty-five units. Build a temple, research the era and science - after the second science, you will receive one hundred units from the ruins. Not bad? Depending on how the game will go, you can try to develop a third science technology to get one hundred and forty units from the ruin. It is a pity that the ruins end sooner or later. By this time, you should be fully using your Super Scouts and resource information on the map to gain an economic advantage over your opponent.

Of the less important Spanish pluses, a free ship can be noted when building a dock (before the industrial era). This, of course, is not enough to completely control the seas, but there is no superfluous support.

Turks

The Turks have all their strength in their siege weapons. They have unique long-range and powerful guns only in the era of gunpowder and the era of enlightenment, but this, of course, is not all. All other advantages of the Turks are also focused on effective sieges, and I will talk about them a little lower.

The following strategy is proposed: the study of the first military science, the transition to the classical era, the study of the second science. If you can afford two factories and two stables, then mobilize a few light cavalry and combine them with a couple of catapults. At the same time, do not forget to make up for losses in the cavalry. In terms of food costs, it will be inexpensive, and enemy cities will suffer heavily from catapults. If the opponent does not have at hand strong army, then he will lose the city very quickly, and you will assimilate him even faster.

All Turkish siege weapons fire and see further. This allows not only to shell the city from a distance, under the protection of the army, but also to avoid return fire from defensive buildings. At the same time, it is desirable not only to keep the army close to the cannons, but to protect them from all sides, since your siege weapons can easily become the opponent's primary target. If you do not want to capture the city, then the range will still come in handy - you can arrange an artillery raid literally from your border.

With each factory built, you get two free cannons, or catapults, or trebuchet - depending on the era. With this strength, you can try the following strategy. Having reached the powder era, create an army of Janissaries, pikemen, dilute it a little with cavalry. It is desirable to have some advantage in military science. This will not be difficult to do if we remember that the Turks have the ability to spend a third less money on military research.

In the hour "h" quickly build three or four factories, getting six to eight guns. Go to war. At the same time, it is important to prevent reinforcements from coming to the enemy (shoot at military facilities) and competently dispose of troops. The strategy is a little risky - if the enemy has a strong defensive army, then the cannons will be quickly destroyed.

Turkish townspeople are a third cheaper - this allows you to save food and use numerous townspeople to defend the city. The unique ability of the Turks to assimilate cities twice as fast allows them to defend already captured cities. To use this skill in the best possible way, one must be able to defend the newly captured cities, approach this issue, not at random, but with all seriousness.

The final touch to the description of Turkish weapons is the free upgrades to siege weapons. A trifle, but nice and, most importantly, it is clear how to use improved weapons. Enemy buildings do not do well!

Oddly enough to see this, the creators of the game did not include the great American nation in the game. They are replaced by a whole bunch of ancient Indians, who nevertheless have grown up to our times and have become owners of ultra-modern weapons. Okay, Indians. But how did the Bantu tribe build the most modern fighters? Apparently, they bought from Americans who were not in the game and are fighting, lowering them down the mountain towards the advancing enemy.

Okay, these are all minor quibbles. Which act on the game in much the same way as a submarine bumping into the underwater part of an iceberg. Didn't guess? Of course, the iceberg floats majestically on. What can not be said about the submarine. The game turned out to be a sight to behold. It simply overwhelms with the breadth of its coverage and, once sitting behind it, it is terribly difficult to break away. Well, what can I say? It's not a clone. it new flagship genre.

What would you call a boat...

The game has inherited quite a lot from Civilization. But the only thing they forgot to "put" in it is an encyclopedia that reveals the key rules and terms. Therefore, this chapter is the most important. Having mastered these rules, even without a detailed study of the economy, military affairs and memorization of the wonders of the world, you will be able to play this game very successfully.

Resource limit (Commerce Limit) - restriction on the extraction of resources. You can get resources in the game in an arbitrarily large amount. But only that which does not exceed this limit will enter your bins. It increases with research in the field of trading. Resources whose production is suffering due to reaching the resource limit bar will flash yellow. In general, the limit is the same for everyone, but there are ways to raise the bar for individual resources.

Resistance (Attrition) - automatic losses from intrusion. The fact is that when conducting research in this direction, the defending side inflicts damage on the enemy by the very fact that the enemy is on its territory. It is especially important to remember this in a campaign.

Military, civil, commercial, science (Military, Civic, Commerce, Science) - 4 areas that contribute to the transition from century to century. Well, a lot of small benefits in addition.

Borders (National Border) - country subject to you. Only in the territory of your country you can build new buildings.

City Limit - limit on the number of cities. The smaller it is, the fewer cities you can build. And get less of some benefits. But no one said anything about conquests. And you can have cities as much as 2 times the limit. Conquered, of course.

Nuclear Embargo (Nuclear Embargo) - if you like to throw nuclear missiles, then you have a measure of influence. The global community will not trade with you on the market for a while. There is no sale or purchase of resources. Who cares? Throw another rocket at them - and there will be not only no one to trade with, but no reason to. Only you will remain.

Cities came to the game from Civilization and are eerily similar to the cities in it. After all, some buildings are allowed to be built only near cities and are strictly proportional to the number of cities. So, the number of universities and refineries must strictly correspond to the number of cities, and the number of fields per city does not exceed 5. Cities also affect the boundaries, expanding them.

Yes and fighting revolve around cities. Of all the buildings, only the city cannot be destroyed (but can be captured). Moreover, the capture process is not instantaneous. For some time, the assimilation of the city is going on (transition to your side). At this time, the city easily returns back (but then the enemy will also need to assimilate).

Well, trade also belongs to the privileges of cities. Caravans run only between cities. And if there are few cities, then your new caravans will be idle without work.

You need to know the century like your own 5 fingers. Of course, you can play without knowing the ages. But the game will be quite chaotic, the right directions of development will be missed.

Ancient Ages (until 2000 BC). You are limited to only 3 resources (wood, food, money). It is still impossible to build anything significant. Invading enemy territory in the Ancient Ages is absurd. For the miserable infantry that you have in service can do nothing to oppose the defensive towers. The century does not deserve attention and should be changed to the next one as soon as possible.

New Ages (1999 BC - 500 AD). The appearance of cavalry, siege weapons and forts allows you to start full-fledged military operations. Also at this time, resources such as metal and science first appear. The first is mined in the mines now being built, the second - in the universities. It's time to evolve. Moreover, there are places for conducting industry research (such as a sawmill).

Middle Ages (501 - 1299). Worst time to attack. For at this time all kinds of protective systems prevail. The archers begin. Appearance of spies and supply wagons.

Age of gunpowder (1300 - 1715). Firearms appeared and all shooters were instantly equipped with them. But don't expect firearms to be everything. The archers are still too weak and cannot withstand the attacks of the cavalry. The withering away of archers as a class of troops.

(1716 - 1880). Complete transition of all troops to firearms. From this moment on, there are no more useless and stupid troops. Everyone knows how to at least shoot and inflict at least some damage on the enemy. Peasants no longer feel safe busily darting through the fields - they can easily be shot by any passing soldier. Recent times the use of fireships (disposable boats that destroy the enemy fleet with their death).

Age of industry (1831 - 1935). The emergence of oil and new rare resources associated with it. In this regard, there is a transition of most of the production to the basis of oil (with its corresponding consumption). The emergence of tanks and aircraft. Naturally, the appearance of anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons. War ceases to be a clash of siege units under the protection of large covering units. Tanks can do almost anything, but they won't be able to withstand bomber raids without flak cover.

Our time (1936 - 1968). Improving the means of destroying the enemy, the appearance of aircraft carriers, which make it possible to ensure air superiority directly on enemy territory. The emergence of helicopters - controlled air forces. The second use of science is in the manufacture of rockets. The ability to create nuclear missiles - the means of delivering the strongest blows to enemy positions.

Information Ages (1969 -. ..yy). Another improvement in the means of destruction. The ability to open 4 "ultimate technologies" that provide simply unprecedented benefits. All the best for the war.

A strategy without buildings is not a strategy. Where will the fighters come from who will bring you world domination? Or what needs to be captured and controlled? Buildings, mansions, huts, palaces - all these works of architecture are present in full. And not only present, but also used.

peaceful buildings

What it is? These are buildings from which come not crowds of thugs, but material goods (for which these thugs are hired) and workers who obtain these same benefits in various ways. And we will not pull the rubber, but go directly to the representatives of this category.

Small city (big city, largest city) is an absolute must for any player. The first city, as a rule, becomes the capital. Moreover, when capturing the capital in most variants of the game, the death of the entire state usually occurs. Note that the city cannot be destroyed. It can only be captured.

Cities differ from each other only in power, ability to repulse the enemy and influence on the borders of the state. Although no, I'm lying - big cities bring more income from trade with the help of caravans. Cities are updated automatically if there are a certain number of buildings of different types in their zone of influence. Opportunities of the city: expansion of the borders of the state; creation of peasants; possibility to build on the territory; city-controlled various buildings; adding 10 units of food and 10 units of wood to the common piggy bank; life increase (according to the city statute) for all buildings within the city's control zone).

Farm. A farm is a farm. There are blacks on it ... That is, excuse me, African Americans ... Or, even better, hired workers work hard from dawn to dusk, growing corn, which is so necessary for the country. Or maybe wheat ... But what's the difference - all the same food. Each farm - one worker, no more fit on it. And the farms themselves, more than five of them, around one city will not get along.

Lumber camp. Worth it wooden house in the forest (which, by the way, has not changed at all over the centuries), into which healthy men with chainsaws (or with flint axes - what the hell were saws in ancient times?) pulling chopped firewood. For a large forest - more lumberjacks. All one forests are not translated for centuries.

Library. The building that was assigned to you from the very beginning. Or rather, set. Tea, not the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Here for some Money local archivists will rummage through dusty tomes and discover improvements in one of the 4 areas of science. And for a particularly large bribe, they will change their century. Craftsmen, however.

Market. Place of sale and purchase of resources (do not trade only knowledge) and the production of merchants and caravans. A built market is 10 coins that will always be with you, even if you have not built a single merchant.

Temple. Extremely smart stuff. The holy fathers do not appear in front of the people, but they built their own small research laboratory and through it influence the development of the state. As is the case with other research buildings, one temple is enough. And there are researched improving the properties of cities and improving the return on trade. Here are the holy fathers!

Mine. It looks ugly like a lumberjack camp. It differs only in that it appears a century later and they cut not wood, but metal in it.

University. Where do you think all science comes from? Of course, from universities. With your money, scientists are hired there (up to 7 per university), who then wrinkle their foreheads intensely, giving out scientific energy. And you are paying with this very energy for various goodies. By the way, here you can periodically improve the activities of scientists by spending a certain amount of wood. So - for the first time in my life I see the transformation of wood into pure thought! By the way, each city is supposed to have no more than 1 university.

Barn. No, grain is not stored here. This is a small institute for solving agricultural problems. Well, and something else. But their main task is to increase the productivity of farmers.

Sawmill. Forest Institute. More firewood for the people - we will save them from the cold winter. The main task of this "institute" is to increase the production of timber by lumberjacks. Well, and one more thing.

Smelter. Institute of Steel and Alloys. More army metal is his motto. And the army itself is losing something.

Oil rig (oil platform). In each such town there lives 1 (one) oilman who extracts oil. Therefore, there is not much oil. Especially considering how it is spent.

Oil refinery. But this building can make it so that there is a lot of oil. It increases oil production by 33%. Moreover, with an increase in the number of such buildings, these increases do not multiply, but add up (3 buildings - + 100% production). Unfortunately, more than 1 such building per 1 city is not allowed. It's a pity.
military buildings

In the end, it usually comes down to war (small or big) and the buildings below either produce different fighters or pinch the enemy themselves. Although some may do both. Soldiers (better than shooters) can be pushed into all military buildings, which will enhance the striking power of the structure. And for this the building itself will heal them (if they are injured, of course).

Barracks. What else, besides infantry, can be produced in the barracks? Produced - nothing. But from the unproductive - here they are also making improvements to this very infantry.

Stable (factory). First, the entire cavalry is based here. With the advent of oil, the need for cavalry disappears. But there is a need for tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. Therefore, the stables are reclassified as a factory.

Siege weapons (factory). Well, the essence of the building from the change of name does not change. Both the old building and its new counterpart produce siege tools (i.e. catapults, guns, etc.). Just "factory" - sounds more modern.

Aerodrome. Place of production and basing of aviation. Considering that aviation does not fly across the entire map, the construction of airfields in the rear is a criminal waste of funds. Although the planes made at this airfield can always be relocated to the runway located closer to the front line.

Rocket base. Nuclear and cruise missiles! Who needs a nuclear missile? Why are you all so crouched and hiding in the corners? You do not want? And you are doing it right. A means of translating superfluous science to the detriment of the enemy. The only drawback is that the game has a bug due to which the missile base can only work if the player has one. If you build a second one, then the missiles will be produced regularly. It's just that they can't be launched. So they will stand in the mines and wait. Moreover, the destruction of the extra base does not correct the situation.

Watchtower (main tower, reinforced tower, bunker). Quite a common obstacle in the path of the enemy. Not very powerful, but without siege weapons, it is difficult to cope with it. And there after all and the help will run up. The soldiers sitting in the towers all their free time are tormented by the question "what can be done so as not to fight ourselves?". As a result, the development of resistance is carried out in the towers - the earth simply burns under the feet of hostile invaders.

Observer (observation tower). I sit high, I look far away, I know everything. What else do you need from this tower?

Dock (port, shipyard). The dock and all subsequent buildings of the same direction produce warships (in assortment) and peaceful harmless fishermen. Transport ships are not used in the game. Who needs it - made himself a boat and swam to the other side. After disassembled and moved on.

Fort (castle, fortress, citadel). The thickest tower So thick that it is, in fact, a whole bunch of towers. Holds the most soldiers, pushes the boundaries far better than cities, and produces generals and spies. And here the generals and the forts themselves are being improved. Valuable.

Anti-aircraft gun (anti-aircraft gun, anti-aircraft missile system). One day, all sorts of nasty things will fly over your heads, behaving with unprecedented arrogance. Moreover, this very muck will try to demolish your buildings from the face of the earth. Yes, and those who move on this very earth will also get it. Here, so that this does not happen - we are building anti-aircraft artillery. The first two guns fire rather lousy, without making adjustments "for the wind." But no one has yet left the anti-aircraft missile system.

wonders of the world

The wonders of the world are huge buildings that require large capital investments and a large number of builders. But if you build - they don’t ask for food, but only bring solid benefits. And if the rules of the game include victory through the wonders of the world, then you can also win by building one or more pieces of "wonders".

In the campaign, the wonders of the world cannot be built during the game. But it will turn out to build them on a large game map. And to know which of the miracles is capable of what - read their description below.

Pyramid. Increases the limit for food and money by 50 units. Increases city limit by 1. Increases food production by 20%

Colossus. Increases money production by 30%. Increases the population limit by 50 units. Increases the limit for money and wood by 50 units.

Terracotta Army. Builds 1 Infantry every 30 seconds for free (+1/2 second per existing Infantry).

Coliseum. Increases the border parameter by 3 units. Resistance is increased by 50%. Forts and towers are 20% cheaper.

Tikal Temple. Increases wood production by 50%. Increases tree cap by 100. Increases the effect of temples on cities (on borders, life and attack) by 50%

Porcelain tower. Ships are built 50% faster. Income from markets and rare resources (in your territory only) is increased by 200%. You gain special modifiers from all rare resources in your territory, even if your vendor doesn't work near them.

Temple in Angkor. Increases metal mining by 50%. Increases metal cap by 100. The cost of troops in the barracks, stables and docks is reduced by 25%.

Versailles. Reduces the cost of research (except for the price in science) by 50%. Your supply wagons can heal waxes (French - heal with double power). Siege weapons, artillery, and supply wagons move 25% faster.

The Statue of Liberty. All ground and aviation upgrades are now free. Reduces resistance damage in enemy territory by 100%. Reduces the price of bombers and stationary anti-aircraft weapons by 33%.

Kremlin. Increases the limit for food, wood and metal by 200 units. Increases resistance damage in your territory for all enemy troops without supply wagon support by 100%. Spies are built instantly. You get an additional spy who reappears if he dies.

Taj Mahal. Increases the life of all your buildings by 100%. Increases money production by 100%. Increases the money limit by 300.

Eiffel Tower. Increases oil production by 100%. Increases the limit for oil by 200 units. Increases the border parameter by 6 units.

Synchrophasotron. The price for buying goods on the market will never be more than 125, the selling price - at least 50. Technologies are researched instantly.

Space program. The whole map opens up and is constantly visible to you. Planes and missiles are built 50% cheaper and 100% faster. You are not affected by the nuclear embargo.

Appreciated? Have you chosen your favorite Miracle? It is time to recruit stones, that is, troops. Fighters

Troops - they are troops. But it is quite natural that they are all very different from each other and some are better in some actions, while others are better in others. And who, what and in what - read below.

It is interesting here that the creators of the game did not spare models for the troops, dressing them not only with unique creatures, but simply giving several models to all nations. For example, take a look at these tanks.

ancient ages

There are no sensible troops at this time yet. But something is still there. And that's something we're going to look at now.

Civil. Well, it is, of course, the peasants. Comrades are stupid and completely unsuited to battles. However, they are able to hide in buildings and from there sluggishly shoot at the enemy approaching their native places. After defeating the enemy, they get out and go to their jobs. In the future, they can turn into militias and the like.

Civilians also include scientists who sit in universities and do not want to fight for the good of the country (although they can be forced to go to the militia), merchants and caravans (who also prefer to die, but not betray the cause of pacifism). Merchants only do what they spud rare resources, and caravans drag goods back and forth in order to get more money for it. This also includes fishermen, who, in essence, are the same merchants, only at sea.

At this time, warriors such as a general and a leader can be issued. The strange thing here is that it is virtually impossible to buy them. Only get under the terms of the scenario. The leader is a big and strong fighter. The general is not a fighter at all, but a jack of all trades. His mere presence near his troops increases their armor (and this skill grows over time), and living in a fort increases the range of his defeat. The general also knows how, being close to his troops and giving the appropriate order: force the troops to dig in (entrenched troops greatly reduce the damage inflicted on them from the front), quickly march, hide (and shoot from the bushes, and only special troops such as scouts see your troops) , and also creates an illusory army. All these actions consume the entire mana of the general.

A characteristic feature of the infantry in the game is units of 3 fighters. But don't be fooled by their large number. Their quality corresponds to one fighter. And the ruler of life is only one for three. In general, the infantry is divided into light infantry (now - slingers), heavy infantry (hoplites) and archers (fighters with a bow). Heavy infantry are melee fighters, heavily armored and slow. Generally very effective against enemy cavalry. Light infantry and riflemen differ in that light infantry shoots closer and weaker, but they themselves are more armored and more viable, and they run faster. Light infantry is better at dealing with archers, and archers with heavy infantry. The scout available at this time is good only because it runs fast and sees far. There is nothing more good he can do.

At the sea at this time there are triremes and barges. There is nothing to think about - the trireme in all respects makes the bark.

classical ages

New centuries are characterized by the appearance of cavalry and siege weapons. After researching the militia, you can use this skill during enemy raids. Your peasants will not become the strongest, but they can thoroughly damage the enemy. Still, I wouldn't recommend using this skill. It was too long to restore the peasants later.

With the infantry, everything remained the same. That is, the dart throwers, phalanx and archer that appeared are fully consistent with their counterparts in the last century. Although no, not really. Heavy infantry is starting to use metal instead of wood, although the cost of metal is not very high so far.

The cavalry that has appeared is also divided into 3 groups - light cavalry, mounted archers and heavy cavalry. Mounted archers (mounted archers) are not very successful yet. For their high price, they are only marginally superior to foot archers. Although, if you decide to hunt the civilian population of the enemy, then horse archers are the best choice. Light cavalry (light cavalry) is the best choice. Not a very high price with very decent characteristics will allow you to use only light cavalry for a long time. In addition, this the best remedy against any shooters (even on horseback, even on foot). Heavy cavalry (cataphract) is still insanely heavy for your economy. It works very well against enemy heavy infantry and light cavalry, but the very high cost (both in money and metal) will not allow them to be produced in large quantities.

The value of siege weapons (in this case, catapults) is hard to overestimate. With their help, buildings are destroyed, that is, what other infantry and cavalry will torment for a long time, tediously and stupidly, and will not get any result. They have only two drawbacks - a greater vulnerability to attacks by other troops and a long deployment in positions.

In the Navy - all the same, plus the prototype of the fire-ships - fire rafts. We send them to the center of the enemy fleet and the number of attackers is greatly reduced. The galleys are still too much superior to the dromons to somehow lean towards the latter.

Middle Ages

The appearance of a spy in the world. What can a spy do? Naturally, like any secret agent, he knows how to detect other spies. Yes, and kill opponents too much. That's right, there is nothing here on our territory to engage in any unauthorized activities. And the spy also knows how to buy (bribery), he buys both enemy troops (he can’t know civilians) and buildings (but only on your territory - for example, he buys military buildings after the assimilation of the city). The spy buys everything with his mana.

Supply wagon. A valuable piece designed to invade enemy territory. She doesn't do anything special. But it reduces resistance in enemy territory (within its radius of action) and makes siege weapons fire faster.

Researcher. Got a dog that pulls him by the leash. Because of this, he began to run faster. Still useful as a tireless researcher. But just as sickly and dies from the first shot.

Infantry. The sunset of the era of archers. Crossbowmen or heavy archers are the last representatives of this profession. Not very much, and it's a pity. Heavy infantry were modified into spearmen, and light infantry into elite javelin throwers.

Cavalry. Heavy mounted archer, light cavalry and knight still coexist in their respective categories. And, as before, the best choice is light cavalry. Although the knights have become much more accessible to the people, it is quite possible not to add a few knights to the general crowd, but to create a full-fledged knight squad.

In siege artillery, the catapult was replaced by a trebuchet. A few improvements, but the whole system is still unfolding for a very long time.

At sea, the situation is the same - carracks are fighting, improved fire rafts are destroying large concentrations of enemy fleets, caravels are resting. Although the caravels have already crept up a little in terms of characteristics to the carracks.

Age of gunpowder

The first changes in the age of gunpowder are actually much less noticeable than we would like.

Only two remained in the infantry - elite spearmen (still very a good choice) and arquebusiers, which replaced dart throwers. However, the study of firearms is not yet beneficial. Unfortunate marksmen are destroyed on the count of "one" by a dashing light cavalry raid. They don't even try to run away.

Dragoons appeared in the cavalry. These are the same horse archers, only firing from guns. They are as frail as arquebusiers, and, like all other mounted archers, do not deserve special attention.

The bombard is no longer decomposed. It just takes a long time to unfold. Yes, you would try to turn such a colossus manually. So the siege weapons remained at the same level. Only the characteristics have improved slightly.

In the Navy - an addition to the family. Bombardier ship - an analogue of siege artillery on land. First of all - the range of destruction. Because they have complete order with protection - they will have to destroy for a long time and stubbornly. However, do not let them go unaccompanied. Bombing ships have a "dead zone" where the enemy will feel great. Frigates are ideal for escort. Although corvettes, finally becoming much cheaper than frigates, also deserve a presence in your fleet. And, of course, during large-scale hostilities, do not forget about firewalls.

rebirth

In the Renaissance, there is a truly serious change in the composition of the armies.

Firstly, soldiers (improved militias) become your weapons. Well, naturally, playing as soldiers is not worth the effort. But still, this opportunity is encouraging.

The appearance of a saboteur breaks all ideas about pre-existing scouts. From now on, they can not only track down and kill enemy spies and tirelessly scour the undeveloped territory, but sometimes they also kill. Using the sniper skill (sniper), a saboteur can easily destroy an enemy soldier or vehicle from a long distance. The fact that the saboteur has his own principles suggests that he does not fight with the civilian population. But a crowd of saboteurs who ran into an enemy building can do what the rest would like, but it doesn’t work - destroy it (sabotage). Although this crowd needs no one to shoot at them and a little time. The bomb must be planted.

In the infantry there is a complete transition to firearms. Fusiliers (heavy infantry) shoot closer than musketeers, but compare favorably with the latter with more life and armor. Yes, and for some reason they move faster.

In the cavalry, things are not so rosy. So far, only the Carabinieri have firearms. But they, due to the increased armor, have become more accessible for use. The choice between cuirassiers and hussars is up to the player. Hussars are faster and cuirassiers are stronger. But, as practice shows, both are built (due to the use of completely different resources).

The guns do not bring relief, still extremely slowly turning around in positions. Will wait...

In the fleet, the same gentleman's set is still - three warships and a firewall. By the way, enjoy the last one while you still have it. This is the last era with firewalls. More perfect methods of destroying enemy ships will soon be invented.

Age of Industry

As soon as gunpowder found its place, oil appeared and everything immediately changed dramatically.

The light infantry got skirmishers, the same clueless troops as before. Heavy infantry received an anti-tank unit and are now ready for combat operations against enemy tanks. Its only drawback is its too short range. But there's nothing you can do about it.

More interesting is the appearance of 2 new fighters - foot soldiers. The first is a machine gunner, the founder of the machine gun troops. A wonderful fighter with a long range of destruction of the enemy. Works great against enemy infantry. And it won't disappoint against tanks. For the first time in the infantry, it is represented not by 3 fighters, but by only 2. We bury this comrade in defense, and no one will break through to the newly captured city. Plus, he also shoots at aviation.

Even more interesting is the flamethrower. This one is now and forever. The point of using a flamethrower is to drive the enemy out of buildings and trenches. That is, hacking the lines of a massive infantry defense. The main thing is to start, and then the machine gunners and armored cars that come up will finish off the enemy.

If you cross light cavalry and mounted riflemen, you get an armored car. Excellent tool against enemy infantry. Yes, and shoots at planes. True, sluggishly, but all the same, they will think before they pester your troops. The tank was replacing the heavy cavalry. From now on and forever he is the main fighter in your army. If you overtake the enemy for a century or two, then the tank will become a real nightmare for him, because no one can break through such armor.

There is a holiday in the artillery camp. A new unit appeared here - an anti-aircraft gun. Designed to protect your units from air attack. You don't need a lot, but a few never hurt. Needs constant dragging to the active army. For otherwise, he lazily smokes away from the main theater of operations. And there, perhaps, enemy aircraft beats yours. The gun still slows down during turns. Sadly...

Once the anti-aircraft guns appeared, the one with whom they were fighting appeared. That is, aviation. So far, it is represented only by a biplane. But he, without any embarrassment, shoots at enemy ground troops. The only disadvantage of aviation is the short flight time. Therefore, to locate the base far from the combat area is at least criminal. Airplanes will fly, look and fly away. But they can always be relocated from one airfield to another.

On the sea - serious changes. There is a destroyer (a light and cheap ship) designed for reconnaissance. There is a submarine (destroying enemy ships is her profession). And there is a dreadnought that acts as artillery support during the landing. Yes, he can also prepare the territory for landing, having previously cleared the coast. New time

Partisans are the next improvement of "militarized" peasants and scouts. Just a few positives.

In the infantry - no major changes. Yes, and there will be no more of them, changes, then. Everyone just gradually grows in characteristics, without gaining significant advantages. Light infantry - infantryman, heavy - grenade launcher, machine guns - heavy machine gun. That's it, there's nothing more to comment on.

On the front of heavy equipment is also unchanged. Tanks and armored vehicles are the main force of your army.

But in the camp of artillery - serious changes. The howitzers acquired their own mover, which dramatically accelerated the process of establishing them on the ground. What can not but rejoice. Improved anti-aircraft guns shoot better, but they have not received anything special.

Serious changes in the pilots. Fighter - he is a fighter (a direct successor to a biplane). But the bomber is a completely new thing. Throws the enemy with his bombs without any regret. A group of 5 - 6 bombers deal with any enemy object very confidently and effectively. Well suited for preparing cities for capture (you just need to clear the area from anti-aircraft guns). A fighter-bomber is a cross between these two aircraft. Can't do anything out of the ordinary.

Helicopter. This thing appeared for the first time and is not yet capable of serious business. Best suited for autonomous reconnaissance - fire it up and forget it. But the main distinguishing feature of a helicopter is that it is controlled in the same way as ground troops. That is, it does not depend on fuel and flies under your strict guidance (and not on its own).

Another piece of news is the introduction of missiles. A simple rocket is a cheap thing, but only suitable for small dirty tricks. For example, to destroy an enemy oil rig. She is not capable of more. But a nuclear missile is already serious. Hitting a city with such a thing destroys all structures that had the imprudence to be near the city and immediately introduces 2 new concepts into the game. The first one, the nuclear embargo, is already familiar to you. The second is the inclusion of the Armageddon counter. The fact is that the use of nuclear weapons can lead to a worldwide catastrophe. This very counter counts down how much is left before it. Therefore, the use of nuclear weapons should be necessary, and not constantly. Although, to be honest, 3-4 correct launches of nuclear missiles irreversibly tilt the situation in your favor.

The destroyer and dreadnought were replaced by a cruiser and a battleship. That is the same song, only in a new way.

But the aircraft carrier that has appeared deserves separate consideration. This is a mobile air base carrying 7 aircraft. Moreover, he produces the planes on his own (only 100 coins apiece), and the price of the planes is stable. The price for such a freebie is the very mediocre combat power of carrier-based aircraft. But what do you want for that kind of money? It is quite capable of covering a group of your battleships from a raid by enemy fighters. Yes, and he will not refuse to knock out enemy troops on the shore.

information age

In the barracks - discounts again! That is, not discounts, but an update of the lineup ... Well, yes, old fighters are leaving, new ones are coming. On the stage - elite special forces, assault infantry, an improved machine gun and an anti-tank missile. As good as it gets. And it won't.

An infantry fighting vehicle and a main tank are a completely natural proposal from the heavy equipment section. A tank is more effective against enemy tanks, and an infantry fighting vehicle is more effective against enemy infantry.

In artillery, the place of guns is occupied by MLRS (multiple launch rocket systems). Even faster set into place (although they recede extremely slowly due to the low turning speed). Excellent cars, if covered by tanks and helicopters. Anti-aircraft missiles are somehow not very impressive with their effects. They could have been made better. For really effective use, they are required in large quantities.

In aviation - the change of fighters and fighter-bombers to jets, the acquisition of a strategic bomber. Everything is the same, only more. However, there are 2 more planes that open only after studying one of the super technologies. In fact, they are much better than their predecessors. But, to be honest, you can do without them.

A combat helicopter is a thunderstorm for armies unprotected from aviation. It is inexpensive, and ready to do dirty tricks to the enemy at any time and very quickly. A dozen of these machines should always be kept nearby and thrown into the attack as soon as a gap is discovered in the ranks of the enemy.

Missiles have improved. But if the winged one remained in the section of major dirty tricks, then the improved nuclear missile became even more brutal, destroying all life in a larger radius.

In the fleet - no change. Improved battleship and submarine (as evidenced by the addition of the word improved to the name). The cruiser, on the other hand, acquired missiles and became a missile cruiser.

Well, the theory of military affairs has been mastered - it's time to move on to practice.

It's probably not a secret for you that there are 18 races in the game. Naturally, these races are not twins - brothers, and each has certain skills. You can not fool yourself with these very skills and just play. Moreover, it is possible to turn off the "forces" of nations and their special fighters. But will it be interesting for you to play the same races?

By the way, about the unique fighters. For the first time in the history of such games, unique troops go "in batches". That is, there is one fighter in the form of several different representatives in several eras. Like a Cossack and a Don Cossack among Russians. The only drawback of this system is that, chasing the number of troops, the developers missed the quality. And the uniqueness of many fighters is now only available for a warrior of a different model depicting him. Although there are very few models for conventional troops (especially at the latest levels of technology).

Races will be discussed in full in the section on playing the campaign, where race choice is given special importance (although any race can be won).

In general, science consists of 4 areas: scientific, commercial, civil and military. All of them are studied in the library for the funds obtained by honest labor. Moreover, as a rule, by themselves they only provide an opportunity for the construction of new buildings and subdivisions. Well, the possibility of additional discoveries (which are made in other places). Well, only the presence of the corresponding century allows building new buildings and divisions.

Since it’s been said about the age, it’s better to finish with it right away. Century only gives the possibility of building new buildings and soldiers (if there is a corresponding opening). While discoveries in the relevant areas require only the availability of funds, and one can pay all attention to only one of the scientific branches, forgetting about others, this cannot be done with a century. To open a new century, 2 rules must be observed: all 4 technologies of the previous century and 2 technologies of this age (and 1 technology of level 2) must be researched. Then you will be able to enjoy all the benefits of the corresponding age. Well, in each new century, you are given the opportunity to build 2 more wonders of the world.

What are the 4 main branches of scientific development? Each of them, as it is studied, increases one of the many limits of the game, allows new discoveries in additional buildings and carries some additional value (for example, opens new buildings). Moreover, after studying all technologies in all centuries, you will be given 4 super technologies (1 for each branch of science). Learning each supertech significantly increases the cost of the other supertechs. And now we will analyze all the scientific areas in order.

Scientific business. Learning each technology reduces the cost of learning technologies in the library by 10%, increases the range of vision of cities, scouts and observation towers. And finally, it increases the amount of resources found in the ruins. In addition, it is in the scientific business that the possibility of new research opens up in the smelter, sawmill, barn and university. And these buildings themselves appear only with the growth of scientific technology. For the growth of a scientific business, costs in the form of money and science points are necessary. Super technology (Artificial Intelligence) - any troops and civilians are built instantly.

Warfare. Affects the population limit, increasing the amount of population that can be built. New military buildings are being opened here. Without military affairs of the appropriate level, it is impossible to study military units. Also affects new research in forts. Research requires science points and metal. Super technology (Missile) - enemy missiles cannot explode in your territory, the level of Armageddon rises by 2 units.

Civil case. Raises the city limit, increasing the number of cities you can build. Raises the level of the border parameter. Affects research in temples and towers, opening new ones. Research requires science points and food. Super technology (World Government) - all timers for assimilation of the city, capture of the enemy capital, etc. work instantly.

Trading business. Affects the resource limit (of course, raising it) and the caravan limit (increasing the number of caravans available for production). It does not affect any research, but opens up many opportunities: at the first level - the ability to build a market and dock, at the second - the ability to explore new continents and the ability to sell and buy resources on the market, at the third level - the ability to trade with other people's peaceful or friendly cities . To research this technology, you need science points and a tree. Supertechnology (Global Prosperity) - increases the population limit and resource limit to the maximum, it opens up the ability to build a stealth bomber and an improved jet fighter.

It's time to move on to additional technologies. They are researched in the following institutions: smelter, sawmill, barn, university, fort, watchtower, temple. As a rule, 1 or 2 technologies are researched. Moreover, one is directly related to this building (for example, an increase in wood production in a sawmill), and the second is indirect. Technology is consistent. That is, if one increases timber harvest by 50%, then at the next level of technology, timber harvest will increase by 100%. The same rule applies to other technologies. And now - what and where is being investigated. If a technology is being researched to increase the level of extraction of a particular resource, then this resource is not required for its study.Temple. The first technology explores rare resource income increase and tax income increase. Taxes are profits that you receive and grow with the growth of the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe controlled territory. Although, to be more precise, this is a certain percentage of income from caravans. The second technology affects cities - increases their life, firing range and effect on borders.

Sawmill. The first technology, of course, increases the amount of wood produced. The second increases the speed of construction of buildings and the amount of life they have.

Barn. The first technology increases the amount of food produced. The second technology speeds up the construction of foot and cavalry troops of troops, increases the range of their vision and speeds up the treatment of troops that have garrisoned the building.

Smelter. The first technology increases the amount of metal mined. The second - increases the production speed of ships, tanks, armored vehicles and siege weapons, increases the range, speed and life of supply wagons and reduces the damage your troops receive from resistance in enemy territory by 25%.

University. Nothing special - increased productivity of scientists.

Watch tower. The study of new "transformations" of peasants - into partisans, militias, etc. The second technology is to increase the level of resistance on its territory.

Fort. The first technology is an increase in the expansion of the boundaries for the fort, an increase in the range of vision and shot for the fort, an increase in the garrison for the fort and towers. The second technology is to speed up the construction of generals and increase their effect on the armor of your troops, increase life, vision and action range and speed for generals and spies.

The main rule for the use of new technologies - all buildings for research additional technologies should be next to each other. Then you won't have to look for them when you need them. What to explore? Yes, everything needs to be explored, although, first of all, technologies that increase the flow of resources are needed.

With the basic technologies a little easier. The most convenient sequence of their research on entry level- science, military affairs, civil affairs, trade. In this way, research is cheaper and development is accelerated. Further development(after 2 - 3 levels) - at the discretion of the player.

Economy

The economy in the game is based on resources (there are 6 of them - food, metal, wood, money, oil and science points), special resources and research that increase labor productivity.

However, let's start not with resources, but with the main features of the economy. The first of these is that each subsequent building or soldier is more expensive, the more there are in the game. This takes into account the TOTAL number of units in the category, not the number of specific units. To put it simply - if you have a cavalryman, then the infantryman will be evaluated as the second soldier, and not as the first infantryman. In other words, it will be very expensive to build huge armies and you should not try to influence this high cost through a diverse composition of the army.

The second feature is that resources come in a continuous stream, without the process of delivery to warehouses. This circumstance, together with the infinity of resources (yes, forests are cut down, but not cut down) completely excludes such a variant of damage to the economy as the interception of peasants loaded with resources.

The third feature of the game is robbery. When enemy buildings and some troops are destroyed, part of the funds spent on them by the builders is plundered. Although this is a rather insignificant contribution to your economy, but in the first centuries, when the influx of resources is very slow, such "contributions" can be very useful. And now we can move on to quite ordinary options for raising the economy.

The main resources are characterized by the fact that they are not always mined. Thus, oil appears only in the age of industry, and metal - in the second century. But! The appearance of these resources does not mean that they will be used immediately. Demand for certain resources exists only at certain times and at certain stages of development. Naturally, the military industry is the main consumer of resources, which determines the main focus on its needs.

The extraction of resources is carried out in buildings specialized for this. It is worth noting that each building has a certain capacity of workers. And if for farms it is always the same, then for mines and lumberjack camps it can be completely different. Considering that only one mining enterprise can be placed on one forest or one mountain, it is worth moving the cursor over this very forest and choosing the point at which the number of workers will be maximum. After all, it may happen that there will be few mountains on the map, then each mountain will be a kind of treasure. And you can later regret very bitterly about a worker left idle. And if the enterprise turned out to be too large from the very beginning, some jobs may not be filled there.

By the way, about the employees. Peasants have now learned not to shirk idleness and find work for themselves at the nearest mining enterprise (mine or lumberjack camp). Unfortunately, they do not build buildings, but this is also nice.

Be aware of the production limit and control it carefully. Mines "in reserve" are not needed by anyone. There will be no effect from them anyway (resources will be produced "for air"), and you will spend resources on them. Moreover, these very spare buildings often want to be built just at the time of lack of resources. Resources are directly extracted in the following places: wood - lumberjack camp, food - farms, metal - mines, oil - oil rig or platform, knowledge points - university, money - with the help of caravans scurrying between cities. And, of course, some buildings that bring a certain increase in a particular resource by their mere presence.

Rare resources were implemented in a peculiar way. They exist in 2 types - disposable (a little bit of resources when found) and permanent use. To generate income from permanent resources, merchants are needed to build a house next to them and "process" them. As a rule, these resources bring 2 or 1 (but doubled) the base resource and some kind of global improvement (for example, reducing military research costs by 25%). The calculation of profit from them is based on separate formulas, but some rare resources due to very successful global improvements simply need to be seized. Rare resources will be discussed in more detail in the "Campaigns" section, where they take on additional significance.

The last component of the economy remained - research. Once again I will repeat and say - all research buildings should be in one place. Fortunately, there is such an opportunity. Then you can quickly influence your economy.

And finally, about the specific need for resources. Food is desperately needed in the first centuries (when all research and troops depend on it). Its value is greatly reduced with the advent of armored vehicles. The metal begins to be heavily used from the 3rd - 4th century, and the peak of its need is from the moment oil appeared. Oil, although it appears in the 6th century, becomes truly significant in the 7th. Wood is always needed, but a special need for it is in the first centuries (creation of farms) and to increase the return from researchers at universities. Money does not have peaks of use, but each change of era with subsequent improvements to the troops requires significant cash injections. Well, science ... In general, it needs a lot. Especially if you open the final opening. Therefore, build universities and study.

Diplomacy

There are no special diplomatic frills in the game. The key in the lower right corner will quickly help you learn the intricacies of negotiation. Declaration of war, conclusion of peace and alliance, gifts and demands for tribute - this is a fairly standard set of diplomatic missions. Although the correct maneuvering on the diplomatic front can greatly facilitate tasks on the military one.

Military actions

The first law of military operations is to overtake the enemy in development. Two centuries of difference is already an eternity. And this advantage must be realized immediately. However, if the opponent is not stupid, then you are unlikely to be able to catch him on such nonsense. And then what? Then other laws come into play.

Defensive structures here are not intended for defense, but to cover their retreating. The initiative must be in your hands. If you give it to the enemy, then soon you will only be stupidly snapping, trying to figure out what else you can do. A powerful network of towers is wiped off the face of the earth with just one nuclear strike, so relying on one defense is wrong.

The attack must be fast and efficient. If possible, with the preparation of the city planned for the capture (in later centuries) with the help of bombing or throwing light rockets. Also in later centuries, the technique of "supporting nuclear strike" works well. With it, you start an attack on the city, and your main forces will be in the distance. The answer to this will be pulling up the enemy troops to the city. This is followed by a nuclear strike right on the city. The result is that the enemy has no troops, but there is a very definite gap in the economy. And the city is already preparing to be captured. It remains only to bring the troops and take it. If the enemy does not retaliate with a nuclear strike, the city is yours. With a computer, this tactic works flawlessly.

Also, with the computer, the maneuver with the attack of several cities at once is wonderful. But! This is contraindicated in the first attack on the enemy. At least one city must already have been captured (and therefore the defending forces must be weakened). Then, starting a massive attack on the next city, you can quietly attack neighboring cities with small forces. If there are no defensive structures near them, then you can get these cities at your disposal even earlier than the target of the main attack.

The main goal of military operations is the capture of cities. Destroying enemy structures is secondary. Moreover, outbuildings pass to you after the assimilation of the city. Yes, and military buildings can be bought with the help of spies. The invasion must take place with large forces, and the city must be captured as quickly as possible. Having captured - to defend it. Here the option with the general and dug-in soldiers is quite possible. Against a computer, this is quite passable. But a living enemy is likely to first deal with the general, and then grind all the soldiers. It is easier to defend the city in later eras - due to the fact that tanks stand up as a powerful shield and block all approaches to the city.

Siege weapons should be used for their intended purpose - shelling buildings. The fact is that they are extremely bad at hitting moving targets. And although the result of a shot at an enemy soldier will most likely be excellent, this result is extremely rare due to very low accuracy. And it is very important not to leave your siege weapons unprotected. A breakthrough of just a few enemy cavalry will lead your assault to defeat. It won't work well.

The massiveness of attacks and the introduction of reserves are ensured, first of all, by properly organized production of troops. There should be several places for the production of troops at once, so that it is always possible to quickly ensure their rapid influx. Naturally, these same production facilities should be located in different places (so as not to be covered by one nuclear explosion). Please also note that it is unprofitable in all respects to produce one tank or one grenade launcher. Firstly, the army will be "one-sided". Secondly, it is unprofitable economically. Different troops consume different resources. The simultaneous production of heavy and light cavalry is beneficial in that production will not stop when one of the resources has run out and there is nothing to replenish it. In production buildings there is a very convenient button for setting to endless production. But it is worth considering that at the end of any resource, endless production is turned off. Therefore, it is not bad at all to control the production process (to know how things are at the moment).

If the fighting takes place on the sea map, then the winner is likely to be the one who controls the sea. Therefore, here is just the case when speed is everything. No, you should not rush to build ships in the first era. But by the 4th - 5th century you should control the enemy's coast. And the invasion should take place with the shores cleared of defensive structures.

In general, the most important contribution to victory is made by a well-tuned economy. No resources - no victory. A lot of resources - a lot of troops. So do not forget to make improvements in time. And among the first buildings there should be by no means military, but outbuildings. Trying to rush is most likely certain defeat.

Name: Ambassador (Ambassador)
Requirement: Win one multiplayer game
Tip: The achievement can only be obtained by playing with another person, in a team (in case of victory, the achievement will be achieved by both players), or against each other.

Name: Assassin (Killer)
Requirement: Win the game mode "Assassin"
Tip: If your goal is only to get this achievement, then you can set up two light computer players in the map settings and start the game. At the beginning of the game, you will be told the color of your enemy and the color of your killer. You must successfully defend against your killer and eliminate your target. After eliminating your goal, the goal of the defeated nation is transferred to you.
Note: Being on the territory of your killer is punishable by high damage to the troops, so be careful when protecting your nation!

Name: Big Huge (Huge)
Requirement: Win a Big Huge sized map
Tip: For this achievement, do not play with a lot of other nations, otherwise the battle may drag on for a long time.

Name: Good Ear (Good hearing)
Requirement: Win the Musical Chairs game mode.
Tip: The essence of the mode lies in the fact that after each specified interval, music sounds and the nation that has the fewest points loses. Nothing difficult if at the beginning of the game you focus all your efforts on collecting resources.

Name: Knockout (Knockout)
Requirement: Win the game mode "Sudden Death (Sudden Death)"
Tip: In this game mode, the capture of one city entails the defeat of the nation. The easiest way to capture a newly built small city. And do not forget about the defense of your cities.

Name: Territory (Territory)
Condition: Win by capturing a certain area of ​​territory (~70%)
Tip: Build forts and cities on the borders of your holdings to capture more territory, research civic technologies, and study research in the temple and fort, increasing the National borders parameter. The rare resource "Rubies" and the wonder of the world "Colosseum" also increase this parameter.

Name: Science Nerd
Condition: Win the technology race
Tip: You need to reach the end age specified in the game rules as soon as possible. As in the Musical Chairs game mode, you need to focus all your efforts on collecting resources.

Name: Wonder (Miracle)
Condition: Earn a certain number of points for the wonders of the world, faster than other opponents
Tip: Don't build too many wonders from the start of the game. In the initial era, the wonders of the world give a small number of points (1-2). It is best to outrun your rivals by a couple of epochs and start building wonders of the world for which they give more than 6 points. It is possible to specify in the settings the number of points for miracles to win 1 point and build any of the available miracles as quickly as possible.

Name: Skilled
Requirement: Score a record number of points in any of the skill tests
Tip: The easiest skill test is to quickly transition from the ancient era to the classical one. At the start of the game, explore nearby ancient ruins, research science and commerce level 1, destroy three farms (or build two more), and advance to the next age.

The next two achievements can only be obtained in single player

Name: Student of War
Requirement: Defeat AI opponents on "Tougher (Hard/Hard)" difficulty
Tip: Defeat an opponent on this difficulty - not an easy task, but there is an easy way to win. In a quick game, in the diplomacy settings, select the item "Custom Team (Custom Teams)". Add three or four nations. Set one nation to one team, and to everyone else, including yourself, another team and start the game. Your allies will do everything for you :-)

Name: Master of War (Master of War)
Requirement: Beat AI opponents on "Toughest" difficulty

When dinosaurs walked the Earth... Eh, it became difficult to live and earn their daily bread for gentlemen developers! After all, in every game you need to come up with something new, extraordinary, exciting. ... How many games do we remember, saying: “There were other times: the air was cleaner, and the beer was tastier ...” Here

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When dinosaurs walked the earth...
Eh, it has become difficult to live and earn your daily bread for gentlemen developers!
After all, in every game you need to come up with something new, extraordinary, exciting. ... How many games do we remember, saying: “There were other times: the air was cleaner, and the beer was tastier ...” So the scriptwriters have to dodge with might and main in order to please gourmet gamers. And it is doubly difficult for renegade companies to live: either create a masterpiece, or live in the grave with the tag “Clone” or “Plagiarism”. It seemed that the second option was prepared for the guys of Brian Reynolds, who left Sid Meier. But they created a game that includes a finely chopped Age of Empires, large sheets of immortal Civa, and a sauce of nostalgia and good execution. What came of it? Let's see…

Make War, not Peace!
And if from school you imagined yourself as Napoleon, Hitler or Caesar, then this game is for you! You have a great opportunity to realize your tyrannical plans! First, choose a nation. There are enough of them, but I, out of old habit, played for the Romans. Each race has its own units and bonuses, but they are useful from gulkin's nose. So the game is finally on. And the question immediately arises, where did Germany or other nations come from in the ancient age? And how do you like the army of Elizabeth in the advanced age of the future? That's the same.
After starting the game, carefully read the interface, since it is through it that you will solve the world's problems. And how are we going to solve them? Ta-a-ak, who here loves peace and prosperity? Shot on the spot! The essence of the game is exclusively in fighting, and nothing else. No, of course, you can watch how Holland finishes off Russia, how blacks seize prestigious Spanish resorts, and the Chinese occupied South America, but sooner or later your peace-loving neighbors will be taken out, then your turn will come.
But still, war is not the only, albeit the cheapest, way to capture enemy lands. You can buy them with the help of special cards, here is the first innovation for you. By the way, the cards are very useful, but they are quite expensive, and at first you will not be able to afford them. Skillfully using the extracted cards, you can get a huge head start against the enemy. It's a pity that the cards are disposable, besides, only 4 cards can be used in one battle.

Since we started talking about the war, it's a sin not to remember the units. Everything is clear here - who is more expensive is stronger. There is nothing to say about the balance, in fact, all units are painfully the same. Yes, and you should not remember about tactics, here everything is decided solely by the mass, and the AI ​​​​of the enemy is useless. But what pleases the game is the scale of the battles. I have already said that everything is taken en masse, but when two huge armies merge in battle, it looks very beautiful and, perhaps, epoch-making. By the way, it is worth noting that the navy is useless, battles on the water look lousy, besides, they are expensive and inefficient. There are no transports at all.

Mom, I ruled the Earth today!
political map divided into regions, each region has a certain center, capital, so to speak. It can be either a luxurious developed city, or a filthy shed. In the latter case, this means that this territory is not occupied by anyone. Resources located on the territory of the region are shown under the city icon. Depending on the time the region is under the auspices of a particular nation, it becomes stronger. However, this power can be brought down by separate cards. Nation capitals are marked with flags. On the map you can see various figures, one figure - one army. Armies can be moved on their territory, as well as attacking the enemy with them. There are some tactical advantages here. If this region is between your regions, then you can call for reinforcements, otherwise the enemy can do it. For the sake of complicating the game in one move, you can do each action 1 time, whether it's an attack on an unloved neighbor or buying a card. And if you decide to capture the enemy nation completely, then carefully study the resources that are located in its regions, and also find the shortest path from your army to the enemy’s capital, since the capture of the capital means a total loss of the nation, and all its lands are transferred under your leadership, the game is worth the candle. This way you can make your life much easier, for example, I stayed to play 1v1 with Russia. My army is in Rome, I only control Europe, Russia controls everything else (I played on the highest difficulty). Close to the capital. I cut through to it, and in an epoch-making battle I capture it, thereby gaining control over the entire territory of the globe. As you already understood, the goal of the game is to achieve world domination. Let's move on to another stage. We declare war on the annoying Chinese, select 4 necessary cards (why deny yourself luxury?), And lead the army to their nearest region. Hmm, the picture that appeared before me surprised me a little. Painfully reminiscent of the second "Age of Empires", yes, the developers were too lazy to make the original interface. No, I'm not saying that it's inconvenient, no, it's effective, but couldn't it have been changed a bit? I think it is possible, so we count it as a disadvantage.

Simple blacks bend their backs, the two on the right are us
What do we see on the battle screen? Our land, enemy land. Their boundaries are drawn with bold lines. Within the boundaries of our land, we get a city and a couple of farms. Sometimes they give a small army and sources of extraction of resources such as mines. Later, oil wells appear. All work is done by city residents, who, as usual, are stamped in the city center. As in Cossacks, all scientific research in the areas of commerce, economics, military craft and science is carried out in the library. Infantry is produced in barracks, tanks in an engine plant, aircraft at an airfield. Nothing new. There is also a university where scientists improve. By the way, I completely forgot, there are 6 types of resources in the game: food, oil, wood, money, metal and the so-called knowledge. All resources are endless. That's what strained in Rise of nations, however, as in real life, it's with money. In order for a hard coin to always be in your wallet, you need to make really titanic efforts: you need to build as many cities as possible and build trade routes between them. Be sure to build a temple, taxes are collected there. Cities, in addition to bringing money, have another useful quality, namely: the expansion of borders, which affects the population limit.

We are waiting for changes…
While it was a curse among the ancient Japanese to wish someone to live “in times of change,” changes in the game are clearly conducive to increasing the power of the state. Moving from era to era (one battle - one era), our armies become more equipped and powerful. The invention of nuclear missiles can rightfully be considered the crowning achievement of destructive power. But you should not abuse such a terrible weapon, and you can bomb it before game over. If we talk about the conditions of the battle, then there are several of them. An hour and a half is allocated to capture the city, the same with defense, the destruction of an enemy regiment in 5 or 15 minutes. You can capture enemy lands in 2 ways: build your city or clear the enemy's city. There is no time limit in a quick battle.

Execution
The graphics didn't make me happy. The ideal resolution is 1024x768. When you are in full zoom mode, the angularities of units and buildings stand out. Colors are very dull. In addition, the game is quite demanding on the car, sometimes there were strong brakes, and with the graphic bells and whistles turned off, it generally looks just miserable.

The situation is similar with sound, it is not bad, but call it good language does not turn (or the finger is too lazy to hit the key). The music is good enough, does not make you want to turn it off. There are some great tunes, but this is not enough.

Is it A Big Huge Game?
Now it's time to draw conclusions. When playing, it is clear that the guys from Big Huge Games really tried. But since the office is still young and inexperienced, the project turned out to be good, but a bit damp. Good idea, decent amount of innovations, mediocre execution. All in all, fans of Age of Empires and Civilization should enjoy it. I advise the rest to play for general development. I bow out on this. Have a nice game!