Despite their external similarity, each of the eighteen nations in the game RiseofNations has its own strengths and weaknesses, its own winning strategies. It is difficult to give preference to any nation; they are all carefully balanced. However, some work better in attack, others in defense, and some show rapid economic development.

In previous issues of LCI, read the complete guide to the game and the first part of the article.

In this article we will continue to analyze the distinctive features of gaming nations. Here you will learn about the distinctive features and corresponding strategic adjustments when playing as Germans, Greeks, Incas, Japanese, Koreans and Mayans.

Germans

Each of the game's nations has its own orientation: economic, attacking or defensive. The Germans have a strong economy with a military bias, moreover, they can use their advantages without special financial and human costs. This will appeal to those who want to quickly build a strong economy and a strong army. With the large-scale “tuning” of German military units carried out by the developers, the relevance of building a strong army should not be in doubt, but remember that the Germans do not have many military advantages, and when playing as them, you must take your opponent by the throat with a strong economy.

Improvements in granaries, sawmills and metallurgy are half cheaper for the Germans and become more accessible earlier. This improves economic performance, allowing the Germans to quickly maximize their production and quickly bring it to the very “ceiling”. You won't get any benefit if you don't fully exploit your advantage - research upgrades as early as possible by raising your production level. You can stop raising the bar when the production level is already at the ceiling. This often indicates an inefficient allocation of resources or poorly timed scientific research in the field of commerce. The matter can only be helped if the imbalance in the economy is corrected by transferring some of the city residents to new capacities.

All German cities collect an additional ten units of food, wood and metal. This is a hint that there is no need to delay increasing the number of cities. No one can take away the resources obtained in this way from you - even if the enemy launches a raid on logging sites and farms, these magical dozens will remain at your disposal. This property of a nation is one of those few in the entire game that does not require any effort on your part. Indeed, you will build cities anyway, and the requirement to build more cities can only be fulfilled with the growth of scientific knowledge.

You will be able to interact closely with another distinctive feature of the German nation. I'm talking about a 100% increased "prize" increase in resources from the construction of buildings, such as farms, mines, universities, trading tents, etc. This increase is credited to your account once after the construction of the corresponding building. Your interaction should be expressed in the desire to build up each city as much as possible, knowing that this will indirectly pay off with a large number of prize resources.

The remaining national features relate to military affairs. The Germans are creating fire ships with submarines somewhat faster and cheaper. This may encourage you to organize the famous underwater “wolf packs”, although only on nautical charts. Airplanes and helicopters are created a third faster - you don’t need to think too much here either: build up and start attacks before the enemy does, all other things being equal. The aviation theme does not end there - with each airbase built, the Germans receive two free Messerschmitts, which can then be successfully used against enemy supplies and siege weapons. Use aviation for its intended purpose.

Greeks

The Greek nation is scientists. All their advantages and all their strategies are involved in this; this obvious fact is easy for any novice player to find out and start exploiting.

At the very beginning of the game, the Greeks receive a university, and this early building should not be underestimated - universities directly affect the speed with which you will make your way through eras and develop technologies. This speed of development has a strong impact on your immunity to early attacks, since no one will stop you from building a fort and developing a couple of advanced “guerrilla” technologies.

Despite this, achieving prosperity in an economic sense is just as difficult for Greeks as it is for other nations (if not more so). It is one thing to quickly develop science, and quite another to have a strong economy. Make no mistake about this - the Greek armies will most likely be numerically smaller than the armies of their opponents, although they will likely be more developed. You can try to mitigate the problem with the size of armies by quickly reaching the Middle Ages, setting up unique heavy royal knights and starting raids on enemy cities. An opponent lagging behind in development will not be able to oppose anything to the medieval “tanks”, since heavy infantry - the generally recognized leader in beating knights - is too slow for this.

Let's move on to numerical values. Scientific developments in Greek libraries are one-tenth cheaper for all resources except knowledge, and are completed twice as fast. It's easy to see - this often leads to you getting ahead in technology. Do not pay attention to the remaining limitations on knowledge - from the very beginning you will have more of it than your enemies. In general, this will help the Greeks stay at least one technology ahead of their enemies throughout the game, so develop science as quickly as possible and build universities. Use this advantage to get good economic and military results so that your small but high-tech army does not become a heavy burden on the economy. Again, remember about defense and partisans.

Playing as the Greeks, you will be able to accumulate knowledge and build universities from the very beginning of the game. This gives you a huge advantage in the scientific technologies available for development, so immediately build a university in each of your cities and spend any available funds on scientists. However, do not get carried away with this too much - use only free funds so that the economy, the backbone of the nation, does not suffer from your passion for science.

Finally, the libraries and universities of the Greeks cost half as much as similar buildings in other nations. This is another argument in favor of the early construction of universities in all cities - not the strongest Greek economy is likely to withstand reduced construction costs.

The Incas

The Incas in the game have enormous economic potential, which smoothly turns into military power. The bad news is that the Incan power isn't visible until the Classic era, but once you enter the Classic era you immediately have large cash savings - which is especially hard for nations at this stage of the game.

You can buy a lot of things with this money. For example, you will be able to regulate the economy using market technologies for buying and selling resources. The Inca Knights are a formidable force. They are expensive, but with a large treasury it is not difficult to build several of these knights, and after each knight dies, a quarter of its cost is returned to you (probably in the form of valuable armor). Finally, spending readily available money to fund universities will greatly boost your era-hopping efforts.

Here, for example, is one of the strategies that allows you to use knights. Start the game as usual, but try to reach the Classic era faster than usual. Then build mines and fill them with miners until you reach the maximum in the production of metal and money at the same time. As soon as this joyful moment comes, build two stables and start building an army of knights. Add infantry and archers to your taste, equip it with a couple of siege weapons, and the army is ready. Even if all of it is broken in battle, a quarter of its value will be returned to you.

Inca mines, in addition to metal, produce money. This is the key benefit of the Incas, and half of their budget will come from profits from the supposedly legendary gold of Eldorado. Each citizen placed in the mine will yield ten units of metal and ten units of currency - and that's just at the beginning. And money is, as noted above, freedom. But for this you need, first of all, to have mines. Capture all the mountains that are nearby, build the required number of mines, filling them with workers - of course, just so as not to exceed the limit. Build mines as soon as you get your hands on the classical era, and the sooner the better. Do not let the enemy recapture your mountains; the loss of mountains means an economic disaster for you.

The upper limit of money extraction from the Incas has been raised by a third, and this is another contribution to the wealth of this people. Collect money in the mines, but don't forget about caravans - an easy and inexpensive way to increase your money. From time to time, your mining speed limit will increase, and you need to make sure that your speed is always at its maximum.

Finally, we need to remind you that after the death of your military units at the hands of the enemy, exactly a quarter of their cost is returned to you. This is a good help in the war, it will not affect your economy so much, especially if you throw fairly expensive heavy cavalry into battle. In this regard, you can use an interesting feature of the game (game bug?), as a result of which the returned cost of a lost unit is calculated from the price of the last unit. Remember that with each unit produced, the price of the next one increases. If you (the Inca lord) rebuilt ten horses, and they began to die, then the return of money from the first horse killed will be more than a quarter, since it will be calculated from the price of the last horse made. Such an Indian squiggle.

Japanese

The Japanese are committed to a military solution to all problems. The developers made them like samurai-militarists. The strength of the Japanese is in the infantry; their barracks soldiers are becoming cheaper every century. The usual strategy when playing as the Japanese is to develop to a certain level, then build a whole bunch of infantry and overwhelm the enemy with numbers. Once they begin to mine salt and sugar (which reduce the cost of military units), they become especially strong. By the way, the Japanese were not offended by the economy either. Cheap farms, cheap townsfolk, cheap way to get food and wood. It makes sense for them to develop commercial technologies first, this will allow them to extract resources more efficiently. There is something to smile about when playing for the land of the rising sun.

Let's start in order.

Units produced in barracks are created ten percent faster and cost seven percent less with each era plus military developments. In practice, this means huge Japanese armies, which, moreover, are rapidly being born. In this regard, it makes sense to rely on the infantry, leaving the cavalry for support (it is better to use light cavalry for this purpose - no metal is wasted, and you will have a lot of food).

The same soldiers do five percent more damage to buildings with each era (plus military research). Build up heavy infantry in the later stages of the game, and throw them at houses - they will serve you as well as a battery of cannons. The increase in the strength of attacks on the walls of enemy cities is not so noticeable for light infantry and archers - but they themselves weakly attack houses, and there is nothing surprising here.

Japanese ships are ten percent cheaper, and aircraft carriers are created a third faster. It would seem like a small increase, but on nautical charts it can be useful, especially considering the reduced price of fishermen. Build docks on sea maps as quickly as possible, and preferably before the establishment of the second city. Fast aircraft carriers will only help if you decide to rely on air raids. Other ships will either fight as usual or guard the cheaper fishermen.

But an additional quarter to the speed of food production by farmers and fishermen, plus farms that have fallen in price by half, is already serious. Food, delicious food! This also means that farms won't have to waste as much wood. Like many other nations, the Japanese may try to build farms just to get ten units of food "for nothing", even if some farms will not have anyone working at first.

And there is no forgiveness for you if you do not send fishermen out to fish on the sea map. Remember that fishermen extract two different types of resources at once and act!

Koreans

The Koreans have a good economic advantage at the beginning and good defensive capabilities throughout the game. The main Korean attraction is the free citizens that appear after the construction of the city, who can be immediately sent to useful construction. With the first city you get one, with the second - three, and with all the rest - five citizens. The infrastructure of the city with so many fast workers is growing before our eyes, and only its Chinese neighbors can compare with them in the speed of construction of mining buildings. Rapid development means fast resources and early achievement of the speed limit for their extraction.

No, of course, I’m not saying that it’s worth building cities just for the sake of these free Koreans, but it’s necessary to use this advantage. Try to build a third city near the mountains and quickly organize a mine. Do not leave townspeople unattended, and try not to send them as a whole “brigade” to construct one building. Five citizens building five buildings separately will get the job done faster than five people building one building. The only problem can be that there may not be funds in the treasury for five buildings at once.

Let's list other Korean features.

Koreans start the game with a temple and receive all temple upgrades for free. This increases the territory, and you just need to continue building temples in other cities. Taxes won't be a problem for you either, since Koreans are the most tax-oriented nation in the game. If you have the opportunity to build a temple in two different cities, then choose the one that is most likely to be attacked in the future. (This, by the way, is advice not only for Koreans, but for everyone in general.) As your territory expands, do not forget to direct merchants to rare resources. This is not critical advice, but for Koreans, rarities become more useful when combined with high tax returns.

Repair of buildings occurs at one and a half times the speed, and you will be able to repair buildings directly in battle (other nations do this very inefficiently according to game mechanics). Repairing buildings in battle means prolonging the sieges of your own cities, and after capturing someone else's city, repairing it is not a problem. Therefore, do not hesitate to repair cities in battle and during sieges, while waiting for the main army to arrive. This can save your city more than once. Repair captured cities too. Once a city captured from the enemy, assimilated and repaired in time, no one can take it back from you - there is not enough strength.

Koreans receive all partisan and militia improvements for free; this, as you might guess, is a defensive feature. I would not recommend using militias in attacks - they are rather weak. The only option is if you built a city right next to the enemy border. Then the free townspeople can be turned into militias and, having found out that the nearest enemy city is not guarded, launch a raid and beat up the defenseless townspeople. But this tactic is very risky - only use it when you are sure it is safe. And don’t even think about attacking the enemy with your militia if he has researched resistance technologies—resistance hits the militia especially hard. It is best to defend the city with the help of citizen militias. If your army is roughly equal to the invading army, then every soldier becomes important, and a few citizens can decide the outcome of the battle in your favor.

Mayan

If you ask yourself which of the three basic strategies (attack-defense-economy) the developers had in store for the Mayans, then the answer will be simple - defense. Mayan buildings are not only much stronger than others (50%) and are rebuilt half as fast, but they are also built at a significant (33%) discount on wood. The forts and towns of these Indians complete the picture; they fire with greater frequency than the forts and towns of other nations. They even shoot at those cities (central buildings) that do not have a garrison of citizens. As you can easily see, the developers made a lot of strong hints about the key focus of the Indians.

Let's now take a light look at all these defensive advantages. More frequent shooting of forts and shooting without a garrison means that more enemies will die during attacks on your cities, and your opponents will have to spend money on additional siege weapons and armies. This will also help avoid most of the damage from raids, since the central building of the city will begin “machine gun” fire on the enemy long before the townspeople run into it. Does it even make sense to hide Mayan townspeople in a central building? Only if they are in real danger and there is no army at hand. If the enemy most likely will not have time to reach them (for example, your troops will intercept him first), then you can leave the townspeople at their jobs.

Remember that Indian forts and castles are more effective and use them wisely. Build a couple of forts to expand your borders and provide your troops with support in military campaigns. Build military structures around the fort - barracks, stables and siege buildings - this will give you an excellent opportunity to train soldiers and immediately throw them into battle on the front line. Even if you cannot build a fort within shooting distance of enemy buildings, you will still be able to “press” the border of a rival state with it and notice the invading army in time. Evacuate the wounded to the fort, providing them with treatment and protection.

All Mayan buildings are built half as fast and have half as many hit points. Destroying them becomes somewhat more difficult. While the enemy is busy with your farms, gather an army and repel the attack. Faster building construction will be very useful for winning the race for the wonders of the world. This will also help in the construction of traditional “long-term construction” - forts, castles and cities. Combine this advantage with architectural improvements and the speed and health of your buildings will increase enormously. Finally, just before an enemy attack, you can quickly build a fort next to the city - and it is better to build it outside the city, so that the fort provides defense, but does not become the first target for the attackers. It will cost you the equivalent of five detachments of soldiers, but the benefit from the fort will be much greater.

All Mayan buildings, except the wonders of the world, cost one third less wood. This is the only economic advantage of the Indians, and it allows you to immediately build more farms. This will not only create a stable flow of food, but will also allow you to take advantage of one-time replenishments of its reserves. Therefore, actively build farms, especially in the second city, when you are saving food for the second commercial science or for the transition to the classical era. Don’t forget to build markets that have become cheaper, you can easily build yourself a market in each city. And they built markets - look, and money poured in.

Published in the magazine “Best Computer Games” No. 12 (25) December 2003
Author of the material: Timur Khorev

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The publishing company - Microsoft Game Studios, Big Huge Games & Skybox Labs - will publish the real-time strategy. The strategy projects the entire history of society and takes the player through 8 ages of the history of the whole world. This version of the game is a re-release of the old version with many useful updates and additions.

Plot

The plot of the game covers the entire line of history. The beginning of the game will take place with the development of one single Ancient Age city, in which it will be necessary to collect resources and build its own unique infrastructure. You can build Wonders of the World: Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower.

The path of conquering countries using bombers, tanks and battleships is possible. The game features 18 unique nations, each with their own national bonuses.

Gameplay

The gameplay of the strategy includes 6,000 virtual years of gameplay, a bunch of all sorts of geopolitical instruments for conquering the world, from small spy forays to a big and terrible world war.

In addition to the game there are 6 new nations (exotic Iroquois with tomahawks, Indians on elephants and much more).

20 units, 4 new companies, wonders of the world and several types of ruling elite have been added to the game.

Game features:

• Each new game brings with it a new challenge with its own unique style of play and combat attacks;
• there is multiplayer, improved water graphics, full-screen anti-aliasing;
• multiplayer mode with matches that can be rated;
• players will be able to build buildings only on the territory of the settlement or on the lands of allies;
• when creating cities and forts, the country's borders will expand and access to valuable resources will be opened;
• the player can play for a certain nation in any turn of historical time and bring it to modern times;
• there is an interesting opportunity to play for an extinct nation in real time, for this they created unique units “as it would be now”;
• if the player has good knowledge of the terrain, this will add advantages to him in the gameplay; he also needs to have good information about trade, economics, and knowledge of military affairs will come in handy.

The release date is set for June 2014. The project will be executed on the PC platform.

Rise of Nations Extended Edition Trailer

The game Rise of Nations is a computer game that is developed in the RTS genre. Elements of global strategy were introduced into this game. Here you will need to send some of your workers to collect resources, and others to build different buildings. You will also research technology and develop your military forces (army).

You can download Rise of Nations for free only from those sites that provide this access.
About the game Rise of Nations, the review reveals the most reliable facts: game modes, nations, system parameters, etc.
Before you start playing, you will need to watch a video about Rise of Nations. Perhaps you will find useful information for yourself in these videos, and new features of the game will open up for you.

You can play Rise of Nations in one of the following game modes:
1) Training is a mode in which you are introduced to the course of the game. It consists of several scenarios in which you will be given hints.
2) Single player is a mode in which you will fight against computer opponents. There can be from one to seven. The strength of the opponents is given to all the same.
3) Campaign - in this mode, actions take place on the game world map, which is divided into separate areas. In this mode, you choose which territory to capture. There is no need to act according to a written script here. In Campaign mode, more attention is paid to tactical missions.
4) Network game - this mode is intended for both the Windows operating system and MacOs. You can also play Rise of Nations over a local network. You cannot play together with users who have a different platform.

In Rise of Nations, nations differ in their skills and abilities. There are eighteen nations in total:
1) Aztecs are a Mexican people.
2) Bantu are a people who live in Africa, in the territory that is located south of the Sahara.
3) The British are the people who inhabit England.
4) Chinese.
5) Egyptians.
6) The French.
7) Germans.
8) Greeks.
10) Japanese.
11) Koreans.
12) Maya.
13) Mongols.
14) Nubians.
15) Romans.
16) Russians.
17) Spaniards.
18) Turks.
The abilities of nations depend on their character. Some may be advanced in economics, others are best at defense, and others are best at attacking.
The difference between nations is in the number of units and bonuses.
In Rise of Nations, buildings are divided into three classes:
1) Economic. They are mainly built in the city. These include: libraries, temples, market, barn, farm, smelter, sawmill, oil refinery.
2) Military. They can be built on the territory of your nation and on the lands of allied nations. Military buildings: barracks, stables, gun factory, missile silo, fort.
3) Wonders of the world. They bring bonuses. These include the following objects: pyramids, Versailles, Colosseum, Kremlin, Tikal, Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, etc.

Plunge into the world of unusual events and exciting adventures that the game Rise of Nations will give you!

Developer- Big Huge Games
Publisher-Microsoft

System requirements

Windows XP/2000/ME/98
128 MB RAM
Processor 500 MHz
800 MB free hard disk space
Video card: 16 MB with Direct3D

Introduction

How it was intended

Antique. The very beginning of the game world. Infantry and Watchtowers were the entire offensive and defensive arsenal of that time. Of the buildings of military significance, only the barracks is accessible.

Classical. The second era, which boasts the presence of a Stable, a Siege Weapons Factory, a Fort, a University and a Mine.

Medieval. The Fort turns into a Castle, with new units - a Spy and a Supply Van, following your troops.

Age of Gunpowder. As the name suggests, gunpowder has appeared in your world. Consequently, arquebuses and flintlock guns replaced the sling, bow and pike. Crossbowmen are still popular, but they will soon be replaced by gunpowder weapons...

Age of Enlightenment brought with it unit upgrades, heavy infantry and new types of siege weapons.

Industrial The era is characterized by the emergence of new resources for further extraction by your merchants, and the addition of a new game resource: oil. As for weapons, humanity switched to the use of tanks and airplanes. A step into the sky has been taken...

Modern era (we have already experienced it :)) - these are bombers, fighters, helicopters - in the sky, and heavy tanks, and missile silos (for now only for tactical missiles without a short-range nuclear warhead) - on the ground.

And finally Information the era in which we live now will delight commanders with nuclear weapons,

Stealth technology for bombers, more advanced fighters, the same T-80 tanks (for the Russians), and new global research in four areas (more on them below).

How we managed to bring it to life

Library- The most important, perhaps, is the civil structure. All discoveries and research are made here. One building for the entire territory is quite enough, unless you are planning a brainstorming session :).

University- the only building that produces Knowledge. To do this, you will need to hire seven scientists. Every city is required to have a University.

Temple- also wouldn’t hurt in every city. The temple explores taxation, religion, labor contracts and other delights of civilization. At the same time, the morale of the townspeople increases and strengthens their resolve when attacked by enemies.

Every city has its own miracle

Pyramid. II era, +1 Wonder point. Cost: 260 food, 260 wood.
Increases the commerce limit for food and wealth by 50 units.
Increases the city limit by 1 unit.
Food collection increases by 20 percent.

The Colossus of Rhodes. II era, +1 Wonder point. Cost: 200 wood, 200 wealth.
Increases the collection of money (wealth) by 30 percent.
Increases the population limit by 50 units.
Increases the commerce limit for wealth and wood by 50 units.

Coliseum. III era, +2 Wonder point. Cost: 390 wood, 390 metal.
Expands national borders by 3 units.
Forts and Towers are 20 percent cheaper.
Attrition of enemy units in your territory increases by 50 percent.

Terracotta Army. III era, +2 Wonder point. Cost: 300 food, 300 wealth.
Creates free units (in triplets) every thirty seconds from your barracks (that is, the Russians cannot possibly have free Zulu warriors :)).

Of course, these are the cheapest representatives of the infantry, but this does not reduce their value :). The upgrade in the barracks also affects them.

Temple of Tikal. IV era, + 2 Wonder point. Cost: 400 food, 400 wood.
Increases wood production by 50 percent.
Increases the effect of the Temple (national borders, hit points, attack) by 50 percent.
Increases the trade limit for wood by 100 units.

Porcelain Tower. IV era, + 2 Wonder point. Cost: 520 wealth, 520 metal.
Ships are created 50 percent faster.
Your profits from developing valuable resources and markets increase by 200 percent.
You receive a bonus from all valuable resources in your territory, even if they are not developed by merchants.

Angkor Wat. V era, +3 Wonder point. Cost: 680 wood, 680 wealth.
Increases metal production level by 50 percent.
Increases the commercial limit for metal by 100 units.
The cost of units produced in Barracks, Stables and Docks is reduced by 25 percent.

Palace of Versailles. V era, +3 Wonder point. Cost: 500 food, 500 metal.
Your supply wagons can heal the troops they accompany (if you play as the French, the healing is twice as good and faster).
When conducting research, the cost is reduced by 50 percent for all resources except Knowledge.
Units belonging to artillery, siege weapons, and escort vans move 25 percent faster.

Statue of Liberty. VI era, + 4 Wonder point. Cost: 600 food, 600 wealth.
Upgrading all units produced at the airfield is free of charge.
Reduces the cost of bombers and air defense buildings by 33 percent.
Reduces the risk of your troops being attrited in enemy territory by 100 percent.

Kremlin. VI era, + 4 Wonder point. Cost: 840 food, 840 metal.
Increases the commercial limit for food, wood and metal by 200 points.
Increases the risk of attrition of enemy units not accompanied by support vans in your territory by 100 percent.
Spies are created immediately. Benefit from the use of an additional spy unit that is not part of your population and thus does not affect the unit limit. Every time after killing a spy, this unit is created anew completely free of charge.

Eiffel Tower. VII era, + 6 Wonder point. Cost: 700 wood, 700 metal.
Increases profits from oil production by 100 percent.
Increases the commercial limit for all resources by 100 percent.
Expands national borders by 6 units.

Taj Mahal. VII era, + 6 Wonder point. Cost: 700 wood, 700 wealth.
Increases the hit points of buildings by 100 percent.
Profits from anything that generates wealth increases by 100 percent.
The commerce limit for wealth increases by 300 points.

Super collider. VIII era, + 8 Wonder point. Cost: 800 food, 800 knowledge.
The cost of purchases in the markets is not higher than 125 units (in wealth).
The sale price is not less than 50 units (in material wealth).
Technologies are being researched immediately.

Space program. VIII era, + 8 Wonder point. Cost: 1200 wealth, 1200 knowledge.
Unlocks all buildings, units and territories on the map.
The country becomes immune to the Nuclear Embargo.
Aircraft and guided missiles cost 50 percent less and are built 100 percent faster.

Common and valuable resources

Food (farms, fishing),
Wood (lumber camp),
Metal (mines),
Oil (oil spills),
Wealth (produced by markets using caravans; taxes),
Knowledge (generated by scientists; 80 units in 30 seconds).

Coal(+15 to knowledge, +15 to metal). Wood production increases by 25 percent.

Bison(+20 to food). The cost of building the Granary is reduced by 33 percent.

Obsidian(+10 to knowledge, +10 to metal). Archers, towers, forts and cities receive +1 attack.

Aluminum(+20 to metal, +20 to oil). Aviation costs are reduced by 15 percent and production speeds are increased by 25 percent.

Cotton(+20 to wood). The cost of units produced in barracks, stables and docks is reduced by 25 percent.

Dye(+10 to wealth, +10 to Knowledge). Civilian research costs are reduced by 25 percent.

Sugar(+12 to food, +12 to wood). Reduces the cost of all food by 10 percent.

Salt(+12 to wood, +12 to metal). The cost of units produced in a barracks is reduced by 15 percent.

Relic(+20 to knowledge). Research costs and upgrade time are reduced by 33 percent.

Wine(+10 to food, +10 to knowledge). The cost of upgrading units is reduced by 20 percent.

Gems(+10 to wealth, +10 to knowledge). National borders are expanded by 2 units.

Sulfur(+15 to wealth, +15 to metal). The cost of siege and artillery weapons is reduced by 20 percent.

Papyrus(+10 to wood, +10 to knowledge). The cost of scientific research in the Laboratory is reduced by 25 percent.

Spices(+10 to food, +10 to knowledge). Profit from Caravans increases by 20 percent.

Horses(+10 to food, +10 to metal). The cost of units produced in the Stable is reduced by 15 percent.

Silver(+10 to wealth, +10 to metal). Transitioning to a new era costs 15 percent less.

Diamonds(+20 to wealth). Increases the commerce limit by 10 percent.

Fur(+10 to food, +10 to metal). The cost of military research in the Library has been reduced by 25 percent.

Rubber(+20 to wood, +20 to oil). The cost of units produced in auto repair shops is reduced by 15 percent.

Copper(+20 to metal). Units produced in factories and docks receive 20 percent more hit points.

Silk(+10 to wealth, +10 to knowledge). The cost of commercial research is reduced by 25 percent.

Citrus(+10 to food, +10 to wood). Ships at sea are healed automatically.

Uranus(+20 to knowledge, +20 to oil). Nuclear-tipped missiles are 10 percent faster and 5 percent cheaper.

Amber(+10 to wood, +10 to wealth). The sales price on the market increases by 10 units, and the purchase price decreases by 10 units.

Peacocks(+10 to wealth, +10 to metal). The limit on the number of residents increases by 10 units.

Fish(+10 to food, +10 to wealth). Food resource obtained by fishing vessels.

Tobacco(+10 to wealth, +10 to knowledge). Residents construct buildings and monuments (miracles) 10 percent faster.

Wool(+10 to wood, +10 to knowledge). Creating citizens is 33 percent faster and costs 15 percent less.

Titanium(+20 to food, +20 to oil). Your army's attrition in enemy territory is reduced by 50 percent.

Whales(+10 to food, +10 to metal). The speed of fishing vessels increases by 20 percent.

Conclusion

As strange as it is to see, the creators of the game did not include the great American nation in the game. They are being replaced by a whole bunch of ancient Indians, who nevertheless grew up to our times and became owners of ultra-modern weapons. Come on - Indians. But how did the Bantu tribe build modern fighter planes? Apparently, they bought them from the Americans who were absent from the game and are fighting, bringing them down from the mountain to meet the advancing enemy.

Come on, these are all minor quibbles. Which affect the game in much the same way as a submarine encountering the underwater part of an iceberg. Didn't you guess? Of course, the iceberg floats on majestically. The same cannot be said about a submarine. The game turned out to be a feast for the eyes. It simply overwhelms with the breadth of its coverage and, once you sit down with it, it’s terribly difficult to tear yourself away. Well what can I say? This is not a clone. This is the new flagship of the genre.

What will you name the yacht...

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

Resource limit (Commerce Limit) - restriction on resource extraction. You can extract resources in the game in as large quantities as you like. But only what does not exceed this limit will go into your bins. It increases with research in the field of trading. Resources whose production is affected by 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 higher for individual resources.

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

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

National Border - countries under your control. Only on the territory of your own country can you build new buildings.

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

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

The 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 strictly in proportion to the number of cities. Thus, the number of universities and oil refineries must strictly correspond to the number of cities, and the number of fields per city does not exceed 5. Cities also influence the borders, expanding them.

And the fighting revolves 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 city is assimilating (moving to your side). At this time, the city easily returns back (but then the enemy will also need to assimilate).

Well, trade is also a privilege of cities. Caravans only travel between cities. And if there are few cities, then your new caravans will stand idle without work.

You need to know the centuries like the back of your hand. Of course, you can play without knowing the centuries. But the game will be quite chaotic, and the right directions for development will be missed.

Ancient centuries (before 2000 BC). You are limited to only 3 resources (wood, food, money). It is not yet possible to build anything significant. Invading enemy territory in ancient times is absurd. For the pitiful infantry you have in your arsenal cannot do anything against the defensive towers. The age 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 makes it possible to begin full-fledged military operations. Also at this time, resources such as metal and science appeared for the first time. The first is mined in mines that are now being built, the second - in universities. It's time to develop intensively. Moreover, places for conducting industry research have appeared (such as a sawmill).

Middle Ages (501 - 1299). The worst time to attack. For at this time all kinds of protective systems prevail. The archers begin. The 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 that firearms solve everything. The riflemen are still too weak and cannot withstand cavalry attacks. The extinction 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 left. Everyone knows how to at least shoot and will inflict at least some damage on the enemy. The peasants no longer feel safe, busily darting around the fields - they can easily be shot by any passing soldier. The latest time has been the use of fire ships (disposable ships that destroy the enemy fleet with their death).

Century 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 appearance of tanks and aircraft. Naturally, the emergence of anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons. War ceases to be a clash of siege units protected by large covering detachments. Tanks can do almost everything, but they will not be able to withstand bomber raids without anti-aircraft guns.

Our time (1936 - 1968). Improving means of destroying the enemy, the emergence of aircraft carriers that make it possible to ensure air superiority right on enemy territory. The emergence of helicopters - controlled air forces. The second use of science is in the production of rockets. The ability to create nuclear missiles - a means of delivering powerful attacks on enemy positions.

Information Ages (1969 -...). Another improvement in means of destruction. The opportunity to discover 4 “ultimate technologies” that provide simply unprecedented benefits. All the best for war.

A strategy without buildings is not a strategy. Where will the fighters who will bring you world domination come from? Or what needs to be captured and controlled? Buildings, mansions, huts, palaces - all these works of architecture are present in full. And they are 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 goods in various ways. And let’s not drag our feet, but move directly to the representatives of this category.

Small town (big city, largest city) is an absolutely necessary thing for any player. The first city, as a rule, becomes the capital. Moreover, when the capital is captured in most versions of the game, the entire state usually dies. Please note that the city cannot be destroyed. It can only be captured.

Cities differ from each other only in their power, ability to repel the enemy and influence on the borders of the state. Although no, I’m lying - large cities bring in 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 area of ​​influence. Opportunities of the city: expanding the borders of the state; creation of peasants; possibility to build on the territory; various buildings controlled by the city; adding 10 units of food and 10 units of wood to the common piggy bank; increase in life (according to the city statute) to 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 from dawn to dusk, growing the corn that the country needs so much. Or maybe wheat... But what difference does it make - it’s all just food. Each farm has one worker; it cannot accommodate more. And the farms themselves will not be able to accommodate more than five of them near one city.

Lumber camp. There is such a wooden house in the forest (by the way, it has not changed at all over the centuries), into which healthy men with chainsaws (or with flint axes - what the hell kind of saws were there in ancient centuries?) pull chopped firewood. A large forest means more loggers. All the same forests are not translated over the centuries.

Library. A building that is yours from the very beginning. More precisely, delivered. Tea, not the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Here, for a certain amount of money, local archivists will rummage through dusty tomes and discover improvements in one of 4 areas of science. And for a particularly large bribe they will change their life. Craftsmen, however.

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

Temple. An extremely clever thing. The Holy Fathers do not appear in public, but they have built their own small research laboratory and through it they influence the development of the state. As with other research buildings, one temple is sufficient. And they are studying the improvement of the properties of cities and the improvement of returns from trade. Here are the holy fathers for you!

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

University. Where do you think all science comes from? Of course, from universities. With your money, they hire scientists (up to 7 per university), who then intensively wrinkle their foreheads, giving out scientific energy. And you pay for various goodies with this very energy. 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 entitled to no more than 1 university.

Barn. No, grain is not stored here. This is a small institute for solving agricultural problems. Well, and some others. 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 forest production by loggers. Well, and one more thing.

Smelter. Institute of Steel and Alloys. More metal to the army - this is his motto. And the army itself is missing something.

Oil derrick (oil platform). In each such place there lives 1 (one) oil worker producing oil. Therefore, there is never too 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, as the number of such buildings increases, these increases do not multiply, but add up (3 buildings - +100% production). Unfortunately, more than 1 such building is allowed per city. It's a pity.
Military buildings

Ultimately, it all usually comes down to war (small or large) and the buildings below either produce various fighters or pin down the enemy themselves. Although some can do both. In all military buildings you can push soldiers (preferably shooters), who will increase the destructive power of the building. And for this, the building itself will treat them (if they are injured, of course).

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

Stable (factory). At first, all the cavalry are 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 retrained into a factory.

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

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

Missile base. Nuclear and cruise missiles! Who wants a nuclear missile? Why are you all huddled up and hiding in the corners? You do not want? And you are doing the right thing. A means of transferring unnecessary 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, the missiles will be produced properly. It’s just that you won’t be able to launch them. So they will stand in the mines and wait. Moreover, destroying the extra database does not correct the situation.

Watchtower (main tower, reinforced tower, bunker). Quite a common obstacle on the enemy’s path. Not very powerful, but difficult to deal with without siege weapons. And there, help will come. The soldiers sitting in the towers spend all their free time tormented by the question “what can we do so as not to have to fight ourselves?” As a result, resistance is developed in the towers - the ground simply burns under the feet of hostile occupiers.

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

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. Whoever needs it, made himself a boat and swam to the other side. Afterwards I took it apart and moved on.

Fort (castle, fortress, citadel). The thickest tower. So thick that it is, in fact, a whole bunch of towers. Accommodates the most soldiers, expands its borders 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 in an unprecedentedly impudent manner. Moreover, this same disgusting thing will try to demolish your buildings from the face of the earth. And those who move on this very land will also get it. To prevent this from happening, we are building anti-aircraft artillery. The first two guns shoot pretty lousy, without making adjustments for the wind. But no one has ever walked away from an anti-aircraft missile system.

Wonders of the world

Wonders of the world are huge buildings that require large investments and a large number of builders. But if you build it, they don’t ask for food, but only bring you continuous benefits. And if the rules of the game include victory through the wonders of the world, you can also win by building one or more “miracles”.

In the campaign, you won't be able to build wonders of the world during the game. But you can 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 timber by 50 units.

Terracotta Army. Builds 1 infantryman every 30 seconds for free (+1/2 second for each infantryman you already have).

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

Tikal Temple. Increases wood production by 50%. Increases the wood limit by 100 units. 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 (only in your territory) increases by 200%. You gain special properties from all rare resources in your territory, even if your merchant is not working near them.

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

Versailles. Reduces prices for research (except for prices in science) by 50%. Your supply wagons can heal with wax (French ones heal with double strength). Siege engines, artillery and supply wagons move 25% faster.

Statue of Liberty. All ground and aviation upgrades are now free. Reduces damage from resistance 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 units.

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

Synchrophasotron. The price for purchasing goods on the market will never be more than 125, the sales price will never be lower than 50. Technologies are researched instantly.

Space program. The entire map is opened and visible to you at all times. Planes and missiles are built 50% cheaper and 100% faster. You are not affected by the nuclear embargo effect.

Rated? Have you chosen your favorite Miracle? The time has come 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, and others in others. And who, what and in what way - read below.

The interesting thing here is that the creators of the game did not spare any models for the troops, giving them not only to unique creatures, but also simply giving several models to all nations. For example, look at these tanks.

Ancient centuries

There are no real troops at this time yet. But there is still something. And this is something we will now consider.

Civilian. Well, these are, naturally, peasants. The comrades are stupid and completely unsuited to battle. However, they know how to hide in buildings and from there languidly shoot at the enemy approaching their native places. After defeating the enemy, they get out and go to their workplaces. In the future they may turn into militias and the like.

Civilians also include scientists who sit out at universities and do not want to fight for the good of the country (although they can be forced to join the militia), traders and caravans (who also prefer to die rather than betray the cause of pacifism). Merchants do nothing but hoard rare resources, and caravans carry cargo here and there in order to get more money for it. This also includes fishermen, who are essentially the same traders, only at sea.

At this time, warriors such as general and leader can be issued. The strange thing here is that it is virtually impossible to buy them. Only receive according to the conditions of the script. 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 destruction. The general can also, once he is close to his troops and give the appropriate order: force the troops to dig in (trenched 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 general's entire mana reserve.

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 there is only one line of life for three. In general, infantry is divided into light infantry (now slingers), heavy infantry (hoplites) and archers (bow fighters). Heavy infantry are melee fighters, well armored and slow. Typically 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 durable, and they run faster. Light infantry is better at dealing with riflemen, and riflemen - with heavy infantry. The scout available at this time is good only because it runs fast and sees far. He can't do anything good anymore.

At this time there are triremes and barges at sea. There’s nothing to think about here - the trireme is superior to the barque in all respects.

Classical centuries

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 be the strongest, but they can seriously damage the enemy. Still, I would not recommend using this skill. It would take too long to restore the peasants afterwards.

With the infantry everything remains the same. That is, the javelin 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 metal costs are not very high yet.

The cavalry that appears is also divided into 3 groups - light cavalry, mounted riflemen and heavy cavalry. Mounted shooters (horse archers) are not very successful yet. At their high price, they are only marginally superior to foot archers. Although, if you decide to hunt enemy civilians, then mounted riflemen 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 is the best remedy against any shooters (whether mounted or on foot). Heavy cavalry (cataphract) is still incredibly difficult for your economy. It works very well against enemy heavy infantry and light cavalry, but the very high cost (both in money and in metal) does not allow them to be produced in large quantities.

The importance of siege weapons (in this case, catapults) is difficult 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 - greater vulnerability to attacks from other troops and a long deployment time 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 at least somehow lean towards the side of the latter.

Middle Ages

The appearance of a spy to the world. What can a spy do? Naturally, like any secret agent, he knows how to detect other spies. And it’s also good to kill your opponents. That’s right, there is no point in engaging in any unauthorized activities here on our territory. The spy also knows how to buy (bribery), he buys both enemy troops (he does not know how to buy 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 item designed to invade enemy territory. She doesn't do anything special. But it reduces resistance on enemy territory (within its range) and forces siege weapons to fire faster.

Researcher. I got a dog that pulls on his leash. Because of this, I began to run faster. Still useful as a tireless researcher. But he is also frail and dies from the first shot.

Infantry. The decline of the era of archers. Crossbowmen or heavy archers are the last representatives of this profession. Not really a pity. Heavy infantry were modified into spearmen, and light infantry into elite javelin throwers.

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

In siege artillery, the catapult was replaced by a trebuchet. There are a few improvements, but the whole system still takes a very long time to put together.

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 somewhat approached the characteristics of the carracks.

Age of gunpowder

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

There were only two left in the infantry - the elite spearmen (still a very good choice) and the arquebusiers, who replaced the javelin throwers. However, the study of firearms is not yet beneficial. The unfortunate riflemen are destroyed on the count of one by a dashing light cavalry raid. They don't even try to escape.

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

The bombard no longer deploys. 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 fleet - an addition to the family. A bomber ship is an analogue of siege artillery on land. First of all, the range of destruction. Because their defense is in perfect order - they will have to be destroyed long and hard. However, you should not let them go unaccompanied. Bombardment ships have a “dead zone” where the enemy will feel great. Frigates are ideal for escort. Although corvettes, having finally become significantly cheaper than frigates, also deserve a presence in your fleet. And, of course, during large-scale military operations, do not forget about fire ships.

Renaissance

During the Renaissance, a truly serious change in the composition of armies took place.

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

The appearance of a saboteur breaks all ideas about previously existing intelligence officers. From now on, they can not only track down and kill enemy spies and tirelessly scour undeveloped territory, but sometimes even kill them. Using the sniper skill, a saboteur can easily destroy an enemy soldier or vehicle from a great distance. The presence of a saboteur’s own principles presupposes that he does not fight civilians. But a crowd of saboteurs who ran into an enemy building can do what the others would like, but fail to do - destroy it (sabotage). Although this crowd needs no one to shoot at them and a little time. The bomb needs to 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 by having more life and armor. And for some reason they move more quickly.

Things are not so rosy in the cavalry. So far only the carabinieri have firearms. But due to increased armor, they 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 turning extremely slowly into positions. Will wait...

The fleet still has the same gentlemanly set - three warships and a fire ship. By the way, enjoy the last one while it lasts. This is the last era with fireships. Soon they will invent more advanced ways of destroying enemy ships.

Age of Industry

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

The light infantry received riflemen, the same stupid troops as before. The heavy infantry received an anti-tank detachment and is now ready for combat 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 - infantrymen. The first is a machine gunner, the founder of the machine gun troops. A wonderful fighter with a long range to defeat the enemy. Excellent against enemy infantry. And it won't let you down against tanks either. For the first time, the infantry is represented not by 3 fighters, but by only 2. We bury this comrade in the defense, and no one will break through to the newly captured city. Plus it also shoots at aircraft.

Even more interesting is the flamethrower. This one is now and forever. The purpose of using a flamethrower is to expel the enemy from buildings and trenches. That is, breaking the lines of massive infantry defense. The main thing is to start, and then the approaching machine gunners and armored cars will finish off the enemy.

If you cross light cavalry and mounted riflemen, you get an armored car. An excellent weapon against enemy infantry. Yes, and shoots at planes. True, it’s sluggish, but still they will think about it before they pester your troops. The replacement for heavy cavalry was the tank. From now on and forever, he is the main fighter in your army. If you overtake the enemy by a century or two, then the tank will become a real nightmare for him, because no one will be able to penetrate 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 large quantities, but a few never hurt. Needs constant dragging towards the active army. Because otherwise he lazily smokes away from the main theater of military operations. And there, maybe enemy aircraft are hitting yours. The gun still brakes when turning. Sadly...

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

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

The partisans are the next improvement of the “militarized” peasants and intelligence officers. Just a few positives.

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

There are also no changes on the heavy equipment front. Tanks and armored vehicles are the main strength of your army.

But there are serious changes in the artillery camp. The howitzers acquired their own propulsion, which dramatically accelerated the process of establishing them on the ground. Which is good news. Improved anti-aircraft guns shoot better, but they didn't get anything special.

There are also serious changes for pilots. A fighter is a fighter (the direct successor of the biplane). But the bomber is a completely new thing. Throws bombs at the enemy without any regret. A group of 5 - 6 bombers very confidently and effectively deals with any enemy target. Well suited for preparing cities for capture (you just need to clear the territory of anti-aircraft guns). A fighter-bomber is a cross between these two aircraft. He can’t do anything super unusual.

Helicopter. This thing has appeared for the first time and is not yet capable of serious work. Best suited for autonomous reconnaissance - set it and forget it. But the main distinguishing feature of the 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 news is the introduction of missiles. A simple rocket is a cheap thing, but it’s only suitable for minor mischief. For example, to destroy an enemy oil rig. She is not capable of more. But a nuclear missile is already serious. When such a thing hits a city, it destroys all structures that were careless 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 how much is left before it. Therefore, nuclear weapons should be used when 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 battleship. That is, the same song, only in a new way.

But the emerging aircraft carrier deserves special consideration. This is a mobile air base carrying 7 aircraft. Moreover, he produces the planes himself (for only 100 coins apiece), and the price of the planes is stable. The price for such a freebie is the very average combat power of carrier-based aircraft. But what did you want for that kind of money? It is quite capable of protecting a group of your battleships from a raid by enemy fighters. And he won’t refuse to beat up enemy troops on the shore.

Information Age

There are discounts again in the barracks! That is, not discounts, but updating of the model range... Well, yes, old fighters leave, new ones come. On stage are 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 taken by MLRS (multiple launch rocket systems). They get into place even faster (although they retreat extremely slowly due to the low turning speed). Excellent vehicles if they are covered by tanks and helicopters. Anti-aircraft missiles are somehow not very impressive with their effects. They could have been made better. Required in large quantities to be truly effective.

In aviation - the replacement of fighters and fighter-bombers with jets, the acquisition of a strategic bomber. Everything is the same, only more. However, there are 2 more aircraft that are unlocked 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 threat to armies unprotected from aviation. It’s inexpensive, and ready to do a dirty trick on the enemy at any time and very quickly. A dozen of these vehicles should always be kept nearby and thrown into the attack as soon as a gap is discovered in the enemy’s ranks.

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

There are no changes in the navy. The battleship and submarine have been improved (as evidenced by the addition of the word improved to the name). The cruiser 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 no secret to you that there are 18 races in the game. Naturally, these races are not twins - brothers, and each has certain skills. You don’t have to fool yourself with these same skills and just play. Moreover, it is possible to disable the “powers” ​​of nations and their special fighters. But will it be interesting for you to play with the same races?

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

The races will be discussed in full in the section on playing in the campaign, where the choice of race is of particular importance (although you can win with any race).

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

Since it’s already been said about the century, it’s better to end it right away. A century only gives the opportunity to construct new buildings and soldiers (if there is a corresponding discovery). While discoveries in 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 the century. To open a new century, 2 rules must be followed: all 4 technologies of the previous century and 2 technologies of this century (and 1 technology of level 2) must be researched. Then you will be able to enjoy all the benefits of the corresponding century. Well, in every 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 you study it, increases one of the many game limits, allows new discoveries in additional buildings and carries some additional meaning (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). Studying each super technology significantly increases the cost of other super technologies. Now let’s look at all scientific areas in order.

Scientific business. Studying each technology reduces the cost of studying technologies in the library by 10%, increases the vision range of cities, scouts and observation towers. And finally, it increases the amount of resources found in ruins. In addition, it is in the scientific field 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 technologies. To grow a scientific endeavor, costs are required in the form of money and science points. 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 opening 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 on 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 boundaries parameter. Affects research in temples and towers, opening new ones. Research requires science points and food. Super technology (World Government) - all timers for assimilating a city, capturing an enemy capital, etc. work instantly.

Trading business. Affects the resource limit (naturally, 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 a 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 foreign peaceful or friendly cities . Researching this technology requires science points and wood. Super technology (Global Prosperity) - increases the population limit and resource limit to the maximum, opening the opportunity to build a stealth bomber and an improved fighter jet.

It's time to move on to complementary technologies. They are researched in the following establishments: 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, increasing wood production in a sawmill), and the second is indirect. Technology is consistent. That is, if one increases forest production by 50%, then at the next technology level forest production will increase by 100%. The same rule applies to other technologies. And now - what and where is being studied. If a technology is being researched to increase the level of production of a particular resource, then this resource is not required for its study.Temple. The first technology explores increasing income from rare resources and increasing tax revenue. Taxes are the profit you receive and grow with the growth of the area of ​​your 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 naturally 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 obtained. The second technology speeds up the construction of foot and mounted troops, increases their range of vision and speeds up the healing of troops garrisoning a building.

Smelter. The first technology increases the amount of metal mined. The second increases the production rate 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 on enemy territory by 25%.

University. Nothing special - increasing the productivity of scientists.

Watch tower. Study of new “transformations” of peasants - into partisans, militias, etc. The second technology is increasing the level of resistance on your territory.

Fort. The first technology is increasing the expansion of borders for the fort, increasing the range of vision and shooting for the fort, increasing the garrison for the fort and towers. The second technology is accelerating the construction of generals and enhancing their effect on the armor of your troops, increasing life, vision and action range and speed for generals and spies.

The main rule for the use of new technologies is that all buildings for researching additional technologies must be located 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 researched, although first of all, technologies that increase the flow of resources are needed.

With basic technologies it’s a little simpler. The most convenient sequence for their study at the initial level is science, military affairs, civil affairs, and commercial affairs. This way reduces the cost of research and accelerates development. Further development (after levels 2 - 3) is 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 increases labor productivity.

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

The second feature is that resources arrive in a continuous stream, without the process of delivery to warehouses. This circumstance, combined with the infinity of resources (yes, forests are cut down, but not cut down), completely excludes such an option for 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 looted. Even though this is a fairly minor contribution to your economy, in the first centuries, when the flow of resources is very slow, such “contributions” can come in handy. But now we can move on to quite ordinary options for economic recovery.

Basic resources are characterized by the fact that they are not always mined. Thus, oil appears only in the industrial age, 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.

Resource extraction 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 lumber 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 selecting the point where 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 may later regret very bitterly about the employee left idle. And if the enterprise turned out to be too large from the very beginning, some jobs there may not be filled.

By the way, about the employees. Peasants today have learned not to sit idle and find work at the nearest mining enterprise (mine or lumber camp). Unfortunately, they don’t build buildings, but that’s nice.

Be aware of the production limit and monitor it carefully. Nobody needs mines “in reserve”. There will be no effect from them anyway (resources will be generated “for thin air”), and you will waste resources on them. Moreover, you often want to build these same spare buildings just in times of shortage of resources. Direct extraction of resources occurs in the following places: wood - lumber 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 one or another resource by their mere presence.

Rare resources were realized in a unique way. They exist in 2 types - disposable (a few resources when found) and permanent use. To generate income from permanent resources, traders are needed to build a house next to them and “process” them. As a rule, these resources bring 2 or 1 (but double the amount) of the base resource and some kind of global improvement (for example, a 25% reduction in military research costs). Profits from them are calculated according to separate formulas, but some rare resources simply need to be seized due to very successful global improvements. Rare resources will be discussed in more detail in the “Campaigns” section, where they acquire additional significance.

The last component of the economy remains - research. I will repeat again 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 extremely necessary in the first centuries (when all research and troops depend on it). Its importance is greatly reduced with the advent of armored vehicles. The metal began to be heavily used from the 3rd - 4th centuries, and the peak of its need was from the advent of oil. Oil, although it appeared in the 6th century, became truly significant in the 7th. Wood is always needed, but it was especially needed in the first centuries (the creation of farms) and to increase the output of researchers at universities. Money has no peak use, but each change of era with subsequent improvements to troops requires significant cash injections. Well, science... In general, you need a lot of it. Especially when it comes to the final revelations. Therefore, build universities and study.

Diplomacy

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

Hostilities

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 enemy is not stupid, then you are unlikely to be able to catch him doing such nonsense. And then what? Then other laws come into play.

The defensive structures here are not intended for defense, but to cover their retreating forces. The initiative should 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 defense alone is wrong.

The offensive must be fast and effective. If possible, with the preparation of the city planned for capture (in later centuries) using bombing or throwing light missiles. Also in later centuries, the “supporting nuclear strike” technique works well. With it, you launch an attack on the city, and your main forces will be located in the distance. The response to this will be the enemy pulling troops towards the city. This is followed by a nuclear strike directly 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. All that remains is to bring in the troops and take it. If the enemy does not use a retaliatory nuclear strike, the city is yours. With a computer, this tactic works flawlessly.

Also, with a computer, the maneuver of attacking several cities at once works great. But! This is contraindicated during the first attack on the enemy. At least one city must already be captured (and therefore the forces of the defenders weakened). Then, having launched 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 to capture cities. Destroying enemy structures is secondary. Moreover, outbuildings are transferred to you after the assimilation of the city. Yes, and military buildings can be bought up with the help of spies. The invasion must be carried out with large forces, and the city must be captured as quickly as possible. Having captured it, defend it. Here the option with a general and entrenched soldiers is quite possible. This will work quite well against a computer. But a living enemy will most likely deal with the general first, and then grind out all the soldiers. It is easier to defend the city in later eras - due to the fact that tanks form a powerful shield and block all approaches to the city.

Siege weapons must 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 by just a few enemy cavalry will lead to your assault being defeated. It won't work out well.

The massiveness of attacks and the introduction of reserves are ensured, first of all, by correctly organized troop production. There must be several places for the production of troops at once, so that it is always possible to quickly ensure a rapid influx of troops. Naturally, these same production facilities should be located in different places (so as not to be covered in one nuclear explosion). Please also note that producing only tanks or only grenade launchers is unprofitable in all respects. Firstly, the army will be “one-sided”. Secondly, it is not economically profitable. Different troops consume different resources. The simultaneous production of heavy and light cavalry is advantageous in that production will not stop when one of the resources runs out and there is nothing to replenish it with. Production buildings have a very convenient button for setting endless production. But it is worth considering that when a resource runs out, endless production is turned off. Therefore, it is not a bad idea to monitor the production process (to know how things are at the moment).

If the fighting takes place on a sea map, then the winner will most likely be the one who controls the sea. Therefore, this is precisely the case when speed is everything. No, you shouldn’t rush to build ships in the first era. But by the 4th - 5th century you must control the enemy's coast. And the invasion should take place with the banks cleared of defensive structures.

In general, the most important contribution to victory is made by a well-tuned economy. No resources - no victory. Lots of resources - lots of troops. So don't forget to make improvements on time. And among the first buildings there should not be military buildings, but outbuildings. Trying to rush is most likely a sure failure.