Recent content by Marla_Singer

The Roman Empire is an interesting case because its transportation network was primarily maritime and fluvial. Ships were the only practical way to carry heavy goods over long distances, and this applied to both trade and military logistics. In many cases, moving troops by sea or along rivers...

There's no doubt it turned out as a mess. I still doubt it was really avoidable though as we could see the civil war was already there and the reasons for it were deep. We haven't intervened in Syria before ISIS attacks on Paris and it didn't turn any better.

From a sporting perspective, a Club World Cup is entirely legitimate. There’s no reason why club competition should be monopolized by a handful of European leagues. It was refreshing to watch clubs from around the world compete, comparing their levels and styles. Let’s not forget we’re talking...

Revolutionary France was at war with the entire European Aristocracy. It was a matter of survival for them, they formed no less than 7 coalitions against France over 22 years (from 1792 to 1814). Never they would have accepted peace with France at any point because they knew their legitimacy was...

Indeed, that's what makes me think the yam system allowed the Mongols to take advantage of the vast Eurasian steppes a bit similarly as how the Europeans will later use the oceans. The key was the ability to move faster and farther than anyone else while remaining virtually immune to retaliation...

It’s often tempting to define an empire by its administrative style: direct vs. indirect rule, assimilation vs. autonomy. But in reality, even within a single empire (whether Mongol, British or French), local governance varied greatly from one territory to another, sometimes more vassalized...

The Mongol Empire controlled a huge area interconnected through a vast and sparsely populated heartland. One key to their dominance, beyond sheer military force, may have been logistical: the Yam relay system allowed them to move messages and troops faster than any rival. The Yam was a network...

Rather than rushing Civ8, I think it would be better for Firaxis to release a spinoff first. Maybe a good candidate would be a true remake of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. A whole generation never played that game. Game mechanics are still very good and replayability is very high. And I'm sure...

Nice pictures of Florence. 🙂 When you were in Naples have you visited Pompeii ?

That big circle in Osaka made me think about this. Feels like this is a straight road? That's actually a perfect circle surrounding the Disneyland Paris property. We should probably bring flat earther for a drive around there. 😀

"On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer." Satoru Iwata, CEO of Nintendo (2002-2015) There's been extensive debates on that topic with Boeing. This reflects the Jack Welch school of management, which held that a company’s...

Not all evaluation system applies the same grid. Think about movies which are reviewed by attributing stars, 3 stars out of 5 wouldn't make a bad movie. Obviously, your exam system grades based on the percentage of taught knowledge that has been retained. In France, it's done differently: exams...

I could reflect Nietzsche’s critique back onto your post as well, as you also define your position by opposition rather than construction. You're right that discarding social media is futile. It is our new reality, and that won’t change. When the printing press was invented, it unleashed...

If it were that easy, it would already have been done. So why is populism rising simultaneously across the globe? Have all politicians, left, center, right in every country, suddenly become incompetent all at the exact same time? I don't think the real change is in politicians behaviour, but in...

If I'm not mistaken, Civ4 is the only civ game where your early explorers are threatened by wild animals. This contributes a lot to that feeling of being "in the wild", that any places outside your first settlement is unsafe. It makes things more immersive right from start.