Articles by Grace Dean

Science

Anno 117: Pax Romana tips and tricks for building the best city

Building the best city in Anno 117: Pax Romana can feel a little daunting. After all, you've got residences, production buildings, military defense, fire safety and so much more to consider. Fitting it all into your landscape, while still making it visually pleasing and incredibly efficient, is quite the task. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day... Fortunately, we've gathered together some tips and tricks on how to structure your city to get the best from the game and the best for your growing, and hopefully flourishing, population. 1. Keep up the timber production Before you can build pretty much anything in Anno 117: Pax Romana, you're going to need to produce timber and to do this, you need to set up the production chain that includes Woodcutter and Sawmill. It's pretty basic stuff and when it comes to Anno 117: Pax Romana production ratios, the timber production line works incredibly efficiently straight off the bat. But, don't rest on your laurels by just building one Woodcutter and Sawmill and hope you'll get all the timber you need.When you get an opportunity, build three Woodcutters throughout the woodland area of your city and two Sawmills closer to the Warehouse. This will increase production and get you ready for the next steps.It's also worth noting that over time, the trees around your Woodcutter will get used up, but you can use the relocation tool to move your Woodcutters into a new wooded area while the previous one replenishes. 2. Build houses together but leave space for things like Markets or Taverns Residential quarters are the cornerstone to starting out your grand city in Anno 117: Pax Romana because without population, nothing will get done. To attract population to your city then, you'll need to build homes and then fulfil the needs of the people once they've moved in. For the perfect city, you need to focus on location, location, location. In order to fulfil needs, you need to construct certain area of effect buildings, like a Market or Tavern. These should be placed near to homes so that they fall within the range that lets them benefit from buffs like happiness, population and a whole lot of income. So, while you should build your homes together, you should also leave room in the middle of your densely populated residential areas for buildings like these. 2. Keep industry buildings away from your general population While the placement of your residences is important, so is where you place your production buildings. After all, they can take up quite a lot of space, especially when you consider the Wheat Fields and Hemp Farms that come into play. Fortunately, these have a positive impact on your residences. But, there are some buildings, especially industrial ones, that can have a negative effect on your population and that's why you should build them further out. For example, the Charcoal Burner is dreadful for both fire risk and health to buildings nearby. Get these buildings out of town and away from your homes and be sure to build a Warehouse that services any industry out there, so that you can reduce any damage should a fire breakout. 3. Construct these important buildings like the Governor's Villa and more While all the buildings have their own levels of importance in Anno 117: Pax Romana, whether that's fulfilling your resident's needs or producing goods, there's some buildings in particular that you should think about integrating deep into your city. The Governor's Villa, for example, has a huge area of effect with positives shared with the surrounding residences. It also becomes the main building of your entire city, so if you're unfortunate enough to find yourself under siege, the enemy won't just have to take your Trading Post, but your Governor's Villa too. Additionally, this is also where you can utilize your Anno 117: specialists as the Villa has slots to house them so you can take advantage of the buffs they come with. Another important building is the Grammaticus (and this will come into play in the next tip). The Grammaticus is the home of knowledge and with knowledge comes the opportunity to research new branches of the Discovery Tree. Build one of these if you want to get vastly important tasks done quicker. 4. Upgrade to paved roads as soon as you can You'll start out with dirt roads connecting every part of life in your city. And they're fine, but they're not great. In order to boost the efficiency (and overall look) of your city, you'll need to upgrade to paved roads. This is done by first reaching population tier III by fulfilling the needs of the previous tiers and upgrading residences to suit. Once you've done this, you can start to produce concrete. With this concrete, you can research 'Paved Roads' in the Discovery Tree and improve the roads across your city. These paved roads don't only look great, but they also increase the speed of travel, extend the areas of effect of buildings and make your population happier, healthier, and less at risk of fire. 5. Focus on fire safety and make it a priority On that note, don't waste all the hard work you've put into building the best city by ignoring the fact that fires are a real problem. And watching everything you've built go up in flames is a totally avoidable situation. Place City Watch buildings around your city and reap the benefits of their wide area of effect. For fire, Vigiles will tackle the flames if they begin to spread. Additionally, Custodes can protect you from riots and Medici can be built to prevent the spread of diseases. And a top tip for a fire as soon as it breaks out: move everything away from it. With the quick tool, you can relocate buildings with ease before they get in harm's way. It feels inevitable that you'll lose something, but you can certainly avoid a bigger problem. © GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Technology

Gardeners urged to plant their bulbs at night this October — here's why

During the colder months of the year gardens become lower maintenance, but there are important tasks you need to carry out to protect your garden from the chill. From 5 easy ways to prepare your lawn for winter to working out which plants need protecting from frost, there's a few things you need to do to get your garden winter ready. And it's also the ideal time to plant bulbs for the spring. But, amidst the advice circulating online, one expert has an unusual tip: plant by moonlight. Why? Well, Luke Newnes, gardening expert and member of the Interior Squad at Hillarys, says using the moon, especially the Harvest Moon, is a great ritual event that marks the time before the frost and a perfect time to do some gardening. So, while the soil is still a little warm, it's time to plant those bulbs and get ready to reap the rewards when spring... springs back around. Here's everything you need to know about harnessing the moonlight for your planting. Why gardeners should experiment with midnight planting While Luke explains that moonlight planting is "a moment to pause, reflect and sow hope for the seasons ahead", there's also some very practical reasons for why nighttime is a great opportunity to plant those bulbs ready for spring. Specifically, Luke reveals: "Cooler evenings mean less evaporation, and the soil is still warm enough to encourage root growth." And you don't just have to be planting bulbs to take advantage of this time of year, you could also harvest late crops, prep your soil for the winter, or enjoy your garden in the quiet of night. Fortunately, it's quite likely you'll be capturing the moonlight hours if you're an avid gardener that keeps on top of the maintenance throughout the week. As the nights are getting longer, if you're home late or even not that late from work, you've still got a chance to head into the garden and, as Luke suggests, utilize a perfect time to do so. But, as Luke also explains, it's the Harvest Moon of October that marks the truly ideal time to plant bulbs. Leaving it much deeper into winter and doing your planting at night, well, you may have missed your opportunity. As I've recently moved home, I'm currently envisioning what I want my garden to look like when spring arrives and planning what to plant ready for next year. And honestly, I quite like the idea of getting out into the garden in the quiet of night and preparing the space, especially since trying to do so with two small kids round my feet is pretty tricky. Though I might have to go armed with a head torch. Expert tips for planting this October As you ready your gardening tools to plant bulbs in the moonlight and prep your garden ready for spring, Luke has some additional useful tips to share: Choose hardy varieties like daffodils, crocuses, and hyacinths for reliable spring colorPlant in clusters for a natural look and stronger visual impactUse the moonlight to guide your layoutPrep your soil with compost or leaf mold to give bulbs a nutrient-rich startMark your spots with decorative stakes or lanterns so you remember where you've planted Using decorative stakes or lanterns is a genius idea, as I always forget exactly where I've planted bulbs when my withered little sticks blow away or disintegrate in the cold weather. Plus, you've plenty of reasons to use them to mark the festive season and to light up your garden for the longer, dark nights. Maybe I won't need the head torch after all. More from Tom's Guide This expert hack easily removes rust from your garden tools — and it costs less than $17 clever ways to store garden tools and save spaceI tried this $23 garden tool to rid my patio of weeds — and it's super handy