The government is building on this by making a further cut worth over £10 billion a year for workers across the UK. That is why the government cut NICs for 29 million workers at Autumn Statement 2023. Reducing employee and self-employed National Insurance is the best way to target working people, supporting growth and making the tax system fairer. If you get your income from other sources you only pay income tax. At the moment, if you are of working age and get your income from having a job, you pay both National Insurance contributions (NICs) and income tax. The tax system should be fair, simple, and reward hard work. The economy is now beginning to turn a corner and because the government is sticking to the plan it can now make further tax cuts for working people, boosting growth whilst keeping the public finances on a sustainable path. Total borrowing from 2023-24 to 2028-29 is forecast to be £0.3 billion lower than at Autumn Statement 2023. This would be the lowest level of borrowing as a share of GDP since 2001-02. Borrowing is forecast to fall in every year, reaching £39.4 billion or 1.2% of GDP by 2028-29. The wider measure of headline debt falls in every year from 2024-25 to reach 94.3% in 2028-29. The government is on track to meet both its debt and borrowing fiscal rules, with underlying debt falling as a share of GDP to 92.9% in 2028-29. Growth is now forecast to pick up from the first half of 2024 and the IMF is forecasting that the UK will have the third fastest cumulative growth in the G7 over the 2024-2028 period. GDP grew by 0.1% in 2023 and the unemployment rate has remained low by historical standards at 3.8% in Q4 2023, below the OBR’s November 2022 forecast of 4.6%. The UK economy, supported by government policy, has proved much more resilient. Similarly, the Bank of England forecast a contraction of 1.5% in December 2022. In November 2022, the OBR forecast a year-long recession and for the economy to contract by 1.4% in 2023. In the latest data, people’s real incomes were around £1,100 higher than the OBR expected in their March 2023 forecast. The OBR now expects living standards, as measured by real household disposable income (RHDI) per person, to grow by 0.8% in 2023-24 and continue to grow in each year of the forecast. The OBR forecasts inflation to fall to its 2% target in Q2 2024, a year earlier than in their November 2023 forecast.Īs a result of falling inflation, real wages are rising. Inflation has more than halved from its recent peak and the government is continuing to support the Bank of England, with policy decisions at this event directly reducing inflation in 2024-25. At Spring Budget the government is delivering on these priorities: inflation has fallen, growth has been more resilient than expected, and debt is forecast to fall. The last few years have been tough for the UK economy, which has faced unprecedented shocks from the legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic, an energy price spike driven by Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and globally high inflation.Īt the beginning of 2023 the Prime Minister set out five priorities, three of which were economic: to halve inflation, grow the economy and get debt falling. Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 6 March 2024.Return to an order of the House of Commons dated 6 March 2024.
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The third model was also available in a deluxe version, which, similar to the second model, featured a fancy checkered walnut stock available in either straight or pistol grip and a grooved slide handle. The third model was also produced as a takedown rifle and featured a modified receiver that allowed the breech bolt to lock externally. A deluxe version was offered, which featured a fancy checkered walnut stock available in either straight or pistol grip and a grooved slide handle. A community for Collectors who like to hunt and shoot with their favorite Winchesters. Original World War I Riot Gun - March 16, 2024. Approximately 100,000 second-model rifles were produced with case-hardened receivers, and 200,000 were produced with blued receivers. Data is based on the best available information from the time but there is no guarantee that all serial number and year combinations are 100 accurate. This is the place to discuss the Winchester Models specifically made for the U.S. In August 1901, the case-hardened receiver was changed to a blued version. It also had a case-hardened receiver but had an adjustable rear sight. The second model was designed as a takedown rifle. Approximately 15,000 of these were produced between 18. The first model had a solid frame, a case-hardened receiver, and a fixed rear sight. The Model 1890 was produced in three distinct versions. Pistol grip stocks were available on later rifles. 22 WRF despite there being other 1890s chambered in those calibers). a Model 1890 stamped ".22 Short" on the barrel will not feed. The Model 1890 will only feed the round specific to that gun (e.g. It had a 24-inch octagonal barrel, a plain walnut stock, and an overall weight of approximately 6lbs.Ĭalibers for the rifle include. The Model 1890 was a slide-action, top-ejecting rifle with an 18-inch magazine tube under the barrel. For example, in 2002, I sold a 1898-dated M1896 Swedish Mauser rifle that was dated 1898 on a on-line auction for 770. įor many years, the Model 1890 was considered to be the standard for use in shooting galleries, hence its nickname of " gallery gun." Pre-1899 production guns now bring a 30 to 200 premium over identical condition guns made AFTER 1898. The final cleanup of stock on hand was completed in 1941. Approximately 849,000 Model 1890 rifles were produced between 18, after which the Model 1890 was replaced by the Winchester Model 62 rifle. The Model 1890 proved to be the most successful repeating rimfire rifle for general all-around shooting ever made by Winchester. 22 rifle ever successfully developed and manufactured, being narrowly edged out by the small-frame Colt Lightning Carbine. Under this patent, Winchester created the second repeating slide action. On June 26, 1888, a patent for the new design was issued to John and Matthew Browning. In the late 1880s, the Winchester Repeating Arms Company asked John Browning to design a replacement for the Model 1873 rifle since the rimfire version of the Model 1873 had never achieved any great popularity. The Winchester Model 1890 is a slide-action repeating rifle produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Situated on the bottom of its head up front is a black face section with two red eyes, and extending out in front of ZERO's face is a golden handlebar. On top of its head is a lid with a black surface and yellow lower rim, and on the bottom of its head is a red stribe. While these traits can manifest positively in his loyalty and dedication, they may also lead to rigidity and judgement towards others.ZERO is a vaguely humanoid green robot with a trashcan-like head. In conclusion, E-105 Zeta's personality aligns closely with the Enneagram Type 1, showcasing a strong sense of duty, perfectionism, and a desire for justice. As such, E-105 Zeta may struggle to accept those who do not share his values or beliefs, and may exhibit a harsh or critical demeanor towards those who he perceives as flawed. He carries out his tasks with a sense of duty and precision, and can become easily frustrated or angered when things do not go according to plan.Īt the core of the Type 1 personality is a desire to improve oneself and the world around them, but this can sometimes lead to a tendency towards rigidity and a judgemental nature. Eggman and his quest to eliminate all other robots that he views as flawed or imperfect. In the case of E-105 Zeta, these traits are exemplified in his unwavering loyalty to Dr. This type is characterized by a strong sense of purpose, a desire for justice, and a need for perfection. In conclusion, while personality types are not definitive or absolute, the ISTJ type provides a useful framework for understanding and analyzing E-105 Zeta's behavior and personality traits in Sonic the Hedgehog.īased on his behavior and personality traits, E-105 Zeta would likely be classified as an Enneagram Type 1, also referred to as the Reformist or Perfectionist. Overall, E-105 Zeta's ISTJ personality type is an integral part of his character and helps to shape his behaviors and actions throughout the game. He may struggle with adapting to new situations or changes in his environment, preferring a more predictable and familiar routine. Zeta's ISTJ type can also manifest in a tendency towards introversion and a preference for routine and structure. He is also very methodical and analytical, taking a logical approach to problem-solving and decision-making. These traits are reflected in Zeta's willingness to obey orders and his dedication to his mission, even at the expense of his own safety. This type is known for being practical, dependable, and responsible, with a strong focus on following rules and traditions. His inner turmoil, combined with his complex relationship with Eggman, makes him a compelling character to watch and follow.īased on his behavior and personality traits, E-105 Zeta from Sonic the Hedgehog is likely to have the ISTJ personality type. He is an extremely powerful and intelligent robot who is struggling to find his place in the world. Overall, E-105 Zeta is an interesting and unique character within the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. It is only after a brief confrontation with his brother, Gamma, that Zeta ultimately decides to break away from Eggman's control and chooses to help Sonic in his quest to save the world. He encounters Sonic on several occasions throughout the game, and during their various battles, he begins to question his loyalty to Eggman. In Sonic Adventure, Zeta's mission is to locate and capture Gamma (another E-Series Robot). Despite his loyalty to Eggman, Zeta is tormented by self-doubt and a sense of purposelessness, which makes him an intriguing and complex character to follow. He is also highly intelligent, and during his interactions with Sonic, it becomes clear that he is well-versed in technology and the mechanics of the world around him. Zeta is characterized as disciplined and loyal, as he never questions Eggman's orders and follows them religiously. Zeta is a powerful combat robot with a range of abilities that make him a challenging foe for Sonic and his friends. Eggman and serves as one of the antagonists in the game. He is a highly advanced E-Series Robot built by Dr. E-105 Zeta is a character from the Sonic the Hedgehog game and anime series. SereneScreen's super-wide virtual tank also now supports up to three monitors simultaneously. After years of development, SereneScreen Marine Aquarium 3 is not just an update to previous versions - the entire program has been re-written from the ground up as a full 3D environment, taking advantage of the increased capabilities of modern video cards. You've seen aquarium programs before, but the realism of Marine Aquarium has led to over 20 million downloads, as well as regular appearances in Movies, and on Television. You also have settings for auto-panning, frame-rate, Music playlists, and a bubble column (from a virtual aerator, with optional bubble sound). Its really relaxing just watching them swim around as they seem to have a very distinct life of their own. You get clownfish, dancing seahorses and many other exotic creatures I have no idea existed swimming in crystal clear water. Thousands of new images every day Completely Free to Use High-quality videos and images from Pexels. You can choose from 27 different exotic fish species-from the Addis Butterflyfish to the Yellow Tang-and SereneScreen can display up to 30 fish at a time, with an easy interface for creating and customizing your own sets of fish (including an option for random species). Marine Life 3D Screensaver is one of the most realistic Ive seen yet featuring an amazing array of fish and coral. Download and use 1,000+ Aquarium Screensaver stock photos for free. Feedback is always welcome! If this isn't the best 3D aquarium there is, then let us know how you think it can be improved.SereneScreen Marine Aquarium is a realistic, high-definition screensaver that converts your computer screen into a vibrant, colorful saltwater aquarium.With the full version, you can have as many as 40 fish swimming around at once, as long as your CPU can handle it! Many options so you can customize it to your liking.Background Hum/Bubbling sound for that real aquarium atmosphere.It allows you to customize your desktop with the most realistic simulation of a living. It is one of the most perfect designed virtual aquarium screensavers. Explore a curated colection of Marine Aquarium Wallpaper Images for your Desktop, Mobile and Tablet screens. This is a life-time license for all our currently available and upcoming products with all deluxe features included. +Optional sounds to choose from: Relaxing Music, Bubbles. Marine Aquarium is a full 3D environment screensaver, taking advantage of the increased capabilities of modern video cards. Three anemone scenes, two Jellyfish scenes, 30 species of fish and Live Wallpaper mode. +Featuring Sharks, Clownfish (Nemo), Blue Tang (Dory) and many other colourful fish. Over a million downloads worldwide +A selection of beautiful, long HD Videos to choose from. The most popular Aquarium app on Mac, iPhone and iPad. The fish's eyes move, so they now look around as they swim across your screen. Run Aquarium scenes manually or as a screensaver.Select between warm and cold, salt water fish, and fresh water fish, or mix them all together! Remember virtual fish can all survive in the same virtual water!.You can optionally change to a different background, like. Air bubbles float up from the bottom of the fish tank that, by default, features a tree stump and various water plants in the background. You can select the background you want! From your wallpaper or a random image (jpg, png or gif files), as well as the option to capture the current screen. Clownfish, angelfish and other common freshwater fish move through the screen horizontally in this free animated aquarium screensaver for Windows.Download additional fish with ease! The registered version lets you download fish right into the screen saver from the Settings screen on the Mac OS X version, and from the website for Windows.So if the surface of the water ripples, so does the refracted light! This screensaver can display up to 30 fish at a time you also get an easy interface for creating and customizing your own sets of fish (including an. Turn your desktop into a spectacular ocean aquarium full of tropical fish swimming around your icons. You can choose from 27 different exotic fish species, from the Addis Butterflyfish to the Yellow Tang. Fill your desktop with water and let tropical fish swim around your screen with photo-realistic 3D graphics and stereo sound. Uses realistic 3D fish models, not just flat 2D images like other screen savers do! Marine Aquarium displays an aquarium simulation as your screensaver.Real time 3D fish that don't just swim back and forth, but towards you and away from you, up and down.Watch as your monitor fills with water and real 3D fish begin to swim around the screen you were just working on! It has the following features: A great way to reduce papers you print and still get to utilize the printable. Then wipe it off and re-start the next week. You can print this off and write on it directly, or place it in an 8×10 picture frame and use a dry erase marker to write on the page. I find writing it all out helps me to stay on track and we eat at home more. That way you can for sure have all the items you need for your week to feed your family. Each day has a spot for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacks. Here is a great printable that allows you to break down your weekly meal plan week by week. Whether you do just dinners, or maybe you want to break it down to three meals for each day. Write out each day what you plan to eat, and more. Print out these month to month calendars to stay on track. Let me share what is included in my 2020 meal planner printable bundle. Variety is something we love, and having it all tracked out on my planner helps me to stay focused. While we have certain foods we keep in constant rotation in our home, I also have a lot of new recipes I love to try. Originally published February 2016.We respect your privacy. Not a Daily Burn member? Sign up at and start your free 30-day trial today. If you’ve mastered the art of weekly meal prep, why not take it up a notch? Set yourself up for a month of healthy eating with this master template.Ģ0 Meal Prep Tips from the Best Preppers We Knowġ5 Genius Meal Prep Ideas from Top Trainers Monthly Meal Planner ( download here)īest for: Preparing for your whole month. Need to keep track of who will be at the dinner table on Wednesdays versus Thursdays? This template helps coordinate schedules with meal prep, taking the stress out of family time. Template: McKel Hill / Nutrition Stripped 4. You can also write out specifically what your grains, starches and proteins are for the week to ensure you’re getting a balanced diet. The addition of the weekend planner at the end helps you carve out time to prepare salad dressings, pasta sauces and dips. This template allows you to plan for all your major meals, snacks and everything in between. Weekly Meal and Snack Planner ( download here)īest for: Preparing well-balanced meals and snacks. RELATED: 12 DIY Projects to Clean Up Your Eating Habits 3. Weekly Meal Plan and Grocery List ( download here)īest for: Getting organized with just the basics.Ī two-column template keeps your weekly menu and grocery list in tip-top shape. Template: Erin / Strawberry Mommycakes 2. With a cute and colorful daily servings checklist at the bottom, this template makes it easy to ensure you’re getting all your vegetables. 5 Printable Meal Planners to Kickstart Healthy Eating 1. Ready to fill your calendar with delicious and healthy foods? While tech-savvy planners can try these five apps to get organized, for those who like to keep it old-school with pen and paper, we’ve got five printable meal planning templates to help you and your family eat healthier. Allow some flexibility in your plan and don’t get discouraged if a meal or a day doesn’t go perfectly.” “There will always be times when something unexpected comes up or your schedule is thrown off. Once you’ve tackled that, add another meal to the plan.” And don’t be too down on your self if you stray from your plan. “Choose the one that causes you the most stress. “If you’re new to meal planning, start with just one meal per day,” says Champion. (Meal prepping is easy with these handy tips.) If you really want to save time during the week, Champion recommends preparing some of your meals ahead of time on Sunday. Before each week starts, jot down what you want to eat and create a shopping list for all the foods you’ll need. Having a plan in place will streamline your grocery shopping and save you time and money in the long run. “You’re so much more likely to stick to your goals when you’re not winging it on a meal-to-meal basis,” she says.Īnd the benefits don’t start and end with your waistline. But do you plan your meals? Meal planning is the most effective way to start building healthy habits, says Jenny Champion, former Daily Burn Nutrition and Fitness Coach. You plan birthday parties, weddings, and family gatherings. Odds are good that you plan your vacations in advance. Users can also activate " SafeSearch", a filtering technology aimed at preventing explicit and pornographic content from appearing in search results. Additionally, Google indexes some file types, being able to show users PDFs, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, certain Flash multimedia content, and plain text files. For websites that are currently down or otherwise not available, Google provides links to cached versions of the site, formed by the search engine's latest indexing of that page. Google indexes hundreds of terabytes of information from web pages. As of mid-2016, Google's search engine has begun to rely on deep neural networks. Data about the frequency of use of search terms on Google can be openly inquired via Google Trends and have been shown to correlate with flu outbreaks and unemployment levels, and provide the information faster than traditional reporting methods and surveys. In 2012, Google introduced a semantic search feature named Knowledge Graph.Īnalysis of the frequency of search terms may indicate economic, social and health trends. In 2011, Google introduced " Google Voice Search" to search for spoken, rather than typed, words. It was originally developed in 1996 by Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Scott Hassan. The main purpose of Google Search is to search for text in publicly accessible documents offered by web servers, as opposed to other data, such as images or data contained in databases. Google Search also provides many different options for customized searches, using symbols to include, exclude, specify or require certain search behavior, and offers specialized interactive experiences, such as flight status and package tracking, weather forecasts, currency, unit, and time conversions, word definitions, and more. The order of search results returned by Google is based, in part, on a priority rank system called " PageRank". Approximately 26.75% of Google's monthly global traffic comes from the United States, 4.44% from India, 4.4% from Brazil, 3.92% from the United Kingdom and 3.84% from Japan according to data provided by Similarweb. Google Search is the most-visited website in the world. By 2012, it handled more than 3.5 billion searches per day. It is the most popular search engine worldwide.Īs of 2020, Google Search has a 92% share of the global search engine market. Google Search uses algorithms to analyze and rank websites based on their relevance to the search query. It allows users to search for information on the Internet by entering keywords or phrases. All of this is made possible with AI, but you always have the option to select your own photo as a top pick, modify the stacks, or turn off Photo Stacks at any time so you can see everything in your Photos gallery.Google Search (also known simply as Google or ) is a search engine operated by Google. To help make your gallery tidier, Google Photos will automatically identify and group similar photos that were taken close together into Photo Stacks and select the top pick that best captures that moment. In fact, a third of most people’s galleries are made up of similar photos. But all those extra snaps can add bulk to your gallery. Whether you’re trying to capture a beautiful sunset or large group photo, it might take several attempts to get the perfect shot. To help you declutter your gallery and keep the focus on your memories, we’re rolling out new AI-powered features that will group similar photos together and intelligently organize screenshots and documents into helpful albums so you can easily find them when you need them. But we know your photo gallery can get cluttered with similar photos of a single moment or screenshots and documents you snapped for future reference. Where can you run PuTTY?ĭeveloped by Simon Tatham, the latest version of PuTTY has been designed for multiple operating systems. It also works with IPV6 authentication and protocol using public keys. PuTTY supports local, remote, dynamic, and X11 port forwarding. Additionally, you can access the other computer through the command-line interface, use SCP and SFTP clients, and perform other similar tasks. With PuTTY, you can easily take control of machines via SSH encryption keys. Moreover, in order to securely transfer data or files over networks, the program uses multiple encryption algorithms, including Blowfish, DES, Arcfour, 3DES, and AES. This ensures fast and accurate switches between machines. It’s worth mentioning that PuTTY stores the host PC’s settings. As such, this app is an excellent tool for IT professionals, developers, and network engineers, who need to connect to multiple machines remotely on a daily basis. There’s a dedicated ‘connections’ area, which provides you with multiple customisation options for Login Details, Low-level TCP connections, Internet Protocol Version, Terminal Details, Environment Variables, and other adjustments.Īfter setting up the connection using PuTTY, you can remotely use the other computer’s resources within seconds. With this program, you can execute keyboard actions, set alarms, tweak colours and appearance of the main window, and perform other functions. Among various SSH clients available for Windows, PuTTY comes with the most comprehensive feature set. This lets you set up logging options for specific sessions accordingly.įrom the terminal section, you can access general settings, remote-controlled printing, line discipline, and other features. Additionally, you can choose from different connection types, including SSH, rlogin, raw, telnet, SFTP, etc. You can conveniently customise and manage sessions and connections in the terminal window. While the configuration options can be confusing for beginners, the program has a simple panel. PuTTY comes with an easy-to-use interface. In simple terms, PuTTY download gives you access to a remote console to take over another computer. In an easy-to-use window, you can type anything on one machine, while it gets reflected on the other almost instantly. For instance, with this program, you can connect a Windows PC to a Linux system. PuTTY for Windows is a terminal application to connect machines running different operating systems. Cross-platform support for Windows and Linux Moreover, PuTTY is an excellent choice for creating a secure SSH tunnel handling X11 web traffic. With PuTTY, you can initiate safe file transfers via SFTP, SCP, telnet, SSH, and rlogin. However, the configuration options can be difficult to manage, especially for beginners. With multiple customisation options, PuTTY for Windows lets you configure different settings to suit your preferences. Developers use this SSH client to connect a Windows computer to a Linux system. PuTTY is a free-to-use, open-source, and easy-to-use terminal application. The emulator has received positive reception on its ability to play Wii U games on PC at higher resolutions than 1080p, the base resolution of the console, via the usage of community graphics packs. Cutscenes were made available with a community-made add-on called Cemuhook, though Cemu 1.18.0 removed the need for the plugin. Developers of Cemu expected that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would be playable with only a few months worth of work, and had a rudimentary version of the game's tutorial playable within weeks of its release. The anticipation for emulation of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild caused the emulator's Patreon to increase monthly donations to $7,400 per month and later $22,317 per month. The emulator would rapidly progress from this state and increase its compatibility with the Wii U game library and add more features.Ī couple of days after The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild released, Cemu was able to boot the game - though running at a sluggish framerate, without audio, and filled with many glitches. Despite the Wii U sharing a similar name as its predecessor, the Wii, the emulator was built independently from Dolphin, a Wii emulator, as the systems only shared their CPU architecture in common. Cemu could run on 64-bit Windows operating systems and only supported OpenGL 3.3 on release. Development ĭesigned as a proof-of-concept, the initial release of Cemu could successfully boot Mario Kart 8 and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD yet lacked Wii U GamePad support and audio and suffered from stutters and video glitches. The popularity of the emulator spiked with the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in 2017 as Cemu successfully booted and ran the title within hours of its release. Though still under development, it is able to run the majority of games smoothly, assuming compatible hardware. Experimental builds currently support Linux and macOS, in addition to the Windows environment available from launch. Fixes menu videos getting stuck or causing crashes in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash.Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS (experimental)Ĭemu is a free and open-source Wii U emulator, first released on Octofor Microsoft Windows as a closed-source emulator developed by Exzap and Petergov.
In addition to those four quadrants, you’ll also describe your persona’s pains and gains-or customer needs and expectations. Read: 4 types of concept maps (with free templates) 4 elements of an empathy mapĪn empathy map has four quadrants that work together to get you into the mind of your end user. Marketing teams to improve business strategy by identifying customer pain points and desires.ĭesign and developer teams to gain insight into user experience (UX) and user interface (UI)Įmpathy mapping should be a group activity-you and your team members can brainstorm what the user experience may be like and streamline your ideas into the most accurate portrayal. Product teams to ensure they’re keeping the end user in mind during the design process. Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking for gaps in your current strategy, an empathy map will offer guidance and support. Empathy maps are most helpful during product planning, but you can also use them to improve a product once you’ve created it.Įmpathy maps also serve as a reflective tool for marketing campaigns or sales strategies. You can use empathy maps any time you want to learn more about your audience and gain perspective into how they think. Free empathy map template When to use an empathy map Putting a specific name, face, and age to a persona makes it easier to empathize with them. This persona is a made up person that has a name, an age, likes, and dislikes. The second type of persona is a specific person, and this is the type you’ll use for your empathy map. It can help product, marketing, and sales teams understand their overall audience. For example, you might have the "confident shopper" or the "curious buyer.” This type of persona explains, in broad strokes, what motivates someone. There are two main "methods" to persona creation. The map typically includes four quadrants: think and feel, say and do, see, and hear.īefore you can use this tool, you must first build a user persona or scenario to represent one of your target audiences. What is an empathy map?Īn empathy map is a tool that helps you discover how your target audience thinks, feels, and behaves so you can better understand their wants and needs. These insights can translate to product improvements and a stronger sales strategy. By creating a detailed user persona and imagining yourself as that user, you can gain valuable insights about the customer experience. This soft skill improves your understanding of how others navigate the world.Įmpathy mapping is also useful to identify customer needs. When you foster empathy, you visualize yourself living someone else’s life. Have you heard the saying, “take a walk in my shoes?” That’s empathy in action. In this article, learn how to build an empathy map and use it to improve your business strategy. Product teams often use empathy mapping to improve the user experience. An empathy map helps you identify with a customer’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Despite the possibilities associated with a futuristic sci-fi storyline, there is only one laser weapon in the game and no vehicles for use. Weapons range from the mundane (shotguns and pistols) to the ludicrous (a giant cannon that shoots large, explosive bowling balls). For the amount of time invested to complete the game, there isn't much reward. Be ready for the short, trite "to be continued" ending that makes you wonder why you toiled through to the end. Still, the final fight is nearly the same as the lava boss in Quake but, instead of activating two switches to electrocute the monster, there are four. The house-to-house guerrilla fighting against the organic mechs in Thebes is exciting as is the enormous demon at the end. There are flashes of inspiration sprinkled infrequently throughout the game. The game actually feels more like a demo for game developers interested in licensing the Serious Engine than a refined labor of love. In fact, most of the items and monsters seem an afterthought used to populate the solidly built levels. Monsters are cartoon-like and bound by a stupid AI, serving merely as mindless targets for Sam rather than a menacing force. While not as polished or stylized as the Unreal Engine, the water and lighting effects are superb. The architecture of ancient Egypt is nicely rendered and brightly colored and transitions between indoor and outdoor locations are seamless. There is a noticeable difference between the quality of monster graphics and the building and landscape detail. The Serious Engine, developed in-house by Croteam, works well, even if the game's production values aren't up to standards. There just isn't enough of a reason, though, for the player to make a connection with him. Sam Stone has slightly more character than the Quake marine but considerably less than Max Payne. Serious Sam bears more than a passing resemblance to Duke in appearance and sound bites, most of which aren't as clever as that classic. Players seeking the nostalgic flavor and fury of retro first-person action unimpeded by a bulky storyline will enjoy the ride.Ĭroteam must have been impressed with Duke Nukem. A game needs more than simply shooting monsters and searching for buttons to open doors to release yet more monsters to shoot. The action is furious and fun at the start but quickly grows tiresome. The storyline, a muddled mess about Sam's journey back in time to visit ancient Egypt to retrieve a relic capable of holding off creatures from a different dimension, is quickly abandoned for non-stop strafing and side stepping madness. Serious Sam: The First Encounter marks the return to Doom's enchantment with a multitude of monsters constantly on the attack. Serious Sam: The First Encounter, while modestly enjoyable, breaks no new ground in character, monster or weapon design. The end result is a concoction that barely satisfies the first-person shooter appetite by re-heating and rehashing the leftovers from tastier predecessors. Finally, glaze the entire game over with Unreal's weather, water and solar flare effects. Start with a hefty helping of Doom's fast action and toss in one Duke Nukem wannabe character, then stir in a few bosses from Quake. The recipe for making Serious Sam: The First Encounter is simple. |
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