TL;DR – A fantastic addition to the base game that really improves the exploration phase.
Score – 4 out of 5 stars
Review – Last year I got back into Stellaris a 4X space strategy game, a combination that feels like a video game designed just for me. Over the years it has had a lot of improvements building upon the strengths of the base game. Since then there have been a couple of expansion packs and DLCs and today we are looking the latest addition for the game Ancient Relics.
The core component of this new story pack is the addition of archaeological digs and from this the addition of minor and major artifacts. As you explore out at the start of the game you may stumble across archaeological digs on random planets. These require a science ship to work them much like anomalies but with a little twist. There is a random element in the process where you have a chance to improve until you crack the next level. Most of the digs have multiple levels that you have to progress to before you can complete it and earn research points, resources, or more.
TL;DR – Today we chart every
location visited during 20 Seasons of Time
Team one of the most wonderful shows to ever grace British television.
Article –
Well, today we are continuing our Mapping British TV week with Time Team (after looking at Grand
Designs earlier). Time Team
is one of those rare shows that was at its heart is an educational show, but it
also was one of the most entertaining things on TV in its time. That is such a
difficult balance to get right and like Where
in the World is Carmen Sandiego this is one of the other rare shows that
actually managed to pull that off.
For those who don’t know about Time Team,
it is a show about exploring the history of the British Isles (and some other
places). The show would arrive at a site where people have some questions about
a hill, or lump of stone, or an odd blip on a map, and from here they have just
three days to excavate as much of the site as possible. They are looking for
important finds like mosaic floors of the Romans, motte-and-bailey castles of the Normans, WW2 fornications,
ditches next to roads, and never any Roman temples, okay bar that one time. The
team includes host Tony Robinson, lead field archaeologist Phil Harding, and
experts like Mick Aston, Francis Pryor, Helen Geake, John Gater, Raksha Dave, Stewart Ainsworth, and many more.
The format might be something that goes against most archaeological digs that
happen over months and years, but it makes for some great TV. In the end, what
the show is mostly doing is engaging in the first prep work on sites for local archaeological
groups who could not afford the geophysics themselves. Through this, they have
made finds that have reshaped the way that we look at parts of British history.
My love for the show comes from many places. There is the interaction between
the hosts and the teams, the allure that at any moment something major could be
found that would have Tony Robinson dashing across the site to instigate, Phil’s
hat, and also learning about the history of the world. I think thanks to this
show I can give you a more in-depth view of the history of Great Britain than I
can of my own country, but that may also be an indictment on the history standards
in 1990s Australian schools. So without further delving into the past, let’s
delve into the past.
TL;DR Movie Reviews and Analysis 