Guide to Starting Market Glory

Basics
New players will do well to think primarily on 4 categories of things in the Market Glory environment (mind you, the 4th item is a big one)

1. Player attributes (your wellness, productivity, earnings, cash on hand, etc)
2. Resources (food, clothing, shelter, then other items like books, companies, etc)
3. Currency - local currency, Gold and Euro

4. Everything else! (will be covered on other pages)

Basically, brand new players will be concerned only with 1, 2, and 3, for possibly up to a week into the game/simulator, so this page is for beginners! 4 - everything else is for looking at long term details of the game, including the players around you, markets, companies, currency exchange rates, etc - important, definitely - but not "first step details."

When you arrive as a new player in the game you will have NOTHING.

NOTHING

Seriously. (unless you invest immediately but why would you do that if you don't already know how to play the game well? I strongly advise against investing before your first week is finished).

Player attributes:
Energy (wellness), productivity (worker value), available currency, experience, knowledge, etc.

You'll start out with 1.0 Energy
You'll start out with 0.0 money
You'll start out with 0.0 Productivity
You'll start out with 0.0 Knowledge


All you've got going for you in the beginning is having that 1.0 score of Energy

Productivity is actually a combined score based on:

Energy x Experience x Knowledge = Productivity

Things sound bleak at this stage - in the beginning of the game - but really - there's nowhere to go but UP! I mean this seriously. Show up, work each day and things will get better. The only way you can really do extremely badly and not advance (even if it's to advance very slowly) is to not show up on a daily basis and work.

Each day that you work, you'll increase your Productivity score, so the next day, your value as a worker will be a little more than the day before (unless you stop logging in and increasing this daily).

The amount of money you'll earn each day goes up a little as your productivity level increases. Log in daily, WORK every day - FIGHT if you're able to when you're not working (this increases your money earned, too - but watch out 'cos it can decrease your energy).

When you fight and win, you'll earn what is called a "referral" (in other similar games, this token position is usually called a "slave"). Your referral's activities will give you small bonuses, according to your energy and productivity levels. You can also chose to sell your referrals for Gold currency.

*Note, you'll also get referrals from sending your link around and having people join the environment from your link. You get bonuses for their activity too, but these are a different kind of referral you may not want to sell - click around in the game and learn the difference between your referrals gained from fights and your referrals gained as real-life referrals into the environment (permanent referrals).

There is a limit of 10 fights per day. After each fight, from the time you enter and attack a potential referral, there is a ten minute cool-down timer that runs. You cannot fight an additional player at this time (hey, fair's fair, right?).

Here's the scoop:

At the start when you're a new player, things don't look very good and it seems like you're in an awful situation to begin with. I won't get all touchy-feely here or attempt to lie to you just to make you feel better... you WILL BE IN a pretty rough situation at the start... however - we ALL START OUT LIKE THIS!

In my humble opinion, the game is THIS HARD at the beginning to weed out those players who would show up thinking to make a fast buck and run/close out their account in the game. I'm GLAD the beginning stages are as tough as they are because I want this environment to be online for a good long while!

It's a LONG TERM - STRATEGY ENVIRONMENT above ALL ELSE!

The following is how most beginner weeks look in practice, per day:

Sign up.
Log in.
Work.
Read the message boards/forum.
Fight.
Learn the rules.
Save money.
Fight some more.
Read what other players have said about their experiences (again - forum).
Fight
Sell a referral after a fight.
Interact with other players.
Fight again.
Read some more.
Log out.
Return the next day and do it all over again.


After a week, you'll have to start considering the #4 (Everything else) Category involved in Market Glory - information which is on a new page here.

Enjoy the Market Glory environment!

Basics
New players will do well to think primarily on 4 categories of things in the Market Glory environment (mind you, the 4th item is a big one)

1. Player attributes (your wellness, productivity, earnings, cash on hand, etc)
2. Resources (food, clothing, shelter, then other items like books, companies, etc)
3. Currency - local currency, Gold and Euro

4. Everything else! (will be covered on other pages)

Basically, brand new players will be concerned only with 1, 2, and 3, for possibly up to a week into the game/simulator, so this page is for beginners! 4 - everything else is for looking at long term details of the game, including the players around you, markets, companies, currency exchange rates, etc - important, definitely - but not "first step details."

When you arrive as a new player in the game you will have NOTHING.

NOTHING

Seriously. (unless you invest immediately but why would you do that if you don't already know how to play the game well? I strongly advise against investing before your first week is finished).

Player attributes:
Energy (wellness), productivity (worker value), available currency, experience, knowledge, etc.

You'll start out with 1.0 Energy
You'll start out with 0.0 money
You'll start out with 0.0 Productivity
You'll start out with 0.0 Knowledge


All you've got going for you in the beginning is having that 1.0 score of Energy

Productivity is actually a combined score based on:

Energy x Experience x Knowledge = Productivity

Things sound bleak at this stage - in the beginning of the game - but really - there's nowhere to go but UP! I mean this seriously. Show up, work each day and things will get better. The only way you can really do extremely badly and not advance (even if it's to advance very slowly) is to not show up on a daily basis and work.

Each day that you work, you'll increase your Productivity score, so the next day, your value as a worker will be a little more than the day before (unless you stop logging in and increasing this daily).

The amount of money you'll earn each day goes up a little as your productivity level increases. Log in daily, WORK every day - FIGHT if you're able to when you're not working (this increases your money earned, too - but watch out 'cos it can decrease your energy).

When you fight and win, you'll earn what is called a "referral" (in other similar games, this token position is usually called a "slave"). Your referral's activities will give you small bonuses, according to your energy and productivity levels. You can also chose to sell your referrals for Gold currency.

*Note, you'll also get referrals from sending your link around and having people join the environment from your link. You get bonuses for their activity too, but these are a different kind of referral you may not want to sell - click around in the game and learn the difference between your referrals gained from fights and your referrals gained as real-life referrals into the environment (permanent referrals).

There is a limit of 10 fights per day. After each fight, from the time you enter and attack a potential referral, there is a ten minute cool-down timer that runs. You cannot fight an additional player at this time (hey, fair's fair, right?).

Here's the scoop:

At the start when you're a new player, things don't look very good and it seems like you're in an awful situation to begin with. I won't get all touchy-feely here or attempt to lie to you just to make you feel better... you WILL BE IN a pretty rough situation at the start... however - we ALL START OUT LIKE THIS!

In my humble opinion, the game is THIS HARD at the beginning to weed out those players who would show up thinking to make a fast buck and run/close out their account in the game. I'm GLAD the beginning stages are as tough as they are because I want this environment to be online for a good long while!

It's a LONG TERM - STRATEGY ENVIRONMENT above ALL ELSE!

The following is how most beginner weeks look in practice, per day:

Sign up.
Log in.
Work.
Read the message boards/forum.
Fight.
Learn the rules.
Save money.
Fight some more.
Read what other players have said about their experiences (again - forum).
Fight
Sell a referral after a fight.
Interact with other players.
Fight again.
Read some more.
Log out.
Return the next day and do it all over again.


After a week, you'll have to start considering the #4 (Everything else) Category involved in Market Glory - information which is on a new page here.

Enjoy the Market Glory environment!

Basics
New players will do well to think primarily on 4 categories of things in the Market Glory environment (mind you, the 4th item is a big one)

1. Player attributes (your wellness, productivity, earnings, cash on hand, etc)
2. Resources (food, clothing, shelter, then other items like books, companies, etc)
3. Currency - local currency, Gold and Euro

4. Everything else! (will be covered on other pages)

Basically, brand new players will be concerned only with 1, 2, and 3, for possibly up to a week into the game/simulator, so this page is for beginners! 4 - everything else is for looking at long term details of the game, including the players around you, markets, companies, currency exchange rates, etc - important, definitely - but not "first step details."

When you arrive as a new player in the game you will have NOTHING.

NOTHING

Seriously. (unless you invest immediately but why would you do that if you don't already know how to play the game well? I strongly advise against investing before your first week is finished).

Player attributes:
Energy (wellness), productivity (worker value), available currency, experience, knowledge, etc.

You'll start out with 1.0 Energy
You'll start out with 0.0 money
You'll start out with 0.0 Productivity
You'll start out with 0.0 Knowledge


All you've got going for you in the beginning is having that 1.0 score of Energy

Productivity is actually a combined score based on:

Energy x Experience x Knowledge = Productivity

Things sound bleak at this stage - in the beginning of the game - but really - there's nowhere to go but UP! I mean this seriously. Show up, work each day and things will get better. The only way you can really do extremely badly and not advance (even if it's to advance very slowly) is to not show up on a daily basis and work.

Each day that you work, you'll increase your Productivity score, so the next day, your value as a worker will be a little more than the day before (unless you stop logging in and increasing this daily).

The amount of money you'll earn each day goes up a little as your productivity level increases. Log in daily, WORK every day - FIGHT if you're able to when you're not working (this increases your money earned, too - but watch out 'cos it can decrease your energy).

When you fight and win, you'll earn what is called a "referral" (in other similar games, this token position is usually called a "slave"). Your referral's activities will give you small bonuses, according to your energy and productivity levels. You can also chose to sell your referrals for Gold currency.

*Note, you'll also get referrals from sending your link around and having people join the environment from your link. You get bonuses for their activity too, but these are a different kind of referral you may not want to sell - click around in the game and learn the difference between your referrals gained from fights and your referrals gained as real-life referrals into the environment (permanent referrals).

There is a limit of 10 fights per day. After each fight, from the time you enter and attack a potential referral, there is a ten minute cool-down timer that runs. You cannot fight an additional player at this time (hey, fair's fair, right?).

Here's the scoop:

At the start when you're a new player, things don't look very good and it seems like you're in an awful situation to begin with. I won't get all touchy-feely here or attempt to lie to you just to make you feel better... you WILL BE IN a pretty rough situation at the start... however - we ALL START OUT LIKE THIS!

In my humble opinion, the game is THIS HARD at the beginning to weed out those players who would show up thinking to make a fast buck and run/close out their account in the game. I'm GLAD the beginning stages are as tough as they are because I want this environment to be online for a good long while!

It's a LONG TERM - STRATEGY ENVIRONMENT above ALL ELSE!

The following is how most beginner weeks look in practice, per day:

Sign up.
Log in.
Work.
Read the message boards/forum.
Fight.
Learn the rules.
Save money.
Fight some more.
Read what other players have said about their experiences (again - forum).
Fight
Sell a referral after a fight.
Interact with other players.
Fight again.
Read some more.
Log out.
Return the next day and do it all over again.


After a week, you'll have to start considering the #4 (Everything else) Category involved in Market Glory - information which is on a new page here.

Enjoy the Market Glory environment!

Color in Design: What Is CMYK and RGB

Before getting into the core of the topic, let's see a few basics on what's color and its perception. We could define color as the specific wave length of light reflected by the surface observed and captured by the human eye.

As Sir Isaac Newton discovered in the seventeenth century white light can be divided into several distinct colors ( by means of a ray of sunlight passing through a prism, after other strange experiments like passing needle into his eye, in an attempt to understand human sight.)

Surfaces will reflect certain wavelengths and retain others, thus the wavelength reflected is the light we see on the surface. The visible light has what is called three primary colors which are red, green and blue. They are called primary because combining these three colors you can create the whole hue spectrum.

And now, the important part, what does happen when you combine all the primary colors? In visible light if you mix them all together you get white light back, and that is the reason why visible light is known as an "Additive Color System." If you were like me as a kid, and liked mixing paints and colors and making a real mess on your clothes with them your memories will bring a contradictory concept to what I just explained, when we mixed all the paints together we didn't get white, to our despair our painted clothes didn't get whiter, on the contrary they were more of a brownish, blackish color.

Why does pigment in paints go black instead of white? Because the pigment surface retains more light than it gives back, so as we add more and more pigment, less light is returned back thus getting a black reflection. For that reason pigments are known as "Subtractive Color Systems"

With all that said we can approach the two most known color systems in graphic design.

CMYK is a subtractive color system and for that reason adequate for printing as the pigments have that subtractive behaviour. While painters use the basic color wheel ( Red, Blue, Yellow ) as guide to mix colors, printing ink uses another set of primary colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK (CMYK). In theory cyan, magenta and yellow should be able to produce black but the mix isn't rich enough to create a vivid and wide tonal range, for that reason black is added to the mix, forming what is known as "four-color process." So from the designer point of view, you should use this color system when your project was intended for print, like letterheads, business cards or other stationary.

RGB is on the other hand an additive system, for that reason ideal for screen use. The combination with different percentages of Red, Green, Blue can generate the whole hue spectrum, being a 100% of each primary color the generation of white (with the same logic 0% of each generates black). Therefore RGB is a good system when you are working in web design projects, logos for web or screen use only and any other imagenery on screen.

There will be cases where as graphic designer you will need to provide solutions for both conditions (screen and print ) like a branding project. In those cases I provide my client in the style guide a palette with the CMYK and RGB values that match better the color chosen.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7297540

How to Understand the Histogram on Your Camera

One of the great aspects of DSLRs is the histogram feature that can be set to appear each time you take a photograph. Most people either do not know about this feature, or do not understand what the information presented means, but for one who does know, it can present very useful knowledge as to how your photo has been taken. If you know how to read a histogram, you will instantly be able to know whether the image you have has been under exposed, over exposed or is at the correct exposure. The first thing you should do is to set your camera up to display the histogram. The way you do this varies on camera to camera, so if you don't know how to set it, refer to your user manual. It'll quickly tell you how. Once you have the histogram set, you're ready to go, so go ahead and take a photo. Look at the photo and then look at the histogram displayed. For a perfectly exposed image, you should generally have a spiked graph with the majority of the information in the middle and tapering out towards the sides. No two histograms will look alike, but generally, if your histogram is similar to described, it means all the information has been captured and your image should be good. The set up of the histogram has the first third dedicated to dark tones, the center third to mid tones, and the right side to high tones. If your image is under exposed, then the majority of your graph will tend towards the left of the graph. Furthermore, it will appear that the start of the graph does not begin at zero on the y axis (the vertical axis), and this means that not all the information in the image has been captured. This is known as clipping, and means your dark areas are far too dark for your camera to pick up the information. Therefore you should recompose and consider increasing the aperture, the ISO slowing your shutter speed down. Similarly, if your graph tends towards the right, then you have overexposed, and you have a lot of pure white in your image. Again, clipping will occur if on the y axis, the graph does not start at zero. So you should recompose the image, decrease shutter speed, ISO or reduce the aperture size so not so much light is coming in. While the histogram is not perfect, it can give you a really good indication of how your image is, and enable you to understand if you need to reshoot. Your LCD preview will give you an idea of how your image came out, but the histogram tells you more precisely any potential problems. Once you get used to the histogram and the information it displays, you'll quickly be able to correct on the spot any exposure problems you have and reshoot instantly. Like What you Read? Try our Free Photography Secrets Take amazing photos with these little known tips and techniques. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7296959

Composition Tips For Outstanding Photography

You don't need a top of the range DSLR camera to take great and interesting shots. A Canon Powershot SD1400 IS can be all you need to take great shots. What you do need is an understanding of some basic composition and an eye for the unusual. These two elements can help you begin to understand and gain insight into what makes a great image. Using a point and shoot like the Powershot, was a good way for me to get started and to understand important features in composition. The first thing you need to do when seeking to take a photo is to ask a simple question; why? Why do you want this shot? Why does it appeal to you? Focusing on this question will help you to visualize and to concentrate on this aspect that first attracted your attention. Before you continue, you should already be aware of basic compositional principles. They are the rule of thirds where you place your focus point a third of the way into your frame, whether horizontally or vertically; keeping your frame square and any horizon completely level; and finally to keep the image in focus and as sharp as you can. With these basic techniques in mind, you are ready to go to the next phase, establishing a vantage point. If your subject is a popular tourist building, consider thinking outside the box a little and trying to take it from another view. Perhaps focus on one part of it. Remember, there's already millions of photos out there, with the majority probably very similar. So try to think of something someone else hasn't thought of (difficult, I know). Look at your scene, and try to see if there are any lines in the composition. These lines could be physical (perhaps a road, telegraph poles or lines), or they could be implied, perhaps a small child looking across at something. Remember your rule of thirds, and try to focus on the why of the image with regards any storytelling you may want to do. Maybe take someone down a road towards the main focal point, a building or something. Consider the three types of symmetry you have available to you. You have perfect symmetry where one side matches the other identically, then you asymmetry where the left and right don't match, but still balance out, and then you have radial symmetry where the focus starts in the middle and works its way out. All three symmetries when understood well can all help impact your photo positively. When out and about with your camera, always be mindful, and consider your environment well. You never know what you may come across or see. Above all, look up, because many things are above us that we may never have considered looking around at our current hight. Like What you Read? Try our Free Photography Secrets Take amazing photos with these little known tips and techniques. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7296968

Photography - Working With a DSLR Camera's RAW Format

If you own and shoot using a DSLR then you should be shooting in RAW. RAW is the native format that your camera stores information as. Even if you shoot in JPEG mode, your camera will still shoot in RAW, convert to JPEG and then discard the information left over. This means that a RAW image can be up to four times the size of a JPEG image, but that extra information can be priceless. Since I began shooting in RAW, the results of my photos have been outstanding. I'm not one to boast, but I am very proud of several photos I have taken, all because I was able to manipulate the RAW image in the post processing stage. Once you are hooked on shooting in RAW, you'll need to get a bigger hard drive and SD card. Prices of these are quite low compared to what they used to be, and this makes RAW an even more attractive format to shoot in. Your camera is likely to have come with some software, including a RAW editor. If you're lucky and have any of Adobe's design suites or stand alone Photoshop, then you'll find that it has a RAW editor called Adobe RAW. This is normally accessed from the Adobe Bridge software, which is a brilliant image management system. When you open a RAW image, you have several tabs you can look through, and each plays a specific role in the post processing stage of your image (yes, all your good images should always be post processed, just as with a film camera). Even if you only focus on the main tab to begin with, then you'll find it useful enough to really spruce up your shots well. Out of all the controls, my favorite is the clarity slider. It works as a sharpness control, and can really make your shots stand out, or if you slide it back, to create low contrast and more atmospheric shots. It really depends on what you want to achieve. This main tab also allows you to correct under or over exposure if your image is too dark or light. It can also allow you to change the temperature, so if you've taken an outdoor shot with a tungsten white balance setting on your camera, you can fix this by bringing more warmth into the image. It also allows you to boost or put back dark areas, and also control your bright areas too. Once you've played with it for a while and seen the results, you'll never go back to saving your images as JPEGS on your camera. One final benefit of RAW, the file format is lossless, therefore the image will never degrade, and you can also go back and undo any changes you've made at a later date because the changes aren't actually made onto the RAW image, moreover a separate file is created with the information of changes made. In all, shooting in RAW gives you so much more power and control. The main disadvantages with it are the large size, and the fact you have to use Bridge to view the images (you can't get previews in Windows Explorer), but the benefits for outweigh these minor drawbacks. So shoot in RAW, take a spare SD card. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7296963

The Three Factors of Light in Photography

If you have just bought a DSLR camera, then it is likely you are more serious about your photography than most others. To get the most out of your camera, it is very useful to know and understand the basic physics behind it, what affects certain settings of your camera have and so on. Photography is a rewarding hobby and profession, but it is difficult to master, and only with plenty of practice and no how will you get anywhere with it. So, the first thing you should have bought with your DSLR is an SD card, a skylight filter for your lens (for protection), and a spare battery. There are three very important principles that you must understand, and these are common to every digital camera. These principles are essential to allowing light into your camera for capture of your shot, and used incorrectly will lead to some very wild results. Therefore, even for a beginner, I would suggest ignoring all automatic and help settings on your camera, and jumping at the deep end and setting it to M, for manual. It's involved at first, but in the long run you will learn and understand how your camera works much quicker. The three factors affecting light into your camera are: 1. ISO In old film cameras, this dealt with the speed of the film. For bright sunny days, you would want to use 100 ISO film. For inside photography, you would need 400 ISO. It is similar in a digital camera, but it now determines the sensitivity to light of the sensor (which has replaced the film). In basic terms, if you are shooting outside on a bright day, you should set your ISO to 100. If shooting inside, again a higher ISO is needed, but this can go well beyond 400 ISO, most cameras allow up to 1600 ISO, but some newer ones go beyond even this. This eliminates the need for flash in many situations, and although the results can be grainier, modern technology is even eliminating this. 2. Aperture The aperture is essentially the window into your camera. It is a hole that can be increased or decreased depending on what conditions you are shooting in and the amount of light. It controls the amount of light entering the camera. Basically, if you are shooting a landscape, you will need a small hole (high f stop number), because there will be a lot of light. If shooting a portrait, then a large hole (small f stop number) is needed. Aperture also controls depth of field. 3. Shutter Speed The third and final way to control light entering the camera is through the shutter. This is the length of time the shutter is open. In basic terms, if you want to freeze action crisply and cleanly, then use a very fast shutter speed. If you want to show motion and blur, then a slower shutter speed should be used (with the aid of a tripod). All three affect each other, and for a properly exposed photo, if you change one, you must change the other. Practice and taking note of your settings will help you to understand this better. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7296866

How to Encourage Your Guests to Take Pictures Through Photo Booths

Yes, it is true. Some of your guests during your important celebrations do not take pictures via photo booth hire service. There are varied reasons why. They may be just too shy, cannot have their own turn as some groups of people dominate the photo session scene, or are just totally indifferent and stoic when it comes to picture taking. However, it is your desire that all of your guests should have their pictures posted in your album so this is really a problem. How can you then encourage your guests to use the picture booth? There are several ways to do so. Here are some suggestions. 1. Take pictures with them. It will be a dishonor to the party host if guests will not indulge his or her request for a photo. When you notice that some of your guests are still adamant to take their pictures in the photo booth, a little encouragement from you by inviting them to share photo taking opportunities will help. This way, these people won't have any excuses as to why they cannot take pictures in the photo booth. 2. Threaten them with penalties. This suggestion works both for the super indulgent and the timid ones. Let everyone know how many pictures they are allowed to take and should any one of them exceed the limits, they will have to pay for the excess. This will discourage picture taking addicts and give room for others. Since pictures are developed quickly, request the crowd to wave the pictures and those who are empty handed will be given time to have their pictures taken and should they fail to do it, they will be asked to sing or dance or any penalties that you can think of. 3. Offer rewards. Even if the prize is a small token, it can definitely encourage guests to have their pictures taken through photo booth hire services. People love to win even if the titles are wackiest post, silliest pose, widest grin, and funniest face, among others. In addition, having this strategy adds more fun and excitement to your party. 4. Donate to charity ploy. Some of your guests might need an appeal to emotion in order to encourage them to have their pictures taken from a photo booth. A donation to a charitable cause gives social responsibility credence to your occasion and incites good deeds from your guests. 5. Make the pictures as their meal ticket. Nobody wants to be hungry and thirsty during parties, especially if the food is delicious and drinks are literally flooded everywhere. Thus, your guests will definitely fall in line in the photo booth before they can dig in their fork in their favorite dish. All it takes is a little imagination and creativity when you want your guests to take their pictures in the photo booth. These suggestions add thrills to your party and might be a good conversation piece the morning after. If you have problems with guests who offer lots of excuses just to escape from taking their pictures with photo booth hire service. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7304105