Renewable energy has gained significant importance in our endeavors to address climate change and establish a sustainable future. In New Jersey, residents are fortunate to have a range of solar incentives that make transitioning to solar power more accessible and affordable. Let’s delve into the various incentives available in the state of New Jersey.
https://preview.redd.it/mm81g79jmr2b1.png?width=980&format=png&auto=webp&s=7a71591fa37d28e31ca014b7bc97667bd223b09f
New Jersery State Incentives/Rebates/SRECs
One of the key programs in New Jersey is the State Incentives/Rebates/Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs). This program enables homeowners to sell the excess solar energy they generate back to the grid. Through this initiative, homeowners earn credits, known as Solar Renewable Energy Certificates or SRECs, which can be sold to utilities, providing an additional source of income. The Successor Solar Incentive (SuSI) program, which replaced the Transition Incentive Program (TIP) in August 2021, offers fixed-price, 15-year SREC-IIs. For every 1,000 kWh produced, homeowners can earn one SREC-II, valued at $90 each for residential net metered systems.
New Jersey Solar Panels – Net Metering Policy
New Jersey’s net metering (NEM) rules require investor-owned utilities, energy suppliers, and certain municipal utilities and electric cooperatives to offer net metering. Net metering allows homeowners to offset their electricity bills by exporting excess solar energy to the grid. Under NEM, homeowners receive credits for Net Excess Generation (NEG) at the full retail rate, which can be carried over month-to-month within a 12-month annual true-up period. At the end of the 12-month period, any remaining NEM credits are compensated at the wholesale cost of power.
Property Tax Exemptions
To further incentivize solar adoption, New Jersey provides property tax exemptions for homeowners who install solar panels. This exemption helps offset the upfront cost of installing a solar system. Homeowners can apply for a certificate from their local assessor, which will reduce the assessed value of their property to account for the renewable energy system. By reducing the property’s assessed value, homeowners can enjoy long-term savings on property taxes. Read the full blog here…

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https://preview.redd.it/gdwqw0f8zs2b1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=86c2cca4656054496bb75d07a70342164383eb51
At CCTV York our company specialises in providing top-quality CCTV installation services to homes and businesses across York. We understand that each customer’s needs are unique, which is why cctv York offers a range of services to suit a variety of needs and budgets. Our CCTV specialists offer everything from Ajax alarms, and Home IP network to Hikvision and Dahua CCTV Camera systems.

Why Not install your self a Ajax home alarm?

Installing an Ajax alarm system can be done by individuals who are comfortable with basic DIY (do-it-yourself) projects and have a good understanding of electrical systems and home security. However, it's important to note that installing a security system involves working with electrical wiring and potentially drilling holes in walls or ceilings, so if you're uncertain or uncomfortable with these tasks, it's advisable to hire a professional installer.
If you decide to install an Ajax alarm system yourself, here are some general steps to consider:

1. Familiarize yourself with the system: Read the installation manual and understand the components included in the Ajax alarm system. This will give you a clear idea of the installation process and the necessary tools.
2. Plan the installation: Determine the optimal locations for sensors, detectors, and the control panel. Consider factors such as coverage, accessibility, and wiring requirements. Make sure to choose strategic locations that cover vulnerable entry points in your home.
3. Prepare the necessary tools: Gather the tools needed for the installation, such as a drill, screwdriver, cable clips, wire strippers, and a ladder.
4. Install the control panel: Start by mounting the control panel in a central location, preferably near the main entrance. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for proper installation and wiring.
5. Install the sensors and detectors: Place doowindow sensors and motion detectors at designated locations according to your plan. Ensure they are securely mounted and aligned correctly. Run the necessary wiring or connect wireless components, depending on the system.
6. Configure the system: Once all the components are installed, follow the instructions provided by Ajax to configure the system. This typically involves connecting the control panel to your home's Wi-Fi network and programming the system settings.
7. Test the system: After installation and configuration, thoroughly test the system to ensure all components are functioning correctly. Activate each sensor and ensure that the control panel receives the appropriate signals.

Remember, Ajax alarm systems may have specific installation instructions and requirements, so it's crucial to consult the manufacturer's documentation and guidelines throughout the process. If at any point you encounter difficulties or feel unsure about the installation, it's advisable to consult a professional installer or contact the manufacturer's support for assistance.
https://reddit.com/link/13ut6sv/video/ejicdxvkzs2b1/player
https://aerialsandcctvsolutions.co.uk/cctv-installation/cctv-york/

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https://preview.redd.it/qiwzd7aggr2b1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8176ebe05742431458e49778dff1bb21b93ad388
An increasing number of schools in London and elsewhere are using the 7 plus or 7 examinations, a very difficult school entrance exam, to admit students to the third grade. The exam typically occurs in fee-paying independent schools on January 2 and November 2 of every year, though specific dates may vary per school. A growing number of elite schools in London use Year 7 as a competitive entrance exam for admission to Year 3. The test will be taken by your kid in Year 2.
This is the major justification for selecting 7+ Tuition in London. Math and English are the two main subjects tested in the seventh grade exam. Verbal and non-verbal thinking are currently being taught in more and more schools. Tests are usually written, but may have verbal sections that test rote arithmetic, spelling, memory and dictation.
At Carpe Diem, our talented and professional team offers exceptional tutoring services to students of all ages, levels and majors. We specialize in teaching A-level subjects and preparing students for entry to the world's best universities, and our tutors themselves are recruited from only the top seven in the UK.

Is Carpe Diem English Tuition Best for 7+?

There are reasons why you should consider hiring English Tuition in Dagenham for your child. Your child will have a unique learning experience when you participate in our English language learning program at the Dagenham Centre. At Carpe Diem, we are experts in understanding the challenges your child faces and tailoring lessons to their needs so they can learn to speak and write English with confidence.
Our Basic English language learning concept can go a long way in boosting a child's confidence. They can express themselves verbally in front of peers and adults, from reading aloud to presenting ideas, sharing opinions and asking questions. Improving their English will increase their self-confidence, which will help them succeed in social interactions and school work.
Our teachers can help your child make significant progress in school. Reading is key in all subjects, as is the ability to listen and communicate with teachers when they need help. So when you need the Best Tutors in Dagenham, our professional tutors look after your child's holistic development and language skills, encouraging them to take pride in their work and think creatively when solving problems.

What are the benefits of Carpe Diem 7+ Tuition?

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· Exam preparation
The 7 tutorials are specially designed to help students prepare for the 7 entrance exams. These exams are very competitive and require a solid foundation in subjects such as English, mathematics and reasoning. Tutoring can provide focused preparation and teach students the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in these exams.
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In a learning environment, students receive personal attention from experienced teachers. This individual or group instruction allows teachers to understand each student's strengths and weaknesses and adjust the teaching method accordingly. Teachers can provide individualized feedback and address specific areas where a student needs improvement.
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Teaching 7 can help students better understand core subjects such as English and mathematics. Our Best Tutors in Dagenham can explain complex concepts, introduce advanced topics and provide additional resources and practice materials to enhance your learning. This can significantly increase the student's subject knowledge and self-confidence.
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Entrance exams often require specific strategies and techniques to maximize performance. Teachers experienced in the Seven Exams can teach students effective exam strategies such as time management, question analysis, and problem-solving techniques. These skills are valuable not only for exams but also for future academic endeavors.
· Familiarity with Exam Format
Tuition programs familiarize students with the structure and format of 7+ entrance exams. At Carpe Diem, our Best Tutors in Dagenham can provide practice tests and mock exams that simulate the actual exam conditions, helping students become more comfortable and confident in tackling the exams. This familiarity reduces exam anxiety and enhances performance. It's important to note that the specific benefits may vary depending on the quality of the tuition program, the expertise of the tutors, and the individual needs and abilities of the student.

For our schedule and links to other discussions, see the Money and Banking 2023 master post.
This is the discussion thread for Economics of Money and Banking Lecture 4: The Money View, Micro and Macro.

• Lecture Videos
• Lecture Notes

The settlement (survival) constraint says you have to meet your cash commitments as they come due. This lecture explores the settlement constraint from multiple perspectives.
We can disaggregate assets into time patterns of future cash inflows, and liabilities into time patterns of future cash outflows (commitments). If your cash inflows are insufficient to cover your cash commitments at any given moment, then the settlement constraint binds, and you're dead.
The settlement constraint can be relaxed from above but not below. The payment system is a credit system. By relaxing our settlement constraint, economic units (agents) above us in the hierarchy can allow us to expand credit to make otherwise-impossible payments.
Mehrling introduces the "sources and uses" notation, an analytical tool that helps us match up cash flows with different liquidity categories: monetary, funding, and market.
This Lecture connects with Hyman Minsky's cashflow-oriented view of the economy, which we will discuss on Wednesday.
Note: The link to the Fed release in the lecture notes doesn't work anymore. Here's the latest version (Fourth Quarter 2022). The sources and uses matrices are on pages 1 and 2 (color-coded red).

Part 1: FT: Dealer of Last Resort

• FT Article: QE would be right for Europe, too

When I heard the news of another round of quantitative easing in the US last week, my first thought was that Mario Draghi should have done the same. Instead, the president of the European Central Bank opted for a conditional bond purchasing programme with an uncertain start date. In the meantime, the eurozone’s faltering economy needs a much more determined monetary stimulus, and it needs it right now.—QE would be right for Europe, too

The idea with dealer of last resort is that the central bank offers to buy an unlimited quantity of an asset at a particular price. This installs a floor below which the price cannot go—and hence a ceiling on the yield/interest rate. In the fall of 2012, the ECB is announcing its Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) program, which offers to buy the sovereign debt of European member countries that need help—possibly Italy and Spain.
This is the "monetizing government debt" operation we've seen before.
https://preview.redd.it/prt8l004ws2b1.png?width=714&format=png&auto=webp&s=d2ddcd4b04bd5a679f2fd22b3a7c88564e770dc6
The problem with the OMT program is that it only backstops sovereign debt if the countries ask for it and if they agree to certain conditions. But it can be problematic to ask for help. So the question is whether the OMT will have its desired effect if it never gets used/activated. Nearly nine years later, I think the answer is: partly.
Although the announcement of the program did help drive down interest rates, as far as I can tell the ECB has still never actually done any OMT purchases. Here's a Bloomberg article from 2020.

• ECB’s Pandemic Program Means Most Powerful Tool Stays in Reserve

As of last year, Mario Draghi is now Prime Minister of Italy.

Part 2: Reading: Hyman Minsky

As we'll see in the reading next week, Minsky thought about the economy in terms of cashflows. His financial instability hypothesis was based on the idea that the financial sector becomes more brittle as it becomes more difficult for everyone to line up their cash inflows with their commitments—the "survival constraint" binds more tightly.
This can all happen without anyone becoming insolvent at any time.

Part 3: Payments: Money and Credit

In a "pure money" system, nobody ever borrows from each other. People make payments only by passing back and forth money assets. Whether that money is represented as physical coins/tokens/notes or merely as entries on a balance sheet, it's something that the people spending the money can't create more of.
https://preview.redd.it/2c18yui6ws2b1.png?width=655&format=png&auto=webp&s=2e586f87ce8ed375c21615ffaecd38e3eb5321fb
Such a system is, of course, impossible. People will always find ways to borrow from each other to introduce elasticity.
On the other end of the spectrum is a "pure credit" system:
https://preview.redd.it/fatx72q8ws2b1.png?width=716&format=png&auto=webp&s=91f4d751a4716b82b1b339d49c72bcc112b067d0
The above balance sheet shows payment by issuance. This creates a new IOU from the buyer to the seller of the goods. This expands credit in the economy.
There's also payment by set-off where the buyer crosses off a debt owed to him by the seller. This contracts credit.
https://preview.redd.it/biuna09bws2b1.png?width=739&format=png&auto=webp&s=e014786b164f28cba54cd5c3e70f5932a261f77a
And, for completeness, we can imagine the buyer taking on a liability that was previously owed by the seller. Credit neither expands nor contracts. This is payment by novation.
https://preview.redd.it/b0gjwztdws2b1.png?width=708&format=png&auto=webp&s=00586607d20d988ebe14024c1a2b8645b833bbc4
In the credit payment system, the quantity of outstanding credit increases and decreases as payments are made. That means the quantity of assets—and liabilities—expands and contracts. In the real world, there's both money and credit. Holding a buffer of money reserves allows us to make payments without lining them up perfectly against cash inflows.
Money is credit that's issued above you in the money-credit hierarchy. Banks, who sit above you in the hierarchy, create elasticity by swapping their liabilities for your liabilities. What's money to you (bank deposits) is a form of credit from the perspective of the banking system.
https://preview.redd.it/gxppa00hws2b1.png?width=811&format=png&auto=webp&s=8aaebbad8b15e10a0c6553c7cf357c647acd0c14
Notice that by using a bank as an intermediary, the overall payment system still behaves as a credit system. You pay using something that looks like money to you, but the bank created that money as credit.
On his BU site, Perry links to two helpful YouTube videos by the Bank of England:

• Money in the modern economy: an introduction
• Money creation in the modern economy

The first video explains that money is a special form of generally acceptable IOU. In today's world, instead of being directly redeemable for something like gold, the central bank does other things to ensure the integrity of the monetary standard and to manage the stability (or instability) of the credit superstructure that rests on top of it.
The second video discusses "endogenous" money creation, narrow money versus broad money (hierarchy), and the effects of quantitative easing. Even for the "narrow money" issued by the central bank, they don't get to choose how much of it they issue. It has to endogenously adjust based on what's necessary for stable monetary conditions.

Part 4: Payments: Discipline and Elasticity

In our first example, the discipline came from the limited quantity of money—when either side ran out of money, they could no longer buy and trade stopped. In the second example, the discipline comes from the bilateral credit limit. In the third example the discipline comes from the credit limit and terms imposed by the bank on each borrower, and the elasticity comes from the willingness of the bank to swap its own IOU (which is money) for IOUs farther down the hierarchy (which are credit).—Lecture Notes

Banks can impose discipline from above by refusing to expand their credit, which is your money.
We can imagine credit limits as representing balance sheets' capacity to expand. And that capacity can bounce around depending on how much people trust each other, how much they trust financial conditions, and the capacity/willingness of lenders to expand credit.

Part 5: The Survival Constraint

To analyze the flow of money, we can think of all "economic units" (people, firms, governments, etc.) as banks. Everybody is a "money-flow" operation. Everybody faces a survival (liquidity/reserve/settlement) constraint.

To analyze how financial commitments affect the economy it is necessary to look at economic units in terms of their cash flows. The cash-flow approach looks at all units—be they households, corporations, state and municipal governments, or even national governments—as if they were banks.(Minsky 1986, p. 198)

For an economic agent to remain functional, it must be able to meet its cash commitments as they come due. If you can't make a promised payment, you're in trouble. In terms of day-to-day operations, you don't necessarily have to be solvent (assets > liabilities). You just have to be liquid enough to make your promised payments. You can continue doing business for a long time, even if you're insolvent. But not if you're illiquid.

"Liquidity kills you quick."—Perry Mehrling

Part 6: Sources and Uses Accounts

A key feature of the sources and uses framework is that it allows us to categorize cash flows. Different categories of sources and uses have different properties and represent different constraints. Mehrling breaks sources and uses into four categories: Goods, Financial Assets, Financial Debts, and Money.
Each category's source corresponds to a type of liquidity.

• Goods: Expenditure/Receipt — Market Liquidity
• Assets: Accumulate/Liquidate — Market Liquidity
• Debts: Repay/Borrow — Funding Liquidity
• Money: Hoard/Dishoard — Monetary Liquidity

Consistent with Mehrling's recent usage, I have replaced "decumulate" with "liquidate." For conciseness, I've shortened "Financial Assets" to "Assets" and "Financial Debts" to "Debts." Goods and money are also assets on the balance sheet, of course.
Dishoarding is the only source that requires no counterparty. Separating out assets and liabilities emphasizes that agents manage their gross liabilities, not just their net debts. Each and every cash commitment needs to be fulfilled.
The sources and uses accounts represent payment flows, whereas the balance sheets we're used to represent stocks. Sources and uses can be translated into balance sheet changes.

• Rule 1: For each agent, every use has a corresponding source, and vice versa.
• Rule 2: Every agent's use is some other agent's source, and vice versa.

The first rule is just about keeping track of where the money goes when you receive it (or where it comes from when you spend it). The second rule ties every agent in the economy together.
We put the goods and services "above the line." The other three categories of sources and uses are below-the-line financial accounts. What's possible above the line (goods and services) is determined by what happens below the line (financial). This MOOC focuses mostly on what's below the line.
We don't revisit sources and uses much in later lectures, but have a look at this blog post by Daniel Neilson for more intuition on sources and uses.

• Sources and uses on Soon Parted

Part 7: Payment Example: Money and Credit

In this part, we use sources and uses to compare a cash payment to a credit card payment. I've also translated the examples into balance sheets, so we can see how the two notations map onto each other. We can use the Clavero color-coding convention for both.
Here's the simpler cash payment:
https://preview.redd.it/v9d72ofkws2b1.png?width=596&format=png&auto=webp&s=fc398ecf09ca2ca37a39f64b4fcbb36d22b2e7dd
And here's the balance-sheet version:
https://preview.redd.it/yrb15w3mws2b1.png?width=538&format=png&auto=webp&s=1b7593822a91aefe82054e58bb040f7b4d258ddb
It's just an asset swap. Each party ends up with what the other party started with.
Here's the balance-sheet version of the credit card payment:
https://preview.redd.it/2y2auy6ows2b1.png?width=1013&format=png&auto=webp&s=b44b6d1cd3e51c1a6098b4c726bff585699712b3
And the sources-and-uses version:
https://preview.redd.it/k7do44vtws2b1.png?width=870&format=png&auto=webp&s=c37765f6a4d55b9dfdfcd3d7cf67a4b592797162
The two main parties (Perry and Vareli) ended up with what the other person started with. But more complicated stuff happened along the way.
I've also partitioned the balance into time periods starting from top to bottom. The sources and uses, on the other hand, are partitioned by their categories.
Notice that each issuance is paired up with its eventual set-off. This is possible because the credit expansion that facilitated the payment eventually contracted back down.
Several different credit-related transactions happen "below the line." These transactions don't directly buy goods and services, but they ultimately facilitate payments for goods and services that take place "above the line." Paying attention to what happens below the line can help us understand what happens above the line.
Mehrling's lecture notes further break down the Vareli credit card payment example into separate sources and uses diagrams for the three steps. We can do that here using our payment-type color coding.
First, Perry makes the credit payment to get the dinner.
https://preview.redd.it/x41b5dewws2b1.png?width=873&format=png&auto=webp&s=caa11606efa4564bbebea276650efd3c92a63ea6
The Goods line represents a "payment by assignment" of the dinner. The asset and debt lines together represent an "IOU swap."
Vareli settles with Mastercard at the end of the day—and the end of every day.
https://preview.redd.it/4t98iuzyws2b1.png?width=874&format=png&auto=webp&s=2926e8ddd974896a27ba6fb2d5e730d96f7bf70c
Perry settles with Mastercard at the end of the month—and the end of every month.
https://preview.redd.it/1nqu7r01xs2b1.png?width=873&format=png&auto=webp&s=7b139f125bfd9b65e1a23b9b5efaab1d46ea0ed4
Balance-sheet liabilities (financial debts) only ever represent a specific type of use: repayment. Liabilities represent time patterns of future cash commitments. You have promised to repay at various times in the future. You could also novate the asset to repay it sooner.
If you fail to match your previously committed use with a corresponding source, you've failed to meet your cash commitment with a cash flow. You've defaulted.
Financial assets represent a specific type of source: liquidation. The asset's time pattern of cash flows is a time pattern of liquidation. You could also sell the asset to liquidate it sooner.
Since we haven't seen novation on a sources and uses table, let's do that now. When a payment is made in the banking system, a portfolio transfer happens between banks. Here it is in sources and uses:
https://preview.redd.it/yv5vkod4xs2b1.png?width=845&format=png&auto=webp&s=977d1a7472ed7972fbbee91a5d1f0613d0e1a0ee
For Bank A, the dishoarding of reserves is the source of funds used to repay the deposits. Notice that there's no set-off happening here. The debt still exists. It's just been transferred to Bank B.
For Bank B, the borrowing of deposits is the source of funds, which are hoarded as reserves. Again, the borrowing doesn't happen through the issuance of new debt. It happens through acquiring deposit liabilities that Bank A previously held (novation).
We have yet to see hierarchy/alchemy in a sources and uses table, so let's do that now. Below is an example from Mehrling that's not in the lectures.
https://preview.redd.it/y74317jhxs2b1.png?width=593&format=png&auto=webp&s=29b5773f8d191159637a55f5234c249454ad8164
Notice that the bank is borrowing as its source of funds. The corresponding use of funds for the borrower is hoarding. Hierarchy is the only case when hoarding and dishoarding are not paired in rule #2. In this case, the bank is above the borrower.

Part 8: Flow of Funds Accounts

In NIPA accounts, the emphasis is on value added and employment, so we focus on final production. But used goods are also exchanged, and also financial assets. These exchanges are shunted off to one side by NIPA but are at the same level of analysis in FoF. Indeed, in FoF the sale of goods and the sale of assets are equivalent ways of achieving a source of funds.—Lecture Notes
In a way the Keynesian framework grows from the quantity theory, with C+I+G+X-M serving as a kind of disaggregation of MV, and Y serving as a specification of a subset of PT. Copeland wanted to go even farther but he did not win out. Actual macroeconomic debate was between Keynesians and monetarists, and FoF remained a specialty interest for those who wanted to track developments in the financial world (below the line).—Lecture Notes

If we pretend that the payment system is a "pure money" system, then an expansion of credit just looks like an increase in the velocity of the fixed amount of money.
The Flow of Funds accounts exhibit statistical discrepancies partly because it's impossible to record all financial promises, agreements, and expectations on balance sheets. And they were designed before financial innovations such as derivatives.
We can still conceptualize any of these things as being on an implicit balance sheet. But to the extent that we regulate what's on firms' explicit balance sheets, it can push financial arrangements off the explicit balance sheet.

• Here's A Study of Moneyflows in the United States by Morris Copeland and a link to the Office of Financial Research.
• Stigum Chapter 2 is also a good resource for understanding flow of funds.

Part 9: The Survival Constraint, Redux

The central concern from a banking perspective is not solvency but liquidity, i.e., the survival constraint. Are current cash inflows sufficient to cover current cash outflow commitments? If yes, then we satisfy the survival constraint.—Lecture Notes

Credit allows us to delay the settlement/survival/reserve constraint.
Of the sources of funds, only dishoarding is dependable during a crisis. If you have the money you can always dishoard it to make a payment. To sell an asset (or a good), or to borrow, you need a buyer or a lender. Market liquidity and funding liquidity require counterparties.

Part 10: Liquidity, Long and Short

The key to Minsky is the alignment of cashflows and commitments in time. The economy consists of a web of interconnected agents with patterns of cash inflow and patterns of cash commitments going out into the future. Liquidity constraints anticipated in the future have consequences for today.
Because banks borrow short and lend long, they're always potentially vulnerable to cashflow mismatches (i.e. liquidity problems). In Minsky's terminology, banks are never "hedge units." They can't be. They always have to worry about rolling over their funding.
Agents that are under liquidity stress (i.e. up against the survival constraint) have to borrow. In this case, borrowing has nothing to do with time preferences or information about the market. It's not a choice.

Part 11: Financial Fragility, Flows and Stocks

https://preview.redd.it/dmji06xkxs2b1.png?width=321&format=png&auto=webp&s=b703af6db92931be87e0d64223d21ef22a063f0a
We're used to balance sheets representing stocks of assets and liabilities. Flows represent changes in those assets and liabilities. Expected future flows tell us how the balance sheets are expected to change in the future.
Stocks represent residuals of past cashflows and promises of future cashflows. The balance between the pattern of cashflows and cash commitments is important for individuals, but also important for the economy as a whole.
Crisis shows up in the money-market rate of interest as agents under liquidity stress become desperate and bid up the price of liquidity.
Solvency problems can become liquidity problems and liquidity problems can become solvency problems.

For our purposes the question of solvency is interesting mainly as an outer bound on the credit limit facing each agent. Intuitively it makes sense that that credit limit will be somehow related to the net worth. Solvent agents have unused borrowing power on their balance sheets which they can potentially mobilize to make payments. Thus we can see how asset price fluctuations can cause fluctuations in borrowing power, which might have consequences for immediate liquidity. Solvency problems can easily become liquidity problems. —Lecture Notes

Please post any questions and comments below. We will have a one-hour live discussion of Lecture 3 and Lecture 4 on Monday May 29th at 2:00pm EDT.

Hi all!
Beyond Sunset is a retro game at core, yes, but it can’t play like a retro game. Today, simplified AI behavior just wouldn’t fly. Enemies can’t stumble around half-randomly, with their only objective being looking for you. This “stumbling” is something you can notice easily in the original Doom. We wanted to avoid it. So what did we do?
https://i.redd.it/r5ck4grqar2b1.gif
We focused on changing the pathfinding and in general, on letting our enemies make decisions. Their choices are made via a behavior tree: a branching path of actions that an actor can take, resulting from each other. It’s a standard thing in gaming, but not in retro games, and not in games based on the Doom engine. We believe that we are the first to implement Behavior Trees in GZDoom.
Why is it important? Not just because the effect is visible: our enemies are smarter, react to your actions instead of following a simple pattern. Also, for us, their actions are much easier to program. We use a visual editor to create their branching behavioral paths. This makes creating their “personalities” much, much more convenient. See how it looks:
https://i.redd.it/ji5muh5aar2b1.gif
As a result, you can experience much more exciting (and vertical) combat scenarios than in older Doom-based games. We also use these trees to create the AI for non-combatants so that we can add life to our game world. Not everyone is your enemy, not everyone is there to kill. This design concept was first used in the underrated gem Strife many years ago, but we hope to take it to the next level.
If you’re a modder or a GZDoom game creator, here’s something important for you: we’ll make our behavior trees open source very soon. It’s one of the best things about Doom and GZDoom: we can share our knowledge and findings, and help each other create better, more amazing games!
Wishlist and follow us for more Beyond Sunset and GZDoom goodness: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1665260/Beyond_Sunset/?utm_source=rdt

(This is part of an ongoing series, links to which will be posted in the comments below)
The Nationalists of the “Mouvement Authenticité de la Révolution” (MAR)
Who is Mobutu Sese Seko? Just another warlord who got a lucky break? A champion of the nation willing to do what is necessary for unity and freedom? A traitor to the people who was happy to crack congolese heads until his pay got cut? A revolutionary Father-Marshal or a reactionary kleptocrat? No one can say for sure, but when the Congo war begins in 1966 it will become clear what he wishes himself to be: the great liberator, unifyer, and undisputed master of the great Congo nation. And with Japanese help he may just pull it off. But no man is born great, and even the Fuhrer does not rule alone. So let us discover how Mobutu came to be, and what his victory will mean for the Congo and Africa at large.
For the Japanese, who will become his greatest supporters and headaches, he is the African Oda Nobunaga: a martial and cruel man whose vision for unity and glory far outweighs whatever sins he may have committed. Always one for the cameras and adept at winning over an audience, Mobutu will successfully win over the Japanese public by playing the role of the justly tyrannical “Great Man”, even while he personally prefers western delicacies.
Joseph-Désiré Mobutu lived an unremarkable life before being thrust into greatness. He was only 16 when the Congo was violently transferred from Belgian to German hands, and like many rebellious students he joined in the 1949 protests against the construction of the Congo dam, stowing away from boarding school to do so. In the aftermath of the MNC repression Mobutu was assigned to the still technically Belgian controlled Force Publique as punishment. Unlike many of his fellows however Mobutu immediately took to military life, embracing the strength, discipline and martial values it provided. In part because of this he served without noticeable disobedience, and was even bribed to be an informant on clandestine communist cells within the force, ratting out a few of his “comrades”. From the point of view of the Belgians he was a model soldier. But this was an act: in truth Mobutu never ceased holding resentment for his arrogant Belgian commanders or the priests who had “educated” him. Behind their back he was a contributor to the native underground press, writing under assumed names and attacking the Belgian presence. It came as quite a shock then when in 1955, as his mandated time in the force was drawing to a close, Mobutu did not accept demobilization quietly but instead went into revolt. It is still a matter of debate about what pushed him into this. He claims that this had been the plan all along, while cynics say the impending annexation of the belgian Congo by Zentralafrika forced him into it. Some think that his double life was about to be exposed, while the more conspiratorial leftists say that he never went into rebellion at all, and that his “revolt” was ordered by the Belgians as a way to counter the APL insurgency. But whatever the case it was here that the public figure was born.
After killing several belgian officers and stealing as many weapons and valuables as they could Mobutu and his co-conspirators quickly fled east. This was not entirely unusual: the sudden annexation of the colony led to many sporadic demonstrations and revolts. But it immediately became clear that Mobutu had larger ambitions than these local disturbances. His strategy at this time was one of survival: he would only accept those who could move fast and hit hard, with his armed band always staying on the move as they fled to the east. But unlike other petty warlords he understood the importance of a political and social message for his long term survival, as well as local alliances. For this he essentially copied the platform of the now underground MNC while adhering to none of its tenants in reality: he would tell the people whatever they wanted to hear so long as it got him what he wanted. More practically he made tight alliances with local eastern notables as well as Tutsi refugees which had fled reprisals to the east. In this he was successful, forging for himself a loose alliance in the north east which permitted him to slip the noose where so many others were eventually caught.
One of his most important lieutenants in these early days was Victor Nendaka Bika, his de facto “foreign minister” and torturer who would make initial contact with those Mobutu saw the need to coerce or charm. Unlike many warlords Mobutu never gave into the temptation to rule by fear alone, instead seeking to co-opt useful men into his own organization. But he was just as happy to let loose his jackal to show the consequences of disloyalty.
These early years from 1956-1962 were defined at first by mere survival: banditry, illegal trade and bribery were the only ways to stay alive. But slowly, with plenty of self promotion to help it, Mobutu’s reputation as a survivor and a winner grew locally, and then regionally. As the remnants of failed rebels and warlords drifted into his growing camp Mobutu was able to step beyond being a bandit king and into becoming a local powerbroker. He had already made himself the allied protector of the Tutsi refugees, and soon after the APL’s protracted people's war in the north began he sought to become the patron of his own native Ngbandi people as well. Where he had the most power in the eastern fringes the pan-Africanist APL held the north, with the Ngbandi in the middle still “up for grabs” between the APL, Mobutu and the German administration. It is here that he first developed his own separate political platform: unwilling or unable to come to an agreement with either of the other two factions Mobutu began developing his own ideology of an “authentic” congolese nationalism which was opposed to both pan-african and communist radicalism, “self defeating” regionalism and demanded the full liberation of the congo from european imperialism. But most importantly to those who heard his call was for unity under Mobutu: if the African people remained divided and timid they would be slaves forever, and only a great leader like Mobutu could bring them true liberty. As one may expect, this call for subordination won him very few new friends.
The see-saw of influence in the Congo north and east is set to be radically upended in 1962, as kommissar Krogmann finally thinks he has enough stability in the west to launch a pacification campaign. In this he will be superficially successful: all anti-German factions will be forced to retreat and large swaths of land will be returned to German control. But it will not accomplish its primary objective of capturing and killing the leadership: Mobutu will once again avoid the hangman and will return when the Zentralafrika army goes marching south to the SAW. And when he does it will be with a new purpose. Much of his army was scattered or deserted by the German offensive, with many of the local allies he thought were in his hands all but begging to come to terms with the Germans after he was forced out. He had survived yes, but only by the skin of his teeth: this time he would do things differently. Taking lessons from the APL he will return in 1964 as a popular revolutionary rather than as a mere warlord with a printing press. Though still not fully developed it is here that “Joseph-Désiré” would become “Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga” or “The all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, goes from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake”. A new ideology of “Authentic” nationalism came with this new name, seeking to truly win over the hearts of the people as well as the loyalty of their leaders. It was a threat and a promise, as he would go about tearing down symbols of westernism in his wake and giving personal “gifts” to people or organizations which he wished to win over. He also sought to portray himself as an avenging angel, throwing “bad actors” such as denounced priests and hated collaborators against the wall.
This new ideology, disseminated through the “Manifesto of Goma” is long in emotion and short in concrete policy. As such it was quickly denounced by the intellectuals of the Pan-Africanists and Liberals as not a “real” ideology and merely a cheap populism. But it is taken deadly seriously by the newly declared Mouvement Authenticité de la Révolution: for its supporters it promises a true rebirth of the congolese people from within rather than without. The Congo would be purged of malignant western influence by remaking the congolese individual in body, mind and spirit. This was the way to true freedom and dignity, far more than mere “material conditions” or to ape their constitutions.
With his newfound identity and strategy Mobutu will of course be a prime target for Huttig’s retribution, but as is always the case too few men and not enough supplies will stop Huttig from ever putting him down for good. Plus Mobutu had found a new friend: the Japanese. In the immediate aftermath of Huttig’s takeover the Japanese will support the APL, but will quickly grow disenchanted: the naked radicalism and distrustful nature of the APL will lead to the Japanese looking for a more reliable partner, and Mobutu will aggressively angle to become just that. After having been rejected by the Americans in favor of the MNC Mobutu is the only big game left in the Congo for Japan to back, and was always a master at co-option and personal magnetism. He will charm the Japanese mission to sing his praises in Tokyo, even if there is little they can do for him at the moment. This will change when Huttig dies: taking a gamble Mobutu will strike at Stanleyville, successfully forcing the retreating garrison to leave behind most of their weapons and capturing an airport through which he will finally have solid connections with the outside world. The bad blood between him and the MNC and APL will mean that there is no choice but to fight it out as the Congo war begins in 1966, this time with Japan backing him to the hilt.
Mobutu now seeks to become a legend. Already having gained a personal mythos after having been declared dead by the Germans several times, his wartime strategy will be to force the mass mobilization of the population. Under his personal name and with the backing of Japan he will force every man who comes under his control into his army, seeking to form a tidal wave of men which will overwhelm his enemies and make up for his lack of supply. If an enemy cannot be rooted out with simple force of numbers, it will be the job of his all Ngbandi “Leopard Division” or even better of Japanese “volunteers” to root them out. The success of this strategy is heavily dependent on momentum, and will rely on Japanese backing to arm itself. But if it is successful Zentralafrika will be no more, and neither will the Congo: The Republic of Zaire will rise as the newest power in Africa under the leadership of the nation's great guide: Mobutu Sese Seko. After a partial demobilization and a reconfirming of his alliance with “internal allies” such as the Tutsi under François Rukeba and the Bakongo under Holden Roberto he will initiate a grand campaign of national revolution and self aggrandizement: Zairianization.
Asian inspired architecture of the newly built Presidential Palace. Among those celebrating the creation of Zaire will be the Japanese. All sides have poured a great deal of resources into the conflict, and the victory of Mobutu will doubtless be a strategic boon for Japanese influence on the continent. Mobutu for his part recognizes the usefulness of his new “friends”, but neither side is blinded by the propaganda: the dangers and opportunities of Nationalism are all too familiar.
As mentioned in my previous post there are several common issues which any native unifyer must account for. The first among these is The Looming Famine: in the aftermath of years of war and mismanagement the supply of food to urban areas is critically unstable. And it is in this issue that the weaknesses of Mobutu’s regime will first be seen. Mobutu’s agricultural reform centers mostly on seizing land owned by the whites and his political enemies, and then redistributing it to himself, his political allies, and occasionally to the people. As everything with the Zairean revolution the purpose is twofold: to meet the needs of the people and to entrench Mobutu's personal political power. But often the second goal far outstrips the first: many of the people who gain this land do not know how to use the land productively, or if they do, are more interested in producing cash crops than they are in food staples. This is certainly the case for the massive amounts of land brought under Mobutu’s personal ownership, which will most often continue to grow the same way as the colonial plantations they were before. This reckless reorganization and focus on exports ensure that hunger will be an early and acute crisis for Zaire. The issue will be solved slowly, as roads are repaired and the rhythm of agricultural life is no longer disrupted by war, but the people need food now and more than anything else it is cassava and rice which the people demand from their leaders.
It is by meeting this need that Japanese influence first becomes a powerful thing. Though motivated in part by genuine charity from well off Asians, the provision of food and aid is also cynically used by the Japanese state to buy the support of the people and the local power brokers away from Mobutu, and towards themselves. This aid, plus the government's own subsidies of food imports, plus the natural healing from war, will lead to the crisis fading away but leaving all sides on notice that the future of Zaire is still being made, and that the Japanese are a major player in it.
The Mutilated Independence: The inability of Mobutu to take Leopoldville during the independence war is a blow to Mobutu’s prestige, not to mention Zaire as a whole. However he is pragmatic enough and has enough friends in Japan to hash out a deal with Nigeria and Gabon: the loss of the major port will not strangle Congolese exports or imports, only make them more expensive. But for both political and economic reasons the retaking of Leopoldville and the Kabinda port remain absolutely vital to the continued reign of Mobutu. To this end Mobutu’s solution to retaking Leopoldville is direct conquest, not because he can think of no other option but because it will give him the greatest personal prestige as a great conqueror. As such along with his policy of “Zairianization” and economic consolidation he will also invest a great deal into the army.
This army will see its strength tested as Mobutu tries to expand his influence beyond the Zaireian borders. Gabon may be protected by America, but unleashing blitz style attacks on Angola and Rwanda is fair game. In Angola he will seek to set up Holden Roberto as a fellow autocratic “Authenticité” leader by supporting his meager army against the warring angolan factions in an attempted knockout blow. In Rwanda he will need to be somewhat more cautious (unless something very bad happens) but ultimately seeks to return Kigeli V to the throne on the backs of his long time exile allies. In this way he will both expand his influence as well as surround Leopoldville with friendly regimes. When the oil crisis hits Mobutu will leap at the opportunity to crush the Germans by launching an all out assault on “Festung Leopoldville”, and if successful will greatly increase his prestige, as well as rehabilitate his image in the eyes of other revolutionary leaders as a “true revolutionary”. If he fails in these wars however he will decline, and need to lean ever more heavily on Japan to prop himself up. This is somewhat awkward for Japan itself: having previously backed leftist movements as their best options they must now choose between their old allies and the new anti-leftist gambles taken by Mobutu. But despite the heartburn Zaire is simply too valuable in the african chaos for Japan to not continue supporting it, and so the rising sun shall backstab their allies in the name of pragmatism to the benefit of Mobutu. And besides, these new factions typically promess a better deal than the socialists did.
Mobutu walks a fine line in African politics: though he has denounced the APL’s brand of pan-africanism he also wishes to be seen as a great revolutionary. Surrounded as he is by pan-african or otherwise revolutionary movements it is only good sense to say you are one of them. And to many Mobutu is just that: a liberating revolutionary who both freed and united great swaths of africa from pernicious white influence. But for the wider Marxist inspired world of African liberation his clear anti-communist is difficult to accept, no matter how well he speaks the language of pan-african pride.
Lingering Regionalism: In this question Mobutu is the most radical, and his policy is what you may know him for OTL. While all revolutionaries desire to establish a united identity, and some of them will do so by autocratic centralization, Mobutu makes the establishment of a “true” Zaireian nation a core part of his rule. As established in the Manifesto of Goma Mobutu promesses a national revolution in which regionalism will be swept away by a new, authentic program of nation building which will decolonize the Congolese mind as well as their hands. In practical terms this means the creation of a totalitarian state which will regulate and make “african” all aspects of life. Western influence will be attacked via the banning of christian names and nationalizing catholic church property. A citizen dress code will be implemented as well as a “traditional” family code which will favor male-dominated polygamy and property laws. Though his own praetorian guard of the leopard division is tribally biased the army as a whole will have a new organization forbidding any unit to be more than 20% uniform in tribal origin. This campaign is carried out with special zeal against the influence of Catholicism. Seeing it as both a challenge to his own power and as a malignant foreign influence Mobutu will make a great show of putting priests on trial and instructing his followers to declare that Mubutu is like Jesus and the MAR like the church. Schools, previously run almost exclusively by religious organizations, will be nationalized and their curriculum no longer permitted to teach Christianity but instead to teach “Mobutuism”. Though he will not have the strength needed to wipe out the church entirely during the 60s or early 70s Mobutu will be able to effectively cow this institution and dare any priest to say “sacrilege”.
This campaign will provide a degree of unity, pride and self confidence to the shattered nation beyond what any other program could do, but it is all provided through the image of Mobutu as the great sun king of the new nation. Mobutu will seek to become the center of a pseudo-religious cult of personality with mass public celebrations of his figure following him wherever he goes and an entourage singing songs in his praise.
A consequence of the personalism in this campaign is than any embarrassing failures will not only reflect poorly on the nation but on Mobutu himself. As such he will often get worked up by seemingly trivial matters: if the football team should be lucky enough to participate in the world cup they will do so under the threat that if they do not perform well enough it will see retribution on them at home.
But as part of building this cult he must never let any other person, even his own children, get a moment in the spotlight. Below him is transient chaos, while above him is none: he alone is the rock on which Zaire can be built. This policy is most clearly seen in his handling of the Warlord Plague. Here Mobutu has a two sided policy: All those military figures which he believes could pose a threat to his rule will at first be executed publicly and brutally. In the opening months of his reign he will institute a mini reign of terror to make an example of many warlords and political enemies. However, once the example has been made he will move on to a policy of co-opting these same men. Often through direct bribery, or through positions of prestige and other perks, local strongmen who will accept his rule are brought into the state machine by promising the opportunity to profit in exchange for loyalty. This opportunity is often revoked without notice or reason and personal rivalry at the top is encouraged: in this way no other individual is able to form a stable powerbase. But at the same time individuals previously kicked out of power may be rehabilitated just as quickly, rising once again to wealth and prestige on the auspices of Mobutu’s favor. In this way no elite is a permanent outsider, and the best move for many will seem to be “wait and see”. This of course makes the internal administration of the nation hell, but it does keep Mobutu in undisputed power without even the glimmer of a rival.
This policy of personal co-option extends even to The Belgian Question. The Europeans remaining property will be nationalized and they will be deported, but it will not come with the punitive brutality of the pan-africanists. Mobutu has no love for the Belgians, and will not tolerate their continued dominance, but he also has no special hatred for them, seeing them mostly as political liabilities and rivals rather than ideology defining enemies: that distinction goes to the Germans. But after this show of nationalistic force the door will be left open to their return: many of the nationalized properties are redistributed to those without the knowledge, skill or desire to maintain their productivity. As such when those same Europeans are offered the chance to buy back their property or even return to the Congo Mobutu will not get in their way: so long as they avoid getting lynched along the way by Mobutu’s notoriously brutal and poorly disciplined soldiers he will let them have their piece too so long as they accept that it is by his grace alone that they keep it.
Part of this leniency is out of a calculated mercy to Europeans: Mobutu is smart enough to know that making himself solely reliant on Japan is a poor strategy, and will seek to make connections with America, Italy and Brazil. Having mercy on the Belgians and keeping the door open to cooperation with the Euros is an easy way to mollify western opinion and thus maintain his own independence on the world stage. Of course even this policy has limits: Germany and those under her will see the door slammed shut.
Which brings us neatly into the great struggle which defines the early Mobutu regime: addressing the Economic Devastation. In keeping with his Authenticité program Mobutu wishes to nationalize all previously foreign owned industry, which is the vast majority of all industry, under the one-party state. These national corporations, modeled off of the Japanese Zaibatsu and Italian corporatism, will be either controlled directly by Mobutu, by his close political allies, or (to his own displeasure) by East Asians, most often the Japanese. Mobutu’s Japanese backers are willing to prop up his regime, to allow whatever social and political organization he wishes, but they have come to the Congo for a reason. That reason is money and resources, and with Authenticité pushing for the cartelization of all money in the Congo the Japanese demand to be let in. Mobutu cannot simply dismiss them: it is Japanese credit and weapons which ensure he stays secure and on top. But he is also unwilling to simply roll over for them: he is a nationalist and a deeply ambitious man, and will not be satisfied with anything less than personal ownership of the Zaire economy. As such the 60s and early 70s will be a contest between true Mobutu loyalists and pro-Japanese opportunists for who will gain a majority share of the new nation's economic resources. Japan offers cash, guns, food, technical advisors and diplomatic support (all of which Zaire really needs) in return for shares in the national corporations and local extractions. They will also play dirty by employing bribes, intimidation tactics, organized crime and even clandestine support of anti-mobutu civil resistance to put pressure on the regime to open up more space for the Japanese. To counter this Mobutu has all the tools of the state at his disposal, as well as the mobilization of his own hard core group of supporters for intimidation or political pressure on local leaders.
“Kazi ndjo baba, ndjo mama” (work, it is my father, it is my mother), is a common phrase in Katanga which alludes to the paternalist role played by large companies such as the Union Minière, which would provide housing, education, and sometimes even wives to their workers in exchange for productive loyalty. Even after the full German takeover “company work” maintained a facade of this relationship. Japan is well positioned to take up the old Union Minière paternalism tactics, offering workers higher and more regular pay than what native organizations sometimes can, while also reinforcing a culture of dependency which Mobutu is trying to break (or bend to his own ends).
It is this contest for the hard cash and rare metals provided by the Congo which will determine the final form the Authenticité regime takes. If Mobutu is victorious and secures the lion's share of the economy for himself and a large enough share for his allies the Zairean Revolution will be complete with major bonuses to stability and political power, and even more importantly to Mobutu’s personal fortune. Though never giving public access to his personal books Mobutu will be plausibly rumored to be worth billions, with he and his family being some of the foremost african business people in the world and minor celebrities in the co-prosperity sphere. However the economy will suffer greatly from this as all economic efficiency and business skill has been sacrificed in the name of Mobutu’s personal power: though he is the undisputed master of Zaire it will be a deeply dysfunctional country economically, and if commodity prices were to fall he may need to go crawling back to the outside world to bail him out. On the other hand if Japan wins Zaire will become a neo-colonial strip, with its most lucrative industries owned in part or in full by the Japanese and the state unable to do anything about it without critically undermining its own elite support. This will make Mobutu into only a multi-millionaire rather than a billionaire, as well as undermine his public image of all powerful invincibility. With the Japanese ambassador keeping a hawkish eye on him and his party Mobutu will be left to stew in his unhappy lot knowing that if he ceases to play the part assigned to him the Japanese can always find someone else. This will also be the end of the Authentice campaign as even uneducated workers can see that their bread comes not from “Father Marshal” but from their places of work, owned by foreigners once again. But it is arguably better economically, as the extractive industries are at least run competently and its workers will be paid in full and on time more often. In all cases Zaire will be a sphere observer, but in this case it will be a part of the Japanese economic sphere as well. The later 70s and 80s will be difficult times for either end as prices crash and the cumulative effects of bad government and foreign domination come to the fore. But that is a story for another day.
Japan or Mobutu, success or failure, unity or farce, one thing remains constant: the Zairean military officers are the new nobility of the new nation. Corruption is an endemic and potentially crippling issue in Zaire, and this is seen most clearly in the military, where officers will steal wages and army units will act close to bandits in the more remote regions, creating an atmosphere of fear. But the best position is that of an Air Force officer, with prominent families often paying through the nose for their sons to be educated in Japanese military academies to earn their wings.