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                         Lotov Lake
                  A Scientific Educational Game
            Regional agricultural production planning
                  and environmental engineering

Dear friend of our environment!
     The scientific educational computer game you  are  about  to
play is different from most of the games you have seen. This game
is not about destroying life or property, it is about saving life
and  our  environment.  It  is  a  real-life issue,  not based on
phantasies of being hunted by alien  creatures.  This  scientific
educational  game  is  based  on  new decision support technology
called the Generalized Reachable Sets (GRS) method which is  used
now by advanced decision-makers.  Russian environmental engineers
(despite  economic  turmoil  in  Russia)   are   using   it   for
implementing  wastewater  treatment  plans  providing substantial
improvement  of  water  quality  with   a   minimum   investment.
Specialists  in  Russian  economic  reform (which is actually the
transition from centralized to market  economy)  are  using  this
method   for  constructing  reasonable  macroeconomic  decisions.
Specialists in acid rain are applying this method for elaborating  
of reasonable strategies of air pollution abatement. 

    The GRS method can be used where ever decisions must be made.  
This method can be used to buy the most appropriate computer  for  
your needs, or to decide what parts should be  used  in  aircraft  
design.  Now a computer-aided decision-making  support  exploring
the Real Estate Market of the USA is under development.  Finally,
the GRS  method  will  lead  to  international  collaboration  of
scientists on global climate change  problems.  Leading  American
specialists   in   multi-criteria   decision  making  and  multi-
attribute utility theory list  the  GRS  method  among  the  main
contributions to the field of Decision Software.

     Why do people having a different educational  background,  a
different  mentality,  and  confronted  with  different problems,
apply the same GRS method?  The answer is: the GRS method is very
simple and convenient to use.  Certainly the mathematical methods
which comprise the basis of the the GRS method are not simple nor
is the computer code implementing them.  The GRS method is simple
to anyone who wants to apply it.  The  scientific  game  you  are
about to play should prove this to you.

     The concept of the the GRS method is very clear: if you want
to make  a  decision,  you must first compare the consequences of
other possible decisions.  Traditionally science suggests to  you
that  you create a simulation experiment based on "what-if":  you
choose a decision and the computer simulates the results  of  its
application.  But how to choose the most reasonable decision?  We
suggest using the opposite method  of  investigation.  You  first
obtain all potential results of all possible decisions in graphic
form  and  only  then  choose  the  most preferable result.  Your
computer provides you with the decision which brings you  to  the
chosen result. It is really easy, isn't it?  
      
      To give you an example of problem exploration using the GRS  
method, we have developed this scientific game.   On the basis of 
a simple example it demonstrates  the method.  Another  important  
feature  of this game consists  in  the  nature of the example - 
it is a regional environmental problem.  Environmental issues are   
of great importance now, and we feel there is a growing awareness 
of this. "Lotov Lake" provides you with the environmental problem,  
for which you have to find a reasonable solution:  you must  find 
the balance between economic and  environmental  indicators.  You  
will see  that  the  solution to this problem can't be  found  by 
simple rules: it depends on many factors, especially on the scale  
of economic production.  You will be scored on your understanding 
of the environmental situation and implementation of the method.
