NationStates Jolt Archive


Questions about NationStates

Mannotopia
08-08-2004, 17:45
hi i'm new and my country is the Empire of Mannotopia. i have a few questions for people so please reply :)

1. how do you know and make money?
2. how do form a navy, air force, army or buy stuff?
3. can you make up projects and how do you calculate the cost?
4. how is war done?
5. how do you trade with another nation?

that's all the questions for now but can somone please reply back and thany you ;)
Cogitation
08-08-2004, 18:50
The NationStates game engine is not this detailed, so what you're asking about is strictly roleplay. That is, "make-believe". You make it up and pretend. Don't pretend to start off all-powerful, though; since you're just starting, nobody will take you seriously unless you pretend to be small and relatively powerless.

iMove http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/images/icons/icon2.gif "NationStates". This should get more detailed and helpful responses there.

--The Modified Democratic States of Cogitation
"Think about it for a moment."
NationStates Game Moderator
Hattia
08-08-2004, 19:02
Well, it's good to see a newbie trying to learn...

You should check out this thread...

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=274470

And here are some tips...

1. Use decent grammar. (IE: Capitalize, punctuate, etc.)

2. Watch people. (Watch and learn from people like Automagfreek, Steel Butterfly, or other respected players.)

3. Don't go declaring war until you mean it.

4. If you have a question, you should ask it.

If you need any more help, send me a telegram or contact me on AIM and I'll be glad to help.
Kyzyl-Orda
08-08-2004, 19:34
hi i'm new and my country is the Empire of Mannotopia. i have a few questions for people so please reply :)

1. how do you know and make money?
2. how do form a navy, air force, army or buy stuff?
3. can you make up projects and how do you calculate the cost?
4. how is war done?
5. how do you trade with another nation?

that's all the questions for now but can somone please reply back and thany you ;)

Good questions.
1. Depends on your Economy and Government spending (http://www.thirdgeek.com/nseconomy.php?nation=Mannotopia) (used this one just as an example, many other calculators out there..

2. Use Roughly 5% of your population (best to stick to like 0.5% when not at war) but remember, for every one man you have weilding a weapon, you have three giving out orders and doing the paperwork/maintenence etc (war's an expensive buisness). Also it's usually best just to make the stuff internally (able to make your own designs and specifications)

3. yes, and it's usually best to take projects from one of the bits of your budget (in the link above) and then you write a story, or make an announcement saying your doing/done this

4. War is done in text based communciation, these should be detailed and informative, usually best to just stick to several characters (for example, i stick with the General/admiral/other high ranking officer and his aide) and RP their feelings, and orders.

5. Again by writing it in the form of a story.

(my basic answers, probably rubbish compared to what some of the other people may say, but still my two cents and hope i helped a bit)
Scolopendra
08-08-2004, 20:34
hi i'm new and my country is the Empire of Mannotopia. i have a few questions for people so please reply :)

1. how do you know and make money?
2. how do form a navy, air force, army or buy stuff?
3. can you make up projects and how do you calculate the cost?
4. how is war done?
5. how do you trade with another nation?

that's all the questions for now but can somone please reply back and thany you ;)
1) However you can get away with it. Thoughts of either "well, this can't be right... it's much too high..." or "WHOOHOO! All my people can live in gold houses according to this!" are good indicators that you probably won't be able to get away with it. ;) Calculators are a good starting point, but--looking at it as a gameplay issue--they're not overly important. People who concentrate on calculators tend to play mathematics and accounting games which, while they have their own milleu and are perfectly appropriate, don't necessarily translate well to others. Essentially, do it however you have fun.

2) Again, however you can get away with it. Generally, the recommendation is to either have a balanced but not overwhelming force, or else concentrate on a few at the expense of others. You may have a truly massive air force for a nation your size, but your army or navy is pitifully small. Again--have fun, but try to keep a sense of balance throughout it.

3) Sure. Again, balance of fun and such. If you want to concentrate on monetary cost, I've seen people make spreadsheets and figure it out to the last monetary unit; other people tend to use time as a cost (I'm building $PROJECT and it will take Y weeks in real life to complete); other people use writing ability as a cost (telling the story of design and construction); others use combinations or all of the above. It is, really, up to you; just remember that some, or a lot, or possibly all of everyone else you deal with may think you can't get away with it.

4) There are two generally accepted methods: "My $PLATFORMs fire X $WEAPONs at your $TARGETs" and the story method. The former is very common but somewhat frowned upon; then again, so is the latter depending on what group is doing the frowning. Generally it is a mixture of both. My recommendation would be to try a few styles, sticking with the one you're most comfortable with.

5) Exact same way--two methods: "I give you X $PRODUCT1 for Y $PRODUCT2" or the story method. Again, it comes out to preference and what you are comfortable with.

Some people recommend shadowing this player or that... I disagree. Read whatever threads seem interesting at the time (just try a few) and absorb. Shadowing tends to just create a cult of personality around a given nation and probably limits the potential of the shadowers--everyone plays this way because a paticular person does--and so I instead recommend experimenting more and then settling in with a group that you're comfortable with after you've built a style. Why do I recommend this and not shadowing others? Simple--no one on these forums is universally respected, so there's no point in accidentally falling into one camp or the other yet. Be yourself and then deal with others as is mutually beneficial.

Most of all--experiment and don't let anyone get you down. Some people may be harsh in their criticism; either adapt to meet their issues and complaints or just agree to disagree. There is no right way to play this game except to maintain mutual respect for other players; if that respect can't be maintaned or created, just ignore them.
Cyberutopia
08-08-2004, 20:45
Well, Scolo's got it all covered, I can see, but I like to help new people who are polite and don't take the "OMGWTF j00 R a1L DEATeD!11!!!shift+1" route. If you ever have more questions, please Telegram me and I'll be more than happy to help you out. Perhaps we can get a correspondence going between our two nations; it should help you flesh out your nation some if you haven't already done so.
Space Union
08-08-2004, 22:22
thank you everyone but i have one final question.
the calculator Kyzyl-Orda showed i really liked. but how do you change spending in different areas. do you change the percent by each spending or something else. please tell me if you know. :) ;)
oh yeah i'm not playing as Manotopia but now as the Federation of Space Union. :D
Space Union
09-08-2004, 03:07
bump bump bump
also another question can your economic status change along with the other statuses like currently i have a strong economy. also can gdp increase over time according to politics?

sorry i have so many questions but please reply to me and thank you to everyone :) :cool:
The Island of Rose
09-08-2004, 03:49
bump bump bump
also another question can your economic status change along with the other statuses like currently i have a strong economy. also can gdp increase over time according to politics?

sorry i have so many questions but please reply to me and thank you to everyone :) :cool:

Yes they will.

And if you ever attack me, I swear the only thing left of your nation will be a smoldering crator.

Sorry, I've had bad experiences with the new peoples...
Iansisle
09-08-2004, 04:55
Sorry, I've had bad experiences with the new peoples...


((Think it might be your rosy outlook and selflessly altruistic attitude?))
The Island of Rose
09-08-2004, 05:00
((Think it might be your rosy outlook and selflessly altruistic attitude?))

*cough cough*

Actually, when I was attacked I never heard of these nations, ask my friends and they'll tell ya the story.

Also, please don't assume how I am, it's rather rude hm?
Scolopendra
09-08-2004, 05:05
Okay, you 'change spending' depending on how you respond to the issues you get daily, and your economic standing can change the same way. If you constantly, say, choose options that seem to support economic strength at the expense of civil rights, your civil rights will go down and your economy will go up. Stuff like that.

Telegram me if you have any other questions.
Iansisle
09-08-2004, 05:07
Also, please don't assume how I am, it's rather rude hm?

((What, you mean like assuming that every new nation is out to get me simply because they’re new? All right, I certainly won’t do that again - and I’ll certainly never preemptively threaten them with craterdom again!))
The Island of Rose
09-08-2004, 05:11
((What, you mean like assuming that every new nation is out to get me simply because they’re new? All right, I certainly won’t do that again - and I’ll certainly never preemptively threaten them with craterdom again!))

Nope I'm mad because you thought I was serious ;)

Tsk tsk, first rule with dealing with me, I'm rarely serious unless I say so :p
Iansisle
09-08-2004, 05:26
((Ah. Which would be why you didn’t use any usual tips of jokingness, made a comment so quintessentially typical of International Incidents (and, after a brief search of your past posts, so quintessentially typical of you), and only used the ‘only kidding’ cop out only after I’d turned your original argument back on you? I see. Yes, I see.

@Mannotopia: sorry to monopolize so much of your thread.

Lesse, advise for new players: read a lot, and from everyone, don’t let anyone push you around just because they have an older created-on date, avoid armed conflict for as long as you feel needed, and don’t be offended if people ‘ignore’ you. It’s for the best, really, as people who hand out ignores all willy-nilly aren’t really the sort with whom you’d like to associate anyhow. Above all, have fun! After all, that’s what a game is all about!))
Space Union
09-08-2004, 14:44
thank you everyone for answering my questions :D this game is pretty fun and i see Island of Rose has had some bad experiences but don't worry i'm not attacking anyone. :cool:
Lietuveska
09-08-2004, 15:12
Space Union, I'd like to clear up something that Kyzyl-Orda said. He said using 5% of your nation's population for military is fine, which it's really not. I would say 2.5% at the most, and that's with logistics included. (About 3-10 support staff for every gun-totin' hero in yonder armed for-sees)

I believe you should do fine, but if you ever need help with anything you can telegram me. :)
Space Union
09-08-2004, 16:08
thanks but i was looking for the telegram button but i couldn't find where you send a telegram can somone tell me what i'm doing wrong :confused:
Scolopendra
09-08-2004, 20:29
Ah. To send a telegram:

Click on "The World" in the left hand frame when you are looking at your nation page. The frame displaying your nation will change to a list of flags and mottos and stuff like a ranking. Scroll down to the bottom.

You'll see two text-entry boxes next to two buttons: "Show Nation" and "Show Region." Put the name of the nation you want to send the telegram to in the box next to "Show Nation" (the top one) then click the "Show Nation" button.

The frame will change to another nation display a lot like the one you see when you log in, but this one shows some other person's nation. Scroll to the bottom. You'll see a really big text entry box that will look something like this:

-----

Want to wire a telegram to Nationlandia?

To: Nationlandia From: Mynation




[Send!] <--- (That's a button... yay ASCII art)

----

Put your message in the box and click send. Then you're done!
Akaton
09-08-2004, 21:34
There is one other thing you might want to know about Nation States. Every nation exists at a certain technology level. It is important to pick a tech level, and make sure others know of it. This becomes important in war, when a nation's tech level determines what sort of weapons are used. There are several common tech levels:

Modern Tech: This tech level represents the way the world currently is in real life. Weapons are things like M-16 and Ak-47.

Past Tech: This is anything that happened in history. Weapons range from muskets to swords. This is a rare tech level, as it is very vulnerable to more advanced nations.

Future Tech: This is sci-fi tech, existing between 2020 and 2500 tech. Weapons can be things like lasers, plasma guns, or railguns. Make sure to tell anyone your nation fights if you are future tech, so they don't complain about overly powerful weapons.

Fantasy Tech: This is technology that has no basis in reality. It includes magic and wizards. Some say that psychic powers also fit into this
tech level.

Space Tech: This is the most advanced tech level. It is esentially star wars technology. Warfare primarily consists of battles between fleets af starships.