NationStates Jolt Archive


Becoming a somewhat disgruntled player

Tenpercent
08-12-2004, 18:08
Well, I doubt anyone can even read this because I can't figure out how to operate the font size - I've never seen any kind of set-up like this in my life. When I click on size it opens a new box, and when I click on the number I want for the font size it then says undefined.

I suppose it doesn't matter much anyway - since I'll probably just be flamed by whoever reads this. Or if I'm lucky, merely ignored.

Anyone besides me getting a bit fed-up? I feel I have so little control over my nation. Its always a choice of do without or the taxes get raised. The taxes weren't very low when I started, and they're now up to 50%. I see some nations with taxes of 100%. This is ridiculous.

And if I get a tax break one day then it's back up the next. It's like some my decisions remain to effect the nation, and others it's like I never made the decision at all. The choices given on issues are often very poor choices - if one chooses rehab for criminals for example, then they act like you chose to have murderers walking the streets although it said in the issue choice it wasn't to include extremely violent crimes. Or if I want to try to cut back on the more vicious rap lyrics then they make it sound like I'm eliminating anything that has too much bass or drum - when that isn't the point at all.

I have 3 nations and the only one who is doing any good at all is a dictatorship. That's not right that one's nation has to be some kind of dictator nation in order to do any good at all - and even then my economy keeps registering as weak. How it could be weak I can't imagine. The economy, like the taxes is up and down every day even if the issue I decided on has nothing to do with taxes or economy.

I think I'm about ready to just quit this "so-called" game. Because no matter what I chose it generally does not turn out anywhere close to what I really wanted to do.

And you have to have a population of 500 million in order to even submit any issues yourself.

At least war isn't allowed or I'm sure I would have already been invaded and completely conquered no matter what I did.

Well, enough of my whining.
The Fedral Union
08-12-2004, 18:21
Might I suggest reading the stickys and or faq war is done there some thing called roll play
Dread Lady Nathicana
08-12-2004, 18:35
There's a lot of options out there, and a lot of different very successful nations of all sorts if you look.

Me, m'self, I play the issues how my nation would, were it a real deal. True there's often extremes, but yeesh, no need to take it quite as seriously as you are there. Creative license - use it. The rankings and all and nation stats are used as a good guideline. None of it is written in stone, though they carry more or less weight depending on who you play with, and indeed, where and how you play.

The issues work - you just have to learn how to use them. There are a lot of stickies and such on the forums about that sort of thing, and/or back threads dealing with it. Like anything worth working on, it takes some time and effort.

While TFU meant well I'm sure, 'roll' playing is not what you want to get into. The big numbers games seldom come out in a satisfactory way for most involved. Now 'roleplaying' is another thing entirely - IF you're into that sort of thing, which is a lot what we do on this forum. How you represent your nation that way is what folks will mostly see you as in that case - not entirely based off your description on your nation page.

As for your problems with the forums, since you didn't make mention of what browser you're using, can't really help you there. Use Firefox myself, and don't have a problem. Yay for tabbed browsing.

I've been playing solid since May of '03, stuck through the horrors of non-working forums, and the forum purges, and the changeover to Jolt, and all that - and yup, still here, still having fun with it in spite of a case of writers block of late.

Often it is what you make of it. Wish you luck on finding what works for you.

--Nathi's Player
Falastur
08-12-2004, 18:37
OOC: The main-page part of the game is a light-hearted management sim. The forums are where the serious game is. Most people ignore what the nation stats say in everything but population and economy anyway, because issues, being light-hearted and thus exaggerated, are nothing like how we want to play.

There seriously is a whole huge second dimension to the game in RP on the forums. You control what you want to do here, and how your country is run. You don't have to pay any attention to the issues, just what other people say that might affect you.
Ilek-Vaad
08-12-2004, 18:38
OOC:

I too have issues with, well , the issues and the nation rankings , lack of control etc. , but I think that's what RP is for. I know that for my nation, my tax rate goes up 1% every other day, without fail no matter what issues are dismissed or what options are picked until it is 100% so I ignore it role play my nation as having lowere taxes.

In fact I think role play on the Forums is more fun and more important than managing your nation in the game.
The Resurgent Dream
08-12-2004, 18:49
While TFU meant well I'm sure, 'roll' playing is not what you want to get into. The big numbers games seldom come out in a satisfactory way for most involved. Now 'roleplaying' is another thing entirely - IF you're into that sort of thing, which is a lot what we do on this forum. How you represent your nation that way is what folks will mostly see you as in that case - not entirely based off your description on your nation page.



I actually think TFU just made a spelling error.
Falastur
08-12-2004, 18:49
OOC: TFU, I could be wrong but I think Nathi was playing on the fact that "roll" playing as you put it depends on the roll of the dice/equivalent. And everyone has bad luck with dice.

Edit: I agree with TRD's thoughts.
Dread Lady Nathicana
08-12-2004, 19:00
Official statement: Yup - used his typo to address a valid point about the numbers game thing and just rolling up stuff, which seems to happen here and there. Had not one thing to do with his rp.
Sarzonia
08-12-2004, 19:31
If you're interested in taking part in the role playing, population size and economic value are really the only two that are evaluated extensively. Civil Rights and Political Freedoms are looked at to a certain extent, but I've seen countries who are rated as benevolent dictatorships who RP as anything but and I've seen people who are rated as despotic SOBs who RP as anything but.

I use economics as a GUIDE when I do RPs rather than slavishly rely on it. For starters, if a country is spending an inordinate percentage of its budget on the military, it should RP as lower than its game-rated economic ranking. For me, I've RP'd my country as having a significantly higher economic rating because of my main storefront.