NationStates Jolt Archive

Hello, I have tried to search around these forums for an answer to my question, but so far it has slipped my hands, maybe the answer is indeed here and I'm severely blind.


How can I find out how much military do I have? I know of the calculators that show how much of the gov. budget goes where, I have heard of the pipian calculator (but somehow it doesn't work for me, I know how to use it but nothing happens on my browser)

If it isn't too much, can someone help me figure it all out? I would like to know how powerfull my military is in regards to other nations playing in the NS International Incidents forum

we dont have military do we? its answered in the faq somewhere

OOC: It is really a matter of free form roleplaying. Generally speaking, a nation cannot have more than 3 or so percent in their military without causing serious harm to their economy. Also, not all of your soldiers can be field infantry units, many of them should be designated as support units.

If you look through the FAQ's you may find some helpful information.

The calculaters are pretty much BS, IMHO. Just do it how you want to do it, its your nation, and if people don't like the way you run it, they'll not rp with ya. Max...I wouldn't say more than 5% of your population would be military, but its all adjustable to the way you want to play. There are certain nations out there that RP their entire nation as a PMC, so its 100% military. However you want to run it, you can run it.

As has been already stated, this game is entirely free-form and up to you, the player. (Which is why I play this game) Everything's up to you, your military's size, what era it's in, even what's in it. Several nations, along with myself, have a vast amount of custom-made hardware in our militaries, like my navy, which doesn't have a "real" ship in it.

There are a couple of norms here that are usually followed. They're not rules, more as they are guidelines (which if you don't follow, no one else will play with you). Like nukes and other WMDs. People don't like those too much (exceptions apply). Especially for younger nations. People also pretty much agree that a 5 million pop. nation can't have over 100 battleships or something similar. And there's always uber-tech., too powerful for any reality.

So, while your military's structure is free-form, when you think it up, just try to keep in mind the question "does this fit my nation's size fairly accurately?" Before you know it, you'll be a larger nation, and then you probably won't have to keep asking yourself this (or getting those weird looks in the library as you talk to yourself...>_>)

It also depends on tech level.

Some Future Tech (FT) nations have fleets of hundreds of starships, some of the older FT nations thousands.

Modern Tech nations generally follow the percentages given for their army, but even that varies.

Modern and FT still interact, just on a diplomatic or social level as it is agreed that army-wise it would not be even. Though some FT nations also have a "modern army" they use to interact with modern nations in war.

Don't let people scare you off with 'guidelines' and 'lists' and 'calculators'. I've seen just about everything on NS from the ridiculous to the pathetic to the just plain wanktarded.

Do what you want with it, have fun with it. If you want to focus on rp'ing wars and being big that way, by all means, study the groups you want to rp with, and tailor your nation to fit more with their accepted style of play. It'll smooth the way a bit. Just bear in mind there are as many opinions of what is 'reasonable', 'allowable', and 'right' as there are nations, regions, and alliances in this game, and the only thing that really makes the difference, is what any one of them is willing to accept.

Especially for younger nations. People also pretty much agree that a 5 million pop. nation can't have over 100 battleships or something similar. And there's always uber-tech., too powerful for any reality.

Case in point right there. There is no 'pretty much agree' - it all depends on the circle you're playing with. Nevermind how ridiculous it is to say 'you're too new or small to have $thing', given rl examples that don't fit that criteria, and the fact that a lot depends on your nation concept. You really going to tell a future tech nation that starts out from that point they can't have spacedy ships? Come on now.
Some don't accept any authority but their own, some are flexible, some are always searching out the latest and greatest and working it into their nation concept to the point where it's unrecognizeable ... all types, all interests, and above all ... room enough for everyone.

Best advice is to do some reading. Check the stickies, check the rp threads, see what appeals, and go from there. You're going to run into all levels of elitism with this - some think they're rocket scientists, some actually are, some just like to be thought of as the end-all beat-all authority on things to gain their own standing in the community. Don't let it discourage you, do your research, and find what level of play is most enjoyable for you.

And hey - have fun with it. That is the point after all. =)

Oghin, what is usually frowned upon is when someone starts to wank up their military to "win". A person can't "win" or "lose" in this game as far as stats go but you can gain a repuation for how you play. Just something to keep in mind but as Nathicana said, have fun. It's not like we are discovering a cure for AIDS or something on these forums.

Thanks for the help everyone!

My population is not a young one, I currently have more than 7 billion mark, with a society mainly concerned on Defense and Law & Order, with a Frightening Economy, with a powerhouse of a private sector dominated by the Arms Manufacturing Industry, so I should have a fairly important military force.

Anyway it is, maybe after I finish up some reading I can contribute in the RP wars...

Hot damn.. that would be an impressive military. Given the same soldier/civilian ratio, your military would outnumber mine 1000 to 1.. and besides that, with your Frightening economy and my Fragile economy, my people would probably be outfitted with BB guns and bottlerockets. :eek: