Kandarin
03-11-2008, 05:09
One of the main drawbacks to Nationstates, at least for new players, is that it has a steep learning curve. There's so much to do in this game, and much of it is not exactly obvious. As the communities of new-player regions (and to a lesser extent, recruiters) have found, the NS community looks pretty intimidating at first glance. Some people never take a second one as a result. That's not something I'm blaming anyone for, nor is it something that can really be eliminated; it's just a matter of how the game works.
A side effect of the creation of regional Influence has unintentionally exacerbated this problem. Not only do nations spawn in huge regions with imposing histories, only to be deluged with wordy recruiting telegrams, but they start with their position in the game universe bluntly displayed: "Minnow". All of the other Influence ranks are statements of relative significance, but the rank of Minnow is alone in stating only the insignificance of the nation that holds it. This is frustrating and disappointing. It is all the more so because nations that move to very large regions (or choose to stay in the Pacifics) have to wait a very long time, even years, to be rid of it without a vast and impersonal endorsement campaign.
Therefore, I propose that nations that currently merit the "Minnow" rank should instead not display the Regional Influence stat at all, until such time as they have enough Influence for it to be worth noting (Vassal or above).
It would send the same message to those that understand or use Influence ("This nation has insignificant influence"), without passively insulting newbies and those that do not understand or use Influence by pointing out their lack of it every time they log in.
A side effect of the creation of regional Influence has unintentionally exacerbated this problem. Not only do nations spawn in huge regions with imposing histories, only to be deluged with wordy recruiting telegrams, but they start with their position in the game universe bluntly displayed: "Minnow". All of the other Influence ranks are statements of relative significance, but the rank of Minnow is alone in stating only the insignificance of the nation that holds it. This is frustrating and disappointing. It is all the more so because nations that move to very large regions (or choose to stay in the Pacifics) have to wait a very long time, even years, to be rid of it without a vast and impersonal endorsement campaign.
Therefore, I propose that nations that currently merit the "Minnow" rank should instead not display the Regional Influence stat at all, until such time as they have enough Influence for it to be worth noting (Vassal or above).
It would send the same message to those that understand or use Influence ("This nation has insignificant influence"), without passively insulting newbies and those that do not understand or use Influence by pointing out their lack of it every time they log in.