NationStates Jolt Archive

I've noticed threads lately where the subject of earning respect in NationStates has come up in some form. From the excellent guide to writing (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=352036) in one thread to various comments centering on earning respect, it seems a lot of people are looking for it and want ways to get it quickly.

Let's get something straight. Respect is not handed to you on a silver platter. It is EARNED. It is not something you can earn by "winning" wars with your OMG! I N00K J0000 HUGE METAL PENIS RAWRR! You don't get respect by saying you have a trillion troops when your country was only founded yesterday.

One repeated example of the above paragraph is the seemingly constant wars against Automagfreek. It seems that a number of newb countries (and n00b countries) seem to think that "beating" AMF will automatically win them respect. Wrong. Trying to "create" mass quantities of nuclear weapons when your country should barely have discovered the repeating rifle will get you labelled a n00b and ignored. "Winning" a war in that fashion will alienate you from many RPers and your country will be treated like a cyber leper.

There is no one easy way to earn respect in the NS community. There's no way to go from a one day old country one day to great respect the next. It's a long process.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Read the stickies. This should be the first thing you do. They will tell you a lot of what you need to know about NS conventions and the generally accepted practices here on NS. Want to be a terrorist cell? Read that sticky. You'll find out some helpful hints, such as coming up with an objective or a motive; contacting the RPer you want to RP a terror attack on; and realizing that not all terror attacks are successful.

2. Sit back and read the RPs. You should get a good idea of what is considered good RP by reading to find out what most reactions are to the RPer in question, but one question to keep in mind is: Is the RP something that you can visualize happening in your head? In my opinion, the best storytellers are the best RPers.

3. Realize that "winning" as an RPer is not about winning wars. Too much emphasis on winning and losing will also alienate you from RPers. I realize that I can be as competitive as the next person and I hate to lose. However, that does NOT mean setting things up so that you NEVER lose. Take plausible losses and don't be afraid to RP losing a battle or a war. If your people are subjugated, you can RP a resistance movement. If your country is wiped off the face of the Earth by a nuclear attack, RP a small colony of mutant humanoids that attempts to bring the country back to life. If you don't want to do that, just create another country (aka a "puppet") and start over.

One of my most rewarding RPs was in a military exercise that I lost. I "won" the respect of at least one RPer as a result of the exercise and I gained confidence in my abilities as an RPer. One of my best RPs in my opinion was one in which I planned to have the character I was using lose the battle(s). Why am I mentioning two battles I "lost"? Because they told a great story.

4. Write well (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=352036). This goes back to a thread having to do with writing. I realize that some people like action RPs, some prefer dialogue, and still others would rather do character RPs. I'm not saying completely ignore one or the other; in fact, if you can incorporate those into developing your character, go for it. But be sure you try to create a story out of it. Pantera has a whole history of his country listed that's an exhaustive breakdown of his country's past. Isselmere has a very detailed factbook. You don't have to do all of the above, but the better stories you write, the more people will pay attention.

5. Don't send your people off to war every other day without accounting for the effects it would have on your country's economy and morale. That's one of the things that a lot of RPers lose respect for. The idea behind NS is to create a world with a degree of plausibility. Granted, not everything is or will be plausible in the immediate future or in the not-so immediate future. But realism in terms of RPing a country is highly valued.

Roleplaying is a skill that I consider a very dynamic one. It's the kind that you get better at the more practice you put into it. But along with just doing more and more RPs, another great way to learn your way around NS is to read really good RPers and read what they do that earns them their reputations. Along those lines, read some really, really bad RPs. If you do, you'll get a really good idea about what NOT to do.

I am a firm believer in the notion that the country you created and RP with is a character in and of itself. These characters have traits just like those of any of the characters you have running your country or leading your armies. Your countries begin to take on personalities based on your RPs. Following the suggestions listed in the stickies will help you make your character/country more interesting.

The preceding has been an OOC post.

I'm always trying to tell them about #5. I'm a success story, I mean, I rarely go to war, but I'm semi-known because of my whacky Rosians :rolleyes:

*bump*

OOC: Excellent advice, I hope others pay heed.

IC:

Lord Wacko turned to his Aide:

"We've only just now consolidated control over Texas after those years of internal insurrections and infighting after the north lost the civil war. We're finally united, but we need to gain recognition and respect among the other nations on this planet. Do you have any suggestions?"

"You betcha' - uhh, my lord" replied Houston Oiler, Sam "the man" Huestan. "what if we offer to sell our oil at 1% over our production costs for the next 18 months and free our producers to produce as much as they can or want to. We'll undercut the oil market worldwide, it will mean profits, albeit small ones, but it will turn the world's attention to us and make us a financial force to be considered by the rest of the world."

"I like it, said Lord Wacko, but lets keep it to 12 months, not 18. Once the world is 'hooked' we can raise prices significantly, but still undercut our worldwide competitors who'll have to lower prices over the next 12 months, just to compete. Make the announcement. Let's make Texarkania a real nation."

OOC: See all you N00bs and newbies, this is a part of the process. No war, no nukes, just RP of what a new country might try to do.

*bump*

Thanks for the comments, Texarkania.

IC

God bless Sarzonia!

OOC

Same as IC :)

OOC: What about attacking n00bs to put them in their place? :D ok...so, that is a little stupid, but it is certainly fun!

All true,

the best way to have fun in an Rp is to do one that is pre agred in a friendly way, rather than warmongering. That way you can agree for your nation to survive and always recover, but can also keep things plausible. It wont get ugly and there is less temptation to godmode. Im in tow wars right now, one is a friendly one one isnt so much so. Its just "I want to crush you" can you guess which is which?

I hope so or I will be forced to slap you all....

OOC: Very nice post Sarzonia, very nice. You can only hope that some of these n00bish nations look at this and decide to change their ways. I have a few suggestions for newbs and n00bs. Read alot of Military Fiction. This helps with your RPs. It teaches you how to write about wars and military since basically a Military novel is an RP going on in the authors mind. A really good book to look at is Michael A. Palmer's The War That Never Was. This book is based on a simulation at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island and its basic style is what I use in my RPs. Actually the whole book is an RP so thats why I think that it is a very good book to read for any RPer.

Secondly, make a history for your nation. Even if its just basic facts. Like heres an example this is for my country Morathania:

Morathania was settled in 1748 by British Colonists it recieved an increase in settlers after the American Revolution. In 1842 it was given limited Home Rule and in 1872 it became independent. Morathania has fought on the allied side in both World Wars and Morathanian forces played a crutial part at the Battle of the Bulge, the Normandy landing, and in the North African conflict during WWII. Morathania has always been a land of immigrants. It has had immigrants from Britain, the United States, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Russia, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Currently Morathania is a major naval force and has always prided itself in its military. The Morathanian economy is based on Manufacturing, Electronics, Mining, Finances, Information Technology, and Agriculture. We have a first world economy with a GDP per Capita of around 24,000 USD per person.

Thirdly, don't act stupid. Remember to use good grammer and spelling and to make sure that you use capital letters. I have seen to many people do this:

hi i'm new to ns and i would like to buy some weapons any kind will due i'm willing to spend 10 billion dollars i'm lookin for tanks rokets nooks and guns please help

While I like help newbs I usually do not help out a guy like that. I hope I helped.

*added link to a thread I mentioned*

If any mods are listening, could they please sticky this? It's helpful.

Thanks for the comment Taldaan! :)

Tagged!

OOC: Wow, great advice. I think I will read those links at the weekend as I am a crap RPer...

If any mods are listening, could they please sticky this? It's helpful.

I agree. This is very helpful.

*bump*

OOC: Wow you even got Cam III to say this is good this has to be great. I'll try to get one of the MODs to sticky this.

OOC: Wow you even got Cam III to say this is good this has to be great. I'll try to get one of the MODs to sticky this.


he's doign pretty well in our present RP, but then its pre arranged one" so he cant use his whole force, but he also knows i wont and hes not about to lose his whole force, so hes Rping well as he took losses and even let me surprise his forces because it would help the RP.

*bump*

There is no one easy way to earn respect in the NS community.

You could always write a hefty, useful thread worthy of a sticky, no? :p

You could always write a hefty, useful thread worthy of a sticky, no? :pWell... :p

I think you're the fourth person who suggested this be a sticky. The funny part is that I wasn't one of those four. :D

I think it might be a very useful sticky though. :)

there's a thread like this already

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=352036

it's stickied in the nationstates forum

there's a thread like this already

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=352036

it's stickied in the nationstates forum

I knew about it but I think it only focused on the writing aspect. I made the writing just one subset of the larger issue since it seemed to me that a lot of newbs were looking for ways to get respect and get their RPs noticed. It seemed as though a lot of people wanted that respect to happen quickly, so I wrote a more all-encompassing guide with talking points from various other guides. Hopefully, this will be one-stop shopping someday.

its all so true.

So, you're saying that being in a constant war with...

The Shivans,
The Neo-Mekantans,
The Mekantans,
The Feazanthians,
The Central Facehuggerians,
And just about all of Esus,

will lose me what respect I've earned?

Heh... :) Good post, it'll help alot of new people... and some old... I vote for a sticky too.

IC

God bless Sarzonia!

OOC

Same as IC :)

Thank you for your wishes. May G-d bless you too! :)

I have to disagree with number 5. As you said, the nation you RP with is a character, and that character can very plausibly be an imperialist, megalomaniacal monster, and very good RPs can come from the power driven expansion (and later dramatic fall) of this monster. If you can pull off war RPs, then go for it. They make for very exciting and interesting reads if done properly.

Number five isn't about *never* going to war. It's about not being a perennial warmonger, at least not the "OMG, I N00K J00!" kind. The reason I wrote that is the fact that being in wars constantly will tax your economy and cause morale in your combat units to decline as they get more and more exhausted by constantly being on alert and always being at war.

It's also a reminder that there are other ways to resolve conflicts, such as negotations or diplomatic and/or economic pressures. Being able to do those things gives the times when you do go to war more meaning IMO.

From what I've seen of your RPs GE, you do a great job of plausibility with the rise and fall of your empire (and those excessively angry lobsters! :D). Your storylines are engaging and your posts are just about always well-written.

Oh, also Generic_empire, I notice that you also mentioned something about incorporating real consequences of a constant war footing. What number five mostly refers to is the fact that a lot of people don't account for economic struggles when it comes to military action. Your thread about the possible collapse of the empire is a case in point of what you SHOULD do.

This is a wonderful thread to show the link to some of our more n00bish NationStates. Perhaps a few of the self-help authors could get together and conglomerate one gigantic sticky-worthy n00b thread?

OOC: To build upon Sarzonia's suggestions, think about the way the people in your country might speak to one another and to others and try to emulate their speech in your character RP's and quotes. for example, this sentence, if written by Lord Wacko of Texarkania, as a Texan, might be written:

Ta' build 'pon Sazonia's idees, think about t' way t' people in yore contry maight speak, one ta' the other an' try an' copy their speakin' in yore character RP's an' quotes. Fer 'zample, this here sennence, iffin writ by Lord Wacko of Texarkania, maight be written . . .

OOC: However, be careful with this. It can make a thread/post interesting and build on your characters, but also, if overdone, can ruin a thread/post by making it unreadable. The idea is to think character/personality of your country and its occupants and build those impressions in the mind of the reader of your post with colloquillisms and speech patterns, without making the post unbearably unreadable.

Sticky

Sticky

It would be nice if it became one. :)

Excellent.

If you are going to RP a war, please do it right: research, research, research!

I refuse to go to war simply for this reason: I like character-driven RP's, and I suck at logistics and military-speak.

Oh, and STICKY this sucker!

I don't think you have to be a great general IRL or have a tremendous amount of military knowledge to be a good military RPer. Basic knowledge of tactics and logistics often wins you battles on NS.

But I also love character RPs as much as anyone. I RP as many character/dialogue-driven RPs as I can.

yeah, i ended up at war and proceeded to envelope my opponent, now he can firwe with everything he has, but in fairness hes either hitting his own stuff or firing slowly as each unit gets a shot. So if the war hadnt ended, that would have reduced the casualties i took and increased his as he couldnt dodge.

Secondly there's tactics like CAMIII used on me in our recent skirmish, he shelled my troops as they sat in a defensive position, using a very large number of artileery peices. I was forced to face him head on.Either that or I had to sit and take casualites as he sat a couple of miles out of weapons range.

I mean it isnt much in the way of advanced tactics, but cleverly appled it can shock an opponent and win the advantage. Im trying to bring tactics into mt RP's as having a positional advantage or stopping an enemy from being able to even step back to avoid your fire can allow your miniscule force to win... or allow his big force to crush you even more easily.

Either of which is an improvement, as even psychotic governments dont like losing men, its lost reasources and just lobbbing a million men at them is bad rping from that angle.

*bump*

Don't be afraid to use humour!

I've always tried to RP Roycelandia as a fairly off-beat kind of place- the sort of place where being a Tree-Hugging Hippy can get you locked up in prison, yet Hardcore Porn is broadcast on free to air TV and the Air Force still think that the Spitfire is an acceptable design for a modern combat fighter aircraft...

In short, Humour can make the otherwise unrealistic or n00bish appear intelligent, witty, or at least worth reading. ;)

Roycelandia: it wouldnt be much in a fight, but with RPs like yours, why kill the place? Its far too much fun.

Hordes of tourists can be seen after internation incedents just pointing and laughing,until they are arrested for making jokes that the majority of the population dont get....

Humour can be a very useful tool; especially if you pose a unique way to announce an IC ignore. ;)

Would you mind if I added this to the 'Guide To Nationstates'?

I'd LOVE it if you'd add it to the guide! I was thrilled to see the How to build a better storefront thread there! :D

OOC: Great work Sarzonia, definitely worth stickying for. :) I haven´t waged any wars, except one godmodded attack by better-left-unnamed nation, who seems to be in his way to warmongering.

*bump* for a friendy reminder to some NS countries.

The surge in threads by you is for a reason, isnt it?

Its a general tide and your efforts to fight it are well appreciated. The problem is, that n00bs rarely read or undertand these threads. They provide a boost to most Rpers but those that need them most wont take them. Sadly.

That said, I think Ive just read two of your topics needing stickying in two consecutive threads! Keep it up.

I guess I could still hold out hope...

But at least it's worth a shot.

*bump*

Heh. Was that first RP that you lost the one between you and me, Sarz?

Overall, good advice.

Heh. Was that first RP that you lost the one between you and me, Sarz?

Overall, good advice.

Yep. That's the very one I was thinking of.

I N00K J0000 HUGE METAL PENIS RAWRR!



hahahahahaha brilliant. I just noticed that.

I'm sure I'm posting in the wrong place for this ... and I've read some other threads and I guess I'm just not getting it. Where might we post things such as our national history or such on and so forth?

Where better for a newbie to post than in a thread that is about newbies. :)

I'm sure I'm posting in the wrong place for this ... and I've read some other threads and I guess I'm just not getting it. Where might we post things such as our national history or such on and so forth?

Where better for a newbie to post than in a thread that is about newbies. :)
I believe the NationStates forum is best for that.

Just an Idea for you to add, tell them to look up at some of the better rpers and name several in your opinion(for me, AMF pantera, Atlantian Outcasts, Melkor, Adejanni[while he was around], New Empire, and many others, but they were the first I looked upto when I first started playing NS over a year ago...) and give them links to several good rps(at the moment, Love Lost In A Hail Of Gunfire is a good deloping one) and several bad Rps,(any one involoving Hataria, Sephrioth etc. and the Allanean AMF war)

and see if you can get Sirocco to blast this into sticky orbit

*added new text to the intro post*

I have to disagree with number 5. As you said, the nation you RP with is a character, and that character can very plausibly be an imperialist, megalomaniacal monster, and very good RPs can come from the power driven expansion (and later dramatic fall) of this monster. If you can pull off war RPs, then go for it. They make for very exciting and interesting reads if done properly.

I actually made a minor adjustment to number 5 to account for your example.

[OOC] I don't intend to begin any wars soon, but I would like to open a storefront, specifically one catering to nuclear-related industries. I only am doing this because the one and only source of income for my nation at this moment is Uranium mining. Any advice or suggestions on how to go about this?

[OOC] I don't intend to begin any wars soon, but I would like to open a storefront, specifically one catering to nuclear-related industries. I only am doing this because the one and only source of income for my nation at this moment is Uranium mining. Any advice or suggestions on how to go about this?[OOC: As a matter of fact, there's a thread (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=353255) with a lot of helpful suggestions about how to create and effectively manage a storefront. You also should read this thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=359981), as there is also a lot of good advice there.

I actually made a minor adjustment to number 5 to account for your example.

Ah, most excellent. I appreciate the accomodation.

I'd forgotten about this thread. Shame, because it is an excellent reference that really does need a home as a sticky.

Ah, most excellent. I appreciate the accomodation. Well, I realized you were right when you mentioned the part about accounting for the damage to your economy or to the fighting spirit of your forces after being in multiple wars. The point I was making with it was to frown upon people who go off to war every day and RP as if it has no effect on their country whatsoever.

Thanks for the comment about this thread. I hope it does become a sticky one day.

This should be stickied.

Well done. Writing well is the best way to get respect, in my opinion.

*bump*

General good all round advice. Cudos.

However, i'd like to stress that in an RP you should always been contact with your opponents where possible it saves any arguements etc.

Thanks for the comments.

meh I guess number 5 is sort of inactive for me, with only the occasional civil war and peacekeeping conflict, I don't have many wars.

4. Write well (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=352036). This goes back to a thread having to do with writing. I realize that some people like action RPs, some prefer dialogue, and still others would rather do character RPs. I'm not saying completely ignore one or the other; in fact, if you can incorporate those into developing your character, go for it. But be sure you try to create a story out of it. Pantera has a whole history of his country listed that's an exhaustive breakdown of his country's past. Isselmere has a very detailed factbook. You don't have to do all of the above, but the better stories you write, the more people will pay attention.


Aha! Exellent idea! As I am an aspiring writer, this will fit in quite nicely. And I can prove how good I am at it too for those who don't know me so well... Can it be... comical?

Should be stickied. Tag, nice job Sarzo.

Bump in part because the Role Play University used the first post as lecture material, and partly because it's still relevant.

4. Write well (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=352036). This goes back to a thread having to do with writing. I realize that some people like action RPs, some prefer dialogue, and still others would rather do character RPs. I'm not saying completely ignore one or the other; in fact, if you can incorporate those into developing your character, go for it. But be sure you try to create a story out of it. Pantera has a whole history of his country listed that's an exhaustive breakdown of his country's past. Isselmere has a very detailed factbook. You don't have to do all of the above, but the better stories you write, the more people will pay attention.

Question: What if someone is a great writer, but not too hot at RPing? Or, what if someone isn't bad at RPing, but has poor writing skills?

Question: What if someone is a great writer, but not too hot at RPing? Or, what if someone isn't bad at RPing, but has poor writing skills?

I would think the two go hand in hand, since role playing is description, and a good writer is someone who can describe well.