NationStates Jolt Archive

I've seen a lot of posts on people selling and buying equipment. Is there some special thing I have to do for these weapons or do I just make them out of thin air? Also, how do I declare war on another nation, and how is warfare carried out? Who decides the winner?

Weapons
You can either decide to mass produce them yourself, or just buy them at a storefront. Your economy, depending on what it is, shows you how much you can buy. Check out the GDP calcs here: Guide To Nationstates (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=357975) They're near the top of the page.

This is a free-form roleplaying game, therefore, you can technically 'declare war' on anyone you want, but in reality, you don't want to. All you basically have to post is, who you are declaring war on, why you are declaring war (state In Character reasons, such as, they were caught spying on you, and have proof), and make it pretty detailed. The more detail, the more it will catch the NS community's eyes.

Warfare, again, is free-form. You decide everything that happens depending on how you RP. You RP the transport of your troops, tanks, artillery, etc to the enemy nation and literally role play the battle. Here's a thread that can help you with logistics, and what you should have in your army: What Logistics Is (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=275828)

Check this out too: How To Earn Respect (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=353535&page=1&pp=15)

Also, how do I declare war on another nation, and how is warfare carried out? Who decides the winner?

I declare war on you because I'm bored and crush you like a bug.

KIDDING. You do that to any nation and no one will want anything to do with you.

The way you set up a war is you get in contact with someone you'd be willing to have a war with (I know, it's weird- but no NS user likes being forced into war, for very logical reasons (like the fact some just don't have the time)). You send them a telegram (TG) to start discussing the logistics of the war:

1. A reason for this war- invasion? Human rights violations? Opposing government too oppressive to your nation? "He stole my marbles!" (hey, I've seen it done)

2. IMPORTANT What will you use- how many troops, tanks, equipment, ships, etc. It is important you discuss this topic because you want to reach an acceptable and reasonable agreement on this so both you and the other nation have the sense that you will play fair. Nobody wants to play with someone who has a 5 billion man army.

3. ALSO IMPORTANT What will the result be? Will the loser give up land? Stop the human rights violations? Return your marbles? You have to set this so the other nation isn't "surprised" by the result.

Now, the greater question is "who will you declare war on"? As Euroslavia said, you could declare war on anyone, but this is frowned upon. My suggestion is to lurk around International Incidents and participate a little in what's going on, joining in with a thread (or "RP" or "RolePlay") that you're interested in and see what your nation can offer for that particular RP (though be careful- if it says "Closed RP" or "Invite-Only RP" stay out, and be aware of any rules the thread creator might have made regarding the thread). Remember that initially (your first month) you can't offer much because of your nation's size, but don't think that you can't offer anything- hey, if a warlord needs troops to successfully invade a country they'll take anything they can get and likewise nations wishing to start an aid program will also gladly accept any donation they can get.

Once you get involved with the thick of things in NS you'll be able to gradually build alliances or enemies (though keep the enemies as strickly RP-related and not user-related- if the physical user hates you then they won't want anything to do with you) and thus better able to conduct wars. You can also get involved by bringing aboard a few friends (it's easier to integrate yourself when there's people you know) and/or by researching the regions and seeing which one best suits your interests (but make sure you can join- not every region will accept everyone that comes knocking, so ask someone in the region first, or, better yet, their UN delegate or region founder). Regardless, it will all take time (no nation began as an important one right from day one), so have patience but have fun while you're doing it- eventually it will all work out.

Yeah, this is an incredibly helpful thread for the noobs in the world who have NO CLUE how the "community" works. It'd be really great if some intelligent, perceptive mod were to sticky it...(wink, wink)

ok, what's the generally accepted timescale? I have a great idea for a stratigic defense system, but it would take some time to develop the technology involved.