HorseNES: The New Earth ~Update Five: The Gathering Storm~

[iamahorse]

ORDERS DUE: Thursday, 13 August

Introduction:
Now, I have played plenty of NES's on other forums, specifically on the the CivFanatics forum, and the thought occurred to me: "Why not try one of these games over here on Taleworlds?" This thought occurred a few months back in late spring and, needless to say, I was rather worried because the environment of the Civ forums is vastly different from the environment of Taleworlds. So I ambled about, trying out new ideas and whatnot ranging from an NES about Rome, but with senators who were magicians, to a Dinosaur NES where we control and evolve our respective species, to a sci-fi one that was quite frankly too meticulous for even me to bother with. In the end I decided to copy one of the tried and true NES templates over at the CivFanatices forum: the Cradle NES.

Purpose: The main goal of this NES is to provide entertainment for all parties, certainly. However, it is to be one of, at least, minor creativity. I will provide a blank world, very much like, and different, from Earth. This world will mold into one of your choosing, through your actions and decisions. Players will be given unprecedented control over their nation, to allow them to create the nation they wish. What will you do? Create the world's greatest religious center? An economic behemoth? An inter-continental empire? Or something far greater?

隐藏: Rules

Status: Ripped from someone else

Sample Stats:

West Spamistan/ carmen510
Communist Dictatorship/Josef Spammin'
Capital, Major Cities: Spammingrad
Economy: 2 (1+1)/1/0
Size: Tiny (1)
Stability: 50% (Neutral)
Infrastructure: 10% (Horrible)
Education: 0% (None)
Army: 100 infantry battalions (1), 1 infantry battalion (2)
Navy: 1 galley squadron (1)
Projects/Wonders: Spammingrad Memorial (Completed, +5% stability)
[SEPARATE SECTIONS, SUCH AS TECHNOLOGY, TREATIES, RIVALS, DESCRIPTIONS, ETC WILL BE LISTED SOMEWHERE ELSE]


Name/Player: The name of your nation, generally, I will use a shortened version of an official name unless it is extremely close to another nation's. (Like OTL Republican Spain and Nationalist Spain) I will generally post an acronym in parenthesis as well, should it need to be shortened.

Player is obviously the player. No further explanation required, although I will note that the player is 'NPC'd' should they request it.


Government/Ruling Party: Government is the administration under which your country is governed by. Such a category is extremely broad, and thus, I shall allow you to choose the government your country wishes to be ruled by. Your government will fundamentally affect your stability stat, and may branch out to economy, foreign relations, etc. depending upon the type. The more you tell me about your government from the start, the easier it will be for your government to function, so try to be as thorough as possible without being needlessly complex. (Ex: Like when I know which province uses what militia emblem.)

The ruling party is what faction controls your nation. It can be a political party, tribal assembly, president, king and royal bloodline, and so on. While fully detailed characters are nice to read about, bear in mind that they will generally die in one update, at least in the early stages of the game. So try to stick to a small story about your leader, if possible. Should your nation be ruled by an assembly of men, I will generally give the name of the majority party, or ideology they belong to. (Conservatives, Isolationists, Democrats, etc.)


Capital & Cities: Your capital city will most likely be the administrative center of your nation, unless of course, say your government lives in an impenetrable underground bunker in Montana. In that case, the capital will most likely be the city with the most inhabitants. The capital's name is underlined. Major cities will also be listed for reference to stories and war plans.

In order to establish a city, you merely need to choose a location. However, I strongly suggest that you invest some EP in it, unless you have chosen an extremely fertile or otherwise extremely desirable place to live. Otherwise, you may be responsible for such calamities as plague, shoddy infrastructure, poor sanitation, no police force, and other such rowdy activities you otherwise don't want. Even if you have the best location in the world for a city, I still suggest investing for it will boost its immediate economic output, if any, or otherwise improve the city.


Economy: The stat is as follows:

Currently Available Economic Output + Other Income/Treasury/Investment

Your economy is measured in EP, and is what you spend to get more goodies, such as military units, projects, and such. Your economy is fundamental to the development of your nation, for if you didn't have one, you would be labeled as the world's worst human experiment. Now to explain each stat:

Currently Available Economic Output: Basically, the total amount of EP available to you. This is dependent on a variety of factors, such as tax rates, economic situations (Like recession), corruption, war damages, and other pleasant or annoying variables. The higher the tax rate, the more income is generated, normally. There is a limit where the population will eventually start to not pay altogether, in which you will actually get less money and a sizable loss to your stability as well. Corruption will remove Available EP, as embezzlement by accountants and such may occur, corruption will depend on your government and some other random variables. War damages will reduce your Available EP, as damaged factories don't produce as much as new ones. Technological obsolescence will also reduce both your total and available EP. This stat can never be higher than the total EP stat. The factors of why your available EP is limited will be shown in the National Descriptions post.

Total Economic Output: THIS IS NOT SHOWN AS A STAT, BUT IS IMPORTANT NONETHELESS. Basically the total amount of EP your nation produces as a whole. Not all of this is available to you, for private markets, foreign trade, etc. are not relevant to what your government can spend. Total EP will depend on what your economy would produce in the perfect state of what it now is. For example, a totally efficient China as opposed to a corrupt China. Total EP can be raised via investment (which will be explained later), certain technologies, and random events. What constitutes your economy, such as agriculture, retail, etc. will be shown in the National Descriptions post.

Other Income: Nice little additions or bad deductions applied after available economic output is assessed. Such additions would be a boost from stability, a highly educated workforce, religious pilgrimage income, etc. Such deductions would be basically all the upkeep of your nation, and in some cases, tributes to avoid getting invaded for example. Explanation of why this income or deficit is occurring will appear in the National Descriptions post.

Treasury: You may save up any amount of your surplus EP for emergencies. You cannot bank EP if it is all swallowed up by upkeep. Treasury funds can eventually be spent on anything EP can buy. Please note that Treasury funds may be reduced by factors such as inflation, more embezzlement, etc. Generally, Treasury funds won't suddenly disappear unless something extremely bad happens. This is also where any foreign tribute/aid is located. You may NOT spend foreign aid on the same turn you receive it. Also note that if you always save and never spend, your economy may suffer as a result, usually in the form of your total EP number falling.

Debt: THIS IS NOT SHOWN AS A STAT, BUT IS IMPORTANT NONETHELESS. Basically, any forced tribute, repayments of loans, and war reparations go here. Based on the terms dictated by the receiver of the funds, you may be able to pay it in small turn-ly payments, or one lump sum. Please note that debt that is not repaid will not only reduce your chances of loans from NPCs, but the debt will receive interest due to inflation. I will notify your nation when such an event is coming near. I will show how much debt you owe in the National Descriptions post.

Investment: Basically, the amount of EP you invested into growing the economy. How much you need to invest to grow the economy will depend upon your nation's total economic output, your nation's general size, your infrastructure, etc. Note that your economy may grow on its own, perhaps upon a large-scale trade agreement, sudden influx of foreign workers, etc. so you may not always need to invest. However, these are random events, so do not depend on them for economic growth.


Size: This stat is fundamentally important to many of the stats below, so pay attention. Basically, the larger your nation is, the more upkeep you're required to pay. Size is also important in military deployments, as a very large nation cannot easily move its armed forces from one end to the other, unless the said nation has a very high infrastructure stat. The following sentence details size and its important stat number.

Tiny (1) - Small (2) - Average (3) - Above Average (4) - Sizable (5) - Large (6) - Huge (7) - Enormous ( 8 ) - Impressive (9) - Gargantuan (10)

The way I determine size is not by the spread of your culture alone, but by the number of cities you have currently within that area. The number of cities to required to increase in size are the following

Tiny (4 cities) - Small (8 Cities) - Average (12 Cities) - Sizable (16 Cities) - Large (20 Cities) - Huge (28 Cities) - Gargantuan (40 Cities)



Stability: Simply, it is how stable your government is, and how much dissent there is in the nation. If you have a low stability rating, you risk mass unrest, and possibly civil war. Higher stability may yield economic benefits, boost in military performance, etc. Stability has many factors affecting it, both negative and positive. Some negative factors include a large dissident minority population, having an unpopular government in power, a very weak economy, losing many wars, breaking international treaties, breaking domestic promises, and not repaying your debt. Some positive factors include a strong economy, a popular government, winning a major war, allying with a friendly nation, enacting a favorable trade agreement, enacting good domestic policies, and in general running the country well. Stability is measured in a percentage, from 0% to 100%, in which 0% is the lowest stability and 100% is the highest. You may use EP to increase this stability, but I'll need a description such as increased police force presence, etc. A description of factors affecting your stability will be listed in your national description post.


Infrastructure: Basically every public structure is encompassed in this stat, from roads to power, from ports to sewers, from weather monitoring to public sanitation. A low infrastructure yields instability, extremely poor economic prospects (How will you get your food to the markets?), and general anarchy unless in a highly wild zone, such as the North Pole. A high infrastructure stat will result in great economic benefits, less bad random events like plague, higher stability, quicker military deployment times, and ability to build ships. Infrastructure levels are shown in percentages, from 0% being no infrastructure to 100% being everything from high-speed internet to highways. To grow your infrastructure level, you must invest EP in some way, either directly or indirectly via a project, unless you wish for private businesses to own the roads. 1 EP will buy the following percentage depending on size, but some outside factors may change this result:

Tiny (5%) - Small (4%) - Average (4%) - Above Average (3%) - Sizable (3%) - Large (3%) - Huge (2%) - Enormous (2%) - Impressive (1%) - Gargantuan (1%)

Infrastructure also requires upkeep spending, unless you want pothole filled roads and never being to log onto CFC. For upkeep, 1 EP is needed for every following percentage depending on size, rounding up (So a Tiny nation with 51% infrastructure requires 6 EP upkeep):

Tiny (10%) - Small (9%) - Average (8%) - Above Average (8%) - Sizable (7%) - Large (7%) - Huge (6%) - Enormous (6%) - Impressive (5%) - Gargantuan (5%)


Education: Education affects technology, the economy, stability, and possibly government. Education will tell you how skilled your workforce is, and how literate your citizens are. Low education yields very poor results for your nation, unless you wish to achieve most evil nation award and an Orwellian propaganda state. Higher education level yield endless possibilities for your nation. Education is shown in percentages, from 0% being the lowest to 100% being the highest education rate. To grow the education percentage, you may either enact detailed domestic policies, or invest EP. Education is a stat that grows slowly over time, and thus blossoms when finally complete. Depending on your original education level, your size and population, and other factors, your education percentage may change from 1% to maybe 5%. The larger your population, the more you need to invest in education. Now, here are the charts for determining the growth and costs of your education level:

Size (% per 1 EP): Tiny (5%) - Small (4%) - Average (4%) - Above Average (3%) - Sizable (3%) - Large (3%) - Huge (2%) - Enormous (2%) - Impressive (1%) - Gargantuan (1%)

Original Education Level (Added Costs to Upgrade): 10% or Below (No change) - 11% to 20% (+1 EP) - 21% to 30% (+2 EP) - 31% to 40% (+3 EP) - 41% to 50% (+4 EP) - 51% to 60% (+5 EP) - 61% to 70% (+6 EP) - 71% to 80% (+7 EP) - 81% to 90% (+8 EP) - 91% to 99% (+9 EP)

For example, if you're a Tiny Nation with 10% Education, you would pay 1 EP to increase by 5% education. But if you were a Tiny Nation with 20% education, you would need to pay 2 EP to increase by 5% education. Some other factors affecting your education growth may include war, skilled workers, economic situation, etc.

Education also requires upkeep, which will also depend on your size/population. For example: A Tiny Nation with 10% Education would pay 0 upkeep, but 11% would pay 1 EP, 20% would pay 2 EP, and so forth. A Small Nation with 9% Education would pay 0 upkeep, but 10% would pay 1 EP, and so forth. Education will decline if you do not pay upkeep, generally resulting in pain and suffering for your economy and international standing. Education also evolves over time, and thus your education level will fall as old ideas are replaced by newer ones, until you invest more EP of course. The following chart determines the upkeep of your education level:

Tiny (10%) - Small (9%) - Average (8%) - Above Average (8%) - Sizable (7%) - Large (7%) - Huge (6%) - Enormous (6%) - Impressive (5%) - Gargantuan (5%)


Projects/Wonders: Projects and Wonders are two separate things. Firstly, wonders are mainly extremely special buildings or monuments, such as the Pyramids or the Church of Nativity for Christians. Wonders will mainly attract tourist income, usually from religious pilgrimages, and will truly depend on what the wonder is. Say for example, the world's largest dock. It would provide a boost to infrastructure, economy, and possibly stability. The world's largest academy would provide a boost to education and stability. Remember though, WONDERS ARE NOT PROJECT, as Wonders are structures to stand the test of time. Projects, on the other hand, are huge national efforts, ranging from sweeping nation-wide reforms to a national road system. Projects are a broader subject, and are generally a multitude of buildings or a huge policy directive. Both Projects and Wonders will require EP, and possibly a certain amount of turns representing the time needed to finish such a wonder. All I need for you to tell me about your new Project/Wonder is the name, the predicted benefits, and its effects. Now, the wonder stat looks like this:

Wonder Name: EP Invested/EP Required, Turns Passed/Turns Remaining. Effects.
(Ex: Pyramids: 1/10, 2/12. +1 EP, +2% stability)


Technology Rules: Technologies will be posted in a special technologies post. This approach will be NOT be an arbitrary tech tree. Instead, I will entrust the players with a creative and innovative way with dealing with in-game problems with science and technology. You will simply need to tell me the desired tech's name and details. I shall work out the effects from the details, and you may also write possible benefits you wish to receive from the technology. I will then assign an EP cost if needed, and a turn requirement. Note that blatant OOC technologies like Nuclear Weaponry in the Ancient Eras will most likely result in 3 warnings, followed by a nasty 'random' lashback for later offenses. If a technology is too advanced but seems like a reasonable goal for the next era, I may keep it and allow you to research it a bit later, as logic allows.

You can research up to two technologies in one turn, but the technologies researched cannot be subsequent ones (i.e. no researching shipyards and then briemes)

Resources: Resources are the major raw goods (or finished goods as we progress) that your people have which can be traded/used in your orders. They generally will have a rating which goes from None-Sparse-Adequate-Plentiful-Surplus, you can only trade goods that are from adequate rating onwards. What does it mean when you have sparse/no resoruces? Well, all of you began the game with 'Bronze(Sparse)' which means you only have enough copper to do 1 action with it.

Say you wanted to build a large copper monument to your leader and at the same time recruit units, in this scenario you would have to decide which action you would have to take as you only have enough bronze (remember the rating is (sparse)) to do one action with it; you can always say 'Make the monument out of stone' or 'Give my troops sharp sticks and wooden clubs,' thus substituting the need for copper at the expense of quality/w.e, if you really wanted to complete both actions.

The amount of actions that the resources can meet goes up by the following chain: None = 0; Sparse = 1; Adequate = 2; Plentiful = 3; Surplus = 4


Trade Rules: Trading routes may be established between players who have contact with one another and methods of transportation linking the two cultures they represent to plausibly foster trade. There are two kinds of trade routes, basic and special.

Basic trade routes are the common trade routes not focused upon any specific good, but instead on the exchange of nearly anything a merchant can get their hands on. These cost less to establish, but generate less EP.

Specialised trade routes are those route that focus on the exchange of certain goods, such as wool for bronze or oak for flax. These routes cost more to establish, but in turn generate more EP as well as grant all parties of the trade route the exchanged goods, albiet at one resource rank lower than the exporter's.

Only resources of Adequate and above rankings can be exchanged on a specialised route.

Adequate (limited to 2 routes) - Plentiful (limited to 6 routes) - Surplus (Unlimited routes)

Players receiving a good as an import may serve as middle-men of a sorts, but it takes access to twice the amount of the good in order to trade it once. Example:

Access to 2 routes trading oak allows a player to trade 1 resource of oak on a different route.

Updates and Orders: I will generally accept any type of orders via PM or email if needed, but I will require the following:
a) The nation's orders clear named in the title of PM.
b) The nation's stats located in the PM
c) Your orders, that can be anywhere from a few sentences to essay length.

NOTE:
I will ignore any orders sent to me in the improper format. The proper format is a PM clearly labelled as "(Nation) Orders for Turn (X)"

I will generally look upon detailed, but not cluttered, orders with more favor than those with two lines saying buy x and invade y. The best orders sent may receive a national bonus, anywhere from a bumper crop to military benefits to increased stability.

Orders are a fairly simple affair, really. In short propose what you want me to do and I will tell you the EP cost (or you tell me the EP cost and I confirm that it is a-ok). Really, you can do just about anything so long as it is feasible for your culture/nation-state.

Battle orders can be anywhere from "Put my men where to defend" to a complex battle plan complete with pictures, a back up plan, and a list of officers commanding the battle. I would prefer a compromise between simple and complex so I have enough to work with while writing my updates, but still enough wiggle room to throw in my own creative flair.

You can also ask me to do simple things like 'send a unit out to explore' when you do not have the EP to do so, just do not always expect results or favourable results.

My updates tend to be rather detailed, and thus, may take a moderate amount of time, usually a week, to finish. In the beginning, updates may span 50-200 years, depending on what the player's choose in this thread.


Stories: These are actively encouraged, and may take shape in any form, from poem to epic, from newspaper to speech. Writing an at least semi-literate and middling story may result in a minor boost for your nation, depending on the story's content. A very good story may be posted on a recommended story list on the first page, and some moderate boost. All stories will go on the front page, ordered by nation, but only a select few will be given the honor of 'Moderator's Choice', maybe one or two per update.


Complaints: Complaining should be done with the bolded word COMPLAINT(S) in thread or PM'd, and I actively encourage pointing out mistakes or pointing out rule loopholes. However, I will NOT tolerate flaming, trolling, spam, or complaints of a PC's national actions of any kind. Redirect complaints of a player's nation to them, but complaints about an abusive OOC player to me. If you give a well-reasoned complaint, I will try to resolve the matter best I can, from changing around the rules to squashing little troublemakers with the Almighty Hand of the Mod.

 

[iamahorse]

Diplomacy & Treaties:I would like for diplomacy directed to any NPCs clearly marked, so it should look something like this:

From Gaza
To Israel (NPC)

Stop occupying my territory, or prepare to suffer the consequences!
------

Also, I would prefer if nations responding to diplomacy quote it, so as to make everyone's job easier in tracking such actions.

Treaties are a bit more complicated. Treaties include peace treaties, alliance agreements, etc. I would like to have a bolded heading for such works so I may read it, and have nations write Treaty Revision/Debate or equivalent for any responses to such a treaty. As a final result, when a treaty is finalized, I would prefer to have ONE of the nation's PM me the treaty for usage, although the thread is also fine by me. Please note that if you break a diplomatic agreement, it will hurt your stability, and breaking treaties are far more severe.

隐藏: Unit Costs and Explainations

Military Units: The security of the state relies not only in a strong economy, but also in a strong military to safeguard it against foreign threats. As such, military units need to be created if your nation is to survive.

Army:

Militia Company: 1 EP for 8. This is a unit that is normally reserved for extremely problematic situations in which you need to raise a large army quickly. These conscripts and possibly older veterans will basically grab any weapon they can find, and attack with almost no regard for tactics. Do not expect these units to fight well, unless your stability is extremely high, in which case their fanatical loyalty may make them more useful. Most of the time, this will be cannonfodder. Please note that recruiting too many of these units will either remove workers from the economy, or cause massed unrest.

Infantry Company: 1 EP for 4. This is your basic infantry unit, which will most likely be the basis of your army. These four 250 man units will usually be combined into 1 infantry battalion to provide maximum effectiveness on the battlefield. The possible units right now are light infantry, heavy infantry, spearmen, skirmishers, and archers, which will all be included in an infantry battalion. The key to a good army is a good mixture of all these elements.

Light Cavalry Company: 1 EP for 2. This is your basic cavalry that will most likely consist of horse archers and horsemen with spears. These 250 horsemen units can easily kill the lighter variants of infantry like skirmishers, but will die on contact with spearmen and to a lesser extent, heavy infantry. The cavalry are fast and excellent for flanking.

Heavy Cavalry Company: 1 EP for 1. This is your heavily armored version of cavalry, which can easily charge through enemy lines, but it charges slower than light cavalry. Even worse, these can be easily killed by spearmen.

Siege Weapon Company: 1 EP for 1. Once researched, these siege weapons can wreck out devastation upon cities, or even massed enemy formations. Please note that siege weapons will easily be killed by cavalry, as their charging negates any devastation damage caused. These siege weapons are essential for assaulting a walled city, however.


Navy:

Galley Squadron: 1 EP for 1. Your typical ancient ship, these are mainly for mercantile use, although these may also be used to transport troops and sink other galleys. The squadron generally consists of 75 or so ships, and can carry either 2 infantry companies (2 galley squadrons to hold 1 battalion) OR one cavalry company OR one siege weapon company, due to limited space, especially when you factor in the naval crews.


Unique Units: You may have one Unique Unit at a time, which is a nation-specific unit according to your present technological level, depending on when the unit was first conceptualized. To create a Unique Unit, you provide me with is an idea of how the unit should function or a basic idea of its purpose, and I will assign a cost to it.

Unique units are generally better than ordinary units, but will usually have at least one weakness. For example, Elephant Cavalry are used to terrify and run over enemies, and will excel in the jungle, but they are no good at fighting in, say, tundra. To remedy this, the nation must either adopt a new unique unit to accomodate the new terrains and borders of the nation, or invest in technology. When a nation makes a new type of unique unit, all the old unique units will be retired, with a random percentage of those units moving on to become regular units of the closest related unit.


Military Quality: This is measured on a scale from 1-10. It is separate for individual units, because an overall rating doesn't work well if one region has war all the time and is filled with veterans while the rest of your army are militias picking their noses in your cities. Military quality is a major factor in battles, in addition to the number of forces you have. Troops with low military quality will perform poorly in battle, and if extremely bad, even outside of battle such as looting from your citizens, etc. Troops with high military quality perform extremely well in battles, are highly disciplined, but they require more upkeep. As a general rule, newly trained units start at level 3 quality, unless your nation is extremely warlike or conversely, peaceful hippie-like. Also, conscripted troops or rapidly built units in one turn will cause a detrimental effect on these units' quality.


Military Upkeep: Upkeep is required for the basic necessities for an army to function, such as food and weaponry, as well as reinforcements and such. If you do not/cannot pay your upkeep, your units will slowly decline to a point where their quality is temporarily worsened. If you suddenly pay that upkeep, the decline in the military quality will be removed. If you continue to stop the upkeep flow, military units will eventually have to disband, and their experience will be lost and you need to pay for a replacement. Upkeep for each unit is dependent on the quality of said unit. NOTE: You're nation will be allowed to have 10 units free of upkeep before requirement to pay.

Troops with a quality of 5 or below will cost 1 EP for every ten units; the unit is one company regardless of type. Troops with a quality of 6-9 will cost 1 EP for every five units. Troops with a quality of 10 pay anywhere from zero upkeep to 1 EP per unit. (Quality 10 is hard to achieve, and thus, will not require additional costs, as long as they are infantry units)
SPECIAL CASE: Militia companies do not pay upkeep in order to reflect their overall poor quality.

Ships with a quality of 5 or below will cost 1 EP for every five units. Ships with a quality of 6-9 will cost 1 EP for every 3 units. Ships with a quality of 10 pay 1 EP per unit.

National Descriptions: This is an additional stats supplement that details all non-game related information about the player's nation, such as history, culture, population, etc. It should look something such as this in the stats page:

West Spamistan/ carmen510
Corporate State/Josef Spammin'
Capital, Major Cities: Spammingrad
Economy: 2 (1+1)/1/0
Size: Tiny (1)
Stability: 50% (Neutral)
Infrastructure: 10% (Horrible)
Education: 0% (None)
Army: 100 infantry battalions (1), 1 infantry battalion (2)
Navy: 1 galley squadron (1)
Projects/Wonders: Spammingrad Memorial (Completed, +5% stability)

隐藏: West Spammin's Background

Official Name: The Confederated Republic of West Spamistan
Motto: Land of Cheap Viagra
Official Language: 1337 Speak
Population: 100,000
Religions: Capitalistic Urges (99%), Atheism (1%)
Government Details: West Spamistan is run by business interests under the leadership of CEO Josef Spammin' and is mostly right-wing, almost Orwellian state, with no healthcare system, few pensions, much security surveillance, and no regulation of business. The citizens have no basic rights, except the right of wages for work. The seven largest companies gather together frequently to run the country's daily affairs, from who to send spam emails to, to how to bribe international anti-spam bureaus.
Official Currency: US Dollar
Economic Details: This is one of the world's greatest electronics producers, has the highest internet use, and has the world record for emails sent per day. Its computer based economy depends on free money/product offers, cheap Viagra advertisements, and showing people their Nigerian bank accounts. The nation is mostly urban, and the bonus income comes from sponsorship deals. The total economic output has already been reached, and there is currently no debt.
Top Exports: Spam Emails, Scams
Top Imports: Money, Personal Information
Trading Partners: Banner-adistan
Stability Factors: The country is at a neutral stability rating, as the economy is extremely strong, but is currently threatened by lawsuits which may cause their leading companies to shut down. There are few armed forces or policemen, which has resulted in much corruption and crime.
Resoures: Spam (Bountiful), Spam (Bountiful) Spam and Eggs (Bountiful)
Culture: The religion of Capitalistic Urges has always been a large influence upon West Spamistan. The religion basically tells people to enjoy the life they have right now, and how to profit from the world with its intricate business help textbooks. The religion commonly ignores such moral issues as privacy and treating others decently. West Spamistan has always been filled with greedy people, and thus many are peaceful as they wish not to be harmed.
Project/Wonder Descriptions: The Spammingrad Memorial was dedicated to the very first spammers online, and honors them with statues of their likeness. It now houses the country's official servers, which are vital to the economic vitality of the nation.
Allies: Banner-adistan
Rivals: Anti-Spam Coalition
History: West Spamistan was the culmination of business's online efforts of advertising, but it turned downhill as small-time businesses and scammers came to the country in the search of easy money. Its eastern ally, Banner-adistan, is merely a puppet state to help it increase profitability in business ventures. West Spamistan has recently been threatened with invasion and many lawsuits, which have taken up a large portion of its income. Anti-spam software has deeply weakened the country's economy, but it is booming in the global recession as people can no longer afford security software while still being addicted to technology.

DO NOT POST YET

 

[iamahorse]

隐藏: Technology List

~Starting Technologies/Concepts
Fishing
Agriculture (Small Scale)
Hunting
Stone Tools
Archery
Mining
Weaving
Animal Husbandry (Poor)
Pottery
Trade (Barter/Small Scale)
The Wheel
Sailing (Basic)
~End Starting Technologies/Concepts
River Ports: Discovered By the Riverrium, Update 1
Ritualism: Discovered By the Rhodesians, Update 1
Animal Handling: Discovered By the Molgani, Update 2
Cobbled Roads: Discovered By the Countryistanii, Update 2
Drawn Cart: Discovered By the Abrascians & Rhodesians, Update 2
Efficient Drawn Cart: Discovered and Exclusive to the Abrascians & Rhodesians, Update 2

隐藏: Military Unit Descriptions:

This is where unit capabilities, weaknesses, and costs will be detailed.

Militia
Cost: 1 EP per 8 companies
Strengths: Massed Charges, Ambushing, Ability to Easily Find Cover, Requires No Upkeep
Weaknesses: Perform poorly in combat, most prone to retreat, lightly armored with ineffective weapons
Other Details: Commonly raised in wartime emergencies, these are extremely poor quality troops, that can only be tactically used to mass attack the enemy or as partisans. If the people are highly motivated to defend their homeland, militias will fight with slightly better than usual. Weapons and armor are generally supplied by whatever the militia has on hand, which could be anything from pitchforks from farmers to swords from the wealthy, however the government may be able to supply some militias with some outclassed or obsolete weapons with which to defend themselves.

Light Infantry
Cost: Included in an infantry battalion
Strengths: Holding the line and possibly rear, Effective Against Skirmishers & Spearmen, Ambushing, Good Garrisons, High Stamina
Weaknesses: Easily killed by other units, lightly armored
Other Details: A step above militias, these are average troops that are usually support their heavier companions in battle. These infantry have better armaments than militia, because they are supplied by the government. Generally, they have daggers or short swords, and sometimes rudimentary spears. They are still lightly armored, and thus will easily be killed by arrows and heavy weapons. Nonetheless, their great stamina means they will most likely catch up to skirmishers and kill them quickly. They are also effective against spearmen as their stamina can easily allow light infantry to overrun them. Light infantry are also ideal garrisons for cities, as they are relatively cheap and can set up great ambushes in urban areas.

Heavy Infantry
Cost: Included in an infantry battalion
Strengths: Shock Troops, Heavily Armored, Effective Against Light Infantry & Spearmen
Weaknesses: Poor Stamina, Vulnerable to Cavalry & Skirmishers
Other Details: These are the most experienced infantry in your army, and thus are extremely effective against most infantry units besides skirmishers. Usually, these infantry will be used to punch holes in the enemy line. These infantry are equipped with the best possible armaments, and thus, cannot run quickly due to their heavy armor. They can still be killed by skirmishers as their heavy armor can still be pierced by the force of a throwing spear. Heavy Cavalry can also easily overrun Heavy Infantry as their superior speed and force destroys the armor advantage. Heavy Infantry can still fight well against their lighter cavalry counterparts however, as they are lightly armored.

Spearmen
Cost: Included in an infantry battalion
Strengths: Cavalry killers, Average Armor, Average Stamina
Weaknesses: Vulnerable to Light Infantry & Heavy Infantry.
Other Details: Spearmen are made for one purpose only, to kill cavalry. Anything else, and they will fight poorly with most other infantry. These infantry are equipped with some average quality armor, just enough to prevent being easily killed by light weapons. Their spears are made for piercing both horses and their riders, although they will have a harder time to pierce heavier armor. They also can run for a decent amount of time, so should you need to retreat, this unit would be able to escape.

Skirmishers
Cost: Included in an infantry battalion
Strengths: Effective against Archers and Heavy Infantry, Excellent Combat Starters,
Weaknesses: Vulnerable to Light Infantry & Cavalry, Lightly Armored
Other Details:

Archers
Cost: Included in an infantry battalion
Strengths: Long Range, Effective against lightly armoured Cavalry and Infantry
Weaknesses: Vulnerable to all units in melee and skirmishers
Other Details: Archers have been around since the first man followed herds of long-extinct beasts and today the practise continues to thrive. An archer company can effectively rout an on-coming enemy company so long as the target's armour is not too thick. The types of bows and arrows vary from culture to culture, leading to a plethora of different kinds of archers, however all have the common trait of floundering in melee combat should the enemy actually close in and they will often fall by the dozens when set upon by a skirmisher's quick-launching projectiles.

Light Cavalry
Cost: 0.5 EP per company
Strengths: Fast & Mobile, Effective Against Light Infantry, Skirmishers, and Archers
Weaknesses: Vulnerable to Heavy Infantry, Heavy Cavalry, and Arrows
Other Details: The lighter variety of early cavalry, light cavalry serves as the agile and quick unit which chases down the lightly armoured enemies. They can gallop for untold miles without tiring, needing less rest than their heavier brethren.  Often used to flank enemy archers or harry the rears/sides of enemy light infantry, when caught in prolonged hang-to-hand combat light cavalrymen will often be bested, but not without inflicting heavy damages on their enemies. Against any heavily armoured opponent the light cavalry serves as little more than fodder.

Heavy Cavalry
Cost: 1 EP per company
Strengths: Shocking Charge, Effective Against Light Cavalry and All Infantry Save For Spearmen
Weaknesses: Slow, Poor Stamina
Other Details: The end-all troops of the battlefield, heavy cavalry serves to sweep through the enemy's lines with their combined speed, impact, and armour. However the cost to maintain their ranks is enough to purchase numerous companies of infantrymen or two companies of light cavalry, and should their cost not deter the would-be general their slower speed and lack of stamina may cause any commander to reconsider recruitment of these armoured cavalrymen.

Siege Weaponry
Cost: 1 EP per company
Strengths: Able to siege cities, easily destroys buildings
Weaknesses: Vulnerable to all other units, slow
Other Details: Siege weaponry is a broad definition of all required siege weapons and personnel that is used to besiege settlements. This may include catapults, battering rams, and other such weapons. These weapons can easily bring down enemy structures and walls, but are also bulky and therefore slow. Also, the personnel required to man these weapons are lightly armed, and are vulnerable to attacks by basically everyone, even civilian mobs. Thus, siege weaponry should be protected by other units at all times.

Galleys
Cost: 1 EP per squadron
Strengths: Not Many As These Are The Earliest Available Forms of Aquatic Navigation
Weaknesses: Limited to Remaining In Sight of Coast to Navigate, Earliest Possible Kind of Ship
Other Details: The galley is the tried and true method of aquatic travel in the early bronze age. Due to a severe lack of knowledge about navigation these ships are limited to sailing within sight of the coast least they become doomed to forever drift on the open sea.

隐藏: Unique Unit Proposal Template

Unit Name: Whatever kooky names you guys come up with goes here

Unit Type: Is it a derivative of a spearman? Light Infantry? Heavy Cavalry? Galley?

Unit Description: Poop goes here, basically give a description of what the unit is and what sets them apart. Include their negatives as well. Include any other fluff you want (they have a special tie to your culture? Are they members of your wealthier classes? Do they eat poop?)

Positives & Negatives:
(+)
(=)
(-)

Template for New Nations:

Nation Name/Player Name
Government/Leader or Ruling Organization
Capital & Major Cities: Name of Capital ONLY
Economy: 1 (1+0)/0/0
Size: Tiny (1)
Stability: 50% (Neutral)
Infrastructure: 10% (Horrible)
Education: 0% (None)
Army: [2 EP to spend on military TOTAL]
Navy: [See Above]
Projects/Wonders:
[Add a basic history or something about your nation. Anything helps.]

 

[iamahorse]

Maps

隐藏: Cradle

隐藏: Cradle Climate

Light Green-Temperate Forest
Dark Green- Tropical Deciduous Forest
Muddy Red- Chaparral Shrublands
Brown- Temperate Grasslands
Yellow- Tropical Shrublands

隐藏: Update 1 Map

隐藏: Update 2 Map

隐藏: Update 3 Map

隐藏: Update 3 Climate Map

Light Green-Temperate Forest
Dark Green- Tropical Deciduous Forest
Muddy Yellow Green- Chaparral Shrublands
Golden- Temperate Grasslands
Yellow- Tropical Shrublands
Pink- Savanna

隐藏: Update 4 Map

隐藏: Update 5 Climate Map

Dark Green- Dense Jungle
Green- Forests
Light Green- Tropical Shrublands
Light Tan- Savanna
Dark Tan- Grassland
Burgundy- Chaparral

隐藏: Update 5 Culture & Cities Map

Red Dots- Capitals
Black Dots- Major Cities

 

[iamahorse]

Answer My Qusetion: What is a NES?

隐藏: Answer

1. Introduction

What is NESing? This question has no short answer; however a short response should be nevertheless tried. A NES is an Internet Forum game originating from Civfanatics Forum. “NES” is a “Never Ending Story” that started out when posters wrote stories about possible history of the world. It wasn’t a “game of history” at the start, however after 4 years it has developed into a very flexible concept suitable for many historical and non-historical settings allowing people to play in a great number of different universes.

NESing is fun in a number of ways. Firstly it is a way to interact with other people. NESing joins people of certain character together and chances are if you like NESing you will meet a lot of people you will like too. NESing unites people who are interested in history (alternative or real), governing (nations), writing stories, politics, commanding armies (strategically and personally), geography, role-playing, making up new worlds and discovering them, diplomats, merchants… I think you get the idea. NESing began at forums related to Civilization game series. If you like Civilization you will most certainly like to NES.

NESing also brushes up your skills in a lot of ways: you will be writing stories (if you like it), reviewing military strategies, learning about new nations and possibly quite a few words in foreign languages and learning how to manage your country well as a diplomat and a ruler.

Lastly NESing is just fun to do as players shape the history of the world through their actions. It is very satisfying to see your nation rise from the ashes of civil war and foreign domination to a world power affecting the whole of mankind.

This guide was prepared by us NESers, with the purpose to introduce you to the world of NESing. After reading it you will not be an expert, but you will certainly not be a newbie.

From personal experience I can say that if you are already interested in what NESing deals with it may be hard to find places where these games actually take place. If you found this guide, look no more – you will soon immerse in a world of making history. I’ve been looking for something close to NESes for over 3 years on the net and I was happy to find it on CFC. Hopefully you too will like the concept and become a NESer like the rest of us.


2. What is a NES?

A NES is “Never Ending Story”. For history of the concept go to section 6. For game concept – read on!


2.1 The Basic Concept

A NES is essentially a simulation of the real life world. Although NESes normally tend to simulate certain historic periods on Earth any setup that the players find interesting is possible. A NES can be about anything as long as the game structure remains the same.

The best analogy to NES that you will certainly recognize is a Dungeon Keeper game. Over there you have a “keeper” who presents players with challenges and coordinates their actions. NESes work on the same bases.

In a very basic format NESes have the following structure. A NES is a game run by a mod, a “dungeon keeper”, who coordinates the game. A mod will accept players into the game and make sure that their actions are not ruining the game and fit into the game environment. Players are what makes the game run. In a typical game (let’s take it as an example) players interact with each other as heads of state. They write stories about their nations, initiate in diplomacy, fight wars and rule their country. The mod keeps a certain “score” of their activities recorded under stats (statistic). Stats represent the player’s achievements. Stats normally include: country name, player name (for reference), domestic structure (type of government, happiness level, economy level, domestic projects, technologies and other similar things), and the strength of the armed forces. NESes run in periods from one update to the other. Before the update players write orders where they, well, give orders to their nation. The mod collects the orders by a certain date and writes an update. An update is a story written by a mod in a form of “world news” informing the players on what happened in the world. Basing on that story the mod will then update the player’s stats (and thus the state of the world). Mods reserve the right to delete or change anything they find unbalancing the game (like nuclear weapons research in the dark ages for example) or unrealistic in the game world (like a communist revolution in Britain in 1700’s). Rules are not to be forgotten. Rules are regulations written by a mod to help players understand the game mechanics and what is possible for them to do. Rules also include the information about stats to help the players. Rules are to be respected by all and especially the mod. All information about a game is generally held at the first page of the game thread. NESes also generally posses a map which is a graphical representation of the game’s progress.

NOTE: NESes were designed in an internet forum format and are likely to remain like that for a long time.


2.2 Types of NES:

NESes themselves are classified into types according to their mechanics, most importantly game rules. Here is an overview of NES types:

Traditional – Stories are a main focus of this NES; sometimes it may even lack a mod. This type of NES is more about writing “the Annals of History”, as the main goal of this type of NES is write good stories about the world development and have fun. Traditional NESes could have basic player statistics and map (if a mod is present). Conflicts between players might arise if they forget the main goal.

Story Based – this type of NES is more widespread. While the players focus on stories a great deal, the stats determine a lot. Mods play a greater role in this type of NES and have to watch out for unrealistic behavior by players. This type of NES can be played both for fun and to “win” i.e. achieve your nations superiority.

Stat Based – NESes are more difficult to make and to run. In this type of NES the mod has normally worked out your every possible move, any structure you can build, army you can raise, projects you can make. While stories are still welcome they are less flexible and most of the game revolves around players interacting with each other with a goal to win the game. All (or most) of what the player owns is recorded in the stats and rules are normally quite long.

All the above NESes can be set in any historical period (real or alternative history) and are broadly called “Normal NESes”. “Normal NESes” in reality vary between the level that both stats and stories play in a game.

There are also certain “Concept NESes”:

Fresh Start – Fresh start NESes start on a blanc map normally in 4000 BC (Civ fans know why  ) or 2000 BC when the “world” is more developed (start of ancient civilizations like Egypt). The goal of the game is to create your nation from scratch, developing new technologies, fighting wars, accumulating wealth and knowledge. Level of stats varies from game to game and is up to the mod. Fresh start NESes normally have maps with great details including cities, majour farmlands, trade routes and fortifications. Players normally take names of known nations with “established character” for easier gameplay. However fictional countries are welcomed.

Fiction NESes – include any type of science fiction or fantasy-themed NES. These NESes normally have a good balance between “story-based” and “stat-based”, perhaps being more of “story-based” than “stat-based”. Rules are totally up to the mod as normally fantasy NESes do not have analogies. They are the most difficult to run as they require dedicated players who know the “fantasy universe”. Thorough moderation and good maps are required for this type of NES to run smoothly.

Board NES – these include the few NESes that are mostly stat-based, but in addition have a “board”-like map. Board NESes often have very specific theme like “gang wars”, “monsters city rebellion” or “siege of Stalingrad”. If organized well these are fun to play if players are into board games.

NOTE: Sometimes the terms for different NESes change. This is particularly true when a lot of new players start NESing. NESes were classified in this way to reflect the various types of NESes that exist now. With time more types and concepts are sure to appear.

Some NESes are historical some are alt-historical. While historical NESes start at one point in real history, alternative NESes re-write the real history. A mod will normally say when things turned away from “real history” events and write a timeline (long or short) of how things developed since that moment. History NESes are more fun to play if you want your nation to behave better than it did “in real life”. Alternative History NESes are more interesting for “what if” scenarios.

2.3 “Terms to Know” (What makes up NESing)

Forgive me if the Guide sounds too detailed, but I am operating on a very basic level, trying to explain the core of NESing. Do skip if you think this is too basic.

Now that we are familiar with the basic NES types and concept we shall go into a more detailed overview of a “Normal” NES. So, what's what there?

Moderators - Usually there is only one moderator in a NES. Moderator is the one who “runs” the game: carrying out player’s orders, writing updates, making up random events, ruling NPCs, answering questions, updating the front page and solving disputes between players. They can be considered "Dungeon Masters" in D&D terminology. A NES is essentially a moderator’s game and all the players are “guests”, thus what moderator says is final unless he changes his mind. Moderators (mods) should be reasonable people without “favoritism” to players or states. The most important skill for a moderator is to stay consistent continuing moderating a NES which can be quite time-consuming. Generally moderators also create their own rules for a game or modify the existing rules of another moderator. The main duty of a moderator is to make sure that the NES is carried out in a way that is, hopefully, both fun and realistic (the latter part is often ignored).

Players - Its not hard to guess who those are - they are indeed the people who play the NES. When they are “guests” of a moderator in his game, they are also the ones who shape the NES with their actions. Players pick a country from the ones still free (i.e. NPCs) and rule it. Players write orders and stories, do diplomacy for their nation. If their actions are unrealistic for their country or time period a mod will warn the player or will not carry out his instructions. Players can enter or leave the game at any time. Mods generally accept all the new players if they have space available. Sometimes, there are player limits, but most often there is no such a thing. Players should remember that NES is a game and that they are the driving force in it.

Stories - While stories are far from necessary, most moderators encourage them, especially as they help them to get more involved in the NES. Stories involve events that happened in your nation or with your citizens. Writing about other countries where you have no control will most probably be ignored by other players and the mods. As NESes began by people writing stories, story writing is encouraged and mods will often give bonuses or positive random events. Stories do not only include “stories” as such, but nicely written diplomatic messages, treaties, declarations of war, news reports (by players), articles from encyclopaedias, records of a meeting and any other form possible. Stories must be posted in the game thread(s), or occasionally included in orders (in that case only appreciated by the mod only).

Orders – Orders are sent to NES moderators, sometimes in thread, more often by PM (or email) A moderator will set a deadline when the orders are due as he needs to compare and analyse them before making an update. In orders player basically says what he wants to do with his nation. Orders are even more diverse than stories: "continue wonder, grow economy once, grow education twice, invade Monaco with 5,000 conscripts" (though this, of course, is a simplification). Some orders will have an effect on stats (like grow economy), some will be memorised by the mod (i.e. prepare for invasion from Monaco. If Monaco invades they will have less success than if the order was not given). Some moderators want to see maps in the orders (if there’s war for example). Most moderators appreciate detailed and clearly labelled orders. If the orders are unclear it is very easy to misunderstand them and they either get ignored or carried out in a wrong way which may lead to conflicts. Mods like to see clearly organised orders and they are sometimes divided into sections: "Domestic", "Military", "Espionage" etc. Usually mods will not set any format for orders, but always try to make them clear. The time spent by the mod trying to understand your orders could be spent writing good stories. If you do not want other players to find out what you are doing mark parts of your orders as “secret” and it will not appear in the update or will appear in a form that will not have a link to your nation. Orders are largely the only way to affect the game.

Updates – Updates are generally long stories that moderators write based on players orders (most part) and what happened in the thread (stories, diplomacy and other info). Some of players orders may not go according to plans of the players (for example, the army sent by San Marino to invade Monaco could be intercepted by Vatican’s forces). Updates represent a certain time period that passed between the previous and the current update. They generally include that long story the mod wrote and a map to show the game’s progress. Other regular additions are also possible like random events, awards of bonuses for stories, or notes from the mod (rule changing, comments on orders etc). Besides writing the update the mod should also update the stats and other game information on the first thread page. Most moderators now try to update once a week on a certain day.

Front Page – (First Page) is where all the info about the game is recorded. A mod opens the game by putting all the game stuff onto the first page of a (new) forum thread and then inviting players. Most of the time it includes: Introduction (welcome to a NES and stuff about the game), NES Rules (the game mechanics and stats explained), Purchase lists (for stat based NESes), Nation Stats (nation name, player name, economy, some type of info about the country like government or popularity, armed forces and so on), Map (at the start of the game) and Miscellaneous information (that could be list of wars, list of treaties, NES timeline, pre-NES timeline, “bests” of nations, weapons descriptions etc). The stats should be updated every update, all the other information is updated when the mod feels like its time.

Threads – Most NESes take place on one thread - it is there that the front page, the updates, the maps and the player activity can be found. Sometimes, though, there are also separate threads for important organizations / alliances (for example the UN, NATO). Alliance and organisation threads, unless run by a mod, may be opened and run by players> The mod does not have to keep track of them, so it is up to the players to inform the mod of all other game threads and what’s going on in them.

Maps - Maps are supposed to represent the world situation at the moment of the update. The “starting” map is normally put by a mod onto the first page and a new map comes with every update. Maps generally represent only the things that are important for gameplay.

Diplomacy - or “Diplo” is the way players communicate with each other in a game when “In Character” (see Glossary). Diplomacy is done in form of posts, PM (Private Messages) or over chat programs and is used for creating alliances, signing trade pacts, declaring wars and the like. Sometimes it is official (in game threads), but a lot of the time it is done secretly through media that cannot be read by other players. Results of “diplo” are sometimes displayed in player’s orders. Regardless of the agreements players signed it is the orders that count, not what players might have signed. Like in real life treaties, agreements can be broken and thus signing successful agreements becomes an important and perhaps most challenging part of NESing. Unless mods pay attention to “open diplo” they do not refer to it in the updates unless informed by players. In fact a lot of the agreements are not known by the mod unless he’s been told about them.

You now know how all parts of the game function. Let’s move on to playing!

NOTE2: For the purpose of this Guide I will mostly use “Normal” (alt)historical NESes as an example.

2.4 “Standard” NES example
By this time you are probably dying to see an actual NES example and to see how this theory actually works. Well here it is. This set of rules belongs to one of the “fathers” of NESing das .

NES2 I

Yup, I decided to start a new NES at last.

DO NOT POST UNTIL I SAY YOU CAN!

Setting

This is set in a completely different world, differing from the middle ages. Same as most of my NESes.

This is 1901. One year passed since the nations of the world passed into the 20th Century. Despite the technological breakthroughs in the latter half of the last century and now, some countries did not notice this to be a new era – apart from their politicians who DID notice that the old world order has crumbled everywhere else. Other countries, having just undergone rebellions, coups, secessions and civil wars (as the long-term results of the 1889-1897 World War One), are now reigned by new governments. Old alliances crumbled. Entire countries ceased to exist. Now is truly a new age, not just a new century. A new era, and it is up to you what will happen in it.

For your usage, each nation has a national background.

Introduction

Some of you (those of the new wave of NESers especially) may be confused by me calling this NES NES2 I. Well, you see, “NES” was kinda the name of my first NES series, the other people started adding in their names, the “st” and a catchy title.

Now I plan to start a new NES, for the first time in over a year. Since I lost count of how much exactly NESes I had, I decided that this should be my second series, thus “NES2”. The Roman number is easily understood.

Now that we are settled on that matter, let’s begin with the rules. Some of them are my old ones (okay, most of them aren’t). Others – are new, well, for my NES series.

Rules

Players, stories, orders, countries, NPCs, updates, map.

Okay, now this is perhaps “what’s new”. You see, back in my times (I know how this sounds), people didn’t have updates, decided outcomes for battles by themselves, mods played countries, and instead of orders we had everything inside the story. Naturally, that wasn’t very comfortable for everyone back then, especially since I kept to the proud and now-forgotten tradition of actually keeping a timeline. Here is what we will have:

Players – no limit, for now. I will not play.

Stories – not necessary, but very encouraged. Good story-writers would get, time to time, bonuses based on their stories.

Orders – orders in a list. Please, not only stat-based and military orders – I encourage innovative solutions of various problems, like attaching AT mines to dogs, removing swamps and rainforests in massive programs, making government reforms and many other such. There will also be projects – the local analog of wonders, but more about that later.

Countries – pick a NPC, create your own (tell me where and tell me some details – ruler, brief history, culture - and I will give you the stats) or start a rebellion or demand for independence. Note that these are not bound to succeed. If your country is in dire straits, you can switch country or flee and establish a “government in exile” and lead the resistance movement. If there is a civil war, you should probably pick a side or both sides could storm at the government forces – unless “government forces” is one of the sides in the civil war.

NPCs – lol, considering they’re NPC, I will play them, kinda. Same as the NPCs in all other NESes of late.

Updates – these should be when it is convenient for both me and the players. I will try to update every two days, but if more then just one player is against, then it will be postponed until the third day. Updates will feature world news, random events and a special “spotlight” report – looking in-close at either a world event, either a random event. One turn will equal a year.

Map – I will use Jason’s, though the lack of: Gibraltar, Dnepr, Aral Sea, several African lakes, Lake Balkhash, and Lake Baikal – especially the later – seem to me rather... strange. I will put in cities (black circles), fortifications (line of black squares) and dissent areas (white areas). Some countries will have province/state borders within them, these will be thin black borders as opposed to usual black borders.

Government

Government – is your form of government. Please note that while you can get any (reasonable) government, government change can increased OR decrease cultural strength, according to the sentiment of your people.

Technology Level

Will use the age system. It is the same as in other NESes of other people, ofcourse the ages are not identical. As ages go, I might add some new stats – some of the stats – just from top of my head - being nuclear power, space forces and such. This starts in Early Modern Age.

Early Modern Age: infantry, tanks, planes, submarines, battleships
Middle Modern Age: mechanized infantry, better tanks, planes, carriers, nuclear weapons
Late Modern Age: space satellites, stealth planes, laser-guided weapons, biological weapons, advanced fuels
More to come...

Military

That will, as of now, consist of army, navy, air force. These will be number-based as it gives more versatility. These will be represented in divisions, task forces, air wings.

What will you have in it? Anything that is allowed by your tech. level! Infantry, tanks, cavalry – you name it. Each “stat-growth” will increase any part of military by 5.

Using advanced tactics and strategy is advised. If you just order “attack enemy on the border with 10 divisions”, I will think that you order me to launch a mere charge at the enemy. That might work, but rarely.

Economy

This is the most original part, I think. It will be in word-levels. Unlike in the other NESes, you don’t have to pay economy levels to do anything (my reasoning is that no matter what some people say, national economy is not as unstable and absurd as to rise and drop in turns as the years go). You can increase two stats once or one stat twice per turn – apart from economy, which you can increase only once per turn, and only if you don’t increase any other stats.

If you want to hurry up a project by two turns, you can sacrifice an economy level, please note that you can do it only once during a project. Otherwise you can sacrifice an economy level to be able to increase all six “increasable” stats once during one turn, or three stats twice. You cannot increase a stat more then twice within a turn, apart from military stats, which you can, in case of a “sacrifice”, grow thrice (meaning two military stats thrice). Never more then thrice though.

Economy can, just like any other stat, grow or decrease due to random events. However it is even more influenced by random events then other stats as this is the crucial one.

Depression-Bankrupt-Recession-Very Poor-Poor-Normal-Good Enough-Rich-Very Rich-Richest- Economic Powerhouse-Monopoly

Education

This is just how your people are... educated, I guess. Obvious enough. With a good education, you have better chances of receiving a good random event, as educated people can often come up with miscellaneous not-crucial but still helpful discoveries. It also affects just how advanced are your weapons, and thus the success of your army in a battlefield.

Once someone reaches Enlightenment education, he becomes able to randomly to get the next age at any following turn. When he does, he loses two education levels.

None-Dumb-Illiterate-Tolerable-Literate-Educated-Well Educated-Academic-Enlightenment

Culture

This is how culturally strong your nation is. A nation with a strong culture is less likely to fall into a civil war, and it’s people would resist most invaders and otherwise help their government. This also influences army morale. A weak culture is unlikely to be as resistant to outside threats, there are often rebellions and defections.

None-Divided-Untrusting-Average-Strongly Cultured-Patriotic-Hyperpatriotic-Jingoist-Uberpatriotic


Projects

Local equivalent of wonders (that name is inappropriate in most NESes, as these are often modernization programs, national revival and other PROJECTS, not just huge and magnificent buildings). You tell me what it does, I tell you how long do you build it. You don’t have to mention it is being worked on every turn. You can sacrifice an econ. level once for a project to speed it up by two turns. Only three per age for one country.

Nation Background

Some may think I stole this from EQ, but I got that an idea once, long, long ago. I know noone is likely to believe that, lol...

To better fit in as the ruler of your country, you will have a brief history of each country. It will change as the NES goes, TIME TO TIME – after the end of a major era, such as the beginning/end of a world war, rise/fall of an empire, and other such.

PCs
Aztec People’s Republic
Capital: Tenochtitlan
Ruler: Comrade Panchezuma/Cuivienen
Government: Communism
Tech. Level: Late Modern Age
Army: 69 divisions
Navy: 34 task forces
Air Force: 28 air wings
Economy: Economic Powerhouse
Education: Well Educated
Culture: Jingoist
Projects: Rebuilding Program (+4 Economy, +1 Culture) (Done!), Nuclear Project (Done!), Project Summer (secret) (Done!)
Nation Background: Azteca some say to be the second most powerful Comintern nation, with good leadership and numerous oil sources. It does not dare challenge Germany, though, and is fighting against the DU.

NPCs:
Sioux Republic
Capital: People’s City
Ruler: Khawipi
Government: Communism
Tech. Level: Late Modern Age
Army: 58 divisions
Navy: 47 task forces
Air Force: 32 air wings
Economy: Very Rich
Education: Educated
Culture: Hyperpatriotic
Projects: Red People’s Army (+5 army) (Done!), Rebuilding Program (+3 Economy, +1 Culture) (Done!), Nuclear Project (Done!)
Nation Background: Sioux Republic, the first "communist" state in the world, is currently subservient to Germany and Azteca. Nevertheless, it is not without promise...

<Add some pages of actual >

Here’s where the example ends. The actual NES can be found at this link:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=87575

2.5 What is possible in a NES

NES refers to a “forum game setup” with generally historical “stuffing”. With the tools shown in 2.3 it is possible to turn almost any setting into a NES. Global Wars, Age of Colonization, Crusades, Mongol conquests, unification of European states, Punic Wars – any of these have great potential as a NES. Any fiction or science fiction setting from books or movies, totally bizarre scenarios can be turned into a NES with the tools shown above. Many, probably 100’s, of NESes have been played by now. A lot of the big topics were covered, but people love to play them again and again after short periods of time. Many NESes cover the whole Earth at a certain (alt) historical period, one can’t list them all. In any case I will try to give you an overview of what CFC NESers came up with and played for a long time (you can check the CFC section of the guide). One rule to remember about a NES game: “if the players fall for it, they fall for it”. In other words any setup or scenario you make for a NES is fine if the players like it.
NES is a very flexible game concept that could be applied to many of the scenarios that gamers can think of. Essentially it is a computer game without the software to run it – only internet and a forum is needed to turn an idea into a game. You don’t even have to pay for it .


3. Playing a NES

This part of the guide will tell you a great many of the things you might want to know about ruling a nation or doing actual NESing.

3.1 Joining a NES

Joining a NES is easy. Officially the new player has to do only one thing. Pick a country and post in the thread (or PM a mod) that he will be joining as that country.

In reality there are a number of things to consider before joining a NES. Firstly you must realize it is a time commitment. Writing orders, doing some research on your nation, interacting with players and keeping up to date with what’s going on takes some time. It is recommended to play only one NES if you are new or not more than three if you are an experienced player. Obviously you are free to set your own limits.

Then you must read and understand the NES rules. Mods tell you everything you need to know about how to play the game in rules. Most NESes have their own specific set of rules and most of the information there is really valuable. Many NESers just skip onto joining a NES and this causes problems when they write orders and mods have to “skip” them. If you don’t understand the rules you can always PM a mod, or ask him in thread. Other payers will help you too.

Then it is sometimes better to join a new NES, that is a NES that does not have a huge history. The longer the NES is underway the more difficult it might be to figure out what happened, what are the relationships between players and what does that “United Islamic States of Europe” mean. You are free to join any NES if you think you know what is going on there. Even if you don’t understand what is going on and still want to join – go ahead. It might take some time to figure out, but if you like the game you are playing – it is worth it!

Sometimes to join a “Fresh start” or any other NES a player could post the stats for that country’s stats (from the first page) turning “player” from NPC to his/her name. The new stats with a players name are considered an official “player application letter”. Example:

You can judge a NES but its activity by an average number of posts per day. The only exception to that is “still before the storm” (i.e. update). In this time all the orders have been submitted, alliances and pacts made, invasions prepared. While a mod works on the update players normally do not post or go totally “off-topic” discussing a lot of unrelated stuff or asking the mod then the update will be finished. Don’t get scared by that it’s absolutely normal and NES will come into its usual stream after the update.

3.2 What to know while playing

NES is primarily a game about the real world. It is important to realize it’s a game, but at the same time to understand that this game tries to simulate the real world as much as possible.
Thus you should do some amount of research on your nation and the time period you are in. Interest in NES comes from interest in history or politics so some of the stuff you already know. But it’s never bad to increase your knowledge! Using atlases, history books, books on military or society, and the textbook on economics is encouraged. Know the history period you are playing; know your nation, its strengths and weaknesses as by knowing them you can run it more efficiently. Knowing your enemies and friends also helps.

Understand the rules (never join unless you understand the rules). If you cant’ PM a mod and he will help you get into it. Sometimes he may even write some helping up to date history of your nation if the NES has turned from history.

Miscellaneous Things:

Orders Due: Wednesday

隐藏: Player List/Nation

Untied Tribes of Northern Counryistan/Sushiman70
Varia/NN
Rhodes/Moss
Molgania/Kazzan
Raka-Ys/Hietala
Rivermark/Devercia
Abrascia/Alex_Augmented
Frelorsch Reich/An4Sh
Aenathia (Abraxas)/Mage246

隐藏: NPC Nations

Zaan-Ys
Tesr-Ys

Player Stories

Deverica
Two Tales of the Riverrium
The Three Ill Visits

Tuckles
Cambina

Updates

Update One
Update Two
Update Three
Update Four
Update Five





Credit for... pretty much all of this goes to Carmen510 over at the CivFanatics forums for making up these rules- all I have done so far is understand them.
As for the NES guide that goes to another NES-CivFanatics user by the name of Gelion.

You may now post with any questions!

I will only be taking 8 players for this at the beginning. Maybe more when I am more comfortable with the thing.

 

[Weren]

That's alot of text. I'm not into these things.

 

[iamahorse]

Right. How about not posting if you are not going to express interest.

I forget how much people do not like reading these days due to the brain-hurt involved.

 

[arbites_augmented]

Right. How about not posting if you are not going to express interest.

I forget how much people do not like reading these days due to the brain-hurt involved.

No, it's constructive critisism.

 

[iamahorse]

They are rules and an explanation of what a NES is. What more can be done? Read the parts you think only apply to you at the moment. It's hardly constructive if the extent of the criticism is TL/DR.

 

[hayabusa12]

TL/DR

 

[fisheye]

I thought this was a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. When i saw the huge chunk of text, I realised I was wrong, so I tl;dr.

 

[Sushiman70]

TL/DR???

 

[iamahorse]

Too long/Didn't read.

Two players so far:
Night Ninja
Sushiman70

ALSO! To be clear you guys start off as tribal-types so anything too complex/out of place for such a society- like an idea of nationality or something- would be a no-no. Also remember that the first few updates will span across decades, even centuries, so do not get too attached to certain things like a specific flag or a certain leader or something.

 

[Elenmmare]

Heh, how do we compare to the playerbase on the Civ forums ?

 

[iamahorse]

Well, not too badly. I expected for the assholes to be assholes and kinda hoped the detail put into the rules would keep them away from the game. 

What bugs me is people thinking tl/dr is constructive criticism.

 

[Sushiman70]

Untied Tribes of Northern Counryistan/Sushiman70
Tribal Democracy/Ché
Capital & Major Cities: Progasm
Economy: 1 (1+0)/0/0
Size: Tiny (1)
Stability: 50% (Neutral)
Infrastructure: 10% (Horrible)
Education: 0% (None)
Army:4 companies of Infantry (1 Light, 1 Heavy, 1 Spear and 1 Archer) and 2 companies of Light Cavalry
Navy: N/A
Projects/Wonders:None
History: The area doesn't really have much of a history yet, but one particular organisation, the United tribes of Northern Countryistan, and their leader, the legendary Ché, stand out among the rabbel of less developed tribes. Their seemingly well organised military and economy revolve around the resource-rich territories they control. With good leadership, and a drop of luck, these peoples could grow to become quite powerful.

Edit: Ok, changed.

 

[iamahorse]

It's fine, save for the government. Really, all governments are about killing the enemy. The government type is to reflect what style of government they emulate.

Is it a despotism where a single person/small group rules with unquestionable authority and unchecked power?
Is it a Hereditary Monarchy where a family of esteemed nobles pass the title of 'Ruler' from son to son to son?
Is it a Tribal Democracy where various tribes convene at certain points in the year to discuss issues peacefully, elect a new 'head' of the council, and decide whether or not they should ban together to fight outside forces?

So, please, just change your Government description/style to something more appropriate.

Also just "Progasm" works for your capital's name- most cities at this point are little more than relatively large villages.

Also remember that by update 2 the legendary Che will be dead, unless he starts a long time of Che's (Che I, Che II, Che III.)

 

[Night Ninja]

Varia/NN
Government: Council of representatives
Capital & Major Cities: Priapus.
Economy: 1 (1+0)/0/0
Size: Tiny (1)
Stability: 50% (Neutral)
Infrastructure: 10% (Horrible)
Education: 0% (None)
Army: 2 spearmen companies, 2 heavy infantry companies
Navy: 1 galley squadron
Projects/Wonders: None

The Varia are a loose confederation of clans that have banded together for mutual protection. Each clan nominates a representative to attend the monthly councils, which are usually dominated by the representative with the loudest voice. Their economy is primarily based on fishing and maritime trading, supplemented by the occasional raid on their neighbours. While their lands are relatively small and infertile, they have access to large tracts of mature hardwood forests and significant ore deposits.

The Varia tend towards stockiness and a swarthy complexion. They do not have strict gender roles, though men generally take on the jobs involving heavy physical labour and/or bloodshed, e.g. shipbuilding, woodcutting, mining and raiding. It is also a common superstition that any Varia ship that sets sail without a woman on board will face misfortune on its voyage. Other than these little oddities, the Varia are a very pragmatic people. Political infighting among the clans is fairly common, but any disputes tend to end quickly and without bloodshed.

 

[Moss]

Yeah, why not? Sounds like fun.

The Islands of Rhodes/Moss
Government: Tyranny
Capital & Major Cities: Talla
Economy: 1 (1+0)/0/0
Size: Tiny (1)
Stability: 50% (Neutral)
Infrastructure: 10% (Horrible)
Education: 0% (None)
Army: None.
Navy: 2 Galley Squadrons.
Projects/Wonders: None.

The islands of Rhodes are a group of islands spanning across several hundred miles of a large mostly land locked Mediterranean like sea. Although the majority of their islands being volcanic in nature means their soils are quite rich, the limited expanse of their lands means that agriculture is not, and can not, be their main source of food. Their lands are not full at this point in history, but the sheer slopes of their hilly islands means that much of the land, fertile as it may be is not easily reached, or suitable for grain crops. As such the islands have always had a strong cultural and economic tie to the sea, first as fisherman and now in this current age as the trading point for the worlds greatest known powers, straddling the waters of kingdoms and tribes to the North, South and East and West, as well as occupying the waters along the trade routes from the great oceans up through the smaller inlets and seas to the North east.

Their unique geographical position, although making them a trading powerhouse and a Nautical power to be reckoned with leaves them vulnerable, as their position is enviable both economically and strategically to the emerging powers whose coasts they boarder, and their limited land means that they rely quite heavily on trade, and struggle to field any horses at all on the field of battle. Any war between powers on opposite sides of the great sea will likely result in them being caught in the middle leaving them in a precarious diplomatic and strategic position.

Currently they are ruled by a relatively unique system of Tyranny, where the current ruler adopts and raises a young man of his choosing to fill his position as he reaches old age. Although this is less stable than the Monarchist systems, it does seem to ensure that the man who would become King is chosen for his valour and renown, rather than the blood in his vein. Indeed in a country where fishermen have become King, the idea of nobility is treated with humour at best. The tradition is honoured almost as strongly as religion, with the first Tyrant, having first unified most of the islands several generations ago, being reveared as the son of the sea god.

Physically the people of the main island of Rhodes, where the capital is located, are of average build and have predominately black hair, with sharp aquiline noses, although the appearance of the people of the smaller islands varies to one degree or another.

 

[iamahorse]

Right, I'll keep that in mind while I choose where to place the starting area. It'll be up by Tuesday at the latest.