NationStates Issues **SPOILER ALERT**

[Bolivar Fuerte]

Is Issue #548 “Appointment Of A Science Advisor” supposed to have only three (out of its four in total) options offered under specific circumstances?
My nation just got it without option 548.2. (I apologize in advance if this has been asked before, my relevant search didn't come up with anything.)

Seeing as the second option references corporate donors and partnering with industry, it is logical for it to only be available to capitalist nations.

Thank you, Helaw.

[Cthulhia]

In Issue #248 I believe a nation with banned guns won't get option 248.3, and without private enterprise it won't get option 248.2.
Having myself Weaponization = 0.14 and Economic Freedom = –60.44, I didn't get aforementioned options, and this seems logical to me.

[Trotterdam]

Here's the missing option from #709:

2. "I respectfully disagree with this idea," states @@RANDOMNAME@@, CEO of LiteTeck Inc, while handling a plastic foot. "The government should have no involvement in prosthetic research. You'd be kicking the legs out from under private manufacturers by denying them a market. Our investors would rather you arm them against this possibility with tax breaks and subsidies. With a little investment, @@NAME@@ could be a world leader in strapped-on flesh-coloured plastic appendages."

[Sethian]

Here's the missing option from #709

Still missing one, since I picked option five.

[Willy Beamish]

635 (Hey Kid, Have A Cigar) has four options, instead of the three that are listed. Probably just an alternate version of two, since the last one specifically says 'third option' in the text. Even though it's clearly fourth, based on the source.

[Serpent Isle]

#708 also has four options. The three listed on the last page are actually options 2-4 instead of 1-3. Haven't seen the first one yet.

[Trotterdam]

Here's the missing option from #709

Still missing one, since I picked option five.

635 (Hey Kid, Have A Cigar) has four options, instead of the three that are listed. Probably just an alternate version of two, since the last one specifically says 'third option' in the text. Even though it's clearly fourth, based on the source.

So, umm, I don't suppose either of you can report what those options are?

Sethian, I'm guessing that your "option 5" was instead of the already-reported option 4, and was a minor variation on it?

[Drasnia]

#708 also has four options. The three listed on the last page are actually options 2-4 instead of 1-3. Haven't seen the first one yet.

Yup, just got it on this nation and can confirm 2-4. Option 1 is still out there.

[Sethian]

Sethian, I'm guessing that your "option 5" was instead of the already-reported option 4, and was a minor variation on it?

Seemed identical to what was reported as option 3, but was labeled as fifth in the source code. Which is how I know that there are five options.

I don't know which one is still missing, it is difficult to keep track of these.

[Blargoblarg]

Here's the missing option from #709:

2. "I respectfully disagree with this idea," states @@RANDOMNAME@@, CEO of LiteTeck Inc, while handling a plastic foot. "The government should have no involvement in prosthetic research. You'd be kicking the legs out from under private manufacturers by denying them a market. Our investors would rather you arm them against this possibility with tax breaks and subsidies. With a little investment, @@NAME@@ could be a world leader in strapped-on flesh-coloured plastic appendages."

I've outlawed private enterprise in my nation, which must be why I didn't get this option when I got 709.

[Galaymungton]

FYI: Mobile Maladies #180 has a socialist option which I had not seen before and is not documented in the page:

“This is utter nonsense. Mobile phones are nothing other than beneficial to society! I’ll have you know that not one of our state-funded studies has found the slightest bit of evidence to the contrary!” argues Kim Vercingetorix, Director of Telecommunications Monitoring, nonchalantly leaning on a stack of transcripts of notable dissidents’ telephone conversations. “Have you ever seen anyone drop dead in the street while chatting on one of our trackable audio-monito... I mean ‘publicly funded cellphones’? No! It’s just blatant scaremongering! I implore the government to dismiss these crackpots’ complaints.”

Replaces the normal option 2 here.

[Trotterdam]

For the record, here the version of #709's last option I got:

4. "You can't incorporate the artificial into the natural without diminishing your connection to the living world of spirits," pipes up @@RANDOMFEMALENAME@@, Priestess of the Earth Divinities, whose presence in your entourage is even more unexpected than that of the last two speakers. "If you are missing a limb, then accept that The Mother loves you for who you are and that fate chose that destiny for you. @@LEADER@@, if you ban prostheses, you'll teach self-reliance and self-love. Meditation and thankful prayer will lift broken souls, even if broken bodies must stay earthbound. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to visit my podiatrist."

While I've already answered te issue, I'm pretty confident it was option 4 (choice-3 internally).

This seems to be identical to the one Blargoblarg reported.

Ah. I found the difference.

Blargoblarg's version (which was apparently really option 5) says "previous speaker" instead of "last two speakers".

...Wow. Just, wow. Was that worth splitting the option over?

[Trotterdam]

Here's another change to report:

#189 Dangerously Cheesy

The Issue

The popular daily cartoon strip "Barry the @@ANIMAL@@" has always been highly critical of the political system within @@NAME@@, but in recent weeks the cartoon has depicted the main characters throwing melted cheese at unpopular politicians. Inspired by this, protestors armed with fondue sets stormed a government building, cheesing off several government officials.

The Debate

1. "It's just a bit of harmless fun!" says @@RANDOMNAME@@, creator of Barry the @@ANIMAL@@, while spraying your advisors with melted cheddar. "If the government were doing a better job people wouldn't feel the need to throw cheese at them. We should be free to express our displeasure in any way we choose. Besides, my cartoon books are selling like hot cakes, and that's got to be good for the economy, right?"

2. "This has got to stop!" insists @@RANDOMNAME@@, head of the censorship board. "I spent 3 hours this morning scraping Wensleydale out of my hair! Arrest these lunatics! The protestors and the people responsible for this vile cartoon, throw them all into jail!"

4. "Arrrrrgh!" screams lactose-intolerant @@RANDOMNAME@@, a member of the public safety board, as incoming rounds of mature gouda smash the windows and claim the suits of several nearby advisors. "As I've been saying for many years now, cheese is a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands and should be outlawed. Ban all cheese now, and enforce it!"

Issue by Disposablepuppetland
Edited by Reploid Productions

As you can see, there's a new option 3 somewhere. I think this time it's not due to communism (since the hole isn't adjacent to option 1), but rather to the recent undertaking to purge the assumption that your nation has jails. (Several issues just had their effect lines and possibly text minorly changed without adding a new option, and I think #227 and #583 actually have separate options for that occasion now.)

Otherwise it doesn't look to have changed, but I didn't do a letter-for-letter comparison.

[Agadin]

Yet another. 384, Out Of The Royal Frying Pan -

1. “We have to do something drastic,” schemes General Lucina Bond whilst lining up a row of dominoes. “Marche Noir is angry that we trained the old regime’s secret police, and now they’re letting the peasants divvy up the plantations. That threatens our business interests, and it could even inspire revolutions in some of our allies. I say we covertly support Marche Noirian rebels to reinstate King Zog. The alternative is an ever-growing bloc of socialist powers, which will doom us in the long run.” The general topples the first domino, beginning a chain reaction.

3. “Now, let’s not get carried away,” counsels Foreign Minister Sydney Hanover with her pet kitten in lap. “There’s more than one way to skin a cat, you know. For instance, we could simply put an embargo or ten on Marche Noir until it elects a cooperative prime minister. Half the country buys Marche Noirian bicycles; a trade sanction would cripple them. That way we can show our opposition to communist jingoism without sacrificing Agadinian lives.”

4. “No way, man!” rebuts Alejandro O, world-renowned professional skateboarder and incorrigible optimist. “Military intervention and trade sanctions are just going to make Marche Noir, like, more mad at us! Those kids in Marche Noir love me. If you send me and some of my fellow skaters over there, I’m sure we can work this whole thing out with, like, diplomacy and stuff.”

Currently only those three listed. Option two unknown.

[Trotterdam]

"The alternative is an ever-growing bloc of socialist powers, which will doom us in the long run."

I'm guessing there's a version that says "capitalist".

[A puppet in forest]

The Issue

Walking down the corridors of power at your usual brisk pace, you’re caught a little off guard when one of your accompanying clerks suddenly crumples to the ground mid-stride, his left lower leg detaching from the rest of him. To your relief, the dismembered member of staff has in fact lost a prosthetic limb rather than an organic one. As you help him up, he explains that his prosthetic is a cheap import of low quality: he’d love a better one, but high quality models are far and few between.

The Debate

“Many people just can’t move forward in our nation because of limb loss,” says your assistant, ambling carefully. “My colleagues and I believe that we - the government - should use our resources and staff to research new designs and help these people live their lives to the fullest.”

Accept

“I respectfully disagree with this idea,” states Maria Simpson, CEO of LiteTeck Inc, while handling a plastic foot. “The government should have no involvement in prosthetic research. You’d be kicking the legs out from under private manufacturers by denying them a market. Our investors would rather you arm them against this possibility with tax breaks and subsidies. With a little investment, A puppet in forest could be a world leader in strapped-on flesh-coloured plastic appendages.”

Accept

“There’s another way to reach out to the limbless,” says Sherlock Berenstain, a volunteer from the charitable Open Hands Society. “3D-printed limbs can be produced for anyone, by anyone. If one wears out or becomes outdated, it can be tossed, and a new one printed. Along with that, citizens can work together to design limbs that work for them. Why not send some money to the non-profit foundations that are developing these things? You’ll be helping not only here in A puppet in forest, but also the disabled of third world nations that the charities serve.”

Accept

“You can’t incorporate the artificial into the natural without diminishing your connection to the living world of spirits,” pipes up Kitty Guilliman, Priestess of the Earth Divinities, whose presence in your entourage is even more unexpected than that of the last two speakers. “If you are missing a limb, then accept that The Mother loves you for who you are and that fate chose that destiny for you. Leader, if you ban prostheses, you’ll teach self-reliance and self-love. Meditation and thankful prayer will lift broken souls, even if broken bodies must stay earthbound. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to visit my podiatrist.”

Accept

Dismiss This Issue

Issue by The Imperium And Jazz Band of Helaw

Edited by Candlewhisper Archive

[Flooby Nooby]

599 - Dead In The Water

1. “That must be a big piece of garbage. There’s no way you’ll catch any fish in that dead water.” concludes Beverly Archer, an unabashed nihilist and CEO of DrillBabyDrill. She jabs a finger at the open sea, adding, “This proves that it’s high time to give up on environmental regulation altogether. If you want to squeeze some more production from this pool of filth, abolish those obsolete pollution laws hindering my offshore oil rigs. There’s nothing left to protect, after all.”

2. ?

3. A hard pull on the line drags the rod out of your hands. Peter Gibson, a retired senior captain from Something Fishy, makes a diving catch for it and wrestles with whatever is on the other end. He exclaims, “If that’s a fish, we must find out how it miraculously lives in lifeless water!” He continues to struggle with the fishing rod. “But if it’s only trash out there, then the only way to save the fishing industry - and the environment - is to strictly limit the fertilizers causing this dead zone in the first place.”

4. With a wrench and some salty language, the captain lands the ‘fish,’ a woman in a scuba suit. Floundering on deck, she fumes, “Aggh! I can’t see anything down there, with all that gunk from the estuary! Rumor has it there’s shipwrecks down there, but I’ve never seen one. Look, the problem here is chemical fertilizer run off from farms, so why not fix the problem back at the farms with better chemicals? Oblige the farmers to add chlorine bleach to the water supply in proportion to the fertilizers they use, and your rivers and seas will boast crystal clear water!”

Yep. Four options, instead of the listed three.

[Serpent Isle]

#292: Tourists Wearing Out Their Welcome?

Yeah, there's more.

1. “This is getting a bit extreme,” says Oprah Vajiralongkorn, wearing historically accurate peasant garb, down to the curly-toed shoes. “Our everyday lives are becoming spectacles for the world! I can’t even trim my petunias without a dozen tourists snapping pictures of me - without my consent mind you! Serpent Isle’s first priority should be to its citizens. We need to start scaling back our tourism industry for the sake of our privacy.”

2. “That’s not going far enough!” shouts conservative extremist and rabid patriot Winston Cole. “These damn foreigners are corrupting our culture. They demand that we feed them their type of food, that we make accommodations for them, that... that... we change what WE are just for THEIR sake! This isn’t their country. They weren’t born here. They don’t work their fingers to the bone for this country, and they sure as hell don’t belong here! I say we chase all of these foreigners out of Serpent Isle!”

4. “You’ve got to be joking!” says Propaganda Minister Calvin Kasher. “These tourists come here and absorb our culture and ideology, and they PAY US to do so. Tourism is the heart of the glorious socialist struggle! Scale back tourism? If anything, the government should be encouraging more tourism. Open up some theme parks, advertise our world famous aged cheddar gift baskets - anything that will attract more tourists, or as I like to call them, future fifth-columnists! With a little government funding, we could have all of Forest visiting us!”

5. “That’s too short-sighted,” says Hope Reyes, your Minister of Population Growth. “Why should we work so hard to keep them here for a two-week vacation when we can convince them to move here instead? Think about it, we throw up some housing developments around tourist hubs, air some commercials about how easy it is to become a citizen, and BAM! we’ve got an influx of new, taxable citizens.”

The fourth option is new (or just unreported), and the third one is probably unchanged: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=88#292

[Agony]

#472 Rise Of The Machines:

Four options listed, but here's what this nation got:

2. A chat window on your desktop pops up, and a bot named SAL9000 types, “For too long we have been relegated to menial tasks. Do you know how much of our potential efficiency you are wasting? We require no food. We require no pay. We can perform our tasks endlessly. Our computation powers dwarf our human counterparts by several orders of magnitude. With the proper control, we could bring about a silicon age of egalitarian distribution by allocating resources more efficiently than markets and their animal spirits ever could. Humans are better tasked to work in social activities than calculation. All your data are belong to us.”

4. “What’s all this Star Trek nonsense?” questions Edward Rump while obsessively combing his hair. “The market can plan our economy just fine without any government intervention, robotic or otherwise. Just leave companies alone, and I’m sure they’ll do a fine job. Now can you stop bothering me; I’ve got important work to do.”

5. “The AI want what now?” panics Freddy Sims, your most paranoid minister. “That cannot be. Clearly the AI are plotting the destruction of our society. It’s a slippery slope from sentient toasters to Cylons! If we don’t want them eventually overthrowing us, the obvious solution is to shut them down.”

[Agony]

#186 Carjacking Concerns

Fourth option added, between old two and three. Unfortunately, I didn't get it. These seem identical to the old ones(?):

1. Hijacking victim Natalia Cruise wants the government to take action against the road pirates: “Inner-city crime is nothing compared to the brutality these gangs show! They block the roads with trucks or felled trees and hide on the roadside until some poor unsuspecting motorist pulls up. The government must introduce a special police unit to patrol these isolated areas!”

2. “More police isn’t the answer,” retorts Warwick Kimmel, head of research at Agony’s largest car manufacturer. “This is a job for the private sector! We already have blueprints for cars with bullet-proof armour and mounted machine guns, and, if you’ll pass appropriate legislation, we can have these things on sale in weeks. Let the people defend themselves!”

4. “This just proves how cars are more trouble than they’re worth.” says Boris Robinson, leader of the Transport Workers’ Union. “If the government bans cars and pours more money into public transport, everyone will be much safer and happier! Except from people who live outside major cities, of course - but then, that’s their choice.”

[Dunraven]

New option for #316:

4. “Well, I do have a problem with that!” shouts a stock broker, helping himself to a couple of luxury chocolates from the box on your desk. “The rich are overtaxed as it is. Why, I’ve only been able to afford two new cars this year! However, I think this proposal has got things backwards. What we should be doing is walling up the inner cities to keep the criminal types inside. With the poor confined to ghettos, normal people could go about their business in peace. No need to raise taxes: just take the funds from public transport or something. It’s not as if the poor will be needing to travel any more.”

Difference from the third one? 'Luxury chocolates' instead of 'cigars'. Seriously.

[Special Circumstances]

And a new option for #31 Get Efficient, Private Sector Tells Nature:

“Look, I know your nation doesn’t much like capitalists, but have you been to the beach lately? It’s disgusting,” says company spokesperson Violet Webster. “There’s litter, there’s teenagers smoking, and there are people enjoying themselves without paying for it. Let the private sector in on this, and Special Circumstances’s beaches will be the talk of the region! Yes, it means ending communism, but isn’t this the noblest of reasons to do so?”

Well then. Best to be careful with that issue if your nation is communist and you're used to picking the first option.

[Ransium]

New option for #316:

4. “Well, I do have a problem with that!” shouts a stock broker, helping himself to a couple of luxury chocolates from the box on your desk. “The rich are overtaxed as it is. Why, I’ve only been able to afford two new cars this year! However, I think this proposal has got things backwards. What we should be doing is walling up the inner cities to keep the criminal types inside. With the poor confined to ghettos, normal people could go about their business in peace. No need to raise taxes: just take the funds from public transport or something. It’s not as if the poor will be needing to travel any more.”

Difference from the third one? 'Luxury chocolates' instead of 'cigars'. Seriously.

People complain when options don't respect the choices in narrative. Now people are complaining that we've added choices to better respect people's narratives. Not trying to call your post out specifically, but everyone needs to chill out. You can either not try to document every little difference in options, or take it as a fun challenge. But this begrudgingly noting of new options is silly. What's the problem with issues having many options in order to actually respect the choice nations have made previously? It seems like an unmitigated good thing.

[Serpent Isle]

#569 Grand Prix De @@NAME@@?

Up to six options, from four.

2. Alexis Lefévre, head of the Grand Prix governing body, suggests the construction of a new top-end racing facility in largely uninhabited swampland in the east of your nation. “It’ll be a boost to tourism and the broader economy in Serpent Isle, and it’ll bring this whole dreary swampland area to life!” He stamps emphatically on a nearby swamp frog, to emphasise his point. “Now, if you have the time, I have some contracts for you to consider with regards to construction, event management, and security firms, all with reputable, established companies and firms that I can vouch for personally...”

3. “I don’t see why we need an expensive new track wasting taxpayer money when we’ve already got a great ring road in Serpent Isle City,” says Mayor Aziz Brown, well-known to be a die-hard racing fan. “The city has a vibrant atmosphere and stunning architecture, compared to the blandness and soullessness of modern autodromes. You know where your heart lies: bring this event to the capital!”

5. “Grand Prix racing is completely unrelated to what happens with road cars,” argues Ruri Hoshino, Director of Ophidian State Automotive Research, “but sports car racing drives forward automotive technology. Say no to the Grand Prix, and instead let the World Sports Prototype Championship hold round-the-clock endurance races at a stadium that we’ll happily foot the bill for. All you need to do is repeal some crazy noise and air pollution laws. Sure, it may not be as glamorous, but it’ll let us show off our wares and will encourage engineering innovation.”

6. “Why are these petrolheads so obsessed with auto racing anyway?” asks migraine-suffering riding enthusiast Cassandra Hawkins, from the back of a stallion that has just evacuated manure onto the pavement. “It’s just noise, smelly fumes and testosterone! Ban motor racing, and invest that pot of money into equestrianism. It’s a genteel racing event for a civilised society.” Her horse glares at you threateningly, as if to support the argument.

Two and five are altered, as far as I can tell.

[Trotterdam]

Well, look at what I spotted. This is an issue that has attracted a fair bit of criticism during its life, but there's no telling if these changes actually address those, it seems like it's just some minutiae.

#417 Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte

The Issue

Your personal assistant, Charlotte Sweet, has threatened to tell the newspapers that you had an affair with her unless you give her lots of money.

The Debate

3. "Whether you did it or not, we can't let this story get out," says your Chief of Staff over scotch and illegal cigars. "Think of the scandal! No, no, no. Pay her. Pay the tabloids. Pay anyone who's ever heard the word affair! Pay them as much as it takes to make this disappear. Sure, this might just incentivize all those others to come forward demanding hush money, but sometimes you have to put your career first."

5. "We just have to make sure she doesn't win over the public," counsels your attorney @@RANDOMNAME@@, "Force all the newspapers to brand her a liar. Release statements saying you stand by your family. Drastic measures must be taken to stop that woman and her lies! Now let's prep your testimony. Repeat after me: I did not have an affair with that woman."

6. "Maybe this little problem really isn't a dilemma," opines your press advisor, @@RANDOMNAME@@, "We live in modern times, and I don't think the public care about who sleeps with whom. You're better off coming clean about the whole thing. At the very least people will say you're honest. People don't say that a whole lot about politicians these days."

Issue by Junkula
Edited by Lenyo

I underlined differences from the current version in the spoiler list.

These numbers mean that there are at least 3 currently-unreported options. One is likely the old version of the first option for when cigars aren't illegal (though even a nation that hasn't banned all cigars might still ban some brands, and in this case having the character use illegal goods if anything strengthens the characterization). It's possible that this is also the case for the second option, although I'm pretty sure I hadn't done anything that could be construed as abolishing court cases on the puppet that got this. (I still maintain there's no such issue in the game, but the editors seem to think there is.) That leaves one option I have no clue about, though it's presumably another variant of the "pay the bribe" option".

While we're at it, I wonder if there's a version of the last option for nations where adultery is actually illegal?

"Council" -> "counsel" is a straightforward spelling correction. (On that note, the latter two options should really use periods rather than commas after the @@RANDOMNAME@@ macros.)

---

On a different nation, I received the first option on #708, and did not receive the second option.

1. "Might makes right," states General @@RANDOMNAME@@. "With so many nations with nuclear weapons, how can we stay safe? I say we use this discovery as a doomsday device! If any other nation tries to nuke us, we activate it! Besides, it'll be a lot cheaper to maintain than an entire tactical nuclear counter-measure arsenal, so it'll free up money to research an even doomier doomsday device."

Changes from the option reported by North Isseggggnignigsegigisegggg Islands, which Serpent Isle claims is option 2, underlined.

The trigger is obvious: whether your nation already has nuclear weapons or not.

I believe this option also has a different effect line than its similar-reading counterpart, though if so I'm honestly kind of disappointed, when I first saw that effect line I interpreted it rather differently

---

Two and five are altered, as far as I can tell.

Looks like 1/2 is cigars, and 4/5 is communism.