The Writers' Block

[Shwe Tu Colony]

Well, sorta. I think it counts.

Eyes and trees(shwe/ransium), that's definitely a theme we've got here.
FuF comes close, being a leaf, and Caracasus as an elephant with two eyes.
Edit: Mzeusia is kinda a tree... maybe this is a sign?

It's symbolic, clearly.

[The Marsupial Illuminati]

Why are notable members of Got Issues obsessed with having weird looking eyes as their flags? (TMI, CWA)

I have an eye on my flag because the Illuminati's symbol is the all-seeing eye.

CWA's factbook explains the concept of their nation and gives you a good idea of why their symbol is an eye.

Thank you to Trotterdam and The Free Joy State for answering my questions from earlier.

[Altmer Dominion]

Thinking about writing an issue for nations with any measure of Suicide in Police Custody stat, but I'm unsure where the line might be. While the premise planned on having a young man hanging himself for littering (with respect to Officer Obie from Alice's Restaurant), it's getting to be hard not describing the set-up in some detail for options' sake.

Edit: Well, great. My 100th post is about suicide. Darndest thing.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Getting to the Bottom of a Scope Shortage


Side-note:

Have there been any issues regarding antibiotic resistance done yet? I may or may not do one if not.

Yes, #563, Resistance Is Fertile.

The title was from my own draft on the subject, but rather than wait for a self-publishing slot I decided to publish a player issue on the same topic, and with their agreement put my title on it.

[Caracasus]

Thinking about writing an issue for nations with any measure of Suicide in Police Custody stat, but I'm unsure where the line might be. While the premise planned on having a young man hanging himself for littering (with respect to Officer Obie from Alice's Restaurant), it's getting to be hard not describing the set-up in some detail for options' sake.

Edit: Well, great. My 100th post is about suicide. Darndest thing.

You've done a great job giving us some issues for feudal nations Altmer, so a change of direction would be interesting. How about this for a start?

Following three days of protest by citizens after @@RANDOMMALENAME@@, a young man arrested for littering, hung himself in jail, a crisis meeting has been called. As usual, police commissioners, citizen's rights groups and the occasional passer by are eager to appoint blame and offer up their invaluable suggestions.

Might need a tidy up of course.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Since no one responded to my question yet, I will pose it again.

Is there an issue that deals with reforming a dumb population? I was thinking a regional wide study could show that @@DENONYM@@'s children are falling behind?

Also, is there an issue that reverses term limits?

Thanks in advance.

Nope. See post 2 of this thread for a list of sought reversals.

Multiple gaps exist within the issue base. Please consider closing these with good quality issue drafts, which will be prioritised for publication:

Absolute primogeniture - Activated in 596, if you choose to have the eldest child inherit the throne regardless of gender. Cannot currently be reversed. Medium priority: Reversal issue needed please.
Of note on this, this is tricky to write as for technical reasons you cannot refer to, change or know:
1) Whether the nation currently is ruled by a male or female monarch
2) The gender of the heir apparent
3) Whether the nation is ruled by the monarch, or whether its a constitutional monarchy.
4) Whether or not @@LEADER@@ is the monarch.

Autarky - Freedom from any dependence on external trade or markets. Activated in 126, 649 and 815. Deactivated by a whole bunch of options that incidentally mention solutions based on imports and exports. This isn't ideal, and those options will slowly be migrating to option validity exclusions, so we need a proper reversal. Medium priority: Reversal issue that explicitly reverses the concept of autarky.

Body Modification - Body modification is banned. Medium priority: An issue that makes this legal again.

Mccarthyism - Activated only in the CAPITALgate chain, and currently checked only there, but creates a persistent condition suggesting that the nation indulges in Mccarthy era witch-hunts for dissidents. Low priority: An issue reverses this policy.

Monarchy - Activated by 461 and 527. Can be reversed in 596, but access to that issue is locked if you already have absolute primogeniture, which in turn cannot be reversed. So ideally we need an issue that can reverse both these in two options within a single issue. High priority.

National Healthcover - Nation has an NHS, activated and deactivated in lots of places. However deactivations are mostly by side effect, no specific deactivation. Low priority: Reversal issue that explicitly ends the NHS.

Police Cars - The specific situation where even though cars are banned, the police are explicitly allowed to have police cars as per 357 and 625. This also acts as an entry check to 357, but has no reversal. Medium priority: An issue that reverts a nation to having no cars for the police OR the populace.

Term Limits - Activated in 54 and 306, elected officials have term limits. No reversal exists at present. Medium priority: An issue that reverses term limits.

No Cents - As per 343, small denomination coins have been withdrawn. One reversal exists at present, but requires you to have another rare policy active. Low priority: An issue that reverses this with non-stringent entry requirements.

No Compensation- Nation allows for compensation lawsuits. Currently activated by specific narratives, and deactivated incidentally by options that mention compensation. This isn't ideal, and those options will slowly be migrating to option validity exclusions, so we need a proper reversal. Medium priority: Reversal issue that explicitly restores the concept of compensation.

No Courts - This policy indicates that lack of traditional courts, which basically means a judge, verbal arguments and evidence for prosecution and defence, and formal sentencing prior to punishment. There's actually three reversals in the game but they're all a little unsatisfactory, as they reverse the policy as a side effect of mentioning a solution that involves courts. I'd rather flag these as options not valid if you don't have courts, but to do that... High priority: An issue that reinstates courts.

No Senate - Triggered by abolishing the upper house in 560. No reversal exists. High priority: An issue that reinstates the upper house.

No Smoking - Can be reversed by 139, but not all non-smoking nations can access that issue. Low priority: Other ways to re-legalising smoking, ideally nestled within issues that don't have that as the primary narrative.

No Zoos - As per 431 and 547. One reversal exists, but only as a side effect change. Low priority: An issue that specifically relegalises zoos.

Have struck out the police cars one, as that's in edit as we speak.

[Kurnugia]

So in the meantime i am looking for bowel jokes, I am seaeching for stuff for an autarky reversal issue. I already have a rough outline but i still struggle with the premise a bit.

Now one of the drawbacks of autarky is that you give away a compairitve advantage. And this is where my premise starts. The nation has a huge opportunity costs sazisfying one of its demands on the back of its major industry.

I am now a bit lost on how to determine which Demand it might be.

[Caracasus]

So in the meantime i am looking for bowel jokes, I am seaeching for stuff for an autarky reversal issue. I already have a rough outline but i still struggle with the premise a bit.

Now one of the drawbacks of autarky is that you give away a compairitve advantage. And this is where my premise starts. The nation has a huge opportunity costs sazisfying one of its demands on the back of its major industry.

I am now a bit lost on how to determine which Demand it might be.

Hmm. Perhaps your citizens demand something that cannot be manufactured or grown within the nation? You could invent a fruit that cannot be grown in the country in any great quantities for vague, unspecified reasons.

[He Qixin]

I think we should the title of the OP to "The Issue Writers' Cocktail Lounge". Sounds pretty nice, doesn't it?

[Candensia]

In a burst of inspiration, Ive got an idea for my next draft. Imma let you all in on two things: Its gonna be about weather sirens, and Ive already lined up a punny title, Siren Song.

I dont think something this niche has been covered......right?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Doesn't sound familiar. Write it, and let's see.

[Mzeusia]

Could you have an option in an issue that would only appear if your national animal was a certain type. Say if they belonged on land then you would get one option, one sea another and in the air another option?

[Bears Armed]

Well, sorta. I think it counts.

Eyes and trees(shwe/ransium), that's definitely a theme we've got here.
FuF comes close, being a leaf, and Caracasus as an elephant with two eyes.
Edit: Mzeusia is kinda a tree... maybe this is a sign?

Acorns and pine-cones on my flag, too...

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Could you have an option in an issue that would only appear if your national animal was a certain type. Say if they belonged on land then you would get one option, one sea another and in the air another option?

We ought to be able to do that, as the game is capable of categorising national animals as land, sea or sky. However, that's not a function that's ever been available to us as Editors. The techs would need to code something first.

[Trotterdam]

In a burst of inspiration, Ive got an idea for my next draft. Imma let you all in on two things: Its gonna be about weather sirens, and Ive already lined up a punny title, Siren Song.

I dont think something this niche has been covered......right?

Only in one comedic effect line ("earthquake sirens are a leading cause of hearing loss").

Could you have an option in an issue that would only appear if your national animal was a certain type. Say if they belonged on land then you would get one option, one sea another and in the air another option?

Yes, that should be entirely possible. Do note, however, that the game still sometimes fails to properly recognize which animals are sea or air (since they have to be manually entered), so it's a little unreliable. More importantly, I would note that regardless of what your national animal is, you surely still have other animals, so it's questionable to withhold players from receiving otherwise-interesting issues about certain animal types simply because those aren't their national animal. I think that sort of custom-field-dependent shenanigans is best reserved for easter egg issues (which I would not recommend you trying to write).

[USS Monitor]

Could you have an option in an issue that would only appear if your national animal was a certain type. Say if they belonged on land then you would get one option, one sea another and in the air another option?

Yes, that should be entirely possible. Do note, however, that the game still sometimes fails to properly recognize which animals are sea or air (since they have to be manually entered), so it's a little unreliable. More importantly, I would note that regardless of what your national animal is, you surely still have other animals, so it's questionable to withhold players from receiving otherwise-interesting issues about certain animal types simply because those aren't their national animal. I think that sort of custom-field-dependent shenanigans is best reserved for easter egg issues (which I would not recommend you trying to write).

If you're using the @@ANIMAL@@ macro to talk about your national animal, then there might be other parts of the text that you also want customized based on what type of animal it is.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Yes, that should be entirely possible. Do note, however, that the game still sometimes fails to properly recognize which animals are sea or air (since they have to be manually entered), so it's a little unreliable. More importantly, I would note that regardless of what your national animal is, you surely still have other animals, so it's questionable to withhold players from receiving otherwise-interesting issues about certain animal types simply because those aren't their national animal. I think that sort of custom-field-dependent shenanigans is best reserved for easter egg issues (which I would not recommend you trying to write).

If you're using the @@ANIMAL@@ macro to talk about your national animal, then there might be other parts of the text that you also want customized based on what type of animal it is.

True.

Though it's also been longstanding Issues tradition to have the inappropriateness of the @@ANIMAL@@ field be a fine source of humour. A line like:

the baying of the hounds, the @@ANIMAL@@ scooting through the undergrowth

wouldn't be nearly as funny without the madness of that being macro becoming dolphin, Republican, space whale or peregrine falcon.

[USS Monitor]

If you're using the @@ANIMAL@@ macro to talk about your national animal, then there might be other parts of the text that you also want customized based on what type of animal it is.

True.

Though it's also been longstanding Issues tradition to have the inappropriateness of the @@ANIMAL@@ field be a fine source of humour. A line like:

the baying of the hounds, the @@ANIMAL@@ scooting through the undergrowth

wouldn't be nearly as funny without the madness of that being macro becoming dolphin, Republican, space whale or peregrine falcon.

Republican's not a legal animal. Gotta watch out for those space whales in the undergrowth, though.

[Fauxia]

True.

Though it's also been longstanding Issues tradition to have the inappropriateness of the @@ANIMAL@@ field be a fine source of humour. A line like:



wouldn't be nearly as funny without the madness of that being macro becoming dolphin, Republican, space whale or peregrine falcon.

Republican's not a legal animal. Gotta watch out for those space whales in the undergrowth, though.

Does the same legality follow for Democrat? Because I know a nation with "Democrat" for an animal

[Kurnugia]

So in the meantime i am looking for bowel jokes, I am seaeching for stuff for an autarky reversal issue. I already have a rough outline but i still struggle with the premise a bit.

Now one of the drawbacks of autarky is that you give away a compairitve advantage. And this is where my premise starts. The nation has a huge opportunity costs sazisfying one of its demands on the back of its major industry.

I am now a bit lost on how to determine which Demand it might be.

Hmm. Perhaps your citizens demand something that cannot be manufactured or grown within the nation? You could invent a fruit that cannot be grown in the country in any great quantities for vague, unspecified reasons.

Thanks your input helped me by a lot

[He Qixin]

In a burst of inspiration, Ive got an idea for my next draft. Imma let you all in on two things: Its gonna be about weather sirens, and Ive already lined up a punny title, Siren Song.

I dont think something this niche has been covered......right?

Only in one comedic effect line ("earthquake sirens are a leading cause of hearing loss").

Could you have an option in an issue that would only appear if your national animal was a certain type. Say if they belonged on land then you would get one option, one sea another and in the air another option?

Yes, that should be entirely possible. Do note, however, that the game still sometimes fails to properly recognize which animals are sea or air (since they have to be manually entered), so it's a little unreliable. More importantly, I would note that regardless of what your national animal is, you surely still have other animals, so it's questionable to withhold players from receiving otherwise-interesting issues about certain animal types simply because those aren't their national animal. I think that sort of custom-field-dependent shenanigans is best reserved for easter egg issues (which I would not recommend you trying to write).

The nation descriptor. Trying changing your national animal from a land animal to a sea animal to an air aninal. Look for changes in the national animal line.

[Jutsa]

I think Trotterdam means even that doesn't always work right.

Plus, if you got the issue, and then changed your animal type, and looked back... well

To be fair, we already have a lot of strange assumptions about your national animal,
many of which can be found in here.

[An Obvious Drasnian Puppet]

I think we should the title of the OP to "The Issue Writers' Cocktail Lounge". Sounds pretty nice, doesn't it?

Joke

_____

Head

[USS Monitor]

Republican's not a legal animal. Gotta watch out for those space whales in the undergrowth, though.

Does the same legality follow for Democrat? Because I know a nation with "Democrat" for an animal

I remove both when I'm moderating custom fields.

[Shwe Tu Colony]

Oh yes, can we track stat changes to trigger certain issues? One of my drafts uses a decrease in weather to activate it.