We want proper issues for marrauding nomads!

[The War-Witch of Chey]

Why all these modern issues? The Chey are a warrior nomad society, and we have to decide on useless things like a monorail. We don't even know what a monorail is!! Why can't someone make some medieval or fantasy issues, like when to move the herds to a new pasture or black death -- poisonous atmosphere or black magic by foreigners. We want an issue of whether to burn our neighbour’s villages and kill the peasants, just burn the villages and sell the peasants into slavery, leave the villages standing but torture the peasants for their valuables and then kill them (not forgetting to slice open their gizzards to see if they have swallowed any coins or jewelery), or just frighten them badly, threaten them, then lay them under tribute. That would be a good issue. Let those modern nations deal with that if we have to deal with monorails.

[Sirocco]

Alas, there is no in-game way of defining yourself as such a nation. As a result I have to assume, for the sake of not going mad, that all nations are essentially like modern nations.

[Sirocco]

... Unless someone submitted an issue that could turn their issue into a warrior nomand state. Then there'd be no problem. You'd still have to deal with getting issues unrelated, but it would give me the freedom to write up a few. How's that sound?

[Marcuslandia]

Oooo! What a thought.

Issues almost invariably deal with what is happening inside a country. We should start creating some issues that deal with how countries relate to the surrounding regions that target nations according to a nation's regional condition. As an example:

Issue: Let Our People Go!
(eligibility) Any nation that has been resident in a single region for more than six months
(description) There has been a large outcry in the nation by many religious extremists believe that God has told their Prophet that everyone of faith must move from @@REGIONNAME@@.

OptionOne) "God has spoken to me in a vision!" pronounces the Great Prophet @@NAME@@. In this vision He has shown me the death and destruction upon the nations of @@REGIONNAME@@ because of the many sins and the rampant decadence there! We must begin the Exodus _now_, before we are all consumed in the hellfire that will rain down and we all perish with the sinners that surround us!"

I'm sure you get the idea. [This one could be a doozy. The consequences would be sure to make people sit up and take notice.]

[Sirocco]

That's quite a neat idea. I don't know how difficult it would be to implement though.

[Sorgan]

Why all these modern issues? The Chey are a warrior nomad society, and we have to decide on useless things like a monorail. We don't even know what a monorail is!! Why can't someone make some medieval or fantasy issues, like when to move the herds to a new pasture or black death -- poisonous atmosphere or black magic by foreigners. We want an issue of whether to burn our neighbour’s villages and kill the peasants, just burn the villages and sell the peasants into slavery, leave the villages standing but torture the peasants for their valuables and then kill them (not forgetting to slice open their gizzards to see if they have swallowed any coins or jewelery), or just frighten them badly, threaten them, then lay them under tribute. That would be a good issue. Let those modern nations deal with that if we have to deal with monorails.

because this is a modern day game

[Unibot]

That's quite a neat idea. I don't know how difficult it would be to implement though.

Like a quasi-regional issue.

I'm very interested - Could it be coded?

An issue in response to that issue could have a validity of...

Someone in your region has declared a religious crusade.

[Sirocco]

Completely regional issues are still something I'm chewing over. A national issue that's affected by regional conditions on the other hand... that's tricky, very tricky. I don't know how possible that is nor whether it's even desirable.

[Unibot]

Well I would say Regional Issues are probably easier to institute (now I don't know anything about Perl or what your code looks like) because its a xerox copy of the National Issues system except just for delegates, and it would effect the same sort of 3 point rating with different names. - Maybe.

As for these Quasi-Regional Issues..
I think it would add a new dimension to the play. People would flock to peaceful regions with no war, or People would flock to religious regions for persecution of other faiths or whatever. The list would be endless, but regions would be given a whole new importance.

But if its tricky, then don't worry about it... ha, I suppose the Feeders would be effected negatively by it anyway - Because there would be so many bloodthirsty n00bs out there that the senior residents would get tired of being blasted with the same repetitive issue about regional war.

[Unibot]

As for these Quasi-Regional Issues..
I think it would add a new dimension to the play. People would flock to peaceful regions with no war, or People would flock to religious regions for persecution of other faiths or whatever. The list would be endless, but regions would be given a whole new importance.

And besides, if we had Completely Regional Issues, this 'new dimension' would be filled anyway.

[Sirocco]

There's not really that many regional variables to play around with anyway. The number of nations, is there a delegate, is there a founder, is there a password... those last three don't belong in a universe where the issues happen so we're pretty much stuck with the first one. Sorta makes the whole exercise pointless.

[Unibot]

There's not really that many regional variables to play around with anyway. The number of nations, is there a delegate, is there a founder, is there a password... those last three don't belong in a universe where the issues happen so we're pretty much stuck with the first one. Sorta makes the whole exercise pointless.

I was kinda of thinking with the quasi-regional issue thingy that it meant if I declared war on the region, my defense rating would get a boost - and those that chose to join the war, or let me take them over or whatever in the reply issue would see their national stats' effected accordingly.

As for regional issues, like I suggested, you'd need something to alter with the issues - like a new 3 point system to play around with, with ratings for something (I suggested - National Sovereignty, Trade and Militarism) which would alter a Regional Category that was displayed on the front regional page. I also pondered if some issues would alter nation stats' as well. So if the region passed an issue declaring littering a bad thing - then the national sovereignty rating and environmental ratings everywhere in the region would increase.

[Sirocco]

I was kinda of thinking with the quasi-regional issue thingy that it meant if I declared war on the region, my defense rating would get a boost - and those that chose to join the war, or let me take them over or whatever in the reply issue would see their national stats' effected accordingly.

Waaay, waaaaaaay too difficult. Issues can only affect your own nation and I don't see that changing in the foreseeable future.

As for regional issues, like I suggested, you'd need something to alter with the issues - like a new 3 point system to play around with, with ratings for something (I suggested - National Sovereignty, Trade and Militarism) which would alter a Regional Category that was displayed on the front regional page. I also pondered if some issues would alter nation stats' as well. So if the region passed an issue declaring littering a bad thing - then the national sovereignty rating and environmental ratings everywhere in the region would increase.

If we're going to discuss regional issues it might be best to make a new thread. I've got a bunch of ideas on how they might work but they're all rather nebulous at the moment.

[Unibot]

If we're going to discuss regional issues it might be best to make a new thread. I've got a bunch of ideas on how they might work but they're all rather nebulous at the moment.

Your wish is my command > viewtopic.php?f=13&t=3215

And, Nebulous is my middle name.

[Unibot]

Waaay, waaaaaaay too difficult. Issues can only affect your own nation and I don't see that changing in the foreseeable future.

Well actually the issue would only effect your own stats.

Except the validity would require others in your region to have had done something with a particular issue.

[Marcuslandia]

Waaay, waaaaaaay too difficult. Issues can only affect your own nation and I don't see that changing in the foreseeable future.

Well actually the issue would only effect your own stats.

Except the validity would require others in your region to have had done something with a particular issue.

Issues are about relationships involving a single, given nation. The choices employed help to more clearly define the national character. It would be patently unfair to have _your_ nation unduly impacted by a decision made to tweak someone else's _internal_ clockwork.

However, a nation's relationships are NOT limited to just internal affairs. It's a global world we live in, and nations are constantly rubbing up against their neighbors -- some of which can be on the other side of the globe.

So we "marry" the two by considering regional issues that WILL affect the nation in question. The issue example I used directly addresses a game mechanic: movement of nations from one region to another. Such an event occurs ONLY by the conscious decision of the player. The issue essentially asks, "Did you forget that you have the ability to move your nation at any time?" The choices would be along the lines of
1) Time to get out and see the world!
2) Think I'll ponder that for a bit.
3) Hell, no! We're staying right here!

....all phrased in a way to fit the format of the issue.

So what other regional conditions should trigger issues inside a region? War. Peace. Economy. Neighbors' government types and compatibility. "This neighborhood has gone to hell." Compatibility after a national change in government type. Proselytizing.

Changes immediately around a nation will frequently trigger "who are we really?" events inside a country. I just think this is an area of the game that has been overlooked.

[Sirocco]

Not sure how I'd write an issue that asks you if you want a cloud of helicopters to airlift you to a different part of the globe.

[Marcuslandia]

Not sure how I'd write an issue that asks you if you want a cloud of helicopters to airlift you to a different part of the globe.

Now, that brings into focus the basic logic of a syllogism:

GIVEN that this can be done....

Keep your mind _inside_ the game, where the Givens are doable. Then proceed from there.

[Sirocco]

I don't think we need such an issue. For a start, choosing an option wouldn't actually do anything. If people needed reminding (which they don't to be honest) then a telegram would be a better way.

[Marcuslandia]

Ah, but there actions, and then there are issues choices. Choices create a tweaking of the national characteristic variables. This is good. However, actions, which often have a much more profound affect on the national characteristic, actually do no tweaking whatsoever. Such as, by setup and choices, a nation portrays itself as being super eco-friendly. In contrast, the region it resides in is massively polluted by all of that nation's neighbors. If a regional issue points out that peculiarity, that on the one hand, The People want to be more eco-aware, a call for action would appear: we should move to a healthier Environment or else work on changing our neighbors' eco-awareness. To do neither is a conscious choice to move the nation away from "Help maintain Mother Earth!" stance.

Something like that strikes me as a very worthwhile expansion to help define the nature of a nation.

[Kandarin]

Ah, but there actions, and then there are issues choices. Choices create a tweaking of the national characteristic variables. This is good. However, actions, which often have a much more profound affect on the national characteristic, actually do no tweaking whatsoever. Such as, by setup and choices, a nation portrays itself as being super eco-friendly. In contrast, the region it resides in is massively polluted by all of that nation's neighbors. If a regional issue points out that peculiarity, that on the one hand, The People want to be more eco-aware, a call for action would appear: we should move to a healthier Environment or else work on changing our neighbors' eco-awareness. To do neither is a conscious choice to move the nation away from "Help maintain Mother Earth!" stance.

Something like that strikes me as a very worthwhile expansion to help define the nature of a nation.

Issues seem to be different from many of the rest of the ways the game is played in that they do follow the initial premise of the game, that you are a national leader in charge of a government. On the other hand, there are a number of things that are somewhat removed. Moving between regions, telegramming other nations, Influence - there are easily discernable rationalizations for these things that buy into that premise, but the implications of them are 'meta' enough for so many players that it'd disrupt them to tie them to Issues.

Perhaps regional status could be a trigger for regular Issues? Being in a polluted region might not make you move your nation, but it certainly would bring about some hard choices in policy, expenditures, etc. But this, too, is technical and changing the subject, so I've started a thread on that here.

Edit: Issues, not Influence. Call it a Freudian slip.