NationStates Flag Bracket II (Congratulations to Albali!)

[Barfleur]

Only 11 days to go until I lose and get humiliated in front of everybody!
Anyway, I voted for Satra. I found the color scheme very pleasing, and I like the symbol in the center.

[The Cosmic Mainframe]

Only 11 days to go until I lose and get humiliated in front of everybody!
Anyway, I voted for Satra. I found the color scheme very pleasing, and I like the symbol in the center.

I think you can win. You might even make it into the top 8, all depends on your matchups and how much people like your kind of flag.

[Tharlocchia]

Only 11 days to go until I lose and get humiliated in front of everybody!

Personally, I really like your flag; it's simple in design, yet unusual in its construction. To be honest, I don't think I've seen a better take on the Nordic Cross, so don't sell yourself short.

[Hakinda Herseyi Duymak istiyorum]

In the last hours, I wish success to my opponent

[Tamakuni]

In the last hours, I wish success to my opponent

I wish success to you too ^^ (I'm New Spiedska)

[The Cosmic Mainframe]

Satra (by New Spiedska) defeats United Republic of Cyprus (by Hakinda Herseyi Duymak istiyorum) 24-9.
Congratulations to New Spiedska! HHDi's flag for Yugoslavia has already reached the top 64, and they still have one flag yet to be voted on.

Top 128 Match 46
Markosea (by Thakia) vs Mountainia Region (by Onfande)
Vote for your favorite flag and, if you want, explain your preference in the thread!

Submissions are now completely closed. Updates to existing flags and descriptions are allowed, so long as your flag has not been voted on yet.

Markosea

Mountainia Region
The Mountainia Region, also commonly called Syalssa by the locals, contains the most mountains in Onfande per-capita. It holds the largest peak of Onfande, Mount Olovye. This mountain is represented in the flag. Syalssa, like Eternia, is a beautiful place. Many times, you can see the Moon rise over the regional hub of Thonossie, which is represented by the star in the topleft canton of the flag.

My opinion: I really like Mountainia's flag. The image of the sun rising over the mountains looks beautiful on a flag, and I think the odd proportions actually strengthen it. Markosea's flag just seems a little off. The circle isn't perfectly centered with the two stripes.

[Onfande]

Not going to vote due to one of my flags being here. I hope the best for Thakia!

[Paradeavenlisian States]

Which nation's flag, between Markosea's and Mountainia's, will I vote for?

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Simplicity:For Markosea's flag, it has quite a facile design comprised of two stripes, a circle and a background. Mountainia's flag, however, does have some somewhat complicated features in its flag. For instance, the blue lines that separate each edge of the star as the sheer quanitity of sun rays might not make it the easiest flag to draw. Therefore, Markosea's flag clearly seems to have the more simplistic design of the two due to less detailed and use of symbolism.

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Originality:As for originality, while Markosea's design does have a decently unique design, its colours are relatively generic and none of its features are particularly strikingly distinguishing, at least not in the manner of Mountainia's flag. Speaking of which, Mountain's flag has a design that is strikingly distinctive, especially in regards to its symbolism and proportions. For instance, the sun and the mountains are designed in a way in which I've never seen and the proportion strangely strengthening the design further. Henceforth, Mountainia's flag exhibits more originality because, although it has similar colours, the normally abnormal proportion used is done in a strengthening and perfecting manner.

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Colour Scheme:Markosea's colour scheme is decent albeit fairly standard in my opinion in the fact that while it does seem to suit the nation, it isn't really the most aesthetically-pleasing in my opinion. Even though Mountainia's flag does exhibit a similar colour scheme, the use and application of these colours clearly indicate that the flag is going for a different aesthetic which I find more intriguing than what Markosea's. As a result, I think Markosea uses better colour choices mainly on the basis that it gives off a better aesthetic and with better application.

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Design:In terms of design, the Markosea flag does look great in regards to concept but isn't executed to its highest potential due to a few flaws. For one, the circle is a bit off, both shape and positioning-wise, where it is a bit off from the centre meaning lack of symmetry and with the circle being slightly off along the edges, if my eyes are not playing with me. As for Mountainia's flag, the design is fleshed out in a striking and stunning manner in a way in which makes the flag extremely recognisable and memorable. This is especially the case with the sun just ahead of the mountains with flawless execution. I haven't got much of an issue with the design personally other than maybe a slight nick pick for the blue lines on the outline of the star. However, even with that considered, Mountainia's flag seems to have the more superior design due to it being fulfilling to its concept and simply more appealing and eye-catching.

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Realism:In regards to realism, the Markosea flag does hold out strong in the realism spectrum with its simplicity and colours although the shape of the circle is off to the point where it detracts from the realism. Mountainia's flag, however, is really anywhere as realistic in my opinion as I feel like the star on the top left is a little too detailed to exhibit much realism and neither does the striking design, particularly how much packed the sun rays are packed together. Keeping that in mind, Markosea's flag wins on the realism category since it isn't excessively striking compared to other real world flags.

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Verdict:Overall, winning in 3/5 of the categories above, at least within my point of view, my vote goes to Mountainia's flag due to the design being more fulfilling to the desired concept, its eye-catching and memorable design and its ironically strengthening proportion. Markosea's flag just doesn't have the appeal factor, comparatively, and the off positioned and shaped symbol just somewhat ruins it in my opinion.

[Thakia]

I would like to clarify that the off-centre circle in the flag of Markosea was totally intentional ,Best wishes to Onfande

[Vidinaz]

My vote for Mountainia.

Why? Because it's the better of the two. While I like Markosea's simplicity, it isn't engaging enough (not to mention the off-center circle. No matter how much sense it makes in-universe, it unfortunately still does not look good) to make me choose it over Mountainia.

The only issues I could see in Mountainia is the shape of the mountains (so flat) and the star on the left canton. However, I'm pretty sure someone will find either to be an advantage/good-looking part of the design.

[The Cosmic Mainframe]

Mountainia Region (by Onfande) defeats Markosea (by Thakia) 15-9.
Congratulations again, Onfande!

Top 128 Match 47
Ssejekistan (by Voxija) vs Eternia Autonomous Region (by Onfande)
Vote for your favorite flag and, if you want, explain your preference in the thread!

Submissions are now completely closed. Updates to existing flags and descriptions are allowed, so long as your flag has not been voted on yet.

Ssejekistan
The current flag was adopted after the Second Serican Occupation, to rejoice at our freedom. The blue represents the sky, justice, and liberation. The green represents hope and the forests. The white represents the snow on Ssejekistan's mountaintops. The flame emblem in the middle is a symbol of Ssejekistani polytheism, the national religion of Ssejekistan.

Eternia Autonomous Region
Eternia is the Florida of Onfande, with crazy people and intense sunshine. Purple is the Region's national color, which is why its used on the flag so much. The purple color represents the seas of Eternia, with its many destinations. The symbol in the center is the national symbol for Eternia, with the most eye-catching symbol being the Sun. Althought it doesn't look like much, the Sun represents 4 things: The history of Eternia prior to its annexation, the agreement between the president of Eternia and the king of Onfande, the beautiful place it is now, and last, the future of this place.

My opinion: Ssejekistan's flag has improved a lot since the last competition, and I honestly think that it's better than Eternia's. It's simple, but meaningful and the colors are not bad. Something about Eternia's flag just feels off. Maybe it's the strange contrast between the purple, gold, and white. Maybe it's the checkerboard pattern and how that aligns with the star.

[Paradeavenlisian States]

Which nation's flag, between Ssejekistan's and Eternia's, will I vote for?

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Simplicity:For Ssejekistan's flag, the wreath is, admittedly, a little complicated due to a few details on it. But otherwise, the rest of the design is quite simplistic, even the flame. For Eternia's flag, the centre is a bit clustered to emanate much simplicity. For instance, the checker board design penetrating the very centre of the emblem coupled with the sun and its many rays in the emblem as well can make the flag look a little confusing. Therefore, Ssejekistan's has more simplicity to it since its centre isn't quite as clustered as Eternia's.

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Originality:As for originality, this one is a little hard to decide. While Ssejekistan's colour scheme can be found on a few other flags and, excluding the central symbols, looks quite similar to Uzbekistan's, the shade of blue used sure is unique and the way the central symbols are designed is quite distinguishing, especially the flame which hasn't been seen on any other flag as far as I am aware. Eternia's flag, while certainly uniquely designed especially the colours, does have a checker board design that can be found in Croatia's flag, specifically the shield, and a few other flags here in NS. That said though, I think Eternia's flag wins on the originality aspect due to Ssejekistan's noticeable similarities with the Uzbek flag although the latter does have more distinguishing central symbols used.

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Colour Scheme:When it comes to the colour scheme, Ssejekistan's colours, while, perhaps, a little dull in some places(specifically the blue), isn't excessively such to the point where it totally throws out the aesthetic into the trash and the colours, as a whole, look decent, both in terms of aesthetic and meaning. Eternia's colours, while a bit more striking and memorable, just feel a bit... weird in my opinion. Maybe it's the way in which the yellow and purple has been applied together or something but I can't seem to exactly put my finger with the issue. Regardless, I feel like Ssjekistan's colours are better as I feel like they have been applied in a better manner.

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Design:In terms of design, Ssejekistan's flag has a pretty solid design and the wreath and the fire are both nicely designed and almost completely symmetrical(apart from the tip of the middle flame which just slightly off although it isn't too relevant) and the symbols not only create character but are also quite recognisable. My only slight issue with this flag is the fact that the tip of the flame pokes out above the middle stripe. For Eternia's flag, while I do like how symmetrical the design is, I have a few problems with the design. For one, I'm not a fan of the checker board design as it just feels a bit weird when any flag is mainly based on a checker board design, provincial flags included. I would personally prefer if the flag had a diagonal design although I'm not sure if it would work well on a proportion like theirs. Secondly, I'm not a fan of the outline either which seems to be somewhat standard for certain historical flag designs and while it does bring out the traditional aesthetic(which can be good if intended and executed adequately), it does, as it always does, have a lack of feeling of necessity. Thirdly, I don't like how the checkerboard design partly cuts into the centre of the emblem design as it feels a bit off and, with the sun also in the centre, it unnecessarily makes it confusing. And fourthly, I don't like how small the circular element of the sun is, especially compared to the sun rays and the ''protruding'' checkerboard design with it. To fix that, I feel like you could make the circular element of the sun bigger so that it covers up to the protruding checkerboard design in the centre. Considering this, I think Ssejekistan's flag has, by far, the better design of the two because it simply has less flaws and, although maybe less memorable, it is more recognisable and less clustered in the centre.

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Realism:In regards to realism, Ssejekistan's flag does have some elements that really contribute well to the realism, especially the colours. The only thing that could possibly detract it could be the way the flame is designed but, then again, it also could make it blend and fit in well as a Central Asian flag. Eternia's flag, however, is a different story due to the way the purple is used and how prevalent it is on the flag which would make it stand out perhaps a bit too much among real world flags. Not to mention, the heavily checkerboard design would make feel a bit weird compared to other real world flags and so does the clustered centre. With that in mind, I think Ssejekistan's flag is far more realistic due to the colour scheme and just the overall design. Not to mention, it isn't overly striking both in design and colours to make it excessively protrude from other flags like its counterpart does.

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Verdict:Overall, winning in 4/5 of the categories above, at least within my point of view, my vote easily goes to Ssejekistan's flag since it isn't overly striking, it is less clustered in the centre, has better use of colours and has a better emanating feel of realism. Eternia's flag just strikes out too much and the overall design is too clustered and off for my liking or vote.

[Barfleur]

Only 11 days to go until I lose and get humiliated in front of everybody!

Personally, I really like your flag; it's simple in design, yet unusual in its construction. To be honest, I don't think I've seen a better take on the Nordic Cross, so don't sell yourself short.

Thank you!

[Barfleur]

I'll be voting Ssejekistan, due to its simplicity and effective color contrast.

[Khoronzon]

Eternia's design is certainly very bold, and I actually think it's pulled off quite nicely. Always appreciate well-done unconventional flags, and as such, I'll be voting for it this round.

[Vaspelia]

Ssejekistan's flag is simply alright and does it's job. But Eternia's loooooonge flag stands out a lot, purple is one of my favorite colors but using it to symbolize the seas is quite odd lol. The sun may be a bit thin to stand out from it's purple circle from a distance, that's one thing i can criticize. Overall, i vote for Eternia.

[Onfande]

Ssejekistan's flag is simply alright and does it's job. But Eternia's loooooonge flag stands out a lot, purple is one of my favorite colors but using it to symbolize the seas is quite odd lol. The sun may be a bit thin to stand out from it's purple circle from a distance, that's one thing i can criticize. Overall, i vote for Eternia.

Thanks! The long flag is a trademark symbol* of Onfande.

[Trumpy America]

I like EAR's color scheme and design, but having so many rays coming out of the sun makes things harder to see. The shape is also a little unusual for a flag. As such, I voted Ssejekistan, although the symbol could be a little smaller.

[The Cosmic Mainframe]

Ssejekistan (by Voxija) defeats Eternia Autonomous Region (by Onfande) 14-11.
Congratulations, Voxija! In total, 2 of 3 of Onfande's submissions advanced to the top 64.

Top 128 Match 48
Azania - Alternate vs Crimean Republic (by Hakinda Herseyi Duymak istiyorum)
Vote for your favorite flag and, if you want, explain your preference in the thread!

Submissions are now completely closed. Updates to existing flags and descriptions are allowed, so long as your flag has not been voted on yet.

Azania - Alternate flag
The black, yellow, and green evoke pan-african colors, while the bottom right part of the flag contains a representation of the flag of the South African Republic (one of the Boer republics). The overlapping of these symbols along the green stripe represents hope and unity for both black and white Azanians.

The stars represent Azania's three official capitols and their placement roughly aligns with their geographic position on a map. The ascending number of points on each star represents progress.

Crimean Republic

My opinion: Although it could use some antialiasing, I really like the basic design of Azania's alternate flag. It's highly unique, but simple enough to draw, and for that it receives my vote. I do like the symbol on the Crimean Republic's flag, but I find that the colors don't mix together well.

[Hakinda Herseyi Duymak istiyorum]

I wish success to my opponent, give me your votes

[Azania-]

I wish success to my opponent, give me your votes

Good luck to you to!

[The Cosmic Mainframe]

Azania - Alternate defeats Crimean Republic (by Hakinda Herseyi Duymak istiyorum) 19-4.
Congratulations, Azania! In total, 1 of HHDi's 4 flags advanced to the top 64.

Top 128 Match 49
New Spiedska - 1785-1804 vs Apabeossie
Vote for your favorite flag and, if you want, explain your preference in the thread!

Submissions are now completely closed. Updates to existing flags and descriptions are allowed, so long as your flag has not been voted on yet.

New Spiedska - 1785-1804

Apabeossie

My opinion: Both of these flags rely on yellow-on-white contrast, which is rarely a good idea, but New Spiedska is much more reliant on it, and being a spin on the American flag it's also less unique than Apabeossie's flag. Apart from the yellow-on-white, Apabeossie uses a great color combination and I like the star/heart symbol.

[Voxija]

Apabeossie is so cute!

[The Cosmic Mainframe]

Apabeossie defeats New Spiedska - 1785-1804 12-5.
Congratulations to Apabeossie! This is the first time that the number of votes has dropped under 20, and I really wish there was more turnout.

Top 128 Match 50
South Reinkalistan - Crimson Standard vs Albion (by Sildorian Empire)
Vote for your favorite flag and, if you want, explain your preference in the thread!

Submissions are now completely closed. Updates to existing flags and descriptions are allowed, so long as your flag has not been voted on yet.

South Reinkalistan - Crimson Standard

Albion

My opinion: The Crimson Standard is essentially a hammer and sickle and a star on a dark red background. It's a good design, but not an interesting one. Albion's flag takes the flag of the United Kingdom, removes the red diagonals, and adds one of the best-designed coats of arms I've seen in this competition so far. The colors and design are excellent, so I'll be voting for Albion.

[The Cosmic Mainframe]

Albion (by Sildorian Empire) defeats South Reinkalistan - Crimson Standard 13-7.
No discussion today? Anyway, congratulations to Sildorian Empire! And I wish luck to South Reinkalistan for when their main flag reaches a vote in Match 57!

Top 128 Match 51
Duolin - All Are One (by Diarcesia) vs Greater Cosmicium - Eagle-Star Cross
Vote for your favorite flag and, if you want, explain your preference in the thread!

Submissions are now completely closed. Updates to existing flags and descriptions are allowed, so long as your flag has not been voted on yet.

Duolin - All Are One
Red: The warriors
Yellow: The merchants
Purple: The priesthood
Green: The farmers, artisans, craftsmen. Those who produce resources
White star: The four historical categories of citizens work together for a common purpose (i.e. their colors combine)

Eagle-Star Cross
Developed around the same time as the Five-Star Cross, in 1072917, the Eagle-Star Cross has four stars, representing four of the five major races of Greater Cosmicium (Human, Khaazai, Scorpion and Dragon), the eagle, representing the power of Greater Cosmicium, and the cross representing the expanse of Greater Cosmicium. It has three colors: yellow, black and white.

My opinion: To be honest, "All Are One" is not my favorite flag design - I've seen similar designs elsewhere, and in general the stars feel out of place, and the shades of the four colors don't blend well. I'll be voting for Greater Cosmicium this round, as they have a very well-designed submission here, including a well-placed symbol.

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In other news, thanks to a trade with Dabarastan, I have acquired all the prizes that will be necessary for this competition. The submitters of the top 8 flags will receive one legendary trading card for each flag. This is a much greater reward than offered last time, since I thought the reward should reflect the extra competitiveness of this bracket.