Some OOC Questions

[Vinstin]

I'm still pretty new to the whole NationStates RP scene. So I've got some standard questions.

1.) I see people claiming to have 1000 divisons and populations of 6.7 billion. Are there any people who roleplay with realistic populations? Such as, you have 15 million people, and I have 12 million. It seems almost unenjoyable having so much power at ones fingertips.

2.) With this, when I create mt factbook, is there anything speical I should do with a map? I really don't want to make an island nations, but with so many nations, I feel out of place just claiming a random section on a map.

I'll more than likely ask a few more. And if this is wrong the section, I'm sorry.

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

The thing about this game is it is entirely open. You'll find groups who subscribe to all sorts of 'rules' or guidelines or the like, depending on their interests or preferences.

Yes, the longer we play, the more ridiculous our populations get. Some limit that, some don't, some don't bother with a set percentage for military (I mean really, how successful can logistics be after a certain number, neh?) so ... basically, yes.

Also the geographic thing - again, do what you want. You may run into conflict with some, but that's basically the ones who claim 'real world' territories. Not everyone does. And even then, ymmv.

You do what you want, you play with who you want to play with, you recognize what groups, what alliances, what reality you want to accept within your frame of reference. It's the only way we can continue operating really, because the politics, mix of forums, and all the rest makes it near impossible to do otherwise.

Some of us go with the 'reality is broken' explanation that allows us to keep an open mind about tech levels, populations, geographic locations, the fact nations come and go all the time, common histories, and all that other stuff. Don't know if that helps you, but it works for some of us.

If you're not sure who goes with what, take the time to browse through some of the threads, see if there's anything that catches your interest, and talk with some of those players to see if where they're going suits where you'd like to go with your nation. TG and all that. Or you could hop on IRC - there are a plethora of various channels and now, servers and all - and see if folks there might be able to help with research. Got a link to the one I hang around at in my sig, and as above, there's a lot to choose from.

Best of luck with all of that! Just keep in mind, the point of this (or what ought to be the point) is to have fun. So once you figure out what feels fun for you, you'll have a good basis for deciding where to go from here.

[Vrak]

Nathicana made some excellent points. I'll just add about map stuff. Usually, if you are part of a region that has active roleplayers in it, someone in the region itself may create a general map and then everyone else picks a spot and makes a more detailed map of their nation. Thus, it doesn't matter then if it's an island, peninsula or entirely landlocked. In other words, you can have an entire region with islands, but many regions create continent-sized land masses and folks go from there. Examples that come to mind (based just entirely on my own experience and memory) are Haven, Gholgoth, Arda, and of course the region I'm in, the Federated Klatchian Coast! There are, of course, many out there and it comes down to exploration in that regard.

A quick note on military sizes and population. Not everyone who plays NS is a roleplayer, and you find that everyone who is a roleplayer has an opinion about the topics you brought up. The stickies are just that, guidelines that many have found to be useful but is, by no means, set in stone.