RPing Questions? Ask Here!

[The Macabees]

I have an issue: nobody takes my RPs very seriously. How do I remedy this?

What kind of feedback have you received? Has someone said something to make you think that or are people just not interacting with your RPs?

[The Macabees]

How do I make people interested in my Roleplay

A roleplay is a collaborative story, so the best way to make people interested is to provide them with a good plot to work with. And, once you have an RP idea, what you can do is market it by posting an out of character sign-up thread, where you sell the plot to others by explaining it in a way that grips the reader to it. Think of it like the inside flap of a book.

What roleplay ideas do you have? Maybe I can help you spice it up or guide you on how to sell it.

[The Macabees]

Hey, new here, does anyone know a small region with active roleplaying?

Gholgoth has 23 nations and is active. They do require you to apply and it's a "nightmare tech" region.

Greater Dienstad has something like 59 nations, but we're pretty tight knit and are also very active. We are MT and PMT.

Pardes has 19 nations. It's an MT region. I can't vouch for how active they are, but their IRC channel is pretty active.

Sondria has 17 nations and is also MT. I don't know how active it is.

Edit: The Factbooks and National Information forum often has a bunch of regional recruitment threads that you can peruse, to see if one of them is more to your liking.

Btw, welcome to NationStates. I hope to start seeing your RPs!

[Donald J Trump America]

I have an issue: nobody takes my RPs very seriously. How do I remedy this?

What kind of feedback have you received? Has someone said something to make you think that or are people just not interacting with your RPs?

It's not a lack of interaction. Everybody seems to think that, because I'm RPing as Donald Trump, they can use my threads to make political commentary, a mockery of my nation or even play out political fantasies

[Cordoban Spain]

I have an issue: nobody takes my RPs very seriously. How do I remedy this?

change the nation and flag maybe

[Roski]

What kind of feedback have you received? Has someone said something to make you think that or are people just not interacting with your RPs?

It's not a lack of interaction. Everybody seems to think that, because I'm RPing as Donald Trump, they can use my threads to make political commentary, a mockery of my nation or even play out political fantasies

The problem with the RP you're starting, repeatedly, is that Donald J Trump wins the election. This is the entire premise for the RP.

Unfortunately, that will attract those people who are going to be unreasonably aggressive to you. If you were to limit this to a character RP of American citizens, instead of roleplaying national reactions (because NS is the god of knee-jerk states), I feel that RP would be taken quite a bit more seriously. It might become political drama (which would be a decent change from everything I usually see), or it might be people suffering/suceeding under this new president.

[The Macabees]

It's not a lack of interaction. Everybody seems to think that, because I'm RPing as Donald Trump, they can use my threads to make political commentary, a mockery of my nation or even play out political fantasies

Part of me wants to say you brought it on yourself, but only the facetious part.

Look, when you start a thread, you are god on that thread. You get to decide who gets to post, the direction of the plot, etc. The best way of controlling the flow of the RP is to tag the thread as [closed]. If someone who does not have permission to post does so anyways, you can file a report on the Moderation forum. Like I said, you rule the thread, so that will always be on your side.

After you create the [closed] IC thread, create an OOC (out of character) thread. That's where all the nonsense commentary can go (and I advise you to ignore it and respond only to the posts that pertain to the RP), and that's where you can vet who gets to post in the IC thread.

[Pillowlandia]

I have one question, what is with certain players obsession with seemingly trying to cause as much collateral damage as humanly possible for no real gain to their RP cause. Also why do people hate to RP logistics so much?

[Rhodevus]

I have one question, what is with certain players obsession with seemingly trying to cause as much collateral damage as humanly possible for no real gain to their RP cause. Also why do people hate to RP logistics so much?

To answer your first part. That would be not very different from most blockbuster summer movies nowadays. Everywhere you look there is a movie with huge amounts of collateral. My guess, it that people want to re-enact movies. The bigger the better.

In regards to logistics, most people just want to enjoy themselves without thinking of the who, what, where and whys. I recommend finding a group that does like to RP with a similar style to you. It will be a lot more fun for you

[Roski]

I have one question, what is with certain players obsession with seemingly trying to cause as much collateral damage as humanly possible for no real gain to their RP cause. Also why do people hate to RP logistics so much?

Well, for the latter, that's a real pain in the ass, and the people who do understand it don't want to write a novel on it.

And the first is a question we likely couldn't answer, because that involves complex looks into psychology. However, it may have to do with the fact that some people think that killing civilians isn't exactly a terrible thing, so there's that.

[The Macabees]

I have one question, what is with certain players obsession with seemingly trying to cause as much collateral damage as humanly possible for no real gain to their RP cause. Also why do people hate to RP logistics so much?

Maybe because those details don't interest them. Maybe because they don't know to think about those aspects of war — you could write a guide!

[Czardas]

I would actually be totally up for a war RP told entirely through the perspectives of logistical personnel >_>

[The Technocratic Syndicalists]

I have one question, what is with certain players obsession with seemingly trying to cause as much collateral damage as humanly possible for no real gain to their RP cause. Also why do people hate to RP logistics so much?

some people just want to be evil

Considering we're both involved in an RP with three countries committing flat out genocide by indiscriminately attacking civilians with chemical weapons, this shouldn't be a surprise.

People don't like logistics because its viewed as boring, and explaining the logistical operations of a military force in great detail would be tedious. It's easier to just say "I've landed X troops at Y", or "I've moved X division to Y", etc. Not that it's right, it's just the matter of fact.

[Sunset]

Or they are simply not considering all of the possibilities;

SeaBees - A post or even entire thread written from the perspective of one of these engineer-warriors could easily cover both aspects of warfare. During an amphibious assault they might just be on the beach at the same time as the marines, pushing forward with shovel, bulldozer, and sapper charges to get ready for the next wave of the invasion. In the fast-paced world of modern warfare - or even FT warfare - getting the infrastructure into place to continue the fight could be both vital and dramatic. Importantly they can also be used to offer both a wider and narrow perspective on events as they happen. A battlefield commander might know that they need to take that airfield in order to be able to launch bombing raids further into Marche Noir while also being in local command of that same battle. His or her thoughts can provide flavor and impetus.

Ground Technical Crew - Could be there when a fighter returns blown all to hell, pulling the pilot out and being there when they live - or die. Working to rearm the fighters as quickly as possible, hearing the pilots discuss their mission objectives before taking flight, among other options. If you're bad at writing combat (and I certainly encourage practice if so) you could substitute this for that while still maintaining the urgency of a fight. This is also a good place to get into the details of logistics; A blockade might be having an effect on your supplies of ammunition, cruise missile strikes on lubricant and bearing manufacturing could have crippled your mechanized forces putting more burden on the ground pounders. Or the inverse - missions to knock out and thus cripple the opponent by eliminating their logistics.

And not all logistics are of the mechanical sort either. A prisoner-of-war camp could be the scene of a dramatic post with a break-out attempt that highlights just how -your- nation deals with prisoners. Are they rapacious and cruel? Or is it Hogan's Heroes? Similar could occur in a field hospital or medical facility. One of the most successful and well-regarded television series of all time was centered around nothing more than an army field hospital in the center of a warzone. Even if it is all just fluff on top of 'I send 12 divisions to the western front', it is fluff people will want to read.

[Pillowlandia]

V true, and I will be honest I'm not particularly religions about mentioning logistics but it really does just make the whole thread all that much better when it actually does happen.

[Questers]

;Logistics', which from the dawn of NS RP has always meant 'combat service support', is not written about because the huge majority of players do not know enough about it to write about it, both in a technical sense and in regards to their ability to incorporate it into actual RPs.

[Bears Armed]

;Logistics', which from the dawn of NS RP has always meant 'combat service support', is not written about because the huge majority of players do not know enough about it to write about it, both in a technical sense and in regards to their ability to incorporate it into actual RPs.

A lot of players don't know enough about military operations to write about those properly either, but don't let that fact stop them...

[Questers]

;Logistics', which from the dawn of NS RP has always meant 'combat service support', is not written about because the huge majority of players do not know enough about it to write about it, both in a technical sense and in regards to their ability to incorporate it into actual RPs.

A lot of players don't know enough about military operations to write about those properly either, but don't let that fact stop them...

No-oo, but they think they do. They don't think they know enough about logistics. One because it hasn't any media coverage, secondly because, although I find it interesting personally, it is a very dry subject.

[Hobbeebia]

LOL Logistics

Remember when ORBAT's had a sections for support assets. Those where the good ol' days.

[Mousebumples]

Just an FYI that I'm coordinating a Women & NationStates Symposium starting tomorrow (in just over 12 hours, actually). I'm trying to gather some interest from female RPers to participate in an IRC panel on Women & NationStates RP, so if you're female and interested in participating, send me a telegram with what days/times you're available between now and Sunday and hopefully we can work something out.

Hope to see some of you there!

[Yalooply]

I am new here but I see everyone talking about role playing and I know what it is but I'm confused on how it works on NationStates and how to make a Fact Book. I want to be involved more than just dealing with issues but I need a lot of help figuring it all out.

[Aquatus]

How to make and edit a map for nationstates?

[Rhodevus]

I am new here but I see everyone talking about role playing and I know what it is but I'm confused on how it works on NationStates and how to make a Fact Book. I want to be involved more than just dealing with issues but I need a lot of help figuring it all out.

Hello and welcome to the crazy world that is roleplaying in Nationstates! So, making a factbook seems like a good place to start. What you want to do, is go to your main nation page, click on the link that says factbooks and the button that says make a new factbook (or something of that matter). There is no truly correct way to make a factbook. Some people use it as a sort of notepad with all their ideas. Others create a layout to make a sort of "wikipedia" page for their nation (info on how to do that is in the factbooks and National Information forum). Others still fill it with pictures of anything they want. Usually, it is a great way for other people to get a sense of your nation, without needing to ask you hundreds of questions which you may not know the answers to at that moment.

Other than factbooks, a massive part of nationstates is the forum. There are quite a few to choose from (though of course you can choose more than one at a time. There is no rules against it ) and all the forums might seem confusing. The main 7 are:

• Factbooks and National Information; generally it has threads with various questions about your nation to flesh out your country
• NationStates; generally for all roleplaying with your country that does not involve armed conflict
• International Incidents; generally for roleplaying any conflict
• Global Economics and Trade; used for storefronts which people design
• NS Sports; your nation's sports teams
• General; just talking with your fellow players about anything
• Portal to the Multiverse; every roleplay that does not involve your nation

Pretty much, just pick a forum you think sounds interesting, find an RP (roleplay) that says OPEN and join it! This website has a lot of writing, so make sure to find a group of people that you enjoy writing with, or find a type of roleplay you enjoy and just enjoy taking control of your own country! Shape it through your roleplays and make it into your perfect utopia, or anything you wish it to be!

There is plenty more about nationstates to know and I advise checking out some of the pinned links to almost every forum. They explain what goes on in each one fairly well. If you need anything more, you can telegram me, or any RP Mentor (they definitely know their stuff and even as a semi-veteran I still ask them for assistance every once in a while)

[Rhodevus]

How to make and edit a map for nationstates?

There is no way to do it on Nationstates. You need to do it using MSPaint or any other software like that.

[Sunset]

I have a sample map that's more designed for space nations than terrestrial nations but could be modified for that use. You'll need the GIMP or a program that can open .xcf files. The gimp is free, of course.

Www.pacifier.com/~cziller/images/SampleSpaceMap.xcf

The various layers are marked to their purpose and you can just copy and paste your images into the layers and manipulate from there.