NS Confidential : Gameplay News

[South Pacific Belschaft]

Penguin, Comrade Troy, Rebel-topia, Awesomiasa, Loh, Drugged Monkey's, Alv, Estoric and Hileville all deployed to Osiris, the majority of them deploying on multiple occasions after being ejected and banned at update. In the later stages, and in accordance to the orders received from Cormac on the sixth of July, the NSA stopped deploying troops at update and moved in sleepers endorsing Douria. This information was communicated to Osiris' military commander, Cormac, who since then seems to have become exceedingly forgetful.

Regarding the Milograd coup, supreme command was invested in the Southern Allied Command (SAC) with final authority invested in a troika headed by Brutland and Norden, supported by Hileville and myself. Nine further TSP officials and six allied officials from TNP, UDL and SovCon were members of the TSP SAC. Biyah was one of these officials, representing SovCon. Further to Biyah, Eluvatar and McMasterdonia were also included in the high command of the SAC - three TSP officials, and three allied officials. The point of this was that the liberation was an allied effort involving hundreds of players from dozens of regions - command of this operation was placed under a group made up of TSP members and key allied officials with experience in such matters. During the first five days I acted as principle strategic commander, before Hilville took over for the second half of the coup. Tactical command was not invested in any single individual but rather was handed to the senior SAC member available at update. In many cases this was Biyah; in others it was MC or Elu. For the first set of updates after the coup it was me. Biyah further contributed in numerous other ways behind closed doors, as did other members of the SAC who are not named here.

Any of the allied members of the SAC can confirm these details, or provide more information regarding their own duties and area of responsibility.

Edit: SAC Declaration

[McMasterdonia]

Ignoring the mudslinging.

The TSP Liberation was fundamentally a team effort. I was responsible for coordination and communicating with allies and getting them there when we needed them to. Biyah handled tactics with Eluvatar. Together we tried to get as much information out as possible to TSP residents about the coup and did what we could to maintain a positive presence on the rmb. Hile was particularly involved in that process. It wouldn't have worked if we weren't all putting the effort in to get it done. We were all in constant contact on IRC and skype. Lets not undermine the hardwork people put in.

Frankly, I am sick and tired of hearing about this bloc nonsense. There have been attempts to make it so, including attempts by people to try and force my hand and bring sanctions against Lazarus because of recent events.

I have before said that I will not be supporting a bloc coalition against either body. TNP is not allied to Lazarus, nor are we allied with TNI. It strikes me as a bit strange that TNPs position has been outlined, when I have not outlined it in that way. Issues between TNI and Lazarus are their business, not ours. Likewise any issue between TNI and the NPO is not our business. The only issue I had was the accusations about Balder as a satellite state.

Recent attempts for GCR unity, perhaps ideal, are unrealistic due to personal disputes and petty behaviour that people like to show. Recent events further demonstrate that the GCRs are too different and have different standards that prohibits an alliance from being a complete success. The fact that the personalities and relationships of the leaders involved further limits this.

Also Unibot is right about change in TNP/TSP in comparison to other gcrs.

Posting from a phone- so apologies for errors

[Harmoneia]

Frankly, I am sick and tired of hearing about this bloc nonsense. There have been attempts to make it so, including attempts by people to try and force my hand and bring sanctions against Lazarus because of recent events.

I have before said that I will not be supporting a bloc coalition against either body. TNP is not allied to Lazarus, nor are we allied with TNI. It strikes me as a bit strange that TNPs position has been outlined, when I have not outlined it in that way. Issues between TNI and Lazarus are their business, not ours. Likewise any issue between TNI and the NPO is not our business. The only issue I had was the accusations about Balder as a satellite state.

Thank you for this, McM.


To be honest, Lazarus couldn't care less about this so-called "Cold War." We already have enough issues of our own.

Please, carry on with your war, we'll carry on with our own internal issues.

[Frattastan II]

I have before said that I will not be supporting a bloc coalition against either body

To be honest, Lazarus couldn't care less about this so-called "Cold War."

An healthy choice.

[Solorni]

I don't believe that there is a "cold war" amongst the feeders and sinkers. You saw attempts by individuals to stir things up and enact personal vengeances, but to believe that such pettiness should lead regional affairs is absurd.

[South Pacific Belschaft]

Hell, I don't like the idea of a GCR cold war and when I first raised the concept I made it very clear I wanted to see it avoided. The Lazarus purge essentially removed the tension that was driving the development of it, but it didn't make the diplomatic alliances and hostility that underpinned it go away.

[Milograd]

There isn't a cold war. TP pissed off some people, but to be honest, people will get over it eventually, since the NPO obviously isn't going anywhere and a long-term grudge would be unproductive for all involved parties.

[Cerian Quilor]

The result of war hardly needs to be the absolute destruction of the other party. That's true for any situation, regardless of if there is or isn't a cold war.

[Glen-Rhodes]

There isn't a cold war. TP pissed off some people, but to be honest, people will get over it eventually, since the NPO obviously isn't going anywhere and a long-term grudge would be unproductive for all involved parties.

No, they really won't. The 'Cold War' is the result of the same people controlling GCRs for years not liking each other very much. People in gameplay hold grudges. Just ask people in TSP how they feel about the UDL, or certain people in Osiris how they feel about me.

Any little transgression or written slight forms a little seed of animosity that grows into a tree, accumulating leaves of more transgressions and slights. Sooner or later, people see a huge tree and think, "Wow, look at the reason we don't like each other! It's huge!" They forget that the tree is made up of inconsequential things that only seem big and important because people don't know how to forgive and forget.

The NPO isn't going to be forgotten anytime soon. There will be a big tree in the GCRs where the NPO is vilified. Anytime somebody suggests that maybe it's time to normalize relations with the NPO, somebody will point to the big tree.

/sorry about the metaphors

Sent from my HTC One V using Tapatalk 2

[Unibot III]

The idea that TEP would ever go to war against TSP is just a product of taking a theory to its most extreme incarnation.

When the "Cold War" was a fresh prospect, I did do up a regional compass and overlayed it with some subjective delineations. The orientations suggests a much different picture ...



--- Here you can see its The West Pacific and Balder that are most closely intertwined with the Imperialist Sphere of Influence, while The South Pacific, The North Pacific and Osiris are largely still in some sort of ideological stalemate (A "No Man's Land"). The East Pacific and The Pacific have largely drifted out of the Imperialist Sphere of Influence over the past year and a half according to my data: The Pacific drifting more regionalist and centralist, The East Pacific drifting slightly more defenderist. Moreover, The Rejected Realms almost perfectly lay in sync with The Founderless Regions Alliance.

The Rejected Realms Army stat is wrong -- with more recent data I would project The RRA at -6 / -1.33 --- which falls in line with The Founderless Regions Alliance and The Rejected Realms Army.

Lazarus's stat is out of date, it predates the election of Harmoneia and the purge.

---

I would stand by these findings: many of the actors considered "solid bets" for the Imperialists are not so solid at all -- meanwhile The West Pacific seems to be shaping up to be an unsuspected dark horse, riding into the Imperialist camp while we were too focused on the centralist powers (Osiris, The North Pacific, The South Pacific).

Not even Belschaft's original prediction had The West Pacific considered for the Imperialist sphere:

"TP-TEP-Lazarus+TWP (who have been diplomatically isolated for a long time, and seem to be trying to leave that state) vs. TSP-Osiris-Balder+TNP (who aren't as close to TNI as the other three but are allied to the others). TRR of course continues to do it's own thing as a FRA member, and seems happy in splendid isolation." - Belschaft

[Libetarian Republics]

Moreover, The Rejected Realms almost perfectly lay in sync with The Founderless Regions Alliance.

Blames Frattastan


An interesting perspective nevertheless

[Unibot III]

An interesting perspective nevertheless

It basically fits my world-view: A lump of major powers in the centre and the UDL and the NPO outside of the clump. Why such a stark contrast? After the fall of Defenderism in 2006, regions became more realist and less idealist -- regions focused solely on their "regional interests" (what others proscribe as "regional interests" and how to attain them), which produces a clump of regions which are more or less similar than they are different because they have the same goal and are using the same instructional manual.

The New Pacific Order is the remainder of this by-gone era, it possesses its own idealism (Francoism) -- which makes it uniquely different than the centralist powers.

In Paradise Found, I postulated that the realism of the centralist powers robs them of their differences and prevents them from cultivating a distinct external regional identity, which in turn produces a negative effect on their sense of purpose and regional activity.

[Hobbesistan]

Because no thread is complete without a chart/graph!

[Nalt]

An interesting perspective nevertheless

It basically fits my world-view: A lump of major powers in the centre and the UDL and the NPO outside of the clump. Why such a stark contrast? After the fall of Defenderism in 2006, regions became more realist and less idealist -- regions focused solely on their "regional interests" (what others proscribe as "regional interests" and how to attain them), which produces a clump of regions which are more or less similar than they are different because they have the same goal and are using the same instructional manual.

The New Pacific Order is the remainder of this by-gone era, it possesses its own idealism (Francoism) -- which makes it uniquely different than the centralist powers.

In Paradise Found, I postulated that the realism of the centralist powers robs them of their differences and prevents them from cultivating a distinct external regional identity, which in turn produces a negative effect on their sense of purpose and regional activity.

Except now the goal is not to chase their own "regional interests," it is to get involved in every other feeder and tell them what their interests are while all the while screaming about anyone perhaps trying to influence the "interests" of that same region.

It's gotten quite out of hand.

[Solorni]

Glad we got the Donald Trump of NS back

Not sure how Balder is more raider than Osiris or part of an imperialist sphere of influence....

[Hobbesistan]

Glad we got the Donald Trump of NS back

Not sure how Balder is more raider than Osiris or part of an imperialist sphere of influence....

This, i'd also consider TEP to be far closer to the middle line -- We raid about the same amount as we defend, then again, we arent true 'imperialist'.

[A Unibotian Diplomat]

Not sure how Balder is more raider than Osiris or part of an imperialist sphere of influence....

More raiderist, not raider.

Furthermore, if you're not sure how Balder is a part of an imperialist sphere of influence, you really need to start reading your memos. Balder may or may not be a "satellite region" of imperialists, but imperialists most certainly possess a great deal of influence in Balder.

This, i'd also consider TEP to be far closer to the middle line -- We raid about the same amount as we defend, then again, we arent true 'imperialist'.

Bi-gameplayers tend to come out as -3 -ish on the Gameplay Compass, that's been a pretty consistent trend. Why? Things get weird once you get down to -3/+3 on the scale -- all of the ideologies we thought were pretty concrete become warped versions of their previous selves: extremely moderate defenderism takes the form of bigameplayism (think Belschaft, Abbey Anumia etc.), while extremely moderate raiderism takes the form of political chaos-worship (think Todd McCloud, The Empire crowd) ... which gets scrunched together as the same "centrism" label. Unpacking centrism to see the different assumptions that lie beneath that label is something I've been meaning to do for a long time.

I think why the confusion arises is because the R/D scale is a convergence of a central and dissonant axis -- I explained that in the original brief on the Gameplay Compass.

[Solorni]

Glad we got the Donald Trump of NS back

Not sure how Balder is more raider than Osiris or part of an imperialist sphere of influence....

This, i'd also consider TEP to be far closer to the middle line -- We raid about the same amount as we defend, then again, we arent true 'imperialist'.

Yeah. Plus Balders army restricts itself to the warzones anyhow

Furthermore, if you're not sure how Balder is a part of an imperialist sphere of influence, you really need to start reading your memos. Balder may or may not be a "satellite region" of imperialists, but imperialists most certainly possess a great deal of influence in Balder.

Ummm, beyond your bizarre conspiracy theories... like realistically... let's be real -once- Unibot. How?

Is this like how you thought Eluvatar was working with the imperialists to bring down your org from the inside?

[A Unibotian Diplomat]

Let's be real -once- Unibot. How?

Membership ties of allegiance (both official and unofficial), a convergence of political culture, in addition to a strong but conventional foreign affairs presence. Whether your army raids or does not raid is a red herring -- imperialists wouldn't care if you raided or not.

Is this like how you thought Eluvatar was working with the imperialists to bring down your org from the inside?

That's bonehead stupid. I don't know what you're talking about -- it was well known Eluvatar's relations with imperialists was very poor. This seems to be an obvious side-step to avoid the issue at hand while trying to discredit my theoretical analysis as the word of paranoia, yes? Alright then: you haven't changed a bit.

[Cerian Quilor]

Here's a question for NS Confidential to explore: Can Unibot every say 'Permanently' retired when he says he will be?

[Solorni]

Let's be real -once- Unibot. How?

Membership ties of allegiance (both official and unofficial), a convergence of political culture, in addition to a strong but conventional foreign affairs presence. Whether your army raids or does not raid is a red herring -- imperialists wouldn't care if you raided or not.

Is this like how you thought Eluvatar was working with the imperialists to bring down your org from the inside?

That's bonehead stupid. I don't know what you're talking about -- it was well known Eluvatar's relations with imperialists was very poor. This seems to be an obvious side-step to avoid the issue at hand while trying to discredit my theoretical analysis as the word of paranoia, yes? Alright then: you haven't changed a bit.

You're not paranoid anymore?

Also, what issue?? The ramblings of someone who hasn't been in Balder since he verbally abused many of it's members both publicly and privately and is a persona non-grata in regions because of how he treats others? I mean, what is the evil imperialist presence? Let's be honest, TNI has been much quieter as of late and Europeia as well. To pretend they lead some sort of evil empire out to get the ever paranoid Unibot is simply pure fiction.

Once again, you insult regions like Balder simply because you aren't welcome in them and accept no responsibility but simply lay the blame on others.

[NS Confidential]

Luxembourg: Balder in Retrospect

With the Second Anniversary of Balder's founding fast approaching, NS Confidential's Nervbraiain sat down Balder's first elected delegate, Luxembourg to reflect on Balder's beginnings, his coup (Mid-November 2011) and the effect it had on the political trajectory of Balder.

The original flag of Balder.

Nervbraiain: Why did you try to overthrow the government?

Luxembourg: I chose to do so because I felt like Balder was basically becoming a puppet region for Europeia, and The New Inquisition our government was basically being modeled after Europeia's and TNI's you couldn't walk into a government lobby without someone saying "Well in Europeia or Well in TNI we do it this well." I was outraged and just wanted to bash their heads together and say "Well guess what this is Balder, and we're going to do Balder's way. We need to create an entirely new identity, a new culture, a personality. We've been given a great gift we're not going to create a carbon copy of a user created region." I realize the way I went about it, wasn't exactly the best... needless to say.

What do you believe was the leading effect of your coup?

I believe I achieved the complete opposite of what I wanted, therefore lesson learned if you're going to coup a sinker make them think you want the exact opposite of what you truly want. No but seriously during my reign as a delegate there was a great deal of division I guess you could say? The coup brought Balder closer together, which I'm very glad to see because everyone including myself was trying to mold Balder like a giant ball of clay in their own image. Once this big monster Luxembourg emerged from behind the curtain they all had a common enemy they were forced to unite with one another if I'm correct they now even have a trophy in their joke forum making fun of me...

Do you regret the coup? If you hadn't couped, what do you think would have happened otherwise?

I most definitely regret it every time I login it crosses my mind, while whenever I refound a nation I pray to god that it's not refounded in Balder. Granted only a few nations there in Balder probably know all of my puppets, but it's like walking back into a workplace that you left on bad terms with. You just don't it: plain and simple. If I hadn't attempted the coup I highly doubt my nation my would have been condemned. My approval rating before the coup was still relatively high at least for a delegate of a feeder/sinker (if memory serves me right it was somewhere between sixty and seventy) I may have ran for another term. However, I only would have ran if I knew I was going to win.

Some have suggested that your coup was used as a political opportunity by others. Your thoughts?

Oh I don't doubt that at all, a smart politician sees an opportunity in every crisis and says "How can I use this to benefit myself in the near future." I don't trust those in feeder, and sinker politics it's a dirty dirty game that's full of logrolling. Frankly there's maybe a handful that I trust I won't mention their names due to the fact that my name is so tainted I would probably butcher theirs by doing so.

You've publicized a photo that reveals Rachel Anumia warned you about the liberation effort. Why do you think she warned you? Do you think she was wrong to do so?

She stated she warned me out of the hope I would change my mind. No I don't. To be quite honest I've never really had a conscience at all, my younger sister was the one that got all of it. However at the moment that I ban-jected Fotar. My conscience suddenly sprang to life and felt disgusted and physically sick almost as if I had gone on a tilt a whirl one too many times. It was at that moment that I decided to temporarily hand my nation over to Unibot.

Nervbraiain: What's your opinion on Contemporary Balder?

For the sake of preventing any further damage towards my name I apologize; however, I will not answer this question due to the fact that I fear it will increase the high levels of animosity towards me within the Balder region.

How's life been Post-Coup? What have you been up to in NationStates?

I was denied entry into the Black Hawks due to "Image Concerns." I figured they would be somewhat wary of new recruits. So I decided to sneak into the Black Riders under an alias I'll keep out of this. I'm no longer in the Black Riders that nation has ceased to exist. I'm too old to be at 12am every night. For the longest time I was keeping to myself in my puppet storage bay Pelononia; however, come Milograd's coup I thought I would attempt to make a difference no matter how small. So I signed everyone one of them up for the world assembly then as one was banned I would simply send the next one in.

Once I received my condemnation I wasn't exactly receiving recruitment telegrams left and right with the exception of Brightonburg he sent me a telegram stating everyone is accepted in One Big Island even the condemned.

What does the future hold for you? What does the future hold for Balder?

I hope to clean up this nation name; however, long that may take. There are still several things on my NationStates bucket list. Some people may say "Oh just create a new nation." You can't do that in the real world, so I'm not doing it with this one.

I see hope in Balder; if they continue down the current path you're on. All I'm going to say is that I suggest they choose their friends carefully.

Thank you for the interview. If you have any final comments for our readers - you have the floor!

Trust only yourself. Be wary of the company you keep. Before you start your day, and before you go to bed take a good step back and look at yourself in the mirror.

---

---

- NS Confidential. Interview by Nervbraiain. Oct 17 2013.

[Solorni]

(Image)
The original flag of Osiris.

Pretty sure that's not the original flag of Osiris

[NS Confidential]

(Image)
The original flag of Osiris.

Pretty sure that's not the original flag of Osiris

lol. Fixed.

By the way, there is an Osiris in Retrospect article in the works, but it'll be delayed because the author is busy with midterms. Sorry!

[Solorni]

Sigh, also, I love how it's Balders birthday and the interview is with our first couper.... yay?