New to the game and need help answering issues.

[Valdac]

Basically what the title says. I started yesterday, almost 24 hours ago, and it feels like every issue I answer has the exact polar opposite effect of what I want. For example, an issue answer that claims it will boost my economy, actually tanks it. And so I go on to the next issue and answer differently, just to see it tank the economy again. It is quickly getting to a point where I cant help but wonder if I should have just made a country from scratch, and then never answer another issue again. This has become extremely frustrating.

Another problem I have been wondering about is population. I noticed that a large chunk of the game... basically like 60-70% of it, seems to only be unlocked after several hundred million in population. I read something that said you get +1 million population per day... this would mean that in order to unlock even some of the more basic looking customization options, I would need to be playing this game for nearly a year. I mean I get why they do this... it makes it easier to keep profanity out of stuff like flags and nation banners, because people who have invested that much time are less likely to want to risk being deleted.

But it still feels kinda excessive. Anyway, any degree of help with this games extremely complex and seemingly nonsensical mechanics would be greatly appreciated, because I don't understand how or why any of the issues I have been answering have been doing the opposite of what they would say they would do.

[Bears Armed]

Reading the small print very carefully when choosing options is definitely needed: You'll probably get better at it with experience. One thing to bear in mind is that changes to new nations are often proportionately larger than the changes which those same options would give for older [& thus larger] ones, so the swings should decrease in intensity as your nation grows. Population increases at faster rates after the first few days, for a few weeks, until it stabilises at +[5 to 7, determined randomly each day] million per day: Reaching 1 billion, which is the highest value that is currently required for unlocking anything, will take approximately six months.

[Raccoon Creek]

The key to answering issues is to read carefully, and consider each option. From experience I have found it very helpful "listening" to what each character is telling you. Take your time and don't fret. It takes time to understand issues and learn your way around them. As for national modifiers (capital, leader, pretitle, religion, etc.) each are unlocked as you progress through the game. Population increases by five to seven million each day and takes about six months to reach one billion. There's nothing wrong with creating a new nation and starting over. Many players do it, in fact this nation of mine is just that, a fresh start for me.

[Gently Dirken]

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[Quaeg]

I have the same frustrations as you, choosing an issue and finding it's done something totally different to what I want. I'm not hugely experienced, but I can tell you my personal way to cope with it.

I used to view myself as the leader of the nation who was weighing and then making the decisions with the issues. Now i've tried putting myself in the shoes of just an average citizen of my nation who is viewing the rise and execution of the decisions made in the issues. It means that when a mistake is made, I can role play that it's a decision made by politicians which I as a citizen didn't like (because let's be honest, we're never 100% on the same wave length as the government, even if we voted for it).

When I view my nation in this way, not as someone building my perfect vision, but as someone living in a country that's still developing and coming into the modern day, then the bad decisions I make by accident that make me cringe are suddenly just a twist in the plot of nation's history.

[Christ Triumphant]

Just as a tip that works for me, regarding Economy:

Especially early on, if you choose options that are fully-focused on economics, you will often end up tanking the environment and your tourism industry, and so your economy will fall as well. If possible, whenever there is a "compromise" option, try to choose that.

For the economy, if you don't mind higher taxes (and you really shouldn't here, unless that is especially important to you), chose options that provide subsidies to business and industry. This will usually stimulate the economy with minimal negative impact (except, again, on your tax rate).

Also, in the beginning, each option choice will create drastic results. You WILL experience dramatic shifts in stats. After awhile, you will reach a kind of equilibrium and your changes will become normalized and less dramatic.

[Raccoon Creek]

Just as a tip that works for me, regarding Economy:

Especially early on, if you choose options that are fully-focused on economics, you will often end up tanking the environment and your tourism industry, and so your economy will fall as well. If possible, whenever there is a "compromise" option, try to choose that.

For the economy, if you don't mind higher taxes (and you really shouldn't here, unless that is especially important to you), chose options that provide subsidies to business and industry. This will usually stimulate the economy with minimal negative impact (except, again, on your tax rate).

Also, in the beginning, each option choice will create drastic results. You WILL experience dramatic shifts in stats. After awhile, you will reach a kind of equilibrium and your changes will become normalized and less dramatic.

That's one way to do it. Personally, I prefer to go the tourist industry route. Early on if you focus on the environment, culture, and human development (education, healthcare, etc.) your economy will develop consistently albeit slowly. Throwing in a few pro-business issues wouldn't hurt, though be careful as they can have a detrimental impact on your nation's environment and eco-friendliness. That's just my take. The choice is yours.