Feature Idea: Pacific Storm Season

[The Pharcyde]

Concept: Introduce semi-predictable and reoccurring “Pacific Storms” to each of the 5 Pacific regions. During the first update when a storm makes landfall, a random batch of nations are “devastated” by the storm.

Purpose: Make Pacific regions more vulnerable, within reason

Devastation: Devastation persists until a storm passes. While devastated, a nation’s endorsements do not count towards determining the regional WA Delegate.

Alert System: Pacific regional pages would have an extra area whenever a storm is forming and projected to hit them or is over them. It would allow them to track the storm.

Storm Behavior: Storms would grow in size and change course before making landfall. As the storm gets closer to hitting, projections of its destination and severity become more accurate. Storms last 1-2 weeks and vary in severity.

“Within reason”: How many nations are devastated by a storm would be partially determined by factors including:

a) The average and median number of endorsements in the region.
b) The amount of WA nations in the World

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Other possible ideas:
- Regional officers could expend influence to “aid” devastated nations
- Storms could have names
- Storms could hurt certain nations’ influence levels, even after the storm passes

[The Notorious Mad Jack]

Purpose: Make Pacific regions more vulnerable, within reason

Why is this desirable?

[Reploid Productions]

Purpose: Make Pacific regions more vulnerable, within reason

Why is this desirable?

I'm guessing the argument is "the feeders are too massive/stagnant, destabilizing them is a good thing." The idea is... interesting, though I'm not sure how welcome or effective it might actually be at making the feeders more chaotic/unstable.

[Klorgia1]

This might just make the Pacific regions even more interesting.

If this exists, natural disasters should happen in all regions. 'Just' have a percentage chance alter depending on size.

At any rate, it would certainly create an even bigger bridge between a nations everyday existence and it's regions politics, good or bad.

[USS Monitor]

It's an interesting thought. Sounds like it'd be a bit complicated to work out the exact mechanics and set everything up, but definitely one of the more unique suggestions I've seen.

If this exists, natural disasters should happen in all regions. 'Just' have a percentage chance alter depending on size.

I'd say there should be a threshhold where regions below a certain size don't get disasters at all.

[9003]

Smaller regions would be targeted by raiders in the r/d scape but change things up quite a bit basically putting a target on the back of any bigger region (with out founder) to get tagged.

[Aclion]

There's definitely a thematic justification for limiting it to the Pacifics but I don't know if it's strictly necessary gameplaywise. However I do think it should be limited to Gargantuan regions to ensure storms are a big enough event to get the attention of players outside the regions threatened.

Otherwise I wouldn't want to have smaller region left out, so i'd like to see a mechanic where non-feeders can "aid" a Pacific(or gargantuan region as the case may be) to reduce the severity of any storms that hit it. That would give smaller regions a way to participate in the event and open up all sorts of diplomatic challenges for regions. Now the affected regions need to compete with one another for the assistance of other regions while those regions have internal conflicts over which Pacific to send aid to. Should shake up the current dynamic where the feeders and most other regions operate in different political spheres, while in most regions(outside of the occasional conflict of interest scandal) it doesn't matter what feeders a person is affiliated with.

[Raccoon Creek]

This is an interesting idea. Might I suggest there be a multitude of disasters which could occur. When I think of Pacific-oriented disasters volcanic erutptions, earthquakes , tsunamis, and hurricanes (cyclones) all come to mind. Other disasters could include tornadoes, flooding, extreme winds, etc. Each type of disaster would have a percentage change of occurring each time a disaster event would fire. This percentage chance could correlate to its probability in RL. For example, hurricanes and tornadoes are common but volcanic eruptions and earthquakes don't occur as often.

[Greater vakolicci haven]

I must say I like this proposal.

[East Malaysia]

Make it a special event day? Only happens like first day of hurricane season for example.

[Flanderlion]

Not a fan. Sounds like a lot of work, when techies are mostly MIA. Especially with this being only to infrequently hurt some of the largest communities in the game, for only a select few's benefit.

[Aclion]

Not a fan. Sounds like a lot of work, when techies are mostly MIA. Especially with this being only to infrequently hurt some of the largest communities in the game, for only a select few's benefit.

Who are the select few benefiting?

[The Tri State Area and Maine]

Especially with this being only to infrequently hurt some of the largest communities in the game

A lot of people say this (funnily enough, they all reside in GCRs), but nobody explains why I should actually care. Making NS fun and interesting is more important than the survival of any regional community.

As to the suggestion itself, it is definitely interesting, and seems cool. Seems kinda weird for a website like NS, but I could get with it.

[The Notorious Mad Jack]

Especially with this being only to infrequently hurt some of the largest communities in the game

A lot of people say this (funnily enough, they all reside in GCRs), but nobody explains why I should actually care. Making NS fun and interesting is more important than the survival of any regional community.

NS is clearly fun and interesting for those who are in the GCRs, you should try it

[Nilrahrarfan]

This could make a good April Fool's joke

[Minoa]

My main question is that since the proposal covers feeder regions, how it would be successful if a significant portion of a random batch of nations “devastated” by the storm are not usually active? While NationStates can determine the age of the nations, I don't know if NS has the technology to automatically determine if a nation is active on average of at least once every x days. Either that or I am too early for ironing out the details. An alternative option I can think of is to adopt a system of alliances based on the factions of N-Day.

[The Tri State Area and Maine]

A lot of people say this (funnily enough, they all reside in GCRs), but nobody explains why I should actually care. Making NS fun and interesting is more important than the survival of any regional community.

NS is clearly fun and interesting for those who are in the GCRs, you should try it

NS would also clearly be fun and interesting for them in UCRs I imagine. If people can only enjoy the game in GCRs and not UCRs, then there is probably something very wrong with the game anyway. Besides, I don't see why GCRs get special treatment in terms of not having their communities destroyed.

My main question is that since the proposal covers feeder regions, how it would be successful if a significant portion of a random batch of nations “devastated” by the storm are not usually active? While NationStates can determine the age of the nations, I don't know if NS has the technology to automatically determine if a nation is active on average of at least once every x days. Either that or I am too early for ironing out the details. An alternative option I can think of is to adopt a system of alliances based on the factions of N-Day.

Some of the nations would be active, though. Besides, I don't see why inactive nations would get a pass, anyway.

[Bormiar]

Would it happen like an update?

As in, a raider could join after the storm while nations have to re-endorse (assuming they have too) the delegate and raid then?

[Aclion]

Would it happen like an update?

As in, a raider could join after the storm while nations have to re-endorse (assuming they have too) the delegate and raid then?

I expect it would be a bit like a very slow paced nday

[Joushiki Nante Iranai]

Just thinking, would it make sense to close the borders into regions during a disaster?

[Flanderlion]

Not a fan. Sounds like a lot of work, when techies are mostly MIA. Especially with this being only to infrequently hurt some of the largest communities in the game, for only a select few's benefit.

Who are the select few benefiting?

Various GP factions who harbour grudges against various or all GCR communities. I had some thoughts re the specifics of the proposal (factors that'd influence stuff etc. like the OP mentioned) but I realised I don't exactly agree with the core aim of the idea. I like the word storm though, for people searching storm in the future for some other tech idea, so I wouldn't mind an issue chain and/or an April Fools event focusing on the nation.

[Aclion]

Who are the select few benefiting?

Various GP factions who harbour grudges against various or all GCR communities.

Ah, The userite boogeyman.

[The Notorious Mad Jack]

Various GP factions who harbour grudges against various or all GCR communities.

Ah, The userite boogeyman.

There are prominent Gameplayers who argue that GCR communities should be gutted. Is it still a boogeyman if the boogeyman is real?

[Nilrahrarfan]

Would it happen like an update?

As in, a raider could join after the storm while nations have to re-endorse (assuming they have too) the delegate and raid then?

I expect it would be a bit like a very slow paced nday

I think a Z-Day like system would work better, where nations can pick 3 options: mitigation (weather modification); adaptation (repairing the buildings to be storm-proof); embracing (Nilrahrarfan in a nutshell).

[Lord Dominator]

I'm not sure this would actually have much of an impact on the actual Feeders simply because the likelihood of someone else becoming delegate is very low (I assume that's basically the intention here), much less someone who isn't already reasonably trusted to just give the position back (aside from everything going back to normal a week later).