NationStates Issues **SPOILER ALERT**

[Eshialand]

Just got this one (#1453), and was really hoping to report... oh well, I'll get one eventually.

[Giovanniland]

#1454: Poplar Opinion [Honeydewistania, ed:Candlewhisper Archive]

The Issue

As a symbol of historic cultural ties, the nation of Brancaland has gifted @@NAME@@ a dozen Brancalandian Spiked Aspen trees. These were ceremonially planted in the famed Jellostain National Park. Unfortunately, it’s now been discovered that the trees are host to a parasitic fungi endemic to Brancaland, which is now spreading and ravaging the local woodland.

The Debate

1. “Let’s not panic!” says one of your diplomats, panicking. “Brancaland had good intentions, but we need to contain the spread before the entire nation is infected. Luckily the fungal infestation is only in this part of the park, so let’s enclose the section with the trees with a glass bio-dome, and allow access only to a select few. We can import more Brancalandian flora and dedicate the arboretum to our nations’ enduring friendship.”

2. “You don’t know what this fungus can do,” flatly states Forestry Commission Warrant Officer Elaine Wipley, with the look of a shell-shocked veteran. “If one of those spores gets out there, that’s it! Taking off and nuking the site from orbit is the only way to be sure. No? Well, at the very least, you need to send the army in with flamethrowers, to burn everything in a three-mile radius.”

3. “It’s too late for the park,” whispers General Cody ‘Iron Eyes’ de Corti, shedding a single tear as he surveys the devastation. “They destroyed our park; we can destroy theirs too. You should allow us to covertly release the @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ Destroying Angel Fungi over the Brancalandian pine forests. Let the invaders feel our pain.”

4. “Fungus is Good, repeat with me, Fungus is Good,” intones eccentric mycologist Innsmouth Yugov offering you a strange-smelling bowl of mushroom stew. “Let the blessed fungus spread freely. In fact, deliberately spread it to every forest in @@NAME@@. Do it or there will be truffle, I mean trouble. The blessed mycelium will give strength to our nation as it infiltrates our soil. You understand? Yes. Me go, now. Me go.” He hands you a mysterious book, then chants in an indecipherable language.

Cody ‘Iron Eyes’ de Corti and Innsmouth Yugov seem fixed, but I am wondering if Elaine Wipley is fixed or just the first name (@@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ Wipley), since Elaine is listed as a possible first name unlike Wipley as last name. Internal numbering 0, 1, 2, and 3, so I am guessing no hidden options.

[Verdant Haven]

#1454: Poplar Opinion [Honeydewistania, ed:Candlewhisper Archive]

The Issue

As a symbol of historic cultural ties, the nation of Brancaland has gifted @@NAME@@ a dozen Brancalandian Spiked Aspen trees. These were ceremonially planted in the famed Jellostain National Park. Unfortunately, it’s now been discovered that the trees are host to a parasitic fungi endemic to Brancaland, which is now spreading and ravaging the local woodland.

The Debate

1. “Let’s not panic!” says one of your diplomats, panicking. “Brancaland had good intentions, but we need to contain the spread before the entire nation is infected. Luckily the fungal infestation is only in this part of the park, so let’s enclose the section with the trees with a glass bio-dome, and allow access only to a select few. We can import more Brancalandian flora and dedicate the arboretum to our nations’ enduring friendship.”

2. “You don’t know what this fungus can do,” flatly states Forestry Commission Warrant Officer Elaine Wipley, with the look of a shell-shocked veteran. “If one of those spores gets out there, that’s it! Taking off and nuking the site from orbit is the only way to be sure. No? Well, at the very least, you need to send the army in with flamethrowers, to burn everything in a three-mile radius.”

3. “It’s too late for the park,” whispers General Cody ‘Iron Eyes’ de Corti, shedding a single tear as he surveys the devastation. “They destroyed our park; we can destroy theirs too. You should allow us to covertly release the @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ Destroying Angel Fungi over the Brancalandian pine forests. Let the invaders feel our pain.”

4. “Fungus is Good, repeat with me, Fungus is Good,” intones eccentric mycologist Innsmouth Yugov offering you a strange-smelling bowl of mushroom stew. “Let the blessed fungus spread freely. In fact, deliberately spread it to every forest in @@NAME@@. Do it or there will be truffle, I mean trouble. The blessed mycelium will give strength to our nation as it infiltrates our soil. You understand? Yes. Me go, now. Me go.” He hands you a mysterious book, then chants in an indecipherable language.

Cody ‘Iron Eyes’ de Corti and Innsmouth Yugov seem fixed, but I am wondering if Elaine Wipley is fixed or just the first name (@@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ Wipley), since Elaine is listed as a possible first name unlike Wipley as last name. Internal numbering 0, 1, 2, and 3, so I am guessing no hidden options.

Just got it as well, also with responses 0, 1, 2, 3.

Elaine Wipley is a fixed name. It is a reference to the Alien movie series character Ellen Ripley. Also from the movie - "nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure."

Cody 'Iron Eyes' de Corti is a reference to "Iron Eyes Cody" (birth name Espera Oscar de Corti), who was an actor famous for playing Native American characters, including the famous "Native American shedding a tear" over litter in the public service announcement (hence the single tear in the issue).

Innsmouth Yugov would be a reference to the canon of HP Lovecraft, and his story Shadow Over Innsmouth, wherein a town full of strange-smelling fish-human hybrid people operate a mysterious cult and worship a dark entity.

[TalAkMaChen]

Some updates/reminders:
1334,1 randomname
1436 randomnames
1442,2: “A strategy like that sounds sensible, but our agriculture would still be susceptible to rot from within,” counters geneticist @@RANDOMNAME@@, who recently grew flies with eyes on their wings. “It takes only one breach for there to be another outbreak. The government should sponsor a large-scale gene editing program so that the next generation of crops and livestock won’t even blink at exotic diseases. While we’re at it, we can improve them in other ways as well. You know, I’ve always wanted to make a chicken glow in the dark.”

c.f.,3: "A strategy like that sounds sensible, but our agriculture would still be susceptible to rot from within," counters geneticist @@RANDOMNAME@@, who recently grew flies with eyes on their wings. "It takes only one breach for there to be another outbreak. The government should sponsor a large-scale gene editing program so that the next generation of crops won't even blink at exotic diseases. While we're at it, we can improve them in other ways as well. You know, I've always wanted to eat glow-in-the-dark cherries." (vegetarian: no "and livestock" in the option as well as chicken instead of cherries)

[Tor-bana-ing]

#1455: Trademarks Make Their Mark on Marketing

The Issue

Zeerocks, a @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ company known for manufacturing photocopiers, has recently come into conflict with a corporation in the mostly harmless nation of Merovingia that makes a similar product. The Merovingian company has been using the common phrase ‘zeerocksing’ in their advertising and packaging, even though Zeerocks owns the trademark for the term. The inevitable legal dispute has now come to national attention.

The Debate

1. “@@LEADER@@, it is essential that this term remains exclusive to the products and services of our company,” claims a sharply dressed representative from Zeerocks, handing out zeerocksed packets of heavily laminated legal documentation to everyone in close proximity. “When direct competitors use the term to describe the services that we exclusively offer, consumers begin to associate the term with photocopying, which zeerocksing simply is not. Furthermore, we have legally registered this trademark and should have full rights to control its use.”

2. A sophisticated-looking executive from Merovingian Minolta directs your attention to her slideshow presentation. “As we can see here, photocopying involves the same exact process as zeerocksing. It is preposterous to use multiple terms for the same exact action, and makes no sense for a company to be able to own a commonly used word. Therefore, since the Zeerocks trademark is already a generic term, anyone should be able to use it.”

3. “We might as well rip off the band-aid now,” claims your Minister of Abrupt Solutions, while using a sharpie to write notes on some post-its. “This case is a dumpster fire of complex trademark laws, and I bet we’ll see a plethora of new cases no matter who wins this lawsuit. It’s as clear as plexiglass that we need to abolish all existing trademark laws, so that this doesn’t hoover up all of our legal system’s resources. Now does anyone have an aspirin? My head feels like someone hit it with a thermos.”

4. “That is just going to cause even more confusion,” drones Xanatos Vajiralongkorn, whose gray suit matches his gray demeanor. “Why do we need branding in the first place? All of this marketing is just another way for the big, rich corporations to control the public. You should require all products to be sold in monocolored packaging with no graphics or brand names on them.”

Issue by The Second Best of Noahs Second Country

Edited by Pogaria

Option three is the best.

[Jutsa]

Pff, your Minister of Abrupt Solutions is a weakling. I have been hit in the head with a thermos - by myself, don't ask - and I never took an aspirin for such a petty thing. Wimp.

[Rocain Founder]

Issue #380 has a fourth option, in addition to the three spoiled options. My puppet Cain G LoS Stm v0 received this issue missing option 3, but including option 4. The text for option 4 is identical to the spoiled text for option 3, except that the phrase "messing with the free market" has been replaced by "messing with the economy". I presume that nations with private industry receive option 3, while those without it receive option 4.

[Jutsa]

1071 is missing a 1. before option 1.

Thanks, CWA https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=38559147#p38559147

[Trotterdam]

Here's #1454 in full, including a spelling correction since previous reports.

#1454 Poplar Opinion

The Issue

As a symbol of historic cultural ties, the nation of Brancaland has gifted @@NAME@@ a dozen Brancalandian Spiked Aspen trees. These were ceremonially planted in the famed Jellostain National Park. Unfortunately, it's now been discovered that the trees are host to a parasitic fungus endemic to Brancaland, which is now spreading and ravaging the local woodland.

The Debate

1. "Let's not panic!" says one of your diplomats, panicking. "Brancaland had good intentions, but we need to contain the spread before the entire nation is infected. Luckily the fungal infestation is only in this part of the park, so let's enclose the section with the trees with a glass bio-dome, and allow access only to a select few. We can import more Brancalandian flora and dedicate the arboretum to our nations' enduring friendship."

2. "You don't know what this fungus can do," flatly states Forestry Commission Warrant Officer Elaine Wipley, with the look of a shell-shocked veteran. "If one of those spores gets out there, that's it! Taking off and nuking the site from orbit is the only way to be sure. No? Well, at the very least, you need to send the army in with flamethrowers, to burn everything in a three-mile radius."

3. "It's too late for the park," whispers General Cody 'Iron Eyes' de Corti, shedding a single tear as he surveys the devastation. "They destroyed our park; we can destroy theirs too. You should allow us to covertly release the @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ Destroying Angel Fungi over the Brancalandian pine forests. Let the invaders feel our pain."

4. "Fungus is Good, repeat with me, Fungus is Good," intones eccentric mycologist Innsmouth Yugov offering you a strange-smelling bowl of mushroom stew. "Let the blessed fungus spread freely. In fact, deliberately spread it to every forest in @@NAME@@. Do it or there will be truffle, I mean trouble. The blessed mycelium will give strength to our nation as it infiltrates our soil. You understand? Yes. Me go, now. Me go." He hands you a mysterious book, then chants in an indecipherable language.

Issue by Honeydewistania
Edited by Candlewhisper Archive

It's been confirmed that none of the names are random. Speaking of which:

Innsmouth Yugov would be a reference to the canon of HP Lovecraft, and his story Shadow Over Innsmouth, wherein a town full of strange-smelling fish-human hybrid people operate a mysterious cult and worship a dark entity.

Also from another story in the same franchise (The Whisperer in Darkness), "Yuggoth" is a planet at the outer edge of our solar system, home to the fungus-like aliens known as the "Mi-Go".

[Valentine Z]

Valentine’s Changelog 030

---

We are off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz!

- Added 6 more issues! ^^
- Alongside a few others fixed macros as usual.

Changes made to the threads can be seen here.

[Trotterdam]

Note that #766 now has a duplicate of option 1, so the internal option numbering has likely changed.

[Valentine Z]

Note that #766 now has a duplicate of option 1, so the internal option numbering has likely changed.

Noted with for the next update, thank you! ^^

[Honeydewistania]

http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic ... rt=75#1454

Has 1454: 1454: twice

[Valentine Z]

http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=88&start=75#1454

Has 1454: 1454: twice

I knew that was going to bite me back. Ahh, I will fix that later in the day with a small changelog, on top of Trot's comment.

Thanks! ♥

[Tinhampton]

Option 1444.3 begins with @@RANDOMNAME@@ saying the words "What happens in @@NAME@@ stays in @@NAME@@!", not "What happens in Darmen stays in Darmen!".

EDIT TO ADD: In the description of Issue 1445, the Brancalandian tourist's ill-fated "street food" order occurs in @@ANIMAL@@ City, not @@CAPITAL@@. (For Valentine Z: @@NATION@@ macros are also used throughout instead of the typically-accepted @@NAME@@.)

ANOTHER EDIT TO ADD: Option 362.3's last sentence should probably read "The cost in lives and tax @@CURRENCYPLURAL@@ would be too high," not "The cost in lives and tax @@CURRENCY would be too high" but I'm not too sure

[Tor-bana-ing]

#1456: Weather Report: It’s Not Graining In East Lebatuck

The Issue

East Lebatuck, one of the largest ‘second world’ nations, is in the midst of a famine. It does not typically trade with @@NAME@@ due to its suspicion of capitalism. However, because of the famine, the ‘Iron Giant of Communism’ wants to purchase large quantities of foodstuffs, particularly grain, from @@NAME@@.

The Debate

1. “We’re going to have a field day!” gasps your Treasury Minister, grasping the gravity of the situation. “Imagine the headlines — ‘Great Groat! East Lebatuck Grovels to Graceful @@NAME@@ to Gratify its Grain Grievances’. Every sale we make to East Lebatuck is proof that free markets work and communism does not. You’ve got to encourage this trade — provide subsidies to corporations that do business with East Lebatuck, and we’ll show the world who’s really won the cold war.”

2. “See what I’m doing here?” asks advisor Danny Taylor, rubbing her middle finger on her wrist. “I’m playing the world’s smallest violin. The best way to show capitalist superiority is to let this evil empire face the consequences of its communist folly and let it starve. They can ask our noble corporations for grain once they open up to free enterprise in their country. Which, let’s face it, will be never.”

3? “Dear leader, don’t listen to these commissars. This is not an opportunity to showboat,” advises communist sympathizer Jamal Chan, wearing a red pin of East Lebatuck Chairman Joseph Rushev on his lapel. “Starving people is not cool, man. So how about you treat this like a humanitarian problem and send free grain with no strings attached? In return, we pinky promise not to throw you into the gulag when this capitalist state inevitably crumbles.”

Issue by The Red Lucky Holy Planet of Fauxia

Edited by Electrum

[Trotterdam]

Can confirm the names and genders are random. I got the opposite ones. That is to say:

#1456 Weather Report: It's Not Graining In East Lebatuck

The Issue

East Lebatuck, one of the largest 'second world' nations, is in the midst of a famine. It does not typically trade with @@NAME@@ due to its suspicion of capitalism. However, because of the famine, the 'Iron Giant of Communism' wants to purchase large quantities of foodstuffs, particularly grain, from @@NAME@@.

The Debate

1. "We're going to have a field day!" gasps your Treasury Minister, grasping the gravity of the situation. "Imagine the headlines — 'Great Groat! East Lebatuck Grovels to Graceful @@NAME@@ to Gratify its Grain Grievances'. Every sale we make to East Lebatuck is proof that free markets work and communism does not. You've got to encourage this trade — provide subsidies to corporations that do business with East Lebatuck, and we'll show the world who's really won the cold war."

2. "See what I'm doing here?" asks advisor @@RANDOMNAME@@, rubbing @@HIS/HER@@ middle finger on @@HIS/HER@@ wrist. "I'm playing the world's smallest violin. The best way to show capitalist superiority is to let this evil empire face the consequences of its communist folly and let it starve. They can ask our noble corporations for grain once they open up to free enterprise in their country. Which, let's face it, will be never."

3. "Dear leader, don't listen to these commissars. This is not an opportunity to showboat," advises communist sympathizer @@RANDOMNAME@@, wearing a red pin of East Lebatuck Chairman Joseph Rushev on @@HIS/HER@@ lapel. "Starving people is not cool, man. So how about you treat this like a humanitarian problem and send free grain with no strings attached? In return, we pinky promise not to throw you into the gulag when this capitalist state inevitably crumbles."

Issue by Fauxia
Edited by Electrum

[Racoda]

#1452: Valentine Z; ed: Electrum

Hello Darkness My Old Friend

The Issue

Racoda Island III ground to a halt after a nationwide blackout resulted in dark street lamps, traffic jams and melted ice creams. It was caused by the country having insufficient fuel to generate electricity, with the bulk of the fuel being exported due to long-term supply contracts.

The Debate

1. “I’ve come to talk with you again,” pesters Michonne Simon, your Minister of Energy, her figure barely visible in the naked candlelight. “The nation has enough fossil fuel reserves to power itself. However, corporations like Conch and Epsilon Mobil are profiting from their export rather than ensuring our country has enough electricity! Nationalise them and tear up the contracts so that our power plants always have enough fuel. The companies have been given too much free rein on our resources and we don’t need their technical expertise anymore.”

2. “Nationalisation is like a cancer that grows,” says Conch Chief Extraction Officer Thaddeus Garfunkel. “By nationalising, you’re creating an inefficient government-run company that will be vulnerable to corruption. You’re also going to be losing a long-term source of tax revenue by walking away from our contracts. Instead, you should approve drilling in that natural gas field we’ve always wanted to develop near Racoda Island III City. That way, there’ll be more than enough fuel to meet our export obligations and your electricity generators’ needs.”

3. “If we can no longer rely on power plants to provide electricity, why don’t you let us generate it ourselves?” asks an off-the-grid citizen completing his fortnightly run for loo rolls and gum. “See, I have this big diesel generator at home which is powering the local area during the blackout. There were some noise and pollution complaints at first, but the neighbours aren’t objecting now. It would be an easy change too, just dismantle the energy networks and pay us little guys to distribute energy locally.”

Names are likely *not* random.

Congrats on your first issue, Val!!

[Valentine Z]

Ohh hey, someone reported and got it! ♥️

Thank you! ^^ And yes, it's been fun, and I'm hoping to write a bit of a draft here and there, if I'm not that busy for these past few weeks, or idea deprived.

[TalAkMaChen]

Two small corrections:
...

Another quick update:
#1451 title/description has both bold and italics, check e.g. Trotterdam's post on the previous page (it is: Opportunity to Change Your Life. The magnificent energy of the cosmos )
and the speaker of option 1 can be a male, too (I had someone handling his .. pendant yet still a female friend from memories).

#1445 title/description also needs an update: It is @@ANIMAL@@ City, not @@CAPITAL@@. I have a capital set but still got the animal variant.

[Valentine Z]

Valentine’s Changelog 031

---

Ohh boy, my favorite number! 31 is here! ♥

- Added 2 issues.
- Macro changes and formatting.

Changes made to the threads can be seen here.

EDIT: I was just made aware of the odd extra spaces all over 1440 TO 1459. I always find errors after committing and pushing!

[Probably Not Japan]

For issue 1455 on the fourth option, I got another name. Same @@HIS@@ macro though, so I don't know if it's gendered or not.

[Tinhampton]

I got Rembrandt Allen for Option 1418.2. Neither the first name "Rembrandt" nor the surname "Allen" appears in the OP's list of "[g]ame-provided first and last names." (As an aside, this means that said option's alleged reference to "her nerves" is incorrect and should be to "@@HIS@@ nerves" instead.)

The reference to @@NAMES@@ in the description of Issue940 should likely be a reference to @@NAME@@ (singular) instead.

[Sedgistan]

I got Rembrandt Allen for Option 1418.2. Neither the first name "Rembrandt" nor the surname "Allen" appears in the OP's list of "[g]ame-provided first and last names."

Several hundred new names got added just over a week ago.

[Valentine Z]

I got Rembrandt Allen for Option 1418.2. Neither the first name "Rembrandt" nor the surname "Allen" appears in the OP's list of "[g]ame-provided first and last names."

Several hundred new names got added just over a week ago.

Ahh, that will mean I need to update the list of names too. My worry (was) on the character space on the OP, but that is a relief as I found out that it has only used 12k characters out of the limit of 60k. I hopefully don't think we will have that many names to fill up the entire OP.