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Dispatch → Meta → Reference
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The Community of Dispatch.
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Helpful Links!
1. Different polls we had over at Middle Earth.1a) All past polls of Middle Earth: Go to page=polls then click 'Middle Earth Polls' to view them all (DIRECT LINK).
1b) Lothlorien's polls: DIRECT LINK
2. Nationstates Research tools: http://nsdossier.texasregion.net/default.aspx
3. Nationstates New Player Guide:
2. What is NationStates?
3. What are Issues?
4. What are Ratings?
5. What are Government Types?
6. What are Telegrams?
7. What are Dossiers?
8. What is the Settings page?
9. What is the Overview page?
10. What are Dispatches?
11. What is People, Government and Economy?
12. What is Analysis?
13. What is the World Assembly?
a. What are Councils?
b. What are Delegates?
c. What are Endorsements?
d. What is Resolution Voting?
e. How to pass a Resolution?
14. What is Influence?
a. What are the Influence Levels?
15. What is Population Growth?
a. What is a Population Growth Table?
16. Roleplay?
17. Terminolgy?
18. Anymore Additional Links?
The object of the game is to lead a country in the way the player finds best. At the start of the game, the player chooses a few basic characteristics including country name, flag, motto, currency, national animal and style of government. Answers to a short questionnaire determine the initial ratings of the country's civil, economic and political rights. The nation's population starts at five million and increases every day automatically with play.
You can decide how often issues come to you by clicking on 'settings' in the side-bar on the NS game.
# | Economic | Political Freedoms | Civil Rights |
1 | Frightening | Corrupted | Widely Abused |
2 | All-Consuming | Widely-Abused | Frightening |
3 | Powerhouse | Excessive | Excessive |
4 | Thriving | World-Benchmark | World Benchmark |
5 | Very-Strong | Superb | Superb |
6 | Strong | Excellent | Excellent |
7 | Good | Very good | Very good |
8 | Fair | Good | Good |
9 | Reasonable | Average | Average |
10 | Developing | Below-average | Below-average |
11 | Struggling | Some | Some |
12 | Weak | Few | Few |
13 | Fragile | Rare | Rare |
14 | Basket Case | Unheard of | Unheard of |
15 | Imploded | Outlawed | Outlawed |
- Factbook: Descriptions relating to your nation, or anything you choose.
Bulletin: For all things relating to gameplay.
Account: Articles or stories about your nation.
Meta: Matters relating to gameplay which stem from a real-life perspective.
- People: A pie-chart illustrating the leading causes of death throughout your nation.
Government: An illustration showing the distribution of your budget.
Economy: An illustration of the division of the public and private sectors.
Even though you are allowed to create more than one nation, you are permitted to have only one nation in the WA at a time. This is important. Violating this rule could get you ejected from the WA permanently or, even worse, deleted permanently.
The General Assembly focuses on international law that applies to all nations if passed. These normally concern shipping laws, military safety and other similar topics.
The Security Council focuses on one nation at a time. More often than not, these involve praising individual players and 'liberating' nations, allowing free entry. Whilst there is no battle system set in place by Max Barry, the Security Council's resolutions often relate to keeping the peace.
Becoming a delegate can be an easy or difficult process, depending on the circumstances. To be elected, you need endorsements (a minimum of two) from the majority of members in your region. Whilst a region composed of you and your friends can guarantee you a spot, bigger regions with a vast collection of players are often much more challenging. Not only must you convince people to support your cause (and potentially get the old delegate demoted), you need to hold this position by respecting the demands of the region.
Patience is a god send. Don't expect to march in some random region and have endorsements thrown at you. You need to prove your place.
Get friendly with some of the other nations, people who you can count on to support your ascent to power.
If they have one, find out about the current delegate. Is he well liked? Does he listen to the nation's wishes? Does he abuse his power? Use this to your advantage...
NationStates truly is a game of politics and roleplaying. To that end, feel free to blackmail and bribe your peers.
When you decide to pass your own resolution, you have two choices. You can create a brand new one, or you can attempt to repeal an old one.
Creating a new resolution is basically one that does not currently exist. If you do so, make sure you look through all previous resolutions. There's nothing more embarrassing than attempting to introduce laws on toilet paper which already exist...
If you too are angered about the increase of tax on tea bags, then you have the chance to get things changed! You can vote to re-appeal a resolution, which will render the resolution in question null and void. This is normally when old laws conflict with new methods.
Tips on Passing a Resolution:
- Gather up support within your region. If it was proposed by someone, all the better!
Spread the word on the forums. There is a section dedicated to the discussion of resolutions. You can make friends and get some critique on your law, which will let you make the edits necessary to give it an air of professionalism.
Don't get too frustrated if your resolution doesn't make it to the voting floor. You can always try again.
Although being boast-worthy in its own right, Influence serves an important gameplay purpose. The ability of WA Delegates to eject and ban nations from their region, and to password-protect it, is limited by their Influence. Delegates consume some of their Influence to exercise their power, so the more often he uses his influence, the more difficult it is for him to wield those powers in the future.
When a nation moves to a region, it has no influence within that region. Nations accrue influence in a region by remaining in the region, and by receiving endorsements from the region’s members. Being a member of the WA has no effect unless the nation gains endorsements, the more endorsements one gets, the more influence one will accrue.
The regional influence is equal to the sum of the national influence of all its members (updated each WA update), and is displayed as a ranking on a scale ranging from ‘Backwater’ to ‘Extremely High’.
The national influence ranking (ranging from ‘Minnow’ to ‘Hermit’) is determined by the ratio of national influence to total regional influence and the previous WA update.
# ↓# | Influence Level |
21 | Minnow |
20 | Vassal |
19 | Truckler |
18 | Handshaker |
17 | Duckspeaker |
16 | Envoy |
15 | Diplomat |
14 | Ambassador |
13 | Auxiliary |
12 | Negotiator |
11 | Contender |
10 | Instigator |
9 | Dealmaker |
8 | Enforcer |
7 | Eminence Grise |
6 | Powerbroker |
5 | Power |
4 | Superpower |
3 | Dominator |
2 | Hegemony |
1 | Hermit |
The population of a newly-created nation increases by 1 million per day.
The population of a nation is related to the descriptor of it's size. As a nation's population increases, it progresses through a series of size descriptors, which are: fledgling, tiny, small, large, very large, huge, massive, colossal, and gargantuan. As a nation's population increases, it eventually gains a number of new custom nation traits, including the capitol city (250 million), the nation name pretitle (500 million), the nation's leader (750 million), and the national religion (1 billion).
Population Mark | Change (s) |
5 million | The starting population, with the population size descriptor 'fledgling', and a population growth rate of 1 million per day. |
7 million | The population size descriptor changes to 'tiny'. |
10 million | The population growth rate increases to 2 million per day. |
20 million | The population size descriptor changes to 'small'. The population growth rate increases to 3 million per day. |
32 million | The population growth rate increases to 4 million per day. |
40 million | The population growth rate increases to 5 million per day. |
50 million | The population size descriptor changes to 'large'. The population growth rate increases to 6 million per day. |
62 million | The population growth rate becomes randomly variable, ranging from 5 million per day to 7 million per day. The population growth rate does not change after this. |
100 million | The population size descriptor changes to 'very large'. |
200 million | The population size descriptor changes to 'huge'. |
250 million | The nation can receive the issue to create a custom-named national capitol. |
500 million | The nation name pretitle changes from multiple-choice to a custom text field. The player may submit issues from now on, at the issues page. |
1 billion | The population size descriptor changes to 'massive'. The nation can receive the issue to create a custom-named national religion. |
5 billion | The population size descriptor changes to 'colossal'. |
10 billion | The population size descriptor changes to 'gargantuan'. |
forum thread.- Thread: The overall topic/conversation/story.
Opening Post (OP): The first post of a thread. Usually, the person who posts first is known as the Opening Poster (OP). They are usually the person who runs the thread unless stated otherwise.
Co-Opening Poster (CO-OP): A person who is employed by the Opening Poster.
Post: An individual reply made by one person to a thread.
Character: When you make your first post in a RP thread that is where you will name your character.
Out-of-character (OOC): Out of Character posts are often posted in the Drafting Plane in the respective Out of Character thread. Post of this sort is used to convey messages unrelated to the roleplay, such as informing your fellow players that you will be out of town for a week and therefore will not be online in NationStates.
Private Message (PM): This is a method where you send a particular person a message.
Coloured Post: The use of colors, bold, and italics is also applied in many threads. When used correctly, this makes seeing the speech and thought of each PC (player character) much easier to tell apart from the rest of the post. It is suggested that colors be used as a last resort.
Non-Player Character: A character that is only used for a minor detail or for a small bit of dialogue. These characters are generally flat and will only be involved in a Role Play for a short amount of time.
Time Skip: A moment where the story will advance upon an agreed amount of time. This is used for when intimate moments start approaching too explicit or when there is no way to advance the plot anymore unless time passes quickly.
Godmod: Godmodding is in essence when someone’s character has the ability to do practically anything without limits or boundaries. And example is when they simply cannot be harmed by any and all means other RP-ers try.
- Sinker Region: One of the 4 major regions in NationStates, featuring (at times) thousands of nations and has no founder.
Warzones: Completely open regions that cannot be password-locked. Bans are temporary and last 24 hours.
Regional Message Board (RMB): The blurb on the front page of our region where you can talk to anyone here.
Puppets: Non-WA nations that are often used for the purposes of diplomacy, filling, and pure deception.
Telegrams (TG): A private messaging system that acts as emails for NS. Players often say "PM" or "TG me".
World Assembly (WA): The political body that passes laws on NS. Very nasty and very beginner-unfriendly.
World Assembly Member: Gives you the right to vote on WA laws. Click
Word Assembly Delegate: The one member of the region that has the most number of WA Endorsements.
Rejected Realms (RR): The one place you go after being banned. You're safe in the RR (except from Admins).
Founder: The Nation that founds a region. Has the power to ban, eject, banject nations, change tags, suppress RMB posts, change the flag, construct and deconstruct embassies, and change the WFE.
Founderless Region: A region where the Founder has CTE'd, handing all administrative controls to the WA Delegate by default.
WFE - World Factbook Entry: An area that describes you region, etc. At the top of any region screen.
Eject: The Act of ejecting a nation from another region. Can be done for free by a Founder, or at the cost of Influence for a delegate. Ejected nations arrive in the Rejected Relams immediately.
Ban: Prohibits a nation from entering a given region. Costs a WAD more influence than just ejection.
Banject: Ejecting and Banning someone at the same time, Costs the most influence.
Cease-to-exist (CTE): The deletion of a nation after a period of inactivity lasting 28 days. A nation can be 'refounded' by the owner by login in again.
How to create a Wikipedia-style Factbook: This forum thread created by Ponderosa provides a very nice, clean and effective format for any nation to adopt to create their own Factbooks.
New to Roleplay?: A comprehensive forum thread created by P2tm details the fundamentals of the roleplay community in NationStates as well as providing launchpad to furthering one's knowledge of roleplay through various links.
A guide to different issues type: A guide authored by Goddess Relief Office provides an overview of the different issue types and the methods to unlocking them.
"I would sincerely appreciate it if you could up-vote this dispatch if you found it informative ^_^"
4. A dispatch containing some NationStates utlilities can be found here:
Wanting to expand your NS experience? Well, look no further. Here is a list of sites and tools to add more depth to NationStates.
Though I have tried, this is most likely not an all-inclusive list. If there are any sites or utilities that you believe should be added to the list, or if one of the items listed stops working, please TG me. I always appreciate the help.
NOTE: All of these sites and utilities have been created by third parties and are not affiliated with the NationStates website or myself. While I believe all of them to be safe, you are using them at your own risk.
If you find this dispatch useful, please "up-vote" it.
Auto Telegramming Programs
If you are tired of having to use stamps to send mass telegrams, or you just need help sending large numbers of TGs you may want to try one of these. NOTE: Be sure to follow all mass telegramming and API rules, or you will face the wrath of the Mods.
NationStates AutoTelegram- This is a utility to allow you to send mass telegrams without using NS Stamps. I have used it many times in the past. It has been extremely useful for WA campaigns and mass TGing my region. This is no longer supported, meaning bugs and errors will not be fixed.
pyNSrecruit- This is another auto telegram program. It has a straightforward and easy to use interface, plus it supports use as a recruitment tool.
Agadar's Telegrammer- This is a desktop application that automates sending telegrams, so you don't have to use stamps. It is useful for recruitment, WA campaigning, and region-wide telegramming.
Communiqué 8 Telegram Client- Communiqué is a simple open-source way to send telegrams through the Telegram API. It is built using Java (you will need an up-to-date version of Java), so it will probably run on your home computer.
nstg-web- stg-web is a free and open source web application that allows you to easily send telegrams to a list of NationStates nations. This also has the benefit of being a web app, so you don't have to download anything.
Flag Creators
If making flags in MS Paint is too basic, and Photoshop or GIMP is just too much try one pf these flag creators.
FlagMaker 2.0- FlagMaker is a tool to easily create flags that includes many different flag elements and emblems. You can create a flag with six different base types and then add as many overlays as you like. It even has a random function if you are all out of ideas. (Special thanks to Zambara for finding this.)
FlagMaker Jr.- FlagMaker Jr. is a simplified version of FlagMaker. It is also an online app, so you don't have to download anything. There is a bit of a learning curve and the options are arranged in a way that is not immediately intuitive, but once you get the hang of it, you can create good looking flags.
Fake Flag- This is a flag creator app that allows you to mix and match elements from real flags. You can create unique, and interesting flags that also look professional. The only downside is that you can't add art or colors of your own. This is a very good option if you want a realistic flag.
Flag Designer- This is an extremely simple flag making app. Not too many options, but the user interface is very straightforward and easy to use. This is a good way to make decent looking flags quickly. Plus, the flags are made in SVG files, so they scale without pixelating or distorting.
Flag Designer - Tennessine- This is another online flag making app. You start with a real-life flag and then insert different elements into it. There are plenty of options that allow you to make pretty unique flags.
Flag Creator- This flag creator allows you to make flags completely from scratch, rather than using real flags as a base. This app can be a little tricky to use at first, but with a bit of playing around it becomes intuitive. This is a pretty good option if you don't want a flag that looks like every other one.
Name Generators
Having difficulty coming up with names? These name generators will help you come up with as many as you need. These are not strictly for NationStates, but they are site commonly utilized by NS users.
Random Name Generator- This is a basic name generator that will give a block of names according to the simple parameters you set. This is ideal for generating a list of names for an entire sports team or military unit.
Behind the Name- This name generator allows you to choose the category of the name, and how many names the person has. You definitely want to narrow the options before making a name, or you may get very strange ones.
Fake Name Generator- Despite the name, this generator doesn't just give you a name but also gives you a full online profile for the character. Very good if you want details, but don't have the time to make them up yourself.
Nation Stats Calculators
Are graphs and descriptions on your nation's NS page not enough for you? These stats calculators will give you the specific numbers and details about your nation. They are perfectly suited for getting stats for Role Playing.
NSEconomy- This is the stat calculator I personally use. It is simple and easy to use.
NSDossier- This stats calculator provides the most regional information but is also the slowest loading calculator.
Phone Apps
Looking for a better, or at least different way to look at NationStates while on your phone? Try out one of these apps for your phone.
Stately- This is an Android App for your phone. It allows you to answer issues, compare stats and graphs of multiple nations, and track your nation stats over time.
NSDroid- This is another Android App to make using NationStates on your phone easier. It allows you to post to your region's RMB, send and receive TGs, and keep track of nations in your dossier.
NationStates++- This is a browser extension for the NationStates site. It adds stats and reorganizes some of the pages to be easier to use. It also has a feature that allows you to switch between nations you control with one click. It is very nice and kept up to date. This is a third party extension, so use at your own risk. However, NationStates is in the process of acquiring the extension, so it may gain "official" status in the near future.
LibreNS++- This is another, similar browser extension for the NationStates site. Much like NS++, this extension adds more functionality to the NS website, including mobile support, puppet management, automatic RMB updates, and IRC chat added to the region pages.
SerinApprox- This is a bot for your NationStates IRC channels that automatically calculates regions' approximate update times. It is an extremely useful tool if you are using your IRC for NS gameplay. SerinApprox is a plug-in for the mIRC client, so if you are the one running the bot on the channel you must use mIRC. Everyone else on the channel will be able to access the bot regardless of their IRC client.
NSBreeze- NSBreeze is an extension for Chrome, to add keyboard shortcuts to the NationStates site. This gives you the ability to navigate using the press of a key. This is a very useful extension if you are involved in the R/D game.
FluffyCogs- FluffyCogs is a module for the Red Discord Bot. This module will add NS-related commands to your region's Discord bot, such as displaying region data or WA resolution texts. Its a great way to integrate NationStates into your Discord.
Political Graphing Sites
Looking for a way to graph your nation's place on the political spectrum? Well, these sites will help you do that. Now, These are not strictly for NationStates, but they are site commonly utilized by NS users.
The Political Compass- This is the most common political graphing test used on NS. It provides a good measure of one's political stance or the stance of your nation.
Political Spectrum Quiz- This is a good alternative to the Political Compass site. It allows you to weight each question according to how significant you feel it is, so you can add another layer of personalization. However, due to this added feature, it may not be very compatible with the Political Compass results.
Puppet Managers
Have you recently started participating in NS gameplay and now you have so many puppets you don't know what to do with them all? These programs will help you stop them all from CTEing.
NationStates Nation Manager- This is a small application that allows you to log in to a long list of puppets with one click of the mouse. I used to use this program frequently when I was juggling 50+ puppet nations. It is very helpful.
Autologin Script- This is a simple Python script to automatically log in to your puppet nations. It also provides you a list of notices that your puppets received, so you can better monitor what is happening with your nations. It does require that you download Python 3 in order to run the script.
Scorinators
Want to run a sports RP? These programs and spreadsheets will help you generate scores fairly according to the inputs. I personally have little to no experience with these, so my descriptions will be limited.
xkoranate- This is a fairly versatile scorinator that allows you to simulate a wide variety of sports, both individual and team. It is the most widely used scorinator.
NSFS- This is a scorinator design specifically for football (soccer) scoring.
Leagion- This is a Java-based program for american football scores. Written by Rejistania.
Tennis 0.3.1- This is an Excel based scorinator for tennis match ups. Openoffice version. Written by Schiavonia.
League Ranking Sheet 3.2- This is a spreadsheet for league standings and rankings. Written by Osarius.
Wiki sites
Are you looking for a good place to post a world factbook or your nation's history? These Wiki sites are the perfect place for it.
NSWiki- This is a reboot of the now-defunct wiki site of the same name. It is filled with bot generated pages, so the entries may or may not be accurate. It is well kept and managed, and it is highly recommended.
IIWiki- The "II" stands for "international incidents", so this is a strictly In Character wiki. That means nothing can be posted that breaks the "fourth wall".
WikiStates- This is another alternative wiki site. It is rather small but has an active community.
NSIndex- This wiki site was made in response to the chaos created by NSWiki changing owners. The benefit of this site is that it has full access to Wikimedia Commons and there are no computer-generated pages.
NationStates Issue Results- This site collects data from nations answering issues to determine the results of each choice. It gives you the observed range of each stats change as well as the average change. Very useful if you want to fine-tune your NS stats, or if you just want to be a cheater.
NationStates Battle Simulator- This is a great tool to help war RPs. Instead of just rolling dice or arbitrarily deciding the results of a battle, you can just plug in various factors for both sides of the conflict and have the simulator crunch the numbers for you.
NSHistory- This site allows you to look at the history of nations and regions. How many nations were in the North Pacific in June of 2008? This site will let you know. (The answer is 3,602 nations, by the way.)
NSEmbassy- Regional Embassies make a web of connections across NationStates. How are they all connected? This will show you... In several different ways.
NSRegionFlags- Have you ever wanted to look at all the regions' flag on NS all at once? Me neither. But if you get bored you should check it out.
Planet Creation Kit- This is a random planet generator. It allows you to set some basic parameters and then generates the scientific details of the planet. What is it useful for? I dunno.
This Person Does Not Exist- This is a site that uses a computer algorithm to generate a picture of a fake person every two seconds. If you are looking for completely unique photos of people for your nation's factbook, this is a great utility... Though, you may need to refresh the page a few times before you find one that's suitable.
5. Middle Earth's old forum.
This is no longer mantained, but is to serve the posterity. You can find some nice topics with good information in the Tavern and in other places.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/middleearth/ (Ancient URL http://z11.invisionfree.invalid.com/MiddleEarth/ )
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