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Dispatch → Meta → Reference
Getting Started In Alvaria
WELCOME!
We're glad you decided to drop by and check our region out! We hope your stay doesn't fall short of your expectations. Meanwhile, you may be asking yourself what there is to do here, or what this even is. We probably guessed right given that you clicked on this dispatch, and we're glad to help you out! If you're completely new to NationStates, click here to get a good idea of how this all works, and how to start off your NS experience. If you're a seasoned NS player, and just wanna figure out what this region has to offer, click here to teleport to the apposite section on the dispatch. We hope this dispatch helps (if it did, don't hesitate to upvote it)!
A RUDIMENTARY BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO NATIONSTATES
Well, to define NationStates to begin with is a bit of a difficult task. You could say it's a political simulator in which you create and develop your nation. You'd be pretty spot-on, but it's not just that. There are countless nation simulator games out there, yet what distinguishes NationStates from all of them, and perhaps from any other game out there, is that it's not even really about the game itself. The more you spent on NS, the more you get involved into the individual communities of players, and soon enough, you just log in to write your occasional dispatch, to play in your regional roleplay, or simply to talk to your friends. This game is about the community. I myself have known many players who, after leaving the game, remained in contact for years, becoming close friends, and even visiting each other from different parts of the globe. To wrap this all up, NS is sort of like a big forum, where through your nation, you open a door to a world of new friendships, activities and fun with groups of fellow players.
Now putting this cheesy introduction aside, below are some Frequently Asked Questions, that you may or may not have already asked yourself, and definitely will throughout your stay on this game. We took the initiative and answered as many as we could for you!
Q: Is there war in this game?Now putting this cheesy introduction aside, below are some Frequently Asked Questions, that you may or may not have already asked yourself, and definitely will throughout your stay on this game. We took the initiative and answered as many as we could for you!
A: We knew that was gonna be your first question. Sadly, no, there's no official war function in this game. Wait, before you log off and never return, let me finish. There isn't an official war function in the game, but some madman genius player from way back in the day invented what is now known as Raiding and Defending, or R/D, which is largely adopted as the only way to wage war between regions. It's a complex topic to unravel, but we can tell you the basics: each region has a World Assembly Delegate. They are the nation with most endorsements in the region (more on how endorsements and the World Assembly works here). A World Assembly Delegate can have Executive powers, meaning that he can mess around with the region all he wants. Well, a region can invade the other by sending a bunch of their nations into it and endorsing one of them. This target nation, with enough endorsements will become the enemy region's World Assembly Delegate, and with their Executive powers, wreak havoc throughout the region. This may sound complicated, but experts in the field will do much better than us at explaining it (one such expert wrote a dispatch, which we'll link here). It's a very entertaining and popular game to play within this game, and is sure to get you excited once you get the hang of it.
Q: What is the World Assembly, and what is there to do?
A: Well, the World Assembly, commonly referred to as the WA, is in the developers' own words, "the world's governing body. It's your chance to mold the world to your vision, by voting for resolutions you like and scuttling the rest. However, it's a double-edged sword, because your nation will be affected by any resolutions that pass. (Unfortunately you can't obey the resolutions you like and ignore the rest.) In other words, it's a hot-bed of political intrigue and double-dealing." As embellished as it sounds, it's sort of correct. It's similar to the United Nations of the real world, and you can apply to join it. Once you do, you'll be able to vote on resolutions from both the General Assembly and the Security Council. The General Assembly passes resolutions that affect the community as a whole, rather than individual nations. It's more of a role-play UN thing than an actual entity within the game, but it's fun if you're into that stuff. The Security Council, however, is a real deal. Its resolutions condemn or commend nations, and can mandate liberations. Liberations are the real deal, especially if you wanna get into the aforementioned R/D sport. They are basically resolutions that, if enacted, remove a Delegate's authority to set a regional password. These are usually enacted to regions that have been invaded, and the loss of control over the regional password renders the invaders vulnerable to a counter-attack by a foreign defender force, intent on restoring order.
Anyways, aside from all that R/D talk, the World Assembly allows for you to endorse a nation, which you do by clicking the "Endorse [nation name]" at the bottom of a nation's page. To join the World Assembly, you need to click the "Apply to join" button on the WA page. It's also usually a prerequisite for regions if you want to become a citizen, as is the case with Alvaria. Beware though, you can own multiple nations, but only one of them can have WA membership (even with alt emails, the IP tracking system will bust you sooner or later, so it's better if you don't try).
Q: What is a regional roleplay?
A: The regional roleplay, simply referred to as RP, is a region-wide game in which any member of a region can take part. Usually, it revolves around a specific setting, i.e. the Cold War, the Middle Ages, Modern Day, etc. Nations in a region would claim territories on a map and establish their nation. For example, in our region's current Cold-War-Era RP, I am playing as a Communist Union between Australia and New Zealand, called the Oceanian Commune. Depending on the region you are in, the moderation and rules for the roleplay may cause it to be more realistic, and requiring of much effort, or relaxed, and more liberal on realism. Eitherways, you are usually expected to produce a factbook, where you'd write the necessary information regarding your nation. This political RP is the standard for most other regions, but some adopt other kinds, such as character roleplay. Eitherways, RP is one of the main driving forces of activity within a region, with some regions being centered around RP alone. It is a player-favourite pasttime, aside from R/D and regional politics. Speaking of, we encourage you to join our own Alvarian Roleplay!
Q: What is the Regional Message Board?
A: A Regional Message Board, usually referred to as the RMB, the first-page chat of a region. It is structured like a forum, where you type out a message using BBCode, and post it up. Back in the good ol' days, it used to be the only way in which nations could communicate with each other within a region, aside from Telegrams. Nowadays, you're more likely to find a region that operates mostly on their Discord server, and the RMB is used either as the RP postboard, or as a superficial chat to welcome new nations and make announcements. In the case of Alvaria, the RMB is only used for RP, and the main activity is on our Discord server, which by the way, you should totally come
join.Q: What is this BBCode, and what will I use it for?
A: Oh boy. BBCode is essentially what your dispatches, factbooks, RMB posts, and basically everything you'll be writing here on NS, works on. It dictates what font you want your text to be, the size, the boldness, the images you want to insert, etc. It's like manual code-like Microsoft Word font settings. This whole dispatch was written in BBCode, and you can check the raw, code-only version out here. Don't be daunted, it looks like a lot but it's real easy to get the hang of. A bunch of wonderful people have put out some wonderful guides on how to write in BBCode (we're gonna link one of the best ones here). I can quickly turn into a passion, and if you're a perfectionist, a coding geek, or both, this will definitely interest you. I personally love making dispatches, so here I am! As for yourself, we suggest you learn the basics if you wish to join the RP, as you are required to write up a factbook for your RP nation.
Did we answer them all? We hope we did! In the event that we didn't, however, feel free to Telegram me or DM me on Discord, and I'd be glad to help! Anyways, now that we gave you a good rundown of how this game works, you're ready to know how this region in particular rolls about! Scroll lower, or if you're too lazy, click here!
WHAT CAN I DO IN ALVARIA?
[footholder]
