Are we continuing our discussion of a gate of specialised trade as well Diplomacy within your state?
You throw a nuclear weapon somewhere of our intrest and you'll never get trade or diplomacy from me, even through a new leadership in the next election as that's what we do in policy change or continuation.
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Edition Summary || A Year of Many, Nukes a Plenty By: Rosari/Rosartemis
In this monthly edition of EPNS, the Delegate's Update offers a heartfelt farewell as our outgoing Delegate concludes a successful 12-month term and wraps up a landmark agreement with the Money Heist Accords alongside TRTHNBB. The section on legislation summarizes recent activities, including a notable Concordat Amendment and the passing of the treaty with TRTHNBB. In Culture, Minister Tommo elaborates on a fruitful year in service, while introducing a busy autumn schedule and placing renewed emphasis on on-site community engagement. In The Foreign Newsstand, we cover Picairn’s election as Delegate of The North Pacific, the repealing of The Black Hawks’ condemns, the successful Commendation of Yodle, and many more. Celebrating the one-year anniversary of TFN, Aivintis takes us through the past year’s journey and the evolution of the news' series. Sokala gives an article about a intricate Discord-based nation RP system and examining how this model can be further applied, while N-Day 11 describes the chaotic nuclear war between the major factions JEFF, ANAL, KHAN, and HotA, concluding with HotA securing the top leaderboard spot.
Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of the EPNS! This Delegate’s Update will be my last, and I hope to cap off the end of a whirlwind 12 months with a few nice words.
While I would have loved to have continued on as TEP’s delegate, maybe broken the record for longest tenure, life, as always, has other plans. With so much going on, I simply didn’t feel I could continue to give the role and the region the time and energy it needed. I am confident my successor, whoever that may be, will give the region the kick it needs to spring back into form. I have thoroughly enjoyed my three terms as delegate, and hope to return to the role someday should life allow. I’m proud of the things we’ve been able to achieve as a region during these 12 months, and this will likely forever remain the highlight of my time on NationStates. Had you told me in 2018, heck, even 14 months ago that I’d be the Delegate someday, I’d probably have believed you… sorry to subvert your expectations like that. I would have been surprised though! I really never saw myself entering that sort of role, and I’m so glad I jumped at the opportunity.
I’m thankful for my cabinets, colleagues (if you can call them that) and friends who served with me along the way, and I’m looking forward to working with future governments to continue to make TEP the very best it can be.
In terms of regional happenings, as you will read below, we are IMMENSELY happy to announce we’ve signed a treaty with our friends in TRTHNBB. This is something I really wanted to get done before I left office, and I’m super glad we’ve got pen to paper and have made this happen. Massive credit on our end should be given to MoFA Altys, who was instrumental in ensuring this could happen. Altys, my predecessor in the delegacy served as a wonderful FA Minister for this last year.
With little else to update you on, I’ll simply leave this as more of a goodbye speech than a boring update. Thank you all very much for your hospitality over the last twelve months, and I hope future delegates updates are way more exciting for both our sakes.
Thank you as always for reading the EPNS, whether you’re from TEP or abroad, we’re glad to have your patronage. Enjoy the edition, and farewell for now.
UTEP Feature || Politics of Hozier, Part I: Religious Trauma Interested in how music artists tackle modern political issues? Aivintis' Politics of Hozier, Part I: Religious Trauma explores Hozier's powerful critiques of organized religion, homophobia, and violence. Focusing on tracks like Take Me to Church and Foreigner's God, this piece breaks down the deeper messages in his lyrics and visuals. Read the full piece for an exploration of how Hozier's music fights hate. page=dispatch/id=2555456
In a world overrun by faceless corporations and monstrous financial empires, two daring regions--The East Pacific and The Region That Has No Big Banks--have joined forces in a defiant stand against the banking elite. Today, we unveil The Money Heist Accords, a pact forged in shared rebellion and a mutual mission to tear down the institutions of greed.
Our regions, bound by a common opposition to the likes of the Royal Potato Bakery, the Horsemen Kitchen Tent, and the Kingly Palace Estates, will now collaborate more closely than ever before. The foundation of this alliance? Defensive Obligations. The East Pacific Sovereign Armada (EPSA) and The Bankless Liberation Force (BLF) pledge to work hand-in-hand, strategising and striking at the heart of the banking system whenever the opportunity arises. Should either region catch wind of an impending bank merger or corporate coup, we will share this intelligence swiftly and take decisive action.
But our battle extends beyond the frontlines. Culturally, we will ignite the flames of resistance through coordinated anti-corporate propaganda across our media outlets. In the World Assembly, we invite the anti-bank movement to take up the pen and write articles, draft proposals, and build a global alliance against the oppressors of the financial system.
And let it be known—our cause will be fueled by the spoils of our victories. The proceeds from every bank takedown, every class action lawsuit, every heist on the vaults of the elite, will be reinvested into joint cultural projects that strengthen the bond between our regions.
Together, we will take down the banks, brick by brick.
Treaty in its entirety:
Recognizing the recent growth in friendly relations and cross-cultural collaboration between The East Pacific and The Region That Has No Big Banks,
Seeking to formalise relations between the two regions and provide for even greater cooperation, The East Pacific and The Region That Has No Big Banks hereby jointly enact the following:
Article I - Mutual Recognition
(1) The Confederated East Pacific, as instituted by the Concordat of The East Pacific, and any legal successor to it, is hereby recognized as the legitimate government of The East Pacific by all signatories. (2) The Government of The Region That Has No Big Banks, as established by the Constitution of The Region That Has No Big Banks, and any legal successor to it, is hereby recognized as the legitimate government of The Region That Has No Big Banks by all signatories. (3) No Signatory may cede sovereign control of their territorial holdings to another entity. (a) The territorial holdings of signatories shall include jump points, event regions, affiliate regions, and colonies. (b) Sovereign control does not encompass regions whose founder nation do not belong to any signatory in any capacity.
Article II - Diplomatic Relations
(1) Each signatory shall establish and maintain in-game embassies with one another.
(2) Each signatory shall maintain off-site embassies with each other, consistent with facilities provided to other treatied allies.
(3) Each signatory will strive to keep the other updated on their regional happenings.
Article III - Defence and Intelligence Obligations
(1) The signatories will not invade or assist in a third-party invasion of the other signatory's home region or territories. The signatories also agree never to support, encourage or engage in any attempted subversion against the other. It is agreed upon that participating on the opposite sides of a battlefield in a third-party region will not constitute a violation of the treaty. (2) Should any of the signatories come under military attack against their legitimate government, the other signatories must provide military assistance. (3) The signatories must provide military assistance for one another in delegacy transitions, if requested by the transitioning signatory. (4) Both Parties agree never to engage in any form of espionage against each other. For the purposes of this Treaty, "espionage" means engaging a person to act under false pretences in a signatory region without the authorization of the legitimate government of that region.
(5) If a signatory comes into possession of significant information which could threaten the interests or security of the other signatory, they will share it.
(6) This treaty encourages the organisation and execution of joint military operations where possible between signatories in order to further their regional interests and their common alignment.
Article IV - Cultural Agreements
(1) The signatories will agree to encourage and support cultural exchanges and joint cultural events. The signatories agree to fully commit to promoting joint cultural events, particularly video game-related events, and are encouraged to collaborate on the organisation of such events. (2) The signatories agree to encourage cooperation in outlets of regional news. This cooperation may include sharing regional updates with one another, highlighting news from each fellow signatory’s region within each signatory’s own official news outlet, contributing articles to one another’s news outlet, or authoring joint articles. (3) The signatories agree to collaborate on the drafting, editing, and advertising of World Assembly proposals. (4) All signatories hereby declare intent to further cooperate and associate outside of the terms of this treaty.
Article V - General Provisions
(1) This Treaty shall enter into force on the date of its ratification by both Parties in accordance with their respective procedures. It may be amended when both parties agree to an amendment. (2) This treaty may be amended when all parties agree to an amendment; at any time a signatory may propose amendments to this Treaty. (3) Any signatory may exit this treaty via their own internal processes; they shall endeavour to give a week's notice before withdrawal and will make all reasonable efforts to seek a diplomatic solution before withdrawal. (4) The repeal of this treaty shall not necessarily be seen as an act of hostility by any signatory, and shall not necessarily dictate closure of relations between the repealing party and any signatory, and shall not preclude cooperation between the repealing party and any of the remaining signatories.
UTEP Feature || Borderlands: A tale of Gods, immortality and family friendly lack of humor Second UTEP piece! Are you curious in the Borderlands movie? Libertanny offers a critique that dives into how the film handles its iconic characters, lore, and humor. If you're curious about how well it captures the spirit of the games, check out the full review for a thoughtful take on what works - and what doesn't. page=dispatch/id=2547741
September was the last month of the 62nd Magisterium, and its slowest. Two bills were passed before elections began at the end of the month.
We ended September with 26 total Magisters. 22 are active, 3 are suspended, and 1 is on a leave-of-absence.
• [A-2024-36] An Amendment to the Concordat was passed with 15 ayes, 1 nay, and 1 abstain and sent to the Conclave to schedule a referendum. This amendment would add a seat to the Conclave. The referendum passed the region-wide vote. • [T-2024-37] The Money Heist Accords, a proposed treaty with The Region That Has No Big Banks, was introduced in September. Voting began on October 1, and looks likely to pass. • Elections for the Provost of the 63rd Magisterium began in the last week of September. Running are the incumbent Pauline Bonaparte/Hlenderia, American-Cascadia, The Clockwork Multiverse, and Arleat.
UTEP Feature || Hearts of Iron 4, why it succeeded when other strategy games failed And last piece! Want to know why Hearts of Iron 4 succeeds where other strategy games fell short? Arleat examines its complex mechanics, replayability, and thriving modding scene. The article also touches on Paradox Interactive’s reputation and how consistent updates have kept the game popular over time. Read the full article to see what sets HOI4 apart from the rest. page=dispatch/id=2547726
Culture hit a bit of a lull over the last few months, as I’m sure many people are aware - for now, we’ve kept ourselves busy with… 1) the summer flag contest, and 2) ensuring our monthly hunger games run smoothly!
I’m pleased to say that as we now head into the autumn months, culture will begin to pick up in activity again - we are planning some events for the halloween period, and with the Delegate elections coming up, we are likely to see some changes out of the ministry as we reach the end of 2024. Hopefully, moving in the right direction, culture will begin to see a shift where we focus more on our members on-site as well as offsite. In short, we’re looking to get the RMB and general on-site NS community more involved in cultural events as much as we can, and our upcoming events for halloween will certainly help us kick this off! I am looking forward to what this month brings :3
As we head into October, this month marks ONE WHOLE YEAR since I was appointed culture minister, and I just wanted to say what an honour it has been and how much fun I’ve had serving this wonderful family we’ve helped build here in The East Pacific. While it will always be down to the discretion of the next delegate, I’d happily serve another one, two, five, however many years in this position. It’s helped me learn and adapt to so much that this community offers, and I hope for that to continue for as long as I can see it through :) So a thank you to everybody who has made the last year so worthwhile!
That’s all for now, I look forward to seeing so many of you participate in what we have planned for… SPOOKY SEASON!!! 🎃🎃
The Foreign Newsstand: Delegate Picairn, Commend Yodle, and TBH Repeals By: Aivintis
Hello and welcome to The Foreign Newsstand (TFN).
We in The East Pacific’s FA Watch are tasked with discussing and debating news of global significance within NationStates Gameplay. With an eye on the forums and the news reports of our allies, we see discussion on a wide range of interregional political topics, and I have used this perspective to create the Newsstand, summarizing the goings-on of NSGP.
TFN is fact-checked by TEP’s Foreign Minister, but nevertheless, I am human, and make mistakes. As such, I encourage people to reach out if there are factual errors, and I invite any NSer to reply in this thread adding any events I may have missed. It can help me figure out what my blind spots are, and ensure accountable, factual reporting. Furthermore, readers are encouraged to direct opinion statements to the threads relating to individual events.
Without further ado, here are the major events of September 2024:
After 585 days as The League & Concord’s Director of Foreign Affairs, New San Antonio has been re-assigned to the Internal Affairs position. Bootyswana has been chosen as the new Director of Foreign Affairs, and promised in their opening statement to expand relations with Independent regions. (Sept 4)
Kantrias has celebrated the one year anniversary of its current form of government, the Empire. In its one year anniversary post, the Empire went over its diplomatic, military, and internal victories and evolutions over the past year. (Sept 5)
Elections have concluded in The Region That Has No Big Banks, with America the Greater re-elected as Prime Minister. ATG’s cabinet was appointed shortly after. (Sept 10)
The New Pacific Order and Lone Wolves United have signed “The Infiltrators Make the Best Workers Wolfpact,” a closer treaty replacing the previously held Non-Aggression Pact. (Sept 10)
The United Royal Islands of Euramathania has been elected Delegate of 10000 Islands, after Tactical Officer and sole opposing candidate Elite dropped out to endorse them. Euramathania replaces Astrobolt, who has held the Delegacy for a year. (Sept 18)
Picairn has been elected Delegate of The North Pacific. Their opponents were Dreadton, Evil Wolf, and former Delegate Pallaith. (Sept 20)
Elections in Forest have concluded, with Garbelia elected as Forest Keeper. Jutsa will continue as Minister of Foreign Affairs. (Sept 21)
The newly founded region Eruditio has released its government overview. (Sept 21)
Commend Yodle has passed the Security Council with 93.8% of the vote in favor. (Sept 22)
Avaldonia has broken into the NSGP sphere with the creation of a forum embassy thread. Avaldonia was founded one year ago and its members include multiple East Pacifican cosmopolitans. (Sept 23)
The New Pacific Order has appointed Callisto has their new Senator of Diplomatic Affairs. She replaces Syberis, who will continue to serve as Regent. (Sept 26)
Delegate Merlovich has proposed the Money Heist Accords, a treaty alliance between The East Pacific and The Region That Has No Big Banks. (Sept 26)
The Wellspring has successfully transitioned into a Stronghold, citing the need for inward development and a structure suiting the governmental model it has chosen. (Sept 28)
Without forum drafting, both condemnations of The Black Hawks have been repealed. (Sept 28)
In this edition of EPNS, you can see the 13th edition of The Foreign Newsstand to be published. The first edition was posted a year ago, in September 2023. In the past year, EPNS and TFN have both seen various changes. To celebrate a full year of the most successful news series I have created, I will discuss the changes that have come to pass, as well as the process for creating TFN and the reactions I have received.
The most obvious change I have made to The Foreign Newsstand is the title shift. Before July 2024, the monthly editions of The Foreign Newsstands were distinguished in title solely by an indicator of what month they were released. This, I felt, lacked character and identity. In July, I changed the naming scheme to highlight three major events of the month, which made each edition more unique and identified at the top of the article major highlights of breaking news for skimmers to see.
Another major change was the addition of references. Before March 2024, the bulleted list of events had no citations to support those claims. I knew I was telling the truth, because I was doing the work of finding those events, but there could be no fact checking. Furthermore, if a particular event interested a reader, they’d have to do their own digging to find out more about it. In the March 2024 edition, I introduced references, linking dispatches or forum posts on the major events.
Notably, a reference was not applied to every event. It stayed that way for April and May, but in June 2024, I ensured that every single event that was listed in The Foreign Newsstand had a proper reference citation corresponding to a dispatch, forum post, or, rarely, an RMB post. This ensured the integrity of the news reporting, and wasn’t actually that difficult to do – I did not have to hunt for these sources because for the most part those links were exactly how I learned about the events.
Once I had a citation for every entry, I decided to make another major change, which was implemented in July. This was with regards to BBCode. It was primarily experimental, and I’m still not entirely sure it is better than before, but instead of a bullet point list and a references section marked by numbers in brackets, I put both the events and references in a numbered list. Event number one corresponds to reference number one, etc. This seemed like a logical simplification, but I still hold aesthetic reservations.
Throughout the physical evolution of The Foreign Newsstand, the behind-the-scenes work has largely remained the same. At the end of the month – or, periodically throughout the month, to lower the workload in each individual session – I read through the recent posts on every major region’s NSGP embassy, consult the reports from ambassadors to TEP and to other regions to which I have access, and I add things I personally know from being around. This gives me a strong base of news.
Recently, however, I’ve found it difficult to maintain. For one, news and statements are not always posted to the forums, at least not immediately. In July, the North Pacific Army raided the Confederation of Corrupt Dictators. As a general rule, I avoided reporting on CCD’s events, so I ignored their thread, but I did check TNP’s embassy thread and found nothing. There was, however, a dispatch. This highlights a weakness in my methods – sometimes regions do not advertise important news to the world. Starting in August, I started checking the dispatch leaderboard as well.
I can always expand my sphere of research, but each new task is more work for comparatively little benefit, so a balance must be maintained. I could look at the WFEs and forums of every major region, or at least every region with an East Pacifican embassy, but at what point does it become too much? I think I’ve struck a good balance with the construction of The Foreign Newsstand, and I am very proud of what I have built. Even with university starting up again, I’m working on my own corner of EPNS and it brings me great joy to see a passion project of mine find such popularity with so many people. So here’s to a year of TFN! I’m looking forward to the next one.
Discord Nation Roleplay: A Strategy Game in Your Discord By: Sokala
Discord Nation Roleplay (DNRP), like many forms of nation roleplay, is one of the most common ways to play Hearts of Iron 4 without actually needing a PC. There hundreds of Discord servers which host a myriad of scenarios from classic historical scenarios such as WW1, WW2, Cold War and even Modern Day roleplay, to alternate history scenarios such as Kaiserreich. As someone from the The East Pacific’s own Urth RP, I was looking for a break in writing and planning for my long form roleplay. I wanted roleplaty that was a bit more persistent. I used to play in a 2100 alternative Earth roleplay that was held in a Discord server so I wanted to search for a DNRP like that but set in the Modern day. One common difference between DNRP and the roleplay you see here in NationStates is that DNRP has a bit more reach. DNRP isn’t just advertised in Discord’s own Discover hub. DNRP is advertised on sites such as Disboard, Reddit and even alternate history forums. As I looked for a modern day DNRP, I stumbled upon one and joined it.
There was a clear difference in how both operated. DNRP had persistent time, meaning that time always moves. Events happen at the time that it happens. Some employ manual posting of time, others employ Discord bots to notify players of the time. Another thing is that, at least for this particular server, the economy and military are very important and are tracked. Here, I was roleplaying in the Philippines. As a player, you get to micro-manage your budget and it affects not just your GDP growth but also your nation’s quality of life and even population growth. I went and negotiated treaties for the Philippines, racking me investment and GDP growth. The growth is not automatic, it’s determined by Economy game masters which determine feasibility and realism. Sometimes, you even get affected for things you had no place in because it would’ve made sense for you to be affected. In one instance, I had negative GDP growth after Oman had blockaded Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia had supplied the Philippines with a lot of its oil so I took negative GDP growth. As for the military, you have to coordinate with allies and produce or procure better or more gear with the money you get from your economy. While you can just put 60% of your economy in the military, it would lessen your funding for healthcare and other things. It would mean less GDP growth or even quality of life.
For the roleplay proper, it is common for DNRP servers to have two types of events. Self events and international events. Self events are events that happen exclusively and only affect your nation. Elections, national happenings, law passing, and even more. In this server, any self event are allowed without the intervention of a game master except for a coup or a civil war. For international events, these are events that can encompass war, blockades, and other events that affect and can be affected by other nations. Direct, or even indirect participation, by you or other nations, is needed in these kinds of events. These events, in this server’s case, are written by a GM who decides what and how things happen depending on your actions. We had to submit our events on a form and then the game masters decide if the event is realistic and what was going to happen. For example, in this case Italy wanted to launch missiles to strike Iraq. The event was submitted for approval then posted in the international news for all to see and be able to react to. So what are the pros and cons of this type of roleplay? I like the persistence method of running the game. It instills a somewhat sense of agency in the players. The world continues moving with or without their input which is something I like. I also like the economic and military sheets as planning your economy and military rewards a military nerd like me who keeps a sheet just so I can plan modernization and such. One downside I’ve seen so far is that some people may not like that you have to trust the judgment of game masters for a lot of things. You have to trust that they will fairly write your event, judge your economic plans, and even write war casualties. It’s certainly not for everyone. It plays more like a strategy game than a roleplaying method but I feel like it is for the some that likes a more active role in the roleplay.
The eleventh N-Day began with a bug preventing nations from accumulating production, an all-too-familiar event the players of NationStates. Another glitch also temporarily blocked nations from launching nuclear strikes. This took 40 minutes to be resolved, after which the production race began in earnest.
Twenty minutes later, the war between major factions began. The factions Anime Nations Against Liberals (ANAL) and the Jellyfish Elite Fighting Force (JEFF) coordinated their efforts, focusing their initial barrage on The Horsemen of the Apocalypse (HotA). The early exchanges between factions yielded limited success for the attackers.
At the two-and-a-half-hour mark, JEFF and ANAL shifted targets to HotA's ally, Kingly Heathens Asserting Neighborliness (KHAN), whose defenses and counteroffensives were critical in shielding HotA, at the time burdened by captchas (disabled site-wide around a hour later), and retaliating against their adversaries. For the next two and a half hours, volleys of nuclear strikes and retaliations ensued, with both sides accumulating similar levels of radiation from repeated exchanges.
Five hours into the conflict, with KHAN absorbing over 50% radiation, JEFF and ANAL resumed their assault on HotA. HotA retaliated, targeting JEFF, which had managed to avoid any significant radiation exposure until now. HotA would then alternate its attacks between JEFF and ANAL, trying to keep them both on the defensive. As the conflict wore on, it became evident that HotA had gained the upper hand. ANAL’s radiation levels climbed perilously close to 50%, while JEFF appeared to struggle with making use its massive stockpile of nukes, reportedly “failing to utilize [its] production,” according to one of their commanders.
At the ten-hour mark, the JEFF-ANAL alliance was dissolved following a last ditch attempt to target KHAN for additional score. Both factions abandoned their cooperative efforts and shifted focus to preserving their score in the positives. This would later on go on to spark further controversy as multiple JEFF commanders ejected over 3,000 of their own faction's nations, deliberately avoiding the score loss a massive impending HotA-KHAN would’ve inflicted on them. HotA engaged in similar tactics, reportedly sending puppet nations to ANAL to attack them and drive their faction off the leaderboard.
While this was going on, KHAN would slowly make a comeback, exploiting the remaining survivors in JEFF and ANAL, as well as smaller factions, to secure points. The final leaderboard recorded HotA in first place with a total score of 1 074 435, followed by KHAN at 138 821, and JEFF at 105 592; with ANAL in 14th place at 16 177. title credit goes to Evil Mother
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