Guide to NESing!

[Sheep]

Fair enough then point taken, I kinda was away from nesing during a period back there so yeah.

 

[Micha]

who was that guy who played japan in one of your apolyton neses, that guy was a sneaky bastard, i dont remember what the nes was called but i was thailand

That was Jamski, back then known as "War of Art". I loved his style, I voted for him to win

Actually he´s been the one inviting me into Methril´s NES so I owe all those pleasant games I had to him...

Azale: Hopefully you´ll come back to poly to start an NES again...

 

[EQandcivfanatic]

North King i am outraged you didnt include me on that list and das i disagree with your little history (i like mine better) but each to their own.

As for the two cows, i gotta find that thread, bring it to life, you youngins could use it. And das, keep up NESing it looks like us first generation people may soon be very scarce.

 

[Sheep]

yeah well who in the first gen is still around? there is EQ, das, Jason, myself, erez, anyone else?

 

[North King]

North King i am outraged you didnt include me on that list and das i disagree with your little history (i like mine better) but each to their own.

People make their own to add to the NESers' file, and I'm not stopping you.

 

[Communisto]

I think what we need is a definitive guide to the generations.

Here are my thoughts. (remember this is mainly for story neses, which reminds me, WHERE THE HELL ARE THE good ole' board neses!)

First generation are nesers that joined in or before rtor2.
Second generation are nesers that joined after rtor2 and before stjnes4
Third generation are nesers that joined before stjnes5 started but after sjnes4 began.
Fourth generation nesers are those nesers that have joined after Jan 2004.
Fifth generation are nesers that joined in the later half of 2004.
Sixth generation nesers are those who joined in the first half of this year
Which means anyone from now on should be classified as a Seventh generation neser. Scary isnt it.

Now a question, some of the more older gen players will understand it. What the hell does two cows have to do about nesing? - and what the hell happened to Admiral Super anyways?

sweet, im fourth

 

[Sheep]

No actually going by the date in your sidebar you would be fifth.

 

[Communisto]

woops, i misread

 

[EQandcivfanatic]

hmmm, my earlier post came off wrong because i forgot a strategic " ". Sorry North King.

 

[North King]

hmmm, my earlier post came off wrong because i forgot a strategic " ". Sorry North King.

No offense taken.

 

[Gelion]

How is this? This is meant to explain the very basics of a NES and goes in the very first part of the guide.

In a very basic format NESes have this structure.
The best analogy to NES that you will certainly recognize is a Dungeon Keeper game. Over there you have a “keeper” who presents players with challenges and coordinates their actions. NESes work on the same bases.

A NES is a game run by a mod , a “dungeon keeper”, who coordinates the game. A mod will accept players into the game and make sure that their actions are not ruining the game and fit into the game environment. Players are what makes the game run. In a typical game (let’s take it as an example) players interact with each other as heads of state. They write stories about their nations, initiate in diplomacy, fight wars and rule their country. The mod keeps a certain “score” of their activities recorded under stats (statistic). Stats represent the player’s achievements. Stats normally include: country name, player name (for reference), domestic structure (type of government, happiness level, economy level, domestic projects, technologies and other similar things), and the strength of the armed forces. NESes run in periods from one update to the other. Before the update players write orders where they, well, give orders to their nation. The mod collects the orders by a certain date and writes an update . An update is a story written by a mod in a form of “world news” informing the players on what happened in the world. Basing on that story the mod will then update the update the state of player’s stats (and thus the state of the world). Mods reserve the right to delete or change anything they find unbalancing the game (like nuclear weapons research in the dark ages for example) or unrealistic in the game world (like a communist revolution in Britain in 1700’s). Rules are not to be forgotten .Rules are regulations written by a mod to help players understand the game mechanics and what is possible for them to do. Rules also include the information about stats and to help the players. Rules are to be respected by all and especially the mod. All information about a game is generally held at the first page of the game thread. NESes also generally posses a map which is a graphical representation of the game’s progress.

 

[Gelion]

A Guide to Moderator (or Standard) NESes.

"You are a MOD, not a GOD!"
- AnarchyRulz (First Generation, status: absent).

Now, while there are many variaties of NESes at all and Moderator NESes in particular, most Moderator NESes have many similarities. This could be considered a guide to your average Moderator NES. So, what's what there?:

1) Moderators. Usually there is only one moderator in a NES. Moderators are supposed to update the front page, write updates, rule NPCs, edit maps, answer questions and generally MODERATE, i.e. control the NES. They can be considered "Dungeon Masters" in D&D terminology. They are the ones who carry out the orders of their players, and what they say is final unless they change their minds. However, most players don't know that and complain anyway. The main duty of a moderator is to make sure that the NES is carried out in a way that is, hopefully, both fun and realistic (the latter part is often ignored...).

2) Players. Its not hard to guess who those are - they are indeed the people who PLAY the NES. This means that basically, they pick a country and are in charge of orders and diplomacy for them. Note that there is a popular trend nowadays for moderators to limit the player powers in democratic nations. Sometimes, there are player limits, but most often there is no such a thing.

3) Threads. Most NESes take place on one thread - it is there that the front page, the updates, the maps AND the player activity can be found. Sometimes, though, there are also separate threads for important organizations/alliances (for example, UN).

4) Front Page. A "front page" is all the stuff that the NES moderator posts in the beginning of the NES, on the first page (hence the name). Most of the time, it consists of an Introduction ("This is my first NES, I hope that you enjoy it, etc, etc"), NES Rules (that basically consist of explanations of what which stat means), Nation Stats (the stats, or statistics, of various nations present in the game - this includes stuff like government, economy, military and so forth) and sometimes miscelannous information - that could be a history timeline (in case of alternate history), a NES timeline (explained previously), war list, alliance list, "the Mosts" list and the like.

5) Diplo. Or, to be more precise, diplomacy. Diplo is, well, the way NESers communicate when In-Character - it is with diplo that alliances, trade agreements, NAPs and other such things are signed. Sometimes diplo is carried out in the main NES thread, sometimes over chat programs or PMs.

6) Stories. While stories are far from neccessary, most moderators encourage them, especially as they help them to get more involved in the NES. Some even grant bonuses for stories.

7) Orders. The orders are sent to NES moderators, sometimes in-thread, more often by PM. There, a player says all the things he wants to do with his nation. Orders are often given in list form, sometimes divided into "Domestic", "Military", "Espionage" and other such sections. Some moderators want to see maps in the orders; most appreciate detailed orders, but if they are not made at the same time clear enough they tend to be misunderstood. Orders often seem to be "continue wonder, grow economy once, grow education twice, invade Monaco with 5,000 conscripts" (though this, ofcourse, is a simplification).

8) Updates. The updates are based on the orders sent to the moderators; basically, it is where the moderators carry out the orders that they get, but these often don't go according to the plans of the players (for example, the army sent by San Marino to invade Monaco could be intercepted by Vaticanese forces). Many moderators also like to add "random factors" into the game. Most moderators now update once a week, it often takes them two or more weeks to get done with the update though.

9) Maps. Maps are supposed to represent the world situation at the moment of the update.

Das could I edit this guide (giving you credit of course )? This will really help me with explaining "Standart NES"....

 

[das]

Sure thing.

Did anybody write something about Fresh Start NES? Because I've been planning to do that...

 

[Communisto]

i'd like to throw my hand at something.... i think we need something from a relatively newcomer perspective

 

[Gelion]

How is this:
2.2 Types of NES:
NESes themselves are classified into types according to their mechanics, most importantly game rules. Here is an overview of NES types:

Traditional – Stories are a main focus of this NES; sometimes it may even lack a mod. This type of NES is more about writing “the Annals of History”, as the main goal of this type of NES is write good stories about the world development and have fun. Traditional NESes have basic player statistics and map (if a mod is present). Conflicts between players might arise if they forget the main goal.

Story Based – this type of NES is more widespread. While the players focus on stories a great deal, the stats determine a lot. Mods play a greater role in this type of NES and have to watch out for unrealistic behavior by players. This type of NES can be played both for fun and to “win” i.e. achieve your nations superiority.

Stat Based – NESes are more difficult to make and to run. In this type of NES the mod has normally worked out your every possible move, any structure you can build, army you can raise, projects you can make. While stories are still welcome they are less flexible and most of the game revolves around players interacting with each other with a goal to win the game. All (or most) of what the player owns is recorded in the stats and rules are normally quite long.

All the above NESes can be set in any historical period (real or alternative history) and are broadly called “Normal NESes”. “Normal NESes” in reality vary between the level that both stats and stories play in a game.

There are also certain “Concept NESes”:

Fresh Start – Fresh start NESes start on a blanc map normally in 4000 BC (Civ fans know why ). The goal of the game is to create your nation from scratch, developing new technologies, fighting wars, accumulating wealth and knowledge. Level of stats varies from game to game and is up to the mod. Fresh start NESes normally have maps with great details including cities, majour farmlands, trade routes and fortifications. Players normally take names of known nations with “established character” for easier gameplay.

Fiction NESes – include any type of science fiction or fantasy-themed NES. These NESes normally have a good balance between “story-based” and “stat-based”, perhaps being more of “story-based” than “stat-based”. Rules are totally up to the mod as normally fantasy NESes do not have analogies. They are the most difficult to run as they require dedicated players who know the “fantasy universe”. Thorough moderation and good maps are required for this type of NES to run smoothly.

Board NES – these include the few NESes that are mostly stat-based, but in addition have a “board”-like map. Board NESes often have very specific theme like “gang wars”, “monsters city rebellion” or “siege f Stalingrad”. If organized well these are fun to play if players are into board games.

NOTE: Sometimes the terms for different NESes change. This is particularly true when a lot of new players start NESing. NESes were classified in this way to reflect the various types of NESes possible at this time. With time more types and concepts are sure to appear.

Some are historical some alt-historical. While historical NESes start at one point in real history alternative NESes re-write the real history. A mod will normally say when things turned away from “real history” events and write a timeline (long or short) of how things developed since that moment. History NESes are more fun to play if you want your nation to behave better than it did “in real life”. Alternative History NESes are more interesting for “what if” scenarios.

Guys I really need your comments..... first paragraph has grammar mistakes so I can tell if you are reading or not

 

[Toteone]

I'd like to try my hand at some hand grenades.

 

[das]

Fresh start NESes start on a blanc map normally in 4000 BC (Civ fans know why ).

They DO start on a "blanc" ( ) map, but actually the norm is now 2000 BC. Ancient Egyptians know why.

 

[Toteone]

Luv the distinctions written down Gelion.
Hope someone makes an alt-alternate NES soon.

Wonder when Tex will be back...
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Oh, and Sheep, with time I've come to the fact that it was pretty darn kewl of you to send a conventional missile to Houston. (it might have been done better do avoid an apocalypse but) It was like hackquisition. =^_^=
Anyway I didn't hold much of a grudge and after the Star-thing GM'ed by Nexus I forgot all about it. ... mostly...

naw really, are you going to hold a NES soon?

 

[Gelion]

Thanks das! (for both things ).....
I need more of your influential input

@Toteone: try writing one of those NES "fun stories" I asked for if you want And danke

Fresh Start – Fresh start NESes start on a blanc map normally in 4000 BC (Civ fans know why ) or 2000 BC when the “world” is more developed (start of ancient civilizations like Egypt). The goal of the game is to create your nation from scratch, developing new technologies, fighting wars, accumulating wealth and knowledge. Level of stats varies from game to game and is up to the mod. Fresh start NESes normally have maps with great details including cities, majour farmlands, trade routes and fortifications. Players normally take names of known nations with “established character” for easier gameplay.

 

[Toteone]

yep, this parapgraph is much better
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hmmm, mebbe I will