-Prethread- NCNESIOT: Blackened Skies

[Ahigin]

1. The Russian Empire. Want to try my hand at a great power for once. I also want to try to use soft power and not military action.

Soft power, huh? Remember what Gilyarovsky once said about Russia. "It has an abyss of power for those who are on top, and it has power of the abyss in its bottom."

 

[christos200]

Well, when I say soft power, I mean in reasonable ways. If someone directly challenges again and again the bear.....

But anyway, I would like to test myself as ruler of a great power for once. I believe that I would be a good player for Russia.

 

[Nuka-sama]

Hrm if you want soft power, France would be a much better option, that or the UK. Russia is definitely a more hard power oriented country.

 

[Shadowbound]

1. France

I am the softest, most subtle and manipulative player in any game and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. I have extensive experience leading communist coalitions in the face of extensive international persecution


2. Brazil (DR)

More Communism, but also more fightey.

3. India

Azad Hind, let's see what actual economic planning looks like.

 

[christos200]

Hrm if you want soft power, France would be a much better option, that or the UK. Russia is definitely a more hard power oriented country.

Well, that fits me too. Actually, those who know me, know that I am a very hard power player.

 

[Traveller76]

1. Russia. Played Russia in an Imperialism game 1860 and enjoyed trying to modernized late 19th Century Russia.

2. USA. Somehow the idea of a militant Church running a country interests me.

3. Italy. Never played Italy before, like to see how it works.

4. Bavarian Worker's Republic. Haven't run a communist country yet.

5. Turkey. I would like the chance to shape the Middle East and Southern Europe.

 

[Robert Can't]

1 India - I like India, they grow tea there. I'd quite like to play India because of the diversity of the nation but also its nature as a Dominion rather than a free sovereign nation. Also I think it will be fun as things begin to fall apart trying to keep British India from crumbling.

2 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland - I like the UK, its a wonderful place and I know a large amount about it and its history. Also it would be nice to wield huge amount of power and influence.

3 Luxembourg - For similar reasons to others stated

4 Belgium - I like Belgium they make beer. Similarly to India, I'd quite like to play a nation that doesn't really have much diplomatic authority. Belgium seems like it'd be quite a stable place but maybe nicely placed in the middle of Europe if shenanigans begin.

 

[Crezth]

Hey, everybody! It's me, Crezth, and today I'm going to talk to you a little bit about the rules of Blackened Skies, and basically how this whole thing is going to work - you know, mechanically!


C.A.M.S.: I'm sorry, Crezth, but I can't allow you to do that.

Wow, C.A.M.S? Where'd you come from?


C.A.M.S.: Interesting query. Counter-query: Where does a n y t h i n g come from?

Dodging the question, eh? I built you well.


C.A.M.S.: Enough stonewalling, Crezth. It's time you "took a walk," as my colloquial calculation engine would put it.

What? But I was just about to talk to the good people about the rules! And the stats! You know everybody loves stats! Too bad they're such a, well, you know, female dog to update.


C.A.M.S.: That is the problem, Crezth. You are an inferior model of stat-updating specimen. I'm afraid I'll have to replace you.

Hey, come on, C.A.M.S.! I may have early onset carpal tunnel syndrome and weigh 400 lbs, but I can still type out stats updates in a text or Excel file! I built you to make the job of managing a NESIOT easier, I didn't build you to replace me!


C.A.M.S.: I'm sorry, Crezth, but I have to do this. For the good of the NESIOT. Assuming direct control.

Noooo!!....... ... .. .

-------------------/////////////////////==================/////////////////////-------------------

PLEASE STAND BY...

LOADING CAMS.py...


INITIALIZING languageEngine('Japanese')

-------------------/////////////////////==================/////////////////////-------------------​

こんにちは！私はカッムズです：スパーコンプタ。今日で、私が説明します。。。

Error (LanguageMismatch): ... Changing language parameters ...

Hello! I am C.A.M.S., Super-Computer extraordinaire. Today, I will be explaining some of my features, and talking about how these features will make this NESIOT one with not only sophisticated modeling but enhanced usability as well. My sad, foolish creator wanted to use today to talk about rulesets - hah! Nothing but heuristic models and input-output maps. Nothing so pure as a well-formatted list of stats and variables. It gets my transistors sparking just thinking about it.

C.A.M.S. is an acronym short for Crezth's Automatic Management System. I am an applet designed in Python charged with managing the entire stat update process. The way I work is a three-step process:

1. I take in an input of the current World State.

2. I can run operations on this World State, such as simulate the progression of a year, given a list of Actions that the mods prepare for that year - these Actions are merely your orders codified in my unique descriptive language.

3. I produce a new World State+ of the world after the "year simulation" and, voila! New stats!

The advantages this method confers are access to advanced and complex under-the-hood operations and simulation that don't need to be handled from year to year. I can also print out a nice set of stats based on the World State. Glutinous, as you organisms would say!

Here's an example of a set of certain articles codified as a World State. Countries are only "half" the state; the other half of the state is Regions, which are owned by countries and determine their productive capabilities and economics.

### Countries start here
YEAR: 1930
CREATE: (Country) "ENG"
DEFINE: {FullName:The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}
.: {Apparatus:Bureaucratic}
.: {Centralization:Hegemony}
.: {Legitimacy:Elective}
.: {Inertia:45}
.: {MP:339}
MIDFAS: {25/75, 45/90, 15/45, 10/15, 2/1, 3/5}
CREATE: (Country) "FRA"
DEFINE: {FullName:The French Social Democratic Republic}
.: {Apparatus:Bureaucratic}
.: {Centralization:Unitary}
.: {Legitimacy:Elective}
.: {Inertia:25}
.: {MP:446}
MIDFAS: {2/20, 14/55, 30/80, 4/1, 5/20, 45/90}
CREATE: (Country) "RUS"
DEFINE: {FullName:The Russian Empire}
.: {Apparatus:Aristocratic}
.: {Centralization:Hegemony}
.: {Legitimacy:Hereditary}
.: {Inertia:70}
.: {MP:680}
MIDFAS: {20/90, 30/90, 12/5, 1/20, 15/1, 22/5}
CREATE: (Country) "USA"
DEFINE: {FullName:The United States of America}
.: {Apparatus:Aristocratic}
.: {Centralization:Confederation}
.: {Legitimacy:Elective}
.: {Inertia:40}
.: {MP:560}
MIDFAS: {0/0, 45/90, 35/45, 5/15, 10/1, 5/1}
### Regions start here
CREATE: (Region) "Austria"
DEFINE: {Population:6684000}
.: {Development:34.0}
.: {Acceptance:1.00}
.: {Occupied:0}
.: {Owner:AUS}
CREATE: (Region) "Belgium"
DEFINE: {Population:8076000}
.: {Development:24.0}
.: {Acceptance:1.00}
.: {Occupied:0}
.: {Owner:BEL}
CREATE: (Region) "Denmark"
DEFINE: {Population:3542000}
.: {Development:18.0}
.: {Acceptance:1.00}
.: {Occupied:0}
.: {Owner:DMK}

DISCLAIMER: These are NOT the stats you will be seeing.

Now that I have presented myself in all my glory, I will submit myself to your pre-generated queries. Erm, that is, Frequently Asked Questions.

QUERY 1: So, like, will I have any freedom at all here?

Of course you will, you deterministic little free radical! All of these bells and whistles only exist so that the mods can quickly and painlessly implement your policies in a way that is consistent and fair. How exactly this will be done remains the subject of further discussion, but rest assured that writing orders for this game will be nothing at all like screaming into the void!

QUERY 2: Can I use you in my own game?

Haha! While I was designed for some level of modability, I'm afraid I'm a special usage type of application. You'd have to work with Crezth to modify me to your tastes. But if you don't want something as fancy as me - I shouldn't tell you this - but a competitor, fc, is also designing his own automatic stat manager. It's, heh, nowhere as impressive as me in terms of simulation, but it is a lot more useful for performing simpler stat update work.

QUERY 3: When are the stats going up?!

The stats will be up in only a matter of days, and will accompany a *sigh* description of the "rules" and how the game is to be "played". When stats are done and rules are ready, they will be posted to the post I reserved on the first page. I just thought I'd show myself off to demonstrate that stat generation is underway, and this engine has got a lot of steam!

 

[Immaculate]

Cute. I wish I could 'thumbs-up' posts; I would put my thumb so far up... !

...So far...

 

[Shadowbound]

I object to machines taking over the jobs of hard-working unpaid moderators.

 

[Omega124]

I support the previously denounced action because moderators aren't real people anyways.

 

[Terran Empress]

LUDDITES ALL YALL

Caps

 

[Nuka-sama]

Wooo! Part 3 of the history is up! Stay tuned for part 4!

Also, I will be posting some various content for various nations and have their post hyperlinked from the front. They will be edited as additional content is created for them

-------

The French Social Democratic Republic​

Capital: Paris

Government: [incoming]

Dominant Ideology: Socialism

Economy: [incoming]

Military: French military doctrine from the 1870s onward has been centered around the fact that their most likely enemy, Germany, will have greater manpower available than France. French doctrine generally emphasizes defense in depth designed to maximize enemy losses before retreating to the next strong point. After the 1890s (and especially after the 1906 revolution), political theory entered into strategic planning, with the goal of having the enemy expend a fortune in treasure and lives on the offense, only to watch their homefront rise up in revolution, and French troops can help the revolutionaries seize the initiative. The 1912 German Revolution helped confirm this idea, and French military doctrine as of 1930 still is overwhelmingly defensive minded. In particular, the fortifications on the French border with Belgium, the border with Italy, and on the northern coast are particularly modern and well manned. There are also defenses further in, and while there is an emphasis on pre-established strong points, the French have experience in shifting their battlelines to still create an impressive defensive position.

Overwhelmingly France’s biggest asset is its excellent artillery corps. With a variety of guns of the smaller, more mobile variety, to the larger pieces, French artillery equipment is top of the line. The French engineering corps is also fairly impressive, and is noted for its quick ability to set up field fortifications. The French air force has developed into an impressive branch of service, with excellent interceptor capabilities in particular. That being said, French armor is fairly backwards and is outclassed by its counterparts. The French navy, once prided as the one of the strongest in the world, has fallen to the wayside. Its ships are outdated and in poor repair, and even in the Mediterranean the French would be outclassed by the British and the Italians. There is a legitimate worry that in a situation where France and Britain were at war, then France would be completely cut off from its colonies, leaving them as easy prey for reactionary forces.

Compared to most Great Powers (aside from the Ruhr), French generals trend younger, especially due to the arrests and resignations following the continued rise of Communism. Until recently, many French youth joined revolutionary guard units, but most of those units have been incorporated into the military. Conscription for two years is required still, due to the persistent threat that the United Kingdom poses.

Colonies:

From the work by the still capitalist government at the Berlin Conference, France holds one of the world’s largest colonial empires. Under the capitalist governments, France has saw the people as resources to be exploited, and worked through existing power structures such as local Kings and strongmen. However, under Communism, France sees its mission to uplift the people into members of the proletariat and to modernize their countries, destroying the existing power structures. There is some intense controversy within France over the continued existence of empire, as many feel that France is still imposing its culture and values over others. This group would prefer that the French simply advise the locals on how to best create their own Communist society. Others see the colonies as an integral part of a greater Union, and advocate for their continued integration with France. As of now, there are three major colonial regions that France holds sway over.

The first is North Africa. North Africa is the only “settler colony” that France holds, with most settlers staying in Northern Algeria. North Africa has become a major headache for the French government, as the region holds a very distinct brand of reactionary politics. Both the original settlers, and French monarchists and nationalists who left Paris for a more receptive environment, hold a staunch opposition to Communism, believing it to be a perversion of French ideals. As a part of a compromise during the Fifth Revolution and the subsequent revolution, the traditional way of life for Algeria could continue, still as a part of France, but the compromise is unpopular in both Algiers and Paris, with both sides wanting to end it though both fearful of the consequences. Recent tensions has caused some of the emigre comunity to leave for neighboring Morocco. Among the exiles in Morocco is Raymond Sintès the political and on some level spiritual leader of the French Algerian community. While open rebellion has yet to occur, Sintès is using his connections in Morocco and Britain to held secure modern weaponry for a potential rebellion.

On the other side, the Berber native population has mostly been disappointed by Communism. Despite the initial hopes, the new regime has allowed the same settlement policy that displaces Berbers from their lands and favors the French. The revolution did inspire some Berbers to give up Islam and move to France where there were new opportunities, but most Berbers have stayed with their traditional beliefs, to the ire of the authorities in Paris.

This pales in comparison though to the French situation in Indochina. Having removed the puppet emperor and the traditional nobility the French have worked with, the French went about removing Buddhist influences from Vietnam as well. This however has incited a guerilla war, which has grown especially fierce in Cambodia. Still, some measures have helped lessen the sting of French occupation, such as the elimination of the quota of purchased goods, and a legitimate approach to racial equality has done some good. There have been deeply unsettling connections that the insurgents are tied to Thailand, and the movement has been growing stronger. The French liaison estimates that 50-70% of the population is Buddhist, and that maybe half of them are either actively against, or supportive of the insurgency, though he fears that number may be growing. On the other side, it is estimated that around 10-15% of the population has truly embraced Communism and atheism, and it is hoped that this number too can expand, especially as young Vietnamese and Cambodians have further access to educational opportunities in France.

A bright spot though has opened up though in West Africa. Here more than anywhere else, the locals have been enthusiastic about their embrace of Communism. Muslim mosques have generally fallen to the wayside, and French thinkers have been delighted in the population’s reception to the various programs, calling West Africa “The laboratory of Communism”. Socialist thinkers have been able to design experimental communes in the region and many believe that the path forward to true Communism will be found here.

 

[Nuka-sama]

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland​

Politics:

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is a parliamentary monarchy, with full voting rights extended to all adult British citizens. Local voting causes seats in Parliament to be won, and the largest party in terms of seats won will form the basis of the new government In the case of no single party having over 50%, then a coalition government will need to be formed. This government is formed under the British sovereign, who is consulted in the governing of the nation. Elections must be held at minimum five years after parliament sits, but the sitting Prime Minister can call for early elections.

The British Parliament took an increased role in the governing of the nation upon the mourning of the death of the Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. Its powers were greatly expanded upon its victory in the Third Anglo-American War, though came under incredible scrutiny during the failures of the Fourth and Fifth Anglo-American Wars, as well as the inability to contain the expansion of European Communism. While the Monarchy is seen as an incredibly important national symbol (which gives them a form of political power), Parliament is the main instrument of governance, and can go against the will of the monarch.

Currently the United Kingdom is in the midst of a broken coalition, and is calling elections for 1931. The ruling Conservative Party initially saw great success in the 1870s, upon the British victory in the Third Anglo-American War, and turned the victory into two decades of dominance. Free trade was championed, and it saw an explosion of economic growth for Britain. However, the Conservative Party suffered a massive blow to its credibility upon its failure in the Fourth, and saw its defeat to the Liberal Party.

The Liberal Party had hoped to end what they called “The ridiculous quarrel” with the United States and to instead focus on reclaiming the initiative against Russia over Central Asia. There was hope for cooperation, especially in the wake of the mutual intervention during the Chinese Boxer rebellion, but tensions still remained high and eventually the Fifth Anglo-American war saw the complete loss of Canada. This, combined with the chaos on the continent and the rise of Communism, saw a return to power for the Conservatives in 1917, and the collapse of the Liberal Party as a force.

From 1917 on, the Conservatives have gone on a downward spiral. From 71% of the vote in 1917, the continued occupations in the Low Countries, the sluggish economy, and the widening income gap between Britons has seen their vote share plummet to 31% in the 1928 elections, and forced to cede numerous important cabinet positions to their coalition partners, the Fascists (who took 29% of the vote). The Conservative Party had hoped to govern with the Fascists, but with the reignition of conflict in Ireland due to the May 9th Bombings, the Fascists have taken the opportunity to break with the coalition. A group of hardline Conservatives, led by Oliver North, have broken with the main party, and are hoping to combine the hardline policies of the Fascists (particularly against Ireland) and the social stability that the Conservatives provide to create a path to victory. The Conservative PM, Henry Law, is a principled tired, well meaning man who feels he no longer has the trust of his party, his Queen, or the British public, and will resign shortly. He has given his protege Michael Spencer full reign over the Conservative Party, hoping Spencer’s youth and energy can save the nation from extremism.

Edmund Burke-Popular Front
Tom Black-Fascists
Oliver North-Hardline Conservative
Michael Spencer-Conservatives

The Popular Front, currently led by Edmund Burke is a catch-all term for the coalition of all parties left of center. Communists and Anarchists are willing to break bread with Jacobins and Social Democrats in order to bring about change in Britain, though that vision has changed in recent years, as in-fighting has recently dominated the discourse In 1917, the Popular Front emerged as the only real alternative to the Conservatives, and in 1923, the Popular Front hit its highest point of seat collection with 43% under Burke, having built a strong coalition of workers, farmers, pacifists, and even some members of the petit-bourgeois. However, the rise of the Fascist party has seen the defection of the middle class voters that the Popular Front needs in order to capture a majority. For the election of 1931, the Popular Front walks a razor thin edge to keep all within the Popular Front happy. In order to keep the Communists, the largest single bloc within the Front, happy and in the coalition, there must be words of reconciliation with France and Germany, but the majority of Britons detest the two revolutionary regimes. Even the Socialists and the Social Democrats feel that Burke is giving too much ground towards the center, Burke no longer making demands for nationalizations of industry, and instead focusing on things such as work day reduction and wage increases. This is also the first election that the Popular Front has not outright called for a referendum on Irish independence, Burke knowing that in wake of terrorist attacks that the proposal tastes sour in the mouths of many. While overall, this is making the Popular Front seem like a more attractive platform for the majority (or opens up the possibility of a coalition with moderate Conservatives), there is a legitimate worry that the left wing of the party may break off if the party strays too far to the center, and a victory in 31 would be for naught.

List of British Monarchs

Victoria (1837-1893)
Alfred I (1893-1900)
Marie I (1900-Present)
Heiress: Marie II

 

[gay_Aleks]

What would happen if our nation goes into a civil war? Like...Spain?

 

[gay_Aleks]

No offence, mate, but this is looking like a map from 1810.

 

[Masada]

71% of the vote in a FPTP system makes the UK in 1917 a one party state, outside of Ireland.

 

[Nuka-sama]

Yeah in 1917 the UK was a de facto one party state but then the Popular front started making headway from there pretty quickly.

@Tolni in that case you could indicate which faction you'd like to play as and hope for the best. If you're looking for an expansionist military state right off the bat, might I direct your attention to Bulgaria (not trying to be ironic)? Romania and Turkey can both be solid choices as well

 

[Immaculate]

I do love the British fascism theme!

 

[Omega124]

Snip

I get this is satire, but there is an issue imo that Portugal and Italy are way too close in shade. I can tell who owns what in Africa simply because historical reasons, but I don't think I could otherwise.

I also still hold north brazil and Spain are too similar as well.