Drostan

Glad to hear this. I think that everyone started out pretty confident that The Dark Templar would not condone this sort of thing but were slightly confused when it seemed to be an authorized attack. Mix-ups in communication happen to all of us and we all get our glorious moment in the OWF's spiteful sun. heh. It's good to see that this has been taken care of and it is a shame that such a ruckus happened over this. o/ Dark Templar o/ Icy McFlame

I mean, having never asked I can't be sure, but I feel like if I pointed to some guy I hate and said "Tulak, let me get him! He insulted my dignity" then Tulak would likely say "Make sure you clear it with his government first and we will go from there." Sure, alliance leaders wouldn't want everyone and their brother dueling all the time. But if there was a clear cut case where people had really been butting heads and being nasty to one another, I think it is not an unreasonable thing to do. But yeah, I guess it does undermine defense to a degree. But like I said, you just couldn't have duels starting left right and center in your alliance.

I agree that registration should not be mandatory. The chances are that in the long run it will enhance your registered userbase not to force them to register. Eventually they will want to participate and then BAM! you've got them. But as it is, you scare a lot of people away out of the starting gates. This is a great idea and I look forward to checking out the results. I may enter eventually if I get some time. Cheers on the good idea and best of luck with it in the future.

Yeah, I mean it's a touchy subject as many alliances I know and like well engage in tech-raiding. But I too find it problematic. I agree that the effectiveness of tech raiding is highly suspect but I believe that likely it is a way of staving off boredom in most cases more than anything. There's no question that tech-raiding, especially among newer players, leads to many deletions in my mind. At a time when so many are crying about dwindling numbers in CN it does indeed seem strange to actively bully new players for marginal benefit. I think we should encourage more of a dueling society. heh. When people have a heated arguement and wish to resolve their differences on the field of battle, they approach their respective leaders and get authorization for a 1 vs 1 conflict for 10 days. That's fun, doesn't do too much damage, and helps to avoid the boredom that drives many to griefing unaligned nations. I think it also adds a certain dynamic to the OWF that is kind of cool. And everyone loves to display the notches on their belt

It was a brilliant recruitment strategy. And I must admit that for those who really wanted to go it alone, having an alliance protecting a colour sphere is very useful. I wonder if tech-raiding will become a more hot topic in future politics.

EDIT: More posts made. This in particular really strikes a chord with me. If only everyone had this attitude online. heh. lebubu got his wish about Karma leaving the world chaotic... *high fives* Anyway, yeah, I mean essentially you're nuking a defenceless tech raid target because he talked back when you started busting up his stuff. Personally, I just think that's ridiculous. "Not only am I going to steal your crap, I'm going to nuke you if you whine about it!" I admire your gusto though.

You could always start that thread. Also, if this is meant to be insulting, I feel like it was interesting to see what different alliances had been considered/created in the past. I would never have thought of an Ant Colony alliance to be sure.

I mean, he expects a normal tech raid and you go and turtle on him wasting his time and a war slot. What the hell is wrong with you? You should have to pay reps for not rolling over like a good doggy... </sarcasm> But seriously, I'd have done the same thing in his position, this is an absurd thing to do to be sure. Essentially, a guy gets bored and starts nuking people? We have a word for that around here.

Hehe, never even looked. Thanks.

And it's secretly a plan to trim those bloated nations from the game as they will become infected with space plague. Am I right? *nods* I look forward to seeing the Moldavi Doctrine applied in 38% gravity with space boots and jet packs.

This sort of project can start quite easily with very little funding and special tools. All you need is a website, a webhost with databases and php support, and someone with a good knowledge of SQL/PHP and a text editor. They program the backend to allow forms to enter account information into databases and then people can register. This sort of CMS module will be the heart of the project from start to finish (though it will no doubt be refined over time). Then you get the various interaction pages that allow players to interact with each other. None of this requires much other than a computer, knowledge, patience and a lot of time. Then you want to start adding graphics and once the project gets big enough it becomes difficult for one man to maintain alone. Then as it gets more popular you need to buy additional hosting to accomodate the increase in bandwidth. That is probably a large portion of what donations go towards. Basically the donations are for the staff's time and the money required to host and maintain this site. There are guides on constructing your own basic php web game readily available through google search. Check them out.

I honestly don't know you guys very well. I was not around for the old GATO and have not had much dealings with the new one. You are one of the only people I have seen posting. On the plus side, I have no strong negative feelings towards GATO.

Congratulations, sir. Like many others, I will be interested to see how this approach works out. I can understand how foreign ambassadors seem extraneous from a political standpoint (as they often are not decision-makers), but from a community standpoint I think they can be helpful. Often times, alliances simply don't know much about one another, and dispatching ambassadors can help cover some of that distance. I feel like ambassadors help you determine what communities you get along with and which ones not so much, but at least with your new approach, people will have to actively seek your friendship. Best of luck with the new post and the new approach.

Is this Ragnarok's official policy? hehe. Anyway, I think this issue has been cleared up and nicely proves that not everything is suitable for the OWF. If you take stuff like this to leadership you get a prompt and definitive answer, whereas if you take stuff like this to the OWF you get pages of speculation and name-calling. It's up to you to decide which one you truly desire, but we'll be watching...

When is the Hogwart's wonder coming out? I want to play Quidditch!

I think this is wrong. You only have to think this way when you treat your allies poorly. Of course, you will never have many alliances you can completely trust. So I say, don't sign papers with anyone who you do not completely trust. I think that while most will have not learned this lesson, I truly believe that we have. Rebel Virginia seems to be focusing a lot of his comments against Sparta which does not come as a shock to me considering our past run-ins. And I will not say that all he has said is wrong because that is not the case. It is true that Pacifica did not learn to stand as a despot without many hands helping to hold her up and if anything that was proven during this war. Sparta has to answer claims that we were conspirators against the NPO on the one hand, and then claims that we were merely opportunists who saw the NPO as a scapegoat on the other. Not surprisingly, I do not think that either of these extreme views hits the mark on how this war truly came to happen. But another thing that I have learned is that it is hard to convince people you were not who they think you were. In such a case, it is better to show them in the future that whoever they think you might have been, you are not. Whether they attribute that to change or to mistaken identity is immaterial. As such, I know that no amount of arguing with RV will convince him that his judgments of Sparta are excessive, and so I will simply ask him to watch us in the future. Not only do I not mind you following the progress of Sparta, RV, I entreat you to be a watchdog for not only Sparta but the whole of this community as you seem to have a penchant for it. Keep us earnest. I know that many of us do indeed want to improve ourselves and so criticize by all means, but do not deny us the ability to change. For when you no longer believe that things can change for the better, they are sure to get worse. It is fine to be skeptical (it is a healthy approach) but wise to stop short of complete cynicism as without change this world is a hell. The task before the community now is to show that we can change instead of merely telling. I shall leave that for time to tell.

I'd be the first one to sit on his hands and watch the world burn. heh. But seriously, these kind of events would be kind of neat because it would require cooperative play and give us something to fear other than each other.

Haven't you hear(d)? We live in a brave new world. Citizens no longer 'live' they are merely 'stored' for a ruler's convenience. HAIL EFFICIENCY AND THE DEATH OF HUMANISM!!!@# It'd be pretty messed up if you lost that population while they were working on Mars because allegedly there are taxes... even on MARS! I still think there should be limited space on the moon/mars and alliances should have to duke it out for inter-planetary supremacy! EDIT: I forgot the 'd' in 'heard' but I intentionally bracketed it because it was more amusing to read as "Haven't you hear?!"

I like these questions and would probably actually tune in to hear them answered. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you guys were in Peace Mode all that time you must have fantasized about revenge on the NPO, right? Well I think Budd from Kill Bill has phrased my question much more eloquently than I could:

A significant portion of your population on Mars has contracted Space Plague. Scientists are working round the clock to develop a treatment and vaccine but your nation will undergo many days of economic hardship to pay for the research. -5% population, -5 population happiness, -$10.00 income. Anyway, it will just be a really different direction for this game. I guess it could be alright, but it seems a bit whimsical to me.

As I said, if you're going to send me to mars, you'd better give me some ray guns for when I get there.

The costs were leaked/announced earlier today in what I believe was an accident as Admin quickly closed the discussion topic about them and removed the prices. The prices were astronomical (heh, jealous?) but it appears he is still determining the just cost of such wonders.

We're whalers on the moon... we carry our harpoons... but there ain't no whales, so we tell tall tales, and sing this whalin' tune... Anyway, yeah, I was not a huge fan of these wonders but they are undergoing modifications it seems. I just find the concept is a bit worrying unless we are going to try to bring CN into the 24th century. I must say, UberSpion did an exemplary job introducing these new wonders imo.

Yes, why shouldn't we drag people's names through the mud instead of getting a direct answer and resolving our problem? Brilliant. Some things really are dealt with better in private. If private methods do not lead to adequate resolution, you can always come back to the OWF and make sure everyone sticks their nose in!

I hope you have a proper humidor or you are going to be bitterly disappointed with those remaining cigars. I cannot count how many fools I know who have wasted an entire box of good cigars by 'saving them' in a regular box which is tantamount to ruining them. I die a little inside when I see a box of dried out old cigars and even moreso when I try to smoke one. This war definitely warranted a good cigar smoke.