Submit your questions....

[Arctic]

I have been busy this week with work and TE related stuff, so I didn't have time to respond to the query regarding the NAAC losing the 3rd Great War. I think it is safe to say that I am an acknowledged authority regarding the NAAC. We had some great elected leaders over the course of our 14 month run in classic CN, but my remaining outside the election process and restricting myself to the Ministry of Defense allowed me to remain a fixture in multiple administrations/elected governments.

I'll give you my POV on the NAAC and our performance in the last two great wars. I'll do GW2 first and be back to write something on GW3 afterward (although Rebel Virginia has given a great general answer to GW3 already).

In GW2, we went into the conflict with some innovations at the time. We had adopted alliance wide war chests (which was unique in those days), had maxed out airforces in even the smallest nations, and also had adopted a nuclear policy that was largely designed by Diskord (he has since perfected it for MK). Our goal in that war was to over expose ourselves and nuke as many NpO/NPO targets as possible, with the longterm objective being to leave the world to The Legion in the aftermath of a catastrophic war. As such, our units led off the war with multiple offensive declarations and rapidly had FAN backfill our defensive slots.

I think at the tactical level we were solid in our planning and execution. But the Strategic level two things went terribly wrong and ended up costing us any chance at a victory. 1st off, Airme made one of the few bad decisions in his career in the NAAC by initiating a war with an ambiguous declaration of hostilities. And as a result, we had a major catastrophe in that the more timid and legalistic minded allies in our faction chose to view his declaration as the initiation of hostilities. This allowed them to be convinced by the enemy that coming to our aid would be in violation of the MDP's treaties we shared.

In today's game, that notion is ludicrous and The Legion and ODN would not have any real issues with jumping into a war citing an MDP treaty. But back then MDP's had a more stringent interpretation and as a result, the coaLUEtion (or future Aegis if you will) forces went into a war with nearly 1/3 of their strength choosing to sit out the war. The end result is that we fought short sided and lost soundly to the larger and better integrated forces led by Pacifica.

The second problem was one of vision. Almighty Grub and I could not envision a great war that would not be nuclear. We were certain that somebody would lose control and take the thing nuclear, which would allow us to utilize our arsenal (which was the densest concentration of nukes in the game at the time). As a result we sent our alliance into the conflict with a massive bill burden for weapons that ended up sitting in their silos. The NAAC ended up decommissioning 1100 nukes after the war so that we could begin the process of rebuilding. In this case, we were again soundly outplayed by the other side, who utilized the "save the children treaty" to their full advantage. 1st strike nuclear attacks were painted as such a despicable act that we refused to fire them. The NPO (who had the largest nuclear stockpile in the game) was better able to spread the bill burden over a larger alliance with a superlative banking system, and as such fought the war conventionally with no real sign of economic stress.

In the end, we fought a week, realized that without the Legion and ODN and unrestricted nuclear warfare that we were lost. So we sought terms, and LUE agreed to be cut off from the body to save the rest of us. They were the first appendage to be eaten by the NPO, and at the time, we could only hope that their sacrifice would be the last of its kind.

In the aftermath, some key members in our alliance left, disenchanted by us and our allies unwillingness to do what was necessary to win. Diskord and Funkson are the first to spring to mind, but we lost alot of good military commanders to FAN (who was clearly a military focused power with ambitions to match their battlefield abilities). Airme chose a different route. He and I quarreled a bit at the start of the war, and I think that myself and the rest of the DoN veterans made him feel unwelcome by the time the war was closed. This, coupled with new family pressures and the strain of having lead the alliance for three months straight prompted him to withdraw from the game a bit and to look for a new place. Looking back, I remember him as one of the better Protectors we enjoyed during our run in this game. He made mistakes on occasion and in the beginning at least was prone to worry a bit too much, but he was braver than I in that he was willing to stand for election month after month. I hope he is remembered as a stable leader who served our Alliance well. As the years have gone by, it is clear that we are friends and to this day I hold him in high regard.

-somewhere in this thread derailment, I should post a disclaimer. I'd like to think that I am a cut above some who post on this forum in that I try to honest and avoid revisionist historical work. That said, my memory is colored by the same prejudices that we all suffer from. I believe and remember the NAAC to be a great alliance, both socially and as a military power. Maybe we weren't as good as I'd like to think, but if I err, then it is by a slight margin and nothing compared to the propaganda that we see everywhere on these forums.

Edited September 12, 2008 by Arctic

[Rebel Virginia]

In GW2, we went into the conflict with some innovations at the time. We had adopted alliance wide war chests (which was unique in those days), had maxed out airforces in even the smallest nations, and also had adopted a nuclear policy that was largely designed by Diskord (he has since perfected it for MK). Our goal in that war was to over expose ourselves and nuke as many NpO/NPO targets as possible, with the longterm objective being to leave the world to The Legion in the aftermath of a catastrophic war. As such, our units led off the war with multiple offensive declarations and rapidly had FAN backfill our defensive slots.

Yes, I remember both the airforce thing and the nuclear thing. We already had knowledge of your nuclear plan going into the war, but I'm not so sure about the airforce thing. Regardless of whether or not we knew, it still did cause some trouble in the lower ranks. In fact, partially due to the results of your airforce thing, one of my first acts as a War Councilor was to order Pacifican nations to bulk up their airforces.

[Virillus]

When you look back on your time in CN what are the names that jump to the foreground? What particular periods of "history" do you remember most vividly?

Also: "Veer-ill-Us"

Nice to hear your voice finally.

P.S. I'd love to join you one night, if you're up for it.

Edited September 12, 2008 by Virillus

[Raken]

kudos for using death cab as your opening, great first show.

[Sandwich Controversy]

Bah, it's too bad you're doing it on a Wednesday, otherwise I'd be in on this. RV and I can make our own show then.

[Arctic]

It is the end of the workday, so I will write a brief account of the NAAC and why we lost GW3 (beyond the obvious answer- that the other side was larger and better).

After GW2, we had a new elected government with a drastically different focus. At that point we decided that the priority had to be placed on economic and diplomatic endeavors. Training an excellent military is fun, but it seemed pointless when other alliances can simply focus on diplomacy and recruit a larger force to destroy all your hard work with much less effort. As such, we tried to rebuild both our nations and also our foreign relations with the alliances on the other side.

The political climate at the time didn't give us enough time to make alot of headway in either area. We were only a few weeks into our rebuilding program when GATO was targeted and we were given the choice to either cut them off to save the rest, or to honor our MDP and attempt to defend them. This time around there were no nuclear weapons, very little in the way of war chests, and certainly no air forces. Most of our alliance money had been spent on rebuilding infrastructure, so we entered the war without the necessary materials to fight well for any length of time.

Our military strategy had improved slightly in that we had decided that when faced with superior numbers that minimizing our exposure in offensive wars was the only means to allow coordination and skill a chance at overcoming the odds. If the war had been a bit closer, we might have managed to do better with our strike team tactics, but it was simply too many opponents too soon. As a result, we were behind from day one, with the NpO and NPO doing a great job against us. FAN decided to not fight us very hard, so we gratefully accepted a sitzkrieg on that front and tried to focus on the NpO and NPO.

I have to admit that they had improved a great deal in the interval between the two wars. This war was launched from a prepared position and they had designated targets for each alliance. Also the reforms that Anthony had made to the Pacifican military had an obvious effect (at least from the victims standpoint). As RV said earlier, they were prepared to win this war from the start, and although many (including AlmightyGrub) feel that the war was actually contested, I have always felt that it was the perfect example of military strategy in this game, in that the WUT picked the best possible time to fight that war.

They launched it after they had time to repair, but before we had sufficient time to rearm. They did it against the weak link in the Aegis chain and set the war in motion so that they had a strong reserve in place to deal with the late arrival of the Legion. As I said above, it is in my opinion the best planned big war this game has seen. We have had large wars since, but that war was larger in terms of the nations engaged than any other since, and it also served as the deciding war in this game.

As the war dragged on into its 2nd, 3rd and 4th week, it was clear from that talk by the victorious side that the game would never be the same. The rhetoric on the forums was a precursor to the trolling that we see today and as such, I and the others leaders in the NAAC felt that we would not have a place in the post war world. Our decision to leave the game was a hard sell to out members and the community, we got trolled heavily on our way out by people who clearly wanted us to stick around to get beat on in the future. In hindsight I believe that most who have followed the game over the past year and a half can recognize what it would have been like for us. No offense to the present incarnations of GATO or The Legion, but the alliances that were our allies in this game have long been dead, and any dignity that they had then has been erased by a year spent as a doormat in a world run by the Pacifican Hegemony.

So to answer Bob Janova's question directly- the NAAC lost the 3rdGW because it spent its time in this game looking inward; to the workings of elected governments, to the training of its military and in general to have fun. This can contrasted with our traditional rival the NPO, who spent their time looking at everything that could possibly give them an edge in the game. We were decently skilled amateurs in a match against cold hard professionals, and in the end, we came up short in all the areas that really mattered (in diplomacy, in stable government, in the cultivation of a killer instinct).

I'd like to think that we gave them a difficult time on occasion, but in truth, I doubt we were anything more than a minor inconvenience. For the entirety of the game, they were out of our league. And it was only the relatively level playing field at the beginning of the game and the amazing recruiting that is always available on the blue team that allowed us to stay in the game with them for a year.

[Rebel Virginia]

the late arrival of the Legion.

On that note I will say that by the time Legion arrived GATO had reached a point where its members were no longer able to wage a war, due either to bill lock or to heavy damage. Had Legion arrived a couple of days sooner GATO may have been able to fight on a little longer, although whether or not it would have made any difference in the outcome of the war is debatable.

[mythicknight]

Needs more thickness.

[princessro07]

In the Archives section, can you put the dates the show aired?

[tolkheleknar]

Can I do your next show with you? :3

[WarriorConcept]

I'd be up for being a guest if you want.

Also mandatory thoughts on warriorconcept question =p

[Steve Buscemi]

Airme, I just listened to the mp3. Very nice. I liked it a lot. I love CN history. I guess it's before your time but you should have someone on who signed up way back in Jan/Feb/Mar of 06. Have them explain how CN was in the beginning and their thoughts on it's progression.

Well done. I'm hope you can keep doing them.

edit: "you should have someone who" is not the same as "you should have someone on who", lol

Edited September 14, 2008 by Steve Buscemi

[JayOvfEnnay]

Any hints as to who the guest(s) will be?

[AirMe]

Any hints as to who the guest(s) will be?

Not yet. I have had a few volunteers. I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

[King Srqt]

Not yet. I have had a few volunteers. I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

You know you want to pick me if only to hear me pronounce my name.

[Doitzel]

Airme, I just listened to the mp3. Very nice. I liked it a lot. I love CN history. I guess it's before your time but you should have someone on who signed up way back in Jan/Feb/Mar of 06. Have them explain how CN was in the beginning and their thoughts on it's progression.

Oooh, oooh! March 06, right here. Ooooh, oooh! Pick me, pick me.

You know you want to pick me if only to hear me pronounce my name.

Your name has no vowels. My name is cooler anyway.

[King Srqt]

Your name has no vowels. My name is cooler anyway.

Egyptian is cool like that. You wish your name was as cool as mine :angry:

[Doitzel]

Egyptian is cool like that. You wish your name was as cool as mine :angry:

My name: fun to say, pronounceable many different ways, rolls off the tongue.

Your name: unremarkable, boring story of origin, no vowels to pronounce it with. You're also smelly.

Q.E.D. I win.

[WarriorConcept]

My name: fun to say, pronounceable many different ways, rolls off the tongue.

Your name: unremarkable, boring story of origin, no vowels to pronounce it with. You're also smelly.

Q.E.D. I win.

Duet, doitzel?

[JayOvfEnnay]

What do you think about the recent Rok/Echelon event, and do you think it'll go anywhere?

[AirMe]

Next show is in about 2 hours. #cntalkshow on coldfront. Link to radio is in the OP.

[Incitatus]

GoldenBoy situation....Opinion?

[King Thirsty]

12 midnight. Can't wait.

[Jeeooh]

He's on the air right now.

Edit: Here's the recording: Click

Edited September 18, 2008 by Jeeooh

[JayOvfEnnay]

Jeoh I think the recording may have been cut off a little short. Mine goes to about 14 and one half-ish minutes, and cuts off his speech a little bit.