Article
I know that I troll and criticize the articles of others, so perhaps it is time that I subjected others to my ramblings while giving people the opportunity to do unto me as I have done unto them.
I do want to say right now that everything I write here is my opinion, and should be taken as such! Whether you think I may be correct or that I am horribly wrong and a blustering windbag, feel free to draw your own conclusions, as I do from the articles of others. Some of you might be offended and be angry, but please try to see my underlying point - I'm not trying to insult anyone.
So with out further ado...
The most recent Admin Article
I'm not sure why this quote was included, but I'd like to say a few words on this.
O RLY?
Look...anyone with a little insight can probably understand that the WWs aren't really for the benefit of the players. They're a vehicle to encourage even more spending and to increase the use of volatile game resources. That is, by offering rewards to players (such as better gear drops, medals and gold) those same players end up purchasing more gold with which to finance their attempts to BH rounds for better Q5 drops and for the medals and gold. Most games with any economy where there is an influx of goods or currency (gold, weapons, etc) actually need to have mechanics to cause them to be used and in the process, leave the economy - lest players simply accumulate more and more of a said item or currency until it is almost worthless. In and of itself that is really no issue, and it is true that people can (and do) choose not to participate. But to say that there is "never any pressure" on players to take part is the WW event is completely and totally incorrect. The very rewards system itself puts pressure on players to participate. The gold, the medals, the better gears drops, these are all factors that put pressure on players to participate. To say otherwise will simply cause me to look at you like this:
However, that is not the Wall o' Text that I intended to subject you all to, so moving on!
What is the most important facet of playing E-Sim?
Since I've started on Secura, I've noticed many things but what I would like to mention tonight has stood out to me. Some people might answer the above with tactics or population, perhaps organization. I would respectfully say that while any of those are important, none of those are the most important ting. What is?
Communication.
Oh, I don't mean verbal communication alone! I'm talking about the entire broad panoply of communication, from nonverbal cues to badly communicated concepts and implied subtext. The problem though is that it is extremely difficult to talk about how one SHOULD communicate, as compared to giving examples as to how one SHOULD NOT communicate. So, I will be using some examples from different nations on Secura. Please, do not be offended if I include your nation, as this is my point of view only, and you are entitled to your own as well.
The United States of America and their dreaded shoutbox
I know that I've trolled you guys quite often, but you provide such a tempting target! But that is the issue, honestly: The US shoutbox contains internal dialogues that really shouldn't see the light of day. Instead of being angry at me for trolling, consider this: why is it that America receives more grief in shouts than the rest of Secura combined? It's because so many citizens have open conversations on topics that should be kept to PMs, forums, and IRC. And you have access to all 3 so you have no excuse! And here is why this is communication: by airing your laundry and having public spectacles on a regular basis, you are (unwillingly) communicating to the rest of Secura the state of your nation. Infighting about candidates, accusations against perceived traitors, and even the hilarious conspiracy theories do not paint a pretty picture. And believe me, these things tend to factor into how other nations see your own. Fractious, divided, and even worse besides. Were I an American President (perish the thought) I would probably pull my hair out trying to get a number of your citizens OUT of the shoutboxes and INTO another, more private medium. From a troll's perspective, please, continue! But otherwise, you might want to give some thought to what you are communicating to the rest of Secura with your shoutbox shenanigans.
Half of the time, this is what we see:
Threats, Pride, and Posturing
Oh, man. This is a doozy. Everyone and every nation has pride, and no one likes to be ridiculed. But as in real life, there are simply times when you should probably close your mouth and let your actions speak for you. Or in this case, the actions of you nation. If you're the victor, it's likely you abuse this to a degree and talk smack, which is in itself a bad thing. But for the victor, it's also probably not such a big issue, and you can weather any negative reaction far better than someone who has lost - and this is where I am leading.
It's expected for two nations to have some level of back and forth before a fight, but if you get your teeth kicked in, continuing the smacktalk afterwards is a serious mistake. Why? By doing so you affect how your nation is viewed: it's hard to play the victimized underdog when you're making threats after losing a battle, and you risk coming of as either a blowhard, a bully that received their comeuppance, or a people that aren't in touch with reality.
To give you two Secura examples, on one side you have Poland. Poland is the Honeybadger of Secura, and HONEYBADGER DON'T CARE. Poland can pretty much talk whatever #(&% they want, and you will probably find it difficult to give them too much grief for it. Then we have (and I know that using them as an example will probably cause the exact type of reaction that I am talking about) - Iran. Iran, who talked a lot of smack while they sat on Pakistan, Iran who continued to talk smack while losing the battle, and Iran who continued to talk smack after they were effectively removed from the map. Now I have to give Iran credit for not quitting, but when you wont STFU about how you will 'make Pakistan cry' or about how you will someday 'make Pakistan suffer once they don't have their allies to help them', you've veered off into "insufferable blowhard" territory. And ask yourself, is this how you want to come across to other nations? Because I have to be honest, every time I saw an article invaded by Iranians en masse to threaten Pakistan or talk *^@#$, I started feeling more and more empathy for Pakistan. In essence, what was communicated to me was that Pakistan was the more levelheaded and reasonable of the two, that Iran was somewhat unreasonably belligerent even in the face of defeat, and I eventually found myself fully supporting Pakistan.
Whether you agree with the above or not, at the very least consider the premise - that you can talk yourself into a position where people start hoping that you lose, and start supporting your enemies. And wouldn't you want to be the one that people feel empathy for and go out of their way to help, instead of the opposite? I know that I would! No one should want to be the kid in the gif below, that people cheered for being bodyslammed. In Iran's case, they could have communicated several things to the rest of Secura, but what many came away with was probably NOT what Iran would have wanted in any event. This is a Bad Thing.
And finally, as this is far too long already, I'll touch on one more for now:
TROLLING
Imagine, me bringing up trolling? But to be honest, even the trolls themselves realize that they may be burning bridges with others, and in regards to communication, it can lead others to see trolls and their host nation in an unfavorable light. Be that as it may, while I don't plan on stopping myself I do hope that other players realize that it is only trolling, and don't take it too seriously. If it does rankle people out there, then I must of course accept the consequences, though I will say that trolling is a art.
Abs to all of you, and a big thanks to Gemany for our IRC discussion topic earlier, Zonja Wöstendiek (yes, that's Helga from the V-Dub commercials)
Next article:
Was Alaska DDoSed? (11 years ago)
About the game:
USA as a world power? In E-Sim it is possible!
In E-Sim we have a huge, living world, which is a mirror copy of the Earth. Well, maybe not completely mirrored, because the balance of power in this virtual world looks a bit different than in real life. In E-Sim, USA does not have to be a world superpower, It can be efficiently managed as a much smaller country that has entrepreneurial citizens that support it's foundation. Everything depends on the players themselves and how they decide to shape the political map of the game.
Work for the good of your country and see it rise to an empire.
Activities in this game are divided into several modules. First is the economy as a citizen in a country of your choice you must work to earn money, which you will get to spend for example, on food or purchase of weapons which are critical for your progress as a fighter. You will work in either private companies which are owned by players or government companies which are owned by the state. After progressing in the game you will finally get the opportunity to set up your own business and hire other players. If it prospers, we can even change it into a joint-stock company and enter the stock market and get even more money in this way.
In E-Sim, international wars are nothing out of the ordinary.
Become an influential politician.
The second module is a politics. Just like in real life politics in E-Sim are an extremely powerful tool that can be used for your own purposes. From time to time there are elections in the game in which you will not only vote, but also have the ability to run for the head of the party you're in. You can also apply for congress, where once elected you will be given the right to vote on laws proposed by your fellow congress members or your president and propose laws yourself. Voting on laws is important for your country as it can shape the lives of those around you. You can also try to become the head of a given party, and even take part in presidential elections and decide on the shape of the foreign policy of a given state (for example, who to declare war on). Career in politics is obviously not easy and in order to succeed in it, you have to have a good plan and compete for the votes of voters.
You can go bankrupt or become a rich man while playing the stock market.
The international war.
The last and probably the most important module is military. In E-Sim, countries are constantly fighting each other for control over territories which in return grant them access to more valuable raw materials. For this purpose, they form alliances, they fight international wars, but they also have to deal with, for example, uprisings in conquered countries or civil wars, which may explode on their territory. You can also take part in these clashes, although you are also given the opportunity to lead a life as a pacifist who focuses on other activities in the game (for example, running a successful newspaper or selling products).
At the auction you can sell or buy your dream inventory.
E-Sim is a unique browser game. It's creators ensured realistic representation of the mechanisms present in the real world and gave all power to the players who shape the image of the virtual Earth according to their own. So come and join them and help your country achieve its full potential.
Invest, produce and sell - be an entrepreneur in E-Sim.
Take part in numerous events for the E-Sim community.
