What Can I Do? A Guide for New and Intermediate NationStates Players

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Ever felt bored on this site, or unsure what you should be doing?  This post will attempt to list and explain all the things you can possibly do in NationStates and in the region. 

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[b]Starting Out[/b]

It is beneficial to familiarize yourself with NationStates itself. The following links will help you do so:

[url=http://www.nationstates.net/page=faq]Game FAQ[/url]
[url=http://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=246464]New Player Guide[/url]
[url=http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=260044]List of All Rules[/url]
[url=http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=294199]Roleplay Information[/url]


The following link is regional specific and contains links to a lot of various regional information:

[url=http://www.nationstates.net/nation=vancouvia/detail=factbook/id=390998]Western Isles Information[/url]

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[b]Developing a Nation[/b]

Solve [url=http://www.nationstates.net/page=dilemmas]issues[/url].  You can get one every five hours.  If you leave for a while only five issues will be queued for you to answer.

Create [url=http://www.nationstates.net/page=create_dispatch/category=1]factbook[/url] entries.  Factbook entries are descriptions of your nation.  What is your government like?  What kind of military do you have?  Where is your nation located?  Put this and more information into factbook entries so other nations can learn about your nation.  Ideally, create your factbooks in this order: military, map, trade, overview, other things.

If you want to make a more advanced wiki-style factbook like [url=http://www.nationstates.net/nation=vancouvia/detail=factbook/id=398027]this[/url], then check out [url=http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=256878]this guide[/url] on how to do so.

Set up a national flag, motto, currency, and other information in your [url=http://www.nationstates.net/page=settings]settings[/url].  Create your own flag using a program like paint or microsoft powerpoint.  

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[b]Getting Involved in the Region[/b]

Post on the regional message board with an introduction of you and your nation.  Afterwards, keep posting!  Uses of the regional message board can be found [url=http://www.nationstates.net/nation=vancouvia/detail=factbook/id=391006]here[/url].  Essentially, feel free to talk about yourself or your nation with other people.  This is where you can get to know other players.  

Ask for a spot on the regional map by sending a telegram to the Founder.  Make sure to convey what area of the map you'd like to be on.

Develop a map of your nation like [url=http://www.nationstates.net/nation=vancouvia/detail=factbook/id=308365]this one[/url] or [url=http://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=524824]this one[/url].  You can use programs like paint or microsoft powerpoint.  

Post on our regional [url=http://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=401675]news[/url] thread. 

Engage in some good old fashioned Democracy by voting in regional polls that take place on the region page.  These polls will either be for elections, other formal votes, or just informal questions.  There will usually be several polls each week.

Join the [url=http://www.nationstates.net/page=un]World Assembly[/url] and endorse others in the region who you want to be the regional delegate.  The delegate gets more votes in the World Assembly, so endorse those who share similar values to your nation.

Run for an unfilled office or challenge a current officer for their seat.  More information on this process can be found in the regional [url=http://www.nationstates.net/nation=vancouvia/detail=factbook/id=390968]Constitution[/url]. Don't be afraid to challenge an officer; offices are meant to be cycled out through different nations.  

Propose an amendment to the Constitution.   Information about how amendments are passed is located in the [url=http://www.nationstates.net/nation=vancouvia/detail=factbook/id=390968]Constitution[/url] under the Legislative Branch section.

Engage in regional role-play events.  These events are linked to on the region page under Ongoing Events.

Discuss regional duties and interact with regional officers. 

Read other nations' [url=http://www.nationstates.net/page=activity/view=region.the_western_isles/filter=dispatch]factbooks[/url] to get to know your fellow nations.  Upvote their factbooks by clicking the top triangle in the upper right!  This will help increase awareness for our region and boost all of our egos.  Try it out with this factbook entry right now, haha.    

Telegram other regional members if you want to get to know specific nations, discuss alliances or trade deals, or just simply to chat out-of-character.

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[b]Getting Involved in the World[/b]

Join the [url=http://www.nationstates.net/page=un]World Assembly[/url] and vote on resolutions.  

Read and post in the [url=http://forum.nationstates.net/]Forums[/url].  There is a wide variety of different topics, from role-play events to rating other nations' flags to engaging in political discussions.  

Read other nations' [url=http://www.nationstates.net/page=activity/view=world/filter=dispatch]factbooks[/url] from around the world.

Play the [url=http://www.nationstates.net/page=challenge]challenge game[/url].


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