NationStates News

by Max Barry
Sun, 10 Aug 2008

You might have noticed there's a new link on your nation page that allows you to reserve its name for NationStates 2. No? Huh. That's weird. It's really obvious. I'm kind of surprised you could miss that. It's--yes, that's it.

Click away, and when NationStates 2 arrives (not long now!), you'll be able to use the same name!

And if--wait, you really can't find that link? Did you use it already? Because it disappears if you do that. Okay, then log in and click here.

This is probably a good time to reiterate that NS2 isn't replacing this game: your current nation(s) will continue here. You can operate nations in both games, if you like. I mean, you know, if you're cool enough.

by SalusaSecondus
Mon, 28 Jul 2008

OpenId is used throughout the web to identify yourself for sites such as blogs and comments. Now, you can use NationStates to do this. For the first time, you can prove to sites that you control a specific nation. Unfortunately, this is a bit of a technical feature to use. We only provide delegation so you'll need to link your nation to another OpenId account. If you have any questions, please post them in the technical forum, and we'll try to help.

YOU SHOULD STILL NEVER GIVE OUT YOUR NATIONSTATES PASSWORD TO ANYONE OR ENTER IT ON ANY SITE OTHER THAN NATIONSTATES.NET.

by Max Barry
Thu, 01 May 2008

Hi,

The same folks who are working like demons on the epic masterpiece that is NationStates2 have now taken over the hosting and general maintenance of NS. Although the current forums are still hosted in Jolt (we're working on that as well), you should find the site a lot faster as we've migrated it to very beefy servers in our data centre (in New York City, if you're interested).

To cover a little of the monthly server cost (these are not cheap at all!) and make sure that we've got extra resources for general NS development, we're going to put a very small piece of advertising in the left-hand panel of the game. We promise it won't be intrusive and it helps make the game better for everyone :)

Thanks, Tilt

by Max Barry
Mon, 21 Apr 2008

I know a bunch of you just choked on your wheat flakes, but it's true: NationStates 2 is happening. It's taken five years of discussion, plans, tears, hopes, trials, and floundering, but at last it's come together: I have the right people working on the right design.

Five years ago, I created this site, NationStates, in my spare time, never expecting it to find the popularity it has. I actually designed it to be a passing fancy, something you might find fun for a little while, then move on.

With NS2, the design from day one has been all about longer-term gameplay. While the core principles of NationStates haven't changed—micromanagement is still a dirty word, diplomacy is the focus, and customization rules—NS2 greatly expands your nation's ability to affect its world. It's all about giving you top-level control and letting you take your nation wherever the hell you want.

I'm thrilled about this. I hope you are, too. For more information, including an NS2 FAQ, check out www.nationstates2.com.

by Max Barry
Mon, 14 Apr 2008

The World Assembly wishes to announce that it does not intend to enforce bans ordered by the now-defunct United Nations. It is, in the World Assembly's educated opinion, highly likely that such bans were the result of filing errors, bureaucratic bungling, or pure incompetence. Thus, if your nation was banned from joining the UN, it may apply for membership of the WA.

One should note, however, that the World Assembly intends to ensure that the rule restricting players to one WA nation each is vigorously policed. Any violations will receive a WA ban, to be upheld until the end of time or the collapse of the World Assembly, whichever comes first.

by Max Barry
Tue, 01 Apr 2008

So it's April 2. And we still have a World Assembly. What this means is if you were thinking this year's April Fool's prank wasn't very believable and didn't fool you for a second... you've been no-pranked.

No joke: the United Nations really has demanded we cease & desist from using their name. That's a real cease and desist letter.

[ Get the full story here! ]

When the letter arrived, the whole thing sounded so much like an April Fool's gag, we decided to use it as one. It was perfect: experienced NationStates players, hardened to our April 1 shenanigans, could no longer be fooled by anything... except the truth.

by Max Barry
Mon, 31 Mar 2008

[ Read the full Cease & Desist notice here ]

The (real) United Nations has demanded NationStates "immediately cease and desist from using the United Nations name and emblem," as it "is unauthorized and in violation of of the provisions of international and U.S. laws."

Reaction inside the NationStates world was swift and brutal: faced with this extra-dimensional incursion, the NS United Nations collapsed. Stunned member nations stared on in disbelief; Gatesville regional residents wandered about in a daze, unsure how to feel and wondering what to do with their lives.

But bureaucracy abhors a vacuum, so almost immediately the proposals rang out for a new organization, one that would serve the same, admirable function as the United Nations, but without the lawsuits. Thus, behold! The World Assembly!

by Max Barry
Tue, 18 Mar 2008

Frames were handy, in their day. Sure, that day was in 2002, but still: You set 'em up, your pages go in designated areas, everybody's happy. Except you can't bookmark them. And sometimes pages break out of frames when they shouldn't, or get framed when they shouldn't, and--yeah, you're right, they always sucked.

And now they're gone! No longer does NationStates have that retro feel: we're all one page, baby. Slide that scrollbar. Yeah. Feel the groove.

We also have some slick new features that I know you'll like, mostly because they're blindingly obvious and should have been added years ago. These include highlighting of new telegrams and issues in your sidebar, RSS feeds of the same, nifty "National Happenings" to help keep tabs on what's happening inside your borders and out, and the ability to restore an old nation that was deleted for inactivity.

And not only that! Check out those cute flags next to nation names in your logs and endorsement lists now. They look awesome. Even the ranking tables look slicker! Not much, sure, but a little! That's something, huh?