In An Awesome Version of eRepublik
Day 1,611, 13:11
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Published in United Kingdom 
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by
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by The B
Awesome, Depending on Your Taste
Let's face it; eRepublik is shit. I don't usually like using swear words to describe something, but it is so similar. It doesn't do anything, it doesn't change, apart from gradually decay.
Of course, once it used to be awesome, like that massive English breakfast you had, but then it comes past the current admins (which, in this extended metaphor I chose to be the digestive tract) and comes out... yeah.
Of course, owing to this, there is a constant plethora of "ADMINS SUCK" and "THIS IS HOW I WOULD DO IT" articles. Actually, this article is going to be no different, so I can't say much else.
Okay, serious. What do you do when you're stuck, you've got writer's block or whatever else? You have to go for inspiration somewhere. And it was while I was playing Paradox's fantastic Hearts of Iron 3 I thought "why don't we bash the two together?". Of course, it would have to be bash, because the two are so different they would have to be put together with some force.
Whereas eRepublik is an online game for many people, Hearts of Iron is a one person per nation game. Obviously we're going to have to make some compromises.
Warfare and Such
In Hearts of Iron, warfare, like the rest of the game, is relatively complicated when compared to eRepublik. eRepublik has mechanics which, if you do not understand at least the basics of, you probably should be put down. Anyway, here's some ideas which should at least provoke some thought:
1) Regions
Regions in the eRepublik are not very realistic. Let's face it; you can't conquer Siberia in a day.
How long to conquer it, sir? A day? Seems legit.
But, on the other hand, you don't want to have to capture some irrelevant little region over the course of aeons just for the sake of wiping the country. That's why I propose regions should be more like this;
Ahah, that's, err, rather a lot of regions.
Well, it was worth pondering. But wait! Reading the second point will mean it will all start to come together.
2) Military Units
In my awesome version of eRepublik, instead of being vague, semi-useful groups to issue orders, military units are very important.
Everyone willing to fight is put into equal (or unequal, if you wish so) units. The leader of each unit commands his force through semi regions (each blob on that map) with the goal of getting to the capital of the region (so, for example, a leader could guide his forces through Cornwall, Devon and Dorset, but his ultimate aim would be to get to Bristol, the capital of the South-West).
However, the opposing force is out to get these units with their own. They direct their forces towards the enemy (or hold a defensive line) and when the two meet BAM! We have battle.
3) Battle
Obviously this is different. Only those in the military units that are fighting in the region can help (there can be more than just two opposing units). Battles would be shorter therefore, except in exceptional circumstances.
What we don't want is a system where you have to be on all day, and hopefully this would not mean that.
4) Conquest
After beating the opposing force, the invaders (or defenders) now have control over the semi-region they were fighting in. This not only gives them a defensive bonus if they are attacked there, it also means that a potential rebellion will require more support. Unless they want to go up and down through every tiny semi-region, they must reach the capital and win it, and thus they now control the entire region. Huzzah!
5) Peace
Eventually, the invading forces might capture the capital, or the defenders might want a quick peace. In any case, peace in this awesome eRepublik would no longer be a vague gifting of money. The leader of a nation has the chance to annex a region or two (they don't have to keep all the regions they are in), ask for money, make the country a satellite, or force change the government. In any case, the negotiators can choose the truce time.
6) Rebellion
The people in a conquered province may not be very happy. Alternatively, those in their native province may not be happy with their government. Either way, they can start a rebellion. People who wish to join in the rebellion will have to contribute a sum of money and then will be sorted into a unit. Normal warfare begins. Nothing much to it.
Anyway, there's the intermission. Here's something to divert your mind.
My wife turned to me during her mother's funeral and hissed, "When we get home later, I'm going to make you fucking pay for this!"
For the life of me I couldn't think of what I had done wrong.
Maybe it's because I wasn't sharing my popcorn.
Politics
Do I really need to go over this? There have many articles wanting to change the political system to a logical one. The fundamental difference in awesome eRepublik is that types of government give different bonuses. Authoritarian governments enable a chance of revolt.
Yay!
Potential Problems
I'm not going to say this eRepublik would be perfect. Of course it wouldn't!
1) The come-here-you-little-bastard problem
This is were one military unit keeps chasing another one. When it starts moving to a region, the other one just gets up and moves again. In this version, this would have no benefit and, after five semi-region moves without combat, a unit would start to suffer a combat penalty which they would lose upon settling down.
2) Timing
Sometimes a military unit may not be able to move because the leader is away. In this case, the second-in-command will take charge. The leader can also plan a route through up to three regions, which the second-in-command can overwrite if the leader is away.
3) Other stuff
No doubt you will probably notice a gaping hole in this and, in that case, I'll post it here.
Conclusion
This article is not supposed to be dead serious. It is solely for the purpose of provoking thought, although I am worrying myself now thinking that I haven't put enough effort into this. There are also some aspects I haven't gone over here, so please take note.
Thanks, and please remember to vote.
The B
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Comments
I think you neglect some realities of browser gaming. Unlike what eRepublik promotes nowadays, browser gaming should not reward those spending hours that generously.
And I feel your battle module falls into same trap as V2 one.
And for government types, it promises new opportunities but I seriously doubt if people like the idea of not having power to elect government.
I agree with Luminara on the point of players needing too much time to play this sort of game, though there *might* be a way out of that with some clever mechanics; it would require some more thought.
As for the V2 "trap," I know my opinion on this isn't too popular, but I *liked* the V2 battle module. Of course, it needed some tweaking (maybe even a lot of it), but it was so dynamic! You had to use your brain and think ahead! What's more enjoyable; clicking and watching a bar grow/shrink or chess? (OK, maybe not chess, a little more like checkers, but you get my point).
Regardless, that was an entertaining idea, B 😛
Thanks for the comments.
Luminara, the authoritarian governments would be just there, as an option that would provide considerable benefit. Nobody would have to use them, and those who want a vote would stay away from them. But yes, I see your point.
The time required for all this is hard to gauge for those higher in command. Those lower down would just do what they do now; click strategically. Those higher up would simply have to direct their units. Yes, you would have to spend some time, but hey, that's the responsibility you took. You can set plans in advance.
Irv Noyb, I sort of agree with you on the V2 thing, but yes, it needed tweaking.
Anyway, I think something like this would have to be put into practice to really see the effect it would have. Unless we get a serious admin change, that will never happen, but hey, it was worth the thought!
If they allowed nations the option to change their colors on the world map, to set the price of market licensees, to lend money, sell/exchange territories, trade excess resources with each other, that would be awesome.
To counteract PTOers, history of citizenship held should be displayed on the profile. Furthermore, citizens that don't agree with their government can have the option to band together and declare said government illegitimate and initiate civil war. Another countermeasure is the ability to pass eligibility laws for political office, ex: person must be a citizen for x amount of time to even run.
Since not everyone wants to go offsite to chat with their MU and Party Members, why not have chatrooms conveniently placed on their homepages?
It would be awesome if there were less grey spots on the map. Greenland for Denmark, the Falkland, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands for the UK, Puerto Rico and Guam for the US, etc.
What would be doubleplus awesome is having other versions of eRepublik to play while your health regenerates. Rise of the eRoman Republic, Medieval eWorld, eColonial Powers, etc.
Some good ideas there, although the last lot may be a bit over-stretching it!