[WHPR] BACK IN ACTION

Day 3,398, 10:50 Published in USA USA by James S. Brady Press Room


Dateline: Friday, March 10th, 2017 (Day 339😎
Location: James S. Brady Press Room, The White House
WHPR BACK IN ACTION



Guess who's back, suckers?

Good Morning all you beautiful people in erepublik-land. I bring you the warm fraternal greetings of the Derphoof administration with a non-binding, verbal, uncommittal, soft promise: you will see more WHPR articles this term than last.

This month has already been rather eventful, behind the scenes. We HAD plans to bring you an exciting airstrike to brighten your day, but alas, these plans fell through. It was no one's fault, *cough* allies *cough*, no one's fault at all. Don't worry, we'll get something cooking for all you eager beavers out there. We are just looking for the right opportunity to help our allies, and engage the community.



Don't forget your eUSA Forums, baby.

Just a friendly reminder for all you excellent people out there to visit your eUSA forums once in a while. There is a wonderful train-wreck in your Public Congressional Forums almost every day. I mean, seriously, you cannot script some of this drama; and it's all free. If you do not feel like participating in the enlightened debates, post something in the General Erepublik Discussion.

Want to discuss something unrelated to erepublik, check the Random, Current Events, or Real Life Banter boards. There truly is something for everyone on your eUSAforum.



Interview with a Legen😛 Gnilraps

How about we try a few actual continuous segments in the WHPR?
Today, we'll interview one of the citizens of the eWorld, Gnilraps.

1) How long have you been playing erepublik, and how did you stumble upon the game?

I've been playing since about 3 minutes ago and I look forward to logging back off so I can get back to village management on my Travian server. I remember years ago when I'd log onto eRepublik for a dozen or more hours per day because there was just that much going on.

I came across eRepublik via google search in 2009 when I was looking for a MMORPG. I joined at a great time, it was the rise of Emerick, the Fed party (which I chose) had not yet come into its own, the game mechanics were quirky and interesting, and there was a robust international GAME to be played.

2) When did you discover your love for the media module?

Good question. It was during an epic CP cycle in which Emerick, Pfeiffer (then Henry Arundel), Ajay (then Pizza the Hut), Phoenix Quinn, George Pumpkinette, Laxsnor, and two others (Professor Oak and Lefty from Mulberry Street) were all vying for election. Think about that, ye 2017 eCitizens, a CP race which included 8 potential candidates!

Anyway, add to that the fact that there were major issues swirling at the time. INCI was creating a massive stir that required a political solution, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (the MUs which received Congress cash) were on the verge of revolt, and activity was peaking in eUSA. For example, after Emerick won that election, here is his Cabinet list:

President: Emerick
Vice President: Leroy Combs
National Security Adviser: Alexander Hamilton
Grand Viziette: Claire Littleton
Chief of Staff: Teucer
Deputy Chiefs of Staff: Agent Washington, ArcNox
Secretary Defense: Avruch
Deputy Secretaries: DeyoZero, Cerb
OMS: Vanek26
AA: Zyria
MoFA: Laxsnor
Deputies: Stuart Shepard and Blank Keating
Advisers: Alexandr Sunbeliver III, TTi09
Secretary of State: jelly9473
Deputies: JLake4
Director of Central Intelligence Agency: Rod Damon
Secretary of Treasury: Evry
Deputy: chesehead
Secretary of the Interior: CRoy
Deputies: jerseygirldani
Secretary of Education: Blank Keating
Deputy: None yet
Secretary of Media: Civil Anarchy
Director of the Pony Express: Robbert Loggia
Secretary of Technology: Qnfauf
Deputy Secretary of Technology: liek12
Advisors: Publius, Cerb

How could someone NOT fall in love with the Media module???

3) How has the media module, specifically, changed over the years? For the better or worse?

Well this is the one module that Plato has actually improved, mechanically speaking. Endorsements, improved comments threads, embedded video, comprehensive ranking systems, and critical fixes to the editor have made publishing in eRepublik a joy.

But sadly there just isn't that much to publish ABOUT. That is the problem.

And 6 times out of 10, when there IS something to publish about, the main subject of the story is Plato himself. In other words, for the most part, the only compelling newsworthy events are those which Plato creates by crapping out a tweak that is usually either cosmetic or destructive.

So yeah, I've taken to publishing mostly satire. I invite the rest of the eWorld to join me.

4) What recent game changes have been the most notable? Any changes for the better?

Obviously there was great buzz around the devolution of the Dictatorship module. Let's be frank here, it's dead. So now we wait to see if this increases the amount of meaningful conflict between nations. If it does, it will be a change for the better.

I would like to point out another "change" that was "recent". About a year or so ago Alexis Bonte quite clearly stated his intentions to spend more time playing the game and interacting with eCitizens through the media.

Yeah that would have been a great change if it hadn't been vapor.

5) Are there any measureable metrics that illustrate the decline in the game's popularity?

There are many. Here they are listed categorically:

Measurable metrics which are not available to us for measurement:
The amount of cash spent by citizens.
The number of citizens spending cash.
The number of citizens bothering to run multis.
The amount of resources given to eRep by eRep Labs.
and so on.

Surely all of these metrics are pointing down, but we can't measure them.

Measurable Metrics whose data is available (but I'm too lazy to access it, so if you're looking to publish something, here's a great list of ideas🙂:
Amount of damage dealt weekly (excluding context weeks)
Number of kills dealt weekly (a better metric than above)
Discrepancy between the top MU and the 2nd-10th MUs in terms of kills/damage
Active participants in Government
Active regularly published newspapers in Media
Active participants on IRC/Twitch/etc.
Complexity of Congressional Budget
Number of eUS Citizens who could name more than 3 of our allies
etc.

Once again, I am sure all of these will show the same downward trend.

Measurable Metrics which may be none of your garram business:
Amount of money spent by Gnilraps on this game
Amount of time spent actually logged into this game (as opposed to "logged in" to this game, if you know what I mean)
Number of PM's sent to noobs offering them assistance.
Amount of "tech" available for automating and organizing tasks related to social organization in eRepublik
Number of actual days left before they shut down the servers.

And again, I am sure each of these metrics is decreasing with alacrity.

6) GNILRAPS/CTHULHU 2017?

If this is a marriage proposal the answer is no.

If this means that together we should permanently establish ourselves as the last remaining meaningful leaders in eUSA, it's probably prudent.

A big thank you to Gnilraps for his candor.



Sincerely

CTHULHU
Secretary of Citizens Affairs
Secretary of Media
Panty Destroyer