Official Round 4.0 Announcements

[Turkey (Dax)]

This thread will be used for all announcements pertaining to the start of Round 4.0 as they are needed, and for general board announcements throughout the round.

INDEX
• Round 4.0 Claims Rules
• Restart Schedule Changes
• Economic System Changes
• Claims Begins for 4.0
• Status of Claims
• Round 4.0 Claims List
• Klaus Strasser Switch; Spreadsheets
• First Year Economic System Usage
• 2014 Spreadsheets
• 2015 Spreadsheets
• Moratorium on Syria RPing

[Turkey (Dax)]

Claim Rules, Round 4.0

While claiming has not officially begun until July 23rd (and any claims made in advance will not be considered valid and therefore not be taken into consideration), the rules for claiming are below, which I thought should be posted in advance. This will help players to make sure they are prepared once claims open and allow people to come up with the required information, especially our new players and those who were not here at the start of Round 3.0.

At the onset of the new round, each player will be required to submit a claim list. This list should contain five nations that you are interested in claiming, in order of preference. However, there are three stipulations for each list. In order to ensure that the claims process is as smooth and satisfactory is possible, please be sure to follow each stipulation. Failure to do so may result in an unsatisfactory claim being assigned.
NOTE: Players whom claim after the initial round of claiming at the onset of the round will not be required to follow these rules, and need only to follow previously-established claims procedures.

1a: Each list must include five nations. Claims lists containing less than five nations may not be honored. Please also be advised that the mod team will assume that the list is in order of preference. So if you want Brazil more than any other claim on your list, be sure to put Brazil at the top.

1b. Each list must include two nations that are not part of the Group of 20 nations. For a reference as to which nations are in the G-20, consult this map. Any claim list that does not include at least two non-G20 nations may not be honored.

1c: If you are intending to co-claim a nation with another player, please have a partner before submitting such a claim. The mod team will not play matchmaker for co-claims. Also, be advised that not every nation will be allowed to be co-claimed, and no nation will specifically require co-claims.

It is encouraged, though not required, that you post a brief summary of what you plan to do as each nation. This is especially true of contentious and/or highly desirable claims. A good summary of intentions will go a long way towards ensuring that you get the nation you want most, especially if there's stiff competition for that nation.

[Turkey (Dax)]

Update - Schedule Changes, Claims

Considering that it's become clear that there isn't going to be any further Round 3.0 RPing and discussion of changes for Round 4.0 appear to have settled (and now squarely in the realm of mod formulation of new protocols for official announcement), the forums will be cleared tonight. Spreadsheets will also be reset to current time within the next 24 hours.

If there's consensus and players feel as though they're ready, the Claims process may begin early, as in at some point tomorrow evening (EST). While players don't necessarily seem too eager to get things rolling, the lack of board activity isn't something that we want to drag on. However, if discussions of pre-claims and next round setup continue to appear more-or-less settled, we may begin early. Make sure your claims are ready.

[Turkey (Dax)]

Economic System Changes

The new and improved Guide to Economic Spreadsheets is up, and all players both old and new are encouraged to read it in order to be informed of the changed made to the system this round.

Same is true for events commission. The Events Commission Overview includes some changes to the events system you will want to be aware of.

[Turkey (Dax)]

Claims Have Begun!

The Official Claims Thread is up and active, and claims are officially being accepted for Round 4.0.
Tentatively speaking, claims will be open until Sunday, July 22rd. However, if it's looking as though the dust has cleared before then, we will assess the need to end the process early as needed. However, don't count on claims lasting less than 24 hours, and more realistically more like 48. Claims will be posted in full in this thread at the end of the process, and further claims/alterations will be directed to the traditional claims forum.

Onward to Round 4.0!

[Turkey (Dax)]

Claims Status

Claims will remain open through tonight in order to wait for the inevitable last minute members. They will likely close sometime around midnight EST. For those whom have yet to claim or those thinking of changing a couple of their claims in light of what the rest of the board has claimed, here are a few nations that we are in need of good players to fill, if anyone is interested (probably in order of importance):

Brazil
Iran
Turkey
Syria
South Korea
Saudi Arabia
Pakistan
Italy

If anyone would like to edit their claims, please feel free, just post making a note of it so that no one misses it.

After claims close, a list will be posted here, in the Announcements forum, designating everyone's claim. Once your name is changed, you may begin posting Factbooks and the like. Throughout tomorrow, we're going to try to get Economic spreadsheets ready and some last minute things in order, and once those are doled out the round can basically begin. The official start date is Monday, July 23rd, though if the Economic team is able to get things ready quick enough, we may have a de facto round start by sometime tomorrow, seeing as some people seem to be itching to get started.

[Turkey (Dax)]

Claims

Here are the claims for Round 4.0. If there are any significant issues with what you have here, please PM me or Schwerpunkt. Names to be changed shortly.

Claimed Nations
Cavaleras - Afghanistan
Aummonia - Algeria
Fish - Australia
Zelron - Brazil
Surfinbird - Canada
Historian - Chile
Schwerpunk + Evictus - China
Klauss Strasser - Colombia
KG100 - Democratic Republic of the Congo
ChrisRev - Egypt
Angleter - France
AaronH - Germany
LaHabanna - Honduras
Amzi - India
Apollo - Indonesia
Dax - Iran
Intrepid - Iraq
Skyenet - Israel
X - Japan
Berlicum - Kuwait
Hubris - Libya
Evan1st - Malaysia
Max - Namibia
Ranger - New Zealand
Esco - Nigeria
Farrfin - Russia
Antler - Slovenia
CSJ - South Africa
MTTezla - Spain
Bugs - Syria
Alfie - Sweden
Petar - Turkey
soysauce - Uganda
JCU - Ukraine
TheOne - United Kingdom
Kartozeichner - United States
Jackmeister - Zimbabwe

[Turkey (Dax)]

Switch, Spreadsheets

Klaus Strasser has switched from Colombia to Ecuador, due to having swapped out his claims during the claim process and the mods not noticing.

Also, all economic spreadsheets in the Grand Spreadsheets List thread should be up to date. Use this spreadsheet's numbers, and only this spreadsheet's numbers, for all budget and economic data, including your military budgets. Any issues with the spreadsheet or defense budget numbers, please contact an economic and/or military moderator.

[Turkey (Dax)]

Thoughts on First Year of New Economic System

The economic team has completed the first in-game year using the new economic system put into place this round. All in all, pretty successful, I would say. If there are any questions or concerns regarding the growth rates and spreadsheet updates, please direct them appropriately to the Office of the Economics Commissioner.

Also, we'd really appreciate feedback and input from players regarding the changes made at the beginning of this round. We're interested to know if it's easier/more convenient this way, takes some of the pressure off of the non-economic-minded folks, or if there's anything you think we should do to change the system/make it more effective and positive of a contribution to the game as a whole. Those comments can also be directed to the above link.

Thanks!

[Turkey (Dax)]

2014 Spreadsheets

All player spreadsheets should be updated in their entirety for 2014. If your spreadsheet has not been updated, please post in this thread, and we will rectify that.

Any other questions, concerns, and/or help regarding your growth rate, spreadsheet, and/or economics in general, please refer to the Economic Help Desk.

[Turkey (Dax)]

2015 Economic Spreadsheets

All player spreadsheets should be updated in their entirety for 2015. If your spreadsheet has not been updated, please post in this thread, and we will rectify that.

Any other questions, concerns, and/or help regarding your growth rate, spreadsheet, and/or economics in general, please refer to the Economic Help Desk.

[Turkey (Dax)]

Moratorium on Syria RPing

As most of you have probably noticed, today we had a new player, Bruce, claim Syria. Bruce has not been here for this round of 21c, but was briefly here last round, so he's familiar with how the game works. However, I'm sure you all can imagine how daunting of a task it is to come into a game mid-round and take up the challenge of a nation which has been the major focal point of the game since the beginning. There's a lot of information for him to sort through to get up to speed, and I'd appreciate if everyone -- and especially the players directly involved in the conflict -- would offer themselves up to Bruce to answer any questions that he may have and offer any help and pointers that he may need getting settled in.

Additionally, as of the time of this posting, I am imposing a 24 hour moratorium on all RPing concerning the Syrian Civil War, as a courtesy to Bruce so that things aren't moving so quickly ahead while he's still trying to get caught up. Players are asked to refrain from posting directly in regards to the Syrian conflict, especially in the Pilothouse. Because I don't want any misunderstandings, here's an outline of what will and will not be included in the moratorium:

Not Okay:
• Posts in the Pilothouse specifically concerning the conflict in Syria, including Turkish strikes on the PKK, Saudi proxy militants, and other matters directly involved "on the ground", so to speak;
• Domestic news posts dealing with specific actions taken by your nation to directly influence the conflict in Syria. Use common sense here, and when in doubt, ask;
• UN and other international organization discussion of the Syrian conflict directly

Totally Okay
• Posts in the Events Thread regarding the ICC's investigation into Maher al-Assad;
• Domestic news posts regarding your government's stance on Syria or similar, so long as the post does not affect the conflict's nature or the behavior of those involved;
• The Pilothouse thread regarding the Turkish/Saudi blockade of Tartus. This one is tricky. Essentially, that RP does not have to immediately involve Syria directly, as Tartus is effectively already blockaded by Turkish naval forces. If the Saudi, Egyptian, Turkish, Russian, and other players want to continue that RP in the next 24 hours, I'm fine with it again, so long as nothing is RPed that affects the conflict in Syria on the ground. Though, if Russia and Turkey want to have a showdown, I'm hardly one to stop it;
• Similarly, the threads dealing with that blockade in the UNSC and EU forums are perfectly fine so long as the same principles apply.

Thank you for your cooperation, and remember that when in doubt about whether your post is going to be nullified because it violates these guidelines, just ask. I will post here when the moratorium has been lifted in approximately 24 hours.