FAQ - Frequently Answered Questions

[Borys]

1 - What is Navalism?
Navalism is a country level RPG set in a quasi Earth, early XXth century. It is a setting to design and use ships simmed with Springsharp;

2 - How do you play?
You play by interacting with other players, reporting own actions, or reacting to what others do, like in any RPG, running your country (you need to post half-annual budgets), and by designing ships with SS;

3 - Who do I talk to about joining?
You create an account on this board, and post - asking for a country - in the Meeting Room. The Moderators will respond. Or you can PM P3D, Ithekro, or Borys;

4 - What is Springstyle/Springsharp?
Springstyle/Springsharp is a easy-to-use programme used to simultate (sim) warships;

5 - What is a Sim Report?
A Sim report is a summry of a warship's capability;

6 - What can I build, and how do I do it?
The main thing you build are warships. For that you have "naval instrastructure", the yards with slips necessary to build ships, and the Built Points (BP), generated by a country's economy, which represent the various forms of steel needed for one. The other things you build are the naval infrastructure infrastructure (but not from scratch, you will be given something to begin with), and the country's economy.
Details are in the Rules section;
http://www.navalism.org/index.php?topic=121.0
http://www.navalism.org/index.php?topic=86.0
http://www.navalism.org/index.php?topic=85.0

7 - What can I research, and how do I do it?
there is a list of technologies which can be researched. The "public domain" ones take about 3 years each to research. The "secret techs" take twice as long. And you "research" technology by spending "money" - $ -  on it.
http://www.navalism.org/index.php?topic=79.0
http://www.navalism.org/index.php?topic=80.0
http://www.navalism.org/index.php?topic=81.0
http://www.navalism.org/index.php?topic=82.0


8 - Can I have wars with other players?
Yes, but not too often
   
9 - What diplacement does the game use?
Whenever rules mention "displacement", it is always "light displacement";

10 - Is there an upper limit of shafts I can out on one ship?
The number of shafts is limited to 4 (four) maximum;

11 - How do I get new boomsticks for my fleet?
Guns are developed over 6 HY, at 0,5$ per HY;
Turrets/Mount&Hoist mountings are designed at the rate of 1HY+0,5$ per barrel;

[maddox]

What is the Navalism Universe?

As Borys mentioned in the first posting.

Navalism is a country level RPG set in a quasi Earth, early XXth century. It is a setting to design and use ships simmed with Springsharp.

Expanded version.
Originaly concieved as a way to have reasons to develop warships by the use of the warship simulation program Springsharp 2.
It's a bit of fun to design 150 000 tons battleships, or 50 kts battlecruisers, it soon loses the appeal.
Navalism was a way to bring limitations, reasons and structure in the use of this program by having countries with finite resources, as will technological and political designs on the desired effect of the fleet.

Nverse "earth" isn't very different to our world. A bit of changed geographics, a bit more landmass here and there to create more viable naval using countries.

The main difference sits in the politicial history..

Compacted history, By Ithekro.

Step A:  No united Germany in Europe after a second Franco-Prussian War.  The Kaiser setup shop again in the colonies with Brandenberg (a way oversized New Zeeland designed from it's submurged outline) as the center.  It's Maori populations is an unknown right now as we considered what Maori there are to be on Maori instead.

Step B: France is the world power.  It is decadent and slowely shrinking, but still a country not to be messed with.

Step C: There is no England.  Or more accurately, there are no "English".  The Normans have taken their place, having botched the invasion of 1066 but still managing to setup a decent empire in France.  The Normans continued as the English would have until being kicked out of France during the French Revolution (Normandy was a monarchy...think of it as if the wars between France and England still happened, but the "Normans" were not driven off until 1800)  The Norman colonies became the main population centers and the industrical revolutions began in Norman North America (what would be considered the 13 colonies)   At some point the Normans managed to take the majority of the British Isles and have since been making that into their new center of government (probably to be closer to Normandy).  There was still an American Civil War, but it was between the Royalist and Republicans.  The Republic, the Confederate States of America, broke off and managed to move westward through former Spanish and Anahuac lands.  The rest of the Normans, the United Norman Kingdom (formerly the United Kingdom of America) was blocked from western expansion by stronger natives backed up by the resident power in the west....Rohan.

Step D: Rohan.  Yes it is based on Lord of the Rings.  It is also mixed with North American Indians to make is seem a little more real.  It is pretty much the oldest surviving civilization in this world.  The horse did not go extinct in North America as historical, so the Spanish got a rude surprise when their conquistidor encountered an enemy that could fight them.   The Anahuac (no longer a viable power in the world) where the decendents of the Aztec mixed with some Sauron worshiping.  Gondor was destroyed several times in the 8,210 years since the end of the Third Age (the setting of the Lord of the Ring).  What is left has integrated for the most part under the King of Rohan.  The majority of Gondorians now live in Central America (having moved their after a great disaster at the end of the Fourth Age...Mt. Doom went Super Volcano), while the Rohirrim and several allied native tribe and nations live in North America/Middle Earth.  Rohan is one of the more powerful nation on the planet after their war with the Anahuac in 1899 and 1900. The added lands and resources (and respect) has gone a long ways to make Rohan a world power.  If this was a Dungeons and Dragons, Rohan would probably be considered the only thing close to a Lawful Good country on the planet.

Step E:  New Switzerland.  The Swiss, as it turns out, were helping the Normans against the French.  They were exciled from Switzerland in 1800, defeted in their mountanous home by the French general Bonaparte, but many had already started moving away from the Alps to warmer lands.  They found a large island in the Pacific they named New Switzerland and with the help of the Normans and still recovering Japanese, formed an Trading Empire in the Pacifc.  In recent times the Japanese natives rebelled and broke from the New Swiss Republic, taking most of the Asian population with them.  This was after the Swiss failure in the Sino-Swiss War in 1901 over Korea, and several trading ports in China.  Hainam and Taiwan also left the Swiss, but returned after the Swiss governement stabilized in 1904.  In 1907 the Swiss did something stupid and got themselves into a war with the Dutch.  Other counties that had been having problems with the Swiss policies took this as an opportunity to get rid of the Swiss.  Brandenberg, Austria, the Middle Kingdom (China), and eventually Japan, all declared war and faced off against the Swiss and their Navy.  The war ended in mid-1908 with a peace treaty.  Brandenberg and Austria were spent in the war, while the Dutch and Japanese were hoding their own and in some cases advancing.  The Chinese got what they wanted by taking Hainam and Taiwan away from the Swiss.  The Swiss were beaten by not defeated.  Through 1909 they seem to be in turmoil with rumors of the Japanese pulling off a coup to gain control over the Swiss government.  The Norman faction of the Swiss Republic (Australia) may not wish to have Japanese rules and could break away.

Step F:  Japan.  Japan suffered a disaster and depopulation problem around 1500.  Survivors fleed to Korea, China, Taiwan, other Pacific Islands, and even North America.  The Swiss and to a lesser extent the Normans that moved into the Pacific helped the Japanese, but also probably took advantage of them.  Japan and the Japanese have survived and by 1905 had asserted dominance over their Home Islands again from the Swiss.  They seem to be loosely supported by the Chinese, but there are unresolved questions there.

Step G:  The Middle Kingdom is a more internally strong China.  The Empress (mother of the still minor Emperor-but time changes that) and her mother before her ruled with an iron fist and a silver lips.  During the war with the Swiss, the Swiss kidnapped the 5 year old Emporer and killed the then reigning Empress (the grandmother).  The present Empress has sworn a death oath of some sort against all the "devil -Yang Quizi- " Swiss foreigners.  Geonocide is the rule of the day in the Middle Kingdom when it comes to the Swiss.  They are a mighty land power, but their navy is short ranged at present.

What technological differences are there?
The laws of physics aren't changed in the nverse.
Technology is based on "real life" of the era, but has a dash of avant garde ito it, a squeeze of steampunk, even a slice of mad science as a side dish.

SpringSharp 2 is presently the center of the sim mechanics, so there are program specific limitations as well as techological limitations from the tech tree.
The Nverse approves of the use of semi historical inventions developed in the time specific era. It isn't said these inventions will work as promised by the inventor, or prove a technological dead end.

How do you interact with other players?
All means of communication are used. The only exception I know of (maddox) is snail mail. For the rest, even telephone is used.
Personal messages are a handy way to handle conversations with multiple players in different timezones.

Realism?  
We are trying to keep things as realistic as possible within this fantasy/alternate history world. 
No working magic.  No non-human species (no elves, dwarves, hobbits, and the like in the present day....in the past....well those are myths and legends in Rohan, at best).