Liberation of South Pacific: What Went Down?
By: Zukchiva Yura (a.k.a. Guess and Check), Editor-in-Chief
It was a stormy night on the South Pacific beaches. The trees swayed in windy desolation, as hawks soared in the skies, keeping an eye over their new holdings. The liberation militia, huddled within their ships a few miles off the shore, and gazed forlorn at the desolate region.
They had tried multiple times to set up a bulkhead on the beachfront, but every time they had been repelled by the invaders. Yet, they could not give up, for the natives relied on them. Even now, the yells of terror could be heard across the waves.
And so the forces waited on the waves, waiting for their next orders...
The liberation of South Pacific was one of the largest liberations in NationStates history (or as so claimed by numerous NationStates Gameplayers). While the liberation ultimately failed, the forces presented gathered a startling 90+ WA nations, creating the largest updating force known to Raiding/Defending.
Regions who participated on the Defender side of the liberation included Union of Democratic States, the East Pacific, Wintercrest, the South Pacific, Free Nations Region, the Rejected Realms, 10000 Islands, the North Pacific, Thaecia, and the Grey Wardens. Both soldiers and civilians were drafted into the war effort, with a notable force being presented by the Union. These regions sought to free South Pacific from those who held it.
Their opponents? The raiders who held South Pacific, namely the Black Hawks with support from Balder, the Land of Kings and Emperors, Social Technocratic Union, Europiea, Caer Sidi, Lone Wolves United, HYDRA, United Kingdom, Karma, and Hartfelden. They had taken over the region for the sole purpose of keeping power (and having some fun).
So with all those numbers, what happened? Why did the liberation ultimately not succeed, and what were the hot-points of this entire adventure? Well, let’s recount...
THE RAID
On August 2nd, 2020, the Black Hawks took over the World Assembly Delegacy from Panther, the native Delegate of South Pacific. This was accomplished by an updating force of 30+ nations supporting the Black Hawk puppet Dashworie Aedorse. Once Dashworie became Delegate, they would change the region’s World Factbook Entry as well as close South Pacific’s numerous embassies.
Over time, the Black Hawks would call in support from numerous other regions mentioned above. With the combined strength of the raider militaries, Dashworie would field 120+ endorsements on their nation, spelling a tough challenge for defenders.
THE DEFENDERS GATHER + EARLY ATTEMPTS
In response to the raid, many Defenders initially attempted to launch various large-scale liberations. However, over the course of a few days, all these liberations were repelled by the raiders, while the raiders gained more and more endorsements within the captured region.
Eventually, a new discord server was created by defenders in order to coordinate liberation efforts. Within a few days, representatives and leaders from all over defender-dom had arrived to assist in planning further liberation attempts. Known defenders such as Nakari, Roavin, Tim, and Benevolent Thomas were some of those who led the operation. This server, and its members, eventually became known as the “Phoenix Militia”.
Soon, Militia Command had garnered a battle plan. Utilizing a bot to calculate triggers, the Militia was able to set up a new liberation attempt to occur on August 9th at 12:00 PM EDT. But this time, they would have numbers on their side, as they had managed to amass a 90+ updater force of WA nations.
FIRST ATTEMPT: AUGUST 9TH MINOR
With a gigantic updating force and off-the-chart activity levels within the server, morale was high for militia troops.
Starting two hours before the update, the commanders started to give out orders to all updaters, preparing them for the jump. As the clock ticked down to 12:00 PM EDT, orders continuously streamed out of the order channel as defender forces prepared for what they hoped would be a successful liberation.
As hours turned into minutes, and minutes turned to seconds, the update force sat ready for the GO command…
… but it never came.
As soon explained by Nakari, the trigger bot had failed due to an in-game glitch, which messed up the trigger. Without a working trigger to rely on, Command had no clue when they could move their eager liberators into South Pacific.
Understandably, the liberation forces were extremely disheartened by the news. Soldiers expressed anger towards the game’s lagginess, while others went off NationStates to de-stress.
Command made a point to raise the spirits of the force, stating that another operation would be held in 12 hours, and for the soldiers to not lose hope; that South Pacific would be freed.
SECOND ATTEMPT: AUGUST 9TH MAJOR
With hopes slowly rising again, the server began to prep for another attempt. While activity was existent, it was at a lower level than before. However, the camadrie felt by the liberators was strong, and as time ticked down, morale returned in droves.
Just like the prior attempt, orders began to arrive for the soldiers to endorse and prepare themselves for the jump. And as the time grew near, the server grew tense in anticipation!
However, the GO command never arrived from Command.
While no official explanation was given, multiple perspectives from militia leaders eventually revealed that the raiders had messed up the trigger this time. Utilizing a new method called “update bending”, the Black Hawks had moved hundreds of nations from the trigger region. This disrupted update times, and caused the trigger set by the bot to no longer work as intended.
As such, Command was (again) not notified of the proper time when the troops could be moved.
Many soldiers were desperate at this point. This was the second time the liberation had failed, and many simply no longer had the time to give to the liberation. However, some surprising news was soon released...
THE BLACK HAWKS LEAVE SOUTH PACIFIC
As relayed in this statement, the Black Hawks decided to leave South Pacific as of August 10th. The statement was posted within one hour of the second liberation attempt.
Within the above post, the Hawks explained how they messed up the Militia’s triggers, and credited the work to Refuge, Dakota, and Sakana, all Hawk soldiers. Additionally, the statement gave credit to all of the regions who supported the Hawk’s operation.
An interesting thing to note is that the aforementioned glitch during the August 9th Minor was really, as claimed by the Black Hawks, another successful update bending performed by their three notable soldiers.
THIRD FOURTH ATTEMPTS: AUGUST 10TH MINOR MAJOR
With the Hawks beginning to slowly filter out of the region, the Militia decided to make a show of force and liberate South Pacific once and for all. At this point, most soldiers had stopped giving out a loud show of morale, yet they focused on following orders: intent on getting the job done.
While the minor update would fail another time, the forces would finally see the native Delegate restored to power during the major update. Following the liberation, the defenders focused on cleaning up South Pacific of raider puppets while tired militia members returned home.
END RESULT CONSEQUENCES
Overall, the liberation of South Pacific was a complicated and interesting operation. While liberation forces failed to liberate the region while the raiders were in full force, they managed to set up one of the largest liberation forces in history, which is no mean feat.
Raiders also got to test out update bending for the first time in a serious operation. While it is unknown how update bending will be used in the future, no one can say that the R/D game has not been changed.
While the operation has not left much of a scar on the community, a sad occurrence did happen in which long-time community member of South Pacific, Lep, decided to leave NationStates due to the raid. [a href="[URL]https://www.nationstates.net/page=rmb/postid=40148439[/URL]"]You can read his exact words here[/a], but it is obvious that South Pacific is sad to see such an old friend move on to better pastures.
As it is, the liberation of the South Pacific was nothing short of a game-changer in many ways. Good job to both raiders and defenders for their participation, and hopefully the next big-operation sees the defenders overcome their enemies.
SHOUT-OUT TO THE TROOPS
As I said earlier, the Union was one of many regions involved with the operation. So I just wanna give a shout-out to these awesome people for their participation! (Also, please endorse them all if you haven’t already!
The Soldiers Civilians who participated:
Phoenix Coalition
Comlogical
Kanglia
Dawnsland
Waroklion
Kade
Khevo
Nuevo San Miguel
Prorescia
Zeneste
Firseria
Thatcher
Glaciosia
British Isles and Commonwealth Realms
Asdersland
Moral Support (WA-locked noobs who decided to cheerlead the operation.)
Dome Artan
Guess and Check (Yes I was there)
By: Zukchiva Yura (a.k.a. Guess and Check), Editor-in-Chief
It was a stormy night on the South Pacific beaches. The trees swayed in windy desolation, as hawks soared in the skies, keeping an eye over their new holdings. The liberation militia, huddled within their ships a few miles off the shore, and gazed forlorn at the desolate region.
They had tried multiple times to set up a bulkhead on the beachfront, but every time they had been repelled by the invaders. Yet, they could not give up, for the natives relied on them. Even now, the yells of terror could be heard across the waves.
And so the forces waited on the waves, waiting for their next orders...
The liberation of South Pacific was one of the largest liberations in NationStates history (or as so claimed by numerous NationStates Gameplayers). While the liberation ultimately failed, the forces presented gathered a startling 90+ WA nations, creating the largest updating force known to Raiding/Defending.
Regions who participated on the Defender side of the liberation included Union of Democratic States, the East Pacific, Wintercrest, the South Pacific, Free Nations Region, the Rejected Realms, 10000 Islands, the North Pacific, Thaecia, and the Grey Wardens. Both soldiers and civilians were drafted into the war effort, with a notable force being presented by the Union. These regions sought to free South Pacific from those who held it.
Their opponents? The raiders who held South Pacific, namely the Black Hawks with support from Balder, the Land of Kings and Emperors, Social Technocratic Union, Europiea, Caer Sidi, Lone Wolves United, HYDRA, United Kingdom, Karma, and Hartfelden. They had taken over the region for the sole purpose of keeping power (and having some fun).
So with all those numbers, what happened? Why did the liberation ultimately not succeed, and what were the hot-points of this entire adventure? Well, let’s recount...
THE RAID
On August 2nd, 2020, the Black Hawks took over the World Assembly Delegacy from Panther, the native Delegate of South Pacific. This was accomplished by an updating force of 30+ nations supporting the Black Hawk puppet Dashworie Aedorse. Once Dashworie became Delegate, they would change the region’s World Factbook Entry as well as close South Pacific’s numerous embassies.
Over time, the Black Hawks would call in support from numerous other regions mentioned above. With the combined strength of the raider militaries, Dashworie would field 120+ endorsements on their nation, spelling a tough challenge for defenders.
THE DEFENDERS GATHER + EARLY ATTEMPTS
In response to the raid, many Defenders initially attempted to launch various large-scale liberations. However, over the course of a few days, all these liberations were repelled by the raiders, while the raiders gained more and more endorsements within the captured region.
Eventually, a new discord server was created by defenders in order to coordinate liberation efforts. Within a few days, representatives and leaders from all over defender-dom had arrived to assist in planning further liberation attempts. Known defenders such as Nakari, Roavin, Tim, and Benevolent Thomas were some of those who led the operation. This server, and its members, eventually became known as the “Phoenix Militia”.
Soon, Militia Command had garnered a battle plan. Utilizing a bot to calculate triggers, the Militia was able to set up a new liberation attempt to occur on August 9th at 12:00 PM EDT. But this time, they would have numbers on their side, as they had managed to amass a 90+ updater force of WA nations.
FIRST ATTEMPT: AUGUST 9TH MINOR
With a gigantic updating force and off-the-chart activity levels within the server, morale was high for militia troops.
Starting two hours before the update, the commanders started to give out orders to all updaters, preparing them for the jump. As the clock ticked down to 12:00 PM EDT, orders continuously streamed out of the order channel as defender forces prepared for what they hoped would be a successful liberation.
As hours turned into minutes, and minutes turned to seconds, the update force sat ready for the GO command…
… but it never came.
As soon explained by Nakari, the trigger bot had failed due to an in-game glitch, which messed up the trigger. Without a working trigger to rely on, Command had no clue when they could move their eager liberators into South Pacific.
Understandably, the liberation forces were extremely disheartened by the news. Soldiers expressed anger towards the game’s lagginess, while others went off NationStates to de-stress.
Command made a point to raise the spirits of the force, stating that another operation would be held in 12 hours, and for the soldiers to not lose hope; that South Pacific would be freed.
SECOND ATTEMPT: AUGUST 9TH MAJOR
With hopes slowly rising again, the server began to prep for another attempt. While activity was existent, it was at a lower level than before. However, the camadrie felt by the liberators was strong, and as time ticked down, morale returned in droves.
Just like the prior attempt, orders began to arrive for the soldiers to endorse and prepare themselves for the jump. And as the time grew near, the server grew tense in anticipation!
However, the GO command never arrived from Command.
While no official explanation was given, multiple perspectives from militia leaders eventually revealed that the raiders had messed up the trigger this time. Utilizing a new method called “update bending”, the Black Hawks had moved hundreds of nations from the trigger region. This disrupted update times, and caused the trigger set by the bot to no longer work as intended.
As such, Command was (again) not notified of the proper time when the troops could be moved.
Many soldiers were desperate at this point. This was the second time the liberation had failed, and many simply no longer had the time to give to the liberation. However, some surprising news was soon released...
THE BLACK HAWKS LEAVE SOUTH PACIFIC
As relayed in this statement, the Black Hawks decided to leave South Pacific as of August 10th. The statement was posted within one hour of the second liberation attempt.
Within the above post, the Hawks explained how they messed up the Militia’s triggers, and credited the work to Refuge, Dakota, and Sakana, all Hawk soldiers. Additionally, the statement gave credit to all of the regions who supported the Hawk’s operation.
An interesting thing to note is that the aforementioned glitch during the August 9th Minor was really, as claimed by the Black Hawks, another successful update bending performed by their three notable soldiers.
THIRD FOURTH ATTEMPTS: AUGUST 10TH MINOR MAJOR
With the Hawks beginning to slowly filter out of the region, the Militia decided to make a show of force and liberate South Pacific once and for all. At this point, most soldiers had stopped giving out a loud show of morale, yet they focused on following orders: intent on getting the job done.
While the minor update would fail another time, the forces would finally see the native Delegate restored to power during the major update. Following the liberation, the defenders focused on cleaning up South Pacific of raider puppets while tired militia members returned home.
END RESULT CONSEQUENCES
Overall, the liberation of South Pacific was a complicated and interesting operation. While liberation forces failed to liberate the region while the raiders were in full force, they managed to set up one of the largest liberation forces in history, which is no mean feat.
Raiders also got to test out update bending for the first time in a serious operation. While it is unknown how update bending will be used in the future, no one can say that the R/D game has not been changed.
While the operation has not left much of a scar on the community, a sad occurrence did happen in which long-time community member of South Pacific, Lep, decided to leave NationStates due to the raid. [a href="[URL]https://www.nationstates.net/page=rmb/postid=40148439[/URL]"]You can read his exact words here[/a], but it is obvious that South Pacific is sad to see such an old friend move on to better pastures.
As it is, the liberation of the South Pacific was nothing short of a game-changer in many ways. Good job to both raiders and defenders for their participation, and hopefully the next big-operation sees the defenders overcome their enemies.
SHOUT-OUT TO THE TROOPS
As I said earlier, the Union was one of many regions involved with the operation. So I just wanna give a shout-out to these awesome people for their participation! (Also, please endorse them all if you haven’t already!
The Soldiers Civilians who participated:
Phoenix Coalition
Comlogical
Kanglia
Dawnsland
Waroklion
Kade
Khevo
Nuevo San Miguel
Prorescia
Zeneste
Firseria
Thatcher
Glaciosia
British Isles and Commonwealth Realms
Asdersland
Moral Support (WA-locked noobs who decided to cheerlead the operation.)
Dome Artan
Guess and Check (Yes I was there)
Some basic definitions for readers to understand this article better.
UPDATE: The time when the game updates national statistics, endorsement counts, and other things. The nation with the most endorsements is calculated during update, and the nation with the most becomes Delegate during update.
MINOR UPDATE: A less intensive update, usually starting at 12:00 PM EDT.
MAJOR UPDATE: A more intensive and longer update, usually starting at 12:00 AM EDT.
TRIGGER/TRIGGER REGION: A region which updates slightly before the region being targeted updates. Utilized to estimate a target’s update time, as well as giving a few seconds for armies to move their nations into the target region.
UPDATE BENDING: A technique where a large number of nations are moved out of a trigger region before it updates. This messes up trigger calculations and usually makes the trigger wildly inaccurate, which makes it difficult to invade/liberate the target region.
JUMP: The word used to describe the action of a raider/defender moving their puppet into the target region.
UPDATE: The time when the game updates national statistics, endorsement counts, and other things. The nation with the most endorsements is calculated during update, and the nation with the most becomes Delegate during update.
MINOR UPDATE: A less intensive update, usually starting at 12:00 PM EDT.
MAJOR UPDATE: A more intensive and longer update, usually starting at 12:00 AM EDT.
TRIGGER/TRIGGER REGION: A region which updates slightly before the region being targeted updates. Utilized to estimate a target’s update time, as well as giving a few seconds for armies to move their nations into the target region.
UPDATE BENDING: A technique where a large number of nations are moved out of a trigger region before it updates. This messes up trigger calculations and usually makes the trigger wildly inaccurate, which makes it difficult to invade/liberate the target region.
JUMP: The word used to describe the action of a raider/defender moving their puppet into the target region.
This article was transferred following the official forum transfer on October 25th, 2020. Besides format editing, none of the original content was changed. To access the original article, please click here.