NukeZone

NukeZone is a wargame played on the Internet with a web browser. It is a text-based real-time strategy game with many variables. NukeZone was the winner of the Multiplayer Online Game Directory's game of the month award in June 2002 and November 2005, an award that can only be won once yearly per game.

History
NukeZone was started in 2001, by Swede Stefan Karlström (nicknamed Guffy). The game, particularly in its early incarnations in regards to available military units, was highly influenced by the 1996 bestseller Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Despite common perceptions, Stefan is quick to point out that NukeZone was never a school project. Since its creation, it has grown quickly, starting with a meagre few thousand members in 2002 to 35,000 members in 2006. Each round of the game is about three months long, game changes are usually introduced in the pause between rounds, a pause which varies from one to four weeks.

Gameplay
Each player gets their own "province" once they register for the game. Once registered they will choose a starting bonus out of a choice of seven to begin the game. New provinces are in nuke protection for 48 hours. During nuke protection players cannot make attacks or be attacked. Nuke protection is also used for all players at the beginning of each round and for players who have died and will have to restart.

To maintain the balance of the game each player is given three turns every hour, which they use to perform in game actions such as attacking provinces and buying units.

Units
There are many units available in NukeZone, which add to the logistical value of the game. Units are divided into categories of sea, air, vehicle, and infantry, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Out of the number of units, there are some who are used for specific strategies, like the "building-killing" units, which are the B-2 Stealth Bomber and the Heavy Artillery. Building killers attack only buildings and have a large advantage in clan wars for killing provinces. There are also "unit-killing" units, which make up the large majority of units. These are used normally in combination with other units and are efficient in "pointing" for most point-focused clans. There are other units as well such as the Aurora Spy Plane, which spy on enemy buildings, being particularly useful when seeing what defense buildings a province has if you plan to attack them. Thieves are used for thieving money from provinces, which is another highly used tactical strategy. Efficiency in thieving comes through many strategies, much of which comes through sheer experience.

Satellites and missiles are not actual units, but they can also be used for attacking, however they both require research.

Buildings
There are a total of fifteen buildings in the game, a small number but each participate in their respective purpose. The defense buildings, making up a third of the buildings, are another integral part to maintaining a province. These are used mostly when one does not have the required unit to defend against a specific group of units. A fourth of the buildings (Shipyards, Airfields, War Factories, and Barracks) are devoted to producing units. Without these you cannot purchase the specific group of unit you want. Power Plant and Advanced Power Plants are used to supply other buildings with power. If a province has 100% power usage or above, which comes through lack of power plants, the player will not be able to build or fire satellites and nukes, nor send Thieves, Spies, or Snipers. As well, your defense buildings will become de facto null and void of warding off enemy attacks. Research labs are used for increasing research capabilities. Command Centres are used to build the special units, which are Spy Planes, Spies, Thieves and Snipers. Lastly, the Missile Silo is used to house missiles.

Research
Research is a fundamental part of NukeZone gameplay, being primarily used to increase your province's abilities in warfare and province stability. Sciences are the form of currency in NukeZone which increase the productivity of research, based on your turns. Every fifty research labs equals one science per turn headquarters also increase the amount of science per turn with one. But only 5 headquarters are buildable, so when you have 200 research labs, you will be able to research five sciences per turn since.

Clans
Provinces are able to join a clan of up to 20 members. Clans normally choose to play for either points or networth, as there are top lists (top 100) for both. (There is also a list for individual provinces' networth and for Combo Points.) It is difficult to play NukeZone successfully without being part of a clan, as clans are one of the most integral aspects to the game. Without a clan you are on your own in fending off attacks and whatnot, however some do prefer that way of playing. As well, when you are in a clan you can receive monetary aid from members. There is a Clan Leader (CL) in every clan, and the CL has the option to choose five Clan Trustees (CT) in the clan if he sees fit. These five CTs normally help the clan leader in tasks of handling a certain part of the clan, such as recruiting and declaring wars. An incentive to buy a Platinum Clan is introduced in the form of a "sixth" CT, called the CO who is essentially second in command.

A motivation in Nukezone for clans to war for points is the clan bonus system. This is set up so that when a clan gains 10,000 in points, they will receive a substantial reward of 300 turns for each province and $25,000,000 to be equally distributed amongst the clan members. For every 10,000 points after they will receive another bonus. And after every 50,000 points gained, you receive a Super bonus, that's 450 turns for every clan member, and $37,500,000 to be equally distributed amongst the clan members. To gain points, an army is created and raised. Clans make strategic decisions what units to use to war with; Unit Killing units earn the best points while there is no guarantee of a "target" whereas Building Killing units earn less points with an absolute chance of a target. Points are scored for an attack, between 1 and 20, earning more for more NetWorth damage caused to your foe.

Medals
After each round ends, medals are awarded to the leaders of the following areas:
 * Medal of Honor - Most clan points gained by a province
 * Medal of Growth - Highest networth
 * Medal of Death - Killed most provinces during clan wars
 * Medal of Earth - Highest Land Area
 * Medal of Courage - Performed most attacks
 * Medal of Thievery - Most money stolen
 * Medal of Knowledge - Quickest to research all sciences
 * Medal of Mass Destruction - Most damage dealt with missiles (excluding Tomahawk Missiles)
 * Medal of Development - Province who first reaches $2,500,000 networth and keeps it for 48h, counting from the beginning of the round.
 * Medal of Superiority - Province who first reaches 2500 clan points, counting from the beginning of the round and based on Clan Points Gained (total).
 * Medal of Accomplishment - Province who wins both the Medal of Honor and Medal of Superiority in the same round. The Medal of Accomplishment will be rewarded instead of the 2 other medals if this feat can be accomplished.

Clan Awards
After each round ends, clan awards are awarded to the leaders of the following areas:
 * Points Champion (Gold): The clan with most clan points.
 * Points Champion (Silver): The clan with second most clan points.
 * Points Champion (Bronze):. The clan with third most clan points.
 * Networth Champion (Gold): The clan with Highest networth.
 * Networth Champion (Silver): The clan with the second highest networth.
 * Networth Champion (Bronze): The clan with third highest networth.
 * Golden Shotgun: The first clan that hit 10,000 Points.
 * United Boundaries (Gold): The clan with most land in total.
 * United Boundaries (Silver): The clan with second most land in total.
 * United Boundaries (Bronze): The clan with third most land in total.
 * United Arms (Gold): The clan with most attacks made.
 * United Arms (Silver): The clan with second most attacks made.
 * United Arms (Bronze): The clan with third most attacks made.
 * Combo Champion: The clan with most combo points

Gold user
For those who wants extra features, there are gold users, gold clans and platinum clans available for sale. Beyond the gold user, there is the much coveted "Gold User Plus", or "GU+" as it is commonly known. This special membership is available only through rare sales events or as a reward for winning a contest.

An example of a Gold User/Gold User+ feature is that these users can use an avatar in the game forums. The avatar can be anything as long as it is not abusive in nature.

Gold User+ users only difference to other Gold User members is that the membership is unlimited.

Gold User memberships cost the following at the moment: 1 Round : 8  Euros /  70 SEK 3 Rounds : 21 Euros / 190 SEK 5 Rounds : 32 Euros / 290 SEK

Community Points System
The community points system was implemented on September 10th, 2006. It basically rewards users by giving them points for being frequent in the forums, and supporting Nukezone whether it be through donations, or buying gold users or platinum clans. The more points you get the higher your community level becomes, with a maximum of nine levels.

Community Levels
Level 1 is the standard level you start out at, you receive standard access to all forums and features.

Level 2 is achieved by receiving 1,000 community points, you receive nothing but a congratulations for reaching this level.

Level 3 is achieved by receiving 2,500 community points, you receive the ability to use colors, fonts and images on the forums.

Level 4 is achieved by receiving 5,000 community points, your picture gets added to spotlight section on the nukezone Portal.

Level 5 is achieved by receiving 10,000 community points, you receive the ability to rate post quality and vote for popular topics on the forums.

Level 6 is achieved by receiving 17,500 community points, you receive veteran status and 10 online shop credits awarded.

Level 7 is achieved by receiving 27,500 community points, you receive an invitation to private rounds of NZ/NZT and 15 online shop credits awarded

Level 8 is achieved by receiving 40,000 community points, you become eligible to purchase a Gold User+, 20 online shop credits awarded and ability to create topics in The Zone forum.

Level 9 is achieved by receiving 60,000 community points. This is the big mystery. What you get will be revealed once the first person reaches this level.

As of March 4th 2007, only two users have reached level 6.

More Information
This site basically has all the information needed about the community points system

Popularity
Over the years, the NZ community has developed a sort of subculture, with its own gaming slang, history, and meetings. Player interaction out of the game is encouraged, with occasional gatherings in the games' player hotspots in Sweden, The Netherlands, North America, and others.


 * 1) NukeZone is the name of the official community IRC-channel on Quakenet, operated by the Nukezone crew.

Spin offs
Some NukeZone players who have had disputes with the Nukezone crew have made what are more or less clones of the game. These have generally been composed of members from the NukeZone community. The first was Covasion (2003), later DefCon5 (2003), Warrior Adventures (2004) and Federation Wars (2004). None of these games have reached the same popularity as NukeZone, but some do have large cult followings.

Criticism
In recent rounds, NukeZone has received a lot of player criticism about 'fading interest from the Moderators and Guffy.' However, in Rounds 17 and 18 there have been some more extensive gameplay expansions, which, while largely appreciated for the growth in options, were nonetheless criticized by earlier members who prefer the simplistic gameplay style of the earlier rounds.

There have also been talks about Guffy who has been distancing himself from the game more and more. In a 2005 interview with Guffy, he was asked if he saw Nukezone being around 5 years down the road. Guffy responded that he doubted it and commented on how long the project has been going.

Cheaters have been present in the game since its beginning. This is a unsolved problem and they still are posing a threat to Nukezone's remaining players. Gaining land, money or points from multiple accounts are just a few uses. They remain illegal to use in the game yet a lot of the gaming population uses or have used them.

Some of Nukezone's players are disgusted at the hierarchy of Nukezone. Where some people hold positions in places they otherwise would not have held if it weren't for friendships through the game, where applications should have been judged on Merit.

Suggestions and Ideas have been posted in a special forum to discuss possible improvements the game. When an idea is posted it is either debated by the Nukezone community or it is shut down by a Forum Moderator. Very few ideas have been implemented into the game. Out of 1000's of ideas there is always a good idea, yet it receives the same treatment as the others. It will become locked, deleted or declared dead.

Trivia

 * NukeZone's original slogan, "Nuke the enemy before the enemy nukes you!" was used until September, 2003, when it was changed to "Nuke or Be Nuked!".
 * Old units no longer available include: Cyborgs and Cyborg Commanders, Attack Dogs, Attack Bikes, Flame Throwers, Rocket Soldiers, Rifle Infantry, Aircraft Carriers, APCs, and Heavy Tanks. Old units are occasionally phased out to bring in new units.

Membership
NukeZone is popular throughout Europe and much of the world. As of April 2006, the breakdown by country is as follows:
 * Sweden: 19.2%
 * Netherlands: 17.0%
 * USA: 15.6%
 * United Kingdom: 9.6%
 * Belgium: 4.8%
 * Canada: 4.5%
 * Norway: 3.5%
 * Australia: 3.5%
 * Denmark: 2.8%
 * Finland: 2.7%

And by continent:
 * Europe: 66.9%
 * Americas: 21.9%
 * Australia/Oceania: 4.3%
 * Asia: 3.0%
 * Africa: 1.0%

Crew
Stefan Karlström (aka Guffy) – CEO, Lead Developer, Chief Administrator

Anthony Wiezoreck (aka EhpeX) – Chief of Operations, Administrator Steve Brown (aka Primal) – Chief of Information, Administrator Christian Anderstedt (aka glamDring) – Administrator Chris Twine (aka Aqua) – Game Moderator+ Chris Norton (aka FireHawk) –Director of Community Development, Game Moderator Keith Hodge (aka Pappahodge) – Assistant Chief of Information, Game Moderator Tim Bos (aka Bosje) – Assistant Chief of Information, Game Moderator

Paul Siddall (aka Dakeyras) – Game Moderator Clayton Nash (aka Kombu) - Forum Moderator Wim Wauters (aka GranDaddy) – Forum Moderator Tom Henderson (aka Tommy) – Forum Moderator Danny Groenen (aka The Hero) – Forum Moderator Lars Haglund (aka Zuckuss) – Forum Moderator

Duane Waldman (aka Waldo) – Forum Moderator Jarrad Franco (aka DoC) – Forum Moderator Jonatan Desmyter (aka Jupke) – Forum Moderator Steve Jacks (aka Ambius) - Forum Moderator Donald Maclean (aka Donald) - Forum Moderator

The NukeZone Manual
http://www.nukezone.info/manual.aspx