Many of your have heard talk of another [REDACTED] mod project, and some of have even heard hints, rumors, or even a straight reveal (if you use discord) of what it is. But whether or not you already know, it's time for the formal reveal of...

CivWorldPowers Mk. 2.5!

Wait, keep reading! Before you get all worried that we are rebooting the sub again so soon, you should know that 2.5 is not designed to replace the current Mk.II (hence the '.5' in the name). 2.5 will be taking place on an all new sub, and should be seen more as a side project than as a true reboot.

So what is Mk. 2.5?

Simply put, Mk. 2.5 is an experiment where we attempt ot approach the concept of CivWorldPowers from a standpoint much more similar to the original vision of MK. I. For those of you that weren't here, Mk. I was an almost completely unregulated environment where people could make nations however they wanted, and do what they wanted. This led to some stunning RP, but eventually hit the problems of everyone claiming their nation was 'the best' in everything (trade, military, science, etc). This made resolving anything difficult, so many of the players and mods began to propose systems of quantifying military, which became the spreadsheet. and now, 4 months and 1 reboot later, we have the highly regulated Mk. II. These systems work fine, but some players have expressed distaste with one or more of the current systems, while others have expressed longing for the bygone days.

2.5 aims to change all that, with the return of player freedom and a focus on RP. In 2.5, there will be next to no systems to restrict what your nation can and can't be. To compensate, we will have a strict set of content quality standards, and a system for policing said content. 2.5 will run parallel to Mk. II, to determine if strict content policing is a viable alternative to the tedious but effective numerical rules of Mk. II.

Keep reading, and I'll run you through some of the features and rules of Mk. 2.5!

Cooperative Nations

In 2.5, nations will be played by 2 or more players, rather than a single individual. This decision was made in part because of 2.5's smaller size, but has other benefits. Multi-player nations allows there to be a focus on character-to-character RP as well as simply portraying the nation as an entity. It will also allow for more consistent RP, without the gaps caused when scheduling problems adversely affect the one player of a nation in Mk.I or II.

Each player must have a character (probably of political importance) which they portray in their civ. YOu will not be allowed to simply describe your nation without a well developed character to spearhead some of your RP and OC.

Return of Fantasy

Light fantasy makes a return from Mk.I! Light fantasy, though part of the original charter for the sub, was removed by a plurality vote in Mk. II. Due to the nature of 2.5 as a sidegame, light fantasy will also be returning! Light fantasy, for those unaware, is a setting with fantastical elements, creatures, and peoples, but without the grand-level spellcasting or unrealistic settings of a high fantasy story. Some things you can have in light fantasy are:

• Fantasy Races: Dwarves, Elves, Khajiit, Sun-Fearing Rat People, or whatever else your mind can think up. These races shouldn't be significantly superior by natiure, but their existence can help flavor your nation and the gameworld if you choose to use them.

• Fantasy Creatures: Pegasi, Griffins, Dragons, Rocs, Phoenixes, Manticores, Direwolves, and more. These creatures, used as foes, trained animals, or mounts, also bring more diversity to the world, but this time from a military perspective.

• Nonstandard Technology: Want a heavier-than-air steam airship? That will be allowed in time! Want unusually potent medicines and elixirs? That will be allowed in time! Want Alchemists who drive the science of your nation even after their era should've passed? You can! If you balance it fairly in game, technologies that didn't specifically exist in real life may be employed by your nation.

• God-Kings: Want to bring back the in-game character flair of having an immortal leader? That's your prerogative.

• Again, no high fantasy. Spellcasters and plane shifting (or anything like this) is not going to be acceptable. All fantastical elements must be self contained; that is to say, your use of fantasy should not force another player to significantly change their vision for their nation.

Population-Based Metrics

Nations will determine a realistic population for the time, and determine a government form. These two values will be responsible in determining the size of military an infrastructure, which can be more specifically interpreted by each nation. This approach doesn't rely heavily on land values or a spreadsheet, so nations can be more varied and customized; however, nations must still be relatively balanced and realistic. You won't be able to get away with anything in this system. Merely more than you could with a spreadsheet.

Similarly, rollme will be playing a significantly lighter role in 2.5. Most battles will be determined by the two nations agreeing on a realistic outcome, or third party arbitration if desired. Rollme will only be used if the players involved in a situation wish to randomize aspects of the given event. Rollme will not be the backbone of 2.5 in the same way it is in Mk.II.

Advancements

Say goodbye to the tech tree as 2.5 forgoes rigid earthlike advancement in favor of science more in tune with the world. Your nation may make advancements itself, be they new weapons, new civil technologies, new government forms, or something else entirely. Once advancements are made, they must 'spread' to or be be stolen by other nations, more effectively imitating the way the real world works. The game will most likely begin in the mid classical era, which you may recognize as the time of early Rome and the Qin dynasty.

Advancements won't be completely unrestrained though. A nation must build up to significant advancements with RP (and not just in the post where they make the discovery itself). If an advancement isn't built up to, or isn't in character, it may be ignored. Which brings us to the next topic.

The Establishment Rule

This is the main method of restricting what a nation can do in the absence of systems. If any major action (such as war, tech, alliance, or espionage) is conducted without being built up to across multiple posts, it may be decanonized. This rule also applies to actions remaining in character. If you establish a character or motive for your nation or leader, going against that must have an RP reason, or it will be decanonized. If you're ever uncertain of what qualifies in these categories, just think about if it would make a good story (for after all, RP is a cooperative story), or if it simply seems like you the player trying to make your nation better off.

Post Decanonization

This is the other major tool in 2.5's regulatory toolbox. A post may be determined as unacceptable for a variety of reasons (which will be detailed in the rules and sidebar of 2.5's sub). If a post is found to be unnaceptable, in will be decanonized, which means that nothing in that post ever happened in the context of the game world. This might seem punishing, but strict regulation is necessary to have an otherwise rule-light game.

Decanonization will be decided by a vote, which can be called by a player, and voted on by the same group. Both sides may make a point for decanonization, and everyone may vote. After 48 hours, votes are tallied, and the result is final. Each mod may appeal a decanonization decision once per week, but otherwise the vote determines the outcome.

Participation

Initially, only mods will be participating in 2.5, on an approved-submitter sub (For the reddit-illiterate, that means only selected users may post, but anyone can read and comment). Individuals who are active players of Mk.II may audition to become participants in 2.5 as well. These players must write a sufficiently lengthy piece of OC introducing their character, and showing off their RP skills. Current players will then vote to see if the new player is allowed to join.

Remember, 2.5 is a test game. You don't have to participate, and even if you do, don't take it personally if you find yourself with decanonized posts. Because 2.5 has another feature:

RP Training Ground

Many of you would likely admit to being novice or first time RPers, which makes sense given the nature of our sub. While one of you are bad, there is always plenty of room for improvement. 2.5 will serve the double-duty of being a testing area for a new playstyle, and a training ground for RP. In 2.5, players and mods will get direct feedback about whether their writing or characterization is at an acceptable level, often through the lens of decanonization. If being frequently told "you're doing it wrong" might upset you, don't consider joining 2.5. We will be very strict in our regulation on this sub, once again due to it's nature as a side project; however, if you can handle being plainly told when you're not doing good enough, 2.5 will be a good place to learn where you need to improve, and working within a multi-player nation will allow you to more easily learn roleplaying at a person-to-person level, which is much easier than portraying an entire nation.

Final Note

Remember, this game will not replace Mk.II, and it also is not mandatory or the 'main game'. You can feel free to simply spectate, or ignore the game entirely. Until nations are built and the game starts running, we will likely be mods only. More players will be added once the game is actually rolling.

If you want to see the new sub where 2.5 will be living, head on over to /r/CivWiP (though keep in mind the formatting, CSS, and wiki are only half complete altogether)

Obviously, there are a lot of rules and finer details not in this post. Soon the 2.5 wiki will become available to look at, and the wiki there will likely answer any remaining questions you have. Thanks for your time! I'll try to answer your questions below.