Quick start guide
This guide introduces >CLOP's core systems and helps you build a solid economic foundation from scratch.
It's designed for new players and focuses on the fundamentals.
New players are protected from attacks for the first three weeks, so combat will be omitted.
Other resources are available for combat more advanced concepts. Explore them when you're ready to go deeper.
If you have questions, talk to other players. Allies will always be your most valuable resource.
Choosing a region
When starting, you may choose one of four regions. Each region can produce different resources, so it's worth understanding what each one offers before making your decision.
Burrozil
Burrozil produces apples, the backbone of every economy. Without stable access to food, a nation's subjects will eventually turn on their ruler and collapse the state.
Everybody needs apples, and alliance leaders will always be looking to improve their supply lines.
Because apples can be used as an emergency lifeline, Burrozilian nations are generally the most forgiving.
Saddle Arabia
Saddle Arabia produces oil, which powers infrastructure and enables manufacturing. Young economies don't need much of it, but more developed nations rely on it very heavily.
A brief power outage can easily destroy an empire.
Zebrica
Zebrica produces copper, which is used in infrastructure and military equipment.
It is not normally needed for upkeep, but anyone without a good copper supply will find themselves underdeveloped and vulnerable.
Przewalskia
Przewalskia converts copper into parts used for high‑tier buildings and equipment. While anyone can do this, Przewalskians get a massive discount giving them a defacto monopoly on manufacturing.
Przewalskia is critical to the global economy, but its nations can struggle to develop alone which makes them a challenging choice for new players. This guide covers Przewalskia, but unless you have a clear plan and allies, consider choosing another region.
Getting oriented
Once you're logged in, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the user interface and explore the site.
For now, take a look at the "Next Tick" clock. Every two hours the game state updates for everyone. Resources are first consumed, and then produced. This clock displays when that will happen next, and will end up being critical for short term planning.
Next, look at Nation. This tab contains everything related to internal affairs. When you log in, you'll be on "nation → overview" by default. If you've navigated away, go there now.
Your Overview contains complete information about the current state of your nation. Superpower relations will be covered in more advanced guides. You should avoid doing anything that affects for the time being, as they can be quite dangerous. For now we're only interested in Satisfaction and Bits.
Satisfaction is a measure of public opinion. Most buildings reduce it, but there are a few that will help you keep it from plummeting. At -100 satisfaction you'll start to see armed rebellions, while reaching -1000 Satisfaction causes you to lose instantly.
It's normal to have negative satisfaction while getting established, but make sure you stay above -100.
Satisfaction also affects your GDP: every point increases it by 0.1%, meaning GDP is doubled at 1000. For most builds, this is negligible since their wealth comes from other sources.
GDP displays how much raw cash your nation will generate next game tick. Some structures can affect GDP, but most players choose to ignore it and make their money other ways.
Funds is your current balance. There is no interest in this game, so idle money should generally be put to work.
You currently have half a million to work with, which is enough to get you started. We'll be investing it soon.
Go to Capitalism → Resource Marketplace and take a look at the current state of the market.
This marketplace is where players may post a resource they're looking to sell for cash. Prices fluctuate heavily depending on what's happening in the game, and there is no guarantee that certain resources will be affordable, or even available.
Take a moment to look at the markets for copper, oil, and apples. Hopefully the commodities you need are plentiful and the ones you produce are in short supply.
Next, go to Capitalism → Buyer's Resource Marketplace. Here, players may post cash to offer to purchase a resource. Prices here are generally worse, but it can be a useful tool if you need money quickly.
Keep in mind that all listings on both marketplaces are subject to taxes. You receive 10% less than your listed selling price and pay 10% more than the listed asking price.
Finally, some players eschew the marketplace entirely and rely on barter. If market conditions aren't in your favor, it might be worth contacting players who are likely to need apples and trying to negotiate trades more directly.
Once you've got a feel for the market, go to Alliance → Alliances to see all formal alliances.
Keep in mind that this likely isn't the whole picture. Players may have made private agreements that won't be displayed here. Don't assume that every diplomatic agreement is visible.
Take a moment to read through the alliances and figure out what they stand for. You can click on an alliance's name to go to their overview page and find a list of its members and a brief description of its goals.
If you have questions for alliance leaders or members, click their name on the alliance overview page to be directed to the user's overview page. Individual users often have descriptions and flags that could give you more insight.
You'll also find the game's Private Message system is accessible from their overview, facilitating direct communication. You can also go to the Messages tab on the navigation bar and write in their username if you'd prefer.
Direct messages are often the best way to learn about the current state of the game.
Take some time to understand the different alliances in the game and join whichever one feels like a good fit.
If none of them appeal to you, you can make your own or play without a formal alliance. Just remember that there is strength in unity.
Now, let's actually get your nation built. Select Nation → Actions
This page shows all the infrastructure you can make, and is lumped in a few major groups. Resource Extraction, Resource Conversion, and Satisfaction Buildings are the most important ones. Basic Actions notably don't actually make infrastructure and are one time changes to your nation.
Each individual action has a description that tells you its initial cost, its upkeep, and what it produces.
Some actions on this page are dangerous, so avoid doing anything you don't understand. Anything that affects relations with the Solar Empire or New Lunar Repuiblic can easily get you killed, while DNA extraction and Forbidden Research are almost guaranteed to provoke an invasion.
Most buildings have Environmental damage. This is a softcap that penalizes satisfaction, with the penatly gettin worse the bigger you build. It's meant to ensure well established players stay mortal. You can and SHOULD exceed these caps as you grow.
The guide will fork based on your region to allow more specificity. Please select your region to continue.