[REBORN GUIDE REVISION 12]
If you feel a piece of information should be here and it isn't, let Yenikader know and he'll credit you for it!
There are plenty of Z-Day Guides out there, but none of them have gained any of the widespread attraction like the N-Day Guide. Either because it's poorly made, information is missing, or it's more of a propaganda tool by a certain region. This Z-Day Guide will attempt to solve all those issues and make the community involved. More details are in the credits section.
Z-Day Information What is Z-Day? Z-Day is an annual event on NationStates that takes place around Halloween.More info in section 3 . It's the time of year where the zombies rise from the rise to wreak havoc on all regions! There is no opt-out for Z-Day, unlike N-Day. However, just like N-Day, the effects are only temporary, and after the event is over, it's like it never happened. Except for a news post after the event. That happens. Regions may fall or thrive in this unique environment, depending on numerous factors. The zombies make up most of the world population before they inevitably rot away, either from zombie starvation or human intervention, taking around 70%[1] of the world's population with them.
Z-Day has its origins as an April Fools Day event, which has been a tradition of NationStates since 2004 when every nation's population count went down to 5 million. These events have gotten a lot more complicated (and less mean) than 17 years ago, and have changed NationStates in a number of ways. Many game mechanics/events have been introduced in these, including the World Assembly (2008) [2] , N-Day (2017) , Trading Cards (2018) , and finally, Z-Day, which debuted in 2013. Over the years, some obstacles have been introduced to make the game harder for those already experienced, but in general, it's still the same basic formula. Okay, but how does it work?
I'm glad you asked.
When Z-Day begins, a tab on your nation's profile opens up called Zombie Control. From there, a special issue comes up with one of three options that looks something like this..
Rift Mode The Issue Recent reports suggest that the dead are rising from their graves, displaying aggressive, flesh-eating behavior. If allowed to bite a living individual, such traits can pass to the victim, causing them, too, to become a roaming zombie. This may be NATION's darkest hour.
The Debate
1. “One is always tempted to err on the side of compassion, in these situations, hoping the infected might be able to be cured,” says General RANDOMNAME. “And that would be a terrible mistake. We must marshal the full force of NATION's military might against these undead abominations while we still have the ability to do so.”
2. “No! No!” cries bespectacled science type RANDOMNAME. “I know this looks bad, but these people aren't monsters! They're husbands, wives, brothers, children! Our efforts must go into researching a cure—a cure that could not only save NATION but also our neighbors in REGION! Working together with our fellow nations is the only way out of this nightmare!”
3. “I'm going to just float something here,” says political advisor RANDOMNAME. “What if instead of gunning down our infected, or throwing money after a cure that may not even exist, we get on board with the zombie apocalypse? If we work with the zombies, not against them, maybe this needn't be so bad. Perhaps we can even figure out a way to sustain an undead population indefinitely.”
Dark Mode The Issue Recent reports suggest that the dead are rising from their graves, displaying aggressive, flesh-eating behavior. If allowed to bite a living individual, such traits can pass to the victim, causing them, too, to become a roaming zombie. This may be NATION's darkest hour.
The Debate
1. “One is always tempted to err on the side of compassion, in these situations, hoping the infected might be able to be cured,” says General RANDOMNAME. “And that would be a terrible mistake. We must marshal the full force of NATION's military might against these undead abominations while we still have the ability to do so.”
2. “No! No!” cries bespectacled science type RANDOMNAME. “I know this looks bad, but these people aren't monsters! They're husbands, wives, brothers, children! Our efforts must go into researching a cure—a cure that could not only save NATION but also our neighbors in REGION! Working together with our fellow nations is the only way out of this nightmare!”
3. “I'm going to just float something here,” says political advisor RANDOMNAME. “What if instead of gunning down our infected, or throwing money after a cure that may not even exist, we get on board with the zombie apocalypse? If we work with the zombies, not against them, maybe this needn't be so bad. Perhaps we can even figure out a way to sustain an undead population indefinitely.”
The population of your nation is split into three tabs: Alive/People, Zombies, and Dead. Everyone starts out Alive, but they will slowly turn into Zombies as the event progresses, in an S curve.[3] Eventually, the Zombies will starve and turn Dead. Once again, this happens on an S curve basis, mainly because zombies starve at mostly the same rate.
Choosing the Exterminate Zombies option will make superweapons that turn Zombies into Dead. This is generally faster but decreases the number of people that are alive.
Choosing the Research Cure option will make superweapons that turn Zombies into People. This is generally slower but keeps people alive.
Choosing the Embrace Zombies option will make superweapons that turn People into Zombies. This isn't for everyone, but there's always someone.
You can change your decision at any time provided you weren't turned into a zombie producer, and all your superweapon work gets saved.
Wait, superweapons? That's right. After choosing one of the three options, the Superweapons tab opens up. This is most of the entire game in this single tab. Superweapons take time to complete, but once they're done, you can use them as many times as you like. This only applies to Extermination and Research, for Zombificiation is entirely dependent on how many zombies are in your nation.[4] Superweapons can be used every 20 seconds, except if you were struck by one, in which you can't use one for 2 minutes. Trying to use a superweapon before the 20 seconds are up will reset the timer. The higher the level of a superweapon, the more powerful it is, and bigger nations' superweapons are more effective than nations that are smaller.
What about if you get turned into a "zombie producer", like I've been mentioning? If a zombie producer with a high enough superweapon hits you enough times, they can turn you into a zombie producer. Turning nations into zombie producers freezes any progress they've made on extermination/curing, instead making new zombie progress. Conversely, if a curer/exterminator hits a converted zombie producer enough times, they can reverse the zombie producer back to what they were previously.
Since you can't use superweapons on yourself, you have to use it on your regionmates. Likewise, they can use their superweapons on you. You can also move regions, provided they are either free to enter or you can get through their barriers to entry. In addition, a Founder or an executive WA Delegate can kick other members out of their region even during Z-Day. But let's be honest. Doing that isn't really fun. I'm hooked! When is Z-Day so I can participate?
Z-Day is a little inconsistent when it comes to timing. You won't always get the same time, or even a time at all.[5] With that said, in recent years, the time seems to be October 30th at 8:00pm UTC.[6] That doesn't mean it will always occur at that time! Always refer to the what the News says, and if it refuses to tell you, then probably nobody knows. That just means you have to be constantly aware, or a friend will tell you, if you have any.How do I play? How do I get started?
It's somewhat simple to get started, really. The hard part is surviving. Like I said earlier, when Z-Day starts, all nations that currently exist get a prompt on your Zombie Control asking them to either kill the undead, cure them, or become one. This includes you. Exterminating is quick to produce superweapons for, but has the intended side-effect of killing the undead that was once people. Curing is slow to produce superweapons for, and you may be overwhelmed by zombies before you can do so, but if you are able to, you can turn the undead back into regular people again. Embracing zombies is entirely dependent on your zombie supply, and you may get destroyed before you get a chance, but you can wreak havoc on regions if you're strong enough.
Z-Day is not just about deciding what to do with the undead, it's also about regions. You can only interact with people in your region. You can, however, move regions as many times as you wish. However, unless you were in the region before Z-Day,[citation needed] you cannot enter regions that are passcode protected without the correct passcode. In many ways, you are at the mercy of either your region's executive WA's delegate, Founder, or both. They can kick you out, kick others out, install a passcode, or let other nations come in.What should I expect?
You can expect a few things. That you'll pick one of three options, as well as what you've come to expect from whoever's in your region.
DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN Zombies spread to nations in the same region. This means you always have to be aware of your region mates. In addition, sometimes the game may itself change. In Z-Day 9, regions were plagued with an unknown start time and two interventions. You must prepare for anything and everything to go wrong, because the zombie apocalypse is not your friend.
COMMUNICATION If you have a particularly small and yet well-communicated region, you can use communication to your advantage. Recommended programs to use include Skype and Discord. Others can be used, but you may experience problems in communication. Use programs to tell where your superweapons need to strike, about any new threats, etc. The larger the region, the less effective this becomes, as the more people you try to coordinate the same plan to, the more likely someone's going to mess something up. It doesn't mean it's impossible though.
RAIDING AND DEFENDING DURING Z-DAY A similar thing to the cycle of raiding and defending happens during Z-Day as well. If you're a particularly large zombie producer, and you enter into a weak unlocked region, you can effectively take over the region with zombies. For regions that are vulnerable to large zombie producers, there's a simple fix. Just lock your region to outsiders. It's not quite that easy, though. You need to make it so your password can't be guessed easily by raiders
PRO TIPS The apocalypse usually lasts between 24-48 hours. (I can't remember how long exactly..) Have a great timezone spread. Make it at least 1-2 people are online for every hour of the day. The more, the better. If you have a weak spot in your timezone spread, someone can exploit that.
CREDITS Hoster: Yenikader Inspiration: Frisbeeteria Dispatch used for info: Greater hunnia Minor Help: Borovan entered the region as he
FOOTNOTES
1. It depends on the year.
2. Except, this was the only one that wasn't a prank.. this actually happened.
3. The best way to see this is by seeing the overall Z-Day Tally.
4. Extermination/Research also partially depends on how many Dead/Alive people are in your nation, respectively.
5. This happened in Z-Day 1 (April 2013) and Z-Day 9 (2020), both for different reasons.
6. You're actually going to have to use a timezone converter for this one. It's so easy though, you can do it, I believe in you!
Fun Fact: The font family used for Z-Day is IM Fell English SC, and the font is Serif. However, I can't quite get it to display.