Article
Mark Stray . I didn't really know him personally before the interview, but as we all see from it, he's a man that won't shut up.
Nevertheless, his answers are very thorough and interesting. He really gives an interesting historical overview on his country. So don't let you fool yourselves because of the length of the interview and give it a try.
The length is actually so big, that it had to be covered in 2 parts. So
Admin , a suggestion to you - raise character limit for my articles!
1. Greetings
Mark Stray , current President of Portugal.
1. Greetings,
Orlandio , current President of Estonia.
2. In statistics, Portugal is currently in a quite good shape, an average country. Is that the reality in your country right now?
2. Well, statistically speaking, it's indeed an average country. But one must look at the decline of power the country underwent these past months. For a good while now, both militarily and economically speaking, Portugal has been weakening at a concerning rate. The loss of North of Brazil hurt a country whose economy based on weapon making, and often discarded it's own natural ability to excel in gifts making. I'm speaking, obviously, of the region of Azores. The currency has lost it's value, the population is decreasing, and often due to internal fights, the Government weakened and became less organized and less focused on it's goals.
3. Let's talk more about your economy... Where do you get your profits, where do you invest them and how much of your total profits come from taxes?
3. Well, as I said earlier, Portugal's economy was (and still is) mostly invested on weapons making in the region of North of Brazil, which now comes as a problem, because we no longer hold North of Brazil. As for revealing how much money we gain from taxes, I'm still in the dark when it comes to the country's finances, but I can tell you that just from yesterday, we have gained over 250 PTE from taxes in just about... say... 13, 14 hours.
4. Which countries are you or have been earlier at war with and what resulted in those wars? Who to blame for them, who has gained from them, who's lost and who has helped you with your battles?
4. Well, looking at Portugal's history, we've been at war with just about every country surrounding us. In the early stages of the game, we were small, and were attacked by Brazil and Mexico, who were both going for the region of Azores, and eventually Brazil took control over it for quite a few months. We eventually gained Azores back through diplomacy inside the alliance known as ALPHA. Immediately the next month after that, I was elected President of Portugal for the first time (March 2012) and declared war on Spain... just because, in all honesty. We wiped Spain, who at the time was a larger country. During that term, we were blessed with the most successful babyboom Portugal ever had, and it actually guaranteed a good portion of Portugal's strength. After a while, we signed a peace treaty with Spain and went for Ireland (I was no longer the President), but the United States intervened and it ended up being a failure. After that, we became closer to the US and Ireland (as well as Spain) and a few months later, we were at war with Brazil, and just until recently, that war was ongoing. Now for an overall, I think Portugal is a fairly belligerent country historically, and doesn't always follow exactly the most "righteous" path, but there's worse. As for the biggest enemy, I would say, in the long run, Brazil. The best ally, despite being wiped by us, is without a shadow of a doubt, Spain.
5. How much of your profits have you spent on your wars? Quite a big %, I'd imagine.
5. Oh, indeed we have! I forgot to mention this, but during the war against Brazil, at a point we were fighting 4 countries at the same time (Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Indonesia), and during the war with just Indonesia, we ended up spending over 1000 gold just for a single region. So, I can't really answer this question with precision, but... all I can say is we spent A LOT OF MONEY in wars!
6. Portugal used to be a member of an ex-alliance called Phoenix. How did the dissolving of the alliance affect you? Was being part of the Phoenix profitable for you and how have you coped?
6. Well, the dissolution of Phoenix has not affected us much, excluding the fact that the United States has switched sides, and we no longer have the safety we used to have. In my opinion though, it didn't make much sense for Portugal to join such an enormous alliance who was sure to fall, simply because it has way too many countries. In fact, it created a lot of trouble for us, in the sense Brazil took advantage and took the side of the United States who were part of the AP, and... well, eventually we were put in the position we are. But, nevertheless, it's a new situation and we'll just have to learn how to deal with it.
7. Portugal has just around 300 citizens at the moment. Not a very long time ago you had over 400 of them, was that the same babyboom you were talking about earlier? How many new citizens (that actually lasted) did you get from it?
7. The last time we had a serious babyboom was in July, if I'm not mistaken. Back then, we had about 800 players. We were a force to be reckoned with. However, since then, no real, serious babybooms have been made, and we've been slowly losing our population. Some of us might have put some efforts to make the country bigger, but to no avail. Honestly, I think this is mostly due to the decline of the very own game we play. We've seen how much did the global population crumble after the introduction of secura, and that hasn't really helped Portugal.
8. Is there a PTO party in Portugal and if so, have they succeeded in any ways so far?
8. Well... no, not really. But... once upon a time, the defunct MU known as Beserker Wolves decided to take over the Congress and then Government. First, they made players from the MU to win the party elections. Then, they blocked out players running for Congress that weren't part of that MU. But, that had a cost. Beserker Wolves then had to deal with Pinguim FLU and Anonymous PT fighting against them in a Civil War. Though Beserker Wolves won that war, their leader,
Bug , was banned. Nowadays, we don't really talk much about that, because it's still a very hot blooded subject. It's quite ironic though. Nowadays, the President and Vice-President of Portugal are part of the leadership in both Pinguim FLU and AnonyMoUS PT, may I add.
CONTINUES IN PART II
No explanation needed...
More in my interview series:
1. Interview with Ameshanu, CP of Australia, PART I / Interview with Ameshanu, CP of Australia, PART II
2. Interview with ricardolin, CP of Canada
3. Interview with Asuka Langley Soryu, SC of Auletian Pact
4. Interview with SMTaishan, CP of Sweden
5. Interview with Maxxst, former PD of Phoenix
6. Interview with Evilorkie, Game Operator
7. Interview with Sharous, CP of Lithuania
8. Interview with DreamForest, PTOer
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[EST] Kandideerin Eesti Presidendiks (12 years ago)
Next article:
Interview with Mark Stray, CP of Portugal, Part II (12 years ago)
About the game:
USA as a world power? In E-Sim it is possible!
In E-Sim we have a huge, living world, which is a mirror copy of the Earth. Well, maybe not completely mirrored, because the balance of power in this virtual world looks a bit different than in real life. In E-Sim, USA does not have to be a world superpower, It can be efficiently managed as a much smaller country that has entrepreneurial citizens that support it's foundation. Everything depends on the players themselves and how they decide to shape the political map of the game.
Work for the good of your country and see it rise to an empire.
Activities in this game are divided into several modules. First is the economy as a citizen in a country of your choice you must work to earn money, which you will get to spend for example, on food or purchase of weapons which are critical for your progress as a fighter. You will work in either private companies which are owned by players or government companies which are owned by the state. After progressing in the game you will finally get the opportunity to set up your own business and hire other players. If it prospers, we can even change it into a joint-stock company and enter the stock market and get even more money in this way.
In E-Sim, international wars are nothing out of the ordinary.
Become an influential politician.
The second module is a politics. Just like in real life politics in E-Sim are an extremely powerful tool that can be used for your own purposes. From time to time there are elections in the game in which you will not only vote, but also have the ability to run for the head of the party you're in. You can also apply for congress, where once elected you will be given the right to vote on laws proposed by your fellow congress members or your president and propose laws yourself. Voting on laws is important for your country as it can shape the lives of those around you. You can also try to become the head of a given party, and even take part in presidential elections and decide on the shape of the foreign policy of a given state (for example, who to declare war on). Career in politics is obviously not easy and in order to succeed in it, you have to have a good plan and compete for the votes of voters.
You can go bankrupt or become a rich man while playing the stock market.
The international war.
The last and probably the most important module is military. In E-Sim, countries are constantly fighting each other for control over territories which in return grant them access to more valuable raw materials. For this purpose, they form alliances, they fight international wars, but they also have to deal with, for example, uprisings in conquered countries or civil wars, which may explode on their territory. You can also take part in these clashes, although you are also given the opportunity to lead a life as a pacifist who focuses on other activities in the game (for example, running a successful newspaper or selling products).
At the auction you can sell or buy your dream inventory.
E-Sim is a unique browser game. It's creators ensured realistic representation of the mechanisms present in the real world and gave all power to the players who shape the image of the virtual Earth according to their own. So come and join them and help your country achieve its full potential.
Invest, produce and sell - be an entrepreneur in E-Sim.
Take part in numerous events for the E-Sim community.
