IntroWouldn't it be nice if the whole community was like this?
New users visit FSE every day, though perhaps not in numbers as large as before. Even so, it might be useful to make their learning curve a little less steep when it comes to finding their way around. In an attempt to do so, as well as make certain valuable resources easier to find without having to search for them through different subforums, a list of resources and some brief explanations shall be provided below. This list originally began on the Regiments List thread long before I took it over, but I feel that it has grown to the point of deserving its own thread. So now, we shall begin....
Regiments - How do they work?Or if every regiment was like this?
The founding concept of Napoleonic Wars is to play in special events (often called "linebattles"), set with special rules to make it more fun and immersive for everyone involved. To get into these events, one must be a part of a regiment, an organized group of players that work together for one leader. There are countless numbers of regiments, and each one is a little different. Finding the right regiment for you is the most important part of enjoying everything the Napoleonic Wars regiment has to offer. It's so important that
a whole board has been devoted to regiments for recruiting and discussing subjects among themselves.
So start you off, you should visit
Althalus' guide to choosing a regiment. From there, you should decide what kind of regiment you are most interested in. Next, it's time to find that regiment! You can either visit the
Regiments List thread and look for a specific regiment yourself, or you can take a different route and post an application on a single thread devoted to recruitment:
Looking for a regiment or members? Then post here! Different regiments have different requirements, so make sure to post your age and timezone, along with what
you want in a regiment. And remember that a regiment doesn't have to be only a way of attending NW events. It can be a whole new community of friends that you can play other games with as well!
Mods - What are those?A battle from Whigs and Tories.
The Napoleonic Wars is a fun time to attempt to reenact in the linebattles that regiments attend. But if all you play is the same game again and again, it might get a bit stale. Wouldn't it be fun to play in other wars besides Napoleonic's? Well, that's where mods come in! Some very generous members of the community put a great deal of time and effort into modifying the game to play other wars as well, and in the process created entire new communities. Although not as large as NW, they can still be just as fun. So where do you find them? In the
Released Modifications subforum. If the regiment you're in doesn't attend events for those mods, you can ask your leader, and he will most likely let you be a part of another game group that does. Some mods there have grown inactive over time, but others are still alive and well. The most active of them is
North and South, a recreation of the American Civil War. But that isn't the only one! Many others exist, such as:
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Anglo-Zulu War - A human's vs. bots mod
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Iron Europe - a WWI mod
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Whigs and Tories - An American Revolution mod
Regiments Again - I want to make my own!Every officer dreams of looking this fantastic.
Best of luck to you! (You're going to need it.
) Being in a regiment is nice and all, but maybe you want to try your hand at leading instead of following? That's fine, but it's going to take quite a bit of work getting there. Making the regiment is the easy part - Getting people to join is what makes or brakes it. If you're going to beat it, time to read up! The first place to start is ash.j's excellent write up:
How To: Make a Regiment. Although it kind of covers everything regarding that, it doesn't hurt to mention some of the more important resources that some of our wonderful community members have provided. Most importantly, save yourself and the community a major hassle that many run into when making a regiment: Don't use an already used regiment name! How do you avoid it? The easiest way is to check
Regiment List, which keeps a list of every active regiment in the game by having them apply to have their name listed. If a regiment drops out of the game, they'll be removed. Be sure to apply for your regiment as well!
After creating your regiment, you are going to need members. Furrnox provides an
excellent guide on how to increase recruitment. As mentioned before in how to find a regiment, do the same to find new members by haunting that all-important
recruitment thread.
Events - Where the fun isNot every linebattle will be this dramatic...
Once you have the members, you have to find the events that you want to attend. Again, there are whole subforms devoted to this for both
Europe and
North America. Be sure to check the stickied threads in those subforums, as they can make finding active events much easier. Otherwise, if you decide you want to try your hand at running an event yourself, check out Deofuta's
guide to event hosting to learn the basics. With great power comes great responsibility, so use it wisely, and try to enjoy yourself! Otherwise, what's the point of playing a game?
Another aspect of NW events is the 1v1, where two regiments fight each other alone on a server. Such a battle can be done as a fun test of strength, or in a more competitive form called the Napoleonic League. Two such leagues exist, one for Europe and another for North America, both of which can be found in the stickied threads in their respective subforums. Leagues matches are handled much like other sports matches, with each victory and loss counting as points in those leagues. At the end of a season, the playoffs are held and a champion crowned.
Conclusion...and it won't always be super serious
When asking people about what they think of Napoleonic Wars and its community, your mileage may very. Some will say it's a fun game with an enjoyable community, others will say that it's a dying game with an annoying community. Neither is particularly wrong. Napoleonic Wars has been played for over three years, and even longer when considering its predecessor, Mount and Musket. So, yes, it is old and many people have come and gone from the community; but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy what it has to offer. So give it a try, and as always, try to have fun. Whether that's by joining a regiment, creating your own, or being one of the lone-wolfs that populate the many public servers of the game is up to you. In any case, this concludes the tutorial. Best of luck to you, and see you on the battlefield!
Resources - When other people make your job a whole lot easier
Creating and Maintaining RegimentsIf you're going to make a regiment, you gotta to know where to start and who to know!
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How To: Make a Regiment by ash.j
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Regiment List by NickyJ
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Looking for a regiment or members? Then post here! by Megaberna
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How to improve recruiting for your regiment By Furrnox
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Regiment Leaders Steam Contacts by Shadow
Finding EventsIf you're going to have a regiment, you're going to need some events to join too. And if they don't suit you, make your own!
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Guide to Organizing and Overseeing a Napoleonic Wars Line Battle Event by Deofuta
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[EU] and [EU/NA] Events Roster by NickyJ
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European Regimental 1v1 Schedule by Volk
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North American Event Roster by Volk
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North American Regimental 1v1 Schedule by Volk
Community-made useful "stuff"Things (Medals, texts, maps etc) made by people from the community!
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[Admintool] Direct slay/ban (on sight, or from Spec) By Kanade Tachibana-
Napoleonic Wars Map Making-
Medals and Ranks By Loppen-
Community Banner Pack By Thire-
Teamspeak Icon Ranks by Nicos-
List of Historical Regiments by MillanderCommunity ModsSome mods that are already in progress and completed by people of the community!
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War of 1812-
Anglo-Zulu War-
Blood and Iron - A Franco-Prussian War mod
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Bello Civili - The Roman Civil War-
Iron Europe - A World War I mod
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Whigs and Tories - An American Revolution mod