Some of you may have noticed that our world is divided up into smaller segments. Whether you’ve seen the lines on our world map. messages in chat notifying you “Entering Nottingswell”, signs by the side of the roads or just simply subtle differences in how things look, it’s all due to one thing: states.
What are states?
I’m glad you asked. Similarly to how our real world is divided up into areas (countries) and most countries are even split into areas (states, provinces, oblasts or regions), we’ve done the same with our world. We’ve named them states, considering they are still unified by one big organisation: the Continental Union. Similar to the real life United States of America and other countries like Australia and Germany, which hosts a federal government which sets a set of laws that everybody, regardless of state, has to abide by, but a lot of laws are decided by the state government, or the real life European Union, which is a union between sovereign states where again, some laws are defined by the union, but most come down to the individual states.
States in the Continental Union can choose what laws from the CU they apply and which they do not. Some states are part of the Ashbourne treaty, which abolishes border/customs checks, but some are not. Most states have roads where you drive on the right side, some drive on the left. Some states have certain mobs, while others do not.
What states are there?
The most well known state is Nottingswell. This is the state in which you spawn, particularly in the city of Durness. This state is aimed to be a relatively generic and neutral state. Durness is besides the capital of Nottingswell also the capital of the Continental Union. The CU Parliament and Federal Court are located here. Let’s take a little tour around the Continental Union!
To the north west of Nottingswell is the state of Stonebury. You arrive in the city of Southport by taking the ferry from Durness. The Green highway runs through Stonebury, passing it’s capital Ashbourne and finally terminating in Aylesbury. This state is inspired by the south of England.
Take the Red highway from Ashbourne and you arrive at the ferry (soon to be replaced by a bridge) taking you to Luton in the state of Barkdale. Luton is a relatively industrial city. If you continue on the Red highway, you’ll pass the capital Leicester and end up in the seaside resort of Peebles. Barkdale is also inspired by parts of the United Kingdom, mainly the middle part.
Just after Luton on the Red highway, you can take the Yellow highway. This will pass by a couple more towns in Barkdale but shortly take you over the border into Masarat. Masarat has one big city: Abu Ma Buhm, which is also its capital. Inspired by the UAE and its desert metropoles. Continue on the Yellow highway and you’ll soon cross the border into Fountain Islands. Once you pass the small village of Hutton-le-Hole, you’ll reach the interchange with the Orange highway. Take this to the north and you’ll ultimately end up in the state’s high altitude capital San Rafael. The state is loosely inspired by a number of countries in Latin America, based on its biomes.
If you take the Orange highway south however, you’ll end up at a big border/customs check area, that will allow you to enter Yorkshire. Whilst it’s another England inspired state, its real life counterpart is so proud of its identity that we could not ignore it, especially with some native Yorkshiremen as highly valued members of Frenily. Shortly after the border check you’ll enter the long tunnel under the sea that takes you onto the highly valued land, near the town of Grassham. The Orange highway nearly misses the capital of Pocklington to continue to the member built town of Harrogate. Just before Harrogate, the Blue highway has an interchange, leading to another member built town called Hull or, if heading west to a ferry terminal where you can take the ferry back to Nottingswell. Finally, the Orange highway passes the small village of Woodall before approaching the next big border/customs area.
This border/customs area allows you to enter the state of Kingsland. This state, inspired by Australia, is very strict on people coming in, so you better be on your best behaviour! The Orange highway passes by the capital Naarm and heads down to the island of Janszonia. Just after Naarm, however, you can take the exit onto the A4, which will ultimately become the M4 highway, passing through large hilly plains, jungles but ultimately a widespread desert, in which Wellingdon Crescent is located. Continue on the M4 to head back to Nottingswell, or take the A11 to our next and final state.
Along the A11, you’ll reach the final border crossing for the short tour: to enter Sherbourg. This state, which is inspired by north western Europe and Scandinavia. Before the A11 merged with the Blue highway, you’ll pass the capital Alston. Take the Blue highway north to get to the small village of Westhaven or south to go to Alston’s airport and further down to Winterby and Kiruna.
How do I get to state X?
Along with building the cities above that haven’t been completed yet, we’re keeping ourselves busy building airports in most major cities. You can also travel by road to any state (tip: use our world map!).
What’s the difference between these states?
Currently, in all honesty, not so much. We’re working on measures to give every state and even certain areas within these states their own identity. For instance, we’re working on adding custom mobs, like adding a kangaroo to Kingsland. Once the town system launches, there will be notable differences in requirements, taxes and other operational requirements between states.
Not all of the map is part of a state, what’s up with that?
Good spot! When you look at the world map, you can see that surrounding areas are not part of a state. We consider this land part of the wilderness. This is where mobs with insane strength and quantities spawn, it’s a dark place. We do not recommend settling here, it’s a big challenge.
There is, however, the possibility that certain areas may be liberated from these dark ages, and form a state as member of the Continental Union.
Finally…
Take your time to explore the states and it’s cities. Unfortunately not everything is as finished and polished as we like it to be, but slowly and steadily we’re working on it. We encourage you to use the airports to your advantage, bring lots of food and explore the Continental Union and its states!
Last edited by: Colin on Mar 24 2023 - 19:29:29