| Frequently Asked Questions |
|
1: General Gameplay
1.1: What is a season? 1.2: When are the seasons and what grows best each season? 1.3: Which Technology Route is the best? 1.4: Can I switch Technology Routes once I've chosen one? 1.5: What is sleep mode and why use it? 1.6: Whilst in sleep mode, do I gain seeds? 1.7: What does season/weather/time of day or night affect? 1.8: What is "Havoc Period"? 1.9: How long does a round last? 1.10: What is Adrenaline Rush? 1.11: How do I know how long the round has been going/when it will end? 1.12: What is the difference between HD and AD? 1.13: How is Score calculated? 1.14: Do developments/researches/constructions affect my government value? 1.15: Is there a difference between disabling and distracting? 1.16: What is exponential seed growth? 2: Alliances 2.1: What is the size limit? 2.2: Why can I not make my alliance private? 2.3: How do I set an alliance logo/banner/flag? 2.4: How do I transfer alliance leadership to another member? 2.5: How do I kick someone from my alliance? 2.6: What are the size limits for an alliance logo/banner/flag? 3: Private Worlds 3.1: How long will a game in a private world last? 3.2: How many ticks are there in a week? 3.3: Will the techtree be the same as in the real game? 3.4: How much does a private world cost? 3.5: How many can play in a private world? 3.6: How many private worlds are there? 3.7: What happens if all the private worlds are booked? 3.8: I have an account in the public world 1. Can I use that in a private world? 3.9: My hired private world runs out in 2 days. Can I extend it for another week? 3.10: How are private world technology prices/ETAs calculated? 4: Account related 4.1: Can I run more than 1 account? 4.2: What is a "multi"? 4.3: What is the 30-minute rule? 4.4: Why is my account locked? 4.5: What do I do if my account is locked? 4.6: Where can I see the EULA? 4.7: What if my account is inactive for a long time? 5: Bushtarion Credits 5.1: What are Bushtarion Credits? 5.2: How long do the Bushtarion Credits last? 5.3: What happens if my account is deleted (by myself, by admin, through inactivity or due to the end of a round)? 5.4: Can I redeem Bushtarion Credits and get real money paid to me? 5.5: I transferred credits to somebody but want them back now, can you give me them back please? 5.6: How long does it take for credits to be transferred to the account? 5.7: Can I use Bushtarion Credits as a "part-exchange purchase"? 5.8: Why is my credit purchase limited? 6: Common Problems/Solutions 6.1: Every time I try to log in, I get "Your session has timed out/been removed". 7: Communications 7.1: What happens if I receive abusive messages from other players? 7.2: How do I communicate with Admin? 7.3: What if I find an error in the game? 8: Operational/Technical Questions 8.1: What is a tick? 8.2: What are cookies/How do I enable them? 8.3: Why aren't I getting my account details emailed? 8.4: What was Bushtarion coded in? |
| 1: General Gameplay |
| 1.1: What is a season? |
| The seasons are the same in bushtarion as they are in real life. Spring, summer, autumn, winter. The seasons affect how much day light there is each game day too. For example, in the Winter, there are only 2 ticks of day time, but 4 ticks of night. In the Summer, there are 4 ticks of day time, and just 2 ticks of night. In Spring & Autumn, there are 3 ticks of day time and 3 ticks of night time each game day. |
| 1.2: When are the seasons and what grows best each season? |
|
March, April, and May: Spring. Grass grows the best this season. June, July, and August: Summer. Flowers grows the best this season. September, October, and November: Autumn. Trees grow the best this season. December, January, and February: Winter. Trees also grow best in this season. Note: Bush land will give a constant amount of money throughout the year. |
| 1.3: Which Technology Route is the best? |
| No one route is better than the other. They all have equal good sides and bad sides, and each can be played with different strategies. An alliance with members covering all the technology routes would be the best alliance. The routes are very balanced. |
| 1.4: Can I switch Technology Routes once I've chosen one? |
| No. Once you have started down a particular Technology Route, you are unable to change your mind, so choose wisely. |
| 1.5: What is sleep mode and why use it? |
| Sleep Mode puts your ID to sleep for periods of either 8 hours, 72 hours, 1 week or 2 weeks; it is activated by typing SLEEP into the box, entering your password and clicking submit. You will automatically be sent back to the ID Selection page, and if you go back in to an ID while it is asleep you will be unable to use many of the game pages until you have come out of sleep mode. Your ID will take 3 ticks before it shows that you are in sleep mode and in those 3 ticks you can be attacked and defended. Once your ID shows you are in sleep mode you cannot be attacked and are protected until you come out of sleep mode. An ID cannot be brought out of sleep mode early, and game admin will not remove sleep mode from an ID. Do not use sleep mode unless you are absolutely sure about using it, and be sure to double check the duration before selecting it. |
| 1.6: Whilst in sleep mode, do I gain seeds? |
| Yes. Once sleep mode has activated for your account, your harvesters can harvest up to 15% of the seeds they would normally harvest. |
| These factors play a very important role in your company. They affect how many seeds your plants have the potential to generate that tick, how effectively your harvesters will gather them, and how effectively your gardeners will grow or plant things. |
| 1.8: What is "Havoc Period"? |
| Havoc Period refers to an event that happens on the last day of each round. For this day, the admin unlocks all the technology trees and all the military related rules, gives everyone a large sum of money and you go and raise Havoc. A chance to beat up the top ranking people, bully any enemies you made that round, and even beat the admin himself up! |
| 1.9: How long does a round last? |
| Rounds vary in length, based on any necessary code/database changes, or "boredom factor" if things remain "stagnant" for a period of more than 2 real time weeks (1 game year). The average length of time of a round however, is 61 days - roughly equivalent to 5 and a half game years. |
| 1.10: What is Adrenaline Rush? |
| Adrenaline rush is used to attack an enemy larger than yourself. Your men will scream all manner of things and charge in to battle, knowing they are going up against a larger force. This adrenaline burst will give them an instant boost to their outgoing ETA - up to 2 ETA knocked off their total ETA (taking the ETA down to a minimum of 1). If the target is 3 times your value or more, you get 1 less ETA. If the target is 7 times your value or more, you get 2 less ETA total. Your ETA will be reduced to a minimum of 1 ETA. This is not in effect in recalling, only launching. You must check the "Adrenaline Rush" box on the military page when launching, otherwise the ETA will be as normal. |
| 1.11: How do I know how long the round has been going/when it will end? |
| You can see how many ticks have passed, and how many are left, at the top of the portal page, which can be accessed from the menu in game. |
| 1.12: What is the difference between HD and AD? |
| HD is how much Health Damage you can do to a target, indicating soft fleshy tissue of living things. AD is the Armour Damage you can do, such as the armour plating on a Jeep. No Health Damage can be done to a unit until all of it's Armour has been stripped away. |
| 1.13: How is Score calculated? |
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Score is calculated/distributed as a total of the following: Total land * Total land * 10 Total value of staff, divide by 500 Total funds, divide by 500 Total value of planted plants, divide by 500 Total value of stored plants, divide by 500 Total value of planting plants, divide by 500 Total value of stored seeds, divide by 500 Total value of intelligence, divide by 500 Total value of completed developments (base cost), divide by 2500 |
| 1.14: Do developments/researches/constructions affect my value? |
| Yes, the total value of all of your currently completed developments (using the base cost, so not counting any multipliers at all), divided by 2500, is the "valuation worth" of your developments. |
| 1.15: Is there a difference between disabling and distracting? |
| In effect no - they both cause the unit that was distracted/disabled to be unable to partake in any further combat for that particular tick. They are two seperate things to give further "target types/classes" to further enhance strategy. |
| 1.16: What is exponential seed growth? |
| Every new acre you get produces *slightly* fewer seeds than the previous acre, meaning that as you get more acres, each acre you get produces less than the previous. It gets worse the more acres you have and slows down the growth of the highest rank holding players. There is a cut-off point where exponential seed reduction stops decreasing any more so that no matter how much land you have - extra land will always give you more seeds. |
| 2: Alliances |
| 2.1: What is the size limit? |
| There is a size limit of 12 members for both public and private alliance. |
| 2.2: Why can I not make my alliance private? |
| Firstly, be aware only alliance leaders can modify the alliances public/private status. The only time you should ever not be able to modify your alliances public/private setting is during Havoc Period (see FAQ 1.7). What generally happens is a leader successfully flags the alliance as Private, and everything works as it should. However, confusion then arises when alliance members see themselves listed in the "Alliances" page, and see their own tag in the world view and world rankings pages. Only your own alliance members will actually see you here though - it is to allow you to see how you compare to all the current known public alliances. After all - you are not private to yourselves! |
| 2.3: How do I set an alliance logo/banner/flag? |
| Firstly, be aware only alliance leaders have this facility. To be able to set an alliance logo/banner/flag, your alliance must first have successfully constructed "Basic HQ Buildings", which you can construct after buying "Empty Land". Once the "Basic HQ Buildings" are completed, you will have new options available to you on the maintain alliance/alliance info page. You will be able to put the URL of a JPG or GIF image that you would like to use for your flag and for your alliance logo/banner. There are certain size limits on them (See FAQ 2.6), and they must be in JPG or GIF format. Hosting is not provided on the Bushtarion server for alliance logos/banners/flags, you must find your own place to host the image and link to (for example Photobucket). |
| 2.4: How do I transfer alliance leadership to another member? |
| On the maintain alliance screen, type the id of the person you want to take over the leadership in the box next to leader. Tick the 'Confirm leadership change' check box and click submit. |
| 2.5: How do I kick someone from my alliance? |
| On the maintain alliance screen to the left of their name is a 'kick' link. Click on this, then at the top of the page a link appears asking if you really want to kick that member. Click this to confirm the kick. They will no longer be part of your alliance. |
| 2.6: What are the size limits for an alliance logo/banner/flag? |
|
Alliance Banner = 500x300 pixels Alliance Logo/Flag = 12x12 pixels |
| 3: Private Worlds |
| 3.1: How long will a game in a private world last? |
| This all depends on how long you book your world. This can be between 1-4 weeks. |
| 3.2: How many ticks are there in a week? |
|
1 real time week = 1,008 ticks 2 real time weeks = 2,016 ticks 3 real time weeks = 3,024 ticks 4 real time weeks = 4,032 ticks |
| 3.3: Will the techtree be the same as in the real game? |
| Yes, everything will be the same as in the live game with the exception that the cost and ETA's of development will be cheaper/shorter. |
| 3.4: How much does a private world cost? |
| The cost is ﾣ1 per player, per real time week, but discounts are given the more slots you book. You can quickly discover the price for your selected slots/length of time by clicking the "Book" button after entering your options on the purchase page - the price will be displayed, and you can alter your options if you wish and click "Book" to update the price until you find a suitable price/option scheme to suit your budget. |
| 3.5: How many can play in a private world? |
| The minimum number of spaces you can book is for 5 players and the maximum is 100. |
| 3.6: How many private worlds are there? |
| There are 9 private worlds. |
| 3.7: What happens if all the private worlds are booked? |
| You will receive a message informing you that no private worlds are available. You can check the portal page to see what ticks the various worlds are currently on for some idea of when one may become free. |
| 3.8: I have an account in the public world 1. Can I use that in a private world? |
| Yes. In fact you can only ever have 1 account on the Bushtarion site. You can have multiple IDs on the same account - 1 for each world - and easily switch between them with a few clicks. Some worlds will even allow you to have multiple IDs within the same world, if the person booking the world opted to allow "multis". |
| 3.9: My hired private world runs out in 2 days. Can I extend it for another week? |
| No. Private worlds can only be booked for the time-frames available on the purchase page. You can not extend a private world beyond the period you book it for. This is to ensure nobody can "hog" a private world. |
| 3.10: How are private world technology prices/ETAs calculated? |
| In order to work out the cost of a development, you must take the initial cost of a world one development and multiply it by 0.4. For example, if you wish to research the technology "Placards And Pamphlets" it would be calculated like so: 400000000 * 0.4 = ﾣ160,000,000. In order to work out the ETA of a development, you must take the initial ETA of a world one development and multiply it by 0.45. For example, if you wish to research the technology "Shock Tactics" it would be calculated like so: 126 * 0.45 = 56. |
| 4: Account Related |
| 4.1: Can I run more than 1 account? |
| No. You may not, under any circumstances at all, control or maintain more than 1 account (see FAQ 4.2). |
| 4.2: What is a "multi"? |
|
The definition of a multi in the Bushtarion rules:
* If you create and/or maintain more than 1 (one) account. * If you log in to any account other than your own, for any reason. Also known as "Account Sharing" and "Account Babysitting". * If you allow somebody else to log in to your own account, for any reason. Also known as "Account Sharing" and "Account Babysitting". * If you break the 30 minute rule, or allow anybody else in your reasonable control to break the 30 minute rule (see FAQ 4.3). Please understand that there are many methods of detecting multis.It is not purely IP based, though IP's are of used in some of the detection routines. The game admin is in full awareness of networks, how networks are run, about "sharing IP's", about proxy servers, forms of transparent cache etc. etc. You do not have to and should not contact the game admin merely to inform that you are using any type of "Shared IP" etc. Breaking any of these rules can and will result in your account(s) being locked and deleted. |
| 4.3: What is the 30-minute rule? |
|
Two people may not log in to their accounts on the same computer without a 30-minute gap between the time the first person
logged off and the time the second person logged on. This does not apply to just yourself - you may log on and off and off and on
as often and quickly as you like for your own account.
This is per computer not per IP - please do not be concerned if you are on a network with a shared IP address. Breaking this rule can and will result in your account being locked and deleted. |
| 4.4: Why is my account locked? |
| There are a few possibilities as to why your account is. Common causes for this can be abusing the game admin in any way, or breaking multi rules (see FAQ 4.2 and FAQ 4.3). |
| 4.5: What do I do if my account is locked? |
| When you attempt to log in to the game when you have been locked, there should be instructions on screen for you to read. Ensure you read these thoroughly. |
| 4.6: Where can I see the EULA? |
| The EULA can be viewed at http://www.bushtarion.com/agreement.php. |
| 4.7: What if my account is inactive for a long time? |
| Accounts are deleted for inactivity, but only if your account is inactive for 120 days without any IDs registered to it, and you will be sent a warning email a few days before it is deleted giving you a chance to keep the account. Note that IDs on accounts can be deleted sooner - the time dependant on how much land the ID has, but again warning emails are sent out to you before any IDs are deleted through inactivity. |
| 5: Bushtarion Credits |
| 5.1: What are Bushtarion Credits? |
| Bushtarion Credits are a sort of "gift voucher" - almost like virtual money (not like Game Cash - but real money). They can be used to purchase any items from the purchase page, if you have sufficient "Bushtarion Credits" to cover the cost. You can use them to purchase Game Cash, ID Bookings, Technology Purchases or World Bookings. You can also transfer them to other players for other players to spend. |
| 5.2: How long do the Bushtarion Credits last? |
| The Bushtarion Credits will last as long as your account lasts. |
| 5.3: What happens if my account is deleted (by myself, by admin, through inactivity or due to the end of a round)? |
| You will lose any Bushtarion Credits remaining on your account. They cannot be redeemed/refunded/maintained. |
| 5.4: Can I redeem Bushtarion Credits and get real money paid to me? |
| No, Bushtarion Credits cannot be redeemed or refunded; they can only be used to purchase products from Bushtarion's Purchase page. |
| 5.5: I transferred credits to somebody but want them back now, can you give me them back please? |
| No, you are asked to double check and confirm a transfer before you action it, and so any mistakes made are your own responsibility. You will have to contact the player you transferred them to and ask them to transfer them back, if not already spent. |
| 5.6: How long does it take for credits to be transferred to the account? |
| All transfers/purchases are automatic & instantaneous. |
| 5.7: Can I use Bushtarion Credits as a "part-exchange purchase"? |
| No you cannot. You must have enough Bushtarion Credits to cover the cost of the entire purchase. For example, if you had 5 Bushtarion Credits, and wished to purchase a the weeks maximum "Game Cash" - which costs ﾣ10 GBP/10 Bushtarion Credits, you could not use those 5 Bushtarion Credits and then make a purchase of ﾣ5.00 GBP through the WorldPay payment pages - you would instead have to purchase 5 more Bushtarion Credits, so you had a total of 10 Bushtarion Credits, and then purchase the "Game Cash" using those 10 Bushtarion Credits. |
| 5.8: Why is my credit purchase limited? |
| Credit purchases are limited according the age of your account. You will get an allowance of (5 * days signup) + (the number of the signup day (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 for 7 days signup). So if you signed up 7 days ago, you would be allowed to purchase (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7) credits, plus an additional (7 * 5) credits - totalling 63 credits. |
| 6: Common Problems/Solutions |
| 6.1: Every time I try to log in, I get "Your session has timed out/been removed". |
| This is commonly caused if you have your web browser configured to automatically block all cookies, or you specificially block cookies from our site. Bushtarion requires a "Session Cookie" in order to keep you logged in to the game - without this, you would need to enter your username and password and each and every page you tried to view in-game, which would simply not be viable. The solution is to either allow all cookies from "bushtarion.com", or alternatively your browser may give an option "Always allow session cookies" or similar - this will also work. Try checking any "Privacy" or "Cookie" related options in your browsers settings. |
| 7: Communications |
| 7.1: What happens if I receive abusive messages from other players? |
| You can report the message to the admin, by sending an in-game message to ID 1. Note that the admin will check all sent and received messages between you and the reported player, deleted or not, to determine what action is necessary, if any. |
| 7.2: How do I communicate with Admin? |
| You can send an email to admin@bushtarion.com, send an in-game message to player number 1, or post a message in the forums in the appropriate section. Posting a message in the forums is the most advisable course of action in the vast majority of circumstances, as this allows other players to comment/help out with gameplay/help related questions, and will also allow other people who may share your query to see responses. |
| 7.3: What If I find an error in the game? |
| Report it in the game forums under the "Bugs" section. |
| 8: Operational/Technical Questions |
| 8.1: What is a tick? |
| This is the time when the server computer is performing all the actions it has been instructed to do (e.g. growing plants, chaning the weather, making battles happen etc.). Think of it like a big engine ticking over - hence the phrase "tick". The game ticks every 10 minutes. Every 6 ticks (1 real time hour), represents a full day in Bushtarion game time. |
| 8.2: What are cookies/How do I enable them? |
|
Cookies are required to play Bushtarion. You should read your browsers help files/manual for information on what a cookie is, and
how to enable it for the Bushtarion domain ("bushtarion.com"). Below are instructions that apply to the latest version(s) of
Microsoft Internet Explorer - you may find all or part of these instructions useful:
Click on the "Tools" menu at the top... Go to "Internet Options"... Click on the "Privacy" tab... Click on "Edit" at the bottom (under the "Web Sites" section)... Where it says "Address of site", enter: bushtarion.com (just "bushtarion.com" - no WWW or anything else) And click "Allow"... And click "Allow" again... Click "Ok"... Then "Ok" again. |
| 8.3: Why aren't I getting my account details emailed? |
|
There may be a number of reasons, however the most common problems relate to web-based email systems (such as Hotmail). Here is a
list of the most common possibilities: 1: You entered your email address incorrectly - try getting a friend to send you an email and see if you receive it, then ask them the exact email address they used, to ensure you are registering with your correct email address. 2: You have some form of junk mail filter (check any possible "Junk Mail" folders), or a "Spam filter", which is filtering out the emails sent from the address "admin@bushtarion.com". 3: Your mail-box is full - hitting either a number of emails limit or a size limit. Try removing some old mails. 4: You may have blocked the address "admin@bushtarion.com" - check any ignore/block lists, and remove "admin@bushtarion.com" from the list. 5: Your email provider may be having problems - it could simply be slow at getting mails to you. Try getting some friends that use different email systems/email providers to send you test emails. 6: However unlikely, it is possible that the Bushtarion server itself is having email problems, in which case you will have to try again at a later time. If it's a problem which you think you may have solved, but you have already registered and missed your chance of receiving the initial registration email, then simply visit the login page, and in the "Forgot your username/password" box, enter your email address you registered with. An email will be sent with instructions on setting a new password. |
| 8.4: What was Bushtarion coded in? |
| Bushtarion was coded in PHP, using MySQL as the backend database system. All PHP/SQL/HTML code has been written using nothing but Azzers favourite "syntax colour highlighting plain text editor" - "Crimson Editor". |