.TH Command DECLARE
.SY "declare <POSITION> <CNUM/CNAME>"
The declare command allows you to officially declare
your diplomatic relations with other countries.
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<POSITION> may be \*Qalliance\*U, \*Qneutrality\*U,
\*Qhostile\*U, or \*Qwar\*U;
<CNUM/CNAME> is either the name or number
of the other country in question.
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Your official relations with other countries
affect various aspects of the game;
for instance, if a country with whom you are at war spies on one of
your sectors and you catch the spy he/she will be shot!
If you had been neutral or merely hostile to the spy's country she/he
would merely have been deported.
If the spy was from an allied country he/she would never be
caught in the first place.
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Similarly, a plane from an allied or neutral country
will not be shot at by your sectors when it flies over them.
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GOING TO WAR
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(Note: the following stuff is only in effect if the SLOW_WAR option is selected)
With the SLOW_WAR option in use, you cannot attack the land of someone you are
not at war with. When you declare war on
someone, your relation goes to \*Qmobilizing\*U. You still can't attack them.
After the next update, your relation goes to \*Qsitzkrieg\*U, and you still
can't attack them. After the NEXT update, you're at war with them, and anything
goes.
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If someone is \*Qmobilizing\*U or in \*Qsitzkrieg\*U, or at war with you,
and you
declare war against them, your relation is set to be the same as theirs, so
there is no way to gain any advantage through this stuff. It just means that
you can't sneak-attack people.
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The first person who declares war pays $1000. Return declarations are
free.
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There is one exception to the SLOW_WAR restrictions. If you are listed as
the old owner of a sector, you are still allowed to attack it. This is to
prevent someone from declaring war with you, taking some sectors, then
declaring neutrality before you declare war. (Assuming you didn't notice
their declaration of war)
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The newspaper is very interested in declarations of war or alliance --
don't expect to keep such declarations secret.
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Deities can will be prompted for a third parameter, the country to make
the declaration for. The default is to make it for the deity's country.
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See also : fly, nation, spy, relations
