بلاگ

  • BloxBase Launches as a Dedicated Roblox Wiki Platform

    BloxBase Launches as a Dedicated Roblox Wiki Platform


    BloxBase, a professionally made Roblox wiki site, is launching this month, aiming to become the go-to destination for all things Roblox! Unlike most wiki sites, BloxBase features entries made by a dedicated Roblox content team. The writers and editors are active players with firsthand, in-depth experience of the games they’re covering. The team also consists exclusively of well-versed content creators, guaranteeing accurate information, as well as easy to understand, quality writing.

    Not Your Ordinary Wiki

    The primary idea behind BloxBase is one of a reliable source for Roblox games. All of the info in each wiki is triple-checked, and everything that enters a BloxBase page must first go through the editorial team. This approach addresses the most pressing issues related to other wikis most commonly found online. It’s a wiki HUB made by highly active Roblox players for active Roblox players and you can find it here along with our most recent projects:

    Focus on Accuracy and Up-To-Date Information

    Wiki sites usually serve as public platforms where community members can create and edit posts, which can be a double-edged sword. While open public access may serve as a form of peer-review, it also leaves specific entries unprotected from trolls. The casual nature of such wikis makes them more prone to being abandoned or not updated regularly. BloxBase consists of active Roblox players that are always seeking to proof-check information and update it regularly.

    For Roblox Players By Roblox Players

    Although not everyone can create new entries or edit old ones on BloxBase, the platform is fully dedicated to both Roblox developers and players. For developers, BloxBase offers an in-dept resource for their games, releasing game creators from the burden of developing websites and their own wikis.

    When it comes to players, the comment section is a noteworthy feature of BloxBase. Through it, members of the community can exchange ideas, tips, and information through their unique gameplay experience. The result is an ever-growing knowledge base that strictly controls the quality of posts while allowing individual voices to be heard and valued!

    Easy Access for a Personalized Experience

    BloxBase is developed with reader interaction in mind. To make the experience tailored to the reader’s interests, the platforms allows for easy signups via the Google email address. Users can also link their Roblox accounts to the wiki for smoother cross-site connectivity.

    Creating an account on BloxBase lets you participate in the comment discussions. Plus, once logged in, you can get to the pages for your favorite games directly.

    The Future of Roblox Wikis

    BloxBase is intended for all members of the Roblox community, be them developers, casual, or hardcore gamers. With fact-checked and proofread entries, the wiki site has a genuine chance of becoming the world’s leading repository of reliable information on Roblox games.

    Should BloxBase take off as intended, it will gather a community of Roblox fans who know what they’re talking about and who may, as a collective, become a leading influence in the wider world of Roblox gaming.

    If you consider yourself a part of the Roblox community, feel free to visit BloxBase and become an early member of the Roblox wiki of the future!


    The Escapist is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy



    Source link

  • Oblivion Remaster “changes nothing” for giant fan remake Skyblivion, dev says

    Oblivion Remaster “changes nothing” for giant fan remake Skyblivion, dev says


    2025 is, to my delight, the year of Oblivion. Not only is the long-rumored Oblivion remaster seemingly just days away, but the equally impressive Skyblivion mod – which brings all of Cyrodiil into Skyrim – is out this year as well. With two versions of Bethesda’s 2006 classic at our fingertips, it’s natural to assume that they might come into competition with each other. Skyblivion’s project lead doesn’t feel that way, though, making it clear that an imminent official remaster “changes nothing” for them.

    Rumors of an official The Elder Scrolls Oblivion remaster have reached a fever pitch recently. After weeks of insiders claiming it’s real, several screenshots and promotional images of the project have leaked from the website of developer Virtuos, suggesting it’s been working with Bethesda for some time. There’s still no launch date for Oblivion Remastered, but reputable sources say it will be very soon.

    YouTube Thumbnail

    Where does Bethesda’s official remaster leave Skyblivion, then? According to an update from the modding team back in January, we should be playing its own take on Cyrodiil sometime this year. There’s still work to be done and the team needs help, but the finish line is close.

    Now, with the Virtuos leak of Oblivion Remastered, Skyblivion’s project lead ‘Rebelzize’ is weighing in on how the two versions can co-exist. After initially replying “uh-oh” to news of the game, they clarified their position:

    “To be clear this changes nothing for me. This always was a passion project and still is until the end. For the community it’s a win-win as you get twice the amount of Oblivion this year. All love and no hate towards the people who made the official remaster.”

    With so much Oblivion on the way, we’re about to be spoilt for choice. Bethesda and Virtuos’ version is likely coming out in April, and the Skyblivion modding team still has plans for launch sometime in 2025.

    If you just can’t wait to dive into any new version of Oblivion, we’ve got all the best games like Skyrim you can check out today. Otherwise, dive into the best open-world games out now.

    You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.



    Source link

  • Monster Hunter Wilds patch has stopped Nata from crashing your game, and your Hunter/Palico from sometimes not sounding like you expect them to

    Monster Hunter Wilds patch has stopped Nata from crashing your game, and your Hunter/Palico from sometimes not sounding like you expect them to


    Capcom has rolled out a fresh new update to all Monster Hunter Wilds players. The patch, version 1.010.01.00, follows on from the major release of Title Update 1, which arrived earlier this April.

    The main point of this new patch is to fix some of the known issues and bugs introduced with TU1, and solve a couple of other issues that have been lingering there for a while.

    The new Monster Hunter Wilds patch fixes the slightly hilarious bug that caused the game to crash when you spoke to Nata and specifically requested trading with Sekka. When the bug was first identified, Capcom asked players to just fire up the BBQ and wait before trying again. That is, thankfully, no longer necessary.

    With many Wilds players now firmly in the endgame, a lot of the focus has now shifted to the newly-introduced Arena Quests. As more of those quests are played, however, an unusual bug kept popping up. The bug caused the Powercharm and Armorcharm to be added to your pouch whenever you decided to bring them to the quest, but that has now been fixed.

    On the topic of Arena Quests, some require you to use specific weapons the game chooses for certain fights, but crafty players managed to break that and bring their own weapons – well, no more.

    Switching over to the slightly bizarre and unusual bugs, certain cutscenes – in some cases – go rogue and decide not to respect the voice pitch settings you’ve chosen for your Hunter and Palico. So, if you’ve not been skipping cutscenes, and noticed that your pals sound different, this is why – though you thankfully won’t have to worry about that anymore.


    Yes, sometimes your Palico sounds different. | Image credit: Capcom

    That one might only break your immersion, but one other cutscene bug actually caused a progression block involved your Palico refusing to get on the Seikret to progress the story, which has now been fixed, too.

    Patch 1.010.01.00 also brings a few other crash fixes caused by your choice of weapon and gear, alongside a fix to an issue that prevented players from being able to redo the Mizutsune assignment.

    As with any new patch, however, there remains a list of known issues, which Capcom has outlined in this blog post. You should check that page if you run into any issues after installing the patch. Until then, our Monster Hunter Wilds guide remains your faithful companion.





    Source link

  • Cleariosity Review – One Board Family

    Cleariosity Review – One Board Family


    Cleariosity is a new title that might tickle the fancy of gamers looking to add a small box word-based game to their collection. The game features dozens of small, square transparent cards that feature a few opaque letters, taking up spaces in a 3×3 grid. Each player is given a stack of these cards that they will all flip simultaneously to begin the game.

    Cleariosity transparent cards

    Three Letters at a Time

    The goal here is to figure out a configuration of cards that can stack on top of each other and spell a three-letter word in one column, row, or diagonal. There are a few rules that apply:

    • vertical words must start at the top and end at the bottom
    • words cannot contain any letters that overlap letters from other cards

    When a player finds a word, they shout it out and point out their word, then take the cards they used and add them to their scoring pile. Play continues until all combinations of words have been exhausted, at which points players count how many cards are in their scoring pile. Whoever has the most cards wins!

    Cleariosity - two card score "wed"

    When we played this game, it brought up a lot of memories of the game SET, which I played a ton as a student and later on as a teacher. If you don’t know that one, it involves laying out cards, then trying to find three cards whose shapes meet patterns. While Cleariosity involves letters, you’re still having to use your brain in a similar way.

    You have to keep certain things in mind about some cards while you look around at the others. You’re also trying to move quickly, hoping to shout out your word before any other players. It’s the kind of mental gymnastics that can get some players standing, jumping up and down, and shouting out words at the top of their lungs.

    Cleariosity - three card score "shy"

    Final Thoughts

    Cleariosity is quite simple, and it only takes a few minutes, so you can probably sneak it in between your “main” games. Word games don’t always hit with every audience, and there are some who will hate the real-time aspect of the game, so there may be some people who won’t really enjoy this title. For those looking for a new letter-based challenge, though, this could be a good portable game that is worth adding to your collection.

    Cleariosity is available at your local game store, through the White Beetle Games webstore or online through Amazon today.

    This game was provided to us by the publisher for review. Read more about our review policies at One Board Family.

    Highs

    • Small box makes it very portable
    • Overlaying clear cards is clever
    • Great filler game for players who enjoy word games

    Lows

    • Real-time aspect may be a turn off

    Complexity

    1.5 out of 5

    Time Commitment

    1.5 out of 5

    Replayability

    3 out of 5



    Source link

  • Men of Iron Historical Look – Battle of Montgisard 25 November 1177 – InsideGMT


    As seen on TV, or at least in the movie Kingdom of Heaven, the Leper King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem was a striking figure in a silver mask to hide his leprosy. There is no evidence that Baldwin IV wore a mask, though he suffered from disfigurement of his face and limbs as his disease advanced. When he was young, he was considered quite handsome, though sometime after ascending the throne at around the age of thirteen his leprosy accelerated. How disfigured he was at the time of Montgisard is unclear with some sources saying he was unable to lead the army and others saying he was at the head of it. What is known is that six years later he could not walk unaided and was blind.

    King Baldwin in Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

    Baldwin was thirteen when he ascended the throne and a regent was appointed. When he reached the age of fifteen and was King without a regent, he planned an invasion of the Ayyubbid Kingdom of Egypt. He had some success against Saladin in 1176, but needed ships to besiege the port cities along the coast. He formed a short-lived alliance with Byzantium that fell apart before they could make headway in the invasion.

    While the army of Jerusalem was engaged in the north helping Raymond of Tripoli attack Hama, Saladin planned his own invasion of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from Egypt. Learning of Saladin’s plans, Baldwin IV, a teenager with leprosy but a most able commander, left Jerusalem with, according to William of Tyre, only 375 knights to attempt a defense at Ascalon, but Baldwin was stalled there by a detachment of troops sent by Saladin, who, again according to William of Tyre, had 26,000 men. Accompanying Baldwin was Raynald of Chatillon, Lord of Oultrejordain, who had just been released from captivity in Aleppo in 1176. Raynald was a fierce enemy of Saladin, and was the effective commander of the army, with King Baldwin too ill to command it personally.

    The Christians, led by the King, pursued the Muslims along the coast, finally catching their enemies at Montgisard near Ramla. Saladin was taken totally by surprise. His army was in disarray, out of formation and tired from a long march. The Islamic army, in a state of panic, scrambled to make battle lines against the enemy. As Saladin’s army rushed to prepare, Baldwin began the charge across the sand.

    The Jerusalem army smashed into the hurriedly arranged Muslims, inflicting huge casualties. The King, fighting with bandaged hands to cover his terrible wounds and sores, was in the thick of the fighting and Saladin’s men were quickly overwhelmed. They tried to flee but hardly any escaped. Saladin himself only avoided capture by escaping on a racing camel. Only one tenth of his army made it back to Egypt with him.

    The historical text above was lifted from the Infidel Battle Book’s Historical Background for the Battle of Montgisard. In the game, the Army of Jerusalem is only 10 units arrayed against 65 Ayyubid units. That sounds like it should be a one-side loss for Jerusalem, but the Ayyubid army begins in complete disarray and within Charge range of the Knights!

    (Note that the stream and hill in the image is ignored for the Battle of Montgisard)


    You can learn more or pre-order the Men of Iron Tri-Pack 2nd Printing here.



    Source link

  • magic the gathering – Does Maddening Imp affect creatures cast after combat?

    magic the gathering – Does Maddening Imp affect creatures cast after combat?


    Maddening Imp does destroy creatures that enter after its ability has resolved.

    The main relevant rule is rule 611.2c:

    If a continuous effect generated by the resolution of a spell or ability modifies the characteristics or changes the controller of any objects, the set of objects it affects is determined when that continuous effect begins. After that point, the set won’t change. (Note that this works differently than a continuous effect from a static ability.) A continuous effect generated by the resolution of a spell or ability that doesn’t modify the characteristics or change the controller of any objects modifies the rules of the game, so it can affect objects that weren’t affected when that continuous effect began. If a single continuous effect has parts that modify the characteristics or changes the controller of any objects and other parts that don’t, the set of objects each part applies to is determined independently.

    The first part of Maddening Imp’s ability is a continuous effect that does not change any objects’ characteristics or controller, so it can affect objects that weren’t affected when the ability resolved. The delayed triggered ability is then not associated with any particular set of creatures when it is created, so it determines the set of creatures to destroy as it resolves in the end step.

    This is confirmed by the rulings in this Reddit thread.



    Source link

  • All E.R.P.O. Monsters Guide – How to Beat Them All

    All E.R.P.O. Monsters Guide – How to Beat Them All


    Updated on April 4, 2025: E.R.P.O. has only 4 monsters currently.

    E.R.P.O. has an array of dangerous and scary monsters but unlike survival horror games like Pressure, you’re not helpless. You can both fight back against monsters and specific ways and there are survival strategies for more difficult ones. Here’s my all E.R.P.O. Monsters guide and how to survive them all.

    How to Beat All Monsters in E.R.P.O.

    New monsters are always being added in E.R.P.O. so I highly recommend you bookmark this page since we’ll be updating it constantly. You can find a guide on specific monsters below. Usually there is a strategy to all monsters but you can also attack them with weapons like:

    • Beat them in Melee: From the Machete to the Hammer, you can buy these in the shop for 10k to 20k cash. They’ll spawn in your next level and you can pick them up with M1 and then swing them at monsters to damage them. Be careful against monsters like the Huntsman who can shoot you from range. I also highly recommend a hit-and-run tactic so that you don’t take too much melee damage from the monster. Bring healing packs if you try melee combat.
    • Grenades and Mines: You can also find Grenades and Mines in the shop. To use a Grenade pick it up with M1, uncork the screw with E and then throw it or leave it on the ground and move away as it’ll explode for massive damage potentially killing weaker monsters and damaging tankier ones drastically. Mines work the same way but you have to place them down and wait for the monster to step on it.
    • Monster Brawl: You can bait a Huntsman to shoot another monster by running behind a different monster and making noise by walking or talking in Voice chat mode. The Huntsman will shoot you but the monster you hid behind will be damaged. You can also pull Reapers during their attack animation to damage each other or other monsters.

    Now for the specific strategies for each monster.

    Robe Guide (Ghost)

    how to beat ghost monster in erpo
    Screenshot by The Escapist

    This is the big shadowy monster that you need to move away from or it’ll grab you and damage you if you make contact. You can crouch and hide from Robe or you just need to kite it around or kill it with 2 Grenades or 2 Mines by baiting over to you. I don’t recommend melee since Robe deals a lot of damage. It also teleports around and moves faster towards you if you look at its mask.

    Reaper Guide

    how to beat reaper monster in erpo
    Screenshot by The Escapist

    Reaper is the raggedy doll creature with sword arms that spin around damaging you in melee. It can be kited around or avoided like Robe but it doesn’t teleport away. It’s also easier to kill Reaper with melee weapons since it doesn’t deal high damage like Robe. It takes 1 grenade and a hit or two to kill Reaper and grenades and mines stun it.

    Apex Predator Guide (Duck)

    how to beat huntsman monster in erpo
    Screenshot by The Escapist

    These small cute little ducks are non-hostile and will follow you around unless provoke. They are only hostile if you grab them or damage them in anyway such as an object falling on them. When enraged they fly and bite at you for low damage but they won’t stop chasing you even if you hide. Your best bet is to outrun them or kill them with melee weapons. Grenades can also kill them but that’s overkill since they have low HP.

    Huntsman

    how to beat duck monster in erpo
    Screenshot by The Escapist

    This is the blind guy with a gun that one-shots you. He cannot see you and can only hear you if u speak on a mic near him in Voice chat mode or walk fast near him. Crouch with C and hide below tables. Don’t try to melee it since it has auto-aim and one-shots you. Instead, place a mine around its location so it steps inside or throw a grenade while crouched. The explosion will deafen the Huntsman for 6 seconds and then you can run in with melee weapons.

    That’s it for my all E.R.P.O. monsters guide. Check out our E.R.P.O. codes for free goodies in the game and stay tuned for our class tier list.


    The Escapist is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy



    Source link

  • New RPG Erenshor looks like classic MMOs, but there’s no grind and you play solo

    New RPG Erenshor looks like classic MMOs, but there’s no grind and you play solo


    What if you could play an MMO completely on your schedule? That’s the central thesis of new RPG Erenshor. It takes the style of Old School Runescape and the lived-in feeling of World of Warcraft, but flips these persistent virtual lands completely on their heads. Erenshor certainly looks like a classic MMORPG, with hundreds of ‘players’ questing and battling alongside you, but they’re not real people. Instead, this is a single-player game made to emulate the joys of ’90s MMOs, and it’s out now.

    As someone who’s spent hundreds of hours in Final Fantasy 14, Erenshor immediately caught my eye. It looks like OSRS at a glance thanks to the vast open world, dungeons, and ostensible players scurrying about, but it couldn’t be more different. Instead of playing with actual people, you’re accompanied by what developer Burgee Media calls ‘Simplayers.’ These NPCs progress independently, persistently exist in the world, and group up alongside you just as MMO players would – but they’re not actual players.

    You hunt monsters, complete quests, and earn mountains of gold just like WoW or Guild Wars, but it’s not in service of the grind. Instead, you’ll build a character just as you would in a single-player RPG.

    YouTube Thumbnail

    The first day you start up Erenshor and begin the tutorial (a right of passage in any MMO), that’s when the ‘server’ becomes ‘live.’ The NPCs will progress right alongside you, all in pursuit of growth. So if you find some armor or weapons you don’t need, you can give them to the NPCs to help them become more powerful. When you come to a particularly difficult raid or dungeon, you can then recruit these characters to fight alongside you, that gear still slumped over their shoulders or in their hands.

    Becoming part of the world in an MMO also means putting your quest to save the world aside, and Erenshor embraces this with open arms. If you want to simply explore, dig into the world’s history, or hunt for loot, you can do that. Burgee Media wants you to reexperience the feeling of playing a classic MMO, but without that same level of commitment.

    Burgee Media has launched Erenshor in Steam Early Access now, with a demo also available. You can get involved right here.

    If you’re looking for more, we’ve got all the new MMOs to watch out for, alongside the best multiplayer games to dive into with some friends.

    You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.



    Source link

  • Top Tier Review – One Board Family

    Top Tier Review – One Board Family


    Tier lists are everywhere, because everyone needs to know our opinion. Top Tier is a party game from Indie Boards & Cards where players build rankings in some ridiculous categories.

    In this video review, I share how to play Top Tier and talk about the best setting for this tier-making party experience.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WMDPncGfmo

    Top Tier is available at your local game store or online through Amazon today.

    This game was provided to us by the publisher for review. Read more about our review policies at One Board Family.

    Highs

    • 100 category cards with lots of variety
    • Lots of laughs as players discuss the ranking
    • Players can jump in and jump out of games

    Lows

    • Game is very dependent on players at the table
    • Typos and misspellings in the game

    Complexity

    1.5 out of 5

    Time Commitment

    2 out of 5

    Replayability

    2.5 out of 5



    Source link

  • On Designing a Game About an Ongoing Conflict – InsideGMT


    In today’s article, I wish to discuss the context around designing A Fading Star as an ongoing conflict. The game covers a pivotal period of the Somali Civil War (2007-2014), which one could term “the golden age of Al-Shabaab.” But since I started working on the game and researching this topic, the situation that stemmed from this timeframe evolved. As the designer of a game about an ongoing topic, how do I position myself with those developments? What are some of the themes approached in the game that are still relevant today?

    Let’s look at a timeline of the Civil War.

    A timeline of the Somali Civil War, as covered by various different games

    About a decade will have elapsed between the end of the timeframe depicted in AFS  and when the game should hopefully hit the player’s table. Within that decade, the latest documentation I used to establish the model was from 2021. Simply put, there will be a 5-year “information void” where the latest expert studies and journalist investigations on the civil war will be unaccounted for in my model. And…that is all right! The first challenge in designing a modern ongoing conflict is to accept that we have to set hard bounds if we want to achieve a cohesive result, and to learn to not look back on this decision.

    A less easy task is to contemplate the war’s latest developments and avoid seeing validation bias! In AFS, we ask open questions, some biased, some open-ended. How about checking some of those developments and how they relate to these game statements? Rather than a faction-per-faction analysis, let us focus on the Federal Government and how the institution operated over the years.

    A “fixed” Somalia?

    The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) is comprised of six federal member states (FMS), each with its own degree of autonomy (or independence in the case of Somaliland). The biggest challenge for the internationally recognized government back in 2007 was to earn legitimacy and the trust of the FMS through state-building and interclan diplomacy. Not quite the easy fit when your seat of power is besieged by an all-mighty Islamist insurgency and your only military support at the time came in the form of an unpopular foreign occupation from eternal rival Ethiopia.

    Through combined efforts with African Union forces, Al-Shaabab was ousted from all major urban centers in the country by 2012, allowing the FGS to achieve the minimal degree of legitimacy it needed for the country to start recovering from its status of  failed state. The same year, delegates from most FMS would gather to approve a Provisional Constitution, setting another important milestone. A Fading Star’s timeframe closes around this period, with Al-Shabaab on the backfoot and still a looming number of tasks for the government to settle now that the country is back on track.

    Navigating through several crises between institutions in the following years (2021 and 2024), the FGS would also see several political figures from various horizons being voted in by clan representatives, alternating between rival sides without blood being shed. After two traumatizing decades of warlord conflicts, Somali political apparel finally reached a minimum level of maturity, despite an endemic level of corruption at all levels of the state.  This new state of affairs led to other important developments for the country: the lift of the weapon embargo in 2023, Somalia joining the Pan-African EAC economic alliance in 2024, and a victory at the International Court of Justice on a maritime dispute with Kenya. Without a doubt, the Somali State was back. However, this would be seeing the glass as half-full.’

    With Great Power…

    One important obstacle for the FGS has consistently been achieving authority and legitimacy among all member states. With foreign aid and weapons pouring into the hands of the new country’s military, a new temptation was born: bypassing interclan talks and instead coercing or corrupting the weaker states into submission.

    Credit : Siyad Arts

    Under President Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmaajo” Mohamed’s presidency (2017-2022), the FGS focused on large centralization efforts, using all tools available to bolster the government’s reach to the FMS, at the expense of the more autonomous Puntland and Jubaland.

    In a more recent example set in 2024, an attempt by elements of the Somali National Army acting on behalf of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to oust Jubaland State President Ahmed Madobe was thwarted, ending with dozens of federal soldiers captured. 

    They were already prominent personalities in the” Al-Shabaab Golden Age” era portrayed in A Fading Star, and faces of the decentralization vs. federal consolidation efforts.

    The same president has also been accused of focusing the counter-offensives against Al-Shabaab in his home region rather than in more militarily relevant areas. This temptation is nothing new, and interfaction violence has always been a large obstacle towards stabilizing the country and unifying the war effort against Al-Shabaab. In A Fading Star, this uneasy relation is reflected through the ability of the federal government to attack any Somali elements (unlike African Union forces), regardless of their affiliation, or to redirect foreign aid towards subjugating FMS elders (as a reminder the Pirates faction also include minor clans):

    With friends like that…

    Somalia’s relationship with its neighbors Ethiopia and Kenya is another important factor in the fight against Al-Shabaab and in stabilizing the state. Both countries have contributed an important number of troops that helped retake large parts of South-Central Somalia from the Islamist group, especially in the mid 2010s. Until recently they manned many of the Forward Operating Bases established to maintain a military presence in the areas reclaimed by Al-Shabaab.

    It is an understatement to say that without those states, the situation would be most certainly different today. However, this assistance did not come out of pity, and it is no mystery that both Addis Ababa and Nairobi have a vested interest in stabilizing the country … up to a point, solong as it serves their national interests.

    For example, with the FGS’ reach and potential increasing over the years, the relationship between Somalia and Ethiopia has been rocked from places like presidential bromance to Somaliland-related tensions, nearly bringing the countries to the brink of war.   

    While Mogadishu accepted the presence of Ethiopian troops in the peace-keeping process to make up for the small size of its forces, Addis Ababa was primarily seeking to secure its borders and did not hesitate to undermine any process that could have led to a strong, centralized Somalia. That is the adversity of these two actors, who need each other to achieve their short-term goals but whose long-term policies will inevitably clash and result in heightened tensions, threatening the whole region in the process.

    An example of major development in this aspect came with the de facto dismantling of Ethiopian-backed Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a (ASW) after clashes with federal forces in 2015. ASW is a Suffi militia that was instrumental in fighting against the Islamist militants but also an entry tool in Somali affairs for Addis Ababa in the earlier years of the war.

    This agitated relationship is nothing new in the Horn of Africa’s political landscape. In A Fading Star, it is reflected through the tumultuous link between the federal government player (TFG) and the AMISOM (African Union) faction, which includes forces from both Kenya and Ethiopia, and their respective goals. 

    The former tries to achieve a greater centralization of power through territorial control and the establishment of allegiances with local clans and embezzlement of FMS funds. The latter pursues the decentralization of Somalia through the ”4.5 formula” seeking more autonomous (some would say easy to manipulate) member states.

    This political rift and manipulation of the Somali civil canvas are modeled through game elements such as the Support level in an area, the Patronage accumulated by the government, and the inescapable Clan Trouble that will appear when those factions try to contain one another (sometimes at the expense of the minor clans).

    Some of the Events that reflect Nairobi and Addis Ababa’s long-standing policy of containing the influence of Mogadishu in its own country

    A problem: Al-Shabaab is still (very) relevant today

    I would like to clos0e this article with an important statement: as mentioned in the timeline above, the military situation on the ground to this day was close to a stalemate with none of the factions involved making breaking progress. The Somali National Army was being retroceded by many of the countryside FOBs as African Union peacekeeping troops were rolling out of the country. The Somali were now in charge of their own security, with the backing of many countries such as Kenya, Turkey, Egypt or the US still contributing essential logistics, troops, or trainers.

    ATMIS is the transition mission that succeeded to AMISOM, with a role focused on support rather than kinetic operations against Al-Shabaab. Source : ACLED

    However, at the time I am writing these lines, the situation in South Somalia is degrading as Al-Shabaab is making important progress towards the capital, Mogadishu, in a trend not far akin to the existential threat they posed back in 2007-2011. This situation could be the very consequence of the interclan fighting and political instability that the federal government has been navigating in recent years and described in this article.

    This is a good reminder that modeling an ongoing conflict is about providing the tools to understand its underlying trends and dynamics, rather than “forecasting” an outcome. I hope the game will help you understand why past and future events transpire a certain way and what we can learn about matters such as small-state diplomacy, terrorism, state-building, and counter-piracy. But ultimately, when A Fading Star hits your table, please take this product as a modest take on the Horn’s affairs, during a precise time frame of the Somali civil war (2007-2014). Nothing else.

    Despite the signs of progress made in securing Somalia’s future, the White Star is still not safe from fading away.  As the country is especially sensitive to humanitarian crises amid conflict and climate-related disasters, please consider donating to NGOs that help on the ground, such as Action Against Hunger or the Danish Refugee Council.


    Previous Articles:

    A Fading Star #1: The Somali Civil War

    A Fading Star #2: Harakat Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahideen



    Source link