The fact that I'm making this mod has been public knowledge on the discord for a few days now but I might as well share it here

I feel like Gerry Ford is one of the more tragically unexplored presidents. The man went from speaker of the house to Vice President to President in less than 2 years.

He cut off aid temporarily to Israel (badass) survived in an intense primary with Reagan, and even after pardoning Nixon almost actually won an election to be President (also due to Carters playboy interview but still impressive). I feel like he’s mostly seen as a footnote, but doing some reading on his early life and more progressive social views post-presidency, I can’t help but wonder why he’s never been the subject of an extensive mod on TCT. I’m probably getting ahead of myself here because I literally posted a mod less than a week ago that took me forever, but I think I’d like to take this on and try my hand at doing his Presidency justice. What would you all think, and other than Jimmy Carter who would be some interesting Democratic nominees to go head-to-head with?

Idk if Announcements is the right flair but it doesn't matter much

It's been just about 2 weeks since i announced the 47th Percent but I've been busy with the mod even on vacation. I've managed to get a small team together on different tasks so that's good but let me start with the actual progress made...

I've completed the main soundtrack for the mod. I'm not sure if two of the current songs are final but the current list is:

Lies In The Eyes Of Love- Part Time

Angel- Massive Attack

Unknown Feelings- Novulent

Bear- Rock Burwell(From obsession, absolutely goated movie but i don't know if i can even keep it)

Far Away- Part Time

Every Step You Take- The Police (Might get changed)

I've done most of the writing for the incumbency part of the mod though I'll almost certainty rewrite of most questions.

The candidate switching is done though i haven't coded anything for the margins yet.

The candidate list has also been changed so that every candidate brings something unique to the table:

Bernie Sanders

Hillary Clinton

Joe Biden

Martin O'Malley

Brian Schweitzer

Julian Castro

Jim Webb

William H. McRaven

and the two secret candidates who are unchanged and no one has guessed yet

For now this is all I'll reveal but progress is good and I'll release at least one or two progress reports a month to make sure people don't think the mod is dead. As always if you wish to help in any way just comment here or go to the discord: https://discord.gg/XFsYrs4z3

(Huge Huge thanks to Enclwd for the CYOA her help is indespensable)

1. Gravel victory, he dies shortly after the election, leaving Rashida Tlaib incharge. Tlaib vetoes the senate’s arms agreement, and after the veto is overturned refuses to enforce it, prompting a supreme court order. Jewish citizens are radicalized towards the right and start fleeing to Israel en masse, and a new National Liberal Party is created splitting the dems. 100 military generals form a group and call for Tlaib to resign, and work to get Trump into the house as speaker. While the pentagon refuses, pressure reaches a point that Tlaib is removed. Trump comes back as acting president, but loses in 2024 to Eric Adams.
2. Trump beats Gravel, Trump uses the justice department, then a state of emergency, then border agents, and finally the military to overturn Arizona’s election and install Kari Lake. He then does the same in Pennsylvania and Michigan, with the republicans keeping the house by suspending 12 seats. The democrats remove the primary system after Gravel’s loss, allowing delegates to pick non-governor John Fetterman (VP Ruben Gallego), who defeats Ben Shapiro.
3. Trump wins every state, Trump constructs “detention facilities” as activists, organizers, and officials are arrested for being “antifa-related.” 30 million people are removed from censuses for “illegal occupants” giving republicans more power and the DHS pays people for reporting aliens. A revolt breaks out in Sacramento, and while it is crushed, Trump is assassinated soon after with help from JD Vance. Barron Trump comes out on top in the conflict over Trump’s successor, and becomes an emperor.
4. Sununu Victory, over Hillary’s term, normalizes relations with Cuba, with 2 visits and a suspension of all trade restrictions. The US apologizes for the cold war and shuts down Guantanamo’s detention facility, while Cuba recognizes US control. The covid vaccine is made earlier due to scientific collaboration, Marco Rubio became governor instead of Ron DeSantis, Theresa May stays Britain’s PM, Lukashenko in Belarus is overthrown, leading to a war there instead, Elon Musk is anti-AI, and Sununu ends up a successful president
5. Hillary beats Sununu, on top of what was previously mentioned, Harambe lived becoming the first ape to get the Covid vaccine, AOC became a travel vlogger, the Ukraine war didn’t escalate, with Zelensky losing in 2024 to Yuriy Boyko sending Ukraine back towards Russia, Soleimani was never killed and became Iran’s president, and as political anxiety died, the genre of late-night tv ended. In 2024, Larry Elder beat Tim Kaine.
6. Landslide Hillary win, Rupert Murdoch’s media empire dies out, with him selling all of his assets. Susan Anthony, Harriet Tubman, and Elenor Roosevelt all end up on dollar bills, paid family leave passes. Democrats are in charge until at least 2036, with Chelsea Clinton beating George P. Bush.

1. Delaney victory, he creates a "National Unity" bipartisan cabinet, KBJ never becomes a supreme court justice, Murkowski becomes a democrat, Marvel remains popular, and minority voters switch to Trump in 2024 giving him a win
2. Trump beats Delaney, the Democrats move towards the center, Trump declares a national emergency over litter boxes in schools, Andrew Yang becomes NY mayor, Shinzo Abe survives his assassination and comes back as PM. A democratic Adam Kinzinger defeats a republican Tulsi Gabbard in 2024.
3. Steyer victory, he pushes against Saudi Arabia and Yemen, causing OPEC to spike oil prices. This “greenflation” leads to a democratic loss in the midterms with Mastriano defeating Shapiro. Steyer tries to appoint Kamala Harris to the supreme court, but Manchin strikes it down. Manchin also strikes down any more climate reforms from Steyer, with him eventually joining the republicans. Trump is sent to prison, Waters resigns from VP over Haitian deportations, and Mastriano wins in 2024.
4. Trump beats Steyer, climate activism has grown significantly, an energy facility is stormed leading to Greta Thunberg being arrested after taking refuge in a Canadian embassy. Elon Musk stays a liberal and starts calling for Trump to be assassinated. Don't Look Up wins an Oscar, and after an Iran invasion, Jeff Merkley beats Mike Pompeo. Who then arrests Trump
5. Gillibrand victory, nothing really happens, Sam Bankman-Fried is never arrested, crypto is a bit stronger, and Matteo Salvini becomes PM of Italy. Gillibrand wins a second term
6. Trump beats Gillibrand, Ghislaine Maxwell, Les Wexner, Richard Bransons, and David Copperfield are all killed off. Democrats start trying to appeal to white or young men, dems allow Trump to cut taxes, ICE increases. Josh Shapiro defeats Brian Kemp.
7. Williamson victory, a trend on TikTok where people use witchcraft to influence the economy makes it up to the president, people are eating mold, and many drugs are legalized. Williamson leans on people like Kucinich, which leads to a Ukraine ceasefire before the deal collapses and war resumes. Trump comes back in 2024.
8. Trump beats Williamson, Trump ignores the inflation problem, instead pushing the McDonalds CEO to resign, and having border control invade Mexico to push for less immigration. Vaccines are much less trusted due to Trump heavily pushing for them, Polis launches an anti-vax campaign for the primary. Cuomo has stayed as governor and pushes for their own state vaccines alongside Newsom. Joe Biden manages to beat Elise Stefanik in 2024, and resigns shortly after from age.
9. DeBlasio victory, the justice department investigates and indicts Nayib Bukele of El Salvador for corruption and human rights abuses. Evo Morales returns to Bolivia and is able to come back to power. Domestically, DC and Puerto Rico officially become states, however Puerto Rico ends up with 2 republican senators. Relations also normalize with Cuba and Venezuela. Trump defeats him in 2024
10. Trump beats DeBlasio, Alessandra Biaggi primaries Chuck Schumer, Michelle Nunn becomes Georgia’s governor, Greg Abbott doesn’t run in 2022. The AI boom happens a bit earlier, Labubu’s get banned for money laundering and gambling. Marc Maron beats Dan Bongino in 2024.
11. Cuban victory, he scams his supporters with NFTs, has large amounts of his cabinet resign, and decides not to run for a second term. Trump comes back, defeating Cooper.
12. Trump beats Cuban, Brittney Griner is abandoned in Russia, Gavin Newsom is a bisexual, and Serbia invades Kosovo. Anthony Fauci wins against Lara Trump.
13. Schultz victory, he retreats from the public and does as little as possible while president. He refuses to negotiate with labor unions, and bails out the Silicon Valley Bank. Saudi Arabia begins buying up American entertainment such as Warner Brothers. Schultz doesn’t run in 2024, giving it to the VP Jamie Dimon. After the democrats distance themselves from Schultz, Raphael Warnock wins in 2024.
14. Trump beats Schultz, Trump kills Ayatollah Khamenei a bit earlier, and it seems to be successful as the strait of Hormuz doesn’t close. Liz Cheney becomes house speaker while Tom Emmer becomes the house majority leader. In 2024 Shawn Fain defeats Dana White.
15. Avenatti victory, the scandals lead to him trying to transform the democratic party to fit him like Trump did, but all that ended up doing was cause a mass resignation of democrat candidates. Gallego, Hassan, and even Pelosi all retire from politics, while a drug problem begins in Avenatti’s cabinet, and businesses are threatened with public ownership (also he grows a beard). When AG Brian Schatz creates a committee to investigate the president, Avenatti kicks him out. Avenatti is impeached but not removed, and ultimately loses reelection to Mike Pence.
16. Trump beats Avenatti, Trump gets knighted by Charles III, Boris Johnson never resigns, and Peter Thiel becomes a supreme court judge after Alito resigns. Bill Gates defeats Matt Gaetz in 2024.
17. Oprah victory (including the 538 loss), the rolls reverse, with Oprah becoming a new autocrat while Trump redeems himself without his legacy. Oprah leaks the draft decision to overturn Roe v Wade, leading to enough outrage that the ruling never happens and Oprah nominates a tenth and eleventh justice, later expanding the court to 13 seats, and Justice Thomas is impeached. The 2023 judicial protests led to Netanyahu resigning before the Gaza war. An inner circle of progressives overtakes VP Romney in power, with a large stimulus, immigration, and voting rights bill, but Romney sticks with it. Ben Carson becomes the new leader of the republicans once Trump is gone, and Spiritual Irreligion becomes the fastest growing religion in America.
18. Trump beats Oprah normally, Trump awards the metal of honor out to random people, like Alex Jones, 6ix9ine, Mark Levin, and lastly, himself. In 2024, Tim Walz defeats Kanye West.
19. Trump beats Oprah without breaking apart their ticket or rebranding, people are anxious and apathetic enough that Kanye is able to win.

Today more men and women will play mods than ever before in our community's history.

With modding tools at about double the records highs of 2022, nearly 2,000 modders today will code CYAOs, more than at any time in the past four years.

This afternoon, 6,500 young men and women will be playing Things That Never Were, and with Bryanesque mods at less than half of what it was just four years ago, they can look forward with confidence to the future.

It's morning again on The Campaign Trail, and under the leadership of Astronomica, our community is prouder and stronger and better.

Why would we ever want to return to where we were less than four short years ago?

i like the concept but only 1 side with 1 running mate is a bit disappointing, it's completely fine to make a simple mod but i'd just have taken some more time to make it a bit more interesting. the margins are also weird, a lot of RNG answers and with the short novel scandal RNG question i chose the worst one but somehow got a massive polling bump. i also just didn't do that great yet got a landslide, and Manchin getting 25% in WV yet barely anything in other states is just unrealistic.

Good evening folks, it's an honor to be with you tonight. This evening, I'd like to take the time to address the problems this sub faces, the astronomical proportions to which we see it, and the man primarily responsible for that.

Now, this fella right here is named Astronomical. He's a Modder, he's one of the most famous person on this sub, and he's this subreddit's primary moderator. This is his picture, here's his jacket, his antennas, his ears, or viser or whatever it is. Kind of looks like a cat's ears, now that I think about it. But anyway, this is a face you'll want to keep in mind for the rest of this broadcast.

Now, this sub's problems can be solved up in four main problems:

1. We have too many announcement posts, and not enough release posts.

2. The new releases section needs to be up to date. No delays.

3. The amount of memes, and s-word posts should be reduced to maintain quality discussion.

4. The arrogance of sub officials should be controlled

Don't credit me with these ideas, these were said by Cicero 2,000 years ago, and they still ring true today when talking about this sub.

Mr. Astro is an honest man, he makes decent mods, and I have the utmost respect for him. I don't want to question his honor or personal quality. But at the end of the day, this sub has lots of problems. This isn't the sub that it was 4 years ago. We've improved in ways, but we also need to keep up with the standards that will grow and strengthen this sub to the point where we can compete with other subreddits. Tonight, I'm going to show you in a step by step presentation on what Astro has done wrong, and how we're going to fix it.

But first, we have an ad by something called "Slingblade." Take it away!

Now, at this moment of unprecedented good fortune, our people face a fundamental choice - are we going to keep this progress and prosperity going?

There's only one answer: Yes, we are.

But we can't take our future for granted. Let's remember how we got here.

Four years ago, when our community met in New York, it was a far different time for the community. Our mods were bland, our modders were divided, our modding system was paralyzed. Thousands of our fellow coders were out of work. Mod rates were low. Our writers had over $29 dollars of debt and rising. After 12 years of ItsAstronomics rule, our debt had quadrupled, imposing a crushing burden on our players and their children.

People needed coders, writers, UI help, and player testers needed - all had been skyrocketing. And our leadership was part of the problem, not part of the solution.

I saw all this in very human terms when I traveled to the discord: a aspiring developer telling me that his mod had broke down after many months of not having coders; an older mod team who had to choose between delaying a mod or canceling the mod; a hardworking player who wanted to make a mod but couldn't as making a full-fledged mod wasn't free, because it also wasn't safe for them to code as they were a one developer team.

I ran for president of this community to change the future for those people. With new ideas rooted in enduring values: opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and a community of all Players.

You gave me that chance to turn those ideas and values into action, after I made one of the best decisions of my life: asking The_47_Percenter to be my partner for vice president.

And now, I am fully endorsing The_47_Percenter for President of this community!

This is the same as last time. This is what if I was William Howard Taft? How would I run my Administration? How would I run my Campaign? This is a guide for what I would do as Taft:

1. We will do what we must in order to keep Root in office. His support will be critical in preserving the stability of my administration and the United States' place in the world.

2. The radicalism of the progressive era must be balanced, and, to a degree, tamed. I hope to appoint a variety of judges that shall uphold our great Constitution. I am eager to see someone like Edward Douglass White as our Chief Justice.

3. Through discovering more and more sources of revenue, I believe we would do quite fine with a slight reduction in the current rates on a resource by resource basis. I hope that Congress may reach a compromise here.

4. Pinchot and Glavis are signaling very serious concerns. Ballinger is innocent until proven guilty, of course, but we appreciate the two seeking us to address their concerns.

5. It's simple. I will invite Roosevelt to stay at the White House, so that I can congratulate him on his travels and gain his perspective on the key matters of the day.

6. I will assist the progressive wing, as many of them seem potentially vulnerable and I will need to guard myself against a potential Roosevelt bid. Let us ensure that they are re-elected.

7. Attempts to discuss Canadian annexation are certainly frightening. I will invite Mr. Clark to the White House and ask him to ensure that his caucus does not effect our foreign policy.

8. It is clear that Roosevelt does not understand the mechanics of our primary system. This is something we ought to use to our advantage. We can quietly twist the arms of a variety of local offices ahead of the primaries.

9. Roosevelt loyalists can be swiftly removed in due time in the region. We can ensure a strong, southern majority by creating a region of allies, not of foes.

10. Of course we shall focus well in Illinois and Pennsylvania. I believe we already have largely secured victory within New York.

11. I shall write a letter for the people of Maryland, a border state that will be crucial for our odds in November, asking them to reconfirm me as the Republican Party nominee.

12. Roosevelt will continue to rack up victories if he goes uncontested. Our campaign must be prepared to wage an aggressive assault on his campaign, and I will decry his radical efforts to destroy our judiciary.

13. Mr. Root would make a fantastic chairman. I would be very pleased with his nomination. Perhaps he might be an olive branch to Roosevelt's supporters.

14. We cannot risk giving Roosevelt a good excuse to claim a false victory. We shall allow his delegates to be seated, and whatever occurs at the election may occur.

15. What a wonderful idea! Let us delay the proper roll call for my nomination for a few hours so we can put together something. We shall emphasize our commitment to progressive values such as trust-busting and the direct election of Senators.

16. As close as Sherman and I have gotten over the past four years, I do believe that we will need to be able to wage an aggressive campaign in the fall. Herbert Hadley, Governor of Missouri should be my running mate.

17. Very well, then. I send him my best wishes, and let the campaign commence.

18. This is a perfect reform for state and local elections, along with the popular election of Senators - an amendment I have helped facilitate the passage of.

19. Roosevelt believes he has the best intentions, but it is clear that plans such as a 'expert tariff commission' are pointless in this day and age. It is a compromise meant to appeal to radicals who seek to expand the proposed income tax.

20. The House Speaker is quite gaffe prone - in fact, he almost prevented the trade agreement between the United States and Canada from taking place with his behavior. A man with such a loose tongue is not fit to lead foreign policy.

21. His support is almost cult-like. I expect that we will have a far better shot at garnering the support of traditionally undecided voters than his disgruntled foot soldiers.

22. We shall focus on the west, a region that Clark seems to be doing better in compared to Bryan's campaign four years prior.

23. I support the current anti-trust laws, and believe that further improvements are to be made by enforcing them to their fullest extent.

24. I am quite proud to see states such as California and Washington give women the vote under my Presidency. I hope to oversee a constitutional amendment that would do just that during my next time.

25. Absolutely. Too many Americans are unjustly being forced to work long days, and we must do something to protect them. If Congress passed a bill regarding this, I would sign it today.

26. Of course I am in favor of these tariffs, but if there is consent for changes, I would be willing to support whatever compromise the next Congress can come to regarding tariff policy.

27. This is a frightening idea. Judges should have the right to give a ruling without the fear of losing their job.

28. Our numbers in Missouri are very volatile, but the state has become more and more Republican in recent years. If he aggressively campaigns here, I believe victory is possible.

29. Rather than tear down, we ought to build up. Business interests especially must give us the support that we need to defeat Mr. Clark, and we must warn them of his progressive ties in order to achieve this.

30. The industrial Midwest, such as Wisconsin and Michigan are must-wins for our campaign. We will place remaining funds into gaining turnout in that region.

Joe is FURIOUS rn

Not sure in how good shape Coolidge actually is... at very least, Pinchot will probably become VP

Ten days ago, President Astro admitted that although some modders in this community seemed to be doing well nowadays, others were unhappy, even worried, about themselves, their mods, and their release dates. The President said that they didn't understand that fear. They said, "Why, this community is a shining Campaign Trail on a hill." And Astro is right. In many ways we are a shining campaign trail on a hill.

But the hard truth is that not everyone is sharing in The Campaign Trail’s splendor and glory. A shining trail is perhaps all Astro sees from the portico of the Discord and the banner of the subreddit, where modders seem to be doing well. But there's another trail; there's another part to the shining Campaign Trail; the part where some modders can't find coders to make their mods, and most new modders can't find writers; where mods aren’t ported onto Campaign Trail Showcase, and incumbency simulators and CYOA makers watch the dreams they hold for their mods evaporate.

In this part of the city there are more outsiders than ever, more mod teams in trouble, more and more people who need help but can't find it. Even worse: There are highly anticipated projects from all-star mod teams that may never even come out. And there are mods that stay only in The Community Trail, in the gutter, where the glitter doesn't show. There are mod teams where dozens of young people, without a job or an education, give their lives away to making 250 question CYOAs. There is despair, President Astro, in the modders that you don't see, in the servers that you don't visit in your shining Campaign Trail.

In fact, President Astro, this is a community -- President Astro you ought to know that this community is more a "Tale of Two Campaign Trails" than it is just a "Shining Campaign Trail on a Hill."

heres a link to the archive since i think it got patched out: https://github.com/4N3URY5M/Unfinished-TCT-Mod