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For the Glory of Persia

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So that's what AAR's are for

coz1,

Loved the review...that let me know abit more not just about your AAR but what an AAR is supposed to be, though I will probably have less game mechanics stuff and more story in mine. What I have read of Persia so far is great...tell me...are you an experienced (by that I mean professionally published) writer of some sort?
 
Thanks for taking the time to read through this one, N. A. Kireevski. It remains the favorite of my AARs (short, and to the point with a decent mix of narrative and history, and one fine character in Henry Strachen.) I hope you enjoy the rest. As for me being a professional, nope. Perhaps someday, and that day may be far off - but for now, I just try to get better at it, mostly by writing Into the West (which needs to get ch. 7 off the ground soon.)

And you guys can thank Director for the review, since he did a fine job of it. Head over to the Gazette in the Main AAR area and find the Index linked in the second post. It will direct you to all the other reviews for AARland, and I am sure you will enjoy those other AARs as well.
 
It is easy to do a review of a fine work and there aren't any major flaws with this one. It's an interesting story, well told (if a bit short) and it deserves a wider audience.
 
Whew! I dedicated a big chunk of my time today to reading this and I am very impressed. All the vivid scenes, those little descriptions that poured so much extra life into this AAR: the streets of Teheran, slowly industrializing; the hopeless Russian trench scene, the steady aging of Henry Strachen throughout the AAR, complete with his failing health near the end...

And then there's the slowly shifting mood, as Persia turns from a fairly benevolent modernizer into a warmongering behemoth. A staggering empire you created there, though I'm sure it would not happen in 1.03.

Finally, the ending. I don't mean just the death of Henry (which was very poignant and seemed to offer a hope the material world in this AAR lacked), but especially the fact that Britain, after standing by so long, finally got involved and STILL LOST. I kept expecting a victory for the British, since they tend to have an insanely powerful military in Vickie, so reading about the peace negotiations on Crete, in which the British admitted defeat and basically gave up on India for the time being, quite shocking. I know that you suggested that Persia would not long survive, facing ever more enemies abroad and within, but still, for the game to end with a Persian victory over Britain, something Henry Strachen had done so much to prevent... Wow.

And again, the ending. The Ending ending. The death and release of Henry Strachen. Fitting that a man who suffered so much during his later life, would finally be free and reunited with his love. That was a mighty fine scene. :)

Well done, Coz, well done indeed.
 
Those are kind words, Director. :D

And thank you so much for taking a look at this tale told long ago, Suyvesant. As usual, your critical eye has taken good stock of the piece and you have drafted a well written and obviously well read response. I truly appreciate the kind words.

I am grateful that you noticed the smaller scenes and what I tried to build with the interludes. Obviously, that was the style I decided worked best with my talents and thus we have Into the West. I found that each of the history scenes dealt more and more with the characters from the Interludes, in fact. Hard to stay away from them as I grew to love them so much.

And you are absolutely correct that much of what was built in this game with Persia would probably not be possible on it's current patch.

Thanks for reading, yet again. :D
 
Wow...

Have just finished reading this in one mammoth sitting. Superb. :)

One of the best AAR's I've read, and certainly one of the best at combining a history with a personal story. Again - bravo!
 
rule_brittania - Thank you very much for that compliment, and thank you so very much for reading through the AAR, so long ago completed. But remember - this was done under long outdated patch 1.01. It would take a far superior player than I am to duplicate the actual gameplay. :rolleyes:

RossN - And thank you very much, sir. I was really just trying to find my style with this AAR after an aborted attempt a looong time ago in EUII. I'm so glad it worked and the character sections were what really spurred me on to write Into the West. And I hope you had some tall, cool beverages to help along the way as you read it. It's not overly long, but does take some time. I thank for doing so...very much!!! :D
 
Noting that I last commented on this magnificent piece of work about 2 years ago!

And it still holds its luster! :D Recommended reading, to be sure!

Rensslaer
 
I just noticed the comment, Renss. And I appreciate you pulling this old dusty tome out of the bin of history. Of all the work I've ever done around here, I am most pleased with this AAR. Perhaps I should have stopped while I was ahead. ;)
 
coz1 said:
I just noticed the comment, Renss. And I appreciate you pulling this old dusty tome out of the bin of history. Of all the work I've ever done around here, I am most pleased with this AAR. Perhaps I should have stopped while I was ahead. ;)
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After having enjoyed Into The West so much, and recognizing the enormous energy and effort it took to prepare, it's interesting to hear you say this. Surely, by comparison, this is short, elegant, poignant... Certainly, most excellent work. But still, somehow, I'm surprised.

But I do also know that some of the greatest composers, actors, writers, etc. do often most like their earlier work that did not get quite the recognition as later accomplishments.

I shall have to take this into consideration as I read through again, with new eyes!

Rensslaer
 
'Tis true that Into the West is the greater accomplishment in my eyes (and others, I imagine) but the quickness with which this one came out and the sheer joy I had throughout the AAR's run cannot be topped. I suspect one has much to do with the other. ;)

It also doesn't hurt that Henry Strachen is, without a doubt, my most favorite of all the characters I've ever created. :D

By the way, Renss - I was poking around and one link led to another and all the sudden, I come across this. It's the last Vickie News I did for the Gazette (shows how much people were reading that portion at the time.) Thought you'd get a kick out of it. A nice slice of the community at the time and what was transpiring during that week/month. :)
 
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coz1 said:
By the way, Renss - I was poking around and one link led to another and all the sudden, I come across this. It's the last Vickie News I did for the Gazette (shows how much people were reading that portion at the time.) Thought you'd get a kick out of it. A nice slice of the community at the time and what was transpiring during that week/month. :)
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I DO remember that very issue (yes, I read it!), and I very much appreciated your willingness to plug my fledgling AAR! Fire Warms was, at that time, only 3-4 pages long! I had absolutely no idea, at that time, what a monster (160+ pages) it would turn into!

And, regarding the newsletter you reference, I also remember 3 things that were "required reading" back then -- Rafiki's FAQ, Memnon's Strategy Guide, and Memnon's Pharoah and the Prophet -- all of which you cite in that little entry. Brings back lots of memories of my early days with Vicky.

I remember also that, back then, AARs could generally be sorted according to type or genre -- historybook, gameplay, fanfic, etc. Even still, that's generally true, but especially back then. When I started Fire Warms, I was aware it was relatively rare to do a genre-crossing AAR, and was eager to help lead the way. But now, as I re-read For the Glory of Persia, I am remembered that this was one of my early inspirations for Fire Warms! You used a similar style, by switching to whatever would work best to tell the story.

Oh, and btw -- I notice that this story has now achieved "first page" status (along with Into the West) when sorted by views in Vicky. Congratulations, and nice work!

Rensslaer
 
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