Weekly AAR Showcase: The Necronomicon in Byzantium

[Rensslaer]

Aldriq, thank you again, and thanks to all those who have stopped by to offer your congratulations -- especially those who've also posted in my AAR!

In explanation, I enjoy playing minors, and I believe Portugal is underestimated as a potential "significant other" on the world stage. I may prove myself wrong! But I hope not, and I intend to try to show differently. It's primarily a gameplay AAR, but with some fictionalized dramatic scenes thrown in for flavor. Please, do drop by if you have a chance!

Now, out of respect for the importance of this award, I would normally try to choose an AAR from a game other than the one for which the award was last won. But the special circumstances of HOI 3's recent release, and the flood of new AARs produced, and partly even because of the mixed reviews a few people have been giving it (everyone else is busy playing and enjoying! ), I want to pass this along to another HOI 3 AAR, in confidence that the award will not get stuck there once the novelty of this new game has worn off.

There are many new AARs in the nascent HOI 3 Forum which deserve recognition. Several of them stood out to me, but one in particular has caught my fancy.

Zaku has begun writing Do You Like Snails?, a French '36 campaign, and has already made significant progress into the war.

It is approachably and casually written gameplay, with much explained about the new game, as well as dissertations on why he chose different actions. His sense of humor comes across, he's chosen stunning visuals -- both photographs and well-chosen screenshots -- and the text and graphics dovetail well with each other.

Perhaps the thing that most impresses me about it is he's using it as a showcase of the new HOI 3 AI-controlled HQ framework. He's not using manual control for his units at all (except for very specific circumstances which aren't likely to come into play). Nevertheless, he's demonstrating great success in frontal battles.

It's just a really fun and informative read, and I highly recommend it to anyone who's wondering what this new game has to offer!

Congratulations, Zaku!

Rensslaer

[Lordban]

Most worthy of the honor. Even if you don't like snails

Congratulations, Zaku!

[Myth]

Congrats Zaku!

[robou]

Congratulations.

[XHR]

Congratulations, fellow writer

[Zaku]

Thank you for the award.

A few words about the AAR. This is my first serius work. I don't have any writing experience, so the nomination for this award was a great suprise for me.
I decided to start as france because... well I have never played them yet, not even in HOI2. I usually start with an axis nation, Germany most time. As you can see I'm in love in tanks, they are cool, especially german ones... but the french ones are not bad either! Uhh I got carried away, nevermind. The point is, the AAR will focus on the battles fought by the Armored army of France. Other operations will be incooperated to the AAR too, but only as a sidenote.
I have so much things to say, and so little time to write...

if I understand right, I have to choose an other AAR to pass the award, probably not a hoi3 one. The thing is, I rarely read any other game's AARs then hoi3 ones, writing my own and playing the game consumes most of my free time.
I will start reading a few, and I will try to decide until next week. I may give it to a HOI3 one though, because I really don't have the free time to read dozens of new(new for me at least) AARs, but I'll promie, I will pass the award to a worthy AAR.

Thank you for reading this, and thanks for the award once more, I'm honored.

EDIT: If you guys would help a little and link a few good and new AARs(not form hoi3 I read most of those) for me to read, that would help a lot. Thanks in advance!

[Hardraade]

Congratulations, Zaku!

[EvilFishtank]

Congratulations Zaku!

[Enewald]

Congratulations!

[asd21593]

Congrats, Zaku!

[Lord E]

Congratulations Zaku

[aldriq]

Congratulations!

[coz1]

Congrats!

[Zaku]

So, it is almost time to pass the award.
After reading several AARs from differerent games, I decided to give it to XHR, for his work on the HOI2 AAR: Ostfront 1941.
It is a narrative AAR, the biggest emphasis is on the operations, with a few screenshot to let us know the situation, and lots of well placed phothographs.
We also get some detailed information about the battles of some divisions in spererate chapters.

Congratuations XHR.

[canonized]

Ahh missed Zaku's nomination ! Congratulations As Ramba Ral would say : "Zaku to wa chigau no dayo! Zaku to wa!"

And now congratulations to XHR and his Ostfront

[Lordban]

Congratulations XHR!

... now to find time to finish reading through this excellent AAR...

[Myth]

Congrats XHR! Definitely worthy!

[XHR]

Jeez I am really flattened - so much that I am actually tempted to use more than one exclamation mark in the following sentence

Thank you very much!!!

As a few of you experienced wargamers around here know my AAR is still a very young one and also my very first so this really came quite unexpected! Though I have joined the forums a long time ago I mostly lurked and read AARs from time to time but I never felt as a part of this community. That has changed.
As Zaku wrote himself in his laudation a lot of my free time is spent playing and writing (the latter more so then the former) as even my small updates take at least an hour or more to write and I try to update often. To add some irony I started the AAR in the first place to bridge the time until Hoi 3 came out and I ended up still playing Hoi 2
I owe a great deal of my motivation to the posters of comments in my AAR. While I unfortunately cannot mention them all my special thanks goes to Myth and Kurt_Steiner for their continuous intense support.

Again, thanks a lot and also many thanks for the congratulations!

[robou]

He's flattened? Or dear. Congratulations anyway

[Enewald]

Gratz XHR!