Porta Atlanticum, Portus Classis / An England MMU AAR

[JWSIII]

It seems that you have inspired at least three otehr AAR's in similar style.... very nice!

[Ashantai]

I don't check this forum as much as I should, but one thing remains clear; this is the best history book AAR I've ever seen, bar none.

Congrats!

[Dewirix]

I don't check this forum as much as I should,

No, you don't.

but one thing remains clear; this is the best history book AAR I've ever seen, bar none.

Yes, it is.

[Ashantai]

<_< Yeah...I'm working on that part.

Unfortunately various beta patches and such killed my latest save game...so I guess I'd need another rejig anyway.

Regardless, excellent work, Chris!

[thehollowman]

Fantastic read. Not just an amazing AAR, but great writing in general.

[JWSIII]

so, how many hours per update does this normally take to do a high quality one like you are doing?

[Chris Taylor]

Nice progress. Really, really, ridiculously well written sendoff for William there. Thumbs UP.

Thanks, BigBadBob. I had fun writing that little scene too.

When William started his reign, I thought he would be just your run-of-the-mill mediocre-stat king. Then various major powers got involved in Turkey and forced me to get involved too, lest Greece end up a patchwork of many nations (as in gabor's Single Men Papal State AAR).

I figured William deserved an epic sendoff due to the crusade alone, even though he was nothing special stat-wise.

I have had two monarchs with a 9 stat, and that is after playing a ton of manga mundi, one was a pretender that seized the throne as Mongol Horde and the other was an incredible 8,9,7 as Genoa, so while not technically a monarch he still ruled for life, though sadly a short ten year reign. Really tested my conviction not to reload. I could be wrong but when they do happen they seem to have all good stats not just the nine.

You are a more fortunate soul than me, then. I've experienced the 3-3-3 low end of the scale, but had all but forgotten that the top end doesn't end at 7 or 8.

Too bad William didn't see the end of the Crusade. Henry looks like he'll be a good king to end the Crusade with a victory and keep a steady hand on the tiller if he listens to mom. I liked the colonial update as well, too bad about the pirate scum.

Yeah, it is kind of a shame; he only missed it by a month. C'est la guerre.

Frankly I'm surprised that Merrick is a real name

You mean Merrick Chance' isn't your real name?!

Again a truly epic update. Love the Kalmar Union references but am slightly worried that seem to have forgotten so much of my homelands history that I cant remember who was in charge after Sten Sture the Older. Svante Nilson doesn't ring a bell but I might know the historic one by his dynastic name rather than his father's. And oh yes. I did vote for you

I am no expert on Scandinavian history, but what I have read so far suggests that Svante Nilsson (sometimes called Svante Nilsson Sture) did indeed succeed Sten Sture den äldre as Regent of Sweden.

Just read this over the last two days. Just have to say fantastic job man, especially the maps and other images. Lookin' forward to the next update!

Another great update. this is an amazing aar, best ive ever seen,

Fantastic read. Not just an amazing AAR, but great writing in general.

Thank you fellas; much appreciated. And thanks also to everyone who took the time to vote for this AAR in the AARland Choice AwAARds!

Once the crusade is over it will be interesting to see whether the new monarch can resist further eastern advantures.

It will be a challenge, certainly. The growth of Byzantium (geographically and politically) is bound to create tensions within the union, as it threatens to displace Scotland and Ireland as the next-most-senior realm.

There's no money or babes in writing AARs

This is terrible news!

It is indeed. Not sure if expanding one's knowledge of history is compensation enough, really.

It seems that you have inspired at least three otehr AAR's in similar style.... very nice!

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't honoured and pleased.

Just last week I was lamenting to CJL78 that MMU was the last gasp of MM modding for EU3, and that I would be sad to see the mod (and the AARs) die out.

Well, I am happy to see there's life in the old girl yet. More MM AARs can only be a good thing.

<_< Yeah...I'm working on that part.

Unfortunately various beta patches and such killed my latest save game...so I guess I'd need another rejig anyway.

Aw, shoot. Well, whenever you get to it, I am eagerly awaiting the further adventures of Talena in your Eternal Exile AAR.

That goes for you too, Dewirix! I hope the EU3->V2 conversion of The Yamato Destiny is proceeding apace. Though if not, I understand; surely it's a massive amount of effort. If I ever get to 1820 in this game, I may hit you up for hints and caveats about converting EU3 games to V2.

so, how many hours per update does this normally take to do a high quality one like you are doing?

You really want to know?

I don't know about the hour count, but the rough sequence of events "under the hood" goes something like this:

1. Examine screenshots, see which ones are related, and/or can be composited together. When the tally of anticipated screenshots reaches 19, that's the end of the update. (One image is always the end-of-update coat of arms.)

2. Comb "teh intarwebs" for illustrations to the above screenshots.

3. Compile text list of all in-game events (great and small) in the update's span of years. Group related events together as segment divided by the underline spacer. Cut events that cannot be fit into a larger theme, or ones that expand the post without adding sufficient story/background value.

4. Research actual historical events occuring within update's timeframe. (Alternately, research historical events that bear a resemblance to in-game events, regardless of time period). Find commonalities and work them into the story for plausibility/flavour.

5. Write a segment or two every couple of days.

6. Before commencing work on a new segment, re-read all previous segments and edit or adjust as desired.

7. Re-edit any images/illustrations that need to be adjusted in light of storyline changes.

8. When update is finished, let it sit for a day (or a few hours at minimum), then re-read and edit again prior to posting.

9. Post update. Refresh thread obsessively, hoping for new comments.

10. Profit?

[JWSIII]

"9. Post update. Refresh thread obsessively, hoping for new comments.

10. Profit?"

well, I was actually curious about the total hours 'cuz I was curious as to what the "value" of your post would be, even presuming it was only worth minimum wage... I swear I am not trying to be a jackanapes, but I just don't care about the process you use to make your awesome updates any more than I care about how industrial light and magic makes movies look awesome lol... I just wanted to know if the "price" of an update was low enough that I could buy one
'Cuz I will totally mail you a check for $50 if you do an extra off-schedule update

In the alternative, if number 9 is an accurate reflection of your desired rewards, I will totally make posts about how awesome a writer you are all the time lol; 'cuz that is true as well

[blsteen]

And this is why its great...

[Ashantai]

Third time lucky and all that, I hope eventually to continue it.

The work you put into this is monumental. Congrats, sir, as I said before.

Might I ask how far ahead of each update you've played?

[Arakhor]

I can relate completely to obsessively reloading a large post to see if anyone has commented.

[Darsix]

Waiting for more awesomness... But I can understand reasons why this one is delayed...thats OK - better later, but better )

[Duke of Britain]

this AAR is WIN!
love it! your writing skills are amazing

[Rifal]

Just wondering something. How can William get the title "Crusader" When your previous queen (Mary or Jane, I forgot.) called an end to English crusades?

[BigBadBob]

Just wondering something. How can William get the title "Crusader" When you previous queen (Mary or Jane, I forgot.) called an end to English crusades?

I'd imagine it would be the "My reign, my rules" monarchs usually have (or had). Jane/Mary may have denounced Crusades, but William sure as heck didn't.

[Chris Taylor]

Just wondering something. How can William get the title "Crusader" When you previous queen (Mary or Jane, I forgot.) called an end to English crusades?

I'd imagine it would be the "My reign, my rules" monarchs usually have (or had). Jane/Mary may have denounced Crusades, but William sure as heck didn't.

A little bit of that, sure, but also convention and tradition.

No US president since Franklin Roosevelt has sought an official declaration of war from Congress, yet we still refer to the Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, et cetera. The presidents since 1945 have generally followed the pro forma requirement to seek authorisation from Congress, but stayed away from formal declarations. By tradition and custom we refer to these conflicts as de facto wars, even if by de jure nomenclature, they aren't.

But to the boots on the ground, they sure seem like any other "official" war, and we use all the warfare terms we normally would when describing them. The only real difference comes in terms of compensation. In a declared war, or one with Congressional authorisation, the DoD can pay higher rates for hazardous duty in a combat zone. This is something the guys flying missions over Libya today are missing, for example, because that area is not recognised as a combat zone.

In William's case, he did not declare an official crusade owing to Mary's precedent (this is why I also stayed away from selecting the Holy War CB... though mainly it was because the Holy Trade War CB gave me an infamy reduction on taking Corfu). But the nature of the conflict and the end result were, by any measure, a crusade in all but name. Think of it as William's sleight-of-hand for getting funding for a crusade without having to come out and admit that it was one.

This is something I alluded to in the post where it began, too:

Because Queen Mary had declared the end of English crusading in 1479, the official fiction is that the war will protect Byzantine-English commerce, and punish longstanding Ottoman support of Berber piracy. But anyone who can read a map knows that the real goal is to grab Turkish territory in Greece before Castile and Denmark can do so.

[Rifal]

Fair enough

[robb1993]

i'm thinking of doing my own AAR yet i can't think of any way of getting screenshots up. I'm using steam and was wondering if you could give some advice.
Also whens the next update inbound.

[Warburg]

Finally caught up with this amazing AAR. I really cant praise it enough, but all you need to know is that you are among the best writers here.

Also, are you going to abandon you continental holdings, and live in "splendid isolation?" as your original goal was 1815 borders?

[Merrick Chance']

My god man, my writing style is

1.Read relevant (IE period) history throughout
2.Play the game every so often
3.In one sitting, sit down with either a coffee or a red wine and a cigarette and write the whole darn thing


Props to wayyy more effort, it really shows!