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Derahan

Ever doubtful
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Oct 30, 2009
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Greetings there reader! I welcome you to yet another astounding issue of the new AARlander which you will hopefully find very interesting. So as usual I want to give my gratitude to those people who made this new AARlander possible. First and foremost, my thanks goes to anonymous4401(please be right name correct me otherwise),Canonized and the others, who along him, worked on the first AARlander and made this one possible with their work there, otherwise this AARlander would not be here (most likely). Secondly I want to thanks the moderators who made it possible for me to do this and came up with the idea to revive the AARlander for a second round. Thirdly I want to thank Gen. Marshall, the one who has made the graphics and also is spreading the word about the AARlander on the forums and last but not the least all of those who has contributed to this number of the AARlander, a many thanks to you all who in the end makes this possible with your articles.

And yet, a final thank you to you readers who when you read this, makes us others who work with the AARlander filled with the spirit to continune our work here! Thank you!

And for feedback and critique to us, head to the subscription thread where you can also subscribe to the thread and get a notice when the next edition is released!

Code:
[SIZE=3][URL="http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?768006-The-AARlander-Edition-17&p=17198907&viewfull=1#post17198907"]AARland's Finest - Seelmeister[/URL]

[URL="http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?768006-The-AARlander-Edition-17&p=17198910&viewfull=1#post17198910"]Avindian's AAR Academy[/URL]

[URL="http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?768006-The-AARlander-Edition-17&p=17198916&viewfull=1#post17198916"]The History of AARland - DensleyBlair[/URL]

[URL="http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?768006-The-AARlander-Edition-17&p=17198926&viewfull=1#post17198926"]A Note on Semi-Narrative - Gela1212[/URL]

[URL="http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?768006-The-AARlander-Edition-17&p=17198940&viewfull=1#post17198940"]Review: A History of the World According to Paradox - Seelmeister[/URL]

[URL="http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?768006-The-AARlander-Edition-17&p=17198961&viewfull=1#post17198961"]Fan Introduction - Belgiumruler[/URL]

[URL="http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?768006-The-AARlander-Edition-17&p=17198969&viewfull=1#post17198969"]Review: This is Madness - Story of the Crumbling Europe - GreatÜberGeek[/URL]

[URL="http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?768006-The-AARlander-Edition-17&p=17198971&viewfull=1#post17198971"]Editor's Note[/URL][/SIZE]
 
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Welcome again to the monthly summary of the AARland Award winners. The first thing to notice is that we as a community did a little better this month at keeping the awards moving each week, indeed each of the three weekly awards managed to supply a full quota of winners this time! Great stuff, nothing I hate more than seeing gaps in the award timeline. With so many talented writers and encouraging readers, there really is no shortage of those deserving nominations, so let’s make sure those slots for April are also filled!

Fans of the Week

Fans in AARland were so good this month that we actually have five recipients, including Enewald who won this award for an unprecedented ninth time!

2nd to 9th March - H. Appleby

9th to 16th March - Buckingham

16th to 23rd March - GreatUberGeek

23rd to 30th March -AsdfeZxcas

30th to 6th April – Enewald

Congratulations to all our winners! To borrow from one of the nominating posts; ‘[Fan of the Week] is consistently offering positive feedback and support to AARs, and is well deserving’. I think this statement applies to all five winners this month, but also to the huge number of others, no doubt past winners and a good number of future ones as well. Every comment which offers fantastic support to the writers in AARland, from the dusty crevices of games whose time passed some ten years ago, to the most popular and recent iterations of Europa Universalis and Crusader Kings, makes this forum the welcoming place that it is today!

Writers of the Week

2nd to 9th March – Bbqftw for ‘It’s Always a Good time, An Austria AAR’ (EUIV)

9th to 16th March – macd21 for ‘Cranky Spartans – Byzantine AAR’ (EUIV)

16th to 23rd March – Avindian for ‘Japan or Bust (probably bust)! An Uesugi CoP AAR’ (EUIV)

23rd to 30th March –Uriah for ‘Doppelgänger: The Untold Story of the Third Reich’ (HoI3)

30th to 6th April – thoesZA for ‘Enemies on all sides – Old Gods Slavic AAR’ (CKII)

Writer of the Week is not necessarily supposed to be awarded for any one piece of work, but in the last month all nominates contained a specific citation, and it would be rude not to repeat them here. In any case, it allows us to see that despite an EUIV centric start, we got some variety across the games by the end of the month. This month also witnessed Densley making his 4,000th post in the nomination thread, an apt use of a landmark post, and Avindian’s Japanese AAR inspired a number of Haiku (although, as someone has pointed out, they may technically be considered Senryu if they do not make reference to the seasons!) Not just nominations, but our award threads got some culture going on as well.

Weekly AAR Showcase

2nd to 9th March – Asalto for ‘The Red Empire’ (DH)

9th to 16th March – Kaiser_Mobius for ‘The Dual Monarchy at War’ (DH)

16th to 23rd March – Lucifer for ‘Achtung Panzer II’ (DH)

23rd to 30th March – Antonine for ‘Vive l’Empereur’ (DH)

30th to 6th April – Darknotez for ‘The Forgotten Latin Kingdom’ (EUIV)

A strong showing from Darkest Hour this month, an almost total domination of the awards! That a relatively rare World War One AAR was among our winners seems appropriate 100 years after the start of that conflict. Being nominated for the weekly showcase means being cited by your peers for a particularly high standard piece of writing. The five winners have all produced highly entertaining AARs, so if you haven’t already please check them out!
Roleplayer of the Month

After the award was held up for a while, we received a nomination late into March, which has been listed as the March/ April winner in 2014. Congratulations to Davout!
Nominated by Dadarian, Davout has been influential in a large number of interactive AARs, taking on various roles from Ministers of Commerce to outright communists – a broad range indeed!
 
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Avindian’s AAR Academy: English as she is wrote


The title is a reference to a famous – and hilarious – English grammar textbook of bygone eras, English as she is spoke, which contains two grammatical errors in the title alone! (For your gratification, the proper title would be “English as it is spoken” or written in our case.) This is the final edition of the Academy, and I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for reading. I’ll have what I intend to do in the future at the end of this edition, so keep your eyes peeled!

A sizable portion of Paradox forumites – and thus AARlanders – are not native English speakers. First of all, the simple fact you’re reading this now bodes extremely well for you! Second, being a native English speaker is no guarantee of being able to write the language correctly. Like most other languages, English is a bit different when it’s written. I’m going to spend a few minutes discussing some common errors and how to fix them (as well as preventing their recurrence in the future).

Their, there, they’re: These three words all have very different meanings, yet are constantly confused. “Their” is the possessive form of the pronoun “they”, as in “belonging to them.”

Example: CptEasy and his fellow players are fantastic writers. You should check out their AAR!

“There” is an adverb of location, almost always used in contrast to “here.”

Example: My army was destroyed because I meant to click here, on this province, but I clicked there instead.

“They’re” is a contraction of “they are.”

Example: I love AARs. They’re so much fun to read!

How do you know when to use them? As Sherlock Holmes would, begin with a process of elimination. Replace the word with “they are.” If it makes sense, you’re finished! Use the third example: “They are so much fun to read” makes perfect sense. Compare this to the first example: “You should check out they are AARs.” See? Doesn’t make sense.

Now, there or their? You should almost never see “there” unless you also see “here” or some other adverb relating to location. (There’s one exception: “There are”, which while strictly speaking is still an adverb of location, you may not see any other reference to direction or location.) In contrast, if you aren’t referring to a group of people, “their” is probably wrong.

Its/it’s: This one is surprisingly easy. If you can’t use “it is” in place of the word, it is invariably “its.” The one and only time “it’s” is acceptable is as a contraction to “it is.”

Plurals: Plurals in the English language are, I am sorry to say, extremely irregular from time to time. Yet it isn’t the irregular ones people generally have trouble with: it is the most common plural, -s. What’s the problem? There has been a growing trend in the past few years, even for people who really ought to know better, to use “’s” for plurals. This is always wrong. “’s” is only used in contractions and to show possession. If your sign says “Donut’s sold here,” that means you have only one donut, and once it is sold, you’re out of luck. (That is: “Donut is sold here.”) Donuts are delicious; it would be a tragedy to have a single one for sale. So, every time you use “’s” to denote a plural, you are depriving people of delicious, delicious donuts, you inhuman monster.

Your/you’re: “You’re” = “you are.” “Your” = possessive form of you. Thus, “you’re an inhuman monster for depriving people of donuts,” but “your friend is an human monster for depriving people of donuts.”

These are some of the big ones; there are almost certainly others, but if you can at least fix these common errors, you’ll be well on your way to improving the legibility of your AARs!

So, what’s next for Avindian? That’s entirely up to you, my friends! I’m interested in doing a mailbag – anything tangentially related to AARs or writing – but I’m always open for suggestions. Please send them to starspangledbadger [at] yahoo [dot] com, and please include “Avindian” in the subject line, or there’s about a 90% chance it’ll get flagged as spam. (I normally only use this for fantasy football.)

So, send in your questions, comments, or suggestions. I look forward to hearing from you!
 
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It seems a strange title for an article midway through a series looking at AARland's history, I know, but in many ways AARland did not exist until 2004. In this article, I'll try and uncover this fan-fictional mystery as best I can, so do bear with me. If you still don't understand at the end, throw your peanuts in that direction.

Oh, and thanks for reading,
DB



At its most ostensible, this article's title is indeed very straightforward. Until the realise of Victoria in October 2003, "AARland" as a constituent part of the Paradox boards did not exist. One had to access AARs via their respective game forums, which, inexorably, created some problems when Paradox in their eternal wisdom decided to merge the various AAR forums for easy access. AARland as we know it today (sort of) was born early in 2004.

By this time, AARs had Ben being written on the Paradox forums for five years. Five years is, despite what David Bowie implies, a very long time – never mind in Internet terms, where even one month can seem the most painfully slow thing to pass since the Great Plague. This was therefore plenty of time for people to develop their own traditions and ways of going about things. The various EU forums, for example – the first AARland (for, it could be argued, there were many AARlands prior to 2004) – had an established canon and set of traditions. The awards we know today as "WritAAR of the Week" and the "Weekly AAR Showcase" both had their roots around 2002/2003. (It is perhaps for this reason that we could see AARland-proper as a mere successor state to the EU AARland.)

At the time, the HoI boards, the only other "AARland" at the time, did not have the same sort of folklore surrounding it. Indeed, one of the greatest challenges proved after the merging of the forums to integrate the HoI users into the main forum (a legacy which, in my mind, continues at least in part today.) Much work was put in by luminaries such as Mr. T, Storey and, of course, Lord Durham to try and get these new residents of a unified AARland to interact with one another and not just remain within their own borders. This led to some interesting things – many of which remain to day, and without which I likely wouldn't be writing this article.

The first real initiative to try to foster and cement a community spirit was the AARland Gazette – the forerunner to this very publication – which was set up by Amric, Alexandru H. and coz1 (whom I must thank whenever he gets mentioned for his help throughout the series thus far) in the March of 2004. Notable was its immediate drawing together of the three forums – EU, Victoria and HoI – on at least one level. The three respective founders of the publication were also bAARtenders in their respective forums (Victoria, HoI and EU) bringing together the three different "cultures" for the first time. Interestingly, the forum "bAARs" were crucial in ensuring that the respective forums of AARland went beyond the pale of just being a deposition site for AARs and the occasional comment and encouraging more of a community spirit. Now the Gazette was doing a similar thing, bringing together the three cultures and trying to foster a community spirit on a wider scale – and anyone who has ever been to deepest, darkest Yorkshire will know that this can sometimes be hard[1].

Nonetheless, integration into a wider community did occur eventually, even if some encouragement was needed. Instrumental also were the aforementioned awards, which were expanded to serve all of AARland. The highlighting of various AARs each week served incredibly well in helping to draw people's attention to different parts of the forum – as it does today. Certainly, I can speak from personal experience and say that winning my first award was made me aware of an AARland outside of the CK forum I had up until then inhabited. Morrissey has sang in the past of how "America is not the world". Similarly, we must remember that AARland is not [insert name of a constituent forum]. For me, it was CK2. For others, it will be another forum. What is vital, however, is that now, because of initiatives started in the years around 2004, we do see a largely unified community.

Inexorably, there will be hitches in the plan. Many (often more right-leaning) people will argue that full integration is never possible in a real-world context. Naturally, AARland isn't a nation state or even a town, so this doesn't apply as heavily, but the sentiment is the same. Nowadays, this attitude isn't so prevalent – which is a really great thing. AARland is a really good example of a community online which just works. Very often, you will see forums (indeed, I am told they exist in other parts of the Paradox boards – though I wouldn't know) where there are disturbances and trouble, but this never seems to happen in AARland. I do think this is largely because, despite perhaps an initial reluctance, people do go out, get on and get involved – thanks largely to the efforts of people like Alexandru H., Amric and coz (thanks again) who endeavoured, along with many others, to make AARland a community. Because, rather like the message espoused by certain campaigners in certain parts of Britain at the moment, we are a unified community. The message from what is now ten years ago still rings true: AARland is more than just a place for writing AARs.



1: I jest, of course.



Next month: 2004-Onwards – The Rennaissance
 
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I was recently reading a few AARs (Well, they call them Let's Plays, but they're written) for the game Dwarf Fortress. Now, you might wonder how exactly this applies to our situation here over in Paradoxia. One of the ones I read was a succession game (involving multiple players and authors) called Boatmurdered. Now, in this particular AAR, each of the different players took it upon themselves to write as a different character who was acting as the “overseer” of the fortress. The different ways they responded to challenges the fortress faced were represented in the differing personalities of the character.

This sounds quite a lot like a narrative, doesn't it? However, it has a few qualities that make me hesitant to call it a full narrative. First of all, many things are done without any particular motivation from the character – and many times the character does not even try to justify it, simply saying that they did it. Secondly, the fourth wall is broken a few times and often the writer will talk out of character. One could call this poor narrative writing, but I think it's actually rather charming – it shows that the AAR isn't as dedicated to telling a good story as it is with showing the gameplay, and the story is simply a means to show the gameplay in an entertaining fashion.

You might be starting to see how this example relates to my articles, which are generally always about gameplay. I think that semi-narratives, in which the main focus of the AAR is not the story but rather the game that the author is playing, make for extremely entertaining stories. If you're a fan of comedy, this will also allow you to tell the type of character interaction jokes that you can't really do when it's just you narrating a series of pictures (or you could do something similar to Svip's Glory for Ulm, but that's another article entirely).

There's a few things that are important to keep in mind when writing in this style, however. Perhaps the most important is to keep your character consistent to at least a degree. Unless they're insane or something, of course, but then their inconsistency is still consistent with what the reader will know about them. While their actions don't have to add up with what the reader would assume to be their motivations, it's important that the character themselves doesn't start seeming to have no real personality. If that happens, you essentially have a narrator that is exactly the same as the author – willing to do anything to accomplish their in-game goals, even if it means being entirely inconsistent. That defeats most of the point of writing a semi-narrative in the first place, and you'd benefit more from the clarity of a gameplay style.

Another important facet of the semi-narrative is the lack of fourth wall restriction. On occasion, you can directly address the audience (or, in the case of a succession game like previously mentioned, the other players) without undermining the reading experience. It's critical that this be done carefully, however, just like any other break from convention. When done well, it will be a well-delivered moment that will stay with the reader and keep them coming back for more, and will show the level of polish that has gone into the story. Done poorly, it might cause readers to worry if you're running out of ideas or make them think that you've taken too far of a departure from your original idea. Unfortunately, one of the only ways to ensure you do this well is by experience. Alternatively, if you're fortunate enough to have friends who are willing to proofread for you and have read most of the rest of the work, you might be able to avoid a problem based on their advice.

Anyway, that's my two cents on what's cool about writing a semi-narrative.
 
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A History of the World is part three of a megacampaign with a difference, as rather than playing as a particular country or dynasty, magritte2 has been playing a handsoff game. This means just allowing the AI to do what the AI does best, with minimal player intervention. Chaos ensures, as magritte guides us through CKII, EUIII and now as we enter part three the world of Victoria II.

One of the things I have really enjoyed about magritte’s AAR so far is the fantastic level of detail. When you consider that there is no gameplay involved, it really is a huge undertaking, and one I’d struggle to motivate myself to do. We have all known the AI in Paradox games to generate some weird and wonderful results, and this is only exacerbated by a radically different world each time the game has been converted. The world in 1836 looks nonsensical by our standards, at yet magritte2’s narrative not only keeps in game events grounded, but draws in a large number of visitors who identify readily with the countries of this alternative reality. In particular, Frankfurt and Byzantium (inevitably!) have attracted something of a fan base.

The CKII portion of the game left us some rather strange power structures; a Danish crusade established a strong presence in Iberia and North Africa, and a successful defence of the Empire resulted in a massive but stretched Byzantium which spanned Africa, the Middle East and Eurasia. Both these divergences survived the EUIII period of the game, and it will be very interesting to see how the Victoria AI reacts to these circumstances.

In Europe, the major players are a large Hungary and a technologically advanced Frankfurt, but there a number of other middle rank powers who will be influential in the game. Etruria emerged as the major player on the Italian peninsula, Norway own a vast swathe of land in the north, although remain relatively sparely populated, England have made some steps towards unity on the British Isles after vanquishing the threat of Leinster. The Big Blue Blob suffered heavy losses during the EUIII portion of the game, and now is split between the traditional Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of Berry, although early in the AAR there is some consolidation in this region. Denmark, with their strange scattering of possessions, are neither the most populous nor the most advanced of Europe’s nations, but are far from insignificant. This may be a very different Europe, but it proves to be one that is far more prone to conflict that our timelines was as these many rivalries try to consolidate their power.

Magritte writes geographically focused updates, but also these are also broken up by more thematic updates covering exploration, reformations and sometimes specific wars. These focused updates work well and assist the reader in understanding, although I will confess that sometimes they can be frustrating . After a particularly interesting update on a European war, it can be a few updates before the same countries are revisited, so if the previous update left us with a cliff hanger the wait can seem drawn out. However, with the world looking so different to the reality we are more familiar with, it would be very easy to lose sight of how a region looks in game without revisiting it fairly frequently. Therefore I think magritte’s approach is the correct one. With the potential for interactions between countries on different sides of the globe in Victoria II, focusing on one area for too long could be problematic as we could easily see.

There is an inherent tension in the AAR which is not necessarily present in more traditional approaches, as while many players can deceive and take advantage of the AI under normal circumstances, the fate of the nations in magritte2’s megacampaign at points feels as though it is in the hands of the dice. In particular, I’ve been cheering for a Frankfurt that in human hands would have already formed Germany and spread across a fractured Europe. So far, I have been disappointed as opportunities have presented themselves only to pass. There is, however, plenty of time remaining in the AAR.

The most interesting questions, in my opinion, are around the potential consolidation of four powers/ areas. Frankfurt, as mentioned, appears to be on the cusp of European dominance if she can only pull some of the remaining smaller powers into her sphere and take advantage of the relative tech advantage. Byzantium has spread itself virtually from Egypt to India, and has a vast number of core provinces that are neither directly controlled nor part of a satellite state. Were she to consolidate these claims, there would be few states capable of standing against her – not even Hungary who has enjoyed significant success against the Greeks so far in the campaign. China has also emerged differently; less unified by with a higher literacy that suggests real potential for a major power to emerge. India too is very different, the Europeans had little success and as such Bastar and Vijayanagar have emerged as two significant region powers. It will be very interesting to see how their rivalry unfolds, and whether one can triumph and truly dominate India.

The dynamics of Victoria, based as they are on our real life understanding of this time period, favour the consolidation of larger empires rather than the emergence of numerous new states (at least until Great Wars become relevant), and it seems to me that magritt2’s AAR offers a huge number of possible power centres just waiting for the AI to unify them. Of course, it could be that we end up in a tense balance of power, but from what has been played of the Victoria II portion so far it seems we are in for an action packed game. The most recent updates bring us up to the late 1870s, so there is still plenty of time to get caught up and follow this AAR to a long awaited conclusion. Some may find the radically different alternative reality a little difficult to get behind, but magritte2’s excellent narrative makes this an incredibly immersive AAR.
 
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So, after my WritAAR introduction series. I decided to begin something different, a fan Introduction series. It will consist of 3 intervieuws with the great fans of AARland, who gives their lives to commenting (if they even have a live :p). I present you Nikolai!

How did you discovered AARland? And what made you decide to begin commenting?
That is a good question, which I will need to delve deep into my memory to answer! I registered back in 2001 for EU1, and was merely 15 at the time. My first whiff of AARland was perhaps a year later? In any case it was the Company AARs that I got news about from the main forums. I found them, but the story was already well and deep. And long. Very long. I am sorry to say my 15 year old self never dared to venture into it at the time... I did read other AARs though. The first ones were merely listing up of moves, no meat, no story. Only I did this and that, in a listed form. Those were the days before AARland developed properly into the unique form it later got. Save the Company tales of course. I don't remember when I began to comment, but it must have been fairly early on. I felt I needed to voice my appriciaton when I had read the hard work of others. Being a non native speaker, I knew how hard writing in a foreign language can be... Of course, soon the great writers and AARs flowed in. Peter Ebbesen's EU2 AAR about World Conquest for Dummies springs to mind. It's not fair to the great writers of old to only mention one, but there were so many good writers back then, and as I said; my memory is fuzzy.

Do you have any plans to write an AAR in the future?
I did write one actually. I often have good stories to tell, but that one made me realize I wasn't up to it. I got some good feedback, so I wasn't half bad, but it took much time and it was kind of a relief when the save got corrupted(or lost? I don't remember) a bit later on, truth to be told. I enjoy reading the AARs, but I don't have the energy and wish to dedicate the time and resources needed to do it justice. And if I am to write an AAR, it ought to be done properly and not half hearted! Perhaps, when my studies are over and I have a permanent job, I will reconsider. For now, I'm happy to remain a commenter.

What are you three favourite AAR's at this moment? And why do you like them so much?
Thank heavens you didn't ask me about my favourite ever! That would be hard...! I have a weak spot for Kaiserreich AARs, and Tanzhang is among the best writers AARland has at the moment. He recently began a new AAR, Loyal we Began, Loyal we Remain: A History of the British Empire. It is only two updates old, but it already promise to be as good as his previous efforts! Next, a friend of mine, Ben Kenobi, is writing a CSA World Conquest AAR for good, old Vicky. The first one. I find it brave to write an AAR about a game that in AARland is all but dead. And it's an enjoyable comedy in the spirit of phargle, a master of the genre. So do check out Deo Vindice a CSAAR!! Third, I really enjoy reading hjarg's exploits as Portugal in Portugal- an Empire Under the Sun. His mastering of the game is way beyond mine, and he writes very well to boot!

Is there an AAR genre you prefer?
I really like the history book AARs. I really do. On the other hand, I'm not partial to only one genre. For example the narrative AARs: while generally being a genre I don't enjoy as much as other genres in here, the best AARs I've ever read is actually narrative AARs. I guess I'm just more demanding of that genre's quality. As you can see from my three recommendations above, one is a history book AAR, one is a comedy and one is a part history book, part gameplay AAR. And my all time favourites are narrative AARs. I guess that sums it up. I'm varied in my tastes.

And last but not least, what’s (according to you) so unique about AARland and the community?
Where to begin... It's grown big, and it has changed over the years. Gone are the old, tight knit community. Or is it really? It might not be tight knit as it used to be, but it has a unique flavour of it still. People cheer each other, encourage each other and advice each other. Some members use incredibly much time doing this. Often with valuable and deep advice. Some of those even get time to write their own AARs! I don't know how they do it, but it really makes for something special. One thing that really helps this, and which is unique to this forum as far as I'm concerned, is the weekly awAARds, like Writer of the Week and Fan of the Week. These awAARds really helps nurture the fellowship and friendly cheering you see around here. I'm really thankful to those who set that up and keep it going!
 
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This is Madness-the Story of the Crumbling Europe by CzokletMuss

This is one of the most entertaining premises for an AAR that I’ve seen in my (admittedly short) time at AARland. Czoklet started out as the OPM Angelos family in 1066. The actual AAR starts in 1264, at the pinnacle of the achievements of the Angelos family. They have managed to become Basileus of the Byzantine Empire.

But all is, as always, not well. The Aztecs have invaded from the west, the Europeans are split between many heresies, and the Ilkhanate goes from strength to strength. This unveils the basic premise of the AAR. It is an uphill struggle for the Romans to survive against so many enemies. It is Ironman as well, which makes it even wore. It is the tale of a crumbling world.

But he handles it magnificently, without saying too much of a spoiler. The Aztecs and the Ilkhanate declare war, he is faced with open revolt, and the rest of Christendom, including heretic Catholics (!), is in a permanent stage of war. He takes it all in stride.

The writing is good as well, though it is very much a gameplay AAR. Czoklet admits in the first post that he is not a native English speaker, and that sometimes shows. But his writing is clear, concise, and explains his motives. He usually throws in something nice to keep the reader occupied. Sometime it might be a poem; other times a short history lesson.

I do have one gripe about the AAR. It is sometimes boring to read about yet another revolt or war or Aztec invasion. This is somewhat minor, and just my two cents. :)
 
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Hey folks! Thank you yet again for having read our wonderful AARlander, sadly a little late this month but that is due to us who work here have stuff to work on IRL, the hard thruth but I hope you understand. This week I don't have that much to say, so this is just a little of a rant or a filler post. I do believe that next month we will be on schedule I hope but when June comes I believe we will be off, I've got university stuff to do so I won't have time to upload according to schedule that month and we will see what summer break brings for our magazine. That is a question I don't have an awnser for yet!

Regards.
D.
 
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