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INDEX INTRODUCTION FALL WEIß FALL BLAU TABLES AND DATA |
INTRODUCTION *Updated Wednesdays and weekends.* I’ve been trying to start this project for a little over a year now and think I finally have a handle on how I want to present it. Essentially this will be written as a narrative history of World War II Germany focusing on a broad set of minor (and not usually reoccurring) characters from all levels and distinctions within the German armed forces and civilian populations. Each chapter will intersperse the events of the game as they unfold for me, the player, with snippets of relevant, fictional stories for individuals. I have always particularly enjoyed books and After-Action Reports written in this perspective, and this is me trying my hand at it. In the past, when I’ve tried to start this project, I’ve always ended up abandoning it after becoming unsatisfied with the direction it was heading. It always either felt too disorganized or too rushed, but I believe I’ve struck a better balance this time. I have played, and written ahead, a few installments so as to give me a buffer for when the inevitable writing slump sets in (as a frequent reader of AARs and a fan of the ABC series LOST I know how frustrating no ending, or a rushed ending, can be). Even though I have written ahead, I would still appreciate any feedback you have to offer. Whether it’s a scathingly critical essay that catalogues and mocks my failings as a writer or just a comment about what is or isn’t working for you, all comments are appreciated. As well, I’ve shrunk the margins on each post because each part is fairly long and, in my personal experience, long unformatted forum posts have a tendency to appear more daunting than they actually are; so if you have questions or comments regarding that aesthetic, I’d like to hear them as well. In order to incorporate any feedback you may have I will try to stagger the release of installments by about a week (-ish) so as to give me time to read your comments and tweak the next week’s chapter. As for the specifics of the game: I’m playing the most recent patch of Hearts of Iron 3: Their Finest Hour (I believe v.4.02) as Germany, with no modifications or alterations to the game files, at normal difficulty. The game started in 1936 and has followed a mostly historical route to the invasion of Poland, which is where the AAR begins. Though I have followed a historical route thus far in the game, it was more for the sake of continuity with the real world so that I would have less exposition at the game’s start than a conscious desire to recreate World War II exactly as it happened. Going into the game you should know two very important things: 1) I am not a very good player, and 2) I hope I lose. To the first point, I think playing at a slower speed (so as to properly catalogue the game’s events for the AAR) may give a false impression that I am better at this game than I actually am, but rest assured I am not a very strong player. To the second point, if, by the grace of the HoI Gods, I fair well against the AI, I am not above cheating for the AI (either by increasing the difficulty, or interfering directly) to further stack the odds against myself. If I win, I win and I won’t change that; but the price for that victory had better be so steep in virtual blood and sanity lost that I am but a shell of my former self at the game’s end. As for the style of this AAR, you should know that it is still rough (read: overly longwinded) and even though I am satisfied enough with what I’ve done so far to begin sharing it, I'm still working out the kinks in the format; the initial installments are particularly prone to meandering as I search for an adequate sense of pacing. As well, the first installments from Fall Weiß do not have very many in-game screenshots as I forgot to take them at the time and then absentmindedly wrote over the autosave file as I continued to play. In the future, however, I hope that there will be more ingame screenshots, should the AAR-landers demand them. But, anyway, I just wanted to say I hope you each have as much fun reading it as I have had writing it. |
Notes & Disclaimers
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