A little note for those that create AAR's...

[Flinn]

Once I wrote about this problem.

Yep, that's the article I was referring to

I agree with the fact that writing a full AAR takes weeks, if not months, 'cause you have to actually finish the campaign .. I think most of us do not have 6/8 hours per day to play TATW, unfortunately.

anyway I will try to do one, still waiting to know which prog is suggested for taking screenshots.

ciao

Flinn

[FC Groningen]

Try "Fraps". The free version allows you to take screenshots in bmp format, but if you use paint afterwards, you can convert it into a more suitable/smaller format like jpg. You get some random number at the top left screen while you play, but you start to ignore that very soon.

[FC Groningen]

Yeah, that's what I meant by the mid-game end. You are absolutely correct on that. Enthusiasm goes exactly the other way than complexity: the first goes down, the second goes up, and by mid-game it reaches a quit point for many. Then there is the problem of writing a good (not boring but not raping) plot in a such heavily lore-determined game.

Might be just my vision on this, but maybe "boring" is actually better. The ones I'm working on are mostly a summary of all my actions during a turn and battles, which makes it easier to describe complete turns, although some readers might find the content wanting. Yet, I do cover everything I did to a high detail. Biggest pain in the ass is adding all screenshots into it.

[Radzeer]

Yeah, starting an AAR is easy, but finishing one is hard. And of course a lot of work. I am not even close to being done and I am already noticing how hard it is. And yet, I already have plans for my next AAR.

That's exactly how I did it too.

Yep, that's the article I was referring to

I agree with the fact that writing a full AAR takes weeks, if not months, 'cause you have to actually finish the campaign .. I think most of us do not have 6/8 hours per day to play TATW, unfortunately.

anyway I will try to do one, still waiting to know which prog is suggested for taking screenshots.

ciao

Flinn

It can take a long time for sure. I wrote my Kievan AAR for more than a year. Of course it was largely because I had limited time to play AND write AND craft the screenshots besides my job and family. I could only manage an update in every 8-10 days, and that was very taxing. It was like "should I play today, or write, or fire up Photoshop?".

Might be just my vision on this, but maybe "boring" is actually better. The ones I'm working on are mostly a summary of all my actions during a turn and battles, which makes it easier to describe complete turns, although some readers might find the content wanting. Yet, I do cover everything I did to a high detail. Biggest pain in the ass is adding all screenshots into it.

I think there is a difference. Campaign walkthrough style AARs are not boring by any means because they do not aim to give a detailed plot with dialogs and whatnot. The problem comes when somebody launches an ambitious plot and then finds himself severely constrained by the lore. Even the medieval-style factions (Gondor, Rohan, Dale, Eriador) where there could be some freedom for plotting could easily walk into this trap. So it's just difficult to find a good plot in Middle Earth I guess.

[Flinn]

Try "Fraps". The free version allows you to take screenshots in bmp format, but if you use paint afterwards, you can convert it into a more suitable/smaller format like jpg. You get some random number at the top left screen while you play, but you start to ignore that very soon.

Thanks, I will try to do something during holydays, if the world will not end tomorrow

Ciao

Flinn

[Bowmaster]

Campaign walkthrough style AARs are not boring

I must disagree with you. Every time I have read an AAR which is truly is an AAR, an After-Action Report, I find it very boring. But lore-ish AAR:s are intriguing and rewarding. Just check out The Rise Of The Northmen!

[Radzeer]

I must disagree with you. Every time I have read an AAR which is truly is an AAR, an After-Action Report, I find it very boring. But lore-ish AAR:s are intriguing and rewarding. Just check out The Rise Of The Northmen!

I did not compare the two. I prefer "traditional" AARs with plots and whatnot (I wrote three of those myself), but I can also enjoy those that do not have a plot.
Now about the TotW ones, I usually find it very hard to come up with an original lore-ish story. That's the issue I have with fan fiction.
But it all comes down to personal preferences.

[Bowmaster]

Can someone point me to some good TATW AAR's in the AAR-forum? But not to the Restored and Forgotten Kingdoms, I know about them already.