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Thread: Derc Plays Through World History

  1. #181
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia)

    The Results regarding the following question are in! Thanks for participating. Or not.
    What faction do you like more in the Britannia Campaign? The Irish or the Norwegians?
    ORDEEEERRR! ORDER!

    The Eires to the right: One
    The Norse to the left: Zero

    So the Eires have it! The Eires have it!
    Unlock!

    ...
    Damn, I always wanted to pull a Bercow.

    Yeah, that was the whole purpose of it. I'm sorry.
    Still - interesting to know. None of the Norse lovers gave them their vote, making the Irish win the race. Unexpected.
    K, back to business.




    Medieval 2 - Kingdoms
    Britannia Campaign

    #6




    --------------------------
    (Click to view)
    --------------------------



    Chester is taken.
    The Welsh sign a peacefire with England. May no one ever say again that the Scots wouldn't bring peace to this world!


    Caernarvon falls. The Welsh return to their homeland with some impressive armies.


    They have almost only artillery in their capital. Maybe it is because one of our agents destroyed their barracks some time ago.


    Scots defeated another enemy: the forest.


    We face the Welsh and are about to meet their dreaded longbows. Our spies gather some information about them. Very interesting.
    Spot the grammar mistake.


    Both sides decided it was not the time for a battle - yet.
    The Welsh concentrate their armies around their capital. The surrounding regions fall rather quick.


    The Welsh were outsmarted and split their army. That was a mistake. King Alexander and his men had no problems taking the split Welsh forces one by one. And Montgomery with them.


    While we were busy conquering territories at the front, the hinterland was already rehearsing the uprising.


    A futile uprising it was, as the Welsh population had to learn painfully. They were expelled from the cities, driven away from their own homeland. King Alexander has grown to be an old and reckless leader.
    Just as in Ireland, the settlements in Wales are quickly assimilated. It takes only two years for the Scots to become a majority in the former Welsh capital.

    ⚙️ Authors Note - Technical
    Montgomery was an extremely well developed city. Churchs and civil buildings help to boost culture conversation. As the city was so well developed, assimilation happened quick. Way too quick.


    Enemies have become friends: The Welsh and the English now work together in desperate hope to push us back.


    The Milanese strike again with their witchcraft! Their invention may be something for our enemies, showing them even better how they're running out of time.



    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    How in the hell did they even do that? I swear, the English can't do anything right! Well, I assume you'll figure out some trick for getting rid of them. Either that, or the native Irish will just heckle them from the shore until they abandon the ships for a good fist-fight. From my time in Ireland I found that winding people up was a skill very well honed in that folk!... I miss them and their antics.
    I'm really curious how they did that. Mercenary ships maybe.

    So you were in Ireland? You make me jealous. I was over the Emerald Isle once - in a plane 10.000m above the ground. It was still enough to see something. And what I saw was stunning. Just don't mess with their sheep!

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    Oh, the Irish any day! Truth be told, I'm not sure I even ever played as the Norwegians. The Irish are, well, Irish, so they get points for that, and if I remember correctly they have dragoons in the late game, which is just awesome! I assume the mounted gunners are often drunk, and thus not terribly accurate, but still a riot to use nonethless
    Thanks. You made the Irish win this.
    Last edited by Derc; May 01, 2019 at 05:03 PM. Reason: Little typo and addition

  2. #182
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia)

    Quote Originally Posted by Derc
    The Milanese strike again with their witchcraft!
    Awww I see what you did there.

    I didn't feel qualified to vote. Never played any kingdoms campaign and the choice between fake scots and fake danes seemed hard. :/
    Would probably have chosen the Irish too for the less restrictive alcohol laws.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    From Socrates over Jesus to me it has always been the lot of any true visionary to be rejected by the reactionary bourgeoisie
    Qualis noncives pereo! #justiceforcookie #egalitéfraternitécookié #CLM

  3. #183
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia)

    Seems I missed the most important vote of all time, a shame really. Great conquest of Ireland and now an invasion of Wales and England. Sneaky English hiding on the lake, that is some really 1000 IQ plays from the English AI which makes me very proud since I'm playing them in my current hotseat. Ah yes the forest, the greatest threat on the British Isles. Rumour has it some of the trees can talk and even walk.

    Quote Originally Posted by Turkafinwë View Post
    That must've been an epic battle to play, at least the screenshots make it seem so! I'm somewhat sorrowful to see the Norsemen defeated, he is my only ally in a hotseat I'm currently playing so the Norwegians have a special place in my heart.
    Quote Originally Posted by Derc View Post
    Cool. Who are you playing? How's the situation?
    Just don't ally with the Scots. They're a treacherous, bipolar bunch.
    As I said I'm playing as the mighty Kingdom of England though I'm beset on all sides by my foes. My only ally are the Norwegians and we can't really help each other since our territories are so far apart. Oh and I'm at war with all the other factions who just succesfully invaded Wales (which I conquered previously) and have taken Caernarvon. Meanwhile the Baron's Alliance is wreaking havoc in my heartland with generals defecting left, right and center(which is driving me further into insanity ). It's also a RP based hotseat called The Isles of Chaos (go figure) which adds to the immersion. Really fun to play!

  4. #184

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia)

    Quote Originally Posted by Derc View Post
    So you were in Ireland? You make me jealous. I was over the Emerald Isle once - in a plane 10.000m above the ground. It was still enough to see something. And what I saw was stunning. Just don't mess with their sheep!
    Oh yes, Ireland was indeed lovely. And the beer flowed and flowed, which put a rather nice sheen on events After that year with them, I feel I'd be likely to vote for them in many a competition!


    And yeah, don't mess with the sheep

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    I didn't feel qualified to vote. Never played any kingdoms campaign and the choice between fake scots and fake danes seemed hard. :/
    Would probably have chosen the Irish too for the less restrictive alcohol laws.
    Fake Scots! I could slap you for that sir!

    But in the end you'd choose Irish anyway, so I guess we can still be friends. That, and you've got booze

    Quote Originally Posted by Turkafinwë View Post
    Meanwhile the Baron's Alliance is wreaking havoc in my heartland with generals defecting left, right and center(which is driving me further into insanity ).
    What did you expect when you chose the English Turk? They are a quarrelsome blue-blooded lot, prone to agitation and nervous fits of "honor". Noble infighting is then to be expected
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia)

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    What did you expect when you chose the English Turk? They are a quarrelsome blue-blooded lot, prone to agitation and nervous fits of "honor". Noble infighting is then to be expected
    Yeah I really should've known better than to trust those bloody English noblemen. (It didn't help that my king was actually stark raving mad reducing his authority to near zero. It wasn't difficult to write RP for a insane character .) I bet it's that treacherous French blood of those Normans at play here. Honourable Celts would never stoop to such treachery except Derc when playing as Scotland.

  6. #186
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia)

    Scotland's advance is impressive. It looks like Scotland's generals and spies are very skilled and it seems that the Welsh were suddenly very keen to identify with Scotland! I wonder if the remnant of Wales and their English allies will be able to fight back effectively. I enjoyed this, including your lines about the 'other enemy' defeated by Scotland and the Milanese witchcraft!

  7. #187
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia)


    Medieval 2 - Kingdoms
    Britannia Campaign

    #7




    --------------------------
    (Click to view)
    --------------------------



    The Welsh lost all of their homeland but they still hold a few English territories.

    The English themselve amass some new armies around their new capital, Winchester.


    Heresy! Now, more than ever, there is an urgent need to free this world from the evil English!


    The Welsh and the English put up some fine resistance. It is, however, easy to crack a nut once it is foul.


    The Barons lose control over Derry. How could that happen?


    So that's why. The city was in a terrible shape and rebelled.
    An Englishman is an Englishman, may it be a Baron or a King. They just can't properly rule cities. That's why we see it as our task to govern this city now.

    Ireland is united under Scottish rule. At that point we do not care anymore what the Barons think about this. Barons, go home!


    King Alexander handles the Welsh at Oxford while William Wallace fights the English at Winchester. Both campaigns resulted in glorious victories, bringing the unification of the Isles two steps closer.

    The Welsh king died at the defense of Oxford. The new king isn't so happy about his title. The title "King of Wales" has become a burden not many men want to carry anymore, the Welsh kingdom itself is nothing more than the city-state of London anymore.


    William Wallace has become a grizzled old man. Yet he will not rest until all of Britain is united.

    📝 Authors Note
    But what is that!?
    Yeah, I uh ... got a cannon. Can't remember if I forgot this houserule or anything, but this one can be counted as failed.
    (It also shows how evil the Scots truly are)


    Scots take Kent, reaching the southeasternmost point of the British Isles.

    We send some scouts over the channel to check for the French but they can't locate any coast. Strange.


    Tragecy! This could be the reason why we didn't manage to find France! A dreaded plague is terrorizing the world! And now it has reached the Isles!


    It spreads like wildfire, rampaging everywhere!


    The plague shows no respect, not even for kings. It claims the soul of King Alexander.

    It is as if there would be a curse. A curse that every Alexander can not see his conquest finished.
    So close. So, so close. A hero and great unificator was denied his ultimate goal.
    Now the task lies with others - to the few who were still willing to keep covering this scarred land with even more death.
    The last steps of unification would be travelled on a dark and bloody, yet hopefully short path.

    Once more unto the breach, dear friends! Once more! Let us at least dry out this source of death!



    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    Oh yes, Ireland was indeed lovely. And the beer flowed and flowed, which put a rather nice sheen on events After that year with them, I feel I'd be likely to vote for them in many a competition!
    I love Irish pubs!
    Really a shame there won't be any in this universe. What have I done?

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    What did you expect when you chose the English Turk? They are a quarrelsome blue-blooded lot, prone to agitation and nervous fits of "honor". Noble infighting is then to be expected
    You may like this chapter. Poor English.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    I didn't feel qualified to vote. Never played any kingdoms campaign.
    You missed something. All these lovely small Kingdoms campaigns. Look how much nostalgia they trigger in me, Athelstan and all the others.

    Quote Originally Posted by Turkafinwë View Post
    Seems I missed the most important vote of all time, a shame really. Great conquest of Ireland and now an invasion of Wales and England. Sneaky English hiding on the lake, that is some really 1000 IQ plays from the English AI which makes me very proud since I'm playing them in my current hotseat.
    That must be why no one ever managed to conquer Canada from the English. All these lakes!

    Quote Originally Posted by Turkafinwë View Post
    Ah yes the forest, the greatest threat on the British Isles. Rumour has it some of the trees can talk and even walk.
    The wood hath ears.
    And some nice whiskies on his shelf, aye?

    Quote Originally Posted by Turkafinwë View Post
    As I said I'm playing as the mighty Kingdom of England though I'm beset on all sides by my foes. My only ally are the Norwegians and we can't really help each other since our territories are so far apart. Oh and I'm at war with all the other factions who just succesfully invaded Wales (which I conquered previously) and have taken Caernarvon. Meanwhile the Baron's Alliance is wreaking havoc in my heartland with generals defecting left, right and center(which is driving me further into insanity ). It's also a RP based hotseat called The Isles of Chaos (go figure) which adds to the immersion. Really fun to play!
    Sounds like a dire situation you are in. Best of luck.
    Maybe I'll check it out later. Let's see who's the best Littlefinger.

    Quote Originally Posted by Turkafinwë View Post
    Yeah I really should've known better than to trust those bloody English noblemen. (It didn't help that my king was actually stark raving mad reducing his authority to near zero. It wasn't difficult to write RP for a insane character .) I bet it's that treacherous French blood of those Normans at play here. Honourable Celts would never stoop to such treachery except Derc when playing as Scotland.
    France seems to be nonexistant this universe, as we've seen in this chapter. Bliss!

    Come on, the Scots are angry, ravaging men in skirts and funny hats. I'm just doing my part in warning you about them.

    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn View Post
    Scotland's advance is impressive. It looks like Scotland's generals and spies are very skilled and it seems that the Welsh were suddenly very keen to identify with Scotland! I wonder if the remnant of Wales and their English allies will be able to fight back effectively. I enjoyed this, including your lines about the 'other enemy' defeated by Scotland and the Milanese witchcraft!
    Hehe, thanks. The Welsh and English fought back many times. They at least managed to stop me from simply steamrolling them. These permanent forts and rivers were very nice! Still no comparison to the challenges of other TW titles, though.
    Last edited by Derc; May 06, 2019 at 12:07 PM. Reason: One typo. One!

  8. #188
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia)

    This is a dangerous time to be a King, or Welsh or English, or anyone when the dreaded 'divine punishment' arrives! It looks like southern and central England have been hit hard. Despite the losses, it looks like victory for Scotland is getting close.

  9. #189
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia)

    Quote Originally Posted by Alexanderc the Plagueriser
    William Wallace has become a grizzled old man.
    A scarry old man? Wait a minute! I've read about that somewhere else before! Plagiate!1!!
    Quote Originally Posted by Alexanderc the Rulebender
    But what is that!?
    Yeah, I uh ... got a cannon. Can't remember if I forgot this houserule or anything, but this one can be counted as failed.
    It's ok. As long as you had a blast.
    Quote Originally Posted by Alexanderc the Migrant
    We send some scouts over the channel to check for the French but they can't locate any coast. Strange.
    HAHAH! So you do want to go to France?!
    Quote Originally Posted by Alexanderc the Nazi
    That's racist.
    Quote Originally Posted by Alexanderc the Cunning
    The plague shows no respect, not even for kings. It claims the soul of King Alexander.
    Poor Alexander. Can't go to France, dies from the French disease anyway.
    Or a cunning way to get to that kingdom of heaven anyway?

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    From Socrates over Jesus to me it has always been the lot of any true visionary to be rejected by the reactionary bourgeoisie
    Qualis noncives pereo! #justiceforcookie #egalitéfraternitécookié #CLM

  10. #190

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia)

    Quote Originally Posted by Derc View Post
    I love Irish pubs!
    Really a shame there won't be any in this universe. What have I done?
    Seriously?! You've shown your true colors Derc, and now we all know you for the villain you are. Never again will a trad session grace a group of weary travelers enjoying their drink, and you are all to blame!

    Quote Originally Posted by Derc View Post
    The wood hath ears.
    And some nice whiskies on his shelf, aye?
    Sadly, the shelf runneth dry these days. I need to stock up again so I can put up more reviews... but what to get

    Quote Originally Posted by Derc View Post
    �� Authors Note
    But what is that!?
    Yeah, I uh ... got a cannon. Can't remember if I forgot this houserule or anything, but this one can be counted as failed.
    (It also shows how evil the Scots truly are)
    Wait wait wait. I just noticed something fishy... You set yourself some house rules and goals, yes? And then you try your best to follow them, yes? But haven't you said a number of times above that all of these campaigns were done a while ago and are all finished?! So, to what extent are you actually setting yourself rules? Is that you have forgotten exactly what you did, and in starting the AAR of a campaign you think up these rules and then see if your screenshots show you following them or not, or do you write up the goals and rules already knowing they are going to be satisfied/failed?

    I smell treachery! Derc is deceiving us!!!!

    Last edited by Kilo11; May 08, 2019 at 12:32 AM. Reason: Forgot something
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  11. #191
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia)

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    Wait wait wait. I just noticed something fishy... You set yourself some house rules and goals, yes? And then you try your best to follow them, yes? But haven't you said a number of times above that all of these campaigns were done a while ago and are all finished?! So, to what extent are you actually setting yourself rules? Is that you have forgotten exactly what you did, and in starting the AAR of a campaign you think up these rules and then see if your screenshots show you following them or not, or do you write up the goals and rules already knowing they are going to be satisfied/failed?

    I smell treachery! Derc is deceiving us!!!!

    I thought the same thing!!!

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    From Socrates over Jesus to me it has always been the lot of any true visionary to be rejected by the reactionary bourgeoisie
    Qualis noncives pereo! #justiceforcookie #egalitéfraternitécookié #CLM

  12. #192
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia)


    Medieval 2 - Kingdoms
    Britannia Campaign

    #8




    --------------------------
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    --------------------------



    The plague isn't stopping the war. Quite the opposite. More than ever do we push to end this.
    A lot of the soldiers are weak and sick. This accounts for all sides. The sickness helps and cripples us at the same time.

    London is the last bastion of the Welsh. How ironic. It is put under siege, and so is Norwich.


    Both cities fall the next year, ending two kingdoms at once.

    The Barons have reached their ultimate goal: help to utterly defeat the king. The rest of the country wasn't meant to get destroyed too, but oh well. Sacrifices had to be made.
    Now that they have reached their goal, they do what has become a tradition of the English in the recent years: collapse.


    The plague is still rampaging. The world may be an empty place soon but the Scots won't go before ultimately uniting all the land.


    It is done. After such a long time, after over a thousand years, Britain once again is ruled by the Celts.

    The dreaded plague seems to abdicate, having not only killed countless Scots, but also most Welsh, Englishmen, Irish and most of the few Norsemen that remained on the Isles.
    This, together with all the war, has radically changed the Isles. Forever.

    A dream of Albion has come true. Perhaps it was the will of God.

    Britannia is no more.
    Long live Albion!


    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Suggestion for Albion's naval flag:




    📘 Alternate History
    Ok, so here are the obvious thoughts after the end of the campaign.

    Scotland uniting the Isles? ~350 years earlier before historical Great Britain emerged? That would've had a huge impact. Neither would America be as we know it, nor would the whole world be as it is today. The changes go so far back that there wouldn't even have been a Hundred Years' War, radically changing the identity of France.

    Would a country called 'Albion' eventually set out to bring "British order" everywhere instead of the British Empire? Or would the Scots just have minded their own business?
    The first, I think. The Scots would've eventually set out to conquer beyond the channel. They would've done it different than the English did, but the Scots are still Brits and, of course, also played a major impact in the decisions of historical Great Britain.

    The Napoleonic Wars? The World Wars? All so different without the English, but still very thinkable. The biggest differences, however, may have been in science and, of course, in the language. Perhaps we would all speak Gaelic now?

    One thing is certain: This little region, Britannia, has had a huge impact on the world. Maybe even more than Rome did.


    🏠 House Rules & Special Goals
    Unwritten Rules:
    • Conquer the whole map - Check
    • No exploits, hacks, etc. blah bla blubb - Check

    Written ones:
    • The Lords: The Baron's Alliance must outlive England at all costs - Check
    • Sticks and Stones: No gunpowder - Failed
    • Angry Scotsman: Betray at least one ally - Check (even betrayed two: Irish and Welsh)
    • Formed in the Mountains: (RL) Try a Highland Scotch during the course of this campaign - Check


    ⭐ Conclusion: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia
    • Awesome atmosphere
    • Unique flavour for every faction, nice events
    • Permanent forts were a great strategical addition

    • No big challenge
    • A.I. still too dumb to do proper naval invasion
    • Cultural assimilation happens way too quick


    Lovely and very nostalgic. Brings the magic of Britannia alive.
    It's my most favourite Kingdoms campaign out of all four campaigns.



    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn View Post
    This is a dangerous time to be a King, or Welsh or English, or anyone when the dreaded 'divine punishment' arrives! It looks like southern and central England have been hit hard. Despite the losses, it looks like victory for Scotland is getting close.
    A victory at what costs?

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    A scarry old man? Wait a minute! I've read about that somewhere else before! Plagiate!1!!
    Impossible. I haven't published my autobiography yet.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    HAHAH! So you do want to go to France?!
    Yeah. To conquer it, of course.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    Poor Alexander. Can't go to France, dies from the French disease anyway.
    Darned sco(u)ts brought the disease with them!

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    Seriously?! You've shown your true colors Derc, and now we all know you for the villain you are. Never again will a trad session grace a group of weary travelers enjoying their drink, and you are all to blame!
    But it means even more various Whiskys. Just imagine a fine Scotch from the Midlands. Mhm.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    Sadly, the shelf runneth dry these days. I need to stock up again so I can put up more reviews... but what to get
    Every end is a new beginning.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    Wait wait wait. I just noticed something fishy... You set yourself some house rules and goals, yes? And then you try your best to follow them, yes? But haven't you said a number of times above that all of these campaigns were done a while ago and are all finished?! So, to what extent are you actually setting yourself rules? Is that you have forgotten exactly what you did, and in starting the AAR of a campaign you think up these rules and then see if your screenshots show you following them or not, or do you write up the goals and rules already knowing they are going to be satisfied/failed?

    I smell treachery! Derc is deceiving us!!!!
    I always set up house rules just before playing the campaign or in the first couple of turns. So yeah, I knew from the beginning of this AAR which one I would fail and which one not, except from that RL one.
    As once said in the (other) Alex campaign, I won't censor anything. I could've let out that one picture with the cannons and have said: "Huweeh, I did it!". Or not post that rule at all. But who would I be fooling this way? Would be pretty boring if I mystically managed being successful everywhere. It would also serve as a spoiler.

    Cookie once saw how I do it; in the beginning of the RotR campaign.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    I thought the same thing!!!
    But now he is betraying me. Et tu, Cookie?

    You know what I'm gonna do? I'll do a Developer's Diary before the next campaign. Which, by the way, will be much bigger in all aspects. Bigger map, more cultures, even more screenies and a more epic approach, trying a protagonist driven narrative this time. One thing remains same, though. We will, once again, play some blue guys.
    Last edited by Derc; May 12, 2019 at 10:49 AM. Reason: Forgot conclusion

  13. #193
    Alwyn's Avatar Frothy Goodness
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia [End])

    A high cost, indeed - and a fitting ending to Scotland's campaign. I'm wondering where you'll go in your next campaign - you've given people some intriguing hints. A faction which plays in blue, with a bigger map and more cultures - maybe the Prussians or Americans in Empire Total War?

  14. #194
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia)

    Indeed a fitting end to this campaign, a nice dark blue map. I bet the English didn't want to give the Scots the satisfaction of ending their nation. They'd rather destroy themselves it seems. Spiteful till the end.
    Onto the next campaign!

    Quote Originally Posted by Turkafinwë View Post
    As I said I'm playing as the mighty Kingdom of England though I'm beset on all sides by my foes. My only ally are the Norwegians and we can't really help each other since our territories are so far apart. Oh and I'm at war with all the other factions who just succesfully invaded Wales (which I conquered previously) and have taken Caernarvon. Meanwhile the Baron's Alliance is wreaking havoc in my heartland with generals defecting left, right and center(which is driving me further into insanity ). It's also a RP based hotseat called The Isles of Chaos (go figure) which adds to the immersion. Really fun to play!
    Quote Originally Posted by Derc
    Sounds like a dire situation you are in. Best of luck.
    Maybe I'll check it out later. Let's see who's the best Littlefinger.
    Indeed it is a pretty sticky situation we find ourselves in and I'm constantly reminded why I love and hate this game. I can guarantee it's not going to be me that's going to be on top at the end.

    Quote Originally Posted by Turkafinwë View Post
    Yeah I really should've known better than to trust those bloody English noblemen. (It didn't help that my king was actually stark raving mad reducing his authority to near zero. It wasn't difficult to write RP for a insane character .) I bet it's that treacherous French blood of those Normans at play here. Honourable Celts would never stoop to such treachery except Derc when playing as Scotland.
    Quote Originally Posted by Derc
    France seems to be nonexistant this universe, as we've seen in this chapter. Bliss!

    Come on, the Scots are angry, ravaging men in skirts and funny hats. I'm just doing my part in warning you about them.
    A world without France would be too blessed. How can we achieve greatness without those Frenchies trying to ruin everything? Every hero needs their adversary to achieve godhood. So the French do at least have some use.

  15. #195
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia [End])

    So when the Barons outlive England, they become rebels?!

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    From Socrates over Jesus to me it has always been the lot of any true visionary to be rejected by the reactionary bourgeoisie
    Qualis noncives pereo! #justiceforcookie #egalitéfraternitécookié #CLM

  16. #196

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia [End])

    Quote Originally Posted by Derc View Post
    But it means even more various Whiskys. Just imagine a fine Scotch from the Midlands. Mhm.
    Well, for that I guess I can forgive your crimes against Eire. A world with more whisky would be a world with more contentment, and I cannot imagine that being a bad thing

    Quote Originally Posted by Derc
    I always set up house rules just before playing the campaign or in the first couple of turns. So yeah, I knew from the beginning of this AAR which one I would fail and which one not, except from that RL one.
    As once said in the (other) Alex campaign, I won't censor anything. I could've let out that one picture with the cannons and have said: "Huweeh, I did it!". Or not post that rule at all. But who would I be fooling this way? Would be pretty boring if I mystically managed being successful everywhere. It would also serve as a spoiler.

    Cookie once saw how I do it; in the beginning of the RotR campaign.

    ...

    But now he is betraying me. Et tu, Cookie?

    You know what I'm gonna do? I'll do a Developer's Diary before the next campaign. Which, by the way, will be much bigger in all aspects. Bigger map, more cultures, even more screenies and a more epic approach, trying a protagonist driven narrative this time. One thing remains same, though. We will, once again, play some blue guys.
    Well, I will take your word for it. But just to be clear (for my understanding), are you setting the house rules before you start playing the campaign, or before you start putting together the AAR? And if the latter, have you forgotten the campaign enough that you don't remember whether the set rules will be satisfied or not? Just wondering about your process here.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Derc
    The Barons have reached their ultimate goal: help to utterly defeat the king. The rest of the country wasn't meant to get destroyed too, but oh well. Sacrifices had to be made.
    Now that they have reached their goal, they do what has become a tradition of the English in the recent years: collapse.
    So when the Barons outlive England, they become rebels?!
    Sounds about right. They hate the king, but they all want to become the king, and once the king is gone they're like "Well, what the hell do we do now?... " and they become boring old rebels. Silly English.



    At any rate, a great end to this arc of the (mega-)AAR! I always love seeing a world of Scots!

    EDIT: And don't worry about not repping me for the latest whisky review. I seem to be unable to rep you as well, so we'll call it even for now and get each other later.
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  17. #197
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Intermezzo)



    Derc's Development Diaries
    #1: How campaigns come to be

    "Development"? What am I developing? Yeah, I could've named this different, but well ... the process of creating content for this thread is indeed more than just writing. It is also an inside joke to a long abandoned project. May it rest in peace.

    I got the idea of a dev diary some time ago, partially thanks to you. The question arose how exactly this works here, playing one of x campaigns and then doing an AAR and all that stuff. What happens when? In what order happens what? What's important? Let's check it out.

    #1: Setting it up
    I have a couple of campaigns accomplished and still a couple to go. Before I can show off a campaign, I have to play it, of course. There always needs to be a decision at the very beginning: "What campaign could I play out of the big pool?" Hm.

    The first important things are set up here. I usually choose a campaign depending on whatever mood I'm in. Maybe I want to play an old TW game. Or something more modern with gunpowder. Something Japanese? A bigger campaign, a smaller one? Hm. I also have to consider which campaign I want to show in the near future. It is of no use to play a campaign when I choose to show it at the very end of this series. Who knows if we will ever reach it. On the other hand I can't show a campaign if it isn't finished. Life always happens to throw something at you, so if you schedule too tight and then are not able to present a campaign in time ... well, I want to avoid that. So let's find a compromise.

    Campaigns must be refreshing. This accounts both for myself and you. It would be pretty boring to show all Rome campaigns and then swap over to show all Medieval campaigns. That's exactly why I have some internal timeline for this AAR set up, rougly planned in what order I want to show what campaign. The next 5 campaigns are all set in stone, so these ones have the highest priority in being played, if not already done so.

    There must be a connection from one campaign to the next. At the very beginning of this AAR it was like this:
    My humble beginnings --> Medieval 1 - that bully in the East --> Alexander - Go east --> Shogun 2: RotS - Weirdos on a beautiful island fight each other --> Medieval 2: Britannia - Britannia has been changed forever --> ...

    #2: Checking it out
    This is some mashup between organization and testing. So I've chosen a campaign to play. I then go and check out what makes this campaign special. I read some things up on the TW Wiki, the other TW Wiki, Honga, I check out some let's plays and of course I read some historical sources to get me in the mood, most often on Wikipedia and Youtube. They do not deliver indepth information, but they are very helpful for a quick overview. If I want to go deeper, I can just google around. That happens quite often. This series is a real nice motivator to do historical research, and history itself can be darn interesting, sometimes distracting me to continue writing the chapter.

    Some experience and memories come in when I play a game that I already knew from the past. Which - to this current date - now accounts for every game in the series except Warhammer, Thrones of Britannia and Three Kingdoms.
    Long story short, I just want to figure out what is interesting and how we could make it even more interesting by tackling weak spots from the very beginning.

    Let's be honest: Gaming is an illusion. You order some weird nodes of pixels around and that's basically it. All the joy happens from the experience it triggers in your brain. Be it a visual experience, an acoustic one, or the digestion of some information.
    Every TW works on the same principle: You push some guys x to y, build something, harass someone, destroy something, make a bit of diplomacy, do some battles. A good principle, but whatever you do, if you repeat something over and over it becomes bland over time. A thing I recognize and a thing I want to fight.

    That's where house rules come in. Their goal is to shake things up, add a bit of insanity, force me to try new things out, tackling weak spots as mentioned above.
    TW games try to push you into a certain direction on very subtle ways, be it through missions or placement of your starting armies and, depending on the game, diplomacy.
    Best example is Alexander. One of my most favourite TW's. It tries to push you into Asia Minor, doing certain things, but you aren't forced to do so. If you do things different, the campaign itself turns out to be much less predictable. I knew full well how to campaign would've been if I've just stomped the barbarians head on and had gone over Asia Minor instead of Egypt. It was so much more different and way more interesting to do things another way.

    House rules are set in this phase. When I actually start playing the campaign, all rules need to be set up. I try to accomplish them and either do I succeed, or I figure out it was nuts and I do not. I'm not that harsh to myself if I fail them. Failure is a natural part of life. I rather should've called these things "special goals".
    A true "house rule" would be something I outright refuse to do, despite the fact it would be helpful for me. Building forts in Medieval II is such a thing. They make the game waaaaay too easy.

    So much to that. Let's play the game already!

    #3: Playing it
    This step is simple, really. I start the campaign and just go with the flow. I can never know what'll truly await me during the course of the campaign. There are often some very pleasant surprises.
    That's a thing I really like about TW: Your own expansion can be predictable, that of the A.I. cannot. At least not always.
    The unpredictableness - a thing where the A.I. can often be better than a human opponent.

    Taking screenshots has become an automatic habit of mine. I just play this thing and hit the screenshot button every couple of times something interesting happens.

    I also make an own savefile for each turn. This is very important for step 5.

    I hardly play through a campaign in one go. It becomes tedious after a while. I then do some other things but I always come back. This is just the way I am. I want to see something completed. Not finished but completed. If the map isn't completely conquered or the time hasn't run out, this campaign is, in my eyes, one still in progress. I became more relaxed in that regard, but well, it still happens.

    I have to deny myself the right to play two TW campaigns in parallel. It usually stresses you out, making both campaigns more of a chore than an enjoyment. You must not play any further if that happens. A game is there to bring fun. There's a difference between being frustrated because you get your ass whopped and being frustrated because the game is just bland. Do not game if playing just feels like additional work.

    #4: Let it rot on your harddrive (and don't forget to back it up!)
    The duration of a campaign depends from game to game. Newer TW titles can take very long while older ones can be played through quite quick. Mongol Invasion is so small that it can be played through in a single day. Shogun II on the other hand can take half a year.

    Whatever, the campaign is over and then a darn important step becomes active, as I painfully learned it: this one. Properly saving both the savegames and all your screenshots to an external hard drive is important. As a matter of fact I have had two data losses in my TW history. A major one and a smaller one. The major happened a few years ago, wiping out all my games pre Empire. I didn't do many screenshots and savegames anyway back then. So this was sad, but I had to do the campaign anyway if it was for this AAR.

    Another smaller one happened some months ago. It wiped Medieval 1 and Shogun 1. The Medieval1 Golden Horde campaign cannot be restored. And neither can my unshown Viking Invasion and Mongol Invasion one. Latter isn't bad as it is a very short campaign, as said.

    #5: Prepare it
    Time to write it down.
    Every campaign has the same structure: Headline, contentbox, a couple of pics with text, and of course the comments and some FIELDSET boxes here and there. This allows for templating.

    Ah yeah, templating - I just need to throw the files into a regex processor to adjust paths, colors and headlines in one go. The most tedious work - done in a few simple steps.
    What I need to do then is to scroll through my screenshot folder, select some nice images and write some dumb text under the images. That's the easy part. The hard part is to structure the story itself and actually providing the right information, realizing that the first draft of my text is indeed dumb and needs a proper rework.

    Sometimes I also realize that an important information is missing or I simply forgot something, and that's where the stored savegames come in handy. I can fire up the campaign again at any given round, check things out, do some additional screenshots and dwell in nostalgia.

    There is a problem: as stated above, doing the same thing over and over becomes boring. This does not only account for gaming but for writing and structuring the campaign as well.
    Once more it is "compromise time". The same structure is alright, as it has to be homogen, proofed to be easy to work with and seems to be ok for you guys. A bigger problem was writing. I wanted to try different approaches for each campaign. It was something I planned from the very beginning.
    What does "different approaches" mean? Well ... try to write campaigns down from different perspectives (next one will be told from an I-perspective, for example), focus on different things (war/history/culture/nature/spiritual), play with the image/text ratio and, of course, try to tell a campaign with a more serious or a more funny tone.

    I mostly differentiate between serious vs. silly and local vs. global, latter being the differentation if I can go more indepth with information or not. Local vs. global does not describe the scale of the campaign map, but the flood of information I receive each turn and how much of it I can show you.
    Both things are mostly set by the game itself. The mood of Rome 1, for example, is too childish to take it all too seriously. The tone of Medieval 1, on the other hand, is very grim.
    Same goes for local vs. global: Too much is happening in a Grand Campaign. Impossible to show it all. Alexander, on the other hand, focuses on a detailed conflict in history. There were not many factions to write about. I was able to focus on more detailed things, writing about units, characters and so on.

    Here's an example of the past campaigns so far:


    I once had the idea to include such a grid at the beginning of each campaign but refrained from it. You have to figure it out yourself.

    A thing that should always be present is the history component. Every campaign should provide at least some rough historical information about the sandbox we're playing in. This AAR is less about detailed history itself and more about a quick overview of things and asking: "What if"?

    To sum it down: all I try to do is to share both the atmosphere of the game and the faction I am playing ... how I felt it to be, but also on an exaggerated basis.

    #6: Show it
    The campaign you see is that product from the previous steps. Only when everything is accomplished will I publish. So yeah, every campaign you see is already done and written down to the last chapter. However, there is still much work to do, proofreading everything once again, uploading the screenshots, answering your comments. Latter is always very interesing.

    #7: Fix it
    Publishing often isn't the end of the development chain. Despite proofreading it multiple times, I always end up finding mistakes later on. I often mix up rules of English grammer with the ones from my native one. Capitalization can be especially tricky. If you find some errors, always feel free to correct me.
    A really great help in fixing mistakes is DeepL. It is an advanced translator, supporting many languages, detecting them automatically as you type. I can really recommend it.



    So much to that. Darn, this has grown big.
    See Cookie? I can spam walls of text too!

    Another thing that interests you? Leave your opinion and maybe your ideas will be in the next D3. Whenever that'll be.




    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn View Post
    A high cost, indeed - and a fitting ending to Scotland's campaign. I'm wondering where you'll go in your next campaign - you've given people some intriguing hints. A faction which plays in blue, with a bigger map and more cultures - maybe the Prussians or Americans in Empire Total War?
    Empire gets mentioned quite often. No wonder. Who doesn't want to see the grandest nation on earth fulfill its destiny?

    Quote Originally Posted by Turkafinwë View Post
    Indeed it is a pretty sticky situation we find ourselves in and I'm constantly reminded why I love and hate this game. I can guarantee it's not going to be me that's going to be on top at the end.
    Had a look. There are a lot of similarities to other hotseat communities. You people put a whole lot of effort into it. So much diplomacy! And so much history! Darn, this is a gem. It is much more than a hotseat. It's an AAR itself! Intriguing!
    You people need some more readers. You should ring the advertisement bell!

    Fight these vile Irish with everything you got. Use their lakes to your advantage, if you need to.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    So when the Barons outlive England, they become rebels?!
    Yes. That was exactly the motivation of this rule - to see what happens.
    "The Alliance now stands as a worthy opponent [...]" --> collapses into petty rebels. That was funny. Love british humour.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    Well, for that I guess I can forgive your crimes against Eire. A world with more whisky would be a world with more contentment, and I cannot imagine that being a bad thing
    Knew I would've had you there.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    Well, I will take your word for it. But just to be clear (for my understanding), are you setting the house rules before you start playing the campaign, or before you start putting together the AAR? And if the latter, have you forgotten the campaign enough that you don't remember whether the set rules will be satisfied or not? Just wondering about your process here.
    Quote Originally Posted by Derc View Post
    I always set up house rules just before playing the campaign or in the first couple of turns.
    Well, I hope everything's clear now.
    If not, I'm happy to hear your questions. And criticism, of course.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    At any rate, a great end to this arc of the (mega-)AAR! I always love seeing a world of Scots!
    A dark world it is. The Scots are the Ghostmen of our world (you'll catch that reference next week).

  18. #198
    Cookiegod's Avatar CIVUS DIVUS EX CLIBANO
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Intermezzo)

    I feel humiliated by your DiAARyea. Not one diss directed at me. :/ Am I that unimportant? My narcicism has taken a hard blow.

    I fear you're going to play Sweden in Empire/Napoleon TW.
    Never played Empire/Napoleon but if it's possible to recreate countries that don't exist at the start of the game, you'll probably do that with Scotland... Deng highlanders are immortal.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    From Socrates over Jesus to me it has always been the lot of any true visionary to be rejected by the reactionary bourgeoisie
    Qualis noncives pereo! #justiceforcookie #egalitéfraternitécookié #CLM

  19. #199

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Intermezzo)

    This is some interesting stuff Derc, and I imagine it could be helpful for anyone doing a more image-heavy AAR (I bet Cook just read this and copied all your tricks to get his current one-hit-wonder off the ground ). I'm also really glad to know you haven't been jerking our chain with your house rules. I figured you weren't, and then I thought about you a bit more, and figured maybe you were , but I'll believe what you've said here


    One thing that is sort of a bummer for me is that not one of the things you discuss here can really help me with my AAR because I am so far behind in the whole playing thing. I've got like 140 paperback pages written on my AAR now (that's how much of my drivel I've gotten you folks to read ), but if I remember correctly I am on turn 3 or 4. I think it's possible I lost sight of the AAR aspect of this and maybe just started writing a book. I hope that's okay with you all...
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  20. #200
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    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Intermezzo)

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    I feel humiliated by your DiAARyea. Not one diss directed at me. :/ Am I that unimportant? My narcicism has taken a hard blow.
    One has to be serious from time to time. Not that I would succeed in it.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    I fear you're going to play Sweden in Empire/Napoleon TW.
    Never played Empire/Napoleon but if it's possible to recreate countries that don't exist at the start of the game, you'll probably do that with Scotland... Deng highlanders are immortal.
    Can't play Sweden in Napoleon. Lucky you.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    This is some interesting stuff Derc, and I imagine it could be helpful for anyone doing a more image-heavy AAR (I bet Cook just read this and copied all your tricks to get his current one-hit-wonder off the ground ). I'm also really glad to know you haven't been jerking our chain with your house rules. I figured you weren't, and then I thought about you a bit more, and figured maybe you were , but I'll believe what you've said here
    I am playing against the A.I. (and partially against time and me itself). What could ever go wrong anyway?

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    One thing that is sort of a bummer for me is that not one of the things you discuss here can really help me with my AAR because I am so far behind in the whole playing thing. I've got like 140 paperback pages written on my AAR now (that's how much of my drivel I've gotten you folks to read ), but if I remember correctly I am on turn 3 or 4. I think it's possible I lost sight of the AAR aspect of this and maybe just started writing a book. I hope that's okay with you all..
    That's impressive! So many pages, seriously?
    I think that ingame events to stories as you have them can only serve for inspiration or some images, otherwise they just dictate what happens and limit you way too much. This is a thing I truly feel here. Your AAR works pretty darn well without ingame screens, your well chosen words and assets delivering all what is needed.

    I ran up EBII after reading some chapters of your AAR and was suprised to find Mun'at and co., altogether with all fitting traits you described in your story. Awesome! I will comment on it later in your thread (almost done reading. Almost done...).

    This AAR here would completely collapse without the screens and the ingame happenings, just like a specific fragile alliance in the ancient did.
    It's all about deciding how you want to present it, and this automatically decides how you should play the game it is based on, if at all.

    I'm currently planning to enter true writers territory by doing another more text oriented AAR as a side project. Expect me to fail once again.




    Now, folks, I have a gramatically weird question:
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 



    Next campaign will start this Sunday.
    Last edited by Derc; May 22, 2019 at 04:50 PM. Reason: Always something to correct -_-

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