Q1 2023 ACAs

[Nikolai]

@Nikolai: I hope everyone appreciates the considerable effort you put into compiling and counting all of the ACA votes. It is a significant undertaking and you handle it with aplomb. Well done, my friend.

Congratulations to all the winners!

I am pretty sure they do. The ones that visits these awards and post do, for sure. It feels a little half waste when the numbers of voters continue to dwindle, this time we got two pages less of votes than a year ago. It does take a lot of time and energy, although I was lucky enough to get a spreadsheet template I have tinkered with from the previous organizer. Still, takes a few hours.

 

[coz1]

Well done once again for organizing these @Nikolai as I know well how difficult it can be to both see how many do or do not vote and wanting to see participation but certainly counting up the votes and giving us the champions. And definitely to all that took the time to vote, especially of those that attempted a full ballot. I know for myself and I can certainly assume that anyone given vote here is immensely proud that someone would list what we wrote and personally I am always humbled if WOTR achieves victory with so many amazing works still being done here. Thank you!

 

[Nikolai]

Yeah, I was very, very happy to see how well my Sol AAR did, and a little embarassed over my Brazil AAR, as it's one of very few I have abandoned, and I feel like my writing was far from the best on that one. But someone liked it enough to vote for it, which is a win!

 

[Eurasia]

Congratulations to all the winners, to all who got voted in, and thanks to all the voters!

 

[Bullfilter]

First, I echo the words of others so far in their appreciation of the wonderful effort put in by @Nikolai to put this on and herd us cats! I think the lower participation may be just a microcosm of the flow and (in this case) ebb of wider interaction on the forums at the now, but that’s just anecdotal guesswork. But to those of us who do partipate in writing and reading and more specifically these awards, it is just as fully appreciated as ever. Thank you so much.

To all voters, whether for my stuff and/or others, warm thanks. It was a real honour to get a couple of category wins, despite my efforts to vote up many of the placegetters! As others have said, it’s an honour to get any votes here so my congratulations to all featured writAARs and especially the category winners and podium finishers.

 

[Idhrendur]

Congratulations to all winners and nominees!
Thank you to everyone who voted!
And an special thank you to @Nikolai for running it!

 

[Revan86]

Very many thanks to @Nikolai for organising this vote and running the count!
Cheers to everyone who was nominated, kudos to those who won, and thank you also to everyone who voted for Lions and Thin Wedge this time around!

 

[Midnite Duke]

Thank you to @Nikolai for taking on what must be a labor of love. Thank you to every writer who was willing to share their talent with us. Thank you to the voters (whether you voted for my work or not and surprisingly many of you did) for taking the time to read and vote. Congratulations to the nominees. The readers as always are the biggest winners.

@Nikolai, thank you again and please take care of yourself.

 

[HistoryDude]

Congrats to all winners, and thanks to everybody who voted for my AARs!

 

[Rensslaer]

@Nikolai I would also like to thank you for the time you've put into this. I know you've had health issues, and so this is both a labor of love, a commitment of time that you must sacrifice from other stuff going on, and a means of enjoying your time with friends and not getting stuck in despair worrying about your own troubles. Gosh how I love the Forum for these reasons!

I want to take a moment, though, to thank past "governors" of these awards, and to provide a perspective on the history of these awards.

The very first Paradox "AARLand Choice AwAARds" ever was the "The AARland Choice AwAARds - 2005 Q3".

In this first contest myself and Coz1 tied for favorite AAR -- Fire Warms the Northern Lands and Into the West, respectively. This first ACA award series was run by Anonymous4401, who sadly is no longer a member of the Forum.

@The Swert in 2008 began an AARland Choice AwAARds Results Archive, which it looks like has only been updated to 2009. But this could be an opportunity for another enterprising Forumite to take over and archive the rest!

So this means basically Anonymous4401 started a tradition in 2005 that has lasted for 18 years!!!! That's a pretty incredible legacy, if I do say so myself!

These awards, as well as the other various yearly awards (Victoria Cross, etc.), are a way to find really classic and professional work by our fellow AuthAARs here on the Forum. This really is a place where magnificent content can be found, not just narrative works, but also epic works of gameplay or historybook or collaborative style.

Thank you to all those who have contributed to the AARLand Choice AwAARds over the years, and to all those who have participated in the writing on this Forum!

Rensslaer

 

[Nikolai]

Thank you all for the incredibly kind words. Much appriciated!

First, I echo the words of others so far in their appreciation of the wonderful effort put in by @Nikolai to put this on and herd us cats! I think the lower participation may be just a microcosm of the flow and (in this case) ebb of wider interaction on the forums at the now, but that’s just anecdotal guesswork. But to those of us who do partipate in writing and reading and more specifically these awards, it is just as fully appreciated as ever. Thank you so much.

You might be right and I hope so. But it's been a slow downwards trend for a long time. Hope it turns!

And an special thank you to @Nikolai for running it!

My pleasure.

Very many thanks to @Nikolai for organising this vote and running the count!

You're welcome!

Thank you to @Nikolai for taking on what must be a labor of love

It is, but it's due to the incredible community that has been such an important part of my online life for 22 years now. You guys rock!

@Nikolai I would also like to thank you for the time you've put into this. I know you've had health issues, and so this is both a labor of love, a commitment of time that you must sacrifice from other stuff going on, and a means of enjoying your time with friends and not getting stuck in despair worrying about your own troubles. Gosh how I love the Forum for these reasons

It's both taking and giving energy. My health is up and down, but this community. It's something isn't it? Love it. Love you. Thank you all for being part of it!

 

[Midnite Duke]

@Rensslaer, thanks for the history lesson.

 

[coz1]

@The Swert in 2008 began an AARland Choice AwAARds Results Archive, which it looks like has only been updated to 2009. But this could be an opportunity for another enterprising Forumite to take over and archive the rest!

I echo this sentiment. It can be done.

I appreciate your look back, @Rensslaer for, if any reason, the look at how it was done differently back in that day. I can tell you that I had some strong feelings that these ACAs were going to harm the various AAR subfora for their own year end awards. Each had such. For a time. I wanted to see them stay. Fought hard for it, even if I wanted to encourage anynomous's excitement and initiative. Fast forward nearly twenty years and that's basically the year end awards I run now. Bloody well stole it (with some...finesse. )

This modern version changed slightly some time after 2009 and I wish I could remember the various folks that kept it up until @Nikolai thankfully picked up the torch. (Also a thing that could be done.) I love the quarterly aspect and especially how it keeps up the various game structure. It's all mixed at year end now, but every three months look at what you like in each game and give it some love.

And cheers for linking that thread. I haven't looked back on that for many years. Ahh...2004. What a year.

 

[Midnite Duke]

One constant from the beginning, @coz1 writes and wins!

 

[Nikolai]

This modern version changed slightly some time after 2009 and I wish I could remember the various folks that kept it up until @Nikolai thankfully picked up the torch. (Also a thing that could be done.) I love the quarterly aspect and especially how it keeps up the various game structure. It's all mixed at year end now, but every three months look at what you like in each game and give it some love.

@loup99 was before me. I took over June 2020.

 

[Nikolai]

Going back in the thread list, I see @DensleyBlair was the one before loup99.

Then @Avindian .

Then Saithis (forum won't let me tag them for whatever reason).

Then Mr. Capiatlist (again, stupid forum...). But under their tenure, it seems it was quite different, more like the yearly award?

Then before that it was @The Swert who held court.

Before that it was @phargle .

Then I am not sure who we're dealing with, as the account is unmerged (https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/members/unmerged-17581.17581/). I see coz1 calls them only anonomous, and I remember such an account. Was it only anonomous they were called, @coz1 ?

Before that, back to @phargle . We're now in 2006.

Then anonomous.

And I think I found the genesis of it all, this thread: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/peoples-choice-awaard-can-i-start-one.214039/

Heh, people not liking it being public. I see Mr Capiatlist banned PM votes a few years later. Times have changed.

 

[Tom D.]

Guys, my AAR is just a little sideproject that still only has 2 chapters (soon more though hopefully!) but it definitely doesn't warrant 3 votes and a shared 3rd place for the CK3 category, surely?!

Regardless, I'm glad to see that people are enjoying it, and even think it is worthy to be voted for on here, thanks a lot!

And of course my congratulations to all the winAARs and votAARs this round, even if the numbers are dwindling I think it's an effort and milestone of AARland that must be cherished and maintained, so my heartfelt thanks to @Nikolai for keeping this up!

 

[DensleyBlair]

I see coz1 calls them only anonomous, and I remember such an account. Was it only anonomous they were called, @coz1 ?

There were some numbers I think. Anonymous401 or something like that. Help, @coz1 !

 

[coz1]

There were some numbers I think. Anonymous401 or something like that. Help, @coz1 !

Anonymous4401 I believe.

 

[The Swert]

Wow this is a blast from the past!
Back in my Uni days when i had time for AARland.
I thought all the old threads were lost when the server upgraded.

I still got all my old spreadsheets and charts from that period....

And yes Anonymous4401 was original man.

However even before the ACAs were instituted in 2005 across the Paradox games there were Awards established for individual games - EU2 OscAARs, Crusader’s Chalice, VictAARian Cross dating back to 2001!

PS - is Rensslaer still writing Sforza? haha