I am glad to see this thread, as I've been thinking a lot about what I have got out of my participation in this forum (the only one I really participate in for anything at all, other than
www.worth1000.com which I have fairly recently been enjoying, though more through Photoshopping than forumming).Though there are many folks here who contribute to making this forum a worthwhile and enjoyable place to hang out, my personal enjoyment of it and participation in it and the game have been especially influenced by the following folks, among which I give no preference to one over the other:
SWOLTE: One of the heavyweight "old-timers" when I joined the forum officially when AOWWT was released. At first I thought he was a bit condescending, but it was I who was the newbie, and I'd never participated in on-line forums before and quickly came to realize how easy it is to stick one's foot in one's mouth. Since then, I have come to view him as a cornerstone of this community. He is amazingly adept at peforming the three-part role of regular forum member, moderator, AND Triumph Studios consultant, and I can think of no more appropriate person to consider for Seasonal Compliments. After playing a couple of PBEMs with him, I will say that he approaches his role-playing in the similar way to my own (and this is the only place I do any "role-playing", and this has been tremendously enjoyable, and more often than not frustruating due to his xp and strategic superiority. The fact that he has shown open enjoyment with some of my maps, and cites my "Race to Death: Walker's Crusade" as an influence on his new Drums of Death (in which he uses some of my Wizards in earlier incarnations as heros), is the ultimate compliment coming from the guy who has made some of the most legendary maps available for the game.GREENMONSTER: When I joined the forum, I knew that GM was one of the heavyweight PBEMers and among the cream of the crop of mapmakers. I have found him to be a tremendously open, astute, shrewd and friendly member of the community, and not only very helpful, but also very supportive of my mapmaking. He has provided a constant boost of confidence for me, both in mapmaking and in PBEM, where I've found him Challenging, Determined and yet Instructional in the games I've played with him. (we may get to meet up in NY over the holidays, GM)CHASCAL: Chascal is one of the community members who I can actually say I've outlived. I consider him to be among those folks who arrived in a highly influential and positive wave that included among others, Timelord, Tibbs, and some of the other regulars. I think that Nerull, Aus, Unnapu, NarcissusX and others came a bit later (and have also been great for the community). Back to Chascal, I think I can say that he is the person I have learned the most from in terms of actually playing this game. His attention to detail is astounding, and that alone has been instructive in ways that have improved my own gameplay. But on top of that, his sense of strategy is also highly developed, I think. He is always a few steps ahead, but rather than be frustruated by this, I view it as a challenge, and the day I beat him fair and square (without ganging up or backstabbing), will be a happy day for me indeed. Plus, he's a genuinely good guy.ELLUMESH: Ellumesh participated in, and ultimately won (with Flitter offering the joint-victory), the first PBEM on the first version of my map "Race to Death", back in the AOWWT days. That, I think, was one of the classic PBEM matches in AOW2 history. It was started by Hocus Pocus (see below), and included Ellumesh, Flitter, Rorschach, Thundarr and Llacheu. Ellumesh's storytelling in that game was absolutely amazing, and it was the single-most important influence on my own turn-log story-telling. If it hadn't been for Ellumesh, I may not have ever discovered the enjoyment of really writing up my turns and trying to add my quotient of the novel that develops out of a long PBEM match. BTW, Ellumesh is also a mapmaker and has made what is probably the only map that really requires the use of a naval fleet. Check out High Tides for a great 4-player naval match.HOCUS POCUS & WONDER BEAST: These two go together, though in separate circumstances. HP was the first person to respond favorably to Race to Death, shortly after I released the first version. He wrote an email and I couldn't believe that someone had actually gone to that extreme to compliment my map! Then he got that first PBEM going, and that was a tremendous boost of confidence for me in terms of mapmaking, especially given the way that game turned out. Since then, I have come to know him as an entirely good chap, laid back, and he will always lend the element of humourous reality to a pbem game. He's probably the first person from the forum who I'd choose to sit down and share a beer with, though there would be a lot more close behind. As far as WB goes, I have never enjoyed the in-game and out-of game role-playing and strategizing as much as I have with her. One of the primary reasons that I began to enter more PBEMs than what I really can handle, is that I enjoyed the ones I was in with WB so much. Her turn logs are among the most memorable in the history of this forum (I think that Swolte would back me up on that bold statement). I also learned another lesson, and that is the following: It is absolutely idiotic to lose a valuable friend over a dorky disagreement about declaring war informally but not formally and sending a unit of doom bats after a fire node or black dragon in some turn-based fantasy game, and that's a lesson that gives me pause to stop and reflect in real life about a few things now and then.KALF & DRAGONFLY: Not much to say, other than that these are two of the folks who I have most enjoyed getting to know somewhat thorugh this forum. Though they live half the world away, they share a lot in common with my wife and I, and I have no doubt that if we met up someday it would be like reuniting with old friends.I've got a bunch of "shout-outs" to other folks as well, like JamieJME (invited me into the WOC), Zombie Eater (have much enjoyed some of our in-game negotiations), Timelord (great help with testing some of my maps and great PBEM rival), Tibbs (great guy, wish we knew where he was), Climber (I've never really interacted with him but I really admire his persistance in the forum and work on his mod), Nerull (He whipped my rear a few days into our first meeting, and since then has been a consistent and enjoyable rival), and a lot of other folks as well, especially those who take the time to review maps and provide comments.
Sorry in advance to the folks I've missed. I assure you that it was due to the scotch and not my lack of appreciation.