Dalghryn

Nor do I--or, I think, Lionors. Not that there's any real threat of that, since the discussion has always been civil. In any case, I *did* follow one of your suggestions and made the boss in the second mission of the second arc a "boss only" requirement. As for the rest, well, I always keep criticism in mind whenever it's constructive.

Thanks again for the review, and for the vote.

It appears we may have to agree to disagree on several different levels.

First, I am trying to describe the realities of *real* war, even if it's in a fictional, and sometimes light-hearted, super-hero setting. Star Wars aside, all wars are fraught with successes and failures, offensive strategies and defensive reactions. There are countless examples in every war this planet has seen where one side is taking an offensive in one area when they have to shift focus to protect against a more pressing offensive by the enemy elsewhere.

Not all successes have the grandeur you suggest. Simply taking a hill or holding a town can have immeasurable effect on a war effort, effects that often go unsung, effects that came at the cost of lives most of the world has no clue about. I'm not telling that tale of grandeur. I'm telling the tale of the hundreds of unsung heroes that died defending our world and giving the "sung" heroes... Dr. Science, Statesman, Hero 1, etc. time to come up with a plan to end the war.

My NPC characters, and just as importantly the player character, are both "Bothans" *and* victims. That is the reality of war. What they did was quite relevant, just not as flashy.

In regard to the differences between the arcs, I must also respectfully disagree. In arc one, Lazon is trying to be offensive in the first two missions. The third mission combines an offensive intent with a defensive reality when he first plans on exchanging information with Dr. Brinell and then sends you to save her. The final two missions are solely defensive.

Arc two starts out even more offensively. Unlike the first, where Lazon is doing the offensive equivalent of searching for straws, this arc has Captain Superior taking reigns in a coordinated effort to deal a major blow to the Rikti-- and you succeed. Unfortunately, the Rikti have begun another offensive that he's charged with countering, and he must switch to a defensive posture--with devastating results.

The heroes in CoW, be they the NPCs or the player character, found technology that could be interpreted as contributing to the development of the Rikti Translators, they crushed a critical radio jamming facility, they saved lives, and they held a line that someone else would have had to hold--or that would have been lost--so that Statesman and the others could concentrate on doing their thing. In fact, that is what the majority of the heroes that died in the war did.

Such is the reality of war. It doesn't make the story of the people involved any less important. It just makes for fewer short-term happy endings.

While you were writing your reviews, another prominent poster wrote this on my thread:

"Played the CoW and I must say I liked it. Especially the fact that I, a common hero try to do my utmost in those dark horrible days. No glory, no songs will be written, no parades, no speeches, just me and my sorrow, me and my duty, me and that tiny part of the war I fought in."

I guess it's just a matter of perspective.

I'm curious as to what you mean by both these comments.

In regard to the first, you gave Consequences of War I 4 stars (on the Venture scale, something of a miracle in my book). One of the offenses was your assertion it was incomplete. That would suggest you were grading the arc down because the story continued in a second part and was thus (in your opinion) not a complete arc. Using that logic--that it might have been a complete story if the information from the second arc was somehow included--it is, therefore, a multi-part story.

Or are you saying that none of the multi-arcs are worthy of the award?

Re. the second comment--what, exactly, is it you don't like that you're seeing? I'd have thought that, if you were going to make one of your trademarked Venture pot-stirring comments, you'd support it with some of your trademarked pot-stirring commentary.

If, by "custom mobs," you're referring to... say... the seven I use sparingly as allies in my arcs, you may be correct. But, as you rated my first arc a 4 star, apparently the use of custom mobs isn't always as horrible as your posts to this thread make them seem.

Personally, I'd give my eye teeth for enough additional memory to add some extra formatting to my text and to add a couple tweaks that would make the war effort seem even more real. I don't see where I'd use twice as much memory, but I *can* see how twice as much--in the right hands--could make for some very good work.

This.

And, as far as Dev' Choices and other locked arcs being ineligible, I wasn't referring to an assumption that they are unchangeable. I meant that the rules for future contests should simply specify that awarded arcs - be they previous years' MA award winners, Dev's Choices, Guest Authors, or Hall of Fame - are ineligible. Given the relatively short supply of player/creator incentives, it seems only fair to me that the wealth be spread no matter how good an arc is.

Shocked? Really? With all due respect, that sounds pretty extreme. "Surprised..." "Bothered..." ...but, "Shocked?" You make it sound as if I'd just stepped out of character by committing murder or something.

I apologize if my decision has caused Bubbawheat any heartache. I also apologize if having changed my vote causes heartache for any of the rest of you. Honestly, my initial reaction to Tangler voting for his own arc in the first place was shock. I just didn't expect that anyone would do so. It was a game changer, and my initial reaction was to jerk my knee.

I didn't change my vote out of "peer pressure," as you assume, Grinning Spade. I changed it because I believed my initial vote was wrong from the start -- not necessarily because I didn't believe my arcs were worthy, but because I simply didn't believe I should have voted for myself. Peer pressure had nothing to do with it. I've been around for 50 years. It doesn't hurt my manhood to realize I'm wrong, fix it, and admit it in public.

Now *I* have opened up a can of worms that has the potential to make Bubba's life miserable. At this stage, I'm damned either way. Changing my vote back for Bubba's sake will only make the matter worse. In any case, he knows how to use PMs, and I trust he'll let me know if I've caused any significant hair loss or silvering. If so, I'll do whatever he needs me to do to fix it.

When it's all said and done, I'd really be upset if my actions were contributors to his deciding not to do this again. I expect most of you would feel the same way.

::Insert heavy sigh here:: So, we're potentially damned if we do or damned if we don't.

In any case, after careful consideration, I'm going to do two things.

First...

BUBBAWHEAT PLEASE TAKE NOTE, I'm changing my vote for Best Multi-Arc:

1st Place - Abstain
2nd Place - The Audition Part 1 #221240 and Part 2 #221241 @MRCaptainMan

Second...

All my votes from now on will be by PM to Bubbawheat.

Yes, I know that -- in essence -- it still appears that I think my arcs are worthy of the first place position. So be it. I have, however, negated the two points I would have received as a result of actually making that choice. Fair compromise under the circumstances. At least it salves my conscience a bit.