Aphrodite's Knights

[Aphrodite Mae]

To this point, campaign ribbons have required that you play both sides of a scenario, in order to be eligible to wear the ribbon.

Given the reality that it is often difficult enough to find the time to play a single PBEM game, these requirements may be too stringent. So:
Henceforth, playing a scenario by PBEM is sufficient accomplishment to wear the scenario's campaign ribbon.

Campaign ribbons are worn below all other medals and badges. A campaign ribbon's "dignity" among other ribbons is the number of turns, in the scenario.

Here are the three campaign ribbons which I have created, so far.

[CENTER]For the King William's War campaign, in Wars in America

[ATTACH]17039[/ATTACH]



For the Far West scenario, in AGEod's American Civil War

[ATTACH]17040[/ATTACH]



For the Shiloh scenario, in AGEod's American Civil War

[ATTACH]17041[/ATTACH][/CENTER]


If you've ever played any of these scenarios with another person, you're eligible to wear the ribbon!

Many of you already know that each medal, badge, and ribbon that I design has a symbolic meaning for every color, every braid, and every stripe. When I have more time available, I'll edit this post with a description of the "heraldry" of each ribbon, and I'll provide a link back to this post as a "bump", so to speak.

If you have a favorite scenario from any AGEod game that you would like to see a ribbon designed for, please send me a PM and we'll discuss it!

[Longshanks]

Yes, congrats to Jim-NC! It's not normal for a native Kentuckian to congratulate anything out of North Carolina, but we make an exception here! Huzzah!

[Confederate]

Congrats Jim-NC!

BTW, Aphrodite, your Shiloh ribbon picture isn't showing up

[Hobbes]

Aphrodite, I appear to be having some spurious email problems - so if you didn't recieve a reply to any emails you have sent in the past week or so I'm not being rude!

You should also have my second game turn.

Cheers,
Chris

[Caccio]

On May 20th, 2009, Caccio was nominated for the Service Commendation Medal for his "Battle Reporter" utility.



His nomination occurred while I was away from the forums for several days. At that time, medals of high dignity such as the Service Commendation Medal required not only a nomination, but multiple "seconds". Caccio received confirmation in almost record time! The reason why was simple: people thought that his utility was extremely useful. It "analyzed" the results of a battle, and consolidated a large amount of very useful information into a report that was easy to understand.

It was a breakthrough, because it saved us from the tedium of wading through the output of the game logs to gather information piece by piece. Suddenly, what had taken us twenty minutes before, now was presented instantly, and in a format that was readily understandable. It was a tool that we'd been needing, but never even realized it. Thanks, Caccio!

For those of you who would like to examine Caccio's utility, here's a link to the thread: Caccio's Battle Reporter

I hereby officially present the Service Commendation Medal to Caccio, for his innovative "Battle Reporter" utility.
I also award a Bronze Oak Leaf as a mark of distinguishing achievement.
It is unfortunate that you have had to wait so long, Caccio. Belated congratulations, from the Queen! Excellent work, sir!

[CENTER][ATTACH]16994[/ATTACH][/CENTER]

Because Caccio's award has been so long delayed, he is additionally granted the Queen's Gallantry Medal.


Here is your rack, Caccio, scaled to 50%.

[CENTER][ATTACH]16997[/ATTACH][/CENTER]

.

You are too kind to an old soldier, M'Lady, but the honor is much appreciated! For those of you who may have followed the link to the Battle Reporter and perhaps found that the utility no longer works as advertised, please feel free to let me know on that thread. If there's any interest, I'll update it as necessary to work with the latest patches of AACW and WIA.

[Jim-NC]

Thank you,

Ethan, Longshanks, and Confederate.

Congratulations Caccio.

[George McClellan]

<snip> If you've ever played any of these scenarios with another person, you're eligible to wear the ribbon! <snip>

Does Athena count?

[Aphrodite Mae]

Hello, friends.

I regret that I had to leave so abruptly, with no explanation.

Bill's mother died on January 12th, and the impact on our family and our way of life has been drastic. Life is slowly returning to normal, but I expect that it will be a little while longer before we can return to gaming and other trivial pursuits. I always try to be cheerful and uplifting here, and I can't be that way right now. Hopefully, you understand.

If any of you wish to express condolences, please do so by PM or email, rather than within this thread. I intend to delete this post eventually, so that it won't be a drag on the (hopefully) uplifting nature of this thread. I just wanted you to know why we disappeared so abruptly, and with no explanation. You gentlemen have always been so kind and supportive of me, and so I felt that I owed you the courtesy of an explanation.

Thanks for your patience and kindness.

Affectionately,
[font="Book Antiqua"][SIZE="3"]Havely[/size][/font]

[Dixicrat]

Congratulations, Jim-NC. I'm glad to see you finally recognized as Cadre.

Caccio, I'm glad to see you recognized for your Battle Reporter. Congratulations.

Confederate, we've got 172 views to date on the ribbon you mentioned, so the problem must be on your end.

[Aphrodite Mae]

...How strange! I have this fuzzy premonition that for some unfathomable reason, the Army won't be ready in time, and I'll have to relieve George from his command! Surely not. That's just ridiculous, to think I would have to actually relieve history's greatest general for dragging his feet, don't you think?!

It would appear that my premonition was right! Here it is, late February, and the Queen's Army still isn't ready! Well, I have no choice.

I hereby relieve General McClellan of command of the Queen's Army.

George, thanks for... whatever you've done, involving my Army. I wish you good fortune in your future wargaming career!

To the men of the forum: In all seriousness, it doesn't look like my Queen's Army concept is tenable. I've had a small "think tank" of six men reviewing the concept since late December, and there are just too many obstacles, problems, and complications for the idea to be viable at this time.

Maybe another time.
For those men who have been given QA rank medals, you may substitute the "Good Conduct Medal" in its place, if you wish.
The "Queen's Counselor" and "Queen's Gallantry" medals remain in service.

Special thanks from the Queen to her "think tank":
[CENTER]Captain Orso

Deguerra

GChristie

Jim-NC

MarkShot

Mickey3D[/CENTER]

Men, your service is greatly appreciated.

[MarkShot]

You are very welcome, Your Majesty.

Now, that I am part of a Think Tank, I think I will write a few grant proposals for studies. I think if I am allocated a $5M research grant that I can conclusively demonstrate to the Congress and DOD that an allocation of, at least, one AGEOD game per service personel is just as essential to their well being as MREs.

BTW, I miss your Scarlett avatar. Things just don't seem the same.

[gchristie]

I for one was recruited for my fondness for puns and bad jokes

[Longshanks]

Our Gracious Queen,

I petition your majesty to consider recognition of many who fight on your behalf in the current war (ahem, tourney) now underway.

Some joined with visions of glory but the dread Dragon of Reality caused them to step aside. Others soldier on, winning and losing. Still others have stepped forward to serve as replacements (ahem, alternates) to enable your regiments to fight on.

When and if you deem appropriate, I hope you will award these men of your regiments:

Active Duty:
Rudolf
Pat Cleburne
Altaris
Moni Kerr
Blindsniper
Newman5
Durk
Charlesonmission
Seraphim

Inactive Duty:
CitizenX
GChristie
GabrielK

Replacements on Active Duty:
FelixZ
Rattler

Inactive Replacements:
Mortar

Furthermore, certain gentlemen have assisted me in the Great Labour of Hosting. I repectfully request you consider them for their efforts as well:
Altaris
Durk
DeGuerra

With respect to performance on the field, we still have much left to see. However, there are a few of your knights who have performed well enough at this stage (First Round completed) to deserve special battlefield recognition (perhaps a brevet rank?):

Moni Kerr - the first person to win as the USA player, having reached the end of the scenario time limit (thus saving the tourney designer's hide!)
Seraphim - the first person to win two games - one as the CSA and one as the USA
Charlesonmission - won his first as the CSA, then lost the second as the USA but controlled the initiative of the game in nearly every respect except the outcome

On behalf of your knights, great and small, I beseech these boons.

Your humble servant,

Longshanks

[Aphrodite Mae]

[...]

On behalf of your knights, great and small, I beseech these boons.

Thy boons shall be granted, oh noble and illustrious Knight!

Thy glad tidings do loft my spirit! Yea, if one be graced by divine mercy to be possessed of vision, then unto them it is given to behold that thou hast wrought a wondrous design which manifests the hand of Providence in the abundant graciousness of his Will, shewn forthwith by the manifold fruits of thy labors. Thanks be unto thee, Longshanks!



For those of you who struggle to understand "Middle English", the translation is
"Your post made me happy! It's pretty obvious to everyone that you're doing an amazing job as Tournament Director, and we really appreciate your hard work, Longshanks!"

It's going to take a bit of time for me to prepare a suitable response that properly honors the men you have nominated for recognition, so please bear with me for a day or two.

Thank you, for taking the time to recognize these men, even in the midst of your long and arduous labor as our TD! What a great post!

[Gatling]

Thank you for the translation. It's hard enough to understand the "normal" english.
a poor French
Gatling

[Longshanks]

Yeah, there's nothing like a beseeched boon that's been bountifully beseeched-ed. ...I think.

Since Our Gracious Queen likes Middle English, I thought I'd show her a pic of part of my armor. I used to fight in this. Not stage fighting, whack the other guy on the head fighting. It was a bit beat up when I took this, but you get the idea.

[img][IMG]http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/83/craftedbylongshanks.jpg[/img]

[Aphrodite Mae]

This is my 600th post! I thought that I would commemorate the occasion by explaining the "rank" structure of these forums.

You may have already noticed that each registered forum member has a rank, beneath his or her name.



That rank is "earned" by the number of posts that you've made. It doesn't matter what you've posted, or whether your posts are long, or short. It's just your postcount, that matters.

Here's a list of the various ranks, and the number of posts required to achieve that rank.

Civilian <5
Conscript 5-19
Private 20-39
Corporal 40-64
Sergeant 65-99
Lieutenant 100-149
Captain 150-199
Major 200-249
Lieutenant Colonel 250-299
Colonel 300-399
Brigadier General 400-499
General 500-599
General of the Army 600-699
Ageod Veteran 700-799
AGEod Grognard 800-999
AGEod Guard of Honor 1000+

If you distinguish yourself on these forums through volunteer service or some exceptional ability, AGEod will sometimes grant a special title, in lieu of a postcount rank. Using myself as an example, my new rank of "General of the Army" is superceeded by my title of "Queen".

In addition to ranks and titles, there are other honors that you can receive, as well. For example, if you volunteer to assist in developing a new game or improving an old one, you can be selected to be a member of the game's Beta Team. As you can see, Dixicrat is a member of two different Beta Teams. When you leave a Beta Team, your label remains as a testimony to your service, but the title is changed to "(game name) Alumnus". This means that you're no longer active as a Beta, and no longer have access to the game's non-public Beta forums.

The small circular green icon beneath Dixicrat's postcount is not an award. Instead, it indicates that Dixicrat has an ICQ address. ICQ is an internet chat service that is used by Beta team members to have "real time" conversations, when working on complex issues.

Another title is Special Ops. You can see an example of this, in my avatar panel. These people are Betas for all AGEod games.

Yet another AGEod title is Old Guard. This is not a title that you can earn. It is awarded to those persons who served as Betas in the early days of AGEod. These gentlemen deserve your respect, for they have been contributing their time and talents to the games we love for many years, as volunteers.

Some titles are unique, and created specifically for that person. For example, Franciscus has the unusual title, "Sir Memory-a-lot". My title of "Gracious Queen" is also unique.

Speaking of which... I'd like to take a moment to graciously thank AGEod for the lovely title. It has made me historic! I mean, think about it: I'm the only American woman in history who has been addressed as "Your Majesty" by men of a dozen different nations!

[Franciscus]

Congratulations, my Queen !

...and I just noticed now my promotion to Guard is long overdue...

[Aphrodite Mae]

Congratulations, my Queen !

...and I just noticed now my promotion to Guard is long overdue...

Thank you, Sir Memory-a-lot!

Yes, I've often wondered why your title was frozen at "General of the Army", since you passed that milestone... what, nearly a thousand posts ago?

Alas, I cannot directly grant your petition. I would normally ask Pocus on your behalf, but I've asked for a lot of favors from him lately and I fear that I may have already exhausted my "cornucopia of boons" with him.

Even so... since Pocus is such a sweet, thoughtful, kind, gracious and generous person who is also helpful and wise in his magnificent power of boon-bestowing-benevolence, then perhaps he will deign to grant your request, in his brilliant and sensitive compassionate state of ubercoolness.

But I wouldn't dare to ask him myself, since all I could offer would be flattery... and I just can't do that. Queens are expected to tell the truth, all the time. So, flattery is out, I'm afraid.

We'll just have to wait, and hope that our magnificently manly specimen of stupendously astonishing squirreliness somehow hears your plea and decides to grant it.

Sorry I can't help you, Franciscus.

[lodilefty]

Thank you, Sir Memory-a-lot!

Yes, I've often wondered why your title was frozen at "General of the Army", since you passed that milestone... what, nearly a thousand posts ago?

Alas, I cannot directly grant your petition. I would normally ask Pocus on your behalf, but I've asked for a lot of favors from him lately and I fear that I may have already exhausted my "cornucopia of boons" with him.

Even so... since Pocus is such a sweet, thoughtful, kind, gracious and generous person who is also helpful and wise in his magnificent power of boon-bestowing-benevolence, then perhaps he will deign to grant your request, in his brilliant and sensitive compassionate state of ubercoolness.

But I wouldn't dare to ask him myself, since all I could offer would be flattery... and I just can't do that. Queens are expected to tell the truth, all the time. So, flattery is out, I'm afraid.

We'll just have to wait, and hope that our magnificently manly specimen of stupendously astonishing squirreliness somehow hears your plea and decides to grant it.

Sorry I can't help you, Franciscus.

The Grand Master Greatest PooBah of Squirreldom is, um, preoccupied with archane codesmanship.

By the powers vested in me by the State of Confusion, and being extremely receptive to second-hand flattery, I hereby dubbeth thee Guardsman Franciscus

Venture forth, Guard, and, um, guard.


[the custom title overrides the ranks, which "someone" had simply typed in.]

[Aphrodite Mae]

The Grand Master Greatest PooBah of Squirreldom is, um, preoccupied with archane codesmanship.

By the powers vested in me by the State of Confusion, and being extremely receptive to second-hand flattery, I hereby dubbeth thee Guardsman Franciscus

Venture forth, Guard, and, um, guard.


[the custom title overrides the ranks, which "someone" had simply typed in.]

Wow! Thanks, Lodi! You're such a sweetie!

...As a matter of fact, I've decided that I'm going to go ahead and start planning Lodilefty Fest '12, right away!
...But this time, I'm not going to be so restrained!

I'll bet that you just can't wait!

[Aphrodite Mae]

I wanted to take a moment to publicly express my thanks to AGEod, and particularly to Pocus, Lodilefty, and Markshot for the kindness and compassion extended to me recently.

As everyone knows, Pocus is the lead developer for AGEod. Because of this, he is extremely busy, all of the time. Even so, you wouldn't have known it by the way he has treated me, during my time of bereavement.

Truly, I couldn't ask for a better friend. Pocus has taken the time to write long, uplifting messages to me that have made me smile and lifted my spirits. Not just once, but several times. The fact that he would take the time to do so, even with his tremendous workload, has meant so much to me!

Lodilefty has also been a great comfort to me. His many cheerful, sweet messages to me over the past month have made me smile through my tears, and shown me that true friendship need not be constrained by the limitations of knowing each other "only" online.

Markshot has also given me much, for his wise and gentle guidance has been a great source of strength and inspiration, during my recent difficulties.

Words cannot express my thanks to these men. Not only are they truly gentlemen, but they are exceptional friends, as well. I am humbled by their selfless, compassionate kindness, and I am deeply honored to call these men "friends".

To these gentlemen, I say: thank you so very much for your kindness and compassion. I'm better now, thanks to you... so please return to your work, and don't feel any obligation to keep giving me all of the attention that you've so kindly and abundantly heaped upon me, lately!

No response to this post from any of you is needed, or expected.

Finally... to all of the true gentlemen of the forums who were thoughtful enough to express their condolences to me, I deeply thank you, with heartfelt gratitude. Your kindness meant more to me, than you know.

Lovingly,
[SIZE="4"][font="Book Antiqua"]Havely[/font][/size]

[Le Ricain]

Is it just me or did the clouds just part and the sun came out?

[Franciscus]

The Grand Master Greatest PooBah of Squirreldom is, um, preoccupied with archane codesmanship.

By the powers vested in me by the State of Confusion, and being extremely receptive to second-hand flattery, I hereby dubbeth thee Guardsman Franciscus

Venture forth, Guard, and, um, guard.


[the custom title overrides the ranks, which "someone" had simply typed in.]

I am most thankful to you, my lord lodilefty and my gracious queen

But the best part of my new rank is to have "Ageod" in it. It's MY honour !

Amazing, how almost 5 years have past since I began this journey with all of you guys

[Hohenlohe]

I am most thankful to you, my lord lodilefty and my gracious queen

But the best part of my new rank is to have "Ageod" in it. It's MY honour !

Amazing, how almost 5 years have past since I began this journey with all of you guys

Five magnificient and wonderful years with you in our ranks...
Hail to the Gracious Queen for her Forgiveness and Gratitude...

heartly greetings,bro'...

Hohenlohe

[Aphrodite Mae]

I am most thankful to you, my lord lodilefty and my gracious queen

But the best part of my new rank is to have "Ageod" in it. It's MY honour !

Amazing, how almost 5 years have past since I began this journey with all of you guys

Five magnificient and wonderful years with you in our ranks...
Hail to the Gracious Queen for her Forgiveness and Gratitude...

You're quite welcome, Franciscus, for what small role I played.
Hohenlohe, I appreciate your graciousness, and quite agree with your sentiments about Franciscus!

As a matter of fact, even before this issue of Franciscus' title arose, I was in the process of seeking to find a way to suitably reward him for his excellent, exemplary work as a AACW beta.

Beloved Queen,
[...]I also nominate Franciscus for his solid service as an AACW beta tester. He has provided more leads for fixes in a shorter period of time than anyone that I can remember. If I may be so bold, I would also recommend that he be awarded "exceptional honors" of some sort, due to circumstances which I shall not make public, but which make his service all the more inspiring.

Those who have access to the AACW Beta forum know that Franciscus is not only a dedicated volunteer, but a very effective and prolific one, too! Whether it's due to his vast experience with the game, or some sort of innate talent for Beta work, I really can't say for sure... but my guess is that it's both. His contribution to making the game what it is today is impressive, indeed.

Have you ever wondered why he has the unusual title, "Sir Memory-a-lot"? Pocus awarded it to him years ago, as a gesture of thanks for solving a problem with AGE games that seemed unsolvable.

Perhaps you've noticed the "memory usage" option in Ageod's games:

[CENTER][ATTACH]17292[/ATTACH][/CENTER]

Back in the early days of AACW there were a lot of map related crashes. Franciscus worked closely with Pocus until finally they were able to determine why the crashes were happening. The reason was related to the way that some systems handled RAM memory. Franciscus suggested an option to decrease physical memory usage. It worked! Pocus awarded him the title of "Sir Memory-a-lot" to graciously thank him for his shrewd insight. The rest, as they say, is history.

Almost five years later, Franciscus is still working diligently to improve AACW. We are very fortunate to have a volunteer with such exceptional skill, and possessed of such an astonishing work ethic.

My crown is off, to you, Franciscus!

Even before this recent update of his title, I had recently approached Franciscus with the intention of rewarding his faithful and excellent service with a free AGEod game of his choice. Wouldn't you know it... he already owns them all! And so, he made an alternate suggestion at my insistence. The reward that he suggested involved something that would help his work as a Beta.

Somehow, I'm not surprised.

For his long, distinguished and exceptional service to our AGEod community, I award the high honor of Queen's Counsel.

[CENTER][ATTACH]17291[/ATTACH][/CENTER]

This award is similar but not identical to the Queen's Counselor medal presented to Le Ricain and Lodilefty. It's dignity is 57.


[SIZE="4"][font="Book Antiqua"]Queen Aphrodite Mae[/font][/size]

[Aphrodite Mae]

In real life, Franciscus is a healer. His life is dedicated to saving and prolonging lives. How noble! Furthermore, I have been able to glimpse the strength, wisdom, and compassion of the man behind the avatar. To me, he embodies many of the virtues of mythic Knights of Olde.

I have created a new medal to honor men like Franciscus. Men who demonstrate by their actions that they are good and thoughtful men of character. The men I consider to be exemplars, of the Knights of Aphrodite.

By virtue of the faith invested in me as Queen of AGEod, I hereby establish the exalted Order of The Knights of the Queen's Guard.


[CENTER][ATTACH]17294[/ATTACH][/CENTER]


I appoint the following Knights of Aphrodite as founding members of this Order:

[CENTER][SIZE="3"]Adlertag

Franciscus

Generalisimo

Hobbes

Le Ricain

Lodilefty

MarkShot

Spharv2
[/size]
[/CENTER]

[SIZE="3"][font="Book Antiqua"]Thank you for your exceptional service to our community, Knights of the Queen's Guard! Your Queen salutes you![/font][/size]

The dignity of your Order is 56.

[SIZE="4"][font="Book Antiqua"]Queen Aphrodite Mae[/font][/size]

[Franciscus]

NOW, you are embarassing me...

Thank you very much to all of you for such kind words.
The little I have ever done (and yes, it was very very little, compared with the likes of Gray, Lodilefty, Hobbes, Arsan, LeRicain, Picaron, Adlertag, Nikel, Clovis, Jabber, runyan, Barksdale, Soloswolf, Orso, Bohemond, Dixicrat, our Queen, so many many more...) has been a personal and selfish pleasure, because AACW is the game that I enjoyed playing most in all my gaming life !

Best regards to you all

[Aphrodite Mae]

Gentlemen,

We have begun our monthly "history quiz" contest, in which contestants have a chance to win a free AGEod game.

I would like to make this contest available to all forum members, in all of our forum languages.

If anyone would care to help me make this a reality, I would appreciate translation of the contest questions and tiebreaker questions into French, German, and Spanish.

Persons who do so will have my undying gratitude, and be awarded the "International Liaison" medal. Please send me a message via PM, if you can help!

[Longshanks]

Thank you, Our Most Gracious Queen, for the bountiful supply of recognition you have bestowed upon me, your humble servant.

To put it in the vernacular: Hit shore is purdy! (It sure is pretty! for those of you who don't speak Southern.)

Now, I have to figure out what they all mean ....