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**vmxa1** · September 27, 2003, 13:08

I do not go there, mainly because I am afraid I will find it interesting and it will suck up more of my time.

**ChrisiusMaximus** · September 27, 2003, 13:14

Oh you will definitely find it interesting my friend, I see your point about time and all and I know you are one of the strategy and general pages most active players but you really are missing out on some great stories.

In a way most stories are AAR's that get elaborated more. Some are real drama well some are hilarious comedy the whole spectrum.

Go on do yourself a favour take a sneak peak and read some stories.

**PeaSoup** · September 27, 2003, 13:27

I've read quite a few good stories on the stories forum, but I haven't visited there in a long.. long.. long time

my favorite was Legion, I don't think it was ever finished

**Solomwi** · September 27, 2003, 14:07

I've read a few of them, and vmxa is dead on

. That page, along with the unit renaming feature in PTW, prompted me to start keeping histories of my games, in hopes of eventually sitting down and putting a story or two together from them. For any who haven't checked it out, the stories are generally very good.

**ChrisiusMaximus** · September 27, 2003, 14:10

Hi PeaSoup, yes I dont think Ive seen your name posted over there and Ive been posting there for about a year and a half.

There used to be loads of stories that never got finished but we had a big debate about it and decided not to allow unfinished stories into the contests some time ago. It was a successful move in that it increased the amount of finished stories by quite a bit, but you know some stories still never get done. In fact I myself am somewhat guilty of this as I started to post my second story back in January of this year and to date its still not finished.

Anyone care to give answers to my questions

**vovan** · September 28, 2003, 12:41

Re: The Stories page

Alright, most of you all have probably never seen me around these parts, but I used to be an active poster just before Civ3 came out and a bit after.

And you know what, then I discovered the stories forum. Well, as a result I haven't been known to post in General for a long, long while, so I'm afraid vmxa's got a point there: once you get into the stories, you never go back.

Any ways, I see Chrisius here's got some questions, so here we go:

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
I just wanted to ask how many of you read the stories over on the civ3 stories page?

* Vovan raises his hand *

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
If so do you think they are a valuable part of the poly scene as a whole?

Absolutely. In fact, I think the stories are about as important as the "Files" and "Creation" forums. Why? Because they add to the replayability of the game! They are written by very creative people, who might not want (or know how) to create a scenario for the game. But they do, often times, give you a new perspective on the game. I know there are some people out there that think of the game purely in terms of numbers and the fun of the game for them comes from figuring out the formulas and the guts of the engine. Stories are, unfortunately, not for them. But there is quite a bit of other people out there as well, who think of the game in more personal terms. They feel like they are leaders of the nation. They think about the people that live in their cities, and soldiers that fight for their country. To them, each story opens up a new perspective. A new way to look at what they are doing in the game. And that's great! I can't even count now how many times I abandoned the game because I got bored or frustrated. But every time, I would come over to the stories forum, read a great new piece by Chrisius here, or SKILORD, or Scratchy, or any other of the wonderful writers that comprise our community, and I would think "Oh, that's so cool! That's such a great new way to experience the rule over your people" and I would go back to the game and enjoy it again. I would go so far as to say: visiting the stories forum at least doubled, if not tripled, the shelf life of Civ3 for me.

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
If you do take time to read the stories do you give feedback or just lurk?

Feedback! I know how important it is to the writers. Without feedback, they are like flowers without water: they loose their blossom and fade away.

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
Have you posted a story there yourself?

A couple, yes.

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
Are you thinking of posting a story there in the future?

Well, every time I disclose what I have up my sleeve, I tend to rush posting it, and then have a hard time finishing it. So, I will keep quiet for now.

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
Of course there may well be a resurgence of stories being posted when conquests comes out, I hope so.

There better be!

Seriously, any of you here that bothered to even open this thread should go over to the Stories Forum and try your hand at writing something. Even if you think writing isn't your thing, try it, and you will be surprised! After all, what have you got to lose? Knowing the audience, I can tell you right now: noone will make fun of you or anything, and in fact, people will try to encourage you and help out if something doesn't read quite right. Like I said, there were so many people there that thought they would never write anything creative in their life, and yet they tried it once and could never stop.

Take me, even. I am a programmer - I've got no creativity whatsoever. And yet, some people seem to enjoy reading what I write. And more importantly: I immensly enjoy writing! Any ways, enough preaching: give it a whirl, and see for yourself.

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
The stories page is for me the best part of the site, the talent that is on display is superb and the best thing about it is that its given freely to share with other like minded civ fans.

Agreed! The quality of writing has been amazing of late.

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
Who do you think is the best ever writer to have posted civ3 stories?

Meh. I don't think there are any. All of the writers are great nowadays! Just check out the competition between the stories in the last few contests. The results have been so close, that it is clear just how good the writers have gotten now. (Yet, like I said, there is always space for expansion, and we love to see new blood flow into the forums, and new members join our little sub-community. Nothing better than to see a new name and read something refreshingly different.) However, if someone wanted to check out the crème de la crème of the stories, I'd say take a look at the Story Contest History thread. Scroll down to the second post to see the latest installments and check out those truly brilliant creations. Maybe they'll inspire you to try your hand at it, like they always do for me.

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
And finally what would you do if you had to improve the stories section?

Add more people to it! It's always so cool to see new people come in and start writing.

EDIT: Stupid typos.

**Verto** · September 28, 2003, 14:05

I frequent the Stories forum frequently, although not as much as I used to. I have posted several stories in the past, and am currently working on one right now. It is a very important part of 'poly; it keeps the interest in Civ3 alive for many.

**ChrisiusMaximus** · September 28, 2003, 16:00

Thanks Vovan and verto its good to hear from you both, now then come on all you civers out there come and fill out my survey and tell me what you think of the stories forum. Have you got any good ideas on how to improve the forum, have you got any really cool ideas for a story.

Like Vovansim says what have you got to lose.

**sprudl** · September 28, 2003, 17:21

I visit the Stories forum regularly hoping to find a new gem. There's a lot of great stuff in there. To me, it's one of the best parts of the site. Too bad there's not much happening right now.

I don't give much feedback on stories. Maybe I should, but I'm not much of a writer myself so I don't feel comfortable judging the stories. I'm just amazed at the display of talent.

**PLATO** · September 28, 2003, 19:08

The stories are fantastic!! If you haven't visited, you must!!

I am a lurker. I try to get there once a month or so. I just felt compelled to make my 1st post there just the other day. A particularly interesting story concerning a resource delima and Egypt. One of the must reads over there.

Thanks to all who put there time and effort in over there.

**ChrisiusMaximus** · September 29, 2003, 04:01

To everyone whos replied to this so far

I was'nt sure if there would be any interest but its good to see some feedback

@Solomwi, Its good to hear that you might one day give us a story, Ive seen your posts in support of others there and say

up to you and all others who support the writers. Maybe when conquests comes out you will finally get the inspiration to write your first story, and I will keep an eye out for it hopefully in the near future

@ sprudl I know what you mean, its difficult to comment on other peoples work, its quite scary cause you dont want to upset any one. My advice is just start by saying "wow that was great!" etc, of course only if you actually think its great

. The thing is you see that most of the writers thrive on feedback, its one of the things that keeps em writing

@ PLATO well done

Its good to see new folks post their comments, its equally as important as writing stories. Without the contribution of those who give feedback many of the writers would simply stop writing.

Thanks again one and all, now could some more of you give answers to the questions posed like Vovansim has done.

**Paddy** · September 30, 2003, 18:54

I thoroughly enjoy the stories.

It would be great to see more people contributing them.

I love to hear of the adventures that people are having with this game.

**PLATO** · October 1, 2003, 22:34

"The end of Honour" by jackl is just finished. An excellent read.

**vovan** · October 1, 2003, 22:39

Originally posted by PLATO
"The end of Honour" by jackl is just finished. An excellent read.

Indeed, highly recommend to check this out to see what quality writing you can find at the Stories forum.

The End Of Honour.

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