JAMiAM
Posts: 6165
Joined: 2/8/2004 Status: offline
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On behalf of Matrix Games, and the entire TOAD Team, I say "You're Welcome!" It has indeed been a a labor of love, and a pleasure. It's funny, but for the last couple of days, I've been wrestling with the thought of starting a special recognition thread for some of the people involved with TOAW III, whether as members of TOAD, or simply as active contributors in the community. I say "wrestling", because of all the people involved, it would be hard to single out any of them for special praise, without seeming to slight the others who might not be mentioned. The last thing I would want to do is to offend any of them, as all contributions to the success of TOAW III, and its continuing evolution, no matter how "large" or "small" should be acknowledged. However, we would surely end up with the largest thread in history, if I were to detail each and every person's contribution. That said, I would like to give some special thanks to "a few good men" who have each, in their own unique way, made TOAW III what it is today. 2006 Helping Hand Award - Ben Turner, aka Golden Delicious. Ben joined the Q&A Team after the release of TOAW III, but even before we had a product to sell, he was on these boards, as well as TDG and SZO/XG/GS, answering questions on TOAW, on virtually a daily basis. He's got an impressive knowledge of TOAW dating back to the early days (pre-CoW), is an active scenario designer, and an all-around great guy to have around. Ben, you've made my job a hell of a lot easier, and have my personal thanks for all the questions you've taken the time and patience to answer. 2006 Clydesdale Award - Bob Cross, aka Curtis Lemay. Bob joined the Q&A Team just before release, but was instrumental in the scenario review team prior to release. He recreated the original TOAW tutorial from scratch, and is the author of the "How-to" guides that you see in the TOAW III start menu documents. He is a true "workhorse" and his contributions in terms of testing and reporting in the private development forum are prodigious. Also an active scenario designer, frequent poster on the boards, and knowledgeable bloke on the intricacies of TOAW, he is one of the most dedicated individuals I know when it comes to TOAW. 2006 Bug Hunter Award - Jarek Flis, aka Legun. Jarek is not an official member of TOAD, but his contributions in the community have helped immensely, in advancing TOAW III. He is arguably the best bug-hunter in the entire TOAW community, and has spotted many of the bugs that TOAD has had the pleasure of squashing. Also, he has started a series of focused discussion threads for proposing possible directions of future TOAW development, over at the TDG forum. Some of these threads may one day bear fruit. Others may be too divergent for the engine. In any case, they are all excellent ways for collating the incredible creative talent out there, and for thinking "out of the box". For keeping Ralph and I gainfully employed trying to keep up with you Jarek, you have my deepest gratitude. 2006 Our Man in Havana Award - Marc Martinez, aka Nemo, aka Nemo69. For years, I have considered Marc the unofficial TOAW archivist at WHQ/SZO/XG/GS. He could be counted on to be able to search for and find almost any TOAW related topic, discussion, or comment, no matter how obscure or embarrassing. Like Bob, Marc also joined the Q&A team right before release, and was a vital member of the scenario evaluation team, being handed the reins to that group by Daniel McBride (aka Stauffenberg). His post release work has been both varied and appreciated, even if much of it has been "behind the scenes". He edits the scenario briefings on submissions, finds artwork for the scenario background images, collates and uploads the updated scenario directory for each patch, as well as staying active in the normal day to day drudge work of Q&A testing. To top this all off, he is prolific in the PBEM community, and a scenario designer. Marc, I dare say that I wouldn't want to imagine having to get by without your help! 2006 Madison Avenue Award - Larry Fulkerson. It is without any doubt in my mind, whatsoever, that nobody, but NOBODY, has done more to promote and advertise the potential of this game than Larry has. His AAR's here, and at SZO/XG/GS, have shown the game in glorious visual action, and have brought the concepts of gameplay to the masses. He's been a member of the Q&A team since the beginning, and many of the UI tweaks and enhancements are direct byproducts of his suggestions there. I only hope that some ad agency doesn't snatch him up, and bring him out of retirement, as that would truly be a loss to the TOAW community. For all you do, this brew's for you!
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