Arcani Embassy

I would like to say hello and welcome to the Arcani.You all are welcome guest here.

http://www.arcani.net/

Greetings Dragons and thank you for giving us a embassy here in your halls

I will inform Arcanis diplomat Lone Soldier of this and he should pay you a visit soon

most of you already know me, for those that do not....


*clears throat*ahem*



Fellow combattants of Total War, I am honoured to introduce myself to such a distinguished group of men/women.

My name is LoneSoldier of Arcani.

I am the diplomat of Arcani and am tremendously pleased to have the opportunity to get to know each and every one of you. Let me first say, hats off to Beli to acknowledge his fine performance as the Arcani diplomat. Filling his shoes will be tough indeed (in spite of the fact that my feet are rather large).

The possibilites this arrangement offers are not lost on me. We are people from across the world, joined together by a common bond. We are the noble combattants in a quite unique saga. We do what needs to be done, in order to lay claim to titles of honour and respect. On the road to these titles, and on the way to earning the trust, friendship, and respect of our fellow fighters, we create something truly spectacular: an online community. Between us exists little else but walls and distances. We are geographically separated, and culturally divided. Yet in spite of all this, we feel the prescence of one another and welcome each other with such warmth as to deny the existince of those distances and differences. Together we bridge those gaps, and form a phenomenon like no other. The online community we have so unwittingly created with our inherent lack of prejudice in this rare yet priceless medium of TW presents us with endless possibilities and bottomless rewards. Together, with the simple continuation and natural extension of what we are already doing, we can explore some very intriguing possibilities. Here lies the potential of our arrangement. And I am fortunate to have the opportunity to meet all of you. I can't wait to open lines of discourse with each and every one of you, and to take Total War multiplayer into the next era of its existence.


Glory be to Arcani, Glory be to us all.

Hail Arcani and thanks for sending youre noble and well spoken diplomats.We also look forward to continued relations.

Arcani you should also post a link to youre site.We would like to visit.

www.total-arcani.tk

please stop by and say hi

that new banner is amazing. great work.

I have come to inform all @ Dragons of the following:

We have long considered Dragons friendly to the Arcani in an unofficial sense. This will now be changed to a more official capacity on our side. You will be listed on our main page as friendlies of the clans. While this is not itself an Alliance, I truly hope it it forms the foundation of a brighter future. I firmly believe steps should be taken to directly increase Dragon-Arcani interaction. This will not come quickly, but with active steps and creative ideas we can make it happen.

I have always favored open and honest discourse, so I shall speak frankly. I endeavor to create strong and active links between every clan that can rightfully claim to be honourable.

In order to claim this title of 'honourable' the members of these clans must exhibit the traits that are rhetorically referred to so often. Many clans have banners and posted ideals of mutual respect, kindness, good humour, and the like. Yet so many of these clans do not themselves live up to these values.

So, good Dragons, I come to you as one of the first clans I approach in my endeavors to create something truly spectacular over the coming months and years. You lot have always exemplified all of the traits that come with the title of 'honourable'. And as such, in my endeavors, the good Dragons are one of my first stops.

What I propose is that we work to create a formula which will spread to every corner of the TW community that exemplifies the traits of the honourable as finely as do the good Dragons. This formula will succeed as it will be simple, and easy to apply. I have a number of initial ideas which I will present upon my next visit. They are simple, easy to apply, and promote communication and good humour.

So, let us begin simplistically and on a small scale. Over time the foundations we lay here and now will spread to every honourable clan of TW. We will create a Grand Alliance of the Honourable.

From humble beginnings come the greatest of mankind's creations. May our combined light burn fiercely into the long, cold night.

Good day good Dragons~

Thank you Lone we are honored to be friends of Arcani.May our
friendship last forever.

Heard you lot had some good games in tonight with moose, kron and zinn, but when is a Dragon/Arcani game never good? Never thats when

Might I trouble you for a list of msn/xfire addy's of dragons members?

Yes they were great games and ARCANI proved again that they are 1 of the few clans @ the top of the food chain when it comes to skill and honor.Very clean fights.My xfire name is Nachtjagd as you know and the others are on my xfire friends list
I will get them to post there x names or I will if they dont get to it.So Dragons please add youre x names on this thread for Lone.

I am terribly sorry for not having been here in a little while. My schedule has been absolutely nasty to be perfectly frank.

I come today with a long overdue message. I have spoken with you all in regards to creating stronger ties between two clans o blatantly compatible. Arcani and the Dragons are strong, and they are honourable. This is not rhetoric, it is the truth. Our men are skilled and they are good sports in all regards.

So a situation exists in which there is great potential. In the same way Dragons deal with fellow Dragons and further their enjoyment of Total War further than individual play would have gained them, so too can inter-clan dealings further that enjoyment still.

So, I will now come to a point which I have alluded to many a time. I have droned on about taking concrete steps to strengthen the ties that bind us, yet have not come with any of those ideas and suggestions, until now. The reason for this delay is I have been coordinating efforts with several clans to try and time the initial relation building so that the same point was reached with several different clans. That time has finally arrived and I am prepared to unveil the next phase of my efforts.

Whenever two great and noble clans become great friends, the word 'Alliance' is always nearby. But such things, in the opinion of the Arcani are not to be taken lightly. Too often Alliances become mere rhetorical catch-phrases and are left to the wayside. An Alliance is only worthwhile if there are to be tangible benefits gained from it.

Now, things such as war and aggression are tiresome and childish. So what then could some tangible benefits of an Alliance be? Those benefits are as follows: good fun, comradery, and exploiting a situation which is beneficial to all. What this means is that an Alliance would mean working to create an inter-clan link so strong that the same enjoyment as Dragons feel when playing with fellow Dragons is extended when Dragons play Arcani. Shared public vent servers, regular games, hotseat campaigns, private tournaments, the list goes on and on. Include to the Dragons and Arcani, clans such as the Grailknights, the WoC, etc. and you begin to see what I endeavor to create. A sort of Grand Alliance of the Honourable which exists only to further the enjoyment of those worthy of participating in games where honour and sportsmanship are paramount. Many men coming together that can be relied upon to further the enjoyment of all. Creative methods of making the Total War experience more enjoyable would be possible and very effective. It strikes me as a worthy goal and one we should work towards.

When I said in my first post something to the effect of 'the potential of this arrangement is tremendous' I had concrete goals in mind. Unfortunately my schedule had not allowed me to really work towards those goals in as timely a manner as I would have liked. Now I am devoting more of my time to further this pursuit and taking less time elsewhere in my Total War time.

So, I will leave you now with an offer. Before we can create so grand a plan as I have laid out there (briefly), we need to lay the foundations. The basics are there as the Dragons and Arcani know each other quite well. Now let us move to tightening those bonds before we proceed any further down the road.

Arcani will be organizing a private arrangement between a small handful of clans. This arrangement will manifest itself in several ways, each with the express purpose of maximizing communication between clans and strengthening the ties that already bind us. Let us pave the inroads. What say you, brave and honourable Dragons?

Its always a pleasure to hear from the well spoken diplomat of Arcani.We are all ears and are very honored to be part of this grand invintation.We feel the same way about the good things that can come from a great alliance.Im sure there will be no problems agreeing upon the future foundation.We like and respect Arcani very much and would truly be happy with an alliance.

Thanks for youre kind visit Lone

Thats sounds great Lone.Look forward to the future.

Im sure Arcani would make fine partners in the TW comunity.I also noticed they have formed an alliance with our brother clan the Grailknights.

Fine men of Dragons! How do you all do?

I come to you today to clarify the intentions of Arcani in regards to the pursuit of Alliance. We have seen war, and we have seen peace. We have seen Alliances, we have seen bitter rivals. So, when we speak of our beliefs, they are firmly founded in experience. Wartime Alliances serve a purpose other than what we are pursuing at the moment. Too often ‘Alliances’ become mere words, used to increase the grandiosity of various posts in times of war and to enlist support in lobbies in a hostile fashion against another clan or group of clans. When the hostilities cease to exist, the Alliances invariably cease to serve a purpose. During periods of peace, much the same thing happens. There is a very intense beginning and eventually these grand ideals of ‘Alliance’ fall to the wayside and casual friendships take their place. The very same friendships that would continue to exist all the same should the Alliance be removed.

Our intent behind pursuing a long-term peacetime Alliance is careful thought out. We wish this Alliance to serve a concrete purpose, and the tools with which the Alliance will hopefully operate will be effective and efficient in achieving its desired purpose. The desired purpose I speak of is, quite simply, to create a steady line of communication between the various honourable clans of Total War and to utilize that and other tools to increase the enjoyment the members take from their Total War experience.

Just as the enjoyment of the individual is increased when he shares his Total War experience with those he calls clanmates, so too shall the enjoyment of the clans themselves be increased when they share their Total War experience with other clans. So, the end goal, as it should now be plain to see, is a sort of consortium of clans which will utilize a central hub to coordinate their Total War experience and come up with creative and well thought-out plans to have more fun. Shared ventrilo servers, hotseat campaigns, special private tournaments, and a huge amount of other possibilities become very practical, and can be put in place efficiently and effectively.

Now, you have all been very supportive of the notions of ‘Alliance’ so let us speak of laying down the foundations to that bright future I have alluded to many times. So grand are the ideals, and so large is the scope, that to begin in haste would jeapordize the end-product. I have deliberately moved very slowly in taking the steps that have brought us here. Friendships take time to develop as it is. Links as deep as those I endeavor to create will take not only time, but actual work.

So, with each of us acutely aware of our destination, namely a Grand Alliance, let us begin on this path together. I will speak to you next of my suggestions on appropriate first steps. The purpose of these first steps will be to increase and sustain communication between not only the senior officers of our respective clans, but our entire membership as well. So shall the dark night give way to the cool dawn, and so shall the dawn give way to a bright new day of glorious warmth and sunshine.

For glory good Dragons!

Allllllllllrighty then!!
How has everyone been doing? Hope you didn’t think I forgot about you all. To sum up whats been going on, I’ve been ridiculously busy in my personal life and haven’t had any time for one of my more enjoyable past-times, namely gaming and all that it entails. But my schedule has loosened a wee bit so I have come to finalize some things I definitely did not want to leave unfinished. I want this to be the final message I post before we put into place all I had been speaking of for ages now. So that if I become tied up again, the majority of the work will be done and laid out. I will be available for thenext few weeks definitely, but after that I’m not so sure.

Now, I believe in perfect transparency, so I will go through what I’ve done and what I would like to do, and why and how. I speak in regards to this whole inter-clan community thing I’ve been droning on about for ages.

My intention at first, when I had 20 free hours a day (year or 2 ago now) was to create a pillar for the community to rally around. Something similar to the totalwar.com or .org, but something specifically dedicated to multiplayer. Hopefully something that would have grown to become something as universally shared as the .com or the .org are for singleplayers, only for the multiplayers. I had great plans and ideas to make it work where others had failed. It would have taken a great deal of time. But the issue at that point in time was that I am also part of a very determined clan, Arcani. We have, every single day, a tremendous amount that happens beneath the surface in our internal affairs. This ranges from training, to planning, to setting up streaming video for tournaments, to developing new ground for future stability. Arcani is a large part of why I am still part of Total War. I played the feces out of M1, RTW and M2, and were it not for the great passion the clan experience arouses in me, I would have long since jumped ship to another game (Company of Heroes for one ). So, my plan for laying the foundation for this central-hub-website for the multiplayer scene was put on hold until we at Arcani had firmly laid down roots in M2. Once that was done, I would be able to focus on the whole central-hub idea.

That’s where the problems began. I very quickly began to see just how much time and dedication it would take to do it alone. So it got brushed aside until I could find help or come up with a better idea. Months later, I was approached by Mojo and the others for that whole medievalMPmayhem.com thing. I saw that as a great opportunity. Their vision was the same, they had the site already half done, and the team was good it seemed. So I threw my lot in with them and tried to rally the other admins and get everybody organized. Then Mojo died. But he was soon resurrected and everybody went looking for eggs some bunny had mischievously hidden in the area. Well, needless to say, that really took the fire out of an already waning site. And again, my plans were dashed.

And so, I became discouraged. I had been told by many people how a whole bunch of times this had all been attempted before and how it had failed time and time again and I was starting to see exactly why it had failed all those times. The plans were too grand, the goals and methodology too complicated, and the people behind it were not willing to do what was necessary. But I had some things going for me the others did not. Dogged determination, the ability to adapt my vision to what would work, and the ability to put into place a common sense approach to overcome obstacles in light of lessons learned through experience.

And this brings me to my most recent endeavour. I decided that the only foundation that would work was one that had already been laid and reinforced countless times. Trying to emulate it elsewhere was futile. So I thought about it and figured out a way to make that foundation work for me. The foundation I speak of is the inter-personal arrangement the multiplayer community already has. We have clans, but beyond that, there have been for many years channels of communication that link these clans to one another. The community already exists, so it would be futile to try to create another one. Like-minded clans already know one another, and already have systems in place to share their gaming experience. We just need to use those more effectively.

So you may wonder why go through this whole bother in the first place? The answer is very simple and I would very much appreciate it if you would read this and truly try to understand why. A game in and of itself is enjoyable. Total War is fun, otherwise we wouldn’t be playing it. But why are we in clans? Quite simply it is because it takes the fun we would have otherwise, and heightens it through a bit of organization to something that becomes a VERY different experience than playing solo in the lobbies could ever be (so, many of us stick around for the clan experience, not just the game itself). Now the way in which the clan experience does this is it brings together like-minded individuals who have similar preferences when it comes to how they choose to spend their Total War hours. These people come together and work as a unit. When they work as a unit it allows a great many things to become possible: long-term friendships; competitive tournament teamplay on a scale and intensity that would be IMPOSSIBLE without the clan element; and just simply having an infrastructure in place to support what we heavy-duty gamers want and desire.
But that is already in place. What I seek is to take all of things that heighten the solo MP experience to the clan experience, and extend them to the clan experience, so that it can be heightened to a level which has, quite frankly, never been realized. The potential has always been there, it was one of the first things I experienced when I first joined Arcani. Everybody seemed to know everybody else, but everyone was so fragmented. Every clan had fun within itself with say 5-20 active on the fields and 10-40 active on the forums. To bridge the gaps between the like-minded clans would create a network of hundreds of like-minded individuals. A great glorious day was within reach, but nobody was really pushing for it. I thought, how glorious would it be to realize what was so easy to do. The reason I say it would be easy is because TW has a way of bringing from out the shadows a superior class of gamer (in regards to maturity and dedication). So, with so fine a breed of gamer hounding the vicinity, all we would need to do would be to build something that would work WITH the nature of the beast and all would sort itself out. The project would take on a life all of its own and we would just need to keep pace.

So this brings me to the details. I say work WITH the nature of the beast because, one thing I have found is you cannot expect people to work too hard when it comes to telling them how to have their fun. You have to lay it at their feet in a place they would go regardless of whether or not you laid it there to begin with. You need to make it as simple and easy as possible. If you don’t, it will fail, as every other endeavour has and will continue to do.

So I chose to make it happen without creating a single thing that did not already exist. Also, I did not want to bring together everybody, only those that shared the mind-set the other Arcani and I have: mature, laid-back, and fun. We seek nothing more than good friends, good games, comradery, and good-humoured competition. So, those that should take part in this communal element should be those that share our ideals. My idea had morphed over time and was no longer meant to be a grand all-encompassing community hub, but rather, a nice lounge in the corner, where like-minded individuals could come and share their TW experience.
So I took the first steps. I decided to use a small control group and make it happen with them before taking the whole thing mainstream. If the system would work with the control group, it would work with the whole kit-and-kabootle (or whatever the spelling is there ). I would take the whole, and shrink it as far as possible while still maintaining all the properties of the whole. Once it was working and running, it would just be a matter of adding others to it, as the system would already be in place. I decided to pick 2-5 clans that were of like-mind to Arcani and make it happen with them first. Those clans are: the Warriors of Crom, the GrailKnights, the Dragons, the 4Horsemen, and the Brethren (BRO). As soon as the system was in place we could move to add other clans and just sit back and watch it grow.
So I maintained embassies with those clans as a priority in my diplomatic pursuits and made sure everyone was after the same thing in their clan experience and that I hadn’t chosen the wrong group of guys. I hadn’t.
So, this brings me to the heart of the matter. Where to from here? I said at the start of this whole piece I want to get this into its final form a bit so that if I leave again for a month or two that the steam won’t die with my going. I’m here for a little while, so let’s hammer this thing out and get it on its feet.

Things that won’t work:
1) Politics – We do not join clans to manage ourselves as individual units within the clan. We do not need clans for that. We join clans because we want to share, and bring down barriers. So this whole pursuit here should continue with that. Just as clans bridge the individuals, so too should this pursuit bridge those clans. As such, we must be sure not to call this an Alliance, or bring inter-clan politics of any nature into it. Rivalries and disputes are to be tended to by the individual clans themselves. This pursuit is as a lounge, where we come to have fun, not to break into groups and discuss terms over rivalries.
2) An Agenda – There can be no agenda. We need this to be as simple as possible. We are not out to reshape the TW multiplayer circuit. We just want to lay down things that people can use in their day-to-day gaming in the same spirit that the clan experience gives them options with their individual gameplay.
3) Complexity – People are lazy. And in their leisure time, the lazy-factor increases exponentially. Everything we put down in regards to tools and options given to the clans and the clan’s membership must be easy and straightforward. It must be as simple a thing as adding people on msn from a pre-typed list; an extra ventrilo login address saved into ventrilo; having game-names in the lobbies start with special characters that denote they are on of “our’s”, etc etc.
4) Centralization – This is the pursuit of no one clan, and no one man. This will only work if it is given as tools and options to people universally (within the clans that are members). All are equals, and as there should, ideally, never be any decisions to make as it is all a big passive arrangement, the whole governance thing shouldn’t become an issue.
5) Active content - This must be something that exists passively in the background, to be used when people want to, and not have it thrust at them.
6) A COMPLETE lack of governance – While the arrangement of the goals and methodology should minimize the need for governance, man is by nature a wild and crazy guy. So there will be some need for stability. If there is no stability, the whole thing will go to hell and be a big waste of time. But this must be as minimal as possible, and it needs to be as decentralized as possible to avoid useless issues.

One thing I do want to say before I leave. Initially this was meant as something to supplement a glorious clan experience in and of itself. Arcani is still going as strong as ever. But the MP scene is not what it once was with RTW. So, in view of that, let us see the need for urgency to spice things up a bit. With this we can really add some spice to what we do anyway. And when we add more and more clans to it (like-minded of course), it will really become rather vibrant.

So, let’s discuss some first steps:
These are all general blueprints I have to get the ball rolling. If for whatever reason you disagree or have a better or different idea, DO NOT HESITATE to propose it. As I said before, this is to be decentralized. What the people want, the people shall receive.
1) Common ventrilo server – this has long been a central item. Communication is central to everything. What would your clan experience be if you had no voice-comm, or if you had no msn contact?
2) Central forum – embassies will work for the time being. But we very quickly need a way to bridge the gap for forum discussion between the member clans. I was thinking either approach the CCS guys and try to get a subforum made with a password on it, or use the Arcani site and make a subforum there with a password on it. And keep that until we get a huge membership big enough to justify having it’s own site, Or another idea, which may be outstanding....start a thread in the totalwar.com forums MP section and ask for it to be stickied? That could be great.
3) Msn/X-fire lists – As I mentioned countless times before, communication is key. The point of this is not to bridge the officers and leaders and diplomats of each clan, but every single member within it.
4) Publicity – This can only come after we’ve got the groundwork laid out. Once we have a good, simple, and COMPLETE system in place, we can add others to it, within the walls we create.

So that is a good place to start. The msn/xfire lists we can compile now, so it would be good if someone would volunteer to put one together for each clan, I can do it for Arcani and can put it all together for the whole group once each is submitted. The vent server will need discussion. The forum will also.

(this bit was making it too large to post in the preceding post there)

catch me on msn: desithug007@hotmail.com
or xfire: lonesoldier84

should you need to discuss this with me, I am available at those addys. Alsofor the purpose of additional clarity, I will post this little bit here I had posted to grailknights

Quote :

The desired purpose...is, quite simply, to create a steady line of communication between the various honourable clans of Total War and to utilize that and other tools to increase the enjoyment the members take from their Total War experience.

Just as the enjoyment of the individual is increased when he shares his Total War experience with those he calls clanmates, so too shall the enjoyment of the clans themselves be increased when they share their Total War experience with other clans. So, the end goal, as it should now be plain to see, is a sort of consortium of clans which will utilize a central hub to coordinate their Total War experience and come up with creative and well thought-out plans to have more fun. Shared ventrilo servers, hotseat campaigns, special private tournaments, and a huge amount of other possibilities become very practical, and can be put in place efficiently and effectively.

...Friendships take time to develop as it is. Links as deep as those I endeavor to create will take not only time, but actual work.

So, with each of us acutely aware of our destination, namely a "Grand Alliance" of the various honourable clans of Total War, let us begin on this path together....I will speak to you next of my suggestions on appropriate first steps. The purpose of these first steps will be to increase and sustain communication between not only the senior officers of our respective clans, but our entire membership as well. So shall the dark night give way to the cool dawn, and so shall the dawn give way to a bright new day of glorious warmth and sunshine.

And after discussion with the other Arcani, we think maybe excluding the actual word Alliance may be worthwhile, just to prevent this becoming political at all.

And again, catch me on msn or xfire for discussion, or pop by the site, www.total-arcani.tk

sounds good

Hail, Imperators!

For those in this fine clan that I haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet, I am Caelryck of Arcani.

Lonesoldier, having served as Arcani's diplomat with unfailing loyalty throughout 2007 and into 08, has recently abdicated from this position. Having earned much well-deserved respect across all corners of the community, this news would no doubt bring disappointment to many.

Massive responsibility has been left in Lone's wake - responsibility that has been passed onto me, Arcani's new diplomat. And in an endeavor to live up to the standard my predecessor has maintained, I've arrived to formally introduce myself to the distinguished members of the Imperators clan.

The community of Total War, although still active, is - as you have no doubt noticed - not currently enjoying the same thriving nature it has done over the past years. Although much of this is entirely beyond our control, it ultimately begins - and finishes - with us. The living and breathing entity behind the glories of the battlefield. And for this reason, I will be keenly tackling the work left behind for me, and I hope to begin serving the community in a way that might contribute to revitalization.

So, as we will soon progress through the ages from blade and bolt to shot and steel, let us continue as comrades and warriors of renown bound together in the passion that drives us all - the splendid art we call Total War!

And with best of luck, I'll be checking in here regularly to keep on tabs with everything, so be sure to save me a seat at your banquet table!

And if I may carry on Lone's avowal:

Glory be to Arcani, Glory be to us all!

Hope to see you all around soon, gents!

~ Caelryck

Hello Caelryck, its certainly is a dissapointment to see Lonesoldier go, but I am certain you will be do just as well as he has done. Welcome! Although, it is a shame, I must ask you one question, is Lonesoldier leaving the Total War community? Or just resigning his spot as the diplomat for Arcani?

You are the perfect canidate for the job Caelryck and always a welcome guest to our halls.

Greetings Alexander, Boru!

Yes, Lone has resigned from the position - but from that only. To my understanding at least, his RL workload is catching up with him, and he doesn't currently have the time atm to maintain the duties...

But he's still in the clan! So you should still see him around pretty often.

So how have things been going around Imperators lately? Besides the name change! It looks like the place is quite active, actually...and thats quite an achievement considering alot of us have fallen into a lull...

Actually that includes TWCC too. But there's been whispers of a new inter-clan Campaign tourney being established soon to revive interest...so I'll be sure to keep you updated!

Ah, please do keep us informed. I am pleased that Lone will still be around, I have had the pleasure of fighting him a couple of times on the field, very respectable.

Welcome Caelryck!!!

Dude, I haven't seen you around in a LONG time.