Farewell 2011, we hardly knew ye

It's that time of year again- a time when the blogopshere explodes with retrospectives, hopeful looks to the future, and new year's resolutions.  I'll be brief here, since I know you're nursing that champagne hangover, but I would be remiss if I were to let WWPD enter 2012 without a quick look back!



WWPD.net In 2011

2011 was a great year for us!  We hit my goal of having a post every single day (except for Saturday- that is the day of WWPD rest) around October, and it looks like we'll be keeping it up for the immediate future.  We underwent some design tweaks and finally a complete overhaul of the site (thanks especially to our forum user Jester_Prince, or Arran Smith for the graphic design- please check out his site here: http://madidol.com/ his designs will be gracing our web presence for some time to come and we couldn't be happier about that!).  We also finally landed wwpd.net as our official domain, after many months of hoping for that!

We continue to gain followers, and this drives us to keep getting better.  We strive to make our battle reports easier to follow, our reviews fair and thorough, and our other posts engaging and interesting.  Furthermore, we make sure we always make ourselves available to respond to e-mails, and hope we've set ourselves up as a source of advice and camaraderie among our friends far and wide!

I believe that it's the social aspect of wargaming that keeps people coming back, and this has been a driving factor for both our podcast and our web presence.  It was to this end I launched our forum as a place for people to come together in a place not governed by a single miniature company or filled with cranky folks.  In fact, my one rule is "Don't be a dick." and I mean that.  Anything goes on our forum except the kind of internet trollery (is trollery a word?) you see elsewhere.  Our forum should be constructive and fun, and I am happy to say there's not been a single incident so far!


NEWS FROM THE FRONT in 2011

It's also been a great year for our podcast!  We put out somewhere around 20 episodes in 2011- not bad considering the amount of work that goes into each!  2011 saw us really settle into a solid groove- Me, Luke, and Jon on the mic, roughly 2 hours of content spread out to 3 breaks.  It just works, and we've gotten efficient at the whole process.

Our episodes continue to be downloaded by hundreds of listeners, and we'll keep on producing as long as you listen!  After Hours has also been a success.  We appreciate everyone who downloads After Hours- your dollar goes a long way and ensures that bigger and better things are always on the horizon for WWPD!

Our n00b zone compilations were also well received.  Clearly with V3 coming out soon they have lost some of their value (and will see a significant price reduction as a result), but the concept works.  You can expect more of the same as we dive into V3.  Count on us to get you through the transition!

2011 FOR ME

2011 has easily been one of the best years of my life!  Of course the big event was the birth of our daughter Isabelle- a very joyous occasion for our family.  I continue to love my job, and am blessed to have great friends and family.  Truly, I can want for nothing!

Gaming wise, I played numerous games of Flames of War, and went to several tournaments!  According to Rankings HQ, I played in 8 tournaments in 2011, and that doesn't include the recent tournament in Fredericksburg.  In 9 tournaments I got 3 1st places, 2 2nd places, and placed 15th at Nationals.  Not a terrible year! 

Painting wise I essentially finished my French.  I can run just about any list from Blitzkrieg, excluding any motorcycle troops.  I also started early/early-mid Germans and of course, soviets.  That should keep me busy for 2012!

In closing, thank you all for being a part of the WWPD community.  We promise 2012 will bring awesome things!  I hope your 2011 was as awesome as mine- and if it wasn't I hope your 2012 is an improvement.  Here's to good friends, and good gaming.  May you have the privilege of combining the two!