You're quite welcome. ;)

June first 1462, so I could fight here :


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Attack


Not in but +1

I'd go 10 years into the future and spend that 6 months memorizing all the winning lottery numbers and the outcome of everything that I can bet on...

In for:
1. Total Annihilation: Commander Pack
2. Patrician IV + Rise of a Dynasty DLC

Thanks!

Thanks to all the gifters and their generosity.
I'd travel back to Rome to prevent Cesar to be assassinated. What else would he have done for Rome?

I'm for: Patrician IV + Rise of a Dynasty DLC

Not in for anything, but thanks for the giveaway. :)

In for T.A. :D +1

I'd travel back 45 minutes ago to my bathroom and convince myself not to use that new conditioner I bought yesterday. My hair just don't look right now. :O

I foresee you as JC Denton in a Deus Ex-alike world. :D

Indeed. An interesting question which I'd like to know as well. Good hunting!

Surely you'd be appointed chief torturer of Vlad Tepes in no time. :p

Hehe, that's a classic one. :D

Don't forget to check the stock quotes. You could invest your winnings with lottery numbers in a few select companies, and become yourself in a person more rich than Bill Gates. ;)

LOL :D

Fair enough. Hope you meeting yourself doesn't make your hair completely white. ;)

(I'm afraid for the stability of the time continuum. Two Cthulhunian encarnations in the same bathroom at the same time. Brrrr...)

Apart from the lottery thing, i would go to the future. Don't know when though, perhaps not to far because who knows how long the earth will still be there. Maybe 1000 years later just to see what has changed.

In for:
-- Krunch (kindly donated by Robette on behalf of an anonymous donor)

Thanks ISC, lugum, Robette and Lemuria.

Thank you for the giveaway, Thespian*! Thank you for the donations, ISC, lugum, Robette, Lemuria and all the other anonymous donors. Rep for all.
I'm in for Total Annihilation - Commander Pack!

I hope you enjoy reading what follows, as much as I enjoyed weaving it.

The original timeline
The night of 10th September 2013 was as uneventful as any other night. I slept uninterrupted until the morning sun crept up to my window and woke me up. I spent the rest of my life as I have always done, doing the most with the little that is available, and though most would view my life as pathetic it was mine and while filled with mistakes it lacked all regrets.

A timeline disturbed
During the night of 10th September 2013 I was awaken by a strange high-pitch whine. I noticed a silver bracelet and it was immediately evident to me that it was a time machine that allowed for a singular trip to any time period, but only for six months, after which I would get the opportunity to choose between staying or returning to my time.
Though it was never revealed to me, the reader might find it useful to know that the bracelet was sent by a higher power by the name of Thespian*(note the star at the end for the correct nomenclature).

Breaking the rules
So the bracelet allows for only one travel. If there's one thing that movies taught me, is that you don't mess around with the timeline if you can't correct the mistakes you might introduce.
A singular trip is unacceptable... I find it neccesary to create a time loop to ensure multiple travels. All I have to do is to follow these simple steps:
1. Using my one trip I travel 40 years into the future, at a very specific place.
2. I spend most of the following six months waiting at this very specific place.
3. When the time runs out, I am sent back to my time, one microsecond after I left for the future.
4. I make the necessary preparations and send an envelope with a blank piece of paper. The envelope will be delivered in 40 years at a very specific place.
5. I live the next 40 years of my life.
6. Finally it's today! This day is exceptionally exciting, because today I get to meet my past self whom I have been waiting for 40 years to arrive.

Refining the timeline
1. Using my one trip I travel 40 years into the future, at a very specific place.
2. Soon after arriving, at that very specific place, I receive a letter from my future self.
3. Soon after receiving the letter I am contacted, in person, by my future self and together we open the letter.
4. Together we decide on ONE, AND ONLY ONE, major change that should be made to my future(his past) to better the current timeline and we ADD IT to the list found in the letter.
5. I spend the remaining six months memorizing the list.
6. When the time runs out, I am sent back to my time, one microseconds after I left for the future.
7. I make the necessary preparations and send an envelope with a list of the current changes that I'll make to the timeline. The envelope will be delivered in 40 years at a very specific place.
8. I live the next 40 years of my life, while correcting the mistake/mistakes I previously made.
9. Finally it's today! This day is exceptionally exciting, because today I get to meet my past self whom I have been waiting for 40 years to arrive.

Stabilizing the timeline
1. Using my one trip I travel 40 years into the future, at a very specific place.
2. Soon after arriving, at that very specific place, I receive a letter from my future self.
3. Soon after receiving the letter I am contacted, in person, by my future self and together we open the letter.
4. Together we come to the conclusion that the current list of changes corrects all of the major mistakes from my life. The list is perfect.
5. I spend the remaining six months memorizing the list.
6. When the time runs out, I am sent back to my time, one microseconds after I left for the future.
7. I make the necessary preparations and send an envelope with a list of the current changes that I'll make to the timeline. The envelope will be delivered in 40 years at a very specific place.
8. I live the next 40 years of my life, while correcting the mistake/mistakes I previously made.
9. Finally it's today! This day is exceptionally exciting, because today I get to tell an old friend that our life is perfect.

Funny, just the other day I was musing to myself whether I would try to persuade King Crimson to hire Reginald Dwight back in 1970, if I were to have the opportunity. It's a tough one, all things considered: lots of awesome possibilities, but it's not like things turned out badly for either party ;)

Still, I've always wondered how things would turn out if in 1944 Rommel had opened the western front. Lots of unforeseen, vastly different, consequences in that one. I'll want to flesh this out a bit further, but that's the main point of it.

I would opt to arrive at La Roche-Guyon on the 13th of June, 1944, directly in Rommel's sleeping quarters, around 4 a.m. Creepy, but it allows me to control the situation better. I'll wake him up, calmly and non-threateningly. Hopefully, the records on his character are good enough that he'll take the events in stride and not immediately raise an alarm. If worse comes to worst, I'll insist on only being interrogated by him. That much history tells us can happen.

I'll quickly inform him that Hitler intends to arrive at Wolfsschlucht II on the 16th of June and meet von Rundstedt and him on the 17th, and that he needs to be prepared for it. Even if he's already aware (doubtful, considering Hitler's impetuous nature), it wouldn't be information that many are privy to. I won't beat around the bush, tell him just where and when I'm from. The old digital-watch-from-the-future demo might do the convincing; even if the circuits are fried from the trip, I'd take the thing apart and show him the circuitboard, battery, display - all quite ahead of the times. Besides, I wouldn't mind getting a contemporary watch in return ;)

Another thing I intend to show him is the famous photograph of Russian soldiers hoisting the Soviet flag over the Reichstag, but that will come later to drive home the point of what needs to be done. At the coming meeting on the 17th, both Rommel and his superior, Gerd von Rundstedt, would urge Hitler to order a massive withdrawal of the German forces in the west, as well as a quick political solution to the war. Hitler, naturally, would reject this out of hand. What Rommel wouldn't know, however, is that so would the Allies. A similar meeting, on the 29th at Berchtesgaden, would yield similar results, and further entrench Hitler's suspicion of both of them. The removal of von Rundstedt from command on the 1st means it would be too late to take adequate action by that point. A brief outline of the further progress of the war, his own demise and ultimately, the aforementioned photo should convince him that matters can not be left as they are.

Next, we should prepare a plan and bring von Rundstedt into it. While they were both exceedingly patriotic, von Rundstedt was far more rigid and refused any notion of disobedience or treason. Still, it is unclear how much hindsight might have changed that; the picture might work there, too. In any case, Rommel has to be prepared, if von Rundstedt is not brought about, to take the opportunity and assassinate Hitler on the 17th. Either way, von Rundstedt would then be able to withdraw German forces to the East, either through usurping command or through the absence of Hitler at the top.

Neither Field Marshal would fail to see the importance of reinforcing the Eastern front, all the while realising that the war was already lost. With Hitler out of the way, the western Allies might be amenable to a political arrangement, though the full retreat of German forces out of France, Belgium and the Netherlands would still be needed, both as reinforcements in the East, and as a gesture of good faith in the West. Regardless, capitulating to the Western Allies would be infinitely preferable to the Soviets, and both commanders would realise as much. If necessary, I could participate in any negotiations that would facilitate this. After all, there is plenty of historical hindsight to convince Roosevelt of the necessity to stop Soviet expansion.

There is no way of telling how the war would progress from then on, but it is fairly probable that, without the agreements at Yalta and with an open front in the West, Germany and most of Eastern Europe would not be occupied by Soviet forces. The balance of the Cold war would be very different. It would be an interesting history to behold ;)

I would not try to meddle in the pacific war, as I don't believe even historical hindsight would be sufficient to override the rigid Japanese honour system. Sad as it may seem, Hiroshima and Nagasaki probably need to happen.

As to entries, as is custom, I'll do my usual enter-for-everyone approach. Stuff will be added and reordered in due course:

-- Total Annihilation: Commander Pack for me, let's get this one out of the way :P
-- Patrician IV & Rise of a Dynasty for Recsam511
-- Metro 2033 for MunkiSiren
-- Slam Bolt Scrappers for Black Dawn
-- Krunch for lugum
-- Cognition Ep. 2 for benderz
-- Cognition Ep. 1 for DeMignon
-- Anodyne for JogsterXL

Many kind thanks to ISC, lugum, Robette, and of course our friendly neighbourhood vul-, half-vulcan, Thespian ;)

First of all, thanks for another great giveaway Thespian*, and many thanks to all the donors who made it possible. +1's all around!

Secondly, please count me in for Anodyne, another thanks to Robette for donating it.

Lastly, I would want to go back to June 22, 1973. I chose this date because I never got to know my grandfather as he died before I was born. From what I have heard about him, he was a pretty cool guy, so I would want to go back to when he was a somewhat younger man, and visit him and possibly strike up a friendship. Also, it would be fun to see my mom, who would only be a kid at that time, and the things she was doing when she was younger.

Hm..., very difficult decision. Should I go to the feature and see what mankind have became or should I go to the past and meet the great philosophers of ancient Greece or/and go to Egypt and see if the aliens build the pyramids?

Hm..., if I went to the future, it is possible that the mankind would be vanished and I will have 6 months to do nothing. If I went to the past, probably I could not communicate and I would be prisoned or killed.

Hm..., maybe I should do the same like Aniki said (post 33).

I can't decide I will leave it for the future...

Excellent giveaway Thespian*!!!

I just came back in 1990. In September. In the city of Osaka (Japan). Why ? Capcom is based in Osaka, and September 1990 is six month before the release date of Street Fighter 2 (CPS).
I want to follow the dev team, looking how they worked on it, and enjoyed the game at the beginning. Yes, I'm a Street Fighter fan, for a very long time :-)

Thanks for the contest Thesp', and thanks to the donators ! :-) Please count me in for Cognition Ep 2 (I already have Cognition 1).

Thank you for the giveaway, Mr. Vulcan.

I went to Scotland, exactly 716 years before present day, that is one day before battle of Stirling took place.
I found myself pledge my loyalty to William Wallace and enjoyed the bloody ride in First War of Scottish Independence.


Now that I returned to reality, I'd like that Metro 2033 from the Steam train.