Unflappable Drayk Lazarus. Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 It's back. Rules are the same as last time. A week will be decided upon that works well for as many people as possible, during which entrants can select any 24 hour block to work on their scenarios. Time will be allowed for testing and revisions, and then judging will begin. I had a lot of fun with this last time, and am looking forward to trying it again and hopefully getting back into my designing groove. Everyone is invited to join, both old participants and new. It's been said that this stunt is a veritable rite of passage for designers-- all I can say is it's guaranteed to put hair on your chest. Don't miss out! Edit: Oh, and the point of this topic is for people to declare whether they intend to participate, and hopefully settle on a week that works for everyone. It won't be fore two weeks at least, I have finals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Ephesos Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 ...yeah. Terrible timing here, man. I'm in crunch mode. That said, bring it on. I look forward to ensuring you don't sweep your own contest this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk nikki. Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I'm in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan Mistb0rn Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Does this contest include BoE, or is it Avernum only? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk nikki. Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I'd assume it's both, since it was open to both last time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall BainIhrno Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I'll be willing to judge if I can get BoA onto my computer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Enraged Slith Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I'll participate as soon as I have time. Exam week is coming up, so once my main difficulties are done, I'll get it done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotghroth Rhapsody Duck in a Top Hat Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Huzzah! This is a perfect chance for me. I have given up on at least three scenarios already, and the one I'm currently working on (and hope to finish) will take at least a month. This will give me a chance to finally finish a scenario! I'm in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk nikki. Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Question: Did we ever decide if importing towns were allowed last time, and if so, did we decide whether or not importing them from outside scenarios were okay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unflappable Drayk Lazarus. Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 Well last contest it was done twice, for Madhouse as well as the Tales. The circumstance there was that the towns were already drawn, and since the towns were needed the alternative would have been to copy them by hand. I think imported towns are still in the spirit of the contest, as long as you're not drawing towns ahead of time just to save time on contest day (so if it's a sequel and you're importing from the original I'd say fine, ditto if you're using the A2 template like in AVM.) So the consensus so far is that after finals would be the best time (go figure.) My last final is next friday, so I was thinking of starting things on Sunday the 10th. Do I get out early, or is everyone else also out at that time? This date is still very malleable, I just pulled it out of nowhere because it's convenient for me and nobody else has asked for a specific date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Niemand Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 No data was imported from outside in Madhouse, I used a fraction of my time budget to very carefully reproduce material from Avernum 2. I didn't invent it myself, but I drew every single terrain and floor by hand. (I thought about it and concluded that using the A2 template would be out-and-out cheating, but this was just my interpretation since the rules made no mention of such things.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Acky Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 /submits Master Ackrovan into the contest [insert appropriate trash-talking here.] ...Or some other terrian type I'll be out designing you in On the subject of the Tenth of May, I'm good. TBA could use some inspiration. The Last Archon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotghroth Rhapsody Duck in a Top Hat Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I'll probably be fine as long as it's on a Saturday. 1) I can stay up until midnight, 2) If it's Sunday I lose 3 hours and I can't stay up on a school night. I don't want that big of a disadvantage, because it would count for 6 total hours. And Mon-Fri is a 9 hour penalty. Definitely out of the question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unflappable Drayk Lazarus. Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 Ah, my mistake. Then I was the only one bending the rules-- to be fair I asked first!! I think of pre-existing towns as pretty much the same as pre-existing scripts or graphics. The point of this isn't to make you jump through hoops; if the resource is out there you should use it. I'd say use common sense, and if it's particularly gray then post the details and leave it up to the rest of the contestants to decide. Edit: The previous was directed at Nikki's question/Niemand's response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk nikki. Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Erm, the 10th sounds alright to me, but I reserve the right to pull a previous commitment out of my ass if I remember one. As for importing towns, I'll take the spirit of the rule to mean "anything made in the 24 hours can be copied, but no external towns can be pulled in". Just because it feels like cheating. Fortunately, this wouldn't matter to me, since any porting I'd do would be self-contained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unflappable Drayk Lazarus. Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 @Duck: The contest spans for an entire week, starting May 10th (if that turns out to be the day we choose.) You can pick any 24 hour span within that week to work on the scenario. You can start at the stroke of midnight on the 9th, or you can start at 1pm on that Wednesday. Doesn't matter. (For some reason PPP doesn't reflect the edit I made to the rules in that old thread. Sorry about that.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Niemand Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I entirely agree with Nikki; I held no objection to a designer making as many copies of his own work as he needed. After all, you could in many cases reuse a town at the cost of greatly complicating the coding. The point is to make the designer do the designing during the stipulated time period, but not to make the designing more complicated than it otherwise would be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk nikki. Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Incidentally, Niemand, I didn't see you saying you'd be in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Enraged Slith Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 The 10th should be fine. I'm incredibly busy through the 4th and then I've got to worry about packing up and heading home. Then I've got to deal with a commissioning ceremony for the senior cadets, even though I wont have a home anywhere near campus. Incidentally, who is going to be judging this thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Acky Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I would like to judge, if needed. Assuming I can judge and participate at the same time. The Last Archon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unflappable Drayk Lazarus. Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 Who's judging? Uh, anyone I can get pretty much. And yes, contestants can judge, there's a runoff system to keep contestants from influencing their own scenario's placement. Non-contestant judges are preferred, but usually there aren't enough of them (at least it's been that way for every contest I've participated in.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Enraged Slith Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I'll judge too, then. It'll keep me involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dintiradan Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Gah. Okay, so while I've got nothing to my name, I still joined this community with the (misguided) purpose of making scenarios. And I like to pretend that I've got the skill to code a scenario, albeit not the skill to design one. This pretence is dashed every half year or so when I open the Editor. Still, I can't deny that I'm curious about my abilities. I'm sorta maybe tentatively in. Keep in mind how many promised deadlines and promised submissions I've made over the years (Was that plural? Egads!). A big barrier is whether we can divide our twenty four hours into multiple days. If not, I'll be limited to working on whatever Saturday. A repeat of last contest would be very possible (suddenly going out of town halfway through). At any rate, put me down for judging. Time I start pulling my weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk nikki. Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 I think we should allow splitting the time, but maybe put a hard limit to the number of splits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Celtic Minstrel Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Like, no more than 3 sittings? Or possible 4... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Enraged Slith Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 As much as I think we should allow it, I wouldn't encourage it. Half the fun of this is subjecting yourself to an awful and stressful day of couch potato madness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk nikki. Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Originally Posted By: Enraged Slith As much as I think we should allow it, I wouldn't encourage it. Half the fun of this is subjecting yourself to an awful and stressful day of couch potato madness. This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Acky Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 I'm a little confused on something; how does the scenario submission exactly work? We send it to Lazarus, then take it through Beta Testing, then send this final version to Lazarus? Simple as that? The Last Archon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Callie Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 I would be willing to judge. There's a small chance that I might actually make something, but don't count on it. I wouldn't influence your time frame, but your date happens to work if I bothered to makes something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unflappable Drayk Lazarus. Posted April 22, 2009 Author Share Posted April 22, 2009 In regards to Dintiradan's question: The purpose of the contest is to have fun, and get some scenarios released; the time limit rule hopefully is helping with both of these. It forces you to reassess the way you design. It's a way to challenge yourself, and it's a source of good natured competition amongst the community. But ultimately it's there for fun, and the rules shouldn't keep people from participating. So barring objections, I'm inclined to allow the split-24 hours. I'm not going to come up with a set of rules to govern this exception, I'll leave that up to you. Just keep in mind that the 24 hour limit is for your own benefit and enjoyment; splitting up the hours shouldn't be a way to somehow cheat the system or whatnot, because you shouldn't WANT to cheat the system. If there's any reasonable way to complete the contest in the traditional 24 hour block, you should try to do that. Barring that-- do what you have to do. Ackrovan: That is more or less correct. I'll probably set up a contest email for submissions, which will be posted here. The way we did it last time was: Quote: 1. Send a message to the contest email saying you're beginning work (Clock in) 2. Send the finished scenario within 24 hours (Clock out) 3. Beta test/revise, and resubmit before the judging begins (Final Copy) The clock in/clock out is mostly so you're accountable to yourself, we weren't terribly strict about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan Smoo Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Eh, the 10th is good. I might have done all my exams/papers by then. So consider me contesting, or contested... Whatever. I got ideas you know. Hold it! You are allowed to have ideas, right? Hold it! Do you have to have talent? I might be in trouble if you have to have talent. Hold it! Can we design with our feet? ... I'll stop typing now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotghroth Rhapsody Duck in a Top Hat Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Quote: Half the fun of this is subjecting yourself to an awful and stressful day of couch potato madness. I completely agree, although I'm not going to say I don't do this anyway. When there's a weekend, you can pretty much count me sitting on an uncomfortable metal folding chair and typing away, mumbling like a madman... 'Oh, the START_STATE isn't working every turn... oh, the boss needs to be at least thirty levels higher—' I love a good day of Scenario Madness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Tyranicus Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 I should be available to judge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt aka Ravenwing Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Count me in as tentative, most likely. I'm still in school that week I think, but there are a couple of days I don't have class, and hopefully I won't have work on those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Celtic Minstrel Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Originally Posted By: Enraged Slith As much as I think we should allow it, I wouldn't encourage it. Half the fun of this is subjecting yourself to an awful and stressful day of couch potato madness. Which is a good reason for me not to participate. I might be willing to judge, though. I guess that means that I'd have to play all the scenarios? Originally Posted By: Lazarus. The clock in/clock out is mostly so you're accountable to yourself, we weren't terribly strict about it. If you're splitting, do you clock in/out more than once? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unflappable Drayk Lazarus. Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share Posted April 24, 2009 Celtic: I'll leave that up to the person. They should at least clock in once at the beginning, and state that they're splitting the time up. Whether they clock in/out for each design session is up to them. The contest week is being moved back, to give more people time to finish tests/school. Sunday the 24th of May is the new start date, if I don't hear too many objections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Acky Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 *Bump* Well, I'm out for now. Not unless I resolve this issue soon. The Last Archon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dintiradan Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Which issue, if I may ask? Sorry if I'm missing something you've said before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Acky Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 http://www.ironycentral.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=166893#Post166893 Still just getting an ugly white screen. I can't figure it out. This has never happened before. Heck, I didn't even know this Data Prevention existed until now. The Last Archon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan tridash Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 I'd be interested in doing a 24 hour scenario, but I don't finish exams until around the 7th of June, so if that's inconvenient I'll just do a quick scenario separate from the contest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Acky Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 I'm good to win again. The Last Archon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt aka Ravenwing Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 oh n0ez!!!11! teh lozer iz me!1!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotghroth Rhapsody Duck in a Top Hat Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 I'm so scared! Seriously, though, this will be my second scenario, and probably only likely to win 'Scenario most influenced by lack of sleep'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan tridash Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 hm, I think I should be able to judge if necessary...is there any confirmation on the dates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk nikki. Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 24th May was the date that Laz last came up with, so that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Acky Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Hey tridash, where'd you get the new costum title? The Last Archon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan tridash Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 When the new boards were first up, it was possible to give yourself a custom title (presumably accidentally?), so here i am with an exciting custom title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Enraged Slith Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 So what's the theory behind the graphic rule? I don't see how creating graphics is any different than planning any other component of the scenario. Honestly, it's just eye candy, and really has nothing to do with an actual scenario other than to help place the player in the shoes of his heroic adventurers. I suppose that's a reason in itself, but the possibility of finishing any sort of graphic other than those silly little splash screens I make in a 24 hour timeslot is fairly outrageous. I'm just curious what had been determined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt aka Ravenwing Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 I was wondering about that too. Realistically, I'm not even going to try designing my own graphics for a time-limited design process, but it would save me a few minutes, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk nikki. Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 From the original contest thread: "As for graphics, anything explicitly for this scenario must be made the day of, but general graphics (like the Louvre etc) are fine." However... I'm sort of torn here. Obviously drawing a new creature from scratch in 24 hours is going to be nigh on impossible, and I think that if a designer wants to make a graphic, upload it to the Louvre/Blades Forge/wherever, and then use it in the scenario, they should be allowed. On the other hand, if the designer just wants to make minor edits to an existing graphic to make it unique to that scenario, that should be done in the 24 hours. I think that keeps with the original rules quite well, at any rate, but I'm not the only person taking part in the contest. Secondly - this raises a second question, namely "is it alright to write a custom data script in advance"? Collecting, sorting, and then writing the damned thing is tedious at best, and eats into time with nothing really to show for it, in terms of scenario, but it is still work that is necessary for the scenario, and so should be done within the 24 hours... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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