fortuni on 19/11/2015 at 15:04
Iceblade
Maybe your being a bit restrictive
8 weeks for an experience author maybe nothing, but if I was entering the contest I would still be reading the Dromed tutorials in week 8. So maybe suggest they keep their build to a certain cubic size, otherwise they may not have enough time to do everything else they need to do to get the mission finish by the dead line
Why penalise a newbie for going over an arbitrary size limit.....is this contest to encourage new author or to punish them ?
Dev_Anj on 19/11/2015 at 15:22
I spent 8 weeks learning Dromed and still don't know a few basics, so yeah I don't think a beginner should have an arbitrary limit imposed just to follow the practice of an old contest. What this should be is an opportunity for newcomers to test the waters by releasing a mission to the public, and so letting them do what they want would be better.
Iceblade on 19/11/2015 at 16:11
Meaning you think there should be no time or size restrictions?
Dev_Anj on 19/11/2015 at 16:17
There should be a time limit, but not necessarily a size limit. Size limits work fine if you're trying to do something like test how well authors can use a certain space to make something, but this would only intimidate newcomers further I think.
fortuni on 19/11/2015 at 16:25
I agree with Dev_Anj about no size limit, but Dev, as a recent Dromer what size limit would you advise contestants to keep to and what time limit would you feel comfortable with....is 8 weeks enough or would 3 months (13weeks) be better in your opinion....8 weeks seems rather pressurised to me
Iceblade on 19/11/2015 at 16:47
Size limits also focus authors into designing and building missions of a more manageable, small scale. I think most first time authors tend to have ideas for their first mission, which underestimate the level of time and work required to implement.
FireMage on 19/11/2015 at 17:18
Of course, but a beginner have the right to be ambitious! :)
Give them this cubic unit as Tip. Tell them "Try to focuse on a single area, and work on it. If the work in progress seems pretty finished, then extend."
Tell them too "Choose at least three ideas of missions, think about what have been done in original missions. What LGS did in the main game.
How to make these ideas reality"
Tell them: "Do not panic if you think that you will not implent an idea or another. You are starting and this mission may not be your last mission but your first! Keep the rest for your further mission to make more details, better storyline etc."
Perhaps you could challenge them in another contest in the futur when they will be more experimented! ;)
But for the moment they only need the time limit to motivate them to finish their mission! :cool:
In the worst case they are too ambitious it will be their own penalty. But if we do the Work in Progress section, we could tell us if they are doing wrong or good. And I'm ready to be present to advice them! :thumb:
fortuni on 19/11/2015 at 17:24
I agree in principle, but do you want to exclude a contestant from the voting for making a mission who's build was in the region of 240,000 unit. Authors will discover for themselves that build big and you may end up with a rather vacuous map, on the other side force people to build small and they will have to cram a lot into a small area, this may cause newbies a lot of problems in itself. you NEED to let new authors learn for themselves what THEY are comfortable with, rather than push them to do what YOU think is best.
You mentioned you want the author to think about what they are doing....do you not think theirs heads will be spinning anyway. Give them advise, not restrictions :)
Same with your thoughts about stock/custom items. Good rules for a standard contest, but let the newbies experiment AND make mistakes....It is only through mistakes and experimenting that people enjoy new experiences. My greatest hope is that this contest will be an enjoyable experience for the contestants who will then go on to making another mission or two at their leisure. DO not make the experience painful or unpleasant for them from the start
I will vote (and I guess most other people will) for the mission I had most fun with (Good, average or just weird) and that will probably also be the person who shows the greatest natural talent....but I certainly will not take any notice of whether they broke any of the arbitrary rules
Dev_Anj on 19/11/2015 at 17:39
FireMage's suggestion is apt. If you want to mention any size limit, just write in the contest rules that they can make levels with these sizes for a start, but they can feel free to expand if they want to. Also deconstructing LGS's unstripped levels or Antimatter16's remakes of LGS levels to get ideas is also good provided they read some good tutorials alongside it.
Quote Posted by fortuni
I agree with Dev_Anj about no size limit, but Dev, as a recent Dromer what size limit would you advise contestants to keep to and what time limit would you feel comfortable with....is 8 weeks enough or would 3 months (13weeks) be better in your opinion....8 weeks seems rather pressurised to me
Truth be told, I could easily knock out a simplistic mission within a week, maybe less if I work hard. But that's not what I want to be remembered by, is it? ;)
Renault on 19/11/2015 at 17:55
I'm usually all for some kind of size restriction, mainly because of the time limit. Over zealousness has got the be the #1 reason that unfinished missions remain unfinished. For newbs, it's even worse. Everyone wants the create the huge, sprawling, gargantuan mission that will be remembered until the end of time. Problem is, most of those FMs never see the light of day.
Komag ran what, 6 or 7 contests over the years? Every one had a size limit, and his contests always yielded a large number of entries. It's OK to focus people, keep them in check just a bit and save them from themselves. They can create their own mega missions separately, on their own time.
