Contest FAQ!

ID:13442
 
Jun 7 2006, 8:35 pm
We have been getting lots of emails with questions so we have decided to post the questions and answered here.

Q: Are we required to send the dmb and rsc files?
A: Yes. If the dmb and rsc files are not included in your entry email, you will not be able to participate. If the files can be downloaded off of the game's hub, that is an exception. But be sure to notify us that that is possible.

Q: Will you redistribute our game's files?
A: No. We will not redistribute your files.

Q: Does the game have to be completed?
A: The game does not have to be completed to submit it. But, if we feel the game is not complete, you will get a lower score.

Q: Can we submit games started before the contest started?
A: No. You may not submit games started before the contest started. However, you may use ideas from previous games in order to start a new game for submission.

Q: Do we have to give the source code?
A: No. We do not want anybody to send their source code.

Q: How does Iccusion Entertainment benefit from this?
A: We don't. This contest is for BYOND's benefit.

Q: How many judges will there be?
A: This is still undetermined. There will be around six judges. Three Iccusion judges and three third party judges.

Q: Can we remake a BYOND game and submit it?
A: No. You may not remake any game for submission unless it is your own unfinished game. But you must remake the unfinished game, not continue it.

If you have a question not answered here, please comment with it and one of the Iccusion Contest Team members will answer it as quickly as possible.

In other news, you still have plenty of time to join in or finish up! Check out this page for more details.

Hope to see you participating!

- Iccusion Contest Team

Jun 7 2006, 9:04 pm
What about if my project is two smaller projects in one. Say I have projects A and B.
People can use B to make "mods" for project A.
Would they both be counted together? Or would I have to choose between A and B to submit?
Jun 7 2006, 9:06 pm
If something is an add-on to your main entry, it would be considered as a part of the main entry and would need to be included with the submission.
Jun 7 2006, 9:08 pm
Hmm, the end of next week, my mid term hollidays start. This is when I can get the most programming done. I'll see how the tide goes as far as entering the competition goes.
Jun 7 2006, 9:09 pm
Sounds great! Looking forward to seeing your entry!
Jun 7 2006, 9:10 pm
For what I have planed. Damn right you are =P
Anyways, back to work. I have to finish off programming my B before I can actually start working on my A.
Jun 8 2006, 12:50 am
Question:

Say I hypothetically made an MMO-style semi-persistent-world RPG kinda thing, and got it permanently hosted. Being a MMORPG, you wouldn't necessarily get the full experience if you just got the DMB and RSC files and played them singleplayer. Would you judge it on the hosted world, or on the copy that I sent you?

It's also possible that the game might need to be hosted on Linux and have a MySQL database set up to support it, which would complicate local judging.
Jun 8 2006, 12:52 am
I asked him about out of DM languages such as PHP and MySQL. He said they were legal. So I suppose, the best option would be, to send in a detailed description of the games mechanics and just see where the judging takes place.

I'll look forward to compeating with you, if you enter. =P
Jun 8 2006, 12:53 am
Yes please Crispy. :(
Jun 8 2006, 2:19 am
Whoa, whoa. Definitely no promises. This thing isn't even off the drawing board yet. :-)
Jun 8 2006, 5:08 am
Crispy brings up a good point. Also, how "far" through the game are you going to play?

The main problem I see with judging a game that isn't hosted by a judge, is that the creator may be able to 'tweak' the game after the deadline. However, if the judges do play on their server, they should most certainly play with other judges.
Jun 8 2006, 1:08 pm
The dmb and rsc must be included or downloadable, no matter what. You may use third party servers to connect multiple player servers together or to keep track of rankings or whatever you want to do. But, the main game must be run through the dmb and rsc provided for the entry.

We will play through as much of the game as possible. For multiplayer games, multiple judges will play together.

So far two entries have been officially submitted. Let's keep them coming!

Look forward to seeing what everybody has up their sleeves!
Jun 8 2006, 5:52 pm
So you're okay with having to set up a MySQL database and hosting on a Linux server to test a game? Might entail some work! Of course, I'd send you the necessary database structure and data.

It probably won't come to that, though; I just remembered about the "All entries must have been started after April 19th, 2006" rule. I'm basing this off some code that I wrote way back in 2003 - it's basically just inventory management, character creation/loading/saving, a skill system, an attack and damage system, and a couple of other pieces of miscellaneous gameplay mechanics.

It wasn't quite the same game back then, but I guess it still counts as being started back then. So it's disqualified before I've even begun. =P
Jun 8 2006, 5:59 pm
"So you're okay with having to set up a MySQL database and hosting on a Linux server to test a game?"

No. We wont install or set up anything extra. But if your main game already retrieves what it needs from one already set up, that is fine.

The contest actually ends July 21st.

It is okay to remake something from 2003 as long as it was not released and as long as you completely remake it.
Jun 8 2006, 6:25 pm
Ahh, right. That makes a little more sense. :-) It would still need to be on a Linux box though, since the Dantom.DB library only works on Linux. It'd probably also be a bit slower since it'd have to contact the database over the internet.

It wasn't released. But when you say "completely remade", do you mean "all of the code written before the contest started gets rewritten", or does it just mean that the playing experience is noticeably different, or what?

I'm not going to bother rewriting all of the code - if it comes to that I just won't enter it. :-)

Sorry to be a pain with all the difficult questions! I just don't want to submit it and then be accused of breaking the rules. :-)
Jun 8 2006, 6:40 pm
You'll need to recode it all after the contest begun. Entries must be started from scratch.

Try making a small minigame for the contest! We just increased the chances of winning!
Jun 8 2006, 6:43 pm
That's what I thought. Never mind then!

I did have another idea for a game, which was started within the timeframe. We'll have to see about that one.
Jun 8 2006, 6:43 pm
Sounds great! Look forward to an entry from you!