Graphics by zimlord
The competition you've all been waiting for and whining about is finally here, so fire up your Stepmania editors and prepare for the premier Stepman-ing competition in all of the internets! How rigged will this one be? Only time will tell!
Important Dates
Competition Start: Wednesday, February 16th, 2011
Competition End: Sunday, March 13th, 2011 11:59PM EDT (This is the final due date for files.)
PRIZES:
1st place: custom rank and FotW
2nd place: 2nd place trophy rank
3rd place: 3rd place trophy rank
File Submission Rules
[Reveal] Spoiler: Read me!
1. You may only submit one file. That’s all. One. No exceptions.
2. Only include one chart (preferably Expert/Challenge) in your file. Only that one chart for each file will be judged. You are welcome to make more difficulties later (to be put in when the pack is released), but they will not be taken into account for judging.
3. Your chart should be between a 9 and a 14, though keep in mind that the more accessible the chart is to the judges, the chances of it doing better are probably increased.
4. Do not include your name ANYWHERE in the file. This includes the folder your file is in, cd titles, the name of the file and anything else in the song folder, and anything located anywhere within any file itself (ie: inside the .sm).
5. Your file must be completely, 100% never released before. If anyone except for you has even seen it, then you may not submit it. You cannot submit a file that has been released elsewhere in any form before (single charts from it, snapshots, rough drafts, etc.) You can step songs that have been stepped before, but be aware they you're probably going to lose originality points if your file is like many others, or a well-known one.
6. Song play length/stepping time must be between 1:30 and 2:15 (defined as the beginning of the chart to the last step), to ensure that the judges will be able to test them at their arcade, and so that everyone can enjoy them after the competition is over. One second (or more) over or under is not allowed.
7. No explicit lyrics. Since these are (mostly) going to be played in arcades to be judged, they must be appropriate to be played anywhere, even at Chuck-E-Cheese’s and whatnot. One or two minimally audible swears might be okay. Check with me first if you are unsure.
8. No backgrounds/banners. I do not want anything to distract the judges from judging only the steps to the song. Even though it is possible to ignore good backgrounds, they do make a subliminal difference, and I do not want that here. You are more than welcome to submit graphics separate from the file to be included in the final pack, however.
9. Your song must be in .ogg format and preferably not patched for time, even if they are over 2:00 long. This is to allow the judges to more easily play the files in Stepmania's edit mode, since the music cuts out after 1:45 for patched files. Your stepfile must also be in .sm format.
10. Anything else not specified here that could lead to any complications is forbidden. This is open to interpretation by the admin and may be carried out with or without notice.
11. All of the above applies for the entire competition period, and beyond. If at any time your file is found to have any of the above in it (even if you or I didn't notice it), then you will have your file disqualified from the competition immediately, along with any prizes you may have won. All disqualified files are not included in the final pack. If possible though, I will let you know that something is wrong in advance so that you can fix it.
12. If at any time before the entry due date you are unsure as to whether or not something in your song or file fits the above rules, PM me or ask me on AIM. I will tell you my opinion, but it is up to you to make sure that it still fits the rules stated above. Excessive/inappropriate clarification of rules will result in being banned from this competition, along with further action if necessary.
13. When you have finished making your file, send it directly to me, Blazing, either on AIM or via a PM on this forum. I'll do my best to be available on AIM, but if you're in another time zone or I'm not online, it may be easier for you to PM me. If you choose to PM me, just upload the file to Mediafire or another sharing site.
2. Only include one chart (preferably Expert/Challenge) in your file. Only that one chart for each file will be judged. You are welcome to make more difficulties later (to be put in when the pack is released), but they will not be taken into account for judging.
3. Your chart should be between a 9 and a 14, though keep in mind that the more accessible the chart is to the judges, the chances of it doing better are probably increased.
4. Do not include your name ANYWHERE in the file. This includes the folder your file is in, cd titles, the name of the file and anything else in the song folder, and anything located anywhere within any file itself (ie: inside the .sm).
5. Your file must be completely, 100% never released before. If anyone except for you has even seen it, then you may not submit it. You cannot submit a file that has been released elsewhere in any form before (single charts from it, snapshots, rough drafts, etc.) You can step songs that have been stepped before, but be aware they you're probably going to lose originality points if your file is like many others, or a well-known one.
6. Song play length/stepping time must be between 1:30 and 2:15 (defined as the beginning of the chart to the last step), to ensure that the judges will be able to test them at their arcade, and so that everyone can enjoy them after the competition is over. One second (or more) over or under is not allowed.
7. No explicit lyrics. Since these are (mostly) going to be played in arcades to be judged, they must be appropriate to be played anywhere, even at Chuck-E-Cheese’s and whatnot. One or two minimally audible swears might be okay. Check with me first if you are unsure.
8. No backgrounds/banners. I do not want anything to distract the judges from judging only the steps to the song. Even though it is possible to ignore good backgrounds, they do make a subliminal difference, and I do not want that here. You are more than welcome to submit graphics separate from the file to be included in the final pack, however.
9. Your song must be in .ogg format and preferably not patched for time, even if they are over 2:00 long. This is to allow the judges to more easily play the files in Stepmania's edit mode, since the music cuts out after 1:45 for patched files. Your stepfile must also be in .sm format.
10. Anything else not specified here that could lead to any complications is forbidden. This is open to interpretation by the admin and may be carried out with or without notice.
11. All of the above applies for the entire competition period, and beyond. If at any time your file is found to have any of the above in it (even if you or I didn't notice it), then you will have your file disqualified from the competition immediately, along with any prizes you may have won. All disqualified files are not included in the final pack. If possible though, I will let you know that something is wrong in advance so that you can fix it.
12. If at any time before the entry due date you are unsure as to whether or not something in your song or file fits the above rules, PM me or ask me on AIM. I will tell you my opinion, but it is up to you to make sure that it still fits the rules stated above. Excessive/inappropriate clarification of rules will result in being banned from this competition, along with further action if necessary.
13. When you have finished making your file, send it directly to me, Blazing, either on AIM or via a PM on this forum. I'll do my best to be available on AIM, but if you're in another time zone or I'm not online, it may be easier for you to PM me. If you choose to PM me, just upload the file to Mediafire or another sharing site.
How Judging Will Work
[Reveal] Spoiler: Read me!
This competition will be following the same rules as Comp IV, since it worked nicely.
1) The judges will all get the files and they will not know who made them (except for me).
2) All of the judges will rank the files in order of how they liked them, from 1 being their favorite.
3) All of the judges will then share their lists, and the rankings for the files will be totaled to produce a preliminary final list. (For an idea on how this works, here's an example: suppose Judge Aaron ranks the files as (1) Butterfly, (2) Max 300, (3) Cutie Chaser; Judge Betty ranks the files as (1) Butterfly, (2) Cutie Chaser, (3) Max 300; and Judge Carl ranks the files as (1) Cutie Chaser, (2) Butterfly, (3) Max 300. This means that Butterfly has a total of 4, Max 300 has a total of 8, and Cutie Chaser has a total of 6, so the preliminary final list would be Butterfly in 1st, Cutie Chaser in 2nd, and Max 300 in 3rd).
4) After the preliminary list is put up for all the judges to see, the real judging begins. The judges will discuss and debate the rankings, going into detail on what they thought was good and bad for charts they feel are ranked too high/too low. The preliminary final ranking will be fine-tuned accordingly. This discussion will continue until all of the judges are satisfied with the official final ranking. It may take as much as a month for all the judges to play through, debate, and rank the files.
5) Once the official final ranking is decided, then the judging will be posted, along with the pack of files for everyone to download.
This way of judging gets the best of all worlds. It has the knowledgeable and experienced judges, and it has the in-depth analysis requirements as well, so that they don't just pass over songs that they don't like initially. It requires the judges to play charts over and over again in different mindsets. Plus it doesn't rely on arbitrary numbers being assigned to arbitrary categories.
The judges are the following four members:
The Judges
Blazing
TEEX
zimlord
Helvetica
So get on that file making already! Though you may think you have plenty of time right now, the deadline will be here before you know it. A month is not that long! Give yourself plenty of time to playtest and revise, make sure your file complies with the rules, and, most importantly, become one with the file you are making. Good luck!
1) The judges will all get the files and they will not know who made them (except for me).
2) All of the judges will rank the files in order of how they liked them, from 1 being their favorite.
3) All of the judges will then share their lists, and the rankings for the files will be totaled to produce a preliminary final list. (For an idea on how this works, here's an example: suppose Judge Aaron ranks the files as (1) Butterfly, (2) Max 300, (3) Cutie Chaser; Judge Betty ranks the files as (1) Butterfly, (2) Cutie Chaser, (3) Max 300; and Judge Carl ranks the files as (1) Cutie Chaser, (2) Butterfly, (3) Max 300. This means that Butterfly has a total of 4, Max 300 has a total of 8, and Cutie Chaser has a total of 6, so the preliminary final list would be Butterfly in 1st, Cutie Chaser in 2nd, and Max 300 in 3rd).
4) After the preliminary list is put up for all the judges to see, the real judging begins. The judges will discuss and debate the rankings, going into detail on what they thought was good and bad for charts they feel are ranked too high/too low. The preliminary final ranking will be fine-tuned accordingly. This discussion will continue until all of the judges are satisfied with the official final ranking. It may take as much as a month for all the judges to play through, debate, and rank the files.
5) Once the official final ranking is decided, then the judging will be posted, along with the pack of files for everyone to download.
This way of judging gets the best of all worlds. It has the knowledgeable and experienced judges, and it has the in-depth analysis requirements as well, so that they don't just pass over songs that they don't like initially. It requires the judges to play charts over and over again in different mindsets. Plus it doesn't rely on arbitrary numbers being assigned to arbitrary categories.
The judges are the following four members:
The Judges
Blazing
TEEX
zimlord
Helvetica
So get on that file making already! Though you may think you have plenty of time right now, the deadline will be here before you know it. A month is not that long! Give yourself plenty of time to playtest and revise, make sure your file complies with the rules, and, most importantly, become one with the file you are making. Good luck!
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