Calling all Modders! If you think you can put together a decent Freespace ship, well now's the time to bust out your dusty old 3d program, scrub the rust off your image editor and tighten up the nuts and bolts of your PCS2 install because those ships could make you some cold hard cash. It's contest time!
Rule 4 has changed - please re-read.The Details:The contest will be split into categories based on species - Terrans, Vasudans and Shivans will all get individual awards, along with an overall winner from any species. All ship types are acceptable, from drones and fighters to supercaps and mega installations, as are ships from all FS eras (Pre Great War to Post Capella). Judging will be based not just on aesthetics, but also on creativity, backstory, ingame balance, technical quality, the use of SCP features, in game features and value to campaign makers.
If we get enough entries (10 or more) a "People's choice" award will be activated, wherein HLP members will be allowed to choose their favourite ship from among the runners up by means of a forum poll. If we get a large number of entries (20+), this will be further split - probably into fighters and bomber / capships or on a species by species basis, depending on the makeup of the entries.
To enter, post a release thread on the FS Modding board within the contest period. Your ship will be added to the list below. If it isn't added in a timely fashion, PM a global mod or admin, and it'll get added.
Judges will be announced in the near future, as will details on the weighting for various features.
Entries close @ 23:59:59 GMT, 30th Spetember 2013
The Prizes:Best Overall Model: $100 US
Best Terran, Vasudan, Shivan model: $50 US x 3
Best Newcomer: $50 US
People's Choice $30 US
Winners will also receive the much coveted HLP Gold Star! Recognition and glamour - the ultimate reward!
NB - Further categories may be added if anyone is willing to kick in additional funding.
The Rules:- Multiple entires in the same or different categories (i.e. species) are acceptable and encouraged, however, no individual may win more than one major prize (i.e. the "Best Overall Model" and "Best Terran, Vasudan, Shivan model". However, the people's choice prize, should it be activated, will be open to all runners up, including unsuccessful ships from previous winners. No individual may win more than one people's choice prize should multiple categories be activated.
- Ships must be new - no previously released models will be accepted. Models previously completed but unreleased are acceptable if released during the competition period (ie. 25-06-2013 - 30-09-2013).
- Models released as part of a campaign release are not acceptable - ships must be released individually prior to any bundled release to be eligible to win.
- The purpose of the contest is to increase the pool of available Freespace mods for campaign designers to make use of. Therefore, all entires must be released publicly, and it is a requirement of entry that all entries include some form of written license granting and guaranteeing that non-exclusive right into the future. As long as access and free use (for at least the purpose of non-commercial FS2_Open usage) is made clear, no specific license is a requirement. This may take the form of a document included as part of the download, or a statement from the author in the release thread.
- Ships must be original - i.e. HTLs of Volition ships are not acceptable, nor are recreations of models from external sources (e.g. films, TV shows etc.) Ships should be designed for the Freespace universe and should not be obviously, identifiably intended for other universes (such as Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, etc. etc.).
- HTLing community made ships from a retail standard to a modern is acceptable, as long as the original author does not object. If ambiguous, ships will be dealt with on a case by case basis - if you are uncertain, contact a judge before commencing your project.
- Ships must be functional in FSO with the latest mediaVPs installed, and include at least a LoD0 model (pof), a diffuse map (if not utilizing existing tile maps) and a table file. Points will be deducted for bugs, and added for completeness (e.g. debris, LoDs, normal maps etc.) Ships which cannot be made to work in FSO will be disqualified.
- Ships utilizing new features such as new weapon types, scripted capabilities etc. are acceptable, as long as all necessary files are included with the release.
- Teamups are acceptable, however only one prize will be sent out. Further splitting will be up to the individuals on the team. It is encouraged that weighting for prize money be worked out ahead of time.
- Prizes will be sent out by PayPal. Arrangements can be made with contest winners to vary this (e.g. prizes by way of vouchers to online stores, transfer into accounts etc.), however all moneys must be transferred electronically - posting cash or cheques will not be undertaken.
- Rules are subject to limited change following community consultation.
Notes on the "Best Newcomer" category
- Eligibility for this prize is open to all individuals who have never released a model before on HLP. In order to confirm entry in this category rather than one of the "senior" categories, mention this on your release thread.
- The model must conform with all above rules.
- Best newcomer models are eligible for the main prize, but not for the individual species prizes. Best Newcomer models are eligible for the People's Choice prize, should it be activated.
- Best newcomer models will be judged according to the same criteria as all other entries.
- We are aware of the potential for abuse in this category, and request a degree of self regulation from entrants. Although technically open to anyone who has never released a model before, we would ask that those who may have considerable modelling/texturing experience away from HLP would consider the purpose of this prize and enter themselves in one of the other categories. We reserve the right to "promote" to the more senior categories if it is determined that the system is being abused.