robbalvey Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 A question for all MODS: I'm seeing a lot of complaints about fixed/rigged voting in the challenge. One of the members has been soliciting votes for his park- which I personally don't think is out of bounds myself, but there have been some issues with a few people over it. In the next challenge, i'm thinking stick to the 'one vote per member' system- but I don't think that will entirely solve the problem all around. Thoughts on this to appease the people? Yes - my thought is that the moderators and admins of the game exchange should have the final say. We can spin it however we want. Say our votes are weighted more, etc.... And really, if you feel someone who has a lower quality submission ends up being the winner due to soliciting votes, we simply say that... "While member X technically had a higher "popular vote", the moderators and admins, who are the ultimate judges of this contest have discussed the outcome, and we feel that member Y's submission is the overall winner because of reasons x, y, and z. Congrats to our players, and of course our winner. Remember everyone, even if you go out and solicit bonus votes from total strangers, that doesn't automatically make you the winner!" --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 What about two winners - a "reader's" choice and an "editor's" choice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueerRudie Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share Posted April 6, 2011 ^ I actually like that... However, if that doesn't fly: I think the MODS should get a 10 point vote- in which we each pick one park, award it 10 votes, and go from there- If everyone likes that- let's do that; I can setup the winning 'thread' tommorow morning prior to work. Either way, I think those are good solutions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 ^^ I like that too. It's actually exactly what we used to do in the TPR Video contests when we held those. because you'd have someone with a total shit video end up with the most points because he got all his friends to vote for him, even though they never watched the video! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueerRudie Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share Posted April 6, 2011 So we now will give out two TPR prizes? 1 for the most votes, one as an 'Mod's choice?' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjaco Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 I'd just say the Mods points get higher weight. That way we can level the playing field should someone do something a bit shady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 ^^ I'm down with giving out two prizes. Remember - don't be afraid to give out prizes. It's like that scene in the Jerk where he's playing the guess your weight guy and the owner tells him "You took in $50, but you gave away 50 cents worth of crap!" The idea of people using the Game Exchange, and it gaining popularity far outweighs any prizes we give out or coupons for downloadable DVDs, etc. That stuff is negligible to me in terms of cost. But creating a place on the web where people can share their tracks, and it comes with less drama, annoyance, etc, than any other site, that to me is worth a lot! And that's more what I'm focused on. Give away as much crap as it takes to really get people on board! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueerRudie Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share Posted April 6, 2011 Very good- With that said, the winners would be 1) Popular vote: SoCalCoasters 2.) Mods choice (Second place): nin I think that should cool down the populous- and let us move onto the next challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 ^ AND...most importantly make multiple people happy. Like I said, as long as we are persistent, and keep this going, in theory, each time we do this it should gain a little bit more popularity each round. But that will take work and we will have to promote it. Case in point, look at Big Mike's thread. People love his thread, not because it's great, but because he keeps it going and with each iteration you're convinced more and more that it's awesome. And on top of that, the updates are decent and funny, even thought the actual quality of his pictures aren't as good as others we see on the site! It's because there is a consistency about it that really makes it work. People LOVE to feel involved. And the more we can make people feel involved with something, the more of an increase we'll see. --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Send me the winners address in an email to robbalvey@gmail.com Put something in the subject line that tells me they are bag of crap winners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueerRudie Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Thinking and planning ahead to the next RCT II challenge- I'm working on the final edition of the park now, as in: Final terraforming and ride placement. As this is Teh Big Dipper challenge, that is the cornerstone of the game level itself, but I'm also seeking more ideas for making this challenge 'pop' a bit- as in, I'd like people to get uber excited. What I need is this: Rides and such that are now 'in the past' or gone that would drive up some more attendance to the challenge. These rides can be ANYTHING from Theme Park History- including but not limited to recent park losses, as well as classics of other eras. So far, the list includes: Teh Big Dipper (A great call, Robb- and a great kernel to seed this challenge with) and The Bat (Suspended). I'd like to install a few more 'classic rides' before completing the park itself, and packaging it for the Challenge. To tie it together, I'd like to put toghether a 'history' portion leading into the challenge itself (A 'pre-show' if you will) using elements from TPR- I.e. CoasterTube, Shane's Amusement Attic, etc. and feeding those into the TPR Challenge. Any other ideas are -greatly- apprecaiated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueerRudie Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 (edited) OK: Here it is- this is the prototype for Teh Big Dipper challenge in it's first revision; I'm thinking of making some basic changes to this in terms of a few items here and there, but otherwise, it's ready to go. The basic guise of this is to make it EASY for people to play, as well as having a bit of challenge to it; that is, Teh Big Dipper is featured (Thus the 'thought' behind it) and to be a park where members will have to think carefully while playing it. It's also a challenge to make sure people know how to build pretty rides- as you'll notice: Scenery is kept to an ABSOLUTE minimum. There are some items added in- trees, plants, etc. but very little in the way of actual scenery elements (Walls, roofs, etc.). The reason? Very simply put: It's time to showcase our ride designers talents- not just the scenery aspects of the game itself. This, in itself, is designed to bring in more people to play it; a lot of the feedback I got from the last RCT II challenge was that there were too many 'scenery' players trying to vie for the prize, and that turned off a lot of people from entering the challenge in the first place. To tie into this challenge are Teh Big Dipper coasters- which is the 'theming' reason behind the challenge itself. As you'll see on Monday, I have a -lengthy- PTR of a "Big Dipper" coaster on a trip throughout Arizona, California, and Oregon, which will also cross-link into the challenge itself (Yes, a bit of cross-promoting never hurt anyone!). If the buzz over this is big enough, I hope (and have set a 'goal' of) to get 25 entrants into this challenge- the first one we had 17, so it should not be too hard to get additional people in. As with the previous challenges: Entrants will have TWO WEEKS to put together their park into the exchange, as well as to post pictures along the way. Custom add-ons are not permitted, and, as usual, no hacking/trainers are allowed for it. Every person who submits a park to this challenge will also get a 100 pt. 'bonus' into their accounts- another way to boost people playing this particular challenge. The winning prize is a set of Teh Big Dipper coasters, plus a TPR bag of Crap. A 'Moderator's Choice' winner will recieve a Bag of Crap as well, just to ensure we have our bases covered along the way. Crazy Park Manager will post this challenge on Monday AM (PDT; I've figured out that some of our 'dimmer' members don't realize that there IS a standard time, so I'm posting PDT for all entries being submitted to the challenge...) and will end two weeks later (Monday at midnght, PDT). Voting will open promplty on Tuesday eve, and run one week (Once again, closing Monday at Midnight, PDT). I'll notify Wes, Ernie and Krazekidd to post up appropriate tweets/FB updates, as well as post the thread to the forum at the same time. If all goes well, this could be a real show-stopper, especially since the kids are out of school- and probably bored a bit already... R.D. Teh Big Dipper Challenge.zip Edited June 3, 2011 by QueerRudie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 After a long car ride, I have some impressions. The difficulty is perfect. Mildly challenging, but nowhere near impossible. As of April Year 3 I have repaid the loan, I have over 1,000 guests, and I have over $10,000 to burn. Good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueerRudie Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 Thanks- I'm going to do some minor revisions of the scenario itself today (Yes, even I get a day off every once in a while!) and write out the scripts, etc. for the thread. Crazy Park Manager will be paying a visit to chat this evening/tommorow evening- I'll be sure to keep an eye on him... Any changes needed? I'm curious to see how y'all feel about the final product with it. R.D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I like that we're all represented as staff members. You may want to not use the word "teh" so much. Also, to add to the storyline, you may want to rename some of the shops and rides - for example, I renamed the ATM "Monies". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djbrcace1234 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 (edited) Yeah, the staff names are a clever idea. So far I'm pretty much in the same situation as AJ, though, I'm not a fan of my surroundings. And AJ, that is a good suggestion, too. I'm sure everyone will like this challenge. edit: I also lol'ed at all of the ragtime music! Edited June 3, 2011 by djbrcace1234 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueerRudie Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 Great stuff- I'll go ahead and re-name some of the 'more imfamous' shops/stands to more 'Desmond-esque' features along the way. I tried to avoid using 'Teh' too much- but I'll spell-check that I've not inadvertently put a typo in that's not really represented too much! R.D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 (edited) Finished - Once I got my guest count up to 2,000, it was really hard to keep everyone in. I held the count up for five months. Make sure the players know that repaying the loan is a requirement of the challenge. Half the kids on the forum won't bother reading the scenario description. EDIT: It might be a good idea to have all the rides start with prices of $1 to $2. That way, players will have to think, "Oh, I need to increase the prices or I can't pay off the loan". Edited June 4, 2011 by A.J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueerRudie Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 Outstanding- Glad to see it produced results. I'll be putting up the specifics in the 'thread' itself about the loan repayment. If they are playing the scenario correctly, the park itself can pay down it's debts without too much effort easily (Thus why there's three coasters to start with; all cash-cows of sorts). If I could ask you to post your park in one week's time as an 'example' that would be great- I'd like to get my own variation up at the same time- sort of "Moderator's whimsies" if you will. The final revision will be done tommorow to the base park; I've also decided to do some 'grooming' of sorts- I.e. some shop renaming etc. to make it more compatible to the works of Prince Desmond. Two days and counting... LOL R.D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueerRudie Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 (edited) OK: It's up and ready to go- and cross-fed into both a Photo TR (My own perusings of the Big Dipper Coaster on 'tour') as well as the exchange. In addition, I'm sending out the requisite 'tweets/fb updates' to the appropriate people tonight, so they can be sent out tommorow morning for all to see. Have fun- I'm really hoping to drive this challenge hard! R.D. (Matt or Robb- I'm still not finding how to 'sticky' or 'announcement' these things- how do I do so, or if I'm not able to in my current 'powers' could one of you do so? Thanks!) Edited June 6, 2011 by QueerRudie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjaco Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I made it an Announcement, and dropped the old one into the "normal" category. Below the Submit button there's a section for other Options. Click on the Options Tab. There's selection buttons for "Normal", "Sticky", "Annoucment", and "Global." Only rule for them, is don't use Global! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Might be a good idea to front page it in a little while as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjaco Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 ^ Will do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 R.D., want me to upload my example to the exchange? Don't worry about users stealing my work - I watermarked it in a place where none of these kids would think to look - I constructed "A.J." in brown tarmac paths underground under the Dipper's support structure - you have to put on all three "see throughs" to even notice it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueerRudie Posted June 7, 2011 Author Share Posted June 7, 2011 YES!!! That would be great if we could get the Moderator's own parks up as well as the other players- but we need to note: The moderators are playing this 'against the other mods' rather than against the general public members- as a certain Moderator here is well known for his RCT II Parks (NUDGE NUDGE DEREK!)- I'm quite pleased so far with the first day of release counts: As of my last check, we had 27 downloads (Not including the 'multiple' downloads) so far- last RCT II challenge, we had 13 at this same point. My 'ideal' goal is 25-30 people to enter this time around- and with the 'scenery restrictions' in place, that is doable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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