The Mother of All Modification ContestsLadies and gentleman!!! Introducing the first ever multi-forum modification competition!!! It is about time that we see who in the NIC can produce the best mod around. This is a two-tier competition with a decent prize if you win for the forum you enter on and a Grand Prize for the winner of the whole competition.
Each major forum (NerfHaven, NerfHQ, FoamUniverse) has a thread for the sole purpose of entrants posting their new modifications.
WE ASK THAT YOU DO NOT POST IN THE COMPETITION THREAD IF YOU ARE NOT POSTING AN ENTRY. THIS IS TO REDUCE CONFUSION FOR THE JUDGES. ALL NON-COMPETITION ENTRIES WILL BE REMOVED BY THE ADMINISTRATOR-JUDGE. If you should have any questions, please post them in the
Discusssion/Question thread. No previously posted modifications will be allowed to be used nor will any modifications used in another contest. Only new modifications will be permitted and judged. Only one entry allowed period. Entries on more than one forum will disqualify your entries from the competition on all forums. This will be monitored through IP addresses since an administrator will be a judge from each forum. Don't try to trick the judges.
Each forum has a panel of three judges, consisting of an Administrator (or equivalent), Moderator (or equivalent) and active modder. The judges can enter the competition, but not on the forum that they are acting as a judge for the purposes of this contest. For Foam Universe, the judges will be NerfDude1138, Trag (aka Thomas on NH) and myself (Jwasko).
Submissions will be judged based on the following criteria listed below. Scores will range from 1-10 for each section to be judged by all three judges individually:
- Functionality---How easy or hard it would be to use in a Nerf war. The easier to prime and recover, the better. This will be judged based on a major war where campers are not tolerated and usually annihilated quickly, not a war where you are the only experienced one and you just sit in the bushes picking people off. Real combat against various styles of play. The more scenarios the blaster is good for, the better.
- Cleanliness---The closer to utterly stock it appears, the better. Integrations that still look stock will benefit here. If external, duct tape and copious amounts of hot glue will be bad. Using a paint job to clean up and conceal any nastiness as a result of the modifying process will be good, but the paint job itself will not be a factor in the judging to be considerate of the artistically inept.
- Mod Difficulty---The easier it is to duplicate, the better. If the mod can be done by anyone with any modifying skill level, the more beneficial it is to the whole of the NIC, hence your score will be higher. If a rocket scientist attempting your modification needs to get a consult to figure it out or you need to have access to advanced equipment, your score will be lower.
- Writeup Quality---A fully detailed writeup will fair much better here, including pictures and proper grammar. If you detail every step, but it is hard to decipher what you said, you lose points. Videos are good, but they won't help you if that is the major part of your writeup. Lazy people use videos solely for their mods. Posting ranges will help you, but only in the fact that they are posted. Longer ranges will not get you more points. Lying about your ranges will cost you points though as it affects the writeup as a whole. Probably would be best if you don't include them at all but it is up to you.
- Creativity---If you simply converted the blaster to fire stefans, that is good, but not creative. To be able to fire ALL ammo styles, that is great! Integrating some other blaster's internals into the shell of another and removing the original internals isn't overly creative, but utilizing both in concert is.
There are some restrictions for entries. Some are obvious, some not:
- I understand that, after a while, many mods do begin to look alike. If yours is based on someone else's, give credit where credit is due, but there better be real differences. If you simply used a different barrel material, but otherwise the mod is exactly the same as another previously existing mod, it will not be judged.
- It can only fire, whether one of or multiples of, stock ammo of any type or stefans/CDTS/Slug darts. No death darts, airsoft rounds, paintballs, or other non-standard projectiles.
- The method of propulsion for your modified blaster can only be the original installed system of the blaster (modded or unmodded), propulsion systems cannibalized from other blasters, or any combination thereof. If you choose to use an alternative propulsion system, it can't be of a dangerous variety, nor can it be a system used by airsoft or paintball. Restrictions include compressed air tanks (store bought, motorized or homemade), green gas, carbon dioxide, and flammable gases. No spud cannon systems. If you have an idea for something other than what is listed, contact one of the judges and the 3 shall decide whether to allow it or not on a case-by-case basis.
Once a winner is declared on each forum, those three winning mods will then compete against each other. The 6 judges that had not voted on their works will now give their scores. For example, the NH winner will now be scored by the NHQ and FU judges. The scores that were given by the first three judges will not be a part of the final score. In other words, the scores that the NH winner gets will not be used in the final judging, therefore allowing for a level playing field. The highest score of the final 3 is the winner.
The prizes are as follows:
Forum winners will receive a stock Nitefinder (NF). Everyone can use a NF. Everyone probably owns a NF. Win for your forum and you can too.
In addition to the Nitefinder, the overall first place winner will receive a SuperMaxx 1500 modified by Captain Slug himself and $25 added to your Paypal account (or a VISA CheckCard, if Paypal is not an option). A picture of the completed product will be posted in the first post of this thread when it becomes available.
The overall second place winner will receive a new-in-box Airtech 2000 from Badger's private collection, in addfition to his/her forum's Nitefinder.
In addition to his/her forum's Nitefinder, the overall third place winner gets the honor of having made it to the finals.
This competition will run from 4/13/2009 at 9:00 PM EST (sorry for the late post, guys) until 7/24/2009 11:59 PM eastern time. The winners for each forum will be announced within the next couple of days in the first post of the competition thread along with a list of the scores for all those that had entered. The final winner will be determined a couple of days later and will be posted in a new thread on all three forums congratulating him or her with the final scores for all three finalists.
Time to dust off your tools, pimp out your sister to earn money for supplies, and show off to everyone in the NIC what you can create. Good luck everyone!!!
