55 replies to this topic

[Bill Bullet]

While grammar and spelling are important, I mainly included that rule as a way to discourage sloppy writing from people just hoping to cash in on the contest. I truly did not think I would get as many entrants as I did (still absurdly happy we have so many though). I don't think there is a single entry without spelling or grammar mistakes (my English teacher friend is brutal with her red pen) but as far as how it impacts your standings, as long as the writer was able to convey their meaning and intent, it won't affect the judgments too severely. Next time I run this (And I will be running another one someday) I'm going to try and create a more definitive rule set and point system.

In the interest of transparency and fairness, I originally planned on just judging these entries by myself and picking the two stories I liked best. Then after we got so many entrants I realized two things: A) I liked a hell of a lot more than 2 stories and B ) I personally knew several of the contestants. While both of those things are technically good, (talented story writing is awesome and the sense of community you feel from seeing familiar faces is one of the reasons I love this game) I realized that by myself I couldn't judge these fairly. So I reached out to my friends and created a panel of judges that are a mixed bag of people of know and love MechWarrior, and some who don't but still love sci-fi. None of them play the game so they do not know the contestants and none of them know my opinion of the stories so they aren't influenced by my personal picks.

Each judge will select a 1st and 2nd place winner and the votes will be tallied up to select the actual victors. In the event of a tie, my personal opinion will be used as the tie-breaker because well it's my contest so there lol.

I want to make sure there no hard feelings and that this contest can continue as a way to bring the community closer together, so if you have any concerns or questions do not hesitate to ask.

Edited by Bill Bullet, 27 July 2015 - 10:41 AM.

[Soulstrom]

Bill Bullet, on 27 July 2015 - 10:41 AM, said:

While grammar and spelling are important, I mainly included that rule as a way to discourage sloppy writing from people just hoping to cash in on the contest. I truly did not think I would get as many entrants as I did (still absurdly happy we have so many though). I don't think there is a single entry without spelling or grammar mistakes (my English teacher friend is brutal with her red pen) but as far as how it impacts your standings, as long as the writer was able to convey their meaning and intent, it won't affect the judgments too severely. Next time I run this (And I will be running another one someday) I'm going to try and create a more definitive rule set and point system.

In the interest of transparency and fairness, I originally planned on just judging these entries by myself and picking the two stories I liked best. Then after we got so many entrants I realized two things: A) I liked a hell of a lot more than 2 stories and B ) I personally knew several of the contestants. While both of those things are technically good, (talented story writing is awesome and the sense of community you feel from seeing familiar faces is one of the reasons I love this game) I realized that by myself I couldn't judge these fairly. So I reached out to my friends and created a panel of judges that are a mixed bag of people of know and love MechWarrior, and some who don't but still love sci-fi. None of them play the game so they do not know the contestants and none of them know my opinion of the stories so they aren't influenced by my personal picks.

Each judge will select a 1st and 2nd place winner and the votes will be tallied up to select the actual victors. In the event of a tie, my personal opinion will be used as the tie-breaker because well it's my contest so there lol.

I want to make sure there no hard feelings and that this contest can continue as a way to bring the community closer together, so if you have any concerns or questions do not hesitate to ask.

Whatever the decision. However it is judged. This is still a fantastic contest. The submissions have been stellar and it really has brought out some real talent and shown the community that we have some skilled writers.

I am glad to be a part of this and it really has brought out the best that this community has to offer. This kind of competition shows that MWO is a supportive community, even if we all get a little hot-under-the-collar sometimes.

Thanks again, Bill Bullet and to all who contributed.

Edited by Soulstrom, 27 July 2015 - 11:28 AM.

[Bill Bullet]

Winners to be announced at 5:30 EST in a separate thread! Also, because we had such a good turnout, NEW PRIZES!!

FIRST PLACE: Winner's choice of either the Mauler Pack or Highlander IIC pack!

SECOND PLACE: Winner's choice of Either the Crab or Hunchback IIC pack!

THIRD PLACE: Winner's choice of either the Wolfhound or Jenner IIC pack!

FAN FAVORITE: Winner's choice of one Mech from the New Reinforcements or Resistance 4th Variant packs!

HONORABLE MENTIONS: There will be 3 honorable mentions who win 7 days of Premium Time!

Edited by Bill Bullet, 30 July 2015 - 08:48 AM.

[Peiper]

Wow... Those are awesome prizes!

[TygerLily]

AHH, today's the day! Good luck to Ronyn. I really enjoyed your story featuring the Hermes. #beans

Edited by TygerLily, 30 July 2015 - 10:01 AM.

[Soulstrom]

Wow, just wow! Bill Bullet you are a true mech warrior.

[Odanan]

Wow, if only I learned about this contest BEFORE it ended...

[Bill Bullet]

There will be another I promise!

[Bill Bullet]

Quick update: Our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners have each had a Gift Code sent to them I'll be taking care of our honorable mentions and Fan Favorite sometime next week! If the winners could kindly post in this thread just acknowledging that I followed through that'd be grand!

[Rhaythe]

Bill, sir, you are awesome. Thank you! You are very much a man of your word.

[Chafe]

Gift code received and redeemed, just need to learn patience now waiting for the release

Once again, many thanks Bill, you're a legend!

[Neutron IX]

Some great entries! Can't wait to finish reading them all.

Alas, time is my truest enemy, so I've been unable to finish up my own entry. Try to get it done for the next go-round.

Again, to Bill Bullet, hats off laddie!

[Grayson Sortek]

I am happy to see a vibrant BT/MW community here on the forums, and I have no idea how I didn't spot this earlier.

Time is short, but I'll have to find a way to check out other submissions.
I should also figure out how I'm going to find the time to edit and post my own work!

[Bill Bullet]

Personal life had me log out for a months, finally signed back in but it's a whole different game now. Sadly, one that isn't nearly as fun anymore. I tried to like it again, god damn but I tried really hard, I used to sink entire weekends into this game, but I just can't anymore. All my builds are now trash tier, the mechanics feel insanely unbalanced, it plays like a freemium now. It's more twitch shooter than simulator and I just can't enjoy it anymore. Maybe I'm bitching cause I can't "git gud", but this just isn't the MWO I helped Found you know? So I'm sorry this

Bill Bullet, on 30 July 2015 - 04:05 PM, said:

There will be another I promise!

Turned out to be a lie, but I'm hanging up my spurs and uninstalling. Stay frosty MechWarriors. *salute*

[Bishop Steiner]

Bill Bullet, on 09 March 2017 - 07:29 AM, said:

Personal life had me log out for a months, finally signed back in but it's a whole different game now. Sadly, one that isn't nearly as fun anymore. I tried to like it again, god damn but I tried really hard, I used to sink entire weekends into this game, but I just can't anymore. All my builds are now trash tier, the mechanics feel insanely unbalanced, it plays like a freemium now. It's more twitch shooter than simulator and I just can't enjoy it anymore. Maybe I'm bitching cause I can't "git gud", but this just isn't the MWO I helped Found you know? So I'm sorry this



Turned out to be a lie, but I'm hanging up my spurs and uninstalling. Stay frosty MechWarriors. *salute*

well, you might actually like the changes coming in the March 21 skill tree change. It's huge, and swapping over skills will be a pain in the butt, but I found in general it reduced a chunk of the power creep, noticeably in the PTS.

That said, if they don't release a tutorial with it... it's gonna be messy.

[MechaBattler]

Clans pretty much killed the game it used to be. Just the insane amount of dps or alpha you need to be competitive really turned the game into something else. Compared to back when dual AC40 was considered too OP. They gave it ghost heat, lowered ammo, and lowered velocity to a crawl. Or the Victor being OP because it was so agile that they had to assign negative quirks.

My goodness. Now even balancing the crit system to be more fair elicits a lot of outrage from Clan players. To say nothing of the skill tree's long delay. I was honestly so looking forward to playing with that..