Dacy

Bases can't be in two categories, and these are two different categories. 🙂 So I will enter it in Novice. Given the interest in the Novice category, we may need to expand it at some point! But today is not the day.

The bases in Novice are not expected to be as polished, but will be judged with the same rubric. The difference will be in who you are competing with. More experienced base builders, some have spent literally years polishing their bases, learning new techniques, etc; so expect that the winners of the other categories would be at a high level of refinement and polish. I encourage you to enter the novice, this is where novices will compete against other novices, so it does not matter what the standard is for the other categories. Some novices will catch on more quickly than others, so some bases will have a higher degree of sophistication than others, but all are people who have not dedicated lots of time to perfecting their building skills as of this contest. Regardless of what category you enter, people will see your build, and you can get feedback about it. Now, feedback will likely be a bit different for a novice, who might not know what and how to do things, vs. a veteran, who has had the time and experience to learn what and how to do things. But each category is judged only against the rubric, and only competes against others in that same category. So...if I were you and wanted to see where I had the best chance (remembering there is only one winner per category), I'd go to the TOUR hubs and see the bases that I'd be competing against. (You'll have to go to the other shards to get them all.) If you happen to be in a light category, maybe, sure, go with that, but otherwise I'd advise Novice.

You can't fill the doorway, but, you can build over it, if above, and in it, if within the base bounds, of course. I have experienced doors that have disappeared upon applying a filled spot to the base, so, if the door is gone, see if it's invisible, or actually needs to be replaced. I actually have not run into a situation where the door was invisible but still functionally there. But this is the editor. I will never say never to something that could be funky. 🙂 If you have a door that you wish to be a wall, I'd suggest removing the door, which will then fill with a wall, or use editor pieces to create a wall; a good option if you still wish to be able to use it as a doorway, because of course then you can also create a passage.

Check out the help section, pinned here, for a guide to which light sources actually give light. I find ceiling spot 2 is usually my go-to, because it's somewhat directional and works very well once buried, which is how I usually use it. Fluorescent lights, usually the smaller bar one, is also great for thinner hiding spaces, especially for letters. As Forager pointed out, the flood lights are also very useful because of their light source that's out away from the visible light object, which again, is useful when you bury it in something, which is how I usually light things. Note on the things that give light: you have to be using indoor lighting to be able to get light from any light source, of course. On the Outdoor light setting, no lights actually brighten.

You can click and drag floor sections, which can also be walls and ceilings, up or down. If you are grabbing an item and you move it and you see a red outline on what you're doing, stop where you are and hit escape. Don't let go before you hit escape, escape will do that for you; then it's like it never happened. Escape lets you let go of whatever it is you have. Works great with storage, as you cannot undo a move you make for storage, and they have large and "sticky" grab areas, so they are overly easy to interact with. Here's a quick guide to help if you raise a section and don't know how to get it back down: And check my signature to come on over to the Builder's Discord, lots of people on all hours of the day and night, who can answer questions! Plus, lots of resources to help.

The correct code for this, for everyone who is visiting, is Victrix001-3323.

Well, in my humble opinion, pictures never do bases justice. This is a base in the contest, and so I hope that everyone will visit it and other contest bases, as well as other bases they may see listed: Past winners, works that are coming in the future, whatever looks interesting! 🙂

Hopefully it's entered in the Directory! The Directory has a guest book where you can put your rave review for all to see! Also, please visit the TOUR hubs, they have all the contestants for the current base contest, and there are some super amazing builds. And visit other servers! We have an amazing and creative crew. (If you like floating islands, please visit the Pagoda, on Everlasting, GHOST-1471; every area is accessible without flight. It is one of the contest winners, all of which are denoted in the TOUR hubs, and all of which are incredible bases.) Everlasting: TOUR-33691 Excelsior: TOUR-30788 Indomitable: TOUR-11167 Reunion: TOUR-9105 Torchbearer: TOUR-14480 Victory: TOUR-893

Please correct your entry information, this is not the sg listed for the code listed, and the code is invalid. Thank you!

The only items that you can walk through but not see through, are: hanging vines (thoroughly tintable), agapanthus 1-4, large bush 1&2, reeds, and leaves of trees such as trees 1-12 and willows. Hanging vines are typically used more than any other item, as it is the best combo of tintable, thick, and has no parts with any collision. Now, there is one more thing that has no collision that you cannot see through, but it can take a lot of manipulation (remember to hit F3) to get it positioned in such a way as to be able to use it, but: the Recluse Globe statue (which is huge), the cape has no collision. Happy Building!

Techwright, thank you, and beautifully said. 🙂 Yes, the editor can be very challenging, and it's frustrating to not feel like the higher ups hear us and are working to give us any of the things we've asked for, but, as things stand right now, this editor is tremendously flexible, and to see what people have been able to produce is very inspiring!! Mind blowing, even, in some cases. If people have not seen some of the creations done by ...oh man, I'd name names, but I will inevitably leave out someone who should have been mentioned, so I will just say, go visit bases! See past winners, and visit other bases they've done. Visit current contestants. Get into the editor and see what it is we use and then go see what folks have been able to do with that! No, we don't have all the pieces or tools we'd like, but we DO have an amazingly creative bunch of people!

One winner per category.

Just a note...Indom also has no entries. (But it does have a hub. Now I'm off to build another hub on Victory...) Edit: I wanted to delete these posts as they are more appropriate for the discussion thread, despite the fact that that is not where the issue arose, but the editor here will only let me hide posts, not delete them.. Further discussions will take place in discussion thread.

This will quickly show you how

Okay! I have updated the TOUR hubs to make touring Contest Bases easier. (Which is why I include this post in this topic). All the current entries have been included in the appropriate categories, and I will update as I can as others enter the competition. Also, still in the TOUR hubs are the bases that still have valid codes from last year's Showcases. I am happy to add any other bases, whether they are in the contest or not, so people can find them while in game. Everlasting: TOUR-33691 Excelsior: TOUR-30788 Indomitable: TOUR-11167 Reunion: TOUR-9105 Torchbearer: TOUR-14480 Victory: TOUR-893 The TOUR hubs list base codes and builders and owners, and Everlasting and Excelsior also include a category for Clubs and Venues. There are macros you can copy for base hopping, and portals to all the zones.

Judging does not start until May 4th, so you have some time to finish this. Bases need to be complete to be judged, unless they look and feel complete without whatever it was you were going to finish. However, an unattached teleport point will be pretty obvious. The novice category was created for both the new builder, and the casual builder. If you're not hiring out for commissions, or entering contests and building prolifically, you probably are just fine in the novice category. If you feel like you should not be in novice due to your skill level, by all means, feel free to switch categories, as the "novice" tag will also be reflected in any title earned. 🙂

Neither do teleporters, but, we accept them in THIS reality. 🙂 Realism is a style, not a definition of every item in the base. This is why we had a really hard time naming this category, because there are bases that are meant to be every day living, but it's every day living for a game where super heroes and villains are reality. So reality is somewhat flexible. 🙂

Great question, Rudra! We would, actually, be happy to evaluate your base, but: we would prefer to do this after the competition, so as not to confuse people or judges (okay, they are people too, just judge shaped people) :). In the meantime, if there is something specific you'd like to know regarding your base, or if you'd like to talk to someone about it 1:1 and get some feedback, there are many of us who are happy to do that. The easiest and fastest way to get responses regarding your base would be to join the Builder's Discord (see my sig for a link), but if not, we will look for you after the contest and see about getting you an evaluation if we've not heard from you before then. And if we don't, well, sometimes we get busy and forget, so track us down! 🙂

If you have questions, concerns, notes, or additions to the rubric, please submit them for consideration. While I cannot guarantee that the rubric, which was approved by HC Council members, would change for this competition, our goal is and always has been to have evaluations that are as fair and agreed upon as possible. To that end, we welcome input from the community. Please note, however, that just because you think something is beyond what we should judge (maybe you've never considered that to be a part of a base before, and so think it should not be a part of a general rubric), this rubric is based on experience from what we've seen in bases. Not every base will gain points in every category. I would say that there is NO base that will score well in every category. The rubric is there to cover possibilities that impact the quality of the base, as fairly and objectively as we can. It's useful if you are the competitive sort, because you can look to see what sorts of things you will want to make sure are as good as you can get them before judging starts. It's useful so you know what will be looked at. Good luck and best wishes to all competitors!

I just wanted to give a friendly reminder to people that when they have questions such as the common ones: how do I open the ceiling to the sky, how do I build above the base, how do I move the entrance, how do I raise and lower the floors, why can't I place this item, how do I put things on top of other things...all of these questions and many, many more are answered for you in The Base Building Guide, right here on the forums. You can also join the Base Building Discord (City of Base Builders), where we have FAQ, tips and tricks, known issues, help, and of course, a place to chat and show off your work, plus both places have links to my video series on base building. (see my signature) There are tips and information in print, for those who prefer to read about things. In short, there is a lot of information that will help you avoid problems, get off to a strong start, and avoid the mistakes that so often force new builders to waste a lot of time and effort, only to have to start over. It's put out there in the hopes it will help you when you start building your bases! And I know that if you use it, it's all very very helpful. I hope you will check out all the resources that are there for you! We can help you answer questions most people face, and we can help you with questions that are fairly advanced and unique. But my main point here is, if you read and/or watch what is available, you will learn a lot that will save you time and energy, so you're not stuck trying to figure out a problem or how to do something that's already been addressed by others. Thanks for reading this, and I hope you take advantage of the information available to you!

I haven't looked yet, but honestly, as to winning contests, besides the huge and amazing talents that are in this community that are hard to beat, there are really very few contests. So, there are very few chances to win. I know fantastic top tier builders that have not won, either, and it certainly is not because their bases are lacking. It was that someone else's in whatever competition was just the tiniest bit better in some way on the scoring of the many many considerations that can be evaluated. My name is well known in the building community, and yet, if I were to enter a contest, I'm really sure that most of my bases would not win any category I might enter them in. Not up against the ones I know they'd be up against. And that's okay. That does not make my bases less, that just means that I know they're not going to rate above certain other bases that are exceptional. EB mentioned seeing flicker. Flicker, or what some call glitches, are a huge eyesore to most, and even worse, direct and distract attention away from what you accomplished. I've known people to leave bases just because they could not tolerate the flicker, and it's easy to correct. I can show you how. I plan to do a video on it soon. The winners of the contests tend to be builders who push the limits of base building and dedicate a lot of time to building and learning about what they can do. Stay tuned, EB and I are working on ways to give more people a chance. However, contests are always about sorting through contestants and finding the "best" of what was entered, and the people who wind up with the "best" entries (as determined subjectively by people with their own opinions) are typically those who are always learning and trying to improve. Only you can answer that about yourself, but that is pretty much what it takes. Do you want to improve, and what are you doing to achieve that? Again, I have not seen your base, and this is not just for you, but for anyone who wants to rise to the top: some things to consider. What do we look at, when judging bases? (we've now got rubrics that help guide us in what to look at, look for, and in how much consideration to give what, so it helps objectify things a little, on a very subjective topic!) Technical skills- are things placed close to the way they come out of the editor, or angled, sunk, and positioned carefully? Do objects look like they are laying on things, or are they floating above or partially buried? Are spaces planned, and efficiently and naturally filled, or are they barren and too large? Did the builder start filling the area with stuff just because they clearly thought it looked cool, or does it fit with the theme and have a purpose? Do things look cohesive and make sense? Are there created items, and are they well done? Did the builder build things according to what they wanted to create, or did they let the editor's selection dictate size and what was built? Artistic skills- How's the lighting? Does it help to create the focus, mood, and even the flow of the base? Is there a color scheme? Are contrasts and lighting used to highlight areas of interest? Are created items clear in what they are meant to be? Is space used well, and is the composition pleasing? Does the base draw you in and make you a part of this world? Is it a believable place, with immersive details? Functionality- How's the flow? Intuitive, or confusing? If services are offered, are they straight out of the editor, or did you incorporate them into the theme of your base? Or did you make your theme adjust to what the editor offers? How accessible are those services? Are they where you'd expect to find them if you did not know the layout of this base? Are doorways easy to find? Pathways and other locations marked in some way, or intuitive? If things are not marked, they'd better be intuitive. Most of these considerations are not things entry level builders ever think of. (Some of these thoughts came from the rubric that EB and I and others have created, and some came from some thoughts shared by Gizmouse/aka @Cosmic Cat recently) I certainly did not consider any of this when I was first building (or even much later). I think an exceptional base boils down to, "did the builder create something from what the editor offered, or did they make the editor do what they had in their mind's eye?" There is a huge difference in what each of those bases will look like. The editor wants only certain things to be floors, and certain things to be walls. Rooms are a certain size, like the size of a floor tile, or a couple of them. Walls are a certain height. Rooms are a certain variety: gyms, bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, living room, office, maybe you have a grocery store, a donut shop, a pizza place.... And so that's what you get. And then you get the bases that aren't straight out of the editor. Rooms that are the size of what you need, instead of the size of the pieces the editor offers. Walls made from various materials because you prefer how those materials make the room feel. Bases that do not feel like bases when you step into them: you are transported into another world, with its own life, immersion, and detail. There is nothing wrong with a base straight out of the editor, mind, especially if that was what you wanted! However, bases built according to what the editor offers tend to look a lot like other bases built according to what the editor offers. But if you're talking about wanting to win contests...look to do more. 🙂 So that's my say on what it takes to compete in base building. That, and, winning those contests is hard! But that doesn't mean we don't try, because at the least, we get to show off what we've done. 🙂 And I value all the effort and work, no matter if you win or not, because I know how much most people have put into their bases. And I think the people who tour the bases also love seeing the amazing work that people put in, and that's not just for the ones that win.

That is interesting, I had never tried that. Thanks for the info!

Nice, Lemming!! Thanks. I was fumbling 🙂 Too many long days of late...

The teleporter beacon names can be arranged to a certain extent. However, only within categories that are not immediately obvious. The beacons are coded by date of creation, and these dates are in groups. The original zones are in one group, which includes the original hazard zones; but zones created later will be arranged after and appear after zones that were created first. So, your first list, which happens to include all original zones and THEN a later zone, all appear in the order you happened to have put them in. Had you tried to put Pocket D at the top, it would not have stayed there, as it was created later. So, again, you can arrange the order of how zones appear as long as you keep the ones you are arranging all from the same time of creation. I can't make it much more clear with just words, you may have to experiment to get a good sense of which zones were created first, second, and so forth, or just look it up. 🙂