Base Contest Winners!

[Dacy]

BASE CONTEST RESULTS!

The results are in for the Second Homecoming Base Contest!

We had 74 bases that were entered into 6 categories. These are the finalists

and the winners!

UTILITY BASES

 

These bases offer services. They may or may not have a story, but should be decorated in a consistent and

thematic way, but without consideration for making sure characters can sit or access things as if it was a real situation.

 

FINALISTS

 

Lava.. LAVA-24772 on Everlasting by @Interrabang	Spectrals   SPECTRALS-23761   on Excelsior by @Sp3ctr4l
The Station STATION-18074 on Excelsior by @Garbage Wizard	Zynavia    SEPT-3012   on Torchbearer by @SupaFreak and @Nymloir

UTILITY BASE CHAMPIONS

 

Lava.. LAVA-24772 on Everlasting by @Interrabang	The Station STATION-18074 on Excelsior by @Garbage Wizard

 

Utility base size categories were combined due to the number of entries over 7,000 items

 

 

 

MULTIPURPOSE BASES

 

These bases offer services combined with factoring in character accessibility. Characters should be able to

sit in chairs and at tables instead of on tables, and services should be thematic and convenient and complete.

 

Multipurpose Bases Under 7,000 Items

 

FINALISTS

 

Evil Eye    PANOPTICON-6422   on Excelsior by @Beowulf Chaffeur	Super Nation SN-9845 on Excelsior by @Gem	Wild West All-Stars WWAS-16037  on Excelsior by fistsand45s

 

 

 

MULTIPURPOSE BASE CHAMPION UNDER 7,000 ITEMS

 

Super Nation SN-9845 on Excelsior by @Gem

 

 

Multipurpose Bases Over 7,000 Items

 

FINALISTS

 

The Divine  DIVINE-1512  on Excelsior by @ank	Hidden Isle PIRATE-16269  on Everlasting by @CptCoggs	Shades of Arachnos  315-6811  on Excelsior by @Gio Valia

 

 

 

MULTIPURPOSE BASE CHAMPION OVER 7,000 ITEMS

 

Shades of Arachnos  315-6811  on Excelsior by @Gio Valia

 

 

ROLEPLAY  BASES

These bases may offer services, but the focus is on character story. The base is either part of the story, or

provides a setting for character stories. Characters should be able to move freely in the base, and set up should

make sense for the theme. Characters must be able to sit in chairs and at tables instead of on tables.

 

Roleplay Bases Under 7,000 Items

 

FINALISTS

Crash Castle  CRASHCASTLE-26019 on Everlasting by @Thunderchild	Lake  EXPLOREONFOOT-20176 on Everlasting by @Wravis	The Dark Coven DARKCOVEN-5519 on Everlasting by @ScarredSilencer

 

 

 

ROLEPLAY BASE CHAMPION UNDER 7,000 ITEMS

 

The Dark Coven DARKCOVEN-5519 on Everlasting by @ScarredSilence

 

 

Roleplay Bases Over 7,000 Items

 

The Deep Star DEEP-16353 on Everlasting by@Riptide6	Dryad's Tree  DRYAD-20249 on Everlasting by @Aalya
Firebrand Island    FORTUNE-13524  on Everlasting by@Kataklysm	Rampage City   RAMPAGE-27317   on Everlasting by @Fir Bolg Buildcrew

 

 

 

ROLEPLAY BASE CHAMPION OVER 7,000 ITEMS

 

The Deep Star DEEP-16353 on Everlasting by@Riptide6

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE AMAZING FINALISTS AND CHAMPIONS!

Edited May 2, 2023 by Dacy

[Easter Bunny]

Congrats to all winners and finalists!!! 

[Veracor]

Congratulations to the winners, the finalists, and everyone who entered!  All of the bases in this contest were fantastic to tour!  As one of the judges I helped go through all 74 of them, and let me tell you, what a rush for anyone looking to get into building their own base!  Ideas and inspirations were everywhere!

 

Well done everyone, and thank you @Dacy and @Easter Bunny very much for bringing the Homecoming Base Contests back!

[SupaFreak]

First off, I want to congratulate @Garbage Wizard for winning with "The Station" - that was my original Community Choice vote.  (Primarily because I felt it did the best at what it was set out to do plus I'm a sucker for quick Utility Bases that are nearly flawless in their theme.  It's purely a personal taste pick and a base I would re-use again and again.)

Secondly, I want to congratulate all Winners for winning their respective categories.  Super Nation was another one I was personally quite fond of.
 

Next, I just want to express confusion (not anger or a gripe) on behalf of our (wife and I) participation.  When I saw the following post in Base Contest Announcement...
 

Quote

 If you have not been contacted for a tour, and you are not on the CC list, I'm sorry, your base is not in the position to win a category at this time.

I was under the impression that our base did not score enough to qualify - even as a finalist.  So, I went ahead and started making modifications to our base again to make it more Utility-focused (with the wife's approval) while still remaining true to our theme with the new tricks I learned after entering.  (Hey, we haven't really modified in 3 years.)

So when I received the private message about being present at the Awards Ceremony - I still didn't know we were Finalists (hopefully it's apparent in my reply).  I figured it was a copy/paste message until the comments/feedback on the PM.

I wanted to be there for the Ceremony, but we had just gotten back from a week's vacation and there were quite a few errands I had to run to catch up on things that spilled about 45 minutes beyond the time.

 

Hopefully just being a Finalist doesn't disqualify people from being able to compete in a future Base Contest.  I know we plan on making quite a few (possibly massive) changes/upgrades to our base and it's definitely not going to be the same.

[Easter Bunny]

Aw 💔 I’m very sorry, SupaFreak. I apologize for the communication error. We definitely wanted you to be there. 
 

But I hope I can put your mind at ease by saying that, yes, Finalists may resubmit their bases for consideration in future contests 🙂

 

- EB

[Dacy]

Yes, sorry, Supa, Messaging was awkward because no, you weren't in a position to win  your category, but. That message you quoted was a general one; you should have, last week, gotten a letter near the beginning of the week in the Forum messaging system to the effect that you were in the top tier of your category. If you did not, I am sorry and that was another error. I did not personally send that message, so I can't confirm or deny, but it was supposed to say, come to the awards.

 

We had a different system in place for the CC contestant choice. I'm sorry for the confusion and miscommunication. We will do better next time.

 

-Dacy

[SupaFreak]

The message did say Finalist, there's nothing wrong with the wording from Easter Bunny (or whoever wrote the message).  I guess, to me at least, it was confusing what "finalist" meant or how things were conducted behind the scenes.  For future reference - I'm not just trying to figure this out for just myself, but for anyone else observing and curious and to give you all feedback for the future in what I hope is a helpful manner.

 

Seeing that all the Winners were on the "Community Choice" list, I'm guessing the judges had not finalized their decisions yet?  If that's the case, that tells me there were 2 categories of Finalists - those that got the message they were finalists and eligible to either win or be in Community Choice & those that were out of the running completely.  If so, I question the purpose of the second group other than giving those Finalists (runner-ups) some recognition.  Again, just trying to make sense of the format, not criticizing your methods.

 

And I contemplated sending this in private messages, but I decided maybe a public post/reply about the topic would yield more feedback from a contestant or contestants who shared my confusion.  That, plus I did want to clarify my take on entering into the Utility Base category instead of Multi-Purpose (there was a comment about it from one of the judges).

 

Taken from the (Rules & Entries) thread....

 

Quote

A Multipurpose base IS intended for RP, but has worked in all the services in a thematic way.

 

Seeing as our base IS NOT intended/designed for RP (though it certainly can be used for that as much as pretty much any base can), I did not want to rob true RPers on Everlasting or elsewhere by competing in that category.  Our only honest option by default was Utility - which is a category I felt we also had no business being in - especially after viewing the other submissions.  The other 3 Finalists of the category are much, much more deserving and fitting for the category and if I were a judge I'd be scratching my head wondering what heck @SupaFreak is thinking.  In hindsight, I probably should've just sat this contest out with our base and waited until the next contest.

 

The one Base Contest I got to be a judge for with PERC back on Live had 5 categories - Sci-Fi(?), Tech, Magic, Modern & Freestyle - and while the judging was time-consuming - I don't recall confusion from any participant on where they fit in.  And knowing what I know now - Utility should've also been a category - especially on Homecoming where Prestige isn't a factor.

To Dacy, Easter Bunny and all the judges involved - your dedication and time to this contest is still greatly appreciated by me regardless of the outcome.   Please don't take this as an attack on anyone - it's merely for clarity/feedback/suggestion on future contests.

 

PEACE!

Edited May 2, 2023 by SupaFreak
Fix for 2nd paragraph.

[Etched]

Gratz to all the winners and runner ups. 🙂

Awesome work by awesome artist.

 

Now next year the rest of us have a shot! LOL

 

@Etched 

[raven9864]

Congratulations to all the finalists and winners.

 

Also, gratz to the judges for the effort put into making this happen for us. Their hard work makes us all winners every day!

 

 

[Dacy]

7 hours ago, SupaFreak said:

Seeing that all the Winners were on the "Community Choice" list, I'm guessing the judges had not finalized their decisions yet?  If that's the case, that tells me there were 2 categories of Finalists - those that got the message they were finalists and eligible to either win or be in Community Choice & those that were out of the running completely.  If so, I question the purpose of the second group other than giving those Finalists (runner-ups) some recognition

We did a lot of discussion among the judges and substitute judges (who are GMs). We did not want to give away the winners before we announced them,  preferring to award them all together. (Joke's on us, I know.) But if we only listed certain bases, the winners would be, I think, fairly conspicuous in their absence, and, we rather wanted the voters to have a larger choice than just 5, like last time. There were too many great bases to not want to offer them for public tours, because most builders, the thing they want most is to have their work seen. Even better if it gets some votes. Put up too many, and the list is daunting, and then people skip more and more, and little is more disappointing to get not only no votes, but no visitors. So we settled at 15 as being generous, but not overwhelming, and since that included 6 winners, there were only 9 actually available, which was clearly (we thought) indicated and we hoped it would spread out the votes, as how did you know that that lead base wasn't already a winner? So many wonderful bases, we thought, surely this will encourage people to vote for their favorite, rather than the typical tendency to vote for one of the leaders, where your vote "counts" more.

 

There was also an element of recognition for well deserved excellence in being on Community Choice. There were a lot of bases that could have been on that list that wouldn't have been out of place at all, but we had to choose a cut off point. We only can do so many winners, but truly in our eyes, we were giving every chance for the bases to be seen and appreciated, which was an award of a sort. The reaction we got back from some that felt they should have made the list does confirm that it is seen as an honor, and for the record, I'm sorry it just wasn't possible to make everyone happy. But that was the logic.

 

We had, in fact, finalized our decisions. The way we decided to choose the CC finalists was by score, which I didn't really want to say specifically, because I do not want people feeling badly as that sort of info tends to do, but the truth was, we had some very excellence-heavy categories. Not only did the fabulous and experience builders on Everlasting put in some (but not even close to all) of their best, but we saw more excellent bases from other servers, especially Excelsior, than we'd hoped!  So, we presented what we felt was the best of the best to the community for their choice, without considering categorical finalists. Yours was not the only base that did not make the CC, but was in fact, a finalist. And I'm again, sorry for the misunderstanding. As I said in that post, if you weren't on a tour or on the CC list, you did not have a shot at winning the category. But that did not mean you weren't second or third. But since the judging was done, we knew who had won. Next time we know to send out letters sooner, before we announce anything, but of course, people were asking and impatient, and we had a LOT of work we were doing at that point, so that was the quickest way to get the information several people were wanting to know.

 

This year, our first, we learned: how long to plan for touring, more about what sorts of things should be scored, what rules need to be clarified or changed, and that Community Votes are a really bad idea in general. We also learned to listen to the GMs, they have good experience, and that whatever you plan, sit back and watch it not work out the way you thought, so expect the unexpected and learn to deal. 🙂  And, of course, shake it off. We had already planned very different sorts of categories for the next time. Whatever we're thinking now, of course, may change, so we're in no rush to announce anything, especially since another thing we discovered is, this contest was too long.  You all know that the next big base contest will be in the spring, so build for it now, because we won't give you as much lead time next year. 🙂

 

8 hours ago, SupaFreak said:

Seeing as our base IS NOT intended/designed for RP (though it certainly can be used for that as much as pretty much any base can), I did not want to rob true RPers on Everlasting or elsewhere by competing in that category.  Our only honest option by default was Utility - which is a category I felt we also had no business being in - especially after viewing the other submissions.  The other 3 Finalists of the category are much, much more deserving and fitting for the category and if I were a judge I'd be scratching my head wondering what heck @SupaFreak is thinking.  In hindsight, I probably should've just sat this contest out with our base and waited until the next contest.

 

Utility did not seem to evoke the same  sort of base concept I had in mind. Basically, to me, bases are first and foremost, for convenience, which means services.  But I like bases to look nice, or to create something that I want to make, usually with services.  So to me, Utility just meant, great base that also has services but doesn't worry about the sometimes  picky RP character space requirements (now much easier with the fit gizmo). I have a base I consider utility; it's an ocean island with a lagoon, and inside the lagoon is my undersea base, which you can see as you look down from above. It's not huge, everything is very close to the entry, and I didn't bother with living spaces, just services, but it's got a nice sea view and the island above. But still, utility. To me, Utility is any base...with services...that doesn't have an RP focus. Multi is the hardest, bc they have to consider both. Then RP is RP focused, might have services tho. I think there is another category there, perhaps Concept or Specialized, and I believe there were several bases entered that would have fit that category nicely. Again, we will have very different categories next time, and we may do smaller contests here and there that are much smaller in scope and faster to do.

 

"Pretty much any base can (be RP)...not really. RP actually requires people to make sure the seating is usable, both in what sort of seating (not all the chairs can be sat in) and spacing to the table, height of table, walk space between couch and table and so forth. If you actually RP in spaces, you find very quickly what doesn't work.  That was why the category had specific requirements. You shouldn't really try to enter a base as RP or Multi if no one, in fact, RPs in the base and  you have not planned for it. If no one RPs, even if it has a story that you're doing for a character, then it's a Utility (or better, a Concept or maybe we say, Character Story, bc that is what most of the non-RP but theme focused bases are made for, to fill out a character's backstory). And that is what you mean when you say, doesn't really fit, I'm sure, and that was a shortcoming we will admit on our side, we hadn't really thought about bases that didn't have services but also didn't plan for RP. But next categories will not be anything like these categories.

 

The focus of the categories was to let even smaller, non-RP bases shine, and I am confident we did that.  Last contest, they were only looking for the top (and runners up) overall, and those tend to be the eye popping RP type bases that have been worked on for years, with every detail just so, and barely a hint of technical problems. It's hard for equally well done  bases that are perhaps a little less heavy on the detail and less epic in scale, to win when put up next to the others. So we put things in categories where apples competed with apples, and oranges with oranges, and you didn't have one gorgeous apple being compared to a gorgeous basket of fruit. The apple may be perfect, but the basket of equally great fruit will get the award because it doesn't just have a gorgeous apple, it also has a bevy of other gorgeous fruits. So we broke down the categories by type of base and then by size (as best we could without having tried to compare base sizes before.) And I do feel as though we were able to shine a light on and reward some work that wouldn't have been seen in a contest such as we had before. 

 

So, that's a glimpse of what we tried to do, and of course, everything, both good and bad, is on the record now. I hope that clears up  your confusion. Thanks for asking, and sorry for the brief response before that led to more confusion; yesterday was really something on the busy scale.

 

-Dacy

[SupaFreak]

I am fine with the clarity on the first section now.  Not everyone is going to run/organize something the same, I was just trying to figure out what to expect moving forward in future contests (if the same format applies).

 

"Utility" as a category to me (not sure about others) means all basic services require minimal traveling distance, difficulty or obstructions (I know we have a few good ones on Torch) - much like one of my new favorites "The Station".  Yea, it can be a bigger base with exploration and all that jazz - but it better have basics right up front.  Teleporters, Buy/Sell, Train, Invention, ATM, Empowerment Station, Tailor and to a lesser extent - Mission Computer.  That's just my opinion though... we all have one like we all have something else I probably shouldn't recite the quote of.  😃

 

"Roleplay" in my opinion (that some may say is in line with the unquotable earlier) can indeed be done in any base.  I don't RP in CoH, so I have no idea what others do... but I could see a scenario where I just stand in The Station as someone conversing with another about the events in a city zone or whatever while we RP that we're waiting for the train to arrive.  I dunno, that's just me... but to each their own.

 

I think those are both discussions for another topic or time though.

The wife and I have both voted on the final 5, and hopefully soon all this stress will be behind you and that anyone upset with any of you come to the realization that you're all human and not perfect sentient beings.  Then take a break... take a breather... and know there are those of us out here who support you all and are rooting for your determination to move forward.... until we finally win a contest and turn on you (of course)!!!   🤣🤣🤣

[Dacy]

2 hours ago, SupaFreak said:

"Utility" as a category to me (not sure about others) means all basic services require minimal traveling distance, difficulty or obstructions (I know we have a few good ones on Torch) - much like one of my new favorites "The Station".  Yea, it can be a bigger base with exploration and all that jazz - but it better have basics right up front.  Teleporters, Buy/Sell, Train, Invention, ATM, Empowerment Station, Tailor and to a lesser extent - Mission Computer.  That's just my opinion though... we all have one like we all have something else I probably shouldn't recite the quote of.  😃

That is important to me, as well. See my bases Overkill-2729 on Ever, and a commissioned one, ONES-5030 on Excel. All services up front, but worked into the design (space ship ONES much more than sea base OVERKILL) Was on the rubric, too.

 

You can disagree all you want on the RP, but the RP crowd is pretty clear on what is needed.  Of COURSE you can make the best of anything, and the STATION is definitely set up to be accessible to RP, too, but if you're in a dining room and can't sit at the table, it's a little hard to say that you can RP there. So there are, actually, considerations.

 

-Dacy

[Xterra]

Congratulations to all the winners!  Exceptional base designs and decor!  I had a fun time visiting...and re-visiting all the bases just to look them over and over again! Lots of creativity and imagination from all the designers! Great job, everyone!

[Freedumbite]

Thank you to everyone who contributed their efforts to this event! This game has always had such a supportive community and it showed here again. I was impressed with the amount of sheer TIME the builders spent, the judges toured and the community viewed! Well done all around! So much inspiration ❤️❤️❤️ 

[captainstar]

Really amazing!!

How did you make those letters with a yellow circle behind,  @Garbage Wizard  ?

[Etched]

They are floor tiles. You can find them in Surfaces.

 

It is actually easy to do. Just change your SG emblem in the SG controls to match what you want them to be.

 

@Etched

[Freedumbite]

A friend and I came back to tour Zynavia and we are stuck in the entrance portal. :*(

 

 

edited to add:

 I think it was my stoopit Phant that we were stuck in. Once I figured out that I had to de-toggle walk to dismiss him we had no problem, sorry for the false alarm!

Edited May 17, 2023 by Freedumbite

[Herotu]

Okay, so although I'm can only judge from the single screenshot of each, some of them look like they took mindblowing amounts of time to design, let alone build. Well done to all involved. I still don't understand what you do it for, but I do admire your work, artistry and dedication.

[Dacy]

14 hours ago, Herotu said:

Okay, so although I'm can only judge from the single screenshot of each, some of them look like they took mindblowing amounts of time to design, let alone build. Well done to all involved. I still don't understand what you do it for, but I do admire your work, artistry and dedication.

I'm sure that the builders appreciate your admiration, but please, don't limit yourself to a screenie! Please, go visit the bases. They are incredible works of passion and art.

 

-Dacy

[SupaFreak]

On 5/17/2023 at 7:08 AM, Freedumbite said:

A friend and I came back to tour Zynavia and we are stuck in the entrance portal. :*(

 

 

edited to add:

 I think it was my stoopit Phant that we were stuck in. Once I figured out that I had to de-toggle walk to dismiss him we had no problem, sorry for the false alarm!

Yea, I made the mistake of trying to get the portal close to center again without realizing why I had moved it forward back in the day.  If you come in with pets - you get stuck.  I'm actively trying to remedy it - finding that sweet spot between location look at functionality with pet in tow.

 

Confirmed with 2 Masterminds w/Lores out now - pets no longer get me stuck.... so that's fixed.

Edited May 19, 2023 by SupaFreak

[VULCAN]

Congratulation to all those crazy creators ! Astonishing ! I am speechless.

Some train should be organised in atlas parc to bring tourists into those SG Bases , with a commented visit by the architects :)

Bravo !