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Sonic Hacking Contest 2019

Discussion in 'Engineering & Reverse Engineering' started by Spanner, Mar 12, 2019.

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  1. LordOfSquad

    LordOfSquad

    bobs over baghdad Member
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    making cool music no one gives a shit about
    omg i'm hyperventilating. come on redhotsonic give us that trailerrrr hnnngghhh fuckkkkkk. There's A LOT of cool looking stuff this year but that takes my cake, I never would have dared to dream AE was gonna get an update. If Garnet Garden is still in there I'm gonna lose my mind, it's aesthetically one of my favorite Sonic levels period and I've always wanted it finished.
     
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  2. redhotsonic

    redhotsonic

    Also known as RHS Tech Member
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    The Official Sonic Hacking Contest 2019 Trailer is now LIVE!

     
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  3. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    We begin streaming today with a few pre-shows, to get you hyped up for the week ahead, expect some old entries and for mine, you'll see a few new ones too:

    5pm GMT / 12pm EST / 9am PST to 7pm GMT / 2pm EST / 11am PST - Donnie
    7pm GMT / 2pm EST / 11am PST to 11pm GMT / 6pm EST / 3pm PST - Spanner

    The full schedule for the week will be posted later, just waiting on a stream image to get patched up due to some last minute rescheduling being required.

    We'll have all the streams for the week be available on the website but as there's some fixes needed before we start the week, I have provided direct links to the streams.

    The Contest Week begins on Monday and that is when you can play all of the 2019 entries. But like I said, if you want a preview of the week ahead, join my stream, you will not be disappointed.
     
  4. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    This year's stream schedule is now available...sorry for the delay however we had some last minute adjustments to do as AntDude could no longer stream this week.

    The website will open around 7am EST this year if not earlier, when Cinossu is ready to go live I'm sure he'll post in here that it's up.

    Until then, please be patient, there is no long left to go now before the annual Contest Week begins.

    On a personal note, thanks to all who attended my own pre-show stream which lasted well over nine hours and was enjoyed by many.

    I have not streamed personally or in a SHC capacity since 2016, and it was good to be able to play a wide variety of old entries (and a few new too), including many 3D games too.
     
  5. Cinossu

    Cinossu

    Administrator
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    Sonic the Hedgehog Extended Edition
    Hey, it's that time again. We're finally live, and the Contest Week begins.

    https://sonichacking.org

    All entries that were completed are now available for your public viewing, as well as votes in the case of the Contest itself.

    As always, enjoy!
     
  6. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    Hello, here is today's stream schedule. Don't forget if you are voting, remember if you have an account last year, you need to reset your password, and check your spam folder for the email.

    Also remember when voting, please don't vote for an entry which it is not entitled to have said trophy. This year we have filtered some entries to avoid this, but not all due to time constraints.

    An example of this would be voting SA2 Blazy Mix for Best Audio for 3D, when the only custom audio consists of Blaze voice clips. Best Audio is more to do with custom music, rather than voice clips.
     
  7. I'm loving the hacks/mods for this. They are really fun to play and it's a very enjoyable experience just to play all the great hacks.
     
  8. Eduardo Knuckles

    Eduardo Knuckles

    Not a loved one, but the most hated person. Banned
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    Project S.A.M.G.
    I love the contest, but we're in the third day and practically all I seen until now was streamers playing Sonic Adventure 2 character swaps (ehr... that Sans head mod is just... MEH!) and various Sonic Mania Mods of any kinds.
     
  9. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    Here is the stream schedule for Thursday to Friday, as the original link from Monday onwards is broken and omits anything after Wednesday.

    Apologies if YouTube streams don't show up on the website at times - there is a known fault with the API and we have to manually push out those streams to the site, unlike previous years where streams popped up without much trouble. If a stream does not appear please let us know on Discord so someone can take care of that. Twitch streams are unaffected. Hopefully YouTube fixes this for next year.

    Also please submit your evaluations in for the Contest Week overall. The sooner we can get the evaluations all in, the quicker we can announce next year's Contest.

    I have seen many streamers play more than just SA2 mods. Streamers are entitled to play what they want, but a wide variety has been shown this week. SA2 mods, in particular the model entries, are at least quick to show off. With the SA2 Randomiser though I can understand why people spend more time on it, and again they are allowed to show what they want.

    That being said, it's safe to say that next year, unless a character mod makes significant changes such as SA2 Blazy Mix, it won't be in the Contest section, although Expo entries will still be allowed. This year was an exception, as the model format was cracked and people of course exploited that for entries, as a technical achievement. Of course if people have problems with model based entries, please raise it in the evaluation form, so we can improve the submission rules overall.

    Hopefully 3D entries overall improve next year, as it's a shame that the revamped judging system, which was made to address 3D entries so they got fairer coverage and categorised trophies so Mega Drive based entries didn't overshadow them, cannot be taken to its advantage fully this year. The fact that Sonic Generations mods are completely absent was a surprise to a lot of people. There's still plenty to do with them!
     
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2019
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  10. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    It's really great every year, seeing the reactions from all the people who absolutely cannot stand to see anything related to one of your favorite games, things you spent months working on. Did we go a bit overboard this year? Probably. But posts like that are a great way to convince people that it's not worth even showing up at all.

    Edit: this is a response to Eduardo Knuckles' post.
     
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2019
  11. Sewer56

    Sewer56

    Tech Member
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    [Reloaded] Mod Loader
    (Note: Quoted post was edited while I was writing this.)

    Quite frankly, I'm not sure if I should be the one to do this, but well, here goes.
    Just in case so this doesn't get misinterpreted, I think I should better clarify a few things.
    • Spanner was referring to the Contest as the "For Glory" judged segment of the event; not the whole Sonic Hacking Contest. (Note: Original post was edited to clarify this as I was typing this post)
    As such, the message he intended to say is more in line with the following:
    • If an entry is that which consists of a singular custom model (without anything extra), we will highly encourage the author to consider moving their entry to the expo.
    • Alternatively if an author submits multiple entries that consist of a singular model (w/o anything extra) to the contest section, we will suggest to the author to merge their entries as one contest section entry.
      • This makes the entry a collection of assets. The downloads/links can still point to separate mods if e.g. published on GameBanana, though we expect to host everything on-site starting next year.
    This excludes tech demos, such as Justin's entries from this year. We make this clear in the contest announcement every year under the Quality Control section.
    If you look at the historical announcement posts for the Sonic Hacking Contest from the past few years, you will notice that this in fact is not any different than it has been in the past.

    The main problem here is that entries of just single model nature are very hard to judge, and we are not equipped to do it. If you look at it from the surface level, most of the judging team is composed of hackers, not 3D artists (maybe except Zoney). With art being a very subjective field in nature, it is very difficult for us to both appreciate and critique the quality of just a single 3D model. This poses a problem, when all we get is a single custom model without anything extra added on top to deliver a more cohesive experience, there is ultimately nothing for us to comment on.

    In cases of entries of that nature, what can I do? What can the other judges do? We are not 3D artists. All I can personally say is "they are original models with a high number of polys and environment maps that look pleasing to the eye, cool", and that's much more than most others likely would. How do I compare this against other models when art in nature is so person-based and subjective? All I, and the rest of us can really yack in evaluations about is content; and when that doesn't exist, what do we really do?

    I would like to make this clear, this excludes Tech Demos.

    --------------
    Semi-Related

    I would like to mention, that while whatever gets streamed is completely at the media people's own discretion, many streams are also showing expo entries alongside their contest section counterparts. While we are aware that a lot of streamers tend to prioritise the contest entries first, particularly those who only run streams for 1-2 sessions, the coverage for all non-Contest entries is still fairly solid overall. This is especially the case among those who run streams for longer periods of time.

    This post below is literal proof.

    It may not be very well known, but to the best of my knowledge, I have submitted the only contest section entry in the whole history of the SHC (since we have official streamers, 2013) that was never streamed by anyone during contest week. Awake almost 24/6 over the week, seeing all the streams and doing my absolute best, nothing came out (though I helped some people with PC entry stuff). If there's anyone who knows firsthand what that feels like and wouldn't want others to experience the same it's gotta be goddamn me. Although very busy recently, I've been doing my best to ensure that wouldn't happen again.

    Edit: I'm aware MainMemory's post isn't referencing Spanner's, but I'm just making sure people aren't misinterpreting anything.

    ------
    Also a message from the Contest Staff.

    Following some feedback regarding mandatory questions, the Evaluation Form was changed so that only the first three responses (overall thoughts, best thing, worst thing) are required.
    Any other question, if you do not have an answer, leave it blank. We want as much feedback as possible so we can fix what is needed for SHC2020. There's still a few days left of the Contest Week, but if you have answers to fill in, do so at https://forms.gle/9jj16gLaxUY2eqbZ8
     
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2019
  12. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
  13. Sewer56

    Sewer56

    Tech Member
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    [Reloaded] Mod Loader
    PSA
    (Don't you love when this acronym is abused outside of its intended meaning?)

    The Contest Week Ends Tomorrow! (Sunday 7th of December)

    If you haven't already, please get your votes in ASAP. We have no guarantee how long voting will be available tomorrow before the results show.
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2019
  14. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    There is still time to complete your voting for the Community Trophies, but TIME IS RUNNING OUT!

    There'll still be SOME TIME on Sunday to finish voting, but when the voting is locked, at least a few hours before the results show, you won't be able to vote any more.

    As usual it'll be streamed by MegaGWolf and also simulcast by TailsChannel, and this year it's Donnie who will be announcing the winners.

    We'll also have a bunch of judges and some other guests on the show too! Also, don't forget, we do need your feedback. Fill out this form as we will be closing it in the next few days. Without your feedback, changes can't happen so easily. And we don't want to spend months planning things, we want to get things fixed up and ready to go for 2020. Just click on that Feedback button!

    The Results Show starts from 8pm GMT / 3pm EST / 12pm PST, where all the winners will be announced.

    Winners will also be announced on Twitter and all the results will be in forum threads and news articles after the end of the Results Show. And after the results show, there's a few more streams left to finish it off.
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2019
  15. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    This is your VERY LAST CHANCE to vote for this year's Community Trophies.

    If you have not voted, or finished voting, please do that as quickly as you can, as the polls will be closing very shortly!



    See you later for the Results Show!
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2019
  16. codenamegamma

    codenamegamma

    Tech Member
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    Poll's are now closed and locked! Hope you voted :)
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2019
  17. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member


    LIVE NOW
     
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