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Sonic Hacking Contest 2014 - Entries, Streams, Voting Live!

Discussion in 'Engineering & Reverse Engineering' started by Spanner, Nov 30, 2013.

  1. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    Click here to see the latest post. The contest is now open!

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    [​IMG]
    (logo by Cinossu)

    It's that time again. The 2013 contest was very successful with what we had done this time, with the site submissions, a good load of entries and of course the rather popular Contest Week which went well without much issues. So it would be obvious that we should do the same again...in 2014!

    Things are largely the same as the 2013 contest with a few changes. We have a new judge, a few rules have been amended and there'll be stuff to be announced as the contest progresses including the Contest Week. So let's start...

    JUDGES
    This year's judges will consist of myself, Cinossu, D.A Garden, Shadow Fire, MegaGWolf, Mercury, Reverie (that new judge I was on about) and SuperEgg. This team will be reliable and will be able to deal with contest judging as soon as possible in order for us to progress through the contest and get the results out as soon as possible. Judges will be able to submit their own hacks, but will not be able to judge it themselves, nor will they be able to judge submissions that they have been involved with (such as team hacks). Please note that the final decisions are subjected to the Judging Team, and may not reflect your own opinion. Judges may change at any time.

    TROPHIES
    Allow me to show you the list =):

    First are the normal trophies. Please note that any level specific trophies are now hack specific meaning they no longer go by individual levels in a hack.

    Hidden Palace Trophy
    Grand prize / 1st place. This is given to the overall best hack in the contest. At the moment there is no cash prize but instead we have this.

    Wood Zone Trophy
    2nd place.

    Dust Hill Trophy
    3rd place.

    Green Hill Trophy
    Hack (or specific level of a hack if non-applicable) that plays most like a Sonic game.

    Windy Valley Trophy
    Best art in a hack submitted.

    D.A. Garden Trophy
    Best music in a hack submitted.

    Lava Reef Trophy
    Best level layout in a hack submitted.

    Genocide City Trophy
    Most difficult hack (or specific level of a hack if non-applicable) submitted.

    Generations Trophy
    Best 3D Sonic game mod.

    11000101 Trophy
    Best technical / proof of concept hack submitted.

    Fang Trophy
    Best new enemy/badnik in a hack submitted.

    Eggman Trophy
    Best new boss or miniboss in a hack submitted.

    Spin Dash Trophy
    Best new ability in a hack submitted.

    Carnival Night Trophy
    Most innovative game play feature in a hack submitted.

    Emerald Trophy
    Best Special Stage in a hack submitted.

    Robotnik's Revenge Trophy
    Best fresh concept using existing concepts as the backbone in a hack submitted.

    Casinopolis Trophy
    Most entertaining / fun hack submitted.

    Polygon Jim Trophy (previously WTF?! Trophy)
    Most unique hack submitted.

    Tails Trophy
    Most improved hack from last year's contest.

    Froggy Trophy
    If someone can actually implement a fully playable Big the Cat in a Sonic game, they will get this. If there are more than one entry, the best implementation wins. Hint: Fishing.
     
    Now we move on to the Community Trophies!! =) These trophies are trophies that are awarded by those following the contest.

    Hidden Palace Community Trophy
    Best hack submitted overall.

    Big Community Trophy
    Worst hack submitted overall.

    Windy Valley Community Trophy
    Best art hack submitted.

    D.A. Garden Community Trophy
    Best music hack submitted.

    Lava Reef Community Trophy
    Best level layout hack submitted.

    11000101 Community Trophy
    Best technical hack submitted.
     
    Polygon Jim Community Trophy
    Most unique hack submitted.
     
    ...And there you have it!! The only other incredibly important thing to mention at this point in time would be the rules of this hacking contest. These are generally the same as last year's with a few changes:

    RULES
    1. Your entry must be based on an existing Sonic the Hedgehog ROM or game. No homebrew submissions will be accepted.
    2. No palette hacks - we have moved on from these sorts of hacks and can do far better than that nowadays, plus there is no trophy for palette hacks.
    3. Unlike last year, level layout only hacks can be submitted - if you can't do much with your hack and think it can't be submitted, think again. Ask a judge if you're unsure though.
    4. Joke hacks along the lines of Sonic 1337 will not be accepted. Feel free to make something humourous though!
    5. No Private Hacks. Entries are either Public (Hack can be downloaded) or Partial (media such as screenshots, videos and music only available to the public).
    6. You must include media such as screenshots (absolutely mandatory, must include a title screen image), videos (YouTube links are fine) and music (MP3 and VGM preferred). The judges will no longer waste time making screenshots for you.
    7. E-mailed submissions will not be accepted. All submissions must be through the online script.
    8. All submissions MUST BE PLAYABLE and can not prevent judges from playing the game. Judges have the right to look at your incomplete work if you submit it, and judges do not allocate trophies based on your incomplete builds, only the last build submitted.
    9. These rules can change at any time. Check back often (or at least before you submit something) to make sure they haven't.


    DEADLINE
    The submissions deadline for entries will be Thursday 31st July 2014 where you must submit a playable build by then to the contest site in order for it to be entered.

    You then have a week to refine your entry, fix any issues found and improve your hack which will be Thursday 7th August 2014.

    Any questions can be asked in this thread where-in a judge will be able to provide some sort of answer. We do not need any other judges at this time.

    CONTEST WEEK - Monday 18th August to Sunday 24th August
    Like the last few years, the public will have a chance to view this year's entries, download the public hacks and vote for Community Trophies.

    We hope to have live streams, mini contests, radio streams and much more similar to the 2013 Contest - these will be announced during the Contest when they have been finalised.

    We'll let you know when the website is updated for the 2014 Contest so you can start submitting. Once again, in order to submit you'll need a Sonic Retro or SSRG full member account although exceptions may be given by contacting a judge.

    So with that, I'll leave you to your hacking.

    Ready, Set, Procrastinate!!
     
  2. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    Please note the addition of a new trophy which you should be able to figure out which one. This time you have the entire contest to work on it.
     
  3. Yuzu

    Yuzu

    Member
    2,548
    51
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    I'm going to submit a hack this year.

    It's scary, I know.
     
  4. FireRat

    FireRat

    Nah. Fuck it. Banned
    48
    10
    8
    Chile
    Mobius Evolution 2
    I have a pretty simple question: Are Trial Members allowed to submit their hacks? Past year, as far as I know, it wasn't, but I hope that behavior changes.
     
  5. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    Only if they ask a judge for permission to do so, which is generally granted. The same system applied last year as well.
     
  6. Cinossu

    Cinossu

    Administrator
    2,832
    44
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    Sonic the Hedgehog Extended Edition
    It's taken its time, due to a number of reasons ranging from work overload to me actually being on holiday in another country right now, but the Sonic Hacking Contest 2014 site is now open and ready for entries.

    [​IMG]
    http://shc.hapisan.com

    Like last year, everything is handled on-site and you can log in with your Sonic Retro forum account to get started. More information is on the site itself, including instructions on what to do, how to do it, etc.

    The biggest addition this year is Teams, which can be set up from the new "Teams" section. They can be a mix of both Retro and SSRG members, and allow credit to be on all members of the team as well as allow any member to modify and set up entries for the whole team.

    As always, enjoy. If any issues, bugs, etc. are found, just let us know either in here, the SSRG thread equivalent, or in the comments of the news post on the site itself.
     
  7. Ell678

    Ell678

    Am I Annoying You? Member
    2,378
    25
    28
    Barrow, England
    Sonic Incursion
    I think this is a fantastic idea. I did contemplate making Sonic 1 Alt 2 for a hacking contest until I saw last year I wouldn't even be able to submit it. I'm glad it's changed - it means those who have an interest in level design but no art skill or ASM knowledge can show something off.
     
  8. JojHeywood

    JojHeywood

    Arbitrary. Member
    [​IMG]

    If all teams have members like this one this year's entries are gonna be rad.
     
  9. Cinossu

    Cinossu

    Administrator
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    Sonic the Hedgehog Extended Edition
    :v: it's more to show off the whole Teams thing than anything else.
     
  10. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
    4,735
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    SonLVL
    I cannot seem to locate the "Add New Team" option.
     
  11. Cinossu

    Cinossu

    Administrator
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    Sonic the Hedgehog Extended Edition
    Whoops, my bad; forgot to re-enable it from testing. Should be there now.
     
  12. Overlord

    Overlord

    Now playable in Smash Bros Ultimate Moderator
    19,218
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    Long-term happiness
    "In order to perfect it, I needed the help of somebody as smart as I am. The only person that smart... is me!"

    :v:
     
  13. Super Egg

    Super Egg

    Master of MS Paint. Member
    313
    0
    16
    Tomball, TEXAS
    Sonic 2 beta 3 hoax
    The joke here is that even with two Cinossus, Sonic 1 Extended Edition still won't be done for this contest, or for the next 20 hacking contests. :v:/>

    *Shot*
     
  14. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    SonLVL
    Thanks, but now trying to view the entry authored by the team I created just sends me back to the main entry list...
    Also it said there was an error when I changed it, but it seems to have gone through anyway.
     
  15. Cinossu

    Cinossu

    Administrator
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    Sonic the Hedgehog Extended Edition
    Again, whoops; I'd uploaded an older version of a file by accident! Fixed now. Again. Ugh.
     
  16. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    SonLVL
    Maybe the website should explain how to install mods for the PC games, like Sonic Generations, Sonic Adventure DX, and Sonic Adventure 2, rather than leaving it up to the individual entries to explain it or just assuming the reader has the necessary tools and knows how to install mods.
     
  17. Cinossu

    Cinossu

    Administrator
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    Sonic the Hedgehog Extended Edition
    What might be better is to create a page about that on the wiki; from there, just link to the wiki article on your entry instead (and I can put something in the About section too). That way it's useful outside of the SHC site as well.

    (That and I don't know the instructions for said mods myself anyway. :U)
     
  18. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    SonLVL
  19. pablodrago

    pablodrago

    Member
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    BS AS
    Well this year I won't submit anything so, probably, there won't be a SADX 2004 entry :v: . Anyway good luck everyone
     
  20. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    I can think of at least two other people working on SADX mods, you aren't the only one. + - One is me, the other is Dude.