The Building Contests 2011/2012- Rules and Instructions

[Agneza]

Wow ! It's great idea 

[Gogowars329]

All I can say is that I'm excited!

[Joria]

Just re-read everything but am a little confused on one thing.  Store WORLDS are allowed, or not allowed?  Worlds would include Barnacle Bay, Hidden Springs and Lunar Landing which you must buy, but I'm assuming Riverview, which is free is ok.  Yes?  No?

[samoht04]

Just re-read everything but am a little confused on one thing.  Store WORLDS are allowed, or not allowed?  Worlds would include Barnacle Bay, Hidden Springs and Lunar Landing which you must buy, but I'm assuming Riverview, which is free is ok.  Yes?  No?

You can build in a Store World. You just can't use the Content from Lunar Lakes, Barnacle Bay and Hidden Springs as those you have to buy. Riverview you can use the content from though as it is free.

[Joria]

You can build in a Store World. You just can't use the Content from Lunar Lakes, Barnacle Bay and Hidden Springs as those you have to buy. Riverview you can use the content from though as it is free.

But Tom, you have to BUY the world to begin with so if you could build in the world automatically it's saying you bought it, so it's store content.  I'm just going to avoid even building in a bought world because I think it would be unfair, even just using the landscaping as background, to those who can't get store content.

[samoht04]

But Tom, you have to BUY the world to begin with so if you could build in the world automatically it's saying you bought it, so it's store content.  I'm just going to avoid even building in a bought world because I think it would be unfair, even just using the landscaping as background, to those who can't get store content.

I don't see how it is unfair. You should be judging an entry on the Lot not the World it's in.


Major Update: It has been asked if Barnacle Bay and Hidden Springs Items may now be used, this is because they are now available in Retail Stores. We have decided that they will be treated as Stuff Packs and be allowed as they are now not restricted to just Store Content and can be purchased physically. This was decided my Lilygirl and Myself, as well as Carl and Pam.

For Building Contest 2012: 4 - Destination Homes, the previous Rules Still apply and you may not use any Hidden Springs or Barnacle Bay Items as there have been entries prior to this ruling. You may use the two sets of Content for the March, Long Contest and for the Fifth, Short Contest - When they begin.

[samoht04]

If you are wondering about being able to use Mods in the Contests, you may use them as they do not provide an unfair advantage really as most affect Game Play. Of course if they do affect your chances of winning do the decent thing and don't use them in your Entry. The only exception to using Mods however are Mods that Transfer through Lots. We know if a CAW Mod which adds Snow to a World and the Snow seems to stick with the Lot in other towns. If that is the case with the Mod do not use them, not everyone wants to have Mods in their game.

[justme2]

Question regarding the Image Hosting rules (no more than 10 images on a site).

I have an unlimited account on Flickr; if I set up a folder just for the contest (Carl's Contest ##) and only put 10 images in that folder, would that be okay, or do I have to set up another account on another site just for the contest then delete those images when the contest ends?

[samoht04]

Question regarding the Image Hosting rules (no more than 10 images on a site).

I have an unlimited account on Flickr; if I set up a folder just for the contest (Carl's Contest ##) and only put 10 images in that folder, would that be okay, or do I have to set up another account on another site just for the contest then delete those images when the contest ends?

As long as the image hosting site where you upload it to only have 10 images of the entry that is fine, you can choose the hosting site - whether it be Flickr, Photobucket or our own Gallery etc. If you mean can you use an existing account - of course, use the account you want and if you can make folders on it then that would be the best way to keep organised. 

[samoht04]

Carl has added a new feature to the forums which I would like to be used for the Contest entries. It's a new BBCode but shouldn't be much harder to use than the original method. It's a feature called Highslide: which creates a thumbnail which when clicked enlarges. The main reason for this is to cut down on space and make the 10 Images take up less space. Sadly the only SMF Mod which Carl can use that does what we need doesn't actually seem to do the slideshow option using arrow keys, or at least Carl and I can't work it out. Here is the sort of arrangement that is wanted for the 10 images.

If you click on the images they will appear larger. This is using 10 of the Winning entries images. I've selected them to be similar in picture aspect ratios to be similar in order to look more uniform: all of your's will most likely be the same aspect and not be different sizes like this example. I've put two slightly large images at the top which you could have as the main front and say the back. Then the 8 smaller ones as inside the entry or whatever. 





Here is the Code for the Highslide, the button is found to the right of the IMG tags:

Code: [Select]

[hs width=300 height=300] URL Link of Image [/hs]
It's best to remove one of the two dimensions either height or width, I removed height and left width. I also changed the width to 200 - this keeps the aspects right. So for one image you would get this:

Code: [Select]

[hs width=200]http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/forum/gallery/albums/userpics/10187/Screenshot-256.jpg[/hs]
The example above has this arrangement:

Code: [Select]

[hs width=404] Image URL Links [/hs][hs width=404] Image URL Links [/hs]
[hs width=200] Image URL Links [/hs][hs width=200] Image URL Links [/hs][hs width=200] Image URL Links [/hs][hs width=200] Image URL Links [/hs]
[hs width=200] Image URL Links [/hs][hs width=200] Image URL Links [/hs][hs width=200] Image URL Links [/hs][hs width=200] Image URL Links [/hs]

[samoht04]

If you are struggling with the new format then you can still use the old format but I'd like it if you could try to use the new one, it does look difficult but once you get around it it's fine. Try copying the last code on the previous post as a way to make it easier, simply replace the 'Image URL Links' with the URL of the image and it's done then. 

[Wai]

I have just uploaded one of my buildings to the swap shop to try this out.

It's great!

I made it easier on myself by copying your code direct to the message window and then pasting the same link repeatedly over the "Image URL Links ".  I then Previewed to see the result and make sure I had it right.  Finally, I changed the image numbers on each slot and previewed to see the final result.

It is very easy to do and has the distinct advantage of giving a complete overview of the post on screne, no more scrolling down checking and rechecking that you have the images required and no repeats.

It will make viewing and comparing contest entries easier too.

Really Excellant.  Thankyou for your clear and concise instructions.

[saltpastillen]

I tried copying your code, but I only got gray lines, no photos. What did I do wrong? When I use both height and width the pictures show up....

[Wai]

Saltpastillen

It really is easy, as I said in my post immediatly above yours.

Drag your curser over the three lines of code given by Samoht04 to highlight it.

Press Control-C to copy the code.

Go to your upload window and Press Control-V to paste the code (or right click and select paste).

Now copy your first picture link from photobucket, or whatever medium you use.

Return to the upload window.

Highlight the first occurance of  " Image URL Links " and press Control-V to paste the link.  Remember to include the spaces at either end of " Image URL Links " .

Repeat the process until all ten " Image URL Links " 's have been replaced.

Preview.  Make ajustments by changing picture numbers if necessary.  Job done.

I'm not certain what you have done wrong, but as you are getting the grey lines I surmise that the program is not "seeing" your links.  This is likely to be because you have a space before and after the link.

[saltpastillen]

@ Wai

Thanks! And I did figure out the problem too - after what felt like hours of frustration.

@ samoth04

I really like how the new format looks! Like Wai said, great when scrolling through! In future I will probably use it in the Building Contest thread, but use the regular view in my upload thread.