Screenshot Comp discussion

[dbcunnz]

OK here is your opportunity to have your Pros and cons about the screenshot comp
so please use this thread instead of posting on the screenshot comp thread

[Ian Warren]

Ooo Ooo Ooo , we need a shakey hand thingy Icon , nothing wrong with the words and chatter .. been there done that before and the thread shriveled like something in serious cold water , this has not got out of hand .. in fact it maybe nudge many off the regulars to get in a hit it off with a "T"

[Splitpin]

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Aug 19 2013,4:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ooo Ooo Ooo , we need a shakey hand thingy Icon , nothing wrong with the words and chatter .. been there done that before and the thread shriveled like something in serious cold water , this has not got out of hand .. in fact it maybe nudge many off the regulars to get in a hit it off with a "T"

Not sure what you said there little guy ..... but, I know what you mean (thats odd )

[emfrat]

Doug, this is a good idea. Pics in the comp thread, to speak for themselves, and comments - including "I have updated my entry" - in a separate thread. Not that that notification is not really needed; it will all come out in the wash, at voting time.

EDIT: I meant to say 'not really needed'

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (Splitpin @ Aug 19 2013,10:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not sure what you said there little guy ..... but, I know what you mean (thats odd )

I'm up down ... turning around ... idea's ... one said i should have being doing this years ago , the wise one said his words "missed my calling" just a pity many don't post , so easy to do ...

[steelsporran]

This is good Doug.
Now can we get all those posts on the comp moved here? Then those wanting to see this month's entries to date, won't have to wade through 15 pages.

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (steelsporran @ Aug 20 2013,12:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Then those wanting to see this month's entries to date, won't have to wade through 15 pages.

Just a bloody pity having to wade thru 15 pages .. if peoples entered rather than talked .. be 15 pages of amazing stuff ... not sure if your around when the it was decided to remove the wading waters of pages which for that and that next month is DIED! .. take the comment out ... ya may as well turn the tap off ....

This is one forum , across the world - the board that has some say , good thing if your here everyday or two you don't or won't have to wade , ..................................this is but once a month then its gone and the winner with a prize ..... spilt that up AGAIN ... it will wither and Die

I recall one silly thing said about "The Cold War" thread .... oh i don't believe this .. its waisting my bandwidth ?



Pinned: The Soviets are invading!
The Cold War Thread! 797 81,208 2nd July 2013 - 7:07 PM And its still going

[Bazza]

While the numbers of people posting screenies may be small, let's not overlook the fact that some people like to fly the
planes, some like to photograph them, the numbers reflect this. Over the years the forum seems to have been somewhat overtaken by the
screenshots and discussions on sceneries and aircraft seems to have died back somewhat, perhaps everyone is now up to date
with all the tweaks etc. While it is open to everyone who wants to post a picture, the difference between those submitted by our recent winners
and the average punter having a go, is painfully apparent. Thus must deter many from having a "bash" at it from their basic set-ups, using
their limited aircraft. Not everyone has a hangar full of payware or the top of the range video card. IMHO....

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (Bazza @ Aug 20 2013,2:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

While the numbers of people posting screenies may be small,

with all the tweaks etc. While it is open to everyone who wants to post a picture, the difference between those submitted by our recent winners
and the average punter having a go, is painfully apparent.

Thus must deter many from having a "bash" at it from their basic set-ups, using
their limited aircraft. Not everyone has a hangar full of payware or the top of the range video card. IMHO....

My rule NUMBER no1 always encourage .. we see screens that are a 'hic him' but if you have been around you like me give it the thumbs UP .. we all cant have these fancy PC's .. but in saying that our "Splitpin" Marty was a good example of producing quality screens pre his up-grade on a low end PC left many wondering how he did it .. Still left me baffled and thought i was good at screen art .

[Adrian Brausch]

QUOTE (Bazza @ Aug 20 2013,1:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

While it is open to everyone who wants to post a picture, the difference between those submitted by our recent winners
and the average punter having a go, is painfully apparent. Thus must deter many from having a "bash" at it from their basic set-ups, using
their limited aircraft. Not everyone has a hangar full of payware or the top of the range video card. IMHO....

Seriously,..those screenshot comps were one (A) by a voting system , (B) had nothing to do with whether they were payware or freeware © because they were great screenshots amongst alot of other great screenshots selected again by a voting poll. I have a low low spec PC, have won a couple comps and all I do is hit the Prt Scr button which uses the FREE Snap Shot program, I use windows picture thingy (that comes with Windows) to crop then upload to Photobucket (which is FREE ). Please do not blame peoples PC setups for not winning as that is complete and utter bollucks !. Plenty people have won the comp with freeware stuff using freeware editing programs and without editing..which has nothing at all to do with winning or losing. Imagination and a well caught screenshot wins the day nothing else.

[Splitpin]

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Aug 20 2013,4:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My rule NUMBER no1 always encourage .. we see screens that are a 'hic him' but if you have been around you like me give it the thumbs UP .. we all cant have these fancy PC's .. but in saying that our "Splitpin" Marty was a good example of producing quality screens pre his up-grade on a low end PC left many wondering how he did it .. Still left me baffled and thought i was good at screen art .

Thanks Ian .... i have to be honest , i felt a little odd ( almost guilty) after reading the previous post.(not AB)
I have never set out to blitz the comp , in fact far from it . I have often decided not to enter because of the quality of shots entered.... and have given away several prizes , when i was fortunate enough to win.
Re my system , as you said , my first banner was made on a rig that really struggled with FS9 ! and Im very proud of that win.
My current system is far from state of the art (relatively speaking ) and i only have that , thanks to the generosity of a fellow forum member who gifted me the graphics card , along with his collection of Orbx discs (not sure if i say can that ... but i have) ...... and Doug , who put the whole thing together and upgraded it for me ..... and then waited for many months while i paid him off bit by bit .... thank you Bill and Big D.

Bottom line is , it comes down to the voters..... this whole thing has really become a little odd ,Im not sure if i want to be part of it anymore.

[AlisterC]

I've said a couple of my suggestions in threads gone by.

1- I'd like to see an anonymous screenshot competition, with everyone judging on favourite shots alone, to keep personality out of it. Just means everyone would have to email a screenshot to Doug, and he'd come in and post it for you. If you give away somehow it is your shot in the following discussions your shot is null and void lol Don't say personality doesn't count for anything, I'm sure in your heart you know it does. Even to the reverse affect. SP, I know you'll take no disrespect from this. If I had a choice between 1 brilliant shot from a member I don't really know, and 1 brilliant shot from you, I'd probably vote for the other member knowing you'll get looked after with votes from the other members who might think the opposite to me. Personality can work for you, and against you obviously. In an anonymous competition it is your screenshot that wins or loses fair and square on artist merit alone.

2- I'd also rather see a voting poll at the top of the thread, and then full size shots posted below. A good thumbnail ends up being a good vote catcher (again, imho)

3- And finally, I'd love to be able to have multiple choice. Eg 5 votes I can use. Everyone will get more of a shot at winning that way. Or at the very least it will make the voting a little more interesting, and more likely to avoid runoffs. Plus there are SO many great shots, that get zero votes, simply bacause we can't choose them all. Even if we entrants at the bottom of the list only get 2 or 3 votes, at least we know SOMEONE liked our shot enough to use one of their votes on it. There's a small victory in that, even if the winner got 20 votes.

I like the quality of the competition, and having visited many forums in my time this forum ranks the highest. Having stiff competition drives us harder in many regards to do better. Seeing good shots also shows us what to look for in a well framed winner. We can see where we need to improve.

Anyway, just suggestions, thanks for reading this far..

[Splitpin]

"I'd probably vote for the other member" as you should Al ...... i 100% understand.

This whole pile of cr@p was started by some one who should know better .... and as a result , Im not posting in the comps anymore , its obvious there is a lot of underlying feeling out there ... so its all yours.
I will continue to post in the screenshot forum , and vote in the comp , but otherwise Im OUT.
I just hope this whole bun fight wont put the sponsors off ..... keep up the good work Doug

[toprob]

QUOTE (AlisterC @ Aug 20 2013,7:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

... SP, I know you'll take no disrespect from this. If I had a choice between 1 brilliant shot from a member I don't really know, and 1 brilliant shot from you, I'd probably vote for the other member knowing you'll get looked after with votes from the other members who might think the opposite to me. Personality can work for you, and against you obviously. In an anonymous competition it is your screenshot that wins or loses fair and square on artist merit alone...

Which to me shows that there are as many reasons why people arrive at their vote as there are members. Most voters will vote for their favourite screenshot, so any votes based on personality (or any one of a hundred random reasons) will cancel themselves out. I'm not saying that you don't make some good points, but there are technicalities. An anonymous comp means that Doug would need to upload all the shots, which means a lot of extra work for him. Same with the way in which we vote -- this uses the built-in poll software, which is the very same system where you'd get to choose your favourite breakfast cereal. The members and the forum software do the work during the month (the members by uploading and linking their image), but Doug already needs to do a lot of work to prep for the vote at the end of the month, as there's no automatic way of doing that. Changing this would mean at least three or four times the work for Doug.

As far as the thumbnails are concerned, I'd be surprised if anyone who actually took the trouble to vote would not take the time to look at the screenshots. I do this as they are posted, which means that by the end of the month I already have a shortlist, even if by then I've forgotten whose shot was whose.

[dbcunnz]

The screenshot competition is there as an extra to the NZFF it doesn't have to be there and run every month but while some members enjoy trying their hand and are entering their images I will continue to run the Comp every month, it is not compulsory for members to enter it.

While there may be a few that only enter if the prize is to their liking most of us enter for the fun of the competition not for the prize I have won and given the prize away as have some of the others who have won in the past.

The theme is always something that open to all members to enter whether they have high or low end PC and whether they have payware scenery and aircraft or are just using default or freeware aircraft and scenery.

In the monthly competition posts I do not want to see any criticism or suggestions about the competition or the way it is run that is what this Screenshot Comp discussion is for.

Comments, suggestions and compliments about members entries are most welcome and encouraged on the competition post, but anyone posting negative comments may have their comment removed.

The competition and rules are easy enough for anyone to enter the main thing is read the rules and follow them and like the theme they can be different from month to month.
The reason they may be different is because they may be part of the theme or the sponsor may ask to have something included for the competition that they are sponsoring.

I have worked hard to get a regular supply of sponsors so that we can have a prize each month and to respect of all our sponsors I do not want to see any more negative feedback on the competition.

Now I have said my piece and will accept your comments on it

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (AlisterC @ Aug 20 2013,8:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I like the quality of the competition, and having visited many forums in my time this forum ranks the highest. Having stiff competition drives us harder in many regards to do better. Seeing good shots also shows us what to look for in a well framed winner. We can see where we need to improve.

Alister , you nailed it .. And i believe i have said it before , Its just the getting in and doing a simple screen , you here do your fights , you see a shot that WOWs ya ... and if the next below ya younger or older brother thinks he can beat ya ... , crikey think what would happen if mum decided to jump in ... you'd all be cooking dinner tonight , now lets see

Steak .. nah last night
Chicken maybe
Fish .. Lunch today


Arrr ..... Lambs Fry ...... yuck !

[toprob]

QUOTE (Splitpin @ Aug 20 2013,8:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

"I'd probably vote for the other member" as you should Al ...... i 100% understand.

This whole pile of cr@p was started by some one who should know better .... and as a result , Im not posting in the comps anymore , its obvious there is a lot of underlying feeling out there ... so its all yours.
I will continue to post in the screenshot forum , and vote in the comp , but otherwise Im OUT.
I just hope this whole bun fight wont put the sponsors off ..... keep up the good work Doug

This was started by me, and I've just checked back on what I posted, and I can't see the problem. I was talking about a few extra restrictions on the comp. Some people took something else from what I posted. I ignored most of these, as they were not valid to the discussion. Some I tried to answer, but maybe I shouldn't have.

I suspect that Doug took this as an attack on him. It wasn't. He was within his rights to react that way. But if anyone here has a problem/query/question/suggestion, then they shouldn't have to worry about offending the admin by asking it. The rush to defend Doug was commendable, but kind of creeped me out in a way -- and didn't in any way relate to my post. I did see a post which referred to this as 'bickering', but to me it has always just been a discussion. If anyone thinks that we shouldn't discuss anything which might be construed as negative, then that's their right, but I'll never accept that as the truth.

In the end, almost nobody addressed my original point, so I can only assume that everyone is happy with the way things are. Fair enough. But why not just say that?

[Charl]

I like the anonymous shot thing...
Doug you are the judge of whether it'll be too hard: someone PM's a link which you post.
On average, maybe 1 a day.

Or as a compromise: remove the names from the thumbnail page.
(Less work for Doug!)

And the winner sits out the next 3 so as not to discourage everyone stuck with their no-photoshop poor-spec computers.

We might make this retroactive in which case Splitpin comes back in 2025 and the other multi-winners, next year.
You know who you are, over the last 2 years:
Splitpin 5
07moffata 2
Adamski 2
Deeknow 2
Ian Warren 2

All this will improve my chances enormously too, I haven't won one of these since 2011!

The top winners since records began?
Knew you would ask, I am a numbers junky too:
AlisterC 6
Ian Warren 6
Splitpin 6
dbcunnz 5

[toprob]

QUOTE (Charl @ Aug 20 2013,9:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I like the anonymous shot thing...
Doug you are the judge of whether it'll be too hard: someone PM's a link which you post.
On average, maybe 1 a day.

In my previous post I did kind of discount this idea, as a lot of image hosts identify the owner in the URl-- but there are some that don't, such as FSFiles and Postimage. So it could work that way, if people don't mind changing their image hosts.

[AlisterC]

QUOTE (Splitpin @ Aug 20 2013,8:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

and as a result , Im not posting in the comps anymore , its obvious there is a lot of underlying feeling out there ... so its all yours.

SP I hope this is not due to what I said. It was not my intention to offend you. I thought I would choose you as an example as you were so perfect for it. I just meant that I would most likely vote for the young Padowan when the choice was between him and the Jedi Master like your yourself. You can more than handle yourself.
And my point at the end of my post stands. Only by having the bar set high in front of us can we possibly aim higher! You are one of those who set that bar for the rest of us to reach. And especially since you prove it can be done on lower end systems. It's all about developing an eye for a great shot.

So I hope you have a think and see you again in the competition sometime. I don't post everytime as the theme doesn't always suit, but would be glad to run against you sometime soon.


No problem if my suggestions are not well liked or feasible, just thought I would put them out there while the opportunity existed.
Thanks to Doug for all the hard work required every month. I used to run this every month elsewhere, without organising prizes or sponsors, so my hat off to you..