Nightmares of New Britannia - A Spooky Halloween Contest

UPDATE 10/16: Contest deadline extended to Oct. 31! Jack-o-lantern placement fix will go in Release 47.

BOO! Spooky content abounds in New Britannia this Halloween season, some of old, some of new! Here’s your chance to show it off to the rest of the community in your own unique style!

We’re announcing today a two-part challenge of decorating a home or property in a spooky theme, or wearing a themed costume. You can submit an entry for both segments, though you are only eligible to win in one of them. As we get entries, we will announce on social media the latest entries in a Facebook gallery. You will also be able to view the entries as they are posted in the forums.


SUBMITTING AN ENTRY



Submit Your Entries Here! Deadline to submit is Tuesday, October 24 31 at 12pm (Noon) CT, so get those spooky ideas started now!

What to Submit:

• Brief sentence or two describing each screenshot for context
• For properties: 4-8 screenshots of the scene, at least 2 with UI and 2 without, as well as at least 1 of the outside and 2 of the inside.
• For costumes: 2-3 screenshots, at least 1 with UI and 1 without. Use of surrounding scene will also be considered, though costume itself will be the priority consideration.
• For properties: Include the scene and /loc coordinates so visitors can check out your property!
• Any further background on why you went with the decorations you chose, or ghoulish history behind the costume or property submitted.

If submitting both a property and costume, please separate (in the same post) entries for both. While each should be obvious to identify, please designate their category (Property/Costume).

Screenshot Guidelines (Must use online game account ONLY):

• Resolution: Minimum of 1920×1080, and always in 16:9 aspect ratio (you can trim if necessary).
• Quality: Use in-game settings to their maximum, no post-screenshot alterations allowed (except to enhance brightness and contrast in overly dark scenes).
• Set the stage! Other players and staged items in the shot are great resources. Use them!
• Stand your ground! Must be of your own house (or permission to use it) as the scene focus.
• Protip! Be mindful of the game time for the best lighting angles you want on the home or costume, if any.
  Remember! Turn UI off with the F9 key, no post-alterations to the screenshot with the above exceptions.

WINNERS & PRIZES



Property Entries

• Top Winner: 500 COTOs
• Top Winner: 500 COTOs
• Top Winner: 500 COTOs
• Runnerup: 100 COTOs
• Runnerup: 100 COTOs

Costume Entries

• Top Winner: 100 COTOs
• Top Winner: 100 COTOs
• Top Winner: 100 COTOs
• Runnerup: 50 COTOs
• Runnerup: 50 COTOs

All Other Submissions: Everyone else that has an eligible submission will have theirs included as a congratulatory entry.

Winners will be announced during the Release 47 Community Livestream on Friday, November 3 at 4pm CT. Keep watch on the Shroud of the Avatar main website and on social for updates.

Have a great time spooking your fellow Avatars!


CONTEST RULES



Since this is a skill based contest, a committee of judges will be formed at Portalarium, and any tie breakers will be resolved by the committee. Any concerns and disputes on who won must be sent to Berek in the community forums. Do not post in the submission thread or other public areas any disputes or challenges about the winners.

We will only accept one submission per individual or group. Anyone assisting in a group should assume that they will not be receiving a prize, though speak to the contest entrant on how they can reward you for your time. No reuse of submission materials or locations please!

Inappropriate/Vulgar submissions are prohibited and will result in disqualification. Submissions containing any of the following are considered inappropriate:

• Any disparagement of a race/gender/group of people or ideals
• Drug/alcohol abuse, sexual connotations, and other derogatory or disturbing imagery
• Graphical bugs, or otherwise depicting the state of the game in a negative manner
• Anything that would be a violation of the common Community Rules & Guidelines

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. MUST BE AGE 13 OR OLDER. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON OR HOUSEHOLD. MUST USE ONLINE GAME ACCOUNT ONLY.

THIS IS A SKILL-BASED CONTEST. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. VIDEO FOOTAGE CAN BE FROM ANY SOURCE AVAILABLE TO YOU, INCLUDING YOUR OWN GAME ACCOUNT AND THIRD PARTY SOURCES. ASK FOR PERMISSION WHERE APPROPRIATE. AFFIDAVIT OF ELIGIBILITY / RELEASE OF LIABILITY / PRIZE ACCEPTANCE AGREEMENT MAY BE REQUIRED.

ALL SUBMITTED VIDEOS ARE ABLE TO BE USED AND COPIED BY PORTALARIUM FOR PROMOTING SHROUD OF THE AVATAR AS PORTALARIUM AND ITS PARTNERS SEES FIT.

 

Nice idea. It would be cool if in the future you could work in a category for original works of poetry or prose.

 

ooo I'm in

 

Can I just say how utterly nuts the prizes are (500 COTOS? That's like 425 bucks!) and in addition, how sad I am that (as we have seen in the past) it's pretty much a requirement to buy things off of the store in order to set yourself apart and compete with the other top entrants. That's why I mentioned poetry and prose. Those types of entries are (in my opinion) more creative than decorating/costuming and are open to anyone, regardless of their pocketbook.

 

@licemeat
Try /playdead

@macnlos
It would be really sweet if you could dye that spider web cloak using glowing white dye too (@DarkStarr).

 

I couldn't agree more. Want actual high volume community involvement? Have community contests like this that are not hidden behind a pay wall.

Here's an idea... port makes all Halloween decorations free for 3 weeks until the contest ends.... then after the contest all free decos disappear from your inventory.

 

Great event Berek! Love it and awesome prizes.

 

@LoneStranger and @Bubonic

Check out the Spooky Vendor in Owl's Head. A lot the stuff you can buy in the store can also be purchased in game, though not all. I get excited every deco contest I see even if I have yet to win anything. Cant wait to see all the ideas!

 

Isn't that an obsidian crown merchant?

 

@Bubonic Yes, which you can easily get from other player vendors for in game currency. You cant expect to deco without spending either gold or real money. It's just a way to deco spending gold instead. I cant afford to spend real money on the game myself so its an alternative I was posting for you two that I also use.

 

So, you're saying it's pay-to-win, even if it is by extension?

 

I do not believe that is what Bubonic was inferring. I decorate in rl every year for all my beasties and it always costs me something , whether it be time , money or even favors to borrow an outstanding decorative item from my community.
In game these same precepts are occurring. It will cost either foraging, time (which also equates to money), or purchases from in game vendors that also could be considered pay to win. Are we going to do away with in game vendors as well to counter this theory?
It always comes down to a matter of choice. You can choose to enter the contest or not.

 

As soon as I logged in, last night, @Paulie Walnuts said, "Let's go take the haunted tour!" So we went and IT WAS AWESOME.

If you haven't been yet, you have to go!! Here's a video of our tour, so spoilers! Thank you @Vooch that was spooktactular!

 

Contest participants! I have good news for all those struggling to decorate their homes in a Halloween style with the broken Jack-o-lanterns (unable to be placed on a lot):

The fix for placing Jack-o-lanterns will be implemented in R47 on Oct. 26.

To give you time to add a final Jack-o-lantern touch to your properties, we will be extended the contest deadline to Oct. 31... Halloween day!

 

The discussion of pay-to-win decorating challenged me to put together a competitive entry spending no gold, COTOs or real money.

I submitted my effort last night using only items I crafted, found or earned in game. I don't know if it's good enough to win a prize, but I think it was worth the effort to show that you don't NEED a budget for competitive decorating (but it sure helps).

 

Awesome! Can't wait to see the winners! I hope all those who submit more than the allowed screenshots aren't being considered as winners, clear disqualification.

 

It would be great if someone could/would organize a "Tour" of all the entry's !!

 

Do they visit the locations or just look at the screenshots?

 

We will briefly visit each location as well.

 

who won the contest?