Deadline Extension - August 9th
Hi everyone,
After discussing it internally and taking into account the requests of contestants and the current state of the contest, we decided to add an additional week and extend the deadline from August 2nd at 11:59PM PST to August 9th at 11:59PM PST.
We understand that some people who were in time for the 2nd might feel like it is unfair, but an additional week will likely double the amount of finished entries and we believe this will benefit everyone.
Your talent and artistic abilities are your responsibility to train and improve, but time is something that not all contestants necessarily have full control over, and anything from a health issue to an unexpected crunch at work can ruin your carefully planned schedule. Naturally we don't want people who poured dozens of hours into their project to get frustrated simply because they couldn't finish on time.
Hopefully this additional week will allow a lot of contestants to be part of the final batch of scenes shown to the jury while giving some more time for those who already finished to polish and make sure everything is perfect with their entry.
Thanks for your understanding and good luck to all!
Replies
Many CG contests tend to see such extension, but it is quite unfair to move the deadline. It's nobody's problem if others couldn't make the time, and some (like yourself) sacrificed time to do it.
...With that said, out of a rare situation, I'm going to be a little selfish here and take this unfair but opportune extension. My PC's old and dying. I just finally got it working again, a couple days ago.
This contest offers a new PC. I'm gonna aim for that PC, even if it means going sleepless, just to meet the Aug. 2 deadline.
...But now the deadline's extended. On principle, I still don't extensions. But I'm sure going to use it!
I just hope that people who entered before August 2--even if a day before the deadline--are the winners.
Not really taking any sides on this this is just me playing devils advocate and want people to put some perspective on this situation and cool their tits abit.
First off have to say, I would have preferred if the contest was only a few weeks long instead of it being a month as that felt like an over kill for what they were asking us to do. Or maybe that was because they thought most were doing there rendering on an abacus (Like I ended up doing cause my main PC blew up a few weeks into the competition), but hay I'm not the one in charge and I'm not being forced to join the competition.
I understand everyone's frustration with a deadline being moved; specially if the person that ultimately wins is some one who started after the deadline extension, but I'm sure most people would feel the same way if some on woke up the day of the deadline and decided to compete thew something together in a few hours and won with that submission. Specially if you spent weeks on yours, most would be pretty fumed in that situation as well even though no rules were broken or altered.
But like I said earlier there was no requirement for us to compete, none of us were forced in doing this competition(as far as I know lol), there was no contract between us and the people holding the competition.
So yes some people scarified a good portion of their time for there submissions and followed the rules initially set, but again that was your CHOICE to spend their time on this competition.
If the time you spent on this competition was some kinda immense sacrifice, then you may want to look at and reconfigure your priorities you had no guarantee of winning, and if you feel you some how had this in the bag because your skills are just THAT good, then you may want to check that ego of yours.
The guys running the competition ran into a issue and made a mistake as they explained in the Q&A page, these guys are human and sure it may seem unprofessional but name one professional person or group that hasn't made a mistake or botched a deadline.
Yours truly,
Devils Advocate
For what it's worth, I'll say I appreciate the guys running the contest for doing this since they're not getting nothing out of this.
For what it's worth, I'll say I appreciate the guys running the contest for doing this since they're not getting nothing out of this.
Though, the chief reason Polycount contests in particular see a generous deadline is because, if you talk with many here, you get a good sense that for many (with families, school, time-demanding jobs in the game industry, etc.), scheduling can be quite the issue.
Not everyone may have a spontaneously-specified week (or sometimes even a weekend) open. The contest wants to see a good turnout, and to best ensure it, most tend to offer a lengthy deadline, as well as some top-notch prizes as extra incentive.
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A deadline extension isn't comparable to a last-minute submission that meets the deadline and wins. If someone did that, that's just a testament to their talent. If someone threw something together after the initial deadline and won, that would be an entirely different scenario.
Also, we know this is a "choice" here. Still, you want to respect those who respected the initial rules. Imagine if you were playing a game where whoever gets 21 points wins, but then just as the game's near the end and players' scores are all close, the goal gets moved to 35, and you lose your lead to another guy.
There's fair room for complaint. Nothing wrong with respectfully raising this point. I do suggest newer Polycounters be aware that some contests here see a last-minute extension. But whenever this happens, it's also fair if some want to express criticism about it.
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The whole "reconfigure your priorities" thing is an ad hominem, veering towards a red herring.
Generally, people know entering a contest isn't a guarantee of winning. Doesn't change the fact that the fair advantage was that everybody was given the same deadline, and the goal is to see who best met that criterion.
It's also not "ego" if, up to the point of the first deadline, you might perceive that your work had an advantage towards winning, but at seeing an extension, it allotted a chance to lose that advantage.
There's no guarantee of winning, but winning's not mere luck, either. There is such a thing as weighing your competition out.
Maybe you did so well enough up to the point of the deadline, and the extension is a week you can't work anymore, but someone else is given chance to surpass what you achieved on time for the original deadline.
Not saying this will be the case for all involved here, but you just don't really know how this may affect someone's chances at winning who otherwise had the best chance before the extension.
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And finally, it's not clear what you mean by a "botched" deadline. Nowhere is it posted they made a mistake about the deadline. They only mentioned in the Q&A is that they forgot to post the Final Submissions thread. They added the deadline extension in addendum as generosity--not as correction of some mistake.
Anyways, it's done now. So, let's just take advantage of it, and hope for the best. (And maybe next time, we just see more extensions simply limited to those who at least met the first deadline.)
Yours truly,
Logic God
I don't understand why some folks minimize the fact that prizes are indeed added incentive for these contests, as if anyone's wrong for wanting a little more than just fun. Most competing aren't here to prove just how much fun they had. There's also pride, great prizes, and promotion of one's talent on the line.
Also, what's more fun than doing what you love to do also as your living? Promotion of your work is also part of the goal. Many Polycounters have landed dream jobs, thanks to the invaluable face time these Polycount contests can give you and boosted productivity these amazing prizes can afford you.
Polycount is the best digital art community in the world. These contests are nice forms of product promotion, as well as a great way to gain favor among a thriving community filled with hobbyists, students, and professionals, as well as gain vital feedback from a core-user environment.
This doesn't undermine or cheapen the generosity of these holders. On the contrary, it's an admirable ambition. Contest entries that best capture the scope that contest holders ultimately seek, tend to be ones that display impressive potential of the product. Inspiration drives this industry.
When you make their product look Pretty Damn Good™, it helps everybody out. If you think products like Unity, ZBrush and Substance Painter are awesome, you can thank the likes of Polycount contests and beta testers for helping out along the way.
Next up, the IGN gamedev contest Oct 24th deadline for GDC 2017, $50,000 in prizes, 3 months left to submit my alpha demo, it will be a push.