The BRAWL Tournament - Questions & Answers
polycounter lvl 19
Questions
This thread is for questions specific to the contest rules, specs, judging, or submission process.
Geezus will be answering your questions by editing your post with the answer to your question added. This way we can answer your questions as directly as possible without them getting lost in replies.
Please note: Anything besides questions for the contest will be deleted or moved to the appropriate thread.
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If you need to change the title of your thread, or are awaiting approval for your thread, please message me. While I'm trying, diligently, to approve all threads, they can sometimes take up to 24 hours to be approved.
New members that simply put "Place Holder." in their thread, without any reference shots, or breakdowns on their stage/fighter, will not be approved until their original thread contains information on their chosen fighter/stage.
-Geezus
Thank you!
This thread is for questions specific to the contest rules, specs, judging, or submission process.
Geezus will be answering your questions by editing your post with the answer to your question added. This way we can answer your questions as directly as possible without them getting lost in replies.
Please note: Anything besides questions for the contest will be deleted or moved to the appropriate thread.
---
If you need to change the title of your thread, or are awaiting approval for your thread, please message me. While I'm trying, diligently, to approve all threads, they can sometimes take up to 24 hours to be approved.
New members that simply put "Place Holder." in their thread, without any reference shots, or breakdowns on their stage/fighter, will not be approved until their original thread contains information on their chosen fighter/stage.
-Geezus
Thank you!
Replies
ANSWER: Sky boxes are not included in any budget restraints. Specs are being updated to reflect this.
Does this mean a single planed banner, would be 2 triangles? or 4? (meaning does each double sided triangle count as one, or as two?)
*edit* why am I asking? I don't have time for this! grrrrr
ANSWER: Each double sided triangle will count as two triangles.
...make time. :]
So for an example, Street Fighter, but not Streets of Rage?
ANSWER: Beat 'Em Ups are not being considered a 'Fighting Game' for this contest.
ANSWER: If the IP has had a fighting game based off of them, it is fair game.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fighting_games
ANSWER: As with past contests, choosing the same subject matter (fighter or stage) is fine. Typically, this promotes additional friendly competition between those artists. However, choosing the same subject matter and re-interpretation would be frowned upon.
ANSWER: Technically if they have appeared in a fighting game you can use them for this contest. Creatively, though, there's been other contests feature Marvel & DC characters and we think you should try recreating a proper fighter.
You're welcome to do anyone who's appeared in a fighting game.
ANSWER: 3D Gameplay stages are fine. Though, you will still need to adhere to the specs under Submission and Presentation of your entry.
Btw the response time on these questions is amazing!
ANSWER: Additional fighters or stages would need to be submitted separately.
ANSWER: The purpose is to choose one fighter/stage and re-imagine them. Combining multiple fighters/stages, even within the same universe, is not permitted.
ANSWER: There is no 2D category in this competition.
ANSWER: Powerstone and Smash Bros. are very much fighters. As such, any fighters/stages from these games are welcomed.
ANSWER: Something beyond simply changing the archetype of a character would be needed to fulfill the brief. Taking a fighter who is visually angelic and turning them into something that is visually demonic would be fine, but you are encouraged to get creative!
I wanna do a Jojos character, but the stand raises questions:
[ame]
ANSWER: Only one physical fighter is permitted. An example of this would be if an artist chose to do Chang Koehan. While Choi Bounge (the little guy on his back) rides on his back in intros, and is part of certain special moves, the two together would not be considered one physical character.
ANSWER: A stark difference in visual style from the original material is enough to meet the brief. Will this be enough to win, though?
in a more serious note, what constitutes a fighting game? does it have to be a mainstream release? or can it be something a little out field, such as an online flash game with an interesting character?
ANSWER: Obscure titles are fine. If something is far too 'out there' (i.e. someone's mugen character) you will be informed via your contest thread.
Many thanks for answering all these questions.
ANSWER: Changing the sex of the fighter is perfectly acceptable as part of your redesign, but will not be accepted as your entire re-imagination.
there are some fighting games where characters can appear on screen at the same time effectively as one character.
for example: Goten and Trunks from dragonball z. as long as they can both be made to fit within one diffuse pass, and both be made to fit within 12k triangles (6k each) would there be any problems with that?
ANSWER: Answered the previous question as you were posting this one:
Only one physical fighter is permitted. An example of this would be if an artist chose to do Chang Koehan. While Choi Bounge (the little guy on his back) rides on his back in intros, and is part of certain special moves, the two together would not be considered one physical character.
ANSWER: As Joy Mech Fight has a traditional fighting mode, and is classified as a "Fighting Game", it is acceptable.
May be a dumb question but does this mean you have to be in the 11,100-12,000 tris range to comply to rules ? Or can it be way less than that as long as it doesn't exceed ~12,000 tris ?
ANSWER: That's our fault for not clarifying. It should read that you can go OVER 12,000 triangles but anywhere under that is fine. That said, this is not a low-poly contest.
ANSWER: You can go over 12k tris, within reason. (Read: by a couple hundred tris.)
Are characters who come from non-fighting game source material but are featured in fighting games looked down upon in any way even if they fit the criteria of being in a fighting game?
ANSWER: No source material is looked down upon for any reason.
(Tron Bonne for example)
ANSWER: Tron Bonne is only played whilst in her suit. Tron Bonne, in this example, would be considered the person + the suit. One character.
ANSWER: 4096x4096 for each material pass. Meaning that each texture pass gets it's own separate 4096x4096 texture limit.
Diffuse = 4096x4096, Normal = 4096x4096, etc.
NOTE: Environment limitation = 4096x4096, Character limitation = 2048x2048
What if the suit is, let say, an animal?
ANSWER: If this is how you choose to re-imagine your fighter, yes. If the fighter you choose is originally played whilst riding an animal/mech/whatever, then it is safe to assume that the fighter encompasses both entities.
Additionally, you are welcome to add whatever you need to to your fighter in order to reach your goal. If you decided that, in your universe, Ryu has become a quadriplegic and can only fight with the assistance of a love powered bio-mechanical-wheelchair-suit, then so be it! So long as it is apparent that you're re-imagining Ryu and not just putting his name on some vegetable in a suit. :]
ANSWER: Simply taking a previously 2D environment and realizing it in 3D would not be considered a re-imagination of a stage. In the same vein, taking a fixed camera stage (Street Fighter) and turning it into a free roaming camera stage (Soul Calibur) is perfectly fine, but this should not be the only change you make to the environment. Also, you will still need to adhere to the environmental presentation and submission guidelines.
ANSWER: Nudity is acceptable ONLY if done in good taste and if it serves a purpose in the design of your character.
ANSWER: CONFIRMED: Crowds/background characters/creatures are entirely OPTIONAL, however they CANNOT be the primary focus of your scene. All characters/creatures created will count towards your overall budget.
I assume background "watching/cheering crowd" is not acceptable.
Is it NO to any even slightest "lifeform" (such as a small animal or bird maybe)?
Are background -significant- vehicles acceptable (e.g. train, airplane, spaceship, a mech etc.)
ty
ANSWER: CONFIRMED: Crowds/background characters/creatures are entirely OPTIONAL, however they CANNOT be the primary focus of your scene. All characters/creatures created will count towards your overall budget.
Vehicles are acceptable so long as they are an integral part of the design (ie. Guile's Stage - Street Fighter).
ANSWER: We will be going through as many (if not all) the threads to make sure everything is fine. But with the sheer amount of entries we can't exactly approve every idea individually. Use your best judgement when re-designing/re-imagining your FIGHTER/STAGE. This will be apart of the final judging criteria. If you are unsure that your idea is acceptable, feel free to ask in this thread.
ANSWER: Copy/Paste from previous Q&A: A stark difference in visual style from the original material is enough to meet the brief. Will this be enough to win, though?
ANSWER: Regarding DX-11 features, they were more aimed at the new UDK rendering features, such as DoF, lighting, reflections, etc. Not so much the tessellation side. Your final submissions in it's entirety must still adhere to the designated poly budget for your FIGHTER/STAGE.
ANSWER: The nature of this contest does leave a lot for interpretation; this is true. There are well over 100 entries so far and the vast majority of the entries are falling within the guidelines. If you are unsure if your reinterpretation is acceptable, feel free to ask in this thread.
ANSWER: Playable bonus characters are good to go.
U mentioned 2 widescreen shots for the presentation.
If the stage is 2d gameplay type should it's length fit a widescreen or it is supposed to be longer (and that when we need those 2 shots to show it)?
ty
ANSWER: Either. So long as your stage is as visible as possible and you're adhering to the resolution requirements:
- 1920
ANSWER: Artists are welcome to create as many fighters or stages that they feel they have the time and energy for. However, each entry must be submitted separately, with a separate progression thread for each.
If I cannot find "official" name of a stage that i have chosen (maybe it even does not have any name originally), can I give it my own name (i hope descriptive enough tho)?
ty
ANSWER: This is fine. Try and be as quickly descriptive with the title as you can be. Also, be sure to include reference shots of the original in your thread.
ANSWER: Fighter submission is for a single artist only. An additional artist for concept is not permitted. Stage submission is for a maximum of two artists; however you wish to break that down.
ANSWER: An additional artist, no matter how small the role, is not permitted.
I was wondering if you guys could clarify, or best yet, post some images of what you think falls into the spectrum of this?
I feel this is different for every character since some can lose their "look and feel" fast by changing too many things.
i believe my question kind of ties into what was asked before about changing styles etc... more than making like a cybernetic Ken or a mythological Saberwulf.
Thanks!
ANSWER: Let's use Ken for example, what are his key design characteristics? Blonde hair, long eyebrows, red gi, hand wraps.
Now let's say that we make a cybernetic Ken, we tech him out with body armour and such, but we still retain his blond hair, his long eyebrows and we colour his armour red. You've re-imagined the character and yet kept some key elements of his visual identity.
How far you're willing to take this is entirely up to you.
i just have a question ... i just want to know if i can use a character from dissidia final fantasy... thank you very much
ANSWER: After watching some gameplay videos, Final Fantasy Dissidia doesn't entirely match the traditional fighter genre. So unfortunately you will not be able to submit a character from this game.
EDIT: Characters from Dissidia have been approved for use.
ANSWER: Mauru and Mugi would be considered the same entity/fighter, since they are persistently together, and never playable separately.
Basically I was very inspired by the subject and badly want to participate any way possible doing a 2d character. If it's just to try and inspire the competitors in the 3D category that's great. I know there's a bunch of 2d guys that really want to take part somehow. Would it be a good idea to make a single thread in the challenge forum for all the 2d people to dump their work in?
Is this a good way to participate unofficially and sharing our stuff, or how should we go about it?
-Niklas
ANSWER: Unfortunately at present there is no official way for a 2D artist to participate in this contest by producing exclusively 2D artwork.
However, you are more than welcome to create an UNOFFICIAL thread in the Pimping & Previews section of the forum and invite other 2D artists to participate.
ANSWER: There may only be a fine line between Wrestling Games and Fighting Games. However, there is still a distinction. As such, Fighters and Stages from Wrestling Games will not be permitted in the BRAWL Contest. If you decide on a title to pull from, check its associate wiki or official website for the genre it is considered.
R: Specular
G: Gloss
B: Emmission
A: Displacement
would that be allowed, and if so, which "texture pass" does it count as?
ANSWER: This is allowed. So long as the main file does not surpass the resolution limits. Which pass it's considered isn't really an issue, since you could do each one of these on a separate pass just as easily.
ANSWER: Correct, you would only be able to re-imagine Zappa. If there are any entries that are on the wrong track, they will be informed via their thread.
-mutant
-eyes emit powerful beam
-but uses a mech piece to control this power.
and put these keynotes into a complete new design? Is that the goal with this?
example (big gross mutant that has one big eye that uses random parts that it put together, fish bowl, camera lens, glue, mud, to stop the beam from killing everything around it.)
or is it
On the other side i have seen people literally just turn someone into a robot version of the starting character. Not changing the concept of the character just making robot parts.
example
i make cyclops look like the original cyclops and just make his clothes look older and make his eye cover steam punk and call it done. Is this ok as well??
I am confused.
ANSWER: The answer can't be any more straight forward: Take an existing fighter or stage and do a reinterpretation of your choice. You are not doing brand new fighters or stages.
Is the spirit of the character texture limitations memory use, or just general guideline for a character?
Can we make use of textures for non-traditional/additional passes in our material setup so long as each individual texture does not exceed 2048? or should it be that we have a limited overall vram budget?
Examples: Sub surface scattering dermal, and bloody dermal layer maps. Tileing detail normal maps. Facial expression normal maps. Toon line detail overlays.
What about cubemaps for reflection or lighting information? Should overall texture size for all faces fit within 2048 or can each face of the cube be up to 2048?
ANSWER: Non-standard maps, like your sub surface maps, etc. etc. each get their own pass and therefor cannot exceed the texture limit per pass of 2048x2048
How you want these presented? They might look odd with the standard proportions.
ANSWER: Fit your environment within the resolutions given.