Hey everyone,

It's bitter sweet for me at the moment, as I just notified Fred that Polycount (that is, our Forum) will not be participating in the Dominance War contest. They say that creating great art isn't about the final product but the journey that led you there. Unfortunately, the final product was always great but the journey itself was a bit rocky.

Before I continue, let me say this: I've closed this thread. We're not sure whats happening with Dominance War. We were told it would begin days ago and since that date haven't heard a peep. It's unfortunate, but we're moving on.

We do know, however, that any belittling of Fred or his efforts to run a contest will result in an immediate ban from Polycount. Cool? Moving on...


The Bitter:

We decided to pull our Forum out of the DW Contest for one major reason: Not because of the 'delays', we can understand that those happen. But rather, it is because of the abundance at which they occur and our inability to help move things forward. We'd much rather put that sort of effort in to our contest so that if things go wrong, its in our control to fix it and not someone elses.

Does this mean you cannot enter in the Dominance War if you so choose so? Absolutely not. You're more than welcome to participate, but it will have to be with another community. Saying that, though, we believe you'll want to stick around at Polycount...



The Sweet:

We will be running our own contest that we'll be launching here shortly. And we think you'll love it: It's for character *AND* environment artists.

Yes, both.

Details about the contest right now will be scarce, but allow me to whet your appetite:

• We're aiming to start it as soon as we can.
• It's for characters & environments.
• It will be a tournament that begins with public voting.
• It's array of themes & styles is very broad.
• If there are any prizes, they will be small. We don't make art for t-shirts & gift cards, we do it because we love what we do and a community collaboration of this caliber of talent is priceless.

That's it for now. Myself, Emil, Ryan and Drew are working hard to get our contest out to you very soon. Until then, sit back, check out some amazing art work, and get ready for a doozy of a contest.

It's for character *AND* environment artists.

Holy crap yes! I love this!

I 100% support this and really look forward to participating! Wooo!

Sounds awesome, I can completely respect the decision to go your own way and I think it will be the beginning of something amazing. Freds hardwork is much appreciated.

I wasn't going to enter domwar because of all the drama and too much work. But if it's a polycount run thing, I may try to find a time slot for that

Originally Posted by adam

It's for characters & environments.

that cool, I've been hoping someone, someday would do this. I never understood why DW couldn't have both, like one team make soldiers and another team makes arenas for them to fight.

Looking forward to it. (lets see who starts the competition first)

Remember, you need a catchy name for the comp!

Poly War?

Bittersweet indeed. While it's a shame to see PC drop from such a great contest, it's understandable, and very exciting to see this community start the next great contest!

if the dom war does not start, i think i am joining

And so that folks aren't worried that Adam is going crazy, I'm also fully supporting this as well as all the folks that work behind the scenes here. We've been having this discussion internally for a long time. This was not a flippant or impulse decision.

I am also in the know on what has been planned for our own bit of fun. I'm liking it a lot. It's gonna be fun. Trust me, have i ever lied to you?

As long as there's a contest for env artists I could care less that we've withdrawn. Very awesome news guys. Glad to hear the ball is rolling.

Condolences to Fred, but I'm excited for the community at large. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted. So much of this community is defined by these challenges and there are good times ahead!

You Tube

My priorities with other stuff in my life have kept me away from properly studying art, ESPECIALLY 3d art, for a long time. No way i was going to enter the domwar, but i will almost definitely do this.

Very excited, guys, thanks for pulling this together.

Awesome! cant wait to hear the theme

Crap I gotta hurry up and finish my current project now...
Just make sure artists from other communities are welcome to join ;)

It is unfortunate to see the multi-formboard competition falling apart, but I am excited to see where they polycount goes with this new competition!

Definitely a smart move - can't wait to join.

~ Thanks Adam, Emil, Ryan and Drew for sacrificing your spare time to provide this.

Seriously. Thanks.

Originally Posted by crazyfingers

Condolences to Fred, but I'm excited for the community at large. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted. So much of this community is defined by these challenges and there are good times ahead!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J6-3l3hCm0

I was just thinking of that video

Sounds like win to me "It will be a tournament that begins with public voting." I'm guessing vote on the broad array of styles etc? I like where its going.

Just a quick note - Those of you with the DONATE NOW! avatars, would you mind changing them back to your old ones? Message received.

I'm not going to force you to do this, but I think its time we moved on.

its sad, but on the other hand it is awesome to have two competition to choose between. And next jear try to start it at a other time, so there will be awesomness the whole jear

Originally Posted by Joshua Stubbles

As long as there's a contest for env artists I could care less that we've withdrawn. Very awesome news guys. Glad to hear the ball is rolling.

Exactly what I was thinking!

Looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with!

Awesome news! Nice to see a character contest and environment one. Please let this not start in March

Great! Haven't done personal stuff for a while, looks like this is a perfect way of fixing that. Looking forward to this contest!

Polycount is stirring things up.

You Tube