Rules and Information [make nice before posting]

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Battle Board

Index

• Introduction
  
• Battle types
  
  • Duel
    
  • Tennis
    
  • Worm
• Rewards
  
  • Points System
    
  • Featured Battles
• Voting

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Introduction

In the Battle Board you may challenge any person in the forum to an art battle. Battles are be fought through digital images but traditional art and photography battles are also encouraged.

Depending on the type of battle you take part in, there are various rewards. For example, our points system enables us to calculate who has won (the person with the most points in a 4 month period) the season and our website gallery feature allows us to show off some of our more beautiful and creative battles.

There are various types of battle that you can take part in, these are explained below:

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Battle Types

Duel

This is the most common type of battle. There are little restrictions and those that exist are set up entirely by the battle creator, sometimes with input from participants.

How Does it Work?

It is very simple to start a duel. Simply make a new thread with a descriptive title, something that will let others know what theme you have going, who is taking part or whether or not you are looking for an opponent. The content of your thread will be the rules and your entry, if you have already made one.

You challenge an opponent, either by arranging a battle via private message or by asking for an opponent in your thread.

You can only participate in multiple battles against the same person twice in a season. This set up is called Home and Away and it allows for both participants to choose the rules as both players will be the home team at one point or another in the season. We have had problems in the past with members battling each other many times and this set up puts the playing field on a more even level for everyone.

It is strongly suggested that you set up any rules you are going to implement before the battle begins. It is unfair on your opponent to wait until they have made something before you state what is allowed and what is not. Some suggestions for your rule set are below:

• Theme - What subject you want the battle to be about, for example, you could have a battle with a butterfly theme where all images must contain a butterfly.
  
• Style - This is for if you have a specific style in mind. For example, photomanipulation or vector entries.
  
• Size - Any size limits you want to impose. This can be strict where you set an exact size, or more forgiving if you want to set a minimum or maximum limit.
  
• Programs - For if you want a program specific battle. For example, if you only want entries made in GIMP.
  
• Brushes - Some artists like to use brushes other than those provided with their graphics program. You can allow these in your battles or prevent them from being used with this option.
  
• Stock Photos - Some artists like to use photographs to help create their work. If you want to allow or forbid these you can use this option.
  
• Renders - Renders are 3D images made in programs such as Cinema 4D or 3DS Max. You can allow or forbid these images with this option.
  
• Due Date - For those who want a definitive entry date. By specifying this, unless otherwise agreed, entries that are not in by this date are disqualified.
  
• Votes - This option is for specifying how many votes you want to go to before you declare a winner. A 7 in this option means that the battle is best of 7 votes so an entrant would need 4 votes or more to win in a two person duel.
  
• Animations - Whether or not the images are allowed to contain animated parts.

Are There Any Rules to Follow?

Yes, however they are simple and easy to follow.

• You may only battle one person twice a season - To keep things fair, you may only battle a person twice in any on season. A season typically lasts for 4 months.
  
• The battlers are in charge - Everything is down to the battlers to specify rules and restrictions and it is up to the thread creator to keep the staff up-to-date about what is going on.
  
• Only two participants - To ensure that the Home and Away rule is easy to moderate, there can only be two participants per battle.

What do I do when my Battle has Finished?

Please post in this thread when your battle has finished, no matter the outcome. This will help the staff update the points table (if needed) and lock your thread.

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Tennis

Tennis battles are usually partaken by the more art focused people who like large canvases and themes. There are some restrictions to these types of battle.

How Does it Work?

You take it in turns to make an image using the previous entry as a base. The first entrant makes an image, we'll call it image 1, the second entrant then uses this image in their own piece, called image 2. The first entrant then uses this image 2 in their own piece and the battle continues on. It must be obvious that the previous image has been used in each piece, even if only a small element remains.

To challenge an opponent, either arrange a battle via private message or ask for an opponent in your thread.

It is strongly suggested that you set up any rules you are going to implement before the battle begins. It is unfair on your opponent to wait until they have made something before you state what is allowed and what is not. Some suggestions for your rule set are below:

• Theme - What subject you want the battle to be about, for example, you could have a battle with a butterfly theme where all images must contain a butterfly.
  
• Rounds - How many images each entrant has to make. So, for a 5 round battle each entrant makes 5 images and there are 10 in total.
  
• Brushes - Some artists like to use brushes other than those provided with their graphics program. You can allow these in your battles or prevent them from being used with this option.
  
• Renders - Renders are 3D images made in programs such as Cinema 4D or 3DS Max. You can allow or forbid these images with this option.
  
• Votes - This option is for specifying how many votes you want to go to before you declare a winner. A 7 in this option means that the battle is best of 7 votes so an entrant would need 4 votes or more to win in a two person duel.

Are There Any Rules to Follow?

Yes, however they are simple and easy to follow.

• Only two participants - These types of battles get extremely complicated if there are more than two participants involved. For this reason there can be no more than two people in a tennis battle.
  
• You must use the previously entered piece in your entry - The main difference between a duel and tennis is the fact that you work off each other's creations to make your own. You must, therefore, at least show a small portion of the previous entry in your piece.
  
• Size limit - All Tennis battles must have a 500x700 pixel size (landscape or portrait). This is purely for eligibility for display on the SSD website and it is also the commonly used size for battles of this type. Having a specified size limit levels the playing field and this size is found to be large enough to allow creativity without being so large that it takes too long to create an image.
  
• No Animations - Animations are not appropriate for this type of battle and are therefore disallowed.

What do I do when my Battle has Finished?

Please post in this thread when your battle has finished, no matter the outcome. This will help the staff update the points table (if needed) and lock your thread.

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Worm

Worms are a more group focused battle. Each image is a specific size and must link in some way off of the previous entry to create a long, seamless image. There are some restrictions to this type of battle.

How Does it Work?

Each person makes an image based off of the one before it. The aim is to create a single image that links seamlessly together. An example of a worm is here

You challenge an opponent, either by arranging a battle via private message or by asking for an opponent in your thread.

It is strongly suggested that you set up any rules you are going to implement before the battle begins. It is unfair on your opponent to wait until they have made something before you state what is allowed and what is not. Some suggestions for your rule set are below:

• Theme - What subject you want the battle to be about, for example, you could have a battle with a butterfly theme where all images must contain a butterfly.
  
• Size - Any size limits you want to impose. This must be a strict size so that all worm pieces fit together.
  
• Entrants - The number of people you want in the battle. This can be two or more but it is recommended that it does not exceed 10 to limit waiting times.
  
• Brushes - Some artists like to use brushes other than those provided with their graphics program. You can allow these in your battles or prevent them from being used with this option.
  
• Renders - Renders are 3D images made in programs such as Cinema 4D or 3DS Max. You can allow or forbid these images with this option.
  
• Due Date - For those who want a definitive entry date. It is recommended that this is set to 3 days giving ample time for a person to create their entry but not too long as to prevent the other entrants from getting their entry in. By specifying this, unless otherwise agreed, entries that are not in by this date are disqualified and the worm moves onto the next person in line.
  
• Votes - This option is for specifying how many votes you want to go to before you declare a winner. A 7 in this option means that the battle is best of 7 votes so an entrant would need 4 votes or more to win in a two person duel.

Are There Any Rules to Follow?

Yes, however they are simple and easy to follow.

• You must use the previously entered piece in your entry - The main difference between a tennis and a worm is the fact that you work off each other's creations to make your own but so that they link off each other. You must, therefore, at least show a small portion of the previous entry on the left hand side of your piece (if the worm works from left to right).
  
• Size limit - All Worm battle entries must have a specified size limit. This is purely so that the images work as one when placed together.
  
• No Animations - Animations are not appropriate for this type of battle and are therefore disallowed.

What do I do when my Battle has Finished?

Please post in this thread when your battle has finished, no matter the outcome. This will help the staff update the points table (if needed) and lock your thread.

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Rewards

Points System

Here at SolidSnake Designs we have a point system for our battles and depending on the type of battle you take part in, dictates how many points you get.

Duel

Participation - 1 pt
Draw - 3 pts
Win - 7 pts

_{Points value to be doubled if the battle is with larger images (over 300x300 pixels).}

Tennis

Participation - 5 pts
Draw - 9 pts
Win - 13 pts

_{Points value to be doubled if the battle is over 10 rounds or if the battle is featured. If both, then the original points value is tripled.}

Worm

Participation - 1 pt
Draw - 5 pts
Win - 7 pts

_{Points value to be doubled if the battle is with larger images (over 300x300 pixels) or if the worm is featured. If both, then the original points value is tripled.}

Featured Battles

Battles that are deemed by the staff to be extremely creative or well thought out will be added to the website as a featured battle. If you do not wish for your art to be added to the website, please say so in your first post in a battle thread. Your thread will then not be chosen as a featured battle.

Battles chosen as featured battles will earn the participants extra points.

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Voting

If you want to take part in the battle system without battling or want to contribute to another battle there is the voting system. This is where you give your opinions and help to decide the outcome of a battle.

How Does it Work?

Voting is basically your opinions on who did the best in the battle. This could be who was the most creative or who made the more attractive image.

With your opinion and those of other voters the outcome of a battle is decided.

When you want to vote in a battle, simply post who you think should win the battle and explain your choice.

Are There Any Rules to Follow?

Yes, however they are simple and easy to follow.

• Reasoning - You don't have to write an essay about your choice but a few sentences explaining it would be nice. If you wish, you can offer tips on how to improve the entries.
  
• Phrasing - Whilst a vote is totally your own opinion and should be taken as such, please try to keep comments constructive should you be commenting negatively on an entry.