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The Ratings War VII: Dimensional Deathmatch! (WE'RE FINISHED!)

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36   POSTED: 4 May 2012 13:32

My password for this website is lost on my dead computer for now, so I had to make a new account. :/

I've got an idea, and I should have something to post fairly soon.

 
37   POSTED: 4 May 2012 13:34

CounterAttack:
I'd just like to point out that you have a grand total of one applicant who has posted a sheet. I can say with confidence that some of us aren't going to be able to turn out character sheets within a week, myself included.

It will have been around two weeks by then, which is also how long each round will last. It's not a terribly huge chunk of writing, and if it can't be done in two weeks then it probably won't be done in three or four. I know of several sheets incoming, and I can run a perfectly happy game with 8-10 entrants if I must, although that's less fun.

Lost In The Void:

Raven my good friend, if I can work 65 hours a week and turn out a character in that time, I have full confidence you will be able to.

While I never make assumptions about a person's personal life, Lost does make a point; Even on a hectic schedule, 1000-1500 words in two weeks is not awfully taxing. And, as it's the format for the contest itself, I don't see it as brutal to give that as the character creation time. I know some people like much longer pieces (hell, I joyfully wrote a ten thousand word plus intro for 'Evil' in ratings war 2 or 3) and that may preclude them from entering, but the goal of this RW is to be fast, fun and simple. We can adjust afterward if it is too fast or simple, there is no such thing as too much fun.

 
38   POSTED: 4 May 2012 13:36

easykill2:
My password for this website is lost on my dead computer for now, so I had to make a new account. :/

No password recovery questions set? Send a PM to Nasrin, the community manager, explaining things, and it may yet be put right.

 
39   POSTED: 4 May 2012 13:49

The reset feature on the Escapist uses email verification, but I no longer have the email registered to the account. I have a backup of my password file on my external hard drive. It's being mailed to me, so hopefully all will soon be set right without needing to bug a mod.

 
40   POSTED: 4 May 2012 21:22

easykill2:
The reset feature on the Escapist uses email verification, but I no longer have the email registered to the account. I have a backup of my password file on my external hard drive. It's being mailed to me, so hopefully all will soon be set right without needing to bug a mod.

Take it from me, the mods do what they do (which is often a pain in the ass and less than fun) for the chance to help people. Seriously. Helping you would be way, way, way more fun and more in line with 'helping out' than shifting piles of crap in the mod queue. You would not be bothering.

 
41   POSTED: 4 May 2012 22:23

Lost In The Void:
Raven my good friend, if I can work 65 hours a week and turn out a character in that time, I have full confidence you will be able to.

Thing is, though, the only character idea that I have would not be suited to an RW such as this. RW6, potentially, but not 7.

Ultrajoe:
It will have been around two weeks by then, which is also how long each round will last. It's not a terribly huge chunk of writing, and if it can't be done in two weeks then it probably won't be done in three or four. I know of several sheets incoming, and I can run a perfectly happy game with 8-10 entrants if I must, although that's less fun.

Hmm... I know some people who would disagree with you on the time thing. They take their time to turn out posts, and the end result is fantastic.

While I never make assumptions about a person's personal life, Lost does make a point; Even on a hectic schedule, 1000-1500 words in two weeks is not awfully taxing. And, as it's the format for the contest itself, I don't see it as brutal to give that as the character creation time. I know some people like much longer pieces (hell, I joyfully wrote a ten thousand word plus intro for 'Evil' in ratings war 2 or 3) and that may preclude them from entering, but the goal of this RW is to be fast, fun and simple. We can adjust afterward if it is too fast or simple, there is no such thing as too much fun.

I have been suffering from a severe case of "Writer's Nyeh" recently, as I said to you in the PM conversation we had. In the past week or so I've turned out a total of one in-character post; it hasn't been fun.

As for speed, I don't do fast very well, though; if you want fast from me, expect a severe drop in quality. For a thread such as this, I would favour longer pieces written either in a single day or three weeks, depending on my state of mind.

Of course, these responses are probably not all that great. I am of the mind that we're venturing into debate territory, and that's by no means a strong suit of mine.

 
42   POSTED: 5 May 2012 00:44

 
43   POSTED: 5 May 2012 08:20

mshcherbatskaya:
"The Muse"

From the halls of the past does Ultrajoe draw the veteran Ratings Warriors! It makes me very happy to have you taking part, Msh, I'm a little upset that I can't take on the audible awesome myself this time around.

CounterAttack:
Of course, these responses are probably not all that great. I am of the mind that we're venturing into debate territory, and that's by no means a strong suit of mine.

Not at all, responses such as these are vital. The time and keystroke limits I'm setting are an attempt to improve the game through a shorter round cycle. We're talking two months absolute maximum here, from start to finish. If that's turning players away, then I need to know why that is, because if you're not having fun then I'm not doing my job. And this is the place to have those discussions, as well as the time (while there's still time to change!).

I am a large, animated suit of tinfoil and duct tape, I can take the criticisms.

CounterAttack:
Hmm... I know some people who would disagree with you on the time thing. They take their time to turn out posts, and the end result is fantastic.

And I would tentatively count myself among them, just ask any previous Ratings War game masters, or even Mshcherbatskaya here about my aversion to deadlines when writing 'Queen of Hearts'. You can almost never over-edit and/or percolate a good idea, and I understand this, but my thinking goes as follows;

- I have to set a deadline for some point, and while some players will love a couple of extra weeks to really polish or consider their entries, some people are always going to bash it out in the last few days. I know from this point the deadline is looming a little, but I did call for characters with the very first post, which was some time ago now. And leaving it an entire month for characters to trickle in bores some players to death, and causes some to drift away. Nothing makes for a more disheartening start to a game than to have round one start with one in four of it's players having forgotten it existed.

- Shorter deadlines on entries and rounds will mean shorter, slightly rougher stories. And, I will say, I am okay with this. Everyone, after all, is under the same pressure. If that means conceiving a character that thrives in shorter stories, then I consider that part of the challenge. We're certainly more lenient than other OCBTs, which often have character 'themes' that put even tighter screws on what kind of character can be made, all in the name of breeding amazing writing out of adversity. It is a challenge, but challenge makes you a better writer.

- If a two-week cycle isn't working, I can change it. Simple. If we get to the end of round one or two and it's causing an undue bias against those with little free time or a long creative process, then I can up it a little. The fact is, though, that two weeks is a long, long time to get out two, or even three thousand words. When incredible pieces can be written in under 1000, it just doesn't make sense to slow what it supposed to be a fast paced battle royale down to a crawl.

I hope you can take part, you're a good writer. The time limit is shorter, and the story context is far softer and lighter, but that is an opportunity to test your ability against a much different sort of beast than the previous Ratings Wars have been.

For Those Of You Working On Your Entries, I Look Forward To Your Arrival!

- Stay Tuned!

 
44   POSTED: 5 May 2012 14:01

Ultrajoe:

Not at all, responses such as these are vital. The time and keystroke limits I'm setting are an attempt to improve the game through a shorter round cycle. We're talking two months absolute maximum here, from start to finish. If that's turning players away, then I need to know why that is, because if you're not having fun then I'm not doing my job. And this is the place to have those discussions, as well as the time (while there's still time to change!).

I think your math for two months is wrong, especially with a double elimination bracket set up. Two weeks to write your battle entree is fine and makes sense. I can take a while to write pieces myself but I know that by doing it over two weeks I can easily reach over 6000 words in that time period. However judging will need at least one week given the number of entries that they'll have to read at first. Considering the total tournament time will probably enter into at least a four month range.

- I have to set a deadline for some point, and while some players will love a couple of extra weeks to really polish or consider their entries, some people are always going to bash it out in the last few days. I know from this point the deadline is looming a little, but I did call for characters with the very first post, which was some time ago now. And leaving it an entire month for characters to trickle in bores some players to death, and causes some to drift away. Nothing makes for a more disheartening start to a game than to have round one start with one in four of it's players having forgotten it existed.

As stated before I agree with this part. Working a an hour or two everyday over the last four days I have easily completed a character and just need to edit down the last section for the word limit.

- Shorter deadlines on entries and rounds will mean shorter, slightly rougher stories. And, I will say, I am okay with this. Everyone, after all, is under the same pressure. If that means conceiving a character that thrives in shorter stories, then I consider that part of the challenge. We're certainly more lenient than other OCBTs, which often have character 'themes' that put even tighter screws on what kind of character can be made, all in the name of breeding amazing writing out of adversity. It is a challenge, but challenge makes you a better writer.

You basically contradicted yourself in this paragraph. You claimed more leniency in this OCBT, except you you also stated that the thread direction is made for characters that thrive in shorter stories. Also not everyone is under equal pressure since personal lives and person time do come into play when writing.

- If a two-week cycle isn't working, I can change it. Simple. If we get to the end of round one or two and it's causing an undue bias against those with little free time or a long creative process, then I can up it a little. The fact is, though, that two weeks is a long, long time to get out two, or even three thousand words. When incredible pieces can be written in under 1000, it just doesn't make sense to slow what it supposed to be a fast paced battle royale down to a crawl.

Again I agree with the time line bit but I don't like the idea of word limits. To often do I want to incorporate everything that has been offered and is available in order to make my piece the best I possibly can. This is a competition after all and if you aren't able to produce your best pieces do to something like a word limit that is a deterrent and a problem. Now on the other hand, I can see word limits being active for the first round or two in both brackets just to ease the amount of pressure on the judges.

Since I'm self obligated to say this and I forget which quote I was going to place this after, I do not like the idea of word limits on character sheets. My sheet and sample entry in Ratings War VI was over 6000 words long. It was this way because there was a lot about my character that I wanted the people that would have written him to know. That is where I have a problem with your character entry set up, I can't do a proper biography since you combined it with a summary, and the entry at the end has a lot of writing elements removed that I would have preferred to be there when whoever I am facing has to write my character. I know you can PM each other and ask questions, but it's the little things that you include that you can't just list off that are the problem for me.

At any rate my character should be up soon. I just need to do that last bit of part three editing to get it to you maximum word limit on that part, and then I have some people that I want feedback from.

I also looking back I think this song has a really fitting tone for the Ratings War round.

 
45   POSTED: 5 May 2012 14:35

All this talk of 6000 words and deep characters discourages my puny imagination.

 
46   POSTED: 5 May 2012 17:22

I wish I still knew how to write like back in Queen of Hearts but unfortunately that skill has been lost to me from lack of use. It would be good to get back in to writing here like the old days, but that doesn't mean I won't read this obsessively. I can't justify passing up the opportunity to read your awesome writing!

 
47   POSTED: 6 May 2012 04:54

elementsoul:
-Snip-

I'm only putting a word limit on the entries, not the stories or any voluntary writings in between. You can write a short story of ten thousand words and tack that on to your entry if you like. I just need a shorter entry for judge reference and something that an opponent can flick back to to get a good idea of your character without digging through a really huge piece. I understand that you think that you need more words to expand on your idea, but instead just try to convey as much as possible with the introduction and then write more as a separate submission if you think it's essential for filling in the blanks.

As for my math, I forgot the judging weeks, thanks for the correction.

And my point about this being a lenient OCBT stands, even with the game set up with a shorter time cycle it's *still* got more wriggle room than many, many others.

JokerboyJordan:
All this talk of 6000 words and deep characters discourages my puny imagination.

Don't let it. We've had simple, easily grasped characters blitz novella-length tragic heroes more than a few times. The way this game is judged is quality, not quantity, of writing, and more often than not a less complex character has more room to move and less constraints to hold them back, while the enemy leaves them plenty of loose plot strings to strangle them with!

Tsurugi:
I wish I still knew how to write like back in Queen of Hearts but unfortunately that skill has been lost to me from lack of use. It would be good to get back in to writing here like the old days, but that doesn't mean I won't read this obsessively. I can't justify passing up the opportunity to read your awesome writing!

Get your butt in here. If your writing has really taken a dive as you say (which I doubt), then this is the perfect place to shape it up! All of the old bastards are playing, so you know you're in good company. You have everything to gain!

- Stay Tuned

 
48   POSTED: 6 May 2012 18:24

OOP OOP COUNT ME IN!

I'll throw up a character sheet within the next couple days. Class just ended so I'm pretty free most of the time.

 
49   POSTED: 6 May 2012 19:26

Edited to change TF's powers, I think this will be fun.

 
50   POSTED: 6 May 2012 19:55

Here's my sheet.

 
51   POSTED: 6 May 2012 20:00

elementsoul:

Hafrael:
snip

Your image is broken.

Hopefully fixed now?

Thanks for pointing that out.

 
52   POSTED: 6 May 2012 20:45

elementsoul:
Here's my sheet.

It is as if you created a character with the express purpose of countering mine xD. It should be fun coming up with a fight if I have to go against you.

 
53   POSTED: 6 May 2012 20:49

elementsoul:
-snip-

I have a question... though given the limited detail I currently have, I doubt I'll make the deadline for sheets. I shall ask anyway.

On Syndrome's plane of reality, how does magic work?

 
54   POSTED: 6 May 2012 21:36

drmigit2:
It is as if you created a character with the express purpose of countering mine xD. It should be fun coming up with a fight if I have to go against you.

Character power idea proceeds any sheets being submitted into this thread. :P

CounterAttack:
I have a question... though given the limited detail I currently have, I doubt I'll make the deadline for sheets. I shall ask anyway.

On Syndrome's plane of reality, how does magic work?

I had to cut this out from part 3 due to word constraints but spoken words act as the spell trigger and it gifts their body with the ability to use whatever the spell triggered. Ex. If the user spoke the words for a fire ball spell, a fire ball would appear in their hand(s). Based on their level of magic skill they could alter it's size and potentially once it's launched even change it's trajectory mid-flight towards it's intended target.

Almost forgot, a person's magical ability can be manifested as a light around themselves and can be transferred into other magic users to increase their power for a temporary period of time. The same can be done for objects which is how television works. People are paid to have their magic used to transfer the recording of the show or movie to the receivers or television.

 
55   POSTED: 7 May 2012 21:16



 
56   POSTED: 7 May 2012 23:07

Tsurugi:
-snip-

So I have to ask, how do you character's powers operate? You talk about magic in the sheet a lot but you never mention if your characters powers themselves are magic or of a different source.

 
57   POSTED: 8 May 2012 02:14

elementsoul:

Tsurugi:
-snip-

So I have to ask, how do you character's powers operate? You talk about magic in the sheet a lot but you never mention if your characters powers themselves are magic or of a different source.

Sorry, I just hinted at it a bit. It could have come from magic but it doesn't need it to operate. He is a shadow creature, he is made of shadow. It is not known where he came from so they do not know if it is magic. He doesn't even know himself. He just knows he doesn't rely on any source to do what he does.

 
58   POSTED: 8 May 2012 11:01

This ratings war is shaping up into something beautiful! We've got enough entries to run a bare-bones contest, but we could use a few more to round out the bloodletting!

Tell your friends, tell your enemies! Tell your mum! And for those still pottering along (looking at you, khedive), at least get an intention to enter to me if you're going to be entering in the final few hours, to stop me chewing off my own fingers.

Khedive Rex:
...

Yeah, you.

 
59   POSTED: 8 May 2012 12:56

Here's my entry, an introduction to the character will be up soon.



I hope you guys can deal with all the 'xe' and 'xer', androgynous names may be correct but they're a bitch to read and write. Rest assured that I won't be doing any descriptions of xer in the future so the entries won't be tainted with this problem.

 
60   POSTED: 8 May 2012 16:49

Might hurl in a sheet, haven't done anything like this before so it could be epicfail though. Will try and get atleast the basics of one done soon.

 
61   POSTED: 8 May 2012 20:02

Ultrajoe:
This ratings war is shaping up into something beautiful! We've got enough entries to run a bare-bones contest, but we could use a few more to round out the bloodletting!

How much longer do we have to send in applications? 'Cause while I have ideas at the present time, they are by no means ready to be released into the wild.

 
62   POSTED: 8 May 2012 20:56

Stats clarified, and biography added (it's a little more than 200 words. Sorry).

Intro is go.
I lament my shame of lateness

 
63   POSTED: 8 May 2012 21:07

elementsoul:
Syndrome

How will she survive against non-magic opponents?

asdfghjkk double post I'm sorry

 
64   POSTED: 8 May 2012 22:36

ThreeWords:

How will she survive against non-magic opponents?

Not sure. I figure that I'll need to lightly twist the lines of creativity that separate the plausible and ridiculous. Otherwise I did it for pure fun and test my skills. There's a talent to writing a piece that's a ridiculous underdog win and yet making it seem completely plausible, and I want to know if I have it.

 
65   POSTED: 8 May 2012 22:44

ThreeWords:

William dam Carnak
...
William's main talent, however, is subversion.

Please explain a bit more how this subversion ability works. What do he subvert and how does he subvert it?

 
66   POSTED: 8 May 2012 23:13

Here's my introduction. Better late than never right?

 
67   POSTED: 8 May 2012 23:18

Ultrajoe, will you be announcing all the opening brackets at the same time, so that we will all know who we are up against on the 14th? Also, can you tell us anything about the arena in which we will be fighting?

 
68   POSTED: 9 May 2012 00:00

This is taking a bit longer to iron out in my head than I thought. I went for a "bacterial colony" type theme and I'm still working out the logistics on how that would even work. I haven't ditched this, and I expect I'll post at least the basics for Annie Anthrax tomorrow.

 
69   POSTED: 9 May 2012 00:12

Sign-up in progress. There's a few things a mite different than what you'd expect. There's going to be a proper intro story soon, but I figured the first story would nicely describe what kind of person my character is. Here's to completing my proper post! *raises a mug*

 
70   POSTED: 9 May 2012 00:30

Ultrajoe:
This ratings war is shaping up into something beautiful! We've got enough entries to run a bare-bones contest, but we could use a few more to round out the bloodletting!

Tell your friends, tell your enemies! Tell your mum! And for those still pottering along (looking at you, khedive), at least get an intention to enter to me if you're going to be entering in the final few hours, to stop me chewing off my own fingers.

Khedive Rex:
...

Yeah, you.

Damn it, you interrupted me in the middle of my pottering! Damn quotes-*grumblegrumble*-expression of intention to enter-*grumblegrumble*-going to KOREA!!!

When is everything due? My character is mostly fleshed out in my head, another couple hours and I'll have a refined picture I can start writing out.

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