Tev's Great Big Contest is over, but she'd love your feedback! Snubear! I finally finished your picture!

Tevokkia,

Like I said, we had a slight disappointment when all of our contact information changed - as a result, we never published the first two episodes. We plan on recording the first two again (the intro and the first real ep) this Sunday and possibly publish them by Thursday after. For SURE we will mention this post and probably a lot of it's content.

And thanks for the unintentional shares of Adventure is Delicious and RJaOC! We're always looking for content to share, and this about does it as an item to share and a resource! :D

On a more dapper note, do you think it might be ok, when the podcast goes live, that we can advertise it here? The group that we do the podcast for is very community driven. Without an audience actively contributing content, such as ideas, sites, questions, challenges, and the like, the podcast won't go very far very fast. Of course you can deny this request if you want with no hard feelings.

Anyway, thanks again.

You could certainly drop a line in this thread, but it would also be good to make a new thread in this forum, too; not everyone comes into my thread, after all, who would be interested in a podcast. That way, you can take suggestions and so on there. I'd also recommend getting a tumblr account for your podcast; lots of SK players on tumblr!

No problem; it's always good to see new projects getting off the ground.

Ummm ... what? I never said that. You've used one of your three possible entries in the big contest, and you've made your entries into this week's little contest, but you still have all the rest of the weeks of mini contests and two more entries to the main event if you feel so inclined (although each of those entries needs to be in a different category).

Gremlin 1: What time is it?

Gremlin 2: No idea. Why don't you check the Clockworks?

Hi Tevokkia, im just wondering is there a specific text format in which my story has to be?

Since I'm not sure whether you mean filetype or formatting within the document, I'll answer both:

For filetype: Not really, as I have readers for just about anything you can throw at me. I've gotten forum posts, text documents, MS Word files, and PDFs so far, and it's all good.

For in-document formatting: Just make sure it's easy to read ... no font below 10, capitalize and punctuate as you would a school assignment, and definite breaks between paragraphs. If you're doing a text document or internet-baste post, this generally means putting a line between your paragraphs. If you're using an MS Word document or making me a PDF, then you can use tabs at the beginning of your paragraphs if that's more natural for you

Posted my word answer to your Tumblr!

Yup! Got them, thanks!

Hey, Ive started a Fanfic and am looking forward to posting it soon. Looks like a great contest and thanks for hosting it!

Tev,

Daily post of the day, I suppose. Just wanted to throw in there that Lord-Hood is my fellow podcast host. o.O

In that regard, our fan fics are closely related. I'm telling the story as the knights, and he's telling the story as the gremlins. A lot of the characters are the same... it's just really cool. I think he can't post because a lot of his content is still in handwritten form.

Also, I have a question concerning fan fic posts. You gave a note on how to post additional parts to stories. I don't exactly understand what I'm supposed to do, though. Do I post a link to part 2 on my original post? Or do I create a new one?

@Lord-Hood: Great; looking forward to it! Thank you!

@Latisan: Since you gave me yours as a pdf, just add the second link to your entry form after the first, if they're separate files. The instructions I gave earlier were for those who have posted their stories as a thread on this forum, and who are continually working on them with others able to comment in between (it's a common format for fan-fiction here). And just Tev, if you don't mind. ^.^;

Tev,

Hmm. Ok, I actually never gave thought to the fact that people might just link to their own thread. I might switch to doing that instead. o.O

UPDATE: Yeah, I changed the link to a forum post. Like I said, no idea why I didn't think to do that...

Hello everyone, I think this contest is a very excellent event. Cheers to Tevokkia for setting it up.

I'm planning to enter a Fanmade Youtube Video promoting Spiral Knights.

Is it still possible for me to enter it (Puppeh faic)?! Please get back to me Tevokkia, I'm really excited about this contest and my future entry.

~Chrizmaniac

P.S Great joke Yttriu, it made me crack up. X3

Yttiru inspired me to alter the joke just a bit.

Gremlin 1: What time is it?
Gremlin 2 : My watch is 3'oclock.
Gremlin 1: But it's dark out!
Gremlin 3: Did you check and see if your Clockworks?

lol

Thank you for the kind words! The last day for entries is November 30th, so you can certainly still enter; just make sure the thing you'd like to enter wasn't posted anywhere before September 1. ^.^

Finally made my paintwork in MyPaint :)
It's random Knight (probably me) in past.

In-Game Name: Uruk-Hai
Entry Title: Knight in the Darkness
Entry: http://scr.hu/864/kphg9
Prize Preferences:
Participation - Enamorocks, CR, CE
1* - Heavy Googles, CE, Uncolored sketch of one character on single color background
2* - CE, Iceburst Brandish, Monochrome sketch of one character with single color background
3* - Silver Key, CR, CE
4* - Fancy Cat Tail, CR, Colored picture of one character with lighting effects and simple background
5* - Heavy Valkyrie Wings, CR, Colored picture of up to two characters with lighting effects and simple background or one character and a more involved background

Thanks for your entry! ^.^

Thank you too. I didn't use tablet or something useful for making arts. I'm not so good to paint with my mouse.
When I'll buy tablet I'll do better arts (I think)... =)

Good to participe in that contest and good luck everyone

@Chriz

This is the contest I told you about a month ago that you just shrugged off.

Haha I like how your avatar matches your tone of post. XD

@Chriz

This is also the contest that I told you about so you could see my poem. Also, thank you about the joke. And I'm looking forward to your entry.

@Tev

I was wondering. What art/ paint program do you use regularly? I'd like a decent in case I do an art entry.

Normally, I use Adobe Photoshop CS5. It's pretty expensive, though, so if you don't want to pay a few hundred dollars or acquire it by other means, you might want to try something else. I know a lot of people who use SAI, which is more like $30, and GIMP, which is free. I've started also using the new free program FireAlpaca lately, which I really enjoy using for sketching. I wish it had a lasso tool, but other than that, it's good for a lightweight program with intuitive controls and not a lot of bells and whistles.

Any of these programs, unless you have the steadiest hand in the world, are better used with a pen tablet.

In-Game Name: Kimahsonite

Entry Title: The Explosive Downfall

Entry:

The sneaky knight stood upright,
And with a smirk he drew his blade,
He wouldn’t go without a fight,
Or at least that’s what he said.

The fiery overlord frowned with rage,
And said in an eerie tone,
“You are trapped in my cage
To bear witness the power of Vanaduke’s throne!”

He summoned his guards of an undead race,
And with a display of apparent strife,
Unsheathed his sovereign mace,
Determined to end the mortal’s life.

The knight weaved through the fire,
And dodged the mace’s mighty impact,
He thought he saw a castle tower’s spire,
Now completely ruined and cracked.

To the king’s surprise he wasn’t nailed,
By a shower of blitz needle ammo,
Maybe today he wasn’t going to fail,
To this foolish knight’s sword blows.

The knight drove him to remove his mask,
After lengthy, intense combat,
He knew this would be a ravenous task,
If it weren’t for his fool-proof plan.

Suddenly he removed his coat to reveal,
A Volcanic Demo Suit, rock hard,
“I’m a bomber at heart”, he said with glee,
And out he took his Scintillating Sun Shards.

He ran past the mask and right to the boss's hide,
And he leaped into the air with control,
He charged the bomb mid-air and deployed it inside,
Vanaduke’s absence of a soul, an empty hole.

He fled away from the throne room,
And behind him the castle fell,
He turned around and heard a boom,
Blinding light concealed the ever-burning hell.

Prize Preferences:
Participation - Enamorocks, CR, CE
1* - Divine Bolted Vee, CR, CE
2* - Weapon Slot, CR, CE
3* - Shifty Eyes, CR, CE
4* - Mirrored Lockbox, CR, CE
5* - Toasty Valkyrie Wings, CR, CE

Thanks for hosting this competition. =)

Thanks for the entry and the kind words! ^.^

In-Game Name: Myqpalzm

Entry Title: Life as a Recon

Entry:

I travelled to Cradle recently, to complete my mission;
I have to infiltrate a gremlin base, and assassinate their generals.
My teammates with a different armor;
They are strong and have a Vanguard rank in their armor; 
It was very scary; Everyone's so cloak and dagger.
I'm very scared but I'm really kinda wishing, for a medal at the end of my mission.
That's when the mission briefing came on my comlink,
and I put my helm on!
Got my shiny armor on! 
And I had my weapon charged! 
So I get my Recon shield, my Recon bag, and my powerful Swift Flourish! 
Gettin' to the woods like yeah, slicin' some Wolver like yeah, 
Memorized all the gremlin generals I've got to terminate today.
Yeeeaaahhh, it's a life as a Recon! Yeeeaaahhh, it's a life as a Recon! 
I've done a couple of crazy things that have almost gotten me dismissed,
Like terminate a Stranger, who wasn't even on my list.
I say "Bury that Stranger corpse, my teammates, don't say that I killed it!"
They replied, "You need a quickie mission with lots of reward? Then, there are the second general! 
No hurry on this big and nasty gremlin general. I'll terminate him if he is getting close.
That's when he walked right in my assassinate range,
And I slice him with my Flourish, 
and I slice it up again,
And another target's gone! 
Yeah, we've exploring all over the place, from Haven to the Core; 
restin' in the camp like yeah,Waitin' for the big light bulb to shine like yeah;
After that, we are going to explore once more, we will find the last general! 
Yeeeaaahhh, it's a life as a Recon! Yeeeaaahhh, it's a life as a Recon!
When we are near the base,
I see a remedy pill.
I took it, then something happen,
It appears to be a gremlin trap!
Better put our hands up and get to the gremlin base,
because me and my teammates is half dead! 
Waitin' for the general to show up like yeah, got thwacked several times like yeah,
At last, the general showed up, with Warmaster Seerus. We're probably not gonna be OK!
Yeeeaaahhh, it's a life as a Recon! Yeeeaaahhh, it's a life as a Recon!

Prize Preferences: (The prize is the same as my first entry)

Participation -

1* -

2* -

3* -

4* -

5* -

Man, my poetry became a song.

Thanks for the new entry!

Above, Tev said that Photoshop was expensive. LUCKILY, all school gave us all FREE Macbook Pro's, they all have pages, keynote, numbers,etc installed. As well as everything related to Adobe. Thank you school =)
(The only bad thing is that I don't have a CLUE on how to use photoshop)
Did I mention that we get to upgrade to mountain lion for free?

You sound as though you go to an expensive private school.

Thanks everyone! Especially Tevokkia. You can expect my entry to come shortly.

~Chrizmaniac

Thanks for the help, Tev. I'd really like something free :P. So I'll look into GIMP and FireAlpaca, and I may have an art entry coming down the road. Fiction first, though.

In-Game Name: Toxicblade
Entry Title: Another day
-------------------------
I approach the stranger
Tall and quiet
He is mysterious
You can't deny it

I talk to him
He says "Pachipi"
I really think
It sounds quite creepy

He opens shop
Shows me his wares
I buy a skelly mask
Just for some scares

I then proceed to the elevator
I will put the mask on later
I descend into the dark
The light from the monitor is stark

I reach the new floor
A ruined city
A waste of life
What a pity

I chop my way through vines
Just like a knife
A gun puppy causes me some strife

I switch to my gun
To give the puppy a shock
I shoot at it
But hit a block

The block opens a door
Unleashes undead
I unleash a storm of lead

The undead near
I switch to my Brandish
A phantom screams
It sounds outlandish

Finally I am done with battle
I take a step
I hear a rattle

I have been wounded it seems
I pick up a heart
It flashes and shoots light beams

Now I am fixed
The pain is gone
I walk to the elevator
It won't be long

I press a button
The elevator rises
I return to haven
Unprepared for surprises

I walk into the square
And what do I see
But a trojan staring at me!

He raises his hands
Pulls off his head
But it just turns out to be my friend instead!

I sit down by the fountain
In it I can see a ladle
I smile and stare off at a distant mountain
It's just another day on cradle.

Prize Preferences:
Participation - Enamorocks, Crowns, CE
1* - Iron lockbox, Sketch of a volcanic stranger hat knight with vog coat, Enamorock
2* - CE, Weapon Slot, Crowns
3* - Toasty glasses, crowns, cel shaded picture of a knight wearing a volcanic stranger hat and vog coat
4* - Sniped stranger hat, volcanic wings, picture of knight wearing volcanic stranger hat and vog coat
5* - Valkyrie wings (toast), solstice box, lineless render of a knight wearing a volcanic stranger hat and a vog coat

@XXpapaya - That's insane! You have the worth of over $5000 on your just under $2000 computer. Treat it well! :D (I found that lynda.com is a great resource for learning Adobe-anything.)

@Chrizmaniac - Looking forward to it. The poetry people can come up with is quite amazing, you agree?

@Yttiru - Yeah, GIMP is a nice program. It's not overly complicated and you'll find most of the features you're going to want there. I especially like it because you can import art as games sprays pretty easily.

@Toxicblade - ...wow. That's some good poetry, my friend! I like how the rhythm changes from verse to verse - makes it seem more alive rather than robotic. I have to admit, the "Pachipi" and the Trojan parts made me grin. Especially the Trojan part, because I've been thinking about writing a fan fic where the Crimson Order and Almire form an alliance and attack Haven - all of a sudden the main courtyard is filled with 8 Dark Trojans fighting 100 knights in Haven 1. Anyway, great stuff!

@Tev - Don't know if you saw or not, but part 2 of my novella is up as well. Also, (and I am starting a separate thread for this as well) in case you or anyone else here is interested, we plan on livestreaming the podcast just for fun starting at about 2PM-ish EST.

@Spiral Order - Keep up the good work everyone!

@Chrizmantic: Looking forward to it!

@Yttriu: You're welcome!

@Toxicblade: Thanks for the entry! I'll get it up on the front page now.

@Latsian: Yup, I saw that, thanks. Are you going to publish a link so I can advertise it on Tumblr ahead of time, or would you rather I didn't?

My goodness, we've gotten a lot of poetry entries. I really hadn't expected it to be the most popular category.

Tev,

The livestream link is:
www.livestream.com/thearsenalpodcast

Our website link (which we hope to publish maybe this weekend, because it isn't live yet) is:
www.thesklayelite.com

The podcast name is just "The Arsenal".

I guess the other links are...
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thearsenalpodcast
Twitter: www.twitter.com/arsenalpodcast
Steam: www.steamcommunity.com/groups/thearsenalpodcast

Thanks for the advt's!

And no entries for handicrafts.

Would I win first place if I'm the only one who entered in that category?

If there aren't enough entries in a category to judge, I'll group it with the next-closest category. If I was to end the contest and judge right now, for example, the categories would be: Spiral Spy Scenes and Models, Artwork and Animation, Poetry, and Fan Fiction.

I'm going to laugh until I fall out of my chair and then facepalm while I'm lying there on the floor if the bulk of the entries come in during the last week.

Sorry to bug you tev, but i am really a noob at this kind of stuff. Can you help me out? What i really need help with is the prizes,i don't really understand how i should say which prizes i want. Edit: Disregard post, found an example.

You can bet my entry'll come around that time.

...in no way am I underestimating your ability to think acutely or bear up under the weight of 300 poems, but...

You do know that there are ways to avoid last minute pile up, yes?

I do a bit of online trading in the form of auctions. What I find is that often the auction sits empty for the entire month, and then in the last 3 days everyone comes and spams out the auction with offers.

I like to do either one of a couple things when that happens. One is to set the deadline a little earlier or the end date a little later to give more bumper time to process offers (or in your case, judge entries). The other is to get another person I trust (admins, game players, friends) to help me process offers (or in your case, judge entries).

Just throwin' that out there. XD

I'm giving myself a few days to judge entries, and there are actually a couple weeks for everyone to shift around their prize preferences once I've done the final list that the judging can spill into. I've also got my husband to help.

Honestly, I think I'm going to set up a judging matrix and just assigned all the pieces a point value.

/\
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O.O

Your arrow looks a bit obscene, there, Latisan. XD

Why thank you. I try.

<--(>.<)--<

In-Game Name: Uruk-Hai
Entry Title: Battle
Entry: http://scr.hu/864/kpo0q
Prize Preferences:
Participation - Enamorocks, CR, CE
1* - Heavy Googles, CE, Uncolored sketch of one character on single color background
2* - CE, Iceburst Brandish, Monochrome sketch of one character with single color background
3* - Silver Key, CR, CE
4* - Fancy Cat Tail, CR, Colored picture of one character with lighting effects and simple background
5* - Heavy Valkyrie Wings, CR, Colored picture of up to two characters with lighting effects and simple background or one character and a more involved background

Thanks for the entry!

Uruk-Hai,

There is a lot of good I could say about that art right there. Not only is it amazingly done with the gremlin wearing the mask and the shaders, but the knight matches the Total Shogun weekend that's live on Steam right now.

o.O

Speaking of which, those would make cool prizes. If that gets added, sign me up.

@latisan-slay thanks for the compliment ^_^
I tried to find something to rhyme with cradle that makes sense but I don't have it yet. The ladle thing is a bit rubbish.

@Toxicblade
Whatever works mate. Keep it up!

..."lay cold" or a word + "told" might work in the future?