Commander Turtle

I think you might have a point for it being an improvement from now; but I think that's why it's out of 7 currently, and not out of 5! You've got to imagine the time when you submit a masterpiece that you worked on all month, that's at the peak of your ability and using almost all your light bley, and you're feeling like you're sure for a 7 and hoping for an 8. And then the score comes back as a 6. It's just as disappointing as it would be if the gradient were lower, and so on. I've thought about it before, and I strongly think that qualitative judging does more harm than good. The stories/building and the game should be tightly linked, but not in this way. I understand this concern, but I don't think it's significant. People are going to know the difference between the builders outputting jaw-dropping stuff and the people who were only able to cobble together something quick in an hour. Same as everywhere in Eurobricks, the pride from showing off something you did that's cool or complicated etc is its own reward. It doesn't need game-ifying! You're already aware that your build last week wasn't your best, you don't need in-game points to tell you that. Besides this, I think rewarding people for submitting with regularity is really important. Sitting down and putting together some blocks for a few hours every week is how people get better at this stuff. A fixed, achievable binary goal every week is my suggestion for how to encourage this. The achievements suggestions are intentionally binary (you know 100% when you are getting them) and game-able. I think having systems to game has always been a part of the fun, but I'm not too attached to the idea

It's been a while since I was playing, but I'd like to chip in some ideas for the development of part 2. I think the judging caused tons of tension. Some builds would appear over- or under-valued all the time, and the qualitative assessment couldn't help but be demoralising fairly often. That's just the nature of doing something creative and having a number attached to it. Is it based on objective greatness, or effort involved, or personal achievement? This isn't a criticism of the judges - I don't think it's possible to have the 1-7 score system without drama. And I especially don't think that scaling the rewards for high scores will make people happier. I'd honestly like to see a simple classification that's easy to interpret, and is objective. Say, "minimum requirement: 2 images, 50 words, and 150 mostly connected bricks". (The 'mostly connected' is just to prevent game-ifying where people put a fig in a barrel with a 1x1 pile sea for an entry). That is the requirement to count as a build, and it gets a fixed reward. If you make a long story or a very interesting build, that's fantastic and other builders will respect you, but this does not translate into additional 'points' or anything in the game world. I feel like we're all capable of having pride in our builds, and most people won't phone it in - people who enjoy doing complex builds are still motivated to do so, but don't gain a specific game advantage over those who they're an abstract amount 'better' than. If you want, there could be a single award given each week for a 'mark of recognition' which gets highlighted in a main thread. The judges have absolute discretion over this, and could choose to give it to something epic or something where the builder has stretched themselves a lot. I'd only suggest that it not be given to the same person too often - but again, judge's discretion. As long as there's not a material benefit to the award, this can incentivise hard work while only causing 5% of the drama that individual judged scores do. Alternatively, could also have seasonal or monthly awards in categories, e.g. "most improved". I feel this digs into the goal of the game. Is it a game to participate in, and show off your cool builds? Or is it a game where better builders must get more points and 25% of people will be unhappy each week? So, idea 1 is effectively no judging. The game part should be objective, while the rewards for working hard and becoming a better builder are not linked directly to the game economy. Idea 2 is that 'categories/tags' are currently possible to break. I'd strongly suggest making a list of ~10 tags and saying that each build is classified as exactly one of these. No double-dipping bonuses. The 'game' aspect of AG should be pretty rigid and simple so that everything else can grow from there. Idea 3 is that diversity is much more interesting than not. I felt a bit hamstrung when trying to be a 'driver', because actually I wanted to build spaceships and planets and vehicles and interiors and everything else I could think of. Specific goals are good to work towards; I'd suggest personal achievements or something similar that give a company bonus. For example, "Explorer: Build 1 landscape, 1 ground vehicle, and 1 sea vehicle in 3 consecutive entries. Reward: 300A". This is extensible; you could have all kinds of rewards such as collaborating with another builder through LDD or completing a 3 part story. Each achievement can be gained once per player, and a badge could be added to their image signature or something like that.

Entry G - 2 points Entry J - 1 point

I am thoroughly excited for this. My only regret is it is not available during double VIP points.

Wacoms are absolutely fantastic, but their primary purpose is sketching. So, it can be helpful if you're masking or doing some additional shading on the canvas itself, but in general for editing a good optical mouse will be fine. On the other hand, if you like to draw, a cheap little Bamboo (edit: Looks like the branding is 'Intuos Draw' now) can be fun to have around. And they're reliable as hell; I've had my Intuos3 for about a decade now.

This is super! What colour is the figure? Seems like it's all light flesh, but they don't make all those slopes in that colour...

This is fantastic! What a great MOC, and I'm so glad for the new video - that mechanism is just beautiful. Very, very clever.

All the tinsel, none of the tree...

Woot! Also, nice parts usage on the escape pod particularly. I look forward to part 2!

I really like the anti-stud texture, great work.

33 to Nuck, thanks.

Planet: B06 Sorn Tag: Exploration Dr. Killjoy attempts to escape the science grind, and goes fishing for his afternoon off.

I agree with this. We played the game with the rules as written and chose a position to give ourselves the flexibility of going in two directions. Bob, if you wish to change this, please update the rules text and let us replay our moves.

33 to Nuck, ta.

Ah crap, MANTIS are multiplying! If any new builders are out there, Kawashita currently is most in need as we have a lot of people who are out now the summer's over!

That's fantastic! What a great machine, just the sort of monster you want flying over Andromeda. Your improvement is really visible between this and your earlier spaceships!

Planet: C10 Marden Tags: Exploration

Didn't Pombe used to wear shirts at some point? I just feel we've seen his fat belly for quite a few weeks now! Great HQ, and quite the bizarro storyline. You'd better have an explanation for what was going on here! Edit: looking through your earlier builds, it seems most of them can't be seen as the Flickr images don't display.

As acting CEO, we've got our next tech upgrade to help our Naturalists train. Of course, I personally believe this botany business is all nonsense that distracts us from the mining operations that actually keep our company afloat. Anyone caught looking at flowers too long will be disciplined.

Nice one! I really like the use of those big printed wedges in a microscale building, it's a clever reuse. And nice work linking it to Wedge's build too

Let's see, looks like 40 to Nuck?

Oh wow! These stories are sure getting a lot darker! Very nice work on the relevant builds. Looks like I took you by surprise in overtaking Nuck Or perhaps that is just the standard First Branch attire!

Planet: A04 Mynderis The crew of the Landship are anxious. It has been two days since Lieutenant Okura went missing. While the droids search, all they can do is wait. Sir? Have they found her? Unfortunately not. Then why are you here? I was very clear. "Do not disturb me unless you have good news." Well, sir, you are needed on the bridge by command. I hate command. This is not good news. I know, sir. Oh you, Doctor! You've got lovely eyes too! Out of my way! Commander. Vice Admiral. You are being dispatched on- No! You know very well that we are searching for a crew member here! Commander, the transport ship will pick you up shortly. You will either make the drop, or you will be stranded on Mynderis. Your crew will perish and die with you. But what about the Lieutenant? She is dead, Commander. You know this as well as I do. People don't just vanish without a trace without sending out distress signals. She is gone, and you are going to make the drop. What if I refuse? Sir, we can't get stranded. I have a wife and a son. The Vice Admiral is right, Miss Okura is probably beyond rescue. Certainly, she is not here, the droids are very thorough. I don't like this at all. But I won't force you to stay. We will make the drop. ~~~ He has a wife?

Since they don't affect resources, and there is no competition for domination on home planets, would I be right to think this means fleets effectively start doing useful stuff as of Monday 14th?

Is fleet stuff effective immediately? We've already got team plans, but these will have to change if this is active right now...