Just wondering,... I love browsing through the ideas that pop up! I would imagine that it might not be until the 32 are chosen, however some advice has been to wait a bit to see what the comments are on other people's items before submitting.
Appologies if this info is already posted somewhere.
The only items you will see are the 32 that are selected and the alternates. Everything else will remain locked in the judges forum.
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The advice about waiting to submit is that in the past, some of the judges have gone on the boards to post about "things we're seeing." These can be general comments about the types of items that seem to be popular, or examples of common errors or mistakes in submissions, etc.
For example, Sean just posted a bit about making sure to provide the name of your item both in the formatted text block AND in the subject line box provided. If you wait a bit before submitting you could possibly read some of that early feedback and avoid making the same mistakes.
The advice about waiting to submit is that in the past, some of the judges have gone on the boards to post about "things we're seeing." These can be general comments about the types of items that seem to be popular, or examples of common errors or mistakes in submissions, etc.
For example, Sean just posted a bit about making sure to provide the name of your item both in the formatted text block AND in the subject line box provided. If you wait a bit before submitting you could possibly read some of that early feedback and avoid making the same mistakes.
Thanks, that makes a lot of sense!
You can always browse the archives from previous years for inspiration, laughs, and tangible proofs that Sean K Reynolds is insane.
Oh man Thank you for that post. I was worried that putting the name in both places was a bad idea but now I see I was correct in doing so. That's a load off my mind.
You can always browse the archives from previous years for inspiration, laughs, and tangible proofs that Sean K Reynolds is insane.
What do you think that says about the rest of us who willingly associate with him? ;-)
Crap... anyone know if there's a way you can fix such a dumb error like not including the item name in the text body and in the subject line? *grumble grumble*
Edit: Damn damn damn damn! Now I can't remember if I double-checked the formatting of italicizing all the words that needed to get done or not! >.<
Well.. guess there's always next year *cry*
Like I said, we're not going to ding you on not having the name in the main part of the submission, so if you've already submitted, don't worry about it.
Sounds like this guy didn't get a name on it at all, Sean. Though, I don't recall seeing one completely missing a name yet. Maybe Gary or Ross can take a look?
Crap... anyone know if there's a way you can fix such a dumb error like not including the item name in the text body and in the subject line? *grumble grumble*
Edit: Damn damn damn damn! Now I can't remember if I double-checked the formatting of italicizing all the words that needed to get done or not! >.<
Well.. guess there's always next year *cry*
Do you remember if you previewed before you submitted? Hard to miss if you previewed it.
Also I would be surprised if it let you submit an entry without anything in the Title field.
I think he means that it was placed in the title field but not in the body text block. and he may have not use italics in his description or construction entries.
Yeah, what vikking said. I was oh so careful in making sure that I had my formatting and everything spot on in Word and I completely forgot to make sure that I didn't need to utilize HTML code for any of it when I made my post because I was trying to just get the item posted before I ended up getting cold feet and attempting to completely redesign something lol.
So lesson learned... don't get so hyped up to get your submission in that you forget to double and triple-check your final submission lol.
Edit: Don't mind the OCD-ness, I'm an exceptional perfectionist when it comes to doing anything for the purposes of a competition of any sort so I tend to get a little overworked when I make silly mistakes like I prolly did. Not being able to even look at the post and see if what I'd forgotten after submitting it didn't help either lol.
...don't get so hyped up to get your submission in that you forget to double and triple-check your final submission....
And honestly, it's still the first couple of days of the contest. You guys have the entire month of December to make sure you have everything right. Use that time to put your best foot forward.
...I'm an exceptional perfectionist when it comes to doing anything for the purposes of a competition of any sort so I tend to get a little overworked when I make silly mistakes like I prolly did. Not being able to even look at the post and see if what I'd forgotten after submitting it didn't help either lol.
The Preview button is your friend. Use it and you'll see what your submission will look like to the judges.
Ya, I cant tell you how many times I previewed my submission before I was happy with it. I double and triple checked to make sure that what was suppose to be bold was, what needed italics had it and that it was 300 words or less. All though, the 300 word count threw me off as my submission, according to my word programs word count, was under 300 words but when I placed it in the text block it read just above 300. So I had to figure out what I could change without my submission looking incomplete or sound dumb....lol
Tiny bit of advise for those submitting. Use the preview button, and edit if you need to make changes (bold, italics etc), but BEFORE you hit submit, copy and paste the text back into a word processor.
Two reasons:
One: if you have spent a long time tweeking your entry the Paizo server could have dropped your edit window and it won't go in. This way you can open a new edit window and just copy and paste your text without having to do the edits again.
Two: you can save an exact copy of what you submitted, so you can relax and not have to worry about 'did I put that extra word in the right place?'
Also: you have 300 words, but you don't have to use them all. If your item is good to go on 200, you don't have to add 99 more words. The judges appreciate clear concise writing.
I never noticed either the preview function nor the word count.
I relied on Word's word count. I hope the difference is not substantial!
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I would suggest at the least, always preview it before submitting it. It gives you the nifty word count at the top, and reading through it a few times you can catch more mistakes. I also suggest previewing it, then walking away, doing something else for a little bit. This helps your short term memory lose what you wrote, so when you go back to read it, you are able to READ it. Mind likes to play tricks on people. Proof reading something right after you read it, a lot of times the mind auto skips over mistakes, because its so fresh in your mind, you know what you were meaning to write, therefore your mind edits it, and you don't catch the mistake. This is a trick many writers and editors use when looking at their own pieces.
I never noticed either the preview function nor the word count.
I relied on Word's word count. I hope the difference is not substantial!
I found them to be exactly the same.
Tiny bit of advise for those submitting. Use the preview button, and edit if you need to make changes (bold, italics etc), but BEFORE you hit submit, copy and paste the text back into a word processor.
Did. Feelin' good.
Also: you have 300 words, but you don't have to use them all. If your item is good to go on 200, you don't have to add 99 more words. The judges appreciate clear concise writing.
Here's what I'm worried about: I hacked and slashed at my item without mercy, removing anything that had even the slightest tinge of Sean's blah list... I love my item, but I hope I didn't undercut the whole taco into just beef and a tortilla.
We'll know soon, though!
I never noticed either the preview function nor the word count.
Submitting an item works just like the regular message board interface. Next to the "Submit Post" button are the buttons "Preview" and "Cancel."
The submission word count pops up if you hit "Preview"--the preview of your post automatically includes the word count as part of your item's title.
The count from Microsoft Word is generally the same as that of the submission tool.
so why in the heck did my word count differ from the submission counter. Like I said, mine was just under 300 in word but just over in the submission count, hmmmmm, interestting.
I should add that I did rewrite a sentence or 2 so it made the word count fine before submitting it, but the count was still off even after the changes. both still 300 or less, but still not the same.
So I dont get mine booted for releasing to much info, Im picking numbers off the top of my head;
lets say the total word count was 50
My MS word read it as (say) 48 words, but after I pasted it to the submission box and hit the preview button it read that the total word count was (say) 51.
I had to edit my item to get it back down to the number I had in my MS word count.
Because Word and the boards probably have different methods of counting weird things like a stray bit of punctuation, or a hyphenated word, and so on.
And unless Microsoft releases what their word-counting criteria for Word is, it probably won't 100% match the board's count.
I never noticed either the preview function nor the word count.Submitting an item works just like the regular message board interface. Next to the "Submit Post" button are the buttons "Preview" and "Cancel."
The submission word count pops up if you hit "Preview"--the preview of your post automatically includes the word count as part of your item's title.
The count from Microsoft Word is generally the same as that of the submission tool.
Then I should be fine!
I don't know how I could miss it... oh yeah, thats what I get for submitting at 2AM after coming home from a Christmass party.
My advice: Submit when well rested and sober!
Because Word and the boards probably have different methods of counting weird things like a stray bit of punctuation, or a hyphenated word, and so on.
And unless Microsoft releases what their word-counting criteria for Word is, it probably won't 100% match the board's count.
That makes sense, thanks
Then I should be fine!
I don't know how I could miss it... oh yeah, thats what I get for submitting at 2AM after coming home from a Christmass party.
My advice: Submit when well rested and sober!
lol thats good advice, funny, but good....:)
Chief Technical Officer
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Because Word and the boards probably have different methods of counting weird things like a stray bit of punctuation, or a hyphenated word, and so on.
And unless Microsoft releases what their word-counting criteria for Word is, it probably won't 100% match the board's count.
My understanding is that our word counter, like the one in MS Word, just counts the things between spaces as words... but I can't guarantee that. (Actually, the more I think about it, I realize that—for example—two words separated by an em-dash with no spaces should be counted as two words, but I don't know if they are or not.)
Are you by any chance counting without BBCode tags in Word, and using spaces around your BBCode tags when you actually submit? (If your BBCode tags are running right up to the word, they won't count as words themselves, but if you've put a space between a tag and a word, you just used two words.)
The word count difference was before the coding. Though from what you wrote I think I know what may have caused it now. With out getting into to much detail that would get me disqualified, it had to do with 2 words with a "/" between the 2. MS word seen it as 1 word while yours seen it as 2 or 3 words. That has to be it as that's about the amount I needed to correct.
Basically as an example; hot/cold is seen as 1 word in MS word at least mine does, I just checked...lol. Yours counts it as 2 words and the backslash also counts as 1 I believe.
bummer I completely missed the italicizing...hopefully it won't be held against me *fingers crossed*, oh well, guess we'll wait and see
bummer I completely missed the italicizing...hopefully it won't be held against me *fingers crossed*, oh well, guess we'll wait and see
I sincerely doubt that an awesome item that doesn't italicize a spell name will get bumped for that reason.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Star Voter Season 6
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Gentlemen, if I may add two caveats.
1) Talking about what you did wrong in your submission *might* lead to revealing too much and getting your item tossed. I doubt "I forgot to put the spell names in italics!" would (since I assume most everyone has some kind of formatting error). but even something as seemingly innocent as "I should have used burning hands not fireball" might be too much. Never hurts to be too careful.
2) I too would like to see peoples' rejected items after the top 32. I would try to comment on them all, but won't make promises.
Gentlemen, if I may add two caveats.
2) I too would like to see peoples' rejected items after the top 32. I would try to comment on them all, but won't make promises.
Like I already said elsewhere, I would try to do so too, just like last year.
Yeah, don't talk too much about your items before the top 32 are announced. Even running here right after submitting and writing "I just submitted" might kill your anonymity.
Gentlemen, if I may add two caveats.
2) I too would like to see peoples' rejected items after the top 32. I would try to comment on them all, but won't make promises.
Like I already said elsewhere, I would try to do so too, just like last year.
Yeah, don't talk too much about your items before the top 32 are announced. Even running here right after submitting and writing "I just submitted" might kill your anonymity.
In keeping with the spirit of the community, I am going to make time to comment on as many things as possible. I hope to be busy with campaigning for my own entries, though, and will be moving in early- to mid-February.
As for the "I just submitted" thing, I was worried a bit about that after creating the "Done" thread, but Neil gave me the impression in something he said that there were enough submissions in now that this was highly unlikely.
Either way, discretion is wisdom, I guess.
Oh, saying that you already submitted some time in the past should be fine, but saying that you submitted *right now* might cause a problem.
And with that said, DUDE I can't wait for you guys to see my Archetype!!!
I'll just post my item in the "feedback forum" come January 18th, unless, of course, it's published for me :)
Until then, mum's the word.
Oh, and hey, would you guys look for another shoe that looks like this, please?
Uhhh... there's good advice, too late, for you! I am a English major type with an absolutely rigorous command of grammar. I wrote and rewrote my submission, carefully, surgically paring down the word count to bare minimum (under 300)... then when I saw the Title goes into a web-form of its own, I thought "Great! A way to cut even more words from the total!" Needless to say, the first board thread I read today says Paizo wants the title in BOTH the web-form and the Description! Thanks a lot... At least, I did include the title in the form, so you do have it!
BTW, thank you, gbonehead, for the funny Galaxy Quest reference!
bummer I completely missed the italicizing...hopefully it won't be held against me *fingers crossed*, oh well, guess we'll wait and see
Mine wasn't from last year, and it was said last year that the judges wouldn't hold lack of italics against you. If you followed the template in most other respects you'll be fine. Hope your item has what it takes.
That said, I will say that I'm very much a stickler for detail...and yes, I even get ticked off with myself when I screw something up (none of us are perfect). But, given that this type of problem has been cited repeatedly in the past 3 years of the competition, everyone has been pointed to look at the existing items for how yours should be designed (and presented), and that the actual template with all the BBCode was provided to everyone as part of the contest information/rules...I'm probably eyeing that a little bit more than say in previous years. Not as an auto-reject element, but definitely as a factor that swings my decision one way or another if everything else is done reasonably well...or if there's something else dragging an item down.
Regardless, it's definitely true that not everyone comes into the competition fully formed as an RPG Superstar and ready to jump straight into game design. And there are certainly things you'll learned during and after the contest on how Paizo prefers things to be done in terms of styling and presentation. Also, I'm conscious of the fact that some folks just might not be used to using the BBCode of the messageboards and the submission tool.
So, all that said, I just wanted to folks to understand the how's and why's of my own individual assessment of italicizing spell names and getting the template right. In and of itself, misuse of the template or fouling up the presentation won't get you shot down right away. But add something else into the mix and you haven't done yourself any favors if you skip (or forget) that part.
My two cents,
--Neil
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Just wondering,... I love browsing through the ideas that pop up! I would imagine that it might not be until the 32 are chosen, however some advice has been to wait a bit to see what the comments are on other people's items before submitting.Appologies if this info is already posted somewhere.
Ugh! January 18th is sooo far away. :P
Two cents
--Neil
I'm a stickler too, I wasn't happy at all about missing the italics (to be honest, at that stage I wasn't even aware that the messageboards could do italics).