Best Overall Events Begin Tomorrow!

Please please please vote carefully

from Stardock Forums

Good Afternoon!

Tomorrow, the vote link to the left will reactivate and you will be presented with a page containing not one, not two, but three links for voting.  We are running the Best Overall Icons, Wallpapers and Visual Styles votes at the same time.  You will again pick your top three in each category before submitting your vote. 

When making your picks, I want everyone to keep the following things in mind about this event and what it's about:

Select the BEST submissions.  Please don't just vote for skinners you know, make sure that what you're voting for is something you truely believe is one of the best submissions in that category.  What you vote for helps determine what the judges have to pick from for the winners.  Many people have disagreed with some finalist choices.  We will get the best results if people are fair in what they pick.

These events are the most prestigious and carry some of the biggest prizes of the competition.  Help contribute to that by voting fair.  Don't vote for someone just because you like their other, non-competition work.  Vote solely on the merits of the works on this site.

When you are evaluating skins, icons and walls, look at them from an overall, wholistic view.  Are they usable?  Do they look good?  Are they functional?  Are they fully skinned?  Do they go above and beyond in what they include?  Basically, are they something you would want to run on your own computer, for the next month without changing?

Remember, what the judges have to pick from to decide the winner, in large part depends on what YOU pick.

A final good luck to all of our contestants, and may the best skin/wall/icon win!

-Z


3,186 views 19 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
Damn tough choices...gotta go thru them again.  
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
Check them for completeness now . . or don't complain later.   
DeskScapes - Bring your desktop background to life.
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
Tried to vote but it doesnt seem to be recording the vote as it lets u vote over an over.   
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
Yep, lets you vote over and over and never acknowledges your vote, big problem.   
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
It is being looked into.  It looks like votes aren't recording.
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top

Issue resolved.

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
Had voted   

BTW, i think that in the 3 categories, there's much less "terrific" submissions than 2 years ago, when there were lots and lots of very very good things ...   
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
I think it's hard to say that the selection of Icons has ever been better than this year.  These icons just flat-out rock!
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
Gotta agree on the icons, best ive seen all in one place, kudos to those guys.
Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top
I'd like to just go over what I think of the submissions so far. You can agree or disagree, but lets keep the thread going by posting your opinions and not dwelling on what I say. Just my thoughts.

Wallpapers:: We've had a lot of good submissions but I was a little perplexed by them this year. They were OK, but nothing had that WOW factor. I mean, come on, when I can medal in wallpapers....I don't do walls. I'm not known for my walls.......let's just say, I'm still laughing about it.

Icons:: I will admit, I've never seen this many, top quality icons, in the last 10 years. I was extremely impressed. My hats off to all that entered. (Extremely impressed). There were so many WOW factors, I lost count.

Windowblinds:: There were some really nice usable and original skins submitted. But there wasn't any that had a major WOW factor to it. (I'm including myself in this).
I know what you're saying. "Yes, there was. I know a couple". Not really. We had some reworked popular skins "2"s, had some that had some nice mouseover effects and even had one that did some nice transparency in a different way.

Does anyone remember Antares? He took that to the max and beyond. That skin raised the bar for the forseeable future. There was nothing else you could do with it. When that came out, people were running and screaming, climbing the mountains, to tell all thier friends. You couldn't hit the download button fast enough.

This year, the focus was on transparency. It was touched on, but nothing that made you go "MY GOD....will you look at that!!!"

Thanks treetog, for raising the bar so high, that it might take us, 'we folks, some time to jump over it.

All in all, it was a fantastic turn out. I've enjoyed each and every one of them. (Yes, I've even used 'your' skin or wall).
I've appreciated the judges. Boy, did (do) they have some hard decisions to make.
And my hat's off to the sponsors. Without them, everything I've said so far, wouldn't make a lick 'o sense.

Well done gang!
Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top
Z,

I had literally a window of like 2 weekends in which to put a skin together. I figure that the GUI Champs usually occur during the summer when there's less pressure. The other themers now have jobs, and this is almost a side project. The lack of "WOW" skins as you put it ... is due IMO to time constraints.
Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
There is no way I could come up with a skin, that good, in 4 days.
It takes me 4 days just to think up a concept.
I will say this, that there was a "little" wow, on some of the skins.
Reply #13 from Stardock Forums Top
Well 4 days might be a bit of an overstatement...

I had mock-up what I wanted the window to look like in the summer. But I didn't touch it beyond that, make any other elements, or start any coding of the skin beyond that until I had uploaded BuuF OS.
Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top
I completely disagree with Z71. There were a few themes that took me off gaurd and did make me say "WOW".

https://www.wincustomize.com/ViewSkin.aspx?SID=1&SkinID=4334&LibID=1

is this the Antares you are talking about? I somehow missed it, and uhhh, honestly, I don't like it one bit. It's not my taste at all. No "WOW" factor for me, but this is completely subjective anyway. Theme is too bulky/blocky, which is why i hate practically all WB skins out there.
Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top
but this is completely subjective anyway


I completely "agree" with you on that.


Congrats, ^^Gabriel.
Reply #16 from Stardock Forums Top
Z,

Thank you, very much.

... I agree with your "agreement"
Reply #17 from Stardock Forums Top
Just a quick question for ^^Gabriel (since it got brought up anyway)...

I didn't touch it beyond that, make any other elements, or start any coding of the skin beyond that until I had uploaded BuuF OS.


How come you didn't hold off and enter that one in the contest? That is one of the single smoothest skins I have seen in a long time. I use it frequently, and I don't even like light colored blinds. Just curious   
Reply #18 from Stardock Forums Top
It violates the rules against incorporating other artist's work in your skin.
Reply #19 from Stardock Forums Top
Ahhh ok. Yeah I know the blind was created to go along with the icons of the same name. I guess I interperated the rule about original work a little differently. I took it as you couldn't create something based off the same type of thing. e.g. A blind based of another blind or an icon package based off another icon package. It's all good, like I said, I was just curious.