GalCiv III Faction Contest FAQ

from GalCiv3 Forums

Questions about the $1,000 GalCiv III faction design contest? Get them answered here.

We'll update this doc as further questions come in. Post here or tweet @stardock to ask whatever's on your mind.

Please do read the rules and the contest description first, though -- we tried to cover as many of our bases there as we could.

                                                         

Faction Design Contest Frequently Asked Questions


Q. What exactly do I need to submit for an in-game created faction?
A. Take screenshots of the faction choice screen and the in-game start screen and put them in a .zip file with your .faction file, then enter that and a short description into the submission form.

Q. What exactly do I need to submit for a mod-style faction?
A. Take screenshots of the faction choice screen and the in-game start screen and put them in a .zip file with all of the mod directories for your faction, then enter that and a short description into the submission form.

Q. Do I need to own Galactic Civilizations III to enter?
A. No purchase is necessary to be eligible to win. Your faction does need to be a valid GC3 race done in either the in-game faction customization process or defined as a mod, though.

Q. Do I need to be a U.S. resident to enter?
A. Nope! You must comply with all local rules and restrictions for your place of residence, though.

Q. Will Stardock seriously consider in-game creations at the same level as mod-style submissions?
A. Yes. Even though mod-style submissions can include elements unavailable within the in-game faction creator, our primary criterion for judgment is a submitted faction's flavor and uniqueness.

Q. Will Stardock consider funny or goofy factions?
A. Our lead designer won't stop talking about his plans for DLC based around his favorite race of evil killer squirrels. 

Q. Will I be able to turn off player-created content (aka contest winners) in my own games of Galactic Civilizations III?
A. The same way you could disallow Terrans or Yor as a playable race, via modding them out, sure. But we consider these pieces of content part of Galactic Civilizations canon and don't plan on having an in-game toggle.

Q. If the winner has already created a portrait and logo for their faction, will Stardock make new ones?
A. We reserve the right to modify any aspect of the winning faction for balance or continuity with the rest of the Galactic Civilizations universe before including it in the game, but the whole point is to reward the coolest and most unique faction submitted by our awesome community. We won't do anything to diminish that.

Q. Is there a limit to how many entries I can submit?
A. Nope! Though if you spam us with fifty clearly phoned-in entries it probably won't help your chances of becoming a finalist. 

Q. I have a question that isn't answered here or on the rules or description pages.
A. Ask it here in this thread, or tweet us @stardock and we'll answer it as best we can! 


Enter the contest here

108,743 views 27 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Is there a limit on number of entries?

Reply #2 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I was just wondering are you.going to make a in game way to easily upload,  and download custom., and modded races,  and willwe be able to download all the contest entries Iinto the game.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Seilore: Good question! No, there is not.

Admiral: We will be incorporating Steam Workshop at some point, but I don't know how far that will extend. For now it's manual, sorry!

Reply #4 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

If a person was ambitious and wanted to create a customized tech tree, would doing so be acceptable?

Reply #5 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I was really tempted to participate but I read the rules, here is my take of it :


Eligibility, Entries great, Cancellation of Events : I completely agree, it's quite normal


Rights & Ownership : ( in "Entries" : right to modify  why you said it's yours ? / so you could also change it to be different from the author's idea , no ?)

Moderation : (what are the rules of modderation ? will you explain why some are rejected ?)

Prizes : "The Ultimate Winner may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility and a publicity/liability release.*** By accepting the prize, winner agrees to the use of his/her name, photo and/or likeness in any promotion/advertising activities related to this contest without further compensation, except where prohibited.*** By accepting a prize, winner agrees to release the contest sponsors and its agencies from any and all liability for injuries and/or damages of any kind sustained in connection with the contest, including any 3rd party infringement claim on the entry." are you joking ? it clearly abusive because it's an all inclusive in your face "your an idiot to accept but thanks" 

Judging : the Critical Judging : is it with some transparency/explication to the submitter?

Notification & Late Entries : understandable but not really tolerant in my opinion because again no reserve

Rules Modifications : again : "are you joking ?" without an op-out for the submitter ? (well you submitted something and we change the rules : any submitter must pay 250 $ to submit : we are worth it ... ( I know over-reaction but something less revolting could be done anyway !)

Law and Venue : LOL !!! nothing more to be said !


with all this any submitter is either naive, desperate /with a real-low income, or a fan of a magnitude that could be dangerous for her/him !

"we tried to cover as many of our bases there as we could." clearly ! in an over abusive way with the final (to be sure to be abusive) : " This Contest is void where prohibited by law."

another exemple : an idea could be so good you would "steal" it legally and create a whole game OR sale it to another party! is it normal for you ? and not even have to use one of the "finalists" so ne retribution for the work !



all this was a clear reminder that your not doing it for the player but for the money of the player (and only for it, it seems !) ... sad, really really sad.


The thing that is the most maddenig is I really like what you are doing : GC,SOAS in particular.


ps : please don't moderate it out; I really would what for this post to do some "Rules Modifications" for me and (I hope lots) of other interested potential submitter to participate

EDIT: "fan with a magnitude" to "fan of a magnitude"

Reply #6 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

The rules and legal elements of this agreement are pretty standard (just about like every other art-related contest I've ever seen).

I could say more, but I don't believe it is worth the effort. If you don't like the agreement, it is an optional contest--as you have noted in your post, you don't have to participate.

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

Who is making you submit an entry for a chance to win $1,000? Stardock is trying to create excitement around the race editor just like they did with the ship editor.

Reply #8 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I agree with both of you it's that from some of these elements make them illegal, or at least succefully attackable (so, this, enter in effect " This Contest is void where prohibited by law.") in nearlly all country exept english inspired law system ... and require some thing that I wouldn't want for me so the sad conclusion is that I can't submit anything, and I sorry for all of you who can because it's clearly oriented in favor of the contract maker ...

Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top

It's all very standard. If you wish not to participate, you're free to do so. I'm excited to see some entries!

Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top

These rules are all fairly standard, there's nothing out of the ordinary here.

 

Reply #11 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Here is a relatively stupid question lol (I say that because I feel like I am missing something), but I was wondering.... I love designing aliens, but am not much of a graphic designer myself, so coming up with an original non-copyrighted image may be tough. Would using one of the (non 8 core race) images in game, like you have for the examples above, still work towards creating a custom race for entry?  I realize it might hinder my chance at winning if someone else comes up with a cool image for their aliens, I was just curious mostly. 

Thanks, looking forward to entering and seeing some of the community's entries!!

 

Reply #12 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting Evillemming, reply 11

I love designing aliens, but am not much of a graphic designer myself, so coming up with an original non-copyrighted image may be tough. Would using one of the (non 8 core race) images in game, like you have for the examples above, still work towards creating a custom race for entry?

Taken from the contest entry page.

"Whoever wins the vote gets their faction included in the game as a minor race, a custom portrait and logo created for them by Stardock, and $1,000."

Quoting Evillemming, reply 11

I realize it might hinder my chance at winning if someone else comes up with a cool image for their aliens, I was just curious mostly.

Therefore I'd imagine this wouldn't impact as it would be hard for Stardock to confirm an image you use is not copyrighted by someone else.  Plus not everyone can create their own 3D model.

Reply #13 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Ah, I knew I missed something.

Reading is hard!

Thanks, I wont worry too hard about creating an image if Stardock will make one.

 

 

Reply #14 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

:)

Reply #15 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Just tried to submit my entry and I'm getting this message every time:

500 - Internal server error.

There is a problem with the resource you are looking for, and it cannot be displayed.

 

Please, what can I do?

And is anyone else having this problem?

Thanks.

All the Best,

Earth Force Captain

Reply #16 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Can anyone tell me if I get e-mail confirmation after submission? Because I didn't get anything and don't know if I succesfuly sent everything. I can't find info on this.

Reply #17 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Tried again and this time it worked. :grin:

 

R3bel02: With my entry when it accepted the entry it came up with a version of the submission page with:

 

Success

Thank you for your submission.

 

 

Reply #19 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

When I go to submit my faction for the design contest I read this and I'm curious as to where I locate my .faction folder

 

If you created your faction in-game:Take screenshots of the faction choice screen and the in-game start screen and put them in a .zip file with your .faction file, then enter that and a short description into the submission form.


Also does the in game start screen have to be the start screen when you begin a new game. Or can it be the start screen when you are customizing the faction in the faction editor?

Reply #20 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Deafgh24, reply 19

When I go to submit my faction for the design contest I read this and I'm curious as to where I locate my .faction folder


Try here: Documents\My Games\GalCiv3\Factions.

Reply #21 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Thank you for replying Island Dog. I had purchased my game through steam so my Galciv folder is placed under. This PC/OC (C:)/Program Files (x86)/Steam/SteamApps/common/Galactic Civilizations III and i believe the folder they want is Galactic Civilizations III/Gfx/Factions but it seems like an odd folder because the content inside is the leader FGs, BGs, potraits and race logos. but i suppose i will use that

Reply #22 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

That's your installation folder on your drive where Steam installs it. The folder I posted is like the user content folder where game saves, screenshots, etc. are placed. :)

Reply #23 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting Deafgh24, reply 21

Thank you for replying Island Dog. I had purchased my game through steam so my Galciv folder is placed under. This PC/OC (C:)/Program Files (x86)/Steam/SteamApps/common/Galactic Civilizations III and i believe the folder they want is Galactic Civilizations III/Gfx/Factions but it seems like an odd folder because the content inside is the leader FGs, BGs, potraits and race logos. but i suppose i will use that

Deafgh24 even if you purchased the game through steam the custom faction folder is where Island Dog replied to.

Libraries\Documents\My Games\GalCiv3\Factions\

Then you will have the 4 other custom faction folders which you are able to add to if you want  but your actual custom factions would be various different files beneath them.

Alternative route..

C:(or main drive)\Users\(your windows login)\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv3\Factions\

Reply #24 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting Deafgh24, reply 21

Thank you for replying Island Dog. I had purchased my game through steam so my Galciv folder is placed under. This PC/OC (C:)/Program Files (x86)/Steam/SteamApps/common/Galactic Civilizations III and i believe the folder they want is Galactic Civilizations III/Gfx/Factions but it seems like an odd folder because the content inside is the leader FGs, BGs, potraits and race logos. but i suppose i will use that

The "Steam/SteamApps/common/Galactic Civilizations III" is where the game installs, but not where custom files are.

If you're using Windows 7 you can go C:\Users\your user name\Documents\My Games\GalCiv3

The Documents folder might be called My Documents instead.

Or there might be a Libraries tab in Explorer, which should have a link to Documents

 

Inside the Factions folder you'll see the LeaderBGs, LeaderFGs, Logos and Portraits folders, but also .FACTION files. They will have the name of your custom factions at the start, followed by some random numbers and letters.

 

Hehe, looks like I took too long and got double-ninja'd

Reply #25 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Nice o-o i see now. Didn't know there was a second folder for the game outside of steam. Now that I can see the faction file in that version of the Factions Folder. It makes much more sense now xD I can finally upload this faction x-x was quite worried I would upload it wrong and it would get disqualified. Though, does the in game start screen screen shot have to be the page that opens when you start the game as that civ or can it be the customization page when creating the race?