.\\\\\|/// ……….(^_ _^) ……….(…(_)…) …………\..–../_ ………/ฏฏYฏฏ\.\ … …..?…..?…..?….? ………|._.\_…..|\_.\ …….?….?…..? ……….\__\……|…\..\ …….?….? ……(ฏฏฏ\…\_|/ฏฏ\__\_______ooo ……..)===บบบบ====0000=====) .....(____/ฏฏฏ\__/บบบบฏฏฏฏฏฏooo ………/…./………\…\ ..__./._/………….\._.\__ (____ /………….(_____) PRC HOSTING FOR DINGBATS ======================== A little guide on running a competition by Rexy ----- Edited by Bundeslang ----- TABLE OF CONTENTS: *Introduction *Step 1 - The Source Tune *Step 2 - ThaSauce Hosting *Step 3 - The OCRemix Thread *Step 4 - The Mixing Stage *Step 4.5 - Time Extensions *Step 5 - The Voting Stage *Step 6 - Announcing the Winner *Conclusion -------------- ============================================================================== INTRODUCTION ============================================================================== Hello everyone! Let me start by introducing myself. I'm Rexy, I am a female OverClocked Remixer with two entries to my name ("Tomorrow's Wake" and "Time's Anxiety"), I have contributed to a load of other remixing sites around the net including VGMix, ThaSauce and RPGamer.com, and most recently I have been a long-time host for the People's Remix Competition. Having been involved with the latter since PRC30 (Secret of Mana) - even though I didn't start submitting entries until PRC44 (Spike McFang) - I have seen a lot of how the competition has progressed throughout the years and how management has been dealt with. Taking over from reelmojo for PRC66 (Sonic Chaos) was a very brave move, but everything should be self-explanatory once you understand how everything works. This guide will show you the ins and outs of the more criticial moments of PRC's operations. These should be able to help you out with running the competition and doing everything possible to keep it going strong in the months to come. ============================================================================== STEP 1 - The Source Tune ============================================================================== (Different for MnP as for PRC) ============================================================================== STEP 2 - ThaSauce Hosting ============================================================================== This takes up a large chunk of time between obtaining the source tune and the Friday that the PRC itself begins on. So, let's discuss this bit by bit. First, you've got to get the details up towards ThaSauce. To upload a new MnP, click on "Admin", then "MnP", and then "New Round" at the bottom of the screen. The MnP number (the letters aren't required) will go in the ID part at the top of the form. Please be consequent in numbering the rounds. The name goes in the box below that. Bear in mind that there is a 25 character limit there, so it's all a case of compressing both the game and the source tune in there so that people can understand what's going on. Longer game titles (and maybe longer source names too) could either be simplified (as was the case for PRC110, where fitting in both the game name - Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow - and the source tune - Pitch-Black Incantation - would have been impossible without this stated simplifying), or if it's only just too long (PRC124 - Golden Sun "Venus Lighthouse"), revoked of any spaces. The large Description box for PRC will hold these details: the provider's writeup concerning the source tune selected, who they are in brackets underneath it, and a reminder of the finishing date in Eastern US Time (where OCRemix's core operations are). Of course you are free to not use this or enter different information. The "Compo" box will allow you to select which competition this round is for. Obviously, this is for the Meat And Potatoes VGM Remix Compettion, so select it. The start time should be the time that you feel most comfortable announcing it on the day that the contest begins. Bear in mind that unlike OCR, ThaSauce operates on the Pacific Coast, so this means that they're 8 hours behind from the standard GMT time (in other words, OCR is 3 hours ahead of it). These times can also change depending on what parts of the world turns their clocks back/forward and at what day of the year, so it's best that you look this up when the time to do so is coming close. This also holds for the voting start time and end time. And then, there are two boxes underneath in which you can upload the source tune - usually a MIDI and an MP3 of the source in question. If any of these are missing, however, you can still try hosting up another file type in its place (e.g an SPC if you're hosting an SNES track, an NSF if it's an NES tune, and so on and so forth). If by some coincidence you get more source files than necessary (e.g. if you end up with a MIDI, and MP3, a GSF and a library file for a Game Boy Advance source choice), then you can upload the primary two on the ThaSauce server and the others on webspace of your own choice. Make sure you remember where they are when you post the thread on OCRemix. Click the "Add" button and you're done! You've got a competition hosted on ThaSauce! Now all you've got to do now is tell everyone on OCRemix about what challenges they will undertake this week. ============================================================================== STEP 3 - The OCRemix Thread ============================================================================== So, you've hosted your first MnP to ThaSauce and now you're going to tell everyone about it. Remember that first and foremost, competitions are held in the Competitions forum, with no exceptions. Start a new thread like you usually would do there. You can present the post however you want to, but you still need to remember the most critical things - If you want to include an image for the game in question, I would recommend either title screens or boxart (if there's none available). Speed Demos Archive (www.speeddemosarchive.com) provide a few for some of the games they host speed runs for, and there are some screens over at VGMuseum as well. Emulation's also a good idea to do a screen capture for it. And Youtube can also be considered an option if you can't find anything elsewhere. No matter what, the resulted image should be catered to how current browsers/displays view these forums (I tend to go by a size limit of 640x480 personally). Another thing is that when you state the source tune, be sure to state its official soundtrack name if the game in question has had a soundtrack release to it, like OCR tends to do. If there's no soundtrack for the game, just go by the name that the source provider stated. Don't forget to add the rules each time. All these details should be pretty simple to remember. If you've managed to get the important stuff into the post, you're definitely doing well. Once you're done, click "submit" and see your own MnP come to life! You might get criticised for a few coding/grammar errors from your peers in the few hours beyond that. Just do what I do and laugh it off as you correct what needs to be corrected. ============================================================================== STEP 4 - The Mixing Stage ============================================================================== You've got the MnP hosted on OCRemix. And you've got people saying how good (or bad) the source tune is. All's doing well as the mixing stage is now going to run its course. It's all a case now of watching over the thread and ThaSauce page as the rules get reinforced. So, let's go through them. (Edited) If someone remarks another entry in a qualitative way (e.g. person A says to person B that they love person B's entry), then this is when you step into the thread and reinforce the rule. Hopefully they'll edit their post as required. If someone's having trouble getting a mix hosted on the server, see if you can help them. They might have a faulty MP3 encoder, so you might even be able to do a re-encode for them to help them out. Basically, the mixing stage is your case of doing admin duties across the thread and ThaSauce server. You can also take part in it if you want to, get involved in any discussion going on, and the like - practically anything. One last thing - if you want to advertise the MnP without needing to update your sig everytime, be sure to insert this into your signature: [url=http://compo.thasauce.net/compos/view/MnP][img]http://compo.thasauce.net/sigs/compo/MnP[/img][/url] (not sure if this one is correct) This links to the main MnP page on Compo: ThaSauce, and the image itself is updated with the latest competition details in real-time as well. It's a great way to go about promoting it without worrying about falling behind. When the mixing stage is nearly over, you will then need to do a verification across all the hosted remixes. Listen to them, see if you think they're legit, and you should have yourself a selection for the voting stage. But remember - not quite everything goes to plan... ============================================================================== STEP 4.5 - Time Extensions ============================================================================== So it's time for the mixing stage. However, if this is meant to be done successfully, then a minimum of two entries (excluding any bonuses) will be required. If there are less than three entries by the time the voting stage is meant to start, then that is the time to apply a time extension. Go back to Compo: ThaSauce, select "Admin", then "MnP", and select the "Edit" button on the row for the current round. Because not enough entries have wielded, you will need to push back both the voting start and end times by 24 hours. You can do that with those same tabs where you stated the initial start and end times when hosting the competition to begin with. Give this a wait, and if there still aren't enough entries by the next day, do it again or simply announce the results. Time is a virtue though, so this means that you can't extend it any further if there's four days left (96 hours) before the next contest begins. If by that time there are only two entries, then you will have to press on with the voting stage no matter what. If there's only one entry, the creator of that one entry is classified the winner by default. I have no idea what could have happened at all if there were no entries there, but I would assume that like the first round for the Original Remix Competition, the source provider would get to pick again. MnP's different though, so it's going to be your call. (for PRC this still didn't happen, but at one round only one bonus mix was submitted) ============================================================================== STEP 5 - The Voting Stage ============================================================================== So, the mixing stage is over. You've got a nice bunch of entries. And now it's time to go with the voting stage! Since this will run pretty much automatically, you will need to make a post in your OCRemix thread regarding it. State what the voters should do in whatever format you want: - Visit the stated ThaSauce page and listen to all the entries - Scroll to the form at the bottom of the screen - Fill it in, filing the entries (or if there's four or more, only three) from first to third (or in the case of two, leaving the third place tab blank) - State a reasoning for it. Remember to state the bonuses as well - the vote for the winner of the previous round counts twice, as they made an important contribution to starting up the contest to begin with. (This rule isn't enforced in special contests.) And all contestants will get three points (the value for a first place vote) added to their score if they vote too. Their vote won't work at all for two-entry PRCs though, as both their first place vote and bonus will cancel each other out. And finally, remember to state the final details - the closing date/time for voting, and what the winner will receive (in the event of a normal MnP it would be the chance to choose the source tune for the next one after that; if it's a special one, it would be the prize you stated at the beginning). Once you've posted the page, it's all a case of putting all this into practice. Let's go back to the "Admin" page on the C:TS server, and back onto "MnP". Click on the round. You should get two lists underneath the blurb you stated at the beginning - a list of rounds and a list of votes. Hopefully you might have already been here to delete any disqualified entries or bonus-ify some mixes. When votes come in, they would get tabbed in automatically. This is where the bonuses would indeed be added in. But everything becomes different depending on the amount of entries, so this is how everything would be tabulated appropriately. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |ROUND QUANTITY | NORMAL VOTE | PREVIOUS WINNER | CONTESTANT | | | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | |---------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------| |2 ENTRIES | 3 2 - | 6 4 - | - - - | |3 ENTRIES | 3 2 1 | 6 4 2 | 3 2 - | |4+ ENTRIES | 3 2 1 | 6 4 2 | 3 2 1 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To apply these alterations and the stated bonuses above, click on the "edit" button for any of these entries and replace the "Score" value with the new one. Once you've got the new scores in, make sure you check that you've done the right thing. Once you're convinced that you've adjusted the scores to what they should be like, you should be doing just fine. One last thing - be sure to check for duplicate IPs! Nineko tried to spoil the PRC vote with duplicate IPs back in PRC76's Decap Attack contest (and quite a few others before that, whenever he took part), so you have to be really careful over who submitted what. Luckily, there's an IP address field in the list of voters, so if in doubt, cite it. It is also possible to allow multiple entries. ============================================================================== STEP 6 - Announcing the Winner ============================================================================== The voting stage is over, you've applied the bonuses and you've checked the points over for any inconsistencies. Now, this is your cue to announce the winner. The first obvious thing needed is the stats - how many people voted (remember, the previous winner counts as two people), how many people took part and the highest possible score. It's a simple formula to think of concerning the latter: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | If there are only two entries, then the highest posible score is the | | amount of voters multiplied by 2. If there's three or more, then it's the | | amount of voters multiplied by 3. | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After that, you can make a move on listing everyone's finishing positions, from last place all the way up to first. In the event of two entries, you just need to state who first place is. After congratulating the winner, this is your move to tell them to provide the source for next week. If the winner has won PRC for his/her first time, then you'll need to explain the source tune requirements to them in your post. And that is a PRC successfully done. But be aware - the cycle begins ALL OVER AGAIN!! ---------------- Originally written by Rexy, edited by Bundeslang. Note that this guide applies for PRC, for other contest other rules might apply.