Sci-Fi Month Feedback

[Si-MOCs]

First all, apologies to all the amazing Winners for the delay on shipping out the prizes, it took me 3 nights, 2.5 rolls of tape and 2 trips to the hardware store, but all prizes are packed and will be shipped out tomorrow.

With that, I'd like to ask for a bit of feedback to everyone ...

To make future contests even better:

What did you like?

What didn't you like?

What could I have done better?

If you didn't enter, what could I have done to make you more interested?

What do you like better? Trophies or Prizes? or both?

What other comments do you have for Sci-Fi month ?

Thanks!

Simon

[Kristel]

I think there are a few reasons why Sci-Fi month was such a success:

1. Great hosting. I didn't keep track of all entries, but it seemed like you commented on every single one. This would have required a considerable effort given the number of entries, but I am sure it would have been appreciated by all the contestants. Further, you kept everyone informed as to what was going on.

2. Great prizes. This isn't normally my motivation for entering, but it does make it more interesting. I think the brick-built trophies have a lot more intrinsic value than the set prizes.

3. Interesting categories. I think this is the primary reason for the large number of entries, as it allowed those who would not normally consider themselves Sci-Fi builders to participate. Both the micro and animal categories showcased technical aspects of building, while the animal one also provided for a lot of humorous entries. For me, building a Sci-Fi version of my avatar put me out of my comfort zone, but I really liked the challenge it presented.

You deserve a very big pat on the back for your part in making it such a success!

[J4ke]

Your poll is rather flawed, since you can't miss out the "didn't enter" queston.

As for improvements, I harassed you about it in chat, but I'll do it here too. 90 entries in one poll was absurd. Should've been split into 9 or 10 heats, winner of each goes into the final round. It'd take an extra week, but it'd be a lot more fun.

[Artanis I]

My negative feedback (because it was a pretty good bunch of contests with awesome trophies, nice prizes, was well organised & moderated):

Too many entries!!! Too many awesome builders! If I'd known how much of a response these would've had compared to the SW contests I would've entered that one instead, and perhaps maybe had the chance of getting nearly 1 vote. I didn't enter that one because it's a very busy popular forum compared to the Sci-Fi one, so I expected this to go about the same as or less than the previous months (Ninja, SH, Friends) and the SW ones to be huge... I suppose Sci-Fi MOCs are always very common.

Perhaps more categories (but that might make prizes more difficult) to spread it out a bit, with or without restrictions to how many you can enter? I just don't like seeing 100 entries to have to try to choose 5 favourites from, and also see a big percentage of people who tried really hard & did well probably not going to even get 1 vote.

[jimmynick]

I had a great time looking at some of the entries, but I didn't have time to build because of all my coursework. Had I had more time, I absolutely would have entered. Perhaps if you did another Sci-Fi Month, you could separate the contests into vehicle and building contests, both for MSFC and FAPC, like is done with Fabuland Month at the moment.

Congratulations on pulling off two very large contests!

[Cecilie]

I think there are a few reasons why Sci-Fi month was such a success:

1. Great hosting. I didn't keep track of all entries, but it seemed like you commented on every single one. This would have required a considerable effort given the number of entries, but I am sure it would have been appreciated by all the contestants. Further, you kept everyone informed as to what was going on.

2. Great prizes. This isn't normally my motivation for entering, but it does make it more interesting. I think the brick-built trophies have a lot more intrinsic value than the set prizes.

3. Interesting categories. I think this is the primary reason for the large number of entries, as it allowed those who would not normally consider themselves Sci-Fi builders to participate. Both the micro and animal categories showcased technical aspects of building, while the animal one also provided for a lot of humorous entries. For me, building a Sci-Fi version of my avatar put me out of my comfort zone, but I really liked the challenge it presented.

You deserve a very big pat on the back for your part in making it such a success!

This. In addition to what I said on flickr, I'd like to echo all of this.

[Bob De Quatre]

I'll say the same things as Kristel and J4ke.

I didn't enter the contest mainly because there was the SW contest at the same time, and I used almost all my "new" parts for it, and it took me a lot of time to complete.

I think having a subforum dedicated to the contests, like in the SW forum, would be a good improvement.

[DraikNova]

Answers to your questions:

1. The amazing entries. Seriously though, the contest concepts were awesome.

2. What wasn't to like?

3. I honestly doubt there was any way you could have done better.

5. I think both looked pretty good.

[genecyst]

i think the great number of entries gives much valor to the competition, i like how there's been a lot of different interpretations of the same theme all under the same roof. So i do not agree with the idea of splitting categories. I would like to complain instead about the fact that sci-fi month is followed by fabuland month...:D and...i hate fabuland... :(

[Si-MOCs]

Thanks for the feedback all!

I think there are a few reasons why Sci-Fi month was such a success:

1. Great hosting. I didn't keep track of all entries, but it seemed like you commented on every single one. This would have required a considerable effort given the number of entries, but I am sure it would have been appreciated by all the contestants. Further, you kept everyone informed as to what was going on.

2. Great prizes. This isn't normally my motivation for entering, but it does make it more interesting. I think the brick-built trophies have a lot more intrinsic value than the set prizes.

3. Interesting categories. I think this is the primary reason for the large number of entries, as it allowed those who would not normally consider themselves Sci-Fi builders to participate. Both the micro and animal categories showcased technical aspects of building, while the animal one also provided for a lot of humorous entries. For me, building a Sci-Fi version of my avatar put me out of my comfort zone, but I really liked the challenge it presented.

I kept track and I did

I'll defininitely have to think up even better categories / themes for next time!

Your poll is rather flawed, since you can't miss out the "didn't enter" queston.

As for improvements, I harassed you about it in chat, but I'll do it here too. 90 entries in one poll was absurd. Should've been split into 9 or 10 heats, winner of each goes into the final round. It'd take an extra week, but it'd be a lot more fun.

Poll fixed.

Several people 'commented' on the voting and such, that's why I wanted to make sure everyone had a forum to express them concerns.

And I tend to agree that there needs to be something better put in place ... I think the usual voting works okay for ~30 entries, but I think 97 was a bit unprecedented and frankly I did not anticipate it correctly. I would think in future maybe a 20% total/point ratio might be good...

o many entries!!! Too many awesome builders! If I'd known how much of a response these would've had compared to the SW contests I would've entered that one instead, and perhaps maybe had the chance of getting nearly 1 vote. I didn't enter that one because it's a very busy popular forum compared to the Sci-Fi one, so I expected this to go about the same as or less than the previous months (Ninja, SH, Friends) and the SW ones to be huge... I suppose Sci-Fi MOCs are always very common.

Perhaps more categories (but that might make prizes more difficult) to spread it out a bit, with or without restrictions to how many you can enter? I just don't like seeing 100 entries to have to try to choose 5 favourites from, and also see a big percentage of people who tried really hard & did well probably not going to even get 1 vote.

Yeah that was poor scheduling on our part. We shouldn't have Sci-Fi and SW contests at the same time. It's not the exact same set of builders, but there is some overlap...

Well it's funny that you say that, that's why there's were two categories to try to spread out the entries... not that it really helped

But it is on my action list to try to come up with a better voting scheme for 50+ entries.

This. In addition to what I said on flickr, I'd like to echo all of this.

Thanks :)

I'll say the same things as Kristel and J4ke.

I didn't enter the contest mainly because there was the SW contest at the same time, and I used almost all my "new" parts for it, and it took me a lot of time to complete.

I think having a subforum dedicated to the contests, like in the SW forum, would be a good improvement.

Interesting thought about subforum... prior to this month I would told you that you're crazy... but with 162 entries a subforum might have been nice

Answers to your questions:

1. The amazing entries. Seriously though, the contest concepts were awesome.

2. What wasn't to like?

3. I honestly doubt there was any way you could have done better.

5. I think both looked pretty good.

Thanks!

i think the great number of entries gives much valor to the competition, i like how there's been a lot of different interpretations of the same theme all under the same roof. So i do not agree with the idea of splitting categories. I would like to complain instead about the fact that sci-fi month is followed by fabuland month...:D and...i hate fabuland... :(

...who said Sci-Fi month has to end?

Just keep building Sci-Fi and have your own month! Even Sci-Fi Fabuland!

[Masked Builder]

What did you like?

You did an excellent job creating a new and innovative idea for the contests.

What didn't you like?

Some of the rules were a bit unusual...

What could I have done better?

Nothing really comes to mind.

What do you like better? Trophies or Prizes? or both?

Both, the Trophies were just plain cool and any LEGO is good to me!

[Jacob Carroll]

Sci-Fi Month did really well. Sci-Fi is something that almost anyone can try their hand at-I'm more of a castle guy, but I've built my fair share of Sci-Fi MOCs purely because it doesn't take a lot of pieces to build microships. Plus the prizes were very well picked and VERY generous-everybody wants to grab one of the Galaxy Squad sets. I was too new of a member to enter this one, but I'd be on another quick as lightning. Great work-I think the whole community enjoyed it. ;)

[Oky]

What did you like?

Well, it was Sci-Fi Month. What's not to like about sci-fi? The forum graphics were great, the contests were fun, challenging and creative, and of course the participation from everyone was outstanding! All around a great job from everyone! This also gave me an opportunity to build a Futurama MOC, and it's the largest microscale scene I've built so far!

What didn't you like?

There was hardly anything not to like. I was a little disappointed that there was no Build A Spaceship contest, but oh well.

What could I have done better?

You coulda shipped out the prizes sooner.

If you didn't enter, what could I have done to make you more interested?

Well, the only contest I didn't enter was the FAPC, and that's just because of the overwhelming amount of awesome entries, so there's not much you could have done about that.

What do you like better? Trophies or Prizes? or both?

Usually I prefer prizes (and the prizes that were offered were very fitting and generous), but these trophies were so creative and cool that I have to say both!

What other comments do you have for Sci-Fi month?

I hope there will be another one soon! Otherwise I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

[Hammerstein NWC]

What did you like?

Your enthusiasm and approachable nature made it very easy to participate.

What didn't you like?

That it only lasted one month! As a less organised builder I wasn't able to finish a lot of my attempts at entry but hey ho there's time later to finish them!

What could I have done better?

I think you can honestly say there wasn't anything else you could do to make the month better. As I mentioned above your enthusiasm and personality did a huge amount to encourage participation.

If you didn't enter, what could I have done to make you more interested?

I didn't enter many of the contests but I had vacations for two of the four weeks so it was not your fault. I keenly observed the threads and it brought me back to the Sci Fi forums even more than usual. That said the prizes and trophies were most generous!

What do you like better? Trophies or Prizes? or both?

Tags are the best rewards in my opinion. For those of us without any it's nice to have lasting recognition! :)

What other comments do you have for Sci-Fi month?

Can you make it an annual thing maybe have Sci-tember or something :)

[Praiter Yed]

What did you like?

I thought a Sci-Fi contest was due but expected it to be along the lines of 'build a spaceship', so the originality of the brief was really good.

What didn't you like?

Not getting enough votes . Actually, I agree with Hammerstein NWC, I'm a really slow MOCer and my life is very busy - a month is usually not enough time for me.

What could I have done better?

Nothing, - pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

What do you like better? Trophies or Prizes? or both?

IF I'd won something, the prizes would have ended up mixed into my collection straight away. I really appreciate the effort that must have gone in to building the trophies so they would have survived much longer, although ultimately would have suffered the same fate when I needed to pillage them for parts . So, both, I suppose.

What other comments do you have for Sci-Fi month ?

I also hope there's another one soon or at least another Sci-Fi contest (I need EB to motivate me).

[Jargo]

What did you like? The buzz. Building a MOC for the first time in years.

What didn't you like? What seemed like a misunderstanding of the brief leading to so many mecha's. Only recieving one vote. Practically no-one bothering to leave a comment on my entry thread.

What could I have done better? Stricter, tighter brief. Don't use an image of a build to advertise the competition and subliminally/inadvertently influence the type of entries. Don't comment on entry threads besides a 'thank you for entering'. Remain neutral and non-partisan.

What do you like better? Trophies or Prizes? or both? Prizes. Trophies are cool but prizes are a better motivator.

What other comments do you have for Sci-Fi month? There's differing levels of skill among entrants and pitting a novice against a skilled veteran seems a little cruel. Perhaps there could be different classes of experience and skill like 'novice, middle, veteran' or something, though obviously with better names for the classes. That way entrants could place their entry into a grouping of entries they see as being of the same skill level as themselves.