Episode XII: Riddles in the Stars

[BEAVeR]

 

 

 

	Once again, tell me exactly what happened on the day of the battle
	After the final briefing I went straight towards my fighter where our Chief Technician was just doing the final checks of my R2. During the battle, everything went as usual until I came close to mister Skywalker and my droid suddenly began making strange noises, like Bluuuh Bluuuh instead of Beep Beep, and I lost control of my fighter and it began to do Blast Blast towards mister Skywalker, but he managed to Zjoooof and Blast Blast and Bang and...

 

 

	Get hold of yourself, trooper!
	Hm, sorry. So anyway, mister Skywalker managed to blast my droid. As the battle was coming to a close, we went straight back for the hangar to consult our Chief Technician as to what went wrong. But when she saw us coming, she pulled her blaster out and fired at mister Skywalker! It was like Blaaam - sorry. So, we managed to neutralise her just in time, and that's all I know.
	Thank you trooper, we know enough. Every one, question those who knew said technician, check everything. I don't care if you end up on the other end of the galaxy, as long as we can stop these attempts! - Ah, Princess, everything is in place to begin our investigation.
	Excellent, commander. Meanwhile, I've decided to pay a visit to Prince Xizor. His help was invaluable to obtain the supercomputer, so I have no doubt he will be able to help us in this matter.

 

 

 

	So everything we found up to this point has led us here. But there's nothing to be seen! O wait, here this looks out of place...
	No no, that's just another one of those moisture thingies. But here... look, footprints! If I recall my days in the Imperial scouts, these can only come from one species...
	All footprints really look the same to me. Are you really sure this here isn't...

 

 

Finding clues:

The objective of this episode is to find the one responsible for the attack on Luke. To find this person your character first has to gather clues as to who this person is, follow leads, make enquiries... But what do these clues look like? Well, every clue is in fact a certain brick the villain lost on his trip across the galaxy in order to set up layer after layer of deception. In fact, he lost so many bricks that if you manage to find all of the clue bricks and put them together in the right way, they form an unmistakable hint as to who the villain is! A part of these clue bricks has already been found by both factions. However, certain parts are only known to the Rebels, and the remaining clue bricks are only known to the Empire. Your second goal therefore, is to find out what other clues the opponent found...

• The ultimate goal is to approximate the secret model I made as good as possible. This means that you have to:
  • find out what the model depicts (it's a logical choice if you know your EU a bit and have some common sense)
  • find out what parts the model consists of (see next bullet)
  • put the pieces together to make the model you think I made
  In the end, the team that approximated the model best will get 5 bonus points added to the faction total, which could turn everything around!
• The model consists of a total of 220 pieces, with 65 unique part/color combinations of which 62 pieces are unique (if the color wouldn't count). Each brick gets a separate ID so that we can discuss them without revealing what part it is.
  • 42 of these pieces are public for everyone, their ID's start with the letter P
  • 10 of these pieces are only known to the Rebellion, their ID's start with the letter R
  • 10 of these pieces are only known to the Empire, their ID's start with the letter E
• I created the model in LDD, so it is perfectly buildable with the available parts there. However, not every connection is supported by LDD, so you might have to place some floating parts in the program if you build it there. In reality some studs are only half inserted. The model should be perfectly buildable in real life. Furthermore, I made sure to use mostly parts that are still in production and are therefore readily available.
• A list of all the parts can be found in a Google spreadsheet template available here. For every part, it contains the ID, the color, the amount of that part used in the secret model and possibly a comment. The public parts are fully identified, for the parts you have to figure out, you can fill in the cells. An LDD file containing all of the public parts can be found here. You can use this to create a template to make recreating the model easier. Instructions on how to do that can be found in the spoiler below.
   
   

  
  Using custom palettes in LDD:
  LDD allows you to use a custom brick palette. This makes only the parts from the template pop up in the parts bin, with a counter indicating how many you can still use.

  • Download the custom palette LXF file here.
  • Go to the folder where LDD is installed (for example"C:\Program Files (x86)\LEGO Company\LEGO Digital Designer" )
  • Create a folder named "UserPalettes"
  • Copy the custom palette LXF file to that folder
  • Launch LDD, start a new build
  • Click on the "Filter bricks by boxes" icon on the bottom left and select "SoNE_Ep_XII_Mystery_Model_Template". The brick palettes should now display only the selection of bricks and show the number of bricks you could use.
  • That file only contains the public parts. To include the other parts you now of, simply add the parts in the right color and quantity to the SoNE_Ep_XII_Mystery_Model_Template.lxf file, save and restart LDD.

   
  
  The list of the parts that are exclusive to each faction, can be found in the first post of their secure comm channels. So if you don't have access yet to those channels, be sure to let that know by posting a reply in this thread!
• In principle, each build should contain one of the secret parts as a seed element. You have to use at least two instances of the part in your build, at least one of which has to be clearly visible in the first picture of your entry! However, it is your goal to keep this part a secret from the opposing faction. Therefore, it is your job to incorporate the part as naturally as possible into your scene, use other weird parts to distract attention... Note that for this episode, builds will also be judged on the originality of the use of the clue part: 25% of the XP you get depends on this factor. For example, if your secret clue part would be minifig legs, and you'd simply use it as the legs of a minifig, the opposing faction will have a hard time guessing that that part was the clue part, but you won't get any points for creative use of the part! It is always possible to include multiple different clue parts in your entry, but know that only one will be count as having featured in your build. Which one, depends on the title of your entry (see the "The Rules" section).
• Multiple players can build with the same clue part. However, every secret clue part that doesn't get featured in a build, will be made public at the end of the episode, so it is advisable not to leave a part without a builder. Also, it is possible to post an entry without a clue part (if you don't own any of the listed parts and don't want to build digitally), but then you won't get points for the creative use of the part, and loose 25% of the XP the build could get.
• We don't expect everyone to have the necessary part in the correct color. Therefore, we permit photo editing to change the color of that part (and only that part!) to the required color. If your picture editing skills aren't sufficient, you can always ask someone else to do it for you.
• After the deadline for the builds, you get a week (7 days) to put together your best guess at the clue model. Before the end of that period, one person from each faction should send me clear pictures (and if possible, a digital file) of the model their faction thinks is the secret model so that we can judge its accuracy.

So to recap, you have to build a scene of your character investigating who is behind the attack on Luke. Your build has to feature at least two instances of one of the secret clue parts of your faction (in the correct color or another one, which gets digitally corrected in the picture) incorporated in your scene in a creative way that doesn't seem obvious to the opponent. Your job as a team is to guess what secret clue parts the opposing faction used, and to put them together to recreate the model you think I made with those parts, which will lead you to the villain.


The Prizes:

• Your faction will receive points based on three factors:These three factors are added to each other, and the faction with the higher total is the winner.
  • Points: The average number of points per builder.
  • Builders: One point for each builder
  • Secret model: 5 points for the faction that approximated the secret model I made the closest, and none for the other faction.
• All the players on the winning faction will receive this tag  to commemorate their victory. You can only have one of these tags or one of the Community Build tags at a time, but a log will be kept of all the tags you've earned in your profile in the Player Index.
• The winning team will get to choose a planet to take control of. The winning team must pick a planet that is currently controlled by the oposite team.
• The player who receives the most total individual points, regardless of team, is guaranteed a spot among the next set of the blog's Showcased MOCs. (This member must still be able to provide a picture big enough and of suitable quality to be used in the Showcased banner.)
• You will receive XP equal to the number of points you are awarded from the judges.

The Rules:

• All rules in the Core Rules topic apply unless otherwise stated in this explanation or the rules above.
• The Empire's goal and the Alliance's goal is to depict their character searching for clues as to who is targeting Luke Skywalker. Ideally, each entry should contain a clue part incorporated into the build. The goal of each faction is to determine which secret clue parts the other faction is using and to build a model with all of the known pieces (and guesses for the secret pieces of the opposing factions) which indicates who the villain is.
• There are no restrictions on the size/form/content of the builds, as long as they follow the above described goals. There is no restriction on which planets you can build in this episode.
• The Episode will run from July 16th to September 4th. As long as it is still September 4th somewhere in the world, you can still enter. The deadline for the submission of the faction's guess at the clue model (one guess per team, to be sent by PM to me) is as soon as September 11th has passed in every part of the world.
• Entries posted after the deadline will be disqualified from the episode and will not be eligible to receive points or XP.
• Entries will be judged according to the Core Rules, but keep in mind that 25% of the XP depends on the creativity with which the clue part was employed:
  • Your build will be scored in two stages, to make it easier on the judges by lessening the number of builds that must be scored in greater detail:
    • In the first stage, the judges will award a score from 1-10, with a '1' being "Minifig on a Plate", a '5' being "Your Average MOC" and a '10' being "Flawless Concept and Execution".
    • In the second stage, the top five builds of each faction (so ten in total) from the first stage will be scored based on basic predetermined criteria: up to 10 points for the concept and appropriateness to the objective, up to 25 points for your execution of the build, and up to 5 points for your presentation of the entry.
    • For builders who make it to the second stage, their second stage total is added to their first stage points, and that total is divided by two and a half. You can earn a maximum of 20 points in each episode.
  • The amount of points you earn is also the amount of XP your character earns.
• This episode/contest is open to all players of Shadows of Nar Eurbrikka, even if they joined EB or signed up for the game after the episode has begun, with the exception of the Star Wars staff, who are not eligible to win XP or prizes; the EB admins and moderators, who are not eligible to win prizes but may earn XP; and the episode host, who is not eligible to win prizes but may earn XP. Neither can they partake in discussions about what the clue parts of the other faction would be or about what the hidden model could look like!
• All entries must be new creations, not posted anywhere else prior to being entered in the episode. You may be asked by a staff member to change your entry if it is too similar to an earlier creation.
• All entries must be built from real LEGO or with Lego Digital Designer. No clone brands, no third-party custom parts.
• All entries must be posted as a new topic in the Watto's Junkyard subforum, the title prefixed by, "[soNE Ep. XII]" and the ID of the used clue part (For example, "[soNE Ep. XII] R03 - Game of Clues".) So you can have multiple different clue parts in your build, but only the one you feature in the title of your entry counts as having been incorporated in a build.
• Post pictures no larger than 1000x720, as specified in the EB Member Guidelines.
• You may do a 'full-blown photo edit' with all the text, effects, background compositing, support erasing, and other effects on one picture. All your other pictures may have no editing other than color adjustment or background removal for a solid-color background. For obvious reasons, any photo editing that changes the shape, functionality, or color (not tint or adjustment, but actual color) of a LEGO piece is prohibited, except for the clue part, as stated earlier.
• All entries are considered WIPs (Works In Progress) until the deadline passes. Until the deadline has passed, you are allowed to change and improve your MOC.

[Jannik]

I was just wondering when the next episode might start :-) really like the whole mystery parts idea

[MKJoshA]

Excellent! Glad we can count on you Jannik!

[MontyPython]

Altough my help won't be as valuable as Jannik's, I'm in.

[Thelonious Sparke]

This seems perfect for the start of my SoNE career. I'm in!

[strider117]

Count me in too :D This out to be fun. I've never done SoNE so I guess this is a good start.

[Tariq j]

Count me in!

[brickmasterben11]

I'll give it a try!

Edited July 18, 2016 by brickmasterben11

[WickNole]

I'm in.

[Aland1916]

I'm in.

[Mads Heering]

This looks great! I'm in!

Edited July 18, 2016 by Mads Heering

[Pertyn Sawk]

I'm in too.

[Kodan Black]

I think I'm in, I'll have to read it again to make sure I understand.

[goatman461]

in

[TheBeeze]

I'd like to jump in on this, just need to understand what we need to do a little better.

[MKJoshA]

The rough gist is that each team has 10 unique pieces to use as seed parts. You need to solve the mini-kit puzzle by having all the seed parts and then trying to put them together into the correct model. As the opposite team posts entries, you will have a chance to guess which seed part they used in their build. Once you know all 62 pieces, or at least what you think they are, then it's time to guess what the mini-kit, mini-model is!

[Manx]

I'm in too. But you'll have to wait till the end of my vacation.

[Puvel]

I'm in

[Zaael]

I'm in!!

[TheBeeze]

The rough gist is that each team has 10 unique pieces to use as seed parts. You need to solve the mini-kit puzzle by having all the seed parts and then trying to put them together into the correct model. As the opposite team posts entries, you will have a chance to guess which seed part they used in their build. Once you know all 62 pieces, or at least what you think they are, then it's time to guess what the mini-kit, mini-model is!

Understood.

Edited July 19, 2016 by Thebeeze111

[brickmasterben11]

Do we have to stay on our planets, or can we build on the enemy planets?

[Commander Beltar]

Count me in, finally got an even better photo set up, and I've recently taken a bunch of my parts out of storage...which explains my lack of freebuilds... But this appears to be an interesting episode!

[Forresto]

So i'm a little confused, do both factions have a specific parts list and we each use one piece from that list? But we are also trying to hide that from plain sight of the other faction?

[MKJoshA]

Do we have to stay on our planets, or can we build on the enemy planets?

Any planet is free for building on this contest!

So i'm a little confused, do both factions have a specific parts list and we each use one piece from that list? But we are also trying to hide that from plain sight of the other faction?

What you said is right. Each team has 10 parts they have to use, but also want to keep hidden.

[Cody Startale]

So just to make sure that I really got that: I have to use my clue element not once, but actually twice in the built, is that correct? And judges will award creativity points for only one of those two uses, the one featured in the first image I post. Correct?