Episode VIII: Shaping the Odds

[BEAVeR]

"This is it, boys. Go to those pod races, find a way to get in the betting circuit, and gamble well. If you don't, make sure the race still follows your bets. Recruit your own racers, sabotage others. Those criminals have a nose for trickery, so cheat well, and you will be noticed. Be secretive and manipulative, and they'll want you to join their ranks. And give them some good betting tips along the way, and you'll make quick progress. So get changed and get tricky!"

"Understood, sir!"

"And boys, please don't waste our money... Good luck"

“Lord Vader has given the operation green light. Our men can prepare to board. And make it clear to them, General, we leave nothing to the odds”

“Understood, Captain. I'll make it clear that if we don't succeed in infiltrating the Black Sun and tracking down those Rebels, no amount of luck can save us from Lord Vader”

“Keep an eye on them. I don't want them to loose focus and enjoy those races! I, on the other hand will personally go there to oversee the progress of the race. Strictly professional, of course.”

Mysterious person: I've always said: "Never tell me the odds". I'll shape them myself.

Betting on the outcome:

• In parallel with the regular building competition, there will be a betting competition. During the entire episode, both factions will try to predict the outcome of the episode by maintaining a ranking (one ranking per faction). Both rankings will contain all Rebel and Imperial players that participated in this episode, and may contain players that did not. When the judges publish their scores of the builds when the episode has ended, each faction gets bonus points according to how well they predicted the outcome.
  
• When the players of a faction have agreed on their ranking, bets can be placed in the separate betting thread. A bet has to be in the form "Put <insert player name here> on place <insert place number here>". A ranking will be updated when two individual players of the faction have placed the same bet in name of their faction (in order to prevent abuse from individuals). The betting competition ends at the same time as the building competition.
  
• As long as the involved builder hasn't posted his build in the forum yet, the factions are allowed to add him to their ranking or change his position in it. But from the moment he has published his build, that player's name is fixed in the ranking. It can't be added to a ranking if it wasn't in it. Also, its position relative to other fixed names can't be changed. Player names that are still free (belonging to players that haven't posted already) are still free to be moved anywhere. Here are some examples to show what is possible and what's not in the ranking:
  

The initial ranking is

1. Player A
   
2. Player B
   
3. Player C
   
4. Player D
   

Players A, C and E have already posted their builds. This is noted by drawing a bar through them, indicating their positions are fixed. They are referred to as "fixed entries".

Players B, D and F haven't posted their builds yet. They are referred to as "free entries".

All examples below will start from this ranking.

Adding a person to the ranking:

Possible: adding a player to the list that hasn't published his build yet (i.e. a free entry)

1. Player A
   
2. Player F
   
3. Player B
   
4. Player C
   
5. Player D
   

Impossible: adding a player to the list that has published his build already (i.e. a fixed entry)

1. Player A
   
2. Player E
   
3. Player B
   
4. Player C
   
5. Player D
   

Changing a person's position in the ranking:

Possible: changing the position of a "free entry", whether this causes any number of "fixed entries" to gain or loose a position or not.

1. Player B
   
2. Player A
   
3. Player C
   
4. Player D
   

​

N.B.: In the betting thread, this should be stated as "Put Player B on place 1", and NOT as "Put Player A on place 2". To avoid confusion, fixed players should never be mentioned when placing a bet in the betting thread.

Impossible: changing the position of a "fixed entry" relative to another "fixed entry".

1. Player C
   
2. Player A
   
3. Player B
   
4. Player D
   

N.B.: Fixed entries can take a new place in the ranking though, like in the example above.

• In the end, each faction will get points based two factors: 1) the quality and quantity of the entries by players of the faction, and 2) the accuracy of the faction's bets.
  
  • The points for the builds will be awarded as in previous episodes: two points for every builder added to the average number of points per builder.
    
  • The betting points will be calculated as follows: a faction gets 1 betting point for each "player A > player B" situation they got right. The total betting score will be divided by the best possible score (if the eventual ranking would have been flawlessly predicted). This fraction will be multiplied by 25 (so that the betting points won't outweigh the regular points too much).
    
  • The resulting betting score is added to the building score. The faction with the highest total wins.
    

The Prizes:

• All the players on the winning team 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 Characters topic.
  
• 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. This amount of XP is independent of your betting weight or your ranking in the faction's predictions.
  
• Other prizes to be determined
  

The Rules:

• All rules in the Core Rules topic apply unless otherwise stated in this explanation. Attention: There has been a change in those rules: all players with 100 XP or more are now allowed to have a secondary character, so their main character doesn't have to feature in their build. We hope this encourages further development of character stories.
  
• The Empire's goal and the Alliance's goal is to depict their character trying to infiltrate the Black Sun's ranks by recruiting a racer / sabotaging a pod / helping to build a pod / move in the illegal betting circuit / hire Tusken raiders ... However, keep in mind that humans cannot pilot pod racers!
  
• There are no restrictions on the size/form/content of the builds, as long as they follow the above described goals. The story should take place on Tatooine.
  
• All rules described above and in the betting thread apply to the betting competition.
  
• The Episode will run from March 6th to April 17th May 3rd. As long as it is still May 3rd somewhere in the world, you can still enter.
  
• 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:
  
  • 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. The SoNE staff can't partake in the betting.

  [*]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. VIII]". (For example, "[soNE Ep. VIII] Sabotage".)

  [*]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 onone 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.

  [*]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. However, if you make drastic changes to your build (determined by the judges), The enemy faction will have the opportunity to add you to or move your position in their ranking.

[MstrOfPppts]

Love it! What a great idea for an interesting episode with another different mechanics. Shame it's on Tatooine, since I built there for the previous one, but I quite like the place ...

Yet! I still think that the Redemption and the Avanger threads should be hidden and only accessible by their members. That would come in handy in a previous situation as well as in this splendid betting idea. It's a shame how some fun is ruined by what seems to be htree clicks work. The same goes for the separate SoNE subforum and all the staff refused to give explanations ever since I first mentioned it in the feedback thread?!

Looking forward to build for this episode.

[Tariq j]

I love this episode! Such an original idea with the betting forum.

[Kodan Black]

So the betting is essentially we try to predict the rankings within both factions for the episode? What if I put say Markus as #1 and he then doesn't even participate, does it count against me or does everyone just move up?

[GallardoLU]

is there a maximum size on this one? or are we free to build as large as we dare go? EDIT: never mind overlooked the "there is no restrictions" line.

Edited March 6, 2015 by GallardoLU

[goatman461]

The secondary character should be in the same section

Does this mean my secondary character would have to be a pilot?

Thanks for putting in this new rule. Getting Goatm to Tatooine would have been difficult.

And thank you for putting together a new episode; this should be interesting.

[Jacob Nion]

Ha ha! Looks like I'm nearly the only one who can actually pilot a pod racer.

[Jannik]

Is it possible for Rodians to pilot pod racers?

[MontyPython]

Can I make a 'collage', something simillar to previous episode, showing my character somwhere in the universe looking for racer and his comrades on Tatooine doing other things? Because I have some vehicles nearly finished, but they don't really fit on Tatooine.

[BEAVeR]

Thanks for your feedback and questions, guys!

I still think that the Redemption and the Avanger threads should be hidden and only accessible by their members. That would come in handy in a previous situation as well as in this splendid betting idea. It's a shame how some fun is ruined by what seems to be htree clicks work. The same goes for the separate SoNE subforum and all the staff refused to give explanations ever since I first mentioned it in the feedback thread?!

We are aware of the lack of privacy of both camps. Creating a hidden subforum isn't in our powers however (I think only root admins are able to do that). But we'd really like to help, so who knows, maybe in the future (don't quote me on that though) ? And please don't think we're ignoring the feedback thread. You see we already adopted some ideas from it. So please keep giving us feedback!

About keeping your tactics secret. A PM could be set up for each faction here players could communicate. However, there is a maximum on the amount of people that can participate in one and we dont want to spam people's mail boxes, so I would discourage that idea. However, maybe a good option would be to encrypt every message you post in the faction's thread. There are some sites on the internet that allow you to enter text and encrypt/decrypt it using a password. It could be possible to send a password to every member of a team, via PM.

I looked around a bit, and I think this website can offer a simple solution. Try decrypting this message with the password "example":

76ItcFP0M27diCVfX7KZS9y9Un6P7f9YPU8Hj9kRlbjOkLueubPW0/w3rrDKw9dTfaeb1UMAgLT8fmKa

QcNOOYFSd4VPBRQcRJXkqzoQ0q89lUcksYLuWOwOPXjTepN1elKpqbwI2T9xpGUNsNSu8IHburNHGR6b

Sx4kOgPH9awBb5E4Swou2lOp15lUwBDhW6hqVB2kcchyce2wgQTSRah3AlD7dN3oisXN7rT73W3FPdA3

u/TppZGzf4IEDw+X

If the factions are interested in this, please let us know and we'll distribute the passwords. It's not really a perfect solution, but I think it might still be feasible, until we can arrange those separate forums, if that will ever happen.

So the betting is essentially we try to predict the rankings within both factions for the episode? What if I put say Markus as #1 and he then doesn't even participate, does it count against me or does everyone just move up?

You're right about the goal of this episode. And about including players that didn't participate in the episode, I quote from Watto's betting booth:

When the episode is finished, all players that participated are fixed, and players that didn't participate will be removed form the rankings.

This means that you can add as many players as you want to the ranking. the ones that didn't participate in the end won't count for the points. Also be aware that not every single player will enter his ranking, but there will only be one collective ranking for every faction, that should be discussed in the Avenger/Redemption.

Does this mean my secondary character would have to be a pilot?

Thanks for spotting that typo in the rule, goatman461. It should have been that the secondary character should be within the same faction. So if you're an Imperial player, both of your characters have to be Imperials. Just to keep the scoring simple. You can however change "job", so your primary character could be a pilot while your secondary one is a pilot. I hope this clears it up. I changed the section that you quoted to state it more clearly.

Is it possible for Rodians to pilot pod racers?

I'm not a walking Star Wars encyclopedia, but what I found doesn't seem to indicate Rodians were frequent pod racers (also considering they have rather slow reflexes. Han shot first, you know), instead they were very famous pod race mechanics. But I'll give you the advantage of the doubt, if you really want to pilot a pod racer, you can. Not however that the impact of a non-professional racer on the control of the race might not be very big.

Can I make a 'collage', something simillar to previous episode, showing my character somwhere in the universe looking for racer and his comrades on Tatooine doing other things? Because I have some vehicles nearly finished, but they don't really fit on Tatooine.

Please keep your builds located on Tatooine. I don't really see "foreign" racers being the best in a sport that is so typical for Tatooine. You are not restricted in your freebuilds however, so do what you want in those.

I hope that sheds some light on the rules. Have fun!

[Dapper-D2]

The betting aspect has me confused, but I guess I'll figure it out eventually. Also, why can't humans pilot pod racers? Wasn't Anakin a human?

[Jacob Nion]

The betting aspect has me confused, but I guess I'll figure it out eventually. Also, why can't humans pilot pod racers? Wasn't Anakin a human?

I'm the only human who can do it!

The rule is all about this quote. But I have to say I allways found it odd due to the fact that humans can also pilot any sort of air speeders, speeder bikes (even in forests), star fighters and everything that's ridiculous fast.

Edited March 8, 2015 by Jacob Nion

[Lord Tyrus]

I'm with Dapper, but I'll get there in the end, after a few re-reads... And Jacob, so true...

About the encryption, it sounds fun, but far too complicated in my opinion, can we not just trust each other? (I do know they are Rebels, but just this once?)

[James Wellington]

When does this "bidding" happen, anyway? And if humans can't be a pod racer, apparently, can they be a pod mechanic (aka sabotage )?

[Jacob Nion]

When does this "bidding" happen, anyway? And if humans can't be a pod racer, apparently, can they be a pod mechanic (aka sabotage )?

I am sure there is no problem with this.

[Dapper-D2]

The rule is all about this quote. But I have to say I allways found it odd due to the fact that humans can also pilot any sort of air speeders, speeder bikes (even in forests), star fighters and everything that's ridiculous fast.

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I've always wanted to build a pod racer, so I guess this is the perfect opportunity. Good building to all!

Edited March 8, 2015 by Dapper-D2

[MontyPython]

Just another quick question, I know there must be no custom parts, but can I use some white wires from earphones for one of the characters? He won't even be in the build, just on a dialog photo for easier telling of the story.

[Commander Beltar]

This is an interesting idea for an episode! Looks like I will be hunting the galaxy for the best podracer and pilot out there! Two questions about betting though: 1, Does every player cast a bet? and 2, The 'ranking' is basically where we try to predict who will get the most points/xp from the judges?

~Beltar

[James Wellington]

Well, hmm. I will try to find the bricks and time to 1. Build small Mos Eisley scene(s) 2. Build a Podracer 3. Plan out a story for what my character is going to do.

[Graham Gidman]

Fantastic episode, guys! One of my favorites so far.

Though, I found the description to be somewhat confusing. We're supposed to make just one entry showing our character either becoming a pilot or if your character's species can't pilot, find some other way to infiltrate the Black Suns ranks?

Edited March 9, 2015 by Graham Gidman

[Kodan Black]

Though, I found the description to be somewhat confusing. We're supposed to make just one entry showing our character either becoming a pilot or if your character's species can't pilot, find some other way to infiltrate the Black Suns ranks?

I don't think any of us are really supposed to be pilots since nearly all of us are human:

"The Empire's goal and the Alliance's goal is to depict their character trying to infiltrate the Black Sun's ranks by recruiting a racer / sabotaging a pod / helping to build a pod / move in the illegal betting circuit / hire Tusken raiders ... However, keep in mind that humans cannot pilot pod racers!"

I believe we are supposed to be influencing the race more so than participating in it.

[Lord Tyrus]

I don't think any of us are really supposed to be pilots since nearly all of us are human.

Unless we get Vader to do it!

I believe we are supposed to be influencing the race more so than participating in it.

Yes, in particular Empire style! Edited March 9, 2015 by Lord Tyrus

[Graham Gidman]

I don't think any of us are really supposed to be pilots since nearly all of us are human:

"The Empire's goal and the Alliance's goal is to depict their character trying to infiltrate the Black Sun's ranks by recruiting a racer / sabotaging a pod / helping to build a pod / move in the illegal betting circuit / hire Tusken raiders ... However, keep in mind that humans cannot pilot pod racers!"

I believe we are supposed to be influencing the race more so than participating in it.

Okay, that's what I thought. Thanks!

Still haven't gotten an answer on the quantity of entries, though. I checked through the beginning comment again, but didn't see anything covering that.

Edited March 9, 2015 by Graham Gidman

[BEAVeR]

Glad to see the contest picking up speed. We're still discussing if a group PM is feasible. In the meantime, here's another idea: what if we would set up a Google document for each faction, that you can only access through a link? That way we only would have to distribute that link once, and you'd be certain of the secrecy of what you're saying. No encryption needed. Also, you don't need an account to access it. What do you guys think?

When does this "bidding" happen, anyway? And if humans can't be a pod racer, apparently, can they be a pod mechanic (aka sabotage )?

The betting happens throughout the episode. The ranking can change at any time given the builds that are posted.

We restrict humans from podracing to stay in canon mostly, and the main idea of this episode is to influence the race in other ways. The podrace is just the backdrop. Of course, being a "mechanic" is no problem whatsoever. So get creative!

Just another quick question, I know there must be no custom parts, but can I use some white wires from earphones for one of the characters? He won't even be in the build, just on a dialog photo for easier telling of the story.

If you really have no other option, I'd say you can, as it doesn't appear in the build. However, this is a LEGO site, so try looking for an alternative, or consider if you have to include that certain feature. We don't want this to derail in creations loaded with non-LEGO elements, I hope you understand that.

This is an interesting idea for an episode! Looks like I will be hunting the galaxy for the best podracer and pilot out there! Two questions about betting though: 1, Does every player cast a bet? and 2, The 'ranking' is basically where we try to predict who will get the most points/xp from the judges?

1. The bets are placed by the faction as a whole. So you can discuss your individual opinions internally and post the ranking that seems the best compromise, or you organize a voting... so not every person can make his individual predictions in the betting thread.

2. Correct!

Though, I found the description to be somewhat confusing. We're supposed to make just one entry showing our character either becoming a pilot or if your character's species can't pilot, find some other way to infiltrate the Black Suns ranks?

Correct, it's just one entry per person. The last few episodes had you building enough already, so take your time to make something great. And you don't necessarily have to actively infiltrate in the Black Sun. you can also help a superior do it, by carrying out actions he thinks will affect the race in his favor...

[Kodan Black]

I've got a Google doc spreadsheet already for the Empire with some info. My main issue is that if I post it in "view" mode then only I can update it which means we discuss it here.

If I put it into "edit" mode that allows anyone to make changes and they can do so without telling anyone.

One thing I thought of that maybe tweaks things such that there are fewer concerns is what if we had the normal Episode contest and everyone did their builds. Then the betting phase takes place AFTER the episode but before the judges post. That way nothing can change and it won't matter if each side sees the other's entries. I know this kind of gets into a touchy space as it requires talk about quality of people's builds, but I'm not sure how feasible it is to keep the betting discussion outside the other faction's view.