Generic Contest Discussion

[Jim]

3 hours ago, Seasider said:

@brickless_kiwi what I think he meant was that it was an easy one to enter. It didn’t require complex mechanisms, just steering and perhaps a fake engine and suspension. No motors or pneumatics. And perhaps most importantly it didn’t mean you needed a huge collection of parts to build a model with, so was pretty much open to lots of people even with a basic Technic collection.

 

 

Yup this!

Nice work on the stats guys! Very interesting. Let me think about turning this into an official contest stats topic or something.

[HorcikDesigns]

Wow, good job! 

[brickless_kiwi]

3 hours ago, Seasider said:

@brickless_kiwi what I think he meant was that it was an easy one to enter. It didn’t require complex mechanisms, just steering and perhaps a fake engine and suspension. No motors or pneumatics. And perhaps most importantly it didn’t mean you needed a huge collection of parts to build a model with, so was pretty much open to lots of people even with a basic Technic collection.

 

 

Aha. Thank you.

It's a competition I would like to revisit at some point. Unfortunately I'm not much of a creative person with lego. But I do enjoy other people's builds and mocs.

[Seasider]

1 hour ago, Jim said:

Yup this!

Nice work on the stats guys! Very interesting. Let me think about turning this into an official contest stats topic or something.

Let us know what your thoughts are Jim and then me or Thirdwigg can provide the excel sheet and maintain it for the foreseeable future

[Thirdwigg]

10 hours ago, Seasider said:

Let us know what your thoughts are Jim and then me or Thirdwigg can provide the excel sheet and maintain it for the foreseeable future

Yeah, it's some interesting information, so it would be great to keep the data going as the contests continue. Assuming they do......

[Jundis]

On 6/24/2022 at 12:29 AM, Thirdwigg said:

Yeah, it's some interesting information, so it would be great to keep the data going as the contests continue. Assuming they do......

Why shouldn't they continue? :D

Contests are real vital point for this forum I think. For once, some people just register or getting active because of a contest. And there are some of the best MOCs are created just because this theme exist.

Really looking forward to many many years of great contests :-)

Had a little idea, just because the TC22 contest just catched up with the year: How about 2 contests every year:

The big TC:
- during summer
- more challenging and/or bigger builts
- has a longer duration (8 weeks)

The small TC:
- turn of the year (dec-jan)
- broader field, maybe little builds
- duration of only 4 weeks

We already have this kind of pattern, as mostly after a big contest, a smaller followed and vice versa. 

[Jim]

We usually do the bigger one at the end of the year. When the days are shorter and holidays (summer) are over. 
 

That doesn’t mean we can’t come up with a summer activity.

[Seasider]

Dec - Jan is always an issue for me, and I assume for others too. We’re normally away for at least a week, often 2 seeing family over the Christmas and new year period.

[Jim]

11 hours ago, Seasider said:

Dec - Jan is always an issue for me, and I assume for others too. We’re normally away for at least a week, often 2 seeing family over the Christmas and new year period.

Assumptions...assumptions. Always those assumptions  

We can start in November (or even October) and have it running for a longer period of time. That won't be a problem. I do know there are quite a few people who will have plenty of time during the holidays and like to build in that period, so starting early will give everybody a chance to enter with enough time to build something cool.

[2GodBDGlory]

Do you think we'll be doing another contest this summer?

[Jundis]

As we did a smaller one just now, it's time for bigger builds :-)

Even if TC21 was specifically with electric components, a contest with PU-components could help boost this a little bit, maybe also help to understand Control+ app or other apps?

How about "Build an 'autonomous' vehicle of the future with PU components". Meaning a driverless (no cab or at least no driver spot needed) vehicle, not necesserily equipped with sensors. At least driving and steering had to be implemented. Other functions are possible. No parts limit.

[Jim]

How about No 

I do like your idea, but it's way too limiting imho. People "hate" PU. Let's not force people into building with it.

[msk6003]

17 minutes ago, Jundis said:

As we did a smaller one just now, it's time for bigger builds :-)

Even if TC21 was specifically with electric components, a contest with PU-components could help boost this a little bit, maybe also help to understand Control+ app or other apps?

How about "Build an 'autonomous' vehicle of the future with PU components". Meaning a driverless (no cab or at least no driver spot needed) vehicle, not necesserily equipped with sensors. At least driving and steering had to be implemented. Other functions are possible. No parts limit.

I asked this thousand time before but answer is always "no"

[Jundis]

17 minutes ago, Jim said:

I do like your idea, but it's way too limiting imho. People "hate" PU. Let's not force people into building with it.

Hmm so PF/PU maybe. And also Buwizz3 or third party software for controlling it.

Also there are autonomous cars, trucks, tractors, heavy machinery, ... so it's very broad :-P

5 minutes ago, msk6003 said:

I asked this thousand time before but answer is always "no"

We have to slowly convince Jim to get him intrigued ;-)

[Jim]

1 hour ago, Jundis said:

We have to slowly convince Jim to get him intrigued ;-)

LoL. I am intrigued and I am definitely not on the "We Hate PU" boat 

And I also love autonomous stuff and third party shizzle. I love it all.

I just think It might be a bit too limiting. But you know me; if 20 people here are screaming for such a contest, I am happy to oblige.

 

[Seasider]

We’ve not done Walkers before … no wheels or tracks but make a vehicle that can move 

[Jundis]

1 hour ago, Seasider said:

We’ve not done Walkers before … no wheels or tracks but make a vehicle that can move 

True that! This will also be a fun one!

[howitzer]

Does "autonomous" mean here "drives and steers without human input"? Like would it be a model of an autonomous vehicle (think of Zeux) or actually function as autonomous vehicle? The latter would require programming, which will heavily limit the participants, as it would be also a programming challenge in addition to building challenge.

Walking vehicles are really neat and cool, but they are also really hard to build. There are few prolific builders of walkers and it's obvious that they are very skilled and experienced, and still have to iterate and refine their designs a lot. I could see maybe 5 participants in such a contest and certainly no more than 10.

---

We've had a Small Car Contest and a Small Construction Vehicle Contest both being huge successes, so how about Small Truck Contest? Set a max width in studs and all entries must be models of road-worthy trucks (so no mining trucks or futuristic Mars-crawlers or other stuff you couldn't drive on public roads). Or is it too similar too soon to the construction vehicle contest?

[dhc6twinotter]

I’d like to see a contest based on “Something Fom A Favorite Childhood Cartoon” or something similar.  We might have Scooby Doo Van, or Tailspin plane, Ninja Turtles vehicle, etc.  

Or, maybe a Star Wars contest.

[Erik Leppen]

I wouldn't join any contest that would require "smart bricks" of any kind. I'm doing this Lego thing to get away from programming ;) Also, I feel that software programming isn't Lego. Lego, to me, is interlocking plastic bricks forming models that may move (in the case of Technic). That means mechanical "programming" (such as counting machines or clocks or whatever) is all fine and even great, but doing it in software feels like a cop-out.

51 minutes ago, dhc6twinotter said:

I’d like to see a contest based on “Something Fom A Favorite Childhood Cartoon” or something similar.  We might have Scooby Doo Van, or Tailspin plane, Ninja Turtles vehicle, etc.  

Or, maybe a Star Wars contest.

I'd probably be out immediately, because of lack of ideas. Right now, I can't think of any childhood cartoon that would contain anything that would inspire me to try to build it. I could think of a computer game though, that might contain vehicles that would be cool to build in Lego, and add enough functions to make it worthy of a Technic contest. So, maybe if you broaden this idea to "remake any vehicle from existing fiction", that is, build something that is recognizably from some existing cartoon, or movie, or game, or comic, etc. (including Star Wars) then I think it has much more chance of being broad enough to speak to enough people to have enough entries, yet still limiting enough as to provide a challenge and spark builds that we normally don't see.

But you'll have to take care that it should remain a Technic competition.

5 hours ago, Seasider said:

We’ve not done Walkers before … no wheels or tracks but make a vehicle that can move 

Now this would be interesting. "Build a walker" is probably already a cool challenge because it allows plenty of things but still challenges to build things we normally don't build. "Build a walker that can change direction" would be an interesting bonus challenge :)

Edited June 29, 2022 by Erik Leppen

[Jayden]

8 hours ago, Jim said:

I do like your idea, but it's way too limiting imho. People "hate" PU. Let's not force people into building with it.

no they I don't. ;)

7 hours ago, Jim said:

And I also love autonomous stuff and third party shizzle. I love it all.

I just think It might be a bit too limiting. But you know me; if 20 people here are screaming for such a contest, I am happy to oblige.

we are up to at least 3 screamers!

[TechnicRCRacer]

Yeah, I would prefer avoiding PU being mandatory in contests for several reasons.

I was watching the Power Puller Technic set VHS and thought it might be interesting to have a contest centered around building those machines. Maybe they have to fit a certain volume like last contest and pull as much weight as possible with motors (no third party electronics).

[Jurss]

In all contest will be some limitations which somebody will not like. So, it would be OK to have also some specific PU contest. f.i. limited to one hub.

[Jim]

I would like to do something non vehicle or something else which is a bit different than usual but not limited by PU or programming etc.

22 minutes ago, Jurss said:

In all contest will be some limitations which somebody will not like. So, it would be OK to have also some specific PU contest. f.i. limited to one hub.

We can do that…but not for the “big contest” at the end of the year.

[Jim]

And I would like to get the Non-Vehicle contest back on the table