Official RunUO Scripting Competition #1

[Jeff]

For this competition I'm going to give you a choice between 2 things you can code.

Topics:

• Systems - This can include things like Harvesting, Dueling, Tournaments, Breeding, etc.
• 3rd Party Application - This could be a Remote Admin tool, map maker, spawn helper, etc.

I know 3rd Party Applications are much much harder to create then RunUO Scripts, but I believe it is something that is missing, and if this can help produce some really awesome applications, then so be it.

When does it Start?
Now

When does it End?
November 15th 2008

The General Competition Rules apply

Rules

• Scripts released in the Custom Script Release forum cannot be entered into this competition.
• All code must be commented. This ensures you wrote the code and understand it, it also helps when others are looking over your code to learn, and see what your intentions were(right or wrong)
• All code will be considered open source and will be made public to the RunUO Community.
• You have 6 weeks starting Thursday October 2nd 2008 and ending Saturday November 15th 2008
• All entries must be submitted to scriptcompetition (at) runuo (dot) com by 11:59pm on Saturday November 15th 2008 to qualify for the competition
• You cannot steal, use, modify, submit, etc anyone elses RunUO Scripts as your submission. Only original code will be accepted.
• All entries must be made for RunUO 2.0 RC2 or SVN

Judging guidelines will be based on the following:

• Inovation (10%)
  • Uniqueness
  • Technology Used
• Quality (30%)
  • Coding Practices
  • Code Tidiness
  • Bugfree
• Usage of Available RunUO API(where applicable) (5%)
  • Are you creating new methods/items/properties RunUO already has?
  • Are you using the API as intended? (This could go both ways, if you use the API in a way it was not intended, but its use is inovattive. This could score you points)
• Overall Design and Structure(where applicable) (35%)
  • Best Design Practices
  • Goal VS Complexity
  • Good use of stucts, classes, interfaces, methods, etc
• Code Commenting (20%)
  • Comments of Methods and Properties
  • Comments on local scope code

I've added a new section to Overall Design and Structure called Goal VS Complexity. What does this mean? Basically, the question to ask yourself is "Are you making things over complicated?". Design plays a huge roll in the world of development, and with this determines the success of your final product. If you design something that ends up over complicated it is more likely you will end up not wanting to fix issues that come from it, or people will just not want to use it.

Changes to how judging will occur
I'm sure a lot of you are aware that it took along time for me to grade the warm-up entries. I do not wish for this to happen again. To ensure this, the following will happen. When the competition is over I will collect all the entires. There will be a new forum called "Script Competition Voting Booth". I will create individual threads for each entry that will contain the source code, and a voting poll. You, the RunUO Community will be allowed to check out each entry, use it, browse the source, reference the rules, and vote for your favorite. I'm leaving it to you to pick a winner. The voting will be done on a 1-10 basis, 1 for poor, 10 for perfect and will apply to the project in its entirety. I know not everyone is going to use the judging guidelines above, but I encourage you to.

[Joeku]

I think that you should create a pool of (hopefully unbiased) judges who have coding experience rather than just open it to the general public.

[MarciXs]

What is for the winner? I know Im always asking this but it is pretty hard to enter the competition if it is for nothing. don't get me wrong though. It is more because it is hard for me to do something if i don't really don't get anything out of it.
Have some ideas though :-/

[Jeff]

Last I talked to Ryan we had discussed something like Newegg.com Gift Certificates or something, but i cant promis anything just yet, I will talk to him again soon.

[o0_Sithid_0o]

Originally Posted by Jeff

Last I talked to Ryan we had discussed something like Newegg.com Gift Certificates or something, but i cant promis anything just yet, I will talk to him again soon.

Nice, now if only there was a pool of random ideas that I could get an idea from. :P

[Lord_Greywolf]

Question: can we submit more than 1 script/script set for the compentition?

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Lord_Greywolf

Question: can we submit more than 1 script/script set for the compentition?

You may make 1 submission.

[nomad707]

Originally Posted by Joeku

I think that you should create a pool of (hopefully unbiased) judges who have coding experience rather than just open it to the general public.

i second this.

I volenteer

=)

[Jeff]

Reminder, 2 days left.....

[Jeff]

Well, I'm quite disappointed in the number of submissions. There were 3..... This is the last competition.... oh well, we tried. I'm just going to post the submissions, you guys can debate, do whatever, it doesn't matter....

Seachart was submitted by Dereckson
Training Dummies was submitted by Lord Greywolf
UOChangelog was submitted by Sithid.

Enjoy.

[aralith]

I wish i'd have seen this post sooner ... I would have made something to replace the currently severely outdated pandoras box

[Lord_Greywolf]

still can, do not need a compentition to help yourself and others out

[aralith]

I've tried to get started a few times... I lose motivation quickly.

[Artaxerxes]

I have a project now, can you start another competition???

[PappaSmurf]

Originally Posted by Artaxerxes

I have a project now, can you start another competition???

Originally Posted by Jeff

Well, I'm quite disappointed in the number of submissions. There were 3..... This is the last competition.... oh well, we tried. I'm just going to post the submissions, you guys can debate, do whatever, it doesn't matter....

As much as I'd like to see them stay Jeff said there won't be another. I'm working on a project of my own though it's based more for EA users as an informational kind of thing but I know that it being a 3rd party application I won't be anywhere near finished with it within the next few weeks since I'm doing it in a language I"m not overly familiar with(VB.NET).

Me I'd argue that if they keep doing competitions then eventually they'll catch on. Doing 1-2 and calling it quits is kinda like saying you don't believe anyone cares. Lot of us are hobbyist programmers and haven't done more than write small scripts that have little complexity or don't understand fully what we are doing. Competitions will further us along the line of achieving some understanding and expand what we can do. The Rules help us follow the rules of writing good code by making commentation mandatory it's a habit too many of us don't have and really should. It also makes us think about why we are doing something vs just doing it not understanding why.

[Mideon]

If people want to see the competitions run, why not run our own? If it gets big, they'd no doubt get sponsored by RunUO.

I wish I had time to submit something to this last one as I love the competition idea...but Grad school is whooping my butt atm....and I just got married (yay me )

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by PappaSmurf

As much as I'd like to see them stay Jeff said there won't be another. I'm working on a project of my own though it's based more for EA users as an informational kind of thing but I know that it being a 3rd party application I won't be anywhere near finished with it within the next few weeks since I'm doing it in a language I"m not overly familiar with(VB.NET).

Me I'd argue that if they keep doing competitions then eventually they'll catch on. Doing 1-2 and calling it quits is kinda like saying you don't believe anyone cares. Lot of us are hobbyist programmers and haven't done more than write small scripts that have little complexity or don't understand fully what we are doing. Competitions will further us along the line of achieving some understanding and expand what we can do. The Rules help us follow the rules of writing good code by making commentation mandatory it's a habit too many of us don't have and really should. It also makes us think about why we are doing something vs just doing it not understanding why.

Generally I'd agree, but the fact is the 1st competition resulted in 5 competitors, the second 2, and the second one had a longer time for people to read about it (1 1/2 months if im not mistaken)

[PappaSmurf]

Originally Posted by Jeff

Generally I'd agree, but the fact is the 1st competition resulted in 5 competitors, the second 2, and the second one had a longer time for people to read about it (1 1/2 months if im not mistaken)

I see your point. I spend a good bit of time on here and didn't see it till 3 days before it ended. I'd checked the posts a while back before you announced it and let it go to the side cause most the new posts where "When's the Next Scripting Competition" I didn't look in time to see this one :P

[Dereckson]

Without the competition, SeaChart would have slept on my computer "waiting more cleaning and improvements" some weeks/months/years later.

With the competition, in September I said "well ... I'll close a version ready to release for November 15". And it's released.

I suggest a better announcement, we'd a political banner, why not a textual link announcing the competititon?

[Jeff]

For now, i dont have time, if anyone is willing to start your own, go for it, if it kicks off and looks like more ppl are interested, I will start this up again, but until I can see an interest, there is no reason for me to waste my time.

[Sythen]

Why Not Start A Chain Script. Its sad when you think of these things while you sleep; a sign that I play way too much UO. Anyway here it goes:

There is a creative writing exercise where someone will think of a paragraph and pass their work on to someone else, they would then write another paragraph to fit in with the first and then pass it on again to yet another person who would do the same... and so on... in the end the story grew more interesting and unpredictable; sometimes really funny and other times really stupid depending on how serious everyone is.

Well why not do a similar thing with a script? Just a thought. (Try not to chastize me - haha!)

Anyway its similar to what Jeff has started here and since people have an interest in competition with one another, this might be another way to have some fun, but I don't know if it would work.

[PappaSmurf]

Originally Posted by Sythen

Why Not Start A Chain Script. Its sad when you think of these things while you sleep; a sign that I play way too much UO. Anyway here it goes:

There is a creative writing exercise where someone will think of a paragraph and pass their work on to someone else, they would then write another paragraph to fit in with the first and then pass it on again to yet another person who would do the same... and so on... in the end the story grew more interesting and unpredictable; sometimes really funny and other times really stupid depending on how serious everyone is.

Well why not do a similar thing with a script? Just a thought. (Try not to chastize me - haha!)

Anyway its similar to what Jeff has started here and since people have an interest in competition with one another, this might be another way to have some fun, but I don't know if it would work.

Yeah that's great to start one ourselves but I know me myself I don't have enough knowledge to consider myself qualified to judge one. I'm going to put a post up in the General Discussions about it and see who would come on board to assist judge the releases. Have a panel each gives a score and the average of their decisions would be the overall score of the project. I think that would be the best way for us as community members to do it.

[o0_Sithid_0o]

Its a shame more people didnt partake in the competition .

[edit]Lol, I just noticed another typo in my code( nothing important. [/edit]

[Lord_Greywolf]

mine has a type also -- 38xx for the one set of ID's in the one gump shopuld be 28xx for all of them lol
so you end up with lamp posts, etc instead of potion bottles lol

[old_school]

Heres my submission The new UOK Archaeology System. With massive updates.

Description:
Digg for artifacts, bones, histroical bones and treasure chests. Chest may also include other goodies like runic items. As a added bouns, players can take there bones and craft books to read more about those time periods. Items can be sold back to the Archaeologist when finished.

The system has taken alot of time to create. An I hope you enjoy it. Its a very educational system designed to be fun but help you learn something too. The craft system builds your ItemID skill. This bring a new concept of learnign while playing to the game.