Most Likes Means Instant Winner In Weekly Contest?

Or how is the weekly contest picked?

 

It's not based on likes but pickd internally at DTG.

 

By Jamie looking at the likes you mean

 

That isn't what I said is it, please DO NOT put words in my mouth Reef.

 

Recently it seems to me the number of likes has played a part in the judging. And there's evidence of like farming. Have a look at Cragie-C's post at the end of last week's comp.

 

Did I say "This is what you said"?

No.. I clearly made a point... MY point... This derived from observations of many months..

Feel free to prove me wrong..

 

Remember, Correlation is not the same as causation. Just because the winning picture also had the most likes doesn't mean thats why it won. If Jamie considered it a winner then its also highly likely that other people liked it as well.

 

Guilt needs to be proven, not innocence.

This. Great pictures get more likes, and great pictures get better odds of victory. Two separate branches of a tree.

 

Except this past contest, most of the likes were from new accounts within the last few days, in other words, this last week's contest was potentially persuaded with new accounts.

 

Just play for fun and don't worry about it. This stuff happens.

 

Yes, where the likes are genuine, but this week's winner got a lot of likes in a short time from recently created accounts with no posting history. They also liked the same competitor's submission in the TSW competition. Coincidence? I'll leave that to others to decide.

If you're using a cloud of bots to bump up your likes, that's not actually cheating, as DTG say the winner is not decided on the number of likes. It's just eccentric behaviour, but if DTG have got lazy and reverted to judging on likes that would be bad.

 

Shouldn't do that, as was seen last week.... like farming. You can just get people to vote for you, and the one who managed to get the most people to like it, wins. It has nothing to do with the actual merit of the shot.
Just ignore likes. Choose the what you think is the best shot, even if it has no likes whatsoever.

 

Hilarious Don't get me wrong... I don't have a horse in this race, but you gotta admit that was funny.

 

even after winning week 6 this year for TSC and had most likes for that week and same for week 16 for TSW3 with 16 likes i still feel its time to bring in a new format on the way the screenshot contest is won and i think it should come down to a team at dovetail not most likes as a og i have founded it more to be the case on winning % for the contest also i think its time to also not just add screenshots as the winning prize but give the winner a special livery or maybe a discount code on next dlc

 

Thanks for your openness Jamie, but I don't think you realise how bad this looks in a competition which most people think is won on merit. These are the thoughts people will start to have.

Won in the last month? Don't bother entering, because no matter how good your screenshot is you won't win!​

Got a great screenshot? Don't bother entering, as you'll be beaten by whoever is most skilled at Likes farming.​

Got a great screenshot, but can't enter until the weekend? Don't bother entering, as the Monday entrants will have much more time to pick up likes from passing people.​

I know it's DTG's competition, and you can judge it in any way you want, but if you don't judge it fairly you're going to start running out of entrants.

You really have to return to something that's fair. How about best screen shot wins?

 

Jamie, that's good, but to monitor for gaming could take a lot of your time to do it thoroughly. Picking the screenshot you like most is a lot quicker and fairer.

 

Couldn't agree more.
Also makes it fairer for the guys that post lastminute.com to have an equal chance to win as those that have amassed shed loads of likes from their mates over a whole week

 

So basically if I win in week 1 of a month, don't bother sharing or contributing for the next 3 weeks?
What sort of competition is this?
Imagine telling:-

• Usain Boult - "Can you stop running for the next three weeks because you have won too many races"
• Erling Haarland - can you please stop scoring goals in the UK premier league as you are beating every one else
• Max Verstappen - Can you please not enter the next three races because you have a massive lead in the F1 Championship
• ********** can you please not post in the Official Screenshot thread as you won within the last month.

If the same contributor wins 5 weeks on the bounce I am happy with that, as long as the shots are genuinely worthy of the win and are chosen on merit not likes.
To me it only raises the bar for all of us to try harder and improve ourselves in pushing the boundaries and seeing what we can come up with to beat the competition within the guidance and allowed rules and hopefully win the elusive prize.
The added bonus is we get to enjoy top quality screenshots from all around the world.

 

Will this also take into consideration between TSW and the TSC contests? Does that mean it's not possible to sweep both screenshot contests in the same week? Does that mean if I win one week for TSC, I probably won't win either one for a month?

 

Agreed

Jamie please stop trying to make this about being fair to the underdog, being inclusive, being woke or wtf ever other idea you've got into your head....

MAKE IT ABOUT THE BLOODY IMAGE!!!

I don't want to see a pixelated, half the scenery not rendered in, retina burning over compositioned over saturated pos image on my loading screen for a few weeks to a month, (oh but the poor luv hasn't won before and he's probably sad -- Tough! get gud!)

I want to see images that make me go "wow that's nice" that deserved to be uploaded.

All it requires is a little more thought and evaluation from you.

Failing that, post whatever LOVE you like (or feel should win) but give us the option to disable looking at them if we don't want to, seriously there was a winner a few months back and I held my tongue at the time (surprisingly) but it was god awful and irritated the living shizzle out of me for the whole period of time it was up.

If you're going to force us to look at them (especially with some of the older third party freeware routes that can take a bit to load in) then make sure you put the effort in to making sure they are worthy of being there.

 

So you are admitting that the judging is not impartial? This is awful. Seriously.... just chose the best screenshot LOL. Why are you making this more complicated that it needs to be? As CS Carpenter said, someone who wins will just disengage for a month.

1.Look at the images.
2.Choose the best one.
3.That one wins.
If the same person wins three weeks in a row, so be it... it's because it was the best screenshot. Isn't that supposed to be how a competition works? If people complain that someone consistently wins, then they need to be upping their game instead of crying about it. I don't even understand the logic in this decision. Surely you want the best images while the game loads? They are supposed to be a showcase of the sim. Choose the best ones. Pick the best image. In fact... here's an idea... get someone totally independent to judge them... someone who doesn't even read the thread. Remove the names... judge them blind. That's how high level photo competitions are run... I mean real ones, like the AoP or National Portrait Awards... not awful camera club stuff where you are just choosing which insipid chocolate box landscape is best... I mean the real deal.

 

^this.

 

I remember back a few years ago, when the loading screens were slower, and we had 4 screen up, 3 of them were from the same user, the contest was ran so much better back in the day, and i feel were more enjoyable (Also note alot of people who used to post in the contests don't anymore.)

 

The professional sports comparison especially is pretty questionable. This is entirely an informal contest with zero stakes, just for fun. Mixing things up, spacing out wins by individual winners, etc is normal for this kind of thing. The things people decide to rage about....

 

Yet nobody is "raging" we are discussing, it is a forum, it's what you do on forum discussion boards... discuss things.

Nothing wrong with wanting things done properly whether there are zero stakes and it's just for fun or not.

 

Totally agree, when I first started with TSxxx I so envied the guys that won week in, week out (Including your good self) and personally entered 40 entries and won zilch.
I then studied all the winning entries for the past 3 years and realised where i was going wrong.
Last year I was extremely fortunate, and very grateful to win 11 times all due to studying past winning shots and using them as guidance.
The hours spent creating some of these images are sometimes unreal, but that is part of the fun.
To me it is like creating a piece of art, trying different angles, different times of day to get the right sun shadows, choosing the right season etc. etc.
I seriously love the challenge of the official competition but feel it has become no longer fun anymore as the shot I have spent 1 hour creating is gazumped by a Cheat bot.

 

Odd I just come across this very fitting image on FB..



Kind of proves the point doesn't it.

 

So please enlighten me on how a COMPETITION works in your world?
I thought the definition of the word involved various competitors challenging each other to see who is the best, and to beat all their fellow competitors on an equal plane to become the winner, by following the same rules and guidelines. (without cheating).
e.g The Olympics, The Football World Cup etc.

 

I don't see how that changes anything. If you are going to run a competition, no matter whether it's high stakes, or just to get your screenshot on the game's loading screen, the idea should be that the best wins, otherwise what on earth is the point? No one is raging, we're having a discussion. What is it with people lately? If you disagree with anything, you're "raging" or angry.

Then if that's what it's supposed to be about, it should not be called a competition any longer. You may as well just choose at random. Having a competition where you end up not being able to enter if you regularly win, and where the winner is chosen by 'likes' is a joke. You may as well just let a random number generator, or AI choose the winner. I don't see the problem. If you never get your entry picked, then just work out why by comparing your image to the winners. I mean, it's not difficult. It's only a screenshot, not a real photography competition.

I still stand by what I said earlier: Play for fun, and don't worry about who wins, but the competition should still be based on merit, not a formula, or likes. The idea of "may the best man win" still needs to apply... and yes, that's just a saying... there's no need to change the gender of the noun to be inclusive.

 

You have to remember, we are now living in a different world to the one we grew up in.
Nobody is allowed to offend. Nobody is allowed to get upset, Sports days must not be competitive, Everyone must get the same chance as everyone else, blah blah blah.
I have always gone by my late fathers mantra, "Nobody remembers who finishes second, so make sure you try your hardest to finish first"

 

Screenshots are always subjective and can't be judged like a sports competition - why the fuss about it? You're all taking this way too seriously.

 

I'm sorry, but the people who enter it seem to take it quite seriously Besides the point though; It's a competition, and as thus, should be decided upon by choosing the best image. The minute you start banning people because they recently won, it stops being one. To base it on likes just means it's far too easy to just get loads of people to vote for it, as recently happened, and to ban those who have already won that month from entering is just unfair. If you need to eliminate the previous winners in order to get a chance, then you need to look at what their images have that yours do not. I'm not saying it shouldn't be fun, nor that it's life and death, but to choose a winner by any other criteria than the quality of the entry is just wrong.

 

^^ What Pookeyhead says, which I entirely agree with.

 

They do. Everyone can enter so long as they abide by the same rules as everyone else. There's no need to make any concessions. If someone can't win because the images are not as good as the person that does win, then that's just too bad. Go away... get better... come back when you are. It's a screenshot... you just press F12. Just go and look up some basic rules of composition, and lighting, and make sure your in-game settings are set to maximum so it looks OK. It's not the Deutsche Börse Photography Awards.

 

All caps, multiple exclamation points, gratuitous insults and scorn.... I call that raging, yes. Those who do it habitually may just call it Thursday.

Have to start work, so I can elaborate on my thoughts about the contest later. I do agree about voting shenanigans being uncool, though speaking as a lifelong Chicagoan, that's also called Thursday.

 

I was about to quote from above, but this sums up my opinion a lot.
There have been quite a few winning pictures I have put in the dislike bucket.
This week, the winner was okay and understandable (promoting Japanese content), while others expressed it's bad. (For me it was about 5th best, but anyway.)
Like someone told me that easy side shots of trains are dime a dozen.
But I figured that the most enjoyed shots around here are close-ups filling as many pixels as possible, showing every last detail created by the enthusiastic modeler. Which is by definition a side shot, with the "train coming at 1/3" composition and scenery views overall invalidated.
I expected my Hagen-Siegen shot getting more appreciation last week, sure it was older assets but I think it has a lot of great things about it, compared to the safety shot of the CPKC meet.

I think a mild score malus to recent winners makes sense - just imagine that I hire some photographer, we spend a week taking gorgeous screenshots, and from now on I'll win everything in the next ten years. Would you enjoy that? People already comment sometimes, oh no, yet another win by X who already brags about that many wins in their signature.

Anyway, I totally support the intent of this thread! Choose the best shot, maybe have a bit of an internal voting so that the definition of the best shot can vary (imagine me being the judge, soon everybody would start posting red and yellow trains crossing a forest).

ps.: If we want to involve community, instead of likes, a score would be better. So we could rate pictures 1-5. Although I'm fairly sure that cheetorz would just press 1. In any event, it would at least remove the weekend effect. DTG scores as well, maybe applies bits of bonus-malus based on their very existing marketing preferences, and then announce the cover picture of the week. They could, by the way, flip their Facebook cover, hence the naming.

 

I like the way it's done in the unofficial compo.

So my suggestion for the official one:

- The current winner chooses next week's winning shot, giving a short explanation on why he's chosen the specific image. He may not choose his own picture, but is free to submit one.

- DTG only needs to approve or disapprove the choice (very unlikely imho - in that case they should give reason and appoint their winner.)

 

That will never work....Its far too sensible.

 

All caps means accentuating a point, this isn't CoD servers and we're not 13, caps being used as a "rage expression" kinda dies with puberty.

Exclamation marks? Seriously? Is there a set scale?
1 = ! Means point made
2 = !! Point made but with a stern nod
3 = !!! Ok I'm slightly perturbed now, I can feel my cheeks flushing
4 = !!!! I'm baring my teeth and clenching my fists now, watch out or you'll get caps & 5 exclamations next!!!!
5 = !!!!! Oooooooorrrrraaaaaaaghhhhhhhh rrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaagggggggeeee
6 = !!!!!! Nuclear launch codes entered and button pressed.

Come on, get over yourself..

Gratuitous insults and scorn (as you so eloquently put it) are my bread and butter, it's what we call "yard banter" at work and you think anything I say on these forums is bad you should here me irl, I'd make Sailors blush!

The internet isn't a soft cuddly place where you can be bubblewrapped from the real world, it's an extension of who we are in digital form, some good, some bad and some downright weird, to anyone and I mean anyone who gets offended by a few words on a computer screen (and I mean general adult conversation here not abusive or outright hate speech let's set the distinction and draw the line between the two right now) you need to disconnect, the internet isn't for you, not even PG rated gaming forums apparently.

 

Maybe rename it from "contest" to "challenge"?

 

Can I ask... What is your objection to merely judging it on merit, and choosing the best image regardless of who posts it, or how many times they have won previously? Changing it to 'challenge' doesn't really alter anything, as it's not a challenge if you can't enter... because you have already won that month. Taking on the person who wins all the time... now that's a challenge. Where's the challenge in removing all the best players from the field just to give you a chance? Seems like a fairly hollow victory to me.

 

You have no idea what the person typing that was feeling at the time. I can only answer re: myself. I'm quite calm, and civil in this debate.

 

You don't need to be a photographer. This is not photography. I would not be fine with that though, as you would be cheating, as you would be getting someone else to enter for you, but there's never going to be a way to determine that. I would be fine with the same person winning week after week though, so long as the image deserved to win. If it was clearly worthy of winning, I'd be cool with it.

But that would mean WE judge it based on a score, which is essentially the same issue as with likes. You just get loads of people to give it a high score, and it wins. Sorry... but competitions where the the forum members vote are always going to be open to massive abuse, and it's a terrible idea.

Which is another reason not to do it: Anyone who dislikes you will just give it a low score, for no other reason than to be a childish, petty loser. It will become a popularity contest, not a screenshot contest. Sorry, but these are awful ideas.

The only fair way, is an impartial judge, who judged them blind without knowing who's image it actually is. That's the only way it can be judged on merit. Logic says I'm right here if you think about it. Anything else as a solution, is illogical.

 

That's still open to abuse. If the judge doesn't like someone, it would take someone of solid confidence and moral fibre to still be unbiased. I agree though, the unofficial one does seem to be more fair, less problematic, and does seem to generate a wider range of images. I still maintain that the only totally fair way though, is to judge blind.

 

That's a nice idea. Could even work with hiding the poster. I guess it could be done with some programming, by introducing a subforum.
One additional thing would be needed, though - automatic post limit.
(It wouldn't prevent like farms as you could tell your friends which is yours, but you suggested a jury so just for completeness.)
I wonder if it would be possible to figure out who posted what anyway. Based on style.

 

That's not my objection, or the point of the contest. They're not only looking for the best images, but also a variety to showcase the game. Using your hypothetical perpetual winner, what if that person only plays American freight, and so that's what's shown in every winning screen cap and every picture during game startup? That would be boring, and I guarantee you people would then complain about that.

A rough parallel would be newspapers printing letters to the editor. They want a level of quality, but also a range of voices and topics. (And last I was aware, the Chicago Tribune limited individual respondents from the public to one published letter per year.)

I suggested the name change to "challenge" as an easier alternative to others' desire to change the rules to fit the "contest" name. Even easier would be for those suddenly unhappy to accept that different contests have different rules set by the contest holder, and the screencap contest rules have been fine here for years. Effort is still rewarded, more people are included (and it's not like any winners are clunkers), and more aspects of the game are on display.