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Yeah, I agree, it takes all the fun and pride out of winning. Sure you may have a great MOC, but the whole point of the contest has been lost: enjoyment.

I agree, I've just designed my BBC:40 entry and I haven't even entered before and I don't make many titan-sized MOCS usualy so this is a brand new MOC but sadly I still see others wiggiling their way out of the designing by just using past-made MOCS. Its dead annoying

I can find the hidden hint in this entry, because I read your reply in a certain topic .

 

Obviously it can be annoying that people have been making a MOC for months and then just enter it to a BBC contest and win the show. The idea of building according to the theme is dumped. On the other hand, these people have worked very hard and BBC contests are the best way to make people aware of MOCs on BZP. So why not let the builder enjoy that, after all that work?

 

At the moment, I don't have a clear opinion on the subject. I'm not staff, so I don't have to .

 

But I can't understand why the enjoyment has gone. Or is the only enjoyment in the chance of winning? Isn't entering fun at all? Obviously everyone wants to win and should aim to victory, as BR said after BBC 39, but I don't really like the idea that winning is all. BBC contests are also about showing your skills, seeing what others have done, voting, getting reviews, reviewing other's MOCs...

 

I still have no idea what to enter. That's far more sadder than anything else now .

 

A hidden hint? What hint?

 

But about the skills part - they're about showing your skills, yes, but there's a time limit for a reason.

 

Oh, and you might want to check my epic, btw. -S

there is a time and a place for different types of mocs. While some prebuilt mocs are a nuisance (the ones built months before), partially completed WIPs are fine by me.

 

But I do see where you're coming from. And I like the example too, really hits the nail on the head.

 

I think WIPs are fine. I've got two sitting here waiting to be finished, and I might be able to use them in a contest. They're only the heads though. It's when someone enters a MOC that they've had completed for ages, and they just add a storyline to make it fit in, that annoys me. -S

Ah yes, this is where I disagree, but only to a point. Here are some examples:

 

1. If you work very hard, try to make an entry in time but are unable to, then entering a prebuilt MOC is completely fine.

 

2. If you have made a prebuilt MOC that completely fits the theme perectly, then entering a prebuilt MOC is, again, completely fine.

 

Now I do say that it is wrong to just enter a MOC that you know members will love, but that doesn't quite fit the theme. That, in my eyes, is wrong, but not against the rules.

 

There's my two cents.

 

 

SZ

 

yeah! i made mine after they announced the theme! i already had 2 different WIP Mocs just lying there but i merged them together and added extras after i heard about the theme so it would be significant to the theme!

Hi Seran, let me first say that I fully understand where you're coming from on this. I myself am not a big fan of prebuilt MOCs being entered in contests either, as I've been a victim of meeting several in the polls and losing quite thoroughly to them. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that in this blog entry, you're talking about the MOC I entered in the contest. I knew there would be some controversy when I entered, mostly due to the fact that it was about 90% prebuilt. I've read your's and many other's posts and blogs concerning my entry and prebuilt MOCs in general, and every argument you and others bring up makes perfect sense. However, I believe that every conflict has two sides, so if you'd let me, I'd like to explain to you my reasoning for entering Eideann.

 

As I mentioned in my topic, although I don't think I made it clear enough, this MOC has been a work in progress for a quite a while. A year and four months, to be precise. It was not completely finished before I saw the theme, but when I saw it, I immediatley found a source of inspiration to finish the MOC which had been sitting around, incomplete, for a long time.

 

Think of it this way, you spend countless hours on a project, and you keep working on it through blood, sweat and tears. (And yes that actually happened. Well not the tears, but I did accidently cut myself a few times while I was working on it. ) So you've spent all your time on this project, pushing through multiple instances of builders block, but you're never able to fully complete it, due to real life stuff, other contests, etc. This frustrated me a lot because I knew I had something pretty neat in the works, but I couldn't finish it. Then finally a contest theme comes along and gives me an inspiration, finally allowing me to finish this guy. Well let me tell you, that felt good. To finally add the finishing touches to something I've worked on for so long, it was very fulfilling. Obviously there is a lot wrong with the MOC, mostly some stuff that I learned over the past few months but haven't encorporated into the MOC. Proportions, color grouping, overall shape, etc.

 

However this MOC still means a lot to me; it's pretty much my greatest accomplishment in my MOCing career, although I do not think it's my best MOC, nor do I think it's even remotely close to a "world record" or whatever some people are calling it. Needless to say though, I'm proud of it. The year and four months I spent working on this MOC as it consumed my piece supply had a negative affect on the rest of my MOCs. As you have probably seen, most of my recent MOCs and contest entries have been mediocre to bad. So when I saw the theme, I knew this was my chance to finally finish this guy and get my pieces back. I had two other options of course, I could've stopped in mid-progress, given up, and just gotten the pieces back, but I'm sure you, as an accomplished MOCer yourself, can understand why I wouldn't want to give up on something I worked so hard on. My second option was to just post him and not enter him in any contests, but I wanted to, I dunno, pay myself back for what I could've done if all my pieces hadn't been used on this guy. Selfish? Maybe, but it's what I chose to do. Maybe I could've made some better MOCs instead of working on this, and done better in the past few contests, but I can't change that now. What I can change is the future, and what I choose to do with something that I put all of my effort into. And I chose to enter it in this contest and in order to give myself the best shot at winning. After all, that goal is what is on most MOCers' minds when they enter the contest. Sure there's that feeling of participation, or maybe the feeling of entering a certain number of contests in a row, but I think deep down, most people enter contests to win.

 

I saw someone, sorry can't remember who, mention that entering a prebuilt MOC takes all the enjoyment out of entering a contest. I think that, on the contrary, there's even more enjoyment for me in entering this guy isntead of making a new MOC because I'm finally able to find a use for something that I worked for a long time on. Maybe it'll pay off, maybe not. That's for the voting to decide.

 

So where do you draw the line between a prebuilt MOC that can be entered in a contest without conflict and one that can't? I honestly don't know. Some prebuilt MOCs are less easy to identify than others, but it does happen quite often. And yes, it is a problem. Unfortunately, I don't think there's any way to stop them from being entered aside from restrictive themes like BBC#39 and the Iron MOCist one. Prebuilt MOCs are just another wildcard to the BBC contests.

 

There're obviously two sides to this, as your poem analogy is the perfect contrast to my reasoning. I don't want this to turn into any argument of any sort. I just want you to know that I'm not trying to defend myself or my decision, or change your opinion on my entry. I'm just trying to provide you with a different prospective about the MOC and why I entered it, from the builder's standpoint.

 

-T08-

I just want to say that it wasn't only Eideann I was talking about. It's when people say 'Oh, such and such a MOC fits the theme. I'll enter that' that really annoys me. I can understand, from your perspective, that you want it to get the credit it deserves. However, the point I'm trying to make is that you didn't intend for it to be in the contest when you started building it.

 

I hope you do not take any offence from this - my comments aren't really directed at you personally, just BZP as a whole.

 

-Seran

Hm... Makes me wonder. If Tufi agrees with you, being the BBC Empress, why doesn't she just change the rules? The rules currently say you can enter any MOC you made, so long as it hasn't been posted on BZP before. If she doesn't want people entering already-built MOCs, why not change the rule?

 

~Phyre

 

Probably because it's hard to enforce a rule like that. How can you be sure that an entry wasn't prebuilt? You only have the member's word, really.

 

-Seran

I agree. It sorta bothered me to see that CzaR entered Sardia, as I and others had seen it much times beforehand. It's so annoying(sp?)...

Hm... Makes me wonder. If Tufi agrees with you, being the BBC Empress, why doesn't she just change the rules? The rules currently say you can enter any MOC you made, so long as it hasn't been posted on BZP before. If she doesn't want people entering already-built MOCs, why not change the rule?

 

~Phyre

 

Probably because it's hard to enforce a rule like that. How can you be sure that an entry wasn't prebuilt? You only have the member's word, really.

 

-Seran

If the rules were to be changed to enforce such a rule, it would be impratical. Members could have mocs on their hardrives, there would be no way to enforce the rule.

Seran, I can see where you are coming from.

Yet i don't why this annoys you.

I mean some members might not have a moc specified for the contest. A few might have more special circumstances.

I don't find it quite annoying.

 

Alku

Since I was mentioned....

 

I personally have no problem with people entering a pre-built MoC, as long as it can fit into the theme. However, I agree somewhat with Seran in that some people will assume that the impact and overall creativity might come across as sub-par. Its all up to the people who vote and how they feel that counts.

 

Circumstances played a role with my entry also, and getting quality pics of a new MoC before the deadline was not possible.

Maybe we should have a special BBC contest which would give you at least four, five months to build your MOC. The theme would be announced and polls put up five months later. There could be normal BBC contests held between that time.

 

Though I doubt it would be that simple... Don't take my random ideas too seriously.