Party Development Contest

Idea behind the contest: Challenge party and character development skills. (See the following thread on the IGN Spoiler Board)

Begins	Around Christmas 2003
Ends	February 29, 2004 Extended: March 15, 2004
Post Entry	*Create a PD Progress Report thread on the IGN Spoiler Board

Participants are asked to create a progress report thread for this contest. It is not mandatory for the thread to be updated regularly. If you wish to only create the original message stating your entry that is fine. When creating an entry thread don't give too much information about the party. See below for the judging criteria but basically some suggestions is not to reveal where you assign starting attribute and skill points, or what the character will specialize in. You may want to keep party member names, genders, and personalities a secret since that goes to the "Fun Factor" portion of the judging.

Rules

1) Game difficulty setting: No restrictions. Any mode you wish to play on is acceptable. Mode changing is also acceptable.

2) Reloading: Reloading is up to the participant.

3) No game editors allowed

4) Develop a pregenerated party (listed below) to the best of your ability.

5) RPCs: The use or non-use of RPCs is up to the participant.

6) Since games will be judged by the entrants you may not judge your own.

7) Training is optional. If you like to spend time doing certain things to improve skills its your choice. Judges are encouraged to take a look at game time when making their descisions.

8) Mandatory saves every 10 levels and the finale to be submitted at contest close.
Since the character range is quite varied the following is when to make saves: (No one is expected to make it to the level 30 save but if some do here's when to make the save.)

10th level save: When all characters reach level 10
20th level save: When 5 of the characters reach level 20
30th-50th level save: When 3 of the characters reach level 30, 40, and 50 respectively
Final Save: When the party is in the Cosmic Circle before engaging the Dark Savant

The Party to develop:

1) Elite - Human Ninja
2) Specialist - Mook Gadgeteer
3) Hybrid - Elf Monk
4) Hybrid - Dracon Valkryie
5) Caster - Rawulf Priest
6) Caster - Gnome Mage

Genders are up to you (with one exception of the Valkryie of course).

Progression - Bonus Criteria:

If you accomplish something before the norm, say your level 8 party wipes out the Sorceress Queen, you deserve a hearty pat on the back. Events such as this should get the player a bonus. Make a save after accomplishig something you feel is noteworthy and submit it when your party completes the game.

Judging Criteria

1) Character Development: 70%

a) Is each char making good use of his/her primary skills? (Should be at or above the 75 point mark.)
b) Are complimentary skills developed reasonably? i.e. Do we have melee chars who has decent Close Combat skill and/or Dual Weilding skills where appropriate?
c) Are attributes complimentary to the char type? We don't need to see a Mage with Powerstrike who is as dumb as a brick for example.
d) Are they equipped in a manner befitting their profession?
e) Game time. Is a party of similar level developing comparably in less time? Anotherwords is the party of the same level also close in skill levels but one party spent 10 days getting there while another has taken several more days to achieve the same success.

2) Quests 20%
See Quest Checklist for scoring

3) Fun Factor 10%

Is the party enjoyable to play?
Was there a good mix of personalities amongst the characters?
Is the party fun and easy to control in battle, or does it take a great deal of skill just to keep the party alive?
How unique and interesting are the char names? Do they compliment the char's class, race, and/or personality?

Good luck to all entrants!

Player Name	Progress Thread	Game Files
Astroman	Astro's PD Progress Report	awaiting final entry
DeanBB	Dean's PD Progress Report	awaiting final entry
Gotaplanstan	Dan's PD Progress Report	awaiting final entry (lvl 10 save)
Jetlaw	Jetlaw's PD Progress Report	PD Final Submission
Klarius	Klarius' PD Progress Report	PD Final Submission
Lanasthasia	Lana's PD Progress Report	PD Final Submission
TalNukenin	Talnukenin's PD Progress Report	awaiting final entry