17 replies to this topic

[Langley]

The 2015 Nerf Blaster Modification Writeup Contest

We're hosting a contest to find the best how-to guide for modifying the current line of Nerf, Boomco, and Buzzbee blasters. In order to promote the modification of foam dart blasters and encourage our members to share information with new nerfers, we'll be awarding prizes to the best overall writeup, the best flywheel blaster writeup, and the best spring-powered blaster writeup.

Click Here for more details.

[Langley]

Prizes
The NerfHaven Prize Pack includes:
$50 Gift card (choice of Amazon, Home Depot, Lowes, or Harbor Freight)
Nerfhaven Wristband (choice of "NERF ON or F*CK OFF" or "NerfSTRONG" designs)
Nerfhaven team bandannas (set of two bandanas, one orange, one blue. Choice of "NERF ON or FUCK OFF" or plain "NerfHaven" designs)
Custom Title (one time only)
Custom Avatar (one time only)

Grand Prize: A prize pack will be awarded to the overall highest scoring writeup submission.
Best Flywheel Writeup: An additional prize pack will be awarded for the highest scoring flywheel writeup if at least 4 valid entries are submitted in that category and none of them receive the grand prize.
Best Springer Writeup: An additional prize pack will be awarded for the highest scoring springer writeup if at least 4 valid entries are submitted in that category and none of them receive the grand prize.


Rules
In order to be considered, your submission must satisfy the following criteria:

• The primary blaster being modded must be an official Nerf, Boomco, or Buzzbee product which fires foam darts.
• The blaster must be available in stores at the time that you submit your writeup. Online retailers will be checked to verify the blaster is still in stock and widely available.
• You must complete a full write-up of your mod with detailed build instructions and photographs of the process. Every step required must be documented.
• The write-up must be reproducible. All parts and materials must be widely available and tools used must be common to most nerfers.
• The write-up must be easily understood by new nerfers. Do not assume that the reader knows what you're talking about. Your writing must be accessible to people who are new to this site.
• You must post the write-up between the time of this writing and 11:59PM on July 31st, EST. If you already posted a mod that applies before the beginning of this contest, you can't re-post the same mod. You can build on an existing mod and improve on the write-up.

If your write-up fails to satisfy any of these criteria, it will not be considered, nor will it be counted towards unlocking prize packs.

Contest is open to international participants, but all of the above rules are based on availability in North America.

If you're not sure if a blaster qualifies, ask first.


Scoring
Submissions will be judged on the following qualities:

• Performance increase. How much does the modification increase the performance of the blaster? How effective would the blaster be in EITHER an NIC nerf war using homemade stefan darts OR a war requiring the use of stock nerf darts (HvZ, Superstock, etc). Has the range, rate of fire, comfort and/or durability of the blaster been improved? Have any of these qualities been hampered by the mod? Worth 40%
• Write-up Quality. Are the instructions clear and easy to follow? Could a new nerfer understand them? Are they well-written and free of spelling and grammar errors? Are the accompanying photos clear and comprehensive? Worth 50%
• Aesthetics. Does the mod make the blaster look ridiculous? Does the mod look slap-dash or half-assed? Purely cosmetic improvements will not earn you many points, but you can loose points if your mod makes the gun look like crap. Worth 10%
• Originality. Points will be taken off the total score if your submission is composed of modifications that are already written up on NerfHaven as of the beginning of the contest. Consideration will be given to writeups that significantly improve or build upon existing writeups. Originality will only be assessed based on the content on NerfHaven, however outright plagiarism of other websites will not be tolerated.

Submissions
Submit your entries to the 2015 Mod Contest Submission Thread
Submissions must be in by 11:59PM EST July 31st, 2015.


Judges
The entries will be judged by the Admin/Moderation/Contributor team. The members will also be allowed to vote, and the score from the members poll will count towards 10% of the final score.


Terms
By entering this contest you grant NerfHaven permission to reproduce your submission in other formats and/or on other sites for noncommercial purposes (you will be credited as the author). You grant NerfHaven permission to host images and other resources which are included in your submission. You grant NerfHaven permission to make (mostly minor) changes to your writeup after the contest has concluded and winners have been announced. All contest winners outside of the contiguous 48 states must pay for shipping prize packs to their location. All submissions must be written and created by you, the contestant and you must post your submission exclusively on NerfHaven.com. You must be an active member in good standing (not banned or suspended) during the contest submission period and judging period. If fewer than 4 contestants submit qualifying writeups, no prize packs will be awarded and instead all contestants will receive their choice of wristband and bandanna. The deadline for this contest may be extended at the discretion of the NerfHaven administrators.

[TED]

Only 50 dollars? kind of cheap don't you think?

[Langley]

Only 50 dollars? kind of cheap don't you think?

You're right, I'll just take all the ad revenue we don't make, and pull it out of the budget for the hosting, domains, and software we can't live without, and buy another couple hundred bucks worth of gift cards.

[Maniacal Coyote]

Scoring
4. Originality. Points will be taken off the total score if your submission is composed of modifications that are already written up on NerfHaven as of the beginning of the contest. Consideration will be given to writeups that significantly improve or build upon existing
writeups. Originality will only be assessed based on the content on NerfHaven, however outright plagiarism of other websites will not be tolerated.

Would copying a mod write-up that I had posted to another website/blog be acceptable?
(I'm working on a mod write-up for my blog, and I would like to use the finalized write-up for the entry.)

Also, how many entries are allowed?
(I'm considering pulling a Buff Daddy with all of my friends' modern blasters.)

[Snoop Doggy doge]

Actually, adding AN add on the side wouldn't be that bad, at least I don't think. Maybe there should be a poll about it

[TED]

You're right, I'll just take all the ad revenue we don't make, and pull it out of the budget for the hosting, domains, and software we can't live without, and buy another couple hundred bucks worth of gift cards.

So put up ads?

[Gin]

Well I am certainly entering, But a few questions on the rules. First, can we submit more than one writeup into the contest? Second, are kits/parts from companies like Orange Mod Works allowed as part of your mod?

[Langley]

Well I am certainly entering, But a few questions on the rules. First, can we submit more than one writeup into the contest? Second, are kits/parts from companies like Orange Mod Works allowed as part of your mod?

You can submit more than one entry, but we will only be counting one entry per person towards unlocking the additional prizes. You can use OMW kits if they are still readily available and in-stock, but if you are just installing OMW kits that isn't going to earn many points for originality.

[Gin]

You can submit more than one entry, but we will only be counting one entry per person towards unlocking the additional prizes. You can use OMW kits if they are still readily available and in-stock, but if you are just installing OMW kits that isn't going to earn many points for originality.

Thank you Langley. That makes 1 of my projects a definite entry.

[markeski]

Is there somewhere to buy one of those cool Nerfhaven "nerfstrong" wrist bands without having to enter a contest?

[Langley]

Is there somewhere to buy one of those cool Nerfhaven "nerfstrong" wrist bands without having to enter a contest?

There are no plans to sell them directly at the moment. They will probably be a perk for donating to NerfHaven some time in the near future.

[rockinon96]

There are no plans to sell them directly at the moment. They will probably be a perk for donating to NerfHaven some time in the near future.

If I were to donate $100 towards the contest for more gift cards, Could I get a prize pack for contributing towards the payment of the contest.

(no, I'm not being a dumbass. I'm serious.)

[Maniacal Coyote]

Langley
With all due respect, your choice of categories for the competition is incomplete.
There are three classes of storebought blasters that I can think of that you have not listed.
1. Air-pressure (e.g. BoomCo Rapid Madness)
2. String-powered (e.g. Nerf Rebelle Codebreaker, Nerf N-Strike Elite Crossbolt)
3. Manual-plunger (e.g. Nerf N-Strike Elite Thunderblast, Nerf Zombiestrike Biosquad Abolisher)

Perhaps you overlooked these blasters because there are very few in each of these classes. In this case, you might just create a third class, "Stringers/HAMPS/Pneumatics", as a catch-all category for those creative buggers who want to stray from the beaten path for the competition. (Like Zombona's Twisted URM mod of the Rapid Madness)

Just a suggestion.

Maniacal Coyote

[Ice Nine]

I'm going to be bold and speak for Langley.

If I were to donate $100 towards the contest for more gift cards, Could I get a prize pack for contributing towards the payment of the contest.

No.

With all due respect, your choice of categories for the competition is incomplete.
Perhaps you overlooked these blasters because there are very few in each of these classes.

An entry that is neither a flywheel blaster, nor a springer, can still win the overall largest prize. The two bonus categories are exactly that: bonus. It is to encourage more entries, as those are the dominant propulsion systems in place. I would even argue that elastic-powered blasters are in the "springer" category, for the purpose of this contest.

Please note that it says that the bonus categories will be activated if there are at least four write-ups that fit those categories. Given that there are very few non-springer non-flywheel blasters, it is unlikely that there would be four distinct write-ups for each of their categories, and as such it wouldn't matter anyways.

Edited by Ice Nine, 19 May 2015 - 10:18 PM.

[Langley]

I would even argue that elastic-powered blasters are in the "springer" category, for the purpose of this contest.

Pretty much everything Ice Nine said. Any blaster with a plunger is considered a springer for the purposes of this contest.

To reiterate, the categories are just bonuses. Any blaster can win the grand prize, regardless of if it falls into a category.

[Langley]

I removed some garbage posts to clean up this thread. Please stop thinking out loud on the forums. Think carefully about what you would like to do for this contest, and only post if you have serious questions about something you actually intend to work on.

[Langley]

I'm extending the contest deadline until 11:59 on Sunday night. I heard that there were some people who finished their mods but hadn't finished a writeup yet by the deadline because they were preparing for (or on their way to) Apoc. The submission thread will close promptly at 11:59 EST on Sunday night, so complete your write-ups to the best of your ability and add them to the Submission Thread before the thread closes or they will not be considered.