Hi. If this was answered above, forgive me, I missed it. I understand I have to upload my game publicly before being able to submit it to the jam but is there a time frame I’m allowed to have it up and public?
Thanks!
I’m not sure if I understand the question, but the time frame is till October 30, that day included.
My take on the question was this:
Should we wait until, say, October 29 to make our games public, or is it okay to make them public today, well in advance of the comp judging period starting?
(For the record, I submitted a game I’m going to keep private until October 29. I assume it’s fully my responsibility to make it public before the deadline, so it actually gets entered.)
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oh, those are good points.
It is fine whatever you do. You can make your games public right now. We are in the ambit of the comp. Just the games only will show on the comp page the proper day.
ECTOCOMP is a relaxed competition. So I will not policy if someone even wants to announce the games right now. But I think in the spirit of the comp, we can wait to celebrate on October 31.
Thanks!
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My money is on it being titled “Thirtyonebythirtyonebia” 
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Well, that would certainly cover the “horror” part of EctoComp.
I’d never do that, though. Sixbysixia or Ninebyninia, maybe. But Thirtyonebythirtyonbia, no way. It’s a prime number, so 30 or 32 would work probably make better “not impossible if you know how to look at them” puzzles.
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You don’t play chess, aren’t you?
The layout is a chess dressed table of 8x8, so if you enlarger the table it will be a number with a natural square root.
Well, it was a reference to Halloween being on Oct. 31.
I’m sure there are ways around the standard board size if you want to break the rules. Rectangles not squares? Or maybe not?
I’m not a chess person though. I have to admit that Fourbyfouria was way too complicated for me this year, though I got through Andrew’s earlier Threedopolis game pretty well a few years ago.
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I play tested this as Andrew’s chess idiot, and once I got my board out and started getting comfortable with the idea of just setting up a few available pieces to trap a king, I’m proud to say I solved most of the sectors on my own (in normal mode, of course). I think I could have eventually solved all of them, but no one should have to wait that long for a testing transcript.
If you want to give it another go, get a board out and spend some time with it. I found it very worthwhile.
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For a strange chess alternative, I suggest Scepter. I think you have to currently live in the 80s to be able to play it, though.
I’ve been playing this indie game which is like Bomberman chess.
Scepter looks easier to get the hang of, but chess is easy to get the hang of too. Do you still have to think several moves ahead?
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As far as chess go, I have played games while being so tired, I couldn’t think more than one move ahead, yet still win. So, it’s possible. It’s really tactics vs strategy.
Re: the judging period. It seems like it ends very close to IFComp’s. Is there any way to extend the deadline a day or two? I can picture procrastinating people (like myself) having a tough decision between a few final IFComp games and several EctoComp games–and, human nature being what it is, maybe not judging either because we can’t/don’t decide.
I know the organizers have tweaked the length of the judging period over the years. But I certainly saw a lot of procrastinators vote in ParserComp, and I think another day or 2 would help the two comps not clash for us.
Making the judging period too long is, of course, a problem as well. EctoComp is supposed to be fun and spontaneous. But I’m talking from the perspective of someone who’d love to try to look at all of IFComp, EctoComp Petite Mort and EctoComp Grand Guignol this year. And a day or two might make a big difference.
If not, no problem–I’ll juggle my time accordingly.
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I think we should summon someone from the ifcomp organization to clarify the schedule. @Jacqueline, last year’s judging period for IFComp was extended, so I was hoping that decision was stable for the following years. So I wonder if that is going to fluctuate? The experiment last year was successful or not?
To be clear, I will always modify the ectocomp voting period to not to coincide with the ifcomp one, but I would prefer more stability. Thanks!
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My guess is either 1) the experiment wasn’t successful or 2) there were fewer games this year than last year, so they felt it wasn’t necessary.
Emailing Jacqueline about future plans to shift the deadline may work better–she got back to me pretty quickly when I had general odd questions.
My guess is the IFComp staff would be glad to drop you a memo about when their voting ends, because I think EctoComp/IFComp synergise well together.
I don’t know if IFComp has a mailing list they send to judges or interested parties in general, as they do for people who filled out a statement of intent. That might be a solution, too. While the website has the info, it just seems like update emails for judges would help remind us/let us plan our schedules that much better.
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Can I make some cover art for my Petit Mort? I have zero minutes left on the timer, so if cover art counts, I’ll have to do without.
As it’s hosted on itch.io, you can submit your game and update the cover art later. I did that for ParserComp. Even so, try to get the cover art done a.s.a.p., as it looks very unprofessional without cover art.
I just don’t know if it counts in the 4 hour time limit. I don’t like not to have art, but I certainly don’t want to cheat. The rules don’t say anything about cover art.
Ectocomp traditionally is a very casual competition, without an emphasis on strict rules and more of an emphasis on good sportsmanship.
Most people do not incorporate cover art into their IF scores, although it can have a subliminal effect. I think you don’t have to count it, and having good cover art can make the whole competitor look better on itch, so it’s good for the other competitors too.
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