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We will celebrate SMS Power’s 26th Anniversary in March 2023 and run the usual competition!
People have been particularly prolific in the homebrew space in recent years, and we hope that some of you will want to engage in working on entries for the competition.

Ultra-short rules:

The same as every year :)
Please read below for details.

Slightly longer rules:

Deadline is 27th March 2023. You may choose to interpret that in any reasonable way. We expect people to submit patches/fixes in the following days, but try to get your entry submitted by the end of March 27.

There are three main competitions: coding, hacks and music.

Coding competition

Write something that runs on a Sega 8-bit home system which isn't a hack. A game, a demo, a tool!
(See our Homebrew section for an idea of past work done by the community.)

Hacks competition

Make a hack of a game for a Sega 8-bit home system.
(See our Hacks section for an idea of past work done by the community.).
System conversion hacks (such as GG2SMS, MSX2SG hacks are not valid for the competition). Please post them through regular non-competition means.

Music competition

Make some music that either uses the sound chip(s) from an Sega 8-bit home system, or is an arrangement of music from commercial software for that system.
(See our Music section for an idea of past work done by the community.)

Rules / The small print

* Entries should be either made for this competition, or substantially different to any earlier release. This means you can’t take something you released before and enter it with minimal or no changes; it also means you shouldn’t release it yourself elsewhere before the deadline.
* If you have a project that don't clearly fit in the Coding/Hacks/Music criteria and you think would be a good fit in the competition, please message us and we may work something out together (e.g. enter the project in Coding competition if that seems reasonable).
* Super-offensive or overly illegal content will get your entry rejected. Be nice.
* Coding entries must be in a format that works with a wide variety of emulators, i.e. raw ROM image or disk images. Tape images and wacky custom formats are no good unless you are genuinely making something related to those formats.
* Hack entries must be either in a format like for coding entries, or in the form of an IPS or BPS patch. You must give details of the original file(s) your hack is based on.
* Music entries can be in any format you like, provided it's VGM or MP3. You are welcome to also provide the same music in some other format alongside it.

How to enter

E-mail: competition AT smspower.org
PLEASE BE EXTRA CAREFUL TO SUBMIT ALL INFORMATION. Every year it takes us a long time to sort through entries for which we can't associate a real name to a forum people, can't tell the proper entry name, etc.

E-mail subject:

Coding Competition 2023 Entry: XXXXXXX

Music Competition 2023 Entry: XXXXXXX

Hacks Competition 2023 Entry: XXXXXXX

Form to copy and fill in your e-mail:

* Forum user name:
XXXXX

* Competition type:
* (Coding/Music/Hacks)
XXXXX

* Title of your entry:
* (please provide a clear, official title we are going to use everywhere, not just "here's my rom.sms")
XXXXX

* Description:
* (we will copy whatever in your e-mail looks like a description to the corresponding pages)
XXXXX
XXXXX

* Files:
* (list of files links, or filenames attached to the e-mail. Please ZIP everything so we can preserve your build timesamp)
XXXXX
XXXXX

* Sources:
* (no/yes/link)
XXXXX

Please do make sure to:
* Attach the file(s) preferably, however our gmail account will filter .ZIP files (even renamed) if they contains executables or batch files. If you have them, upload your file to Google Drive / Drop Box / etc. and send us a link.
* Mention the word "competition" in your subject line
* If it's a hack, specify in the description which game/version/CRC.
* If it's a music, specify in the description if it's an original track or a cover (specify which game, which track).
* Including screenshots will be helpful. Please make lossless screenshot (e.g. 256x192 resolution, no filter, PNG format).
* Including cover art makes you 20% more awesome :)
* Including sources (for both music and code) makes you 256% more awesome. :)
* If you have multiple entries, please send multiple e-mails.

You should receive an automatic response when it is received.

After the entries are revealed
* If you want to update your entry, please post your update to the forum thread along with attachments.
* You may also directly edit the Wiki page of your entry and add the new files if you have Wiki writing access (you can request it). Otherwise someone will update the Wiki with your latest attachment.

Hurrah!!

Unless a miracle, I don't think I can produce anything presentable this year. Also I prefer to focus on my existing projects, "Deathtrap Dungeon" and the "GAW -> Zelda" hack. I still have in a corner of my head "Nyle/Lyne in Sokoban Land" which I would like to develop even if the excellent SKBN which now exists on Master System has made this project much less coherent. In any case, I will test and vote with pleasure on the projects presented this year. Good luck friends ! :)

Almost done, two months more to polish the game ;)

@Maxim you can explain to competitors how is the rule to evaluate the votes? In past year Bock claimed that was used an algorithm. How the calculations or formulas are made?

Our algorithm is very complex and technical:

1. We look at all the votes and compute averages
2. We throw away ones that look like dodgy patterns
3. We check if that affects the results significantly

Generally there isn't much silly voting but we make sure to check for it.

Quote

1. We look at all the votes and compute averages

Very very fair and objective;

Quote

2. We throw away ones that look like dodgy patterns

Odd and subjective but understood.

Quote

3. We check if that affects the results significantly

This part is very subjective and, particularly, and i think that can determine not for Item 1 but personal perspectives. Almost like a popular election filtred by a commision.
Thanks for all information.

Maybe this year I’ll publish the vote adjustments to make it clearer. I think last year there were none.

I think the current system works well and I don't see any reason to not just use the same system again

Really looking forward to seeing what everyone has come up with.

Maxim,
when do you think we'll start to see some of the guys show off there games? Can't be long now can it?

It could be fair/smart to not show anything before the 27 march...
To not "demotive" other people to participate ^^

We usually post anonymised topics before the deadline so submitters can see it’s received and others can be motivated to join the field. However I guess certain names can be demotivating :)

The problem is about "how each member understand the competition". In my opinion all members are winners if was made a sms game, independent of final results. But i noted that some persons dont just want participate but win. The event is more for see new ideas.
For example, im super excited about if willbriton will submitt one qbasic gorillas for our SMS. I dont think feasible that it can win the competition but it will give fun enough for me.

eruiz00 wrote

Almost done, two months more to polish the game ;)

Woo , need to watch your work. ;-)

segarule wrote

The problem is about "how each member understand the competition". In my opinion all members are winners if was made a sms game, independent of final results. But i noted that some persons dont just want participate but win. The event is more for see new ideas.

I don't see any problem, actually. I think we must accept that some people love to enter just to feel part of something and some people feel better if they enter with a complete and polished entry that will likely guarantee their victory. No shame, please. Let's enjoy what we get ❤️

Quote

I think we must accept that some people love to enter just to feel part of something and some people feel better if they enter with a complete and polished entry that will likely guarantee their victory.

I agree. But so why some would be demotived in know that certain name submitted some entry in competition? Even worst why somebody ask to friend to vote an hight score in their entry and give a low score in an opponent? This is something that dont would must happen.
Like i said all are winners.

segarule wrote

I dont think feasible that it can win the competition

Well that's just like a red rag to a bull... 😂

EDIT: <--- woop - 2^8 posts!

Quote

Well that's just like a red rag to a bull... 😂

Sometimes the bull win and kill the torero.😂

ichigobankai wrote

It could be fair/smart to not show anything before the 27 march...
To not "demotive" other people to participate ^^

Very impress to see your job to.

I Thinks 2023 was "Un Grand Cru Classé".

I sent an e-mail to the competition address, and got no automatic response.
I did check to make sure I spelled the e-mail correctly.

The spam filter had caught it, I have rescued it. Thanks for the submission.

I'm also having the same issue of not receiving a confirmation email.

Same deal, thanks for the heads up. I’ll be checking the spam box regularly for while I guess.

Author	Message
Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14294 Location: London	Coding competitions 2023 Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2023 5:41 pm
	We will celebrate SMS Power’s 26th Anniversary in March 2023 and run the usual competition! People have been particularly prolific in the homebrew space in recent years, and we hope that some of you will want to engage in working on entries for the competition. Ultra-short rules: The same as every year :) Please read below for details. Slightly longer rules: Deadline is 27th March 2023. You may choose to interpret that in any reasonable way. We expect people to submit patches/fixes in the following days, but try to get your entry submitted by the end of March 27. There are three main competitions: coding, hacks and music. Coding competition Write something that runs on a Sega 8-bit home system which isn't a hack. A game, a demo, a tool! (See our Homebrew section for an idea of past work done by the community.) Hacks competition Make a hack of a game for a Sega 8-bit home system. (See our Hacks section for an idea of past work done by the community.). System conversion hacks (such as GG2SMS, MSX2SG hacks are not valid for the competition). Please post them through regular non-competition means. Music competition Make some music that either uses the sound chip(s) from an Sega 8-bit home system, or is an arrangement of music from commercial software for that system. (See our Music section for an idea of past work done by the community.) Rules / The small print * Entries should be either made for this competition, or substantially different to any earlier release. This means you can’t take something you released before and enter it with minimal or no changes; it also means you shouldn’t release it yourself elsewhere before the deadline. * If you have a project that don't clearly fit in the Coding/Hacks/Music criteria and you think would be a good fit in the competition, please message us and we may work something out together (e.g. enter the project in Coding competition if that seems reasonable). * Super-offensive or overly illegal content will get your entry rejected. Be nice. * Coding entries must be in a format that works with a wide variety of emulators, i.e. raw ROM image or disk images. Tape images and wacky custom formats are no good unless you are genuinely making something related to those formats. * Hack entries must be either in a format like for coding entries, or in the form of an IPS or BPS patch. You must give details of the original file(s) your hack is based on. * Music entries can be in any format you like, provided it's VGM or MP3. You are welcome to also provide the same music in some other format alongside it. How to enter E-mail: competition AT smspower.org PLEASE BE EXTRA CAREFUL TO SUBMIT ALL INFORMATION. Every year it takes us a long time to sort through entries for which we can't associate a real name to a forum people, can't tell the proper entry name, etc. E-mail subject: Coding Competition 2023 Entry: XXXXXXX Music Competition 2023 Entry: XXXXXXX Hacks Competition 2023 Entry: XXXXXXX Form to copy and fill in your e-mail: * Forum user name: XXXXX * Competition type: * (Coding/Music/Hacks) XXXXX * Title of your entry: * (please provide a clear, official title we are going to use everywhere, not just "here's my rom.sms") XXXXX * Description: * (we will copy whatever in your e-mail looks like a description to the corresponding pages) XXXXX XXXXX * Files: * (list of files links, or filenames attached to the e-mail. Please ZIP everything so we can preserve your build timesamp) XXXXX XXXXX * Sources: * (no/yes/link) XXXXX Please do make sure to: * Attach the file(s) preferably, however our gmail account will filter .ZIP files (even renamed) if they contains executables or batch files. If you have them, upload your file to Google Drive / Drop Box / etc. and send us a link. * Mention the word "competition" in your subject line * If it's a hack, specify in the description which game/version/CRC. * If it's a music, specify in the description if it's an original track or a cover (specify which game, which track). * Including screenshots will be helpful. Please make lossless screenshot (e.g. 256x192 resolution, no filter, PNG format). * Including cover art makes you 20% more awesome :) * Including sources (for both music and code) makes you 256% more awesome. :) * If you have multiple entries, please send multiple e-mails. You should receive an automatic response when it is received. After the entries are revealed * If you want to update your entry, please post your update to the forum thread along with attachments. * You may also directly edit the Wiki page of your entry and add the new files if you have Wiki writing access (you can request it). Otherwise someone will update the Wiki with your latest attachment.

willbritton Joined: 06 Mar 2022 Posts: 261 Location: London, UK	Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2023 9:36 pm
	Hurrah!!

Guy Joined: 07 Mar 2021 Posts: 29	Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2023 5:01 pm
Guy Joined: 07 Mar 2021 Posts: 29	Unless a miracle, I don't think I can produce anything presentable this year. Also I prefer to focus on my existing projects, "Deathtrap Dungeon" and the "GAW -> Zelda" hack. I still have in a corner of my head "Nyle/Lyne in Sokoban Land" which I would like to develop even if the excellent SKBN which now exists on Master System has made this project much less coherent. In any case, I will test and vote with pleasure on the projects presented this year. Good luck friends ! :)

eruiz00 Joined: 28 Jan 2017 Posts: 463 Location: Málaga, Spain	Working hard Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 9:36 pm
	Almost done, two months more to polish the game ;)

segarule Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 259	Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2023 10:00 am
segarule Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 259	@Maxim you can explain to competitors how is the rule to evaluate the votes? In past year Bock claimed that was used an algorithm. How the calculations or formulas are made?

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14294 Location: London	Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2023 4:17 pm
	Our algorithm is very complex and technical: 1. We look at all the votes and compute averages 2. We throw away ones that look like dodgy patterns 3. We check if that affects the results significantly Generally there isn't much silly voting but we make sure to check for it.

segarule Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 259	Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2023 6:48 pm
segarule Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 259	Quote 1. We look at all the votes and compute averages Very very fair and objective; Quote 2. We throw away ones that look like dodgy patterns Odd and subjective but understood. Quote 3. We check if that affects the results significantly This part is very subjective and, particularly, and i think that can determine not for Item 1 but personal perspectives. Almost like a popular election filtred by a commision. Thanks for all information.

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14294 Location: London	Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2023 6:57 pm
	Maybe this year I’ll publish the vote adjustments to make it clearer. I think last year there were none.

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3380 Location: Torino, then London, now Stockholm	Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 4:23 pm
	I think the current system works well and I don't see any reason to not just use the same system again

8BitBoy Joined: 15 Aug 2019 Posts: 207 Location: Lancashire UK	Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 1:48 pm
	Really looking forward to seeing what everyone has come up with. Maxim, when do you think we'll start to see some of the guys show off there games? Can't be long now can it?

ichigobankai Joined: 04 Jul 2010 Posts: 455 Location: Angers, France	Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 3:58 pm
	It could be fair/smart to not show anything before the 27 march... To not "demotive" other people to participate ^^

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14294 Location: London	Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 6:31 pm
	We usually post anonymised topics before the deadline so submitters can see it’s received and others can be motivated to join the field. However I guess certain names can be demotivating :)

segarule Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 259	Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 11:53 pm
segarule Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 259	The problem is about "how each member understand the competition". In my opinion all members are winners if was made a sms game, independent of final results. But i noted that some persons dont just want participate but win. The event is more for see new ideas. For example, im super excited about if willbriton will submitt one qbasic gorillas for our SMS. I dont think feasible that it can win the competition but it will give fun enough for me.

Fixoid Joined: 27 Jul 2020 Posts: 8	Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2023 11:47 am
Fixoid Joined: 27 Jul 2020 Posts: 8	eruiz00 wrote Almost done, two months more to polish the game ;) Woo , need to watch your work. ;-)

sverx Joined: 05 Sep 2013 Posts: 3380 Location: Torino, then London, now Stockholm	Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2023 4:18 pm
	segarule wrote The problem is about "how each member understand the competition". In my opinion all members are winners if was made a sms game, independent of final results. But i noted that some persons dont just want participate but win. The event is more for see new ideas. I don't see any problem, actually. I think we must accept that some people love to enter just to feel part of something and some people feel better if they enter with a complete and polished entry that will likely guarantee their victory. No shame, please. Let's enjoy what we get ❤️

segarule Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 259	Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2023 5:50 pm
segarule Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 259	Quote I think we must accept that some people love to enter just to feel part of something and some people feel better if they enter with a complete and polished entry that will likely guarantee their victory. I agree. But so why some would be demotived in know that certain name submitted some entry in competition? Even worst why somebody ask to friend to vote an hight score in their entry and give a low score in an opponent? This is something that dont would must happen. Like i said all are winners.

willbritton Joined: 06 Mar 2022 Posts: 261 Location: London, UK	Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2023 11:29 pm
	segarule wrote I dont think feasible that it can win the competition Well that's just like a red rag to a bull... 😂 EDIT: <--- woop - 2^8 posts!

segarule Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 259	Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2023 10:46 am
segarule Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Posts: 259	Quote Well that's just like a red rag to a bull... 😂 Sometimes the bull win and kill the torero.😂

Fixoid Joined: 27 Jul 2020 Posts: 8	Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2023 7:16 pm
Fixoid Joined: 27 Jul 2020 Posts: 8	ichigobankai wrote It could be fair/smart to not show anything before the 27 march... To not "demotive" other people to participate ^^ Very impress to see your job to. I Thinks 2023 was "Un Grand Cru Classé".

Nikku4211 Joined: 16 Mar 2023 Posts: 1 Location: Spring Hill, FL	Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:39 am
	I sent an e-mail to the competition address, and got no automatic response. I did check to make sure I spelled the e-mail correctly.

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14294 Location: London	Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:28 pm
	The spam filter had caught it, I have rescued it. Thanks for the submission.

morningglory17 Joined: 11 Mar 2023 Posts: 1	Posted: Yesterday at 9:42 pm
morningglory17 Joined: 11 Mar 2023 Posts: 1	I'm also having the same issue of not receiving a confirmation email.

Maxim Site Admin Joined: 19 Oct 1999 Posts: 14294 Location: London	Posted: Yesterday at 10:50 pm
	Same deal, thanks for the heads up. I’ll be checking the spam box regularly for while I guess.

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