Entry tags:

info, mod

All-Purpose Information Guide!


I N T R O D U C T I O N

Welcome to xeno_battle, a Xenosaga/Xenogears "Last Icon Maker Standing" community run in a fun RPG style. Inspired by tartankilts, this community allows icon makers to pick up a Xeno character to play as until one icon maker is left standing as the winner!

We're your local mods, Joh [atelierjoh] / Hikari [hikarisenshi] / Matthias [animevivi]. Feel free to come to us whenever you need something!

R U L E S

Oh no! Reading the rules isn't always the funnest thing to do, but the game will be much more fun if you know them, so be sure to read up!

1. Don't tell anyone which character you play. Keeping it a secret is half the fun so don't spoil it for yourself!
2. You must use Xenosaga/Xenogears images. Manga and Doujinshi are okay; fan art is not.
3. Your icons need to fit Livejournal requirements meaning they have to be 100x100 pixels and 40 KB or less.
4. You cannot showcase your icon anywhere until after voting has been tallied and the results of the challenge has been displayed. After that you can display them in your Icon Journals/etc. This also means that the icon has to be made specifically for this community's challenge.
5. Please upload the icons to your own server or a closed photo album like Photobucket or Tinypic. Please do not upload them to your Livejournal accounts, as they are open albums.
6. Icons should be saved in .jpg, .gif, or .png format.

T I M E L I N E

I know first hand that battles are confusing, especially when you're first being introduced to them. Thus, I'm going to try to explain everything very clearly. Unlike most icontests, we run on a two week cycle, since both the mods and the players are typically very busy.

Sign-Ups [2-3 Weeks]
xeno_battle is run on an "arc" type system. There will be sign-ups for each arc for a few weeks before they actually start. Once sign-ups close, no one else can enter the arc, and the battle will begin. Sign-ups are when you choose your character alias!

Remember, characters are given on a first-come first-serve basis, and we will not allow doubles from time paradoxes (ex. There is no "Young Kevin Winnicot." There is only the Kevin Winnicot during the actual duration of the game. You can, however, be dead characters like Sakura Mizrahi or Joaquin Rozas.)

Round: Submissions [Week One: Sun - Fri]
Submissions will typically open up on Sunday. Then you have until Friday that week to submit for a total of about 5-6 days. This is when you can ponder over the challenge, ask questions, and submit icons for the competition. This is also your only window for using items. [X] Battle Comms like xeno_battle are Roleplaying Icon Contests, meaning you fight by submitting the best icon you can make.

Usually, unless stated otherwise, you can only submit one icon each round. Be sure to follow the submission guidelines, which will be listed on both the submissions post and the overall rules. Submissions are due Friday (exact time will be listed on submissions post). Sometimes, if we happen to fall behind, we will extend submissions, but don't count on it explicitly.

Skips/No Submission Policy: Currently, we do not allow skips. When you skip a round, you will automatically lose two points (one more than least favorite) and get the most possible negatives (one more than least favorite). However, we are here to work with YOU. If you'll be out that week with no net access, tell us in advanced and we'll work something out. For instance, we can sometimes give you the upcoming theme in advanced. Or, if you have a good reason, we'll make it so that you only lose one point and get half the negatives you would normally get for not submitting. When it's an elimination round (every three rounds), it's ESPECIALLY important that you come and work something out with us.

The bottom line is, plan ahead and tell us in advanced if you have to miss and we'll work something out with you. If you tell us afterwards though (unless it's some seriously extenuating circumstance), you'll get the full penalty of not submitting.

Round: Voting [Week One - Two: Sat - Fri]
Voting starts Saturday of the first week and extends to the Friday of the upcoming week. Voting is NOT closed until the mod post "Voting Closed" as a comment in the voting, which will typically be around nighttime American time. With a full 6 days for voting, please make sure you vote! This is when you critique other icons and vote for your favorites. You must be a member of the community to vote! Additionally do not vote for your own icon or ask people to vote for your icon for you.

The highest three icons will win people's choice. The lowest icon will be "least favorite." Each week, one of the mods will also choose a Mod's Choice. Here's how they affect statistics:

First Place [+3 Points; +0 Negatives]
Second Place [+2 Points; +0 Negatives]
Third Place [+1 Point; +0 Negatives]
Mod's Choice [+1 Point; + Negatives]
Least Favorite [-1 Point; + Negatives]
No Submission [-2 Point; + Negatives]
Everyone Else [+0 Points; + Negatives]

What are negatives? Good question! Negatives are "bad tallies" that players get for not placing in the top three. Everyone starts out with 0 negatives and get negatives depending on what place you earn.

Example: Let's say Shion Uzuki has placed 5th overall this round with her icon. She would thus get 5 negatives. chaos placed 8th and would thus get 8 negatives. However, MOMO placed 2nd, so she doesn't get any negatives because 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place do not get any negatives.

These do not do anything to your points, but are important. At the end of every three rounds, the two players with the most negatives are auto-KO'd. Additionally, anyone with over 8 negatives will lose one point automatically. After an elimination round, everyone's negatives are reset to zero. Basically, this system eliminates people faster than waiting for everyone to get to 0 HP.

Round: Minigame [Week Two: Sun - Fri]
Because the rounds are so long and not everyone is so busy, we will typically post a minigame on Sunday during the voting period. Although time span varies depending on the minigame, most of them will last until the Friday during which Voting is closed, but are not officially closed until a mod posts so.

These are simply for fun and of course are optional. If you win or complete these minigames, there are typically rewards which you can use for the contest. This includes but is not limited to items, status upgrades, or even an extra skip! Games are rather spontaneous and a surprise so you'll just have to wait and see what they are!

Round: Results [Week Two: Sat]
Once voting is complete, results will be posted on Saturday. Then the whole cycle restarts for a new Round on Sunday. When we post the results, you will be able to read your critiques as well. Remember, critiques are provided for improvement. Instead of feeling spiteful, listen to what they have to say and improve next time!

Also, please give fair critiques. Giving critiques on something the icon maker has no control over is not fair. Additionally, do not be degrading in your critiques; they should be constructive instead!

Arc End
In the end, one person will be crowned the winner and a new arc will then start. I can't say much for what will be a reward, but I can provide graphics if you guys want, or if you guys have something more specific in mind, tell me and I'll think it over.

S Y S T E M

Xeno Battle's original concept was first developed at ff_kh_battle, but it is more closely adapted to tsubasa_battle's system. Everyone starts out with 5 points which represent your HP. The most basic method of elimination is running out of HP. Once you reach 0 points, you are officially KO'd like in any Role Playing game.

Status Effects
Status Effects are... well... bad statuses. Having these effects will handicap you in one way or another. The mods hand out status effects in the results post oh whim. We won't give one person a status effect and not give another person one though.

Status Effect	Description
Seal Boost (S)	You can no longer Boost. Yep me being cheesy. Whatever place you get overall, you step one down. (ex. You originally get 3rd, you are now 4th)
Break (B)	You are in the break state. You will be randomly assigned one extra handicap each round until it is healed. Lasts for three rounds unless healed first.*

*Extra handicaps will be one of the following: no brushes, no textures, no text, forced selective coloring, forced grayscale/color scheme.

Status effects are healed by items, which are gained through Segment Door sidequests or miscellaneous awards!

Segment Doors / Items
Most of the time, you get items through Segment File "Item Draws." Basically, every once in a while, a mod will post that "Segment Doors have appeared." Sometimes you get nice items and sometimes you get status effects or injured so it's technically a gamble. Therefore, OPENING A DOOR IS NOT MANDATORY You will not break Sgt. Swaine's heart. You will miss out on a chance to get an item though. There are a total of 18 doors. To open one, you just choose a number between 1-18 and give it to us along with your icon during submission. If you do not put a number, we will assume you do not want to open a door. Then the mod will reference the predetermined list and give you whatever corresponds to it.

Here is a list of items and events you can get (although not all items will be available during every "door session").

Item/Event	Description
Booster Pack (HS)	[Common/Savable] An item that heals Seal Boost (S).
Med Pack (HB)	[Common/Savable] An item that heals Break (B).
Cleanser (HA)	[Rare/Savable] An item that heals any and all status effects.
Safety Zone (SZ)	[Rare/Event] This ether will cancel the next negative status effect you receive, after which it disappears.
Vaporizer Plug-In (VP)	[Rare/Savable] Use the item to "blast" away all of your negatives! (Cannot be used during an elimination round)
Erde Kaiser (EK)	[Ultra Rare/Savable] Summon Erde Kaiser! Boosts you up one place in a round automatically. (Ex. Your icon ranked 8th place, you now place 7th.) This cannot be used on an elimination round.
Other	[Event]This is when I get to be creative. The result is predetermined before the draw but the story gets changed on whim! You can get status effects, damage, healing, or even PIE (which has mysterious effects =O)

All events are unsavable. For savable items, go over to the Item Usage post and fill out the form DURING SUBMISSION. Items will be processed before voting/results of the present challenge.
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/xeno_battle/1870.html