Pro Tour 4 / Pro Tour 4 Rules & Regulations

Results will be posted when the voting for that particular round is over. There will be a topic for each prelim where the results will be posted. Qualifiers will also recieve a PM, and a list will be placed in the first post of this topic.

We aim to inform the qualifiers around 2-3 days after the deadline of that prelim.

Edit: We are aiming to answer all questions asked, however we can't answer all questions immediately. Please be patient thankyou

I don't mean to stir up controversy or cause any arguments, but I think that the whole prelim thing is kind of archaic and outdated. This site once operated around "parkmaker status" as the highest accolade. Those days are gone (thankfully), and the floor is really open for anyone. I feel that the PT should work the same way for a number of reasons. First of all, having prelims in no way ensures high quality entries. I don't think we have to look any further than PT3 to see that. Half of the "auto qualifiers" didn't submit a thing, and I'm sure that a great number of people who would have loved to submit a park couldn't get past the qualifier. Also, the Prelim system is not catered for players like myself who are not really detail-oriented. I don't mean to sound whiny, but I can't really see myself being able to beat players like nin, coupon, etc., who are very skilled at using custom scenery to do a lot in a little amount of space (which seems to be the goal of a prelim submission?).

I was at first excited about the idea of PT4. I always thought it would be cool to see a bunch of RCT players making parks that would be judged and ranked against each other. It's a neat concept. However, having prelims really limits the involvement of the community. It's no longer a community contest. It's a contest for the elite, which we have moved away from in the past years.

I'm going to be completely honest. I (and I'm sure I am speaking on behalf of 99% of NE) don't have a whole bunch of free time. I work full time and have other commitments. I was feeling confident about finding the time to get a full-scale submission in, but now that prelims are in the picture, it just seems like too much to ask. It was already going to be tough to enter the contest, but now that I'd have to spend more time just to enter the contest, it just doesn't seem realistic to me.

Now, in now way do I intend to insult Louis or any other member of the staff for organizing a contest and investing their time in improving the community. However, I do believe that if we are to do a community contest, it should be for the whole community.

What you are saying sounds justifiable to a certain degree zburns. I understand that you would like this contest to be an open competition but there have been contests such as those over the past couple of years (i.e NEDC). Pro Tour is meant to be for the elite, is it not? So I don't truly understand what you are trying to convey there. To say that we have moved away from elite contests doesn't make too much sense to me. Seeing as newer players have come on to the scene and the array of elite players has thus changed.

I don't believe the prelims are trying to omit people that aren't as focused on micro detailing. In fact there are different criteria each prelim round and some of which don't even need an abundance of detail:
for example:
Best Non-Track Attraction
Best Foliage & Landscaping
Best Non-Coaster Track Attraction
Best Wooden Coaster
Best Steel Coaster

Again I see that you are concerned about involving all members of the community but I always thought the main point of contests like this were to discover the elite.

I disagree with you Zburns999, I think the point of PT4 is to have the BEST of the BEST versus eachother. Hence "protour" I think the prelims actually involve the entire community, its open for anyone, just try and score 80% in that selected category, and yes the point of the prelims are also to find the elite hidden within the community.(also don't forget about the 3 wildcards) It seems very well written out and understandable. If you wanted to have a contest with just "amateurs RCT park makers" you could host an unofficial contest, but then again we've seen how that's worked out

First of all, having prelims in no way ensures high quality entries.

Nothing does.

Half of the "auto qualifiers" didn't submit a thing

In the first months of the contest, it was definitely mostly the autoqualifiers that were building entries. PT3 failed because it lasted way too long.

Half of the "auto qualifiers" didn't submit a thing. Also, the Prelim system is not catered for players like myself who are not really detail-oriented. I don't mean to sound whiny, but I can't really see myself being able to beat players like nin, coupon, etc., who are very skilled at using custom scenery to do a lot in a little amount of space (which seems to be the goal of a prelim submission?).

There's no 'beating' in these prelims! If you score over 80%, you're qualified, regardless of who else scores what. Furthermore there's no reason to assume the elite-panel is biased towards high detail densities. No reason to worry here.

I work full time and have other commitments. I was feeling confident about finding the time to get a full-scale submission in, but now that prelims are in the picture, it just seems like too much to ask. It was already going to be tough to enter the contest, but now that I'd have to spend more time just to enter the contest, it just doesn't seem realistic to me.

Prelims can be very small and your finals entry doesn't have to be very big either. Moreover you don't have to build on them at the same time, that's actually impossible.

However, I do believe that if we are to do a community contest, it should be for the whole community.

I agree, if only the 'next contest poll' didn't indicate that the community wants a Pro Tour.

hmmmm......you know .... I might have some nice idea's for 1 or 2 prelims. lets see if I can get rct2 running one of these days.

Yeah zburns, I think you're working from some assumptions that this is exactly like past PTs or that every contest has to be open to everyone.

First off this prelim setup is way more open than in the past. You don't have to "beat" nin or coupon or anyone, just score high enough in the respective category. Now I agree it's a little fuzzy how well judging a work to get stuff in will work out (or everyone might be too picky and nothing gets in) but I'll wait on the PM for details before I judge completely.

The main thing is, you only have to try to do your best work to get in, not be better than anyone else. And even those who maybe are more productive but less skilled can get in on one of the 3 bonus spots. There's plenty of opportunity for people of any play style. And I don't buy that you just don't have time for the prelims. If you think you can get a main entry in by 2 months then I'm sure you can take a couple weeks and make a fraction of a park that impresses judges enough to get you in the main contest.

I'd still wish there was a funniest creation round tough . Well maybe I can still do something with the ideas I have..

If you wanted to have a contest with just "amateurs RCT park makers" you could host an unofficial contest, but then again we've seen how that's worked out.

Where on Earth do you get the "amateur RCT park maker" contest idea from? Why would opening the contest to everyone make the best players leave? And it's not like we're opening this up on TPR. Most members here are highly capable of creating some solid RCT.

Also, anyone who has ever submitted an accolade for the panel knows how hard it is to get an 80% on anything. All it takes is one low vote.

Firstly, I personally believe this is the most 'open to everyone' Pro Tour yet. Prove you have talent and are worthy of the final and you will make it. You don't have to beat anyone to be #1 or #2. You just pick a prelim, do the best work you can, and hope the judges see your talent and potential. It's all about proving you are talented, and that goes for the final round too. It's proving that as a qualifier you are better than the elite, and for the elite it's proving that you deserve to be classed as this.

Secondly, Pro Tours have always had prelims. To be excited about the prospect of participating in a Pro Tour and then realising there would be prelims doesn't make any sense. Half of the contest of Pro Tour has always revolved around Pro Tours.

We hold several 'open to everyone' contests. All the NEDCs are open to everyone, there are no restrictions. And in a certain way H2H is open to everyone, everyone can apply, it's just a matter of being picked.

We wanted to bring the exclusivity of Pro Tour back to NE. And so we have done. We understand everyone's concerns on this matter, but at the end of the day, there will be plenty more NEDCs and other open to everyone contests, and funnily enough, no one is ever really bothered by them.

Thirdly, the prelims do not cater to detailists only. In fact i'd say considering the small deadlines, people that build larger scale and more minimal would surely be able to portray their styles better. As Pac has said, a lot of these prelims actually do no require any detail whatsoever. I'd argue that every single prelim has the capability to be as detailed or undetailed as the creator likes. Take Architecture for example, build a really intricate small series of buildings or build a massive fuck off building with emphasism on structure rather than detail. Both show quality. Quality does not constitute cluster fucks of detail as you are implying.

Finally, it's Pro Tour 4. How awesome is that?!

Btw one question. About the best non tracked ride. Are you allowed to make for example a custom flatride which works. There is track where cars run over but its suppost to give the idea of a flat ride. Would things like that qualify for it or does it have to be a real flatride.

*Best Non-Track Attraction is any attraction that does not follow a track of any kind. Log Flumes, River Rapids and Vintage Car Rides are examples of tracked rides. Best Non-Coaster Attraction is any attraction that is not a roller coaster. So this is where said Log Flumes, River Rapids, Vintage Car Rides and other tracked rides belong.

So just to make this really clear very quick, Say we wanna make a custom flat ride and need to use a track to make its movement & make the track invisible, are we allowed to do that? or is it an absolute ban on track rides?

Edit: LOL WE posted at same time!

Btw one question. About the best non tracked ride. Are you allowed to make for example a custom flatride which works. There is track where cars run over but its suppost to give the idea of a flat ride. Would things like that qualify for it or does it have to be a real flatride.

If it doesn't represent a tracked ride, it's not a tracked ride.

Is it allowed to import and export objects in the final round?

No importing or exporting of objects will be allowed.

That logo is beautiful. Who made it?

The very wonderful and fabulous 5dave made our logos.

multiple entries per person / per round?

also, I don't know if it was explicitly stated, but the implication of the "no-show" policy is that entries should not include work from before today.
to clarify-

May entries include
a: no work from before 22 May 2013
b: work from before 22 May 2013 that has not been previously shown publicly or privately
c: work from before 22 May 2013 that has not been previously shown publicly
d: work from before 22 May 2013 that has been previously shown privately
e: work from before 22 may 2013 that has been previously shown publicly

and does that answer differ for prelims and elite super-duper eXtreme select challenge finals or whatever it is

We are only allowing 1 entry per person, per prelim. So someone can enter 5 different prelims, but they can't enter 1 prelim 5 times.

Also, any entry, prelim or final round, that has been shown at ANY time in public will be disqualified. We are requiring all work to be brand new. You may wish to use old work that has not been released or shown in screens/on streams, but if it has been shown then it may not be used.

That one entry rule just changed everything about the PM I just sent you Louis, please respond as soon as you can.

For every question asked, we will be updating the first post's rules and regulations where applicable.

Also, please don't hesitate to PM us with any questions. I know that a lot of questions may concern the nature of your entry, something you wish to keep secret. So yeah, please don't hesitate to bombard our inboxes.

And when will the draft for h2h4 take place?

And when will the draft for h2h4 take place?

It took place on 05/01/2006, I believe.

hmmmm......you know .... I might have some nice idea's for 1 or 2 prelims. lets see if I can get rct2 running one of these days.

Yeahhh!!!... You do that, can't wait to see new work from you.

You just pick a prelim, do the best work you can, and hope the judges see your talent and potential. It's all about proving you are talented

First off, let me just make it clear that I love you guys and thing you do a fantastic job running the site, and I hate to be the one to stir the pot, especially when things have been the same way for 3 pro tours. That being said, I simply cannot see how this reasoning makes sense. And believe me, it's not like I was shocked by the whole prelim thing. I know how it has worked in the past, but I was really hoping that the whole system might be discarded this year.

The way everyone is trying to justify this is that the prelims are a way to "prove that you are talented." That's just such a bizarre concept to me. I can totally see the point of prelims for some random new users who are trying to prove their stuff. But, why should people who have been around for ages and produced numerous accolades have to prove anything? Look at our pages. You know what we can do simply by downloading a few parks or designs. Why would a prelim prove anything that our pages could not? It's just so superfluous. I've already tried to make my best entrances, my best non-track rides, my best steel coasters, my best wood coasters, my best foliage, etc. If it wasn't worthy of an 80% the first time, then why would it be the second time around?

With the way this site is set up anymore, everyone has access to a full list of each others' work via the data base. In a way, for the sake of this contest, it's like a resume. For those of us who are non-elites, just look at our pages. If you like what you see, invite us in. If you don't, keep us out. It's simple. No need to build all this extra stuff. As I said earlier, if we couldn't get an 80% the first time when we were doing our best work, why would it be such an easy task now?

Please don't think that I'm ignorant to how this contest is supposed to go. I know how the contest has worked in the past, and I know that on paper, it's much more "open" this year. However, that doesn't make it right. The prelim system has always been misused, in my opinion, and makes even less sense now that our database pages are available. I get that it's a "pro tour." In my opinion, if you have a strong resume of accolades, that's more than enough to be considered a "pro." A prelim won't tell you anything you don't already know. It's just tradition, and to give a faux impression of elitism.

That's basically all I have to say on the matter, and I hope I was able to make my point as respectfully as possible.