2024 Automation EOTY Awards

[The_Stig_Is_A_Spy]

Ahem! Ladies and gentlemen... yes. I am here today to address something very important. Last night, I posted my supercar. This supercar took me roughly 2 hours, 41 minutes, and 14 seconds to construct. The design is carefully proposed. I would also like to specify that the engineering is very well-done, however that is not viewable in the car-showcase-ready image I had posted just last night. Which leads me to my main complaint; why did I only receive 10 nuts for this incredibly valuable creation I have just forged? Just 10 nuts is a meager number for the excellence that this supercar of mine radiates. Mind you, I believe I deserve far beyond 60 nuts! Don't get me started on including this masterpiece on the legendary Automation Instagram... Good lord, that would be the dream. Anyways, 10 nuts?! Come on, fellow designers, have some sympathy and react on my post. Good day to all of you, and I will be back here to view my reaction count tomorrow!

EOTY MMXXIV

Welcome to the eighth annual Automation End of the Year Awards, a celebration of the community, by the community. This year returns to the traditional formula, with a round of category selection followed by nominations, eliminations, and final voting. The three themes present in last year's EOTY have also been condensed back down to two: Cars and Community.

A REFRESHER

As with many editions past of EOTY, before nominations begin, an initial round of category voting will become available, wherein voters select categories to remove. Following nominations, two rounds of voting are held to determine the winner of each category. The final results should become available no later than the 24th of December.

After the categories are chosen and nominations begin, some users may have trouble finding fitting candidates. These very forums and the recurring challenges hosted on them are a great place to look, as is the official Automation Discord server and its #car-showcase channel.

CATEGORIES

For this first poll, you'll be presented with over 40 categories across both themes; you can select up to 5 from each theme (for a total of 10) that you would like to see removed. In addition, your votes will help determine whether the era brackets for the "Classic Car of the Year" categories should be broadened.

When the voting window of 7 days has elapsed, the category elimination poll will be closed. Please allow a few days after that point for the nomination poll to be set up.

With that out of the way, happy voting!

POLL LINK

[Vento]

I don’t want to eliminate any categories

[abg7]

I’ve made all my choices for eliminations from category voting - and I don’t regret any of them in the slightest.

[variationofvariables]

i have many regrets

[DoesStuff]

one plus one is two

[icrafter]

Will there be a category for videos?

[Edsel]

@Vento

I don’t want to eliminate any categories

Same here. I’ve nothing I’d like to see removed, per se.

Why are we voting to remove categories, exactly?

[machalel]

I’m not quite sure why we are voting to remove year brackets… all of them are valid?

[The_Stig_Is_A_Spy]

@icrafter

Will there be a category for videos?

That’d be “Animatic of the Year” (which may or may not be lumped in with “Photo of the Year” depending on category elimination results).

@Edsel

Same here. I’ve nothing I’d like to see removed, per se.
Why are we voting to remove categories, exactly?

Barring the special case that was the 2022+2023 awards, that’s just the way it’s always been done.

You may choose not to vote to eliminate categories, but having people nominate things for 53 categories - and then processing the poll results for each category for each round of voting - sounds like a tall order, to say the least.

[Madrias]

Made my choices.

[moroza]

What about voting not to eliminate categories, but to keep them? Say, everyone gets to pick 15 out of a pool of 53. If a couple more come close in vote counts, they could be added too.

[Edsel]

Aye. I wasn’t around 3 years ago for the old ones, so I wouldn’t have seen that. Thanks!

[The_Stig_Is_A_Spy]

LESS THAN 3 DAYS LEFT

The category elimination poll will close on Friday (the 22nd) at around 19:00 (7:00 pm) EST. Be sure to submit your votes if you haven't already!

[The_Stig_Is_A_Spy]

CATEGORY VOTING CLOSED

Thanks to all who voted. Stay tuned for nominations!

[The_Stig_Is_A_Spy]

CATEGORIES AND NOMINATIONS

Out of the 58 total categories, including the Classic Car of the Year era brackets, these are the 30 that have been selected by the community, with a brief rundown of each to help get people up to speed:

CARS

Brand of the Year, Overall
^{A brand known and loved by many.}
Brand of the Year, Mainstream
^{A household name known for accessible and dependable models.}
Brand of the Year, Luxury
^{A brand equipped to cater to particularly discerning customers.}
Brand of the Year, Performance
^{All about speed, on both the street and track.}
Brand of the Year, Motorsports
^{Racing is an inextricable part of this brand's identity.}
Brand of the Year, Most Realistic
^Eliminated
Brand of the Year, Most Dedicated
^Eliminated
New Brand of the Year
^Eliminated
Car of the Year, Overall
^{A model known and loved by many.}
Car of the Year, Mainstream
^{An "average" car of above-average stature.}
Car of the Year, Luxury
^{When nothing else will suffice.}
Car of the Year, Performance
^{Who needs practicality with a car as exciting as this one?}
Car of the Year, Motorsports
^{A car that's just as celebrated as those behind the wheel.}
Car of the Year, SUV / Crossover / Pickup Truck
^Eliminated
Car of the Year, Concept
^{A unique view into an imagined future.}
Car of the Year, Pan-American
^Eliminated
Car of the Year, European
^Eliminated
Car of the Year, Asia-Pacific
^Eliminated
Car of the Year, Most Impressive
^Eliminated
WTF Car of the Year
^Eliminated
Design of the Year
^{Looking sharp!}
Quirky Car of the Year
^{A model with a trick up its sleeve or polarizing avant-garde styling.}
Classic Car of the Year, 1929 or Earlier
^Eliminated
Classic Car of the Year, 1949 or Earlier
^{Originally "Classic Car of the Year, 1930-1949".}
Classic Car of the Year, 1950-1974
^{A model from the postwar era. Originally "Classic Car of the Year, 1950-1969".}
Classic Car of the Year, 1975-1999
^{A model from the late 20th century. Originally "Classic Car of the Year, 1970-1989".}
Classic Car of the Year, 1990-2004
^Eliminated
Advertisement of the Year
^{Well thought out, well executed, and well received.}
Non-Car of the Year, Overall
^Eliminated
Non-Car Vehicle of the Year
^{Originally "Non-Car of the Year, Vehicles".}
Non-Car of the Year, Non-Vehicles
^Eliminated

COMMUNITY

Designer of the Year, Overall
^{This player has designs under their belt that rival or surpass those of real-world cars.}
Designer of the Year, Most Underrated
^{A strong background presence waiting for their turn in the limelight.}
Designer of the Year, Most Creative
^{This player knows all the tricks in the book, and plenty outside it too.}
Engineer of the Year
^Eliminated
Modder of the Year
^{This individual has helped realize the designs of countless players.}
Newcomer of the Year
^{This player made a splash onto the scene this year.}
Improvement of the Year
^{This player is that much more friendly now, or their designs have taken a big step forward.}
Role Model of the Year
^{Who did you look up to in the community this year?}
Influential Member of the Year
^Eliminated
Comedian of the Year
^Eliminated
Artist of the Year
^Eliminated
Comeback of the Year
^Eliminated
Photo or Animatic of the Year
^Eliminated
Photo of the Year
^{A still photo capturing its automotive subject in a whole new light. Photo manipulations allowed.}
Animatic of the Year
^Eliminated
Forum Post of the Year
^{Presentation isn't everything, but it can be vital.}
Challenge of the Year
^{The one that fired up everyone's competitive spirit.}
Mod of the Year
^{Sometimes vanilla just doesn't cut it.}
Community Member Vehicle of the Year
^Eliminated
Quote of the Year
^Eliminated
Ludicrous Claim of the Year
^Eliminated
Cock-up of the Year
^{Oops, that shouldn't have happened.}

With that out of the way, it's time for the main event!

The nomination poll is open until next Saturday (the 30th), and will close at around 19:00 (7:00 pm) EST.

Self-nominations are not allowed under any circumstances.

2024-11-24: Only one item is allowed to be nominated per category.

POLL LINK

[PhirmEggplant]

So does someone do this every year?

[Knugcab]

It has more or less been like that, yes. 2022 awards were delayed until 2023 and grouped together with the 2023 awards.

[PhirmEggplant]

Cool, I’m going for the Manufacturer of the year next year.
(have to step myself up and learn some more about tuning)
New Brand dropping 2025 Gyeong ® ™

[The_Stig_Is_A_Spy]

I'm in the thick of it, everybody knows / They know me where I spam fixtures, and the game froze / I don't know no nothin' 'bout no holy, just mold / Forty somethin' milli' nuts or so, I've been told

3 DAYS LEFT

The nomination poll is still scheduled to close on Saturday (the 30th) at around 19:00 (7:00 pm) EST.

It kinda takes the fun out of the following voting rounds if something or someone were to win by default, so e sure to submit your nominations if you haven’t already, and in as many of the non-required categories as you can!

[The_Stig_Is_A_Spy]

DQ'D NOMINATIONS

As the nomination deadline approaches, there is a larger than expected amount of nominations that I am unable to accept due to being outside the categories' target criteria.

In particular, multiple nominees for “Newcomer of the Year” were not in fact newcomers, and “Mod of the Year” is a category for Steam Workshop items, not community moderators. I realize that having a phrase such as “Game Mod” instead of just “Mod” would have minimized any ambiguity, but on the other hand, if the category was for the latter, its name would have “Moderator” spelled out in full.

Please don’t hesitate to DM me on Discord or Discourse (preferably before the nomination window closes) if you believe you have nominated something or someone incorrectly in any category and would like to amend it. Thank you for your understanding.