The Face of the Update Design Competition (Final Results are up!)

The Face of the Update Design Competition

Background

For nearly four and a half years, @thecarlover’s RCM Alouette Sport 444 has graced the top of our Steam library page, like so…

While it was - and still very much is - a well-designed car, the time has come to replace this beloved machine as the “face” of Automation, as the game has moved on dramatically in that time. And what better time than now, with the LCV4.2 update now only weeks away from full release?

But what kind of car should be the face of the 4.2 Update? Considering that LCV4.2 was very heavy on updating our engine calculations, we need a category of cars that live and die by their engines, so without further ado…


Challenge Category - 1990 to 2010 "Roadster Revival"

For many years, the ultimate expression of the sports car was a small, two-seat convertible or roadster, often from Italy or the UK. As time progressed, customer tastes changed, but these cars didn’t, with sales stagnating and leaving many to wonder if the traditional sports car was dead. All that changed in 1989, when a certain little sports car from Japan suddenly and dramatically revived the segment in an instant. Almost overnight, every manufacturer wanted a piece of this segment. From mid-mounted boxer engines, to high-revving 4 and 6 cylinder engines mounted up front, the engineering in these cars was as wildly different as their styling, but they all served one purpose - to put a smile on the driver’s face.

Car Inspirations







Challenge Rules


--> All entries must be from the LCV4.2 Beta ONLY <--

Workshop mods are ALLOWED!

  • All entries must be submitted through the Face of the Update Design Competition Form, found here. Entries will not be accepted by email, direct messaging or other means.

    • A valid email address is required to enter this competition, as we will be using it to contact prize winners for shipping information, or to re-submit screenshots of their entries for the purpose of this competition only. Camshaft Software LTD will NOT use submitted e-mail addresses for any other purposes.
    • Competition entries open right away, and will be closed at 11:59 PM Pacific Time on Tuesday, August 16th. Refer here for the deadline in your local time.
  • Entrants must provide one 3840x2160 (4K) resolution, in-game screenshot of each of their entries that they feel best showcases their creation, plus the .car file.

    • All screenshots must be named as follows: FOTU - (Your chosen nickname)

      FOTU - YourNickname

    • All .car files must be named as follows - the in-game car model name must be “FOTU - (Your chosen nickname)”; all other fields are free.

      Example: FOTU - YourNickname, Trim 1, Family 1, Variant 1

  • Photoshop of screenshot submissions is allowed for colour corrections and compositing other Automation scenes, props, etc., but compositing screenshots with real-world photographs or elements is not permitted.

  • Collaborative entries will NOT be allowed.

  • Entrants provide the car with the understanding that:

    • Your entry may be discussed in the context of the competition with or without specific mention of the entrant as the creator, and
    • Your entry may be used by us for future marketing material with or without specific mention of the entrant as the creator.
  • Use of submitted entries by Camshaft Software is non-exclusive; entrants may continue to use their competition entries as they see fit.

  • Entries that obviously infringe on copyrighted material will be disqualified; this especially pertains to the use of real-world automotive branding or entertainment media. Inspiration from real-world intellectual property is allowed, just don’t make a complete copy of it!

  • Interiors help with the exterior aesthetics of your cars; it is recommended that a presentable interior (a minimum of dash, seats, steering wheel, etc) be present in your challenge entry, and strongly suggested that a full interior be present if your design is open-roof.


Judging Format

All entries will be pre-judged by Camshaft staff from the images that you submit with your challenge entry.

It is imperative that you make your submission photo as good as you can, with the car standing out properly against the background, and showcasing the features you think make it stand out the best!

The highest-scoring entries from the pre-judging will then proceed to the final judging process, which will be posted on the Automation YouTube channel shortly after the pre-judging process is complete. Only the top 10 to 15 entries will make the final video.

Entries will be scored in the final according to this rubric:

Points Criteria
20 Points Overall appearance: How appealing is the design? Is it era-appropriate? Does it have the “wow” factor?
10 Points Design consistency: Does the design look harmonious from front to rear? If not, do the choices complement each other?
10 Points Attention to detail: Is the design crafted carefully and neatly? Do the paint colours and material/texture choices work?
10 Points Creativity: Is the design a unique (in a positive way) take on the design brief?

Prizes

There are a number of prizes for this challenge:

  • First place - The winning entry will be used as the “face” of the LCV4.2 Update, with their car appearing in promotional material all across Steam relating to Automation, including as the replacement Library “Hero Banner”, and a $50 USD Steam Digital Wallet Code.
  • Second place - $50 USD Steam Digital Wallet Code.
  • Third place - $25 USD Steam Digital Wallet Code.

Contest Closes at 11:59 PM Pacific Time on August 16th. Good luck and have fun!
29 Likes

Will the entries be judged solely on aesthetics?

1 Like

I would like to point out that, browsing the Car-Showcase channel on our Discord, I have noticed there should be a pretty strong demand for a photo workshop… lets call it a… FOTU Workshop!

I could be streaming and talk about some of the basics on how to take a good car photo in and outside of Automation. Using your shots of cars (for the competition or otherwise) as examples would make that even better. You could submit beforehand or during the stream to get some hands-on feedback and tips. That should be good fun and you probably can pick up a thing or two that will serve you well in this and future design competitions.

If you think that’s a decent idea and you would actually show up for that, gimmie a little heart! :smiley:

Okay, let me quickly take a look at the showcase. This is not meant to be mean… we all want less of this:

image

and more of this:

image

Sorry :sweat_smile:
Cheers!

13 Likes

is it allowed to use other bodies (those not flagged as convertible) and fixture the roof away?

That would be within the spirit of the challenge, yes.
Photoshopping the roof away would not be that however. :slight_smile:

2 Likes

figured.

takeaway is that as long as the car was made within the game and can be opened roof-less without shitting itself, it’s legal

Is the photograph we send gonna automatically be the one you guys use for advertising, or are you planning to re-take one of your own?
And if the former, should we be conscious of formatting for the banner and such?

Also, do ya’ll have any preference regarding adjustments such as convertible top up down, lights on/off, manequin in passenger seat or no, etc? (Or are these things you guys would adjust yourself if re-taking the photograph?)

Also also, more of a request than anything; if you do the stream, could you record and upload it somewhere so those who miss it live can still see it?

4 Likes

Some photos might be so good that we’d use them as is, while others would be reshot. If we wanted to make a banner with a messed up aspect ratio we’d reshot for that with the winning car.

We don’t have any preferences regarding convertible up/down, lights, etc. You make it look good! If an image wins and we think it would be even better shot differently with lights on, then that’ll happen.

And yes, that stream would be recorded and uploaded to our YouTube channel!
With that in mind, participants can submit their images beforehand so not everyone has to be there live. But I’ll likely choose from a pool of submitted images and live ones as they come.

8 Likes

Thanks!

Last thing, how would you want us to submit a photo for the stream?

I’ll get that announced, as well as its format, along with the stream announcement if interest is high enough :slight_smile:

6 Likes

Is there any way we can change the photo we have submitted if we realise it kinda sucks? Asking for a friend like.

2 Likes

The rules say that a 4k resolution image for “each” of your entries is required. I take that to mean you can enter more than 1 submission? That’s just me though. It might be worth clarifying.

I assume by “each” it means each and every one of us

Unfortunately no…once you submit your photo, it goes into an automated system that would kinda break if you re-submitted.

One entry per person only, for obvious reasons :stuck_out_tongue:

4 Likes

so, how do you take pictures with the open top?

2 Likes

You can set the roof or convertible bit to be invisible in the paint options of the car.

3 Likes

@Riley is correct, set the convertible top material to invisible. If you want windows down or you’re turning a coupe into a convertible, there are also cutout patches you can cover parts of the car in and set to invisible.

4 Likes

Is there any way to resubmit if we forget to use the correct formatting on the .car file?

doing the window thing is tooooo much work

6 Likes
Friendly reminder that entries close in just over four days from now!
7 Likes