 Passion MSX Reviews
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[ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest
Published by Mars2000 on 2008/6/30 (5974 reads)

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RESULTS OF THE CONTEST
| General ranking
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% |
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Playability |
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% |
| 1 - Shift |
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73 |
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1 - Shift |
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68,3 |
| 2 - Equivocal |
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60,3 |
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2 - Equivocal |
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53,3 |
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| Graphics/Visuals |
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% |
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Originality |
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% |
| 1 - Shift |
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71,7 |
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1 - Equivocal |
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68,3 |
| 2 - Equivocal |
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60 |
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1 - Shift |
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68,3 |
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| Musics/SFX |
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% |
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Polish |
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% |
| 1 - Shift |
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81,7 |
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1 - Shift |
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75 |
| 2 - Equivocal |
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63,3 |
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2 - Equivocal |
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56,7 |
The comments of the 3 members of the jury (Daniel Vik,
SuperCobra and mars2000) have been gathered for each game, but
their order is always changing . So you will have a little idea of the
criteria that have guided the jury's choice !
1. SHIFT
- 73 %
Big winner all categories |
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Team : Infinite
Code - Concept : Edwin
Graphics - Musics : Wolf
Game genre : Thinking
Format : 256 KB ROM
Year : 2009
Downloads :
- version 1.0 (submitted to the
contest)
- version 1.1 |
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- This is a good game, highly addictive -
long playing hours guaranteed. Well done Infinite
!
- A nice puzzle game. Its not as addictive as
some puzzlers are, but its certainly a well put
together game.
- A good thinking game for the fans of this type
of game ! |
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| Graphics/Visuals
- 71,7 % |
- The general look of the game is
nice what concerns the graphics, it is very
appropriate for a thinking game
- Not a whole lot of special effects, but nice
backgrounds and play field.
- Nice tables, nice gems: an overall good effort. |
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| Musics/SFX
- 81,7 % |
- The music is well written and
fits the game. They show that the composer knows
his PSG. If a game had this music in the 80's I
would have bought the game no matter how the game
play was. Its a pleasure to listen to.
- Sometimes the musics sound a bit dull, but good
to have different tunes between levels.
- A large variety of musics inspiring action or
thinking following the case, what is stimulating
the player unceasingly. |
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| Playability -
68,3 % |
- Extremelly smooth controls,
fluid. Rules are easy to understand. Got right
into the action for long hours playing.
- If you like this type of game, you will become
very fast addict to it and you will need to
discover all its puzzles !
- Although I'm a big puzzler fan, I find this
game pretty boring. But the controls are great
and the game plays well. |
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| Originality
- 68,3 % |
- You will appreciate that this
type of game was converted with talent for the
MSX system, especially with the 2 difficulty
levels.
- Its not an original game idea, but few MSX
games with this high quality of backgrounds
exists, so in that context its quite original.
- Not seen this game before anywhere, certainly
not on MSX. If this is a fully original concept,
chapeau! Otherwise, nice work to get it working
on MSX ! |
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| Polish -
75 % |
- Normal mode is entertaining.
Time Attack is a nice variant to try levels you
didn't reach in normal mode and to score better
trial after trial.
- The game is polished at high level, with
exception for an unfortunate bug.
- Screen 8 really gives a nice polish and
together with the music it gives a great
impression. The movement of the balls especially
the bouncing back on illegal moves shows that the
creators have put a lot of effort into making the
game as enjoyable as possible. |
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2. EQUIVOCAL - 60,3 %
1st ex-aequo for the originality |
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Team : The New
Image (TNI)
Code - Concept - Graphics - Musics :
GuyveR800
Additionnal Code - Sounds FX : BiFiMSX
Game genre : Shooter
Format : 32 KB ROM
Bonus : MSX-MUSIC musics
Year : 2009
Downloads :
- version 1.0 (submitted to the
contest)
- version 1.5 |
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- The final version sent after the deadline
would have scored a few more points. Though TNI
added a nice sense of (dirty) humour, I could not
get very enthusiastic while playing Equivocal.
Either I am a very bad player, or it's just that
I could not see why I should play it over and
over again.
- A good and original shooter that would deserve
to be extended to other stages !
- Its a simple shooter with some nice
aspects, like smooth movement of items, but the
game doesn't feel complete and ready for release.
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| Graphics/Visuals - 60 % |
- Clean but no crazyness (except in Dirty
Mode). Enemies, options etc. are far too small.
- Good graphics for the background and the
sprites, also their fitting to create a game
which moves and attracts the eyes !
- Nothing special here. The scroll is simple but
nice but the enemies and the main ship really
doesn't look that great. |
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| Musics/SFX - 63,3 % |
- Dynamic musics and good sound effects, but
a bit variation is missing.
- Ok music for this type of game. It doesn't
enhance the game, but its not annoying either. A
bit more variation would have been nice.
- Cool (even more in FM mode), drives the
gameplay up. |
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| Playability - 53,3 % |
- It plays like any average shooter, but
there is not much variations.
- The basics are working but I couldn't get very
excited (sorry), nor got far into the game
some bad flickering here and there - and game
crashed a couple times during testing (solved
with latest releases but I am not allowed to
judge that version.)
- You become fast addict to the game and it's a
good way to release the tension, but do you want
really to make a megascore ? |
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| Originality - 68,3 % |
- A shoot'em down/up/away or whatever you
want to call it. The Dirty Mode helped staying
above the average.
- A shooter with a strange name, an equivocal (!)
story, elements with double meaning that become
reality in a special mode of the game. Yes, we
meet originality !
- Well, its a shooter, but it certainly
has some elements that makes it a bit unique. |
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| Polish - 56,7 % |
- The developers have been short of time to
provide a perfect product, you will note
especially a bad corruption bug which happens
sometimes to waste the pleasure.
- Some things are really nice, the game plays
very smooth, but apart from the smooth movements,
there aren't too much more that adds to the
polish. The amount of smooth moving objects shows
that the team knows how to code, and the
smoothess does enhance the overall feeling of the
game.
- Since I didn't came far into the game, maybe I
missed something (outside the main screen options). |
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ANNOUNCEMENT
OF THE CONTEST
The Passion MSX team (SuperCobra and mars2000) is very proud to
announce the launch of a game development contest dedicated to
the second generation of the MSX standard : MSX2
!!! As for the MSXdev' contest, focused on MSX1, we hope that
many new games of high quality will see the daylight to become
source of fun for many gamers.
The deadline is fixed to 30 June
2009 23h59 CET, allowing you a full year to
develop a beautiful and wonderful game. You can also inform us
about your project before submitting it so that Passion MSX can
announce it. This will also give you the opportunity to openly
discuss it through our forums.
The e-mail address for all your contacts with
the Passion MSX team concerning this contest is passionmsx2@msxblue.com
Prizes
A money-prize loot of 999 will be shared between the best 3
projects
1st prize - Best Project will win 433
.
2nd prize - Runner Up will win 333 .
3rd prize - Second Runner Up will win 233
.
A jury will appreciate the games and make the decision for these
prizes. It is composed as following : the Passion MSX team (SuperCobra
and mars2000) and Daniel Vik, main coder of the
blueMSX emulator and author of great MSX1 demos and games.
Rules of the contest
1 - Format of the game
The game needs to be submitted under the form of a ROM
file with a mazimum size of 512 kb. Smaller games are of course
allowed.
2 - Allowed mappers
To allow maximum compatibility with real machines, only the
following mappers will be accepted for MegaROMs : konami
without SCC, konami with SCC, ASCII
8KB and ASCII 16KB.
For more infos about these mappers, check this technical document
:
http://bifi.msxnet.org/msxnet/tech/megaroms.html
3 - Programming language
You can use the programming language of your choice, but of
course assembler is strongly recommended.
Other compiled and/or interpreted languages are perfectly
admissible. MSX BASIC can be used as well, when converted into a
ROM file.
4 - MSX2 compatibility
The submitted game needs to be fully compatible with the
following MSX2 configuration :
- CPU : Zilog Z80A (or clone) running at 3,579 MHz inside the MSX
Engine
- VDP : Yamaha V9938
- PSG : AY-3-8910 or compatible sound chip (Yamaha YM2149)
- Cassette interface: 1200/2400 baud
- Memory Mapper system
- RAM : 64 KB (memory-mapped)
- VRAM : 128 KB
5 - MSX2+ and MSXturboR compatibility
The submitted game needs also to work without any problem on MSX2+
and MSXturboR machines. If is not the case, penalties will be
applied on the score by the jury.
6 - Strict MSX2 tricks and features
The submitted game needs to be developed specifically for the
above mentioned MSX2 configuration. It means that
- screens 0 to 3 can be used, but don't forget that you are
developing a MSX2 game, so think about the specific MSX2 features
of these screens when developing the game (for example :
definition of the color palette);
- screens 4 to 8 can of course be used;
- the rom submitted to the contest can contain bonuses on an
hidden and de-activated way such as other sounds than PSG or
specific MSX2+ or MSXturboR tricks (the activation will need to
press on a specific key with as result the detection of the
required hardware).
Outside the contest and after the contest, you are free to
release an enhanced version with for example MSX-MUSIC sounds or
MSX2+ tricks. It can be a version where these bonuses have been
added as they were not present in the version submitted to the
contest, it can also be a version where these bonuses, initially
hidden and de-activated, are now activated without need to press
on a specific key.
Only the submitted version in the contest will be judged. The
eventual bonuses will not give additionnal points in the jury's
decision.
7 - Originality
Preference is given to original games, but non-original concept
games will be also accepted. This includes conversions from
arcades and/or other console or computer systems, as well as
adaptations of already existent games.
However, recompiled games are not acceptable. Already released
games or hacked games will not be accepted either. Also, direct
graphic or music rips from other authors used without permission
won't be acceptable.
In case of doubt, the organization is entitled to ask for proofs,
such as the source code of the game. Any suspicious game would be
disqualified if the organization decides so.
8 - Package
The submitted package needs to include the following elements :
- the ROM file in its definitive version;
- the games instructions written in English;
- a high-resolution cartridge full-colour sticker.
Only the game itself will be judged.
9 - Status and distribution
All submitted games are freeware, even after the contest closes.
Enhanced versions that are released after and outside the contest
will also have to be freeware, if the concerned improvements were
already present on a hidden and de-activated way in the version
submitted to the contest. In the contrary case, the developper
decides in full freedom the status of the enhanced version.
The freeware status needs to be mentioned in the instructions.
Any freeware license can be used, as long as the full game can be
freely obtained by the users.
Any finished game will be distributed exclusively through Passion
MSX till the contest closes. After July 1st, 2009, developers are
allowed to re-distribute their game(s) through different media as
long as they are downloadable for free.
Should developpers wish to distribute their games on e.g. a
cartridge, they are free to do so and fix a fair price for it as
long as the user still can get the alternative to download the
following versions for free from the internet : the submitted
version to the contest and the improved versions if the bonuses
were hidden and de-activated in the version submitted to the
contest.
Beta versions used for debugging and testing purposes are allowed,
but they should be only distributed to beta-testers.
10 - Jury's decision
By submitting a game to this contest, the developers accept to be
judged on the following points : graphics/visual, musics/sfx,
gameplay, originality and polish. All participants will accept
the final decision of the jury.
Good luck !
The comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
| Poster
| Thread
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| SuperCobra |
Posted: 2008/7/2 13:44 Updated: 2008/7/2 13:44 |
MSX Marshal!   Joined: 2005/9/13 From: Bruxelles Posts: 693 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest Further to comments and reactions posted on other websites, we have clarified point 9. 'Status and distribution' of the rules. Point 4. 'Strict MSX2 compatibility' has been renamed 'MSX2 compatibility' so to avoid any confusion by what we mean as a correct and minimum compatibilty requirements.
Feel free to react on this page, should you still have any questions or comments to share.
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| mars2000 |
Posted: 2008/7/3 9:20 Updated: 2008/7/3 9:20 |
MSX Marshal!   Joined: 2005/10/6 From: Namur (Wallonie) Posts: 1126 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest New precisions have been added to points 6 and 9, especially for the eventual bonuses and the status of the improved versions. 
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| ARTRAG |
Posted: 2008/7/3 19:19 Updated: 2008/7/3 19:19 |
MSX Scout!   Joined: 2007/6/30 From: Posts: 2 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest Can we use the SCC music if we adopt the SCC mapper? What about the "freeware" constrain in this case ? Can I present in the competition the game with SCC mapper but without SCC music and sell the version with SCC music ? 
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| mars2000 |
Posted: 2008/7/3 20:48 Updated: 2008/7/3 22:07 |
MSX Marshal!   Joined: 2005/10/6 From: Namur (Wallonie) Posts: 1126 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest Quote: Can we use the SCC music if we adopt the SCC mapper? Yes, but by default, the SCC detection should be de-activated and the end-user should press a specific key (or make a choice in a menu) to activate the SCC detection and get the SCC sounds in stead or in addition of the PSG sounds. Quote: What about the "freeware" constrain in this case ? Can I present in the competition the game with SCC mapper but without SCC music and sell the version with SCC music ? You can actually even sell the version without SCC music as it is clearly indicated in the rules : "Should developpers wish to distribute their games on e.g. a cartridge, they are free to do so and fix a fair price for it as long as the user still can get the alternative to download the following versions for free from the internet : the submitted version to the contest and the improved versions if the bonuses were hidden and de-activated in the version submitted to the contest." You can also perfectly submit a version to the contest with the SCC musics present in the code, but without any way to activate them. Only you will know that, not the end-user. This version will be freeware, but for the "full SCC" version (with automatic SCC detection without need to press a key or make a choice in a menu), you will choose in full freedom the status, because the SCC musics will be a real improvement for the gamer with, until this moment, only the PSG experience.
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| muffie |
Posted: 2009/3/3 21:39 Updated: 2009/3/3 21:39 |
MSX Scout!   Joined: 2008/11/15 From: Posts: 14 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest How can we check the status of the contest? Submitted games and etc?
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| mars2000 |
Posted: 2009/3/3 22:54 Updated: 2009/3/3 22:56 |
MSX Marshal!   Joined: 2005/10/6 From: Namur (Wallonie) Posts: 1126 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest Until now, no-one has submitted a game or even announced a project.
It does not mean that no-one is interested by the contest, but probably many coders prefer to come with a finished project in the last days just before the deadline (30 june 2009) than announce a project for which they are not sure at 100% that it will be finished before the deadline.
Some ambitious projects require more than one year to be finished, so we can also presume that some coders are always preparing a finished product for the second edition of the Passion MSX contest (whose deadline will be 30 june 2010).
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| RyJuZo |
Posted: 2009/3/5 23:35 Updated: 2009/3/5 23:36 |
MSX Scout!   Joined: 2008/7/15 From: Posts: 10 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest totally true !!
Team-RyJuZo is busy converting the msx-dev entry KnightMare III - Raziëls Revenge, which became to large to enter into msx-dev, into a Msx 2 version for the passionmsx compo ! And it's coming along very well...
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| mars2000 |
Posted: 2009/3/5 23:44 Updated: 2009/3/5 23:44 |
MSX Marshal!   Joined: 2005/10/6 From: Namur (Wallonie) Posts: 1126 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest Very good news ! For all fans of Knightmare and Maze of Galious, this game will be very interesting as it is conceived in the way Shalom (third game of the serie) should have been developed to remain in the logical conception of the 2 first games ... We are very curious to see this entry ! 
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| RyJuZo |
Posted: 2009/6/13 21:13 Updated: 2009/6/13 21:13 |
MSX Scout!   Joined: 2008/7/15 From: Posts: 10 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest We have a question:
In the configuration-specs you mention that developers can use the memory mapped ram of the msx2 which is good ofcourse but..
you also say it should run on a msx2+ but there are a alot of msx2+ machines which only have 64k ram and no memory mapper. The game we're building uses the whole 128k ram for gfx storage/effects/movies etc. So it wont run on a msx2+ with only 64k ram.
we're not going to be penalized for this right?
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| mars2000 |
Posted: 2009/6/13 21:23 Updated: 2009/6/13 21:30 |
MSX Marshal!   Joined: 2005/10/6 From: Namur (Wallonie) Posts: 1126 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest To assure full compatibility with most MSX2+ machines, the rules precise that the MSX2 configuration for which the game is created needs to have
- Memory Mapper system - RAM : 64 KB (memory-mapped) - VRAM : 128 KB
Apparently, you don't have remarked that. What concerns the application of the rules, it will be the responsability of the judges.
If your game is very good on many other points, I don't think it will so much interfere with the final judgement if the game can't be runned on most MSX2+ machines. We should maybe change this rule for next edition of the contest.
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| RyJuZo |
Posted: 2009/6/13 22:54 Updated: 2009/6/13 22:54 |
MSX Scout!   Joined: 2008/7/15 From: Posts: 10 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest no ! please dont change the rules...ever !
the more memory we can use the better the game(s) will be. We compress all the data so we need all the memory to decompress to. We use A LOT of animation-frames, For example we use about 20k for the sprite-animation for the main character alone !!
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| mars2000 |
Posted: 2009/6/13 23:07 Updated: 2009/6/13 23:07 |
MSX Marshal!   Joined: 2005/10/6 From: Namur (Wallonie) Posts: 1126 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest It seems to be very impressive, I think many MSX fans are very impatient to see the final product ... I guess it will be a "bomb" ! 
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| RyJuZo |
Posted: 2009/6/27 1:06 Updated: 2009/6/27 1:06 |
MSX Scout!   Joined: 2008/7/15 From: Posts: 10 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest only 3 days left... how many people have submitted already ?
cause we need a bit more time actually...we got some serious *bugs* and one level still to complete...
any possibility to extend the deadline or something? pretty please.. :) :) :) :) :) :) ;)
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| mars2000 |
Posted: 2009/6/27 1:13 Updated: 2009/6/27 1:33 |
MSX Marshal!   Joined: 2005/10/6 From: Namur (Wallonie) Posts: 1126 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest No, we will not extend the deadline as one year for a contest is very long ! Remark : the deadline is 30 JUNE 2009 - 23h59 CET There is another reason : the 2nd edition of the contest will be launched on 1st July 2009 and the rules will not be changed (except maybe for the MSX2+ compatibility : extension of the RAM to 128 KB could be the solution). So, it means that in the worst case, you can still enter in the 2nd edition.
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| RyJuZo |
Posted: 2009/6/27 2:40 Updated: 2009/6/27 2:40 |
MSX Scout!   Joined: 2008/7/15 From: Posts: 10 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest Okay that's clear.
We'll problably enter the 2nd edition then...
another question then.
let's say we submit our game early for the 2nd edition and send you the files and afterwards we find some bugs which we fix can we still submit the fixed version or is the first submitted version FINAL !? meaning is it wise(r) to wait until the last week or so before submitting?
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| mars2000 |
Posted: 2009/6/27 2:51 Updated: 2009/6/27 2:51 |
MSX Marshal!   Joined: 2005/10/6 From: Namur (Wallonie) Posts: 1126 |
 Re: [ENG] Passion MSX2 Contest Let's take an example : if you submit what you think a final version 6 months before the deadline, then find out some bugs or even want to add a new part, it is always possible during the 6 remaining months before the deadline to submit a new version.
Only the last version submitted before the deadline will be judged.
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