Housing Contest - Cruel Rule Needing Clarification

[InkstainedGwyn]

I ended up disqualifying myself because a large mansion in Shirogane went up for sale and I bought it, obliterating my little Shirogane cottage forever, but this was an opportunity I sure as heck wasn't going to miss.
I do hope there will be another contest in the future since I've spend weeks filling out my new home.
Still I feel the entries should have been judged by the screenshots alone, since I bought the new home well after the contest entry period had ended.

I, for one, hope they're looking at more than just screenshots. It's so hard to get all the good stuff into 6 shots, especially when you like to decorate your house with rooms and nooks.

[Edax]

I, for one, hope they're looking at more than just screenshots. It's so hard to get all the good stuff into 6 shots, especially when you like to decorate your house with rooms and nooks.

That's a fair point, I didn't think of that. Still, for a contest that's suppose to be fun, that's a few long months to keep a house unmodified.
If they allowed Youtube, I could have filmed a tour, and there would have been no doubt that was my house.

[Beckett]

I, for one, hope they're looking at more than just screenshots. It's so hard to get all the good stuff into 6 shots, especially when you like to decorate your house with rooms and nooks.

I would imagine that's the reason why this contest takes so long. They need to actually go to each house to judge them in their entirety, perhaps just using the screenshots to weed out the worst ones.

[Dustytome]

Still I feel the entries should have been judged by the screenshots alone, since I bought the new home well after the contest entry period had ended.

It's likely so they can confirm people weren't just grabbing images off housingsnap and such and passing them off as their own, of course they could be judging off the full tour as well. That does seem like a bit of stretch to wait though for people that love to change things up. Only about a month to go, though that does lock contestants from doing Halloween decorations (of course it also means possible lost mogstation sales for decorations unobtainable in game now).

[nranola]

I ended up disqualifying myself because a large mansion in Shirogane went up for sale and I bought it, obliterating my little Shirogane cottage forever, but this was an opportunity I sure as heck wasn't going to miss.

Housing contest is fleeting, but a Shirogane large is forever. Was I in your shoes I would have done the exact same thing. Congrats on your new home!


As far as clarification regarding the rule goes, I would have to agree that we be told what the restrictions are as it seems like different people are interpreting the rule in different ways. If we use our flower pots during the judging period, would we be disqualified? What about if we place something in the house just to preview it but remove it again afterwards? What about food items that can be immediately replaced? Little nuances like this need clarification.

[Ryaz]

One of my FC mates gave up on the contest and remodeled his basement. Having to keep your house static for months is crap.

[Neko_Yanagi]

I had to just listen to a FC leader friend rant for 20 mins on how an officer of her FC removed and threw out an item in the FC house, and now the house may no longer qualify for the contest because of it... The officer's defense was that "someone had eaten up all of one of the food items, so wouldn't that already be considered a change to the estate? I was just getting rid of it to replace it later."

It was one of those pumpkin stews from a few Halloween events ago I think. No one in the FC has another to replace it with. The FC leader might have to buy one off the Mogstation, but she's not sure if she's already disqualified just because a change was a made. It may all be for nothing.

Some people take these contests super seriously. In addition, no one has an answer for when this sort of thing happens, since it wasn't specified in the contest rules.

[Kio]

It would be nice to know when we could rearrange our furniture. I agree it's really disheartening to have new items added and the judging period not be over. Halloween is my fave holiday so skipping it this year is heartbreaking. Especially assuming I don't even win anything and it was all for naught.
Some people in replies were a bit harsh. Please understand for a lot of people decorating is their main source of fun, we all play for different reasons. Yes we read the rules but doesn't mean we can't groan about it.

[Legion88]

What is the problem with interpreting this rule?

It is as clearly as possible.

"Do not make any changes to your estate until after Sponsor reveals the winning entries."

And in the context of the contest it is clearly stated that they are meaning the interior of the house/private chamber.

For comparson the german version:
Verändern Sie Ihre Unterkunft nicht, bis der Sponsor die gewinnenden Beiträge bekannt gegeben hat.
Translated this means:
Don't change anything at your housing till the sponsor reveals the winners.

[InkstainedGwyn]

What is the problem with interpreting this rule?

It is as clearly as possible.

"Do not make any changes to your estate until after Sponsor reveals the winning entries."

And in the context of the contest it is clearly stated that they are meaning the interior of the house/private chamber.

For comparson the german version:
Verändern Sie Ihre Unterkunft nicht, bis der Sponsor die gewinnenden Beiträge bekannt gegeben hat.
Translated this means:
Don't change anything at your housing till the sponsor reveals the winners.

That's why I'm being "harsh" in this thread. "Don't change anything" means anything. Anything at no time has ever meant "only some things" or "this but not that".



And I'm sorry, but how does "changing the decorations inside the estate is fine but you can't change the name or greeting" make any sense when it comes to an interior design contest?

I get that decoration is the lifeblood of many people in this thread, and it's one of the things I enjoy most about this game. But all I'm hearing is "I know I read the rules but I changed my mind, I want to be able to participate but still use the new toys right now can't you make an exception?" There's nothing about the word "anything" that is vague. The aquarium patch notes were confusing, this is not.