Let's keep any accusations of cheating out of this thread please. If you believe you've spotted something questionable, please just let me know about it by PM and I'll deal with it.
Vote tampering is the one thing I have no patience for in these events (as a few select people know). I do my best to watch the results closely and will contact entrants the second anything looks amiss.
Now with regards to the rest of the conversation:
As of right now, based on the points brought up, I do not believe any changes to the rules or the structure of the WDS is necessary. I have to side with nos2's view of things here.
About traffic:
Anyone on any given week could decide to toss a few AI obstacles on the track, it's just a matter of if you're in a creative enough mood to do it. I fail to see why it's a problem if people suddenly decide to vote for that video.
About music:
Music stays - it lets people add a little personality to their video, and I think that does definitely have a place in the WDS. It is your choice, as an entrant, whether to add music or not.
I find it hard to believe that anyone here would hinge their their decision entirely on the music in a video. That was just Suzuki looking a little too deep into an innocent comment/compliment.
About extra drifts:
Depending on the theme it may be necessary to show an extra turn or two before the section starts so that the loading screen will be visible so I can check that the entered vehicle has met any criteria limitting power output or tire compounds. The instant I take that away you'll all start accusing each other of mating a false loading screen to a clip that starts half way though a lap.
As for extra drifts after a run has supposed to have ended, I may be persuaded to do something about that if it is still seen as a problem in future weeks. We'll leave that open for now.
About dking's comments ...'a true battle of skills':
Lets mosey back to September when
the WDS was just some idea in my head.
me
There'll be much less emphasis on the line/angle/smoke/control type criteria used in the GTPDC in the voting - it'll just be a poll for 'which do you like the most'. You are, of course, free to use GTPDC categories to decide which you like most if you want... whatever matters to you. Personally, because the sections will only consist of a few corners, creativity is going to be a bit important in getting my vote.
So ya, that's the plan. Hopefully it becomes a popular idea. I think it'll serve as a great way to get people interested in friendly competition here without too much pressure. And because the sections are short it'll be easier to get adventurous, it should be quick to get an entry, and on the whole the challenge is less daunting than a full course GTPDC. Additionally, it'll be a great way for new/struggling drifters to get tips (much like I hope the BDC was). Everyone has a week to attempt the section, and then when the poll is put up new drifters will be able to see how others tackled the secton and take notes from that, and continue to practice it on their own.
The intent of the WDS was never to offer an accurate assessment of one's skill. The GTPDC has that covered, and the XDGP has it doubly covered for xlinkers. The WDS is meant to be a low-pressure fun competition with quick turn-around, and a place to show a little creativity outside of what is normally permitted in the GTPDC. You can also read from that quote that I'd hoped it'd be a decent learning environment for less experienced drifters.
You may also have noticed that the idea was to have people vote for the video they like most, and not necessarily the one that has the best drifting. I think it's great if people are focussed primarily on the drift quality, but that is not a requisite for tossing your two cents in. People can vote for videos for any reason they see fit to vote for it,
apart from being asked to vote for it by a friend. There's no big money on the line, and how you finish is no definite statement about your drifting skill.
If any of that is not what you were bargaining for, then by all means go and do something else. As nos2 suggested, petition Swift or Sheron to get another GTPDC up if a solid analysis of your drifting performance is what you're looking for.
You guys are all starting to take this thing a bit too seriously, methinks.
...oh, and if you're going to reply to this post of mine, please don't quote the whole thing. You'll make a mess.