Internet Ray Tracing Competition Rules (Stills)

Version of May 1998

Here you will find a guide to what is allowed, what is required, and what is 'in the spirit of the competition'.

Contents

1. Summary
2. Etiquette
3. Acceptable tools
4. Submissions
5. Image File
6. Text File
7. FTP Submissions
8. Email Submissions
9. Web Submissions
10. Judging and prizes

1. Summary

   1. Create an image that is your interpretation of the topic for the current competition. We strongly suggest making a single entry per round, but will accept more.
   2. You may use any rendering program(s) to make your images.
   3. You may not use paint programs, image editors or similar programs to change your image after rendering. See [Image File] for exceptions.
   4. Your image may be any width and height, as long as the file is 250kb or smaller.
   5. You must include a specially formatted text file explaining how you made your images, and if possible a Zip archive file containing the source files for them. We have a template text file and an example text file available at our ftp-site (ftp.irtc.org/pub).
   6. You can send us your entries by ftp (ftp.irtc.org/pub/stills/incoming), email (irtc-submit-stills@irtc.org), or the web.
   7. Please read the copyright which applies to all submissions (available in our ftp site, ftp.irtc.org/pub).
   8. Winners are chosen by a public vote. Winners receive prizes donated by our sponsors.

2. Etiquette

   This describes the intentions of the competition and what we hope to gain from it.
   1. This is an open competition. We want to encourage everyone to put thought into the descriptions that are put into the text file. We hope that knowledge and techniques can be passed from peer to peer in this way.
   2. It is strongly recommended that you submit a Zip archive containing some or all of the source files for public use. However, we understand those who need to protect their work from exploitation, and do not require this. You may include whatever you think necessary or helpful in this file, and there is no size restriction, but please remember that hard disk space is not infinite.
   3. The competition is not about winning. You do not have to be a professional, or even any good! Experts are welcome, but the contest is run by and for amateurs with cheap tools. Those lucky enough to have more impressive skills and equipment are asked to share their wisdom, but we are more impressed by someone who can be creative with what they have, than someone who has everything.
   4. The IRTC reserves the right to reject and remove any submission, at any time, for any reason.
   5. Finally, These rules exist primarily to make the task of running the competition more manageable, and as automatic as possible. The organizers spend considerable time running the event, so please help them and stick to the rules.

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3. Acceptable Tools

   This describes what software and hardware you may use.
   1. You may use any hardware. We recommend computers! Scanners, digitizers, and motion-capture are all acceptable.
   2. Any rendering program is acceptable. The competition welcomes the use of cheap or free software rather than packages only available to a few professionals. There is nothing wrong with using such software.
   3. Any support software is acceptable provided it is not used to alter the final image see [Image File]. The use of lparsers, add-on modelers, texture editors, and landscape generators is fine. Paint programs may be used for the creation of image maps and the like, but may not be used to alter the rendered image.
   4. You may use objects and textures downloaded from the internet or purchased commercially, but it is not encouraged. Similarly you may use other people's images as image-maps or textures within your own work. In all cases, you must get permission from the creator of the object or image. If you use such objects or images, you must make this known with proper acknowledgments in the text file accompanying your submission. You may not violate copyrights of any sort.

4. Submissions

   This describes what a submission should look like. Once you have the files of your submission together, you can send them to the IRTC via email, ftp, or the web.
   1. A submission must contain a JPEG image file with the .jpg file-name extension (e.g. "foo.jpg"). See the [Image File] section.
   2. A submission must contain a specially formatted text file with the .txt file-name extension. (e.g. "foo.txt") See the [Text File] section.
   3. A submission may contain a Zip archive with the .zip file-name extension (e.g. "foo.zip")
   4. The Zip file may contain any relevant material, such as source files, image maps and so forth. You may also include a PNG format file in your Zip archive file if you like.
   5. All files in a submission must have the same base-name. Meaning that the first part of the files you submit (the part before the extension) must all be completely identical. For example: "clocks.jpg , clocks.txt , and clocks.zip".
   6. The base-name should be 8 characters or less, and may only contain numbers ("0..9") and letters ("a..z") and underscores ("_"). Case is not preserved. All entries will be made to conform to this standard. Non-standard characters will be removed from names, all extra characters will be chopped off, and all uppercase characters will be made lowercase. These are ISO-9660 (CD-ROM) naming restrictions.
   7. Your entry will be renamed if it conflicts with an already existing entry's name. To ensure your name is unique, you may want to look to see what names people have already used. A common name collision avoidance technique is to use your initials as the first few characters of your base-name.
   8. Submissions must be uploaded by the deadline.

   If your submission is acceptable, you will be sent email which states that your submission was accepted. If your submission is unacceptable, you will be sent email describing what was wrong with your submission. If you make a submission, but do not get email back within twenty-four hours confirming it, chances are something went wrong--contact the IRTC admins.

   You will not get email (and your submission will not be accepted) if you do not include a properly-formatted and valid email address in your text file.

   When you get email from the Submission Analyzer, look through it for any warnings or errors that your submission may have generated. Errors indicate that your submission was rejected - you will have to resubmit. Warnings indicate that your submission does not quite fit the recommended guidelines for a submission, but it was accepted regardless.

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5. Image File

   This describes what makes an image acceptable.
   1. Only JPEG format image files are acceptable.
   2. The JPEG file must be less than 250k in size.
   3. The JPEG file may have any width or height dimension, though we recommend keeping it "reasonable". The only size restriction on images now is the file size.
   4. All images must be original. You may not use another person's image with or without their permission. You may not use an image that you created in the past. You may of course re-use good ideas and even objects from past images that you have created.
   5. Images must be relevant to the competition's topic.
   6. Images must not be enhanced or altered ('post-processed') by use of paint programs such as PhotoShop(tm) etc. There are exceptions to this rule:
      1. You may convert images to JPEG format.
      2. You may add text information (name, title, email address, copyright. etc...) to your image.
      3. You may gamma-correct and contrast/brightness adjust the image.
      Examples of unacceptable post-processing would be adding lens-glare, tinting skies, or using filters such as motion blur.

6. Format of text file

   This describes the special format of the required text file that must accompany all submissions.
   1. The text file must have a line which starts with the word "EMAIL:" and then is followed by a valid email address.
   2. The text file must have a line which starts with the word "NAME:" and then is followed by the author's name.
   3. The text file must have a line which starts with the word "TOPIC:" and then is followed by the topic for which this submission is being made.
   4. The text file must have a line which consists of these words: "COPYRIGHT: I SUBMIT TO THE STANDARD RAYTRACING COMPETITION COPYRIGHT." By adding this line the author is agreeing to the copyright which the IRTC uses for all submission. Please read the copyright.
   5. There are several other optional fields that we would like to encourage that you add to your text file. They are "TITLE:", "WEBPAGE:", "COUNTRY:", "RENDERER USED:", "TOOLS USED:", "RENDER TIME:", "HARDWARE USED:", and "DESCRIPTION OF HOW THIS IMAGE WAS CREATED:".

   Here is how it all should look: (<>'s should be replaced with your own words)

   EMAIL: <your@email.address>
   NAME: <Your Name>
   TOPIC: <The Topic of the competition you are entering>
   COPYRIGHT: I SUBMIT TO THE STANDARD RAYTRACING COMPETITION COPYRIGHT.
   TITLE: <The Title of your image>
   COUNTRY: <The country you are a citizen of>
   WEBPAGE: <A web page where people might find out more about you or your image>
   RENDERER USED: < povray 2.2 or 3.0beta, 3DS, polyray, etc..>
   TOOLS USED: <tools such as font3d, torpatch, povsb, etc..>
   RENDER TIME: <time your image took to render>
   HARDWARE USED: <Pentium? Sparc? SGI?>
   IMAGE DESCRIPTION:
   <anything you want to say about your image>
   DESCRIPTION OF HOW THIS IMAGE WAS CREATED:
   <Description of how you created your image, what techniques you used, etc..>
   

   The FIRST FOUR lines, EMAIL, NAME, TOPIC and COPYRIGHT MUST be filled in correctly. The others are optional but strongly recommended.

   The email address MUST BE VALID. If you get anything right, get this one part right - if you don't, the automated submission script will not be able to tell you what went wrong.

   We have a template text file and an example text file available at our ftp-site (ftp.irtc.org:/pub).

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7. FTP Submissions

   This describes how to send your submission to the IRTC using a File Transfer Protocol client, or ftp program.
   1. Simply connect your ftp program to the host ftp.irtc.org, then connect to the /pub/incoming directory. (ftp://ftp.irtc.org/pub/stills/incoming)
   2. Transfer your text file in ASCII mode.
   3. Transfer your JPEG and Zip files in Binary mode.
   4. To confirm transfer check the size of the files after you have uploaded them.

8. Email Submissions

   This describes how to send your submission to the IRTC using electronic Mail.
   1. Your ".txt", ".jpg", and optional ".zip" files may accompany your e-mail message as MIME attachments. Most Internet e-mail programs which support attachments use MIME. If you use attachments, you may attach one, two, or all three files to any given e-mail message. NOTE: do not insert your ".txt" file into the body of your message. It *must* be attached in the same way your image and zip-file are attached.
   2. Your ".txt", ".jpg", and optional ".zip" files may be uuencoded and inserted into the body of separate e-mail messages. Only the first uuencoded file in the body of a message is used, so each uuencoded file must be in a different message. The multiple messages which make up a submission (at least two, one for the ".txt" file and one for the ".jpg", and optionally a third for the ".zip" file) must be sent close together in time--they all must arrive within an hour of each other or they will look like an incomplete submission and be rejected. This isn't usually a problem, but try to avoid sending some files before lunch and the other ones afterward! NOTE: do not insert your ".txt" file into the body of any of these messages as plain text. If you use the uuencoding method of submission, the ".txt" file must also be uuencoded.
   3. Either of these two submission techniques may be used, but they may not be combined, at least in the same message. If you attach something to a message and also insert a uuencoded file into the body, the uuencoded file will be ignored.
   4. All other submission rules apply to e-mail submissions. They are treated exactly the same as ftp submissions, except for the way they get to the competition site.
   5. The e-mail address for competition submissions is irtc-submit-stills@irtc.org.

9. Web Submissions

   This describes how to send your submission to the IRTC using a World Wide Web browser.
   1. Set your web browser to this page: http://www.irtc.org/cgi-bin/irtc_submit_stills.
   2. Follow the prompts.

10. Judging and Prizes

    This describes how images will be judged, how winners will be chosen, and how prizes will be allocated. This provides information for competitors, not rules on how to vote. See the voting pages for more details.
    1. After the deadline, all accepted images will be made available to the Internet via WWW pages and ftp.
    2. Voting will be done via email and WWW, with voting forms available via ftp or through a WWW interface.
    3. Judging will be done by following the rules set forth in the Voting Rules page.
    4. All voters should download all the full-size images before voting.
    5. After a certain time-period, the votes will be tallied and winners will be selected.
    6. There will be three winners, 1st, 2nd and 3rd. These will receive prizes at the discretion of the IRTC admin team.

Good luck, and have fun!

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