This is a crazy kind of trivia contest made up by some guy named Mark Brader (whose rules have been heavily paraphrased here by me). If you want to participate, make sure you read and understand all the rules, particularly the one about not revealing or debating answers. The thread will be left open, but this is so that people can for instance express what a wonderful idea this is, not so they can ruin the contest.
THE RULES
1. PURPOSE
The contest revolves around a number of questions which are given by the moderator. The objective of the game for each participant is to, for each question, provide an answer that is: a) CORRECT, and b) shared by as FEW other participants as possible.
2. SUBMISSIONS
It is crucial that answers to questions are NOT POSTED OR DISCUSSED here or anywhere else. Before the deadline, answers should ONLY be relayed via PM or email to the moderator. Any public posting of or suggesting answers in the forum is disruptive to the contest and is punishable by strikes as dickery. Any coordination of answers outside the forum is cheating and should not be done since it just isn't fun.
For each question, only one answer can be submitted. If multiple answers to a question are submitted at once, any but the first will be disregarded. Once an answer has been submitted it cannot be changed, unless the question itself is changed.
Answers will be interpreted to the best of the moderator's ability concerning spelling, grammar etc. However, they will be taken as written with respect to what they properly refer to, regardless of intent. If an answer contains an ambiguity that cannot be resolved it may be considered incorrect depending on the question.
Optionally, an answer may be appended with references, clarifications of justifications. In this case, it should be made clear that they are not part of the answer (for instance by using parentheses). If there is no such division a correct answer may easily be read as an incorrect answer.
Questions beginning with the word "name" require an actual proper name to be given. For instance, if the question is to "Name a robot", then "Toto" would be a correct answer while "Dorothy's robot" or "The robot in the NCR power station" would not be correct.
Any written or offline source of information can be used to research possible answers - notably The Vault wiki, NMA info pages, hintbooks, walkthroughs, game files, or the hobo oracle down the street who you are reasonably sure is not himself in the contest. However, DO NOT ask around online for answers or otherwise discuss this with other participants since it violates the rules as well as the spirit of the contest.
For ease of sorting and handling, participants are asked to format their replies something like this, prefixing each answer with the number of the question followed by their name or handle:
0. - BillyBob - 43
1. - BillyBob - Washington D.C.
2. - BillyBob - Luke Skywalker (he has a cameo appearance in the fourth game)
3. - BillyBob - Because they were all killed by the parrot.
4. - BillyBob - Lizards (what else?)
.
.
.
3. SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
For the first contest, all questions and answers relate ONLY to the first two Fallout RPGs, Fallout and Fallout 2, patched with the latest official patches (version 1.1 or 1.2 for Fallout and 1.02 for Fallout 2) but otherwise unmodified. The Fallout demo is not included. Participants deriving answers from non-English versions are responsible for making sure the answers are understandable to someone who is unfamiliar with those versions. The moderator of a future contest may expand or reduce the scope of that contest as desired.
What is true and known is defined exclusively by what is available in-game. Any additional information derived from unused game files or portions of game files, developer documentation or comments, "restored" content, promotional material, popular assent, or other games in the series, is irrelevant REGARDLESS OF CANONICITY. Be particularly mindful of this if you use some external data source to research answers.
Unless a question indicates otherwise, terms have their meaning as used in the game, if there is an obvious application. "You" in a question refers to the player character in any game belonging to the scope. An "item" is something that can be placed in the player character's inventory, not any object visible in the scenery or referred to in dialogue even if clearly identifiable. A "weapon" is something that can be used to make an attack in combat mode, no matter if it could conceivably be used to inflict damage in real life. A "location" is a separate world map location, regardless of any time and distance implied by in-location map or elevation transitions. "Perks" include special perks, but not traits. A "character" is someone who appears in the game, not just anyone who is referred to in any piece of writing; different answers referring to the same person are equivalent. A "quest" has a numbered entry in your PipBoy. And so on.
4. SCORING
The basic rule is this: the score of each participant on a particular question is the number of participants with the same answer or an equivalent answer. For instance, if three people correctly answer "Horrigan", "Frank Horrigan" or "the presidential bodyguard", their score on that question is 3.
If an answer is incorrect or missing, it will incur a penalty score. This is equal to the mean of four numbers: the total number of participants, double the highest number of equivalent answers submitted on that question (whether right or wrong), and the square root of each of those two numbers. All fractions are rounded up.
To arrive at a final score, the scores on the different questions are multiplied together. For instance, a participant in a three-question contest with the scores 1, 2 and 3 would have a final score of 6. The winning total score is the lowest. A perfect score of 1 is possible if a participant submits unique answers to every question.
Most questions will be written so as to produce (or at least invite) unambiguous answers. Sometimes there may be questions that can produce more or less specific correct answers. In this case, a MORE specific answer will usually be scored as if the answers are different, while the LESS specific answer will be scored as if the answers are the same. Note however that there may also be questions asking for categories or abstractions where a specific answer would be worth no more than a general one, or could even be wrong.
Here is a scoring example. The moderator asks participants to name a weapon. Three people answer "10mm SMG", two people answer "Sharpened Spear", two people answer "Spear", one person answers "Rock", one person answers "SMG", one person answers "Shiv" and one person answers "Dracula". Those who answered "10mm SMG" each get 3 points. The person who answered "SMG" gets 4 points because it is a less specific version of "10mm SMG". Those who answered "Sharpened Spear" or "Spear" get 2 points each; "Spear" is not a less specific answer here since there is an item with that exact name. The person who answered "Rock" gets the optimal 1 point for such a discerning choice. "Shiv" is ruled incorrect since that item cannot be used to attack in the game even though it is a weapon on some technical level, and "Dracula" is ruled incorrect because what the heck? The penalty score here is 10, the mean of 11 (number of participants) and 8 (double the highest non-penalty score which was 4).
5. MODERATION
The moderator is solely in charge of deciding whether an answer is correct or incorrect, and whether it is the same as, different from, or a more or less specific version of another answer. There may be requests for clarifications of answers if they present a mystery to the moderator.
Requests for clarifications of questions should be sent in a timely fashion by email or PM to the moderator and NOT discussed publicly (since doing so is likely to hint at some answer or set of possible answers). Furthermore, the moderator must NOT reply in private to any such request. If the moderator decides there's a serious problem with a question, it will be rephrased and reposted here, and those who had already submitted an answer to that question will then be allowed to change it. However, it is more likely the moderator will leave participants to using common sense, since elaborating on a question or definition could very well hurt the idea of the contest just as much as it helps. If you find yourself having to split hairs to justify some obscure answer, it may help to just ask yourself if you might ever feel inclined to challenge such an answer if you were the moderator or another participant. If you find that a question has an absurdly wide scope with some possible interpretation, you can probably assume it's not the one intended.
Moderator calls that are merely arbitrary cannot be appealed. However, if a moderator call is challenged and found to be factually incorrect, it can lead to a rescoring of the contest, especially if it obviously affects the top scores.
The results of the contest will be posted as quickly as possible after the deadline (depends on the number of participants and ease of computation), including a full list of answers given by the top three scorers, a scoreboard featuring the top ten scorers, and a simplified list of all answers to each question with moderator commentary.
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THE CONTEST
<s>The deadline for this round is midnight on Sun 5th April. Submit answers by PM or by plain text email. Feel free to not all submit at the last minute, since that will slow down the scoring.
Since it's impossible to prevent cheating in this kind of contest (unless you run it in some kind of controlled physical environment), there will be no Defonten poster prizes, but if things don't go all wrong, the winner will be granted a custom title (unless it's SuAside).
The questions for this round are these:
0. Name a named inhabitant of Arroyo.
1. Name a character that you can blackmail.
2. Name a character who may hand you a weapon as a reward or part of a reward.
3. Name a quest whose successful completion unavoidably involves killing someone or something.
4. Name a weapon with a throwing attack mode.
5. Name a unique item that is brought from one world map location to another to solve a quest.
6. Name an item that appears uniquely in Fallout and which also appears in Fallout 2.
7. Name a perk that directly increases damage with some attack.
8. Name a perk that indirectly (i.e. without raising the corresponding skill level) may increase your chance to succeed at some skill check.
9. Name a pre-war company or brand name.</s>
Check somewhere below for the current questions.
THE RULES
1. PURPOSE
The contest revolves around a number of questions which are given by the moderator. The objective of the game for each participant is to, for each question, provide an answer that is: a) CORRECT, and b) shared by as FEW other participants as possible.
2. SUBMISSIONS
It is crucial that answers to questions are NOT POSTED OR DISCUSSED here or anywhere else. Before the deadline, answers should ONLY be relayed via PM or email to the moderator. Any public posting of or suggesting answers in the forum is disruptive to the contest and is punishable by strikes as dickery. Any coordination of answers outside the forum is cheating and should not be done since it just isn't fun.
For each question, only one answer can be submitted. If multiple answers to a question are submitted at once, any but the first will be disregarded. Once an answer has been submitted it cannot be changed, unless the question itself is changed.
Answers will be interpreted to the best of the moderator's ability concerning spelling, grammar etc. However, they will be taken as written with respect to what they properly refer to, regardless of intent. If an answer contains an ambiguity that cannot be resolved it may be considered incorrect depending on the question.
Optionally, an answer may be appended with references, clarifications of justifications. In this case, it should be made clear that they are not part of the answer (for instance by using parentheses). If there is no such division a correct answer may easily be read as an incorrect answer.
Questions beginning with the word "name" require an actual proper name to be given. For instance, if the question is to "Name a robot", then "Toto" would be a correct answer while "Dorothy's robot" or "The robot in the NCR power station" would not be correct.
Any written or offline source of information can be used to research possible answers - notably The Vault wiki, NMA info pages, hintbooks, walkthroughs, game files, or the hobo oracle down the street who you are reasonably sure is not himself in the contest. However, DO NOT ask around online for answers or otherwise discuss this with other participants since it violates the rules as well as the spirit of the contest.
For ease of sorting and handling, participants are asked to format their replies something like this, prefixing each answer with the number of the question followed by their name or handle:
0. - BillyBob - 43
1. - BillyBob - Washington D.C.
2. - BillyBob - Luke Skywalker (he has a cameo appearance in the fourth game)
3. - BillyBob - Because they were all killed by the parrot.
4. - BillyBob - Lizards (what else?)
.
.
.
3. SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
For the first contest, all questions and answers relate ONLY to the first two Fallout RPGs, Fallout and Fallout 2, patched with the latest official patches (version 1.1 or 1.2 for Fallout and 1.02 for Fallout 2) but otherwise unmodified. The Fallout demo is not included. Participants deriving answers from non-English versions are responsible for making sure the answers are understandable to someone who is unfamiliar with those versions. The moderator of a future contest may expand or reduce the scope of that contest as desired.
What is true and known is defined exclusively by what is available in-game. Any additional information derived from unused game files or portions of game files, developer documentation or comments, "restored" content, promotional material, popular assent, or other games in the series, is irrelevant REGARDLESS OF CANONICITY. Be particularly mindful of this if you use some external data source to research answers.
Unless a question indicates otherwise, terms have their meaning as used in the game, if there is an obvious application. "You" in a question refers to the player character in any game belonging to the scope. An "item" is something that can be placed in the player character's inventory, not any object visible in the scenery or referred to in dialogue even if clearly identifiable. A "weapon" is something that can be used to make an attack in combat mode, no matter if it could conceivably be used to inflict damage in real life. A "location" is a separate world map location, regardless of any time and distance implied by in-location map or elevation transitions. "Perks" include special perks, but not traits. A "character" is someone who appears in the game, not just anyone who is referred to in any piece of writing; different answers referring to the same person are equivalent. A "quest" has a numbered entry in your PipBoy. And so on.
4. SCORING
The basic rule is this: the score of each participant on a particular question is the number of participants with the same answer or an equivalent answer. For instance, if three people correctly answer "Horrigan", "Frank Horrigan" or "the presidential bodyguard", their score on that question is 3.
If an answer is incorrect or missing, it will incur a penalty score. This is equal to the mean of four numbers: the total number of participants, double the highest number of equivalent answers submitted on that question (whether right or wrong), and the square root of each of those two numbers. All fractions are rounded up.
To arrive at a final score, the scores on the different questions are multiplied together. For instance, a participant in a three-question contest with the scores 1, 2 and 3 would have a final score of 6. The winning total score is the lowest. A perfect score of 1 is possible if a participant submits unique answers to every question.
Most questions will be written so as to produce (or at least invite) unambiguous answers. Sometimes there may be questions that can produce more or less specific correct answers. In this case, a MORE specific answer will usually be scored as if the answers are different, while the LESS specific answer will be scored as if the answers are the same. Note however that there may also be questions asking for categories or abstractions where a specific answer would be worth no more than a general one, or could even be wrong.
Here is a scoring example. The moderator asks participants to name a weapon. Three people answer "10mm SMG", two people answer "Sharpened Spear", two people answer "Spear", one person answers "Rock", one person answers "SMG", one person answers "Shiv" and one person answers "Dracula". Those who answered "10mm SMG" each get 3 points. The person who answered "SMG" gets 4 points because it is a less specific version of "10mm SMG". Those who answered "Sharpened Spear" or "Spear" get 2 points each; "Spear" is not a less specific answer here since there is an item with that exact name. The person who answered "Rock" gets the optimal 1 point for such a discerning choice. "Shiv" is ruled incorrect since that item cannot be used to attack in the game even though it is a weapon on some technical level, and "Dracula" is ruled incorrect because what the heck? The penalty score here is 10, the mean of 11 (number of participants) and 8 (double the highest non-penalty score which was 4).
5. MODERATION
The moderator is solely in charge of deciding whether an answer is correct or incorrect, and whether it is the same as, different from, or a more or less specific version of another answer. There may be requests for clarifications of answers if they present a mystery to the moderator.
Requests for clarifications of questions should be sent in a timely fashion by email or PM to the moderator and NOT discussed publicly (since doing so is likely to hint at some answer or set of possible answers). Furthermore, the moderator must NOT reply in private to any such request. If the moderator decides there's a serious problem with a question, it will be rephrased and reposted here, and those who had already submitted an answer to that question will then be allowed to change it. However, it is more likely the moderator will leave participants to using common sense, since elaborating on a question or definition could very well hurt the idea of the contest just as much as it helps. If you find yourself having to split hairs to justify some obscure answer, it may help to just ask yourself if you might ever feel inclined to challenge such an answer if you were the moderator or another participant. If you find that a question has an absurdly wide scope with some possible interpretation, you can probably assume it's not the one intended.
Moderator calls that are merely arbitrary cannot be appealed. However, if a moderator call is challenged and found to be factually incorrect, it can lead to a rescoring of the contest, especially if it obviously affects the top scores.
The results of the contest will be posted as quickly as possible after the deadline (depends on the number of participants and ease of computation), including a full list of answers given by the top three scorers, a scoreboard featuring the top ten scorers, and a simplified list of all answers to each question with moderator commentary.
---
THE CONTEST
<s>The deadline for this round is midnight on Sun 5th April. Submit answers by PM or by plain text email. Feel free to not all submit at the last minute, since that will slow down the scoring.
Since it's impossible to prevent cheating in this kind of contest (unless you run it in some kind of controlled physical environment), there will be no Defonten poster prizes, but if things don't go all wrong, the winner will be granted a custom title (unless it's SuAside).
The questions for this round are these:
0. Name a named inhabitant of Arroyo.
1. Name a character that you can blackmail.
2. Name a character who may hand you a weapon as a reward or part of a reward.
3. Name a quest whose successful completion unavoidably involves killing someone or something.
4. Name a weapon with a throwing attack mode.
5. Name a unique item that is brought from one world map location to another to solve a quest.
6. Name an item that appears uniquely in Fallout and which also appears in Fallout 2.
7. Name a perk that directly increases damage with some attack.
8. Name a perk that indirectly (i.e. without raising the corresponding skill level) may increase your chance to succeed at some skill check.
9. Name a pre-war company or brand name.</s>
Check somewhere below for the current questions.
