Compos

Page content

COMPETITIONS

Outline is an Atari party at heart, but all platforms are welcome to strut their stuff.

Deadline for compo entries is on the day of the comp on 12:00 noon (see timetable)

Acceptance of any prods after this deadline cannot be guaranteed and could only in theory be considered if the prod is delivered along with a perferable 1920x1080 or else 1280x720 video recording that works in VLC.

You will be able to submit your entry in our partysystem, also as remote competitor. For remote participation you don’t need to buy a ticket. If you win a compo you can ask someone thats present at the party to claim your price. We won’t sent any prices to remote winners (sorry).

You can send your remote entry via wuhu

Think we should add a compo?

If we get a suggestion for a compo and entries from at least 3 participants we’ll be happy to discuss further details about the compo with you.

General Rules

  • Anyone is allowed to participate in our compos and we welcome remote entries which can submitted through wuhu
  • Only previously unreleased work may be entered into the competitions.
  • Use common sense, don’t break any Dutch laws, respect copyright law and don’t cheat.
  • Competitions can be merged, split, or cancelled at the compo team’s discretion. However, we will try to seek agreement from the involved creators if feasible. Rule of thumb is that at least three entries are required for a compo to be held.
  • Technical details, formats and platforms for entries will be announced before screening.
  • The compo team reserves the right to apply preselection in case of large numbers of entries, or to filter out troll/low-effort entries. Entries not shown in the competitions will not be released by Outline.
  • The compo team has the final word on things. We are reasonable people though, so we will do our best to be of help!
  • The maximum size for entry uploads to our partysystem is 512MB. If you wish to submit a larger file, please upload it elsewhere and upload the link in a text file or the comments on our partysystem.
  • The submission deadline for all compo entries is Thursday evening, May 8th 2024, at midnight (CEST).

Compo Machine:

  • CPU: Intel i7 12700K
  • RAM: 32GB DDR4
  • GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4080 16GB
  • OS: Windows 11 64bit

Executable Competitions:

  • Please supply a video capture of your entry. If you’re unable to provide one, please let us know beforehand.
  • We accept entries for any platform - PC, Atari, Amiga, C64, ZX Spectrum, MSX, plotters, fridges, etc. etc
  • Entries can be submitted under Oldskool and Newskool in all executable competitions.
  • If there are not enough entries in either category they’ll be joined into a single competition.
  • General rule for Oldskool are old machines and for Newskool is modern machines and fantasy consoles.
  • If you’re not sure if your entry should be submitted under old or new contact the organisers.
  • Multiple entries per compo are allowed.
  • Videocaptures that are not supplied in 1920x1080 will be upscaled to 1920x1080 while maintaining aspect ratio and any unused areas will be filled with black.
  • Do not manipulate your recording for performance. When in doubt we will disqualify.

Demo Oldskool and Newskool

  • There is no file size limit but size limited entries like 4k and 64k are are also welcome to compete.
  • We also accept games or any other interactive entries, provided that gameplay or interaction are adequately demonstrated in a video capture.
  • Pure videos/animations are not eligible for this competition.
  • Maximum playtime: 10 minutes.

128 byte Intro Oldskool and Newskool

  • Maximum file size is 128 bytes for DOS and other platforms/formats which do not require an executable header. For other platforms, standard header size does not count towards the 128 byte limit. However, using the header to store custom code/data is not allowed.
  • In case of DOS entries, please clarify whether your intro targets classic (MS-)DOS, FreeDOS, DOSBox(-X), etc. In the latter case, specify configuration requirements (cycles, cores…) if applicable.

256 byte Intro Oldskool and Newskool

  • Maximum file size is 256 bytes for DOS and other platforms/formats which do not require an executable header. For other platforms, standard header size does not count towards the 256 byte limit. However, using the header to store custom code/data is not allowed.
  • In case of DOS entries, please clarify whether your intro targets classic (MS-)DOS, FreeDOS, DOSBox(-X), etc. In the latter case, specify configuration requirements (cycles, cores…) if applicable.

Music competitions

  • Entries for any platform and of any format (streaming, module, executable, chip) are accepted.
  • Please specify the format of your entry in the partysystem’s comment field.
  • Original works only: remixes, covers and previously released songs will not be accepted.
  • All entries will be played with the latest version of XMPlay (version 3.8.5).
  • If you’re submitting an entry in a format not supported out-of-the-box by XMPlay, please also provide an MP3 or OGG version alongside the original file.
  • Multichannel modules (XM, IT, S3M) will be played using default XMPlay settings (sinc interpolation, sensitive ramping, 50% stereo separation). MOD files will be played with interpolation and ramping disabled, and 50% stereo separation. If you need other playback settings for your module, please specify.
  • Maximum playtime is 4 minutes. Longer entries may be faded out.

Graphics Competitions

Please submit images in 1920x1080 PNG when possible so there will be no surprises with upscaling or borders. Images will otherwise be upscaled with nearest-neighbour to best fit 1920x1080 and any unused screen area will be filled with black

Atari ST/STE graphics

  • Resolution of your single frame picture must be 320x200.
  • Maximum amount of colours you can use is 16.
  • You can use the ST (512 colours 3:3:3) or STE mode (4096 colours 4:4:4).
  • Please submit a centered nearest-neighbour upscaled PNG in 1920x1080 with a border otherwise we will try our best.

Freestyle Graphics

  • Please specify clearly in the public comment field of your entry on our partysystem exactly which tools (including AI) you used to create the image.
  • Entries for all platforms and of any resolution and colour depth are accepted.
  • Any file format supported by IrfanView is allowed (for your own sake, lossless formats are preferred).
  • Please provide at least three workstages.

Executable Graphics

  • Maximum size for your executable is 4096 bytes or 256 bytes including header.
  • Please include a 1920x1080 PNG version of the executable’s visual result.

Photo

  • Please specify whether your entry is a ‘pure’ photo, retouched, or a collage.
  • In case of major editing and/or compositing we may decide to move your entry to the Freestyle graphics competition.

Miscellaneous Competitions:

Animation/Wild

  • This competition is for non-realtime entries: videos, rendered animations, etc.
  • We accept any file format that can be played back by VLC Media Player.
  • Maximum playtime is 10 minutes.