Base Off: Iconi-CLASH Competition!

Hello, everyone, I'm Achikah and I adore base decorating.

For me, besides my friends, base decorating has kept me engaged with DCUO throughout the years. It's been an outlet of creativity and enjoyment, and one I am immensely passionate about, both for my own creations and seeing the creations of others. So, in light of this, I have started a contest to help encourage fellow community members to find their passion in building/decorating while hopefully inspiring others in the process. Welcome to

Base Off!

For those new to Base Off, it's a bi-monthly base contest, meaning every 2 months a new contest will start with its own set of rules. The participants are given 6 weeks to create a base for the contest under specific themes/restrictions. The next week will be for touring, judging, and announcing the winner, and the last will be downtime for me to set up the next contest.

So, now that you know what Base Off is about, let's get into the current contest!

Contest Guidelines

For the next installment of Base Off, your theme will be...

Iconi-CLASH!

That's right! We're starting 2024's Base Off with a brawl-for-all Iconic showdown!

For this installment, your theme is to create a base that is based on/represents/or tells the story of a DC Comics superhero or villain! You can choose a specific icon, a group/organization, or a specific narrative involving them which can stretch from the comic books, movies, or even video games (like this one!) All I ask is that you create an immersive visual representation of them and their story within your base. Any base theme goes, including the new Sunstone Fortress, so long as it's released before the deadline!

Also, I know technically we're all within the DCUO canon as exobyte superhumans but I'm not looking for original characters for this specific theme, only those pertains strictly to the usual DC canon.

Rules

There aren't many rules to Base Off, but there are a few:

• One base entry per decorator.
• Bases that have already competed in prior Base Offs cannot be re-entered.
• Try your best!

Judging Parameters

Base Off is intended to stoke the flames of creativity. So, above everything, I want you to tell the story you've envisioned with your base. However, this is also a competition, and as the sole judge of such, I’ve designed a set of criteria I’ll be focusing on to choose a winner:

• Creativity- How inventive is your base: How the layout works, what story is told, how furniture is used; pretty much any and everything dealing with unique experiences and creations when viewing your base.
• Craftsmanship- The layout and flow of the base, as well as how it's put together: are the dividers lined up accordingly, are clipped items cleanly clipped, can rooms/halls be accessed as they should, etc.
• Logic- How believable is your base: do items work together constructively, does it make sense for them to be there in relating to the base's theme, do the rooms sync up in a logical progression, are items that are meant to serve the theme/room able to do so believably in the context given.
• Storytelling- How immersive and enthralling is the base's narrative: is there a story being told, if so how engaging is it, how does the layout/pacing progress, etc.
• Aesthetics- The overall visual presences of the base: how is furniture being used to create an atmospheric or cinematic experience.

Given the theming, there will also be a sixth category, Iconography, for the rubric for how well you've embraced and how creative you've gotten with the theming of iconic superheroes/villains.

Like all forms of art, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and like anyone else, I have my own personal tastes and opinions when it comes to décor. Because of this, you may gravely disagree with the outcome of the contest, which is understandable. However, I am the final say in deciding the winner and wanted to offer as much transparency to the judging process as possible. So, below are past Base-Off winners, as well as a link to my base tour playlist to help you gauge what my sensibility and tastes are when it comes to decorating.

||Diving In| |Days of Summer| |NotLD| |ADID| |Lofty Ambitions| |Seaso-NO| Lights Camera Craftion| |DotD| Places Wild||

Prizes

What would a contest be without fabulous prizes! Each Base Off will offer different prize pools and include rarer items for avid builders such as out-of:-season pieces and elite furniture drops, as well as some stylish accruement for your characters. For this Base Off, I focused on some iconic offerings to help with future canonical, page-turning projects!

US Server

First Place

Winner's Choice of either:

Batman B&W by John Romita Jr. Statue - Floor x1 or Owl Signal- Interactive x1

As well as the following:

Aquaman Bust by Jim Lee-Floor x1

Amazon Bracers Display x1

Themyscrian Balcony Set x1*

Kryptonian Floor Seal x1

Kryptonian Half Arch x4

Second Place

Aquaman Bust by Jim Lee-Floor x1

Amazon Bracers Display x1

Themyscrian Balcony Set x1*

Kryptonian Floor Seal x1

Kryptonian Half Arch x2

Third Place

Aquaman Bust by Jim Lee-Floor x1

Amazon Bracers Display x1

Themyscrian Balcony Set x1*

Kryptonian Floor Seal x1

Base Off is also for our EU friends here on the game! If an EU contestant wins one of the three prize pools, the following items will be allotted instead:

EU Server

First Place

Owl Signal- Interactive x1

Amazon Bracers Display x1

Oa Portal x1

Fortress Replica Door x1

Kryptonian Support Beam x3

Themyscrian Balcony Set x1*

Henchmen Uplink Device: Thanagarian Soldiers

Second Place

Amazon Bracers Display x1

Sunstone Ceiling Light x1

Oan Gateway x1

Themyscrian Balcony Set x1*

Iceberg Lounge Gem with Pedestal x1

Kryptonian Floor Seal x1

Third Place

Amazon Bracers Display x1

Oan Gateway x1

Themyscrian Balcony Set x1*

Iceberg Lounge Gem with Pedestal x1

Kryptonian Floor Seal x1

*The Themyscrian Balcony Set consists of one of each Balcony available: Mini, Small, Medium, and Large.

Deadline

May 15th, 2024 is the deadline for entries to be in, meaning you'll have roughly 6 weeks to plan, prepare, and finalize your entry. After that, the next week will be used for my own personal touring for judgement. The first initial tours are expected to be streamed from my Twitch Channel the following Friday, May 17th, with the winner’s announcement the Friday after, May 24th, on my YouTube Channel.

Entry

To enter, add "Achikah" to your base generator permission once your base is completed and post a comment on the provided Youtube video announcement above, message here in this thread, on the Base Off entry thread in the Base Crafter's Discord, or you can reach out to me in game at “Achikah” through the mail. The comment should contain both your server (EU/US), character name on game (spelt accurately), as well as the name of your base AND which iconic DC Comics character you're portraying. After you’ve done so, I will message you back in confirmation.

Note: If I have not replied to you, I have not seen your entry! So please, if the deadline is looming, reach out again and contact me!

The comment should contain which server you’re on (EU/US), character name (spelled as it would be in game in its entirety), and the name of your base. Subscription to the channel isn't required but would be greatly appreciated.

Again, only EU/US PS/PC will be consider for this judging pool, but any Xbox/Switch users wanting to participate are more than welcome to post their entries here for everyone else to see.

Any further questions or comments are welcome here, as are Works In Progress for anyone willing to share.

With that, a new Base Off has commenced!

Happy decorating all, and may the best builder win!

-Achikah

For all my tl;dr friends, or just for clarity's sake, here's a more concise blurb of the contest and its guidelines.

Base Off is a reoccurring bi-monthly base competition to foster a community of creativity and discussion amongst DCUO base builders. Every 2 months, a new contest will start with its own set of rules. The participants are given 6 weeks to create a base for the contest under specific themes/restrictions. The next week will be for touring, judging, and announcing the winner, with the last used for downtime to set up the next contest.

Base Off: Iconi-CLASH!

Contest Parameters: Create a base that is based on/represents/or tells the story of a DC Comics superhero or villain!
Starting Date: April 5th, 2024
Deadline for Entries: May 15th, 2024
Initial Livestream of Entries on Twitch: May 17th, 2024
Winner Announcement Video on Youtube: May 24th, 2024

US Prize Package includes:

1st Prize:

Aquaman Bust by Jim Lee-Floor x1, Amazon Bracers Display x1, Themyscrian Balcony Set x1, Kryptonian Floor Seal x1, Kryptonian Half Arch x4 and Winner's Choice of either: Batman B&W by John Romita Jr. Statue- Floor or Owl Signal- Interactive x1

2nd Prize: Aquaman Bust by Jim Lee-Floor x1, Amazon Bracers Display x1, Themyscrian Balcony Set x1, Kryptonian Floor Seal x1, Kryptonian Half Arch x2
3rd Prize: Aquaman Bust by Jim Lee-Floor x1, Amazon Bracers Display x1, Themyscrian Balcony Set x1, Kryptonian Floor Seal x1,

EU Prize Package includes:

1st Place Prize:

Owl Signal- Interactive x1,

Amazon Bracers Display x1, Oa Portal x1, Fortress Replica Door x1, Kryptonian Support Beam x3, Themyscrian Balcony Set x1, Henchmen Uplink Device: Thanagarian Soldiers

2nd Place Prize: Amazon Bracers Display x1, Oa Gateway x1, Sunstone Ceiling Light x1,

Iceberg Lounge Gem with Pedestal x1, Themyscrian Balcony Set x1

3rd Place Prize: Amazon Bracers Display x1, Oa Gateway x1,

Iceberg Lounge Gem with Pedestal x1, Themyscrian Balcony Set x1

Entry:

To enter, add "Achikah" to your base generator permission once your base is completed and post a comment on the provided Youtube video announcement above, message here in this thread, on the Base Off entry thread in the Base Crafter's Discord, or you can reach out to me in game at “Achikah” through the mail.

The comment should contain both your server (EU/US), character name on game (spelt accurately), as well as the name of your base AND which iconic DC Comics character you're portraying. After you’ve done so, I will message you back in confirmation.

YUS!!!!! I'm so down for this!!!

I just started a Vullain Bane themed base on an Alt!

Character Name: IIIJessTierIII
Server: USPC/PS
Base Name: Banes Factory

Wish you all the best! I GENUINELY look forward to seeing your bases!!!

Not my pair of shoes completely pass I can take a break with a “clear conscience” but I’m looking forward to the stream, it’s very interesting what others will build good luck to everyone!

Are We There Yet?

Eeee, awesome! I don't think I've seen a Bane base yet. EXCITEMENT!

Got you penciled in for an entry, sir! As always, looking forward to seeing what you create. =D

No worries at all, there's always the next one!

I know this won't be everyone's cup of tea; I'm not really an iconic kinda person myself either, especially when it comes to bases. But I do know there are quite a lot of iconic enjoyers, as well as base decorators, who can/have made incredible things in the image of those characters. Regardless of the theming woes, I'm happy to hear you're interested to see what comes out of this all the same- that's also a key part of Base Off so you're technically still participating, just in your own way!

Damn! I shoulda saved Wayne Manor!
lol j/k
hmmmmmm…… Iconic……..hmmmmm
Well, we’ll see……

Yaaa.. There were a few iconic bases for the free-for-all comp, both times around honestly, that would have fit here. However, Base Off's kinda all about making the base for the theme rather than shoehorning, though I understand completely that 6 weeks isn't always enough every time (I'm a slow decorator myself, haha!) If you've got something that hasn't competed (including stuff that's been showcased on my channel,) or has been heavily upgraded/remodeled since the last time it competed, you're good to go though!

sssooooooo...........Are We There Yet?

i've been meaning to message you achikah----i was beyond humbled at your in-game email telling me I placed on the last competition, thank you for the items.

Hey, it's all good! My mailbox gets super cluttered all the time and if I don't make a note to message back sometimes I forget myself, haha!

And no problem! Thank you again for entering, it was a pleasure touring your base!

..eh heres one for the road ...... Are we there YET? (good luck to all current and future contestants, Achikah keep being awesome)

And one last time, I say no, but this time somberly rather than in feinted annoyance.

Thanks, Lycan, for everything. Safe and happy travels, my friend. If you ever find your way back around here know you'll always have a place with the Crafters.

Waiting impatiently hehehe

*cough cough* BUMP!

Here, to help pass the time, hehe!

Seen some of the names for people entering and it has me HYPED for the Iconic bases. We have Bane, Cheetah, Batman, Arkham Asylum... gunna be awesome to watch the feed

Yesss, there's also a Martian Manhunter one too, Riddler, Harley, and Wonder Woman- so much fun stuff and a huge variety! Should be a blast!

Ooo, along with a lot of other fun goodies, it looks like the Superman Caches from the celebration are dropping Survival Mode Kryptonian stuff, so if you all need any for your iconic bases be sure to check those out!