Base Off: Places Wild CELEBRATION!

To be honest, I was not at all surprised by the first place, I immediately bet that "Art Studio by Smoove" would be in first place, so the tidy bag from my right pocket smoothly migrated to my left pocket ... you can immediately feel the artist’s work there (even if in real life a person has nothing to do with art, then a spark of talent is undoubtedly present there) ... I envy this elusive spark of talent a little... when you look at the finished product, you understand how to do it... the problem is that Personally, I myself lack something to produce something like this myself... copy? zero problems...create? alas, no... I don’t know, maybe the problem here is how the thinking process occurs differently in different people (some people think in words... and others in images...)...

To be honest, I thought that Lycan would make a separate video (this part seemed a little crumpled to me (despite the fact that I watched it several times, I still didn’t understand in what context my base was mentioned...) but as I understand it, Lycan had some technical issues problems (I hope he will cope with them successfully...))...

I agree. I standby what I said, that I had never seen anything like this in DCUO before. It was like creating within a creation- we all create when we decorate, but to create a gallery space while creating a piece of artwork from several existing assets is pretty phenomenal. To do it 20-30 times, and each to provoke their own feeling and meaning, all within a two month period... it's incredibly impressive.

I feel like that out-of-the-box thinking along with the execution of it, in all its intentionality, was just so beyond what I had ever envisioned creativity being on this game. A lot of us go for immersion, masking the base from what it is. But this one let the Penthouse theme just be the Penthouse theme, just let it be a space. Instead, it demanded we look at the amalgamation that now stood as piece of actual art, and that was really something.

It definitely was a delight to tour through and muse over, both on the stream and for the showcase that'll drop tomorrow with all the included titles!

Ya, you mentioned before that you felt Lycan's role was a bit understated, and I understand. To be honest, I might have not explained it to the public as well as I had envisioned the Wildcard, nor how much Lycan and myself discussed it in private. The Wildcard is supposed to be more of a 'featuring' aspect than a full on collaboration with another creator/decorator. I give them the freedom to choose their own category, grading system, prize pool, and ultimately their choice in a winner. For most aspects of Base Off, both the streaming, grand prizes, and overall theming, it runs the same as it ever has. It's just an extra chance to bring in someone who has a different opinion/vision for what qualifies as a winning entry while also getting to work alongside all of you, like giving you a behind the scenes look at how things go, talking about judging with one another (as in writing out our thoughts for our specific judging, we each separately chose our own winners, haha) hammering out details, etc.

Lycan and I talked a bit about how the announcements would go. I did ask if he wanted to do his own announcement video for the Wildcard showcase, but he wanted to keep all the winner announcements together instead in one announcement video. We tried to get the voice over to work, but the lag situation had a lot of cutting out to where it was almost impossible. So, instead, he wrote up his words and feeling and I read it with both of us in chat, recording. In the end, I asked if he was happy with how my reading went and his emoting, and he was pleased with it, so we went with it. I think what he was referring to with your entry was that it was up there battling for the top spot, long side Eve's and Outlander's, as in you 3 were battling it out for the Wildcard spot. But I definitely could ha e misinterpreted that; I'll let Lycan explain whenever he sees this post since I feel I've done enough talking for him, or at least verbalizing it on mic, haha!

In the end though, just with how life goes, it's hard to coordinate with another person fully when filming, especially with how many curveballs life's thrown at me personally since the beginning of the year. I can't really commit to more than what was seen here, be it because of time or just personal want, and even then, it was a bit of a struggle just because of scheduling, tech issues, and life. I dunno when or if the Wildcard will return, so I do wanna hear more from you guys if you felt it was worth it, or how you felt about it in general. While it was a treat to work with Lycan and involve another, it most definitely took much more work on my end (in prep, execution, editing, and resources) and I wouldn't mind knowing if you guys felt it was worth it in the long run to continue it.

Thanks so much for the kind words. I really did try to make art with each and every piece in there. It was harder than most base building is for me as I had to really dig deep as well as let go to allow myself to feel the art the way it needed to be.

And don't think that you don't have that spark! Your work with statues really brings them to life and that is a skill and art. I definitely would not have had my painters if it wasn't for seeing your work with skeletons !


-Smoove

Thank you so much! I gave a lot to this base and am thrilled to hear you talk about it that way. Art can be funny and fickle. So many times, you can walk into an art gallery and love it and talk about it for days but there are also many times that you say, "Huh? I don't get it" or "Not for me".

I believed my previous bases are artistic/creative but this one was definitely just art.
So to have my vision come through and to hear that it is received the way I view it is truly wonderful!


I really appreciate the support from you and all the crafters who inspired me.
I would not have ever made this base if it were not for Base-Off. I have come a long way from Castillo Del Cyborg (haha, a looong way!) and it's all due to the inspiration and support from the crafting community!

-Smoove

Also, I want to say that there were so many awesome bases!
Agatha's coven was so good, especially the use of the cooling bucket and the debris floors. I had been thinking about doing something like that debris in a base but now that I have seen it done better than my thoughts were, I will move onto the the next thoughts!

I really loved the 4th place base. Small spaces filled with color and lighting using all the colorful lanterns (sacred flames, etc). Very much not how I build so I found it to be the most intriguing to me.

There are too many to talk about! If you see me in game I am happy to walk through your bases and tell you all the things I love about them!

-Smoove

Given the new base that was announced, I was wondering if plans for the new Base Off have changed?

As of now, no new plans. While I'd love to host a contest using the new base theme specifically, I also don't want to gatekeep with a microtransaction purchase needed to enter. Though... I guess I should ask you all how you felt about that.

I always buy themes day one since I want the team to know that's where I'd prefer a chunk of my funding to be spent on, but I know others might be waiting for a sale or unable to spring for it. It also depends on when it's released too. Right now, April 5th was looking like the next Base Off schedule (if everything goes according to plan, haha)

So ya, I'd be curious to see what everyone thought.

Very exciting news on the new base. I can't wait to see you produce the first YouTube Sunstone Fortress bases.

Peace and DCUO Forever

Maybe they will give one base for free for subscribers? oh damn, I canceled my subscription... lol... I hope the price of the new base does not follow the recent trends of "inadequate" prices... I would not like to see the long-awaited base with an element of open space at a price of 10-20 BB...
I agree, the more accessible the "Base Off" is, the better .... in fact, I just wanted to discuss the new base lol

I KNOW! I'm so excited as well! *_*
I probably won't be the first to preview or have a video on it since I'm not on the test server, but you know I'll definitely be posting a review and tour of it as soon as I can get my hands on it, as well as whenever anyone finishes a base in one too! I know I'm planning on remaking/moving my rude lil x-mas elf's teched out North Pole base when this drops, for sure!

Ya, I'm also hoping it'll be a 15 USD price tag like all the others were, and it'll come with an awesome Sunstone pack with new goodies as well as some much needed Sunstone Roofing and Flooring we've been waiting for. That's just my hopes though. Either way, the theme looks gorgeous, and as of now, I don't plan on hosting any theme specific Base Offs, nor will using the new one boost your odds in the judging spec... Though, I won't lie, I will be excited to see what the community does with them!