Alain <ele### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> Mike the Elder nous apporta ses lumieres en ce 2007/11/29 09:38:

> OK. Now, it's time to add the animation part to that WIP.
>
I'm going in a whole new direction for the contest, but I did something animated
back in May that crunches down under 512 limit pretty easily (got it down to 469
without doing anything particularly clever):

http://news.povray.org/web.4641eaaf7d7f6050c40420100%40news.povray.org


I WON'T be using this (or any close variation) in the the contest because
recycling old stuff just isn't cricket - or very much fun.

Regards,
-Mike C.

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Mike the Elder wrote:

> that the key to maintaining the LPV which is at the core of the fairness issue
> is to see to it that helpful information about how to shorten code is made
> available to EVERYONE.

  I think there's a difference between generic optimization tips which
can be applied to most entries (such as "you don't need a comma between
a number and a variable"), and providing optimization tips to someone's
specific code ("in your code you can replace this with that and it will
make it 2 character shorter"). Of course what can be considered a
generic optimization principle and what can be considered code-specific
optimization is a rather fuzzy line.

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"Warp" <war### [at] tagpovrayorg> wrote in message 
news:474f4215$1@news.povray.org...
> Mike the Elder wrote:

>> that the key to maintaining the LPV which is at the core of the fairness 
>> issue
>> is to see to it that helpful information about how to shorten code is 
>> made
>> available to EVERYONE.
>
>  I think there's a difference between generic optimization tips which
> can be applied to most entries (such as "you don't need a comma between
> a number and a variable"), and providing optimization tips to someone's
> specific code ("in your code you can replace this with that and it will
> make it 2 character shorter"). Of course what can be considered a
> generic optimization principle and what can be considered code-specific
> optimization is a rather fuzzy line.

I sort of agree with this, but I still think it's secondary to the contest. 
Short tricky code is nifty, but if it's a boring picture, who cares. 
Artistry and creativity still rule the roost, so to speak. Maybe my outlook 
is different that the judges though.

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Warp <war### [at] tagpovrayorg> wrote:
> Once again someone posting their short code WIP and getting free
> advice from the community on how to make it shorter... Fair?

You can replace short code with SC as it already a declared variable in the
thread.  Also the "from the community" can be dropped as it is a default
implied statement :)

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"Mike the Elder" <zer### [at] wyanorg> wrote in message 
news:web.474ecec846b979c9e2b2e7080@news.povray.org...
> Warp/Dre/DLM:
> As it happens, I DID pause to consider the fairness issue in regard to 
> posting
> example code in the middle of contest, not with respect to soliciting 
> advice,
> but rather in regard disturbing the theoretical "level playing
> field"(henceforth LPV)

In the interests of the LPV (not LPF?) and those who may not be familiar 
with the short code competition,
round 5 is posted at 
http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/modelling_rendering/scc5/
This year it is a 100 frame animation with a 512 byte max.
Entrants will vote on the 'craft' of the animation.

A Chris Colefax animation primer is available at 
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery/2006/xani.htm

Reading past entries is quite instructive - TEK has been particularly 
generous in sharing his techniques. e.g.
http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/modelling_rendering/scc3/final/swokwz_l.pov
http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/modelling_rendering/scc4/final/l_nfzrtu.pov
and on this NG.

Also "Tips for Short Code Contest" was posted by Mike Kost in p.g 12 Oct 
2006
http://news.povray.org/povray.general/thread/%3C452e87f1%40news.povray.org%3E/?ttop=247562&toff=350

I still use Agustin Molina's 'Few code, many objects contest' submission in 
this NG as my 1680 x 1050 wallpaper.

DLM

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"dlm" <me### [at] addressinvalid> wrote:
> "Mike the Elder" <zer### [at] wyanorg> wrote in message
....
> > but rather in regard disturbing the theoretical "level playing
> > field"(henceforth LPV)
>
> In the interests of the LPV (not LPF?)

I vear the plain vact is that I vailed to proovread proviciently.
:o)
(Thanks for the invo.)

-Mike C.

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Warp wrote:
> dlm wrote:
>> Are you suggesting that he should pay for advice?
> 
>   I'm suggesting that it might be fairer if this was an competition
> between individuals who compete on their own merit and their own
> knowledge and experience, not a competition between group efforts
> against individuals.

The only thing is that *all* of our knowledge about POV either came from 
or has been greatly enhanced by this newsgroup.  There is no such thing 
as intrinsic POV knowledge.

I would suggest though that anytime you use a newsgroup suggestion to 
shorten your code, you be required to add a tag to the code:

//enhanced by (name)

ROFL.

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Warp <war### [at] tagpovrayorg> wrote:
> dlm wrote:
> > Are you suggesting that he should pay for advice?
>
>   I'm suggesting that it might be fairer if this was an competition
> between individuals who compete on their own merit and their own
> knowledge and experience, not a competition between group efforts
> against individuals.

Fair contest? ...doesn't really make sense. I'm trying to remember a competition
that was fair. Like a field of cloned baseball players of identical ability.
Nope can't do it.

I put fair competition up with the concept of perfection, never attainable,
therfore, only a concept, not a reality, more like democratic voting. Big jabba
the Hut egos jumping on the scale while no one sees.

aQ

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