Path to Redemption is over - Feedback appreciated

[The Shadow Guard]

Well chaps, the seven month haul is over. Wile we wait for a few potential stragglers to finish up I would welcome any feedback and criticisms of the event.

We were a little worked about the length and potential fatigue.... But you came through in the end. Wile the organizers may feel events were very successful...there's are always things that would have irked participants or features that could have been incorporated or deleted.

I'd be very grateful if participants and audience alike made their views here so that we may improve future events.

I am particularly keen to hear the criticisms or failings f the Path to Redemption.

For example, the length - too short, too long; too complex; entry requirements; limitations; communications... Etc; if you feel it was bad why so and if you felt it worked then again what made it so etc. good comprehensive feedback is the key to future success.

 

Non-Participants Views: I am also very keen to hear from those who did not participate as to what may have stopped them from doing so, especially from the 41 brothers who made their initial oaths and then did not follow through... and if they felt that such competitions tended to overwhelm the board activity. Any little nuggets of wisdom is appreciated.

SG

[Brother Captain Arkley]

I think you ran a great event, It encouraged alot of us to paint so much more than we would other wise.

6 months was fine, it only went to 7 due to the board upgrade which was no fault of yours Shadow.

Criticism? I cant think of any off hand, The only thing that happened was the board upgrade. If others have issues I must admit I would like to hear them too. Oh I suppose I might have 1 but this is from a purely selfish point of view, maybe writing more articles could have been rewarded more? Maybe with a badge like the Brotherhood of Angles Chapter Badges. Something akind to Librarian ranks.. Ok I want my Chief Librarian badge please .

Other than that Shadow I can't criticise The Path to Redemption. You ran a great event and I look forward to the next

Oh I remember something else... Where were your oaths Shadow :P

[The Shadow Guard]

I think you ran a great event, It encouraged alot of us to paint so much more than we would other wise.

6 months was fine, it only went to 7 due to the board upgrade which was no fault of yours Shadow.

Criticism? I cant think of any off hand, The only thing that happened was the board upgrade. If others have issues I must admit I would like to hear them too. Oh I suppose I might have 1 but this is from a purely selfish point of view, maybe writing more articles could have been rewarded more? Maybe with a badge like the Brotherhood of Angles Chapter Badges. Something akind to Librarian ranks.. Ok I want my Chief Librarian badge please .

Other than that Shadow I can't criticise The Path to Redemption. You ran a great event and I look forward to the next

Oh I remember something else... Where were your oaths Shadow

Heh, my oaths..... I was just barely able to keep my sanity let alone paint something.... didn't even manage to get the parts off the sprue for my LPC 2013.

As for the BHoA .... I really never expected anyone to submit more than one DIY history.... in fact I never expected so many entries...so I couldn't preduict and plan ahead... Every BHoA entry will receive a chapter master add on badge.... I just need time to get back home and work on them... Possibly by the end of April all should be done. :)

SG

[Brother Captain Arkley]

Well I think everyone will agree Shadow you did a awesome job, something you can be proud of as much as we are proud to have completed the Path of Redemption.

[Rizara]

My only issue was the fact that I got into it during the last two months, instead of the 4 months previously.  It was a great incentive to getting an army painted, I just have all my cool models and elite/fast attack/characters painted, I now have to go back and do troops lol. 

 

It was a great event all around.  Now to just finish painting the rest of my army and look forward to future events.

[Brother Immolator]

I am just sad I couldnt participate. The timing came completely oposite for me. Just barely made it to the LPC.

As far as Ive seen though, you did an excellent job SG. Keeping your brain from evaporating while chaining a couple of events into one is a dangerous thing ;)

[elphilo]

This was my first event and I really enjoyed it. I think you thought of pretty much everything so most of us didn't experience any grievances, I know I didn't. I can't wait for the next one

[djgoldsmith]

Constructive Criticism,  you like to set us tricky tasks :)

 

Only real gripe (apart from one of my own / wifes making) were due to the forum issues which put everything out of kilter. 

 

Also, the thread did get pretty huge, sometimes it was quite difficult to find stuff in it without getting distracted by the lovely models. 

There are a couple of options there:

1) Separate threads for each month

2) Separate announcement thread (pinned and locked if possible)

 

Its was not a deal breaker for me, and may have been a side effect of switching between mobile / desktop version of the site.  But it is something to consider / discuss.

 

Aside from that, set-up, rewards and organisation were fantastic.  Here's to the next one.

[Balthamal]

I can only speak praise for the event as a whole, for the first time since 3rd Edition I have over 2,000 points painted for a particular army, fingers crossed it will motivate me to finish the rest too!

 

As mentioned above the only minor gripes were the disruption caused by the board upgrade (something beyond anyone's control) and the generally amazing painting standard compared to my paltry efforts (something of a marker to aim for in the future now)

 

Big thanks have to go to SG for the tireless and sanity bending work a project of this magnitude involves. We sir salute you

[Razblood]

No criticism from my end :)

 

I think it was a fantastic event that motivated me to start an army I'd been circling for years :lol:

[The Shadow Guard]

Thanks so far for the positive comments bothers, it does fule the engine of innovation.... There were times when the whole thing appeared unwieldy to me but two things kept this on track; The enthusiasm of the participants and the SEMPER effect.... never underestimate either of those!! :)

I agre the thread did get very large - 1800+ replies and 51,000+ views... I didn't want to have too many threads on the subject either as there was some concern about the DA forum being deluged by PtR related painting threads. I had links on the front page to ach of the monthly oath list and from Sep to Dec each oath was linked to the oath post. I even had that big colour coded table on the front page listing everyones contributions etc ...unfortunately it went the way of the dodo with the upgrade. That was the biggest hurdle on my part.

Loved the participation levels, enthusiasm and the quality and quantity of stuff being churned out..just amazing work by you, the participants.

I would however like to also hear from those who did not participate: Did the work done here inspire you? or did you find the constant PtR painting threads an annoyance? Let us hear from the non-participants (or should I say future paricipants) too....

... and obviosly wait to see what lies beyond the Black Pearl!!

SG

[Brother Captain Arkley]

Following on from the size issue... Maybe a main thread then a new thread for each month linked into the Main one?

[Artemid]

First off: Thanks a ton, SG! I know the logistics of keeping up were ridiculous, but it was very fun! Lots of great stuff got put out by all!

 

My main criticism would go to the length, but there's a lot of time in just a single month to fall out and then right back into the swing of painting, so I think it works itself out. :)

[MithrilForge]

i gotta say it was a Very well run event(a lot of time and effort can be seen to be put in for little reward,so its a big to the Shadow Guard for giving a lot of his free time without reward (he wasn't able to paint anything himself due to being so busy ) as to the time/distance that it went,made it kinda epic....and also allowed latecomers(like myself) to jump on board at later stages in the event,if it had of been only a month or two i probably would've missed it completely!!,and real life always gets in the way so the length was welcome to enable catch up time for some and to recover from real life disasters for others !.

Regarding the thread length, i agree that maybe it could have a main thread with consecutive months added via links or stickied together to keep peeps from trolling through a LOT of Pages(although it was good to see all the painting talent as you went through the pages )

not sure what extra could have been done...

I might have liked an additional "Golden Pearl" comp where a Specific item(something that everyone would field in their armies)is chosen and fraters all have to make that and post it up for comparison...with a little community vote at the end of each month for 1^st,2^nd & 3^rd perhaps with each of the top three earning a golden pearl each month(past month winners are not eligible to win a golden pearl but can still enter for a place),i.e Stobz gets a 1^st place win in month one but also places in the top 3 in month 2,that would mean he still officially places in the top 3 but his pearl goes to place holder number 4 etc etc.that way kudos are still given but everyone has a chance for earning a "Golden Pearl".

anyways great comp as it made me actually stick to painting stuff as i'm quite a procrastinator when it comes to painting and finishing models so thanks for kicking me into gear Shadow Guard i am very grateful.

Cheers, Mithril

[Eulfein]

sad I couldnt participate since it took a bit of time for me to order my models and even longer for them to get here. I hope we can have something like this again in the future.

[Brother-Sergeant Bohemond]

I thought the event was well managed and well run considering the board upgrade and all that.

 

Just a shame you were unable to participate yourself! That said, I think for running the event you probably deserve at least 6 white pearls ;)

 

I would also say that it would have been useful to have a stickied, locked thread with each months update, announcements and links to each persons vow(s) purely for ease of navigation, though I appreciate the extra effort that would entail. Other than that, I cannot really think of anything else.

[Darkangeldentist]

I think it was a great motivational tool, not least because it encouraged lots of people to go back to models old and new and paint them to whatever level they were comfortable with. Many thanks to Shadow Guard for putting it on and taking on the monumental task of collating and sorting all the data and pledges.

 

I wish to submit my humblest apologies for failing to complete my own path to redemption. I wasn't able to maintain my enthusiasm for the length of the project and the length ended up almost a hurdle for me. Although the regular monthly deadline did mean I actually painted stuff.

 

In terms of constructive criticism, the main point about the length of the primary thread has already been made. My suggestion would be that if this were to be done again that three threads be made. The first thread would be for keeping track of the vows, this would be for tabulating the participants and vows and updating progress summaries along with announcements and feedback/comments. Second thread would be for the actual vows and participants add links to photos in the third thread. This third thread would be for all the photos would in essence become a gallery for all the models painted during the event.

 

Again I would like to say a big thank you to Shadowguard for hosting and running the Path to redemption.

[pueriexdeus]

Great event, no gripes or complaints except for me. Next time I'll start a WiP thread earlier rather than later.

You gonna collate and post the grand total of models the First has generated to smite the Emperors foes with? That would be interesting.

[Grizwald23]

I would like to participate in the next event. I tend to put things off or never finish them so setting goals for my self would probably help me. I just decided to do DA like a week and a half ago so the path to redemption was basically over by the time I found out about it.

[elmo]

This is not the first vow thingie I have done and won't be the last (bring it on SG!)

I need this sort of thing to help motivate me to get the painting backlog done.

The PtR was well organised and controlled and my personal thanks go out to SG and his little Watcher in the Dark helpers for all their work.

Things that could be done better (purely my opinion ):

1. I did not like the extensions given in some months (yes I know some people suffered set backs and used this extra time wisely but a completion date should be set in stone.)

2. The PtR thread became too long. As has already been mentioned, it would have been better to split up in some way (either month by month or a vow thread/completed thread etc)

Good points:

1. The updates where regularly posted - great work.

2. The gallery thread for completed vows - nice way to bring it all to a close.

3. The quality and quantity of the vows - awesome

All in all a very successful project, well led and moderated.

[Ordo Machinum]

First, let me repeat what has already been said more eloquently than I ever could:

 

SG, you did a Supreme Grand Master's job with managing this event!

 

My only grumble was the lack of flexibility on oaths of the month. Yes, I know that by making an oath is part of the point of the PtR. Speaking as someone not accustomed to building & painting 24/7 as so many of the other talented participants seem to be, it got a bit daunting. My setbacks were my own undoing, yes. Yet, it was also discouraging to rekindle my spirit with wanting to do something I thought I could pace myself better with or a fresh idea or inspiration with a different model... and I couldn't because I had to go back and work on my previous vow of the month with something that I didn't want to any more. Then I'd look at the PtR threads and see all of these multiple oaths being done by others and it was discouraging. Yes, these are more likely my own issues, but you wanted some more feedback.

 

Whenever another opportunity comes around, I intend to be better.

[The Shadow Guard]

Thanks chaps for the feedback. I have to say i do agree with you.... especially about the length of the initial thread. having a stickied thread is a double edged sword as people are just as likely to move past it as it is always "up there" and that needs to be balanced by the danger of the thread disappearing in to the second or third pages...but if it did..then participation would be poor... We did think hard about a sticky thread... but were also conscious about not having too many such threads in the forum.

One important thing to remember was that this was not a grand master plan.... the event evolved as the months went by, the additional challenges, ability to obtain more white eparls were all just ideas when we started this and flourised mainly due to the level of enthusiasm and participation. I have certainly learned a huge amount from this event.

I also tried to anticipate many eventualities in finalising the awards and rewards but as usual there are always those significant outliers.... Cerroneth with his 20+ oaths and Pueriexdeus with his massive massive oaths.... and all the others who pulled out the stops with the quality of painting... (stobz and bryan Blaire..come to mind off the cuff). I was really amazed at the number of people who can paint and model so far above what we would consider average.... 'eavy metal team watch out!!!

The extensions: Normally i would be very strict but the main aim of this event ( not a competition) was to allow people to complete their forlorn mini.... There were a few other reasons. Real life does in fact catch up with me too.... and I wanted each month-end report etc to have the same sequence of images, tables etc. An extension to the participants was as much an extension for me too to get the month end updates domne. Then of course the massive extension of Jan-Feb_Marchuary (as someone succinctly oput it ..:)) was just inescpable in the face of the system upgrade.

Fexibility of Oaths: Archangel, there wa sa lot of flexibility. In fact if one had failed a previous months oath... one didn't need to complete that as a redemption oath. You could have simple made a different oath as aredemption oath. Now that aprt was not obviuously made very clear to all - again, another lesson for me...keep the rules simple and to the point!!

I think a summary of rules and awards on a sticky thread along with links to the different months would be a great way forward next time...if there is a next time.... in this world or the next.... in one form or another.....

SG

[Ordo Machinum]

...if there is a next time.... in this world or the next.... in one form or another.....

SG

Why does my spidey-sense always start tingling when SG talks this way?

[facmanpob]

I can honestly say that the PtR and the ETL which preceeded it has kept me going and painting far more effectively than anything else in recent times! Thanks to both of those contests I have over 1500 more points of painted marines than I did previously. So for that alone I salute the efforts of both The Shadow Guard and Capt Semper.

Regarding the format of the PtR specifically, I thought it was excellent. Having a rolling monthly target kept things fresh, and forced me to set short term goals and deadlines so as not to miss out on pearls. It also forced me to actually complete units and models, rather than chopping and changing what I'm painting. I thought the rules were pretty clear and flexible, and only had one question regarding the rules during the event, which SG dealt with via PM immediately. My only regret is that I didn't start on the Path from the very start (I started in December), which made January in particular a pretty frenzied month!

So, overall I thought it was a great contest, and was managed with exceptional devotion....keeping track of all of the vows and changes etc cannot have been easy! I'm looking forward to the next event in the DA forum, as I haven't painted a single model since the PtR finished!

[The Shadow Guard]

Path to Redemption Banners, Awards and Final Summary has been uploaded here:  Path to Redemption Summary

 

http://fortressofunforgiven.homestead.com/Path_to_Redemption_Poster_07.jpg