Christmas Scenario Competition

To get you all in the mood for the Festive Holiday season, we're kicking off another Scenario Writing competition. To take part in the competition and have a chance of winning, all you need to do is create a scenario and publish it to the Steam Workshop.

There are three prizes on offer, as well as showcasing your scenario and Workshop channel to the entire community with an article written by our team and published here on Engine Driver and our Social Network channels plus featured in our regular Twitch broadcasts.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

1. READ THE RULES CAREFULLY AND COMPLETELY
2. Create a Career or Standard scenario featuring a Winter Wonderland theme, the more festive the better.
3. Ensure you test your scenario thoroughly
4. Upload your scenario to the Steam Workshop ensuring you put Christmas Scenario Competition Entry on the first line of the description
5. Once your scenario is uploaded, copy the direct link to the scenario
6. Create an email using "Christmas Scenario Writing Competition" in the subject and add the following details to the body:

• Your full name
• Your Engine Driver username/nickname
• Your Steam Account username that you have used to upload your scenario
• Indicate your choice of route and locomotive should you win (see rules below)
• Add your scenario links on separate lines leaving a clear line between them.

THE RULES

• You must create something new for the competition, sadly we will not accept previously written scenarios to ensure voting is kept fair (we'll be checking when you submit your entry).
• Your scenario must feature a Winter Wonderland theme (snowing, winterscape, Christmas story, etc).
• You must not use any third-party or partner products including but not limited to: Repaints/Reskins, Third-Party Scenario Assets, Modified Routes or Trains and anything that isn't available to buy on Steam.
• Your scenario must be of Career or Standard type.
• If you choose to create a Career scenario, it must be possible for players to achieve 1000 points at completion.
• Your scenario must require a play time of no less than 20 minutes and no longer than 40 minutes.
• You can use any combination of content as you see fit or use just one locomotive.
• If you wish to include scripted events in your scenarios, you are permitted to do so.
• Your scenario must not contain any defamatory content, profanity/swearing, obscene references, abusive, racist and other content that is likely to cause offence or may be libellous in nature. The Acceptable Use and Code of Conduct Policies apply to scenarios submitted for the competition and we ask the community to be vigilant against this activity and report it. Any person found to be violating the Acceptable Use and Code of Conduct Policies will be reported to Valve for additional action and may warrant notification to law enforcement authorities in your country of residence.
• You have until Midnight (UK Time) Sunday, 17th January 2016 to create, test and publish your scenario. Any scenarios published after 17th January 2016 will not be counted as part of the competition - no exceptions.
• Voting commences from the start of the competition and will run until Midnight (UK Time) Sunday, 14th February 2016.
• If you enter multiple times, your scenarios must differ from each other sufficiently in operation, conditions, consist and narrative to be considered different and therefore valid entries.
• Multiple submissions of the same scenario in terms of operation, conditions, consist and narrative will be considered an attempt to exploit or circumvent the rules of the competition and will disqualify you from this and any future competitions for a period of one year at our discretion.
• We will only enter your scenario into the competition on receipt of your emailed link to the scenario on Steam Workshop, which you must email to us at competition@dovetailgames.com
• Only entries sent to competition@dovetailgames.com will be counted, we will not accept entries to any other email account, contact address or posted in the comments below. 
• You must include your full name, Engine Driver and Steam Account usernames in your email, if you fail to provide this information, your entries will not be registered in the competition.
• If you wish to send us links to multiple scenario entries in your email, they must be pasted on separate lines with a space between them. We do not accept responsibility for omissions or errors as a result of not following the rules.
• • Route and locomotive selections are limited to those available to purchase on Steam and those currently announced for release before the closing date of the competition. You can change your choice of route and locomotive at any time by sending an email stating "Change of Competition Entry" in the subject, including your full name, Engine Driver username and Steam Account username, then indicate the change in your email. You can request changes in your choice of route and locomotive until Midnight (UK Time) Sunday, 14th February 2016. Changes requested after 14th February 2016 will not be registered.
• E&OE

VOTING & DECISIONS

• You the community will be responsible for voting for your favourite scenarios by playing those highlighted as entries to the competition. By providing a thumbs up vote for your favourite scenarios, you are confirming that you are happy the creator has followed the rules and you have enjoyed the scenario (or you just want to help a friend win). While thumbs down votes will not be counted or factored in the competition, you are free to make a selection based on your experience.
• We will be tracking each vote against registered entries in the competition and will only count votes that correlate to the number of completed playthrough attempts. For example if your scenario receives 100 votes but only 10 people have completed playing through the scenario, you will only receive a final score of 10 points. So it's important that if you decide to vote for a scenario, you should play through the scenario to the completion screen to ensure your vote is registered appropriately. Votes received without completing the scenario will not be counted.
• The scenario with the highest score at the close of the competition will be deemed the winner and will win a Route and a Locomotive of their choice from our extensive download library. We will also write a feature article based on the winning submission, showcasing their work and may even be featured in our Live Twitch broadcast. Prizes will also be offered for second place, a route of your choice and third place, a locomotive of your choice.
• In the event of a draw, the scenarios in question will be submitted for play by our Beta Team who will cast the final decision on the winning scenario. All decisions, whether by The Company, Beta Team or external adjudication are final.
• In the event of limited scenario entries or poor response to the competition, we reserve the right to cancel the competition and withdraw the prizes.
• We reserve the right to vary or modify the rules of the competition at any time to ensure the competition is kept fair and open to everyone.
• Authors have until Midnight (UK Time) Sunday, 17th January 2016 to submit their completed scenario entries to Steam Workshop and provide us with the link. Voting will close at Midnight (UK Time) Sunday, 14th February 2016.
• • Winning entrants will be contacted directly by email with a full list of entrants and winners published on Engine Driver before Monday, 29th February 2016.