Appearance shouldn't be excluded completely from judging. What I'm trying to say is that with 100% poll, the winner will most likely be the one with the best appearance. Most of the voters will be noobs who will vote on which race looks the coolest. A smaller number will actually know what to look for in a race. A small number of those probably won't even have the time to test out the races thoroughly. So the noobs vote (based on appearance only) will over power the rest. This is why a judge is needed to prevent this unfair ratio of appearance to gameplay. Appearance should still have a small part (like 15%) but gameplay should make up the majority.
To sum it up, appearance will probably be the determining factor of this contest unless a judge is found who knows what to look for in a race.
guess what, i'm an art-whore and I can't make good triggers... so i'm doing my best to make my race look better with custom icons and textures that I made, instead of Custom spells...
I never said only apparence count.. and it's the third time i'm saying it. For me a good race needs this to be unique.
-=Apparence=-
-His own buildings models (like for the orcs/human/NE/undead)
-His own Spell/upgrade icons (like for the orcs/human/NE/undead)
-=Codding/Object Editor=-
-His own upgrades (like for the orcs/human/NE/undead)
-His own unit spells (like for the orcs/human/NE/undead)
-His own units (like for the orcs/human/NE/undead)
-His own unit combos (like for the orcs/human/NE/undead)
-His own defence. (like for the orcs/human/NE/undead)
-=General=-
-All the icons/upgrades/spells/buildings, etc. has to folow the same theme.(like for the orcs/human/NE/undead)
Now, on this.. I can certainly make everything myself + there's the fact I choosed a race with almost no building models and absolutly no Spell/upgrade icons.
So yes for me the apparence is importante because it's how the real world works. The look is the first contact you have with the object, than you get into the details of his mechanisism.
Now, please, gentlemans let's stop with this debate and show more wip D:
-----------
@Mr. Goblin: Well, I think that's quite a poor opinion in the case of people who aren't modellers or skinners or icon makers.
What about people that can't make triggers like me?! Red Baron said D:
After all, creating a race isn't about creating your own resources to make something completely from scratch, it's about making do with what you've got.
I have texturing and making icons.. and that's the only way I can make my race looks good. (I don't have awesome custom triggered spell too.)
That's even what 67Chrome said, and he started this whole thing. So really, if that's going to be your attitude towards this contest, I have to say that I don't care much for your opinion. It's trying to make this an Arts and Crafts contest instead of what it is, which is wrong because it's about creating a good idea for a race, not creating custom icons/skins/models.
I have my own opinion and I thank you for respecthing it. Tought, you should read my early post, because your opinion and mine aren't that diffrent from each other.