This is a comprehensive guide on tracking game points.
Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the scoring guide and consider uploading your work to the group galleries. While submitting art to the group is not mandatory, it makes it easier for us to screen scoring, help you adjust points where necessary, and aid you in getting the hang of things, so we highly recommend it! This is a big help for both players and staff as it will help ensure that your work is correctly scored as you go along rather than running into large scoring problems later when your trackers are submitted for purchase reviews.
The point calculator now has a "simple" breakdown option which should make the breakdowns easier to include in spreadsheets.
Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the scoring guide and consider uploading your work to the group galleries. While submitting art to the group is not mandatory, it makes it easier for us to screen scoring, help you adjust points where necessary, and aid you in getting the hang of things, so we highly recommend it! This is a big help for both players and staff as it will help ensure that your work is correctly scored as you go along rather than running into large scoring problems later when your trackers are submitted for purchase reviews.
The point calculator now has a "simple" breakdown option which should make the breakdowns easier to include in spreadsheets.
QUICK LINKS
tracking requirements | running total guide | tracking platforms | quick-start guides | general tips
tracking requirements | running total guide | tracking platforms | quick-start guides | general tips
Tracking Requirements
All trackers can be customized however you'd like but are expected to have work cleanly organized, whether in a spreadsheet, a list of links on a journal, or in journal comments. Please keep the point logs and their required information in one section and not scattered across different areas of the tracker.
The following information must be clearly displayed:
If your tracker does not meet these requirements when submitted for review (such as at the Energy Exchange or for Transformations), your review and purchase will be paused until it is updated to include this information. Submitting a tracker without this to the Nursery or Greenhouse will also make your claim ineligible.
We can only count scores for work listed in your tracker, included with these requirements. If your work is in your gallery but not logged in a point tracker, it will not count for points during a review.
Various examples of how this information can be included can be seen below in the Tracking Platforms info!
The following information must be clearly displayed:
- link to the submission (title and thumbnail are optional)
- scoring breakdown for the submission
- total AP / GP earned from the submission
- if not using a spreadsheet tracker, a running total of AP / GP next to each submission's individual total
- total available AP / GP
- all GP purchases (Transformations, Energy Exchange purchases, Wellsprings donations, etc)
- the title for any event, origin prompt, or monthly prompt being used
- any relevant notes
If your tracker does not meet these requirements when submitted for review (such as at the Energy Exchange or for Transformations), your review and purchase will be paused until it is updated to include this information. Submitting a tracker without this to the Nursery or Greenhouse will also make your claim ineligible.
We can only count scores for work listed in your tracker, included with these requirements. If your work is in your gallery but not logged in a point tracker, it will not count for points during a review.
Various examples of how this information can be included can be seen below in the Tracking Platforms info!
Running Total Guide
If you are not using a spreadsheet for your point logs, we require a running total to be added to your tracker instead. This just helps us check your maths, and makes sure no submissions are missed when you're adding up your total. The running total is the current overall total after each submission is added, for example the bold section here:
You can also see examples of this in both of the example journal trackers linked in the Tracking Platforms section below.
- Submission 1 Total: 10
- Running Total: 10
- Submission 2 Total: 10
- Running Total: 20 (last running total, + the new submission)
- Submission 3 Total: 5
- Running Total: 25 (last running total, + the new submission)
You can also see examples of this in both of the example journal trackers linked in the Tracking Platforms section below.
Tracking Platforms
DeviantArt Journals
Most journals track point logs either in the journal themselves or in the comment section. Thumbnails are optional if you'd like to save space! Here are two examples which show how to include the required information - one with the point logs in the comments, and the other with the point log in the journal itself:
*Please keep in mind that submissions and scores logged in comments are not editable after 24 hours, and that journals have a 200 thumbnail limit. For these reasons we highly recommend using spreadsheets.
Google Spreadsheets
Google spreadsheets are the preferred way to track points - the spreadsheet will do all the math for you, making it much easier for us to review. With journals, it can frequently take numerous staff members a few hours to manually add up scores in order to cross-check that everything is correct. Spreadsheets also list information very efficiently and clearly. All of this combined makes the review process much easier for staff, and keeps the logged work clearly organized and easy to manage.
Free-to-use templates: Quick-start and In-Depth guides for using the templates and sheets can be found below this section.
You are also free to make your own custom spreadsheets if you'd like to! Here are some examples:
Offsite Trackers
Offsite trackers are also an option - wix and weebly are the most popular. The same rules apply for these - required information must be clearly listed, and please be sure to credit the artist and/or link back to the original submission.
Remember that point logs and character / player profiles or galleries (such as toyhou.se) do not have to be the same thing! We encourage players to create elaborately customized profiles for themselves and their esk to showcase artwork, characters' personalities, and any story elements - the point logs can be separate, simple, and can be linked into the relevant profiles/trackers, whether they are spreadsheets or journals.
Most journals track point logs either in the journal themselves or in the comment section. Thumbnails are optional if you'd like to save space! Here are two examples which show how to include the required information - one with the point logs in the comments, and the other with the point log in the journal itself:
*Please keep in mind that submissions and scores logged in comments are not editable after 24 hours, and that journals have a 200 thumbnail limit. For these reasons we highly recommend using spreadsheets.
Google Spreadsheets
Google spreadsheets are the preferred way to track points - the spreadsheet will do all the math for you, making it much easier for us to review. With journals, it can frequently take numerous staff members a few hours to manually add up scores in order to cross-check that everything is correct. Spreadsheets also list information very efficiently and clearly. All of this combined makes the review process much easier for staff, and keeps the logged work clearly organized and easy to manage.
Free-to-use templates: Quick-start and In-Depth guides for using the templates and sheets can be found below this section.
You are also free to make your own custom spreadsheets if you'd like to! Here are some examples:
Offsite Trackers
Offsite trackers are also an option - wix and weebly are the most popular. The same rules apply for these - required information must be clearly listed, and please be sure to credit the artist and/or link back to the original submission.
Remember that point logs and character / player profiles or galleries (such as toyhou.se) do not have to be the same thing! We encourage players to create elaborately customized profiles for themselves and their esk to showcase artwork, characters' personalities, and any story elements - the point logs can be separate, simple, and can be linked into the relevant profiles/trackers, whether they are spreadsheets or journals.
Quick-start and in-depth guides for using google sheets and templates
Thank you to these wonderful volunteers for putting together some guides to help make setting up your google sheets easier!
- Sheet Quick Tips courtesy of fiachmara
- Guide to Google Sheets for ARPG Tracking courtesy of tayleaf
General Tips
- Please make sure all point logs are accurate and up-to-date when making purchases or submitting them in features like the Greenhouse. You can send us a group note with your tracker for a review at any time if you are uncertain of its layout or scoring!
- Keeping each spreadsheet separate rather than in tabs with each other can be helpful if you have a lot of work or thumbnails and you find that the sheets are getting laggy.
- If your spreadsheet trackers are embedded into a character/player profile, please also provide a link for us to view the tracker separately.
- Keep custom sheets legible by using fonts that are easy to read, avoiding clashing colors, and not using too many columns.
If you feel confused or overwhelmed, or need help getting started, please contact us via Group Note! You can also find us on Discord to ask questions in our askstaff channel or seek the help of community members - many of which are more than happy to lend a hand!
Psst .... Setting up your tracker earns you a reward!
Handcrafted abacus
Some strings are frayed, but it's been a faithful friend
Some strings are frayed, but it's been a faithful friend
