Well, that exactly what they look at don't they? Someone could a have a $10000 rig and still make the worst shots...Screenshots are all about art...the angle, setting, lighting...all these come into consideration I suppose during judging...

AFIAK, myself and Mr.Mugel do not have the greatest systems at all. In fact, looking at your system specs, my computer is actually worse than yours!

I have to be honest but it is better to have a decent pc with  flight sim because it has so much to offer.
It's an expensive sim so why play on a crappy rig ???

I made it to finals once back when my video card sucked, so I don't think that it's really an issue.

Thanks for the words Dave, but it just shows that a simple shot can go that far, in my sig there are my specs, you wont find to many crappier PCs around here, I think.

But it works, I have fun with it, that´s what it´s all about, and it´s creativity that makes a good shot, sure a high end rig can easier produce visually stunning pics, but that´s not allways what the judges look for.

And I think many people seem to vote that way, too, look at the amount of votes I got, such a simple shot, with such a crappy system.

That´s what makes taking decent screens hard.

Let´s keep this contest on, I had many of these moments in which I thought my shot could have gone further, but it didn´t and that´s the way it goes.

Allways remember, the contest is not only to win, not only for the prize, but it´s the fun you have, looking at all the decent pics entered, thinking about options for great screens yourself.

FWIW......
MR. Mugel  got my vote simply because of the fantastic composition of the pic.

As a long time  photography  buff, I learned years ago that composition is of upmost importance and all the fancy equpiment and effects can not equal a simple pic with great composition.

Mr. Mugel illustrated brilliantly that  you do not need a high end sys to take great pics..

It's probably not the quality of the rig that gets a screenshot into the finals.  But I'm still not sure what does make the difference.  There have been some comps here where I've looked at the finalists and known at once which should be the winnner (IMHO).  Other times I haven't bothered to vote because I didn't think ANY of the finalists were that good.  I have yet to figure out what criteria the judges use to select the finalists each month.  But then, my taste in art is rarely mainstream.

Don't forget there are also monthly screenshot competitions at www.screenshotart.com, and not just for FS2004.

Gryshnak