Hasgaha’s Star Citizen Screenshot Contest: April 2025

Enter my Star Citizen screenshot contest for your chance at some great digital prizes!

UPDATE: 2025-05-16

THE CONTEST IS OVER… and here are the results

April’s screenshot contest, “Desolate“, has ended! It took longer than normal to judge and publish the results because I was swamped with work at end end of April and beginning of May… but we got it done. Check out the top three prize winners and the honorable mention below along with some comments from the judges. You can also see ALL the entries further down the page.

FIRST

“No Hope”  by _El-Tito_

This close-up shot can be the top hero shot of an entire movie. The fear in the eye, the gesture showing his hope and weakness, the low clouds creating mental pressure, and the little lights coming down through the clouds far away… Every element of this image has its own contribution to the storytelling, while they are all positioned at the correct places. Slightly adjusting up the brightness of the dark parts of the image makes it less realistic but more artistic. This is such a great shot.Lapernum

This is brilliant use of using the limited player animations to enhance an image, really making the character look as if they are grasping for their last strand of hope. Clever use of a limited colour palette shows a drab and starved world, the accenting orange popping out to draw your eyes without being too large of a contrast, keeping with the limited colours being used. Simple composition using thirds draws your eyes further towards the lone character with a vast end empty landscape behind them, where the sun rays add texture and depth to what otherwise would have been a relatively flat background.Toby

Amazing composition, depth, color, and use of character positioning and environment. Just brilliant.Hasgaha

SECOND

“Revelation”  by RedSolstice

I’m a huge fan of Minimalism in real life. When I saw this image for the first time, I couldn’t believe my eyes if this even came from Star Citizen. This game is a complicated and realistic game, and it’s incredibly rare to find some minimalism in a game with these many great details. The symmetric composition, the contrast between the little white circle and the large black circle, and the natural color gradient from top to bottom. It’s much easier to create such an image in Photoshop. And this is why this shot is outstanding: it’s pursuing “less” while there is much “more” out there.Lapernum

Another image using a very limited colour palette, the photographer utilizes negative space excellently to draw your eye towards the subtly silhouetted planet in the centre of the frame, small islands sparsely outlining the otherwise invisible horizon that blends seamlessly with the sky. The symmetrical, minimalistic composition is straightforward and works in the image’s favour, helping to draw your eyes into that centre line.Toby

Such a powerful shot from a limited number of elements. My favorite part is how the shapes at the bottom hint at landscape but the actual horizon is almost nonexistent as it blends into the sky. That screams “desolate” to me. The red coloring makes it all the more ominous. Very well done.Hasgaha

THIRD

“Desert Stalker”  by ln_nova

The camera angle looking up from the ground and the use of DOF are what help the main character become “main” in this image. The character is closer and taller than the mountain, the pole, and the sun. They are taller than almost all the other elements in the image. This shapes the characteristic of the character. Nothing is in their way. They will walk forward alone and never stop. I like the vibe of this image and also how it’s corresponding to the theme of this contest.Lapernum

My personal winner, the photo does a fantastic job at embodying the theme of ‘Desolate’, having a heavy Fallout feel to it. Heavy use of chromatic aberration helps to create an uneasy feeling, while the vignetting draws your attention to the character boldly placed in the centre of the frame, taking up most of the vertical space. The manmade structures in the background assist with storytelling, making you think whether the land was always so dead and dry, reminding me of environments from Max Max and Fallout. Another image with effective composition that immediately brings your attention to the character and then the environment.Toby

A framing that is used a lot and we had a few similar entries; character centered, walking away or looking into an expansive landscape. But this was executed incredibly well between the framing, lighting, color, and chosen landscape. Hasgaha

FOURTH

“Star Runner 2949”  by ninjedy

This is the composition that I would like to have a try in-game. And I can feel how much effort the author spent in this work. They managed to find a great scene with nice vibe and great depth of elements. They managed to find a great time with sunset (or sunrise) providing a beautiful color gradient from near to far. I understand how it feels like when the sun just dropped a little bit more into the ground at the moment pressing the PrintScreen button. This is a great and well-prepared shot indeed. Just with a little more luck, it will come to the top.Lapernum

Great use of silhouetting and a limited palette again for this image, the golden hour hues outlining differences in the landscape. A wide lens makes the character feel small, especially when compared to the gargantuan structures in the background, even when stood up on a rock. The Pulse adds some depth to the story being shown, letting the viewer know how they arrived at that location and giving an extra measure of scale.Toby

Another example of that “centered character looking into wide landscape” shot… and again, set up and captured very well. Silhouetted foreground shots can be difficult to pull off in this game while still getting enough light on the distant foreground for it to make sense and make the character stand out. Beautiful shot.Hasgaha

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners!! I’ll be contacting them shortly. And thanks to all who participated as well as my fellow judges on this contest; Lapernum and Toby.

Make sure you look through ALL the submissions below:

My previous Star Citizen screenshot contest ended in February with many stunning shots for the "Portrait" theme. Congratulations again to MrKraken, MAXPER, & Lapernum for winning the Star Citizen prizes and to Victor for the Honorable Mention. If you want to see the results from the last contest, go here.

This month's contest will work the exact same way... except with new prizes, a new theme ("Desolate"), and a different group of guest judges: a previous multi-contest winner Lapernum and our first ever CIG guest judge Toby. So, check out the prizes, read through the rules, fawn over our guest judges and submit your winning shots!

RULES PRIZES GUEST JUDGES

Do you have a question or are you having issues participating? Click here to CONTACT US so we can help.

PRIZES:

FIRST

First Place Prize: Sabre Firebird

One Sabre Firebird Game Package

  • Star Citizen game package and in-game vehicle
  • Lifetime Insurance (LTI)
  • Provided by CIG

SECOND

2nd Place Prize: Gatac Syulen

One Gatac Syulen Game Package

  • Star Citizen game package and in-game vehicle
  • Lifetime Insurance (LTI)
  • Provided by CIG

THIRD

3rd Place Prize: Origin X1

One Origin X1 Game Package

  • Star Citizen game package and in-game vehicle
  • Lifetime Insurance (LTI)
  • Provided by CIG

Prizes for this contest have been provided by RSI/CIG but RSI/CIG is not a sponsor of the contest.

RULES:

Theme: Desolate

Capture an in-game screenshot that creatively represents the theme… literally, figuratively, artistically, etc.

CONTEST ENDS: April 30, 2025 at 11:59 PM CDT   (May 1, 2025 at 04:59 AM UTC)
  • You must be over the age of 13 and reside in a jurisdiction where the contest and your participation is legally permitted.
  • Entries must be uploaded through this page's submission form by the "CONTEST ENDS" date and time above.
  • A username and valid email address are required during the screenshot submission process.
  • Only in-game screenshots from Star Citizen will be accepted.
  • Older screenshots from previous versions of the game are allowed if they match the theme and meet the requirements.
  • Screenshots from any publicly accessible Star Citizen build is allowed (LIVE, PTU, EPTU, etc) so long as sharing the image publicly does not violate any CIG NDA's. Images taken during ETF-only access can not be shared publicly.
  • Entries must be your own screenshot.
  • Screenshots must fit the theme of the contest, as stated in this post.
  • Screenshots may be in any aspect ratio (native or cropped) BUT must have a resolution of AT LEAST 1080px height by 1080px width at 72 ppi (pixels per inch). Upscaling an image to meet the requirements IS allowed but beware of a possible degradation of quality.
  • Screenshots must be in any of the following file formats: JPG, PNG.
  • Each person is allowed to enter up to THREE (3) different screenshots (three separate submissions).
  • Only ONE (1) screenshot from each participant is eligible to win.
  • Minimal post-processing effects/edits to tweak the screenshot are allowed (levels, curves, contrast, downsampling, sharpening, DOF, cropping, rotation, color correction, black/white, etc). Working in image editors (like GIMP and Photoshop) and real-time post-processors like ReShade IS ALLOWED. Extensive edits that significantly change the image are NOT allowed; adding vehicles, removing a person, combining images, and things of that nature are NOT allowed (we play a lot, we know what the game looks like).
  • AI generated additions are not allowed.
  • Multiple people may help you achieve your screenshot in-game but only ONE (1) prize will awarded to the SUBMITTER for each winning entry.
  • Judges for this current contest are NOT allowed to enter.
  • Prize sponsors for this current contest are NOT allowed to enter.
  • Prize winners from the MOST RECENT contest (February 2025) are NOT allowed to enter. Entries that receive "Honorable Mention" are NOT prize winners and are allowed to enter.
  • Images that have already been used to win a prize in any prior Hasgaha Screenshot Contest may not be used again.
  • By submitting an image/screenshot to this contest, you give us the right to display & share your image with credit to you, the creator, on this website (https://hasgaha.com) as well as our associated social networking accounts for the use of promoting this and future contests.
  • Winners will be notified through email with the email address supplied during the entry/registration process. Winners will be announced to the public using the supplied username on this site and it's related social networks.
  • Your entry may be disqualified if it is deemed to not follow these rules. While we will attempt to communicate with participants of disqualified entries, we are not obligated to do so.
  • No purchase, payment or other obligation is necessary to enter or win.
  • Void where prohibited.

Do you have a question about the rules? Click here to CONTACT US so we can help.

THE PROCESS:

On the CONTEST ENDS date listed above, submissions will stop and our esteemed judges will start the process of meticulously looking through ALL the entries. Entries will be judged on the following:

Interpretation & execution of the THEME:

How well does your screenshot capture and/or convey the theme of the contest.

Composition:

The arrangement of the elements within the photo should be pleasing to the eye. How well did you use the available space within the frame? Does the placement of the elements and position of the camera suit the idea or theme of the image?

Creativity:

Does your image convey the idea or theme in an original and imaginative way? Does the image hint at a deeper story or was it captured in an unconventional way?

Judging will be done privately and on an individual basis by the selected judges. This is NOT done in committee or with discussion among other judges. Judge votes are theirs alone and theirs to be given as they see fit. All votes from the judges will remain anonymous and will never be disclosed to the public. While voting, judges will only see the images and image titles. They will not see usernames attached to entries nor how many votes from other judges an entry might have. 

Judging, unless otherwise specified, will occur in multiple rounds, hidden from public view. Entries with the lowest votes from the judges will NOT proceed to subsequent rounds. The number of rounds could vary for each contest based on how many entries are received.

Things to consider that won't hurt your chances, but are NOT required:

  • As high a resolution image as you can take. 1920 x 1080 is the bare minimum... go higher if you can to expose more details.
  • The highest image quality (as little compression) as possible. Remember, while JPGs are easy, they are a LOSSY compressed format and are a degraded form of what you saw in game. Lossless PNG is recommended.
  • Submitting older screenshots from previous versions of the game IS allowed if they match the theme and meet the requirements. However, the game's graphics, textures, lighting, shadows, etc are constantly being improved and older screenshots might have a hard time competing with current screenshots.
  • An image with the first person GUI (ammo count, health meter, etc) or third party overlay (Discord, FPS counter, etc) does NOT look great. Try to remember to use the robust Advanced Camera System AND hide any overlays BEFORE capturing your shot.

ESTEEMED JUDGES for this contest:

Lapernum   Lapernum

A Star Citizen player who loves In-Game Photography.
The Founder and Director of Event Horizon Production Group.
Good luck to every contestant!! o7

You can find Lapernum at:

Toby    Toby

Hey! I'm Toby and I'm honoured to be Hasgaha's first official CIG guest!

You'll see my work in most of our Evergreen content, such as Inside Star Citizen (ISC), Behind The Ships (BTS), a few small clips in Patch Trailers, and other videos here and there- like the current launcher background! (although my proudest work so far was helping the amazing teams behind Nyx and Castra showcase their fantastic work with the 'Beyond Pyro' presentation in last year's CitizenCon).

Before this, I was an avid virtual photographer in Star Citizen and still continue to love seeing the endless creativity and talent within our community in the content you all produce, be it photography, videography, machinimas, and more.

You can find Toby at:

Hasgaha    and me, Hasgaha

SPONSORS & THANKS:

All the prizes for this contest have been provided by RSI/CIG but RSI/CIG is not a sponsor of the contest.

Sometimes, contest prizes come from funds I've squirreled away from my incredibly generous Patreon & Ko-fi supporters. The help from both past and present supporters always surprises and amazes me. They help make things like this possible.

Current or recent supporters on Patreon & Ko-fi:

  • BallisticCowboy
  • MammonLord
  • Mitchell M DeVore

  • Paul Shelley
  • Relay
  • Whitesnake

If you want to learn more or are interested in supporting me, check out my PATREON and Ko-fi pages.

Visit me on PATREON    Visit me on KO-FI   

If you're interested in sponsoring a future screenshot contest of mine with funding or prize donations, please complete this CONTACT FORM (and thanks in advance!).

I want to be a SPONSOR

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Need help using Star Citizen's in-game camera controls?

Or do you want other screenshot tips? Check out some of my video tutorials:

Star Citizen Camera Controls Reference Guide

Previous Screenshot Contests:

DISCLAIMER:

  • Prizes are non-negotiable.
  • If a prize as-listed becomes unavailable, one or a combo of Star Citizen digital pledge items of comparable value will be issued at as close to the original prize value as possible.
  • Winners have 14 days to claim digital prizes from the initiation of the gifting process. Unclaimed prizes will be considered forfeit and used in future contests or giveaways.
  • This contest is hosted and run by me. It is not an official CIG (Cloud Imperium Games) or RSI (Roberts Space Industries) contest and is not associated with them in anyway.
  • All game content and materials are copyright Cloud Imperium Rights LLC and Cloud Imperium Rights Ltd.. Star Citizen®, Squadron 42®, Roberts Space Industries®, and Cloud Imperium® are registered trademarks of Cloud Imperium Rights LLC. All rights reserved.

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