The leveraging of Marketplace assets, what is in your vault, or even demos/examples, varies depending on the challenge. For instance, with the lighting challenge, default demo or example lighting was not permitted, but environments were within acceptance with the judging criteria. This is why participants are not allowed to use Marketplace assets related to VFX, like existing effects, for this challenge. Similarly, copying a Niagara effect variable for a variable would not be eligible either.
A lot of effort goes into the judging process, and we can assure you that we make sure to look at all available data and more when it comes to assessing submissions.
We genuinely appreciate the feedback and suggestions relating to the challenges and MegaJams. We want to sculpt the best possible experiences for all folks, regardless of industry or expertise. The only trouble with that is that sometimes it takes a little longer to get right for everyone 