Rule set
From Libervis Wiki
On this page we draft up the rule set for the upcoming Freedomware Gamefest 2007. Relevant discussion threads on which this is based are on the Nuxified gaming forum. The objective is to keep it as simple, readable and understandable as possible - even for non-seasoned gamers.
The following are general rules for the game fest. Specific game components may have certain additional guidelines applicable only to that particular game.
Registrations
Registrations will be accepted until date_to_be_decided when all players will be assigned to the game components of their preference (games and their modes) and start forming teams (if applicable to the game type). Scheduling of first matches will proceed right afterwards.
Late registrations will be accepted for these cases:
- To join a game components that hasn't started yet (due to previously insufficient number of players)
- Join as substitutes for the previously registered members who quit playing
- Join as a designated backup player for existing players (in which case the backup player shares in the success of the main player, both count as one)
If date_to_be_decided passes, but you want to register, you will be referred to a special "late registrations" thread on Nuxified gaming forum.
Games inclusion
Every game which has been specified as favorite by any of the currently registered players will be considered for inclusion, but only those which will before date_to_be_decided have a sufficient number of players will start with date_to_be_decided. Other games can still become a part of the festival if enough late players join to play them. They would then be started later in the festivals progression.
Example: Nexuiz, Tremulous and OpenArena already have enough players to start, therefore they will start immediately after date_to_be_decided. BZFlag, Battle for Wesnoth, Armagetron Advanced and some others have some potential players, but still not enough to allow for starting a tourney about them. However if, for example, more players join BZFlag even after the registration deadline, BZFlag component may be revived and started as a full part of the game fest.
Game slots
Freedomware Game fest is categorically divided into game slots (or components). Depending on how specific game slots are arranged, one game can have one or more game slots (based on their game play modes). Therefore Nexuiz may have two game slots based on team and sole play. Tremulous, with only one mode, is one game slot, and so on.
Game slots which use modes that are based on teams will have teams of players competing. Otherwise they will be individual player against other individual players.
Each game slot has its own qualifications and final tournament stages.
Qualifications (per each game component)
This is a first stage of every game component in this festival. Every player or team involved in a game component will play a number of matches against every other player or team in a designated group until a final chart is established which will determine the qualifications charts based on which, depending on the game slot, we will determine who is qualified.
Final tournaments (per each game component)
This is a second and final stage of each game slot. Players or teams that qualified will be put into one of the tournament brackets.
Brackets may differ from one game slot to another, but the default starting point would be double elimination tournament. If one game has multiple slots based on their various game modes (for example Deathmatch and Capture The Flag) upon winning each of these modes of the game it would be allowed for winners to play a set of "multi-mode" matches to determine the overall winner of that game. For example, once we have a winner of both the CTF and DM Nexuiz modes, the two of them can play two matches, one CTF and one DM against each other to determine the overall winner. If it is a draw, one additional match will be played until the winner is found.
Scheduling of matches
We will attempt to schedule each match in cooperation with those who will be involved in it, so that they can specify when they are all available to play. If they all show up as scheduled, there will be no problems.
If a player doesn't show up as scheduled or shows up late the standard way to handle this will be to issue a forfeit. In other words, the opponent would gain an automatic win. The exact way of handing such situations does depend on the situation itself and we will try to be reasonable. If the player, for example, just shows up late, we may wait for a reasonable amount of time upon which we will decide whether to reschedule or issue a forfeit.
Rescheduling is generally allowed only once, except in special circumstances that can be acknowledged only by a gamefest organizer or a referee.
The scheduling thread on Nuxified gaming forum contains some relevant suggestions on how to deal with these situations, which we can fall back on if needed.
Within 15 minutes prior to the match, players should join #gamefest IRC channel on irc.freenode.net where the organizer will await them.
Cheating, exploits and other offenses
Any kind of attempt to override any of the established rules or to gain an unfair and secret advantage over other players is strictly forbidden. The punishment for this will be an immediate forfeit or a disqualification of the player involved. If the player is part of a team, the player is to be forbidden from playing and a substitute player would take his place, if applicable. If there are no substitutes, the team would have to play with one player less.
In other words, cheating will just lead you and your team to more trouble than it would be worth. Don't count on winning this way.
Cheating involves using any client side cheats, mods or scripts and includes exploiting bugs that may be present in a game or a map being played.
Consistent bad and unfriendly behaviour will result in only one warning before a forfeit and one another before disqualification.
Points system
We will award points to each player based on their wins, draws, losses or forfeits according to the following charts. This is a default chart that may differ from game to game if the nature of the game requires.
1vs1 (team or player) match
- 4 points for a victory
- 2 points for a draw
- 1 point for a defeat
- O points for a forfeit
All in one match
- 4 points for the overall winner
- 3 points for second best
- 2 points for third best
- 1 points for the rest (rewarding their participation, as 0 would be a forfeit)
Points are generally awarded for each and every match in the festival, both in a qualifications and a tournament stage. In the qualifications stage it may, depending on the game, be used to determine the qualifications chart. It will also help determine the universal winner of the game fest between the winners of each tournament.
Determining the Universal Winner
Each game component will have its own winning player or team. However, one player is to be made the winner of the whole Freedomware Gamefest 2007 and those who are eligible for this title include the winners of each tournament. If a winner of a tournament is a team, the best player in a team as determined either by a team vote or by a game specific score is made eligible. This means that if we have five game components and hence five tournaments there will be five players eligible for the universal winner title and the best prize.
Among them the winner will be decided based on their performance in tournaments they participated in taking into account the number of wins, draws and forfeits. For each of these points will be awarded.
At the end, when all tournaments have their winner, one among them will be chosen as the winner of Freedomware Gamefest 2007, The Ultimate Player, by counting up a total of points (s)he earned in all tournaments (s)he participated in.
If the winner of the tournament is a team, that team will have to choose one player among themselves for eligibility for the Ultimate Player title. The chosen player will then assume all the points his/her team had as his/her own point totals.
If a player played in multiple tournaments, one of which was a team, points total of both him/her and his/her team across all tournaments are summed up.
Example:
Team X wins OpenArena CTF tournament and now has to choose one among their 3 members as the best among them and most deserving to be eligible for the Ultimate Player title. They do this by a simple in-team vote. The number of points this team earned through the tournament is awarded to the team member Team X chose. Then if this player also played in a Nexuiz 1vs1 tournament, points (s)he won there are added to the points total he already has from his Team X.
If the number of points Team X earned was 24 the chosen member will assume this number of points as his/her own. If (s)he also got 12 points in Nexuiz 1vs1 tournament these are added up so that his/her final number of points is 36.
If this is more than the number of points of all other tournament winners, (s)he wins the Ultimate Player title.
Special titles
We are considering the idea of having additional special titles which could be either game specific or universal, depending on their type. Likely way of deciding who will be recognized for a given title is to have the community nominate and then vote on the nominees for the winner.
Recording matches
We should strive to record each and every match played using any means available that wouldn't be disruptive to the game play. If a demo recording feature is available in a game, each player should have it enabled and then upload it to a designated upload space as an archive. These recordings may be useful in various situations. For example, they may be watched by the community to decide who to nominate for special titles, they can be used to resolve any controversies that could arise and importantly, they can be used as a backup evidence of recognized match results.
Game versions
- Tremulous: 1.1
- Nexuiz: 2.3
- OpenArena: 0.7.1
- Armagetron Advanced: 0.2.8.2.1
Latency issues
We will try to balance the latency of all players in the fairest way possible and also play on a server closest to the majority of people involved in a match.
If there is a split between those with a good ping and those with bad we will have a double match - one on a match providing a good ping to the first half and another on a server providing a good ping to the second half. It's not a perfect solution, but it is as fair as possible.
