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     Getting Started

Registration for Fields of Carnage 2 has begun!

Play will occur on the playmyth.net servers, so make sure you open an account with them.

We will be using the final 1.5 patch until another is released, see Project Magma for more details.

For easy skimming of the rules section, I have put in bold the information you are probably interested in.

     Quick Overview
Fields of Carnage 2 is a team-free-for-all followup to the quite successful Fields of Carnage tournament. As FoC was first to do, we will again add a bonus in the scoring for teams who deal the most damage.

The first Fields of Carnage featured a fully functional database system for storing all the player information and statistics, which meant instant updates, easy corrections, and individual player pages. This time I am much more skilled and have put in a good deal of time. We'll be saving even more information about matches, and introducing a Content section where players can assign threat ratings to the other teams, predict who will make the top ten, and write articles.

Aside from the damage score and site automation, FoC was the first free for all tournament to include a qualifying round, and FoC2 will use the same structure. Instead of eliminating teams based on their one-time performance, the aggregate scores from two separate rounds will be computed before any teams are eliminated. Even if you miss your first match by mistake, you may be able to earn your way into the elimination brackets with a strong showing in the second qualifying round. For the average team this means you get to play more games!

     Teams
Each team will consist of up to three players. In any one game, only up to two players from your team may participate, so if all three players show up, someone will have to sit out of each game.

The player who registers the team is automatically the "captain". This is just a website thing, the "captain" doesn't have to captain every game or anything ridiculous like that. See the help system on the edit page for information about who has which privileges.

     Tournament Structure
FoC2 is a six round team free for all tournament, beginning with two qualifying rounds. Teams are divided into brackets of 6 for each round.

Each round will consist of 5 or more games. It will begin with maps designed for 6 teams, then will move on to maps designed for 5 teams, then maps for 4 teams. When a bracket reaches a map with 5 starting locations, the team with the lowest score from the 6-team maps must sit out, to allow the 5-team games to be played.

Note: Teams should only step down early when absolutely necessary, so if a team doesn't show up or has to leave early because of real life issues, no one should bow out for the 5-player games.

If any team leaves for one game and comes back, for any reason, scores should be re-examined at that time. The team that left may or may not have a spot waiting for them when they return.

The first round will be randomly divided into brackets of 6, and there will not be a 4-team map. Those teams who sit out for the 5-team maps are not yet eliminated from the tournament.

In the second round, brackets will be randomly divided again, this time there'll be a 4-start map. Teams who must sit out in this round are still not necessarily eliminated.

After the qualifiying round, the highest scoring teams from the total of both rounds will continue. The number of teams advancing to round 3 will be a "magic number" that can be evenly reduced to 6 within 3 rounds. Magic numbers include 24, 27, 36, 48, 54, 60, and 72.

In all elimination rounds, brackets will be assigned by a mixture of random chance, playing time accomodations, and seed-based balancing. A predefined number (depending on the "magic number" we go with) of teams will advance from each bracket to the next round.

     Game Scoring
Points gained for satisfying the winning conditions of the game are called "victory points", and will be 6-5-3-2 for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively (refer to perm to get placements; terries scoring is a little off in 1.5.0 but we will be using perm anyway).

Dealing a lot of damage will earn you "damage points", which will be 3-2-1 for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively.

If two teams in a game tie, victory points will depend on how many teams placed higher in that game. For instance, if you are tied for last in a 6-team game, 4 teams scored higher than you, so you receive 5th place points. If there is a 4-way tie for first and you are below them, you receive 5th place points, NOT 2nd place points. Damage points should tie much more rarely, but if it happens the same principle applies.

     Match Scoring

After a match is over, a predetermined number of teams will advance to the next round, depending on their total points during the match. If that is a tie, the team with the most victory points will advance. If that is also a tie, the team with the most "first places", both winning conditions and damage, will advance.

For example, after five games Joe has won one game, and dealt the most damage twice. Jack won two games, but did not ever deal the most damage. If their total scores are tied, and their victory scores are tied, Joe advances, since he has 1(game win)+2(most damages) = 3, and Jack had 2(game wins)+0(most damages) = 2.

If that is also a tie, a 1x1 tiebreaker will determine the advance. The tiebreaker map/game will be Last Man on the Hill, Killing Grounds, 8 minutes. The tiebreaker game should ONLY be played if advancement is at stake, so if the top 3 advance, then only 2 players tied for 3rd should play a tiebreaker game. Also, qualifying rounds don't have advancers, so no tiebreaker games should take place during the QR.

     Result Submission
After the match the designated host will submit all the results within 8 hours. I prefer the host try to enter the results, but I can score the match from the films if necessary. During the match, only the point totals need be tracked, so that you know who will sit out at the appropriate time. The films should be saved so that the detailed data may be entered later. For every game, I need the rank of every team and the amount of damage they dealt. I also want to know which players played for their team, and their individual damage in each game.

It will then be the responsibility of the players to check the submission once it is on the web site, and I will refer to the films to resolve any problems. All players should save films in case the host forgets or tries to pull something. Changes may result in different teams advancing, so make sure you contest the submission within a couple days, before I get the next round's brackets sorted out.

I have prepared a printable scorecard that is good for recording 2 games per page. You may use it if you wish.

     Settings
All games will be, unless otherwise specified, Unit Trading Enabled, Alliances Off, Teams On, Max Players 14, Deathmatch Off, Overhead Map On, 1 Minute Planning Time, Normal Difficulty, and will use standard Myth 2 settings (don't turn on TFL physics or anything else of that nature).

Games must stay open to allow officials to enter, but they may be passworded with 'foc2' to try and keep out non-tournament players. The title of the game should be similar to "FoC2 Bracket 1".

If anyone objects to them, neutral observers are not allowed (exceptions: TOs, neutral hosts, and scorekeepers).

      Game Times
Different game times will be assigned to different brackets, depending on the times you have listed on your team pages. If the time assigned to you is impossible, let me know and tell me the times that you can play. I will try to trade you with another team that has problems with its time. If you know your team cannot begin a match on Saturdays or Sundays between 10am and 9pm US central time, please do not register for this tournament.

You will always be able to edit your desired playing times, but once brackets are up of course this will do little good. Please make your playing time choices as broad as possible. If you choose too few time slots, you may be scheduled to play at a time you cannot make.

      Third Party Maps

All maps and games have been announced on the maps page. Any player who has not downloaded a particular map will sit out.

If an entire team is missing the map, they will sit out and be placed last for that game. If previously a team had to bow out because they had the fewest points, and they are present, they should be allowed to play the game in place of the team who had not downloaded the map. Scores should then be re-assessed after that game to see whether the first team still gets to play!

     Hosting
I will choose a host from each bracket, based on the information I am able to compile about their speed and reliability, and I will indicate the designated host on the brackets page. Hopefully after the first couple rounds I'll have weeded out the bad hosts. If players complain of lag, you may try to find a host agreeable to everyone, or if I am available I will host for you on my 512/256 DSL. If you think you have a good host, let me know.

The host is responsible for a number of things. First he must get everyone into the same room and onto his host. He should never start the first game in a match when short on teams unless a TO tells him to. He should also boot all neutral observers unless they are a TO ("Tournament Officials" on the credits page).

During the match, the host keeps track of the statistics and the score. After the match, the host submits all that data to the web site, along with the films.

Note: A neutral host should not be the 3rd member of a participating team. If he's hosting, he should either be playing or observing neutrally.

     Lag / OOS / Dropping
There will be a one minute grace period after planning time, in which a team is guaranteed an immediate replay if a player drops or goes OOS for the first time. If a player drops or goes OOS after this period, or if it is the second time during the match for that team, the game will continue. If an entire team drops and any of their players had already caused a replay of that game, that team will receive last place in both winning conditions and damage.

If 5 or more players are complaining of bad lag during the grace period, the game should be replayed on a new host. If the grace period expires, ALL teams must agree to a replay.

If the host should drop without warning, the game will have to be replayed, on a new host. If the host's team is playing, that counts as their one drop. If it would be their second drop, replay the game and trade his team's placement with the team(s) one place below them.

For instance, Joe plays one game on Mary's host, but has to drop because of lag. Everyone decides Joe should try hosting instead, but he is suddenly disconnected. They play the game for the third time on Max's host and everything is fine. Max's team and Taylor's team tie for third, while Joe's team is second. Since Joe dropped twice, Max and Taylor's teams score as having tied for second, while Joe's takes fourth. Damage scores remain the same.

Please report it to me when this happens so that I can make better decisions on designated hosts.

     Substitutes
The last few entrants that don't quite make a full bracket will be designated as substitutes for round 1 and given priority, and if they do substitute, they will be normal participants in round 2. Teams who did not show for week 1 will be designated as substitutes for round 2. I will allow new registrations all through the qualifying round, so players that only find out about the tourney when they see games going on will still have a chance to create a team and substitute.

For all rounds 3 and beyond, teams from the previous round who didn't advance, or weren't able to show up, will be designated as substitutes. Those teams should make an effort to be online while matches are starting, so that they will be able to play. If two substitutes are available for some empty spot, the one with the higher current rank as shown on the website will be allowed to play.

No team will be allowed to play in more than one match per round, and no one will substitute two rounds in a row, so if you play as a substitute and you don't advance, you are out of the tournament.

Placeholders are also allowed to fill out games when there are no substitutes available. Everyone who places below the placeholder in a game is counted as placing one higher, as if the placeholder did not exist.

A placeholder should never be used if there is a viable team to play the game, so if you reach the 5-player game and one of the players is a placeholder, the placeholder leaves, no matter how many points he would have scored.

     Cheating
There are essentially 3 forms of cheating banned in this tournament: alliances, double entries, and bug exploitation.

Alliances

As a rule of thumb, any action which is not beneficial to you and helps another team is indicative of an illegal alliance. For instance, allowing a team free tags or time on objectives you clearly control is not acceptable behavior. In addition, any kind of agreement under which you treat another team as if they were part of your own team is illegal. This includes preplanned and coordinated doubling of another team, standing in range of one another with no intent to attack, or any organized strategy between the two teams. I do realize that doubling is most often selfishly motivated and not cheating. Additionally, avoiding a dangerous team is legal, and friends avoiding each other is usually ok, unless taken to excess.

My goal in banning alliances is to prevent out-of-game relationships from interfering with tournament games. Anything that springs purely from in-game motivations, such as doubling up on the stronger team during lmoth sudden death, or allowing a 2nd place tag to a near-equal force so that they'll leave you alone, is not cheating, it's just smart play. However, free tags for your buddies or ordermates are cheating.

There is also the issue of hateplay. Hateplay is when you take action that does not benefit you and harms another team. This includes rushing them, going out of your way to double them, or allowing free tags to every team EXCEPT them. Most of the time I will not punish rushing or doubling, because both can often be valid strategies. Also, if you need that particular team to lose in order to advance, killing them or allowing free tags *is* beneficial to you, so it's not even classified as hateplay. Punishment will only come when your out-of-game relationship enters into it, and you are giving away free tags, or chasing them unceasingly around the map just because you don't like them.

Double-Entries
This is a one player, one login tournament. If anyone is found to be playing on two accounts, both will be kicked out. I will probably not be investigating each and every player until I'm presented with probable cause, but such things are relatively easy to discover. If you know you have the same IP as another participant, take the initiative and open a dialog with me right now. This will help your case immensely.

Exploitation
Bug exploitation refers to all program exploits the creators did not intend, notably mesh holes, the psy-kicking that cropped up again in 1.5b1, and others. I doubt we'll have many problems, but I won't play nice with offenders.

     Other Issues:
Irretrievable Objectives
An objective is irretrievable if there are no units available during unit selection that can tag it by walking up to it. For instance, if a ball is somewhere where only a lock or dwarf can blast it far enough for your soulless to float up and tag it, it is illegal. If someone decides to run the ball up a wall with spiders on Gyre STB and nobody else has enough spiders to take it, that is legal.

When this happens, intentional or unintentional, most likely the objective will be ruled out of play and count for no one, unless you try to exploit this rule for your own advantage, e.g. blasting another team's ball out of play. In the case of Steal the Bacon, if there is any chance the ball is irretrievable, the game should be replayed with all the original players (including the offenders), and both films should be uploaded (name the films clearly). If the offenders repeat their performance in the replay, play it again without them.

Infinite Contest
Infinite contests occur when an objective can be contested forever due to impassable terrain, and there are no units on the map belonging to either team that can change the situation. In these situations, the player closest to the objective should be allowed to claim it, after the other team has been allowed a tag. If neither team is clearly closer, the objective is out of play and counts for no one (in STB, the teams will tie for first). When this happens the scorer should notify me so I can make a ruling on the scores.

Using an infinite contest type situation to extend sudden death while you obtain other objectives is legal. People will suspect an alliance if the other player goes along with it for too long, so be careful. I will only rule against you if staying on the flag is clearly not beneficial to one of the players, or if there is evidence that it was pre-planned.


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