Caldoran 146 Report post Posted January 3, 2016 AsiaFortress Mercenaries Cup 7 Rules [Rules] [Unlocks] [Registration] [Brackets, Key Dates and Map Pool] [Discussion] [Team Directory] [Demo Uploads] [Server Bookings] [Match Threads] Table of Contents 1. League Format 1A. Fixtures 1B. Ranking 1C. Key Dates 2. Teams 2A. Joining 2B. Roster 2C. Captain 2D. New Player Additions 2E. Player Transfers 2F. Transfer Widows 2G. Roster Lock 2H. Disbanding 3. Scheduling 3A. Round Schedule 3B. Acceptable Match Times 3C. Negotiating Match Times 3D. Rescheduling 3E. Postponing Matches 3F. Forfeits 3G. Technical Forfeits 3H. Map Selection 4. Matches 4A. Pre-Match Responsibilities 4B. Minimum Number of Eligible Players 4C. Mercenaries (Regarding Teams) 4CA. Mercenaries (Regarding Mercenary) 4D. Match Records 4E. Spectators 4F. Sportsmanship 4G. Class Restrictions 4H. Critical Hits, Damage Spread and Weapon Unlocks 4I. Maps 4IA. Time Based Maps 4IB. Mirrored Maps 4IC. KOTH Maps 4ID. Draws and Golden Cap 4J. Pausing in Game 4K. Post-Match Responsibilities 4L. In-Game Penalties 4M. Disputing a Match 4N. Medi Gun Pickups 5. Servers 5A. Server Configuration 5B. Acceptable Servers 5C. Foreign Teams 6. Cheating, Exploits and Bans 6A. Exploits 6B. Third Party Software 6C. Malicious Server Administration 6D. Steam Account Sharing 6E. AsiaFortress Forum Bans 6F. Allegations and Disputes 1. League Format 1A. Fixtures Regular season match fixtures will be posted prior to the start of each week. Fixtures are set at weekly intervals to be played between Tuesday and Sunday. Match organisation/discussion threads will be posted on the Monday of the match week. Playoffs and finals fixtures will be posted at the conclusion of the regular season. 1B. Ranking The format of the tournament is double elimination. Matches will be played on two maps. No ties are allowed, and a tiebreaker will be played in the case of one. 1C. Key Dates Click here for the latest Mercenaries Cup 7 key dates. These dates are subject to change by the AsiaFortress Administrators. 2. Teams 2A. Joining Teams have to apply in the designated Registrations thread to enter the tournament. A minimum of six eligible players (refer to Section 2B) are required for the application to be considered. Application does not guarantee entry into the tournament. The registration fee for Mercenaries Cup is 6 Refined per team. Payment is to be made to this trade offer link. Please indicate your team name and pay the 6 refined in full amounts (6 total refined, not 18 reclaimed). 2B. Roster To be eligible to participate in Mercenaries Cup: All players must be listed in the Registrations thread post Players must not be currently under any bans or exclusion orders for AsiaFortress (e.g. cheating or disbanding) Players who are VAC Banned from Team Fortress 2 will not be allowed to participate Teams must have a minimum of 6 players and can have a maximum of 12 2C. Captain At least one player from each team must be nominated to act as the Captain to represent the team in organising matches and liaising with Mercenaries Cup Administrators. The Captain(s) will be responsible for the team's timeliness in organizing matches and must be contactable within reasonable time in the event of a dispute. A maximum of three Captains is allowed for each team. 2D. New Player Additions Unregistered players will not be allowed to join a team after registrations have closed. They will only be allowed to join mid-season during a Transfer Window (Section 2F). 2E. Player Transfers Players are only allowed to switch teams during the Transfer Window (Section 2F). 2F. Transfer Windows This tournament will have a single Transfer Window before playoffs. The transfer windows will allow players who are a member of a clan competing in MC7 to move to another team, pending admin approval. While we appreciate the need for team to add additional players to their roster mid-season, our transfer approvals are based on the legitimacy of the transfer/addition. We aim to provide a league that is fair and competitive and we judge all cases based on that premise. Transfer applications may be made in the forum thread at any point during the transfer window. See the full list of Key Dates for more details. 2G. Roster Lock Rosters will be locked from the date registration ends to the Transfer Window (Section 2F). The roster lock will be again activated at the start of playoffs. While the roster lock is in effect, no player additions or transfers will be allowed. 2H. Disbanding Teams who disband during the tournament will be denied entry to the next AsiaFortress competition. The Captain of a disbanded team will not be permitted to lead another team in an AsiaFortress league. Where responsibility for an imminent disband is the sole fault of the captain, a simple majority of registered team members may elect to nominate a new captain or remove the captain entirely at any point during the season. The team at large will then remain unpenalised. To avoid penalty, captains and/or team members should approach an AsiaFortress Administrator at the first sign of trouble to work through a solution. 3. Scheduling 3A. Round Schedule Mercenaries Cup schedules fixtures for every week, and all match fixtures will be posted pre-season. Match discussion threads will be posted in the match discussion forum approximately 1 week before the upcoming round, for teams to negotiate a suitable day and time for their match. The weekly round fixtures must then be played between the specified Tuesday and Sunday of the fixtures schedule. 3B. Acceptable Match Times Generally acceptable match start times for Mercenaries Cup matches are as follows: 8:00PM to 11:00PM GMT+8 These times are only general guidelines and teams are given flexibility in finding mutually beneficial arrangements. However, where two teams are unable to agree on a time, an Administrator will set a match date and time using the above guideline. 3C. Negotiating Match Times Once the match schedules for the round have been posted, teams can begin negotiating with each other to arrange a time and date for their match. It is important to note that only the Team Leaders can organise the match (as indicated on their team roster); Any player who puts forward a proposed time and day when he or she isn't the respective teams' Team Leader, whether jokingly or seriously, will be penalized. There are two ways scheduling can be done: Teams can make contact with each other through mediums such as Steam Chat, and the arranged date and time must be posted in the match discussion thread. The home team is to initially propose (in the match discussion thread) three acceptable (see Section 3A/3B) time and dates for the match and also mention if they are able to organise an acceptable server (see Section 5B) for them. The higher ranked team must then reply and either accept one of the proposed dates or, if none are acceptable, propose three new dates and if they are able to organise a server for them. Repeat if needed until an agreement on the date and time is reached. If it is proving difficult to get in contact with the other team or they are not making a reasonable effort to organise the match with you, please bring it to the attention of an AsiaFortress Administrator immediately. Once teams have agreed to a date and time, the consent of both teams is required if there is a desire or need to organise a new date and time thereafter. All match details must be finalised in the match thread by the deadline specified to the round commencing. This includes the map selections (Section 3H). 3D. Rescheduling If for whatever reason a match cannot be played within the time frame outlined in Sections 3A and 3B, and both teams consent to a round extension, they are required to contact their division's assigned Administrator as soon as possible for approval. 3E. Postponing Matches Each team is allowed a maximum of one (1) match postponement to the following week without penalty. The team which postpones will have to play two matches the following week to compensate and keep the tournament on schedule. 3F. Forfeits A maximum of one (1) forfeit is permitted in the Mercenaries Cup. On the second forfeit a team is considered inactive and removed from the league. Exclusion penalties will then apply for future AsiaFortress participation. It is the team's responsibility to contact your division's Administrator as soon as possible if there is a change in circumstances that will affect your team's ability to field a team each round. When a forfeit is recorded the team they were scheduled to play will be awarded a default win unless both teams forfeited. In the event that both teams forfeit, an AsiaFortress Administrator may allow a rescheduling or rule that no points will be awarded to either teams. 3G. Technical Forfeits A technical forfeit will be awarded in the following circumstances: Technical problems (e.g. Steam connectivity issues) prevent the match being played at the arranged time and the match cannot be rescheduled to a later date within the acceptable time frame outlined in Section 3A/3B Server/Network problems render the server unplayable, an alternative server cannot be found and the match cannot be rescheduled to a later date within the acceptable time frame outlined in Section 3A/3B If the server crashes during a match, rounds won are carried over to the next server and an additional 5 minutes will be added to the map time left before the server crashed (Screenshots are recommended) A new update is released which significantly alters gameplay through changes to a class, weapon, map or mechanic during the round in which it is scheduled, as declared at the Head Administrator or League Owner's discretions In the case of a technical forfeit being awarded, teams may opt to reschedule the match, or split the points (awarding three points to each team). Technical forfeits, unlike regular forfeits explained in Section 3E, do not count against a team. 3H. Map Selection In each match thread, the home and away team will be specified as well as the map pool for that round. Maps are fixed for each round. Teams may play on an older version of the specified map if it isn't in the servers map list as long as both teams agree to it. 4. Matches 4A. Pre-Match Responsibilities The home team with the responsibility of organising the server should set up the server for the match with the required settings as outlined in Section 5. Once the server is ready, the home team's Captain is to contact the other team via the prior agreed method during the match time negotiation and give them the appropriate server details which include the server IP and password. Both teams should be in the server and ready to start the match no later than 30 minutes after the agreed match start time. If all the team members of a team have arrived after 30 minutes, the team with the most complete attendance will be awarded with a forfeit win. 4B. Minimum Number of Eligible Players Teams must have a minimum of four rostered players ready in order to start or continue a match. Mercenaries and other players not in the team's registered roster do not count towards the minimum of four. 4C. Mercenaries (Regarding Teams) A mercenary is defined as a player who plays on a team he is not officially registered for in the tournament. A mercenary can be used without the permission of the other team if they are a member of a registered team in the tournament. The following guidelines apply: It is clearly and honestly communicated to the other team who the mercenary is and why they are being used A mercenary cannot be used in place of an available rostered player Teams can only use up to 2 mercenaries in total during a regular season match No mercenaries are allowed during a playoff match (Semifinals, Lower Bracket Semifinals, Finals) The mercenary must be named together with his or her Steam ID when reporting or confirming results in the match thread "Alts", "smurfs" and other ways of concealing identity are prohibited and will be dealt with harshly. 4D. Match Records Screenshots of the in-game scoreboard at the end of the match must be taken and posted together with the score reports. Logs from logs.tf or sizzlingstats are acceptable replacements for screenshots. Every player involved in a match (including mercenaries) must record a demo (we recommend using P-REC) and keep it for at least 2 weeks after the match. This is to protect the player against disputes and allegations of cheating, hacking, etc. Inability or refusal to produce the requested demo will be to the offending player's disadvantage in the case of a dispute or allegation. Demos may also be uploaded to the demo uploads page to further protect the player against disputes and allegations of cheating, hacking, etc. 4E. Spectators Under no circumstances are spectators allowed in a game with the exception of casters and AsiaFortress Administrators (unless they are members of either team). A team with more than 6 players in a server will be penalized. 4G. Class Restrictions The following class restrictions apply in Mercenaries Cup: 2 Scouts 2 Soldiers 1 Pyro 1 Demoman 1 Heavy 1 Engineer 1 Medic 2 Snipers 2 Spies Teams found breaching the rule at any point in time during the match will be penalized. 4H. Critical Hits, Damage Spread and Weapon Unlocks No random critical hits, no random damage spread and no random pellet spread will be enforced during all matches. A list of all weapon unlocks allowed for Mercenaries Cup 7 can be found here. 4I. Map Pool Click here to view the full map pool for Mercenaries Cup 7. 4IA. Time Based Maps AsiaFortress Leagues use the scoring format of ABBA(AB) to ease calculation of results. ABBA (AB) is: Stopwatch Mode The home team plays on the Offense side first, setting a time to capture the points on the map The away team will then swap sides with the home team, and play on the Attack side to try and beat the home team's time The team which set the better time gains one point for the round For the next round, the home team plays on the Defense side first, while the away team sets the time first The teams then swap sides again, and the home team tries to beat the away team's time The team which set the better time gains one point for the round If both teams are tied in points (1-1), then they play another round with the home team starting on the Offense side again The score is to be reported as how many rounds you win. eg: 2-1, or 2-0. No draws are allowed. 4IB. Mirrored Maps First team to attain a round win difference of five, or Whichever team has the higher points after 30 minutes. If teams are tied in points after 30 minutes, a Golden Cap round will be played (see Section 4ID). No draws are allowed. 4IC. KOTH Maps First to 4 round wins No time limit No draws are allowed. 4ID. Draws and Golden Caps Map draws in Mercenaries Cup are not allowed Matches are played out over 3 maps with individual map wins being the focus Should a tie occur, a Golden Cap will be played A Golden Cap is played as an additional round a 10 minute time limit, and the winner of the round or whoever has middle capped after 10 minutes will be awarded the map. 4J. Pausing in Game Pausing during a match will be allowed where players clearly exhibit (technological) performance issues. As a guideline, the pause should not last longer than five minutes before teams attempt to find a replacement. Players are to notify the other team 5 seconds before unpausing the game. Abusive use of this function and/or use for inappropriate matters will be heavily penalized. Reporting such inappropriate use should be done with minimal delay as a dispute to a match upon which the Administrators will make a ruling. 4K. Post-Match Responsibilities Both teams must reply to the match discussion thread with the results of both maps within three hours of the match ending. Screenshots and/or the logs.tf page of each map must be attached to the thread. Teams must clearly state who the winner of each map was and by what margins Example: cp_granary: 4-1 to execute crew cp_badlands: 3-3 draw If a team has used a mercenary, they must post the mercenary's name in the same post which reports the outcome of the match. If only one team submits results, then they will be accepted without verification, so make sure you either confirm the posted results or dispute them if they are incorrect. In the case of neither team submitting results, a forfeit will be recorded against both teams. 4L. In-Game Penalties The following guidelines apply: First minor team offence: Warning Second team offence: 1 point penalty Repeated or severe team offences: Technical forfeit (loss of all points won that round) Gross misconduct or cheating: Disqualification and potential ban from future tournaments and events Teams with offending players under probation (see Section 6E) will not be afforded a first-offence warning. 4M. Disputing a Match To lodge a dispute or report of misconduct, please contact your division's assigned League Administrator. The decision of the League Administrator is final. 4N. Medi Gun Pickups All weapon pickups should be disabled through the tournament server configuration files. In the event they are not, all Medi Gun (including Medi Gun unlocks) pickups are strictly banned. 5. Servers 5A. Server Configuration The server configuration files for Mercenaries Cup 7 can be found here. 5B. Acceptable Servers To be regarded as acceptable, servers must: Be physically located in Asia, unless the match is between two New Zealand or Australia-based teams. Have the Mercenaries Cup configs and whitelist installed and be running on sv_pure 2. Admins have the right to declare which server a match will be played on If teams cannot agree on a server, an official AsiaFortress server must be arranged by contacting an Administrator. If you require a SourceTV relay, please try to provide us with as much notice as possible. 6. Cheating, Exploits and Bans 6A. Exploits Exploiting game and map bugs or flaws for an unfair advantage, whether they are listed in the rules or not is prohibited. The following is an incomplete list of known exploits: Exploiting flaws in map design that put you within otherwise inaccessible props or above/under the map's normal boundaries Causing damage through the Control Point A floor on cp_gravelpit Building Sentry Guns, Dispensers or Teleporters in indestructable areas Shooting through gates or walls during Setup time Using any map entities to reach areas that cannot be mirrored by the other team in the same situation Using scripts, macros or key combinations that allow you to bypass movement/mechanic restrictions (e.g. the "Mega Jump" exploit) Any script which is disruptive to hitboxes or gameplay Medics changing hat/items/weapons in spawn to change spawn while preserving Übercharge If you are unsure whether something is considered an exploit, please contact an AsiaFortress Administrator and request that a ruling be made on it. Ignorance will not be accepted as an excuse for executing an illegal script or manoeuvre. 6B. Third Party Software The use of any third-party add-ons, hooks, programs or wrappers that interact with or alter the Team Fortress 2 client, its appearance or behaviour for the purposes of gaining an unfair advantage are banned. VPN Services such as WTFast, custom hitsounds and custom HUDs are exempt from this rule. 6C. Malicious Server Administration The use of any server commands, variables or plugins for the purposes of gaining an unfair advantage or to interfere with a Mercenaries Cup match is prohibited. Once the match is underway, any server administrators must let the match run its course and not make any changes without the consent of both teams. 6D. Steam Account Sharing A Steam account may only be used by its owner in any Mercenaries Cup match. Sharing your login details with a third party for use in a Mercenaries Cup match is strictly prohibited and if found out will result in severe penalties for all involved parties. 6E. AsiaFortress Forum Bans Members who are currently banned on the AsiaFortress website and servers are also banned from leading teams in Mercenaries Cup. Players banned from the AsiaFortress website may also be subject to competition bans, and are considered under probation (see Section 4L). Please contact an administrator for further clarification. 6F. Allegations and Disputes Any disputes and allegations of cheating, misdemeanour or hacking must be done within one (1) week of the match in question. Failure to report any misdoing to an AsiaFortress Administrator within that time frame will likely result in the report being disregarded. Evidence such as demos, recordings and/or server logs will help greatly in the case, and are expected to be produced. Frivolous and/or repeated unsubstantiated reports for the purpose of harassment and/or wasting time will be dealt with harshly at the Administrators' discretions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
