RESPONSIBILLITIES
1. INTRODUCTION
Why rules? Challenge Smackdown doesn't involve any money does it; and wouldn't it just be so much better for all of us if we didn't need to worry about all these regulations and requirements? Well ... true, Smackdown is not about money, it is about having fun by playing competitive teamplay. The problem is that since there is a competitive element in the league (everyone wants to prove their worth as a team) there also comes a need to see to it that all the teams can play eachother in a fair enviroment. The league system also provides for smoother handling of the league and also gives it the official nature that separates a league match from regular clanwars or practice games.
2. LEAGUE SYSTEM
Challenge Smackdown is run according to a system that has grown out of years of league development (Heroes, Villains, previous Smackdown seasons). Smackdown is unique though in the sense that it incorporates several divisions from various geographical locations around the globe. These divisions come from the need for all games to be played with a reasonable amount of latency and packetloss (Australia vs England would not be much of a hit).
Each divison of Smackdown is in itself a separate entity. However, all divisions use the same set of rules and maps to make comparison on a worldwide level possible. In each division there is a regional title waiting for the team that has the strenght and stamina needed to claim it for themselves.
2.1 Divisions
Each divison will contain a number of groups. The exact number of groups and the number of teams in each group will vary from division to division, depending on the number of teams that want to join. There will be a maximum limit of entries in each division and in case the maximum number of entries is reached some teams may have to fight qualifying matches in order to claim a place in the league.
Divisions may set up groups outside of the competition for teams to get acquainted with Smackdown.
2.2 North and South European Division
The european continent has been divided into two separate divisions because of practical reasons. The distance and infrastructure between north and south Europe makes proper gameplay unpractical if not impossible. The geographical boundary runs below the United Kingdom, Belgium, Gremany, Poland and Russia. Teams can only enter the division that encompasses their physical location.
In case of doubt or when a team consist of people spread over countries in both divisions, the division admins deciscion is final.
2.3 Qualifiers
Seats will be given on merit. Teams with previous experience from leagues or established reputations will not need to qualify unless the demand greatly exceeds the number of seats available. The qualifiers are mainly for new teams or teams that don't have a solid reputation (as of yet).
The exact procedure for qualifiers is not fixed but largely depends on the number of teams that are above the limit. The qualifiers might be settled by just pairing teams together, or they might be fought in small qualifying groups. The rules for the qualifiers will be properly anounced after registration has ended for the concerning divisions.
2.4 Your team
A team can only enter the league if it has a working and updated homepage. The homepage needs to have a list of active members. There is no limit to the number of players in one team. Teams not fulfilling these requirements can be frobidden to enter the division by the division admin.
Once the group-games have gotten underway, changes to the team are in principle prohibited. However, one (and only one) member can be added to the teams roster during the first month of the games. Teams will send a request to the division admin and the admin assigned to the teams upcomming game of to add a member. The addition of a member may require some investigation of the admin before it can be approved. Teams should expect a delay of up to one week between sending the request and approval, which is required for the new member to play in a game.
All teams are expected to behave properly and treat the opponents and admins with respect. Teams can be removed from the league for repeated offenses and teams with a known history of trouble can be denied participation.
2.5 Groups
In order to advance to the finals your team first has to last the group-games. As mentioned earlier, each division will have a number of groups and each group will in turn contain a number of teams. For example, a division might consist of four groups of six teams each. Teams fight all opposing teams in their groups and the top-two ranked teams continue on to the quarterfinals and so on. The details may vary from division to divison depending on the number of participants, but the concept will generally remain the same.
2.6 Group-games
The first stage of Smackdown is the Group-games. Each team in each group needs to play each of their opponents in order to have a chance at qualifying to the next stage (depending on the result of those matches of course). If a game is not resolved, your team can't proceed. This means that it is cruicial to settle your matches, be it by winns, losses or walkovers (WO's); even if you have to give WO!
2.7 Qualifying for quarterfinals
Depending on the size and numbers of the groups in each division, one to three teams might be able to qualify from a single group (standard is two teams per group). This means that you need to have settled all your matches and, in most cases, be one of the two highest ranking on the scoreboard of your group in order to qualify.
2.8 Games and ranking
Games are won and lost according to maps. Frags are of little importance other than deciding in case of a group-draw when we count first the percentage efficiency of the maps (maps won out of total maps played) and if that still results in a draw we use frag efficiency.
In a game, if the competitors tie 1-1, then a third map will be played. This map will be randomly picked. This unless the teams each chose the same level, then you play a third and decicive round on that map. For details on match-settings turn to chapter 3.5: Match-settings.
3. MATCH PROCEDURE
This chapter contains all information pertaining to setting up and playing a match in the Smackdown league. It details some of the specific rules, such as the match-settings that are to be followed and the procedure regarding scheduling.
3.1 Organization
All Smackdown games must be observed by an official Smackdown administrator or a replacement admin that has been approved by the administrator responsible for the game at hand. This replacement must be strictly neutral and have no ties to the teams who are to battle it out. In the unlikely event the scheduled admin does not show up, teams should request assistance from one of the other admins present in the #smackdown channels.
To allow the group games to finish timely, the teams are called upon to play at least one game per week.
3.2 Scheduling matches
Matches are scheduled by the admins and announced on the website. If teams can agree to play at another time then the one announced, they have to notify the admin assigned to the game at least 24 hours in advance. Games have to be played within one week of the initial date. The admin can decide to give WO to either or both teams if the game is not played at the scheduled time or if it is delayed longer then one week. The assigned game admin should be contacted in case of any problems. All schedules and communication about them should be expressed in a standard timezone indicated by the division.
If a team decides to play a map different from its home map, it has to notify the amin of their current map choice at least 48 hours before the game. The selection of the home map at the beginning of the season in no way binds a team to use this map in games, as long as the game admin is informed at least 48 hours prior to the game.
Once both teams have confirmed their map choice or at the latest 24 hours before the start of the game, the tiebreaker map will be decided randomly and anounced on the website. If both teams preffer the same map, the tiebreaker is the same map again. In case the teams selected a different map, the tiebreaker is selected randomly from the remaining maps. In the latter instance, teams can agree on a different tiebreaker map from the official list before the scheduled match time. They have to notify the game amdin immediately of this. A discussion on the tiebreaker map can never delay the start of the game.
3.3 Before the game
Before the match begins, the contacts or team leaders from each competing team must meet with the admin on their local #smackdown IRC (either ETG or QuakeNet) for a quick chat. If the teams have agreed on a different tiebreaker map from the one announced on the website, they have to notify the admin immediately. Additional match-settings have to be cleared out at this point. (see 3.5 Match-settings).
The matchserver is decided by both teams. A server giving approximately equal connection conditions should be found. In principle, all maps are played on the same server. However, if connection conditions deteriorate dramatically during or after one or two maps are played, the admin can decide to change servers for the remaining maps. In any case, if the teams have not agreed on a server 30 minutes after the scheduled start of the match, the admin can force the teams to play on a server or servers selected by him. If the game has not started 10 minutes after the admin anounced such decission, he can assign a walkover.
In principle, both teams have to field 4 players before the game can start. Teams can be allowed to start with 3 players. The game will than be played 3 vs. 4 or, in the worst case, 3 vs. 3. This is to be considered an emergency solution and teams not being able to field 4 players for more then 2 games can expect to receive a WO or even be removed from the league.
Rules concerning dropping players are detailed in 3.6 During the game.
3.4 In-game
On the server before the match begins, all players must be subjected to f_modified and f_speed checks. Players must show "nothing" on f_modified and have a f_speed-% value that is less than 100% (That is a maximum of 99.99% (use version 2.33 of QW if possible as it is restricted to a maximum of that particular value). A test of f_server will be performed to ensure only Qizmo proxies are in use (see 4.1 Connecting through multiple proxies).
Players who fail any of these tests will have to drop from server and set things right. The option of replacing players is, of course, open to the teams.
3.5 Match-settings
Games are preferrentially played on servers running a recent version of the 'KTeam' mod. However, if such server is unavailable or only available through poor connections, the teams can agree to use a different mod.
The following settings are used in Challenge Smackdown:
Timelimit: 20 minutes
Overtime: 5 minutes if match is a draw
Deathmatchmode: 1 on all levels except dm6 where it is 3
Teamplaymode: 2
Spawnmodel: Kteam or Normal QW
Powerups: ON
Discharge: ON
The Fairpack setting is determined by the teams on their map. In case of a tie, the deciding map is played with Fairpack set to Last Fired, unless both teams chose OFF. In the latter case the setting will be OFF in the final map as well.
Some settings are only available on KTeam servers. If the server runs a different mod, the admin will decide which settings are most approriate.
3.6 During the game
Each team must record at least one demo of each map, as they will be required to submit one in case of winning the map (see 3.7 After the game).
The teams are allowed to have replacements waiting as spectators on the server but only if the clan isn't playing from the same room (otherwise the chance of them the spectating enemy is great). Only spectators present at the start of the map, i.e. at the time of the proxy-checks, can jump in. If a player lags out he can be replaced immediately by another player or do his best to get back on server as quick as possible. Teams are responsible for sorting out their backup-plans themselves.
Should 2 players of the same team get disconnected at the same time and no replacements are available or should extreme lag start occuring for several players, the game still continues. However, if this situation has not improved after 5 minutes, the admin can step in and, according to the situation, award a win to one team, force a replay of the map or offer to reschedule the game. Pausing the game is not an option.
If several players drop under suspicious circumstances or if the whole team just packs up and leaves, there could be additional inquirees into the matter and in a worst case-scenario the whole team might be dismissed from the season or whole league.
Should a team loose a player during the first (or second) map due to connection problems and can only have 3 players ready for the second (or third) map, they are allowed to play 3 against 4. As they won't have any spectators on the server when the map gets underway, no fourth player can join during that round.
All frags made during a round are counted! Frags of dropped players are added to the total (if the mod doesn't do so automatically). It is important for teams to realise that the score shown in the scoreboard might not be correct.
All maps of a game are played imediately following each other, without intermediate
discussions on IRC.
3.7 After the game
If players had to reconnect during the game, they are obliged to stay on the server untill the admin can perform another f_modified and f_speed check.
Each team should take a screenshot of the scoreboard for each map played. The teams are required to submit at least one demo of the map(s) they won. In case no demo can be submitted within a reasonable timeframe, and at the explicit request of the other team, a map has to be replayed. Only individual maps are to be replayed; not the complete game. Under no cicumstance can the map choice be altered. Depending on the result of the replayed map, the outcome of the game will be decided as if the maps were played in their original order. In case a tie-breaker map was initially needed for deciding a game but no longer after a map is replayed, it is dropped. In the case where a tiebreaker becomes necessary, it is played imediately after the replayed map, using an anew randomly selected map, or the same when the teams had identical choices.
3.8 Group games on LAN
Teams living close together may prefer to play their game on LAN. In such case, the division admin should be notified well in advance in order to adapt scheduling and provide a tiebreaker map. If possible, the teams should find a neutral observer at the LAN to act as the admin for that game. All players have to record demos, which include the f_modified and f_speed proxy checks. Both teams are requested to submit demos; the winning team has to provide at least two. Preferably, the neutral observers demo should also be submitted. The Smackdown rules regarding map selection and server settings have to respected or the game will not be valid.
Reports of the events surrounding the game at the LAN are appreciated.
4. PROXIES AND CLIENTS
For safety- and conveniance-issues, the Qizmo-proxy is the one and only official Smackdown proxy. This means that it is the only proxy that you are allowed to use in official Smackdown matches. In fact it is REQUIRED that you use the Qizmo-proxy because it makes it possible for our officials to check the players for cheats or modifications which are not allowed in Smackdown. To be allowed to play in a match you have to have the latest Qizmo version (2.91 as of now) correctly configured and pass an f_modified, f_server and a f_speed-check. These checks will be conducted once all players are gathered on the server before the match and will be done again if a player drops and rejoins!
The only allowed QuakeWorld clients are versions 2.30 and 2.33.
The use of the Timedemo exploit is prohibited as it may cause problems with other players connections.
4.1 Connecting through multiple proxies
A chain of proxies can only be used if each and every proxy in it is a Qizmo version 2.91.
4.2 Problems with proxies
Qizmo is rather user friendly, but if required, help on its use can be obtained from admins in #smackdown. Players should make sure their proxy works as expected before the game is about to start.
One common problem many ISDN-users or others who share their connections through a router in Win98 face, is the inabillity to start a qwcl-connected proxy through the command-line. This is a bug in Qizmo although it can be circumvented easily. All you need to do is make a shortcut to the desktop. Input the path to Qizmo and QWcll as you would normally do in the command-line and the proxy should work fine.
5. CHEATING
Cheating is an issue for all non-LAN competitions, be it for prizes or just glory alone. Smackdown will continue the tradition of non-tolerance that many of it's predecessors have applied. Since the Qizmo-proxy is the one and only proxy allowed in the league we can greatly diminish the chances of anyone actually getting away with any cheats.
5. 1 Things we consider cheating:
- Changed models of any kind! Your proxy must report clean on a f_modified check, no exceptions.
- Hacked clients! Recompiled quake-executables or edited clients will not be tolerated.
- Speedcheating! Using the qwcl-win98/NT speedbug in order to get a speed% over 99.99% is considered cheating. Since this can happen by accident people who are caught with higher %-values will only be asked to reboot and reconnect.
- Fake/cheat-proxies/aimbot-proxies! There are numerous on the internet, but the chance of encountering cheat-proxies is much smaller after switching to Qizmo-only. There are numerous ways of detecting fake proxies (not to talk about aimbots) ... and the crew knows them all!
- Fakenicking/multiclanning! Fakenicking, such as regestering a fake clan will not be tolerated and can lead to serious measures. Also, playing for several teams who compete in Challenge Smackdown is considered cheating. If you want to play in several teams, make sure you use the same nick (or inform Smackdown officials) and remember that only one of these teams can compete in Smackdown (regardless of division).
- Peeping-observers! Having allied observers in the same room as the players who can spectate the enemy is considered a serious offence and measures will be taken to prevent such violations.
5.2 Other offences
- Intentionally dropping from server! Having one or several players intentionally drop from server during a game without replacing them in no more than one minutes time can be deemed an offence by the preciding admin (depending on circumstances).
- Any way of interfering with the connection of the opposing team (e.g. by any type of flooding or crashing servers) is obviously prohibited.
- Flaming & abuse: please remember what the game is about, having a good time. Quake is a gentlemans sport you know!
5.3 Fullbrights
Anyone could tell you that fullbright-skins is one of the most effective cheats in quakeworld. The problem is that the use of fullbright skins have reached such enormous proportions that the situation today is more or less that everyone has got them! This means that it is impractical for us to consider them as cheats as it would disrupt the way most people play quake today. Also, banning fullbrights (while theoretically possible with Qizmo-only) would also give a slight advantage to GL-players who can blur map textures and keep the player skins sharp and crisp.
6. RESPONSIBILLITIES
It is important for the teams in Smackdown to know exactly what is expected of them and what their responsibillities towards the administration really are. Therefore this little chapter.
6.1 Scheduling matches
Teams must notify the admins if they want to reschedule a game. They also have to contact the admin to announce their map choice.
6.2 15 minutes of grace
If teammembers are not present at the matchserver 15 minutes after the set time the match can be considered a walkover. Make sure your players are on time. As always, the presiding admin will decide depending on the situation. In no case, the game should get underway later then 40 minutes after the scheduled time, as detailed in 3.3.
6.3 Demos and screenshots
Teams are encouraged to record demos during their games. Screenshots and demos will be collected on Smackdown division sites.
NOTE
In case you want to set up an online league yourself, you are welcome to use these rules as a basis. If you do however, we would much appreciate it if you would notify us and have a link to this page (http://www.challenge-smackdown.com/hq/rules/) clearly mentioned on your guidline page. Thank you!
