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2nd FCOL Tournament Draft Rules: Please Review and Comment
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pinecone
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Joined: 03 May 2008
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 1:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

cool, I'll ty to get the email to you soon Smile
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ericphillips
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 2:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

welcome aboard Piney!
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JimDauphinais
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 4:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Silence will be treated as acquiecence Smile

So, if anyone has any heartburn with the Alternative 1 set of dates, please let us know ASAP.

I have confirmed there are legal squadrons for all empires.

However, I discovered the LDR is actually not quite yet in FC Online. Their ships either need to be added under the LDR empire or weapon options need to be added to the Lyran ships already in FC Online so that they can be used as LDR ships.

As a result, the LDR are going to be placed into the same category as the ISC and Vudar. Their ships need to be added to FC Online by the ship selection deadline (February 10th under Alternative 1) in order to be available for selection. The same applies to the more unusual Orion weapon layouts. If it is not currently in FC Online, you need to get it into FC Online no later than the ship selection deadline in order for that weapon layout to be available for the tournament.

Also, somebody pointed out to me that there may be a problem with the squadron version of the Wyn AXc. If it does need correction and someone wants to use it, they will need to have it fixed by the ship selection deadline.

We have eight potential players so far:

JimDauphinais
Gar1138
Mojo_bilbo
Krellex
Storeylf
Pinecone
Ericphillips
Orgyockbo

So, we do have the critical mass necessary to move forward. We will hopefully gain other interested players once the announcement for the tournament is officially made (I am still aiming for Thursday morning).

As far as empire selection goes, I have so far heard preliminary interest in regard to playing the Feds, Tholians, Hydrans and Gorns.

Thanks,

Jim
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ericphillips
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 6:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, well I vote for alternate 1, th Feb. 1 start.
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JimDauphinais
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The final draft rules follow below.

If any one identifies any errors or sees something that gives them very serious heartburn, please let me know here, send me a private message or e-mail me at jimdauphinais@aol.com.

Tomorrow morning I will be posting the final rules under a new topic and officially opening up signups.

Thanks,

Jim

-------------

FINAL DRAFT
Rules for the 2nd Federation Commander Online Tournament
January 19, 2011



Tournament Signup and Empire Selection Deadline: February 1, 2011

Final Player and Empire Selection List Posted: February 4, 2011

Ship Selection Deadline: February 10, 2011

Start of 1st Round: February 15, 2011

Completion of 1st Round: March 10, 2011

Future rounds begin on the 15th of a month and conclude on the 10th of the subsequent month.


Signup via E-mail to: jimdauphinais@aol.com and gar1138@yahoo.com


It is highly recommended that players use Skype voice chat while playing their matches.


1. CORE TOURNAMENT RULES

The 2010 Origins Federation Commander Tournament Rules (http://www.starfleetgames.com/federation/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=2900) and their associated clarifications apply except as clarified or amended by the rules which follow below.

The Fifth Edition of the Federation Commander Rules will be used for this tournament including all updates and clarifications through the January 2011 Edition of Communique. It is anticipated that the Sixth Edition of the Federation Commander Rules will be released either shortly before this tournament starts or shortly thereafter. Players in a given match may mutually agree to use the Sixth Edition of the Federation Commander Rules. Otherwise, all matches will be played using the Fifth Edition of the Federation Commander Rules.

GM Comment: In my judgment it would be unfair to require everyone to purchase a copy of the new rulebook so soon after its release. Therefore, the use of the Sixth Edition rulebook will be optional. Note that it is anticipated that the Sixth Edition rulebook will contain adjustments to the rules for Plasma G/S/R and Particle Cannons. As such, if you play a match using the Sixth Edition of the rulebook, the special tournament rules below for Plasma G/S/R and Particle Cannons will be superseded by the rules for those weapons that are found in the Sixth Edition of the rulebook .


2. FC SHIP AND WEAPON PURCHASE RESTRICTIONS

All normal Federation Commander ship and weapon purchase restriction rules apply in addition to all other tournament purchase restrictions on ships and weapons.

GM Comment: This should be obvious, but just in case it is not, I am explicitly stating it.


3. FC: WAR & PEACE

To the extent their ships are available in FC Online prior to February 10, 2011, the ISC and Vudar are available for selection as an empire by players.

GM Comment: Other than possibly not being included in FC Online, there is no longer a reason to hold these empires out of the online tournaments. The Andromedans will not be available as an empire in this tournament, but will hopefully be available as an empire in the next FC Online tournament.


4. FRAX

To the extent its ships are available in FC Online prior to February 10, 2011, the Frax are available for selection as an empire by players. Since the Frax are currently only available via e23, players selecting the Frax as their empire may treat the following Frax ship cards from e23 FRAX Packs #1, #2 and #3 as if they were laminated ship cards: BCH, CA, CC, CF, CW, CWD, CWL, DN, DW, DWD, FF and POL. Frax Submarines and ships with Axion Torpedoes are not in play.

GM Comment: It is not likely this simulator empire will make it to laminated cards anytime soon. However, this interesting empire�s manifest of ship cards has been nearly fully filled out via e23 and it does not require any special rules to play. In addition, many of its ships are already available on FC Online.


5. LDR

The LDR will only be available as an empire to the extent its ships (with the correct weapon mounts) are available in FC Online prior to February 10, 2011.

GM Comment: Unfortunately, the LDR are not quite yet in FC Online. However, hopefully they will be available by the ship selection deadline.


6. HYDRANS

Players that select the Hydrans as their empire must purchase at least one ship that is not armed with Hellbores.

GM Comment: It has been my experience that many players who favor the Hydrans will only buy Hellbore ships. Such ship selection undercuts some of the flavor of this empire.


7. WEAPON LAYOUTS

For ships that have multiple possible weapon layouts (e.g., most Orion Pirate ships), players may only purchase ships with weapon layouts that are available within FC Online prior to the start date of the tournament.

GM Comment: This is to minimize the amount of manual tracking needed in order reduce the chance for confusion or misunderstandings between players.


8. PLASMA G, S AND R TORPEDO TUBES

For purposes of this tournament, ships with Plasma G, S or R torpedo tubes may choose to start a scenario with all such tubes holding their second turn of arming energy. Such ships may not count their batteries toward their starting energy except that the number of batteries left empty will not exceed the power it would take to pay for the second turn of Plasma G/S/R arming. Ships that have weapons that can start a scenario pre-loaded must also elect to pre-load those weapons if the player elects to have that ship to start with the second turn of arming completed for its Plasma G, S and R tubes. The opposite applies as well.

GM Comment: We are playing with this unofficial playtest rule in order to provide a little bit of help to the Plasma empires. This rule is not in effect for matches where both players agree to play their game using the Sixth Edition of the Federation Commander rulebook (a similar official rule replaces it). Note that players will need to play a mock first turn in FC Online in order to manually setup the second turn of plasma loading and battery use.


9. PARTICLE CANNONS

For purposes of this tournament, the three impulse delay for Particle Cannons (4P1b) does not extend over turn breaks.

GM Comment: We are playing with this unofficial playtest rule in order to give a little bit of help to the Seltorians. This rule is not in effect for matches where both players agree to play their game using the Sixth Edition of the Federation Commander rulebook (a similar official rule replaces it).


10. POINT VALUE FACTORS

For purposes of this tournament, the printed point value of all ships and weapons are adjusted by multiplying those values by the following factor for each empire:

1.10: Kzinti
1.05: Federation and Orion Pirates
1.00: Frax, ISC, Klingon, LDR, Vudar and Wyn
0.96: Gorn, Hydran, Lyran and Tholian
0.92: Romulan and Seltorian


These modified point values apply for all game purposes, including, but not limited to, purchase cost and victory determination.

Example: If the factor that applies to the Federation for the tournament is 1.05, the point value of a Federation CA will be 154.35 points rather 147 points.


If after all players select their empires more than 25% of the participants select the same empire, the GM will boost the factor for that empire by one level and give all players who have selected that empire the opportunity to select another empire. If this still results in more than 25% of the participants selecting the same empire, once again the affected empire's factor will be bosted one level and the GM will once again give all players who selected that empire the opportunity to select another empire. This will continue until no more than 25% of the participants have selected that same empire.

GM Comment: The purpose of this rule is to help minimize the empire selection bunching that dominated the 1st FC Online Tournament. In general, the idea is that the empires that are both popular and viewed as difficult to defeat in the tournament setting have the largest factor applied to the point value of their ships and weapons. Empires that are unpopular and viewed as difficult to prevail with in the tournament setting have the smallest factor applied to the point value of their ships and weapons. Hopefully, this will reduce the likelihood that the final rounds of the tournament devolve into a civil war to determine the final winner!

I expect that from tournament to tournament the factors applied to each empire will move around as players gain more experience with various empires and new tactics are uncovered. In particular, I expect if all the players who picked a particular empire are the top placers in a given tournament, that empire's factor will move up one level for the next tournament. Conversely, if either no player selects a particular empire in a given tournament or none of the players who have selected particular empire win any of their matches in a partciular tournament, I expect that the factor for that empire will fall one level for the next tournament. Other adjustments may also be necessary depending on what experience with this rule reveals.



11. SHIP SELECTION

The GM of the tournament shall set a date for ship selections and only ships available in the Federation Commander Online Client as of that date shall be eligible for selection. For this tournament this deadline will be February 10, 2011. All purchased ships and selected weapon layouts are subject to final approval by the GM and Assistant GM. Weapon layouts may not be changed over the course of the tournament.


12. TIME LIMIT

There is no time limit in terms of hours played. Instead, each match between players shall last for six (6) turns or until one player concedes. You don't have to play all six turns at once. You'll have approximately 25 days to get the game in, and it should be possible to save the game in mid-game. In general, player match ups will be provided by the GM in consultation with the Assistant GM by the 15th of each month and results must reported by players back to the GM and Assistant GM by the 10th of each month.

GM Comment: I have reduced the time limit from the last FC Online tournament down to six turns to better ensure games are completed in a timely fashion and to return the time limit closer to that which would be experienced at Origins. Six turns will allow two-turn loading weapons to fire up to three times and three-turn loading weapons up to two times with a turn to spare.


13. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN GM AND PLAYERS

The GM shall post deadline and match-up information on the federationcommander.com site. The GM shall also email players with this information. Announcements may also be posted on the starfleetgames Discus forums and/or the ADB, Inc. Facebook page. While the GM shall make every effort to ensure that players are adequately informed, it is the responsibility of the players to make sure they know the deadlines and matchups, and understand the rules. The GM shall post deadline and match-up information on the Federation Commander Forum.


14. EMAILS TO THE GM AND ASSISTANT GM

All emails to the GM and Assistant GM must have the name of the tournament in the subject line (e.g. "FCOL Tournament #2") or else the email wasn't sent. (This is to make it easy for the GM and Assistant GM to find the email(s) later.)

GM: jimdauphinais@aol.com

Assistant GM: gar1138@yahoo.com


15. SIGNUP

Players sign up by sending an email to the GM and Assistant GM by no later than Feburary 15, 2011 indicating the player's real name, username on the Federation Commander forum and the player's choice of empire. Once all the players have signed up for the tournament, the GM and the Assistant GM will as necessary resolve any oversubscription of empires by players. On February 19, 2011 the GM will post on the Federation Commander forum the final list of players and empire selections. Ship Selections will then be due to the GM and Assistant GM by no later than February 10, 2011.


16. PLAY DEADLINES

Once the Players are informed of their match-ups, they must arrange between each other a mutually agreeable time to play the game on FCOL. The Players shall have approximately 25 days to make these arrangements and complete the game. It's up to both players to actively pursue the match; if one player makes a reasonable effort to arrange a game and another does not, the first player is awarded a win. If neither does, both are awarded a loss. "Reasonable effort" is in the judgment of the GM and Assistant GM. All emails between players attempting to arrange a game should be carbon-copied (cc'ed) to the GM and Assistant GM so that the GM and Assistant GM have evidence that players are actively pursuing the match-up. If both players are actively pursuing the match but circumstances beyond the players' control prevent it from happening, the GM and Assistant GM will adjudicate a result. If the GM and Assistant GM do not have a consensus on the adjudication, the game will default to both players earning a draw result.


17. NUMBER OF ROUNDS

The number of rounds will be a function of the number of participants. For example, if there are five to eight participants, it will take four rounds to determine a winner. If there are nine to 16 participants, it will take five rounds to determine a winner.

This will be a Swiss-style tournament. As such, all participants will play in each round and all players will be ranked at the end of the tournament. Points will be awared to players as follows: "Win" 2 points, "Draw" 1 point and "Loss" 0 points. Except for the first round, when a "bye" is necessary due to an odd number of players, it will be awarded as a "draw" to the player with the lowest score at that time. If there is a tie for the lowest score, it will be awarded to the player with the lowest score that has received the lowest number of "byes". If there is still a tie, it will be awarded to one of the tied players by random selection by the GM. If a �bye� is needed for the first round, it will be granted as a "win" to the player in this tournament that ranked highest in the Origins 2010 FC Tournament.

GM Comment: "Byes" are messy no matter how you handle it. The method I have chosen is designed to have the least impact on the standings in this tournament and to minimize the number of times a given player receives a "bye". In general, I believe assigning a "bye" of a "draw" to the lowest ranked player with any ties for lowest ranking going to the player who has recieved the least number of byes accomplishes this design goal. However, randomly assigning a "bye" of a "draw" in the first round would be unfair as would randmomly assigning a "bye" of a "win". This left me with no choice but to assign a "bye" for the first round of a "win" to the most proven player. Unfortunately, our only valid test of this right now is the Origins 2010 FC Tournament since the last FC Online Tournament did not run to a conclusion. While this may seem unfair to those who could not attend Origins 2010, I do not see a better alternative. However, I will do my best to assure that we have an even number of players for the first round in order to eliminate the need to award a "bye" for the first round of the tournament.


18. RULINGS

Federation Commander rules questions will be resolved on the Federation Commander Forum by Mike West when possible. When this is not possible, they will be resolved by consensus of the GM and Assistant GM.

All tournament rules questions will be resolved by consensus of the GM and Assistant GM.

For games involving the GM, the Assistant GM will resolve all tournament rules questions for that game.

For games involving the Assistant GM, the GM will resolve all tournament rules questions for that game.

In the event the GM and Assistant GM face each other in a game, another participant in the tournament will be recruited by the GM and Assistant GM to resolve all tournament questions for that game.
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Jim Dauphinais, Chesterfield, MO

St. Louis Area Fed Comm Group: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/STL_Federation_Commander/
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gar1138
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

One quick question/clarification about the Point Value Factors (#10). Are fractions dropped, rounded up, rounded down, etc? Also, I assume this is done on a per ship basis, then adding the modified points together (rather than adding up all ships and then making the modification)? It could matter if it gets within a point or two of the limit.

I'm fine with whatever, but I think it should be clearly defined up front. Thanks,

Garrett
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JimDauphinais
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 6:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
One quick question/clarification about the Point Value Factors (#10). Are fractions dropped, rounded up, rounded down, etc? Also, I assume this is done on a per ship basis, then adding the modified points together (rather than adding up all ships and then making the modification)? It could matter if it gets within a point or two of the limit.


I had gone back and forth on this and concluded it was best to not round fractions. I can add something to explicitly state it.
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VulcanDropout
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 2:23 am    Post subject: I'm in Reply with quote

I had already said so via the email that went out, but let me put it here as well.

Leaning toward Romulans, but not sure.
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JimDauphinais
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 7:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Zaron -- I don't recognize your FC handle from any of the e-mails I have received.
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Jim Dauphinais, Chesterfield, MO

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VulcanDropout
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 2:37 pm    Post subject: Sorry about that Reply with quote

I had made the mistake of putting different usernames here and on FCOnline. For the record, I am VulcanDropout. I'll see if I can change this name (Zaron) to that name.
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VulcanDropout
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 2:56 pm    Post subject: Username Reply with quote

I tried to delete the Zaron username just now. couldn't find a way to do it. I've sent Mjwest a PM on the matter. Hopefully he can show me where I can delete this username or do it himself. Then I'll register under vulcandropout.
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JimDauphinais
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 6:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Zaron/VulcanDropout -- I do not believe I have received an e-mail from you unless you are either Phil Moore or Paul Scott.
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JimDauphinais
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 4:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Eric suggested in the other thread:

I have a suggestion. How about if you choose from volunteers to play the opponent against the player instead of giving a bye. I know I would give it my all to defeat them, even if it does not give me a score.

I appreciate the suggestion.

I see three possible issues with this proposed change:

1) No volunteers may emerge. However, a possible solution to that issue would be to default to a "bye" if no volunteers emerge.

2) I will not have a score for a volunteer who is not also playing another match at the same time in the tournament. I was planning to use the sum of the scores of a player's defeated opponents as a tie breaking mechanism to the extent that became necessary for the standings. However, a possible solution in this case would be to not award any tie breaking points for that match.

3) If a participant also serves as a volunteer it may complicate the completion of matches within the allotted time because that player would have to coordinate and complete two online games during the allotted time.

As I stated in the other thread, the rules are set. As such, I do not want to change them unless there is a compelling reason to do so or a consensus to do so.

I don't find a compelling need for the proposed change, but if there is a consensus in favor of the change, I will make the change with the caveat that if no volunteers emerge, we will default to using a "bye".
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