Master of the Circus | Rules and Settings

[DemEyesRed]

For those who look for the drafts (that are divided into same tier match-ups and 1, 2, 3 tier(s) difference match-ups):

Same Tier Draft "MotC Bo5": (https://aoe2cm.net/preset/roloz)

Same Tier Draft "MotC Bo7": (https://aoe2cm.net/preset/SHdHh)

1 Tier Difference Draft: (https://aoe2cm.net/preset/LchDS)

2 Tiers Difference Draft: (https://aoe2cm.net/preset/EfGjd)

3 Tiers Difference Draft: (https://aoe2cm.net/preset/UBJbo)

More explanations concerning the tier differences can be found in the rules below.


Host: DracKeN

Admins: kc_Ereon & DemEyesRed



Timeframes

Spoiler: Timeframes

Monday October 5th - Sunday November 8th (5 weeks)

The games are going to be scheduled and played live on weekdays in order to prevent any clashes with KotD3.

More information about the specific time-frames incoming soon.

Prizepool and Distribution

Spoiler: Prizepool Distribution

Total Prizepool: $200+

1st Place: 45%

2nd Place: 25%

3rd/4th Places: 10% each

Admins: 10%

Seeding

Spoiler: Seeding

16 invited players are divided into 4 tiers. We start with group stage and then proceed to single-elimination stage with the top 2 players of each group.
Tier means a handicap, that will stay with players during the whole tournament. Players will be split into 4 groups, each group having 4 players, players will be drawn randomly into the groups (each group having 1 player/per tier).
Tier 1: DracKeN, Modri, Running and Stefan.
Tier 2: Dragonstar, Darknoob, Glokken, Jonslow.
Tier 3: Kellar, Klavskis, The Bloodless, Scogo.
Tier 4: D3rp, Collins, Wakko, Chrazini.

Brackets

Spoiler: Brackets

https://challonge.com/masterofthecircus

General Rules

Spoiler: General Rules

1.)

All Games will be played on Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition.

All Games need to be recorded. In case of disconnections/drops, the game must be saved and restored.

If a game cannot be restored, players may agree on restarting the game. In any case, players are supposed to finish the remaining games. If the score is tied after the games, Admin Action is required.



2.)

Sportsmanship and Fair Play are essential in this tournament. Every Player must respect their opponents. Cheating of any kind, Smurfing, bad behavior, insults, racism, flaming, etc. will not be tolerated. Cheating includes the usage of any sort of macro, account sharing and getting help of a third person. Not following the rules may lead to penalties up to an immediate disqualification from this and future tournaments.



3.)

Admin Action: If any rules are broken or anything out of the ordinary happens, Admins will talk to the players to find a solution. Admin Wins and Admin Losses should be avoided if possible.

Important: If the players can agree on a solution without Admins, that’s also appreciated. Players usually have a lot of experience and know how certain situations should be handled.

Admin Decision: If no solution can be agreed on by the Players, then Admins are required to make a decision. In severe cases, Admin Action can be skipped and decisions can be made without hearing the players. The official admins are: kc_Ereon and DemEyesRed.



4.)

Scheduling and Playing the Games:

All games need to be played within the given timeframe. Playing games at an earlier time is allowed (if that’s possible). Any delays require Admin Action.

It is strongly recommended to post all available times on the relevant scheduling section on Discord. The server is only visible for Admins and Players. Once players agree on a time, they need to post and confirm this time using GMT in the relevant scheduling section. If the players cannot agree on a time, Admin Action is required.

Not showing within 30 minutes of the confirmed time (for evidence purposes, the waiting player is required to take a screenshot showing the game room and the current time) will lead to Admin Action. Rescheduling is the preferred option in this case.

(Check your GMT on AoEZone.net or at http://www.worldtimeserver.com/current_time_in_UTC.aspx )



5.)

Recorded Games and Drops/Disconnections:

All games need to be recorded and sent to one of the Admins after the games were played. You also need to send the Draft Link and the Game Results.

Admins will post the results and upload the recorded game files to the relevant forums.



In case of disconnections/drops, the game must be saved and restored. If restoring is not working, Players are supposed to either agree to restart the Game or continue their Match without the dropped Game. In case of a tied score, Admin Action is required and Players need to send all Recorded Game (especially the dropped game) Files to an Admin for reviewing. (Admin Action is required.)



6.)

Spectating and Streaming

Master of the Circus is open for all streamers (under the circumstances listed at the end of the rules) and spectators. Players are allowed and welcome to stream their PoV, but the opponent can ask to put a 2-3 minute delay.



7.)

Rules can be added or changed during the tournament. Players will be informed about those changes on Discord.

Match/Civ Settings

Spoiler: Match/Civ Settings

All games will be played with Hidden Civs.



Draft & explanations:

Spoiler: Draft and explanations

Before the games players will do a civ draft, lower tier (lower seed) is the host of the draft. When players of the same tier play each other, both will use 4 global bans followed by civ picks as usual (they'll pick 6 civs for Bo5 and 8 civs for Bo7 to allow more variety). If players from different tiers play, higher seeded player will be in a civ disadvantage - based on the tier difference. Lower tier will be limited on the amount of bans (to only 3/2/1), but he will pick last 2/last 4 or all civs in the draft for the higher tier. After the draft, lower tier decides the exact civs higher tier has to use in G1/G1 + G2/G1 + G2 + G3).

Lobby and Game Settings

Spoiler: Lobby and Game Settings

Lobby Settings (for the entire toruanemtn):

Visibility: Public

Players: 2

Password: No

Allow Spectators: Yes

Hide Civilizations: Yes

Spectator Delay: 1 Minute




Game Settings

Game: Random Map

Map Style: Standard

Location: Arena

Map Size: Tiny (2 Players)

AI Difficulty: Standard

Resources: Standard

Population: 200

Game Speed: Normal

Reveal Map: Normal

Starting Age: Standard

Ending Age: Standard

Treaty Lenght: <None>

Victory: Conquest



Lock Teams: [X]

Team Together: [X]

Team Positions: [ ]

Shared Exploration: [ ]

Lock Speed: [X]

Allow Cheats: [ ]

Turbo Mode: [ ]

Full Tech Tree: [ ]

Record Game: [X]

Gaming Rules

Spoiler: Gaming Rules

General rules:

Tournament will happen on a classic Arena map with 900 HP walls.

Feudal Trush won't be allowed.

Laming is allowed.

There will be no player restarts.


Restarts:

Only Admin Restarts in case of a bugged map.

Admin Restarts must be requested in no longer than 6 minutes of ingame time.

If an Admin Restart is requested after 6 minutes, the other player can decline the request.

If you want to call a Restart, please try to contact an Admin first if one is around.


Bugged Maps

A Map is considered bugged if:

- Villager or Scout is stuck

- 8 Sheep, 2 Boars and 3/4 Deer need to be available for moving or luring to TC

- Berries (6 Forage Bushes), Main Gold (7 tiles), 2nd and 3rd Gold (each with 4 tiles), Main Stone (5 tiles) and 2nd Stone (4 tiles) must be accessible in a way that you can place the respective Building to gather the resources; Main Gold needs at least 5 sides free to mine, Main Stone needs at least 4 sides free to mine

- One Player cannot go to the middle area of the map without deleting his walls or gate

- Walls of two players touch or cross

- One Player doesn’t have a reasonable woodline (Player cannot build a secure lumbercamp inside his base; base = area that the opponent cannot access).

Due to the map generation, large distances between a Players TC and lumbercamp can occure, sadly, Players will have to deal with that.



Important: Players usually know best when their map should be considered bugged. In this case, they should pause the game and ask either an Admin and/or the opposing Team for an Admin Restart.

Streaming Rules

Spoiler: Streaming Rules

The tournament offers Open Streaming under the circumstances listed below:

- All streamers must display one of the provided banners before and after tournament games.

- It must be clearly said during the stream who is hosting the event.

- Players are invited to stream the PoV of their tournament games. The opponent can ask for a stream delay up to 3 minutes (added through streaming program).

 

[Rey_Fer]

Could you elaborare an example on how is the draft made for different tiers?

 

[DracKeN]

Players were split into 4 tiers, based on their rating, in each group 1 player/per tier, you can see it in the challonge: https://challonge.com/ukyavhow
When players from different tiers play each other, there is a difference in their tiers. Lets say if tier 2 player plays tier 4 player, there is a 2 tier difference and they are going to use 2 tier difference draft accordingly. If you want an explanation about how that draft works, both players will use their bans, after higher tier picks first 2 civs, lower tier will pick all remaining civs for himself and for the higher tier. At the end of the draft, lower tier will 'give' higher tier 4 civs that he chose for the higher tier and also choose which civ higher tier has to use in G1 and another in G2. After first 2 games, higher tier can choose his remaining civs in any order. Similar situation is with 1 tier/3 tier difference in draft, with the advantage given to lower tier being smaller/bigger.

 

[GhostOfYoda]

Do I read correctly that with the biggest tier difference, the lower tier picks all civs? In which case, is there any point in them having a ban - since they will only block their own choices with that?

 

[DracKeN]

Tx, we already realized that mistake - 3tier difference is going to be changed that lower tier has no bans and also 2 tier difference draft is changed so that lower tier only has 1 ban (it makes more sense aswell, since higher tier has only 2 picks). Anyways, thanks for pointing that!