RTS-League: Clan Leagues for Strategy Gamers

Hello and welcome clans!

Season 1 of RTS League's Age of Empires II: Rise of the Rajas Clan League begins, and here's how it's all gonna roll - no matter if you're new to the League or you're a seasoned veteran, be sure to read the whole post as experience has shown that some long-standing practices tend to get forgotten over time (like timely scheduling, uploading of games and such). So here's the list of things to know!

The League participation can be summed up like this:
1) Fill in your clan's Player-List and keep it up-to-date
2) Schedule your match every week
3) Come to match ahead of the scheduled time (novelty in rules here!), play the match, use your Main Nicks, clan tags and the RTSL Ladder
4) Don't smurf
5) Upload the played games
6) If you have any troubles, contact your division staffer
7) Profit (Have fun )

But you'll need some more specifics, so here they are:

1. Season 1 schedule:

Round 1: 15th - 26th August
Round 2: 27th August - 2nd September
Round 3: 3rd - 9th September
Round 4: 10th - 16th September
Round 5: 17th - 23rd September
Round 6: 24th - 30th September
Round 7: 1st - 7th October

2. Playoffs are at the moment planned as top 3 of each division plus 1 best 4th-placed - this could be tricky, so we'll be paying attention to how the season progresses (if someone is not playing way above expected or similar) to see if some adjustment to the Playoff advancement key wouldn't be advisable, so everyone should put all the effort into their games to potentially not miss out (It's also not impossible we might do something extra :d)

3. Be aware of and make sure you understand the rules covering smurfing, guest playing and maps available to play. Pay very close attention to the novelties coming with the new League.

Only real clan members can represent a clan in a League match, guest players that have nothing to do with your clan (being your friend is not qualification enough) are not permitted to take part - we're a clan league, not a random team league.

Everyone should also play on a nick that clearly lets the opponents know who you are - Main Nick defined in the rules - it's not cool when you're kept in the dark, so don't do this to your opponents either. We also encourage every clan and team to ask about a player from the other team if you're not sure of his/her identity or skill level - you have the right to the truthful information.

Btw "if both clans agree" means that for example you choose a specific map (not a whole mapset), and your opponent must agree to that specific map, not the whole mapset. (Has to be said refusals are to our knowledge rather rare, we're here mainly for fun after all )

4. We are a traditional competition running since 2001 with barely changed basic rules, as that's what makes RTS League fun and engaging - in recent past some clans were surprised multi-civving (playing a civilisation more than once in a team) is possible, while in fact it has always been possible, clans just didn't use this option - as direct experience has just recently proven, it certainly isn't any insta-win thing, and there's a reason why it isn't meta. At any rate, if you feel uncomfortable with this option, you can always offer a gentlemanly agreement to your opponents not to do this - we're here to have fun in a fair and friendly manner, so why not give it a shot

Same goes for slinging, of course - if you'd prefer not to use it, try to offer a gentlemanly arrangement to the other clan as well.

5. Use the RTSL Ladder in Voobly Tournament Lobby. It works the same as other tournament ladders or the VCOM, meaning no rating change. It serves to keep track of all the played games and supply records in case you happen to lose your own rec file. You still need to upload recorded games and the result here at RTS League through the Clan Operator Panel.

6. You are the masters of your fate. You are responsible for your clan's ability to play in the assigned week, finish the games you are supposed to, and to be able to cover for any drop-outs from your clan roster. We will, however, still be here to see what can be done to improve your situation inside the mantinels of reason.

This all means:
- Match is supposed to be played in its given week. If the match for some serious reason cannot be played in its given week, you have to make the best effort to play it as soon as possible (the following week) - we won't hesitate to set up an Admin Time if the scheduling is going nowhere.
- Schedule actively and clearly. Don't wait for your opponents to start a scheduling thread, just do it yourselves and offer a time - instead of "When can you play?" that doesn't do much, offer your own suggestion. Start scheduling early, no post in a scheduling thread by Friday can mean a Miss (-1 pt to the standings, 2 Misses in 1 match mean Admin Losses). Make true and clear effort to schedule your games - insufficient or vague efforts will also lead to a Miss. Remember, we're here to have fun and play games!
- Use all the available players. Don't wait to have just all your top players available, especially not if it would mean delays or missing a week designated for the current round. You're participating with a clan, so let's stick to that and have the whole "clan" play and show its worth, cover for each other - you never know what team game talent you can discover
- Upload recorded games of played matches as soon as possible. Games should be submitted no later than the day following the match, mainly to prevent the potential loss of the valuable artifacts of your play. Recs missing for a prolonged period of time can also result in a Miss, as that is how the standings are updated. Let's keep the competition clean and tidy. Newly please upload all the parts of a game that was saved and restored, and then let a staffer know to correct the score.

If you have some kind of trouble, contact a staffer. (When sending a Private Message here at our forums, please don't forget to replace the name in the addressee line with the proper nick of whom you want to contact - there's unfortunately a bug that automatically places "rtsl" there, sorry for the inconvenience.)

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Now let's explain a few things:

What is a Player-List (Clan Roster) and how do I update it:

The Player-List is a list of players who are allowed to play for your clan in the League. You need to submit all the players you want available using their Voobly nicks. Newly added player must wait 7 days to become eligible for League play (does not apply to Round 1 to get you settled), this is to allow you to know who you can expect as your opponents and to prevent clan hopping and similar malpractices.

You need to put in only the Main Nick (see rules for the definition) the player will be playing under - that's the name he is known as. Smurfing on secondary unknown nicks is not allowed, even if they are added to the Player-List.

Please also remove players that are no longer members of your clan, therefore you will not use them - again, to make things clear all around.

Player-List is updated by the Clan Operator through the Clan Operator Panel - new Clan Operators have received the log-in through Private Messages here at the forum. You can log in at the very top of the web (above banner) and then you just follow the leads and instructions.

How to upload a recorded game and update the match result:

Match results and League standings are updated through uploading played games. This means that without uploaded games, you won't get the points (unless it's an administrative decision, of course), so make sure all the games you play are properly submitted to have the correct numbers.

In group stage, you upload only the games your clan has won - if you have won both games, you upload 2 games, if you have lost both, you upload none.

Games are uploaded by the Clan Operator through the Clan Operator Panel. You can log in at the very top of the web (above banner) and then you just follow the leads and instructions. (It's not automatic as you're used to from other webs, you have to fill everything manually (please try to avoid mistakes, but don't sweat it if you miss one civ), sorry - old web and all^^)

If the recorded game is more than 2MB in size, please don't forget to zip it so it's not as big!

Also make sure the name is not excessively long or containing any unusual characters (plain letters and numbers are best), our uploader would make you repeat all the steps to get its way Also if you do get an error, check if the game wasn't uploaded anyway before attempting again - some browsers are picky and will complain even if the upload went right :d

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All right then, this is pretty much it, and all that remains is to wish you all gl&hf - may the skill be with you!