RTS-League: Clan Leagues for Strategy Gamers

1: Basic Idea

RTS-League is based on the idea that fun and fairplay come before competition. Therefore these rules are limited to only those most necessary to ensure smooth play and to prevent or decide possible disputes. In all cases, the League Staff will have the final decision.

2: Clans

1. A Clan is a group of players (minimum of 4 ACTIVE) that are registered under a common tag for an extended period of time, preferably with a publicly accessible website and/or forum.
2. The official language of the league is English. All Clan Operators must be able to speak English fluently. All posts in other languages will be deleted, and the Staff will not tolerate the use of any online translators.
3. We do not strictly define clan structure, as varying situations exist. We do, however, REQUIRE that each player be a member of the Clan for whom he is playing. Guest players are strictly forbidden. The League Staff reserves the right to exclude any individual from competing if we believe the intent of this rule has been violated.
4. Admission into the League is handled through a formal application process. At the beginning of each season, interested Clans will be given the opportunity to apply for admission through a signup thread in the official League forums. The League Staff will assess each applicant and admit those clans which it deems qualified for participation in the League.
5. Participation in the League is free for all Clans. Operating costs (website, etc.) are paid by the members of the League Staff and/or donations.

3: Players

1. All members of a Clan, including applicants who use the clan's tag, are eligible to play for the Clan. However, all players must be listed in the official Player-List in the RTS-League Clan Profile. Each Clan is solely responsible for maintaining their own Player-List before, during, and after each Season.
2. Any individual who has played for one Clan during a Season may not play for another Clan during the same Season.
3. The Player-List is to be submitted at the beginning of the Season. Changes can be made at any time; however, new players can only play after a waiting period of seven days, starting from the day they are added to the Player-List. The same applies with name changes. The eligibility of a Player can be checked in the Player-List (players with a green box are eligible, and those with a red box are ineligible).
4. If a Clan uses a player that is not listed and eligible, they will receive an administrative loss for each game in which the ineligible player participated. If, when asked, a Clan refuses to swap out an ineligible player, and the games are not played as a result, that clan will receive a Miss (see below, Rule 8.3).
5. "Smurfing", in any form, will not be tolerated. Players are required to use their own nicknames. Using "borrowed" nicknames (even if they are from the same clan) is not permitted. The League Staff reserves the right to exclude any individual from competing if we believe the intent of this rule has been violated. In addition, a Clan may be forced to forfeit any games in which a "smurf" nickname was used.

4: The League Staff

1. To make RTS-League successful, we are dependent on the assistance and support of all participating Clans. The League Staff is grateful for suggestions and constructive criticisms; we will consider all suggestions with a private vote of all League Staff members.
2. The League Staff, in its sole discretion, makes all decisions regarding the acceptance or exclusion of applying Clans, disputes related to the outcome of League matches, and all other issues relevant to the operation of the League. At present, the following persons belong to the shortname); ?> Staff:
   • Pedestrian
   • BlackAdder
3. For future Seasons, the composition of the League Staff may change without notice.
4. Members of the League Staff will be excluded from participating in any decisions directly involving their own Clans.

5: Season

1. Each Season begins with the formation of divisions, where each division consists of at least 6 and at most 10 Clans. There is no promotion or demotion through the divisions; instead, they function separately. After the regular season, the top teams in each division advance to the Playoffs, where an overall champion is determined (See below, Rule 6.1).
2. During the Season, each match consists of two games. Each Clan will play one game as the home-team and one game as the away-team (see Rule 7.2, below).
3. All results have to be posted without delay in the Clan Panel. Each game is posted by the winner. If one Clan wins 2-0, that Clan uploads both games. If the match is split 1-1, each Clan uploads the game that they won. Careful and correct filling out of the forms is presupposed, because this is the only way the rankings are updated. Failure to upload a game for an excessive length of time after it was played is qualification for an administrative loss.
4. The duration of a Season depends on the size of the divisions. Over the course of a season, Clans will play one match against every other clan in their division. After all of the scheduled rounds have been played, one extra week will be given for any delinquent games to be made up.

6: Playoffs

A. General Format

1. At the end of each Season, the top two Clans in each division will advance to the Playoffs. The Playoffs consist of a single-elimination, knockout-style tournament to determine an overall champion.
2. Each Playoff match will be played in a best-of-three-games format. The first two games will be played using the same settings as a regular Season match. If the Clans split the first two games, however, the third game must be played on a map selected at random by the League Staff.
3. The winner of each Playoff round is responsible for uploading all of the recorded games through the Clan Panel.

B. Determination of Playoff Participants

1. The top two Clans in each division with the most points at the end of the regular season will advance to the playoffs. In addition, depending on the size of the League and the number of divisions, the League Staff may select a number of third-place clans as "wild-card" teams to fill out any remaining spots in the Playoff bracket.
2. If there is a tie between two Clans in the same division, only one of whom can receive a playoff spot, a one-game tiebreaker must be played to determine the winner. The map will be randomly selected by the League Staff.
3. If there is a tie between two or more Clans competing for wild-card spots, the playoff participants will be selected based on a random drawing.

C. Seeding

1. Clans in the Playoff bracket will be seeded from highest to lowest based on the following criteria:
   1. The place they achieved in their division (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)
   2. The number of points earned during the regular season.
   3. If two or more Clans are still tied after applying the factors above, the seeding order will be determined by a random drawing.
2. If there is a tie between two clans in the same division, both of which have already secured playoff spots, the following criteria will be used to determine which Clan will receive the higher seed:
   1. The outcome of the Head-to-Head matchup during the season.
   2. The outcomes of the matchups vs the highest ranked common opponent during the season.
   3. Repeat the previous step using the next highest common opponent until a discrepancy is found.
   4. If a winner still can not be determined, the outcome will be decided by a coin flip.
   * Note that admin losses and misses are NOT factored into tiebreaker decisions because they have already been penalized and included in the current point totals.

7: Game Settings

1. The game in use will be the latest version of DOW2, currently 2.3.1.
2. Settings:
   • All games must be played - initially - as a 3vs3. A 2vs2 may be played only if 3vs3 is absolutely impossible and both Clans agree ahead of time (see below, Rule 8.1). 4vs4 games are not permitted.
   • Victory Condition: Victory Points, set at 500 VPs.
   • Maps: all official maps are allowed, except Capital Spire or Argent Shelf.
   • Record Game must be activated.
   • Handicap play and Free for all are not permitted.
   • The use of any kind of cheats, hacks, etc. is not permitted and will be punished severely.

8: League Operation

A. Scheduling: Generally

1. Clans must communicate using the scheduling threads in the official RTSL Forum. If there is a dispute about the scheduled time or date of a match, only entries in the official forums or personal messages sent to the League Staff will be considered. Evidence of external communication (meaning any communication between Clans occurring outside of the official Forums) is not relevant and will not be considered by the League Staff.
2. If a Clan does not appear for a scheduled game (delay for more than 20 minutes will be regarded as absence) or only with an insufficient number of players, that clan will receive an Administrative Loss.
3. Clan Operators must visit the scheduling threads often (at least once every two days) and leave a constructive message towards compromising on a game time. Failure to do this will result in a miss (see section B, below), and continued disregard for this rule will result in removal from the League, at the discretion of the League Staff.

B. Scheduling: Deadlines

1. Each round lasts one week, starting on Monday and ending on Sunday. Both clans must make an effort to play the game during the scheduled week.
2. If a clan does not post in the scheduling thread by Friday of that week, they will receive a Miss. Similarly, if a clan does not make a good faith effort to choose a time agreeable to both clans, they will receive a Miss.
3. If the clans are not able to play the game before the end of the week (i.e. before Sunday), the following rules apply:
   • The Staff may allow the clans to continue scheduling on their own. In this case, the game must be scheduled no later than Wednesday of the following week.
   • Alternatively, the Staffer may set a time when the match is to be played. In this case, the Staff will review the scheduling thread and choose a time that is agreeable to both clans.
   • If a clan is not able to play at the time set by the Staff, they will receive an Administrative Loss. If a problem is anticipated, a clan can petition the Staffer (at least 48 hours in advance) to have a new time set.
4. Scheduling problems and failure to follow League standards for scheduling will be a significant factor in the Staff's decisions in disputes regarding the Clan, as well as a factor in whether or not they will be re-admitted to the League for following Seasons.

C. Drops and Forfeits

1. In the interest of fair play, clans may not "forfeit" any matches, or otherwise agree to a result without playing the games. All matches must be played out to their full extent. Leaving during the progress of a match, with insufficient reason, is also prohibited. Violation of this rule results in a Miss for the offending team.
2. If a Clan does not finish a season for any reason, they will not be accepted for participation in the following season.

9: Valuation of Games, Results and Tables

1. Ranking System:
   • Win = 3 points
   • Normal Loss = 1 point
   • Admin Loss = 0 points
   • Miss = -1 points (see above, Rule 7.3)
2. If a team leaves or is removed from the League during the Season, each game they played will become an administrative win for the opposing team regardless of the actual result. All of their submitted fairplay ratings will be removed. The rest of their scheduled games will be treated as byes with the opposing teams automatically receiving two administrative wins.
3. The schedule results and rankings are updated automatically upon match submission. Mistakes or inaccuracies should be reported by personal message to your division's Staff member as soon as possible.

10: How to Deal With Problems

A. Handling Lag:

1. Any Players foreseeing lag problems should turn all graphics options to the lowest possible settings before the start of a game. Clans forseeing a problem can choose to play 2vs2 instead of 3vs3 as long as both clans agree before the game.
2. If a game begins to lag badly, pause and try to fix any possible problems. All players should turn down graphics settings to the minimum. Players should close all outside applications that might slow performance. If there is no improvement, both Clans can agree to restart the game as a 2vs2. The game may not be restarted as a 3vs3 under any condition, and can only be restarted as a 2vs2 if both clans agree. If one Clan deems the lag playable, and does not want to restart, the game must be continued. If a Clan Operator suspects an opponent is "laming" by choosing to play through terrible lag just to annoy or force a resign, they should play out the game, then report it to the League Staff.
3. If one clan is clearly winning when the lag begins, they can opt to post the game for an administrative decision rather than restart or continue. Any admin decision in this case will be final.

B. Handling Drops:

1. If a player's connection aborts before 15 minutes game-time, the game must be restarted. However, if a Clan is clearly winning at the time of the disconnect, the game can be posted for an administrative decision. If the game is dropped again by the same Clan, they will receive an administrative loss.
2. If a player's connection aborts after 15 minutes game-time, the game is lost by the Clan with the disconnected player. However, if the Clan with the disconnected player is clearly winning at the time of the disconnect, the game can be posted for an administrative decision. Alternatively, the game may be restarted at the discretion of the League Staff.

C. Handling Map Bugs:

1. If a serious map bug - distinct factors that would adversely affect one Clan outside of their control - is discovered in the first 5 minutes of the game, a Clan may demand a restart. The recorded game must be submitted to the League Staff for verification. If no such bug existed, or if it is determined that the restart was demanded for other reasons, the Clan will receive an administrative loss.
2. If a map bug is discovered after 5 minutes, the game may not be restarted on account of it.

If you have any questions about the rules, please feel free to contact a League Staff member at any time. Good luck and have fun!