ToL#2 thread is here: http://forums.champions-online.com/s...d.php?t=138526


Finished: Thank you very much for donations, staff help, and the awesome fights.

Please feel free to post in this thread. We're still taking feedback, prizes, staff, and any other help offered. "Your tourney will fail" posts will not be taken too seriously; even in the planning stages, sportsmanship is paramount.
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Intro
Whether you're here to battle for the championship, watch a spectacle, refine your own skills, or simply compete with some of the deadliest warriors of Millennium City has to offer, the Tournament of Legends will surely have something to whet your appetite for action and excitement!

This isn't just another tourney. The prizes, through the generosity of many SGs, will be unprecedented. False Start[/color] rules will test your reaction time. A new judging system will have you gripping the edge of your seat. Make your predictions on what you think will dominate if you must, but prepare for surprises at every turn! Welcome to the Tournament of Legends!

A Tournament? Why!? - Aren't DW spammers, tanks, stealthers, and other fotm just going to win every time?
Don't be discouraged from entering! Even if those were the only candidates that could win (they're not), it'd still be fun to watch them. This is a tournament of course, so the reality one can expect is that the most powerful builds and playstyles will move towards the top but it doesn't mean you suck if you're not these people. The only thing it means is that the people at the top are just the best at what they do: killing. Nothing else. It doesn't make them a better person than you and it doesn't automatically make anyone your enemy.

Please be aware that tournaments are in many ways a celebration of what is achievable in the freeform system. We will request that no one, competitors or spectators, make snide remarks about imbalances until after the tournament is over. We bicker about this every day we can withhold our remarks for a few hours for a tournament in the name of fun. The act of competing and exploring the depths (or lack thereof depending on your viewpoint) of the freeform system should be fun in and of itself.

Even if you hold strong preconceptions about PvP and what is destined to dominate, we believe that there will still be surprising discoveries to be observed and new knowledge to be gained. Please have fun and be safe!

*DUN DUN DUN*

Watch the Tournament of Legends, Live! - Zone full? Can't make it to the event? No problem
During the tourney date, you'll be able to catch the action at:

http://www.livestream.com/crowbane404

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SG Sponsorship and Special Thanks - Cause this isn't just our tournament, its yours as well
- CO Legends
- Evil League of Evil
- Spectre
- The Invulnerables
- Infamy
- @pantagruel for updating the CoPvP MOTD to link to this very post
- Contact @nesno or @squeee if you would like your SG to sponsor a prize, help organize, spread the word, or help in any way possible. You may also make personal contributions if you'd rather do that instead of representing an SG. We're looking to make sure you get credit for your efforts.

Date
- September 24, 4PM Server Time.

Location
- Carl's Gym. There is a locker room, spectator area, and boxing ring. The duel bubble's edges are slightly larger than the room so ring-outs will not be an issue.

Entry and RSVP
- If you enter, you agree to be bound by the latest version of these official rules. If you do not agree, do not enter.
- You don't have to RSVP, but it helps us if you do.
- To RSVP, send in-game mail to @squeee (3 e's) with Subject: "ToL #1 RSVP, charactername@handle". Only 1 character may be entered per @handle. RSVP is rejected if subject is not formatted exactly as shown above (without quotes).
- You may participate even if one of the judges is from your own SG; scoring will be averaged much in the same way Olympic diving is scored to prevent manipulation.
- Here is a list of fighters who have RSVP'd. Linky!

Judges
- 1. @isometry
- 2. @demonsiege
- 3. @Kaiserin
- 4. @itstoasted
- 5. @xhavenfunx

- You will receive fair compensation based on number of applicants and duration of work.
- Judges, there will be a time for the panel to assemble early to practice judging random duels so we can dial in your judge-o-meters accurately.
-Contact @nesno or @squeee if you would like to judge. If the judging panel is sparse, we will allow up to two judges from the same SG to be on the panel.

Support Staff
- @khrk, Referee #1
- @Booms187, Referee #2
- @itstoasted, round end medic and rezzer
- @crazyguy, photographer
- @nesno, urine analyzer guy
- @crowbane, cameraman, bringing the tourney to you LIVE! via streaming video.
- You will receive fair compensation based on number of applicants and duration of work.
- Contact @nesno or @squeee if you have some way of contributing to the smooth operation of the tourney

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Rules
Competitive Structure - It would just be war otherwise
- When you are called up to the fight, you have 2 minutes to respond or you forfeit that entire match.
- There will be 3 rounds. First to win 2 rounds takes the match.
- The duration of each round will be 3 minutes.
- Judging will be handled similar to how it is handled in Olympic diving to minimize judging bias.
- There will be 5 or 7 judges.
- At the end of the round, judges will assign scores 0-10. Intervals are at 1/2 of a point.
- The single highest score and the single lowest score will be thrown out to minimize manipulation and bias.
- The remaining scores are averaged.
- The player with the highest average score wins that round.
- A kill is a score of 10, it does not represent perfection on its own. It simply means the ultimate goal of the duel was achieved.
- A score of 0 will almost never be seen; it represents either disqualification or instantaneous defeat (if one were somehow killed before they were able to activate a single power).
- Perfection is represented by a winner's score of 10 vs a loser's score of 0. A disqualification results in a perfect round for the winner.
- Both fighters cannot earn a 10 in the same round, but both fighters can earn a 0.
- A judge may also be a combatant but a substitute must take his place on the judging panel. The substitute's bias, if any, is thrown out by the aforementioned scoring methodology.

Disputes and Technicalities - Lets keep it clean!
- Excessive stealth, teleporting, and other disputes put to a vote between the judges (it must be very excessive, you can rest assured you won't be penalized just for having the powers).
- There will be two referees, one per combatant, responsible for detecting violations so that the judges can focus on scoring performances.
- There will be a Red Referee and a Blue Referee. They will invite the fighter they are watching to their team.
- The refs will require that you adjust your /powerhue to red or blue respectively.
- The refs will inform you if you are doing anything that may be considered a false start.
- While you're in the ring, do not take orders from anyone but the referees. This will cut down on ringside confusion.
- Judges may not tell you what to do, they must inform the referee of their decision.
- Only referees may start and stop matches.
- If the referees stop the match, for any reason, that means STOP fighting. Attempting to kill your opponent when the referees have stopped the match (believe me it'll be obvious when they stop the match) will result in a loss for that round.

Allowed - Yay
- Power Replacers are allowed.
- Permanent pets may be summoned before a match begins. Sigils and pets that despawn are not permanent pets.
- You may request up to two minutes of downtime for your powers to come off cool-down.

Disallowed - Nay
- KB: Please see extended rules on KB.
- Stealth: Please see extended rules on Stealth.
- No items period. Even CTPs were found to be unfair advantages because they potentially save you 2 advantage points on movement speed.
- Crybaby Grenades are not allowed.

False Starts - Scrupulously fair
- A false start refers to the usage of a power before the fight has begun that would not be considered normal when your character is at-rest (Casting powers before a fight starts like enrage, conviction, bcr, bionic, pets that despawn, sigils, etc.)
- On-Next-Hit powers are false starts.
- You may not block to trigger lingering shield advantages.
- On a your first false start, the duel is reset after your power's buff falls off.
- Permanent pet powers do not count as false starts. Pets that despawn, however, do count as false starts.
- You may not request for downtime for power to recharge if you commit a false start.
- The round is forfeited to your opponent on the second false start.
- If you are unsure of what is a false start, ask yourself "If I went AFK for an extended duration would this power's effect still apply if I returned to the keyboard?" If not, then it is a false start worthy power.
- False start is based on a very strict interpretation of the magic question above. To be 100% safe from a false start...just don't move. At all. (movement is okay but some of you have binds that trigger powers on movement).

Disqualifications - No buts
- Any unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated. Instant DQ for any publicly visible or audible poor behavior.
- Griefing of any kind will disqualify you.
- Blocking the view with magnifier and other noisy effects will disqualify you.
- No devices will be allowed (Consumables, blood moon devices, epics, crafted travel powers) Instant DQ if using devices of any kind.
- Arguing with Judges, Refs, and other Staff can result in disqualification.

Ranking
- Top 3 are podium spots, prizes will be awarded to these winners accordingly.
- Depending on the amount of prizes, we may award prizes to runner ups.
- The ladders will be kept on record for the public to view.
- Your picture may be taken!

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Prizes
- Winner decides which prize they would like, the others pick next in order.
- Depending on the prize lot, a raffle may be held for all participants including spectators.

Prizes by CO Legends
- U-MD Ghostbuster Phase Rifle (Level 40 Purple Conned)
- Energy SMG (Level 40)
- Energy Sniper Rifle (Level 40)
-Resources (amount to be announced)

Prizes by Evil League of Evil
- Darkspeed

Prizes by Spectre
- And yet another Darkspeed

Prizes by Infamy
- Athame's Enlightenment This is a 2 for 1 prize the awards not only gear but an awesome costume unlock too!

Prizes by C4 Detonation
-Revenant of Firefight
- Nimbus of Force

Prizes by @Man.of.Light
- Resources (amount to be announced)
- New Shadows Waist Cape
- Sov Sons Voodoo Shaman Back
- Lesser Hunter's Armor (Black Fang's costume piece)
- Lesser Spark of Immortality (Back Halo)
- Gatling Gun unlocks

Prizes by @karma
- Gift of the Karma Set
Set includes: 1 prim util 98 int + 2 secondary util 36 int

- 1 prim def 98 pre

Prizes by @inertial
- Amazing Grace
- Hacked Orbital Cannon Codes
- 20 con, 15 int, 2ndary util
- 8 con, 71 str, 11 dex, 8 int, prim offense

Prizes by your SG
- More Prizes TBA (Send tell to @nesno or @squeee, that's 3 e's, if you'd like to put a prize into the contest to up the stakes)
- Prizes must be sent by mail or in person to the tournament Master of Ceremonies (TBA) prior to the day of the tournament.

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Extended Rules
Bracketing - How match-ups will be determined
- There will be two hats names will be drawn from, Freeform and AT.
- Eventually ATs will clash with Freeform.
- We are still deliberating on whether or not to allow each combatant a single redraw token.

Ring-out! - Our solution
- Ring out rules will not need to be applied in most cases since we have chosen locations where the walls are slightly smaller than the duel bubble. The referee will help the duelists position the duel bubble properly.
- A ring out is not a win. The timer is paused when it happens. The severity and damage of the ring out is noted by the judges. Both players are reset to the center of the arena and the duel continues.

Stealth - How we will handle one of the most controversial subjects
- We're not here to discourage stealth playstyles, but there is a glaring issue that may rear its ugly head: There exists builds that can become untargettable even to characters with high perception for nearly the entire fight.
- Stealthing and teleporting has to be completely excessive. The builds that actually abuse these are very rare, and one of them was created in-house in our labs (we choked the life out of him, hehe), so don't get all worried that we'll look down on stealth. That's just simply not the case.
- Lacking perception gear is not an excuse for not being able to hit your target since this would make even a moderately stealthy build seem excessive in comparison.
- Stealth disputes will be settled by the judges on a case by case basis. Their word will be absolutely final.

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The Scoring System Explored - Why wasn't the scoring system from boxing or wrestling used instead?

To answer the question above, the decision was made based on the fact that Champions exist in a universe that's freeform with power balance that's in flux and at the mercy of patches. Ever watch the show "Deadliest Warrior"? It's kind of like that. A score is assigned, it is definitely subjective, but it correlates with reasonable predictability with those of other judges. We give you numbers for your enjoyment but you have to understand the inherent subjectivity in the numbers and understand why they're still meaningful despite their subjectivity.

We have fighters with widely varying powers and play-styles. Scoring in boxing cannot account for factors like healing, stealth, defenses, insane knockbacks, crowd control, pets, and strategic usage of powers with long cooldowns. Also we need to handle judging in a reasonable time frame while at the same time preventing scores from varying wildly. This system lets us leverage the subjectivity in judging freeform fighting to give us a fairly accurate picture of who a round winner is in the event that no fighters are killed.

When we are watching people duel in CO, we form an idea of who is doing better in our heads. This system is based on the premise that the subjective idea that we form may have some consistency with those of others. In the simplest form of scoring we'd go with simply win/lose and count up the votes. We're going with a 10 point scale to give more depth to that so that we're able to describe the closeness of matches without making things overly complicated by actually having to quantify point values for all the possible moves a fighter can perform (which would be a huge science that would be completely be at the mercy of the power changes in each patch rolled out).

Like in Olympic diving, the highest score and the lowest score will be thrown out to minimize bias or score manipulation. A judge that scores consistently high or low will be investigated and outlandish score disparities will be questioned (This is not "American Idol" where it is somehow okay to have scores all over the board; fighting performance is significantly less subjective than musical talent). The remaining scores are averaged and the highest average takes the round. Simple.

What we end up with is a point system that describes how two fighters performed in relationship to each other, and only each other and no one else. This is exactly what we want. These numbers cannot be used outside of the scope of that particular match because they wouldn't make any sense.

What do we get? Data that is meaningful to spark fiery conversations, congratulatory remarks, and viewer suspense beyond just simply waiting to hear "Oh who won?" We get data that describes how intense the fights were.

Oh. One more thing. The system is extremely fast. I hope you'll enjoy it.

maybe you could get Tiyshen to hand out a few AFs as prizes??? hmmm Tiyshen come on ^_^

Melee based toons will win over all! /end thread

seriously though this great you guys doing this, but having it bracketed would be more fair. Top Ranged dueler / Top Melee dueler / etc. So melee classes fight melee and ranged fight ranged etc.

Otherwise I won't bother cause I know I will lose as a ranged munitions guy in a duel environment vs the good melee players. Taking skill out of consideration.

How amusing.

Updated formatting and introduced scoring methodology.

No we're not going to do ranged or melee brackets. How are you supposed to handle things freeform allows for like hybrids, petmasters, builds with 1 attack...etc. Make brackets for them all? We want to see the top duelists period and whatever their builds may be.

Its false to say that builds immediately take skill out of consideration. No build plays itself. On top of that we can't feasibly measure power levels accurately the way you can separate opponents into weight classes like you can in real life. Also, a ranged character won the last tourney.

And I'm not at all convinced that the top will be a melee build. The rule on sustained buffs is fairly biased towards melee builds (it basically makes enrage insignificant for ranged builds, as there's no fast rage stacking with range) but I'm not sure of the current stage of dueling, I seem to recall some pretty obnoxious kiting builds.

Yah exactly we're here for the competition and to find out what build can take it to the top starting from a standstill (hence at-rest and false start rules).

Finding out what build/player/style wins the top spots is interesting in and of itself. What one chooses to do with this information in relationship to their perceptions of PvP is wholly unrelated to the tournament which is strictly for fun.