To register, go here
http://www.tangtwo.com/11thcompany/tournament.cfm
The format for our November event will be a competitive tournament using the
NOVA Open as the basis for the tournament.
http://www.novaopen.com/
In short, whatever the
NOVA Open does this year is most likely what we will be doing. The only exception here will probably be the rubric for appearance scores. This may not even be an exception, but I won't know until I see what the rubric is.
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Generic Tournament Format (clearly subject to change since we still have 5 months
)
NOVA Style Tournament
Dates: November 12-13th
Location: Myrtle Beach,
SC @ Grand Atlantic Resort
Duration: 2 Days, 6 Rounds
Participants: 50 (or more if we sell out)
Points: 2000 points
Format:
Day 1 will consist of 3 games. Day 2 will consist of 3 games. Everyone plays both days.
On Day 2, everyone will be "bracketed" based on their Win/Loss ratio and seed. Day 2 will open with 6 brackets.
Bracket #1: The top 8 players from Day 1.
Bracket #2: The second 8 players from Day 1.
Bracket #3: The third 8 players from day 1.
Bracket #4: The fourth 8 players from Day 1.
Bracket #5: The fifth 8 players from Day 1.
Bracket #6: The remaining 10 players.
Bracket play continues with each bracket individually using it's own win/loss and seeding algorithm to determine a bracket winner for which a prize is associated. Bracket #6 will be more heavily based on its seeding algorithm given the 10 participants.
If we do sell out, we may move up to 56 players so that we will have 7 even, 8 man brackets.
Cost:
The tournament entry fee will total: $54.40. The breakdown for the cost is....
Tournament Entry Fee - $50.00
Pay Pal's Cut to process Billing - $1.81
South Carolina's Sales Tax Cut - $2.59 (5%)
What? Why do I have to pay sales tax? The reason is that the tournament itself is sponsored by my business, TANG 2. Although most of us could probably get away with not paying taxes on a personal level, my business is not so lucky!
Missions:
We will be using the
NOVA Open missions.
Here is the most current primer:
http://www.novaopen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Primer-2011-GT-Missions-v3.pdf
Scoring:
Scoring for games is done on a Win/Loss basis and uses Seeding. I don't have the details on the Seeding algorithm at the moment, but I will get them.
Basically, the way this works is people with like Win/Loss ratios play each other in subsequent rounds. Also, a score is tallied from each round which acts as the seeding number. Round 1 is of course, random. Once seeding score are determined, players are ranked from Top Seed to Bottom Seed with other players who have a similar Win/Loss ratio. Top Seed plays Bottom Seed next round. Second Seed plays Next to Bottom seed. And so on.
It won't be complicated because I will most likely write some overly sophisticated computer software to track the whole thing.... because that's what I do!
Prizes:
Currently, we will be giving out $1400 in prizes! We will also be looking for sponsors to help increase prize support. More to come on this.
Prizes will be ranked as follows:
1. Best Overall - Person who achieves the highest combined Generalship, Appearance, and Sports Score. This is a combined score meaning you don't need to win all your games, have the best painted army, or be the best sports, but can still win top prize.
2. Best Painting/Appearance
Best Sports
Best General (person who goes 6 - 0 )
3. Winners of Brackets #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6.
There will also be a drawing for minor prizes each round. Names will be randomly selected from a pot. Your name gets placed into the pot each round a number of times equal to the number of games you have lost so far. So for example:
Round One - You lose a game your name goes in the hat.
Round Two - You lose the game. Your name goes in the hat an additional 2 times (total of 3)
Round Three - You lost the game. Your name goes in the hat an additional 3 times (total of 6 now)
The more you lose, the more likely you are to win.
Overall, 15 people will go home with prizes out of a 50 man tournament meaning that 1 in 3 of all participants will be winning a prize.
Of those 15, only 6 are directly based off of winning games. So, 60% of prizes are awarded and not based on just winning.
Painting/Appearance:
A prize will be given for painting/appearance. I do not know what that rubric will look like at this time but will post once I know.
Sports:
We will be using whatever algorithm Mike has condoned for the
NOVA, most likely.
Win/Loss
Sometimes misunderstood. Win/loss means there are no ties and your ability to win within your bracket is not determined by Battle Points. Your seed, however, will be determined by a points system.
There will be a caveat to this as we don't have 64 players which is what you exactly need to properly execute Win/Loss with 6 rounds. Thus, at the end of the day, it will be possible for someone who has lost a game to win Best General.
That's just an unfortunate reality for us this time around.
We will discuss the format in greater detail in Episode 73.
Also, I hope I got everything about right as far as doing justice to being an actual
NOVA Style tournament. Anything is subject to change, and once I have more specifics, I'll post them.
The reason why we want to do a
NOVA Style tournament is because Mike and crew have already spent countless hours figuring out what is probably the best way to go about running an evaluative tournament. If you take the time to really think it through, you'll see that there is a lot of subtle nuances in play here to do things like:
1) Ensure people have a reason to keep playing all their games
2) Have fun and have a good chance at winning prizes even if they aren't the best player or have a crappy looking army (like mine!).
3) Provides a way for the person who wins his games to be fairly evaluated.
4) To acknowledge that OUR hobby is not all about winning games. Sports and Hobbying are just as important and even moreso as reflected by the Best Overall.
Judging
So far, judging in terms of appearance has yet to be determined.
As for games, I will most likely be the head of that. I won't be playing in this tournament so no worries there. Past that, I will have some folks who will be wandering about to help out, most likely other 11th Company participants. Rules disputes will be resolved by myself as well as dealing with anyone who gets out of hand. (Actually, we'll probably leave that to Larry because his pimp hand is strong)
FAQ
We will be using in this order:
1) The Rulebook/Codicies
2) The
GW FAQs
3) The
NOVA FAQ
4) Neil
Lists Checking/Turn-In
Every list will be verified via Army Builder by the Tournament Organizers. You don't need to put your list in Army Builder to have us verify it. We'll verify it even if you turn it in via Army Builder. So, don't sweat if you don't own Army Builder.
That being said, verifying lists is a fairly quick process, but it does take time. As such, we will be promoting an early list turn-in prior to first day of the event.
If you turn your list in on or before November 11th (Friday), your name will go into the raffle hat an extra time for prizes.
We will be registering very early on Saturday morning and be sitting there with Army Builder on multiple computers to verify lists.
That being said, if it takes us hours to do this, it is going to slow everyone down. So please, for the love of the Emperor, turn your list in early if you can.
You can e-mail your lists to:
11thcompany@tangtwo.com
If you change your mind, simply send it back in. Include your name so I know who the list belongs to.
Terrain
Terrain at our event will be modeled after the guidelines present by the NoVA. This means the following in easy to understand terms:
1) There will be seven pieces of terrain on the board. The "footprint" or surface area that each terrain piece takes up will be an approximate of the below which is generally 12'' x 12'' or 144'' square.
1 x (12'' x 12'')
LoS Blocking Terrain. This will be exactly board center.
4 x (12'' x 12'')
LoS Obscuring Terrain. These will be placed in the center of each quarter.
2 x (12'' x 6'') No
LoS Obscuring Terrain. These will be placed along 6 inches from the long table edges and centered at 36'' (board center) in.
LoS Blocking Terrain is terrain defined as providing complete blockage of
LoS to a minimum of a Chimera/Rhino sized hull from most vantage points. Most likely this will also block
LoS to even Land Raider or Wave Serpent sized vehicles from most vantage points.
LoS Obscuring Terrain is terrain defined as providing a cover save to a minimum of a Chimera/Rhino sized hull so long as the vehicle is behind the terrain from the vantage point of the firer. This may also block
LoS completely in some places, but must meet the minimum requirements of obscurement. This may not apply to Land Raider/Wave Serpent sized vehicles.
Non-
LoS Obscuring Terrain is defined as area terrain in which infantry models will receive a cover save, but the intent is to not provide a cover save for a Rhino/Chimera sized hull should it be behind the terrain.
I will include a diagram at a later time.
2) All terrain will be classified as Area Terrain.
3) Appropriately modeled terrain may also be classified as Ruins.
4) All Area Terrain shall provide a 4+ cover save.
5) All terrain is classified as Passable.
These rulings are made up front so everyone knows exactly what to expect on tournament day. This also eliminates any need to "discuss terrain" prior to a game or get into any pre-game arguments (which no one likes!) about the terrain.
Ringer
Should there be an odd number of participants in our event (and I really hope there isn't because i want to sell out!), a Ringer will be bought into the tournament using the following rules.
1) I shall sponsor said Ringer and pay the $50 entry fee just like everyone else.
2) The Ringer shall first be selected from non-tournament staff if any are available to play.
3) The Ringer shall then be selected from tournament staff. Should this occur, a volunteer who is not tournament staff shall be randomly selected to act as judge for games involving the Ringer.
4) The Ringer shall be a full, participating member of the tournament including eligible for prizes.
This solution will provide the best route for getting a ringer into the game who actually cares about winning/losing and is not directly under the supervision of tournament staff to avoid any appearance of cronyism.
Early Leave Policy
In the event that someone leaves early or does not return for Day 2, we will be forced to not allow that person to return to any future events. Of course, exceptions will be made for unexpected events and emergencies.
If the case of early leave causes us to drop to an odd number of players, a Ringer shall be entered into the tournament using a similar policy to the above. I am not sure at this time how the Ringer will be ranked mid tournament and will have a better solution later.
Counts As / Scratch Built Policy
We highly encourage anyone who has great ideas for scratch built models and conversions to make it happen. Indeed, our appearance scores will reflect this as well as our Best Overall prize.
That being said, it is also our intent to provide the fairest playing field possible.
As such, if your army will contain heavy conversions or counts as elements, you should consider sending us a picture for approval.
Furthermore, it should be understood that on the tabletop, you will receive no advantages and all of the disadvantages for running such models. If a question arises during game play, it will be resolved using the dimensions for the actual model should the counts as/scratch built model be receiving an advantage due to its nature.
In this way, hopefully we can encourage as much art as possible while discouraging cheating by modeling for advantage.
Codices
All official
GW codices will be allowed including all of their contents such as special characters. Forgeworld rules will not be allowed.
