The FOL Challenge League.
What is it?
An open league which allows challenges, run by the FOL team. It's open for applications now: no password required, but teams must be new and accepted by the admins. League name is FOL Challenge League - use the league finder or search for "Dode" as the admin. I anticipate kicking off on 14th March. Feel free to spread the word to friends and other FOL players.
Why?
It's something I considered at the start if we didn't get enough players for MM to work out. Since we did, it was never needed. Now we're seeing a lot of bash in MM leagues, particularly at high TV, so nobody really develops teams past a certain point unless they are bashers. Removing TV-matching and allowing games to be declined will hopefully allow more development of other racial types.
But if you can choose your matches then you can farm, surely?
There's a setting which allows a league commissioner to limit the number of times a coach can play another coach in a season, which is currently set to 2. That's the coach, not the team, so simply alt-accounting and making new teams won't work; you'd need numerous alt-accounts for that to work, and that type of thing would show up in the data we get about the league.
Well in that case you're at least cherrypicking!
Maybe. If that's your opinion then you may be happier in FOL itself, but other people will want to play games where they don't have to face a gauntlet of Chaos, Nurgle and Orcs and have their team shredded, or don't want to be matched by TV, or don't want to have to play the minmaxer with a few CPOMB players at 1400TV, or want to play stunties with inducements. The aim is to promote an environment people can enjoy.
So it's not competitive?
Again, that will depend on your opinion on the cherrypicking issue. Nobody will have to accept a challenge (except potentially in some very specific circumstances), so any games which are played will necessarily be considered fair (or at least assessed as desirable) by both coaches. If you accept that premise and assume both coaches are capable of assessing "fair" then it's pretty competitive. There is the possibility of newbs being preyed upon, of course, which is why I'd advise arranging any matches in the lobby before accepting a challenge (so you can see the opponent's team and make an informed decision), and why we'll be maintaining the 10-game minimum for a coach to make an application. I'd like to think it's as competitive as R on FUMBBL.
What are the rules?
Same as FOL:
In-game we'll be using classic rules with 2 or 4 minute turns.What are the rules?
Basically, play clean, fair and sportsmanlike.T16 fouling and stalling (i.e. not scoring until the turn you are ready to do so) are perfectly acceptable. Please, please remember, though:
- Don't use exploits such as the 12-player bug (nominate your extra man and put him in the corner) or the leap bug (don't use the extra MA it gives you). Use of exploits WILL result in your team being banned permanently from FOL, and may result in you being banned. This also covers farming attempts.
- Don't disconnect. If you're not enjoying the game you're playing then concede using the menu option. Disconnecting makes your opponent wait 5 minutes to get his due win, and is a system which can itself be exploited. We get the server records from Cyanide so we know exactly who disconnects and which games they disconnected from.
- Don't be abusive. This is a game, and it's meant to be fun. We like the atmosphere to be pleasant in FOL, and you'll generally find that games in FOL tend to go that way. Sure, swear at Nuffle every now and again, but don't overdo it and don't direct it at your opponent.
- Don't act like an ass. Basically, treat the other coach as you would wish to be treated - with respect. That means not leaving the game running while you go get a meal, that kind of thing. It also means getting in touch with your opponent if you do have a legitimate disconnect - it may prevent them from reporting you!
- Think of the children! Kids play this game too, so bear that in mind when making your team. Your team may be ejected from the league if the name is offensive.
THE ADMIN TEAM CAN ONLY KNOW ABOUT A RULES INFRINGEMENT IF YOU REPORT IT TO US!
If we don't know about it then we can't do anything about it (although we do periodic checks on top teams).
What else do I need to know?
- First, this is a bit of an experiment. Things can change, such as the coach-games limit, the season length (expected to be 2 months in line with FOL), the in-game rules (currently there is no MM, but I may activate it if people want it.
- Second, if this works then it might be interesting to have an FOL/FOLCL playoff at some point. The Open Leagues Championship seems like a perfect tournament for this.
- Third, there will be initially no transferring of teams between FOL and FOLCL. This may be changed at a later date, but I anticipate this being only from FOL to FOLCL and not the other way.
- Finally, there are some things I'd like to test, which I would consider exploits if they work. I'll be getting the FOL team to try them out and looking out for them in the results. If they are apparent then I will consider this a non-competitive league, a bit like Auld, but where discos etc are punished in the same manner as FOL.
Send an e-mail to FOLeague at gmail dot com containing the replay file and, if possible, the logfile for the game you think cheating happened on. If you send them straight away it will probably be the right logfile - delays in reporting may prevent us getting the right logs.
Logfile: C:\Users\Name\Documents\BloodBowlLegendary\BB_LE000.log - there may be more than one log there (BB_LExxx.log), so if you send them all we can sort through for the right one.
Replay: C:\Users\Name\Documents\BloodBowlLegendary\Saves\Replays\ReplayDateandTime.db
The admins will review the case and make a decision. Don't expect it to be a snap decision, but one will be made.
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