Welcome Comrades to the 71st edition of the Dispatch
Hey all, you look so BIG from down here! So busy digging my hole that I forget to remember why sometimes. Oh I remember now, I was looking for Sully and got into my Hippo brain that he must be down here somewhere. I'll let you know if I find him. Thankfully all those industrious volunteers have been beavering away with their busy fingers for your reading pleasure. And thusly we have another issue!
Last issue Sully's intro discussed the earth-shattering decisions of
Natty Dread in exiting his work from the foundry. So time for a roasting! What that man doesn't know about bakery products or
sexy time is not worth knowing. Remember, you read it here first!
From the
Office of Strategic Services you can check out
Viceroy63 's take on that most difficult of subjects -
alliances . Have you been burnt? He also shows the SoC scoreboard, is your name there?
In
War Games ,
WorldCup4James interviews
heatz about strategy, football and rock!
DaveH continues to flex his Excel muscles in tournament organization. And
Fuzzy316 shares his lessons learned from the fires of tournament management.
In
Cartographic Surveillance ,
koontz1973 keeps us up to date while I get all introspective with
Instructions .
Finally, in the
Platoon Report we have all sorts of
clandestine topics covered.
WPBRJ wraps up
Clan League 4 ,
MNDuke covers the
International Clan League and
Gunn217 covers the
F400 Ranking .
Talk about industrious!! Further proof that
Natty Dread got it right when he said:
I think the best thing about CC has always been the kind of grassroots model, where every user can choose to become part of the creative effort, instead of things being forced down our throats in a top-down model... this model of collaborative creation, of user contributions and such, is the way of the future - it's what makes the internet great, it's also why the old-world media is dying
thehippo8 Foundry Executive If you would like to apply to join the news team, please visit the thread below for more details!
Click here for Recruitment Details... Hello again Freestyle readers. Your editor managed to find time to compile this section in the middle of studying for finals. May his time have not gone in vain. Also, another scum insider and interview with Natty Dread is on tap.
You Stay Classy, CC.
safariguy5 Freestyle Executive The Scum Insider by safariguy5 show
The Scum Insider Newbie Help Want to get into the Mafia scene, but don't know how to play or even what it is? Consult these threads: Mafia Information , Mafia and You , and Rules and Terms of Mafia . Too much work? Too lazy to read through everything? No worries, you can always jump right into a game and ask for other players or the game runner to help guide you.What is "Mafia"? Mafia, for those of you that don't know, is a game that generally takes place in a town, where the townspeople have to determine who the mafia (or "scum") is and lynch them via a majority vote during the day and the mafia try to kill everyone at night and bluff their way out of getting killed by the town.Mafia News An interesting new mafia mechanic was debuted by / , where there were two different mafia games played at once by the same people. They had roles that generally were related to both sides. After all was said and done, town managed to win one of the sides and the cult won the other side. Definitely an interesting experience for all involvedMafia Callouts Calling all players interested! Some mafia games need some filling: Sign-ups: Seeking Replacements: Consult the Replacement Thread to see what games are in need of reserves/replacements. Now get out there and investigate Mafia for yourself: viewforum.php?f=213 Advanced Roles and Strategy by safariguy5 Interpreting scenes is the name of the game this time.How to Interpret Scenes What is It? Scenes refer to the posts written by the mod that signal the end and beginning of the day/night cycle. Generally, scenes that signify the lynch of a player at the end of the day are pretty straightforward. Certain flavor may be added, but they are generally pretty transparent. Night scenes may or may not have information within them, but this is generally up to individual mod's decisions.Example People are playing a Super Mario Mafia. A night scene shows a Goomba being squished. Jack is revealed to be the dead Goomba. From that night scene, we can infer that Mario and friends are the mafia.How to Use this Strategy Although each mod is different, night scenes tend to show flavor that is related to attempted and successful night kills. They may hint at which factions are mafia, and possibly which mafia member made the kill. Generally, if a kill failed or was redirected in some way, the night scene will show that as well, which may clue in attentive players that there may be some sort of manipulative role in the game. Finally, mason or cult recruitments may or may not be shown in the night scene, as revealing those actions are more a personal choice that the mod may make. Regardless, it's important not to leap to conclusions about any night scene without showing evidence with wording directly copied from the scene.
show: Interrogation of Natty Dread
Hi Natty! Whoa! Who said that? Am I talking to myself again? Am I hearing voices? Well, whoever it is, that wasn't a question, so I'm just going to skip to the next one. Q. You obviously won't remember, but I'll ask it for the sake of the audience: When did you start losing it? I still have all my hair. No need for viagra either. I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're rambling on about. Q. If you were president of Conquer Club, what would you immediately change about the mapmaking process on this site? Well, if I were president, it would mean Conquer club were a democracy, so probably all my decisions would be vetoed by a majority vote from the senate. The Off Topics Party would troll every session so hard nothing would ever get decided. Phatscotty would call for smaller government, BBS would protest against external measures, and Army of GOD would post pictures of ostriches. Meanwhile, the majority of CC members would protest that the forum goers, ie. the 1%, have way too much premium and we'd all get banned. But setting aside pedantry, and concentrating only on the second part of the question, I wouldn't change the mapmaking process at all. The process is fine. It evolves on it's own according to contemporary needs, it's a true peer-review system. Very scientific and flexible. What I would change is the way this system that has served the site well for 6 years is currently being blindsided and slapped on the buttcheeks. I would change the way secret maps get made outside of that system, by privileged people who can just circumvent the system and don't have to follow the same rules all the rest of the mapmakers have to. There's really no need for the site to create maps in secret, if those maps are not going to be "surprise" maps or seasonal maps. I think, somewhere along the way, the entire logic behind these "secret" maps has become so twisted that even the admins don't know how to justify them anymore. That's why they're so embarrassed about it, they only give vague excuses and slippery, legalese-sounding explanations when confronted about it. Think about it: earlier, the justification for making maps in secret was that "the site wants to surprise the players" and "they're allowed to circumvent the foundry because they're only seasonal maps". Now, it seems neither of these justifications apply anymore, but the team making these secret maps has become an entity itself, justifying it's own existence with circular reasoning: the team that creates secret maps exists, therefore we need secret maps, and since we need secret maps, we should have a team to create them... I think the best thing would be to integrate this secret map team with the regular foundry, let them go through all the same rules as other foundry members, and let any foundry member be allowed to make them. Treat everyone equal. If the admin decides they want to commission a themed map for some event, they can contact the foundry and the foundry mods can decide how it would best be handled - but it should be handled in the foundry, and there shouldn't be these "privileged" inner-circle teams that get automatic preference when it's decided who gets to make which map. Lastly: if a map is deemed so important to the site that it requires this "special treatment", should it really be rushed, should it be made outside the foundry when we know these maps tend to end up inferior to regular foundry maps? Shouldn't the fact that a map is important to the site be all the more reason to put more effort to it, spend more time on it to make sure it's as good as possible, instead of rushing it through some secret group? The current Classic map is the best example of how this should be handled: a mapmaker started a regular map project called "World cities", then the admin decided this map should be made into the new Classic for the site, and all along the map was made publicly in the foundry. And the current Classic map looks way better than, say, Easter. Q. The question on everybody's minds, Why bin all of your baps? According to Wikipedia, "baps" are soft bread rolls made in Scotland and Ireland. I try to avoid wasting food. It's immoral that so much of our food goes to waste when so many of us are hungry.Q. crazymilkshake5 wrote: The question on everybody's minds, Why bin all of your baps?
squishyg wrote: If you were president of Conquer Club, what would you immediately change about the mapmaking process on this site?
How much do these two questions make you want to critique them? President? baps? Me, critique questions? Far be it from me. Btw, your question sucks. Q. Where did your underscore go? Well, according to our organization's guidelines and other miscellaneous stipulations, we're always looking to streamline the process and clarify the syntax for all future enquiries. By getting rid of extraneous control symbols, we're able to save bandwidth and server space, with only a slight decrease in accuracy of error correction. In the next version of the transfer protocol we're planning on implementing a mandatory compression- and encryption algorithm to all communications, which requires all of our clients to submit a unique 1024-bit code to identify them by. Q. How big is your monitor? It's about 50cm wide and about 30cm high. Q. What's your favorite number? e. Q. Monitor? Is that what the youths of today call it then? Are you talking about penises? I call mine "Bronson". Q. Are you a breast or ass man? Glad you asked. This interview was getting dangerously low on sex questions. But on the other hand, this question is kind of cliché. I don't really get off on asses or breasts alone. I mean, if I saw a disembodied arse walking on the street next to a pair of antropomorphized tits, I'd probably try to figure out what kind of mushrooms I had eaten that day. It's more the whole of a person, the situation, the background and sexual tension between all participants... I don't think I could really isolate any single thing that I'm attracted to in any specific person. Basically, the most important thing about sexual relationships is communication. Sex isn't something that just "happens" between people, it's something you have to contribute to, you have to actively interact with your partner(s) and make sure all of you are on the same page and know each others needs and desires. Between those things, questions about asses or tits really seem pretty insignificant in the long run. Q. Does Marcellus Wallace look like a bitch? That is an interesting question. On the surface it seems to seek my opinion on the appearance of one Marcellus Wallace, but if we analyze and extrapolate a bit further, there seems to be an implied subtext that seems to suggest that one would only consider Marcellus Wallace to look like a "bitch" if one were interested in "fucking" him. And, somewhat counterintuitively, the colloquial expression of "fucking" seems to, in this context, to refer to a theft of a suitcase full of glowsticks. However, if we look at the question in a bit more practical sense, it would appear that you intend to shoot me no matter what I respond. It would seem that you take a certain level of sadistic pleasure in using these kinds of questions as a way to assert your dominance on the situation. It probably has something to do with some unresolved issues. Perhaps you're trying to push aside some kind of internal conflict you're not entirely consciously aware of, which causes you to overcompensate with extreme sadism and violence. Long story short; since I'm going to be shot anyway, can I get my cheeseburger back? Q. Why did you choose BpB? You don't choose BpB. BpB chooses you. Q. Why do you think lack refuses to discuss or address some of the concerns brought up by longtime contributors to the site? That's an excellent question. I don't really have any definite answer, but if you were to ask me to speculate on this issue, I would probably say it's because lack is trying to maintain a certain illusion of control by isolating himself from the community and mostly delegating such discourse to his subordinates. Which I think is a flawed strategy in itself, but it's not my site, and lack can do what he wants with it. Personally, I think it's the users who make the site, especially a site like this where at least 90% of the content is user-contributed. Lack should really concentrate more on keeping the current users happy, before focusing on advertising and luring in new members. It's no use trimming the leaves if the roots are rotting. Q. Are Finnish girls hottest? They're the hottest girls in Finland. Q. After recently reading about your plans to no longer volunteer your time to the site by creating maps, I (happy2seeyou) was wondering what you have learned from the experience. Also, what would you like to see instilled into the site so something like that won't happen to another generous volunteering CC member. Well, I have learned a lot about graphic design, and digital artwork in general. The foundry and mapmaking has contributed a lot to my learning about them, at least. I've also learned how to balance between your original artistic vision and feedback from others. I've also learned that no matter how good a community is, how well a process functions, all it takes is one idiotic decision from someone higher-up to screw it all up. In the future, I would wish that the site admin would show more support to mapmakers, and also to all the other creative and wonderful people on CC who contribute content to the site: tournament guys, clan guys, the tech guys... I think the best thing about CC has always been the kind of grassroots model, where every user can choose to become part of the creative effort, instead of things being forced down our throats in a top-down model... this model of collaborative creation, of user contributions and such, is the way of the future - it's what makes the internet great, it's also why the old-world media is dying - they aren't in touch with their audience, they are stuck to last-century business models... Sadly, lately it has begun to seem a lot like lackattack wants to change the site more towards a "top-down" model, one where there's an inscrutable, invisible source of content at the top that trickles down to the users who have no choice to really influence the process, let alone contribute to it... and I think this not only sucks for us users but is a bad idea, business-wise. I hope the course will change in the future, but I fear the worst... it seems to me like lack has this idea that a top-down model is somehow seen as more "professional", but if so, that's a misguided and antiquated notion. Q. Will you make a map under my (QoH) name? Everyone would think I did it, but in reality, you could continue making maps for the community, which we all know you enjoy doing Sure, I'll just need your credit card number. Q. Will you post a more interesting question than this when it's my (Dukasaur) turn to be interrrogated? Only if you promise to answer it, no matter how embarrassing the answer... and make no mistake; there will be inquiries about your sex life. Q. How does it take the length? One centimeter at a time. Sometimes two. Q. How does it feel to have your CC alas put on a territory on one of Cairns coolest maps? (Cairns being one of my favorite mapmakers on CC, this is a great honor!) It feels like getting laid on christmas. Q. Lunar map is still my favorite of yours, but if you had to choose 1 map (being yours) that you had to play everyday for the rest of your life, which map would that be? I don't know, man. I always think whichever map I made last is the best, and all the previous ones are crappy. In this way, mapmaking is actually an interesting an deeply thought-provoking analogy for life itself... I always think, "man, I was so stupid 5 years ago, what was I thinking - but now I've finally got it all figured out! now I'm smart!" and then, 5 years later, I'm again all "man, I was so stupid 5 years ago, but now I'm smart"... Q. Why did you join BPB and who is your favorite BPB member and why (please choose only 1 member, none of this all of them are my fav BS). I joined BpB because they're the sexiest clan on CC. And I'm all about the sexy. I can't tell who my fav BpB member is because otherwise the others'll be jealous. So let's just say Dancing Mustard. At least he's banned so he can't rub it in the others' faces. No, I'm not talking about his dick, you pervert. Q. Which of your maps are most proud of? Whichever is my latest. Q. Which map of yours would you like to revamp? I don't know, maybe Lunar War, but I doubt I'll ever get around to it. Q. What map of someone else's would you like to revamp? All the maps. All of them. Actually, Discworld is probably one that could use some loving, and I don't mean in the carnal sense for once. Q. American pancakes or French crepes? I've never been to America nor France, so I'm going to have to abstain this one. Q. What's up with lefse? What's up with it is that it exists. All being like, bready and round and shit. That's pretty much all there is to say about lefse. Q. What would be your ideal 14-day vacation? I would come over to your house and we'd talk politics. We'd start out as a bit wary and mistrusting of each other, and pretty soon we'd get in a huge argument. After that, things would be a bit chilly between us for a while, but eventually we'd find common ground. As time would pass, we'd find subtle things about each other that we never noticed. We'd start to see each other in a new light. Antagonism would change into grudging admiration. Admiration would transition into blossoming attraction, and one night, we'd both be a little tipsy, and we'd be sitting at the table talking about stuff and nonsense, when our eyes would meet and we'd be silent. Then you would see in my eyes something you'd been yearning for all these years. I would tentatively, almost fearfully, touch your hand and gently whisper your name. Your lips quivering, you would lean forward, and... (to be continued next week) Q. Which of your own maps would you consider your best and your worst and why? I don't know, man. I don't really think of my old maps that much. Lunar War probably is the worst graphically, but as for gameplay, I don't know - they all are pretty well functional as far as the gameplay goes... Q. Do you look down on nippersean for not being innovative enough? I don't look down on anyone. Well, except Army of GOD, obviously. It just feels too weird looking at the space above someone's head when you're talking. Q. What historical figures would you like to see on CC? This seems like a good place for a "your mom" joke. I'm not going to make one, though. What, you want me to jump through your hoops like some kind of circus animal? Well, guess again. I'm not that predictable. I'm a rebel and I do what I want. Q. Which would you want to play with and who would you want to play against? I'd play twister with squishyg, Army of GOD and Mr Changsha. Changsha would win, obviously. Q. Is it nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them? You're selling whatnow? Q. Have you been wearing your sexy slippers that Fruitcake sent us all last Christmas? Absolutely. The bunny ears got confiscated in customs, though. Q. What question do you wish you had been asked in this interview (and weren't), and what would your answer be? There should have been more sex questions. Everyone knows there's nothing I like more than airing out my sex life over the internet for everyone to see. Thanks for your time! Time is an abstract concept and you can't really give it out like currency. If anything, I've given you tidbits of wisdom, pieces of my innermost being, and of course rambling, incoherent nonsense. But you're welcome regardless.
For Issue 71 of the Strategy Section of the Conquer Club Newsletter, I am exploring a new column titled, "Definition of Terms." Feed back on this would be useful and appreciated.
And as always the revised list of the current SoC Students winners for April 16th through the 30th.
Enjoy!
Viceroy63 Strategy Executive Definition of Terms: Alliances by Viceroy63 show
Definition of Terms: Alliances by Viceroy63 It has occurred to me that we all use many words in day to day life but may or may not really be aware of their full meaning and intents. We use words sometimes interchangeably as for example, "King" and "Kingdom." Obviously a King represents his Kingdom and a Kingdom is normally about the king that rules it but they are both two different words with very different meanings. In the case of King and Kingdom however, it is not incorrect to use them interchangeably as when we say that, "this Kingdom or King conquered that other King or Kingdom." But other words do not bare so well under closer scrutiny. For example "Peace" and "Truce" have two very different meanings and should not be used interchangeably as if they are one and the same. They are not. The key to good strategy stems from understanding the objectives and the goals of the plan and at the basis of it all are the words that we use to describe them. In this article I will expand on the word "Alliance" and on it's full meaning and intents. I will try to keep my articles as short and as sweet as possible from now on, as it has been indicated to me that my articles are "tooo" long as it is. =)Alliance An alliance is an agreement or friendship between two or more parties, made in order to advance common goals and to secure common interests. When can an alliance be formed? Alliances can be formed when ever there are common goals and interest. It goes without saying that when ever you start a game the common goal or interest is to win the game, or World Domination. So Alliances can be formed as soon as the game begins. Why form an alliance? Because it is easier to conquer the world or game map when you are in an alliance or a team rather than on your own. As a member of an Alliance or a team, you can then relate ideas and strategies to each other to make winning the game easier. I may be wrong, but isn't this also the same reason as to why "Clans" exist in the first place? [Note] In non team games , all strategies and ideas must be related through the public game Chat. There can be no secret strategies or ideas discussed through any other forum except the game chat. You may leave messages for people to read their game chat as a reminder but the actual message must be on the game chat itself. -End Note. Should you help your allies in distress? It would make sense to help out your allies in need of assistance when it does not put your own security at risk. Alliances cover each others back and so by helping your allied partner, you are really helping yourself out. It's like the analogy of your neighbors burning house. You may not like your neighbor but helping to put out the fire in his house helps to keep your own house safe before that fire spreads to your house. On another note to the above question, "Should you help your allies in distress?" There is the logic that if your ally protects your rear from possible invasion then you also, as an ally must do everything in your power to prevent any enemy from getting between you and your ally. Not only is it detrimental to the alliance in that it breaks up the whole reason for being allies in the first place but it also leaves both vulnerable to attacks from the rear. This can be considered preventative assistance. You are helping your ally and yourself by not allowing any troops to come between the alliances. The alliance is then considered like a single army, a singular unified military force ever expanding and conquering outward and not 2 military forces at opposite ends of the game map. Just like Hitler and Stalin??? When should alliances be broken? When there is no longer a common interest or goal. In a standard game there can only be one winner. When the Alliance is all that is left, that is usually the best time to break the alliance. The common goal or interest is to conquer the game and the alliance has served it's purpose when all others are eliminated. Is it Justifiable to break an alliance before it has completed it's purpose? Yes; If you win... ... Only if you win![Note] Actually any alliance that goes bad, like a bad marriage getting a divorce for example, can and probably should be liquidated ASAP. But the honorable thing to do in such cases is to give at least a one round Notification in the game Chat. That means that ON or BEFORE your turn you give the notification and that then counts as one turn. If you end the alliance then you should give your ally the option of striking first or retreating and you then respond to that. On your next turn after the notification, you can then assault your former ally. But if you give the notification like the Japanese did at pearl harbor with only hours before the attack then that would be considered really sneaky and unworthy. It would also be a good idea to make aware of the option to end the alliance with a one round notification as described above right from the start. That way you avoid any surprises and bad feelings. Making the option clear right from the start would also justify the action if and when it needs to be done before there is just the two players left in the game. Other wise an alliance is to the common end when there is just the two players left in the game. -End Note. ---
Current SoC Training Fields Winners List By Viceroy63 show
Current SoC Training Fields Winners List These Games were won by SoC Students in the month of April from the 16t. until the 30th. of April. Instructors are not included in this list. We want to acknowledge those individuals who are learning how to play well instead. And not just learning well but are also participating in the SoC Training Program. In the SoC Training Grounds Basic Terminator Division, were...Academy Basic Training Field 01 Game 10881322 Round 11 2012-04-22 02:04:19 - stotzi won the game Game 10882535 Round 12 2012-04-24 10:07:45 - slownumbers won the game Game 10882534 Round 10 2012-04-25 16:07:17 - MIRV won the game Game 10906850 Round 8 2012-04-20 08:29:21 - S_u_nT_z_u won the gameAcademy Basic Training Field 02 Game 10823095 Round 9 2012-04-17 11:33:35 - jbsylr won the gameAcademy Basic Training Field 03 Game 10906856 Round 11 2012-04-25 07:31:53 - Kragomac won the gameAcademy Basic Training Field 05 Game 10906840 Round 11 2012-04-30 14:29:17 - GingerKhan won the game Game 10906854 Round 10 2012-04-30 07:09:42 - GingerKhan won the gameAcademy Basic Training Field 06 Game 10906853 Round 11 2012-04-23 23:16:19 - chris.yfc won the gameAcademy Basic Training Field 09 Game 10906844 Round 11 2012-04-18 20:31:37 - InnyaFacce won the gameAcademy Basic Training Field 11 Game 10882536 Round 11 2012-04-22 12:29:54 - BOSS_ONE won the game There are no SoC Students winning in the standard division for the period of April 16th to the 30th. ---
Hello again my friends, and welcome to your favorite part of the Newsletter, "War Games", where you can find information about CC Tournaments!
In this issue, WorldCup4James interviews long-time veteran
heatz , DaveH gives us another installment of his Tournament Tips, and Fuzzy316 offers his own top four tips for new organisers.
NoSurvivors has retired from tournament reporting; our best wishes go with him.
Dukasaur Tournament Executive Meet the Tournament Winners: heatz by WorldCup4James show
This week we meet heatz , who has just recently won his second tournament (on behalf of the Premier League football team Wolverhampton) in the 1890-1891 English League , hosted by SNARF17WD . heatz has been an active member for nearly four years and has completed nearly 7,000 games. He's also earned six clan achievements, fighting for the Angels of Death , Nemesis, and Dynasty . What do you think helped you the most in bringing your Wolverhampton Wanderers to victory? I think really what helped me more than anything was that I chose New world as my home map and somehow managed to win the majority of games. This was also a help as there was the 12 round win rule in place. As New World is a big map, I was able to hold out for draws in the games I realised I couldn't win I'm actually an Arsenal fan, but they weren't included in the football league at that point in time.Do you think Arsenal will secure that third or fourth spot for Champions League (now that everyone's behind the Manchester powerhouses)? Chelsea's nearby, and there's still some games left. Well with form how it is, I really do think we can get third. The Spurs are falling to peices at the moment so I doubt they will get even fourth! My curve ball I predict is Newcastle for fourth. Their form is great and they have no pressure on them to do well Have you played football yourself? I never really played football, not physical enough. But I've played rugby at town level for a few years, and cricket at village level for two villages. Besides New World, what are your other favorite maps on CC? My favourite maps really would have to be Age of Realms 2, Classic and Arms Race! I didn't really start playing New World in singles until this tournament. If there are any clans out there in need of an Age of Realms 2 specialist or a decent team player, please P.M. me Favorite music to jam to? I was hoping you wouldn't ask about my music, now everyone will think I'm weird! My style consists of 70s-80s rock like AcDc, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, etc. and also "out there" trash metal. Korn, Slipknot are the lighter bands in my collection from this style. The heavier the better Well, your profile comment "I LOVE TO ROCK" leaves me choice but to inquire! I would lose my voice screaming into a mic! Well it's not just the screaming that makes it a very selective form of music; the words and music just add to the complete strangeness of it all! What do you like most about Conquer Club? Well, I have to say I love how, on the whole, people are so friendly on the site. You get your competitive players and some funny banter which just add to the enjoyment. I admit I do it, but it's so funny when you see all the comments complaining about the dice also. What are your goals here on the site? Well, I know everyone probably has said this, but I can always dream of being the Conquerer. But seriously, if I could get back to brigadier and hold it for a long period of time, that would be great. Thanks for taking time to talk to the community
Tournament Tips by DaveH show: Updating Team Games Results
In Issue #61 I showed you a simple way in Excel of updating a 1 vs 1 tournament game:Click image to enlarge. Columns B and C are the lists of competing players and column D the game number. The next column is blank until the game is finished, then the winning player's name is copied in. The code in column E is:Code: Select all ="[game]"&D3&"[/game] "&IF(E3="",B3&" vs "&C3,IF(E3=B3,B3&" vs [s]"&C3&"[/s]","[s]"&B3&"[/s] vs "&C3))
For those of you who want to understand the Excel functions, after the text to insert the game number there is a conditional statement; if the winner cell is blank, then put in the two players' names , else if the winner text is PlayerA, include the "s" tag for PlayerB, otherwise include the "s" tag for Player A. The "s" tag puts lines through the loser's name. When the text in column E is copied to your tournament thread in the appropriate place, you get the following:Game 1234567 Player4 vs Player2Game 1234566 Player5 vs Player1 Game 1234565 Player3 vs Player7 When you have teams playing then there are various options. You could simply refer to "Team 1" etc in which case the coding would be the same as for singles tournaments. You might always ask the teams themselves to provide a team name, which is more personable! Another alternative that works well in doubles games where you have fixed pairings is to name a team as "DaveH & Will Lee" for instance. Therefore, once again you can use the single player Excel codings. For trebles and quads it can get a bit lengthy, but, once copied, the coding will take care of names no matter how long! Alternatively, if you want to have the individual players names (as in a tournament where pairings change), then the coding is only a little different. For instance, let us look at a results format for a doubles single game elimination tournament.Click image to enlarge. Note that I have indicated the winning team simply by entering 1 or 2 rather than one or both player's names. The coding for the results column is:Code: Select all ="[game]"&F3&"[/game] "&IF(G3="",B3&", "&C3&" vs "&D3&", "&E3,IF(G3=1,B3&", "&C3&" vs [s]"&D3&", "&E3&"[/s]","[s]"&B3&", "&C3&"[/s] vs "&D3&", "&E3))
which appears in you thread as:Game 1234567 Player 1, Player 2 vs Player 3, Player 4Game 1234566 Player 5, Player 6 vs Player 7, Player 8 Game 1234565 Player 9, Player 10 vs Player 11, Player 12 Of course there are many, many different formats for tournaments: some may have the best of 3 or 5 games; others perhaps terminator games in which the elimination order is used in the results. We will look at these and others in future editions. (These "tips" are ones that I have tried to make it a bit easier in managing my own tournaments. I am sure there are different and better methods than these, so please let me know. Any queries on the above I'll be glad to respond to! Please note that I use Excel 2003, so there may be variation in the menu instructions if you have Excel 2007)
Things I've Learned Since I Began Running Tournaments by Fuzzy316 show
There are a number of people out there who have either been too afraid to run tournaments, or have tried a couple and gave up due to lack of participation or finding it too tough to complete or figure out. We here at the CC Dispatch try to provide tips and helpful tactics in the War Games section. I would like to share some insights in to some things I have learned since becoming a Tournament Organizer (TO). 1. When you first begin to conceive your tournament idea, make sure it is feasible to pull off. When you are just beginning, you do not want to try to make a tournament that is too big and difficult. With too many players needed to fill a tourney, it becomes very hard to actually get enough people signed up to play it. Start small and simple, until people know that you are a TO who runs tournaments well, and can be counted on to finish the job. Once you become accustomed to running tourneys on a regular basis, begin expanding your ideas and thoughts for what you want to do. 2. Expect the unexpected. You should always have reserves in mind for any tournament as you never know when you will need to replace a player, whether it is from someone dead-beating, or they suddenly are unable to complete a tourney. In some of these cases, you may be deep into the tourney where replacing someone may not seem fair, or it will simply be easier to remove them from the tourney and not replace them. Be sure that you are ready to make those necessary changes when the need arises. 3. Do not be disheartened by lack of participation. Regular tourney players may or may not decide to join your tournaments. When players do not join quickly or often, they may think that your tourney lacks originality or they may think it too difficult or that it may take too long to win. It is best to use the Official Conquer Club Tournament Handbook when first starting out, to ensure that you do not break rules. This can be found at the following URL:viewtopic.php?f=90&t=93398 4. Take a look at the tournaments run by other TO's and see if you can expand or come up with new ideas to make them better or perhaps give you a completely new idea. Remember though, if you happen to try to improve on a TO's original tourney design, it is always best to ask that TO if they do not mind you using their concept to come up with your own tourney. Some folks out there do not take things too lightly when someone literally steals their ideas without being given the due respect. You can also indicate in your tourney threads that you came up with that particular tournament idea based off of a specific TO, making sure to give them the credit. Well, that is all for now. Hope this helps to some of those players out there who are not sure about running tournaments. We can always use new blood with fresh ideas! Good Luck and happy gaming to you!
Frankly the talent that exists in our wonderful foundry is astounding. Countless hours are spent by mapmakers, mods and forum
Chatty Cathies alike. You get the spoils from their amazing efforts. For anyone who has tried to work out one end of a graphics programme from another will testify to the efforts that these magicians of the visual arts manifest. Week after exciting week! And
koontz1973 is also here week after week to bring you the
News and
What's where !! Cracking effort
Meanwhile I've bunged in an article about
Instructions and I'd be delighted to hear your thoughts. Click
here to join the thread . And a final word from
Simon Sinek :
Directions are instructions given to explain how. Direction is a vision offered to explain why.
thehippo8 -- Foundry Executive Foundry News koontz1973 show
Quenched Maps. This should of gone into last issue but forgot to add it. Congrats to cairnswk for Trafalgar.Click image to enlarge. This map still has a bounty of 3 months premium to win. Who ever wins the 1805th game on this map gets the premium. 1281 games have now finished on it so only another 600 odd. Beta Maps. Natty Dread gives us two versions of his Eurasia map to play this week. Good luck everyone. Click image to enlarge. Thats all for this week but check out the Final Forge for all of the new maps we will get to play over the coming weeks. Happy gaming everyone, whatever map takes your fancy.
What's Where? koontz1973 show
Drafting Room koontz1973 brings West Wing out of the bin. sempaispellcheck brings the city of love to us. Gillipig has Nigeria.Main Foundry Game play section Magyarország by koontz1973 Clash of Kings by DiM is looking for game play nuances to be ironed out in what looks like to be the first true 1v1 map for the site. Struggle for Oil: Central Asia 2020 by pamoa. American Heartland by The Bison King Conquership by lostalimbo. Marooned by ManBungalow Classic Cities Sydney by cairnswk.Graphics section The foundries own RedBaron0 is fighting away to get Philadelphia done. We could al do with some more unique maps like this.Final Forge This section is getting a little busy with a lot of maps ready for play. With the 13 maps in beta play we have 11 maps waiting to get going.With xml stamps. 1982 by koontz1973 .Waiting for the xml. Jakater by koontz1973 Knights and Warlocks by DiM . Trench Warfair by Flapcake Copenhagen, also by Flapcake. Pirates and Merchants by DiM. Slovakia, also by DiM. Dark Continent by The Bison King North America revamp by natty dread. New Jersey by chaos32679 Lots of good looking maps to look forward to over the coming months. Happy gaming everyone, whatever map takes your fancy.
Instructions by thehippo8 show
Allied to any good game is a clear, concise and sensible explanation of instructions. Done well and you can immediately grasp a map from the outset. Some maps are, let’s face it, exceedingly obvious anyway and the key or descriptor is really there to set out the region bonuses. Indeed, a number of maps in existence (and development) have a mini-map as a key: ie, Kingdom of Denmark , Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and World 2.1 . But some maps are are bit more complex and the descriptions need more analysis. It’s been said that for some mapmakers have done really well and even though their maps may be hard to play, their descriptions are clear. Other maps not so. Here’s what I’m talking about (EDIT: This article is replete with personal opinion and your views are welcome :Clear descriptions My first example here is Das Schloss :Click image to enlarge. Although game-play is itself a head-spin, the game will never end until the objective is reached, the game is nevertheless well and clearly explained. Instantly you realise this is an objective game. You note that there are regions to get (even if they have a habit of hiding themselves from newbs!). You can see the regions and the bonuses. All good and clear. My second example is Cricket – Silly Mid On : Click image to enlarge. The complexity here is somewhat higher than Das Scloss , with the game-play spinning round and round more than a cricket-ball from a skilled bowler. But it doesn’t take long to grasp the concepts, particularly if you have a modicum of interest in the royal game. My third example is Supermax – Prison Riot : Click image to enlarge. You don’t have to be an inmate to work out what’s important and what’s not. Greed can set one on their ear, but both strategy and game-play have a meaningful explanation which is easy to work out.Confusing descriptions Now call me stupid (and let’s face it many of you have!), but there are some descriptions that no matter how I look at them they just don’t seem to help me understand the map. This may be a personal conceptual difficulty on my part, but I can’t help feeling when I play these maps that there is a joke there somewhere and I have missed half the joke. My first example here is Arms Race : Click image to enlarge. I have to admire the maker of this map because they did an excellent job. It is a map that makes sense and is very clear. But the first few times I played it the description just didn’t help me. I even went on the help chat mid game once to ask how I was supposed to get to the base of the missile. I read and re-read the description but something just didn’t jell in me. I see it clear as a bell now but can’t help wondering if a bit more thought could have gone into the explanation of the map. My second example is Poison Rome :Click image to enlarge. Either I don’t have the patience or I’m just overwhelmed by this map, but to this day I’ve never got my head around it. I can read and re-read the explanation but what does it mean? My final example is Monsters :Click image to enlarge. I can read the description and see that it does explain the map. But something gets lost in translation when I play this. Somehow I find myself deploying in the wrong place and then re-reading the instructions mid-game only to realise I’d misread them. Oh the agony. Maps progressing through the foundry that could do with some effort Okay, so this is even more subjective – but I’m sure that there are some points here that the current map makers can think about a little more. My first example is Struggle for Oil: Central Asia 2020 :Click image to enlarge. Okay, this is not a beat-up given this map is still a fair way from completion. To a degree the description is a work in progress as much as the map is. But the ideas conveyed are clever (both in the map and in the game-play) but could the descriptions be a little clearer? My second example is Death Race Mojave :Click image to enlarge. It cuts me to the quick to mention this map in this context, but I do so anyway. My suspicion as to why this otherwise sexy map is poo-pooed is because the instructions are confusing and a little weird. It’s having a holiday at the moment but I reckon a little more thought on those issues might make this the baby to be hugged rather than the ugly duckling being shunned. The instructions don’t click . My final example I include for dubious reasons, but here it is – Pirates and Merchants:Click image to enlarge. Frankly, I love it. The map is obtusely complex, the game-play defies any sense of normalcy and the instructions have little stories included in them that would send the most hardened youngster to slumber-land (in a good way). But too much? Hmmm? I dunno, I like it but I don’t. Maybe with a little more work and perhaps use of symbology it’d be clearer. But maybe it’s better it’s not. Ah, I’m so conflicted! But that takes me back to my initial comment, maybe I’m just a little bit stupid Instructions are, in my view, part of the whole essence of the game. They set a scene, they should add and not detract from comprehension. Most of all, they should do what’s on the tin and instruct !!! So folks, let me hear your thoughts ... or better still – get ye into thy foundry and show them the error of their ways!
Greetings
Clan destine folks!
This issue we have an update on the latest scores direct from the stands off CL4 Matches, as well as the unveiling of the 32-clan strong ICL! 33 clans signed up for the competition, but unfortunately Bofm missed out due to late registration!
Gunn217 also returns to our fold with the latest F400 Ranking, so check out the barometer on clan performance and see where your clan fits in!
Our Section is also interested in resurrecting the Clan Spotlight feature, so if you're already an active Participant in the
Active Challenges Sub-Forum, how about taking the opportunity to get a medal for reporting on the different Clan Wars in Progress?
Even if you're The War Organizer or a fond patriot of your clan and are already spending the time keeping track of your personal War Progress, spend a few minutes to write a few words and share the exciting events with the rest of the Clan World with your own column in the Dispatch
Leehar Clan Executive Clan League 4 by WPBRJ (DYN) show
Division Director - tokle Results Week 3 = Divisional Knock-Out Tournaments - First Round: 22 April Round 3: 29 April Results Week 3 = Divisional Knock-Out Tournaments - First Round: 22 April Round 3: 29 April Results Week 3 = Divisional Knock-Out Tournaments - First Round: 22 April Round 3: 29 April Round 4 - 6 May Results Week 3 = Divisional Knock-Out Tournaments - First Round: 22 April Round 3: 29 April Results Week 3 = Divisional Knock-Out Tournaments - First Round: 22 April Round 3: 29 April
International Clan League by MNDuke (FOED) show
And now the moment we've all been waiting for, announcments for the inaugural ICL Conferences and Divisions make up! First let me announce that as we have 32 clans signed up - we will have 2 Conferences and eight divisions! (4 teams each division) The Premier Conference will see the addition of the Immortals Division ; and the Elite Conference will expand with the Explorers Division ! Next: The process - each clan had its ranking from F400 taken into consideration. Some clans didn't have a ranking - and therefore estimates were used. There was minor edits just to balance / eliminate ties on my part but largely remained intact. I then worked my way from the bottom up: filling the bottom out to each division and working my way to the top 9-16. Then I assigned clans #1-8 a random number, and had a non-CC player randomly assign top division clans (to remove possibilty of bias). I then calculated avg expected "weight" of each conference and division and then totaled each conf and division as they were. Then to create minor balance adjustments to overall weights I moved 4 of the lower clans around, which created a reasonably even weight within each conference and division. Overall I believe the process was fair, unbiased and turned out splendidly. I think and hope it remains competitive not only this year, but builds rivalries for wars to come. Without further ado, I present the Inaugural International Clan League of 2012! Overall here are the point breakdowns: Avg Conf Expected: 345 Points Avg Div Expected: 86.25 Points Premier Conference: 347 Hero 86; Champion 88; Pioneers 87; Immortals 86 Elite Conference: 343 Legends 81; Kings 86; Explorers 87; Titans 89Premier Conference : Hero: DYN / WAR / TNC / RA Champion: AFOS / MYTH / MM / RET Pioneers: EMP / LOW / IGNI / LOTZ Immortals: FOED / LEG / KOA / MB Top F400 ranked clans (9.0 avg.).Elite Conference : Legends: TOFU / MD / AKA / TDB Kings: PIG / TFFS / OSA / RH Explorers: ID / LHDD / HH / Ultim8's Titans: AOC / GR / 1RFG / SOH Top F400 ranked clans (7.5 avg.)
F400 Ranking by Gunn217 (PR) show
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