S14_Format_2_Ladder_Rules

Ladder Season Specifics

(a) We did a elo based seeding list with each team in the beginning of the ladder season with only 1 division (that is sorted with points from (1 point for last place +1 point on each rank till 1st rank) on the ensl page).

(b) The group season will end 16 december 2018

(c) There will be 5 matches each Match has 1 Week from monday to monday to be played each team picks 1 map in the comments on each match.

(Lower seeded team picks first server and side)

(d) On each match its: rank1 plays rank2, rank3 vs rank4, etc.

(e) In case of bothteams not finding a match-time to agree the team with more match suggestions wins if no/similar effort has been done lower ranked team wins.

(f) Each player can only play twice (2 times) in 1 Weeks (in 1 phase) including matches+mercing/substituting.

(g) New teams can join every monday (till 1 week before it ends 3 December 2018) at the bottom Rank with 1 Point less bottom scored team that played last week.

(h) If its a uneven Team-count the last Team thats not playing will get their score adjusted to have exactly 1 more point then the team with the lowest points that has been playing till monday. (like this the Team that sits plays for sure in the next week)

(i) You get 4 Points for playing even if you don't win a single round more then if you would forfeit (then you get 0).

1. Mission Statement

The vision of the Natural Selection League (NSL) is to gather Natural Selection 2 players for international organized play. At its very core, we would simply like games to be played, in the hopes that this fosters tangible and meaningful relationships among its participants. We realize that its participants span the range of commitment, skill, and time zones and will do everything possible to cater to everyone’s needs and create the most enjoyable experience.

 

2. Basic Rules

(a) Not knowing the Rules is no excuse for breaking them.

(b) If necessary we change rules during a Contest, but we try to avoid that as much as possible big changes will be announced in Discord Announcement Channel / News-posts / Rules-page comment section.

(c) If somebody manipulates or exploits Rules the NSL Staff (Referees,Mods,Admins) reserves the right to make a interpretation of the rule and final decision on it unless appealed to a higher hierarchy.

(d) Complaints regarding a Match need to be brought up as soon as possible so they can be solved as fast as possible to not delay the following up matches.

3. Code of Conduct

(a) All participants need to uphold fairness and sportsmanship, no racism, profanity, rude or vulgar acts, abusive remarks or disrespect on all public visible ensl platforms (Matches, Forums, Twitter, Discord etc) not doing so might lead to a punishments (like disqualification, forfeits, bans etc)

 

4. Teams / Contests

(a) Teams must contain a Roaster of at least 4 Players on their Team List (defined in 5 Players) through the a whole Contest.

(b) There are Contest Rules applying on top of these basic Rules click: “Contests>>click the Contest name>>on the right side of the Screen Rules: Contest-namerules.

(c) A Player can only be a Member on (1) active team per Contest at the same time.

(d) Rosters will be locked and changes are no longer permitted one (1) week before the Group Phase play ends. (If a Player is still on multiple Teams the highest Ranked Team he’s in counts.)

(e) Players that switch/join Teams will count as merc for 7 Days on that joined Team

5. Players (including mercs)

(a) Each Player/Merc must be a registered User with a valid SteamID on the NSL website www.ensl.org

(b) Players who are having trouble accessing their NSL account should contact an admin for assistance before creating a new account.

 

6. Substitutions / Mercs for Contests

The intention of substitute players is to allow teams, that cannot field 6 players, the ability to play a match. It is NOT to be used to bolster the skill of a team’s roster.

(a) Teams may substitute up to two (2) players (that are accepted from the enemy with “mercsok” proven by screenshots, videos necessary in case of conflict) that are not on their roster.

(b) The player(s) must be of equivalent or lower skill than the rest of the team. A quick parameter to determine a substitute’s skill may be the division they played in, their ELO Score, etc. They can also not effectively play in two teams like this.

(c) In the case of a complaint (with no referee present) from the enemy team, the team in need of the substitute/merc must show with Screenshot/Video that they were given approval with the “mercsok” command by the enemy team and the Player. Or appeal to the Referee or a higher Admin hierarchy to determine the Players suitability.

(d) Substitutes can not be denied constantly in an attempt to force a forfeit.

 

 

7. Maps / Match format

(a) The maps in the current Contest’s can be found on the Button: “Contests>>click the Contest-name>>blue button “Maps”

Link in the Browser address-bar should look like:

ensl.org/contests/Contestnumber#maps

(b) Spawns restrictions are set for the following maps:

(i) ns2_tram (Alien North spawn, both rounds)

(ii) ns2_summit (Randomize BUT NO Alien North)

(iii) ns2_descent (Randomize between south and north spawn)

(iv) All other maps have no restrictions. (no close spawns)

 

(b) Match format

The Match format can be found on the Button “Contests>>click the Contest name>>blue button “Matches”>>Select the match in question OR click on the Rules on the right side of the Screen.

 

8. Contest Match Procedures

    (a) Scheduling a Match

There is a Default Match Time on each matchpage but this can be rescheduled to another date if both teams agree.

(i) Because of the nature of international play, teams need to be sensitive to their opponents time zones and reach a compromise for the best play time. Match time suggestions in the preset timeframe to play that match:

                  Saturdays or Sundays

EU vs NA (6 to 9 hours difference) - 11AM PDT / 2PM EDT / 2000 CET

EU vs AUS/Pacific Region (~10 hours difference) - 1400 CET / 9PM AEST

NA vs AUS/Pacific Region (13 to 16 hours difference) - 5PM PST / 8PM EST / 12PM AEST

(ii) Once a time is agreed upon, both teams need to confirm that time by leaving a comment on the match page, or confirm the proposal from the Match page. Admins will refer to the match page comments and proposals if a scheduling conflict arises.

(b) Rescheduling a Match

(i) If a team is unable to field enough players for a confirmed match time within (1) hour before the match, they must notify their opponent on the matchpage and ask to reschedule.

(ii) If the Team with 6 don't want to Reschedule or they did not ask for reschedule within (1) hour before the match and an agreement to reschedule cannot be reached the Team that had (enough / 6) ready to play receives a forfeit win. (In case no Referee is present to this screenshots, vods should be forwarded to the Matchpage or League admin or Admin hierarchy above him.)

(c) Forfeits

(i) If a match is not played, the match comments and the date+time match proposals on the NSL website will be used to determine a team’s attempt at scheduling the match.

(ii) by Default on similar Scheduling effort the Lower Ranked/ on same
Points the Lower Seeded Team wins.

Otherwise A “all points : no points” score forfeit will be given against a team in the following cases: when there is

1) much more effort from one team then the other to schedule on the matchpage/proposals.

2) many more missed answers on the matchpage or on date+time proposals then the other Team without answering to still-open proposals.

3) If a Team fails to have 6 Players with approved mercs ready to play 15 minutes after the agreed time.

4) on no scheduling effort whatsoever the score will be 0:0

(d) Spectators/Referees/Casters on Matches/Contests

(i) The only spectators/ready-room Players that will be allowed to stay during a match are those authorized by the NSL Admins and by default Referees and Casters.

(ii) Teams reserve the right to deny a referee or caster if the team believes the official may be biased, provide proof and arguments why you think that's the case and forward it to a the League admin or the hierarchy above the League admin that are not involved as Players in the Match.

(iii) Anyone streaming the match must do so with at least three (3) minute delay. (in their owns team interest)

(e) Server choice / configuration on Matches

(i) Teams can either agree to use 1 Server with the fairest possible ping for both teams (nobody should have a super-low or super high-ping especially not 2 maps in a row) or Just use 2 Servers and give either Team 1 Map with low ping on their chosen map.

Please apply common sense and sportsmanship when deciding servers. Suggested locations:

            EU vs NA - London & Central/East US Servers

            EU vs AUS/Pacific Region - Las Vegas/West US Servers

            NA vs AUS/Pacific Region - West US & EU Servers

 

(ii) Community and private servers are acceptable, as long as they adhere to the server guidelines otherwise they can be denied. (Check out our NSL Server Setup tutorial): http://www.ensl.org/articles/1071

(iii) In case of a Server being used (has a game going) go play on the Second Server with the Second Map first, if that server is used as well chose a new first server for the first map.

(f) Starting a Match - Live/Not Live on Matches

(i) If, within the first (30) second of a round a Team may use  “ready” and the round will restart, but is only allowed per team to use “ready” (3) times after that they will forfeit the round.

(ii) If the round gets restarted. Use the same spawns before you typed ready.

(iii) In case of complain provide Video/Screenshot and you may receive a Round win.

(g) Pause Function on Matches

(iii) The NSL mod has a pause function that will pause the state of the entire game, which includes stopping all movement and timers. A pause can be initiated by typing “pause” in chat.

(iv) Each team is allotted two (2)  pauses to use during a match.

(v) An individual pause will last a maximum of five (5) minutes.

(vi) if a player can't play, their team may substitute that player with a member from their roster or another substitute, as long as it does not violate the substitution rule.

(h) Reporting Match Results

(i) The round is officially complete when the winning or losing banner appears on your screen (the team with the winning banner receives +1 point)

(ii) At the conclusion of a match, if a referee is not present, both teams must leave a comment on the match page detailing the results and played maps. (Screenshots/Videos etc).

(iii) If a referee or League admin or Match page does not have the result within 72 hours, the match will result in the default score (see Contest Rules)

 

9. Cheating / Exploits / Game modifications

(a) A manipulation of client configuration, Server configuration that do not match the ENSL Server setup guidelines, Or are blocked trough Server consistency checking and not part of NS+ are not allowed.

(b) If there is suspected cheating within the league in contests and gathers, you are required to notify an admin. Taking matters into your own hands will just warn the Cheater and he cant get caught by the Admins.

(c) Any team found with a cheating player during a contest will have any matches the player in question participated forfeited and the player in question will be immediately disqualified and removed from the all contests.

(Matches in question could be replayed if the enemy teams (without the cheater want that)

10. Disputes

(a) Teams may dispute a match result after the conclusion of the match by contacting an admin before reporting match results. The dispute should as fully as possible explain the facts of the situation, and the reasoning behind the dispute.

(b) You may dispute regarding the conduct of other players, teams, casters, or admins as well as any suspicious play.

(c) All disputes should include supporting evidence that may include screenshots, videos, chat logs, server logs, demos, emails, or any other information relevant to the dispute.

 

11. Addinal Infos

The current Admin hierarchy can be found here:

http://ensl.org/articles/1053