STA Quake IV League - Rules
STA-Q4 Rules
XIII. Match Times & Rescheduling
STA-Q4 was created for clans compete for fun and glory in the game of *Quake 4 Max. Please keep in mind that STA administrators sacrifice large amounts of their free time to maintain this league. They do so with zero monetary compensation, and completely for your own enjoyment. This is the framework for all rulings made in the league. The rules are also written under the assumption that they will be used in good faith by all parties involved. which sometimes is not the case. To this end, even if the rules for your particular league do not state it, administrators always have the final say on whether or not to apply a particular rule, or how it should be applied. They also may make rulings contrary to the written rules if the ruling serves the purpose of fairness and maintains the integrity of the league. This is not to say that administrators will go around randomly ruling on things depending on their mood for the day - admin abuse is taken seriously by senior administration and we never tolerate it. This does, however, give the admins some leverage so that their hands are not tied by a rule that did not take a certain circumstance into account when written.
All settings and rules are applicable to both the STA-Q4 CTF and iCTF divisions.
All STA leagues operate under the same basic tenets of order, logic, equality and fairness. Clans and their members are reserved the following rights:
1. Active league administrators who respect proper chain-of-command.
___For clan leaders:___
League administrators are required to make themselves accessible to clan leaders in a timely fashion so as to address all concerns, disputes, and queries seriously.
___For clan members:___
If any member of a clan within STA-Q4 requires contact regarding personal issues, they may approach an administrator directly. All other operations, including official clan business, should be channeled appropriately through the team's listed contact. Administrators reserve the right to deny communication with clan members if its capacity is related to official clan operations.
2. Clans will not be penalized on unsubstantiated grounds.
To protect players from unsubstantiated accusations of misconduct, STA administrators will discard claims and accusations lacking in sufficient evidence. See *Section X for more information.
3. Clans and their members have the right to a fair and just decision.
Under any circumstances that require a ruling by an STA-Q4 official, clans and their members have the right to a fair and just decision. At a minimum, clans are entitled to rulings whereby the active administrator is not directly affiliated (e.g. clanmate) with any gamers held subject under his or her decision.
League members have certain responsibilities that must be fulfilled for the STA league to remain functional. Those responsibilities include:
1. It is expected that all clan members are fully familiar with the rules. Much as in real life, ignorance is not an excuse.
2. Clan leaders must be easily accessible. E-mail must be working and checked regularly. Contact must also be possible through IRC.
3. Clan members are expected to keep current with all changes posted on the website. This includes: schedule updates, rule changes, and the latest news. It is recommended that The STA website be checked right before a night's match is scheduled to start.
4. All clan members are held responsible for the actions of their clanmates. The poor decisions of one member may place the entire team at risk, so members are encouraged to educate their teammates on proper conduct and official STA rules.
5. Clans and their members are required to respect the rulings of an STA administrator. All rulings are final. Attempts to denigrate an administrator may result in a suspension of your clan.
6. Lying to admins is not tolerated. Intentionally misrepresenting your situation may be construed as a flagrant disregard for the rules, and action will be taken in kind. Rule violators are normally given a chance to fess up, but if hard proof of a violation is at hand and the culprit lies to the administrator to try and escape the situation, harsher penalties will be given.
In order for a clan to participate in the STA-Q3UT league, the clan must supply:
- Clan name
- Clan tag
- Up to date roster with GUIDs
- IRC channel
- Clan Coordinator e-mail address
These requirements are non-negotiable. If your application contains inaccurate information or is missing key details, it will be rejected.
Clans outside of North America are not allowed to compete in STA-Q4. Clans also are not permitted to have any players from outside of North America on their roster. That said, every player is held accountable under the default rules for ping flux and ping limitations outlined in *Section XX.
All game servers must be located within the United States or southern Canada.
All teams are required to maintain an updated listing of their roster during the season. This information must be located in the clan's profile page found on our website, and on this page all players’ GUIDs must also be listed. The rules below for player eligibility for rosters are also applied to GUIDs. Even if a player has been on the roster long enough, if that player’s GUID has not been submitted before the day of the match, that player will be ineligible to play in that match.
A player may only be on one team in the league, and two players may not share the same GUID, regardless if they are or are not on the same team.
___Roster Locks:___
- Roster additions cannot be made on match days (TBD).
On the day of Week 6 matches at 12:00 a.m. EST, clan rosters will be permanently locked. After this date, any gamer not listed with their proper team with the correct GUID must wait until the next season to play.
During matches, players must use their names as displayed on their team’s roster. If the offending team has a player that doesn’t use the correct alias and refuses to change their name at the request of the opposing clan’s leader, then the match will result in a forfeit for the team with the offending player. If, however, the match commences with the offending player using an incorrect alias, the option for dispute on those grounds will be null.
Persons who do not display proper sportsmanship towards others will be considered for suspension, and possibly expulsion. Activities that warrant such consideration include excessive defilement of other clans or incredibly virulent behavior in general in STA mediums or relating to the STA league.
Enforcement of this rule may apply to any communication medium involving members of STA-Q4. Please remember that an entire clan can be held responsible for the actions of a single member, and so teammates should take all necessary action to keep each other in-line with expectations.
Any concerns regarding this topic inside of matches should be filed as disputes, following the method described in the *Section X. Remember that proof of misconduct will be necessary.
___In-game Chat (mm1):___
In-game chat (mm1) is allowed for all players as long as both teams agree to use mm1. If a captain of a team should at any time (before or during a round) decide to ask for "mm2 only", that request must be immediately granted by both teams. When this request is made, mm1 will only be allowed for team captains while the round is under way. Mm1 is permitted to all players before rounds, during warmups and after rounds. Minor infractions of the mm1 rule will not neccessarily constitute a forfeit, but if the administrators see it as being excessive in quantity or content, and see it happening week after week, a team may be penalized. All communication is to be conducted in a sportsmanlike manner and showing obvious self-constraint.
Note: STA-Q4 is not in the business of censorship. The above rules are, except in the most extreme circumstances, restricted purely to official league business. This encompasses pre-match, match, immediate post-match communication, the STA forums, and other official STA channels of communication. Most other activities will fall outside the jurisdiction of STA-Q4, except in those cases which administrators warrant as being a flagrant derision of its members.
The league does not tolerate ringers/smurfers. A ringer is loosely defined as any person playing on a team for whom they are not eligible to compete with. The most common violation of this rule takes place when a gamer competes for a team whereby they are not listed on that team's official roster or a player is playing under a name on that team’s roster but not with a GUID that is on that team’s roster.
If a team plays a match with a player not on their roster, regardless if both teams agreed that said player could participate, the offending team will face punishment.
Rosters are not automatically accepted by both teams when the match starts, unlike server settings and aliases. It can be disputed after the match.
Persons found to be violating this rule may face severe punishment for themselves and the clan they played for, regardless of who was aware of what circumstances and when. Thus, STA-Q4 firmly recommends that clan leaders investigate all incoming members with intense scrutiny. Due to the fact that all offenses are different, the punishment for using a ringer may be different for each scenario. Common punishments involve the suspension of the ringer and the team captain, and a forfeit loss for the team.
Internet gaming is plagued by a population of irresponsible individuals who do not see the harm in introducing cheats, hacks, and spam into the community. It is expected that no clan in STA-Q4 cheat. Violations include, but are not limited to:
1. Aim Proxy (OGC).
2. Texture/Model/Map/Physics hacks.
3. Any type of unauthorized pak or file editing
4. Any mechanism by which information that is not normally available to the player is obtained. (e.g. VoIP and GTV eavesdropping)
5. Nuking, channel takeovers, spamming, crashing a match server, or any other methods of Denial of Service.
6. Any type of driver hacks (e.g. See through walls, ATi Smartshader effects, nVidia NULL functions) that causes the game to render improperly.
7. Any type of program (such as 3DAnalyze) running that causes the game to render improperly.
8. Any type of unauthorized utilization of in-game bugs or map exploits.
9. Automated HUD item timing scripts, programs and proxies. These include VSE Timer and Deathmon.
10. Any type of lag hacks including running P2P programs to artificially cause lag.
11. Exploit scripts* (ie: shooting, jumping, or centerview scripts that give a player an advantage).
12. Touch screen monitors or any other touch screen viewing devices.
*The sta.cfg monitors players' binds for certain hack (+aim, +shoot) and non hack (wait) values. It is not possible for Punkbuster to kick for these commands, so server administrators are encouraged to monitor their server logs after all matches. The sta.cfg also checks for the "wait" command, which is not illegal in itself, but many exploit scripts contain the command. STA administrators are to be alterted if exploit scripts or hack binds are found. - DO WE NEED THIS? WILL OR CAN WE HAVE THIS?
WE HAVE AN STA-WIDE CHEATING POLICY - IT WILL BE PUT HERE SOON.
If a player is caught cheating in an official match for another Quake 4 league or ladder, then that player will be permanently banned from the STA Urban Terror league. This is not dependent on the administrators of the other leagues, and their ruling makes no difference in STA's ruling. The STA administrators must be able to make the decision themselves regarding whether or not the player was cheating, just as they would while deciding whether someone was cheating in an STA match.
If an active player is caught cheating in STA, another league, or on a public server, then demos may be reviewed from past STA matches to determine if that player was cheating in them. The team captains from those past matches must file a dispute to the administrators and provide all the neccessary information required in a standard dispute. If sufficient information is found, then the disputing team will receive a forfeit win for that past match while the offending team will receive a forfeit loss. Regular season match outcomes can not be changed once the first week of the playoffs's matches have been played. If this happens during the playoffs and forfeits are awarded for past playoff matches, then the matches affected by the outcomes of that match may be replayed. If a match is not affected or the same match-ups occur after the directly affected matches are replayed, then those identical matchups will not be replayed.
If something in your system setup generates false-positives with respect to screenshots or file scanning, contact an administration well before you play a match so the situation can be documented ahead of time.
If you suspect another clan of cheating or someone on your own clan of cheating, immediately contact an administrator for assistance in resolving the conflict. This process is further outlined in *Section X.
___Kick Policy:___
STA-Q4 has a zero tolerance policy regarding hack violations relating to bindsrc, md5tool, cvar, and other general hack kicks. Every player is required to keep their system clean of hacks, other cheating files, or other cheating scripts, so be sure these things and your configuration file are completely clean. Do not accept files or configuration files from other players, and if you do, be sure to analyze them fully because you will be at greater risk to be kicked for violations. The following excuses will no longer be tolerated:
- The player was using someone else's configuration file that had hack cvars in it.
- The cvar or file was left over from an old hack.
- The hack was still running from another game/mod when the player switched into Urban Terror.
- Someone else (such as a relative or friend) was using the hack.
- It was a virus/spyware/adware that put the file/cvar there or caused the kick in some way.
- Someone hacked into the player's computer and put the file/cvar there or caused the kick in some way.
First and foremost, clans are encouraged to find mutually acceptable solutions without assistance from STA-Q4 administrators. If this proves impossible, then the next step is to file a dispute.
All disputes must be filed no later than 6 hours from the beginning of the match in question. If more time is needed to gather demos and other evidence, than an extension of these 6 hours may be approved by the administrators during these first 6 hours. If no approval is given in this time, then assume the standard 6 hours. Do not submit your team scores if you intend to dispute, as a submission of scores is an acknowledgement that you accept the circumstances of the given match and its outcome.
Ideally, disputes can be resolved in real-time with the help of an onsite admin. Any team that needs to locate an admin should join our #sta-q4 IRC channel on either "EnterTheGame" or "GameSurge".
In the event of a dispute, a clan must submit a subpoena for review to the league. This subpoena acts as a precise representation of a clan's claim against the actions of their opponent. The contents of this dispute must be extremely detailed. In particular cases where cheating may be involved, administrators will require timestamps for exact instances in which a transgression may have taken place. There are no exceptions to this standard, and the league will not indulge half-measures in this regard. A clan has only two options; either file a comprehensive dispute, or don't.
:: The subpoena must include ::
1. The rule violated by opposing clan, as quoted from this document.
2. An exact description of how and when the rule was violated.
3. Specific proof of the transgression in the form of: server logs, chat logs, e-mails, demos, screenshots, or condumps.
Note: Disputes such as “They cheated” with no other information will not be taken seriously. The subpoena rules above must be followed specifically, otherwise the dispute will be thrown out. If a team is found to be taking advantage of the dispute process by filing many unwarranted disputes, action may be taken against that team.
:: Disputes may end in one of the following manners ::
1. Discard; no action taken.
2. Replay; match must be restarted.
3. Positive; team who filed receives 3 points, other team 1 point.
4. Negative; claim reviewed but no action taken.
5. Forfeit; egregiously bad behavior from one or both parties prompts that the team(s) are/is awarded a forfeit, 0 points awarded.
It should be noted that in extreme circumstances, a dispute might end in the additional suspension of any guilty clan(s).
STA-Q4 operates on a seasonal format. Scheduling for the regular season adheres to our specially created system, outlined in *Section XII. This format applies to both the Frags and Flags divisions.
___Seasonal Layout:___
- 8 weeks of regular season play.
- 2 weeks of playoff matches.
- Championship match.
___Seeding Criteria:___
- Total Points
- Head-to-Head victories. (2-way ties only)
- Highest Round Differential
- Head-to-Head victories. (2-way ties after the first 3 criteria only)
- Most amount of cumulative "maps won".
- Head-to-Head victories. (2-way ties after the first 5 criteria only)
If teams are still tied after these 5 criteria, the playoffs will be delayed a week and these two teams will face off at the date and time that the playoffs were supposed to begin on a map that will be determined by the administrators.
*Please note that the rankings page incorrectly accounts for Head-to-Head and the amount of cumulative “maps won”, and that Head-to-Head only plays a role when comparing 2-way ties.
___Playoff Seedings:___
The top 8 seeds after the completion of the regular season will move on to the playoffs. The playoffs use a standard bracket system.
Quarter-Final round: 1v8, 2v7, 3v6, 4v5.
Semi-Final round: Winner of 1v8 vs. winner of 4v5. Winner of 2v7 vs. winner of 3v6.
Final round: The remaining two teams play each other for the championship.
The team with the higher seed at the start of the playoffs will become the home team for each match in the playoffs. For example, if seed 8 beats seed 1, seed 8 would still be the away team when they play either seed 4 or seed 5 in the second round.
STA-Q4 has adopted a semi-swiss method for scheduling matches. This specially designed system allows for artificial tiers with lots of exciting matches, while still keeping the league inherently porous.
___How It Works___
For a detailed explanation on how the rankings work with the semi-Swiss style scheduling, please read this forum thread
Win = 3 points.
Loss = 1 point.
Forfeit = 0 points.
Bye = 3 points.
1. Teams play each other only once, except perhaps seeds 5-12 on week 8 (explained later).
2. Teams are placed into "groups" depending on the amount of points they have (ie: all teams with 6 points are grouped together).
3. Teams receive a separate seeding for that particular "group" based on their accumulated differential. Higher differential equates to a higher seed.
4. If the total amount of teams is odd, the lowest seed in the lowest group automatically receives a bye, under the assumption that the team hasn't already received a forfeit win or a bye.
5. Starting with the highest group, the top seed plays against the lowest seed in that group. If those teams have already played against each other once before, then the top seed plays the next lowest seed possible in that group. This format continues until all teams within that group are scheduled. The higher seed in the matchups becomes the home team.
6. Once all possible match-ups have been made within a group, any team(s) still remaining automatically become the highest seed(s) in the next lowest point group.
7. Any team that registers for the league after the season has began is not eligible to receive a bye.
8. In week 10, Seeds #5-12 form their own grouping, and are paired regardless of potential repeat matches. The rest of the division follows the normal swiss rules. The rest of the teams play each other according to rules 1-7 as if seeds 5-12 were not there.
___Byes and Forfeits___
If a team receives a forfeit win, that team gets 3 points for the win. In that week, the winning differentials for all matches (that were not byes or forfeits) will be averaged together. The team that received the forfeit win will receive the average winning differential. The team that receives the forfeit loss recieves 0 points, and also gets the negative value of the week's winning differential average added to their total differential.
Any team that receives a bye will get the 3 points for a win and 0 differential.
In the event of a match being partially played that resulted in a forfeit or one team being disqualified before or during the match, then the winning team will recieve the differential acumulated during that match so far, plus half of the average winning differential for that week. The losing team's differential will be the negative value of the winning team's overall differential.
Once the schedule for a week is made, no more bye wins can be awarded for that week. If a team drops out of the league, that team's opponent will receive a forfeit win.
XIII. Match Times & Rescheduling
___Default Match Times:___ *Eastern Standard Time
Tuesday, 10:00pm (TDM)
Sunday, 9:00pm (iCTF)
___Late Matches___
All matches must be started by 11:30pm EST (unless both teams agree to play later). Any remaining rounds that have yet to be played must be rescheduled to start within 100 hours after the original scheduled start time of the match. The admins must be informed of the new start date of the remaining rounds, by both teams, within 6 hours of the match’s original scheduled start time. If the two teams can’t decide on a date and time within those 6 hours, then the remaining rounds will start 72 hours after the originally scheduled start time. In the event of a holiday, the administrators may make a ruling on the start time if one has not already agreed upon.
___Initial contact:___
Clans are expected to make contact with each other at least 24
hours prior to game time. During initial contact, server and match time
information should be exchanged.
___Rescheduling:___
Upon the consent of both clans, a match may be rescheduled to a date other than the default day/time. However, all games should ideally be played before the default day has passed. Once a clan accepts a reschedule, any failure to abide by the new mutual agreement is grounds for an automatic forfeit.
Administrators must be notified of a rescheduling 24 hours before the scheduled start of s match, by both teams. This is so the administrators can confirm that both teams have agreed to a reschedule. If that is not the case, then the administrators will assume the match will start at the standard time and one or both teams may receive a forfeit loss.
The latest a match can be scheduled to start is 100 hours after the start of the original match. All maps must be played at that time, regardless of the Late Matches rule stated above.
Clans are responsible for having multiple means of contacting teammates, STA administrators, and also other clans. Server downtime for communication mediums such as IRC networks, e-mail, or Instant Messaging must be manageable by clans and their players.
All players are required to record and save complete demos from every match. They must save these demos for the entirety of the season, whereby administrators reserve the right to obtain demos from a player of any match, at any time, and for any reason. Failure to record demos will result in a penalty for the offender's clan. The minimum punishment will be a forfeit loss, with the possibility of additional discipline.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR RECORDING DEMOS WILL BE PUT HERE.
The appropriate STA server config file should be executed prior to each game to ensure appropriate settings. To do this, simply input either of the following commands:
callvote exec "sta.cfg"
rcon password exec "sta.cfg"
___Minimum Players:___
Matches are played with a 5v5 THIS MAY BE AMENDED FOR EXTREMELY SMALL MAPS. MORE ON THAT LATER, BUT FOR NOW, IT WILL ONLY BE 5v5. format. However, for a clan to compete in an STA match, they must present a minimum of 5 eligible players within 15 minutes of the scheduled match time, otherwise they will recieve a forfeit. If a team enters a match with only 5 players, their opponents are in no way obligated to drop one of their own players. It is, however, considered good sportsmanship for a team to drop a player to match their opponents.
___Scoring Basics:___
STA-Q4 operates on a map-win basis. Each week, opponents will play the pre-designated map, listed in the *Schedule area. Both clans get the opportunity to play this map for 25 minutes on both sides, with the possibility of a tiebreaker round. Further details available in *Section XVII. Teams must play on the map scheduled for that particular week. Any teams who play on a map other than the one scheduled will receive forfeit losses.
___Console Spam:___
Server side automated console spam messages should be turned off for matches. An example of this is the repeating console messages telling players to visit a clan’s website.
___Server Lag:___
If a server is constantly receiving lag spikes or any other kind of lag, then another server is to be used. The team that had server choice for that round will pick the new server. If this happens during a match, the procedures in the Server Crashes rules in section *Section XX is to be followed. It is recommended that an administrator be contacted during or before the match if both teams do not agree that the server is having lag problems. If no administrator is available, the play either continues on the current server or the team that is fighting to play on a different server must file a dispute. If the administrators later on view demos from the match and see that there was no noticeable lag or lag spikes, then the team that fought to play on a different server will receive a forfeit loss. If the demos show that the server did have lag or lag spikes, then the team that fought to change servers will receive a forfeit win. This situation, however, is uncommon, and it is best that both teams settle the matter between themselves.
MORE INFO ON THIS LATER.
___CTF:___
/callvote g_RespawnDelay "y"
The "Home" team is the first clan listed on the schedule page. This team begins the game as Marines, and chooses the server for the first round. The "Away" team is the second clan listed on the schedule page. This team begins the game as Strogg, and chooses the server for the second round. Teams must swap sides between the first two rounds. If Team A chooses Team B’s server as the server they would like to play on, Team B has the right to decline that request.
Clans have 15 minutes after the scheduled match time to join the game server and "ready up". Please refer to the Between Map Time Limits rule in *Section XVIII below for more information.
All clans are expected to be ready to play at the default time. Clans should send a representative to the #sta-q3ut IRC channel or their opponent's channel 30 minutes prior to the match in order to avoid disagreements or potential problems.
Finally, both clans should check the server settings before starting to verify that they are correct. If no objections are raised during this time, then neither clan may challenge the settings during or after the match. By joining the server and starting the match, you agree to the cvar settings as they stand.
___Map Start___
1. The proper STA config should be enabled at this time by inputting the following:
rcon password exec "sta.cfg"
2. Load up the map for that week.
rcon password map q4ctf1
3. The STA config should be executed one more time after the map changes. Some servers are set up to have settings change when maps change. This will ensure that any settings that were changed when the map changed are reset to the official STA settings.
rcon password exec "sta.cfg"
4. Double check the following value.
rcon g_respawnDelay "y"
5. Once everyone is on the correct team, officially begin with both team captains calling for "Live" play to start. Restart the map.
rcon map_restart WILL BE UPDATED WITH CORRECT CVAR.
6. During the map warmup, the team captains are required to take a screenshot of all players' GUIDs and save them for the entire season.
pb_plist
screenshotJPEG WILL BE UPDATED WITH CORRECT CVAR.
7. During the map warmup, the team captain who has rcon access to the server must also take a screenshot of all players' IPs and save them for the entire season.
rcon status WILL BE UPDATED WITH CORRECT CVAR.
screenshotJPEG
___Side Swapping___
After the first round is completed, teams must swap sides for the next round.
___Overtime___
Should an overtime round be necessary for a tiebreaker, then the team with the most cumulative frags or caps chooses their preferred side or server for the overtime round. The team with fewer cumulative frags or caps receives the privilege of whichever category the winning team opted out of. In the unlikely event that the total frags or caps of each team are equal, then the "Home" team, who by default is the higher seed, gets first pick. All of the previous rules stated in *Section XVII still apply to this 3rd round, including the rule where "If Team A chooses Team B’s server as the server they would like to play on, Team B has the right to decline that request." If a situation occurs where a team captain picks either server or color, and then changes their mind, then that captain has the right to do so as long as the round has not begun and 10 minutes has not passed since the end of the 2nd map. This leaves 5 minutes to swap servers if neccessary before the 15 minute timelimit between rounds expires.
___Between Map Time Limits___
Clans have 15 minutes after the scheduled match time and in between rounds to join the game server and "ready up". Failure to do so will cost the offending clan a forfeit. An administrator must be notified once this happens. It is recommended that teams record demos and condumps of the time leading up to 15 minutes after the scheduled time the round was supposed to start to use as evidence in a dispute. Under extraordinary circumstances, such as major connection problems for multiple players on an offending team, STA-Q4 may allow an exception. Administrators must be contacted immediately if this is the case. If server problems are preventing the map from starting within the 15 minutes, the team who picked the server will forfeit their server choice and the map must be played on the opposing team's server choice. From this point the map has 10 minutes to start, otherwise the "non-readied" team will receive a forfeit loss. Please note that if a team has forfeited their server choice for round 1, they do not receive server choice in round 2.
___Server Settings Regulations___
Server settings are not allowed to be changed mid-round. If a variable is found to be incorrect (such as the timelimit), then the server admin may perform an rcon pause to stop the match (or a captain may call a timeout, which counts as one of the allotted timeouts), alert the other team, and change the setting. If the team that calls the timeout is not an admin of the server, the server admin must change the setting to the correct value. If no server admin is available, the teams can either agree to play with the incorrect setting or go by the rules outlined in *Section XX as if there was a server crash (take screenshots of the score and time).
No settings will be allowed to be changed without this procedure. No substitutions can be made during this time. This is strictly for a server settings change. Things like manually requesting screenshots from the other team or manually initiating PB scans are highly illegal, as they cause stuttering and lag for those players. This is considered a Denial of Service attack as described in *Section IX.
___Screenshots___
Both teams are required to take a screenshot of the score board displaying the final outcome of each round.
bind key screenshotJPEG
Then press the bind when you want to take a screenshot.
___Score Reporting___
Scores must be reported within 6 hours of the scheduled match
time, by both teams, unless a dispute is filed. We recommend you submit
score reports
immediately after the match is completed.
___Dispute Reporting___ Please see *Section X above for dispute information. ___VoIP communication___ Voice Over IP communication is permitted
in STA-Q4. ___Spectators___ The only spectators allowed in matches are live broadcasting
representatives or a league administrator. A
spectator can't be on the roster of either team, be it a league administrator,
GTV cameraman, or Shoutcaster. ___Map Exploits___ Abusing map exploits
is not allowed. Map
exploits are loosely defined as the following: (1) areas accessible on
the map
which the mapper did not intend to be reachable, (2) performing a
certain action on a map that was not intended by the mapper, such as
shooting grenades over or through certain
parts of a map or shooting through a tree or window that was not meant
to be shot through, and (3) areas that
are not accessible without the use of player boosting,
unless otherwise stated. Additionally, for these areas to be considered
illegal, the spot must allow for a potential advantage for a player. Whether a certain spot is illegal is a decision that is made at the
sole discretion of administrators either before, during, or
after a match. We will try to specifically
address known exploits for maps each week in the news, so be sure to
check the STA news page right before your match starts. If a player
feels accessing a specific location on a map is wrong,
they are encouraged to stay away from that location during the match.
If such a location is found prior to a match, please inform an
administrator. ___Ping Flux___ Excessive ping flux, or "warping", can have
a highly negative effect on a match. If an administrator deems a player to be
warping excessively to the point where they become unhittable, they may force
the player to leave the match. ___Ping Limitations___ No player may play with an average ping greater than 150ms. No player may play with excessive
spikes over 150ms. No player may
play with an average ping lower than 5ms (to prevent playing over a
LAN). The applicable ping readout for this rule can be seen on the
in-game scoreboard. The ping as shown on the scoreboard is consistent with normal command line ping commands.
Ping issues must be settled before a match starts and what is considered
"excessive" will be at the sole discretion of the ruling administrator.
If there are ping issues during a round, a dispute may be filed. An adminstrator is to be
contacted if the two teams can not settle the issue between rounds. That said, if the
opposing team's captain agrees to allow a player whose average ping
exceeds 150 milliseconds to play, the player may participate in the
match. ___Live Broadcasting___ By playing in STA-Q4, you automatically give consent in allowing live
broadcasts of your matches via Shoutcasting or GTV at any time. ___Game Version___ Unless otherwise
stated by the administrators, clans must use the latest
versions of Quake IV, Quake 4 Max, and Rocket Arena 4. If the latest update is less than 5 days old, clans may play using the older release, so long as both captains agree to it. Otherwise, the latest build must be used. ___Server Crashes___ If a server crashes before the 5 minute mark of a round, the round must be restarted from the beginning with a score of 0-0, unless team captains agree to begin again using the following procedure.
If a server crashes beyond the 5 minute mark of the round, then the round will be restarted with a timelimit equal to
the amount of time remaining when the server crash occurred (rounded up to the nearest
minute). At the end of that round, the score will be added to the score of the
round when the server crashed in order to determine the map winner. If this adds up to a
tie, the map will be restarted again, with the standard sta.cfg
server settings, but with a capturelimit of 1 for iCTF and a timelimit of 3 for TDM. Whichever team wins this, wins the round. If the teams can not agree on the scores and time left at the
time of the crash, an administrator isn’t readily available to make a ruling,
the map (and all remaining maps) may be postponed in accordance with rule XIII,
section "Late Matches". An administrator must be notified if this
situation happens. If the server can't be brought back up, and no replacement
server can be found by the team who had server choice within 10 minutes of the crash, then the team whom didn’t have server choice
for that round gets to pick the server. This does not forfeit that team's choice of server for the round where they
normally would have choice - they still get their pick. If no servers can be found by either team, the remaining
maps may be postponed in accordance with *Section XIII, section "Late Matches".
An administrator must be notified if this situation happens. ___Server Specific
Bans___ If a certain player is banned on a server, the ban must be lifted to allow that player to play in a match. The only reason a player
ban may be in place for STA-Q4 matches is if STA-Q4 has officially suspended or banned that
player. All bans and suspensions will be listed in this thread. If a team refuses to lift a ban on an opposing player for a match, the team
refusing to lift the ban will receive a forfeit loss. ___Pro Bowl___ THIS IS A POSSIBILITY WE MAY CONSIDER. Each team will pick
their first and second best players on their team based on their
performance during the previously played season. These must be ranked
1st and 2nd. Each team will also
pick 10 members who were on an active team’s roster at the end of the
season and who are not on the team submitting the votes. These 10 are
not to be ranked, as they will be held equal in the final tally. We
strongly urge everyone to look past a player’s popularity, or how much
you like him or her, and vote on 10 players who had the best
performance during the currently played season. Please do not look to
other seasons when evaluating these players. Take your time and look at
all teams’ rosters, regardless of how each team finished at the end of
the season, and think about how each player did when you played against
him or her. Look at past screenshots and matches from the season. There are many good
players on non-popular clans and clans that did not make the playoffs.
Let’s make this about who deserves it most. We suggest that each
team has its own internal vote to decide who the choices will be. After
these are tallied, we will ask that the team captains submit their
team’s votes. We will tally all
votes together on a weighted system. All team’s will have an equal say,
but the teams’ votes for their own players will count as more points
than the 10 picked from other teams. In the end, we will add up all of
the points and come up with the top 16 players and split them evenly
into two teams of 8. Each player will be guaranteed to play 1 map (2 if
it goes to overtime).
. THIS RULE WILL BE UPDATED SOON.
Two substitutions are allowed per 25 minute round. During
half-time and prior to overtime, an unlimited number of substitutions may be
made. Timeouts must be called if a player is to (re)connect to the server. A clan is marked for inactive status if any of the following
conditions occur: 1. Clan has requested inactivity. 2. Clan has forfeited matches for two consecutive play weeks. 3. Clan has repeatedly not had the full amount of players
available for matches. Inactive clans are not scheduled for play. For a clan to become
active again, it must meet the same criteria as those clans wishing to join the
league anew. Should any STA-Q4 administrator deem a rules amendment
necessary during the course of the season, it shall be noted in this section. Last Updated on August 13, 2006 Copyright © 2000-2006 Stronger Than All. All rights
reserved. Any unauthorized copying, redistribution, or transfer of any
information contained herein is prohibited.