3FL Tournament & Ladder System
From time to time, 3FL will be holding online gaming tournaments which utilise a Ladder System. This article will hopefully try to establish some of the basics of the Ladder software. At any stage if you have any problems or questions, please either seek assistance through the 3FL Forums or Email support@3fl.net.au.
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The Basics
Here is a brief overview of the ladder system:
- Player signs up a player account on the ladder and is sent a validation email.
- Once the player validates his/her account, the account is operational. Nobody will ever need more than one player account.
- The player then has a profile, which they can edit to include contact information etc.
- The player can also join ladders now, providing the admin has created some ladders.
- To join a ladder for the first time however the player needs to either create a team or have a team manager invite/add the player to a team. Teams can then be used for other ladders providing the team is valid for the ladder it tries to join.
- For 1v1 ladders, a player can simply join a ladder without creating a team.
- The player can then start to play matches using his/her team account, they can play on their own or they can play with other team members depending on the type of ladder.
- To initiate a match, one must either organize a game by IM/MSN, email, 3FL Forums etc. or initiate a game using the challenge system, which is described later in this article.
- Some ladders will only allow games initiated by challenges while some ladders will not allow challenges at all. This is up to the administrators in charge of the ladder system.
- Once a match is played, it is up to the losing team to report the loss via the ladder system. The winner then has to confirm the result and the result will be official and rankings will be updated.
- This is a basic overview of how the ladder system works, obviously there is much more to it, which will be described in the different sections, below.
- To join a tournament, a player must be on the ladder for that tournament. Furthermore the player must be a team leader or co-leader for a team to join the tournament.
Challenging an Opponent/Team
The challenging system is very straightforward and can be described as consisting of three stages.
Stage 1:
One team decides to challenge another team, providing both teams are on the same ladder and that the first team is within the correct number of ranks which allow them to challenge the other, then he may do so by choosing the challenge option on the ladder page. Once a challenge is made, the team challenged is automatically sent an email informing him of the challenge. They then have a certain number of hours or days to accept the challenge or receive a forfeit loss. The number of ranks a team can challenge above themselves and the number of hours or days one has to accept a challenge is pre-defined in the admin control panel. It can be changed by an admin at any time.
Stage 2:
The team that has been challenged can now accept the challenge by clicking on the challenge link on the ladder page (the page for the specific ladder). This team can now select a certain number of dates/times and maps for the match. Note: Maps are optional and may be switched off in the admin control panel under the settings for each ladder.
Once they have selected these suggestions, they confirm that they are accepting the challenge and the original challenger receives an email notifying him that he has to finalize the challenge. The time this team has to accept the challenge is defined by the ladder settings.
Stage 3:
The original challenger can now finalise the match by choosing one of the suggested dates/times and a certain number of the suggested maps. Once they choose these, they can finalize the match and it is now fully scheduled. If the challenger fails to finalize the match within the necessary time limit, as specified by the admin in the ladder settings, then they will receive a forfeit loss.
NOTE: If Open Play is enabled in the ladder settings, then unranked teams will not be able to make challenges. To make challenges one must have a rank. If the league owner wishes for the ladder to be challenge only, then he should turn on “challenge only” and then each team will be given a rank as soon as they join the ladder.
Reporting and Ranking
Once a match is played, it is up to the loser to report the result. The loser inputs the statistics for the game, for example the team members involved and the score. It is then up to the winning team to confirm the win and the ladder system updates the ranks. To report the loss, a player from the losing team must use the Winning Team’s Report ID.
The ranking system works as follows(for open play matches):
If the winning team is unranked, then their first win will move them to the bottom of the ranked section. This is regardless of whom they beat.
If the winner is ranked, then they will move half way up to the loser’s position. In other words, if the 20th placed team beats the 10th placed team, then the winning team will move to 15th. If the winning team is already above the losing team, then no change occurs.
The inactivity-drop feature is important for preventing teams in the number one position from becoming inactive to prevent their place being taken.
For non open-play matches, i.e. challenge initiated matches, then the ranking system works as follows; Loser takes winners position if loser is ranked below winner.
NOTE: It is recommended that teams (both winning and losing) take screen shots of in game results/scores in the rare case of disputes arising as a result of disagreement or difficulties in submitting accurate results.
3FL Tournament and Ladder Support
If you require any further assistance, please contact 3FL Support.
