Guide to joining tournaments through the forum

[azrae1]

I was browsing the forums at one point and I saw a post from a relatively new player saying how he didn't join tournaments because it required him to be familiar with Shadow Era tournament rules. I was intrigued by this comment because the majority of my posts in the SE forum has been on tournament threads nad I've never had problems joining tournaments. I scanned a few of the recent tournament threads and true enough, some tournament organizers had posted a requirement about knowing standard SE tournament rules. This seems to throw off some new players thinking that the rules are extremely complex and that therefore they aren't qualified to join.

As someone primarily interested in the tournament scene, I thought I'd start a thread to compile a simple understanding of how to participate in the current manual tournaments. Joining tournaments for me has never been an issue and in my opinion is very straightforward so hopefully this helps out some new players and we get some fresh blood in the various tournaments out there.

Step 1. First and foremost, even before attempting to join a tournament, configure your private message (PM) notifications so that you receive emails whenever you get a private message. This will ensure that you don't have to login to the forums to check your private messages constantly. To set this up,

1. Click on the link next to your forum name in the top of the forum: Notification > Inbox
2. Under the My Settings section on the left, click on General Settings.
3. Under the Messaging & Notification > Private Messaging section on the right, select the option to receive email notification of new private messages. Make sure the email you are using is the one you use on a regular basis.
4. Click the Save Changes button at the very bottom of the page.

Step 2. Scan the Gameplay > Organized Play forum to see if there are any upcoming tournaments or ones that are looking for signups.

Step 3. Read the rules that the tournament organizer (TO) has posted and post in the same thread to clarify any rules that you are uncertain of.

Step 4. Post your interest in the relevant tournament thread if the TO has asked for expressions of interest or if the TO has indicated that signups are already open. In some cases, you will need to specify your in-game name (IGN) and your current rating.

Step 5. If you don't normally hang out in the forum, I would suggest that you subscribe to the tournament thread so that you automatically get updates if it has started or there are some changes, etc. You can subscribe by going to the Thread Tools just above the initial post, select "Subscribe to this Thread" and choose "Instant Notification by Email" for the notification type.

Step 6. There are two basic types of tournaments that are usually run. Be aware of the type of tournament you are joining as it requires different schedule commitments

1. Standard - there are variants of these in terms of the rules but these are normally played with several rounds and deadlines to have matches completed by.
2. Pop-ups - these usually require players to be playing all at the same time with the tournament being completed all within the span of a few hours.

Step 7. When standard tournaments start, the TO will indicate the matchups/brackets usually in the first page of the thread. Look to see who you get matched up with and contact your opponent by using the forum private messaging. Make sure you are sending a PM to the forum name that your opponent used to sign up and not their IGN. It is best to state your availability in GMT+0 so that both you and your opponent are using a common timezone. It will also help when comparing the scheduled time to what is displayed in Gondorian's framed game and IRC webpage (http://shadowera.gondorian.com/gamechat). To convert time availability to GMT+0, I normally use this website: http://www.timezoneconverter.com/cgi-bin/tzc.tzc

Step 8. When it is time for your scheduled match with your opponent, you will need to be able to meet up with your opponent. This can be done through Internet Relay Chat (IRC) or Telegram. Depending on what device you are using, this can be done through various means.

1. Using a PC - simply type http://webchat.freenode.net in your browser URL. Choose a nickname that's linked to your forum name, make sure the channel is #shadowera, put in the captcha verification and login.
   
   ANDCHAT IRC setting
   Name: freenode
   Address: irc.freenode.org
   Port: 6665
   Channels: #shadowera and #tournament
   
   
2. Using a phone or tablet - Install an IRC app like colloquy or andchat to login to IRC. You should also still be able to login through http://webchat.freenode.net using your phone or tablet's browser but it's more cumbersome.
   
   
3. With regards to Telegram, there is a thread that goes into further details about it in the thread Telegram Rooms for Shadow Era Community.

Step 9. Don't be late for your scheduled match and if you will be, be courteous and send a PM to your opponent once you know you will be. However, try to also be patient when you're the one waiting in IRC. I would normally wait for 30 minutes before declaring a no-show.

Step 10. If your opponent doesn't show or if they don't respond to your PMs, inform the TO of the situation so that the TO is aware of the effort you've put into trying to schedule the match when it comes time for the TO to make a decision on what to declare for your match.

Step 11. Unless specified otherwise in the tournament rules, a match is usually a best of 3 games. You or your opponent sets up a custom match and play the first game. In the second game, the player who went second in the first game will now go first. Simply keep restarting the game with your opponent until the right person is going first. The third game is random who will go first.

Step 12. Once the the match has concluded, go to the forums and post the results. If you won, keep track of the progress of the bracket to know who your next opponent will be. Repeat Steps 7 - 12 as necessary.

Step 13. If you've joined a pop-up tournament, you need to be in IRC at the date and time that it is scheduled. Once that time has come, look for the TO in IRC and follow his/her instructions.

Comments from other players familiar with the tournament scene here in Shadow Era would be welcome to make this a more comprehensive guide.