Hey everyone, our Post-Season Polls for Sixes Season 37 and Highlander Season 4 are now live. These polls will be used to collect feedback from those who participated in ozfortress' Sixes Season 37 and Highlander Season 4 seasonal leagues. We ask that players take the time to fill in the form as it will help our staff make changes and shape future competitions within the league.
The results and data will be shared via either a news post prior to the beginning of the next season or a forum thread linked on the Spring 2023 seasons' pages.
Please note, we are not collecting email addresses. Google requires them.
Sixes Post Season 37 Poll - Highlander Post Season 4 Poll
So, it’s been a bit since we’ve done a post like this, but we have some updates to share. We’ll have more updates to rulesets a bit closer to the release of the Sixes and Highlander seasons, but for now, we wanted to get you up to speed as to where we are at.
Infractions Updates
Periodically we make amendments to our Infractions Ruleset to better suit the general climate of behaviour within our community. Our general philosophy is that those who follow an approach of common sense when interacting with others will never have to be introduced to our Infractions system, thus we try to take the same common sense approach.
Usage of specific words
It is the long term goal of the Behavioural Panel to, through step-by-step changes, bring down the usage of marginalising or otherwise targeted demeaning language within our community, so that governance is brought closer to the standards held by broader society. We understand that much of this language may be deeply ingrained in the community vernacular, which is why we are taking a gradual approach to implementing and enforcing these changes.
This announcement exists to state clearly that the Behaviour Panel will be adopting a new stance of intolerance towards usage of the word "retard" moving forward.
Please note that the Behavioural Panel does not use a specific definition or list of words that are deemed "always infractable" or actioned; context remains a key factor in any case that is submitted to the Behavioural Panel. We do not expect this change to be uncontroversial, however it is not the job of the Behavioural Panel to be uncontroversial. This change will be effective immediately, and will not be applied retroactively to usage of this word from before the date of this announcement (16/09/2023).
We are generally moving towards the expectation that, what wouldn't be ok in the vernacular of broader-society, is not ok within our community.
Round Ban Point Requirement Lowered
For much of the Infractions systems’ lifetime, the “3 round match ban” has required an offender to accumulate 40 infraction points before being applied, just 20 points short of a one year ban. For many, this probably hasn’t made much sense, as with only 20 more points, the ban duration can jump from three rounds to a whole year. Something else worth mentioning is what other leagues do, which is typically any behaviour similar to what would incur a Tier 3 with our system, would result in an instant match ban. With most poor behaviour resulting in a Tier 3 infraction, and poor match organisation or other League Infractions only really incurring 10 points, its meant that team captains have been able to get away with poor match organisation multiple times before ever seeing any actual penalty. So, we will be lowering the point requirement for our “3 round match ban” penalty to 30 points, from its current 40 points. This isn’t a change we make lightly, and we’ll be watching its flow-on effect closely.
We Need You!
Yup, we’re looking for staff again. If you’re interested, see our Join Us page. If you’ve applied in or around the last three months, we may not have considered your application yet, so don’t fret! If you want to ask about your application, please feel free to DM core on Discord.
New Arrivals, Somber Departures
Along with our usual “we’re looking for volunteers” pitch, we have a volunteer to welcome, and three to say goodbye to. First of all, we would like to welcome our new Sixes Admin wils! We’re excited to see what he can bring to the team, and you’ll get to know him as an admin for the Experimental Cup 2 tournament we’re currently running!
With the warm welcome out of the way, it’s time we say goodbye and wish the best of luck in the future for three of our friends. Bakes will be stepping back from his Highlander admin and Public Behavioural Panel member roles, and we would like to thank him for being one of the foundational admins who helped us bring ozfortress Highlander to life during our merge with Respawn League, well over a year ago now. Along with Bakes, two of our Sixes admins frydog and snazzy (AKA thelampshade22) will also be stepping down from their roles, both having joined us more recently, we’re sad to see them go and with them the best of luck in the future. Whilst it may be the last time you hear of snazzy, he will be taking up a Public Behavioural Panel role soon.
We would also like to congratulate (and thank) multi for stepping up to the role of Sixes Head Admin. He has a drive for the game that frankly I (core) wish I still had, and a wealth of knowledge on our history, so I’m certain he’ll be a good fit!
A Quick Reminder…
This is coming directly from myself (core), but as of the last six months, I’ve seen a rise in players unfairly targeting and attributing the actions of our team as a whole towards single volunteers, along with an uptick in pretty unfair treatment of our volunteers. I’ve been doing this for a while between ozfortress and Respawn League, and I would just like to make something abundantly clear. I, myself, will not tolerate the unjustified vitriolic behaviour that is targeted at those who volunteer their time to bring this community a free service, and who strive to actively listen to and improve on it. For the vast majority of you however, I can speak for all of us when I say we appreciate your support, it’s just always hard to not focus on those who like to be more than negative.
Season Branding changes
So, some of you may have noticed on our most recent schedule that we have swapped from our usual seasonal naming convention to “Format Spring 2023 Season #”. Whilst it's mostly a spunky branding change, it does serve more than one purpose. Ever found it incredibly hard to remember which season you played a map or class over a year ago, and you go to check, but you remember what time of the year it was? Maybe not, but I know I have, and so have a few others. That’s something we hope to address with this change, now if you remember what time of the year, you’ll know it was our Spring season of 2023! We won't be dropping the season number, just shortening it to "S#" instead. It’s a small change, but we figured we’d explain some of our reasoning behind it. If you were curious what it may look like for our upcoming seasons, here are the names:
- Sixes Spring 2023 S38
- Highlander Spring 2023 S5
Overall, it ends up being a bit shorter, and will work better on cast coverage as well, which is a plus.
Winners Posts, Award Nominations & Voting Updates
Don’t worry, our usual Winners' posts are coming very soon! In the meantime though, we wanted to update you on some of our thoughts, as well as address some of your feedback from the Voting form in particular.
One thing that was made very clear, is that in any division above four teams, captains vastly preferred just being able to copy-paste a template and fill in the nominee’s name, and after adding 40+ names multiple times throughout the form, we wholeheartedly agree. Even if the process on our end was automated further, this solution will always end up being significantly more work, for something we feel most were fine with already, but we’re happy we tried a new method.
With that in mind, we’re going to look to add better checks and automate more of the process on our end to save quite a lot of time on what is always a big time sink. But the Awards process is only one of two parts, the other being the Winners Posts writeups. These are something we’ve debated internally as many of us don’t feel it’s worth writing them, as so few read them. Going forward, we will be looking at other forms of content to replace these writeups, hopefully, something we can all enjoy a little more.
We want to be able to do more with our awards, and it’s something we’ve had in the back of our minds for a while. So, we hope you may be looking forward to some of what we may have in store, perhaps some user profile award displays, highlight videos, new awards and more.
Ruleset Updates
Before seasons, especially before signups release, we try to get our ruleset updates released - but the astute among you will have noticed the post-season polls aren’t out yet. We’ve made some changes to these polls to better gauge what players want, and we’ll continue to change these polls each season because they have been frankly terrible in the past, so it’s something we hope to do better with. You’ll see our post-season polls very soon, with a heavy focus on Sixes changes this time around. Something that we will be exploring is varied map pools for different divisions, with a question specifically focused on this for lower divisions like Open, and Main if we reach five divisions again. Whilst it won’t be included in the poll, we will be reaching out to our Premier players to discuss potential variations to the map pool for Premier as well. We’ll have more information on this for everyone once we’ve had those discussions and are happy to move forward with changes.
We can give you something now, however, and that’s to do with naming.
Team Names & Player Aliases on ozfortress.com
We know there are a select few who were waiting for the other shoe to drop - that shoe is team names and player aliases. We don’t want to be restrictive on what names you can and cannot use, but we wanted to update our guidelines around both to make it clear what will not be allowed, and what we want to change.
- Team Names and Player Aliases can no longer include profanity. It’s rare, but it happens, and makes it incredibly difficult to advertise to the world via casts, or to engage with sponsors when we have team names or player aliases that contain profanity.
- Excessive emojis or special characters. We’re just putting our foot down because the reality is, it’s not funny, and it's only people within the team that find it funny, other players don’t. We’ve previously stated in our guidelines we wouldn’t allow any, but we’ll be revising this. So a tasteful amount of emojis is okay, but there’s a point where it's entirely unfunny, especially when it’s not creative.
- Player Aliases should be recognizable to everyone. This is the biggest and likely most controversial change here. Whilst we could improve search functionality on our website to better handle past aliases, which we will eventually aim to do anyway, we feel it's fairly unreasonable to expect someone to have to search for “MrShidenfard” for example, when everyone knows him by down. We allow players to alias however they want in matches, provided it doesn’t breach our rules or just general etiquette, even during casts now. But player aliases that aren’t your recognizable alias make it incredibly difficult for us, for your fellow players, and especially for anyone new to find you.
- Q: How will we accomplish this?
- A: Slowly. For now, it will include knocking back obvious, less serious aliases. Those who have a genuine intention to change their alias will be able to, but we will no longer be allowing non-serious aliases. Those who already have difficult-to-remember aliases will be getting a message from us as we find them, with a chance to choose a new long-term alias or to go by their recognizable alias.
- We won’t be committing to any in-writing restrictions, terms or conditions for this as of now, but just know we will be making an effort to move the line of what we deem acceptable to be more in line with common sense.
Post Length
We understand there is a bit to unpack here, and we have been making genuine attempts to minimize how often we do these types of posts, as well as minimizing the size of these posts, but we had a bit to catch you all up on, and with two Winners' posts coming, two polls for the seasons we just wrapped up and a third poll to come sometime after our Experimental Cup 2 tournament, along with a post dedicated entirely to ruleset changes, we felt there was a more urgent need to get all of this out of the way sooner rather than later. By the way, if you've made it this far and have an interest in news or documentation writing, please submit an application, we need you!
FINAL PLACEMENTS
We hope you're ready for the tournament! You can find the Player Restrictions now updated and linked as a button at the top of the Experimental Cup 2 page.
Seedings are listed in order, with all divisions making use of the Swiss system for Rounds 1-3, with Playoffs using our standard Page Playoffs system. The Cup Admins page has been updated and can be found as a button at the top of the Experimental Cup 2 page. Expect matches to be generated in a few hours.
If you have any issues, questions, or concerns, please visit our Discord's support category. We also have an FAQ page for the tournament as well.
Division 1
xcx
Pyongyang Professors
Ascension
altombo's kittens
call me tft the way she play with my little legend
Division 2
RAZER DEATHSTALKER ULTIMATE
gator pussy blanket
TRANSITION
The Freakaleak's
overwatch retirement home
Division 3
Moneyball
6Sins
DLLM
Ready Steady Tax Evasion
Phi's Sneed and Pheed
Division 4
Mammoth.
Spare No Opps
FROYOGABBAGABBA
Plan Z
God-Fearing Nuns
emgee and the egirls
Division 5
Mystic (Place Holder)
Jumper Mains
big fat booty men mge 24/7 mge
eating sounds
Talking Tom and Friends
Yuki Aim
Schedule
Please make sure you are acquainted with the schedule for this tournament, as all teams will be playing two matches per week for three weeks. The first three rounds will be the Group Stage rounds, with the following three rounds being Page Playoff rounds.
Experimental Cups are back with Experimental Cup 2!
The second iteration of our Experimental Cup has arrived, Experimental Cup 2! As in the past, we will use this cup to test larger gameplay changes to our seasonal leagues, this iteration again being solely focused on Sixes.
We will be testing the "Pro Ruleset Timer" plugin used prominently in RGL's North American Sixes league, along with some smaller match play and scheduling changes. For more, please see the Tournament page.
Signups
You can sign up for Experimental Cup 2 from Thursday the 7th of September, up until Thursday the 14th of September 2023. We aim to have seeding out by Friday the 15th of September. The tournament starts Saturday the 16th of September 2023.
FAQ
What is the format of Experimental Cup 2?
See our Schedule & Format page for more info on that.
What is the maximum amount of players per team?
For Experimental Cup 2, there will be a limit of 10 players per team.
How do I get a bookable server?
See our Booking an au.serveme.tf server guide for more info.
How do I apply the Experimental Cup 2 config?
The aliases for the Experimental Cup 2 configs are your best and easiest option, but we've also included a more manual config exec command in case it's needed:
Aliases:
-rcon ec2
-rcon ozf-ec2Manual Config Execs:
-rcon exec ozfortress_ec2_5cp
Anything I need to know about Match Scheduling?
All scheduling rules from our regular Sixes seasonal league still apply here, other than the playable match days as there are two matches per week for Experimental Cup 2. See our Schedule & Format page for more info.
How long can we pause for?
Pausing rules for this tournament are identical to our regular Sixes and Highlander seasonal leagues, you can find our pause rules (4.3. Pausing) here.
Are mercenaries allowed?
Yes. Mercenary rules for this tournament are identical to the Sixes mercenary rules and limits.
Will there be badges/medals?
Yes! We will be reusing the regular Sixes seasonal league badges/medals. Please be aware it may take longer than normal to receive these.
Player Restrictions
There will be no transfers during Experimental Cup 2, so all Player Restrictions will be set at the beginning of the tournament during the seeding process. If you have any disputes with your restriction/s, please reach out to your division administrator immediately. Any significant delay in disputing your restrictions will see your restriction remain for the duration of the tournament.
This is a policy that will likely be adopted in Sixes Season 38/Highlander Season 5 and beyond, as we have seen repeat cases of individual players (and sometimes teams) not disputing their restrictions until days (sometimes even weeks) later.
Restrictions for this tournament will be relaxed compared to our seasonal leagues, however we will still restrict those who we think may need it.
Restricted Players
The following players are restricted either off of certain classes, or restricted to only certain classes.
Division 2
Division 3
- cooleverest restricted off Scout
- scandalous restricted off Scout
- big maurice restricted off Soldier
Division 4
- honk honk restricted off Scout & Soldier
- Mikcow restricted off Scout
- emgee restricted to Medic only
- bill restricted off Scout & Sniper
Division 5
Schedule
Disclaimer
Please note: Everything on this page applies to all divisions, including the dates, format, pick/bans and the tournament systems being used.
Key Dates
Thursday 7th September 2023: Signups Open
Thursday 14th September 2023: Signups Close, Rosters Locked
Friday 15th September 2023: Teams Announced
Saturday 16th September 2023: Experimental Cup 2 starts
Group Stages
Saturday 16th September – Monday 18th September 2023: Round 1
Tuesday 19th September – Thursday 21st September 2023: Round 2
Saturday 23rd September – Monday 25th September 2023: Round 3
Playoffs/Finals
Tuesday 26th September – Thursday 28th September 2023: Round 4: Page Playoff matches
Saturday 30th September – Monday 2nd October 2023: Round 5: Semi-Finals
Tuesday 3rd October – Thursday 5th October 2023: Round 6: Grand Finals
Format
Much like regular ozfortress seasonal leagues, the ozfortress Experimental Cup 2 will feature weekly matches for teams over the course of three weeks. However, teams will be required to play two matches per week. Each of these official matches will consist of only one 5CP / Control Point map. In order to accommodate the extra match per week, the ozfortress Experimental Cup 2 will see Saturday added as a playable match day. All Playoffs/Finals matches are a three map BO3.
Where this differs from previous cups and tournaments like Summer Cup 2021 is that Round 1, Round 3, and the Semi-Finals will be played in the first half of each match week, which is Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Round 2, Upper/Lower Page Playoffs, and the Grand Finals will be played in the second half of each match week, which is Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. This leaves Friday as the only day not included in the schedule. All teams are required to be available for two out of the three days in each half of the match week.
A TL;DR for all of our zoomers or dementia-ridden boomers:
With three rounds of Group Stages and three rounds of Playoffs/Finals, you will have six rounds split into two matches per week for a total of three weeks. Every "odd" match (R1, R3, R5/Semi-Final in this case) is played from Saturday to Monday. Every "even" match (R2, R4/Page Playoff matches, R6/Grand Final) is played from Tuesday to Thursday. No matches on Friday.
Pick/Bans
All matches in ozfortress' Experimental Cup 2 will utilize a pick/ban system.
For Group Stage matches (all of which will be Best of One/BO1) the pick/ban format will be as follows:
- The higher-seeded or first team will ban first.
- The second team will ban a map.
- The first team will ban a map.
- The second team will ban a map.
- The first team will select the last remaining map in the pool.
- This step is required as the website will not automatically add the remaining map.
For Playoff/Finals matches (all of which will be Best of Three/BO3) the pick/ban format will be as follows:
- The higher-seeded or first team will ban first.
- The second team will ban a map.
- The first team will pick a map.
- The second team will pick a map.
- The first team will select the last remaining map in the pool.
- This step is required as the website will not automatically add the remaining map.
Tournament Systems
Group Stages
All divisions will be using the Swiss system for their Group Stage matches.
Page Playoffs
All divisions will be using the Page Playoff system for their Playoff/Finals matches.
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