Experimental Cup 3 - Sign-ups Open, Changes & Implementations

(art by dezi)

Welcome to Experimental Cup 3

For the third iteration of our Experimental Cup series, we're shaking things up by bringing Highlander into the spotlight. With maps, weapons and prizes galore, these two weekends will be full of action and intrigue as teams and players are put through their paces in fast and flashy competition.

TLDR

For those not wanting to read the essay and a half, here are the key takeaways:

Cup Structure:

Dates: Takes place over two weekends in September (14th-15th & 21st-22nd).
Timetable: Weekend 1 will feature 6 rounds and Weekend 2 will feature Playoffs and Finals.
Team Sizes: Rosters of 14 players, no Transfer Windows.

Maps:

Stopwatch: Snowycoast Pro & Problitz.
King of the Hill: Proplant & Daenam.
5 Control Point: Croissant & Sultry.

Whitelist Alterations:

Loch 'n Load: Banned
Natascha: Allowed

New 5CP Config:

Progressive 5CP Config: New round timer settings for faster, more engaging matches.

Prize Pool & Awards

Top Division Prize Pool: The 4 teams competing in Division 1 will compete for a Prize Pool of $600
Awards and Prizes: There will be smaller Awards and Prizes for players competing in all Divisions.

Medals

Yes, yes there will be medals.

Maps

The following maps will be included in Experimental Cup 3:

Snowycoast Pro: Stopwatch
Problitz: Stopwatch
Proplant: King of the Hill
Daenam: King of the Hill
Croissant: 5 Control Point
Sultry: 5 Control Point

Why these maps?

Snowycoast Pro & Problitz:

When polling the Stopwatch maps, the three highest voted maps were Eruption (58.8%), with the most amount of votes followed by Snowycoast Pro and Problitz (both 54.9%). Discussing this, we decided that realistically there is enough demand and playtime on Eruption from players in our league that including it in the cup wouldn't be necessary. This means that despite it not being a part of Experimental Cup 3, it will be eligible to be included in future Highlander Seasons (Season 8 and onwards).

Snowycoast Pro and Problitz haven't been included in any league-related competitions before in our region, which in our eyes made them both perfect candidates for this cup.

Proplant & Daenam:

Four maps were particularly popular in the King of the Hill Map vote; Clearcut, Proplant, Daenam and Proside were the highest-voted maps respectively. Clearcut (54.9%) being the highest voted map was looked over by our team as we felt it wouldn't be suitable for play in Highlander. We have also consulted the RGL admin team who trialled it in their recent RGL Highlander Experimental Cup #6 with it having a mixed reception and ultimately didn't make it into their regular season. While it may be included in competition later down the line, for now, we felt other candidates would be better for competition.

Proside (47.1%) received the fewest votes of the maps listed above but was still looked for a possible inclusion in the cup. Upon reflection of when the map was last played in our region, being Season 1 of ozfortress Highlander, both advisors and administrators recalled players having overall negative experiences on the map. Hence why it hasn't been seen since Season 1 and why it has limited play in other regions, bringing us to the logical conclusion to forgo including it in this event.

Finally, we were down to two. Proplant (52.9%) and Daenam (51%), both feel like perfect candidates. Proplant has been played in ETF2L and has been highly requested by Australian players for quite some time now, and Daenam feels like a good fit size-wise for a Highlander map that has also been positively received in the past, with it last being seen at the start of the year in our Fours Summer Cup.

Croissant & Sultry

The idea of playing 5 Control Point maps in Highlander hasn't been a popular thought throughout the global community in recent years. When polling 5CP maps, Croissant (45.1%) stood above all and was the clear front-runner for inclusion in the Experimental Cup. With the map itself being "well-aged", core has offered up his time to look over the map and make adjustments to the map to ensure it's as sound for competition as possible. This will include making potential adjustments to the map in preparation for the regular season if need be.

Whilst not being a 5CP map (and in fact a "Tug of War" map),Waste (49%) received the most votes in our alternative/control point category. However, after play-testing the map, it is clear that the map is, to be blunt, beyond outdated. With balance issues and bugs galore, we have decided to look over it for the Experimental Cup. Following the aforementioned maps in votes were Entropy (19.6%), Vanguard (19.6%) and Sultry (27.5%). We polled these three maps via a vote in the ozfortress discord with the winner of the three being Sultry, thus securing it a slot within the cup.

Whitelist Alterations

Loch 'n Load Banned

For some, their prayers have been answered, for others, we have committed sins against them. The Loch 'n Load will be banned for the entirety of Experimental Cup 3. A follow-up poll as to whether a Loch 'n Load weapon restriction is desirable for Season 8 will be run. Please let us know if you feel its absence during the cup was detrimental to the format, as this type of feedback is very valuable.

Natascha Unleashed

'Ain't nothin' like it, her shiny machine, keep the moving part clean'. The Natascha has been unbanned, making its return for the first time since Season 1 of ozfortress Highlander. Don't worry, if you fear Ms. Romanoff then you can let us know how you felt playing against it, and if it overall negatively affected your Highlander experience after the cups' conclusion.

5CP Custom Config

In a world first, we are attempting to make 5CP more enjoyable in a Highlander setting; We will be implementing a Round Timer config that will be used on all Control Point maps played with in this Experimental Cup. The following settings will be used in the Progressive Highlander Control Point config;

Map Timer: 25 Minutes
Round Timer: 5 Minutes
Win Limit: 5
Auto Golden Cap: Begins immediately after the map timer ends when the scores are tied. If scores are not tied, the match will end.

Before this config, 5CP Highlander matches featured a 10-minute round timer with a 30-minute map timer as well as Golden Capture needing to be played after the map timer ends, requiring a manual config exec. Contrasting this to our new Progressive Config, we believe that matches will be faster-paced, and more engaging for players and spectators while also providing fresh map experiences for all.

Experimental Cup Structure

Dates

As stated above the cup will take place over two weekends in September. The first weekend of competition will take place on Saturday the 14th and Sunday the 15th of September with each day containing three rounds of competition, each dedicated to one map for a total of six rounds. The following weekend will be for Page Playoffs with Upper/Lower Page Playoffs and Semi-finals taking place on the 21st of September and Grand-finals and Third Place Finals transpiring on the 22nd of September.

Team Sizes, Player restrictions, Transfers and Mercs

Teams will have a roster size of 14, with there being no transfer windows throughout the cup. The roster teams sign up with is the roster that they are expected to use throughout the cup. If teams require Emergency Transfers, they must be discussed with a cup administrator prior to the start of matches.

There will be no limit as to how many class-restricted players teams can have on their roster for Divisions 2 and below. This will allow teams to be evenly balanced for cup competition, making all teams as competitive as possible with one another. Mercenaries will also be allowed throughout the cup and will be looked at and processed case by case via Cup Administrators and Team Captains.

Playoffs

The following Pick/Ban system will be used for all playoff matches.

Home Team Bans | Away Team Bans | Home Team Picks | Away Team Picks | Home Team Picks

All matches in playoffs will have their stopwatch maps played as ABBA.

Prize Pool & Rewards

Prize Pool

Experimental Cup 3 will feature a prize pool of $600 that will be up for grabs for teams and players competing in the top division.

Division 1 Prize Pool:
1st: $300
2nd: $200
3rd: $100

Bonus Awards

As well as the prize pool, we will have smaller awards that can be won by players competing in all divisions. You can find more information on the prize pool for Division 1 and the other prizes here.

We look forward to seeing you all in what is sure to be a fantastic event!