THE BOWL

1,000 players getting together and playing just for the fun of it, in teams, on Fortress-servers. How it all goes ahead is determined by players contributing ideas here, and there are different ways of arranged these thoughts; what follows is one way. Feel free to add to the list under any category and please remember that all editions are constructive.

=preparations= At this stage (TRONICv1.2), it is too early to be precise with any plans, however the long-view thinkers amoungst us may have some vague notions of how such an event may be realised, with due consideration to ensure their solutions can be extendable to satisfy the ideal objectives for THE CUP. The TRONIC BOWL is played three months after THE LADLE, and constitutes the first real test model of what is to come. Preparation before the day can increase the chances that the event on the day runs smoothly.

team registration
This should build on the experiences of the previous competition. When it comes down to it, the teams need to be registered so that on the day, team-pairing is easy and records of wins and losses are easily tabulated.
 * finding your team

server allocation
Stuff to do with PING so that players have reasonable, acceptable PING. If there are enough players and hence servers, players will tend to play others nearby so that PING is roughly equivalent. Towards the end of the competition, neutral, recommended servers, are used to home the finals.

standardised fortress settings
Probably as they are on CVS Test Server. Although different servers and clients may translate them, this should as much as possible be standardised. Any variation between servers can be a matter of more popular, recommended servers. The most significant factor to determine is the win-zone, and there is plenty of discussion already about this topic in the forums.
 * winzone activated only with 1v1
 * winzone deactivated in finals
 * housing a million spectators
 * teamchatting

reaching 1,000 players
Something like a marketing strategy. Is it through word of mouth... through advertising.. can players encourage others to join by posting invitations in other game forums. At the root of it all, however, is the game itself. It is essential that the first experience a player has of the game is a pleasurable one, and hence some thought must be paid to how new players are treated. If the growth is exponential (as things seem to be on the net), then at some stage it may be possible to have noob-only servers.
 * word of mouth
 * entrancing the noobs

=the day= 1,000 players playing on up to 64 servers.

feasible round-period timing
How is each round run? Can we play 64 games simultaneously? Can we spend as long as 1/2hour to determine the result of two teams competing?
 * basic 1/2hour rounds

tracking team-pairings
What is the system that keeps a tag of the teams and results? How do teams pair up in the first place? Is this all determined before the day? Or can this be determined on the day in a close-to-chaos self-organised way? Is there a strict order of play sequenced play as most tournaments are organised, or is the first-come first-serve matching of teams organised by themselves? This is the first real test of self-organised gaming.
 * traditional knock-out
 * self-organised pairings

=other ideas which don't fit the categories that well= Feel free to create any new categories as well list ideas and mechanisms that don't fit the format above. Make use of the discussion options for each page, and use the forums to voice ideas to see if anyone else has been thinking the same things you have been...