European Region - General Discussion Thread

[TRF C A Iversen]

Please feel free to add your name in this thread if you have interest in these upcoming competitions and this will be the thread for general discussion as the competition progresses.



What do we want to know?

1. That if your interested in playing in the leagues, that you'll be fine with committing to playing the competition through to it's conclusion whatever the result may be for yourself personally as a player.

2. That you understand that it's important that these games are to be played in good spirits and that any negativity towards other players will be deleted from these threads.

3. That you understand that not everyone can have a "dead-on equally rated team" in such competitions as these and that in the end there are bound to be games where one side will perhaps have a slight advantage in some ways. That's just the way of things.

So, give us your input. How'd you like your competition? Full round robin, then finals? Pools then finals?

Let's hear from you. There's a week to go.

XBox 360 Comp:

Names - Gamertags

1. Raziel Eire - Ezeqiel
2. IRFU - thomas9124
3. Duckdee - Duckdee
4. nato - nato13e
5. Thingimubob - Thingimubob
6. Conal - conalb
7. TRF_Olyy - Olyy
8. TRF_Getofmeland - Getofmeland (SA, Eng, Fra)
9. Feicarsinn - Feicarsinn
10. matt869 - matt869
11. cimbomjubi82 - jubigala
12. welshyboymorrio - rodmorrisboy (Arg, Ire, Fra)
13. mudannyfc - mudannyfc (Wal, Ita, Fij)
14. YesImAfroJack - YesI'mAfroJack (Wal, Sco, Arg)
15. CRGamingEmpire_You Tube - CRGamingEmpire (Any?)
16. Angry Panda - Angry Panda Z (NZl, Aus, Fra)
17. smb64 - PaCMaN Z3RO - (Any?)



PS3 Comp:

Names - PSN ID's

1. ianmackay88 - ianmackay88
2. TVH11 - TVH11
3. cmac95 - SEEMAC95
4. Kingnick - kingnick678
5. jack6161 - J2CK_P3RRY
6. dza - ghostsarenotreal (Ire)
7. _ALLE88_ - Alle1988 (Eng, Sam, Ita)
8. Mattt - Egg1990 (Wal, Fra, Sam)
9. jardinedaniel - astrilla13 (SAf, Sam, Rom)
10. rugby143 - WallabiesLuke (Aus, SAf, Fra)
11. starkadder - starkadder (Wal, SAf, Eng)
12. welshdragon12 - El_Lloydos (Wal, Arg, Ita)
13. teldatati - teldatati (SAf, Fra, Arg)
14. UlsterG - G-leprechaun (Ire, SAf, Sam)
15. jovialjonny - jovial_jonny (Ire, Fra, Eng)



Will update with more gamertags and psn id's soon.

[raziel_eire]

TRF name: raziel_eire
Platform: xbox360
Gamertag: ezeqiel

Happy to commit to all above rules & regs.

Competition Format: pools then QF, Semi's and final as a preference but happy to go full round robin aswell if numbers don't permit for pools
Preferred team: Ireland
Secondary team: Samoa
Tertiary team: Romania

Let's get this on!


How are you going about team selection - random assignment or by preferences?

[TRF C A Iversen]

TRF name: raziel_eire
Platform: xbox360
Gamertag: ezeqiel

Happy to commit to all above rules & regs.

Competition Format: pools then finals as a preference but happy to go full round robin aswell if numbers don't permit for pools
Preferred team: Ireland
Secondary team: Samoa
Tertiary team: Romania

Let's get this on!


How are you going about team selection - random assignment or by preferences?

Great question Raziel. I'm thinking a draw could be an idea. I'm not playing in your regions comp, so I might be able to throw the names into hat and then if everyone lists their top 10 choices in order, then they will get what is still left on their list?

If there are likely several more players than 10, they'll have to pick from the remaining lower ranked sides?

Open to ideas.

Also, just so as it's out there, the plan is to hold an international champions tournament at the conclusion of these regional ones, for the title of Overall International Champion (but that's getting ahead of things right now).



Also, I'd imagine that having more than 20 European players could happen, so it's really the first 20 players in that definitely get into the competition.

[ianmackay88]

Platform: PS3PSN Id: ianmackay88Accept rulesCompetition Format: not botheredPreferred team: WalesSecondary team: Anyone except England

[TRF C A Iversen]

Platform: PS3PSN Id: ianmackay88Accept rulesCompetition Format: not botheredPreferred team: WalesSecondary team: Anyone except England

Duly noted, lol. (Writes down) "Does not want England" - check.


BY THE WAY EVERYONE - THERE'S TWO COMPS - PS3 & XBOX360.

Bear that in mind, so there is slightly more of a chance of getting the team you'd like.

[IRFU]

Sorry was on my phone and trying to copy out the format :P

TRF name: IRFU
Platform: Xbox 360
Gamertag: thomas9124

I accept the conditions

Competition Format: If possible pools then finals but, it would be better that it just runs smoothly.
Preferred team: USA
Secondary team: Ireland
Tertiary team: Tonga

[ianmackay88]

Last post went weird and wouldn't let me edit (Prob something to do with these archaic machines we have a work)Hopefully this one works!Platform: PS3PSN Id: ianmackay88Accept rulesCompetition Format: not botheredPreferred team: WalesSecondary team: Anyone except England :P

[Duckdee]

XBL: Duckdee
Open to whatever.

[TRF C A Iversen]

Sorry was on my phone and trying to copy out the format :P

TRF name: IRFU
Platform: Xbox 360
Gamertag: thomas9124

I accept the conditions

Competition Format: If possible pools then finals but, it would be better that it just runs smoothly.
Preferred team: Ireland
Secondary team: Tonga
Tertiary team: Scotland

Thanks IRFU, you'll be in the draw with Raziel (and probably others yet) for Ireland.


Tremendous start for Xbox 360. We have 3 players of the 20 already. It's looking like pools and then finals are favoured and selecting three teams prior to the draw from the looks so far.

[nato]

TRF name: nato
Platform: xbox360
Gamertag: nato13e


Competition Format: pools then semi finals then finals. ( So just 1 winner from each pool?)
Preferred team: Ireland
Secondary team: France
Tertiary team: Wales

I agree to the Rules aswell.

[TRF C A Iversen]

TRF name: nato
Platform: xbox360
Gamertag: nato13e


Competition Format: pools then semi finals then finals. ( So just 1 winner from each pool?)
Preferred team: Ireland
Secondary team: France
Tertiary team: Wales

I agree to the Rules aswell.

It looks to me that the way it's shaping it'll be very similar to World Cup format at this stage. It's be likely four pools of five, with the top two going through to quarter finals.


I'd also like input. Video games are very different to real rugby. Are our finals (quarters, semis and the final) all one offs, or best of three?

Finally, time limit for matches. 5mins each way? 10? Or perhaps 5 min pools and 10min finals?

Let me know how you feel guys. It's your competition.

[TRF_Getofmeland]

TRF name: TRF_Getofmeland
Platform: xbox360
Gamertag: Getofmeland


Competition Format: pools then semi finals then finals. ( So just 1 winner from each pool?)
Preferred team: England
Secondary team: South Africa
Tertiary team: Ireland

[nato]

Didn't really think about those things,
5 min pools games, 10 minute finals.
Also say if there is more than 20 people want to play, we could add a extra person to each pool? So that every body could get a shot or we could put them in the next competition or different region competition?

[TVH11]

TRF ID - TVH11
Platform - PS3
PSN - TVH11

Preferred Team - Wales
Secondary Team - France
Tertiary Team - Australia

(are we allowed to use SH teams??? :P :P)

[TRF C A Iversen]

TRF ID - TVH11
Platform - PS3
PSN - TVH11

Preferred Team - Wales
Secondary Team - France
Tertiary Team - Australia

(are we allowed to use SH teams??? :P :P)

Absolutely!!! No problem. Everyone will likely have one different team from the World Cup. I'm unsure of people being able to play online as Wales Vs Wales or the like, so everyone will need to have a different team.

I'll update new info as I get it into the first post and there will be a new thread for fixtures and results.

Didn't really think about those things,
5 min pools games, 10 minute finals.
Also say if there is more than 20 people want to play, we could add a extra person to each pool? So that every body could get a shot or we could put them in the next competition or different region competition?

In the event there was enough interest, we'd look at various options including running a second comp alongside the first in whichever region that occurred.

I must say, the Welsh and Irish have taken to this very quickly. Might those countries have some of the best gamers in the European region? I guess we're going to find out.

[raziel_eire]

erm... maybe I should recheck my secondary & tertiary team selections! ...almost everyone else is going the whole hog and choosing a Tier 1 nation for their choices! :gulp:

Would prefer 10min halves for all games - it's not like we are all sitting in the same room waiting for our turn with the controller on the sofa so we need to speed the pool games up... we'll be playing games concurrently and I want time enough to enjoy the games I'm involved - especially if I end up with Romania and only get 4 games!


If we get the 20 players needed, I say stick to the pure RWC format for the initial comps and then do the varying up of pool sizes, team selection repetition, straight to semi's, best of 3 games etc ideas until a later date when the theme and hype of the actual RWC is not as high and we need the variation.

I've also just ordered up the Roxio Game Capture unit, so anyone playing against me will be captured and posted up on youtube for future viewing and highlight reels!


And what's everyone's and the official TRF opinion on the use of any exploits in the game? Are they to be embraced/shunned/exploiters shamed?

[TRF_Olyy]

TRF Name: TRF_Olyy
Platform: Xbox 360
XBL Name: Olyy

1st Team: England
2nd Team: Fiji
3rd Team: France


Pools, semis, Finals sounds good to me, though whichever way it goes I'm happy anyway

[cmac95]

TRF ID: cmac95
Console:PS3
PS3 ID: SEEMAC95

1st: Ireland
2nd: France
3rd: Japan

[Conal]

TRF id conal
xbox tag conalb
platform x box

1st team ireland
2nd team samoa
3rd canada

any format as long as its orgonised properly!



however to mabey make the the teams slightly more even you can only have one tier 1 team one tier 2 team and a minnow as your third???

to stop people picking like wales france then say the allblacks

[TRF C A Iversen]

Some very good points raised by Raziel and Conal. There's starting to be some very good feedback so far which is helping things take shape. I believe the 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice team format definitely seems to be the way to go.

Perhaps we could have it that people will be awarded home and away fixtures. The home team gets use of their primary team, and the away team gets to use their secondary or tertiary team?

We may have it that players could have to select two tier one teams and one tier two or below team to diversify the squads being played as. This depends on feedback we receive in this thread. I may start a poll on that in the Oceania thread. Further to that, the Oceania people can vote on the gameplay time in this poll also.

Finally, we want these competitions to be how our general membership feels works best and that's why we're having a few days of input. The initial format for all regions will be finalised prior to release, so there's no worries there.

Keep the feedback coming, it's very welcome.

[Thingimubob]

TRF ID: Thingimubob
Platform: XBOX 360
Gamertag: Thingimubob

1st team: Wales
2nd team: Italy
3rd team: Japan

Like the idea of pools then finals, voted 5 mins for pools and 10 for finals too. I think it all depends on what type of scores we get from 5 mins matches compared to 10 min ones. We could end up with scored of 65-52 in a 20min long match compared to a 32 - 25 in a 10min. Depends whether we're aiming for realistic scores or not, won't out which one gives us that until we play the game anyway.

Conal has a point too, but I think it should follow in-game rankings rather than tiers. For example if I pick Wales as my 1st choice and they're rated 83 I can't pick anyone higher than that for my 2nd choice.
Also, a heads up, my connection at home is bloody awful. I haven't even tried online gaming on my 360 yet as its pretty damn unpredictable, might have a crack at Red Dead online to see how it goes. But yeah I'm not the type who quits when I'm losing anyway (hell if I end up as Italy or Japan and are getting trounced by people I don't mind, will celebrate every try and kick I manage to score as a mini-victory) just I am seriously worried about connection issues.

[TRF C A Iversen]

TRF ID: Thingimubob
Platform: XBOX 360
Gamertag: Thingimubob

1st team: Wales
2nd team: Italy
3rd team: Japan

Like the idea of pools then finals, voted 5 mins for pools and 10 for finals too. I think it all depends on what type of scores we get from 5 mins matches compared to 10 min ones. We could end up with scored of 65-52 in a 20min long match compared to a 32 - 25 in a 10min. Depends whether we're aiming for realistic scores or not, won't out which one gives us that until we play the game anyway.

Conal has a point too, but I think it should follow in-game rankings rather than tiers. For example if I pick Wales as my 1st choice and they're rated 83 I can't pick anyone higher than that for my 2nd choice.
Also, a heads up, my connection at home is bloody awful. I haven't even tried online gaming on my 360 yet as its pretty damn unpredictable, might have a crack at Red Dead online to see how it goes. But yeah I'm not the type who quits when I'm losing anyway (hell if I end up as Italy or Japan and are getting trounced by people I don't mind, will celebrate every try and kick I manage to score as a mini-victory) just I am seriously worried about connection issues.

Thanks for your feedback Thingimubob. Appreciate the heads up about your connection. It's good that your open about that. It's part of why we're regionalising our comps to start with.

Will take your other points on board, I'm sure you'll realise that it's all about averaging out opinions over the next few days, and making a choice that reflects what the majority feel is a good idea.

Like the idea about 2nd and third choice not being better than your preference for a home side, but there are a few Welsh people who seem to genuinely like Ireland and France as other options, because they like the teams, not because they want to take better squads. Still, there's room for discussion over the next few days and that's what this is all about.

[Thingimubob]

Awesome stuff yeah you have got a point about people picking teams they like (hence the fact I picked Italy, always beena big fan of them), plenty of ways to sort it out so everyones happy!
Hopefully in around 3 or 4 weeks (so while the world cup in in full swing) I'll be moved into my new house in Swansea ready for the new year of Uni, with a 30mb or 40mb connection so all should be good connection wise when I do!

[Feicarsinn]

TRF name: Feicarsinn
Platform: xbox360
Gamertag: Feicarsinn

Competition Format: Round Robin please

Preferred team: France
Secondary team: Canada
Tertiary team: Ireland

[Kingnick]

TRF ID: Kingnick
Platform: PS3
Gamertag: kingnick678

Agree all conditions

Pools 5 min half and finals 10 min half


1st team: Ireland
2nd team: Argentina
3rd team: Fiji

[Duckdee]

Ok, 3 teams:

Japan
Georgia
Namibia

i ain't gonna beatin' nobody anyways, might as well leave the good teams to yous guys!

[TRF C A Iversen]

Good info on the competition format. It looks at this stage that it's pools and then finals. It could go straight to semis, as that's what I've heard the most, but remember, if your one of the guys who finished narrowly second in a pool and felt you could've won that pool, you might feel a little aggrieved that you didn't get to fight your way back into the tourney with a quarter final.

Can only put forward what gets said to me though and this isn't my comp (I'll be in Oceania), this is yours.



Edit: Here's some interesting info on potential disconnect rules. Your feedback please.

The rule for disconnects will likely be something similar to:

If one player is in front by more than 14pts in the 2nd half at the time of disconnect then they win the game.

If a disconnect happens after the 65th minute (or in the 1min vicinty of) then if the team leading is leading by 7pts or more, then they will be awarded the win.

If games disconnect in the 1st half, more often than not it'll be a legitimate connection issue. In the case of persistent connection issues, an attempt to replay will be made a few times until each user has tried enough and if no luck, then please discuss that in the fixture threads that will be located here at that time.

People's connections are their own issue and we need to be as fair as possible. We can't ourselves run an overly complex system for combating this kind of potential cheating and these are the best methods we have at a forum level for ensuring a game goes most of the distance.

Please bear in mind that we do want a competition that people enjoy and we may look at measures of removing people from competitions who seem to consistently have a connection issue when people are coming back into a game. If we get the word from a number of other members, then that'll build up a profile of who may or may not be included in future comps also.

It's likely that these competitions will not commence until at least one week after release, to enable people to purchase the game and upskill themselves somewhat. So this may also tie in reasonably closely to the start of the actual cup.

Given the speeds at which video game tourneys can complete, it may not run for the duration of the world cup.

[Feicarsinn]

I'm quite happy that we've got a bunch of established users in as opposed to a bunch of n00bs. It makes you feel a tad more confident that these games are going to go ahead.

[TRF_Ezequiel]

I will be joining too! On PS3, once I get my hands on the game, which won't be immediately when it comes out.

When it comes to the length of the matches, I think everything is okay. As long as the people don't quit when they are behind

[cimbomjubi82]

TRF name: cimbomjubi82 (Fa'atau82 in a previous life)
Platform: xbox360
Gamertag: jubigala

10 min halves all the way. Should see how realistic the game online is though really, or it'll be nearer cricket scores.

Preferred team: France
Secondary team: Georgia
Tertiary team: Tonga