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TRF Rugby Gaming Tournament '08

C

C A Iversen

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Ok guys, if this is ever going to happen again, we need to start somewhere. What stopped the '07 tournament I hear you ask? Well, there was one problem which stopped the flow of development and that was.......WHERE.

I am going to say straight out, that I put in a lot of time & work talking to others and co-ordinating the inaugural tournament. When it came around to planning the second one, we had a scenario where here in Invercargill we had a large number of interested players and only a small number who were willing to travel.

I'm talking about as many people as who turned up in total for the '06 tournament in Wellington.

So, initally due to dobrien7, Andrew Horton (never posts here anymore) and myself having made a huge effort to travel half the country to make the '06 tourney and supplying the trophies, I orginally put forward the suggestion of Invercargill, with a huge amount of accomodation for free. At first this seemed a goer, then gradually others said "naah, if it's that far, I can't make it", "it'd cost too much" etc.

My feelings were, "Well three of us Southlanders shelled out the big dollars to travel half the (admittedly small) country, why can't anyone else?". Then I began to feel that if there was a strong feeling to host the event elsewhere, there should be a strong push from that centre to organise it. So, I let everything go.........and it never happened.

I submit to you guys that cost is an issue wherever this event is held. With something like this if you plan it a long way out and book travel tickets early, then it becomes very affordable. I've been from one end of this country to the other for events and to be honest the '06 tournament was shaping up (til I left on night one for the birth of my daughter) as one of the greatest trips I'd ever been on.

Before I open discussion to one and all, I must also say that if there's a centre where you can travel from one side of town to the other in less than 20 mins, has multiple hosts willing to give you accomodation for free, a wide choice of bars and nightspots, has many grounds suitable for a TRF game of touch footy and will be somewhere you might never go again :D then Invercargill is the place. For goodness sake we are so keen to host we'll probably shout free dutch-courage to the guys we have staying for post-tourney festivities!

There's still plenty of time as I'm earmarking somewhere between late October-Mid November for this (approximately).

So lets discuss this, it'd be a hell of a great time. We're a small country and once a year should not be un-doable.
If you can't afford to travel, please spare a thought, I couldn't really either, I spent 7 hours in Wellington and then was flying back, due to the shock early arrival of my wee girl.


This time round I envisage a tournament in both Rugby '06 and Rugby '08. With a TRF national champ in each and of course trophies etc.

So, anyone out there interested? Lets hear some feedback.
 
I personally do not see a problem for me traveling from Auckland to anywhere in NZ. If it is gonna happen then I will be there if I get two months notice.

My concern with it falling apart is that people are simply not interested. I find that people who play rugby games have fragile sgos and won't put themselves in a position where they will realise that they are not the best. That is simply my experience of pushing to play people in Auckland and most often getting the hand off. I have even gone to other gaming sites looking for challenges and even advertising on trademe....but in the end no one really wants to play outside of their comfort zone let alone risk losing.

People who will do anything for a challenge and the experience of a challenge are far and few between when it comes to rugby gaming. My personal experience of rugby gaming people is that they do a lot of talking but not much meeting. And the talk is often the same old "I am the greatest and no one can beat me talk" which even the All Blacks will tell you is all folly.

However who knows...I might be proven wrong. Though as pessimistic as I sound I think that won't really be the case. Which is why I am going online to play whatever PS3 games there are. I get my rugby fix playing a very good Rugby06 player every saturday evening who is better than me.
 
About a year and a half ago i downloaded Sensible Soccer, on my gens emulator (for sega genesis). It has no online play option in the original game.

I remember in the gens program (where you load the rom/game file) that you could go onto a client or some type of gaming server called Kaillera client, would this not work for EA Rugby xx series if a program/emulator that allows you to load the .exe file?
 
Thats not the point of this, the point is for a group of lads to meetup and have a great weekend of Rugby Gaming And Rugby!!! Break down the boundaries of the Internet, make some friends, christ I have met some of the best people in the world through this place, the World Cup Final weekend would of not been the same if it wasn't for the meeting the lads and having a huge get together in London... Then there was the Millennium Magic Weekend, League Rugby, Rugby Games, Beer and a good bunch of lads...

Not forgetting the achievement of the guys in New Zealand in 06 for the Meetup down there, you had people travelling miles to meetup for a weekend of Rugby Games...

So We don't want no emulator we want proper meetups!!!
 
yeah i have no idea what fa'autau was up to there, emulater wtf?

anyway "I AM KEEN!!!!" ill definatly go down to Invercargil (just a question is that near laurwence(sp)? i have a friend down there who i should catch up with if i go down there lol.)

yep just chose a weekend, ill book my tickets and ill go down for the weekend. My gf would have just got back from the states, and i miss her terribly but somethings are just too good to miss the chance of doing. I really enjoyed the last tornament even though i came in 8th place. :D

though i dont have an xbox anymore to play 06 and my ps3 doesnt play ps2 games so i cant play 08 on that (i have the pc version to practice on i guess lol) but i am really keen to go down there and get my ass whipped again. Really its not about the game for me, its about having a good time, playigin a game i love against real people. The AI is no trouble for me, which is kinda sad and I really enjoyed meeting the guys last time.

so from me its a big YES, weekend of gaming and what ever wicked stuff.

no maybe from me this time, its a definatly gonna be a yes :)
 
Well, that's a promising start from two of the names which are very important and more than just slight drawcards for my money, Gay-Guy and Woosaah.

I can tell you both right now, that we will have a minimum of 8 local rugby gamers all ready to put you both to the test. That number should only grow. We have a few large HD screens to play on, I have access to two Xbox's (for Rugby '06) just on my own.

Believe me, we'll pull out all the stops to make sure this runs well, is a lot of fun and all are in with a chance.

Gay-guy, I can imagine you have many difficulties meeting new people who are willing to take the denting to their ego that a game against you would yield. Down here though, we have a pool of players who are more than happy to give it their best shot, lose or not.

You'll find that '06 may still be your domain, but we have some very odd players of '08 down here. Some styles, you'll find bizarre to say the least.

Theres one guy I beat all the time, but sometimes pulls out tries which decieve the hell out of you. His name is Muzza (real name Craig) and he beat Andrew Horton (who you've met) 103-5 in one World Cup semi. His running style makes you think he'll pass, then he won't. he always takes the least obvious route.

How are we going to ensure you have a tough time at '06? Well, as defending champ (and runaway success of last tourney), you must always have a side 5pts lower than the rest. That would still leave it open for you to beat me by 20pts, but will mean goodbye to 50pt hidings.

Think of that handicap like you are Rocky going up against your opposition in a weakened state and still having to win.

I think if we nail down a weekend for later in the year, then the interest will slowly grow and another 3-4 will probably come too.
 
i just told my gf that i was going down sometime then, and she wasnt happy. i told her i would send her to nelson that weekend so all good my end lol.

still is lawrence around there? please tell me :p
 
I bet she wasn't happy. You'd be surprised how many people think it's a lame, rainy, cold, place to go, yet here I am, nearly mid april, temperature must be 22 without a cloud in the sky.

It's also, amazing how many people brace themselves for the worst, much like Monty Burns about to go into the Simpson's house, when he said to Smithers, "Hold your nose Smithers, we're going in". Then they arrive and many say, "Gee, I really thought it'd be colder and smaller".

If you happen to get a good weekend down here, everyone will be wanting to go out for a game of touch or something. If you get a crappy one, it's perfect for playing indoor console games. Which is the point anyhow, lol.

By the way, Lawrence is about a three hour drive away, in South Otago. I believe so anyway.
 
Well I might convince my mate Doug to come down as well and he is a very good player so it brings more angles to the comp with more than just me coming from Auckland.

Also there may be more people interested second time round from other parts of NZ.

I think many others may be on the same level as I am on the rugby game because the tips have been out for a while and to tell you the truth as long as you tackle tackle tackle even the best player can be beaten. Just look at the All Blacks at the RWC.

As getofmeland has pointed out the whole idea really out of all this is to MEET up. MY memories of 2006 has that inaugural tournament as being the highlight weekend of the year.
 
That's exactly the spirit, GG. The meet-up was really the highlight, win, lose or draw. Rather than pinging you in team ability, maybe it should just be that you get second team choice as reigning champ?

Still my format is going to help speed things up too.

My idea is pools. Top two teams go to finals, bottom two go into plate comp. I spoke to Andrew Horton and he is indeed willing to host at least two TRF members. As can Amy and I.

Both houses are within a 10-15 min walk from town centre, so no taxis to go out anywhere really.

One of the other reasons for Invercargill is that Amy wants to play in this competition and she'll win some games, believe me. Watch out Woosaah!

I'm thinking that the Friday night would encompass pool matches, probably the quarters as well. Meanwhile the bottom two of each pool will slug it out in the plate comp. My aim is to cram 6 hours of gaming in (from 5pm-12am with an hour for food).

This frees up Saturday for finals in the afternoon (12-5pm) then social times afterwards. In the words of Edmund Blackadder, it'll be a "great-booze-up" for those who want to.

Then Sunday everyone departs.

This plan will get more and more detailed as things progress!
 
yep this sounds like its picking up fast, when i tried to pick it up again no one answered lol oh well :)

Invercagil it is... labour weekend anyone? lol thats october? but some people might want to spend time with their families and stuff

also is there a direct flight to invercargil from the main centres? or do we have to go to chch or dunedin or something lol

sounds like fun o_O lol

edit

just looked i get get down there about 280 retun so not bad, that looks like the cheapest i can get it.

i can get down there non stop but on the way back i have to stop off in chch, not that thats a problem, chch rocks!!!! lol

tentitive date 26sept to 28th sept?

is there school holidays around that time GG as it would be easier on you if it was holidays right?
 
Well Labour weekend does sound good because then we can play through into the Sunday etc and leave on Monday. Ultimately though I will go with the flow on the date.

Gee I dunno know about me having a useless team haha! I seriously believe that the gap I once had on the rest of the field has been well and truly caught up. Besides it will make the victory hollow for those who beat me....almost like they didn't accomplish much....when I leave they won't be able to say they won a fair and square game (like Spawn can say) or scored a fair and square try (like everyone who played me) because it would be seen as handicapped odds. I think most people would want to play the real deal and then they will know exactly where they stand rather than weeks later still wondering what might have been if it had been a fair match. Especially when you consider the travel and opportunity doesn't come around everyday to play me I would guess most people would want to take the opportunity to know the truth about them and me hahaha....gee....we haven't even made a page on this thread and already it sounds like the other thread two years ago that went for maybe 30 pages etc of intense debate haha!

Playing Amy would be an experience because I have never had a game against a female rugby gamer before. When she scores her first try against me I think it should be saved and spread all over youtube hahaha!

Remember the loads of alcohol that was consummed in the last tournament because we were so nervous we needed to calm down? Gee that was so FREAKY the tension in the air it was simply exhilirating and I drank so much (we all did) yet no one got drunk due to the tension being so nerverackingly high!

How will it go having two systems? I still personally will never touch that tripe called Rugby08 because of the inferior playstation framerate and the almost infinite offloads that the PS2 version often creates. Will there really be time to cross play two systems in the time frame we have?
 
i havnt even played 08 on the ps2 and havnt touched 06 since the last tornament lol ill be at a huge disadvantage, but i am more there for the social side of things and try give it ago. i dont even have a chance at practice with my xbox dying a horible death. (and no its not cause it was purple that it died)

ok labour weekend, it is a long weekend, and i can probably get my mate to come up from lawrence, he might game, but he doesnt play sports game lol.
 
It all sounds very cool so far, much like last time. To Gay-Guy, about the handicapping, I agree that giving you an inferior team is not the way to go, but maybe a slight leveller would be this scenario.

Someone chooses South Africa for example. You can't choose a better side than them. Any side, could be the same overall level or less (even 1 pt less). With this method you'd not really have a handicap, as nearly all sides have different overall ratings and if anyone plays anyone else, the same scenario will happen. One player will have a fractionally higher rated side.

For all intents and purposes, it'd be like the difference between Wales and Argentina. Although with Henson and Shane Williams, that might not be a good example, lol!
 
Sorry, i know this is a meet-up tournament. I didn't mean to confuse you all and hijack the thread.
 
Thats cool Fa'atau82, I'm sure you didn't realise. If I had a dollar for every time I'd misread a post, I'd have........well, about 6 bucks by now.
 
and you would have made about two at least from this week!!!

haha

*points and laughs at craig*
 
I think an easy leveller would be that I don't get first choice of a team...lol...thats quite simple!



If I remember with the first tournament it was a coin toss who had first choice of team and homeground was set at "random".......until it got to meeting in the playoffs. Then it became highest ranked in the rounds who got to choose first AND they had homeground advantage. So we had to really try hard with every point in the round robin being vital.
 
That sounds awesome for the finals? What about having a Super 14 points structure? Four tries or more gets a bonus point and getting within 7 points gets one too?
 
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