LONG POST WARNING

Hello all.

I’ve been thinking about Ladies Night – the premise in general being Regs / Clanners vs Regs / Clanners. It’s sometimes a bit chaotic and disorganised and I'd really like to change that so that even if there's no 'admin' organising the match it can still go ahead in some fashion.

So, given that I’ve discovered that I’m quite fond of the Regs really, I’ve taken it on myself to ‘Champion’ Ladies Night. I’ve got no real interest in playing in a league, but I do like matches compared to pub server play and Ladies Night is a great way of getting that fix.

With that in mind I’ve spent some time thinking about the rules we play by for Ladies Night, and the other peripheral stuff like how to sign up and how teams are chosen, etc... It's all pretty much written down below. This is all up for discussion, but I’ve put down some bare bones from which to work. I’d like a general feeling for if the majority reckon this is accurate for what Ladies Night should be about.

So...there are some rough 'aims'

Ladies Night is about the Hampshire Heavies Community.
To foster participation within the HH community by Regs and Clanners alike.
To provide an organised regular opportunity for everyone to participate in a competitive match-like environment.
To help the Clan Members identify new talent amongst the Regs to steal away into the Clan.
To pity the fool

And below is the ‘Ladies Night Mandate’ I’ve been working on – essentially a FAQ for what Ladies Night is all about and how to sign up / what the rules are / etc..

What is Ladies Night?
Ladies Night is a fun community match evening running every Wednesday evening between 8:00pm and 10:00pm.

It consists of up to 14 players battling it out on two maps chosen before the night. Winners are determined by most Captures, Points or Victories, or the quickest times on each map.

Who can play?
Ladies Night is open to all Community Members, reg and clanner alike, though you *must* sign up in order to play.

Because one of the aims of the night is to encourage participation within the community, Regs may sometimes be given priority during sign up. This is not to snub the League Teams or other Clanners but to ensure that people who don’t usually play matches have the opportunity to see what it is like.

How do I sign up?
Each match will have its own sign up thread on the forums which will contain any special sign up requirements for that Wednesdays match. Simply post in the thread to say you would like to play in that match.

Alternatively you may sign up to be a Ringer for the match – that is, you won’t be automatically assigned to a team but are held as a reserve to replace dropouts.

Depending on the sign up requirements, your sign up might also contain which classes you would like to play and which maps you would like to see on the map vote for the night.

What happens then?
Once enough signups are received, each player will be assigned to a team using a highly complex and deeply mathematical process to attempt to balance the teams and make the night as fun as possible.

The teams will be announced on the thread as soon as they are finalised.

If you sign up as a Ringer and don’t get to play you will be guaranteed a slot in the next week if you are able to play. This will only carry over to the next week however. If this starts to get unwieldy, or people begin to take the piss, I will review this.

What does a Team look like?
A normal team roster for a 7 vs. 7 match might consist of the following:

1 Heavy
2 Medics (1 for 6 vs. 6)
1 Soldier
1 Demoman
2 ‘Support’ Classes, covering Pyro, Spy, Engineer, Scout and Sniper.

This set up is not a must have – If your team does not want to follow that combination then you can change it.

Teams can consist of whatever makeup the team agrees on bearing in mind the Class Limit. Remember though – this is a team match, not a public game – work together and don’t be selfish.

What are the Rules?
There is usually a general format to the Night that reflects how competitive matches are played. This tends to be as follows, though depending on various factors there may be variations:

14 Player Cap – 7 vs. 7.
Class Limit of 2 on a team – except medics, see below.
7 vs. 7 matches have a Class Limit of 2 medics. For 6 vs. 6, the limit is 1 medic.
All weapons, unlocks and classes allowed in competitive play are permitted (need linky)
Ringers are always needed to fill in for people who can’t make it at the last moment.
Be on the server by 7.55 pm. Ringers will be invited in after 8.00pm to replace no shows.
All players are expected to behave like grown ups. Poor behaviour may result in a ban from future Ladies Nights.

How are the maps chosen?
Map selection is normally done during sign up. Each person to sign up can select a map for a poll within the sign up thread. The results of this poll will determine which two maps are played on the night. The admin arranging the night does not get to choose any maps for the vote – it’s all down to the people signing up. That’s the price we pay for setting things up.

Unlike Competitive play, the maps that are played can potentially be drawn from both the official Valve map set and the wide range of custom maps that are played on the servers – though some maps will not be included. Over time we will develop a list of disallowed maps based on play balance and other factors affecting how ‘fun’ the map is to play.

Note – sometimes the map choice will be determined in a different way. This will be indicated in the sign up thread. Also, the map poll is limited to 10 options if more than 10 maps are suggested only the first 10 will be used.

What if I can’t make it?
If you cannot make the match, you are expected to source a replacement. Begin by asking the Ringers for the night as they will be given precedence over anyone who did not sign up. If the Ringers are all playing, or are also unavailable then you can draft in any Reg or Clanner who will take your place.

What’s the server password?
To allow matches to begin on time the server is reconfigured to have a password shortly before 8pm. The password is usually made available on the sign up thread in advance. If the password is not on the thread, ask another sign up in Steam Chat or IRC.

Any other advice?

Play as a team. This isn’t a public game where there is often little actual team work. You will need to work together to survive and be victorious.
Voice comms are strongly recommended. You will put yourself and your team at a disadvantage without them. They are not, however, mandatory.
Listen to and protect your medic(s). In match play they are often the nucleus of your team – to lose your medic may lose you the game. Equally – try to kill the opposing medics. Some teams will make the medic their ‘captain’.
Have fun. This is the golden rule.

Go sarge I'm behind you 100% as a ladies night junkie.

Nicely written post. I think the FAQs could be put somewhere on the website.

*Sits down with Popcorn*
Yeah!

Sounds like a great initiative!

sweet.

i will try sign up as much as i can, i finish college at 7:45 on Wednesday, but only takes me 10mins to get home, but i will warn you on sign up post about that.

you might wanna put in the rules that it (should) be mandatory for all players to be on TS2, even if they don't have a mic, to listen to everyone. <- unless you are all doing it via the tf2 in game voice?

@Scythe: Aww no. You too? Everyone is getting a Agent 47 related sig.

Its 'cause you're so popular.
*Cough* Agent 48 *Cough*

Lets keep it on topic please. I will delete off topic posts.