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How we run tournaments

  • 07-06-2012 11:37am
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,966 ✭✭✭


    Wanted to start a discussion on how we run tournaments - Get the neurons firing on how we organise sh1t3. There are a lot more fighting games out these days than when we started hosting tourneys with peeps having different preferences for which game they "main" (with some obviously being whores and playing them all). This is having an effect on splitting the community events for DoC or inferno - or other smaller ones?! Given how small we actually are in terms of numbers, I think this is hurting us more than helping us. Wanted to start the discussion to see if we can come up with a better way of being more inclusive and/or combining games for tourneys and how we should run em. Lets start throwing ideas around and see where it goes?

    I also think we need to purchase equipment for the community. We have 4 monitors and some speakers but we should really have some consoles as well. This will most definitely help with organising events as we would have a min number of setups and then the dedicated few who would bring in gear would mean that we could have 6-8 easily enough per event - hence facilitating ideas and possible formats.

    I am not 100% on what way would work best but we should at least attempt to think about it and see what we can do. I do not intend this thread to be an attack on how existing community members run events or have run in the past - you guys are all legends in my eyes. Without which this discussion would be moot.

    We could have inferDoc where we alternate two main games and support them with side tourneys but have 4 per event.
    e.g. (please understand I am a SF only playa - so don't know all the games about we could use as side tourneys)

    Month 1 - Main (SF and SFxT) | Side (Skullgirls and HDR)
    Month 2 - Main (Marvel and MK9) | Side (3s and tekken 6)
    Month 3 - Main (SF and SFxT) | Side (Soul Cal 5 and KoFXIII)
    Month 4 - Main (Marvel and MK9) | Side (VF5 and Blaz Blue)
    Rinse and repeat.
    (I picked the "main' games in the example above based on numbers from past experience - open to config, obviously)

    This way each tourney is different. All games are played (mostly). I think it could work - if we get some setups. Obviously the side games themselves could be voted on each month through a thread easily enough and if it was at the last one, it can't be in the next. We would have to limit the format to straight single/double elim or wha-evs works best.

    This could also lead to having a casuals machine at events - just for you Bush ;)


«1

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 567 ✭✭✭Vyze


    Although I haven't really been part of any FG scene for a while, I'd still advise against straight-up single-elimination tournaments for main tournaments unless it's generally accepted as a casual event.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,966 ✭✭✭Scavenger XIII


    I rather like this idea being the dirty jack-of-all-trades that I am.

    Haven't really been coming down south for anything in a good while so I don't know if you'd be able to facilitate that many games on a day though. If you guys can work out the logistics I definitely think it would make each event more attractive to travel to.

    You could always save valuable time and space by dropping SFxT. :p


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,239 ✭✭✭UberPrinny_Baal


    Some of the recent problems are poor attendance for definite.

    From a personal point of view:

    For venue attendance: I'm more than happy to sit around for a full day of tournaments as long as there's one game I main. I quite liked Infernos old format of "Headline SF tournament" plus one incredibly cheap or free side game (HDR, 3S etc)

    For entering specific tournaments: It's pretty much a ratio of how good I know I am versus the entry fee cost. I'm not going to put down decent money for games I'm "training dummy" free at, which is pretty much all of them except Street Fighter.

    I thought it was great when DOC started offering free entry fees to people who brought equipment, and I was grand to be beaten around in Blazblue, Marvel and MK as long as I could play AE. But with Street Fighter dropped from the roster I don't really feel inclined to spend a full day at the venue for games I don't play.

    Inferno doesn't offer the equipment discount, which is unfortunate, and has two headline full price games. So I've been just showing up for the Street Fighter part of this.

    Sorry if this sounds a bit rambly, but my interest in fighting games hasn't waned, but it feels like because things have naturally changed and evolved over time (as they do); now instead of attending ALL events, I only attend half of one. That seems weird.

    I can't think of a good solution, I just wanted to explain why my tournament attendance has slipped.

    AJs suggestion is interesting. I'd personally come along for the odd number months with the S-games and skip the even numbered months with the M-games.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,816 ✭✭✭✭K.O.Kiki


    Honestly, I would say that SFIV is and always should be the "main" game, because quite frankly it is (in Ireland).

    Then mix-and-match with 2 "big" side games (i.e. games with over 10 players like Marvel) and have casual setups for 1-2 other games still (e.g. VF until it shows it can be popular enough).


  • Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 25,872 Mod ✭✭✭✭Doctor DooM


    There's a whole rake of issues we need to all have a big think about.

    Personally, I want the community to buy more gear. I would like there to be at least 1 xbox and decent lagless HDMI monitor. No more complaining about lag with any validity, and always we'll have at least 1 machine there. The people who have the money have already agreed to the monitor, so it's just actioning it.

    Of course, there's the argument we get more...

    Attendance, is there some reason people aren't coming any more? Are people browned off with having to bring gear? Or would people like more of the DoC thing of getting in for cheap if they bring it?

    How about the events that are being run? Do we want to have major events? A few people have come to me talking about having big tournaments like evo- but not FOR evo. Part of this idea would be that the community takes a certain amount from every tournament using the gear to go towards the prizes for a big annual tournament.

    Do we want DoC and Inferno to continue as seperate events? What about creating 2 different DoCs, one for 3D and one for 2D? Or AJ's idea, completely amalgamate the two? With Chopper finding it difficult to attend Inferno, does anyone else want to help out?

    Do people want the committee to do more? Or should we even bother? Should the TO's have people to respond to?

    What about randomselect? Are we giving up on it? Does someone want to take responsibility and try to build on it?

    What about promoting the tournaments on facebook/srk etc? Kneecap used to do it but he hasn't been around for a while.

    So loads of stuff for people to think about.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 567 ✭✭✭Vyze


    How about the events that are being run? Do we want to have major events? A few people have come to me talking about having big tournaments like evo- but not FOR evo. Part of this idea would be that the community takes a certain amount from every tournament using the gear to go towards the prizes for a big annual tournament.
    Although it's probably not seen as a "major event", that's what I was trying to do with CXC.

    I don't know what attendance is like down south, but I think with it being exam season right now could be a good part of the reason for recent lower attendance across the country.

    So long as I'm posting - what's the general consensus on multi-game tournament entry fees? Would people rather pay a flat venue entry fee then a separate fee for each game (e.g. Super VS Battle), or free entry for casuals, but a cut of each tournament entry goes towards paying for the venue/equipment?


  • Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 25,872 Mod ✭✭✭✭Doctor DooM


    Vyze wrote: »
    Although it's probably not seen as a "major event", that's what I was trying to do with CXC.

    I don't know what attendance is like down south, but I think with it being exam season right now could be a good part of the reason for recent lower attendance across the country.

    So long as I'm posting - what's the general consensus on multi-game tournament entry fees? Would people rather pay a flat venue entry fee then a separate fee for each game (e.g. Super VS Battle), or free entry for casuals, but a cut of each tournament entry goes towards paying for the venue/equipment?

    CxC would never have offered the type of money/prize I am talking about, really, and also faces the problem of being somewhere difficult for half the country to travel to. So while it's definitely a bigger (and more fun) day than usual, it's not really bigger than a DoC down in Dublin, in practice. In my head and as a video guy I work in the same mode for both.

    You'd have to think of something weird or unusual to make it different, I guess.

    I would have thought attendance was due to exams but last inferno wasn't exactly massive, and there was zero people from outside Dublin. Perhaps simple fatigue is part of it too.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,081 ✭✭✭✭chopperbyrne


    How many people would turn up to tournaments with no prize money, simply a flat fee of say €7 for entry into any tournament happening that day?

    We'd be able to give exchange say three euro of every seven and build up some money for the community to buy equipment quicker.

    Also, it's getting harder and harder for me to get Saturdays off, so someone else will probably have to step up full time to take over the running of Inferno.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,239 ✭✭✭UberPrinny_Baal


    How many people would turn up to tournaments with no prize money, simply a flat fee of say €7 for entry into any tournament happening that day?

    I definitely would.

    I think MOST people would, since only three people out of any tournament get money back, and they're usually the same few top players.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 567 ✭✭✭Vyze


    CxC would never have offered the type of money/prize I am talking about, really, and also faces the problem of being somewhere difficult for half the country to travel to. So while it's definitely a bigger (and more fun) day than usual, it's not really bigger than a DoC down in Dublin, in practice. In my head and as a video guy I work in the same mode for both.

    You'd have to think of something weird or unusual to make it different, I guess.

    I would have thought attendance was due to exams but last inferno wasn't exactly massive, and there was zero people from outside Dublin. Perhaps simple fatigue is part of it too.
    Aye, I'm having a hard time thinking of what it would take to make a single event stand out as a "special" event - outside of sponsorship offering ridiculously huge prizes. Even having more and more setups just means people will have an easier time with casual games between matches, but won't change the vibe much.

    What would it take for an event in Ireland to feel like a Cannes? Or, for that matter, what would it take to attract players from outside of Ireland?


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  • Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 25,872 Mod ✭✭✭✭Doctor DooM


    Vyze wrote: »
    Aye, I'm having a hard time thinking of what it would take to make a single event stand out as a "special" event - outside of sponsorship offering ridiculously huge prizes. Even having more and more setups just means people will have an easier time with casual games between matches, but won't change the vibe much.

    What would it take for an event in Ireland to feel like a Cannes? Or, for that matter, what would it take to attract players from outside of Ireland?

    The only thing that's ever worked so far is a big prize.

    In the second evo qualifier, the MvC tournament went mental for the stick prize. Last year we had 2 international travellers.

    the thing with big prizes is, though, if you can't get a company to pay for them- big risk.

    So I think the solution (which a number of people suggested to me) is that a little be shaved off the takings from tournaments for that too.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,966 ✭✭✭ayjayirl


    Do we want DoC and Inferno to continue as seperate events? What about creating 2 different DoCs, one for 3D and one for 2D? Or AJ's idea, completely amalgamate the two? With Chopper finding it difficult to attend Inferno, does anyone else want to help out?

    I'd go with amalgamation with a pool of TO's. I'd volunteer as would those who already do (at a guess). With a 1 tourney monthly format, it could work out that with 4/5 people, we'd only have to run one each twice a year or so. Just a thought.
    How many people would turn up to tournaments with no prize money, simply a flat fee of say €7 for entry into any tournament happening that day?

    +1
    The only thing that's ever worked so far is a big prize.
    In the second evo qualifier, the MvC tournament went mental for the stick prize. Last year we had 2 international travellers.
    the thing with big prizes is, though, if you can't get a company to pay for them- big risk.
    So I think the solution (which a number of people suggested to me) is that a little be shaved off the takings from tournaments for that too.

    Definitely need to take the money and build up the things we need before allowing all the value capture by the best players. That being said, there has to be a motivation for going and competing. The way to work it, I think, is on percentages. 30% door to venue, 40% to community fund, 30% to prize fund. The community fund is to be administered by the committee for equip, alternative prizes or whaevs is required. We want to get to a point where no one needs to bring equip - except Doom. ;). That way the bigger the turn out, the bigger the prize and the benefit for all concerned.

    As for yearly event. From experience, the biggest problem is always cost. If we had help on that through the year, we could have way more flexibility. International players are not going to spend up to 200 quid minimum to come over unless the prize is serious. We were offering to send someone to vegas and only got 2/3. I think we should look at growing the Irish scene before looking at that - imho


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 567 ✭✭✭Vyze


    The only thing that's ever worked so far is a big prize.

    In the second evo qualifier, the MvC tournament went mental for the stick prize. Last year we had 2 international travellers.

    the thing with big prizes is, though, if you can't get a company to pay for them- big risk.

    So I think the solution (which a number of people suggested to me) is that a little be shaved off the takings from tournaments for that too.
    That does seem like a good idea. Like €0.50-1.00 gets cut from every entry fee from the regular tournaments throughout the year and that ends up going towards a massive prize at the end of the "season".

    How about a charity/prize fundraising tournament? Something like €5 entry, where €3 goes to a charity (e.g. Child's Play), €1 goes to a prize for the night and the other €1 goes towards a pot for equipment or a big end of season event prize?

    In terms of sponsorship, Zen United definitely seem like the guys to contact - they've always been very eager to give away free stuff any time I've asked them.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Hey all,

    Just wanted to post a couple of quick points as i need more time to digest the info in this thread before i cn come up with any ideas.

    It strikes me that prize money isn't a big part of the reason why people on the irish scene play in tourneys, it's more prestige here. I mean, the relatively small community here will probably never grow to something the size of evo, or it's prize pot, so why not just look at giving away a (relatively cheap) trophy or something instead, with "grand champion inverno XXI" on it, or whatever. That way you could get a bunch of inferno numbered trophies done well ahead of time for a very low cost from a trophy place (they cost less than a fiver each, carved, and even less if you buy in bulk). You could be sorted out for a year or so's worth of tournament prizes nice and cheaply, the winner gets somethign they can use for bragging rights or their game room, and the community can pocket the money for equipment, marketing, whatever.

    Also, i don't know if the community has investigated this already and aplolgies if so, but with the tech capabilities i saw for streaming etc at inferno there's some potential for sponsorship, even on a small scale, from established companies. If you're looking to get equipment, i'm sure you could work out a deal with companies like microsoft, harvey norman, gamestop etc. We display their logos, names, etc prominently on web streams and youtube videos/titles, etc, and we get cheap, free, or loaner equipment, xboxes, screens, etc to use.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,878 ✭✭✭bush


    Something ive noticed every month is confusion on weather inferno is even on or not. The thread should go up earlier.
    Personally im not hungry for the game anymore. I have intentions of going to tourneys but then on the day I just cant be arsed traveling. I dont think ive been to an inferno in a year unless you count the one last month that didnt go ahead :pac:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,328 ✭✭✭Nutrient


    Be nice to see some team oriented tournaments among singles tournaments

    2v2 SFXT, 2V2 AE, 3V3 UMVC3 etc

    Each team can't have more then 2 of the same character would be hype


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 699 ✭✭✭blag


    I haven't been to an Inferno in ages, the reasons are a combination of Uni getting in the way and general apathy towards playing competitively anymore.

    The Belfast casuals scene is on life support so there's no local beat down's being dished out which has the knock on of strangling the urge to get better.

    The cost of travelling down is a factor too, the prices of train, food, snacks and booze in Dublin adds up.

    Just my reasons for not attending recently.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 966 ✭✭✭Jun_DP101


    I remember the first tournament I attended in 2010 there was 30+ people and the scene was growing and looked so promising :( It's a bit sad our community hasn't grown to the potential it could have. I think as people have said before there is a major disinterest in tournaments, competitive play and being a community in general, which is a shame because we have some genuinely really really good SF players in ireland


  • Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 25,872 Mod ✭✭✭✭Doctor DooM


    I wouldn't say the scene is dead exactly, there's still plenty of people playing, and not just in Dublin (although Belfast seems to be really dead at the moment).

    There's still plenty of people playing and as Bush said, the uncertainty about if tournaments is on or not is a big factor. We definitely, definitely need to do that better.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,919 ✭✭✭1man3letters


    ive only been part of the community since mk9 came out but i really dont know why people wouldnt want to come to tournies (apart from money issues etc) and be a part of what going on

    ive met so many nice people since ive started going, good few of them id consider good friends now, i honestly though at 1st it was the case of if you werent "good" people would rag on you but this is no way the case at all, playing mk with the guys i play with has leveled me up so much and it was always done in a friendly manner, even with when i tried to learn other games, there was always someone to lend advice

    i try promote us as much as i can on TYM and get more people to know about dooms youtube channel and stuff, i know i could be more active with bringing gear and stuff rather than leaving it to razer and others and ill try step up my game with that

    im just really happy we have a scene at all and ive always appreciated how mk was welcomed into it

    im not sure of what the solutions to what we need are but im more than happy to do my part


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 567 ✭✭✭Vyze


    Maybe we're all just growing up. :P


  • Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 25,872 Mod ✭✭✭✭Doctor DooM


    Vyze wrote: »
    Maybe we're all just growing up. :P

    Well, I'm 32 and I think a few others are around the same :D

    Hm, well maybe from this we should focus on working on the Dublin scene and stop expecting people from outside to come. If our tournaments are good enough, hopefully they'll come anyways!


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    My two cents on the scene in general and tourney and event organisation in Ireland. Long, rambling post coming up...

    My impression from the point of view of a (semi) outsider, new arrival to the community, but also as someone who has lurked around for quite a while and kept an eye on things, is that the fighting game tourneys and events scene in Ireland is increasingly under threat from lots of things, but lack of concerted planning and publicity is not helping at all. I learned to play SF in the arcades 20 years ago, when an arcade machine with a bunch of people watching and queuing (or maybe a SNES in a rich mate's house :D) was the ONLY fighting game scene there was, and you always knew where and when the games were on, and what the benefits of going or the kind of welcome you'd get was. You'd have the craic, meet friends, and above all, eventually you'd GET REALLY GOOD.

    Ever-improving broadband and XBL/PSN connection is seen by a large number of players now as the best way to play and learn fighting games and improve your skills, which is completely wrong. Add to that the cost and especially the hassle for many many people of getting to (usually) Dublin to meet up or compete at an event, as well as often peacemeal info on what's happening, what's going to happen on the day, who'll be there, what the format is, etc, and it's easy to see why a lot of people, especially new, inexperienced people, don't show.

    I think the community could gain more out of talking itself up as a better alternative to online play, and organising and publicising stuff better to get new numbers in to counteract the inevitable falloff in older or more experienced players as life starts to get in the way of videogames (trust me, it happens...:D)

    I think the Irish scene is small but great, and has some great passionate players and helpful, dedicated people, but it needs to make a bit of a concerted effort to pull together and do a bit of a marketing job on itself, and sell it's strengths and get new people in. It's biggest strengths over XBL, which aren't really capitalized on, are that meeting people and playing fighting games in person is a fun, rewarding, friendly, thing to do, that the scene is a genuine treasure trove of like minded people with lots of information and experience, who for the most part, are happy to share their knowledge and try to keep their community strong, and that when you come to events and tourneys you'll get a well run experience, where you'll have loads of fun, and learn much more than you would online, and you'll meet loads of players you can connect to and play with again over XBL/PSN when you get back home.

    In a nutshell, make the scene more accessible to non hardcore players, and retain and grow as many of them as possible into the big names of tomorrow to make up for the ones who are inevitably going to leave over time or as new games come and go.

    In terms of the logistics of increasing numbers and getting newbies (like me :D) to come in, i think a few things could help. Most of these are aimed at getting the message out to new members, making things clear and easy for them to come along, welcoming them in, and nurturing them along in the scene.

    Stuff like:
    • More organisation around publicisation in advance of fighting tourneys and casuals. We've all got facebook pages, twitter, etc, etc, a concerted effort by the community to let more people know about events. Push everybody to do their bit to share and link stuff, maybe even ask companies they know for sponsorship, and just generally put the word out, with shoutouts or even discounts on tourney fees for people who go above and beyond.
    • Discounted (just by a little bit) online registration and payment, to keep tabs on expected numbers to events and to encourage people to register in advance.
    • When new people turn up at an event, the entire community ethos, as a rule, should be to make them feel welcome and like they fit in, and help them improve (not saying it's not like that now-it is, but in a non-structured way). Things like, if it's your first tourney, you don't have to pay in, you're welcomed (officially introduced by an announcer on a mic or whatever) as new on the scene, and people know to make a point of getting to know you and chatting, etc......and (like in fight club) if it's your first visit, you have to fight :D
    • Getting the scene a bit more organized around things like carpooling, hiring buses, hotel shares, couch sleeping spots, etc as an alternative to expensive transport and accommodation costs for people not resident in the capital. All this stuff makes a tourney trip to Dublin less hassle and much more fun (for culchies :D)
    Anyways, sorry for the long, rambling post, these are just some of my over-opinionated opinions. I hope it doesn't come off as the new guy thinking he knows everything, but i've seen how other communities and organizations do this kind of stuff, and i know quite a bit about how to sell, market, and grow things generally from my professional life. I think a fighting game community like Ireland's, with the huge amount of passion and skill it has, could really be strengthened by borrowing a few tips from elsewhere.

    Oh, and...
    Vyze wrote: »
    Maybe we're all just growing up. tongue.gif

    Don't think so. I'm an old fart (well by this community's standards anyway) and i STILL can't let go of streetfighter. I've just recently got back into the scene as i just plain missed competitive fighting games too much while having other major priorities in my life, and I've been really surprised by the welcoming attitudes and general helpfulness in the Irish community.

    I don't think you ever get too old for something you really love doing.


  • Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 25,872 Mod ✭✭✭✭Doctor DooM


    Well there's an increasing theme of more organisation arising and I agree with it.

    Here's the thing: who is going to do it?

    We need people to do the kinds of things you're talking about MackDaddi and we need a few people, if 1 or 2 do it it leads to burnout.

    There's a very real reason I stick to modding the forum and doing recordings- I think I'd get pissed off if I added more to that.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Well there's an increasing theme of more organisation arising and I agree with it.

    Here's the thing: who is going to do it?

    We need people to do the kinds of things you're talking about MackDaddi and we need a few people, if 1 or 2 do it it leads to burnout.

    Undoubtedly, you're correct. It's all very well to plan stuff like this but, if nobody is going to put in the work then it's just empty planning.

    Firstly, I'll just say that I personally would be willing to help in whatever way that i can. I'm planning to spend more time in the FG community, and if that works out the way i hope, I'd have no objection to lending a hand at something i can do. Aside from that though, there are a couple of things i would suggest doing to spread the load, and avoid the burnout you mentioned happening to key people like yourself and other organizers.

    Crowdsource the ideas and expertise: Sit down with the theme of better organisation, and get an idea of the kind of things you all feel you would need to do to make improvements. Note all the skills, expertise, logistics stuff etc, required and prioritize them in terms of importance, list them where everybody concerned can see them (in a thread like this one, or a database somewhere) and ask for volunteers who might find it easy to help with something on the list.

    For each skill point, you're looking for people in the scene who do that stuff regularly, as part of work or hobbies or whatever to just chip in and help out a bit. For example, a graphic designer or web guy who might be able to knock up a poster for a tourney for you on his lunchbreak, a guy coming to the tourney who might own a van and would be willing to carpool for petrol money, or pick people up, etc, etc. Someone with a mic or a cable or a screen who wouldn't mind loaning it out (secure in the knowledge that there's a community funded slush fund somewhere to replace it if it's broken or nicked). You won't get everythign you need, but you'll at least have a clearer idea of what skills and resources are available to you and which changes and improvements you can realistically hope to make.

    Eventually, if the community actually gives enough of a crap and chips in (and that's the crucial point) your list of priorities starts to get done, and you should start to see results, but nobody has really had to step too much out of their comfort zone, or do anything that they wouln't normally be doing to get there.

    This all depends on your numbers and the available skills of course, but ultimately, if the community isn't willing to help itself to survive, it's not going to succeed anyway. That's the other side of the coin of course, you need to make it as fun as possible to be at these events and make it a community worth working for. That's where the whole ethos of an unwritten rule to make newcomers as welcome as possible at events pays off.

    Anyways, I'm rambling again, apologies. I'm going to shut up now, and go back to lurking quietly :D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 229 ✭✭Goody2shoes15


    I'm not really entirely sure on just how strongly i should wade into this discussion. As most of you know i don't actually play any fighting games in any way seriously, i'm essentially a spectator. But I do see a lot of potential in the Dublin FGC, and i do think it can be organised relatively easily, so i'll throw my opinion in there, ye can do with it as ye wish.

    I know that there is a committee of sorts in place already, but anytime i bring it up with them it seems vague and badly defined, and nobody seems to have a specific responsibiliy. My idea would be to structure it a bit more like our SciFi society in college. There's an executive committee of three people, Auditor, Secretary and Tresurer, and then there's the main committee involving the librarians and other officers. The big thing that i think is important is that there's a bank account. The three execs have control of it, and that power gets passed along year after year as new committees are elected annually. I think having something similar for the FGC would be very helpful.

    A basic committee for the FGC could go something like:

    Auditor/Emperor Supreme
    Secretary
    Tresurer

    A/V officer
    PRO
    Net officer (Boards, randomselect, facebook ect.)
    Sponsorship/Corporate relations officer
    A set TO to oversee every regular tourney.

    You're talking about ten people who sign up to do a bit of the work, and if everyone even slightly pulls their weight the whole thing goes a whole lot smoother than it is now. On top of that you have ten of what i would hope would be the most important people in the FGC who can have a discussion and decide how to spend the community's money best and to eveyone's benefit. It can be debated and discussed and voted on.

    It will also make the FGC look a whole lot better when we go abroad, it can have much more concrete relations with international organisers and increase the chances of getting some sponsorship and big international names for our big tournaments.

    Thats my two cents, for all they're worth, but i really do think there's a lot of potential thats not getting tapped, and it would be great to see the scene grow to new heights. :)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 966 ✭✭✭Jun_DP101


    Auditor/Emperor Supreme
    Secretary
    Tresurer

    Before we discuss anything further or make any irrational decisions, I definitely think I should be voted Emperor supreme


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,328 ✭✭✭Nutrient


    Jun_DP101 wrote: »
    Before we discuss anything further or make any irrational decisions, I definitely think I should be voted Emperor supreme

    Thats pretty unreasonable right there

    I agree with Goodie

    A more structured community would provide huge benefits and relieve a lot of uncertainty amongst everybody apart of it, people just have to be willing is all, wouldn't mind helping out more then I currently do.:)

    Everytime we have a tourney I always try to provide help because I just can't sit idle while others are helping set up the event.

    Like the Bank account idea too, quite practical

    Now, bow down to Mr Nutrient, Emperor Supreme of Marvel:D
    Just need a secretary...:pac:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,919 ✭✭✭1man3letters


    Nutrient wrote: »

    Now, bow down to Mr Nutrient, Emperor Supreme of dash up xray:D

    fixed :pac:


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,816 ✭✭✭✭K.O.Kiki


    Aileen/Goody2shoes15 for first female president of FGC.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,237 ✭✭✭Owwmykneecap


    I blame strekken.


  • Moderators Posts: 5,580 ✭✭✭Azza


    Bring back the dictatorship I say!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 800 ✭✭✭The Hound


    Bring back Sheriff Lobo


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,966 ✭✭✭Scavenger XIII


    I blame strekken.

    SFxT ruined the FGC, killed the dinosaurs and cancelled Firefly. :mad:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,966 ✭✭✭ayjayirl


    I blame strekken.

    I see where you are going..... sort of. But that was kinda my point. When i started - or at least when I got involved, it was SF...... with a Marvel side note. Thankfully Marvel seemed to compliement the scene but the more and more games that came out and the longer it went on, it just seemed to fracture it a bit.

    @Shoes - A more structured approach to the committee was put forward when the original committee setup. I think what we did was what could have been done at that time and the next step is for a more formalised way of running the community. I do remember putting forward the idea of writing articles of association, or basically, the whats, whens, who's etc.

    I do feel, without any disrespect to the lads, we need a new vote for a new committee - just to freshen it up and also to be more inclusive and maybe evolve it on a bit. Could very well be the same guys who get it, but unless we have the AGM, the vote, the monthly or quarterly meeting its difficult to get momentum.

    Not sure about a bank a/c, surely a pillow under a mattress is fine for the monies we are talking about :p. Revenue, bank fees, etc.

    @Mackdaddi - good stuff. The problem of who does what and how can we support each other in that is still present though. This is where the fundamental problem is. There are a few who do and loads who don't. I really am not having a go. Lots of people talk but there its always the regular few who actually do it. This needs to expand in order to grow cause it is unfair and people will be pissed off constantly being the only ones. As for sponsorship - good idea, hard to get especially given our size. I tried to get some for each of the EVO Quals but my requests mostly feel on deaf ears. We nearly had Capcom giving us prizes this year but alas it feel through. Good idea, but not as easy to get as you might think.

    randomselect.ie - This is something we need to address. The website needs constant content updates. Really these responsibilities should be managed by the committee. i.e. theres a webby guy on it that co ordinates it but we should be all committed. The series of knowing me knowing you was class but it should be for all community members. Also, all the vids shoul dbe on it. YT can archive, but there should be a vids section imho

    Sorry bout the length, I'll finish up with a mental and radical idea........ What if we had a yearly/monthly fee to join the FGC? I know, the neigh sayers will come out in their droves on this one, but I am really not talking anything big and it would facilitate planning and allow the purchase of equip, rental of venues in advance (we could even pre-book and have a proper schedule). We got 80 people registered for the EVO quals on the website. Say we have 100 or so in the community and all put 20 quid for the year..... That'd buy all/most of the equip necessary in the first year and contribute towards other expenses as well. I know this idea will meet resistance but I think it could really be to our benefit.


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  • Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 25,872 Mod ✭✭✭✭Doctor DooM


    ayjayirl wrote: »
    I see where you are going..... sort of. But that was kinda my point. When i started - or at least when I got involved, it was SF...... with a Marvel side note. Thankfully Marvel seemed to compliement the scene but the more and more games that came out and the longer it went on, it just seemed to fracture it a bit.
    Actually when you started playing it was BB, but the point still stands :)
    ayjayirl wrote: »
    @Shoes - A more structured approach to the committee was put forward when the original committee setup. I think what we did was what could have been done at that time and the next step is for a more formalised way of running the community. I do remember putting forward the idea of writing articles of association, or basically, the whats, whens, who's etc.

    I'd agree mainly, although I don't think you're ever going to get people writing official articles of association and whatnot. At the end of the day, most people just want to play video games, and their helping out with other tasks is to ensure there are further opportunities to play video games!
    ayjayirl wrote: »
    I do feel, without any disrespect to the lads, we need a new vote for a new committee - just to freshen it up and also to be more inclusive and maybe evolve it on a bit. Could very well be the same guys who get it, but unless we have the AGM, the vote, the monthly or quarterly meeting its difficult to get momentum.

    Completely agree.
    ayjayirl wrote: »
    Not sure about a bank a/c, surely a pillow under a mattress is fine for the monies we are talking about :p. Revenue, bank fees, etc.

    Me too, see again point of people wanting to play the vidja games.

    ayjayirl wrote: »
    @Mackdaddi - good stuff. The problem of who does what and how can we support each other in that is still present though. This is where the fundamental problem is. There are a few who do and loads who don't. I really am not having a go. Lots of people talk but there its always the regular few who actually do it. This needs to expand in order to grow cause it is unfair and people will be pissed off constantly being the only ones. As for sponsorship - good idea, hard to get especially given our size. I tried to get some for each of the EVO Quals but my requests mostly feel on deaf ears. We nearly had Capcom giving us prizes this year but alas it feel through. Good idea, but not as easy to get as you might think.

    randomselect.ie - This is something we need to address. The website needs constant content updates. Really these responsibilities should be managed by the committee. i.e. theres a webby guy on it that co ordinates it but we should be all committed. The series of knowing me knowing you was class but it should be for all community members. Also, all the vids shoul dbe on it. YT can archive, but there should be a vids section imho

    All agreed, except the vids do already filter up on to rs.ie.
    ayjayirl wrote: »
    Sorry bout the length, I'll finish up with a mental and radical idea........ What if we had a yearly/monthly fee to join the FGC? I know, the neigh sayers will come out in their droves on this one, but I am really not talking anything big and it would facilitate planning and allow the purchase of equip, rental of venues in advance (we could even pre-book and have a proper schedule). We got 80 people registered for the EVO quals on the website. Say we have 100 or so in the community and all put 20 quid for the year..... That'd buy all/most of the equip necessary in the first year and contribute towards other expenses as well. I know this idea will meet resistance but I think it could really be to our benefit.

    And what do we do if people don't pay? Don't let them play in tournaments?


  • Moderators Posts: 5,580 ✭✭✭Azza


    Well my view on the matter is as follows. Inferno needs to be as good as it can possible be to keep people coming back and interested.

    We need double the number of set ups. 8 in total. That should be our first investment with any community money. 4 community monitors, Xbox's and disc's for the 2 tournament games.

    When we have 8 set ups. We run 4 for the tournament and 4 for casuals. The new monitors should be lagless and used as tournament monitors (and support lagless recording), while the current ones should be used for casuals. In the very long term we should consider replacing the current monitors as well as well but for now I would not rate it a priority. Recoding equipment should come after that. While recording games is great and all, the prority should be on ensuring people who attend get good value for money by getting to play lots of games.

    Split the casuals set ups between the 2 tournament games (i.e. 2 for Marvel and 2 for AE2012).

    Enforce the current casual rules of best of 3 winner stays on unless there is no one in the queue behind. If the winner stays on for 2 rotations of the queue he steps down and goes to the back of the queue. (he does get a pat on the back though or else he is told he is cheap for playing Cammy!)

    Keep the event to two tournament games. Don't use the additional set ups for more tournament but have them set up for plenty of casauls. I feel Inferno at the XGC was better value for money due to getting to play alot of casuals (also is was all SF4 and no Marvel but thats purely a personal preference). If people want to try different games we can do a poll about what other games might be popular and alturnate one of the two tournament games.

    Another investment I would like to see is cushions and possible a few additional chairs (even fold up ones), quite alot of standing around at the Exchange (although alot of that is people wanting to watch matches). The chairs are very uncomfortable for long sessions as well. This was another thing I prefered about the XGC. While it was cramped at least you could sit down for most of the time.

    I'd personally be willing to invest in say 2 set ups straight away and have them for the next Inferno if there was some agreement that I would be payed back within a few months from the community pot. Once I got payed back I could do the same for the other 2 set ups.

    As for running it, we need earlier annoucements and more flexible dates. We need to be able to gauge if a large number of people are free on certain dates, no point running Inferno if hardly anyone is going or a date when the TO's can't actually attend! Obvious low attendance has the knock on effect of putting people off. I'm not going if such and such player is not going. Some people also have long journeys but don't mind going if other people are traveling with them.

    Keep the entry fee the same as is. €10 is pretty reasonable. It is unfortunate that traveling can be quite expensive but thats out of our hands. Would not be against a special introuductory rate of €5 for first timers to an Inferno. Pre-pay via paypal gets you a small discount as well (as Mackdaddi suggested)

    As for a prize pot, I'm open to pretty much anything. We can countine allocating prize pot 60/30/10 or we could just give a small amount to the top 3 (like €30/€20/€10)and pool the rest for equipment.
    After we get all the equipment we need, we could start pooling the prize money towards a big yearly event (like Evo qualifier or Dreamhack tor Cannes or whatever) where we are certain all the funding is in place and we are not relying on people showing up on the day to ensure we have the cash to fund the prize. We could possibly look at scraping more expensive to fund events like the Evo qualifier and be perhaps able to fund 2 trips to closer European tournaments. Any event like this should be planned many months in advance with plenty of time to chase sponsorship.
    I do believe tournaments should have more at stake than braging rights. There needs to be something to cause tension and pressure when your playing.

    Scrap randomselect.ie and replace it with an Inferno website. This website wouldn't need to be updated as often. It would just need to updated advertising the latest event. After and event is over the results are posted up and any video's from the event embedded into a front page news post. Aside from that the site should also have a profile page for each player with some info like, what county there are from, what their online gamertags are, what games they play, what characters they use, best result at an inferno, a brief biography (could be done in a humerous fashion) as well as embedded videos of them playing at Inferno (like frame-advantage.com does). In addition to that, a few others pages like a map to the venue, rule page, seeding page, faq, contact page, link to IRC etc. Would not be a site about the latest news for fighting games but just an easier to manage more focus site designed to promote and grow inferno. The current non updated site gives the impression of an inactive or dead community. A twitter account and facebook page dedicated to inferno would help as well.

    Less Inferno's could encourage the people from further away to travel more and make people want to miss events less. Perhaps every second month with DOC taking place in the months between. Less cost for those traveling more.

    Posters and leaflets could help as well. We could drop them in gamestores or into collages or any other area that people could think of that would be appropriate or somewhat related to gaming.
    I be willing to fund the first batch of these on a trail run to see if the method is effective at all for recruiting new members. Need someone talented at logo design and art for this.

    Thats all I can think of for now.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 238 ✭✭Cobelcog


    Those ideas are okay I guess but I would like to hear chunkis' views on improving the scene


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    And what do we do if people don't pay? Don't let them play in tournaments?

    I was going to post on this yesterday, but I had gone on enough about other stuff all day. If you're gonna have an annual membership fee it has to be optional. It should offer an incentive to pay it for all the regulars who'd likely turn up anyway, and still support the idea of letting occasional droppers in or newbies to the scene come in and pay a once off tourney/event fee, albeit at a higher cost, to see what the craic is.

    The idea of annual or quarterly fees is to get your group or organisation some upfront operating capital so it doesnt have to run its financials on a tourney by tourney basis, and can invest and plan things a bit more solidly in advance, and yes, you would need a bank account and possibly PayPal if you want to go that route, or you're asking for trouble. Cash in a pillow is really not a good idea here.

    My suggestion on upfront fees would be to figure out realistically the minimum number of events serious players would attend in a year (lets say its 5 for argument's sake) then offer a membership fee that costs about the same as entering 5 tourneys, and comes with 5 free entries into the events of their choice during the year ("special" events aside). In addition to this, membership also gives them 10-15% off the entry fee to any subsequent tourney they they enter after that for the duration of their year's membership.

    Other bragging rights stuff like the enhanced profile pages that were posted about (by azza I think) could be reserved for paying members only, as would be any community swag, travel or hotel discounts, or any sponsorship or freebie deals or spoils that might come the group's way during the year based on any PR activity that might or might not happen.

    Of course this is all basically to sweeten the deal for people to sign up. That way serious members (who would all be turning up to the major events anyway) can pay in advance and help beef up the group's coffers, and get a bunch of cool benefits and discounts for doing it, but anybody else can still walk in one Saturday and pay to play at the "ordinary punter" rate if they're new or haven't joined yet and just want to check stuff out.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 378 ✭✭stev0knev022


    Alot of good suggestions in this thread, i don't have anything major to add, there is one small thing though, can we please make the winners finals and grand finals of our tourneys be 3/5.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,328 ✭✭✭Nutrient


    [QUOTE=Doctor DooM;79114381

    And what do we do if people don't pay? Don't let them play in tournaments?[/QUOTE]

    Nah this idea is grand, just make it an optional donation for people, theres always gonna be people that can't or won't help

    10 out of 90 people donating yearly is better rather then forcing people to pay.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,888 ✭✭✭Fergus_


    I know I haven't been attending much tournaments in the last year but I can say the only major problem I've had is providing casual setups at tournaments, people (myself including) will want to get more value of their money by attending tournaments, it's a little tedious standing around all day waiting for your tournament matches to start, I know it's a problem associated with a lack of setups.

    Also in regards to people not bringing in equipment, I don't really see why people are unable to carry anything that will be of benefit to the tournament, whether it's disks, consoles, monitors etc. I usually take my xbox and games and saves/DLC on USBs with me for tournaments and it's usually used and benefits the tournament for the organisers and for the players.

    Just my 2 cents, now back to study


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Fergus_ wrote: »
    ...I usually take my xbox and games and saves/DLC on USBs with me for tournaments...

    Sorry for the side note, but I saw this done yesterday and didn't know it was possible. Does it require jtag or does it work with any Xbox, and can anyone explain how to do it?

    Thanks


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,919 ✭✭✭1man3letters


    can we please make the winners finals and grand finals of our tourneys be 3/5.

    this^ +1

    what about losers finals though?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,971 ✭✭✭Orim


    Sorry for the side note, but I saw this done yesterday and didn't know it was possible. Does it require jtag or does it work with any Xbox, and can anyone explain how to do it?

    Thanks

    Works with any xbox and any USB.

    You just need to plug the USB into the xbox and go to storage. You'll then have an option to convert it to work on the Xbox. Once you've done that the USB will work as a memory unit on the Xbox and you can move around your profile and any games etc. on it.

    Just be aware that most stuff will only work if the xbox you put it on is connected to Xbox Live.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Orim wrote: »
    Just be aware that most stuff will only work if the xbox you put it on is connected to Xbox Live.

    Ok thank you. What about the AE ver.2012 balancing patch specifically, do you need XBL to be accessible for that?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,164 ✭✭✭Konata


    I just want to re-iterate some points that people have made here that have been standing out to me about the last few tournaments:

    1. Earlier advertising. Infernos used to have threads at least 2 weeks before their date but that seems to have slacked off with some threads only appearing 4 days before the event! I think that this really impacts upon attendance as at that stage people may already have made plans for the weekend, unaware that an Inferno was taking place. The solution to this I believe is - as is the solution to many issues - to have a pool of tournament organisers and for it to be clear who is organising the upcoming Inferno. It is then just that persons responsibility to get a thread up and running good and early so that as many people as possible are aware of the event.

    2. This leads into my next point - more clarity about WHO is running the tournament. I'm not criticising recent TOs at all, yous have all been awesome. But ye can't be expected to run every tournament every month because... well, believe it or not, yous have lives outside of Fighting Games too :P There's been plenty of suggestions for how to fix this problem - pool of TOs, rotas etc. - and I think it'd make a huge difference in the overall forward planning of an event.

    3. Dates. I know that Inferno runs (or is meant to) the first Saturday of every month. However, sometimes that Saturday REALLY doesn't suit. Last Inferno took place on a bank holiday weekend - a time when a greater number of potential attendees than usual would be otherwise occupied. Personally I don't think tournaments should take place on Bank Holiday weekends - from recent events, it's clear that it affects attendance. BHs are easily forseeable and tourneys could be shifted to the week before/after months in advance to avoid a clash.

    Those are just 3 things I've noticed in the last few months. I think the most important thing is to set up some kind of system where we have clarity about WHO is organising the tournament and WHEN it's on.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,971 ✭✭✭Orim


    Ok thank you. What about the AE ver.2012 balancing patch specifically, do you need XBL to be accessible for that?

    Yeah, you'll need XBL for pretty much anything unless it's on the console you downloaded it on.

    I think we need Dave Chappelle to perform at more of our tournaments.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 567 ✭✭✭Vyze


    The annual membership thing would need to be, as people have said, entirely optional. Say for any "Official FGC" event, if you're not a member you have to pay a €2 extra fee for entry that goes towards kit, whereas members don't need to pay that on the day (since it's essentially pre-paid as part of the membership).

    Then you can offer extra incentives to members, like prize raffles or sponsorship to foreign events or something.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 627 ✭✭✭Speed Boat


    Membership idea isn't a good one.

    Just have a community donation day/whip round once a year if you want to raise money like that.

    The idea of a membership is cliquey and off putting to new people.


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