Hello,
Here are my few annual suggestions I would bring for the ruleset.
Most of them are just about changing few words (to adapt the new changes, even from MK8u) or placement modifications. There are still new ideas. I indicate in bold, and sometimes in red, the changes for purposes of a better lecture.
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SECTION I
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Current Rule:
1.1.1.d. All registered teams must have at least 2 and no more than 3 official team representatives, where at least one of the representatives must be a leader of the team. Staff must be informed about a team’s representatives before the start of any MKU competition.
i. The Discord ID of all team representatives must be provided to staff in order to add them to the respective chats on the MKU Discord server.
ii. Teams and their representatives are strongly encouraged to organize all their matches in their respective Discord chats. Failure to do so may result in staff ruling any chat logs and evidence provided in case of rules issues as invalid.
Suggested Rule:
1.1.1d. All registered teams must have at least 2 and no more than 3 official team representatives, where at least one of the representatives must be a leader or a manager of the team.
i. The Discord ID of all team representatives must be provided to a team’s division administrator before the start of the season.
Move rule 1.1.d.ii to rule 3.1.1.e. (It isn’t relevant with Team Registrations)
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Current Rule:
1.2.b.ii. Players found to be alting will be referred to MKCentral Staff and permanently banned from all MKCentral competitions.
Suggested Rule:
1.2.b.ii. Players found to be alting will be referred to MKCentral Staff and is subject to be permanently banned from all MKCentral competitions.
Reason: It is not true anymore that players who alt are permanently banned, with the new MKCentral ban reform.
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Current Rule:
1.2.c Players are allowed to play for the team they are registered with and that team only.
i. If a player is caught playing for a team they are not officially registered for, the team will have that player’s score subtracted or receive a default penalty of -120 for the respective match at staff's discretion.
Suggested Rule:
1.2.c Players are allowed to play for the team they are registered with and that team only.
i. If a player is caught playing (or is caught Alting) for a team they are not officially registered for, the team will forfeit lose the respective match(es) (?).
Reason: With the current rule, a team could possibly still win a match no matter which option is chosen. I think it is pretty unprofessional, given that in mostly any leagues, playing with an invalid player in your roster would result in an automatic loss. Also, the current rule removes a choice that could lead to potential (unconscious) bias and drama when one option would make a team win, and the other one would make the opponents win. It should be mostly unwanted, and we should dodge it as it is easy to.
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Current Rule:
1.2.d. Players may only play in MKU competitions with the Switch FC they signed up with on MKCentral.
i. If a player is caught playing with a Switch FC they are not registered with, the team will have that player’s score subtracted or receive a default penalty of -120 for the respective match at staff's discretion.
ii. Players wishing to change their Switch FC must provide picture or video proof that the new Switch FC belongs to the same player and DM a member of MKCentral Staff on Discord.
Suggested Rule:
1.2d. Players may only play in MKU competitions with the Switch FC they signed up with on MKCentral.
i. If a player is caught playing with a Switch FC they are not registered with, the team will receive a default penalty of -20 for the respective match, and will have a 24 hours deadline to prove the staff that the right player has played. Failure to bring proofs in the deadline will result in the match being forfeited for the respective team.
ii. Players wishing to change their Switch FC must provide picture or video proof that the new Switch FC belongs to the same player and DM a member of MKCentral Staff on Discord (a picture of profile page with gametime and both friend codes appearing).
Reason: Losing 120 points for an invalid friend code when it can be proven that the right player has played sucks. That's why I suggest to reduce the penalty to -10 pts as long as a team is cooperative enough to show that the right player has played. There could be different acceptable proofs (video footages with voice call for example).
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Current Rule:
1.4.1. In MKU Conference
a. Transfers during a MKU Conference season are prohibited by default.
1.4.2. - Outside of Competition
a. Players are free to transfer to any team during the off-season.
Suggested Rule:
1.4.1. During a MKU season
a. Transfers during a MKU season season are prohibited by default.
[Also remove the hyphen in the title of 1.4.2 just below]
Reason: Getting rid of the unwanted vocabulary now that there are no "MKU Tournaments" anymore.
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SECTION II
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- Rename the Section for MKU Format (instead of MKU Competitions)
- Change Section 2.4 to Section 2.1 (the Section II starts with 2.4, there are no 2.1, 2.2 or 2.3)
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Current Rule:
2.4.1.d. In the case of a tie between two or more teams within a conference, there will be a set of checks to determine the higher placing team (Tiebreakers):
1. W-D-L Record
2. Most amount of wins vs tied opponents
3. Conference Record
4. +/- between tied opponents
5. Overall +/-
i. If two teams are tied for a wild card spot in a division, the tiebreaker order is as follows:
1. W-D-L Record
2. Most amount of wins vs tied opponents
3. +/- between tied opponents
4. Overall +/-
i. If three or more teams are tied for a wild card spot in a division, the tiebreaker order is as follows:
1. W-D-L Record
2. Head-to-head series wins between the 3+ tied teams
3. Average +/- in head-to-head series
4. Overall +/-
Suggested Modifications: Rebuild the entire rule, as there are many contradictions and unfairness.
Here is an example of a contradiction:
- What happens if two teams are tied within a conference, but also in the wild card standing (for example, 2nd and 3rd place of a conference has a tied record, so they would both be in the wild card)?
Here is an example of unfairness:
- If three or more teams are tied for a wild card spot in a division, say two teams in Conference A, and one team in Conference B, it is unfair for the Conference B team (with point 2 of the tiebreaker), as it has played less matches than the two others against the tied teams. (2 matches for the team in Conference B, versus 3 matches for the two teams in Conference A).
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Current Rule:
2.4.e. Teams are responsible for being stable and reliable throughout the season and are strongly encouraged to sign up only if they can guarantee that they will be able to play all 10 matches without difficulty.
i. Not playing (aka forfeiting) matches during MKU Conference will have the following consequences:
- 1st forfeit: Warning by the division admin
- 2nd forfeit: Risk not being considered for participation in a future season
- 3rd forfeit: Disqualification and immediate replacement by a substitute team if possible
ii. In the case of a team dropping out of the season, all parts of the season in which they forfeited a match will be turned into forfeits. Ex. A team forfeits a match in inter-conference matches and drops out during 2nd conference matches, all inter-conference and 2nd conference matches will be scored as forfeits, whilst all 1st conference matches will remain unchanged.
iii. Teams which drop out of a MKU Conference season of their own volition will be warned and may not be considered for participation in a future season.
iv. Teams which drop out more than once, either due to being disqualified after forfeiting too many matches (see i.) or of their own volition (see ii.), will be permanently banned from participating in any MKU competitions.
v. If a team drops out, every match played in the current section of the season (1st conference matches, inter-divisional play, or 2nd conference matches) onwards will count as a forfeit.
Suggested Rule:
2.1.e. Teams are responsible for being stable and reliable throughout the season and are strongly encouraged to sign up only if they can guarantee that they will be able to play all 10 matches without difficulty.
i. Not playing (aka forfeiting) matches during MKU Conference will have the following consequences:
- 1st forfeit: Warning by the division admin
- 2nd forfeit: Risk not being considered for participation in a future season
- 3rd forfeit: Disqualification and immediate replacement by a substitute team if possible
[MOVE RULE 2.1.e.i. to 3.1.1.a.iii] (see later)
ii. If a team drops out during the season, every match played in the current section of the season (1st conference matches, inter-divisional play, or 2nd conference matches) onwards will count as a forfeit.
iii. Teams which drop out during the season of their own volition will be warned and may not be considered for participation in a future season.
iv. Teams which drop out more than once, either due to being disqualified after forfeiting too many matches (see i.) or of their own volition (see ii.), will be permanently banned from participating in any MKU competitions.
Reason: Rule ii and v are repetitive, and the current ii part is unclear. If we also want to add the fact that all matches from a given section are being forfeited if a given team got a forfeit in a previous section (which was given by the current ii), then we should add it in complement to the current v (that I moved in ii in the suggested form). (Hopefully I am clear, feel free to hit me up if not).
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Current Rule:
2.4.2.a. The playoff bracket will start with first place of each conference playing against a wild card in the division.
2.4.2.b. The playoffs will be a 4-team best-of-3 single-elimination bracket.
2.4.2.c. Teams’ rosters will be locked during playoffs; no new players or transfers may be added after Week 5.
Suggested Rule:
2.1.2.a. The playoffs will be a 4-team best-of-3 single-elimination bracket. The bracket will start with Seed 1 playing against Seed 4, and Seed 2 playing against Seed 3:
i. Seed 1 and Seed 2 are given to first places in the two Conferences, Seed 1 being given to the team with the best record between these two teams. If both teams have the same record, the team who won the direct match between these two teams will be given to Seed 1. In case of a tie match, the team with the greatest +/- during the season will be given Seed 1.
ii. Seed 3 and Seed 4 are given to the best two wild-card teams in the divisions, Seed 3 being given to the team with the best record between these two teams. In case of both teams having the same record, see Rule 2.1.1.d. (tiebreakers within wildcard).
[...]
2.4.2.c. Teams’ rosters will be locked during playoffs; no new players or transfers may be added after Week 5.
Reason: Mix a and b to get a new wording and clearer explanations about how playoffs are working. Rule 2.4.2.c. should be removed, as it is already discussed in Section 1.4.
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SECTION III
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Current Rule:
3.1.1.a. MKU Conference matches take place on Sundays at 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM ET by default.
i. In the case of Oceanic/Asian teams playing, consult the division admin / table for default times.
a. A team is qualified as Oceanic/Asian if at least 50% of their members live in an Oceanic/Asian country.
ii. Should teams fail to honor the scheduled time of the match, they will automatically forfeit the match.
Suggested Rule:
a. MKU Conference matches take place on Sundays at 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM ET by default.
i. Oceanic/Asian teams can request their own default times to the staff before the signup deadline.
a. A team is qualified as Oceanic/Asian if at least 50% of their members live in an Oceanic/Asian country.
ii. Should teams fail to honor the scheduled time of the match, they will automatically forfeit the match. [Move current 2.4.e.i here]:
Not playing matches during the season will have the following consequences:
- 1st forfeit: Warning by the division admin
- 2nd forfeit: Risk not being considered for participation in a future season
- 3rd forfeit: Disqualification and immediate replacement by a substitute team if possible [consider removing that part ?]
Reason: The wording feels weird in Rule 3.1.1.a.i. (consult the division admin / table for default times). Also, current rule 3.1.1.a.ii is similar to current rule 2.4.e.i, which is why I suggest to mix them.
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Current Rule:
3.1.1.c. Should a scheduled match coincide with a country’s national or religious holiday or a large event which will affect a team’s ability to play at default time, the team is to contact their division admin and their opponents at least two weeks ahead of time and then to agree on a different time for the match to be played before the season ends.
i. An event is considered large enough to qualify if a minimum of 4 members from one team or at least 10 members from the community are attending the event.
Suggested Rule:
3.1.1.c. Should a scheduled match coincide with a country’s national or religious holiday or a large community event which will affect a team’s ability to play at default time, the team is to contact their division admin and their opponents at least two weeks ahead of time. Both teams are required to agree on a different time for the match to be played before the season ends.
i. A community event is considered large enough to qualify if a minimum of 4 members from one team or at least 10 members from the community are attending the event.
Reason: I think staff discretion should be used to determine if a community event is "big enough". The way it is worded, I could require a reschedule only by meeting my friends on a match day.
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Current Rule:
d. Teams who are unable to play a particular match at default time and who are unable to agree on a different match time on the same weekend as suggested in rule b., may request a reschedule to a later date, but before the end of the next week.
i. Teams may only request to reschedule two matches per season. The only exception being if rule 3.1.1 c. applies (where the opponent is required to reschedule).
a. A reschedule is defined as a match that is played outside of the default time. Playing earlier or later on the same day will also count as your reschedule for the season
ii. Teams willing to request a reschedule must inform their opponents and their division admin by Saturday 3PM ET.
iii. A match for which a reschedule was requested will initially be scored as a forfeit. If the match is played at the rescheduled time, the result will replace this forfeit.
iv. If a team’s opponents do not agree on rescheduling the match, the match will remain scheduled at the default time.
v. Players who have transferred to a different team during the season may not participate in rescheduled matches of their new team that were originally scheduled during a week in which the respective player was still registered for their former team.
Suggested Rule:
d. Teams who are unable to play a particular match at default time and who are unable to agree on a different match time on the same weekend as suggested in rule b., may request a reschedule to a later date, but before the end of the next week.
i. Teams may only request to reschedule two matches per season. The only exception being if rule 3.1.1 c. applies (where the opponent is required to reschedule). A reschedule is defined as a match that is played outside of the current week.
ii. If a team’s opponents do not agree on rescheduling the match, the match will remain scheduled at the default time.
iii. Teams willing to use a reschedule must inform their opponents and their division admin by Saturday 3PM ET of the current week's match. In case both teams agree to reschedule, both teams are responsible to find a time before the end of the next week's match. Should both teams fail to agree on a new time before Friday 3PM ET of the next week, the new default time for that match will be on the next day (Saturday), at 3 PM ET.
iii. A match for which a reschedule was requested will initially be scored as a forfeit. If the match is played at the rescheduled time, the result will replace this forfeit.
v. Players who have transferred to a different team during the season may not participate in rescheduled matches of their new team that were originally scheduled during a week in which the respective player was still registered for their former team.
Reasons: - Playing a match without delaying the league (that is, on the same week), should not count as a reschedule. If it still does, a modification should still be done to mix current Rule 3.1.1.b. and current Rule 3.1.1.d.
- A team should not be able to agree on a reschedule on next week, just to not play the match on the next week and get the forfeit win.
- Current Rule 3.1.1.d.v. does not make sense anymore, as transfers are declined.
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Current Rule:
d. Players are allowed to pick any of the 48 tracks total available in the game, as well as random.
i. Tracks which have already been played during the match may not be picked again for the remainder of the match. If a player fails to honor this rule and their selection is chosen, that player’s team will receive a -20 point penalty. This penalty applies even if the room crashes during the race the repeat was selected.
ii. No penalties will be given if the player whose selection was chosen picked random.
Suggested Rule:
d. Players are allowed to pick any of the 48 tracks total available in the game, as well as random.
i. Tracks which have already been played during the match may not be picked again for the remainder of the match. If a player picks a track that has been already played, and their selection is chosen, that player’s team will receive a -20 point penalty. This penalty applies even if the room crashes during the race the repeat was selected.
ii. No penalties will be given if the player whose selection was chosen picked random.
Reason: Edited the wording, since the player isn't actually "failing to honor a rule" by picking a track that is already played until it is actually picked. Also, the new wording includes the case described in last sentence, which means it can be removed.
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Current Rule:
3.3.1.a. The host team must provide a host friend code to the opponent at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time.
i. The opposing team must have at least 1 player add the host FC at least 10 minutes before the scheduled time, every player adding the host on a team at least 10 minutes before the match has to get added by the host within 5 minutes before the scheduled time.
Suggested Rule:
3.3.1.a. The home team must provide a host friend code to the opponent at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time.
i. The away team must have at least 1 player add the host FC at least 10 minutes before the scheduled time, every player adding the host on a team at least 10 minutes before the match has to get added by the host within 5 minutes before the scheduled time.
Reason: Editing the wording would help fitting with Rule 3.2.e.
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Current Rule:
b. The host must open the room no earlier than the scheduled starting time of the match and no later than 5 minutes past the scheduled starting time.
i. It is recommended for the host to have their friend settings set to "best friends only" to prevent random players from joining, as well as setting every player in the match as a "best friend."
ii. In the case of a player from neither team joins the room, the host must close the room immediately. The hosting team will not have to wait 30 seconds before joining.
Suggested Rule:
b. The host must open the room no earlier than the scheduled starting time of the match and no later than 5 minutes past the scheduled starting time.
i. It is recommended for the host to have their friend settings set to "best friends only" to prevent random players from joining, as well as setting every player in the match as a "best friend."
ii. In the case of a player from neither team joins the room, the host must close the room immediately. The hosting team will not have to wait 30 seconds before joining (see rule 3.3.1.g).
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Current Rule:
3.4.a. The results of all MKU matches have to be posted by the winning team in the respective MKU section on the forums by the official deadline. In MKU the deadline is 11:59 pm EST on Sunday.
i. Failure to provide results by the deadline will result in a forfeit for the team that was supposed to post the thread.
ii. If there is no proof for the exact result, but the evidence is presented supporting the outcome of the war, the war may be scored as a forfeit.
iii. The winning team must post a table for results, which contains team scores and player individual scores as well as an in game picture of the results.
iv. If one or more player(s) from one team didn’t use his alias with which he is registered, then a team representative for the given team must post registered player names on the thread (ex: TT3 = Gumer)
v. The results thread should be named after one of the following:
[Week](home team tag) (home team score) – (away team score) (away team tag)
[Week] (home team full name) (home team score) – (away team score) (away team full name)
Failure to do so will result in the following:
1st Offense - Warning
2+ offenses - Flag every offense
Suggested Rule:
3.4.a. The results of all MKU matches have to be posted by the winning team in the respective MKU section on the forums by 11:59 PM ET on Sunday.
i. In case of a tie match, the home team have to post the results in the respective MKU section on the forums.
ii. An acceptable result thread contains team scores and player individual scores as well as an in game picture of the results.
iii. Failure to provide an acceptable result thread by the deadline could [?] result in a forfeit for the team that was supposed to post the thread.
iii. If there is no proof for the exact result, but the evidence is presented supporting the outcome of the war, the war may be scored as a forfeit.
iv. If one or more player(s) from one team didn’t use his alias with which he is registered, then a team representative for the given team must post registered player names on the thread (ex: TT3 = Gumer)
iv. The results thread should be named after one of the following:
[Week] (home team tag) (home team score) – (away team score) (away team tag)
[Week] (home team full name) (home team score) – (away team score) (away team full name)
Failure to do so will result in the following:
1st Offense - Warning
2+ offenses - Flag every offense [Use the same alignment iv.]
Reasons: Tied matches weren't handled here. Also, last season, a forfeit was given for a team that hasn't posted the thread in time. Was it too harsh? Should there be a warning?
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Current Rule:
3.4.b. If matches remain incomplete due to a team, not having enough players left to finish, that team will forfeit the match by default.
i. Should both teams be unable to finish, the war may be scored as a 0-0 tie.
ii. Exceptions can be made and the presented races may be counted as the final result at staff’s discretion.
Suggested Rule:
3.4.b. If a match remains incomplete due to a team not having enough players left to finish, that team will forfeit the match by default.
i. Should both teams be unable to finish, the war will be scored as a 0-0 double forfeit.
ii. Exceptions can be made and the presented races may be counted as the final result at staff’s discretion.
Reason: It was mentioned later 0-0 double forfeit. 0-0 tie would therefore make no sense.
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Remove Current Rule 3.4.c., as it inteferes with Current Rule 3.4.a.
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Current Rule:
3.4.e. If neither team has 6 players going into match time, it will be scored as a 0-0 double forfeit if no reschedule is played.
Suggested Rule:
3.4.e. If neither team has 6 players going into match time, it will be scored as a 0-0 double forfeit if no reschedule is played.
Reason: There cannot be a reschedule if we are going into match time, as it has to be notified before Saturday 3PM ET anyway.
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SECTION IV
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Current Rule:
4.1.b. If a team member is found to be spectating the room to obtain an advantage, the offending team will receive an automatic loss.
i. Substantial and foolproof evidence must be needed for a case to be considered.
ii. Examples of "Substantial and foolproof evidence" include but are not limited to: Multiple instances of the track roulette countdown starting much quicker than usual, more than 6 (or +1 of the number of subs used by a team in a match) players from the same team on the Users You've Played With screen.
Suggested Modifications: I think staff should include grey areas such as players disconnecting (and joining back to spectate the room), or players being substituted mid games. It seems quite common in the community for a disconnected player to call items on the race when he disconnected from a race and once he joins back as spectating.
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SECTION V
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Remove the whole Rules in the Section, as conduct cases seems to be considered by MKCentral Staff (unless I am wrong?). In this case, one single rule should be used to write that MKCentral Staff has the right to ban a player from playing in MKU if one fails to conduct himself appropriately.
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Thank you for reading