Gameplay Rules
1.1 - Every game must be played on the latest patch of AOE3 Definitive Edition.
1.2 - Players who host should have all the maps required for the tournament (Some maps are included from Downloadable Content for AOE3 DE (DLCs) African Royals and Knights of the Mediterranean . Failing to do so will result in disqualification.
1.3 - The players must agree to a server that is fair for both players. In cases where agreement cannot be reached, tournament admins will select.
1.4 - Every game must be played using Game Rules: Standard, Game Type: Supremacy and the
default lobby settings . Every game must have spectator mode enabled unless told otherwise by admins.
1.5 - Every player must signup and play using their MOST known alias.
1.6 - Every game must be recorded and submitted. If a game is not recorded and/or submitted, it must be replayed regardless of the result.
1.7 - All players must be members of the ESOC discord and online on discord for the tournament dates. All games will be coordinated on discord.
1.8 - If a match disconnects prior to 2 minutes, the game must be restarted. After two minutes, when the match ends abruptly due to an out-of-sync error (OOS), the players must attempt to continue from the automatically rehosted game room, and, if necessary, repeat this attempt at least 2 more times. The recorded game of the rehosted match must also be saved and submitted with the final results of the match.
1.9 - When a player disconnects from the match at any point due to connection loss or game crash, they can choose to continue from the automatically created savegame. The recorded game of the rehosted match must also be saved and submitted with the final results of the match.
1.10 - Every player may restart a game BEFORE the 2-minute mark when necessary in regards to resource-related issues. The recorded game of the restart must be saved and submitted with the final results of the match. The admins reserve the right to review the recorded game afterward to determine if a player abused this right.
1.11 - In case of uncommon game bugs happening AFTER 2 minutes the players should contact the tournament administrators immediately for further clarification of the situation and determine the game to continue or be given a restart.
1.12 - In case of game restart due to a game bug AFTER 2 minutes resulting in decision from
1.11 the players are allowed to change civilization in accordance with the tournament rules respectively.
1.13 - Players are not allowed to pause with no reason . Pausing to gain an advantage in game will result in disqualification . Unpausing without opponent's consent will also result into disqualification.
1.14 - Civilizations must be selected in accordance with the tournament rules.
1.15 - Every player must respect their opponent and organizers. Misbehavior** will result in a warning and can lead to disqualification. Racism and/or insults will not be tolerated. More information regarding this can be found in the Disqualification Rules section.
1.16 - Players are not allowed to make administrative decisions by themselves in case the situation is out of the mentioned rules from
1.1 to 1.15 the players should contact the tournament staff immediately & the final decision will be made by the tournament admins.
Disqualification Rules
2.1 - Any intentional use, or attempted use, by a player of any bugs, exploits, or cheats may result in a disqualification and/or tournament ban. The tournament administration, at their discretion, will determine bugs, exploits, or cheats.
2.2 - Except for officially supported mods, external software and game modifications are forbidden. The tournament administration reserves the right to disqualify a player for use of any modifications to gain an unfair advantage.
2.3 - Acceptable hotkey modifications should follow the "1 input = 1 output" rule. This means that a custom hotkey does not queue multiple actions that would normally require several keys.
2.4 - Forbidden modifications/software include but are not limited to: Map Hacks, Trainers, OOS / Intentional Lag (stacked downloads or other game crashing exploits), and zoom modification.
2.5 - "Smurfing", playing for another user, or having another user play your match for you, will result in a disqualification and tournament ban for both parties involved.
2.6 - Any tampering with the integrity of the ladder, sign-up, or seeding process will result in a disqualification and may result in a tournament ban. The tournament administration reserves the right to apply this rule retroactively.
2.7 - If you suspect your opponent has violated any of the player integrity rules, finish the game and submit it for review with an explanation of why you think the game was unfair. If the tournament administration finds someone to be guilty of cheating, the cheater will be disqualified from the tournament and subject to a tournament ban.
2.8 - All users are prohibited from influencing or manipulating a tournament game or series so that the outcome is determined by anything other than its merits.
2.9 - One-Touch Forfeiture: once a player has expressed that they have forfeited a match, they will be disqualified from the tournament and not permitted to continue playing. Having an insufficient reason for forfeiture may result in a tournament ban.
2.10 - When a player is disqualified, they have no right to claim any prize money.
2.11 - Players must play out every match in their assigned tournament series. Noncompliance may result in a forfeiture of any winnings and restrictions from participating in future ESOC events.
**Misbehaviour includes excessive trash-talking and disrespecting players, casters, and admins. More severe misbehaviour such as racism will not be tolerated in any form and may result in disqualification and a tournament ban.
The discipline procedure for misbehaviour will be:
1) First Warning
2) Final Warning
3) Disqualification
A first warning is issued by a tournament administrator and is a yellow light to cease offending behaviour. Continued misbehaviour will escalate to an official warning.
A final warning is issued by a tournament administrator and is a red light to cease offending behaviour. Continued misbehaviour will result in the player's disqualification and may result in a tournament ban. A player will only receive one final warning during the course of the tournament; should their misbehaviour continue, the tournament administration reserves the right to disqualify them at any time.
2.12 - Players must be ready to start the game at the scheduled start time for each round. Failure to show up for the game after 15 minutes from the scheduled start time will result in a disqualification for the remainder of the event.
2.13 - All games played MUST be set to allow for spectators. Failure to comply with this rule will result in a AUTO disqualification for BOTH players. All games must be played using the mod:
"BasicSpecMod v2 - Base", failure to do so will result in an admin loss.
2.14 - In the event that games are played before being streamed, ANY spoiling of results will result in disqualification and forfeiture of any prize money won.
2.15 - By participating in the event, you agree to be available for the duration of the qualifying event you sign up for.
Scheduling Rules
3.1 - Please read the
ESOC Guide to Scheduling!
3.2 - Players must respond with the times they are available to play in their dedicated scheduling thread or respective discord channel. Players will then play out their games on the given maps.
3.3 - Players must make a minimum scheduling effort of atleast responding once every 24 hours in their respective scheduling place.
3.4 - Players must allow ESOC to cast their games live and must update them about any delays/issues in the scheduling channel.
3.5 - Players must play the series in the map order given.
3.6 - Last minute cancellation of the scheduling with no reason will result in game penalty issued by the tournament staff.
Casting & Streaming Rules
4.1 - The default stream for all games will be ESOCTV.
4.2 - Open streaming of ESOC games is permitted but must be coordinated with tournament admins in the ESOC discord casting channel. All streams must utilize the !ESOC tag with a link redirect to the ESOC forums with tournament details. Tournament logos will be provided to all third party streams and must be utilized. All streams including POV player streams must utilize a minimum delay of 2 minutes.
4.3 - It is every players responsibility to work with tournament staff for the casting of games.
4.4 - Players cannot deny casters without consulting with the tournament admins first.
4.5 - Only casters that have been authorized by the tournament staff will be permitted to stream matches on ESOCTV.
4.6 - The players in casted matches will be required to schedule their matches with their opponents and with the authorized caster(s).
4.7 - All streamed games must have a time delay of 2 minutes. This includes games streamed by players themselves.
4.8 - The tournament staff reserves the right to extend the deadline of a match if deemed appropriate.
4.9 - All tournament-streamed matches must be recorded.
