EAB/Lemon Super League Rules and FAQ [Old]
 

This thread will tell you everything you need to know about the Super-League. The first post is for newbies to get a feel for what goes on. The second post is a more detailed breakdown of the rules. The third post is a schedule of when the 2008 rounds will be played.

You don't have to read all this in order to play, although it is advised. The very basic rules to get started are always at the beginning of every thread. For more information this should be your first stop, and will hopefully answer all questions.

What is the LA/EAB Super-League?
Simple. Everyone plays the same game for three weeks and the person with the highest score wins. Players get points for each round that go towards a year long championship. One player will be crowned champion at the end of the year.

What's so super about the Super-League?
It brings the Amiga community together. Gamers from the websites Lemon Amiga and EAB all play together from their own forum. In every round the site with the highest average submitted scores gets a point. At the end of the year the site with the most points is declared the winner.

How do you choose the games?
Everyone gets a say in the matter. There are voting threads for each round, where you can vote for five games you'd like to play (that haven't been played before). The game(s) with the most votes gets played in the next round.

How do I take part?
Easy. Firstly get yourself either a real Amiga or an emulator like WinUAE or E-UAE. The current round thread will tell you which game to play, give links to where it's available, link to manuals (if they are online), and tell you any extra rules for that game. To enter take a screenshot of your highscore (or a photo of your tv/monitor screen if you're using a real Amiga) and post it in the game thread. You can use free image hosting sites like Imageshack or Photobucket to post your scores. Don't forget to vote for the next round's game too.

Where do I post my screenshot, Lemon or EAB?
The time has come to choose young padawan. You can either post here at EAB, or defect to the evil ways of Lemon. If you're reading this, the chances are you want to join the good ship EAB, otherwise you will be forever known as a traitor. You can still join the other site and chat (or taunt), but you must only post your scores to the one you want to win. The Moderators will bring all the scores together, so they can be seen at a glance in the current game thread.

Where can I get ROMs for this competition?
If you mean Kickstart ROMs (that you need to get the emulator up and running) then we’re not allowed to distribute them due to copyright, but they are available. They can be bought from Cloanto's Amiga Forever Package, or there are some disreputable free outlets for those who take time to search and enquire, but of course these are not condoned by either EAB or Lemon Amiga - use these at your own risk. Game disk images (and - where applicable - WHDLoad pre-installed versions) will be linked to in each round.

What are Special Rounds?
There are three special rounds over the season. In them we narrow the options for voting, and increase the number of games played that round. It makes a nice change of pace, and more championship points are available. The voting thread and round thread will describe the special round changes in the first post. So make sure you read it.

Why Should I play?
Because it's fun! You get to meet new people, really talk about the game you’re playing, and learn many of its secrets. It gives you a good reason to play a game you might not know very well. You might even discover a gem you've never heard of before. And it keeps you in touch with the Amiga, even if you only have a little time for it. There are no prizes on offer for winning, but imagine the looks you’ll command from people in the street. That just cannot be measured in money.

I missed a few rounds, should I bother joining in?
Of course you should! It’s all for fun, and you’ll really get into it once you start. The Super-League is designed in three legs, each containing five games. The winner of each leg gets special voting privileges for the following leg. So there's something to aim for as soon as you start. Everyone had to start at some point.

I finished outside the top 12 and scored no points. Should I quit?
No way. Over the 12 rounds there are a total of 15 different games played. Plenty of chances to score some points and get on the leader board. Most of all, just enjoy each round as it comes, and after a while those points will stack up. Remember, it's a relaxed friendly league.

I still have questions...
No problem. The next post has a more detailed description of the rules. Keep reading.

This is a longer, more detailed description for anyone that wants a more precise answer to how things work. It's a lot simpler than it looks.


Super League Structure:
The Super League consists of twelve rounds played across the year in three separate legs.

(2 weeks voting)
Leg 1 = Rounds 1-4 (12 weeks play)
(3 weeks break)
(2 weeks voting)
Leg 2 = Rounds 5-8 (12 weeks play)
(3 weeks break)
(2 weeks voting)
Leg 3 = Rounds 9-12 (12 weeks play)
(4 weeks break)

Each Leg consists of four rounds, one of which is a special round containing two games. (see the special rounds section)

Each round lasts for 3 weeks, starting on a Sunday. The round officially starts at 00:01 GMT on the Sunday, and end at 11:59 GMT on the saturday three weeks later. A thread will appear later in the day to reflect this (obviously we can't all hang around stopping and starting threads on the dot of midnight). Rounds are played back to back with voting taking place alongside in a separate thread (see the voting section).

So that's 5 games, in 4 rounds, played over 12 weeks. x 3.

The first leg begins with two weeks of voting to decide what will be played in round one. After that it's continuous play with simultaneous voting. At the end of the first leg the player with the most points is declared winner, and given double voting power for the entire second leg. At this point the season breaks for three weeks, then resumes with two weeks voting for the first round of the second leg. Championship points are carried over, but points received during the second leg are kept on a separate tally; so that a second leg winner can be named and receive their extra voting power for the third leg. Again we break for three weeks and repeat the process for the final third leg. At the end of this a winner for the third leg will be named and given double voting power for the first leg of next season. Also a Champion for the whole year, and the winning website are crowned, and showered in glory and jealousy.

The gap between seasons will be four weeks over the New Year period. That's the maths of it.

- Players should vote and submit their scores to only one website (Lemon or EAB), making them a part of that 'team'. It is okay to register at the other site and chat though, in fact it is a lot of fun, so do.
- Any scores submitted must have been played and posted during the named time period (see season schedule below).
- Any scores submitted before or after the round will not be counted.


Voting:
Each new Leg will begin with a voting thread for the next round. After this, the voting threads for the next round will be started on the same day as the current round. Voting lasts for two weeks.

To vote you choose any five different games you would like to play and put them in order of preference. Please remember to try and choose games that will be suitable for competition play. The games you choose are given the following points:

1. 5 points
2. 4 points
3. 3 points
4. 2 points
5. 1 point

As a bonus, the winner of the previous leg has double voting power for that leg. (1 = 10 points, 2 = 8 points etc). Note, that when the season changes it is still the winner of the previous leg that gets double voting power, and not the winner of the season. They already get to be smug enough.

The game with the most votes will be played. In the event of a tie the game with the most 5 point votes will win. If it is still tied then the most 4 point votes is looked at and so on.

If a game comes in both OCS/ECS and AGA, or has special editions, players must make it clear which version they want to play when voting. If nothing is stated we will always revert to the A500/original versions.

The rules for voting differ slightly during special rounds. See the special rounds section for details.

Once a game has been played it cannot be voted for again. Each voting thread will tell you what games have already been played.

IMPORTANT: Votes cannot be edited. If you edit your vote it will not be counted. This is to avoid any manipulation of the result. So think carefully before you vote. There's a whole two weeks to think.


Bugged Games:

Unfortunately some games have bugs which makes organizing a competition very difficult, so a few games have been excluded, or they have limitations imposed on them. They are as follows, and if anymore are discovered they will be added. This list will appear in the voting threads as a reminder.

Lotus 2: The different online versions all have different scoring systems. If Lotus 2 is played everyone must use a special version that will be provided by this board, in WHDload and ADF format. (UAE requires A1200 setup, High-Density floppy drive, 4MB Fast RAM)
Pinball Fantasies (Stones 'n' Bones): Table bugged - i.e. random crashing, infinite balls, messed up scores. You can still vote for Pinball Fantasies, but this table will not be played. Only this table is out - you can still vote for Pinball Fantasies, but we will only play the other 3 tables.


Special Rounds:
In each leg there will be one special round, in which two games will be played from a narrower list of voting options.

Leg 1
Special Round 3: PD Games
When voting you can only choose games that are listed as either Public Domain, Freeware, Shareware, Coverdisk full games, Promotional, or even hidden games. Basically anything considered non-commercial. The two games with the most votes will be played.

If you are in doubt about a games status, ask in the thread before you vote, or contact a Moderator. It will be sorted out before the end of voting.

Leg 2
Special Round 7: Sequels
For each voting choice you must pick a game and one of it's sequels. In a series of three games or more you can choose any game you want, you don't have to choose the original if you don't want to. The series with the most votes wins and both games are played. In the event that a series with more than two games wins, and some have voted for 1&2, whilst others have voted for 2&3, the votes for each individual game will be added up and the two with the most votes played. The rejected game(s) will still be eligible for a future round.

Remember that both games will be played over 3 weeks so pick things that are suitable for that length of time.

Leg 3
Special Round 11: Will Be Represented by the Letter __
The winner of Round 9 (the first round in Leg 3) will get to choose a letter for this round. Only games beginning with that letter can be voted for, and the top two will be played. Games beginning with 'The' will not be listed under 'T' (eg The Great Giana Sisters is considered beginning with 'G'). Once a letter is used it can't be chosen again until all letters are used. That's 26 years of the Super League.

Remember that both games will be played over 3 weeks so pick things that are suitable for that length of time.


*In a special round there are two sets of championship points available. One for each game. With the special round being the penultimate round in each leg, it's more likely there will be a big shake up on the leader board with only one round to go.


Scoring:
For each game played championship points will be given to the top 12 scorers.

1st = 15 pts
2nd = 12 pts
3rd = 10 pts
4th = 9 pts
5th = 8 pts
6th = 7 pts
7th = 6 pts
8th = 5 pts
9th = 4 pts
10th = 3 pts
11th = 2 pts
12th = 1pts
Lower = 0 pts

For multi-event games, like pinball or sports events, a modified scoring system will be used depending on the game. There will still only be one set of championship points given, and details of the scoring system will be put in the game thread.


Lemon vs EAB:
For each game played the points of the players from each site will be averaged. The highest average score will be declared winner of that game and a point given. The site with the most points at the end of the year is declared the champion (best of 15 games).


No Cheating:
Don't tamper with your score by altering the numbers.
No continues allowed.
No use of trainers, action replay, or any other get-around to make the game easier.
No use of emulator save states (including as a way to practice parts of a game).

Occaisionally restrictions will be placed on specific games, such as the banning of autofire if it is a power-up within the game.

The spirit of the rules is to play games as they were originally intended, creating a fair playing field between real Amiga users and emulator users.

Score whoring/leeching/taking advantage of infinite spawning enemies or bugs in the game is seriously frowned upon. If you are discovered doing it you're not going to make any friends, and your score will not be counted.

This is an honest competition, we’re not playing for money or prizes, simply the honour and glory, and of course the taking part. If someone is found to be cheating (and fake scores tend to be easy to spot), they will get a ban. It's not worth it, so play fair.

IMPORTANT: If you do suspect someone of cheating then please PM a Moderator. It's okay to query a score to understand how they achieved it, but refrain from posting wild accusations in the game threads.


Additional Rules:
This is a worldwide tournament, but for simplicity all times and dates are done using London, UK Time. Please be aware of the time difference.

2008 Season Schedule

Rounds start Sundays at 12:01am UK time, and finish Saturdays at 11:59pm UK time, on the relevant dates. Make sure you use that 2 minute break wisely.

Leg 1 [1-4]
Jan 06 - Jan 19: Voting for Round One
Jan 20 - Feb 09: Round One
Jan 20 - Feb 02: Voting for round Two
Feb 10 - Mar 01: Round Two
Feb 10 - Feb 23: Voting for Round Three
Mar 02 - Mar 22: Round Three [PD Games]
Mar 02 - Mar 15: Voting for Round Four
Mar 23 - Apr 12: Round Four

Leg 2 [5-8]
May 04 - May 17: Voting for Round Five
May 18 - Jun 07: Round Five
May 18 - May 31: Voting for Round Six
Jun 08 - Jun 28: Round Six
Jun 08 - Jun 21:Voting for Round Seven
Jun 29 - Jul 19: Round Seven [Sequels]
Jun 29 - Jul 12: Voting for Round Eight
Jul 20 - Aug 09: Round Eight

Leg 3 [9-12]
Aug 31 - Sep 13: Voting for Round Nine
Sep 14 - Oct 04: Round Nine
Sep 14 - Sep 27: Voting for Round Ten
Oct 05 - Oct 25: Round Ten
Oct 05 - Oct 18:Voting for Round Eleven
Oct 26 - Nov 15: Round Eleven [Alphabet]
Oct 26 - Nov 08: Voting for Round Twelve
Nov 16 - Dec 06: Round Twelve


You can find out the results of Lemon and EAB's previous seasons here:
Lemon 2005 Season | Lemon 2006 Season | Lemon 2007 Season
EAB 2007 Season

We hope you enjoy playing in the tournament, and special thanks to VermillioN for first saying those fateful words 'Super League', and to Biscuit for taking the time to type all this up initially, leaving me with the embarrassingly simple task of copying and pasting it here, with a couple of subtle modifications.


If you've still got a question you can't find an answer to, post it below and someone will try to answer it for you. Don't be shy, you may have discovered something we all forgot.

If you have any suggestions to improve the season feel free to post your thoughts. We're open to all new ideas.

Why 2 weeks voting??

How much different would be 2 vs 1 week voting??

I rather see another week for the play then for voting. ;)

Because several people have said they'd like more time to get their votes in, and it doesn't actually interfere with the round being played in any way as they run simultaneously.

I'm back again, and really sorry, but why lotus 2 ?
Just give a version to use and that's all. Like i said before, trust in us.
But this is your choice and i will not ask for it again. Happy new year graham and all amiga community. ;)

I think I've gone through this a few times in the past, but I will add that this is being looked into "behind the scenes" so watch this space ;)

Well that didn't take long...

Thanks to the efforts of Hungry Horace Lotus 2 has been saved from the dreaded "banned" list (which is looking unfeasibly small at this moment in time). Basically what HH has done is to put the WHDLoad version of Lotus 2 onto a high-density floppy disk which autoboots. So using this method both floppy and hard drive versions have the same scoring system which makes it more of a level playing field. The only catch is you'll need to set the floppy drive to high-density in UAE, and 4MB of Fast RAM for the game to be preloaded.

So if Lotus 2 does get voted in you will all HAVE to use this particular version if you don't want to play it from hard drive. This is the only way we'll allow Lotus 2 in the competition so you can thank Horace for this one ;)

Also please remember if you know of any games that might not be eligible for the compo please let us know!

They need 2 weeks to set their minds at what to play?? :shocked

It should be 1 minutes decision. :agree

What do you meen it doesn't interfere with the round being played?? We will vote at the same time we play previous round??

Look at the schedule for thie first part of this season... it should be pretty clear how this works ;)

Sorry!!!

For some weird reason I was thinking it will be the same as competition at LA/EAB.

This does seem interesting, I'll try to participate. :agree :great

I have some questions:

1. Can I vote on EAB and on Lemon? Does it count double then or my votes will be disqualified?
2. Can I vote on games which have been already played on either of the boards? (eg. I want to vote for Apidya but Apidya was already played on Lemon). Does the history of Lemon League/EAB League is going to be forget in the matter of this joint-venture?

1. You can only vote on one board, if you vote on both then your vote on the other board will be ignored, and anyway it could make our task slightly more difficult as we could easily count your vote twice by accident.

2. Yes - we start from scratch so you can vote for any game - whatever was played before on both Lemon and EAB can be voted for again.

OK, then. Nevertheless, I was thinking that it might be done different. EAB and Lemon Leagues would be as they were (so I'd have two games to play and two competitions to participate in a month) and there would be additional competition (Super League) giving me a third game to play in a month.

But which vote gets counted and which one will be ignored, than? ;)
Based on what, I mean? Time of posting? ;)Yup, I'd like that too... :(

Still, looking forward to it, *might* be fun! ;)

Okay, I might not have worded that very well but I think you know what I mean ;)

Votes only count once... picky ;)

I don't see the point why voting for the next round is going to be in the same time as the previous round. Instead of playing, people vote. Many voters for the second round haven't participated yet in the first round. It's really odd...

Agreed it's been quiet so far but this is only the fourth day of the competition... give it a chance hey ;)

Interesting thing happened. In Round 2 we are going to play in Pinball Fantasies. But one of the tables has been excluded from the competition. Questions:

1. Are we going to play in all tables (solution similar to last Lemon round with Stunt Car Racer)?
2. Are we going to choose the table to play?

Hope this answers your question:

So basically the other three tables will all be played.