C-IV SGOTM Reference Thread

[AlanH]

Acknowledgement
The information in these posts has been shamelessly plagiarised from the original work done by mad-bax for the Civ3 SGOTM.

Synopsis.

The aim of SGOTM is to provide a friendly competition is Succession Game format. It differs from a standard SG in that more than one team plays the same game in the event, and the teams compete to win the game in the fewest turns. All players of any ability are welcome to play.
In a Succession Game (usually referred to as an SG) a team of players each take it in turns to play a fixed number of turns in the same game, handing on the save to the next player in between sets of turns. Each player posts a log, describing what he did in his turns, along with pictures and advice if appropriate. More information on SG format may be found >>HERE<<

SGOTM is played to a prescribed variant, the rules for which will be posted in the game's maintenance thread. The winning team will be the team that reaches the objective for the variant in the fewest turns.

Awards.
Four awards are made for each SGOTM. The awards are made to the individual members of a team, and not to the team itself.

The C-IV SGOTM Laurels


The Gold, Silver and Bronze Laurels are awarded to the members of the three teams that abide by the variant rules and achieve the prescribed victory condition in the fewest turns. In the event of a tie then the award will go to the members of all the teams involved in the tie.

The Wooden Spoon


The Wooden Spoon is awarded to the members of the team that achieve the lowest Final Score.

Game Mechanics.
The map and any rule modifications will be prescribed by the Game Administrators. About two weeks before the event begins, a "Sign Up" thread will be posted in the SGOTM sub-forum of the C-IV GOTM forum. The first post will give salient details about the game, and the sponsored variant. People who wish to play may post to that effect in this thread, and should clearly state the difficulty level they are comfortable playing (e.g. monarch). Additionally, they may if they choose, supply other information such as the desire to play in a team in which they have previously been a member, or whether or not they have previous experience with the variant. Such information helps the staff to meet the expectations of the partipants whilst constructing balanced teams.

A few days before the event begins, a Team Thread will be posted for each individual team. The purpose of the thread is to provide a private forum in which pre-game discussions can be held, turnlogs and pictures can be posted, and discussions about the game can be conducted in private.

Each team will be provided with a starting save. Each save is tailored for the team, and only members of that particular team can load this save to the server. This signature remains with subsequent saves for the life of the game and the saves cannot be interfered with by third parties.

Also, before the start of the game, a Maintenance Thread will be posted. The purpose of the maintenance thread is to provide a single location in which any participant can post non-spoiler information that affects the event. Typically these include bug reports, rules discussions, team members dropping out and so on.

The performance of each team is recorded on a web page which may be accessed >>HERE<<. This web page has a lot of functionality, and participants are invited to explore it thoroughly.
One very important function of this page is that it is the location from which players download the saves from which they play. Similarly, players upload the saves they wish to pass on using >>THIS FORM<<. All required information is automatically extracted from the save file, without any intervention being required from the player. Other information (including reload count) is also extracted from the save and archived.

Play continues until all teams have completed their games, or until the guillotine date has been reached, at which time the awards will be made and posted on the games web page.

Two Spoiler threads are opened at appropriate times during the game. The First spoiler thread is limited to discussion of events occuring in a specific period only, and a nominated scribe from each team is required to post a synopsis of the teams game up to, but not beyond the scope of the spoiler. A further spoiler thread, but with different restrictions on access will be posted at a later date, where the rest of the game can be discussed. The specific conditions for reading and posting in a spoiler will be included in the first post of a spoiler, and also in the Maintenance Thread.

Once the result has been declared, a congratulations and commiserations thread will be opened to announce and discuss the results.

 

[AlanH]

Rules of Gameplay (Mandatory)
C-IV SGOTM is run under the Game of the Month banner, and as such all of the rules that apply to GOTM apply in equal measure to SGOTM. These rules may be found >>HERE<<. Please take the time to read them, and to visit the list of links at the bottom of the page. C-IV SGOTMs also adhere to the same set of allowed and prohibited "exploits" as the C-IV GOTMs, listed >>HERE<<.

Because of the nature of SG game play some other rules are also required and are described below.

1. The decision of the SGOTM administrator is final.
2. In the event of the SGOTM administrator being misinformed, incompetent or otherwise wrong, see rule 1.
3. Teams may be formed either by their members or the GOTM staff. Self appointed teams may be vetoed or have members added to at the discretion of the staff for balancing purposes.
4. Teams that have played together previously may stay together if they so wish. However, teams that have won Three laurels may be broken up automatically.
5. An initial team coordinator will be appointed by the staff for each team. That person is responsible for ensuring that the allocated team members check in to their team thread at the start of the game. The team should appoint a captain, who may be different from the initial coordinator. Each team must have a name, and this must be decided before the start save is posted.
6. The team captain will be responsible for maintaining the roster, and skipping people. He will also be responsible for the nomination of a scribe. He will act as a conduit between the team and the staff. For your team, he is the law.
7. Saves must be transferred by uploading to the >>SUBMISSIONS PAGE<< and downloading through the >>RESULTS PAGE<< This enables statistics to be collated and presented to the world, and it offers some protection for your game.
8. Access to opponents' Game Threads is expressley forbidden until you have won, lost, or formally abandoned the game, and submitted your final save. Even then, do not post in opponent team threads until both teams have finished. Unauthorised access to game threads will incur a penalty which can include permanent exclusion from the GOTM forum and all associated events, and disqualification of the entire team from the current event. Please note: This is not an idle threat. All SGOTM threads are monitored on a 24/7 basis. The staff is confident that it is not possible to lurk in opponents threads undetected.


Ettiquette and Behaviour. (Guidance only)
1. Ask to be skipped, or play your turns on time. Please don't just go missing in action.
2. Do not automate workers without first discussing with your team.
3. Do not use city governors without first discussing with your team.
4. Do not leave units on goto orders that extend beyond your set of turns. If for some reason this happens, then be sure to inform your team as to what the unit(s) is/are going.
5. Finish all your turns and upload the game saved at the END of the last turn.
6. When it is your turn to play, it is normal to pick the game up within 24 hours of the new save being made available, and to post a new save within 48 hours of that (so 72 hours in total). If you cannot meet the deadline then your team captain may grant you an extension or skip you at his discretion.
7. Only post a "got it" message once you have downloaded the save and actually opened it in the game. It is not unusual for something to happen that prevents the save being opened.
8. Post a turnlog which describes your set of turns. Provide enough information, not only on what you did, but what your intent was for the next few turns.
9. Respect your team mates, and demand their respect. Take care of your writing style, accept that people whose first language is not English will use English in a different way than you are used to. Disagree by all means, but don't make it personal, and don't take it personally.
10. SG's are team games. Be a good team member. Post your ideas, argue your corner and encourage and praise your team mates. Don't be afraid to post in your game thread. That is what it's for.
11. Have fun.