The Future of NorCal INSTALL! γ-3 [Monthly Ranbats]

[TaoFTW]

The Future of NCI

The first Saturday of each month is the -official- ranbat for the following games:

- Guilty Gear AC (Hosted by KatanaDash)

- Melty Blood AA (Hosted by Tsubasa)

- Blazblue CS (Hosted by Spirit Juice and Aginor)

The bi-weekly sessions are for one the following reasons:

- Determining Regional Ranbats

- Local Casual Sessions

- BBCS Stream 101

Tournament Entry: $6 [$3 for each additional tournament entry]

- $3 dollar community fee is split between venue fee and future community projects. None of this money ends up in the pockets of TOs!

So now all you have to do is post, "Let's play a [regional tournament] for our bi-weekly session at [sVGL] on [November 20th]."

Pre-Register Here

Registration List

Season γ-3 Schedule

October

October 2nd (10/2/10): SJSU

October 16th (10/16/10): Drom's Blazblue: CS Singles - Stream by Thxyoutoo/Iplaywinner

November

November 6th (11/6/10): ???

November 20th (11/20/10): ???

December

December 4th (12/4/10): ???

December 20th (12/20/10): ???

January

January 8th (1/8/2011): ???

January 22nd (1/22/11): ???

February

February 5th (2/5/11): ???

February 19th (2/9/11): ???

March

March 5th (3/5/11): ???

March 26th: BLAZING NCI!

April

April 23rd (4/23/11): ???

May

May 7th (5/7/11): ???

May 21st (5/21/11): ???

June

June 11th (6/11/11): ???

June 25th (6/25/11): ???

July

July 4th-6th: EVO weekend

August

August 27th: SUPER NCI!

***

Ranbat Tournament Schedule:

MBAA Singles: 12pm - 5pm

GGAC Singles: 2pm - 7pm

BBCS Singles: 4pm - 10pm

[TaoFTW]

Once again, thanks for coming out everyone to our extraordinary hype event; you guys are awesome. All in all, the tournament was successful, however I need to get some constructive feedback from the players and other -noteworthy- tournament organizers. I posted this a while back at the DL forums, Meltybread, and the Berkeley thread, but I also need feedback from the people here.

***

Setup and Equipment [Current Count]:

Guilty Gear

CRT: 0

TV: 0

PS2s: 0

GGAC: 0

Melty Blood

CRT: 0

PS2: 0

MBAA: 0

Blazblue

LCDs: 0

TVs: 0

CRTS: 0

PS3 w/ DLC: 0

PS3 w/o DLC: 0

PS3 BBCS copies: 0

***

Tournament Rules:

- Double Elimination.

- Best 2/3 matches. Loser can change characters.

- Failure to appear, for your first match, will send you to losers bracket. Failure to appear for your second match get you DQ.

- E.X./Unlimited characters are banned.

- BBCS: DLC are acceptable.

[TaoFTW]

Final Regional Tournament: BLAZING NCI

Hosted by: TaoFTW

Tournament Roster:

Day 1

- Blazblue CS Singles

Hosted by: Spirit Juice

- Guilty Gear AC

Hosted by: KatanDash

- Melty Blood AA

Hosted by: Tsubasa

- KoF 2002

Hosted by: Qwerty

- Arcana Heart 3

Hosted by: LOLI

- Chaos Breaker

Hosted by: shtkn

Day 2

1) BBCS Regional Exhibitions:

- Sac Crew

- South Bay

- East Bay

- SLO Cal

- SoCal

- East Coast(?)

- Reno Crew

2) GG/MB/BB Team Tournament

3) MB/GG NorCal vs. SoCal Exhibition

[Mystic d]

So, I've been following NCI this entire time even though I'm in Hawaii. Really wish I could have made it, but it looked like fun. Props to Tao for running a great tournament. Anyway, I have a couple of suggestions:

Tao, sorry in advance if this is what you said, but I didn't understand the whole week 1, week 2 thing.

Make the ranbats regional (as you said) and host them (if possible) once a month at the same location. Use the same ranking system for all four regions (Sacramento, South Bay, East Bay, and Reno) similar to the system used at the monthly ranbats we had at SVGL. 1st - 4 pts, 2nd - 2 pts, 3rd - 1 pt, 4th - i pts. Hold these ranbats every month for say, 5 months. If possible, try to coordinate the ranbats to all be on the same day. On the 6th month, hold the big tournament, or BLAZING NCI.

The top person from each region is guaranteed a spot on the 5v5 team. The last spot will be given as a player's choice poll. If one of the players fails to show up for the 5v5 exhibition, the next highest seeded player from that person's region will take their place. If the player from the player's choice fails to show up, then the person with the next highest votes is given the spot. Any ties are decided by a best of 3 match.

I am of course, talking about BB since I have no clue about anything regarding the MB or GG scenes. I know that organizing all of this would be difficult, but this is how I think would be the ideal way to run things. Feedback please?

Also, I don't know what is going on regarding the monthly ranbats we had at SVGL before, but I would like to continue to have both the doubles and singles events and I'm willing to help with the organization if help is needed (Phaethon H, Aginor, Spirit Juice). Although I'm pretty scrubby, it was always fun to see everyone and experience that tournament atmosphere hype. I haven't played competitively at all over the summer and I'm missing that tournament feeling.

[Crosell]

Would anyone care explain how ranbats work?

[Kijiyama]

Ranking Battles are designed to gauge people over the course of time (either for points or seeding or prize). Say we have a monthly ranbat and at the end of the year or something we have NCI. What the ranbats are designed to do is take the best people from those that can make it out and seed them accordingly (like the playoffs in the superbowl: good records get buys while the 3/4 teams faceoff against the 5/6 teams). It's designed in such a way so that those who are good do not face each other early and makes for more entertaining matches. The better you place in those ranbats the better your chance of relaxing a little bit or scoping out the competition before your first match.

Anyway with the smaller ranking battles within each games community it makes it easier to organize and seed people based on games. If you hold 3 ranking battles at one venue for 3 different games (not only do you get a large amount of people but the time to run it and the failures that might occur will become greater). If you break it down to each game and each community it makes it much easier to manage and seed people. If everyone uses the same point system than it should balance themselves out with who gets top seed (in the event of tie points with respect to regions then make the region that had more turnout be placed higher [ie had more competition to fight through])

[STenSatsu]

I feel a monthly ranbat is better than splitting the region up a bit. As long as we can find a venue for ~40-60 people anyway. It would be more hype than small local things and the bay isn't really that big that it needs to be split up especially with BART and Caltrain. (Not that people running small local things is bad.)

I do like the idea of tutorials on the basics on stream. Since there usually won't be Money matches or 5v5 kind of stuff, you can just replace some casual matches with it and I think it could be a decent draw for viewers interested in gettign better.

So ya, putting my vote in for monthly ranbats that include bb/gg/mb and a yearly or bi-yearly big NCR-like tourney for those 3 games. I like this because it might also build interest for people playing one game to get into another. (I know, my hope is probably misplaced.)

Just copy-pasted my response from the other thread.

[blk_mage]

If I could find a venue would people be willing to come out to the Antioch/Pittsburg/Brentwood area for Ranabants/Tournaments/Whatever?

[Tsubasa]

If we have to split up via regions for practical reasons, I don't see why the bay should be split up between south bay and east bay. It fragments a community that shouldn't be broken up because most players can, within reason, make it to a venue in either location. With that in mind, will players have to be discouraged from entering both? Because having the same players taking points at both ranbats might 1. disrupt fair assessment of players because they're being beaten by good player(s) who should be in another region and 2. might discourage some players because they know that the top player from the other region will probably just take the spot they could potentially earn in the top 3. I personally think BB ranbats should not be split up into regions at all. It just discourages people from attending ranbats out of their region. The bay should definitely not be split up. I can kinda understand Sac being separated because it's not reasonable for some people to travel to the bay, or vice versa, all the time, but I think it should still be discouraged.

My suggestion, assuming we can find a suitable venue, is one ranbat on a fixed weekend each month somewhere in the bay. It'll be easier on people's schedules, it'll be convenient for people playing multiple games, and it'll be easy for people to plan for ahead of time. People who are further away can arrange to carpool or something. I see the plan John suggested and I can only imagine that it'll lead to the fragmentation of the BB community and the further separation of the GG/MB and BB communities.

[qwerty]

i actually think john's idea is great, i just don't see it practically working in our situation.

what would eventually end up happening is certain parts of the bay get way more players than the rest (see: south bay/sf) and east/north bay peeps just stop running their own shit and come to the bigger gatherings anyways, which would defeat the purpose of the whole regional tournament thing.

now, i would like to see more casual sessions throughout the bay, since i think those play a much bigger role in strengthening the scene anyways (or local netplay, for the sake of convenience). but for tournaments, i think we should stay centralized; even if we try to split it up, we're going to end up right back where we started.

[TaoFTW]

If we have to split up via regions for practical reasons, I don't see why the bay should be split up between south bay and east bay. It fragments a community that shouldn't be broken up because most players can, within reason, make it to a venue in either location. With that in mind, will players have to be discouraged from entering both? Because having the same players taking points at both ranbats might 1. disrupt fair assessment of players because they're being beaten by good player(s) who should be in another region and 2. might discourage some players because they know that the top player from the other region will probably just take the spot they could potentially earn in the top 3. I personally think BB ranbats should not be split up into regions at all. It just discourages people from attending ranbats out of their region. The bay should definitely not be split up. I can kinda understand Sac being separated because it's not reasonable for some people to travel to the bay, or vice versa, all the time, but I think it should still be discouraged.

My suggestion, assuming we can find a suitable venue, is one ranbat on a fixed weekend each month somewhere in the bay. It'll be easier on people's schedules, it'll be convenient for people playing multiple games, and it'll be easy for people to plan for ahead of time. People who are further away can arrange to carpool or something. I see the plan John suggested and I can only imagine that it'll lead to the fragmentation of the BB community and the further separation of the GG/MB and BB communities.

That would be the ideal solution, but the reality is that we won't be able to find a venue that can hold a tournament of our size. We no longer have DeVry University or EUdemonia. The good news is that the FG community @ EUdemonia has some renewed interest to host BB.

Here's the premise for -fragmenting- the BB community, 'Empower the players to build up their fighting game scene using NCI's name to help establish their local FG community.' In retrospect, SF4 has been 'fragmenting' their community by hosting Battle of the Bay; just look at their stream. I understand that SF4 has a big community, but don't forget that BB had the biggest turnout at NCI for good reason; many local FGers, oblivious to DL and MB, wanted to get a taste of man-to-man competition - and they enjoyed it. Therefore, it's more important to empower those players with a consistent -local- FG scene. Here's the crux; it doesn't have to be competitive. Whoever is in charge of that regional tournament can do w/e they want to build it. They could just say, 'Hey, let's do a random tournament for fun. You don't have to pay to enter, but if you get seeded, then you'll be representing our FG community at SUPER NCI!' ->> GIVE MORE POWER TO THE PLAYERS; NOT THE TOURNAMENT ORGANIZERS!

This is also a proven business model. The moment you have too much ownership over something (aka the music industry), you'll lose money cause people will think you're just a fascist nazi.

So, yes, what you say is true. Hosting a monthly ranbat would be able to do the trick, but that's also how West Toast died. The moment Arlieth left the FG crew, everything fell apart; my assumption is that we don't want that to happen to the NorCal crew.

i actually think john's idea is great, i just don't see it practically working in our situation.

what would eventually end up happening is certain parts of the bay get way more players than the rest (see: south bay/sf) and east/north bay peeps just stop running their own shit and come to the bigger gatherings anyways, which would defeat the purpose of the whole regional tournament thing.

now, i would like to see more casual sessions throughout the bay, since i think those play a much bigger role in strengthening the scene anyways (or local netplay, for the sake of convenience). but for tournaments, i think we should stay centralized; even if we try to split it up, we're going to end up right back where we started.

Pretty much this, but you also forget that people who don't travel will play games at their local scene. You're under the assumption that everybody is competitive or vice-versa. People go to tournaments to -surprisingly enough- not participate or just have fun while getting bodied. This is BB man; you, of all people, should know that this game rewards mashing. And, regardless of what you think, mashing is fun for a lot of people. The SVGL community has a completely different vibe in comparison with someone who plays casuals at a LAN center. They're both good communities, but they have different preferences on how they play.

Krispy Creme is facing -near- bankruptcy cause they didn't want to change their business mindset; look at them now. Likewise, NorCal is just about bankrupt. The question is, 'How do we reach out to people who have never tasted fiery fierce competition?' You could keep the competitive mindset (which I'm 100% down for), but do nothing to encourage casual games. For example, Sacramento is one of those places where people don't care enough about competitive games. That's fine, but you shouldn't force a competitive scene there, rather, adjust to the needs of the community. This is why I want you guys to go back to the mission statement,

NorCal INSTALL! seeks to expose the new generation of Fighting Gamers to the classics while building stronger social networks within the FG community.

If you want the NorCal scene to survive, then you got to do more than just host tournaments. So yeah Qwerty, I recommend you just open up your apt rec room for mashy casuals and ranbat seeding. Call it, "SALTY RAGE-QUIT COMMUNITY!" Be creative.

If I could find a venue would people be willing to come out to the Antioch/Pittsburg/Brentwood area for Ranabants/Tournaments/Whatever?

Yes. Do what you can to establish your FG community.

[Crosell]

Personally the idea of casuals seems great. I'm in no way shape or form a competitive BB player(trying to get there....slowly) but getting to play the better people or just do local play with other players in the area is a lot of fun. I think this would help get a lot of the newer players out and see what the scene is like. I was nervous going to NCI but everyone there was so nice that I really want to become a part of this community. So just doing a fun event, like casuals so that community can get to know each other a bit more. Going to NCI it was a bit hard for me to get into it because everyone seemed to know each other and its was scene already formed, and it seemed a bit daunting still by the end of the night I had met some people. So I think it would be nice to get a less serious, more getting the new comers into the scene and getting them active and talking to them more to make them feel part the community will bring them back time and time again.

[STenSatsu]

People in the concord/walnut creek area could gather pretty easily at DVC's rec room till like 7. There are some other fighting game players there as well, though not sure how many besides like 3 actively know BB already. Only problem is you'd probably want to get there semi-early to get a tv before they get taken.

[Dacidbro]

Assuming no work, I am almost always willing to play.. just hit me up o:

[Spirit Juice]

Flipflops are banned from NCI.

[Chun]

In regards to the previous season's monthly ranbat schedule, since the loss of DeVry rooms as I've read,

I went up to my SJSU CS Club officers and went "How do you shot club rooms during the weekend till late" and they're like "Uh, we just do when we want to", and I'm like, "There's power cords and tables everywhere, and we need money since we were robbed over the summer, how about hosting the tournaments", and they're like "Maybe, let's talk more about it."

So I'm in favor of the idea of continuing 1 day a month gatherings for ranbats still, but these won't work for say a major Eudemonia crowd or SUPER NCI; that could be reserved for something more bi or tri-monthly in the venues SJ and Coopa are looking at.

Also, I keep stumbling into people that play BB/Want to Play GG/Play MB casually on campus. This could help grow the scene.

[Crosell]

Assuming no work, I am almost always willing to play.. just hit me up o:

Consider it done :3

[Dacidbro]

Flipflops are banned from NCI.

:/

[TaoFTW]

Pick a date and time

Find a place

Tell your friends

Show up and play

If you guys can do this, then we're one step closer to making NCI happen.

[Dacidbro]

Man, I do that all the time. I show up to MGL often, have gatherings at people's houses (Just today, me and Jesse were training Bang, when Chun invited us over, and the three of us and his friend Roy, who is just starting to learn BB and Makoto, mashed for hours)

NCI is already on the way sir

[Chun]

The SJSU CS Club AND classrooms in Macquarrie Hall ARE FREE FOR USE.

President says I just need to give them a date and we can use this for the further monthlies.

This room will be empty on Saturday afternoons. We are also cleared for CLASSROOMS for more setup.

Again,

THIS VENUE IS FREE SATURDAYS FROM AFTERNOON TILL BEFORE MIDNIGHT. THIS VENUE IS FREE EVERY MONTH.

However, the club was recently robbed over the summer, so if people are down, part of the pots will go to the CS Club for funding of club activities.

~Chun

[Zenmetsu]

So many Asians.

*Shoots self*

[natearistata]

dude, the last one was at Berkeley. You don't get more azn in California than that

[TaoFTW]

Thanks Chun. I appreciate the heads up, so keep me informed with the SJSU clubroom venue. Find out which days work out best for the club advisor and we can work from there. I don't mind charging people venue fees for room usage, but try to keep it to a minimum.

Also guys, I have a proposition; I suggest we start charging a -small- venue fee that will go for the following:

- Room Usage ($1)

- Subsidize future hotel costs ($2)

- End-of-the-year Ranbat pot + Raffle prizes. ($2)

I want to say $10 per ranbat ($5 for pot and $5 for future investments). Here's the rub; end-of-the-year ranbat pots will be distributed evenly between the following games:

- Blazblue CS

- Guilty Gear AC

- Melty Blood AA

The game that has the greater amount of crossovers will get a bigger ranbat pot. You heard me - that means BB won't always have the meaty pot. If you guys are interested in this idea, then I'm going to open up a NCI savings account with US Bank.

Question, "How will I know that you won't use the extra pot money for your own selfish desires?"

Answer, "Keep me accountable; I have nothing to hide. I won't share you my personal information, but I can show you the bank statements. This is a community effort and I have no reason to take money from it...even though I should."

If you guys like the idea, then send feedback galore!

[Arifureta]

Awesome idea is awesome. :V

Just throwing it out there, UCB could probably host a couple of the monthlies in our area if Eudemonia falls through.