Posts from SoD Championship

I really enjoyed reading about the Warlord Tournament in Odessa; I wholeheartedly support both the organizers and the participants, but still…
Will we be holding a SoD championship?

1. No matter how much Vic says that Warlords and SoD are essentially the same now, they aren’t. I observed all the games in Michurinsk; the bank, experience gain, etc., bother me. Reading how a SoD player thanks someone for agreeing to play Warlords under SoD rules also bothers me. In my opinion, Warlords played with SoD rules is more like Warlords than it is like SoD.
To be frank, I won't go to a Warlords tournament, but I would definitely attend a SoD tournament.

2. There is a fundamental difference between organizing Warlords and SoD tournaments. A Warlords tournament gathers a stronger or even larger pool of players. But a SoD tournament provides more information. Many Heroes enthusiasts don't have the opportunity to travel to competitions, although they are interested in tournaments; I myself used to read about tournaments in other cities with envy.

How much information was gleaned by viewers from the New Year's tournament in Kingisepp? How much information – besides the list of final results – came from the recently held championship in Odessa?
There are catastrophically few game descriptions from participants, there were no broadcasts or very few, there are no replays, and there is no description of the tournament’s progress from an outside observer or commentator.
Despite its importance, the championship ultimately diminishes itself.

3. I am not suggesting that we copy the Warlords Championship. That project has been launched and is working. I propose going down a different path: a tournament with maximum informational content. I saw how many people watched the live broadcast of the New Year's Moscow tournament; I saw on the forum how many people read the reports from the participants. In other words, let's create a celebration not only for ourselves but also for those people who cannot come for various reasons.
Broadcasts, descriptions of past games on the forum, reports from the event location.

What is needed to hold such a tournament?

1. A basic forum. We have it: World.

2. A city willing to host such a tournament and someone willing to take care of general organizational issues. We have it. /topic/9504/

twaryna: "I am ready to participate in organizing a similar tournament in Kyiv. With the help of more experienced organizers, of course. There is an internet cafe, hotel, canteen, sauna, etc. Everything is nearby, everything is compact. There is experience in organizing events (not tournaments)."
"I can focus on logistical and organizational matters outside the tournament itself: club, accommodation, meals, cultural program, coordination, etc. Tournament-related issues – inviting players, possibly holding some kind of selection process or something similar; developing the tournament rules, brackets, format, etc. – should be handled by seasoned, experienced organizers. If the idea generates interest, we will carry it out at the highest level."

3. An organizer for the tournament itself. I'm available. ;)

4. A streamer, showman. Available. For this task, there isn’t anyone better than Merlin among Heroes enthusiasts. He is one of the most experienced players, a great person, with sharp and interesting presentation skills. It doesn't matter if he plays Warlords.
We have always agreed on all issues, both against Warlords players, SoD players, and trolls; we were always united in our support for the Heroes community.
His only problem is the distance; if his round trip ticket is paid for, I think he will be able to make it.

What is currently lacking:
1. A club with high-speed internet. We planned a match between Stinger and Pit but haven't found a place in Moscow yet where we can not only broadcast but also provide commentary during the broadcast.

That's all for now. The timeframe: New Year holidays 2014.
I am ready to listen to opinions.

As a bonus... I have a dream to gather players from Might and Magic II under one roof and hold a second tournament.

The idea is good, but I would rather pay for Stiky's travel expenses. Besides, Roma and Tvarina are from Kyiv, so there definitely won't be any problems with the streamers.

In my opinion, the more streamers there are, the better... it's better than having none at all.

Regarding the streaming setup, it's not necessary to bring the streamer to Kyiv and search for high-speed internet. A regular internet connection in a club can easily handle the required number of micro-casters/TeamViewer users, and the streamer can connect from home and re-stream both feeds with their commentary.

However, you need a lot of streamers for this kind of setup to cover all the interesting matches.

For proper coverage of the tournament, it’s necessary to assign someone who is fully responsible for the broadcasts. As the CIS region has shown, participants in the heat of competition don’t have time for broadcasts. We need someone who will personally go around and set everything up. And, of course, a good internet connection is needed; using programs like Miko and TeamViewer is already outdated. Experienced players can tolerate such a slideshow, but, as practice shows, external viewers can’t watch it. As a last resort, there’s this solution, although it’s not available in all cities. And, ultimately, commentators are needed on-site to convey the atmosphere of the tournament as much as possible.

For proper tournament coverage, you need to assign someone who is fully responsible for the broadcasts. As the CIS tournament showed, participants are too focused on the competition to handle broadcasts themselves. You need someone who will personally go around and set everything up. And, of course, you need a good internet connection; using programs like Miko and TeamViewer is already outdated. Experienced players can tolerate such a slideshow, but as practice shows, outside viewers can't watch it. As a last resort, there's this solution, although it's not available in all cities. And still, commentators are needed on-site to convey the atmosphere of the tournament as much as possible.

Yota =) Ihti, you should read about their upload speeds; it's terrible.

Iota =) ichthi, you should read about their upload process, it's a nightmare.

You're right, sorry for suggesting something useless, I don't use it myself. But there must be some alternatives; we can definitely come up with something that works with the internet, it's the 21st century after all.

Friends, why did I focus specifically on streams? Looking ahead a bit, Pete and Stinger and I were planning to organize a match between them. The next question arose.

It wasn't possible to find a club in Moscow where a two-way game broadcast would be possible. The streamer needs to be in a separate room for commentary so that the players can't hear him.

The same issues will arise in Kyiv. It seems that we will have to play not in a club, but on laptops. How can we achieve high-speed internet in that case?
Can mobile modems provide a two-way broadcast in Kyiv? Or how else can this be organized? I'm not an expert in technical matters.
If someone in this thread could explain the possibility of conducting such broadcasts, what is needed for this, then we can have a meaningful conversation with twaryna – are such conditions possible or not. If not, what is possible?
If so, then we should try playing with a two-way broadcast and a stream in advance to see if it works.

There is still plenty of time, but I understand that if we are going to hold offline tournaments, then it should be with maximum coverage. Streamers, reports from outside observers, save files.

For this, we need:
1. An organizer who provides accommodation, meeting arrangements, and a place to play. twaryna.
2. A streamer, or better yet, two – different matches in the tournament, or even joint commentary for the final. Merlin, Stiki, who else?
3. A tournament judge. Vik, Nagan.

If we are going to do this, we need an organizing committee of 3-4 people for maximum efficiency.

Added 5 minutes ago

For proper coverage of the tournament, it is necessary to assign a person who is fully responsible for the broadcasts. The participants themselves, in the heat of the battle, will not be able to handle the broadcasts, as the CIS tournament showed. We need a guy who will go around and set everything up himself. And, of course, we need a good internet connection; using Mikogo and TeamViewer is already a thing of the past. Experienced players can handle such a slideshow, but, as practice shows, outside viewers cannot watch it. As a last resort, there is this solution, although it is not available in all cities. And still, commentators are needed there, on the spot, to convey the atmosphere of the tournament as much as possible.

I agree. Without conveying the atmosphere, it loses a lot. Even 10 years ago, they knew how to do this. And now, with the experience of so many tournaments, it is even more necessary.

Added 4 minutes ago

Regarding coverage, it is not at all necessary to bring a streamer to Kyiv and look for high-speed internet. A regular club internet connection can easily handle the required number of Mikogo/TeamViewer connections, and the streamer can connect to them from home and re-stream both with his own commentary.

The problem is that you need a lot of streamers for this, so that there are enough for all the interesting matches.

A person will not be able to stream the entire match while sitting at home; they will be constantly distracted. :)

1. Kyiv as the venue.
IMHO, our city has already hosted a CIS champ once.
HoMM players might want some variety. Right? Although of course I would be glad to see everyone in our city, adventures guaranteed;) (remembering Sema)

2. In the club we had great fast internet, and there are separate rooms. And it's very cheap compared to Moscow - I think each person paid less than 10 dollars for all days.

3. Although now there is so much fiber in Kyiv and the surrounding areas. I think you could arrange with the base (if it's held there) to increase the internet bandwidth for 5 days. I think that would cost about 10-20 dollars :)

4. WT or SoD - I wouldn't separate them; if SoD is appointed as the main one, then let WT or whatever else be played at the parties' request (as it was in Kyiv).

PS. I haven't seen a single stream, I can barely even imagine what it is :)
Once I finish the tournament with Tvarina, I'll ask zemelya. He seems to stream our game.

1. Kyiv as a venue.
In my opinion, our city has already hosted a CIS championship once.
Heroes players might want some variety, right? Although, of course, I would be happy to see everyone in our city; I guarantee an adventure! (I remember Sema).

2. We had a great, fast internet connection at the club, and there are separate rooms there. And it's very cheap compared to Moscow – it seems like everyone paid less than $10 for all the days.

3. Although now there is so much fiber optics in Kyiv and the surrounding areas. I think we can arrange with the base (if it's held there) to increase the internet bandwidth for 5 days. I think it will cost $10-20.

4. I wouldn't separate WoG or SoD; if SoD is chosen as the main game, let the other side choose WoG or something else (as it was in Kyiv).

P.S. I haven't seen a single stream; I can barely even imagine what it is.
I'll finish the tournament with Twaryna, and then I'll try my hand at WoG. He seems to be streaming our game.

1. Twaryna himself volunteered to organize such a tournament, which is why the question of Kyiv arose. There was a similar tournament in Moscow in January; we really want some variety. The player base for WoG and SoD tournaments is still different, not counting Vik and Matrosov. :p

2. That's why I'm not suggesting Michurinsk; we have big problems with a normal fiber optic internet connection. During the previous championship in Michurinsk, it was impossible to organize a stream precisely because of the lack of speed.
And in Moscow, there was only one large hall, which is inconvenient for streaming.

3. We need to decide right away – can some club accommodate us, or will we really hold everything at the base if the internet allows it?
If possible, we should check.

4. That's logical. The other side can choose WoG if they want.

I support the idea. I'm a bit busy right now, but I'll share my thoughts on the topic in a couple of days.

Definitely do it in Kyiv! We'll join!

1) New Year is still quite far away...
2) What's the weather like in Kyiv at this time?

The main thing is to avoid dormitory-style accommodation, which some people really like :)))

I talked to Tvarina in Kyiv. I think everything will be fine with the organization!

And, of course, I'm all for Kyiv.

You're starting from the wrong point. We're discussing club and streamer-related issues, but we need to address the quorum issue. How many people are likely to travel somewhere during the New Year holidays?