Shovel/Operations

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Shovel Info | Shovel | Challenge Board | Tools | Operations | Results

The Seventh TRONIC Shovel will be played on Sunday, January 17, 2016! Discussion for Shovel 7 is taking place here. Server admins please update your config files. Teams sign up on the Challenge Board. See you there!

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Rules for players

1. Team Leaders must list their Global ID on the Challenge board. Players can not be signed up under multiple teams. You may only play for one team each Shovel.
2. Only Team Leaders may add, edit or remove their team from the Challenge Board.
3. A player can remove themselves from the Challenge Board at any time.
4. Changes may happen at any time until the cut-off for the provisional placement of teams, which is currently 18:00 GMT on Thursday before the event.
5. Team Leaders should not change after the brackets are chosen or they may lose authority (servers need to be updated).
6. Players listed on the Challenge Board are not allowed to join or switch teams under any circumstances in the hour before opening rounds. The Challenge Board is effectively locked until Shovel starts, after which changes may be made to reflect actual playing situations (scores, server changes, substitutes, no shows).
7. Regarding times, if an opponent team has not shown up on time and the opponent team is not currently engaged in an earlier scheduled match, then the match can begin even if the opponent team is not full strength. A team can decide to give the opponent team a maximum of 10 minutes to prepare themselves. A forfeit is considered a bye. After the opening rounds, players may take no longer than 10 minutes between finals to organize themselves for the next match.
8. Be aware of pre-existing bans on tournament servers. If you were previously banned from a Shovel server it is your responsibility to discover the ban and make arrangements with the server administrator beforehand. There is no guarantee a ban can be lifted on Shovel day.

Rules for server owners & operators

1. Use only the official Shovel settings and no other.
2. Make sure your server is up to date with the final version of the Shovel settings.
3. Please run the Shovel settings from default server configurations in order to make sure everything is unchanged. Also make sure you have no settings in your everytime.cfg or autoexec.cfg that would otherwise change the settings.
4. Do not authorize or give anyone other than Global Moderators an access level of Moderator (2). Please also ensure Team Leaders have the correct access level.
5. Do not use customized language strings on your server.
6. Please limit the number of messages to promote or advertise your own site/server. One message in the ROUND_CONSOLE_MESSAGE should be enough. MESSAGE_OF_DAY is reserved for use by the Ladle configuration file.

How the Shovel works

Stage 1 - Preparation

A community member will prepare the wiki for a new event keeping the following in mind -

• The Shovel will be played on the third Sunday of every month.
• The opening round of play will start at 19:00 GMT for a 16 team bracket, and 18:15 GMT for a 32-team bracket.
• The start times will change to follow Daylight Savings Time in the EU.
• Generally, 45 minutes is allowed to complete each round.

When clearing the Challenge Board for the next Shovel, be sure to move the teams and brackets to their proper place on the Shovel/Results page and link to the relevant discussion thread on the forums. While editing the Challenge Board, pay special attention to comments and any references to the previous Ladle. Create a new bracket. After the Challenge Board has been cleared, post a new topic on the forums and cross-link that to the Shovel/Blurb on the Competition Hub, which should also be edited and made current. Here is a checklist of things to do when preparing a new Challenge Board:

• Make an entry for the previous Shovel on the Results page. Add the bracket template.
• Copy the teams and brackets from the old Challenge Board into the new results page. In addition, link directly to any recordings and add screenshots if presented. Follow the example on the previous results page for guidance.
• Edit the old Challenge Board and remove the teams. Rename the bracket template to the current Shovel number. Migrate the servers to the commented section below the heading. Rename the authorities link under the Server Config heading to the current Shovel. Update Template:ShovelServer.
• Edit the newly formed bracket by copying a blank Shovel Bracket into it (16 Team or 32 Team).
• Edit the Shovel/Blurb on the Competition Hub and cross link it with a new forum post announcing the next Shovel.

Stage 2 - Team Sign Ups

Teams are added to the Challenge Board until the cut off for provisional placement, which is currently 18:00 GMT on Thursday before the event. This will allow time for server administrators to update their servers, teams to discuss strategy and players/enthusiasts to share their predictions on the forums if they wish to. In the event your team misses the sign up deadline, and one or more teams have a bye in the first round, you may ask the team with the first bye for permission to fill the open slot. If they refuse, go through the byes in order. Alternatively, a team can make a public appeal, but must take the lowest bye offered up. No team is under any obligation to give up a bye, and open slots are first come, first serve. Note: If your entire team does show up for the Shovel, you may be subject to disciplinary action.