Squadron Challenges

Squadron Challenges is a proposed method of squadron competition under the new reorganization. It involves two squadrons matched up against each other each month, with people in those squadrons allowed to challenge each other 2 times per month.

Squadrons will work together as a unit, and members will increase their skills in the areas in which they participate.

Challenges

The overall goal of the challenges would be for one squadron to win against another by collecting more challenge points.

• Each month, every person gets 2 challenges that they can issue to the other squadron.
• The other squadron must field an opponent, or the challenger wins by default.
• This opponent may be anybody from the other squadron, and the other squadron may choose this person however they wish (volunteering is fine, if their squadron agrees).
• There is no limit to number of challenges answered by one person.
• Both of the 2 challenges issued per person may be in the same activity.
• Some rules will be prescribed for what counts as "sufficient effort" while attempting to meet up for multiplayer, to reward matches taking place. The challenger can even lose by forfeit if they fail to make arrangements to show up, and the other person does show up. For MP, suggest a few steps to count as "sufficient effort": 1) must provide 10 possible and reasonable hours of availability, 2) must reserve at least 1 hour of mutually agreed-upon time, and must show up; 3) good faith must be maintained while setting up matches.
• The challenges last for the entire month, or until they are answered.
• Challenges may be issued up until the last week of the competition - i.e. no more challenges when 7 days from the deadline is reached.

Types of challenges

• 1 single-player mission: both compete an unlimited number of times on a single-player X-Wing, TIE, XvT, or XWA mission. An independent third party selects this mission, as otherwise the challenger would have an unfair advantage in being able to practice the mission first.
• 1 multiplayer match or mission: both compete in a 1v1 multiplayer match, any feasible game.
• 1 competitive sim: short
• 1 fictional battle: e.g. "You must defeat an opponent with a superior gun. This setting: Trandoshan on planet Dantooine." Independent judge awards the better-written and more-accurate fight.

Full list of possible challenges:

• X-Wing SP
• TIE Fighter SP
• XvT MP
• XVT SP
• XWA MP
• XWA SP
• Empire at War MP
• Empire at War SP
• Battlefront 2 MP
• Sim
• Fictional battle

There is no limit to the type of challenges participated in a given month, except that every person may only issue 2 total challenges per month to the other squadron.

Scoring system

A scoring system will be created on the website that tracks all of these points in real-time.

Individuals

• 5 - win
• 3 - win by forfeit
• 3 - loss
• 0 - loss by forfeit
• 0 - draw, or mutual forfeit
• -2 - at end of month, if no challenges issued or answered by a person

Squadrons

• +5 - All challenges followed through by a squadron (no forfeits)

Goals of the scoring system:

• Actually playing a match and losing is rewarded more than forfeiting.
• No points are needed for draws, since they don't affect the overall squadron head-to-head record.
• Won't punish "no challenges participated" too much in case someone prefers to participate in other ways.

Season

The squadron matchups would take place over a season, during which squadrons compile records against each other. Each matchup would be one month long, and run from (say) the 8th of the month until the last day.

Playoffs would occur at the end of the season, matching up the four squadrons with the best records.

• For tiebreakers of playoffs (if squadrons have the same record):

1. head-to-head record with tied teams;
2. overall points earned in the challenge for the year.
3. coin flip, as it's extremely unlikely that this point is reached.

A season starting in April would then look like this:

• Month 1: April 8-30, 2011
• 2: May 8-31
• 3: June 8-30
• 4: July 8-31
• 5: August 8-31
• 6: September 8-30
• 7: October 8-31
• Playoffs semifinals (top 4 teams): November 8-30
• Playoffs finals (top 2): December 8-31

Overall winner for the year crowned on January 1.

Note: with twelve total squadrons, it's not possible for every squadron to challenge every other squadron within one year and still have playoffs; the previous schedule should be taken into account when devising the next year's schedule, so all squadrons challenge all others within 1.5 years.

Rewards

Some suggested medals at the end of the season:

• Top 3 squadrons (all earn uniform-visible medals)
• More ideas?

Example schedule

Round 1 (e.g. April 2011)

• FireClaw vs Gold
• Red vs Red Dragon
• Dagger vs Resurrection
• Renegade vs Rapier
• Lancer vs Zealot
• Chisha vs Shochu

Round 2 (e.g. May 2011)

• FireClaw vs Red Dragon
• Red vs Resurrection
• Dagger vs Rapier
• Renegade vs Zealot
• Lancer vs Shochu
• Chisha vs Gold

Example challenge

Let's say FireClaw is matched up against Red Dragon in a given month.

FireClaw:

• Kirghy does two XvT challenges, 1 SP, 1 MP. Adam Mieter loses SP challenge, Sconn wins MP challenge.
• Licah issues an X-Wing challenge, but no one responds; RDS forfeits. Licah challenges XWA MP, Adam responds, but they are unable to get the Internet connection working. It's a wash.

RDS:

• Adam issues two XWA challenges, both SP. Kirghy responds 1 SP challenge and wins, but not the other, and forfeits.

Total:

• 16 FireClaw (13 Kirghy, 3 Licah)
• 14 RDS (9 Adam, 5 Sconn)

...so FireClaw picks up the "win" for that month.

However, if you factor in people who didn't participate,

• 4 FireClaw (-12, 6 people did not participate)
• 4 RDS (-10, 5 people DNP)

..it's a tie!

Other ideas

• Perhaps don't need to keep an all-time ladder of challenges, as RS Ladder would be a better venue.