SFCCL Season 4: Another season, another poll
Following the previous polls on the SFCCL Facebook group page, I have now posted another (hopefully final) poll to get some more information from fellow members. The current poll is simple: who is committed to a 4th season of the SFCCL on SSF4:AE 2012. This is basically an unofficial signup poll to see if we can get a minimum of 20 members. I have a framework for the next season with 20 members (40 fighters) in either the season 2 or season 3 format. The on-going question within the question is whether the upcoming season will be pay-for-play. Based on the results of the first poll, I then posted a followup poll asking if members would want to play for free, for $5.00, or $10.00. The final count was 2 votes for free, 3 votes for $5.00, and 5 votes for $10.00, respectively. Personally, I voted for a pay-for-play season since I believe it would combat the main problem that plagued previous seasons, member's interest falling throughout the season. If every member involved in the upcoming season pays an upfront $5.00 signup fee, that should provide them with enough self-motiviation to play the season to the end in attempt to win back one of several cash prizes. This also eliminates one of my duties as league admin of chasing down members asking them to contact other members to play their matches. If they signup and pay their $5.00, it is now their own decision to play or not to play. The league has their money, and will award prizes to those that do play. I am also committed to playing another free-for-all season, but leave this decision to the members. If we do go to a pay-for play season, the entry fee for this 4th season will only be $5.00. Several members voted for a $10.00 entry fee (bigger cash prizes), but since a few voted for the the lower fee, I am happy to go with the $5.00 to satisfy most everyone. Also, since this will be the first pay-for-play season, I am willing to forgo any personal payments myself to run this season. I want to fully demonstrate how committed I am to this league since this may be the future of the SFCCL. I want to ensure all member's trust in me by fully disclosing the league funds and how they will be paid throughout the season. I will not profit from this upcoming season one cent. The biggest cash prize (half of all funds collected ~$50) will be awarded to the winner of the Super Brawl tournament at the end of the season. The runner-up will also receive a smaller cash prize. The season will be anywhere from 4 to 6 months, similar to last season. There would be several live special events (War Games, Survivor Series, 2vs2 Tournament, Fall Brawl) throughout the season where winners of the events would earn actual cash prizes (~ $5 to $10). However, to be fair, a member would be limited to winning one live event during the season in order to give other members an opportunity to win a cash prize. All members would have the chance to win the Super Brawl cash prize. Collecting the entry fees and paying the cash prizes would go thru PayPal. Unfortunately, PayPal could take a portion of the funds collected/paid due to their fees. However, there is a way around their fees as listed on their website. If we avoid their fees, the cash prize pool will be slightly larger. I don't want PayPal to profit from our league. Well, that's it. This is the basic layout for the upcoming 4th season. Hopefully, we can get enough interest from members to begin moving forward and start playing soon. The decision is yours. I am ready if you are. Follow the link to the SFCCL Facebook group page to place your vote and voice your commitment to the 4th season: SFCCL Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/348539818504591/ SFCCL-SALonghorn Well, after two weeks of voting, the counts stands at 8 votes FOR a pay-to-play season, and 4 votes AGAINST a pay-for-play season. 12 of the current 20 members have voted (60%), so a majority has been reached. The next question that needs to be asked is what the fee would be to join the league. $5 or $10? The bigger the fee, the bigger the prizes. We are still far away from starting a new season, but these polls help me decide what the best course of action will be.
This is no guarantee that a 4th season would be pay-to-play, or if there will be another season. We are still in the brainstorming stage of another season. New poll posted. How much should the entry fee be for a 4th pay-for-play season? The bigger the fee, the bigger the cash prizes. Be sure to join the new SFCCL Facebook Group. When I originally created a SFCCL Facebook page, there were no group pages at the time. So, I simply created a SFCCL personal page. The new group page is a lot more useful in communicating with members, asking questions about the league, and sharing various artwork by SHIN created for the league.
Click on the images above to view the page and join the group. Current topic is regarding making a possible 4th season a "Pay-For-Play" season. In other words, should the next season have a $5 or $10 entry fee? This would mark the first time the league would involve a fee, but the proceeds would go to real cash prizes awarded throughout the season for winning live events, in-season awards, or the Grand Championship of a Super Brawl tournament. Also, the monetary fee to play should be enough incentive to keep everyone playing their matches all season long. Join the SFCCL Facebook group and vote now! As promised, I posted in a previous blog that I would post news of season 4 today. Unfortunately, the announcement may not be what some expected. Season 4 will not begin in January as originally planned. In fact, there will not be another season of the SFCCL. There are two main reasons for this, both of which involve interest on two different levels. First, interest in whatever version of Street Fighter IV is simply dying out. Not withstanding the latest update from Capcom (a free patch called AE Version. 2012), which is scheduled for release finally on December 13th, we are playing a game that is practically 3 years old. Like any other game, the gaming population floods to new games every month. As long as Capcom released a game with new characters, no matter if they were rehashed or brand new, interest in the game would increase even if the game itself at the core wasn’t different. With the latest version doing nothing more than “re-balancing”, I don’t expect anyone to rush out and buy SSFIV:AE just to play Version 2012. That patch is basically for us hardcore, loyal SF members. The current level of interest will slowly continue to decline for this game. That, of course, has a direct effect on the league. I can attest to the fact that I’ve seen interest in the league from new players drastically go down over the past 6 months. We started the league with 45 members (30 Americas / 15 Europeans). Despite asking the original members for a 6-month commitment, I had to replace 6 members after the season began. The 6 new members were taken from the short Waiting List I compiled as the season began. One more member quit the league in the European Region, and I was unable to find another player to fill his spot. So his matches were simply forfeited, which only left 14 ‘active’ members in the European Region. I use the word ‘active’ generously (more on that later). Since the beginning of the season, I’ve had little interest from new players. Those that did signup, I notified each of them there were no openings this season, but their name would be placed on the Waiting List. Only 5 names remain on that list to this day. The previous two seasons of the SFCCL, which did take place over a longer time period, had nearly 200 players come thru the league. This season, we will have about 51 total players. Perhaps interest is down in part to the fact that enrollment this season was restricted, but that wouldn’t explain away the dead spot in the European Region nor the small Waiting List. The second reason I’m deciding to cancel the 4th season is due to the specific interest in the league among current existing members. Below is a spreadsheet I put together this past week. It may look like a bunch of numbers and percentages, but it is a basic snapshot of which members are playing and which aren’t. The black highlighted names are the members who have played enough matches to stay above the weekly average. After today, only 3 weeks remain in the Americas Region. Thru Week 14 (which ended last Friday), all Americas Region members should have played 22 of their 28 matches so far. Or, in simpler terms, everyone should have played 11 of their 14 matches on their fighter’s schedule by now. Of the 30 Americas Region members, only 7 meet or exceed that percentage. Repeat…7 of 30. That is only 23%. Three of those 7 have played all of their matches (Von, Dr Rouse, & myself). The European Region’s numbers are basically the same. They started two weeks later, so five weeks remain in their regular season. Each member should have played 19 matches thus far, or 9 of their fighter’s 14 matches. Of the 15 members, only 3 have played above that number. One of those 3 is the dead spot which has all matches completed (forfeited). Only 1 of the 3 has completed their schedule (Subes88). That is only 20% of the region. Now it is possible that the other 35 members in both regions combined are just waiting for these final weeks to finish their schedules…but I doubt it. It is clear to see who is and who isn’t playing. For all those members who are or at least trying to play, I personally thank you. You are the reason I keep this league going. I greatly appreciate your commitment to the league. Please understand that this announcement does not reflect my gratitude for your participation. But unfortunately, we (I include myself in this group) are the clear minority now. Based on the messages I’ve received from members, I understand that some members don’t respond to messages asking to play or set a time to play. I can’t force anyone to play. I had hoped that asking everyone to honor a short 6-month commitment in advance of the season would be enough encouragement for everyone to play. I had hoped meeting up with 14 different members over an 18-week period would be plenty of time for everyone to play. I had hoped grouping members by location & time zone would benefit the league. On these 3 objectives, the league has failed. If someone doesn’t want to play anymore, then there is nothing I nor the league can do to change that. I simply don’t have the patience anymore to send a message to members asking them to contact their opponents. I should never have to do that in the first place since everyone voluntarily signed up to play in the league. No one was forced to signup. I understand that members hold me in higher esteem since I run the league, but if I can play all of my matches despite my tight daily schedule, then so should everyone else. The new format this season was designed to give everyone more freedom to play their matches. It also made my job easier as I didn’t have to do a massive website update every two weeks. The open-ended schedules allowed for members to take time off without any penalty. That may have backfired as some members disappeared completely. The interest is simply not there to continue the league. Here's another example. If you include the 6 original members that dropped after the season began, only 9 members of 51 total members may finish their season as planned. That is a sad 18% of the league. If only 18% of the league is honoring their commitment, it gives me little motivation to continue the league. Even a small league composed of only those that finish their schedules wouldn’t be much fun. I would grow tired of VON kicking my butt every other week! Now, with all that being said, I’ve had plenty of fun playing all the members that I’ve encountered this season. While my regular season record of 14-14 confirms my average skill level, I’ve had fun with this new format. I’ve taken time away while also playing 3 different members in one night. Specifically, the 3 live events that I’ve hosted this season have been a riot! Those members that participated I’m sure will agree. In making this decision, I did consider different formats for a possible 4th season. Bringing back the format of the first two seasons was considered. Continuing this current format was also considered. Another idea included a hybrid version of this season’s format that could have anywhere between 15 to 58 possible matches per fighter. No matter the format, each had the same weakness…having enough members to fill the league. In my opinion, the league would be challenged to have another 45 members signup for next season. The loyal members would return, I’m sure, but the league would most likely be smaller. Based on the fun had at the live events, I’ve also considered making the SFCCL a live-event-only-type of league. In other words, advertise the various types of tournaments we play throughout the year. Anyone could play as the league would be more like a community. The events would still be online and players could signup in advance. This is something I’m still considering because it would be a lot of fun, and only involve players that actually want to play. No more pestering people to play. You either show up to play, or you don’t. However, the live events would need a lot of advertisement to get a good crowd. Having 4 or 5 events a year would help maintain a loyal following. With all that being said, don't look at this news sadly. We've had a hell of a ride thus far, and there is still more to come. I look forward to finishing this season. It should be an exciting end to the season with the best (and most active) fighters advancing to Super Brawl III. At the end of the regular season, the fighters in each division with the most wins will advance to the tournament. By the end of the year, we will have our 3rd Super Brawl champion and the final Grand Champion of the SFCCL.
Thanx again to all who have made this league and season successful. Good luck to all members, especially those trying to get a couple more wins to qualify for the tournament in these final weeks. Hopefully, we can finish the season strong! I still plan to post a final SFCCL Reflections blog during Super Brawl. On a final note, I can positively say that I will be running some type of league or clan online in the future. This stuff is just too much fun! Who knows…maybe even another SFCCL season on a different Street Fighter game. Street Fighter V, anyone? As long as there is an interest in this stuff, I will be there! That you can count on that. SFCCL-SALonghorn Please join me in welcoming LUNASLAVE1999 from Canada as our newest member of the SFCCL! LunaSlave is replacing Cuby in the Eastern Conference, and is our second Canadian member in the SFCCL. GuurenLagen is also from Canada.
LunaSlave1999's main fighter is Rose and secondary character is Oni. Both of these fighters have been added to the Eastern Conference schedules and standings today. Since Cuby did play a few matches before quitting, those matches will be honored for Cuby's opponents. As a result, LunaSlave's Rose will only have 12 matches scheduled this season, and Oni will only have 11 matches. Hopefully, with the removal of the 3 Eastern Conference members that did not want to play, the 3 newest members (OceanicMidnight, Gurimmjaw, & LunaSlave1999), will bring some fresh excitement to the Eastern Conference which is trailing the other regions in playing their matches. I do hope these are the last members who join the league as we are nearly halfway thru the season. I've also exhausted the Waiting List, so if anyone else quits, their matches will simply be forfeited. Since the beginning of this season, 6 of the original 45 members have had to be replaced. To the newest members: good luck and welcome to the SFCCL! All are invited to play in this weekend's 2vs2 Tournament. SFCCL-SALonghorn Please welcome the two newest members in the Eastern Conference, GURIMMJAW from Ohio and previous SFCCL member OCEANICMIDNIGHT from New Jersey. They replace Castropex and Takunara. Both members were excited about the opportunity to join this season after signing up too late before the season started. With the recent departures of 3 members in the East, 3 openings became available this season. I am still looking for a replacement for Cuby, but may have to forfeit his matches in the end.
GURIMMJAW has taken the place of Takunara in the Eastern Conference. Since Takunara never played a single match in 8 weeks, Gurimmjaw has the full 13 matches available to him this season. I write 13 matches and not 14 matches since Cuby's spot is still vacant. OCEANICMIDNIGHT is taking the place of Castropex in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, since Castropex did play one set of his matches versus ND2130SRK, OceanicMidnight will only have 12 matches on his schedule. Since ND2130SRK won his league match versus Castropex, that victory will be honored. OceanicMidnight will not have to play ND2130SRK since that would give ND2130SRK one more match compared to everyone else. Finally, OceanicMidnight will start with a clean record of (0-0). Thanx again to GURIMMJAW and OCEANICMIDNIGHT for joining to the SFCCL! Both members are doing the league a huge favor by stepping into the vacancies, and hopefully keeping the number of forfeited matches to a minimum this season. I've updated the website by updating the members photographs as well as the Grade and Battle Points for both regions. CUBY from Florida, CASTROPEX from Alabama, and TAKUNARA from New Jerset have quit the league. I received email and messages from each player today and their various reason for quitting.
Normally, I thank players for their interest in the league. However, considering the 6-month commitment I asked every member to make prior to this season in combination with these decisions coming nearl halfway thru this season, please excuse my obvious frustration. I have extended invites to a couple of players who signed up for the league back in July, but I don't expect any of them to respond. If no replacements can be found, the remaining 77 matches that were unplayed by the above players will be forfeited by Monday. SFCCL-SALonghorn I've updated the Division Standings for both the Americas and European Region.
Previously, the standings were sorted by "Games Back" for each fighter from the leader of the division. This caused some slight problems in reading the standings since some fighters with higher winning percentages were behind fighter who had less wins. This was due to the fact that we are all playing at different speeds, meaning some members have played 10+ matches while others have barely played 4 matches. Thus, the weird standings at times. In the end, when everyone played all of their 14 matches with each fighter, the rankings would have worked out anyway. Going forward, I will sort the standings by wins. Winning the most number of matches is the 'name-of-the-game', so it makes sense to sort all the fighters by their win total. Doing it this way nullifies how many matches each fighter has played, since the higher number of wins will increase the seeding of your figther. Of course, if you only have a few wins but have played most of your matches, your potential to rise in the standings is limited compared to someone who hasn't played many matches. At the end of the season with all matches played, it will work itself out anyway. For those having a tough season, please play out your schedules as all matches are important for the final seedings of Super Brawl. Those who have yet to play any matches are, naturally, listed at the bottom of the rankings. As for tie-breakers for fighters with the same number of wins at the end of the season, the first tie-breaker will be the head-to-head matchup. The winning fighter will be seeded above the losing fighter. In the case of a 3 or more way tie, the order of fighters to complete all of their matches will be seeded first. This is the reason for the last column in the standings (Order of Complete). This should also be a motivational tool to encourage all members to play their matches as soon as possible to secure that 2nd important tie-breaker. Congrats to XX_VON_XX for having a tremendous season. His Ken went undefeated in the B Division of the Western Conference, and locking up the #1 seed in the B Division for Super Brawl. Winning the War Games event only increased his win total to 15 wins for the season. He is also the only member thus far to complete all of his matches, thus the indication of "1st" in his Order of Complete standings. Now, he just has to stay sharp until Super Brawl, which doesn't begin until November! I'd like to add matches to his schedule, but I can't do it without adding more matches to everyone else's schedule. At this point, most people are not playing as fast as VON, so I'll have to postpone adding matches...for now. That could change if more people start playing their original 14 matches. Former SFCCL member, SOLIDXPANDA, recently asked if I could spread the word about an upcoming live tournament. Always happy to spread the word about live tournaments, especially those with real cash prizes! This specific tournament will be taking place on September 17-18 in Jacksonville, Arkansas. The event is being hosted by the Arkansas Fighting Game Network (http://www.arfgn.com/). If you're in the area, it's definately worth a look! For those who can't make it, the event will be streamed over the internet so check it out. Below is the full details & trailer posted on their site: The Arkansas Regional Knockouts (A.R.K.) Tournament Series was created by ARFGN members ARK SmokeMaxX and ARK XI to measure the level of Arkansas talent against neighboring states. It is Arkansas ONLY Major fighting game tournament and one of the largest recurring events in the South. A.R.K. III had over 150 people, over $1000 in bonus pots, and special guest EG Justin Wong! You can bet A.R.K. IV will be even bigger than that! Please join us, have a good time, and hopefully win some big money! We are expecting approximately 200 people to be here! A.R.K. IV: Presented by Game Zone Alpha and the Arkansas Fighting Game Network *Keep an eye out for exciting new content which will include upcoming sponsorship information and additional prize money!* Official Shoryuken.com thread is located here. If you have any problems/concerns, feel free to contact me. To do so, please post here, PM me, email me at [email protected], or call me at 512 522 8563, which will forward calls to my phone. Date: September 17-18, 2011 (Schedule below) Location: Game Zone Alpha 620 West Main Street Jacksonville, AR 72076 Game Zone Alpha – 620 West Main St. in Jacksonville, AR Games Played: - Super Smash Bros. Melee (Singles and 2v2 Teams) – In memory of Forest Sharp - Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Singles and 2v2 Teams) - Super Street Fighter 4 (360) (Singles and 3v3 Teams)* - Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (360) (Singles and 3v3 Teams)* - BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II (PS3) - Mortal Kombat 9 (PS3) - 3rd Strike Online (Platform TBD) - Mystery Game Tourney (???) – A portion of the proceeds that go into this tournament will be donated to a charity TBD. The remainder will go to the winner. - Plus MORE based on YOUR votes. *Playstation Pad Users: We encourage people to bring their own pads and converters for the 360 games. However, if you are unable to do so, we will have PS2 -> 360 converters (they also do PS2 -> PS3 and 360 -> PS3) available to buy at $10 or rent at $3 ($10 collateral required). These converters have not been thoroughly tested, so they are not guaranteed to be lagless. However, initial tests as well as anecdotes from Tech Talk and Youtube seem to suggest that they have none/low lag. Cost: $15 Entrance Fee. This covers the entire weekend. Included in the entrance fee are free pizza and drinks as well as unlimited casuals, thus it cannot be waived for spectators. $5 Per Minor Tournament Pot Fee (???). $10 Per Major Tournament Pot Fee (???). Team tournaments are TBD. Prizes: All pots (except Smash) are split 70/20/10. Smash pots will be distributed at a 60/30/10 ratio. *There may be an after-party on Saturday night for those 21 and older. Admission will be $5 but we will bring the beer! Schedule Of Events: NOTE: Registration for each game will end PROMPTLY one hour before that game’s tournament begins. If you are late, you will NOT be added to your respective tournament(s). Please add my phone number (above) so that you may call/text me BEFORE REGISTRATION CLOSES to reserve a spot for you if you happen to be late for any reason. Preliminary Schedule (Subject to Change): Saturday 12 PM – Registration BEGINS 2 PM – Super Smash Bros: Brawl; Mortal Kombat 9; Super Street Fighter IV: AE Teams 4 PM – Super Smash Bros: Melee; BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II; Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Teams 6 PM – Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition; 3rd Strike Online; Brawl Teams 8 PM – Marvel Vs. Capcom 3; Mystery Game Tourney; Melee Teams Afterparty (???) There may be an after-party following Saturday’s events provided there is interest. We will provide the alcohol (21+ only) and entertainment. State-by-state and regional exhibition matches should be going down here. Sunday 12 PM – Doors Open 2 PM – Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Top 8 5 PM – Super Street Fighter IV: AE Top 8 Stream Schedule (Also Subject to Change): Saturday 2 PM: SSF4: AE Teams 4 PM: MvC3 Teams 6 PM: SSF4: AE 8 PM: MvC3 Sunday: 2 PM: MvC3 Top 8 5 PM: SSF4: AE Top 8 Official Trailer: ARK IV Trailer Fliers: ARK IV Flier Feel free to post these at your gaming centers/campuses/etc. Tell your friends. We are trying to build a community and make this big. You can help! Stream Link: Interrupted Gaming! By RawkusX Facebook Group and Event Page: Arkansas Fighting Game Network ARK IV Event Page Website: Home of the ARFGN Twitter: @ARKTourney |
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