CC Dispatch [Issue 97 - 17-06-13] Ice Ice Baby!

[Dukasaur]

Welcome Comrades to the 97th edition of the Dispatch

This was supposed to be thehippo's last issue, but he seems to have headed for the door a few days early, so I guess I'm up to bat sooner than expected. To explain thehippo's mysterious early retirement, we have:
A CONTEST!

In this Issue we have an awful lot of IcePack. I just couldn't resist calling this one "Ice Ice Baby" because quite honestly he is everywhere. First, IcePack is the subject of this Issue's Interrogation. Second, he is here in his role as a Platoon Report reporter and administrator of the F400 ranking system. And third, he is here in Late Breaking News as the newest member of the Tech Team.

Okay, here's what we have on tap for you:

The first major section is Mess Hall and Interrogation Room, which includes another installment of Safariguy's Scum Insider and your interrogation of IcePack.

The Platoon Report covers all aspects of the Clan scene. Swifte, IcePack and qwert bring you all the stats from all the major clan events.

War Games is what we call the Tournament Section. In this Issue, I pass the baton to my successor.

Cartographic Surveillance will tell you all the news from the Foundry. Is it my imagination or is it a very bright foundry lately? 2012 seemed to be all about sad-looking faded pastel colours in the foundry. 2013 so far seems to have much more vibrant and electric colours. I just look down the list at Seamus' list of Maps In Development and the colours are just popping out at me!

Finally, our Next Mission Brief will tell you about what to expect in our next issue.

This is the Issue in which we were planning to roll out our new Classified Ads section, but quite frankly we haven't worked out the details of how that will work. So, for now, here is the one and only Classified Ad that we've recieved:

Do you love team games that include good communication? Would you like to partner some of the best team players on CC? If you answered "yes", you might be exactly what we are looking for. CC's #1 clan, The Odd Fellows Union, is looking for new members. For consideration, send a PM to catnipdreams.

Late breaking news:
Beta Test Team by Dukasaur

Spoiler

As part of the major redevelopment of CC that the new administration is committed to, the developers have created a separate testing server. Now, to take full advantage of it, a Beta Test Team has been created.

IcePack has been appointed Beta Tester Extraordinaire and will be heading the new team. We will be hearing a lot more about this issue in the weeks to come.

Dukasaur - Chief Dispatch Executive





WE NEED MORE REPORTERS!

... in every department! Well, Clans seems to be pretty full right now, but Foundry, Tournaments, and Freestyle are all very, very understaffed. If you have a bit of writing talent and would like a chance to show it off, please hop aboard! If you would like to apply to join the news team, please visit the thread below for more details!
Click here for Recruitment Details...
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.
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[Dukasaur]

Hello again readers. I've got a nice new Scum Insider and IcePack talks about candy, clans, and sambucca.
You Stay Classy, CC.

safariguy5
Freestyle Executive

The Scum Insider by safariguy5

Spoiler

The Scum Insider

Newbie Help

Want to get into the Mafia scene, but don't know how to play or even what it is? Consult these threads: Mafia Information, Mafia and You, and Rules and Terms of Mafia.
Too much work? Too lazy to read through everything? No worries, you can always jump right into a game and ask for other players or the game runner to help guide you.

What is "Mafia"?
Mafia, for those of you that don't know, is a game that generally takes place in a town, where the townspeople have to determine who the mafia (or "scum") is and lynch them via a majority vote during the day and the mafia try to kill everyone at night and bluff their way out of getting killed by the town.

Mafia News
The Wire Mafia, run by thechuck51 just moved into night 1. Interesting to see if Day 2 brings any new leads.

Mafia Callouts
Calling all players interested! Some mafia games need some filling:

Sign-ups:

• Rock N' Roll Mafia by strike wolf

Seeking Replacements:
Consult the Replacement Thread to see what games are in need of reserves/replacements.

Now get out there and investigate Mafia for yourself: http://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=213

Advanced Roles and Strategy by safariguy5
This issue will be about a role variant.

Macho

What is It?
Macho is a modifier that makes a role unprotectable. This means that doctors and other protective roles cannot save the person.

Example
Jack is a Macho Busdriver. He cannot be saved by protective roles

How to Play this Role
Macho roles were originally used to prevent follow the cop in smaller setups. This may be a good way to balance multiple investigative roles in a larger game.

Interrogation of IcePack

Q. How does it feel to be the leader of such a glorious clan?

It feels great, I love everyday of it. The guys in the Fallen are the best there is (obvious bias / shameless plug)! Very friendly, supportive bunch.
A large part of the reason I'm still around are the great people I interact with everyday.

Q. What color underwear are you wearing as of right now?

Blue and white checkered?

Q. Why don't you like sports?

I do like sports, the good ones! I grew up in Canada, so I enjoy a good hockey game, I love NASCAR, and the NFL.

Q. Who is your favorite member on CC that starts with the letter P ends in R with 5 letters?

None comes to mind.

Q. Why is chapcrap a leader?

I don't know…I think there were some back room dealings, blackmail, and possibly some bribery involved to get himself there.

Q. When am I (Pixar) going to get a promotion?

Well, seeing as you left it will be rather difficult to promote you! I think you'll have to save this for theCrowns interview

Q. Besides CC what other hobbies do you enjoy?

I enjoy all board games, a few online games, sports, cards, traveling etc., generally a small varied interest in lots of things. My brother and I have also designed a few board games, CCG's, and RPG's over the years as a side hobby.

Q. Who do you think you are?

The same person I've always been.

Q. Where do you get the nerve?

21st and Broadway.

Q. What's your problem?

Right now, not enough Sambucca left over

Q. Why didn't you buy the site from lackattack?

The ninja turtles beat me to it.

Q. Will you make El_Jefe an offer?

Not anytime soon haha, I will be investing my monies into a little start up of my own little business instead.

Q. How much for some gourmet caramel?

Speaking of…. depends on the flavor, but generally about $20 for a pound of delicious, small batch gourmet caramel plus S&H. I recommend the espresso flavor

Q. What was your greatest comeback in CC?

Game 12690178 This one probably is it, or comes very close. We were way down in the game and I was down to 1-2 territories left, looking like I was going to be eliminated. My partner was spread thin and unable to help. In the end, we made a exciting comeback and won the game!

Q. Where do you get the energy to devote to CC?

I enjoy CC incredibly, so there doesn't need to be much energy or motivation for me to get things done. The hardest part is keeping balance with RL.

Q. Ass or breast man?

Out of the two choices, definitely a breast man. I prefer overall the torso as a whole, stomach, chest, shoulders etc.

Q. Will Pixar get laid when he goes to college? Will it be someone other than rdsrds2120?

That will probably be between Pixar, rds, and Pixars future college roommate.

Q. Why did you decide to start the F400?

Actually I didn't start the F400, I merely have taken it over from past caretakers (FarangDemon and Gunn217).

Q. How did it get named "F400" is it Nascar based?

No, definitely not named from anything related to NASCAR (™). The "F" comes from its creator, FarangDemon and the 400 comes from the "algorithm of 400", of which the F400 uses to produce its rankings.

Q. Are there any distinct advantages to people starting new clans v. keeping with a clan that has a record (baggage)?

Not really. I suppose the only way there would be, is if you were in a very deep deep hole and felt you could somehow perform better than you did previously, but even in that situation you could really advance back up quickly if planned well. With the F400, a little effort, planning go a long way.

Q. Are you working on any other cool ranking ideas?

I've thought about it from time to time, yes. I plan to release at least one semi different / partial ranking system for the dispatch shortly once I've gone over all the details.

Q. Is it true if I (cooldeals) get a PM from you I will feel an Icy Chill on my left arm?

Only on Wednesdays.

Q. How do you put up with Pixar?

I don't, we shipped him off to TNC for reprogramming and further training.

Q. Is there any history to your nickname "IcePack"?

Not really, I made it years ago for another game and it kind of stuck with me.

Q. Why do you want to be a mod?

I enjoy volunteering for things that I spend my time on, getting involved. CC at the moment is one of my bigger hobbies, so I like to do what I can to help.

Q. On a scale from boring to peeing your pants excited, please rate yourself if a second Draknor map were to be made.

Definitely closer to the peeing my pants excited, it would definitely be enough to get me into the Foundry on a regular basis!

Q. Do you feel safer when you are wearing a belt, or suspenders?

Belt for sure! I always associate suspenders with older gent's.

Q. Do you sing while having a bath?

No, but occasionally I'll sing in the shower! This is a commonly playing on the stereo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVo8g7T39A4

Q. If you could, who on CC would you want to have a passionate affair with?

Every clan war is a wonderful affair, usually both sides filled with more than a little passion…

Q. How much time do you spend on the F400 every day and cumulative per update?

Generally speaking, I spend a lot of time on the F400 more then required. IE: I'm playing around with settings, running what if scenarios, answering questions etc that I get asked through the week. Originally the F400 took up a LOT of my time. It was only updated once a month, and I ended up searching every major event thread, trying to get dates for things that weren't tracked took up countless hours. Updates took almost a weeks worth of evenings for me. Eventually I moved to simplify the system by requiring the event organizers to update their F400 information on the event as they went. This process change made it much easier for the F400 to function under one individuals watch. Now the actual update itself takes about a full evening, maybe two depending on how backed up or active the time period was. Cumulatively between questions, updates, and my own time spent on it probably 8-16 hours every two week period?

Q. If Mickey is a Mouse, and Donald a Duck and Pluto is a Dog...... What the hell is Goofy?

Harmlessly eccentric? I believe he's supposed to also be an anthropomorphic dog of sorts.

Q. If the doll Barbie is so popular why do you have to buy her Friends?

Because the greedy capitalist pigs in Mattel (™) designed it that way.

Q. Do you have a job? if you could would you change it for another? and on the "asshole list" where does your job rate? 100 been a fireman/paramedic or 0 been a lawyer/car-sales man/banker ?

Indeed, the government of the United States requires that I am a productive member of society. Therefore I currently work in the Construction Industry doing inspection and contract management. I'd like to run my own business one day, hopefully soon selling caramels. Depends on who you ask, actually I'm sure most people view my position as higher on the asshole list then most. We'll go with 30.

Q. I (Gustaf Wasa) would like to know how The Fallen got started, when and why. Who were the original founders? Was it a certain theme or desire that attracted you (such as competing in clan wars) or was it about having a place for the founders to hang out and organize team games? Is it as you imagined?

It was way back in May of 2012, chapcrap and happyfeet had just left KOA for EMP. A lot of people were trying to improve things within, and didn't seem like it was going anywhere the differences of opinion were too great. So, discussions began about starting our own clan. In the end, a group of KOA reunited with chap and happy, along with several others who were interested in something new to form the Fallen. The original idea sparked from myself, chapcrap, and happyfeet, while other founding members where GoranZ, aad0906, tbayjosh, mviola, greenoaks, nolefan5311, Odeuminus, Link0983, rousseau72, TheMoge, and Markus Orilius.

Yes, the Fallen has been a great success and I think I can speak for everyone in saying the atmosphere and competitive level is exactly how we imagined in the beginning, and have reached all our goals to date.

Q. What is your strategy and advice for your members in the current clan war with ... I (Gustaf Wasa) think their name is "Atlantis"?

Win.

Q. Who does more chap or you?

We both spend a lot of time on the site, planning and doing things for the clan. Each of us has specific roles we play, so in some areas he does more, others I do.
In the end we (try) working as a team.

Q. What are the best and worst things about being a clan leader?

I enjoy the feeling of victory as a group, knowing we executed a plan and seeing it come together is exhilarating. The worst, is a very close loss and looking back knowing what could have been done differently afterwards.

Q. How crap is chap, really?

Chap is super crap. See here. I'm +250 its and 62% against him 1 vs 1.

Q. Why don't you want to be a Clan Mod? And if instead you do, why you you think you deserve the position & are better placed than previously?

Well, to start with I have wanted to be a Clan Mod for a very long time. Deserve isn't the word I would use, but I feel I would be a good addition to the clan
area as I already have now / in the past volunteered many, many hours towards the clan area. I have lots of input, ideas, and general interest in the area that I feel could contribute to the clan area as a whole. The clan area wouldn't feel like "work" but enjoyable time spent somewhere I already put many hours into.
I've run wars, clan events, the F400, written for the Dispatch clan area team, read and keep up with nearly every clan war thread etc. It's something I'm passionate about and feel like I could make a valuable contribution to the team.

Q. So I see you're a Mod now Ice, just how exactly did you get to be a Mod and why?

Yes, I am! I'm CC's newest addition to the Tech Team. After many, many times and a few years of trying to get onto the CD team, I felt like I would begin pursuing other opportunities to volunteer on my favorite hobby site. I found out there was a need for someone to help manage a new team that was being put together by Blake and the Tech Team, and jumped on the opportunity. I'm really excited to be a part of the team, and looking forward to working with some great mates.

Q. Will you try making marshmellows?

This is something we will look into , we've had many suggestions. Toffee, fudge, marshmallows, brittle, peppermint bark etc. Right now, our focus is caramels!

Q. Why Sambucca all the time?

Why not? Seriously though, drunk ice wednesdays wouldn't be the same without copious amounts of sambucca around the house.

Q. Post a pic. you know which one Im talking about..

I can only imagine you mean this one….? (IcePack being the center)

[Dukasaur]

Welcome to another edition of 'As the Clan World Turns'!

Once again we bring you the latest and greatest on the biggest events in the clan world. CC's newest mod, IcePack, brings us both another edition of the F400 rankings, and a great look at all the ongoing match ups of CC4. To top it off, we've got our first whiff of results and a look at the poll results from qwert reporting on CL5.

Good luck out there on the battlegrounds!

Swifte
Clan Executive

June 15 F400 Update by IcePack

June 15 2013

CC4 Update by IcePack

Spoiler

Play-in Round:
Six clans are playing for the privilege of entering into the Round of 32. We've tracked down each of them to find out what their status is, and how well IcePack is doing on his predictions!

Risk Attackers [RA] vs The Devil's Brigade [DB]
IcePack's Prediction: RA Victory over DB 25-16
Current Score: 24-9 RA Wins!

RA will move on, and will now face PIG!

Warriors at Risk [WAR] vs Knights Templar [KNT]
IcePack's Prediction: WAR Victory over KNT 25-16
Current Score: WAR 16-14 KNT

This isn't decided officially, but it looks like WAR will narrowly beat KNT in the end. The winner will move onto face MM.

A Question of Honor [AQOH] vs the Headless Horsemen [HH]
IcePack's Prediction:
Current Score: HH 20-20 AQOH

By far the closest and most interesting to watch, this entire war is coming down to this game. Game 12722292 While it was very close for a very long time, HH now has eliminated another player to make it 3 vs 2, and has picked up an edge in the game. These two clans recently matched up in a war early 2013, where AQOH won by 21-20! Between the two wars, unbelievably they sit at 41-41 each!

Round of 32:
Left Side of Bracket
KORT vs AKA: 7-4
This....rather colorful thread has been interesting to watch (some might say, a headache). Lots of drama over the past few weeks, however in the end KORT is slowly pulling away. Round 2 games will start shortly, and our next update will likely tell us a lot more as these games progress.

IcePack Predicted: KORT Advancing

TFFS vs VVV: IcePack Predicts - TFFS Advances
TFFS vs VVV: 10-3
Compared with the KORT/AKA war, this war is like a quiet holiday in a mountain cabin. Peaceful, quiet, relaxing...TFFS is on a hot streak lately, and looking through some of the games I still expect to see some big things happen.

IcePack Predicted - TFFS Advancing

OTP vs LHDD: 18-9
OTP and LHDD are nearly finished Round 1, and Round 2 is underway. OTP has nearly wrapped up getting 21 wins, and will move onto Round of 16 as expected.

IcePack Predicted: OTP Advancing

OSA vs SOH: 8-5
All games are underway, while these two square off. OSA is definitely favored, however SOH recently had a few strong showings. This may end up being closer then some originally would have thought, but only time will tell when this war completes. The next few weeks again will show us some greater details and insight. Early on, OSA has the slight edge.

IcePack Predicted: OSA Advancing

TSM vs LOTZ:11-1
TSM is doing rather well as expected in the match up. This war will be a nice barometer for LOTZ to see where they are at, but I dont see anyway they will get past TSM here. Round 2 games have just been exchanged.

IcePack Predicted: TSM Advancing

MYTH vs TLW: 3-0
After a slight delay in getting privileges, all games are exchanged (nearly) at once. So while all games are currently ongoing, very little has completed here. Look for big changes in the next update as a lot of these games will begin finishing up!

IcePack Predicted: MYTH Advancing

MM will face winner of WAR/KNT Play in: IcePack Predicts - WAR Wins Play In; MM Advances
WAR/KNT has yet to complete. MM continues to wait while WAR / KNT decide who will face them. Either way, I believe once their opponent is decided MM will walk away with a victory here. WAR will be a good opponent and a fun war to watch, but MM should have what it takes to come out on top.

IA vs LEG: 8-3
Still early with roughly half round 1 games to be completed, Round 2 is running a little behind the exchange date. IA is favored here, while LEG recruited some top talent right before the match. Our next update will show a much clearer picture of this match up.

IcePack Predicted: IA Advancing

Right Side of Bracket
TOFU...: IcePack Predicts - TOFU Advances
TOFU receives a bye this round, and will face either DYN or GR.

GR vs DYN: 8-8
Round 2 games recently exchanged, both these clans are fighting hard for the ability to face off vs TOFU in the round of 16. Both of these clans have the ability to win it, in what I think is a close match up. I'm going with DYN by a small margin of victory.

IcePack Predicted: DYN Advancing

PIG vs RA: 0-0
As expected, RA won the play in round. They now face off vs PIG in a war that just recently started. Watch it all here as RA pushes to realize its full potential. Exchange dates are set, but due to the play in this match up will running behind the rest of the event.

IcePack Predicted: PIG Advancing

FALL vs ATL 6-7: IcePack Predicts - FALL Advances
ATL is a new clan but we knew they were not to be taken lightly. ATL started off strong, with Round 1 ending likely near even or slightly to their advantage. Round 2 will be exchanged this weekend, and will tell a lot about each others chances to moving on and facing PIG/RA winner!

IcePack Predicted: FALL Advancing

AFOS...: IcePack Predicts - AFOS Advances
Due to the play ins, this war has not started. HH/AQOH is going to be decided by the very last game, which has been hotly contested. Either way, when it starts up I expect either clan to have a difficult match vs one of the favorites in CC4, and CC3 finalist.

TNC vs ACE 5-7
In the war that I've been paying most attention to, this war has been really close throughout the challenge. I have ACE edging a slight advantage against TNC which has been trying to manage its third big win in a row vs top level clans. TNC will need to be on top of its game coming into Round 2 if it plans on advancing in the competition and making up lost ground vs ACE.

IcePack Predicted: ACE Advancing

LOW vs YNWA: 8-3
As expected, LOW is doing extremely well early on in this match. LOW is YNWA toughest challenge to date, and will help them gain some higher level experience for future challenges. Both rounds of games have been exchanged and are in progress.

IcePack Predicted: LOW Advancing

ID vs MB: 13-1
In the most quiet thread of all CC4, ID is silently and diligently eliminating each challenge presented to them in the war. All games are exchanged, and look for ID winning big here in the end.

IcePack Predicted: ID Advancing

CL5 Update and Polls by qwert

Spoiler

Like you already know Premier, Second and Third League have started, and here are the early results:

Premier League
R1
LOW-MYT 2-0
WAR-TNC 3-2
OTP-KORT 0-2
FALL-IA 0-1

R2
KORT-LOW 2-1
IA-PIG 1-1
TNC-OTP 0-2
WAR-FALL 1-3

Second League
R1
MM-AOK 3-0
SOH-LEG 0-1
ID-TFFS 3-0
MB-GR 0-4
OSA-LHDD 0-1
TLW-RA 0-1

R2
TFFS-TLW 1-3
MB-ID 1-2
RA-AOK 1-0
LEG-MM 2-2
GR-OSA 1-3

Third League
R1
UM8-DB 1-4
CF-DYN 0-4
DBC-HH 0-4

R2
VDLL-LOTZ 1-0
MD-UM8 2-1
HH-CF 2-1
DB-DBC 1-1
AQOH-DYN 1-2

Things are still just beginning, so next issue we will bring you results from rounds 1 and 2, and also round 3 and round 4 will be underway as of June 16th.

In all 3 Leagues, polls have been conducted with the same question "Who will be Champion ?"
In premier league, Kort get most votes, but this its still not big advantage, and this mean that its not going to be easy for KORT to take first place. And according to the poll, WAR are the outsiders with only 1% of chance to be champion.
1.KORT 14 %
2.OTP 13%
3.FALL 12%
4.AFOS 11%
4.MYTH 11%
6.TNC 9%
7.IA 8%
8.LOW 7%
8.PIG 7%
8.FOED 7%
11.WAr 1%

Second League poll, shows that ID are number 1 favorites for Champion title, while MB have received no votes at all. With quite a good performance in their QG SOH and RA are second ranked to be champions. A very unexpectedly bad QG for OSA leaves them in only 6th position for chance to be champion, though they were thought to be candidates for Premier poll in Phase 1.
1.ID 15%
2.SOH 13%
2.RA 13%
4.MM 11%
4.LHDD 11%
6.LEG 9%
6.OSA 9%
8.TFFS 7%
9.GR 5%
9.AOK 5%
11.TLW 2%
12.MB 0%

Third League poll- according on this poll MD have most chance to be champion, and DYN are liked by the second most voters. CF are favored for last place.

1.MD 20%
2.DYN 14%
3.DBC 11%
3.AQOH 11%
3.HH 11%
6.DB 9%
6.LOTZ 9%
8.VDLL 6%
8.UM8 6%
10.CF 3%
----------------
Well we will see how accurate these polls are when we get further in to the competitions, and when more and more matches are finished.

[Dukasaur]

Hello again my friends, and welcome to your favorite part of the Newsletter, "War Games", where you can find information about CC Tournaments!

Starting with the next issue, the volunteer signing off with the words "Tournament Executive" will be anamainiacks. A CC member since March of 2007, anamainiacks has been a huge part of the tournament world. He has 62 completed tournaments to his credit, four more in progress. The statistic that really reveals his character, however, is this: 17 of those tournaments are rescues. Rescuing a tournament is very often much harder than starting your own. The rescuer must figure out what was happening in the tournament before the original organiser abandoned it. Very often the original organiser left very poor documentation and the rescuer is something of a detective. In addition, he must motivate players who very often have lost interest and forgotten that they signed up for it. Many times he must rewrite badly-designed rules in the original. Anamainicks has really shone at this kind of difficult work, untangling interesting-but-unplayable messes like The King is Dead, and earning the respect and gratitude of many players.

In March of 2013 anamainiacks joined the staff of the Dispatch, and has impressed us so much that I have no hesitation whatsover about leaving my beloved Tournament section in his hands. I expect that in the next few issues you will be as impressed as I have been!

For the record, here is the succession list:
(Original CC Tournaments Newsletter)
Nov. 2007 to July 2009 (83 Issues!) Gozar
Aug. to Sep. 2009 (4 Issues) sailorseal
(Tournaments Section of the CC NEWS)
Feb. to July 2009 (12 Issues) thenobodies80
Aug. 2009 (2 Issues) Night Strike
Sep. 2009 (1 Issue) Mad Pineapples
(Tournaments Section of the rebranded CC Dispatch)
Jan. to May 2010 (8 Issues) Night Strike
June to Oct. 2010 (6 Issues) Sir. Ricco
Nov. to Dec. 2010 (2 Issues) JoshyBoy
Dec. 2010 to Aug. 2011 (13 Issues) jricart
Sept. 2011 to June 2013 (44 Issues) Dukasaur
June 2013 to ? anamainiacks

A massive "Thank you!" to all my writers in the last 44 issues: angola, sonicsteve, DaveH, fuzzy316, WorldCup4James, thehippo8, NoSurvivors, sensfan, plurple, generalhead, and of course anamainiacks.

Many thanks to those who have helped me with advice, commentary, or encouragement: jricart, Samuelc812, Gilligan, soldierboy, General Brewsie, Leehar, Victor Sullivan, koontz1973, Swifte, and ManBungalow.

Many many thanks to all the people who have patiently sat for interviews with me. (And I will be back from time to time to conduct another!) A special thanks to my wife who has proofread my work so many times.

Dukasaur
longest-serving Tournament Executive since Gozar himself,
signing off.

Tournament Tips by DaveH

Terminator Scoring - Part 2

In the previous edition (#96) I wrote some code to extract termination data and assign points according to the order of terminations in tournaments of this type. In this article I will go through the code used to summarise these points.

When the round or series of terminator games has completed, you end up with something like:

Click image to enlarge.

The terminate data has been summarised and you get a list of terminators scores next to the list of terminees with any points they have.

The "Total" button runs a macro that summarises these lists of scores. The process is straight forward;
1 list both columns together;
2 sort by player number;
3 if a player's name is duplicated, add the scores together on one and delete the other;
4 repeat until there are no duplicate players' names;
5 sort by total.

1 If the number of players and totals in the list is not known, we need to check on the number so we scan down the list until we have a blank cell.
Something like;
istart=row number of first player in the list
Continue to loop, incrementing the cell row variable until there is no player's name in the cell indicating the sell after the last one in the list;
i=istart
ilast=istart+1
While Cells(ilast,column number of first cell).value<>""
ilast=ilast+1
Wend
ilast=ilast-1
Now we have istart as the first cell row and ilast as the last cell row.
This code is as follows:

Code: Select all

Sub Total()
    istart = 5
    icolumn=7 
    i = istart
    ilast = istart + 1
    While Cells(ilast, icolumn).Value <> ""
        ilast = ilast + 1
    Wend
    ilast = ilast - 1
End Sub

We can then copy the first two columns and paste it in a blank column and then copy and paste the second two columns below it. This code is as follows:

Code: Select all

    'Select the first two columns
    Range(Cells(istart, icolumn), Cells(ilast, icolumn + 1)).Select
    Selection.Copy

    'Paste special into the results column
    Cells(istart, icolumn + 5).Select
    Selection.PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteValues

    'Repeat for the second column
    Range(Cells(istart, icolumn + 2), Cells(ilast, icolumn + 3)).Select
    Selection.Copy

    'Paste special into the results column
    Cells(ilast + 1, icolumn + 5).Select
    Selection.PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteValues

2 Sort by player's names. Let me show you an easy way of doing this using the "Record New Macro" Excel command.
Simply select Tools/Macro/Record new macro. Leave the name as it is (Macro1) and start the recording. Select the two columns and sort by player's names and then stop the macro. Select Tools/Macro/Macros. Select Macro1 and edit - you get the following code:

Code: Select all

Sub Macro1()
'
' Macro1 Macro
' Macro recorded 07/03/2013 by DT Homer
'
    Range("L5:M48").Select
    Selection.Sort Key1:=Range("L5"), Order1:=xlAscending, Header:=xlGuess, _
        OrderCustom:=1, MatchCase:=False, Orientation:=xlTopToBottom, _
        DataOption1:=xlSortNormal
End Sub

We can now add our own range selection and copy the Macro1's sort information as follows:

Code: Select all

    'New Range definition
     inewlast=ilast + ilast + 1 - istart     ' this is the row position of the last name in the new column
    Range(Cells(istart, icolumn + 5), Cells(inewlast, icolumn + 6)).Select

    Selection.Sort Key1:=Range("L5"), Order1:=xlAscending, Header:=xlGuess, _
        OrderCustom:=1, MatchCase:=False, Orientation:=xlTopToBottom, _
        DataOption1:=xlSortNormal

3 Look for duplicate names. Something like a For/Next loop from the first to last player checking on duplicate names.
For i=istart to inewlast -1
a= cells(i, icolumn+5).Value
b= cells(i+1, icolumn+5).Value
If a=b then there is a duplicate name

End if
Next i

4 When a duplicate is found, the first score is increased by the second and the second line deleted.
cells(i, icolumn+6).Value=cells(i, icolumn+6).Value+cells(i+1, icolumn+6).Value
Range(Cells(i+1, icolumn+5), Cells(i+1, icolumn + 6)).Select
Selection.ClearContents

The code for this is

Code: Select all

        For i = istart To inewlast - 1
            a = Cells(i, icolumn + 5).Value
            b = Cells(i + 1, icolumn + 5).Value
            If a = b Then
                Cells(i, icolumn + 6).Value = Cells(i, icolumn + 6).Value + Cells(i + 1, icolumn + 6).Value
                Range(Cells(i + 1, icolumn + 5), Cells(i + 1, icolumn + 6)).Select
                Selection.ClearContents
            End If
        Next i

The clever bit is to resort and repeat until there are no more duplicates. We use a flag (j) to set when there is a duplicate and a While/Wend loop until the flag is not set.

5 The final part is to sort into the Score order and link the macro to a button. All the final code is as follows.

Code: Select all

Sub Total()
    istart = 5
    icolumn = 7
    i = istart
    ilast = istart + 1
    While Cells(ilast, icolumn).Value <> ""
        ilast = ilast + 1
    Wend
    ilast = ilast - 1
    
    'Select the first two columns
    Range(Cells(istart, icolumn), Cells(ilast, icolumn + 1)).Select
    Selection.Copy

    'Paste special into the results column
    Cells(istart, icolumn + 5).Select
    Selection.PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteValues

    'Repeat for the second column
    Range(Cells(istart, icolumn + 2), Cells(ilast, icolumn + 3)).Select
    Selection.Copy

    'Paste special into the results column
    Cells(ilast + 1, icolumn + 5).Select
    Selection.PasteSpecial Paste:=xlPasteValues

    'New Range definition
    inewlast = ilast + ilast + 1 - istart
    j = 1
    While j <> 0
        j = 0
        Range(Cells(istart, icolumn + 5), Cells(inewlast, icolumn + 6)).Select
        Selection.Sort Key1:=Range("L5"), Order1:=xlAscending, Header:=xlGuess, _
        OrderCustom:=1, MatchCase:=False, Orientation:=xlTopToBottom, _
        DataOption1:=xlSortNormal
        For i = istart To inewlast - 1
            a = Cells(i, icolumn + 5).Value
            b = Cells(i + 1, icolumn + 5).Value
            If a = b And a <> "" Then
                Cells(i, icolumn + 6).Value = Cells(i, icolumn + 6).Value + Cells(i + 1, icolumn + 6).Value
                Range(Cells(i + 1, icolumn + 5), Cells(i + 1, icolumn + 6)).Select
                Selection.ClearContents
                j = j + 1
            End If
        Next i
    Wend
    Stop
    Range(Cells(istart, icolumn + 5), Cells(inewlast, icolumn + 6)).Select
    Selection.Sort Key1:=Range("M5"), Order1:=xlDescending, Header:=xlGuess, _
    OrderCustom:=1, MatchCase:=False, Orientation:=xlTopToBottom, _
    DataOption1:=xlSortNormal
End Sub

(These "tips" started off as ones that I used to make it a bit easier in managing my own tournaments. Now, I am looking at other types of tournaments and scoring systems by all you innovative TO's out there. So, if you have a unique scoring system that you would like me to have a go at automating, please let me know and I'll be pleased to try and assist. Any queries on the above I'll be glad to respond to of course. Please note that I use Excel 2003, so there may be variation in the menu instructions if you have other versions of Excel)

Tournament Tips by DaveH

Tournament Tips Index

The following is the link to all my articles to date:-

Tournament Tips Summary Link

The following are the article summaries; go to the above thread and then select the appropriate article number:

#1, Issue 58 - Beginner's guide to starting a tournament + links to CC'c tournament reference guides.
#2, Issue 59 - Different methods of randomising your list of players.
#3, Issue 60 - Excel coding of single player CC game invite pm's.
#4, Issue 61 - Excel coding of game progress reports for your tournament thread.
#5, Issue 62 - Excel macro to summarise your tournament thread's winner list.
#6, Issue 63 - Different scoring possibilities for Round Robin Tournaments.
#7, Issue 64 - An Excel template for managing single elimination tournaments.
#8, Issue 64 - Double elimination tournament formatting.
#9, Issue 65 - Design considerations for multiple elimination tournaments.
#10, Issue 66 - An Excel macro that totals tournament points.
#11, Issue 67 - Using an Excel lookup table to simplify tournament game match-ups.
#12, Issue 68 - Designing a 4-player tournament in which each player meets everyone else just once.
#13, Issue 69 - Design of a 16 player pair tournament in which you pair everyone else just once.
#14, Issue 70 - Excel code for inviting players into team games.
#15, Issue 71 - Excel code for updating team games.
#16, Issue 72 - Using Excel to get a list of all of CC's maps.
#17, Issue 73 - Excel code to update tournament winners from a list.
#18, Issue 74 - Setting up an additional Excel menu
#19, Issue 75 - Excel code that creates a tournament spreadsheet template - Part 1.
#20, Issue 76 - Excel code that creates a tournament spreadsheet template - Part 2.
#21, Issue 77 - Excel code that creates a tournament spreadsheet template - Part 3; Adding the main menu code.
#22, Issue 78 - Excel code that creates a tournament spreadsheet template - Part 4; Randomising the player list.
#23, Issue 79 - Use of VLookup function for assigning scores to a tournament spreadsheet.
#24, Issue 80 - TPA2 Scoring Spreadsheet - Adding an individual tournament score to a master spreadsheet.
#25, Issue 81 - Using Buttons - Getting to url's via buttons or pictures.
#26, Issue 82 - Tournament Rescue and Round Robins
#27, Issue 83 - The Excel coding of a routine to automate a Round Robin type tournament.
#28, Issue 84 - Terminator Tournaments - Excel code to get and summarise the termination data from a game.
#29, Issue 85 - Excel coding to add tournament points to the TPA2 master spreadsheet.
#30, Issue 86 - Secrets of Game Finder - What the game finder code means.
#31, Issue 87 - Translating Visual Basic Code into CC Code via Excel.
#32, Issue 88 - Scoring termination games by analysing the game log.
#33, Issue 89 - Part 1 of coding that can be used in League type tournaments.
#34, Issue 90 - Part 2 of coding that can be used in League type tournaments.
#35, Issue 91 - Part 3 of coding that can be used in League type tournaments.
#36, Issue 92 - Part 4 of coding that can be used in League type tournaments.
#37, Issue 93 - Using Excel to create a table in a thread
#38, Issue 94 - Tables Revisited - A far better way of creating tables in CC
#39, Issue 95 - More uses for the Excel VLookup function
#40, Issue 96 - Terminator Scoring

TPA Wrap by DaveH

Spoiler

TPA Season 2: State of Play

Click image to enlarge.

Dukasaur's Guojia Anquan Bu has finished with mviola winning ahead of ckyrias and John Deere. Also McShanester29's Conquer North America has finished with Leehar winning ahead of arno30 and andyplondon. The points make Swifte (5625) leading from dowian2 (4515), barterer2002 (3437), uckuki (3304) and arno30 (2954). The master scorechart has not yet been updated.

The eight remaining tournaments still to complete are A History of Europe, Bracketology, CC Golf Match Play Season 2, CCSOP, MC's Master's of 6, MC's World Terminators, Sonic goes Back to School and TheMissionary's Quads Showdown. Benga's Major Escalating Fog: Killer is still awaiting completion of final games although it is classed as finished.

TPA 2 Standings


TPA Season 3

Three tournaments have finished since the last "Wrap"; "Just Another 1v1 Tournament" that mviola rescued from redhedge47 has Swifte winning from benga, with azak848 & Dukasaur in joint 3rd place. My exhausting "One A Day" tournament with 53 maps over 53 days has finished with Uckuki winning ahead of Shaneback in second place and Mcshanester29, Pyrhhus and Schiballs sharing third place. Our first Major tournament, greenoak's "Premium Giveaway 3" has also finished, with the scores moving the winners, i got served, -maximus- and mishalex, into joint fourth place in the master table.

We now have 10 completed tournaments and in first to third places are Uckuki (2,572 point) Swifte (2,543) and mviola (2,253) respectively.

In signup is Serbias NFL Triples following the NFL season with triples (surprisingly ), choosing your home map.

TPA 3 Standings
Link to Individual Scores
The thread for the TPA3 details is at:
http://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewto ... 9&t=175675

The thread for the code that TO's will need to include in their tournament is at:
http://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewto ... 5&t=177868

Join This? Or Not! by anamainiacks

Spoiler

And now for our regular look at a selection of the tournaments in sign-ups! There is a healthy number of tournaments being created and filled in the forums right now, so let's keep things this way! Since the vast majority of tournaments currently in sign-ups are part of tournament series, this edition of JTON will put some of these in the limelight. Of course, there are far more series than just the ones below, but these are some of the smaller tournaments with rather interesting concepts!


Alpha Beta 58 by ViperOverLord - Freemium Friendly!

If you haven't yet heard of this tournament series, you obviously don't visit the Tournaments forum at all. Now in its 58th installment, this series is a staple that quickly accompanies the release of every Beta map since King's Court. Using a double elimination format, the tournament series' special feature is a losers bracket (Beta Bracket) that consists of games on the newly released Beta map - in this case, 4 Star Meats.

The tournament culminates in a final game between the champions of the winners bracket (Alpha Bracket) and the Beta Bracket on the said Beta map. While the Beta Bracket might seem to provide players with more experience on the new map en route to the end, staying in the Alpha Bracket gives players a shorter and easier route to the finals, with far lower risk. So if you're looking for a fun an interesting way to experience a newly commissioned map here on CC, look out for these fine tournaments!


BluU’s Hold The Capitals–Moscow\Seoul\Ulan Bator by BluU - Freemium Friendly!

BluU's Hold The Capitals series features a tournament objective that differs from the typical game objectives of any game type on CC. Instead of focusing on game wins or number of kills, the main objective of this tournament is to hold certain territories (Capitals) on the map by the end of Round 6 in the game. Of course, bonus points are still awarded for winning the game, but twice the amount of points are awarded for holding the capitals, definitely calling for a switch in strategy.

The series is now in its 11th installment featuring the capitals Moscow (Russia), Seoul (Korea) and Ulan Bator (Mongolia) on the three maps, Eurasia, Fractured China and Transsib 1914 in 4-player games.


GLGH Crossword by greenoaks - Premium Only.

Now in its 8th installment, featuring the Crossword map, the Good Luck & Good Hunting (GLGH) tournament series is primarily a Terminator series, with a slight twist. Instead of simply awarding players for the number of kills they make in a game, players that make consecutive kills within the same turn can rack up more points.

Though I will admit that Terminator games with escalating spoils often end up with a single player eliminating his opponents in one fell swoop, there's no denying that such a change in tournament rules can still have a great impact in affecting the results of the tournament as compared to using the traditional rules.


These are my picks, but if you don't like any of these go to the Create/Join a Tournament or Tournaments Tab and take a look at the many others waiting to be filled.

If you're craving tourney action now, check out the Requests for Immediate Players section of the tournament forum. You can be playing very quickly after signing up as a reserve.

If you would like your tournament to be featured in the next edition of the CC Newsletter, please PM anamainiacks with the details of your tournament.

[Dukasaur]

Welcome all. We have some great maps still in the works needing feedback, and with the recent launch of dana1971's 4 Star Meats there are currently 11 maps in BETA with more to come. How great is that! Keep in mind the BETA phase is one of the most important stages for a map, so if you haven't played these new maps join a game today, and as always, be sure to leave feedback in the map thread to help the progress.

And now, on with the show.

Seamus76 -- Foundry Executive

Maps in Development by Seamus76

Spoiler

Drafting RoomWhere maps start life. But like all new babies, this is where they need the most attention.
Homeworlds by dolomite13
Lisbon Metro 2030 by Armandolas
District of Columbia by brhiba


Map FoundryThe main block of work is done here.
Escape by koontz1973
Spanish Amarda by cairnswk
Research & Conquer by isaiah40
Three kingdoms of China by Seamus76
Ring of Fire by vaughn03
Alaska by Seamus76

Spotlight on France 2.1 by koontz1973

Spoiler

Map Name: France 2.1
Mapmaker(s): Lancelot du Lac and Mishalex
Number of Territories: 95 territories on 22 regions + 5 foreign's territories
Special Features:Starting neutrals, autodeploy, partial bonuses, victory condition
What Makes This Map Worthy of Being Made: This map contains the true geography of France while giving a fun gameplay. Combine business and pleasure

Back in November 2011 (19 months ago now) Lancelot du Lac posted his first draft of France 2. A sequel to our uninspiring France maps.
France

France 1789


His first draft, whilst showing promise, seemed to show nothing really new apart from size. It was a hard to read map, with lots of confusing gameplay (due to the graphics).

But these two new map makers, both of whom have taken the time to listen, and voice their own opinions, have taken on board all points. Gone are the nasty graphics that caused more confusion, to be replaced by some really smart, neat graphics. Now we have a map that can only be a big plus addition to all of us here on Conquer Club.

The last sticking point to this map is now the old one of impassables. On this map, it is the mountains. With a little help, and encouragement, this map will soon be played on. I for one am looking forward to it.

Show your support for this map

Creating Ocean Rings by Seamus76

Spoiler

If you have ever been interested in making your own map, or just curious about how some things are done, today I'm going to show you how I did the ocean rings for my new Alaska map. Just like most things I'm sure there are a few ways to do this, using layer masks, and some other tools, so play around with the techniques and see what you can come up with. As per usual, I am using GIMP, but these techniques are probably the same in other programs as well.

- The key to this is having a layer mask, or a selection of an area you can come back to and use in different ways. For me I like using Paths, which I had originally used (Path Tool) to create the outlines for all of my land, so it was easy to just activate(click on) that path and hit "Selection from Path". This will give you the little dots, or marching ants, around your land areas. As you can see from the two screenshots below, I have my Path around the area (1st image), and then the Selection after hitting "Selection from Path" (2nd image).


- Next add a new transparent layer and name it "Rings". See *ProTip below to get creative.
- Go to Select-Grow. Expand the selection about 2 pixel (or maybe 1 if you want really tight rings, but 1 is too tight for me).
- Make sure you are on the "Rings" layer. Go to Select-Border, choose a 1px border.

- Now, fill in the border selection, again always making sure the "Rings" layer is active when you fill it. For this map I used my favorite color 3f3f3f, but you can use black as well. Filling is easy, once you have your selection just drag the color from the pallet to the image and it should fill in the selection you made, in this case the "border selection".

- Deselect the selection(Ctl+Shift+A).
- Repeat these steps starting with the "Selection from Path" step, each time expanding the selection by about 5 pixels, then 8 pixels and so on. More or less, depending on the size of your image and how many rings you want. (For this map I expanded by 2px, 5px, 10px, 14px, 20px. But again it's up to you.)

- After all of my rings were done, to finish off the antique look I'm going for, I added a 1 pixel Gaussian Blur (Filters/Blur/Gaussian Blur) to them all.
- Finally set the layer mode to Grain Merge, and there you go.


*ProTip: To get the rings to decrease as they moved out I created a new layer for each ring, somewhat a pain in the butt, prior to filling the border with color. This allowed me to then change the opacity level of each separate ring so that as they move away from land they become lighter. I left them on separate layers, rather than merging them so I could go back to each one individually if need be. On Alaska I have 5 rings, decreasing from 100%, 100%, 75%, 50%, 30% respectively.

Give this a shot on your next project, or your current #GCCM map (details of which can be found here), and as always if you have any questions just let me know.

As Alex Berger said, "Maps are the foundation on which adventure is built." Enjoy.

[Dukasaur]

Stay Tuned for the next issue of the ConquerClub Dispatch for an interrogation of blakebowling. Post any questions you may have for them here --> Interrogation with blakebowling

Submitting Your Own Articles

If you have a story you think the ConquerClub Community would find interesting, you can submit your articles to thehippo8 and you may just see your article published in the Newsletter!

Subscription

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Coming in Issue 98 -- Classified Ads

Starting with Issue 97, we will on an experimental basis be accepting classified ads. At first, these will only be for CC related matters. Is your Clan looking for members? Your Social group? Do you want to give an extra boost to the Tournament you're planning or solicit comments on your Map?

Basic rules: We will accept TEXT only, with a character limit of 300 characters. Your text may include inline links (url= tags) but NOT links to graphics (img or bigimg tags). You may use the size= tag sparingly, but be careful. Your message may not exceed the normal size limitations for signatures, 150 pixels by 600 pixels. If you use oversize text you may find your ad getting rejected.

Please don't abuse this, or get into debates about the size limit. This will be a time-consuming program to run, and we are all just volunteers with limited time available. If we are swamped with ads we may have to cancel this initiative outright, but we really hope we can manage. It will be made easier if everybody plays nice and tries to stick within the rules.

Send your classified ads for Issue 98 to Dukasaur.

And speaking of being just volunteers with limited time, we always need more help. Please consider volunteering with the Dispatch. Contact any of the Executives listed below to offer your services!

ConquerClub Dispatch Team

• thehippo8 - Chief Executive

• • Dukasaur - Aide Executive

• safariguy5 - Freestyle Executive -
  • TheSaxlad - Freestyle Writer
  • DoomYoshi - Freestyle Writer
• Swifte - Clan Executive -
  • Betiko - Clan Freelance
  • IcePack - Clan Reporter
  • Ickyketseddie - Clan Reporter
  • Grifftron - Clan Freelance
  • qwert - Clan Reporter
• Dukasaur - Tournament Executive -
  • anamainiacks - Tournament Reporter
  • DaveH - Tournament Reporter
• Seamus76 - Foundry Executive -
  • koontz1973 - Foundry Reporter

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[iAmCaffeine]

Looking very cool there.

[rdsrds2120]

Good looking issue!

BMO

[jabajabba]

Nice work all

[pretender77]

I liked the pic at the end IP

[Dukasaur]

Looking very cool there.

Good looking issue!

BMO

Nice work all

I liked the pic at the end IP

Thank you all!