Tournament Ranking System

The Tournament Ranking System measures progress in competitive tests, such as those in the discipline of Conflict.

Ranking

Players in a tournament are grouped into "ranks". Only games played between two people of the same rank are scored; if a rank 3 player plays a rank 2, for example, neither will gain or lose standing in the tournament. Everyone begins at rank 1.

Ranking is first determined by rank, and then by number of matches won and lost at that rank. A rank two player who has won one match since reaching that rank will have a score of 2.1 (higher than a rank two player with no victories at rank two, but less than any rank three player). If a rank 3 player has lost more matches at his rank than he has won, then his rank is still 3.0.

There are several parameters which may differ for each tournament:

• Advantage required to advance in rank. (advance_advantage)
• Number of losses allowed. (max_losses)
• Advantage required to conclude a match. (match_advantage)
• Frequency with which rank may be reset. (reset_frequency)

When two players of the same rank play each other, they begin a match. Progress in the match will be recorded on the tournament progress window. The match concludes when one player has match_advantage more wins than the other player. For example, in tug, match_advantage is set to 2, so one player will need to win two more games than the other.

After a match is completed, the total number of wins and losses for the two players will be updated. In addition, the winner will have the loser's name added to his list of defeated opponents. Rematches do not affect score.

If a player accumulates max_losses losses, he is eliminated from the tournament, and can no longer gain or lose score from games played, nor can other players score points by defeating him. At this point, the player has three choices:

1. Do nothing, and remain at his current ranking.
2. Reset, and begin the tournament again at rank 1. There is a limit to how often (reset_frequency) a player may reset his rank.
3. Forfeit one win in exchange for canceling one loss, and continue playing at the current rank. You can only do this, if you have won a match.

After a player has won advance_advantage more matches than he has lost, he advances to the next rank in the tournament. At this time, his number of wins, losses, and list of players defeated are all cleared. Since the list of players defeated is cleared, two players who competed at one rank can compete again at a higher rank.

A player may participate in multiple matches at once. However, the total number of matches active may not exceed the number of losses he has remaining. For example, if a player can lose two more matches before being knocked out of the tournament, he may participate in at most two matches at a time.

Scoring

Test passing is based on points related to a 'skill level' for each tournament.

There are seven levels of skill points. A level-1 point will advance a player from level 0 to level 1, a level-2 point will advance a player from 1 to 2, and so on. Points are a limited resource. New points become available on a periodic basis--the exact speed of accumulation differs for each tournament. Higher level points always accumulate more slowly than lower level ones.

The available points are distributed to players on a daily basis. Points are distributed in order, starting with level-7 points and ending with level-1 points. (As a result, a player can advance at most one level per day.)

Points are distributed as follows:

• Select all players who have a skill level lower than that of the point, and who are of rank 1.1 or higher.
• Calculate the highest ranked player in this set; select all players who are of this rank.
• If the number of available points is less than the number of selected players, stop. The undistributed points are held in reserve.
• If the number of available points is equal to or greater than the number of selected players, distribute a point to each of them. If a player is too low a level to receive this point (a skill 2 player receiving a level-6 point, for example), the point is set aside--the point will be available on later days, but will not be assigned at this time.
• If any points remain, repeat.

The results of the latest round of scoring may be viewed at any School of Conflict.

Example

Consider the following players:

• Alice has 6 points and is rank 4.1.
• Bob has 6 points and is rank 4.0.
• Charlie has 3 points and is rank 3.0.
• David has 4 points and is rank 3.0.
• Emily has 5 points and is rank 3.0.
• Felicia has 3 points and is rank 2.1.
• Gordon has 3 points and is rank 2.1.

The following points are available:

• 1 level-7
• 2 level-6
• 3 level-5
• 4 level-4
• 5 level-3
• 6 level-2
• 7 level-1

Points will be assigned as follows:

• Alice is the only candidate for the level-7 point, receives it, and passes the test.
• Charlie, David, and Emily are all tied at rank 3.0, and are candidates for level-6 points. (Bob already has a score of 6, and is therefore not in the running.) Since there are only 2 level-6 points available, no points are handed out.
• Charlie and David are tied at rank 3.0, and are candidates for level-5 points. Each receives one point, bringing them to score 4 and 5 respectively.
• There is still one level-5 point remaining. Felicia and Gordon are tied at rank 2.1, and are candidates for this point. Since there are two of them and only one point, the point is reserved for later.
• Felicia and Gordon are also candidates for the 4 level-4 points. Each one receives a point, leaving two for later.
• There are no candidates for the remaining points, so they are not handed out.

Passing the Tests

The advancement system for conflict was recetly changed to reward partial progress. Instead of having to reach level 7 in an individual test to pass that test, all the levels you have achieved count towards an overall score for conflict. You can check your progress using the option under the tests menu.

The number of conflict tests you have passed is given by (sum of squares of levels) / 49 (rounded down). Ie to get to Student of conflict, you could reach level 7 in one test (7^2)=49, or you could get to level 3 in 5 tests, and level 2 in another..(3^2 * 5 + 2^2) = 49.