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Retro Game Gauntlet Plus 2015 Official Rules

AlexTrebek Apr 8th, 2015 (edited) 1,033 Never
  1. Welcome to the Retro Game Gauntlet Plus 2015.  Everyone is welcome to watch and play along, but I do have a few rules to keep everything fair.
  2.  
  3. RULES of the Gauntlet
  4.  
  5. Players MUST be able to provide proof of score/progress and proof of not cheating via video.  Stream it to Livestream or whatever and share the link to the recorded video, record it and upload the video to youtube or megaupload or whatever works, post the video in the thread on /v/, it doesn't really matter how.  If you can't provide video evidence, you will not be allowed to compete.
  6.  
  7. Players MUST be able to emulate Sega Master System, NES/Famicom/FDS, SNES/SFC, Genesis/Mega Drive, 32X, PS1, and some arcade games without issues.  Those arcade games are CPS2 and Neo Geo BIOS games at the newest.  If you can't emulate these systems, you will not be allowed to compete.  As it is currently, PS1 will be the most demanding games and the largest file sizes.  The biggest MAME game is 47MBs.  If you are having issues emulating MAME, check TROUBLESHOOTING.
  8.  
  9. You are allowed to use any emulator that you wish, but if you are unable to emulate a game than that's not my problem.  I personally recommend you use the most accurate emulator available.  ROMs supplied by me are known to work on the recommended emulators.
  10.  
  11. Recommeded Emulators:
  12. Arcade games
  13.         MAME or MAME64 0.149
  14. NES/Famicom/FDS games
  15.         PuNES 0.92 or newer, FCEUX 2.2.2 or newer.
  16. SMS/Genesis/Mega Drive/32X games
  17.         Kega Fusion 3.63 or newer.
  18. SNES/Super Famicom games
  19.         BSNES core(doesn't have to be accuracy) in Retroarch/mednafen or SNES9X 1.53 or newer.
  20. PS1 games
  21.         Epsxe 1.51, up to 1.90 or newer, PCSX-R 1.9.93 or newer, or Retroarch/mednafen.
  22.  
  23. To get newer(better) versions of non-arcade emulators, go to http://www.emucr.com/ and look for the emulator's name.  Some of these are MUCH better than the current official releases.  For example, PCSX-R 1.9.93 was released in 2013, but the latest one off of emucr is from 3/9/2015.  That's two years worth of improvements.
  24.  
  25. Nothing beyond ability to provide video proof and emulate is required enter the competition, however prize winners have additional requirements.  Category Winners must supply a Paypal address to receive their prize.  Gauntlet Winners must supply a physical address to receive their prize.
  26.  
  27. Cheating is an immediate disqualification.  Cheating includes but is not limited to:
  28. In-Game Cheats(Konami code, other built-in cheats)
  29. Game Genie/Pro Action Replay/Game Shark cheats(Either through an emulated ROM or the emulator itself)
  30. Emulator cheats(emulator's built-in cheat functions, save-states)(Seriously, you only play for an hour at most.)
  31. Cheat Engine(Or any other outside cheat/hack program)
  32. Mods/Hacks(Any un-allowed patches/hacks/mods)(Some games are required certain mods, the patched ROMs will be supplied)
  33. Emulator slow-motion(Slows by frames, or a percentage, or underclocks the CPU, ect.
  34. Emulator fast-forward
  35.  
  36. Not Cheating:
  37. Stunlocking enemies(IE, using Holy Water on Death in Castlevania)
  38. Taking advantage of shitty AI
  39. OP weapons/combos/techniques
  40. Reading the Manual(recommended for some games)
  41. Walkthroughs/Gamefaqs/Youtube videos(because you could do this during your practice time, how would we know?)(You can do this during your video, keep in mind other anons may laugh at you.)
  42. Console slow-motion(it presses Start rapidly on Nintendo consoles, or is similar)
  43.  
  44. Keep in mind that I am the sole judge of the Gauntlet, and I may need to alter rules to ensure fairness and a fun time for all.
  45.  
  46. If you are willing to play by these rules, you are welcome to enter the Gauntlet.  Just shoot me an email with some sort of proof of your ability to post a video of your desktop and a videogame.
  47.  
  48. Email for the Gauntlet is retrogamegauntletplus2015@gmail.com
  49.  
  50. Minimum number of players for the Gauntlet to proceed as planned is 12.
  51.  
  52. Maximum number of players for the Gauntlet is currently 30, but that could change BEFORE the Gauntlet begins.
  53.  
  54. Prizes are a SNES console only, or Super Metroid, or A Link To The Past for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, and $10 Paypal or equivalent for Category winners.  The 1st place Gauntlet winner gets to choose which prize they want from the three, then 2nd place gets to choose, then 3rd place gets whatever is left.
  55.  
  56. I offer free shipping to any winners in the USA, but if you live outside the USA you will need to pay shipping and customs fees to receive your prize.
  57.  
  58. You only need to supply a Paypal address(or some other way of getting money to you) or physical address if you win.
  59.  
  60. STRUCTURE of the Gauntlet
  61.  
  62. This is subject to change BEFORE the Gauntlet begins, once we start we run with the current plan unless everyone drops out or something.
  63.  
  64. The Gauntlet is 50 games, divided into 5 categories.  The games will be announced at 5PM PST on designated game days(See TIMING for details), at which point contestants have until the next game announcement to post their proof video(See SCORING for details).  This will be a period of 24-48 hours, but this could change(See TIMING for details)  The 5 categories are as follows:
  65.  
  66. Console Arcade-ish Games
  67.         Early console gaming was about bringing the arcade experience home, these are the games that did it right.
  68. Shoot Em Up/Shooter Games
  69.         Now your hands suffer.  Cry harder maggot.  I SAID CRY HARDER!  No "Bullet-Hell" games, I hate that shit.
  70. Hard 8-bit Platforming Games
  71.         Mostly NES since I didn't get much SMS exposure, those challenging 8-bit platformers that rocked us.
  72. Mixed Games
  73.         Some odds and ends, plus games from the cut categories that should be fun to play.
  74. Greatest Hits Games
  75.         Some of the all-time best, the ones still fun after all these years.  Maybe not the hardest, but still good fun.
  76.  
  77. TIMING of the Gauntlet
  78.  
  79. This is subject to change both before and during the Gauntlet.  Real life happens, we may not be able to keep the schedule as listed, plus we may end up doing less.
  80.  
  81. We will run 2-3 games a week.  This is so people only have a short time to play the games(to prevent NEETs from dominating) and yet still be able to play no matter their time-zone.
  82.  
  83. Designated game nights are currently Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday if needed.  You have until the next game announcement to provide your video to everyone.
  84.  
  85. With the current timing and structure, we will be playing for 20(twenty) weeks.
  86.  
  87. Current Start of the Gauntlet is May 25th, with estimated finish date of some time in September.
  88.  
  89. You MUST be signed up by May 22th to compete.
  90.  
  91. SCORING of the Gauntlet
  92.  
  93. Keep in mind, the scoring is subject to change BEFORE the Gauntlet begins.  Once we start, it's locked in.
  94.  
  95. With the current structure of the Gauntlet, scoring works as follows:
  96.  
  97. After the closing deadline for each game, all players scores/progress will be evaluated.  In High-Score only games, players will be ranked from the highest score downward.  In games that can be beaten(not likely) and have a high-score counter, players will be ranked from the highest score of those that beat the game(or progressed to the farthest level) downward.  In games with no high score counter that can only be beaten, players will be ranked from those that beat it the quickest down to those who progressed to the farthest level downward.  Any further clarification of how a specific game will be scored will be relayed when the game is announced.
  98.  
  99. Based on the rank for the game, the lowest ranked player will receive 1(one) Category Point.  The next ranked player will receive 2(two) Category Points, and so on to the 4th ranked player.  The 3rd ranked player will receive the number of Category Points the 4th ranked player gets, plus 2(two) more.  The 2nd ranked player will get 3(three) more, and the 1st ranked player will get 5(five) more.  For example, if we had 30 players:
  100.  
  101. Game Rank - Category Points awarded
  102. 1 - 32
  103. 2 - 30
  104. 3 - 29
  105. 4 - 27
  106. 5 - 26
  107. 6 - 25
  108. 7 - 24
  109. 8 - 23
  110. 9 - 22
  111. 10 - 21
  112. 11 - 20
  113. 12 - 19
  114. 13 - 18
  115. 14 - 17
  116. 15 - 16
  117. 16 - 15
  118. 17 - 14
  119. 18 - 13
  120. 19 - 12
  121. 20 - 11
  122. 21 - 10
  123. 22 - 9
  124. 23 - 8
  125. 24 - 7
  126. 25 - 6
  127. 26 - 5
  128. 27 - 4
  129. 28 - 3
  130. 29 - 2
  131. 30 - 1
  132.  
  133. This is so those that do the best in games, or win, are recognized for their wins.  Category Points are cumulative, until the Category is over.  The player with the highest Category Point score at the end of a Category is the Category Winner, and gets $10 Paypal or equivalent.  At the end of a Category, the player's Category rank is then used to award Gauntlet Points in a similar fashion, but without the point boost for wins.   Like so:
  134.  
  135. Category Rank - Gauntlet Points awarded
  136. 1 - 30
  137. 2 - 29
  138. 3 - 28
  139. 4 - 27
  140. 5 - 26
  141. 6 - 25
  142. 7 - 24
  143. 8 - 23
  144. 9 - 22
  145. 10 - 21
  146. 11 - 20
  147. 12 - 19
  148. 13 - 18
  149. 14 - 17
  150. 15 - 16
  151. 16 - 15
  152. 17 - 14
  153. 18 - 13
  154. 19 - 12
  155. 20 - 11
  156. 21 - 10
  157. 22 - 9
  158. 23 - 8
  159. 24 - 7
  160. 25 - 6
  161. 26 - 5
  162. 27 - 4
  163. 28 - 3
  164. 29 - 2
  165. 30 - 1
  166.  
  167. Why no bonus for the Category Winners?  They already got $10, and are likely to be high in the scoreboards already.  This will hopefully help keep the competition tight.
  168.  
  169. In order for your video to be scored, it needs to be validated.  Your video MUST have the following before your gameplay to be validated:
  170. You showing your Process list or equivalent, to show you don't have Cheat Engine or some other 3rd party cheat program running.
  171. You showing that none of the built-in cheat functions on your emulator are active.
  172.  
  173. Your video can't exceed 30-60 minutes from the time you started the game(depending on the game).  If you upload a 3 hour video and tell me you want to count 2:15-2:45 as your 30 minutes, I'll laugh and count you as a no-show.  The idea is that this should be just like picking up a controller and playing a game, not GameCenterCX-style playing until you win.  Or playing an arcade game with a few quarters in your pocket, instead of changing a $5.
  174.  
  175. You don't have to make a full-time video.  You can provide your proof in as little time as you want.  You can even upload a two minute video showing you being cheat-free and running the game alone just to not count as a no-show if you wish.
  176.  
  177. Let's face it, odds are not everyone will be able to play every game.  Or be able to get in their video before time runs out.  Those players that don't get a valid video in will be considered no-shows.  If you are a no-show, you will be ranked for that game at the bottom of the list along with other no-shows, in reverse order of your category points, So those that are higher up in the standings will be hurt more by not playing.
  178.  
  179. CONTESTANTS
  180.  
  181. As a registered contestant in the Gauntlet, you have a vote.  
  182.  
  183. Once the Minimum number of players is reached, registered contestants can vote to start the Gauntlet.  If 75% vote yes, the Gauntlet will be modified to better suit the number of players registered, and will begin the next available Sunday.  This means if you want to play, you better get in before the other players decide to start.
  184.  
  185. If a voting-type situation comes up, it will be put to the contestants to decide.
  186.  
  187. TROUBLESHOOTING
  188.  
  189. For MAME we will be using 0.149, since the ROMs are easily gotten from the Internet Archive MAME collection.
  190. We will be doing some CPS2 and Neo Geo MAME games, so the ability to play those in addition to early arcade games is essential.
  191. For CPS2, you will need a file called "qsound.bin" in your ROM folder.
  192. For Neo Geo, you will need the Neo Geo BIOS zip file.
  193. Any other BIOS files needed will be supplied by me through the volafile room when the game is announced.
  194.  
  195. ALL games will be supplied by me through the official Retro Game Gauntlet Plus 2015 volafile room.  Players will need to supply their own emulators.  Keep in mind, the ROMs for MAME I will supply will be for 0.149, so if you don't use that version, I can't promise it will work.
  196.  
  197. RGGP2015 volafile room:  https://volafile.io/r/Y2lUTG
  198.  
  199. Send all questions or concerns to retrogamegauntletplus2015@gmail.com
  200.  
  201. Also feel free to stop by the thread on 8chan's /v/ board!
  202.  
  203. MODIFICATIONS
  204. Couple of changes I've been thinking about making to the Gauntlet, let me know what you think.
  205.  
  206. Removing PS1 games altogether.  I've already removed all but two to help lower how much time is needed to get going.
  207.  
  208. KingBaby suggested splitting the category prizes if we only run 5 for the Gauntlet, like a $7/$3 split or something.  Another idea would be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, at $6, $3, and $1 respectively.
  209.  
  210. Slicing the category length in half, only 5 games a category.  This would also shorten the Gauntlet, but would require modification of the SCORING to work properly.
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