273 replies to this topic

[The Maestro]

That saves you from degradation I think, KingTubby?! So well done and see you back in D1!

 

As explained before there is no DIRECT degradation and only the top 8 TRP players over 2015 are sure to get an invitation to the Winter D1 to battle for the 2015 Masters title. We will publish the updated TRP list as soon as the last 2 matches have been played, so everybody can do their own maths, to see if they need more TRP's (which can only be scored in the Autumn Tournament) and who their main competitors are. The line between D1 and D2 is really thin so it will be a very competitve Autumn (tournament)!

[The Maestro]

****Winner Inaugural Backstabbers Tournament: gpet0****

 

Congratulations to gpet0 on winning the first ever Backstabbers tournament. As member of The MOD SQUAD he clearly was the carrying force of that team (winning both 4v4 games, one against The Maestro and a very important one vs Kernel Mustard). After that he suffered his only tournament loss vs sevenseas but took revenge by once again beating The Maestro. In the finals he met former team member Napoleon 1er and was victorious.

 

gpeto will go down in history as the first ever Greek Tournament winner on this site and we hope to see him join the Division Tournaments in the future.

 

The backstabbers tournament turned out to be a nice little concept with surprising twists and turns and a lot of excitement, so we will probably use this concept again in the future. The most positive aspect however was the behaviour of all participants; there was a lot of fun and laughing, especially in CZ the first two sundays, and no stress or any irritations, which is a novelty. There were very few rules and the participants showed they could handle that, by just focusing on playing their games and having fun.  Great job by all!

[The Maestro]

****Winner Division 1: Hielco (SATAN-NL)****

 

Yesterday we concluded the Mid Year Divisions Tournament. Hielco once again won Division 1, but it is clear the competition is getting closer and closer. Hielco this time lost 2 matches (vs Kernel Mustard and Lonello), when he only lost one (vs Nortrom) in the Winter.

 

There was a close race between Numbers #2-6 (with playa1 grabbing spot 2, getting revenge for his disappointing results in the Masters). Just as close was the battle for spots 8-11. Kingtubby grabbed all the straws he could and Zoografos and Aris1970 scored very important wins against dutchkillers. First time Division participants Kernel Mustard, #7 with a big win over Hielco, and Desert Oasis, with a debut at #4 (!) and beating playa1, showed they are very tough opponents and belong in this division.

 

Division 2 belonged to Napoleon 1er, with only one loss (vs The Prof). Newcomer Nikos1972 did a GREAT job ending in second place, as did other first time Division player don mitsos (#4 and even beating #2 and #3 in their one on one meetings). DR_ELL_SuPREME scored some important victories when he needed them most.

 

Division 3 seemed to go to The Maestro, but the pressure was too much and both gmits (ending in spot 2) and ICanMakeULOSE (after a terrible start still finishing first!) took full advantage of that. 

 

Division 4 was fun; they showed all of us how a tournament should be. No politics, no delays, just playing and having fun. There was no stopping them , but when the dust settled, leppie emerged as the winner of this exciting group.

 

We want to thank all participants and hope they enjoyed themselves.

 

The next divisions tournament will be the Years End Divisions (with D1 playing for the Masters 2015 title) and there are still a lot of things possible as the updated TRP list shows. So grab your last chance to score (more) TRP's in the (open) Autumn Tournament, starting in the last weekend of august / first week of September.

[The Maestro]

****Issues MYD****

 

During the MYD some issues/questions came up. Many of them were addressed in the forum or in PMs, but we would like to present an overview with the results / conclusions that came out of that.

 

All questions / issues always lead back to the purpose of the (Division) Tournaments. The goal of having the Tournaments is to play games with opponents that show respect for you on the battlefield and the forum. This will lead to the perfect mix of competition and fun, with each player deciding for themselves if they go for the gold or just for a nice game with the result being of less importance.  So the key is behaviour, not your skill-level.

 

Since tournaments attract all kind of different people with different views there will always be the issue of rules vs flexibility. We offer both by having Open Tournaments and Division Tournaments. The divisions are meant to have maximum flexibility. This in contrast to the two open tournaments (one in Spring and one in Autumn); those tournaments have VERY strict and tight rules. Some players love that, as it is very clear what to do and there are strong penalties. Some others think that rules like that are too harsh and take away part of the "fun" element in playing tournaments. We see the divisions as elite tournaments, meaning that people that misbehave during (open) tournaments are not even invited to the divisions. As a "reward" the rules are less tight and stressed, with an opening to have additional rules if needed for certain issues. But it also means a lot more responsibility for the participants. As long as players can handle that all is fine, if they can’t we all have a problem that has to be solved as soon as possible.

 

This divisions we had several issues that needed a "special" treatment, such as: 

 

- players not answering to proposals by opponents

- players not posting (any) availability

- players no-showing

- players withdrawing (or - far worse – threaten to do so)

- players deciding to just not play for 3-4 weeks in a row

- players not answering PM's, even PM's from TC

- some forum behaviour / trolling

 

TC had to go far and beyond any normal duty to get some players to fullfill those minimum requirements for even playing in a tournament, but we did it (but agreed we won't in the future). We also decided that some players really have to reconsider joining tournaments in the future, because joining is not (just) a privilege it is also brings obligations. Some players just don't seem to get that. Their attitude is: I am in it, you should all be happy I am here, and I will play whenever I want and act exactly as I feel like. TC doesn't care about these players and their attitude, no matter how high or low their game skill level is. We want players to join not because they have to, but because they want to and see it as an honor to join, play great games and treat others with dignity and respect. 

 

TC is responsible for keeping a(ny) tournament going, so that one game (or several games) are not delaying the entire schedule making others wait as well. We count on flexibility but also mutual respect from all participants. The community implied that they could all handle that and therefor we did not come with a (huge) list of requirements of how to behave or how to be social, as this could be seen as belittling and a lack of trust/respect to the participants. Participants are responsible for their own behaviour anyway. Problems between 2 (or more) players have to be solved by these parties personally. It can not stand in the way of the progress of a tournament.  

 

The conclusions for us are very simple. The Open tournaments will keep their strict rules and the divisions will stay flexible, but there will be an additional set of penalities concerning ALL tournaments. That way the nice/good players will not suffer from suffocating rules, but the lazy/bad/obstructive players will either adjust or be (kept) out. This way we keep the fun but also make sure that the competition will remain serious. We will make sure those adjusted rules will be ready and published before the Autumn Tournament.

[The Maestro]

****TRP Update and The Road to Masters 2015****

 
As much as we are all playing for fun there is of course the competitive aspect as well. Some questions came up on how the rest of 2015 looks when it comes to gaining TRP’s and what weight they carry for The Year End Divisions.
 
The main principle has always been that the top 8 on the TRP list after the Autumn Tournament (AT) would be invited for the Masters 2015 (Year End Division 1). We would add some existing D1 players to that list (highest finishers of MYD first) to get the preferred amount of participants. For a while we thought to have the #1 & #2 of MYD D2 promote directly to Years End D1 and have the lowest spots of MYD D1 degrade to Years End D2. We even published that for a short while in D1 topic, where it said that the lowest three would face direct degradation. Before D1 started playing we changed that and took out all direct promotion/degradation (for all divisions) and published it here.
 
We did so because it would be a HUGE advantage for the #1 and #2 of MYD D2 over all other competitors, as they would already be sure to be in D1 Masters by June/July . In fact they would not even have to join AT at all. So we changed it to the current text, before playing started. The only direct promotion/degradation will be after Years End Divisions, but it still paid off to finish in the top 2 of a division (as they have prioriy over the lowest places in the higher division).
 
 Now it is still a very close race, as it should be, between a lot of players and AT will decide  who will get the golden ticket to D1, but also who will play in D2, D3, etc.
 
There can also be some confusion on how things will work out, so to clear that up a bit we will give some explantions/examples based on the current situation (TRP’s after Spring Tournament and Mid Year Divisions).
 

 
It works like this: 
 
The top 8 in the Total TRP score will receive an automatic invitation for the Masters 2015. The remaining spots will be filled by players based on their spot in the final standings in the Mid Year Divisions (MYD), meaning the highest placed Division 1 players not yet automatically invited get in as well; they are (if needed) followed by #1 and #2 of MYD Division 2. The top 2 of MYD D2 prevail over the last 3 of D1. 
 
D2 will have TRP players #9-16, etc.
 
On the list above TRP 1-8 are Green (=D1) as are the two highest players of MYD D1 not in yet.
 
D2 (Blue) will then exist of TRP 9-16, except for Lonello and KingTubby as they were already added to D1. Thee_Assassin, who skipped MYD D1, will be added first followed by the MYD D1 players not yet in the new D1 and the remaining MYD D2 players. 
 
D3 (Purple) will exist of TRP 17-24, except for those already added to D2. The players, who skipped MYD D2, will be added first followed by the MYD D2 players not yet in the new D2 and the remaining MYD D3 players.

D4 (Orange) will exist of TRP 25-32, except for those already added to a higher divison. The players, who skipped MYD D3, will be added first followed by the MYD D3 players not yet in the new D3 and then the next TRP players (33 etc).

 

Some observations:

 

- Nortrom is ahead of Aris1970 and Spyros, as he scored most TRPs in MYD followed by Aris. Same for dutchkillers being higher then Luckypapa, TheOptician before sgt, Blkdog etc

- Lonello and KingTubby are still not 100% save

- D2 player Nikos1972 seems on his way to D1, as he is #5 (!!) now, Napoleon 1er is not yet in (#14, but the difference between him and #8 (Nortrom) is just 4 TRP and with #7 (zoografos) just 8. 

- ICanMakeULOSE is #17 so in D3 but VERY close to D2 (1 TRP behind The Prof).

 

So it is very close and all depends on AT results.

[The Maestro]

****New TC Member****

 

TC is very happy to announce the newest addition to the team:

 

cflag 

 

As of today he is an official Tournament Manager and is already working on a lot of plans and ideas that he came up with. Needless to say we look forward to work with this enthousiastic Greek gentleman and we are sure the entire community will benefit from his contributions.  

 

 

 

 

[sevenseas]

Congratulations, cflag! I'm sure you will do a great job.

[NTactical-Reboot]

 

****New TC Member****

 

TC is very happy to announce the newest addition to the team:

 

cflag 

 

As of today he is an official Tournament Manager and is already working on a lot of plans and ideas that he came up with. Needless to say we look forward to work with this enthousiastic Greek gentleman and we are sure the entire community will benefit from his contributions.  

 

Huge like 

[Napoleon 1er]

congratulations cflag ... last week promoted to silver major ... this week promoted to TC .... definitely next week you need to be candidate for greek first minister!!!

[TheOptician]

                                                      ****News Update****

 

With September now expected any moment, the Bomb of Spies brings you a tournament news update. The next event in the Stratego Masters Series is to be announced shortly, but our very own undercover reporter (Mr. Ian Visible) managed to sneak inside Tournament Committee HQ and access the secret files! Although Mr, Visible got away unnoticed, his joy was short-lived when he discovered the secret files consisted of only a single file, which in turn consisted of only a few sentences of unimaginably boring information. Tournament sponsors, given that the tournament will now likely run from Oct 5 to Dec 11, (give or take a little) have decided that Autumn is no longer the most appropriate season to name the open to all double-elimination event, which shall now be known as the 'Winter Tournament'.

 

Bringing you espionage that only the Bomb of Spies could manage, beloved readers, you heard it here first...

[maxroelofs]

                                                     

 

Bringing you espionage that only the Bomb of Spies could manage, beloved readers, you heard it here first...

 

 

Oh boy I laughed at this scentence.

[Dekaeneas-Spy]

                         

 

                         H Bomb of Spies φιλοξενεί την συνέντευξη ενός έλληνα

                         από τους πιο παλιούς παίκτες του site, στον ίδιο του,τον ευατό. 

 

                               Dekaeneas-Spy ρωτάει και Dekaeneas-Spy απαντάει.

 

                                   Κάντο όπως ο Μπερμπάτοφ!!!

                                          (Do it as Berbatov)

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Καλησπέρα. Από πότε αρχίσατε να παίζετε stratego;

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Καλησπέρα σας. Ξεκίνησα να παίζω stratego στην ηλικία των 13 ετών με φίλους και μάλιστα διοργανώναμε και τουρνουά 10-12 ατόμων σε ένα καφέ του χωριού μου. Μας άρεσε πολύ αυτό το παιχνίδι.

 

Dekaeneas-Spy: Στο διαδύκτιο πότε παίξατε για πρώτη φορά και σε ποιο site;

 

Dekaeneas-Spy: Έπαιξα πριν 5 χρόνια περίπου για πρώτη φορά στη Metaforge και εκεί έμαθα καλύτερα το παιχνίδι αφού είχα την δυνατότητα να παρακολουθώ παιχνίδια και μάλιστα παικτών όπως ο hielco,Nortrom,sohal,κ.α. και μετά από δύο χρόνια μετακόμισα στο stratego.com όπου παίζω μέχρι σήμερα.

 

Dekaeneas-Spy: Πως σας φαίνεται το stratego.com, προσφέρει αυτά που θα ήθελε ένας παίκτης stratego;

 

Dekaeneas-Spy: Eίμαι αρκετά ικανοποιημένος αλλά πάντα υπάρχει το καλύτερο.

 

Dekaeneas-Spy: Τι θα θέλατε να σας παρέχει και δεν το βρίσκεται εδώ;

 

Dekaeneas-Spy: Θα ήθελα να δίνει την δυνατότητα στον παίκτη να μπορεί να παρακολουθεί ένα παιχνίδι της επιλογής του την ώρα που παίζεται αυτό, αλλά και αν το χάσει να μπορεί να το βλέπει σε replay. Η επιλογή αυτή υπήρχε στη Metaforge.

Θα ήθελα επίσης να μην επιτρεπόταν από το site να έχει ένας παίκτης παραπάνω από έναν λογαριασμό για να υπάρχει πιο δίκαιη βαθμολογική κατάταξη. Είναι θέμα προγραμματισμού του site και λυπάμαι που ακόμη δεν έχει λυθεί για το λόγο ότι υπάρχουν πολλά προβλήματα με τους πολλαπλούς λογαριασμούς.

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Γίνονται τουρνουά στο site; υπάρχουν έπαθλα;

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Αρκετά συχνά πραγματοποιούνται τουρνουά και μάλιστα έχω συμμετάσχει σε πολλά από αυτά ως παίκτης, αλλά και ως διοργανωτής(Tournament Autumn 2014,ελληνικά τουρνουά), δίνοντας μάλιστα την δυνατότητα στους παίκτες που συμμετέχουν αλλά και σε αυτούς που δεν παίρνουν μέρος, να παίζουν ακόμη και παιχνίδι στοιχημάτων με την μορφή κουπονιού και έπαθλο battle coins. Γενικά έχω αφιερώσει πάρα πολύ χρόνο σε αυτό το site για το stratego και έχω ενημερώσει(ως υπεύθυνος της online κοινότητας που ήμουν,έκανα πολλά μέλη π.χ Aris1970,zografos,Dalee,kambia,cflag,spyros77 κ.α.) αρκετούς έλληνες αλλά και ξένους σχετικά με το παιχνίδι στο site καθώς και για το forum.

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Στην Ελλάδα γίνονται live τουρνουά;

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Ναι γίνονται live τουρνουά σε διάφορες πόλεις(1-3 το χρόνο),αλλά η συμμετοχή των παικτών είναι πολύ μικρή.Σίγουρα παίζει ρόλο η απόσταση καθώς διανύουμε περίοδο οικονομικής κρίσης και είναι αρκετά δύσκολες οι μετακινήσεις των παικτών, ιδιαίτερα όταν πρόκειται για μεγάλες χιλιομετρικές αποστάσεις κάτι το οποίο απαιτεί και διανυκτέρευση των παικτών.

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Υπάρχουν σύλλογοι-ομάδες παικτών σε όλες τις πόλεις της Ελλάδας;

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Ναι,νομίζω 1 ή 2 σύλογοι σε ολόκληρη την χώρα γι αυτό ακόμη είναι δύσκολη η δημιουργία των live τουρνουά,καθώς θα ήταν πιο εύκολα να μάθει κάποιος το παιχνίδι και να πάρει μέρος σε τουρνουά αν υπήρχε σε κάθε πόλη κάποιος σύλλογος ή έστω κάποια ομάδα ατόμων που θα διοργανώνουν τουρνουά,έτσι ώστε να μη χρειάζεται να φεύγει μακριά από την πόλη του,γεγονός που θα τον επιβάρυνε με προσωπικά έξοδα.

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Αφού δεν έχει συλλόγους θα είναι φαντάζομαι δύσκολο να διοργανωθούν και τουρνουά με την συμμετοχή παικτών από άλλες χωρες και να παίξουν οι παίκτες με την μορφή εθνικών ομάδων. Τι λέτε;

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Κοιτάξτε να σας πω,έχουν γίνει τα τελευταία χρόνια από οτι γνωρίζω κάποια τουρνουά σε διάφορες χώρες αλλά η συμμετοχή των παικτών ήταν πολύ μικρή αφού οι χώρες που συμμετείχαν ήταν 4-5 το πολύ, και οι παίκτες απο κάθε χώρα δεν ξεπερνούσαν τους 10 εκτός από την χώρα που διοργάνωνε το τουρνουά και είχε περισσότερους παίκτες. Η Ολλανδία για παράδειγμα στο τουρνουά που έγινε πριν 2 χρόνια στην Ελλάδα είχε 5-6 παίκτες και έλειπαν κάποιοι πολύ καλοί παίκτες(Dutchkillers,maxroelofs,κ.α) καθώς και τα μεγάλα ονόματα τους(Nortrom,hielco). Οι Άγγλοι από ότι ενημερώθηκα είχανε παίκτες που το επίπεδο τους ήταν μέτριο έως χαμηλό παικτικά.Νομίζω συμμετείχαν παίκτες από 3-4 χώρες μόνο στο ελληνικό τουρνουά. Όπως καταλαβαίνετε κάθε χρόνο σε διαφορετική χώρα διοργανώνουν ένα τουρνουά και συμμετέχουν κάποιες παρέες λίγων σε αριθμό ατόμων από κάθε χώρα.

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Μιλήσατε για τους Άγγλους και είπατε είναι μέτριοι παίκτες. Οι έλληνες παίκτες στο site είναι σε καλύτερο επίπεδο παικτικά;

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Ναι είναι πολύ καλοί παίκτες και αυτό φαίνεται και από την παρουσία πολλών ελλήνων παικτών στις πρώτες θέσεις της βαθμολογίας του site. Αν και δεν είναι και η πιο αξιόπιστη η βαθμολογική κατάταξη του site.

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Γιατί το λέτε αυτό; Τι συμβαίνει;

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Να σας εξηγήσω να καταλάβετε. Ένας παίκτης του site έχει την δυνατότητα να έχει ένα βασικό λογαριασμό και άλλους 20 κρυφούς(δεν τους γνωρίζουν οι άλλοι παίκτες) και αυτό το επιτρέπει το site. Έτσι μπορεί να ανεβάζει 5-6 λογαριασμούς στους 800 πόντους και ενώ κανονικά η βαθμολογική του θέση είναι στους 800-850 πόντους,να βάζει τον βασικό του λογαριασμό να παίζει με τους υπόλοιπους που έχει και να φορτώνει με πόντους τον βασικό λογαριασμό του όταν η κλήρωση τους βγάζει αντίπαλους,κάτι που είναι αρκετά εύκολο αν επιλέγει να παίζει τις ώρες που δεν υπάρχουν παίκτες με υψηλή βαθμολογική θέση στο site εκείνη την ώρα. Με αυτόν τον τρόπο μπορεί να φτάνει μέχρι και 950 η και 1000 πόντους ακόμη και παραπάνω. Ένα άλλο που μπορεί να κάνει είναι να παίρνει βαθμούς από φίλους του,για να μην γίνει ποτέ αντιληπτός αφού και έλεγχος ip να γίνει να είναι διαφορετικό.

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Έχει διαπιστωθεί κανένα τέτοιο γεγονός;

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Ναι,από έναν παίκτη(από άλλη χώρα) που ανέβαινε με αυτόν τον τρόπο που ανέφερα και έφτασε στα ύψη.

Βέβαια πιστεύω ότι υπάρχουν και άλλες τέτοιες περιπτώσεις που δεν έγιναν ακόμη αντιληπτές αλλά τα ποσοστά τους και ξαφνική άνοδος τους στην κατάταξη(ακόμη και σε μια μέρα μέσα) μας βάζει σε υποψίες χωρίς να υπάρχουν ενδείξεις αφού οι υπεύθυνοι του site(moderators) δεν παρουσιάζουν γραφήματα με τα παιχνίδια(ημερομηνίες) των παικτών κάθε 3 μήνες για να έχουμε καλύτερη εικόνα και να μπορούμε να εντωπίσουμε τέτοια φαινόμενα.

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Γιατί οι έλληνες(ας κάνουμε εμείς την αρχή) δεν λένε τους δεύτερους,τρίτους,τέταρτους κ.ο.κ.λογαριασμούς τους έτσι ώστε να βοηθήσουν στην πιο αξιόπιστη βαθμολογική κατάταξη του site και να γίνουμε το παράδειγμα και στις άλλες χώρες.

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Γιατί δυστηχώς οι έλληνες νομίζουμε ότι λύνουμε το πρόβλημα αναφέροντας μόνο τον βασικό λογαριασμό μας.

Προσωπική μου γνώμη είναι να πούμε όλοι οι έλληνες δημόσια, όλους τους κρυφούς λογαριασμούς μας, αν θέλουμε να λέμε και να μιλάμε για υψηλή βαθμολογική θέση από πλευράς μας. Πρέπει να σταματήσουμε να δημιουργούμε νέους λογαριασμούς αν θέλουμε να παίζουμε δίκαια. Δεν μπορεί να μιλάνε έλληνες στο site για δίκαιη βαθμολογία και καθαρή υποτείθεται, λίστα Νapoleon(προσπαθεί να καθαρίσει την βαθμολογία) και να έχουν 15 και 20 λογαριασμούς χτυπώντας άλλους παίκτες οι οποίοι  δεν γνωρίζουν ποιον έχουν αντίπαλο και έχουν μειονέκτημα σε σχέση με αυτούς που "κρύβονται" και γνωρίζουν το παιχνίδι τους. Διαφορετικά ας μη μιλάμε για βαθμολογία και μην κυνηγάμε φαντάσματα και 1η, 2η....10η θέση από την στιγμή που δεν υπάρχει διαφάνεια.

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Σας ευχαριστώ για την συνέντευξη  Dekaeneas-Spy.

 

Dekaeneas-Spy:Εγώ σας ευχαριστώ.

 

Μέρος Α

 

                 Συνεχίζεται........

Edited by Dekaeneas-Spy, 15 February 2016 - 10:53 PM.

[Moghedien]

Can someone please give a translation? Why post in Greek on this forum while just Greek players can read it, I mean I could post a whole story in Dutch but then not everyone can read it so what's the point...

[Dekaeneas-Spy]

Can someone please give a translation? Why post in Greek on this forum while just Greek players can read it, I mean I could post a whole story in Dutch but then not everyone can read it so what's the point...

I do not know so well English but will try soon to do translation.