I have attended many Halo tournaments in my lifetime, from poorly run
local tournaments with random weapon starts to Major League Gaming events--the
best run Halo tournaments on the planet. Here are important rules for running a Halo tournament (and it works for all 3 Halos) that you, as a tournament director, need to follow.
- Do not use non-standard TVs in non-standard positions, such as TVs at a sports bar. The TV should be at eye-level when a person sits in a normal chair.
- Have the proper amount of chairs. Have chairs whereby a person of normal height can have their shoes touching the floor and their face be eye level with TVs.
- Use TVs that are arround 22 inches--preferably CRT. If the TVs are at all fuzzy, do not use them and seek replacements.
- Use wired controllers, as they are better suited to LAN
- Have at least 4 xboxes. Do not have more than 4, but less than 8, as this creates unfair splitscreen issues.
- Use standard rules for gametypes from MLG, CPL, or another respected organization. Do not make up your own rules. If your tournament format cannot work under MLG or CPL rules, change it. All serious competitive players are expecting these rules to be followed and will judge your organization based upon it. If you do not know and follow the rules, you will be judged incompetent and as a “noob” and your tournament will not be taken seriously.
- Run the tournament as close as possible--with regard to format--as MLG, CPL, or another respective organization.
- Start on time and remain on schedule.
- Advertise the ruleset (MLG 4v4, CPL FFA, etc.), entree cost, format (4v4 double elimination, FFA etc.), and SPECIFIC amount of prize money (Not just “1st place prize based on cash collected”--use the exact formula you are going to use) on every advertisement for the tournament produced.
- Use a double-elimination bracket, as this is much more fair than a single elimination bracket.
- During FFA, it is standard for the top ½ of the players to advance. You must keep it this way.
- Use teams of 2 or teams of 4 for team gameplay. Odd numbers such as 3 or 5 don't work in the competitive gametypes, which you will need to use.
Resources
Reasoning
Do not use non-standard TVs in non-standard positions, such as TVs at a sports bar. The TV should be at eye-level when a person sits in a normal chair.
Players will be used to practicing in these positions. It is offputting and distracting to have to look at a ceiling to see your screen.
Have the proper amount of chairs. Have chairs whereby a person of normal height can have their shoes touching the floor and their face be eye level with TVs.
Oddly, many places do not have good chairs or enough chairs. A good chair will be at least slightly padded and of normal size. Lawn chairs will suffice. Wooden chairs
are not prefered, because they have hard backs and can be uncomfortable. Benches are fun, but not as good as a chair. And yes, I have played on LAN with all of these.
Use TVs that are arround 22 inches--preferably CRT. If the TVs are at all fuzzy, do not use them and seek replacements.
MLG, most players, and most other leagues use TVs about this size. If the TVs are of poor quality,
they will need to be replaced, as this is unfair to players on that TV.
Use wired controllers, as they are better suited to LAN
Wired controllers are going to be required at MLG. The primary reason is that it is difficult to link Xbox 360s to the right controllers over wireless.
There is also slightly more lag on a wireless, and all competitive players will be using a wired controller soon.
Have at least 4 xboxes. Do not have more than 4, but less than 8, as this creates unfair splitscreen issues.
If you have 6 Xboxes and do a coin toss to see who gets a seperate screen, it is not fair to the competitors. If you are using Halo 1 or Halo 3, split screen should be fine (In Halo 2, weapons take up a large portion of the screen).
Use standard rules for gametypes from MLG, CPL, or another respected organization. Do not make up your own rules.
Competitive organizations set competitive standards, whether you agree with them or not. Usually, they are excellent. For Halo 2 and 3, the default settings for Team Slayer are not competitive while the MLG settings remain competitive.
Professional players use and agree with many of the MLG settings. About what they are talking they know much and you should listen. If your tournament format cannot work under MLG or CPL rules, change it. All serious competitive players are expecting these rules to be followed and will judge your organization based upon it. If you do not know and follow the rules, you will be judged incompetent and as a “noob” and your tournament will not be taken seriously.
Run the tournament as close as possible--with regard to format--as MLG, CPL, or another respective organization
This shows that you know what you are doing and that your tournament is fair.
Start on time and remain on schedule.
Many tournaments are not planned very well and do not remain on schedule. Start setting up the tournament a full hour before anyone is there. A late start is the first cue to me and other competitive players that your tournament is not going to be credible.
Advertise the ruleset (MLG 4v4, CPL FFA, etc.), entree cost, format (4v4 double elimination, FFA etc.), and SPECIFIC amount of prize money (Not just “1st place prize based on cash collected”--use the exact formula you are going to use) on every advertisement for the tournament produced.
This way you wont get many calls and emails from players who want to know if your tournament is worth attending.
Use a double-elimination bracket, as this is much more fair than a single elimination bracket.
True story: My local team, So Hairy So Sweaty, walked into a local tournament with the best Halo 2 players in Colorado because we knew each other. We were placed in the same match and rather than getting 2nd place, we were knocked out first round, without any chance to fight for other placing.
During FFA, it is standard for the top half of the players to advance. You must keep it this way.
FFA is slightly more random than team gametypes, so it requires more leeway than just first place to advance to the next round.
Use teams of 2 or teams of 4 for team gameplay. Odd numbers such as 3 or 5 don't work in the competitive gametypes, which you will need to use. Do not have more than 2 teams playing in the same game
These are the types of games that most players play and are the best tests of skill and teamwork for a team. Two teams at the same time has been a standard across many games and many ages. Teams of 2 and teams of 4 are
very well suited to Halo and have been the standard since 50k1.
