Creation of BBR Ruleset Committee; Brawl Nationals Agree to Same Stagelist! New TO's!

[AlphaZealot]

Attention all Brawlers,

Over the past few weeks a number of high profile Tournament Directors have been working together in order to finally begin the process of a standard ruleset for Brawl. These Tournament Directors will be coming together in unity to form the initial membership group for the BBR Ruleset Committee. The ultimate goal of the group will be to see every tournament come together and use the same rules.

How can this be accomplished? Well, for starters, it is my pleasure to announce that Whobo 3, COT 5, Ultimate NO KOAST 3, and Genesis 2 have all agreed to use the same stagelist for their tournaments:

Spoiler

Stagelist

1. Battlefield
2. Battleship Halberd
3. Brinstar
4. Castle Siege
5. Delfino Plaza
6. Final Destination
7. Lylat Cruise
8. Pokemon Stadium 1
9. Pokémon Stadium 2
10. Frigate Orpheon
11. Picto Chat
12. Rainbow Cruise
13. Smashville
14. Yoshi's Island
    *One stage ban per player

These tournaments have all given up a little bit in order to meet in the middle and lead the way. They have sacrificed individually in order for the sake of having unity, a more consistent tournament environment, and a higher level of professionalism in the community.

In addition to the nationals in 2011 and beyond, JV, the rest of the Smashboards Administration team, along with Neal from AllisBrawl, have agreed to the following in order to encourage the acceptance of the rules created by the BBR Ruleset Committee:

• Stickies on Smashboards will be limited only to tournaments using this ruleset, effective January 1st.
• Coverage on AllisBrawl will be limited only to tournaments using this ruleset, effective January 1st.

With the creation of the BBR Ruleset Committee, SWF and the BBR will be retiring the BBR Recommended Ruleset initiative. While the work done by the BBR-at-large over the years never received the universal acceptance we were shooting for, there were many notable innovations to come out of the room. This includes stage striking, the rulesets themselves, and the accompanying discussion that helped stimulate debate throughout the community--forcing people to weigh the merits of each decision. We know some of these new policies may seem constricting to what has, up to this point, been a relatively free/non-restrictive policy on stickies and coverage. We all hope that most Tournament Directors and members of the community will see the validity and importance of uniting behind a ruleset. We encourage others to be open to making similar sacrifices in order to finally unite this community. All current stickies will be unaffected by this change in policy.

Finally, the BBR Ruleset Committee will be expanding membership over the next few months to include more Tournament Directors. To be admitted you must pledge that your tournament will run with the rules agreed upon by the group (exceptions for experimental tournaments can be made). The BBR Ruleset Committee will be looking for the best, most experienced Tournament Directors, but also those who are willing to compromise and come together.

The members of the BBR Ruleset Committee are:
AlphaZealot (Ohio): Runs the Delta Upsilon series, which will be having its 6th event on January 15th, 2011. In 2010 he was the Tournament Director for Major League Gaming's 5 national events, the Dallas Championship event having just completed November 5th-7th, 2010.

Spoiler

Brawl Tournaments AlphaZealot has Run
MLG Orlando 2010 (183 Entrants)
MLG Columbus 2010 (250 Entrants)
MLG Raleigh 2010 (148 Entrants)
MLG DC 2010 (174 Entrants)
MLG Dallas 2010 National Championship (182 Entrants)

Seasons Beatings III (63 Entrants)
Seasons Beatings IV (40 Entrants)

Delta Upsilon I (33 Entrants)
Delta Upsilon II (30 Entrants)
Delta Upsilon III (22 Entrants)
Delta Upsilon IV (21 Entrants)
Delta Upsilon V (32 Entrants)

Wings & Brew I (24 Entrants)
Wings & Brew II (26 Entrants)
Wings & Brew III (32 Entrants)
Wings & Brew IV (24 Entrants)
Wings & Brew V (20 Entrants)

Bizkit (Connecticut):

Spoiler

Brawl Tournaments Bizkit has Run
Coming soon!

Chibo (Pennsylvania): Runs multiple tournaments, spanning back to the Melee days. He will be running the upcoming national tournament Clash of the Titans 5 on June 25th-26th, 2011.

Spoiler

Brawl Tournaments Chibo has Run
VGXPO 2008 Friday (32 Entrants)
VGXPO 2008 Saturday (64 Entrants)
VGXPO 2008 Sunday (32 Entrants)
VGXPO 2009 Friday (11 Entrants)
VGXPO 2009 Saturday (32 Entrants)
VGXPO 2009 Sunday (14 Entrants)

Clash of the Titans 3 (41 Entrants)
Clash of the Titans 4 (249 Entrants)

Smashtality 4 (26 Entrants)

Smash at the Shore (48 Entrants)
Smash at the Shore 2 (11 Entrants)

Beyond the Limit (41 Entrants)
Beyond the Limit 2 (37 Entrants)

BLIZZARD! (14 Entrants)

Chibo's We Need a Tourney (15 Entrants)
Chibo's We Need Another Tourney... Tourney (15 Entrants)

DSO 2 (30 Entrants)
DSO 4 (30 Entrants)
DSO 5 (20 Entrants)
DSO 6 (24 Entrants)
DSO 7 (15 Entrants)
DSO 9 (34 Entrants)
DSO 10 (28 Entrants)
Super DSO aka DSO 11 (29 Entrants)
Super DSO 2 aka DSO 12 (41 Entrants)
DSO 13 (13 Entrants)
Super DSO 3 aka DSO 14 (26 Entrants)
Super DSO 4 aka DSO 15 (18 Entrants)

Fusion 0.5 (17 Entrants)
Fusion 1 (19 Entrants)
Mega-ish Fusion aka Fusion 2 (17 Entrants)

ESAM (Florida): Runs ESAM's ZP monthlies, his next tournament ESAM's January ZP Monthly coming on January 8th, 2011.

Spoiler

Brawl Tournaments ESAM has Run
ESAM's ZP April Monthly (13 Entrants)
ESAM's ZP May Monthly (28 Entrants)
ESAM's ZP June Monthly (24 Entrants)
ESAM's ZP July Monthly (26 Entrants)
ESAM's ZP August Monthly (28 Entrants)
ESAM's ZP September Monthly (30 Entrants)
ESAM's ZP October Monthly (29 Entrants)

Havok (California): Runs multiple tournaments, his most recent being the Socal Halloween Tournament on October 31st, 2010.

Spoiler

Brawl Tournaments Havok has Run
Halloween Havoc (51 Entrants)
San Diego 12 (26 Entrants)
*More information on Havok's tournaments coming soon!

Keitaro (New Jersey): Runs the KTAR series which will be having its next event KTAR 4: One More Time! on January 15th, 2011.

Spoiler

Brawl Tournaments Keitaro has Run
KTAR (45 Entrants)
KTAR 2 (65 Entrants)
KTAR 3 (74 Entrants)

Radium (Missouri):

Spoiler

Brawl Tournaments Radium has Run
Coming Soon!

T1mmy (Oregon): Runs a series of local tournaments.

Spoiler

Brawl Tournaments the T1mmy has Run
Emerald City Brawl #1 (21 Entrants)
Emerald City Brawl #2 (18 Entrants)
Emerald City Brawl #3 (12 Entrants)
Emerald City Brawl #4 (?)
Emerald City Brawl #5 (12 Entrants)
Emerald City Brawl #6 (12 Entrants)
Emerald City Brawl #7 (11 Entrants)

OMG - Oregon Mega Games (37 Entrants)
P.R.I. Smash! (18 Entrants)
Best in the West (34 Entrants)

The Real Inferno (Kansas): Runs multiple tournaments, including the Wichita Bi-Weekly Series and the No Koast Series. His next tournament will be Midwest Ultimate No Koast 3 on January 22nd-23rd, 2011.

Spoiler

Brawl Tournaments The Real Inferno has Run
No Koast v1 (87 Entrants)
No Koast v2 (110 Entrants)
No Koast v3 (46 Entrants)

Anime Festival Wichita CON (42 Entrants)
Wichita Biweekly (24 Entrants)
Wichita Biweekly 3 (20 Entrants)
Wichita Biweekly 4 (20 Entrants)
Wichita Biweekly 5 (19 Entrants)
Wichita Biweekly Season 2 (22 Entrants)

Xyro (Texas): Runs the Hobo series, which is having it's 29th event on December 11th, 2010. He will also be running the national tournament World Hobo 3 March 18th-20th, 2011.

Spoiler

Brawl Tournaments Xyro has Run
HOBO 1 (41 entrants)
HOBO 2 (63 entrants)
HOBO 3 (43 entrants)
HOBO 4 (81 entrants)
HOBO 5 (83 entrants)
HOBO 6 (27 entrants)
HOBO 7 (36 entrants)
HOBO 8 (88 entrants)
HOBO 9 (45 entrants)
HOBO 10 (118 entrants)
HOBO 11 (113 entrants)
HOBO 12 (59 entrants)
HOBO 13 (36 entrants)
HOBO 14 (54 entrants)
HOBO 15 (51 entrants)
HOBO 16 (73 entrants)
HOBO 17 (100 entrants)
HOBO 18 (80 entrants)
HOBO 19 (71 entrants)
HOBO 20 (40 entrants)
HOBO 21 (47 entrants)
HOBO 22 (41 entrants)
HOBO 23 (38 entrants)
HOBO 24 (40 entrants)
HOBO 25 (62 entrants)
HOBO 26 (43 entrants)
HOBO 27 (49 entrants)
HOBO 28 (64 entrants)

QuakeCon 2010 (123 entrants)

World HOBO 1 (140 entrants)
World HOBO 2 (107 entrants)

These Tournament Directors alone will host roughly 60 tournaments in 2011 under the same ruleset, including every national tournament for the year. With these tournaments as a base, in addition to the sticky incentives from Smashboards GM JV, and the coverage incentive from AllisBrawl Co-Founder Neal, this will be the best shot at getting every tournament to run using the same rules. Never before have so many successful and established members of the community come to work together to see a dream realized. Brawl will soon reach its 3 year anniversary, and when that time comes hopefully most tournament will be using the same rules.

*Notes*: This will initially be a US effort and as such sticky and coverage policies will only apply to US tournaments. However, this does not mean we do not have our sights set on a more global scale. We felt the differences in various international communities, along with the challenge of getting representation into the BBRC from those areas, was too much for this first push. We do want to be able to add international support into the fold in the future, uniting globally across the entire Smash Smash Bros. Brawl community. To this end, having the support of tournament directors and players everywhere is going to help turn this dream into a reality.

It's time to take our community to the next level together.

 

[TP]

It's about time.

 

[Tesh]

So you guys have only agreed on a stagelist so far and nothing else? Not the starter list or any of the other impotant stuff?

 

[clowsui]

Pictochat being on there is a bit of a surprise to me considering how conservative this ruleset seems, but good stuff anyways.

 

[AlphaZealot]

Tesh: one step at a time. We will come out with a more comprehensive list when more tournament directors are added to the room. This is in its infancy.

 

[rPSIvysaur]

This stage list is so agreeable!

 

[BSP]

Cool. Hopefully this works out and we get some unity in the smash community.

 

[Nidtendofreak]

Eh...I've seen worse I guess. It will do for a compromise for now. Surprised you managed to talk any of the NE hosts into this.

EDIT: For those who aren't familiar with how all of these stages work (even though they should be by now, and will have to become familiar with them if they want to do well at a national), I recommend this topic to catch up. You should be able to learn how Brinstar's lava works, Pictochat works, ect.

 

[_Kadaj_]

I think the stage list would be amazing if you add a SECOND ban per tournament set

 

[clowsui]

why would you need a second ban? o_O

also i am praying that there isn't a ledge grab limit for the sake of ANYTHING other than keeping tournaments entertaining

 

[Nidtendofreak]

why would you need a second ban? o_O

Indeed

Absolutely no need for a second ban at all. Not even remotely close.

 

[theunabletable]

Awesome, this is great. I like the stagelist, I think it's pretty agreeable.

Although what are the starters and what are the counterpicks?

 

[Rockin]

Well it'll be good to see everyone going to be doing the same stage system. I think this'll make going to different tournaments in different parts of the US easier since players don't have to worry about unique stage selections like Green Greens.

 

[The Real Inferno]

I had thought this might turn out more restraining, but this is pretty agreeable.

 

[Hive]

I love this idea. Having the TOs look at aligning stagelist between tournaments will help comparability of data and results between regions, and it is the TOs that are ultimately directly responsible for what appears in stagelists anyways. While the SBR can be good for discussing overriding issues in gameplay at times, major TOs are better equipped to recommend which stages would best benefit the community:
-They have greater first hand knowledge of what stages players like/dislike in tournaments and have seen more specifically how stagelists effect community turnouts, morale, and character diversity.
-They have more authority in the implementation of proposed rules than the sbr when they have achieved a consensus.
-They are more directly accountable by the public for making decisions.
-They offer a small check and balance to the sbr.

I'm not saying it wouldn't be without some costs or that I 100% agree with all the stages, but I really am glad that we are looking more towards major TOs in constructing stage layouts between tournaments.

Edit: ps, i'm curious if the proposed stagelist has starter/cp designations and if they will be agreed upon or can generally vary from tournament to tournament?

 

[Ghostbone]

Well I'm really questioning the lack of Jungle Japes....but aside from that....well I could live with it.
And I assume Yoshi's Island is the brawl one.

 

[Blacknight99923]

I hate it because I don't believe in a wide portion of these stages and would be playing on a japanese stage list if I had it my way.

However its tolerable, and I am not OUTRIGHT against it being used in tournaments and it is certainly better than the 1 MLG had.

I think a 2 stage ban of 1 neutral (at most) and 1 cp or 2 cps would make this even better however.

 

[_Kadaj_]

What's wrong with a second stage ban?

Enlighten me...

 

[Spelt]

so basically the bbr is retiring their "recommended" attitude and instead replacing it with a "use-this-or-we-will-come-to-your-house-and-brick-you" attitude.

 

[Nidtendofreak]

There is no need for one. The system is one ban. The only time I've seen that changed is if there is a huge CP list. As in: basically ever possible CP choice, and maybe some other stages on top of that. This is a medium size stage list. You guys who don't like actual CPs are simply going to have to tough up and learn the stages if you want to go to a national: you ain't getting your way. You will end up playing on an actual CP at some point, like Rainbow Cruise or Pictochat. No, you don't get to keep them away with multiple bans. I'd recommend you learn the stages.

 

[SuSa]

I found it in your user groups. Was wondering how recent this was and when it'd get finished.

Glad that there is finally some pressure to use a unified stage list. Now to work on other issues.

Like how Game 1 is decided and how sets are played out.

Spoiler

Meta Knight says "Choose your poison."
1. Battlefield
2. Battleship Halberd
3. Brinstar
4. Castle Siege
5. Delfino Plaza
6. Final Destination
7. Lylat Cruise
8. Pokemon Stadium 1
9. Pokémon Stadium 2
10. Frigate Orpheon
11. Picto Chat
12. Rainbow Cruise
13. Smashville
14. Yoshi's Island

 

[Life]

Stagelist needs more Japes, but other than that is fairly decent.

 

[Nidtendofreak]

Stagelist needs more Japes, but other than that is fairly decent.

I'd say Japes, Green Greens, and Norfair, but hey: it's a good compromise so other regions can catch up slowly. Don't want to shock their systems after all.

 

[Spelt]

Yeah, because every ruleset could use more MK friendly stages.

 

[Blacknight99923]

like SuSa said this is why I do not fully agree with this stage list.

Again to many hard MK stages promotes a centralizing metagame, and unless you want to add "metaknight is banned" to this unified ruleset I don't think its a particularly good idea (that being said metaknight being banned is probably worse than this)


I'd like to point out as long as MK has 2 hard counters at his disposal it really is an over centralized game (it doesn't matter if you add more lol)

you'd be better off either adding a second ban or removing bans altogether (I mean hey MK still has his **** CP on you even with this ban at least I get FD now )


or we could just remove brinstar


although as much salt as it may seem I am throwing I really do appreciate the notion of making this ruleset.

 

[Nidtendofreak]

We ain't going to switch to a 3 stage list so MK doesn't dominate. He's always going to be a problem, so you don't make the stage list around him. Nor did he prove to break a stage list with lots of CP options. I don't remember a MK being the MLG Champion, do you guys? I'm fairly sure it as a Diddy named ADHD Gnes that won MLG Dallas and thus MLG.

EDIT: Dang it ADHD, stop being so whiny about stages to the point that when ever I try to think of a Diddy Kong main's name when talking about stages, your's pops up. >_<

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

A second stage ban is pretty appropriate in my opinion. Banning RC and Brinstar would be a nice asset against MK.

 

[Nidtendofreak]

A second stage ban is pretty appropriate in my opinion. Banning RC and Brinstar would be a nice asset against MK.

And then MK bans FD and what ever other stage he feels like. You're already low on options against MK, a second stage ban is not only going to hurt things more, but has been proven to not be needed. I didn't see MKs dominating MLG stagelist with it's one stage ban.

Seriously, is everyone from a conservative area going to be crying the whole time in this topic? Your own TOs for regional tournaments agreed to this list. Either learn the stages, or don't go. It's really that simple.

 

[SuSa]

I personally don't have any issue with any stage list.

So long as it has Rainbow Cruise legal.

I'd prefer no bans over 1 with this stage list, just due to the fact that many characters only have 1-2 good stages (talking about across-the-board matchups, not just matchup-specific) and you're saying "These stages are legal to play on." therefore the concept of stage bans is... ridiculous.

But hey.... baby steps.

I'm fairly sure it as a Diddy named ADHD that won MLG Dallas and thus MLG.

Gnes = ADHD
???

It's okay. An entirely different combination of 4 letters that doesn't share a single letter with the other is easily confused.

 

[TP]

Why are people talking about 2 bans as if that is EVER DONE ANYWHERE?

I think we should just have items on.

And C tier banned.

And play in coin mode.

Like banning 2 stages, none of these ever happen and don't warrant serious discussion, so I felt I'd just bring them up to speed.

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

And then MK bans FD and what ever other stage he feels like. You're already low on options against MK, a second stage ban is not only going to hurt things more, but has been proven to not be needed. I didn't see MKs dominating MLG stagelist with it's one stage ban.

Seriously, is everyone from a conservative area going to be crying the whole time in this topic? Your own TOs for regional tournaments agreed to this list. Either learn the stages, or don't go. It's really that simple.

MLG stagelist comparable to this one? Hell no.

In a large stagelist like MLGs, 1 extra stageban isn't significant. In a stagelist like this, it is.

You said it yourself, you're already low on options against MK, and the options you DO have aren't exactly powerful. So adding an extra stageban for MK would only slightly hurt you. HOWEVER, if you have another stageban, you can deny MK one of his best stages, leaving him with weaker options.

It's like doing 20% damage on 100 health and 1000 health, if you catch my drift.

 

[AlphaZealot]

Guys, how the rules are going to be structured is not the topic of this discussion. There are countless other topics in which that can be discussed.

 

[Steam]

I've honestly always thought Japes and RC should be banned together.

both stages deserve a ban :/

 

[Blacknight99923]

I'm not saying I won't learn this stages because Havok agreed to this stage list, I actually practice on a lot of liberal stages so I can be educated about them, and I chose to view them as bad for brawl.

I am saying I don't think its particularly good no matter how you slice it.

but I can't remember the last compromise anyone actually liked so its probably a good one.

 

[Blacknight99923]

I'm not saying I won't learn this stages because Havok agreed to this stage list, I actually practice on a lot of liberal stages so I can be educated about them, and I chose to view them as bad for brawl.

I am saying I don't think its particularly good no matter how you slice it.

but I can't remember the last compromise anyone actually liked so its probably a good one.

 

[etecoon]

And then MK bans FD and what ever other stage he feels like. You're already low on options against MK, a second stage ban is not only going to hurt things more, but has been proven to not be needed. I didn't see MKs dominating MLG stagelist with it's one stage ban.

MK isn't particularly bad anywhere to begin with, him having 2 stage bans really doesn't mean a whole lot beyond FD, but being able to take brinstar and RC off the table could mean everything to other characters in that MU

I don't have any opinion on whether or not 2 stage bans should be allowed, my thoughts on rulesets is pretty much "it is what it is" as long as no ridiculous stages like norfair or japes are on. good either way IMO. I guess some people may find picto questionable but I've never minded that stage personally

Eh...I've seen worse I guess. It will do for a compromise for now. Surprised you managed to talk any of the NE hosts into this.

none of NE's hosts are listed in the OP...and even so it wouldn't be that surprising, picto and PS2 are the only real differences and we have had tournies with those legal before, there was one in RI with picto just a few weeks ago

 

[Spelt]

I'm fairly sure it as a Diddy named ADHD that won MLG Dallas and thus MLG.

wow if this is your argument to why more MK themed CPs are good than i'm not even gonna bother arguing. you've pretty much already lost yourself.

 

[Ghostbone]

Still, A diddy won MLG Dallas, beating an MK on two of his supposed "instant-win" stages.

 

[Spelt]

was that mk m2k?


oh

 

[BSP]

M2K isn't the only top MK that matters...

And what's wrong with japes? I can see Green Greens and Norfair (not really IMO) being iffy, but japes? Come on.

Our ruleset isn't supposed to limit any characters AFAIK. If a stage is not degenerate, we're not going to ban it just to limit one character, are we?