RGL Head Admins

Week 1 (9/20): pl_vigil_rc7
Week 2 (9/27): koth_ashville_rc2d
Week 3 (10/4): pl_upward
Week 4 (10/11): koth_lakeside_r2
Week 5 (10/18): pl_swiftwater_final
Week 6 (10/25): koth_product_final
Week 7 (11/1): cp_steel_f5a

@puntero No problem. Thanks for having a civil discussion about it as well.

@puntero said in RGL & South American Inclusion:

So to be exact, if 2 of our players surpass 150ms they abide by the Region rule and are ok to play? While counting that players in a team that (regardless of region) have less than 150ms do not abide by this rule?

The rule is the same as it was when it was introduced earlier this year. As long as the players rostered abide by these restrictions, then they are allowed to play.

With rule updates, these have normally come out in the monthly articles at the start of the month. For the region rule update, these revisions had been finalized last month but were only officially telegraphed when the monthly article came out. With this particular case, teams were not given enough ample notice of the rule to properly adjust their rosters accordingly before the season start.

As a result, we will be looking to postpone the region cap rule for the upcoming seasons and will look to open up another dialogue with teams and admins about how to approach this rule for the season after. This means that the following rule will stand for Sixes Season 7 and HL Season 10:

Lastly, as a reminder, the decision to revert the rule to the original RGL rule, as well as have the rule match other similar leagues (UGC and RSL), was not reached just due to lag issues. Our full article (https://rgl.gg/?a=1566) lays out in more detail the anti-cheat, enforcement, skill equivalency, and sandbagging issues, that were the reasons for us to review the region rule.

Changing team restrictions or registration rules near the start of the season is not fair and not something we are looking to repeat. Going forward any decision that affects teams like this, though rare, we will make sure to provide ample time and clear communication in articles and on the registration to help avoid the miscommunication and provide time for feedback in the future.

@Pain-Seer Yeah, the B Spawn Room change (among other changes in the map) was approved by the original cp_steel map developer.

@civ

more flexibility in match times (less reliance on traditional Monday matches, weekend scrims, etc.)

One of the biggest things holding back HL currently is really just this. A lot of 6s players (top 6s players for that matter) would be able to play HL if it didn’t conflict with their 6s schedules. This is because Tuesdays are normally match days for IM+ in 6s, and Mondays are used as scrim days in 6s. Unfortunately, Monday is also used for HL match days, and with HL matches taking long to start, it causes an overlap.

There are also different suggestions that you mentioned such as more monetary incentives (league fees for other HL divisions that are not Invite), more matches (would depend on if HL players are willing to deviate from this Monday structure), and longer seasons which could make Highlander taken more seriously.

These things have been polled and whether the HL community wants to take the next step is open for discussion.

I should preface this that I am not a Highlander admin anymore and have not been for the past 4-seasons. However, I still help out with giving input and suggestions for the HL team here and there.

Just to address some things:

• The HL team did not lower the roster spots to 15 in direct response to individuals selling roster spots.

This was a rule that was added during that offseason under [1007.2.4] - Fraud which specifically outlines that this is not allowed anymore (timing may have led to users believing that this was why slots were reduced). This is also a rule that exists in ETF2L as well. The reason why major leagues in TF2 do not allow selling spots on your roster is that it is indirectly allowing individuals to buy medals, which is a strict policy that Valve does not allow at all. Loss of the API distribution of medals is a possibility. The only exception to this policy is for charity TF2 events, which allows players to donate and receive donator medals.

• Instead, the HL admins wanted to address the issue of “roster riders”

When I used to be a Highlander admin, default ringing in Invite and Advanced used to be allowed as well as teams having 18 roster spots. Teams would still routinely use default ringers throughout the season to do the following:

• Replacing their starting player who is readily available and intentionally using a default ringer to “upgrade” their roster
• Default ringing a player who is eliminated from playoffs and intentionally using them as a starting player to “upgrade” their roster

While default ringing is no longer allowed in Invite and Advanced, there still exists a ringer culture to just approve all the ringers that your enemy team proposes. In a sense, the defined roles of a substitution player have become less prevalent and meaningful over time as a result of the teams relying on ringers (even if default ringing is not allowed).

The HL team’s stance was to increase the value of substitutes and discourage roster riding. Now, whether the solution is to decrease/add more roster spots is the most effective solution is a discussion for that admin team.

EDIT: One note that I forgot to mention is the concept of exceptions for “roster riders”. Basically, this pertains to when there is a low division player (e.g. IM/Main) that rosters on an Invite team. That same player tries to play in their correct division the following season and then there are players that complain about how the admins are allowing “Invite” players to play in a low division and sandbag.

The report team has been reviewing all the material for this report, which was filed before the creation of this thread. Reviewing the evidence of all the chat logs, verifying them to make sure that they are legitimate, and making a correct conclusion in a manner that is not rushed is of utmost importance here.

For the purposes of any harassment reports, we will always ask that people do not disclose the identities of any victim(s) as this can lead to further harassment. This will be also be removed from the thread. Thanks.

@Constantly Scheduling-wise, having grand finals be on the week of Christmas holidays introduces several issues:

• Players traveling ahead during the week for family
• Assuming teams want to reschedule grand finals, there would be many more issues with the teams reaching a consensus on an agreed time/day where no one is being affected by holidays. If this is rescheduled to 2022, then that also delays the scheduling of Highlander Season 11.

In the past, there were a lot of voiced concerns about having playoff scheduling not conflict with holidays during December. During the 2021 scheduling, the Autumn season was scheduled first before the other seasons to effectively address this.

• https://shop.rgl.gg

We are launching our first set of designs for the RGL merch store! Proceeds will be used to compensate the designers, as well as to support the league.

Merch Questions

• Do you want hoodies or other types of apparel?
• Which class should be featured next?
• Which map do you wanna see next?

Bought a shirt/hoodie? Send us photos when you get them!

Witness Gaming Merch

Hey everyone! Witness Gaming is launching merch with RGL! They’re the first team on RGL’s history to take an Invite win over Froyotech. Show them some love by getting their merch!

If you need a reminder of said historical Invite win, check out wG’s finals frag video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SELWGYy995k