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AO Forum :: > Sporting Archives > AOCAF14 Signups

Posted by: Starblaydia May 3 2006, 04:17 PM

The world's premier regional football (soccer) tournament returns for its 14th incarnation. w00t.

Sing-ups (18/20+?)
Starblaydia
Krytenia
Milchama
Myrtannia
Pacitalia
Dorian and Sonya
Lamoni
Andossa Se Mitrin Vega
Nedalia
The Lowland Clans
Bettia
Nojika
Bedistan
Geisenfried
Sarzonia
Vilita
Ilksonic
Hypocria

Host
Bettia

Posted by: Krytenia May 3 2006, 04:27 PM

We sign up.

Gotta be better than last time - what -expletive removed-er scorinated that trash?!?

Posted by: Milchama May 3 2006, 06:03 PM

Milchama signs up and hopes to actually do something of consequence this time around.

Posted by: Myrtannia May 3 2006, 06:41 PM

The Myrtannia Dryads will return for another go at being regional doormats. Hopefully, we can score in more than one game, but as the qoute below reads, "Shutting Myrtannia out in football is like shooting squid in a barrel."

We wouldn't dare dream of hosting AOCAF - unless we had access to a scorinator. Any links/suggestions for a scorinator, anyone who's hosted this before?

Posted by: Pacitalia May 3 2006, 07:25 PM

Trying for a finalist matchup but predicting another disappointing finish, it's your favourite underachievers! Signing up...

Posted by: Dorian and Sonya May 3 2006, 09:55 PM

Myrtannia can have the doormat spot. The Unicorns really don't want it this time around. Consider us signed up

Posted by: Lamoni May 3 2006, 10:17 PM

Lamoni signs up. (And I was so close to the cup too! If I hadn't have lost to Bettia...)

Posted by: Pacitalia May 3 2006, 11:17 PM

Anybody gonna update the rankings?

Posted by: Andossa Se Mitrin Vega May 3 2006, 11:36 PM

ASMV will return again so that we can hold on to a qualifying spot until the final matchday and watch someone else leapfrog us for the spot. 2 in a row now. Do I smell 3peat?

Posted by: Myrtannia May 4 2006, 12:00 AM

Well, we'd love to do better this time, but is it likely? Not unless we get a kinder group draw this time. Not being in the same group as Lamoni and Starblaydia would be nice this time. And having all our matches actually listed would be nice too.

Posted by: Starblaydia May 4 2006, 05:18 AM

QUOTE (Pacitalia @ May 4 2006, 05:17 AM)

Anybody gonna update the rankings?

No, nobody will because all our nation's B-Team football squads are of exactly the same relative strength as four years previous, no matter what results happened last time

Chill your boots, Pac

Posted by: Nedalia May 4 2006, 08:19 AM

Two Finals...0 Championships. Nedalians do it best. We sign up.

Posted by: The Lowland Clans May 4 2006, 10:37 AM

Would liek to do a hosting bid...but I graduate in a month. Busy time with final projects and APs. Hwoever, the Stars will signup after a record best quarterfinal birth.

Posted by: Bettia May 4 2006, 10:51 AM

Bettia sign up and whats more, the FAB are toying with the idea of putting in a hosting bid, but don't us down for that just yet.

And Lamoni... don't feel too bad about losing to us - it's happened to quite a few teams recently. Can't think why though.

Posted by: Nojika May 4 2006, 11:05 AM

...sure why not -- Nojika will go at it yet again.

Posted by: Bedistan May 4 2006, 01:12 PM

QUOTE (Pacitalia @ May 3 2006, 08:25 PM)

Trying for a finalist matchup but predicting another disappointing finish, it's your favourite underachievers! Signing up...

I beg to differ - WE'RE everyone's favorite underacheivers!

And we'll be underachieving again in AOCAF 14.

Posted by: Geisenfried May 4 2006, 01:37 PM

Signing up for my first AOCAF.

In other words, fresh meat, coming up.

Posted by: Pacitalia May 4 2006, 02:13 PM

QUOTE (Starblaydia @ May 4 2006, 02:18 AM)

QUOTE (Pacitalia @ May 4 2006, 05:17 AM)

Anybody gonna update the rankings?

No, nobody will because all our nation's B-Team football squads are of exactly the same relative strength as four years previous, no matter what results happened last time

Chill your boots, Pac

It was just a question... crikey.

Posted by: Sarzonia May 4 2006, 08:40 PM

Sarzonia wishes to sign back up.

Posted by: Lamoni May 4 2006, 10:28 PM

QUOTE (Myrtannia @ May 3 2006, 04:41 PM)

Myrtannia, I e-mailed you the link that will let you download Leagion.

http://www.chd-koeln.de/rejistania/

Posted by: Myrtannia May 5 2006, 12:42 AM

Thanks. If I can get it to work, Myrtannia will enter a hosting bid.

Posted by: Starblaydia May 5 2006, 02:24 AM

Leagion can be a bitch, I'd recommend http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/NSFootySim.

Posted by: Bettia May 5 2006, 09:24 AM

After a couple of hours dithering, the Football Association of Bettia hereby submits its official hosting bid.

Tournament Structure

18 teams - 2 groups of 4, 2 groups of 5
Group winners advance automatically to Quarter-Finals. Group runners-up and third-placed teams go to playoffs, seeded according to win percentage followed by goals scored per game then goals conceded per game.

20 teams - 5 groups of 4
Top three qualify for Last 16, plus best 4th placed team.

22 teams - 2 groups of 5, 2 groups of 6
Top three from groups of five, and top four from group of six qualify automatically for Last 16, along with best 4th (groups of five) or 5th (groups of six) placed teams (this will be decided on win percentage, followed by goals scored per game then goals conceded per game).

24 teams - 8 groups of 3
Each team plays each other twice. Top two qualify for Last 16.

As you can see, if there are enough entrants, the tournament will be structured slightly differently to past AOCAFs, in that the FAB hope to dispense with second round playoffs and go into a straight knockout competition after the group stages instead.

Groups will be drawn from pots seeded according to current AO rankings live on IRC. Bettia will automatically be drawn into Group One.

In contrast to past competitions, knockout stages (except for the 2nd round playoffs if there are only 18 entrants) will be drawn at random, FA Cup style (with numbered balls drawn out of a bag, even if the balls are just rolled up bits of paper). This will also be done on IRC for that live 'dramatic' effect.

Scorination:
Scorination will be done using NS-FootySim 1.1.3, using points rather than sequential ranking.

RP Bonus:
Before scorinating each matchday, each country will be awarded points according to the quality of its RP(s), up to a maximum of five. An imaginative and/or funny RP will score higher than a bog-standard match report, even those of a professional-looking (i.e Bettian

) calibre. Also, a single RP of decent quality and length will score higher than lots of little RPs. In other words, a nation will be judged on the quality of its contribution on that given day.

Rosters:
Everybody likes rosters, especially well-written ones because they make RPing a hell of a lot easier. For this tournament, the RP-bonus of any nation which posts a roster will be multiplied according to the quality of their roster, from a minimum of x1.25 up to a maximum of x3. Team colours, various stats, clubs and background info on your players all help here.

As the latest version of NS-FootySim will be used, each nation can select a style modifier of -5 (ultra defensive) to +5 (ultra attacking).

Venues:

Group Stages:
To be confirmed depending on number of entrants, and therefore number of groups.

Last 16:
The Gasworks, Alice Street, Docklands Park, Heol Angharyd, Shubunkin Park, Stamping Ground, Al-Fath Stadium & Thamitra Gate.

Quarter-Finals:
Stadiwm Bettia, Campus Ground, Stamping Ground & Al-Fath Stadium.

Semi-Finals:
The Gasworks & Shubunkin Park.

3rd-Place Playoff:
Alice Street.

Final:
Stadiwm Bettia.

Around The Grounds:

Stadiwm Bettia
Location: Gabalfa
Home Team: Gabalfa City FC
Capacity: 102,000

Designed by reknowned architect Kenzo Violin, Stadiwm Bettia is instantly recognisable by its prominent roof structure. Originally designed as a 81000-capacity all-seater stadium, the FAB took the decision to remove the lower tier of seats in favour of good old-fashioned terracing. The result... an unbelievably loud atmosphere that can intimidate all but the most hardy of opponents.The Gasworks
Location: Gabalfa
Home Teams: Gabalfa Rovers FC, Gabalfa Gasheads GC
Capacity: 85,700

Nestled in the heart of Gabalfa's industrial district on the site of an old gasworks (hence the name), The Gasworks became the new home of Gabalfa Rovers after their former home was destroyed by fire. The second-largest stadium in Bettia, it incorporates exceptional facilities for supporters (including it's famous halal cornish pasties) along with accommodation for visiting teams and state-of-the-art training and fitness facilities. It also looks rather nice.The Stamping Ground
Location: Lorshill
Home Team: Lorshill Utd FC
Capacity: 75,000

An imposing stadium situated near to Lorshill's famous safari park. It's most distinctive feature is it's silver undulating roof, not just for its appearance but also its acoustic qualities. Although the original intention was simply to avoid disturbing the animals next door by controlling the amount of noise leaked into the neighbouring areas, it was soon discovered that having the sound from the fans channelled back into the stands makes for a sometimes cacophonous atmosphere.Alice Street
Location: Butetown, Gabalfa
Home Team: Butetown Dragons FC
Capacity: 72,000

Situated in the heart of Gabalfa's Arab & Jewish quarter, Alice Street is the home of Butetown Dragons FC. Although basic by modern standards, it still remains a favourite amoung Bettian football fans simply because it's a good old-fashioned football ground, complete with plenty of terracing, a somewhat outspoken match announcer and some rather special meat pies. Alice Street has been recently extended by adding yet another tier.Shubunkin Park
Location: Akani Sands
Home Teams: Akani Sands FC, Akani Sands Destroyers GC
Capacity: 71,000

A stadium famous for it's comfortable seats, excellent facilities and vivid colour scheme, supposedly reflecting the vibrancy of this popular seaside resort just a stone's throw from the Nedalian border. Thankfully, the football on offer here is usually as bright as the stadium itself.

The Campus Ground
Location: Grappenhall
Home Teams: Grappenhall Utd FC, Grappenhall Grapplers GC
Capacity: 65,000

Situated in the heart of Bettia's main university city, The Campus Ground features large banks of seating at its sides with shortened stands behind the goals offering views of the stunning Banastra rainforest. Of course, being situated in a rainforest meant that the pitch was often damper than usual compared with other Bettian grounds, and fans tended to get a bit wet. You'd have thought that being in a city full of students and geniuses, someone would've had the bright idea of putting a fully-retractable roof on the damn thing sooner than they did.Al-Fath Stadium
Location: Sukatra
Home Teams: Sukatra Tigers FC, Sukatra Sabres GC
Capacity: 63,000

Dubbed the 'Cauldron of Noise' by commentators, this ground more than lives up to its name when full. A tight stadium with steeply banked stands, Al-Fath has been a long-time favourite with the FAB for hosting big matches when a victory is vital for the national team - thats the plan anyway, it doesn't always work out like that.Docklands Park
Location: Porthbalfa
Home Teams: CPD Porthbalfa, Porthbalfa Blazers GC
Capacity: 62,000

Standing on the banks of Balfa estuary, this new stadium is a testament to the staggering rise of the local team CPD Porthbalfa. Its retractable roof makes it a great multi-purpose arena, hosting concerts and various other sporting events.Heol Angharyd
Location: Ceffinton
Home Teams: Ceffinton Town FC, Ceffinton Turbos GC
Capacity: 57,000

Located in the heart of a less-than-well-off residential area, this is a state-of-the-art stadium with a refreshingly simple design built as part of a grand urban regeneration project (and also to replace Ceffinton Town's former ground which was ageing quite badly). The architects of Heol Angharyd decided to let the football take centre stage by adopting a more minimalist concept, accentuated by sweeping curves representing the rolling hills and highlands of the region.Thamitra Gate
Location: Tamrida
Home Teams: Tamrida FC, Tamrida Warriors GC
Capacity: 55,000

The Thamitra Gate stadium was specially designed to reflect the architecture of Tamrida's many mosques. After a long, drawn-out project which saw umpteen design changes, the result is a ground with a unique style and character with floodlight columns resembling minerets. Vaguely amusingly, Thamitra Gate is sometimes mistaken for a mosque by clueless tourists.Pajajaran Stadium
Location: Subarnas
Home Teams: Persubarnas FC, Subarnas Volcanoes GC
Capacity: 52,000

An incredibly tight ground with seats banked at over 45 degrees on three sides, this ground looks as though it was shoehorned into the residential area that it is situated in. Of course, this means that fans are closer to the action, the atmosphere is intense, and the views from all parts of the ground are good. On the minus side, parking can be a bit of a nightmare.

Posted by: Myrtannia May 5 2006, 05:13 PM

For now, the potential hosting bid for Myrtannia is being put on hold - my computer can't work Leagion, and I'm fairly busy today, so downloading NSFootySim is going to have to wait 'til tomorrow at least. Plus, in the face of Bettia's bid, we don't think we'd stand much of a chance of winning.

Also, the Myrtannia Association of Football Clubs is officially extending an invitation to any design concepts for a team uniform for our national club, the Myrtannia Dryads. All concepts will be given due consideration. Thanks in advance!

Posted by: Iksonic May 5 2006, 06:09 PM

Iksonic want to participate in this tournament. I will do my best for my team to move higher than the previous tournament.

Posted by: Lamoni May 5 2006, 09:09 PM

QUOTE

OOC: I was wondering if this could be because Myrtannia's computer is running an older version of Windows.

Posted by: Myrtannia May 5 2006, 11:11 PM

Myrtannia's computer is running on Windows XP, so no, it's not old, and neither is the computer.

Posted by: Starblaydia May 6 2006, 04:58 AM

I've never managed to get Leagion working - I just don't understand how it works. NSFS, however, has never failed for me.

Posted by: Geisenfried May 6 2006, 08:58 AM

QUOTE (Starblaydia @ May 6 2006, 04:58 AM)

I've never managed to get Leagion working - I just don't understand how it works. NSFS, however, has never failed for me.

The difference is that the Leagion download is a .class file and NSFS is a .java file. When programming in Java, a .java file is what you actually manipulate when programming. For example...

CODE

public class HelloWorld
{
public static void main(String args[])
{
System.out.println("Hello, world.");
}
}

That's a simple .java file. Meanwhile, a .class file is the machine code translation of the programming code. You see, computers don't actually understand programming code, and so programmers have to use certain programs called compilers to translate your programming code into machine code. The computer can take the machine code and translate that into the binary it works on. If you were to actually look at a .class file, it'd look like somebody pressed random buttons on the keyboard.

While some programs can take this directly, most programs actually take the .java programming code and compile it into machine code, rather than taking machine code directly. That's why it's easier to run NSFS than Leagion.

Now do you understand? Or am I just rambling on in programmer-speak?

Posted by: Starblaydia May 6 2006, 10:01 AM

Ah, that'd be why, then. See, I'm a guy who did a single Java module as part of my Bachelor's degree and managed to pass it without writing anything other than the old 'Helloworld' thing in the first week.

Hence I use NSFS and a text file

Cheers, Geisenfried

Posted by: Starblaydia May 7 2006, 07:54 AM

Myrtannia, are you planning on bidding or is Bettia our new default host?

Posted by: Myrtannia May 7 2006, 12:44 PM

Seeing as how I can't get the scorinator to work, and Bettia's already put up a solid hosting bid, Bettia's your new default host. I downloaded NSFS, but it's way over my head.

Posted by: Hypocria May 8 2006, 12:29 PM

The Hyppos, former AOCAF juggernauts and scourge of Starblaydia, sign up once again.

Posted by: Starblaydia May 10 2006, 06:23 AM

Well then, Bettia, you are the AOCAF14 host

Congratulations, and let's get things started.

Posted by: Bazalonia May 10 2006, 08:19 PM

Can I still sign up?

Posted by: Starblaydia May 11 2006, 05:01 AM

Probably, then we'll most likely need at least one more sign-up to make an easy group structure.

Posted by: Bettia May 11 2006, 05:05 AM

QUOTE (Starblaydia @ May 10 2006, 12:23 PM)

Well then, Bettia, you are the AOCAF14 host

Congratulations, and let's get things started.

Ah thangyew.

Our first duty as hosts will be to sort out the groups. I think we'll have the group draw LIVE on #sport (that's irc.esper.net for anyone who doesn't know) this sunday at 7pm UK time (about lunchtime-ish in the US).

That means the signups will remain open until just before then. That should give any latecomers (like our reigning champs) enough time to toss their hat into the ring.

The clock is ticking...

Posted by: Bettia May 11 2006, 05:09 AM

QUOTE (Starblaydia @ May 11 2006, 11:01 AM)

Probably, then we'll most likely need at least one more sign-up to make an easy group structure.

Yes, we definately need a good even number - 24 would be ideal, but unlikely. I suppose we could add Turori to the list, if thats okay with Vil. Other prominent absentees are Hockey Canada, Oliverry, Commerce Heights and Falcania.

Posted by: Myrtannia May 11 2006, 10:51 AM

QUOTE (Bettia @ May 11 2006, 05:05 AM)

Our first duty as hosts will be to sort out the groups. I think we'll have the group draw LIVE on #sport (that's irc.esper.net for anyone who doesn't know) this sunday at 7pm UK time (about lunchtime-ish in the US).

Bettia, is something wrong with the address you posted up? It keeps transferring me to www.rydia.net instead of whatever your intended target was. Doesn't do me any good to have the group draw live if I can't see it.

Posted by: Pacitalia May 11 2006, 01:42 PM

I'm sure he'll post it on the forum too, after the live draw, so you would still be able to see the result.

Posted by: Bettia May 11 2006, 03:08 PM

QUOTE (Myrtannia @ May 11 2006, 04:51 PM)

QUOTE (Bettia @ May 11 2006, 05:05 AM)

Sorry, irc.esper.net isn't a web address, its an IRC server. Get yerself an IRC program (mIRC, Miranda, Chatzilla if you've got Firefox, or Opera's integral chat thingy), connect to it and join the channel #sport.

Posted by: Starblaydia May 11 2006, 03:34 PM

QUOTE (Myrtannia @ May 11 2006, 04:51 PM)

QUOTE (Bettia @ May 11 2006, 05:05 AM)

Myrtannia, #sport is an IRC channel, you dont get to it through your web-browser.

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9458355&postcount=1 may help. A bit.

Posted by: Bettia May 13 2006, 12:17 PM

Star, if you haven't already done so, could you do the honours and update the rankings? Please? Pretty please? With a strawberry on top? (sorry, we're out of cherries)

Posted by: Bettia May 14 2006, 06:55 AM

Okay, Bazalonia are in, and the FAB have received word that our champs Fmjphoenix will be taking part, so that makes a nice round 20 so far.

If it remains at 20, I've had a littel rethink of the group stage structure. Instead of 5 groups of 4, I think 4 groups of 5 will be more sensible, with the top four qualifying for the next round. Also, the draw for the second round will also be done from pots so that group winners will be paired off against 4th placed teams, instead of being totally random.

Posted by: Bettia May 14 2006, 12:50 PM

Okay, signups are now offically CLOSED - the draw is about to be made...