Cup of Harmony 87 Bid - Delaclava

[Delaclava]

The Delaclav Department of Sports and Games presents:

Cup of Harmony 87: Delaclava
(accepting subcontractor bids for a real graphic)

About

Delaclava is a large, twisty megaisland nation located in the Oreme Ocean of Sonnel, roughly triangulated from its friendly rivals Drawkland and Juvencus. Delaclava consists of The Mainframe, a gargantuan, shadowy underworld that now dominates the inner workings of government and business; and the former mainland and outlying islands, contorted and draped over The Mainframe like a maypole. Known best for music, entertainment, and smut, but also boasts advanced research, science, medicine, and education, as well as an active and healthy populace. Drinks mostly coffee, eats mostly fish. Cheese, tequila, rosé, and absinthe are beloved treats.

To provide the main bullet points, Delaclava has hosted the 44th, 46th, and 84th editions of this very tournament, as well as World Cup 55, Baptism of Fire 72, four World Bowls, and two IBCs.

The Tournament

Delaclava would seek, for the first time, to host the group stage entirely in the Mainframe. This tends to allow for far greater capacities of people who can more easily crowd around the field at different levels. The fan experience is less robust in the traditional sense, but high-level graphics and personal viewing options bring the match to life. Knockout games would be hosted in a more traditional fashion at Delaclava's major stadiums, including the soccer stadiums at the Delaclava National Athletic Complex in Catherina and the Pride of Manchester in, well, Manchester.

Invitations

My ideal size is 32 teams (8 groups of 4). In recent memory, I have found that much larger Cups have diluted the field, with the additional invitees not often taking advantage of the opportunity for additional roleplay. I myself advocated, in the Cup of Harmony 84 I co-hosted, for a 40-team CoH over 32-team—a position I would come to regret.

Invitations will be based largely on the quality and creativity of each nation's best few RPs. Consistency will also be a factor, and may serve to include nations with decent RP scores and a high level of consistency; or to exclude nations with only one or two great RPs. A roster posted in WCQs will be required for CoH entry; conversely, a new roster will not be required to accept an invitation.

At this time, Delaclava is highly unlikely to qualify for the World Cup. I would be the first to admit I have not yet earned a CoH invite, although I sincerely aim to rectify that issue in the coming matchdays. My shared puppet, Beefsteak City, is also rather unlikely to qualify for the World Cup, and is in a better position to warrant a CoH invitation. In either case, I will use the neutral principles described above and defer to the judgment of Sylestone and Chromatika when assessing quality.

Format

If a 32-team format, 8 groups of 4 that play a single round-robin, leading into a single-elimination knockout round starting with a Round of 16, and a third-place playoff. I will entertain other field sizes such as 28 (likely 4x7), 30 (likely 6x5), or 36 (likely 6x6), although in any variation the knockouts will begin with a Round of 16.

Group stage ranking criteria: Points, then overall GD, H2H results, H2H GD, then IC coin flip (OOC match scorinated with RP bonuses).

Scorination and RP Bonus

xkoranate 0.3.3, SQIS formula, additive style mods ranging from -5 to +5. I will employ an RP bonus carryover of two MDs - one for the team's best score in WCQ, one for the team's average score for all matchdays (including those in which the team did not RP). RP bonus awarded during the tournament will be cumulative and non-degrading. Pending the exact makeup of the CoH field, a lowest-pot (in the CoH, not WCQ) team who RPs the max each day should catch a non-RPing Pot 1 team by the conclusion of the tournament.

Delaclava, if a participant, will receive a host bonus worth between 0.5 and 1 matchdays. Beefsteak City, if a participant, would not receive this bonus. For all matches by Delaclava and Beefsteak City, I will solicit third-party scorination. I will not unreasonably delay scorination if a third party cannot be found (although I will scorinate in the US Eastern evening, so I don't think there will be much of a problem).

Scorination will take place every 48 hours.

I welcome your questions and comments!

[Al-Tamazgha]

It's a fine bid. I do have a couple of questions:

- Would a format smaller than 32 teams be an option? While I do not have exact numbers with me right now, the RPing level of this specific WCQ is, as you and I both know, are not the levels we have had in Corona times or even 2022. There might be a chance that 32 teams may require possibly scraping to the bottom of barrel in terms of RP'd nations.

There is also the possibility of puppet nations - which I do not have the exact number but let's acknowledge that a good number of them, though not are RP'd decently (this one is not, due to important narrative-related reasons that I have to address with my main here and on other tournaments anyway!) - refusing invites or being considered slightly behind the priorities list for invites. All in which I ask if flexibility is an option. Considering your specific comment about wanting to avoid the same mistake waiting forever in CoH-84, this is a valid concern to raise.

- Can we get a rough sense of cutoff window? Doesn't have to be a set one for now, but at least a rough sense of it would be good.

[Yue Zhou]

I like the smaller size, RP carryover, and transparency over host bonus.

Invitations will be based largely on the quality and creativity of each nation's best few RPs. Consistency will also be a factor, and may serve to include nations with decent RP scores and a high level of consistency; or to exclude nations with only one or two great RPs. A roster posted in WCQs will be required for CoH entry; conversely, a new roster will not be required to accept an invitation.

Will invitations be based only on the quantitative RP bonuses received from the hosts, or will you also solicit qualitative feedback / read the RPs yourself to make decisions? Mostly curious because I don't see how to get creativity from raw bonus information.

[Delaclava]

It's a fine bid. I do have a couple of questions:
- Would a format smaller than 32 teams be an option?

Yes. I have listed potential formats for 28 and 30 teams, and 24 is also an option. Any smaller than that I would not 100% rule out, but I certainly have to consider how we get a format that is lively enough for the teams in the field. I would be surprised to dip below 24, however.

- Can we get a rough sense of cutoff window? Doesn't have to be a set one for now, but at least a rough sense of it would be good.

Tentatively around 0200 UTC (9 PM Eastern)? It will certainly be in the US Eastern late evening but not going later into the night. I expect to not employ a large window (30-60 minutes tops) and to keep a fairly consistent cutoff (famous last words).

Will invitations be based only on the quantitative RP bonuses received from the hosts, or will you also solicit qualitative feedback / read the RPs yourself to make decisions? Mostly curious because I don't see how to get creativity from raw bonus information.

I believe that I am looking for similar things in RPs as Sylematika, and so I expect that the consistently high scorers in WCQ will be RPers that I want in the field (but I will review to verify). For those that are closer to the field cutline, I will do a more thorough review of their RPs to make those decisions about who will get the last handful of invites. I certainly welcome qualitative feedback and getting other perspectives on what the hosts have enjoyed reading. (And I have inquired on whether they will share the quantitative data.)

[Tinhampton]

I am Saint Eleanor, winner of the last Del-hosted CoH.

IC question: it's convention that the last round of group stage matches is held simultaneously. How will this work in the Mainframe, which is a single venue (unless I, the OOC player, have gotten this completely and utterly wrong) and under normal conditions would only be capable of hosting one match at a time?

[Delaclava]

I am Saint Eleanor, winner of the last Del-hosted CoH.

IC question: it's convention that the last round of group stage matches is held simultaneously. How will this work in the Mainframe, which is a single venue (unless I, the OOC player, have gotten this completely and utterly wrong) and under normal conditions would only be capable of hosting one match at a time?

Welcome back! (if applicable)

The Mainframe is an entire network of offices, businesses, shops, parks, residences, and stadia. Imagine an apartment or office building, except it's nearly a million storeys high, spans an area of hundreds of thousands of km^2 at its base, and contains an entire world. In summary - there are many venues in the Mainframe, and the last round of group stage matches can and will be held simultaneously.

[PotatoFarmers]

Given the RP quality up till the midway mark, how many people (without considering WCC qualifications), would you consider to be eligible for your Cup of Harmony?

[Delaclava]

Given the RP quality up till the midway mark, how many people (without considering WCC qualifications), would you consider to be eligible for your Cup of Harmony?

I have (very briefly) reviewed the body of work so far. As of the 371st post in the RP thread (belonging to Græntfjall), 87 nations had posted at least twice. I counted 54 whom, at first glance, I would extend an invitation. At this time, I believe this suggests we would eventually settle on a nice field of 24-32 quality RPers.

[Delaclava]

Thank you all once again for your support of this bid! One note:

For all matches by Delaclava and Beefsteak City, I will solicit third-party scorination. I will not unreasonably delay scorination if a third party cannot be found (although I will scorinate in the US Eastern evening, so I don't think there will be much of a problem)

The bolded portion is incompatible with the WCC constitutional amendment passed today in Item 1. Therefore, I will under no circumstances scorinate a match in which I am involved, even if that would cause a delay in scorination. I ask in advance for your help in providing third-party scorination so that the tournament can proceed in an efficient manner.

Thank you, and looking forward to getting started!