Independents Cup 26 Sign-Up Thread

by **Tolampia** » Fri Jul 10, 2026 11:36 am

I'll Sign Up!

by **Croblade** » Fri Jul 10, 2026 8:41 pm

by **Edsmontik** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 8:42 am

IAC 26 BID - EDSMONTIK AND CRPOSTRAN

OOC HOSTING DETAILS

Host Experience
As Edsmontik, I have hosted the Tapity Invitational Cup 1, as well as scorinated several seasons of the FDVL, which is Edsmontik's national league. Crpostran does not currently have any hosting experience other than 3PS duties. (nor will Crpostran take part in any scorinating activities, remaining purely as an IC host)

Scorination Details
I will be using the latest version of xkoranate with SQIS and additive style modifiers. For matchday one, a full grade of RP bonus will be applied to Edsmontik for each matchday played at home. Crpostran has denied a full grade of RP bonus being applied to him. RPs will be graded on a scale of 1-10, including the Roster. The scale of 1-10 is a raw score, which will be multiplied by 0.4 to determine the final score added to the rank as RP bonus. All RP bonus and skill from the IAC rankings, which I will use, are automatically set to zero until a roster is posted. Any nation that does not provide a style modifier will have their style modifier set to zero. RP bonus will be generous, cumulative and degradable to reward consistent role players. It is once again important to note that Crpostran WILL NOT be scorinating any of the games in the tournament and will strictly be an IC host (similar to Yuezhou-WC98). Games will ICly take place in both nations, however, Crpostran is not scorinating any games. Games played by Edsmontik in the group stage will be scorinated by me, however if Edsmontik reaches the knockouts, I will ask for a 3PS via the scorination channel in the Discord server (NSSport) and give credit during cut-offs.

AI Use
AI usage for images is completely fine but must be credited. This also goes for any non-AI images that were not modified in any way used that were taken from the internet. They do not need to be credited in the form of specifics, but rather a notice that the image was not modified or created by the user. Any AI text, using AI to form ideas, and the like are all not allowed. If the user is caught using AI to write their RPs, they will have their RP Bonus and Rank set to zero for the remainder of the tournament. If the usage is deemed to have been severe, such as in the case where it was literally the deciding factor in the winner of a match, or the user has used it on several occasions to benefit them, expulsion from the tournament may apply, wherein no games will be scorinated for them and the team will be removed from the group they were sorted into. If such a team reaches the knockout rounds, the team who they are scheduled to face will automatically move on. The use of AI for translation purposes is accepted, however, the original text must be available to access through the spoiler text.

Schedule
Will try to conduct as soon as possible (i.e, when the required sign-ups are reached) Cutoffs will be every 48 Hours at around 10 AM-12 PM EDT [UTC-4] until August 2nd, where it will be around 8-10 PM ICT [UTC+7]. While cutoffs will stay mostly rigid, I can be flexible depending on how much time is needed. In such a case, either send a DM on Discord or a telegram on NS. Since I will be travelling to Vietnam with my family [Which is why the cutoff time will switch], if my plane is delayed or I arrive late to my hotel, cutoff may be pushed back by 24 hours.

IC HOSTING DETAILS

Brief Overview of Host Nations
Both Edsmontik and Crpostran lie in the region of Karma. Edsmontik is a large-sized taiga and mountainous nation located at the very northeastern point of Karma with some warm spots to its south and east. It holds a population of nearly 200 million Edsmons, who crowd around large city centers like Touve, Woodhill, Yaneu, Vaux, Kalse, Emprijaal, Saufheine, and Neurejn, which are also to be the host cities of Edsmontik. Edsmontik’s large nationwide rail network, which have subnetworks in provinces and cities, are always available to carry passengers anywhere, alongside the massive Suberinterstadt highways for transit by bus or car. Crpostran is a massive island country to the south-west of Edsmontik, often called the “Heart of Karma” for its near central location in the region. A country of over 800 million people, its capital is in the city of Crpostown. With varying habitats and climatic conditions, it's arguably one of the multiverse's few all-weather tourist destinations, where one could visit the desert, snowy peaks and tropical rain forests in one go. A well established high-speed rail and highway network, along with special air shuttles will carry fans between the host cities in the country (with the host cities being Crpostown, Brugstadt, Ravenna, Bellafonte, Port Mohan, and Montelago). Karma will be proud to host the 26th edition of the IAC.

Seeding
Nations will be seeded into pots based on their IAC rank. Edsmontik and Crpostran will automatically be drawn into Group A and Group B respectively.

Tournament Format
Below is a list of the different formats that are planned to be used for the IAC 26 if the Edsmontik/Crpostran bid wins.

64 - 16 groups of 4 teams, top 2 qualify for the Ro32
60 - 15 groups of 4 teams, top 2 qualify + 2 best third placed teams go through to the Ro32
56 - 14 groups of 4, top 2 qualify + the 4 best third placed teams go through to the Ro32
54 - 9 Groups of 6, top 3 qualify + 5 best fourth placed teams go through to the Ro32
52 - 13 groups of 4, top 2 qualify + 6 best third placed teams go through to the Ro32
50 - 10 groups of 5, top 3 qualify + 2 best fourth placed teams go through to the Ro32
48 - 12 groups of 4, top 2 qualify + 8 best third placed teams go through to the Ro32 (ideal target)

Tiebreakers
Points, Goal Difference, Goals For, Goals Against, Coin Flip (OOC no-draws match)

If any questions arise, please contact either Crpostran or myself whether in this thread or over discord. (@e_w_ for Crpostran and @realprimeomega for Edsmontik)

by **Crpostran** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 8:44 am

Edsmontik wrote:
(Image)

IAC 26 BID - EDSMONTIK AND CRPOSTRAN

Confirming presence as an IC host!

by **IAC Organising Committee** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 9:17 am

Confirming the validity of the bid above. Note that the original deadline for bids is in about 3 days, so anybody wanting to counterbid better get themselves in gear!

Signups have also been updated. Any IC names differing from nation account names have been noted. We currently have 47 nations signed up for IAC-26! They remain open for anybody else who'd like to vie for the indie title.

On that note, here are the largest IACs in history:
IAC-11: 50 nations
IAC-17: 50 nations
IAC-12: 48 nations
IAC-15: 48 nations
IAC-25: 48 nations

by **Smoltrendestof** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 9:36 am

originally wasn't intending on it, but count me in as Sernet's puppet to fill up some more space

by **The Sernetian Empire** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 9:37 am

Smoltrendestof wrote:originally wasn't intending on it, but count me in as Sernet's puppet to fill up some more space

confirming my ownership of smoltrendestof

by **Drawkland** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 9:44 am

In a non-official capacity, a few questions about this bid.

Edsmontik wrote:Scorination Details
I will be using the latest version of xkoranate with SQIS and its multiplicative style modifiers.

Is there a particular reason for using multiplicative style mods? Multiplicative style mod use has been largely deprecated for international tournaments due to its tendency to change the margin of victory. That could affect goal difference, and since GD is your primary tiebreaker, that could present a potential issue when it comes to advancement from the group stage.

Edsmontik wrote:Home advantage will be on for Edsmontik and Crpostran depending on where they are playing ICly.

How do you plan on implementing this? Saying it will be "on" implies to me that you'll be using the Home Advantage setting in xkoranate, which can't really be applied to specific teams (it's either on for every team or off). I suppose you could scorinate those matches individually and generate the group table separately, but the wording just made me stumble for a second here.

Edsmontik wrote:RPs will be graded on a scale of 1-10, including the Roster. All RP bonus and skill from the IAC rankings, which I will use, are automatically set to zero until a roster is posted. [...] RP bonus will be generous, cumulative and degradable to reward consistent role players.

A couple questions about RP bonus here. I don't think the exact scale for RP grading is important (everybody grades a little different, and most people don't bother putting it in their bid at all). I'm just curious if this 1-10 grading scale is going to be mapped directly against the IAC ranks, where only the #1 ranked team is over 10 ranking points and thus a team could reach the equivalent of #1 ranking in a single cutoff of max bonus. There is precedent for that kind of system (NSCF, for example, has a daily RP max bonus of 5, and that's normally enough to outdo any starting rank in one matchday), but it's definitely rare for this sort of tournament.

Also curious about the "generous, cumulative and degradable" line. Degrading bonus is fine and makes sense to prioritize consistent RPers, but do you have any specifics on when degradation will occur and how much it'll be worth?

Edsmontik wrote:Tiebreakers
Points, Goal Difference, Goals For, Goals Against, Coin Flip

Do you have any specifics for what a "coin flip" entails? A literal coin flip probably works, but some people use that to refer to different background mechanics that are considered a coin flip ICly.

I still think this bid is workable, but some clarity on these issues would be appreciated.

by **Drawkland** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 9:46 am

The Sernetian Empire wrote:
Smoltrendestof wrote:originally wasn't intending on it, but count me in as Sernet's puppet to fill up some more space

confirming my ownership of smoltrendestof

I really don't think we need numbers puppets at this point, especially considering we've got a minimum of like 3-4 days left of signups being open and we already have a pretty full house. But you do you, I guess

by **The Sernetian Empire** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 9:47 am

Drawkland wrote:
The Sernetian Empire wrote:confirming my ownership of smoltrendestof

I really don't think we need numbers puppets at this point, especially considering we've got a minimum of like 3-4 days left of signups being open and we already have a pretty full house. But you do you, I guess

just in case they need numbers, if not idm if they dont count smoltrendestof in

by **Libesia** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 9:48 am

I am a bit concerned about using multiplicative modifiers. I'll admit self-interest as Libesia usually uses a very negative modifier, but multiplicative mods give a (small) advantage to positive modifiers. Why use multiplicative modifiers over additive modifiers?

edit: or what drawk7and said

by **Arklanda** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 9:51 am

We would like to take part!

by **Sel Appa** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 10:10 am

Edsmontik wrote:OOC HOSTING DETAILS

Does latest version mean the new one remade by Mertagne (on Discord, i forget if thats their nation) or the latest stock version?

Ive used clipart my entire career here (20 years on and off) and have never had to disclose that. I guess I see the concerns and technically it isnt correct, but its never been a concern before. I do aim to not use AI generated clip art, but thats only based on surface inspection. I do need and want to refresh some of this stuff like my crest and logos, but I think using clipart online is a decades old tradition, and take issue with being forced to disclose that in every post. Example: the footballs used in my Footballer magazine logo are from clipart, but I recolored it and the text and design is all mine in GIMP. This is a wildly different situation that prompting an AI.

Why did you choose GD over H2H, which Ive found odd, but it does have sound logic, and apparently I did use that in the BoF24. Not opposed, just wondering.

Also, endorse Drawks questions.

I like your IC geography and climate tho. Starting today with a nation, I would probably do that :lol:

by **Edsmontik** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 10:28 am

Hello, thank you all for your questions and criticisms.

I normally use SQIS with multiplicative whenever scorinating league games, however I have not fully understood the difference between multiplicative and additive style modifiers. With your concern noted, I agree that additive style mods would probably be better for the tournament.

As for the issue of home advantage, that is my bad on my end as I was considering using LISA at the time and forgot to change out that section of the bid. I will be using one full grade of RP bonus for every matchday played ICly in Edsmontik by Edsmontik as “home advantage” for Edsmontik, as Crpostran has stated to not want the home advantage to be applied to him.

The scores of 1-10 are “raw scores” as I have discussed with Crpostran, and are to be multiplied by 0.4 to determine the score to be added to the rank for RP bonus. As for degrading RP bonus, there will be a 10% deduction of the RP bonus received for each matchday not roleplayed, however that will cap out at 35% deduction.

The coinflip is meant to be an OOCly scorinated match, with draws disabled.

As for Sel Appa’s questions, this is not the Mertagne version as it is still under testing.

I will clarify that by crediting each image taken from the internet, it would be more along the lines of saying that you did not create or modify the image that is shown, not the specific site where you got it and the like. For images that were modified, in my opinion it would be fine to not credit them. Images however that were taken directly from a website or just any corner of the internet that were not modified should be credited as “taken from the internet.” Obviously, AI modifications must be credited.

As for picking GD over H2H, I feel like the performance of a team against another does not completely have to rely on a result against them, as we all know that one unlucky result at the hands of Margaret can really suck. In my opinion, GD shows more of the “whole” instead of the “part” if my argument makes sense there.

All changes that I have mentioned here are to be applied to the bid, once again, thank you for your comments!

by **Tristan de Cunha** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 4:07 pm

Tristan de Cunha wishes to participate.

by **United Adaikes** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 5:22 pm

by **The Macabees** » Sat Jul 11, 2026 8:04 pm

I'd like to sign up, if still open.

by **Seeberg** » Sun Jul 12, 2026 3:30 am

Yes please

by **Valentine Z** » Sun Jul 12, 2026 4:36 am

Regarding the host, I would like to ask just to be sure: Will RP bonuses be graded depending on their relevance to the event? I mean yes, I understand that collaborations with other nations and all that will yield more, no problem with that! Was just wondering as to if I can write about Valentine Z's world, the Valentian's life, etc-etc, hammed in-between the event writeup?

by **Edsmontik** » Sun Jul 12, 2026 5:20 am

Valentine Z wrote:Regarding the host, I would like to ask just to be sure: Will RP bonuses be graded depending on their relevance to the event? I mean yes, I understand that collaborations with other nations and all that will yield more, no problem with that! Was just wondering as to if I can write about Valentine Z's world, the Valentian's life, etc-etc, hammed in-between the event writeup?

RPs on other events are very much fine, and nobody is forced to write an RP about the game. You are free to write pretty much whatever you want as long as you don’t pull a Jeru or break other forum rules.

by **Valentine Z** » Sun Jul 12, 2026 10:18 am

Edsmontik wrote:
Valentine Z wrote:Regarding the host, I would like to ask just to be sure: Will RP bonuses be graded depending on their relevance to the event? I mean yes, I understand that collaborations with other nations and all that will yield more, no problem with that! Was just wondering as to if I can write about Valentine Z's world, the Valentian's life, etc-etc, hammed in-between the event writeup?

RPs on other events are very much fine, and nobody is forced to write an RP about the game. You are free to write pretty much whatever you want as long as you don’t pull a Jeru or break other forum rules.

That can definitely be avoided by me. Thanks!

by **Imoto** » Sun Jul 12, 2026 10:50 am

We are in

by **South Americanastan** » Sun Jul 12, 2026 4:30 pm

by **Aamathyr** » Sun Jul 12, 2026 8:43 pm

As it currently stands, I have pretty severe concerns with the bid and do not think I can vote for it unless there's another, more experienced OOC co-host.

"one full grade of RP bonus for every matchday played ICly in Edsmontik" - assuming you would be playing your group stage games in Edsmontik, that would be three matchdays' worth of bonus at a minimum, which would be enough to make your rank double that of Drawkland. After looking through other regional tournaments, the range seems to be between 0 and 1.5 MDs worth of bonus, with most falling in the lower end of that range (0 to 1). Three, at a minimum, is double the maximum of that range, and it would make the tournament unfairly weighted in favor of Edsmontik.

"OOCly scorinated match" - with RP bonuses only? with rank + RP? with nothing added at all, so it is a true coin flip? this is less of a concern and more of a clarification.

"I have not fully understood the difference between multiplicative and additive style modifiers" - This tournament looks like it's going to have upwards of 50 participants. Barring an abnormally large BoF or CoH, that means that it will be the second-largest tournament in all of cycle 102. I don't think the user behind Edsmontik is ready to scorinate such a large tournament on their own - while I have faith in them as a junior co-host, their minimal understanding of scorinators reminds me of the recent CoH bid from Sel Appa where that bidding team was clearly not ready to host such a large and important tournament.

by **Sel Appa** » Mon Jul 13, 2026 12:20 am

Aamathyr wrote:As it currently stands, I have pretty severe concerns with the bid and do not think I can vote for it unless there's another, more experienced OOC co-host.

"one full grade of RP bonus for every matchday played ICly in Edsmontik" - assuming you would be playing your group stage games in Edsmontik, that would be three matchdays' worth of bonus at a minimum, which would be enough to make your rank double that of Drawkland. After looking through other regional tournaments, the range seems to be between 0 and 1.5 MDs worth of bonus, with most falling in the lower end of that range (0 to 1). Three, at a minimum, is double the maximum of that range, and it would make the tournament unfairly weighted in favor of Edsmontik.

"OOCly scorinated match" - with RP bonuses only? with rank + RP? with nothing added at all, so it is a true coin flip? this is less of a concern and more of a clarification.

"I have not fully understood the difference between multiplicative and additive style modifiers" - This tournament looks like it's going to have upwards of 50 participants. Barring an abnormally large BoF or CoH, that means that it will be the second-largest tournament in all of cycle 102. I don't think the user behind Edsmontik is ready to scorinate such a large tournament on their own - while I have faith in them as a junior co-host, their minimal understanding of scorinators reminds me of the recent CoH bid from Sel Appa where that bidding team was clearly not ready to host such a large and important tournament.

I thought this was cycle 101 still?

WC	98	2024-12-27	
CoH	90	2025-01-22	26
IAC	23	2025-02-26	35
WC	99	2025-06-11	105
CoH	91	2025-06-22	11
IAC	24	2025-07-28	36
WC	100	2025-10-17	81
CoH	92	2025-11-17	31
IAC	25	2026-01-01	45
WC	101	2026-04-20	109
CoH	93	2026-06-07	48

The biggest gap is between regionals and wc

Anyway, while I still have some concerns, in Eds defense, how is anyone supposed to get experience short of a domestic league or an unsanctioned tournament? WC obviously has a high bar. CoH apparently did too, altho I felt that a bit silly (I do agree our bid was weak, the goal for me was to get motivated to learn and/or tease out a better bid, and both missions were successful). Where does Indies stand in this? I thought it was a little looser. I was considering bidding myself, ideally with a cohost, but opted out for IC and OOC reasons, particularly that I want to focus on RPing. I do feel more confident with xko now than then. Anyway, that leaves BoF, which also apparently a cohost of experience is prefered. Back in ma day, I did it maself (apparently with guidance from Arch per my research of the archives). So again, we need more hosts in the pool, how is anyone supposed to get experience? Indies havent been cohosted in ten cycles. Maybe they should be. This recalls the classic millennial observed paradox that you need experience to get a job and you need a job to get experience

Independents Cup 26 Sign-Up Thread

IAC26 - Edsmontik/Crpostran Bid

Independents Cup 26 Sign-Up Thread

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