Proposed rules document. We can (and very likely will) also post this in the rules section of the forum later.
I. RegistrationRegistration is done via the FFSMK website (
http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=register). All tickets include access to the venue and freeplay, as well as entry into the competition. Depending on the specific ticket purchased, this may also include meals and/or accommodation.
II. General GameplayCompetition takes place in the PAL version of the game (released in Europe and Australia) on original SNES hardware. Any controller manufactured for the SNES is allowed, as long as no features are used that are not available on first-party controllers (such as turbo functions). The use of left+right on the d-pad is allowed.
Players may select whichever character they want, and may change between tracks (or cups in Grand Prix) prior to starting the next one. If both players in a 2-player match want the same character, whoever selects the character first gets to use it.
For 2-player modes, ports will be assigned by the tournament organizers. This is typically shown by displaying the port 1 player on top and the port 2 player at the bottom. This assignment can be flipped by mutual agreement of the players in a match, but must remain static throughout the match.
Competition for each mode will take place over a full day, and will be split into two parts: group stage and knockout stage.
Lapskips (manipulating the finish line trigger) are banned, with the exception of using a mushroom or feather to trigger the finish line out-of-bounds, which is only allowed on lap 5. Breaking this rule results in a point loss.
III. Time TrialThe use of a CPU ghost (via the 2nd controller port) is banned.
The use of a player ghost (indicated by a yellow track name) is banned.
Each track is played in a one-try setting, i.e. each player gets exactly one attempt to set the best course time (over all 5 laps) that they can on the given track. If a player pauses during an attempt or starts more than one attempt, they forfeit and receive a time of 9'59"99 for that track.
Once a player has begun competing in either group stage or knockout stage, they are no longer allowed to practice or warm up (i.e. they must only drive official attempts). A player is deemed to have begun competing in group stage once they start an attempt on Mario Circuit 1, and in knockout stage once the first track on which they must play is declared by a tournament organizer.
Players are assigned a TV at the start of each stage. If a player is dissatisfied with their assignment for whatever reason, they must consult a tournament organizer prior to starting to compete. Once a player begins competing, they are expected to remain at that TV until they are done.
If an external factor compromises a player's attempt (e.g. their TV abruptly turns off), the player should immediately contact a tournament organizer. Based on the severity of the disruption, the player may be allowed to take another attempt.
Group stage
Players are assigned pairs, with each pair typically containing one "strong" player and one "weak" player. Pairings are determined by a pre-seeding list made by the tournament organizers, typically based on the Players' Page PAL ranking (
https://mariokartplayers.com/smk/afp.php). If there are, for example, 32 players participating, the 1st seed is paired with the 17th, the 2nd with the 18th, and so on. The "weak" player goes first, playing through all 20 tracks while the "strong" player records their course times. Once all 20 tracks are completed, the roles are reversed.
After all players have finished, the group stage ranking is established based on each player's average rank on each track relative to the rest of the field. If two players are tied in average rank, the tie is broken by their total time across all tracks.
The Top 12 advance to the knockout stage.
Knockout stage
The knockout stage is played in a Last Karter Standing format separated into two phases:
- in the first phase, 8 players compete at a time on individual tracks (which are drawn in a random order by the tournament organizers). For the first track, the players ranked #5 to #12 in group stage compete, and the player with the slowest time is eliminated. The player ranked #4 in group stage joins the 7 remaining players from the previous track to compete on the second track, and again the player with the slowest time is eliminated. This process continues until the player ranked #1 in group stage joins, at which point the first phase is over and the 8 remaining players form the Top 8 for the TT event.
- in the second phase, all 8 players start by receiving a second life. They then compete on individual tracks, and the player with the slowest time on each track loses a life. If a player runs out of lives, they are eliminated. When 4 players remain, they each receive an additional life (and thus have either two or three lives remaining). This process continues until there is only one Last Karter Standing.
If two or more players are tied for the slowest time on any track, those players replay the same track and the player with the slowest time is declared the loser. This process is to be repeated as many times as necessary to establish a single loser for each track in the knockout stage.
IV. Match RaceGroup stage
All players compete in a Swiss-system tournament (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss-system_tournament) with 10 rounds. In each round, each player is paired against the player with the closest score that they have not yet faced. If there is a tie in scores (in particular in the early rounds), pairings will be established via an initial seeding based on each player's perceived skill level.
Each pair of players compete in a match over four tracks. These tracks are randomly selected for all matches in a round and must be played in the order provided by the tournament organizers. Tracks do not get reselected until all tracks have been drawn (so the tracks played in round 1 will not be played again until at least round 6).
The final ranking for group stage is established as follows:
1. A match win (3-1 or 4-0) is worth two points, a draw (2-2) is worth one point, and a loss is worth zero points. These win/draw/loss (WDL) points are the main ranking criterion.
2. Point differential across all matches. For example, if a player won 22 points and their opponents won 18 points, their point differential is +4.
3. WDL score between tied players (with unplayed matches counting as a draw).
4. Point differential between tied players.
5. Shootout: extremely short sudden death matches as a last resort for breaking ties, such as a single track in Match Race.
Note that if the number of players is sufficiently small (approx. 12 or fewer), the group stage will be played out as a round-robin tournament (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round-robin_tournament), where all players face each other. Similarly, if there are approx. between 12 and 20 players, the group stage will be played out as two separate round-robin groups, with groups determined via seeding based on perceived skill level.
The Top 12 advance to the knockout stage.
Knockout stage
Prior to the start of the knockout stage proper, four preliminary matches commonly referred to as "barrages" will be played. The first round of barrages consists of two first-to-3 matches opposing group stage #9 vs #12 and #10 vs #11. The second round consists of two first-to-4 matches opposing #7 vs the winner of #10 vs #11, and #8 vs the winner of #9 vs #12.
The remaining 8 players compete in a standard double-elimination tournament (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-elimination_tournament), seeded based on their group stage results (and barrage results if applicable).
Each round of the knockout stage has a randomly drawn track list to be played in the order provided by the tournament organizers. Winners Quarters and Losers Eighths are first-to-5, Winners Semis and Losers Quarters are first-to-7, and all later matches are first-to-9.
V. Battle ModeIn order to avoid extended standstill situations, the following rules are in place:
- when a player obtains a ghost, they must use it within 10 seconds.
- if both players obtain a ghost, they must use it within 10 seconds. This also applies if both players obtain a star.
- on Battle Course 2, players cannot remain within the shallow water for over 10 consecutive seconds.
Note that these rules do not come into effect unless one of the players in the match refers to them verbally. Once this is done, players must abide by the rule within an additional 10 seconds, or they forfeit the point.
If one player obtains a ghost while the other player does not have an item, the other player is NOT obligated to pick up an item for the player with the ghost to steal.
Group stage
The same format as Match Race is used, with each match being played on each of the four Battle Courses in order. If a match has been taking longer than average and ends Battle Course 3 on a score of 3-0, players should replay Battle Course 1 instead of Battle Course 4. Players may also agree to replay Battle Course 1 instead of Battle Course 4 even if the score is not 3-0.
Knockout stage
The same format as Match Race is used, with an initial Battle Course being randomly selected for each round, and play cycling through the Battle Courses in order from there. The first round of barrages are first-to-3 and the second round of barrages are first-to-4. Matches in Top 8 prior to Top 4 are first-to-5, and matches in Top 4 (Winners Final and Losers Semi onwards) are first-to-7.
VI. Grand PrixMatches are played in 150cc.
If both players in a match agree, they can choose to play Mushroom Cup instead of Special Cup. Note that this rule is intended for players who would generally not be able to finish Special Cup.
Once a cup has begun, it cannot be restarted. Please keep track of your score throughout the cup, especially if neither player has any remaining lives.
A player should not Give Up in-game until their opponent has finished the race. This rule can be ignored by mutual agreement of both players in a match.
Group stage
The same format as Match Race is used, with each match being played on a single cup. The match score is determined by the in-game point system for a cup (e.g. 45-30 if one player finishes 1st and the other finishes 2nd on all tracks).
Knockout stage
The same format as Match Race is used, with match scores reflecting the number of cups won (based on the in-game point system). All barrages are played on a single cup. Matches in Top 8 prior to Top 4 are first-to-2, and matches in Top 4 are first-to-3, with each round having a randomized cup list.
VII. Overall RankingThe overall ranking is established by assigning scores to each player's performance in each of the modes. For each mode, a player may receive up to 1000 points for group stage and up to 2000 points for knockout stage, for a maximum total of 12000 points overall. Points are distributed as follows.
Group stage
Time Trial: a player is awarded 50 points for setting the fastest time on a track, and 0 points for setting the slowest time. All players in between receive an amount of points linearly interpolated from these two extremes based on their rank. Each player's total group stage score is the sum of their individual track scores, rounded to the nearest whole number.
2-player modes: a player is awarded 1000 points for winning all of their matches, and 0 points for losing all of their matches. All players in between receive an amount of points linearly interpolated from these two extremes based on their number of WDL points, with the addition of a small corrective factor based on their point differential, rounded to the nearest whole number. In particular, a player with a WDL score of n and a perfect point differential would receive the same number of points for the overall ranking as a player with a WDL score of n+1 and the worst possible point differential.
Knockout stage
Players receive a fixed number of points based on their final placing in each knockout stage (including barrages).
Time Trial:
1st - 2000
2nd - 1550
3rd - 1200
4th - 900
5th - 620
6th - 540
7th - 460
8th - 380
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9th - 170
10th - 140
11th - 110
12th - 80
2-player modes
1st - 2000
2nd - 1550
3rd - 1200
4th - 900
5-6th - 600
7-8th - 400
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9-10th - 150
11-12th - 100
