HOML 7 Rules, questions, updates.

[tyronec]

OVERVIEW.
Participants will be split up into divisions of 5 players each.
Players will play a mirror match against each opponent in their division, so a total of 8 games.
Players select a Home army when they enter.
Players will play 2 Home mirror matches (4 games) with their home army on their chosen map type.
Players will play 2 Away mirror matches (4 games) against their opponents home army on their chosen map type, the player sets up the match and can choose ANY historical army opponent for the match.
Hopefully the system will encourage more players to select armies that are less commonly used.
Scoring will be on the Percentage difference at the end of the battle.

TIMELINE.
12th October – 20th December (10 weeks)
You can enter now, entries will be closed sometime before 12th October aiming to fill all the divisions.

SIGN UP
There will be three periods. Ancients, Medieval and Lord of the Rings (LOTR). You need to have all of the DLCs to play in Ancients or Medieval. You need the medieval base game to play in LOTR.
Sign up here for Ancients https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=116446
Sign up here for Medieval https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=116447
Sign up here for LOTR https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=116448

LOTR is a player module, it is not an official mod. It is free. You must have v1.3. For more information about the mod see here: https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=115276
You will need to download it and copy into your FoG Medieval folder as follows:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/6ffo7m0i ... 3.zip/file
Download the file, decompress it and copy folder Middle Earth v1.3 into:
user/documents/my games/fieldofglorymedieval/multiplayer
AND if you want:
user/documents/my games/fieldofglorymedieval/campaigns
(the folder may be in a different place on different computers, it will be in the documents area and not where the game was downloaded to. On my computer it is c:users/Desktop PC/OneDrive/Documents/my games/fieldofglorymedieval/...

And thanks to SnuggleBunnies for the mod.

Players may one or more periods. You do not need to have played in the HOML in the past. Players who are new to playing in the HOML or TDC will be restricted to one period. Players who have timed out in multiple matches in a previous HOML will also be restricted to one period.

To sign up submit your Home Army list and optionally a map set. Entries are not confirmed until you have submitted an army list.
You can use any army list not already chosen for that period.

There are NO Allies in ANY period.

Players are suggested to use an Army list that you have not previously used in for the HOML, TDC or WTC but you can if you want. You may not select an Army list that has already been chosen. There are no restrictions on multiple armies of the same nationality as long as they are for different dates.

Players are committing to completing 8 games within the 10 week time period, please do not enter if you cannot do that.
You must post one challenge in week one and your second challenge by week 6.

I am not sure how many entries I will accept, will see how the process goes and aim to terminate it with full divisions and maybe some players in reserve.

DIVISIONS.
I will rank players into divisions accordingly to:
1.Their HOML ranking after season 6.
2.Their Slitherine Ancients rating, using the formula ‘Rating/100 - 8’. Minimum 1.
3.Else 1.

There will be a table specifying which matches you play as a Home army and which as an Away army.

MATCHES.
All matches are Mirror match;
Ancients - 1600 points, Large/Wide map, Open Battle.
Medieval - 1600 points, Large/Wide map, Open battle.
LOTR – 1200, Medium/Medium map, Open Battle.
The Away player sets up the match. They can choose any historical opponent to the Home army EXCEPT that same army or their own Home army. Leave ‘DATE’ and ‘GEOGRAPHICAL’ checked that will give you the list of valid armies that you can use. The Home player should check that their opponent has used a valid army, invalid matches will have to be replayed.
There are no Allies for either side.
Use the map that the Home army has selected, or ‘Pot Luck’ if they have not selected one.
So for example, the Home army is Irish (Bruce). The away army could be: Anglo-Irish, Irish, Breton, English, French or Scots of the appropriate dates.

Either of the two players can require a map reroll during deployment or on the first turn, so that is a maximum of two rerolls per match if both players separately request one. You can require your one map reroll even if your opponent is happy with the map that has come up. The Away player cannot change their mind about which army to use between rerolls. If you want a reroll just do it and reset up the match, you do not need to consult your opponent.

House Rule. No heavy artillery except guns can be used. So no heavy arty in Ancients. No trebuchets in Medieval.

SCORING.
Loser: takes their points. Never more than 60.
Winner: takes 120 minus the loser's points. Never less than 60.
If a player resigns then they get their score at that point.
If a player defaults then it is scored 90:0
Note: this scoring is slightly different from the TDC, it benefits players who win battles while taking low losses.

Examples:
result: 40-15. points: 105-15
result: 60-35. points: 85-35
result: 60:50. points: 70:50

Draws. Each player gets their points scored, with a maximum of 60.
Examples:
result: 25-15. points: 25-15
result: 63:61. points: 60:60

The scoring is not ideal if a player resigns or worse defaults. The best resolution of this is for everyone to complete all of their games in good time.

CHALLENGES.
All matches must be RANKED using the Slitherine ranking system. Select ‘RANKED CHALLENGE’ and ‘ALLOW RESTARTS’ when you set the match up.
The Away player makes the challenges, you do not make a challenge as the home player because you don’t know what army your opponent will use.
When you make a challenge then post it in the thread and send a PM. I need a record of the challenges in the thread to keep track of progress in the competition, so please post them !

If your second opponent uses the same army as your first opponent you can ask them to pick a different army, do this before accepting the challenge ! If you are about to issue a challenge part way through the competition you could PM your opponent to ask them what army their first challenger used.

When setting up the matches password protect them. Use the comment field to indicate the opponent.
All challenges must be responded to within one week, either accept it or agree to accept it at a later date. Once a challenge has been accepted then the games should be played.
If your challenge is ignored then PM me.

If a challenge has been set up incorrectly but the match has been started then either player can abort it within the first couple of turns, or if both are fine to continue then that is OK.

MAPS.
When players enter the competition they may optionally select a map for their Home army. To select a Map you need the Region (Med., N. Europe, Middle East, Tropical, Desert or Steppe) and the Type (Agricultural, Plains, Hilly, Wooded or Marshy - Mountain is excluded as it leads to maps being too restricted). Tropical, Tropical Marshy or Tropical Plains. Desert and Steppe have no type. The Regions for each army comes from the ARMYLIST.TXT file in the game.
If you do not select a map then ‘Pot Luck’ will be used.

So for example if you have a Carthaginian army the region is Mediterranean and you can select Agricultural, Hilly, Wooded or Marshy OR you could go with Pot Luck which I think gives 70% Agricultural and 10% Hilly/Wooded/Mountain.
If you have a Scythian army your choice is either Steppe or Pot Luck.
The map types for each nationality included in the sign up thread.

TIMLINESS
1. All players must post one Away match during week one and their second one by week six.
2. All challenges must be responded to within a week. The response can be to accept it OR that you will accept it within a given time frame.
3. Once a game has been started you should aim to complete it within a month, that means playing a move most days. All turns must be returned within three days, unless by prior notice.
Players would generally be expected to average a turn a day or if it suits faster.
If a player defaults under 2 or 3 then their opponent can claim the game. PM me to either claim the game now OR I will notify the opponent that if the game is not completed by the end of the competition then it will be a default win.
If a player defaults on clause 1, or repeatedly on clauses 2 or 3 then they may be removed from the competition.
I will conduct checks to determine if the competition is progressing well enough. For that to function properly I need to have challenges posted in the thread and to know if any challenges have been ignored so please PM me if that is happening.

At the end of the competition if there are games outstanding then:
Games may be defaulted as above.
Players can submit the current score.

Any games still outstanding will be adjudicated, if a player does not respond to a PM then the game will be defaulted. So if a result is not recorded and I PM both players and only one replies then the game will go to them.

There is no good resolution to players not completing matches, I would appeal to all participants to play in a timely manner and if they see that they are not going to be able to complete a game then it is preferable to resign that to just disappear. Players who default multiple times may have their entries restricted in future HOMLs.

[Rosedelio]

I suggest allowing Medieval armies in the N. European region to choose the Frozen region as well. (eg. Frozen Agricultural for both matches instead of N. European Agricultural)

[tyronec]

I suggest allowing Medieval armies in the N. European region to choose the Frozen region as well. (eg. Frozen Agricultural for both matches instead of N. European Agricultural)

I decided against this because I think it makes the map more difficult to read. That would be fine if both players wanted to, but in this case it would be forced onto the AWAY player.

[Rosedelio]

I decided against this because I think it makes the map more difficult to read. That would be fine if both players wanted to, but in this case it would be forced onto the AWAY player.

Fair enough. It is a lot of bright snow.