1. General League Rules
2. League Match Format
3. Cup Match Format
4. Rosters
5. Wildcards
6. Cuts, Signs and Trades
7. Relegations / Playoffs
8. Miscellaneous
General League Rules
1.1 If at the end of the season, or group stage in the cup, there is a tie in the tables. The order of the teams will be based on(in order) Goal Difference - Goals Scored - Head To Head Record.
1.2 It is the responsibility of the two captains to find an agreeable host for their match. Games can be played on any host as long as both captains agree to it. A team can not be forced to play on a host they do not wish to. If a good host for both teams cannot be found then teams are recommended to play 1 half on each other's host.
We also recommend to test each others host before the game starts.
A neutral host is someone who isn't part of a playing team. The country doesn't matter at all in this case. As long as it's a stable and fluent host both teams should play on it.
1.3 Subs can be only be made when a goal is scored/conceded or at half-time. Subs must not be made when the ball is in play.
1.4 A couple of subs are generally allowed in match rooms as long as both captains agree. If a captain asks the opposing team's players to leave the room then they must do so.
If subs are in the room then both teams should have the equal amount of subs.
1.5 Match rooms should be set to hidden and the link passed securely to the other team, preferably via TeamSpeak.
1.6 It is a captain's duty to ensure that all of his/her players are legitimate and not being impersonated. Any proof of impersonation will likely result in a defloss for the offending team.
1.7 Abuse of any kind during matches will not be tolerated. Abusive & disruptive messages being posted in the chat while the game is being played will not be allowed unless they are to discuss the game tactically itself. If you are being abusive or purposefully disruptive you may be punished.
Also abusive usage of the Pause-function e.g goal situations will not be allowed.
1.8 The only people who should have admin in an official room are the host and the two captains.
1.9 In the event of a player lagging or disconnecting, their captain is allowed to pause the game provided his/her team are not currently defending or the opposing captain gives permission for the game to be paused.
1.10 If a player disconnects they should be given a reasonable amount of time (~2 minutes is fair) to reconnect after the game has been paused. If they do not rejoin after this length of time the team can make a sub to replace them.
1.11 Before resuming the game after a pause captains should ensure that the other team is ready.
1.12 Before kicking off at the start of a half the red team should give the blue team chance to get in position and state that they are ready.
1.13 A lag test should be done to see if the ping is fair for both teams. Both captains must agree to play the game before it can be started.
1.14 Once the half has been agreed to play by the captains, it will be played until the end of that half unless it is unplayable for the majority of both teams.
In the event of a host switch during a half, the game will continue with the remaining time and there won't be any effect on the score unless both teams agree on a reset. Should there be a host switch during the second half, the game will be continued with the remaining time and result staying the same unless both agree to reset the half. First half score will still be valid.
1.15 Goals scored after 7:00 do not count. The half lasts 7 minutes, not 7.01 minutes. The game is programmed in such a way that this shouldn't be an issue. If the goal is scored in time and the timer says 7:00, the game has another kick off and the timer always rolls back to 6:59. If it is not scored in time the game usually either begins overtime or ends stating the victorious team depending on the scoreline at the time.
1.16 A goal shall be credited to the offensive player who last touched the ball before it went into the goal provided that the ball was on target after the last touch. If the ball is on target and will definitely go in when an opponent player kicks into his own net it will still be given as a goal for the attacker. Any other instance i.e when the shot is off target and deflects off an opponent will be given as an own goal.
1.17 An assist shall be credited to the second-to-last offensive player to touch the ball before it went into the goal, provided that the ball was not possessed (kick or touched) by any player of the defensive team between the time he last touched it and the goal being scored.
1.18 Players must always use their forum names when participating in official league & cup matches. Failure to do so may result in the fixture being voided or result being reversed. Should there be any doubts about player impersonation before the game starts, the player in question must confirm their identity on the forum chatbox.
1.19 Impersonating a player is not allowed and if caught doing so you will be banned from league participation for the rest of the season. Admins may also decide to disband the team
1.21 If a team can only provide three players the match will be forfeited 3-0.
1.22 After matches captains should post the replay along with goal times in the relevant thread in the Captains Area.
Results must be delivered until the next matchday. If the captains fail to do this then both teams lose 1 wildcard. If the match hasn't been reported by the 3 matchday deadline (see rule 5.4.), defloss will be given to both teams.
1.23 A replay of every game must be supplied for the result to count.
If nobody can supply a replay but both team captains approve, the result still can stand. In this case no goals or assist will be credited for players. Otherwise the match will be valued deflose for both teams.
1.24 All players participating in official league or cup matches have to be part of the Teams Roster.
1.25 If a match ends prematurely due to opponents leaving/banning other team etc then + 3 goals will be added to the final result.
League Match Format
2.1 All matches are played in HTML mode of haxball. League matches are 4v4 big, with two 7 minute halves and no score limit. Draws are allowed.
2.2 League and Cup Matches are played with use of the kick limiter (/kick_ratelimit 6 12 4), make sure the limit is set and the chat message "Kick Rate Limit set to (min: 6, rate: 12, burst: 4)" is visible on the recording of the match
2.3 League matches are played with the 3-men-def-rule.
2.4 Definition of the 3def-zone:
General position of the 3def-zone:
- Spoiler: Show
Once three attacking players have entered the 3def-zone, it's position is defined by the third most forward attacking player:
- Spoiler: Show
The following rule applies, when the ball is 100% in the 3def-zone(-see exception below):
The defending team is allowed to only enter the 3def-zone with three players. The fourth player isn't allowed to touch the attacking players in the 3def-zone and has to make sure they can move freely in all directions.
Exception:
If the ball comes from a defending player and it's possible for the fourth player to bring it out of the 3def-zone without being touched by an attacking player, he is allowed to enter the 3def-zone. This shall only be done though if it is clearly possible and any failed attempt leads into a major rule violation, so it should only be done cautiously!
2.5 It's the defending teams responsibility that it’s always possible to not violate the rule, for example that you are able to leave the 3def-zone fast enough when the ball enters it again.
2.6 In the case of situations where a captain feels the 3-man defence rule has been broken, they can submit the replay and the relevant times to an admin after the game or in the related matchday topic.
Small offences will be taken note of for future games; in the event of serious repeated offences a defloss may be given to the offending team. It is up to the admins in the end.
2.7 League games should start at 20:00 BST (21:00 CEST) unless a different time has been agreed between the two captains.
2.8 Each matchday will feature one 'top match' (either Division 1 or Division 2) that will be streamed. The top match will be streamed at 21:00 BST (22:00 CEST). Top matches will be selected by the admins.
2.9 The bottom four teams from Division 1 will be relegated and the top two teams from Division 2a and Division 2b will be promoted. Please note that this may be subject to change depending on the number of teams available for the following season.
2.10 In case of disbandings of Division 1 teams, Division 1 will be filled up with teams in the following order:
- 4th placed team in division 2
- 10th placed team in division 1 (8th if only 10 teams)
- 5th placed team in division 2
- 11th placed team in division 1 (9th if only 10 teams)
- 6th placed team in division 2
- 12th placed team in division 1 (10th if only 10 teams)
- 7th placed team in division 2
- 8th placed team in division 2
...
Cup Match Format
3.1 All matches are played in HTML mode of haxball. Cup matches are 4v4 big with two 7 minute halves.
3.2 During the knock-out stage of the cup, matches can only end in a win or loss.
3.3 If after two halves the knock-out match is still tied, there will be overtime until a winning goal is scored (Stop the match at full-time, set goal limit to 1 and switch sides).
3.4 The cup final will be played with two 10 minute halves, with overtime if the match is tied at full-time (same as the other rounds - switch sides at full-time, no time limit, 1 goal limit).
3.5 Cup Matches will no longer clash with regular 4v4 league matches, so the starting time will be 20:00 BST (21:00 CEST).
Rosters
4.1 Rosters must have minimum of 5 players and a maximum of 12 players.
Wildcards
5.1 Each team of Division 1 has 5 league wildcards - Each team of Division 2 has 5 league wildcards, they can use at any time during the season.
It will be up to the captain wanting to use the wildcard and the captain of their opponents to discuss a suitable date to replay the game. Once a suitable date is arranged the captain must report the date change in the Wildcard HQ forum.
5.2 Each team will be granted 2 additional wildcards for use in the cup only. All rounds can be wildcarded, except the final.
5.3 You can not use a wildcard on the last game of your Teams Division. All final day games can not be postponed.
All wildcarded Matches have to be played on the last Matchday of your Teams Division.
5.4 Wildcarded fixtures must be played within 3 Days (not Matchday). (Days like in the FM Schedule counting -> Schedule)
Example: Wildcarded Match of Day1 have to be played by the Date of Day4;
Wildcarded Match of Day2 have to be played by the Date of Day5; ...
Exception1: If the 3 Days are divided by the Mid Season Break you have 2 weeks to play it.
Exception2: See Rule 5.3
Failure to play a fixture within this time will result in the game being voided and both teams having -3 added to their goal difference.
5.5 All fixture changes (wildcards) must reported by 19:00 BST (20:00 CEST). Failure to report a fixture change in time will result in the fixture going ahead anyway.
5.6 Once both teams agreed to play at one date, you cant cancel it anymore without opponents agreement. If you can’t play the opponent can take a defwin.
Cuts, Signs and Trades
6.1 Free Agents have full control over which team they choose to play for. Once they are signed up on the Free Agency on the website, Captains can make offers to the player. It is entirely up to the player as to which team they sign for.
6.2 Players can only play in 4v4 competition for one team in each leg. Once a player played for one team, he cant play for any other team in 4v4 competition during this leg. The first leg includes the Days 1-11, the second leg the Days 12-23.
6.3 On match days a signing must be finalised before 19:00 BST (20:00 CEST) for the player to be eligible for that night's games.
6.4 For postponed matches a sign must be finalised at any time before the game.
6.5 Cuts can be made at any point during the season.
6.6 People can join Free Agency until 26th November 19:00 BST (20:00 CEST). After that Teams are only allowed to sign Free Agents who signed up before closing of FA Sign Up.
However, players who leave their team after FA was closed, can still rejoin their old team. They just can’t join any other team. In case of this, team captain has to contact admin team and ask permission for a player X to join the team.
6.7 A team can make unlimited cuts and signs throughout the season.
6.8 All captaincy changes need admin permission. A captain cannot switch teams without admin permission.
6.9 If a team disbands in a running season then the captain gets a captaincy prohibition. Also he gets banned from playing for the rest of the season.
6.10 If there's a captaincy change the original captain is not allowed to play for another team for the rest of the season.
Playoffs/ Relegations
7.2 The bottom 4 teams in Division 1 will be relegated to Division 2. Playoffs for relegations may be announced.
7.3 The top 2 in Division 2a and Division 2b will be promoted.
7.2 and 7.3 may change depending on league expansion/shrinking.
Miscellaneous
8.1 Macros aren't allowed in the league. The below punishments will be given if anybody is caught using one:
1st offence: The player will receive a 3 match ban and the game that the macro was used in will be replayed or a defwin will be given. The opposing captain will have a choice of the two. The final matchday that the replay can be played by will follow the usual wildcard rules. The player who used the macro will not be eligible to play in the replay.
2nd offence: The player will receive a midseason ban, or x amount of games that could carry over to the following season, and their team will receive deflosses for 1st or 2nd leg games that the player was involved in, depending on the leg that the macro was used in.
3rd offence - The player will receive a season ban and their team will receive deflosses for both 1st and 2nd leg games that the player was involved in.
4th offence - The player will receive a permanent ban and their team will be disbanded.
Admins won't actively watch every replay for macro usage. If a team suspects that their opponent is using a macro, then it is the responsibility of the Team Captain to make a case and provide evidence.
The Team Captain will have access to their own team forum where they can post cases that are only visible to them and the Admin team. Cases must be posted after the Matchday they suspect the macro occurred and before the next Matchday.
The case will then be reviewed by a group of 5 players, including admins. All 5 players need to be in agreement - if 1 person disagrees then no penalty will be applied.
8.2 Anybody who multi-accounts(the multi will be deleted) will be suspended for 5 matches and then if repeated rest of the season and third time forever.
8.3 If a team receives 3 deflosses in one leg or 4 deflosses in a whole season, they will disband and all their games will be a 3-0 defloss.(All 2nd leg matches if 1st leg matches were played regularly) It is up to the admins in the end.
8.4 A div 1 team can be disbanded by the admins at any time of the season and all of their games will be valued as defwin for their opponents. They will not get replaced by another team.
8.5 A div 2 team can be disbanded by the admins at any time of the season and all of their games will be valued as defwin for their opponents. A team on the waiting list will replace that team and finish the season.
8.6 If a team disbands then any regular players for that team are still under the normal transfer rules (can only play for 1 team in each leg of the season).
8.7 The captain of each team at the start of the season can not play for another team all season. He is locked for both legs of the season. If he passes captaincy to someone else then that captain is also locked for both legs until the end of the season.
DISCLAIMER: We reserve the right to modify, add and remove rules as we see fit during the course of the season. Rule changes, additions and removals will be posted in their own post(as well as being added to the first post) to give notification of the change, so make sure to read this if there is a new post as it may effect you during the season.
We also reserve the right to step in and block/deal with situations that may not technically be against the rules but could be seen as morally wrong and taking advantage.
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