The Doom Ladder
Instructions and Information
Version 3.0 -- This document is subject to change ANYTIME
"David Shaw's _Doom Ladder Guide_" for local Doom/Doom2 competitions.
Special thanks to The Lithium BBS at (510) 455-0425 for the inspiration for
these guidelines. They helped in filling in some of the voids and questions.
EMAIL:
[email protected]
Any ideas for changes or comments, please direct them to the above address.
What is a Doom Ladder?
A Doom Ladder is a method of gathering local players, in the area
in which you live, to play Doom together. Think of the Doom Ladder
as a kind of "Rotary" club that you would find in a lot of cities.
A kind of "YMCA" so to speak.
The Ladder ranks DOOM players. Almost anyone that wants to can
join the Ladder. All games played are 1 on 1 deathmatches using
a modem. You play against other people on the Ladder whenever
you'd like. There are no set times or dates for matches.
How is it played?
Players on the Ladder may challenge anyone above them. The
Defender MUST play the Challenger (at his or her convenience).
If the Challenger wins, he takes the place of the Defender.
The Defender and everyone below him all are lowered on the
Ladder one position (think of "rungs" on a ladder). If the
Defender wins, he stays at the same ranking since he has
sucessfully defended his position on the Ladder.
How is it organized?
Basically, the SysOp of your board (or the person that brings
this idea to your local SysOp) designates a person/player as
the official Doom Ladder Coordinator (DLC for short). This
person is responsible for the operational and adminstrative
tasks of the Doom Ladder. This includes score keeping, match
results, player databases, and among other things, keeping the
Ladder within the guidelines documented in this file.
Everyone else are players. Of course, the DLC can delegate tasks
to people below him. This will allow the DLC to retain somewhat
of a social life! It is also a good idea to designate an alternate
DLC. This allows for checks and balances within the group and
allows for a person to be responsible as a back up in the event
the DLC becomes indisposed.
Requirements:
1: People need to sign up with the Doom Ladder Coordinator [DLC]
in advance. Everyone is encouraged to play, and you can join at
anytime. A questionnaire should be available for you to join
up. Please answer the questions properly or you may not be
allowed onto the Ladder.
Within 24 hours of signing up for the Ladder, you will receive
Email confirming your addition to it. Once accepted onto the
Ladder, you must work your way up from there. Keep in mind,
you can work yourself up to the top quickly by challenging one
of the top ranking people and beating them in a match.
Please do not join if you are not familiar with playing Doom
over the modem. If you need help, please contact your DLC for
information.
2: ---> Doom Version 1.9 [Preferred: The Ultimate Doom]
If you have Doom 1.666 or any other version, then you MUST upgrade
to participate. Email the Doom Ladder Coordinator for the upgrade
patches for Doom, or get them off your favorite Doom FTP site or
on-line service.
and/or
---> Doom2 Version 1.9
If you have Doom2 1.8, 1.7a, or 1.666, then you MUST upgrade to
participate. Email the DLC for the upgrade patches for Doom2, or
get them off your favorite Doom FTP site or on-line Service.
3: A modem that is capable of a 9600 bps MINIMUM. The preferred speed
is 14,400 or 28,800.
Legal values for the port speed of your modem.cfg file
are: 9600, 14400, 38400, 57600. If you use any other
speed, expect to encounter problems.
(You MUST disable call waiting if you are the dialing opponent)
4: System MINIMUM requirements: 486 running at 33MHz or FASTER. If
you feel you deserve special consideration, Email your DLC.
General Rules:
1: This is a Doom Deathmatch Ladder. A typical Ladder match consists
of a Challenger--one who wishes to ascend up the Ladder; and a
Defender--one who wishes to squash all Challengers and defend
his (or her!) position on the Ladder.
2: If there needs to be a toll call made, the Challenger must make
the phone call. So, theoretically speaking, the better you are,
the less you have to worry about this.
3: All matches must be RECORDED using the -record <demo_name> command
line parameter to be considered official. This process will serve
as the verification for each match. Note: for extended matches,
you may want to also use the -maxdemo xxxx parameter for more
memory. REMEMBER -- both players must specify the
-record <file_name> parameter AND, if necessary, the same number
of kilobytes in the -maxdemo xxxx parameter for the *.LMP file to
be recorded.
4: The DLC is the judge for all submitted *.LMP files; UNLESS the
DLC is one of the players (hope not for your sake). If so, a
third party will judge the file for the Ladder.
5: The -altdeath parameter is required UNLESS you are using a pre-
approved PWAD that was designed for -deathmatch (OLD deathmatch
rules). An example of these PWADS are the Danzig series, the
Dweller series, and the IGOR series (great PWADS guys, you have
my deepest respect). See number 8 below for more information on
preapproved PWAD files.
6: You MUST use the -timer xxx command. For consistency purposes,
all matches will be 20 minutes in length. Either use the
"-timer 20" or the "-timer avg" command line parameter.
7: The -nomonsters parameter is REQUIRED. There may be interim
tournaments for fun (perhaps with prizes for the winner!) where
monsters may come in to play, but not for the Ladder.
8: You MAY use pre-approved PWAD files
*Third party PWAD files are to be submitted for approval to the
DLC. The DLC shall then load the PWAD into an editor to evaluate
level fairness, compatibility, and level design. Any areas that
the DLC deems inappropriate will be discussed with both
opponents prior to match so no advantage can be obtained by
either player.*
9: You MAY use the -turbo xxx option as long as both players agree
to do so, and that both opponents are using the same turbo value.
10: The Challenger must win by at LEAST 2 frags to officially win
the match. Suicides are counted as -1 frags, so watch out for
those close encounters with the Rocket Launcher, and DON'T FALL
IN THE OOZE!
Ladder Honorific Titles
Basically, Ladder Honorific Titles are to be given on the basis of skill
level, TOTAL frag tally, and experience on the Ladder. New players
wishing to be given a title above MODERATE must submit an *.LMP file
(much like a resume) to the DLC. This demo will be critiqued by the
DLC and a title will be officially issued. This is mostly for fun and
gives each Challenger an idea of the level of a potential Defender
currently residing at a particular position on the Ladder.
Amateur: Honest folks that are starting at the bottom and working
their way up to Doom Master. These folks have just purch-
ased the game and are mastering the controls. Although
they are new to the "Dooming" world, they still want to
enjoy the satisfaction of fragging their buddies.
Moderate: The next step up the Ladder. These folks have got the
controls down pat but are still learning the essentials
of LISTENING for their opponents. They still give away
their position by blasting every barrel in sight. Average
20 minute frag count: <10.
Intermediate: The best matches I've watched are from folks in this
class. Making up the majority of Doomers nationwide, this
class hosts an all around pummel-fest. Even the Advanced
players cringe when they get the Email challenge from
this motley crew. Average 20 minute frag count: 15-20.
Advanced: Master-wanna-be's. Almost as good as the master level
grunts--but not quite. Generally fire blasts at first
sight of player and they STILL use their rocket launcher
in close quarters--and they really don't care. All they
want is to hear you scream. I believe these folks need
psychiatric help for their bloodlust. Average 20 minute
frag count: 25-35.
Master: Somehow, these folks plug in an extra serial cable into
their veins to FEEL the effects of playing the game.
These few and far between souls own every version of the
game from SHAREWARE version 1.1 on up to the most recent:
The Ultimate Doom. They own all the patches, can tell you
all the secrets, have a lifetime membership on DWANGO,
own all the PWADS, and usually create their own levels to
play. You've got a long bloody battle ahead of you if you
ever make it up to playing one of these marines. Average
20 minute frag count: 40+
NOTE: Ladder Honorific Titles are not intended to replace the established
Doom Honorific Titles. These titles are intended to be used only
in the Ladder as a reference to player skill level.
Uploading *.LMP file system:
All *.LMP files must be submitted to the DLC to become official. Only
the *winner* will upload the *.LMP file. The name of the file can be
anything you want, but the coordinator will generally change it to
the following format:
xxx_mmdd.lmp [Generally this file will be ZIPped]
or
xxx~mmdd.lmp
or
xxxWmmdd.lmp
Where xxx is the match number.
Where mmdd is the date of the match.
Where a ' _ ' stands for a Doom LMP Demo file.
Where a ' ~ ' stands for a Doom 2 LMP Demo file.
Where a ' W ' indicates a PWAD was used for the match.
So, a filename of 047_0613.LMP would be a match that was held by a
Challenger and a Defender on June 13. The opponents' match happened
to be number 47. Most BBS's have a text description area for uploads.
It is here that you may indicate who the two opponents were and any
other *brief* information. Text files describing the match MUST be
included in the ZIPped archive. The Doom Ladder Coordinator reserves
the right to edit or omit the text file and modify the archive. The
text file must be based upon the LMP Submission Form found at
ftp.cdrom.com:/pub/idgames/lmps/forms/lmp_template.txt
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
To find out more about Command Line Parameters, please refer to the
README.TXT file located in your Doom or Doom2 directory. Everything
you need to know about demo recording and/or playback can be found
in that file. If you still need help, contact the DLC.
|--Displaying the Ladder:--------------------------------------------------|
Ladder Standings
Key Controller Types
-------------------------------------- ---------------------------------
R = Rank F = Frag Tally K = Keyboard M = Mouse
W = Wins A = Average Frags/game J = Joystick T = Track ball
L = Losses C = Controller Type C = Cyberman B = Thumb ball
T = Ties & 1 point leads
Challenge someone above you (and ONLY someone above you). If you win,
you take their position and they move down one position on the Ladder.
Once you play your first match, you will be moved above everyone who
has not played ANY matches.
R W L T F A Name (Handle) Voice Number (Data) System C
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 11 9 0 234 26 Fred (Stick) 509-884-0000 886-0000 486/66 M
2 10 9 2 221 24 Barney (Carnage) 509-664-0000 665-0000 P5/90 J
3 8 10 4 267 21 Spanky (Ripthorn) 206-682-0000 682-1111 P5/90 M
4 7 3 0 26 10 Barney (DinoBoy) 509-884-2222 884-1111 386/33 K
[And so on!]
|--Displaying the Match Results:-------------------------------------------|
Match Results
Game Date Time Challenger vs. Defender Winner Frags Map/WAD
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
001 07-25-95 3am Sneaky vs. HolyMo Holymo 19/01 E1 M1-4
002 07-25-95 4am Sneaky vs. HolyMo Holymo 21/05 E4 M1-3
003 07-25-95 9pm Tolwyn vs. HolyMo Tolwyn 43/16 Map01
[And so on!]
Well, now you know how it works!
If you have any questions, please contact your DLC!
See you in Hell!
___________________________________________
This compilation may be distributed freely.
