SUMMARY

1. Players & Teams
   1. Requirements
   2. Basic Rules
   3. Reservists
   4. Cooldowns
2. VRML League Format
   1. Definitions
   2. Matches Schedule
   3. Challenges
   4. Defaults
3. Matches format
   1. Lobby Setup
      
   2. Bans & Picks
   3. Reservists scenarios
   4. Submitting scores
   5. Time limits & Forfeits
   6. Timeouts
   7. Resets
   8. Season 14 Extra Rules
4. Gameplay Clarifications and Restrictions
   1. Global
   2. Equipment
   3. Maps
   4. Mandatory Recording
5. Known bugs & issues
6. League Member Code of Conduct
7. Cheating, Exploits & Breaches
8. Decisions & Sanctions
9. Streaming & Media
10. Accumulated Points System

 

 

RULESET

1. Players & Teams

   1. Requirements
      1. The minimum age to play in VRML is Thirteen (13) 
      2. Players acknowledge and follow Onward guidelines on age restrictions.
      3. Players acknowledge and follow their headset's regulations. For example: Oculus Terms of Use and Vive Terms of Use.
      4. Players acknowledge and follow Discord Terms of Use.
      5. Additional regional regulations or guidelines, based on your location, may apply.
         
         
   2. Basic Rules
      
      1. The maximum number of players per team is 8.
      2. Players and substitutes rostered on one team cannot substitute for another team.
      3. Teams’ rosters, on the website, cannot change during a match.
      4. Players are not allowed to play under more than one account, and must not have more than one account registered with VRML.
      5. Players and teams must play using their registered VRML name. Do not hide your identity under another alias.
      6. If a player has the ability to play in a VRML match under different platforms (e.g. Steam and Oculus) a ticket must be open and the player names must be submitted before any matches are played. This is only necessary if the accounts have different names. 
         • Player names, player logos, team names, and team logos are forbidden if they:
         • Are protected by copyrights/royalties/third-party rights and the user has no written permission;
         • Resemble or are identical to a brand/trademark no matter whether it's registered or not;
         • Resemble or are identical to a real person other than themselves;
         • Resemble or are identical to a VRML representative;
         • Are deemed too hard to read, distinguish, interpret or have multiple unnecessary characters;
         • Are nonsense
      7. In addition to the above, any player names, player logos, team names or team logos that are defamatory, pejorative, offensive, vulgar, obscene, anti-Semitic, inciting hatred, or offending against good manners are forbidden. Using alternative spelling or gibberish, in order to avoid the requirements mentioned above, is also prohibited.
      8. Team names must be unique and are first come, first served. Alternative spellings or otherwise attempting to use a name already taken by an active or otherwise occupied team by changing a small detail, whether intentional or incidental, is not permitted, enforceable at Moderator discretion.
      9. Players are forbidden from modifying the display of their names to casters in game (changing colors, adding italics or underscores, etc).
      10. Players are not to falsely represent a team for which they are not a rostered member.
      11. It is mandatory for Team Captains to join the VRML Support Discord server. It is not mandatory for Co-Captains, Players, or League Substitutes to join the server, but it is encouraged. AP may be applied to any Team Captain who is not in the VRML Support server. Any player who fails to join the VRML Support server within 48 hours after being prompted to do so by a League Moderator or League Governor may receive an AP penalty.
      12. Sister teams are not encouraged. However, an individual can be in a team Discord and not be on the official roster for counseling/friendship/coaching purposes.
      13. The League Moderators reserve the right to suspend or ban the non complying player or team.
          
          
   3. Reservists
      1. If teams have decided to play a match and either one has a roster with fewer than the other (or fewer than standard player team count), they may request the addition of a reservist, which must result with an even player number count in each team or a smaller players difference between the two teams. In other words, teams’ sizes during a match shouldn't change to become even more unbalanced than it was.
      2. Teams must notify the opposing team before the match via Discord that they are using a reservist and who that reservist player is. If a reservist is needed in the middle of the match, teams can notify the opposing team in the tent.
      3. When submitting match results if a reservist was used, they must be listed on the website
      4. Only Official Reservists, authorized by the League, can be used to fill empty slots in a match.
         • When a team needs a Reservist, they must visit the Official Reservists page in order to validate which Reservists are available to them according to their team rank.
      5. Official Reservists cannot play for the same team more than twice per season.
         
      6. Teams are allowed to use at most 1 reservist per match.
         
   4. Cooldowns
      1. Where a player leaves a team for any reason, that player will be subject to a "cooldown" period for the next 2 VRML-weeks (that is the 2nd Monday if a player leaves a Monday-Tuesday and 3rd Monday if a player leaves Wednesday or after). During this period, the player may become a member of the reservists group or another team, but shall be prohibited from participating in a League match.
         • This rule is inactive during the off-season.
      2. When a team disbands, the cooldowns of the players may, upon request, be waived. League Moderators have complete discretion and may, depending on the situation, decide not to waive said cooldowns
         
         1. Disbanding is intended as: 
            • All the members of the team except the captain leave the roster from the Website page.
            • The captain of the team manually removes all players OR deletes the team.

2. VRML League Format

   1. Definitions
      1. The League’s standings are defined by the MMR assigned to each team during the execution of a Season.
      2. Matchmaking Rating (MMR) is a rating number defined by the team or player’s results, with the objective of matching up similarly ranking teams during the duration of the competition.
      3. In the event that a team changes the majority of its roster (3/5, 4/6, 4/7, 5/8), within 2 weeks, that team, when ready to continue playing, can, upon request, have its MMR recalculated by averaging each Player-MMRs. In order to prevent abuse (notably when a championship is about to start), that recalculated MMR cannot be higher than what it was before the players had left the team.
      4. In the event that a group of players decide to create a new team from scratch, and most of them are considered "veteran" players, the new team will start with a higher MMR than would normally be attributed. That MMR initialization bonus follows the Player-MMR logic. Note that, like every new team, they will still have to do their mandatory three placement matches before officializing their MMR in the standings.
         
         
   2. Matches Schedule
      1. The League will generate match-ups each week of the regular season.
      2. The matches are generated on Mondays around noon EST/EDT.
      3. When weekly matches are generated, any team with fewer than five (5) rostered players will be turned inactive and not be allowed to play the current week.
      4. Teams are responsible for scheduling their matches.
      5. Players must reach out to the other teams using DISCORD to schedule their matches.
      6. Teams must schedule their assigned match by Friday 1600 UTC of the week it is to take place. A reminder will be sent if teams are late to schedule
      7. The scores must be submitted within 24 hours after the conclusion of the last round of the match, and before Monday at 16:00 UTC of the following week. Matches under review through support tickets are exempted from this rule.
      8. All matches must be played and have the scores submitted by 1600 UTC on the following Monday.
      9. Teams will play a minimum of 1 match per week during the season, with exception to the following rules:
         1. Once per season, a team may elect to become inactive (indicated by the team appearing “grayed-out” on the standings page) for one week without penalty. On subsequent inactivity (not necessarily consecutive weeks), said team shall receive a weekly recurrent MMR percentage penalty until it becomes active.
            • If a team's status is set to “inactive,” they will not be assigned a match on the following Monday and will not receive their allotment of challenges for that week. Inactive teams are still expected to complete matches that have already been assigned and/or scheduled.s
            • If a team chooses to use their free inactive week, they should open a ticket to let the League Moderators know.
         2. Once per season, when scheduling is deemed to be excessively difficult or impractical, a team can postpone a match without penalty, to be scheduled the following week.
      10. Once a match is scheduled on the VRML website, it may not be rescheduled to another week. It may be rescheduled to a different time within the same week if both teams agree
      11. Occasionally, there may be significant events or circumstances, outside of player control, which affect both teams' ability to play a scheduled match (e.g. a patch is released that makes the game unplayable). In such an event, the match may be rescheduled to the following week, pending League Moderator approval.
      12. In the event that a team becomes inactive or drops out before playing any matches in the current season, and a match was created for that team, the match is canceled (not forfeited) and their opponent will be allowed an extra challenge match in compensation. The players on the team which dropped out will be on cooldown for 2 weeks.
      13. The scheduled times are according to local time. For example, EST in winter and EDT in summer.
      14. Teams can not switch regions starting the 6th week of any season.
          
          
   3. Challenges
      1. The League offers a "Challenge" option which allows players to play an additional match in a given week. Barring special circumstances, teams are not allowed to play more than 1 challenge match per week. Challenges may be rejected without penalty
      2. The website determines home/away side based on team history; it is not based on who initiated the challenge
      3. Barring special circumstances, a team, in order to be able to challenge, must have been active when the weekly matches were generated.
      4. In the event that the League is unable to assign a weekly League match to a team, that team will be permitted additional challenge(s) for that week as replacement(s).
      5. Challenge matches must be scheduled and played by 1600 UTC on the following Monday. The scores must be submitted as soon as the game is over, as usual.
      6. A challenge match may be canceled, without penalty, after it is scheduled, but only if notification of the cancellation is given to the other team, via Discord, prior to 48 hours before the match is to take place. If a challenge match is canceled within 48 hours of its scheduled time, it may be considered a forfeit by the team that cancels.
         
         
   4. Defaults
      1. Where teams miss the match scheduling deadline (Friday 1600 UTC), but the match is organized and played subsequently, a warning will be given to the teams. League Moderators may impose a penalty on one or both of the teams depending on the circumstances.
      2. In the event that a match has not been played during the allotted time frame, the League Moderators will review the circumstances and allocate the match points accordingly. Example resolutions may include the following:
         • Where neither team made any arrangement efforts, the match will be considered canceled;
         • A score of 8-7 may be awarded by default with the "win" attributed to the team determined to have been available on the most days, with a higher weighting given to weekend availability;
         • A score of 12-0 may be awarded to a team where their opponent has made little/no effort or been objectively determined to have frustrated the organization of the match; or
         • Where facts do not permit a clear determination, a double Forfeit will be put in place.
      3. League Moderators may remove an inactive team from the League if the team has defaulted on 2 or more occasions and the League Moderators have good cause to believe this will continue.
         

3. Matches format

   1. Lobby Setup
      1. A match consists of 3 maps. All maps must be played, as the overall scores affect traded MMR outcome.
      2. The official game-mode of League matches is "Uplink."
      3. The official players count is 5v5.
      4. The standard round timer for matches is six minutes (6).
         • Both teams are to check for any setup error at the start of the first round of a map and round reset if incorrect, followed by a rehost for correction.
         • If an error is not identified in the first round, the map is to be played out, and the lobby has to be rehost after its conclusion to correct the issue.
      5. Allowed maps:
         • Map Pool:
           - Tanker
           - Arctic
           - Egress (Day & Night)
           - Cargo
           - Subway
           - Shipyard
           - Bazaar (Day & Night)
           - Quarantine (Day & Night)
           - Abandoned (Day & Night)
           - Snowpeak (Day & Night)
           - Downfall (Day & Night)
           -Egress (Day & Night)
      6. Servers must be hosted in the region the current Hosting team is Registered in.  (Example NA East Team must host an NA East server)
   2. Bans & Picks
      
      1. At least 15 minutes before the start of the match, beginning with the Home team, both sides will alternate to ban up to 2 maps each. A team may decide to skip one or multiple bans. 
      2. When a map is banned, all of its variants are also considered banned. 
      3. Once bans are sent, they may not be changed, unless the opposing team agrees to the change.
      4. After the ban phase, Home is allowed to choose the first map, and Away is allowed to choose the starting side (Volk or Marsoc). Home is allowed to concede the map selection to their opponents to instead choose the starting side. 
      5. The team picking the upcoming map will be in charge of hosting the lobby at all times unless they voluntary concede the hosting to their opponents. It's illegal to rehost without consent from the opposite team. 
      6. Teams will alternate the Map/Side priority pick (3.2.3) after the conclusion of each Map (Ex. Best of 3: Home, Away, Home).
      7. A team will be ineligible to play its match where it has fewer than 3 rostered players available. 
      8. A team will be inelegible to play its match where it can't field more than 3 players against a team of 5 players.
      9. Teams are allowed to play the match with fewer than 5 players, but no team is obligated to lower their player count for any match.
         
         
   3. Reservists scenarios
      
      1. 5v4 can be legally played if the team with 4 couldn't find a reservist in time. (1 Reservist may be used by the team with 4 players)
      2. 4v3 can be legally played if the team with 3 couldn't find a reservist in time. (1 Reservist may be used by the team with 3 players)
      3. 5v3 is an automatic forfeit if the team with 3 couldn't find a reservist in time. (1 Reservist may be used by the team with 3 players)
         
         
   4. Submitting scores
      1. Teams enter the score themselves. Both teams need to submit the score for the match results to be accepted.
      2. The website requires users to enter the score for each map individually.
      3. The team winning 2 maps out of 3 is the winning team. All maps must be played as the overall scores affect traded MMR outcome
         
         
   5. Time Limits & Forfeits
      1. Teams have a 10 minutes buffer from the scheduled match start time to be in the game lobby with their team members.
      2. If a team is waiting for another team, the waiting team must post a message in Onward VRML's Discord (tagging their opponent) or show other proof to League Moderators that they were ready at the scheduled time.
      3. Once the 10 minutes buffer has elapsed, the team that is responsible for the delay forfeits the first map.
      4. If a further 10 minutes elapses without match commencement, the offending team is officially declared a "no-show" and a score of 12-0 (total) will be awarded to their opponent.
      5. In the case of a forfeit, the "forfeit" option should be selected from the dropdown box under "map" when submitting scores.
      6. Any form of map or match forfeit from teams may be punished if the moderators deem it actionable.
      7. Forfeits, Accumulated Penalty Points (AP), and other forms of punitive actions can only be given out by League Moderators and League Governors. Any team, player, or captain attempting to force another team to accept penalties due to perceived rule violations may result in punitive actions being taken against one or both team captains. If a rule is violated, players can report it to the League Moderators through the ticket system in Discord.
         
         
   6. Timeouts
      
      1. Between rounds, a team may call a timeout for any reason
      2. Where a team is delaying a round for more than 2 minutes, the opposing team may notify their opponent that they are forcing them to use a timeout (said 2 minutes counts toward total timeout).
      3. Teams are allotted 2 timeouts each per match.
         - 1st timeout : 10 minutes
         - 2nd timeout : 10 minutes
         Once the timeout expires, the match must proceed.
      4. Only one timeout can be used at a time. At least one round must be played between timeouts
      5. In the event a team has no more timeouts remaining and is facing another delay of more than 2 minutes, they must decide immediately to play the round with the players they have or forfeit the match.
      6. Failure to abide by this rule can result in League Moderators reviewing and issuing a penalty to the offending team up to and including forfeiting the match.
         
         
   7. Resets
      1. The native reset function may be triggered to reset a round for any reason that involves technical problems.
      2. The reset function can be triggered by resetting or downing all players on the same team within 10 seconds after the round start (or prior to the round start).
      3. A team shouldn't be using this feature multiple times in a match. Where a team has reset multiple times in a match, the League Moderators reserve the right to forfeit the round(s) in which the reset happened. Their decision will be based on, but not limited to, the reasons and/or the evidence which might have been put forward justifying said resets.
         
         
   8. Season 14 Extra Rules
      
      1. After the conclusion of any map and before the selection of the following one, the lobby has to be Rehosted.
      2. Teams are allowed up to 5 minutes after the conclusion of any Map in order to restart their devices/games.
         
      3. A team can't go inactive during the Last week (week 14) of the Season

4. Gameplay Clarifications and Restrictions

   1. Global
      
      1. It is forbidden to do "Player-boosting." The term "Player-boosting" refers to the stacking of players on one another (e.g.: a player crouches and another stands on their shoulders).
      2. In offline (LAN) events, it is not permitted to use the "snap-turn" feature.
      3. All official VRML matches are to be played using VRML-approved build(s) only, currently approved builds:
      4. 1.8.11 (Current Live Build [2022-07-19])
         
         
   2. Equipment
      1. RPGs and M203HE are permitted only on Downfall, Quarantine, Snowpeak, Abandoned, and their variants.
         The M203 and RPG launchers are permitted under the following bounds:
         • Each team may field, at most, one launcher.
         • The M203 HE launcher and RPG are permitted only on Downfall, Quarantine, Snowpeak, Abandoned, and their variants.
         • The M203 Smoke launcher is permitted on all maps.
      2. Shields are not allowed on any map.  
      3. Due to an exploit that was found and subsequently tested, the use of green and red smoke is Banned until further notice. Only the white coloured smokes are still allowed.
      4. Volk Drones are not allowed on any map.
      5. Marsoc Drones are only permitted on Downfall, Quarantine, Snowpeak, Abandoned and their variants.
      6. As Marsoc, it is not allowed to raise your pad more than 6 feet off the ground in order to capture an objective that is located above your head; some exceptions apply and are listed here:
         • On Suburbia, you can send the Uplink code in the middle mansion  only if you have both feet on the stairs.
         • On Abandoned, you can send the objective from underneath the middle Garage from the Rabbit hole (bottom floor).
           
      7. Flares are not allowed on any map.
         
         
   3. Maps
      1. The following map interactions are banned (VRML reserves the right to add or remove glitches or banned locations as they are discovered when necessary. All league players will be made aware in the event of such a change as soon as possible):
         • Bazaar: It's not allowed to walk on the side of the buildings on the 2nd storey ledge. (This is a good example of a general guidance where invisible ledges should not be used)
         • Bazaar: It's not allowed to walk on the fences.
         • It is not permitted to intentionally shoot, or kill using any method, a player clipping through any floor/ceiling. If any part of a body is clipping through a wall/item they may be killed as the player in question is able to prevent themselves from clipping. 
         • Downfall: It is not allowed to enter the cockpit of the helicopter.
         • Quarantine: It's not allowed to get up onto the fuselage from the south (which is done by moving along an invisible ledge from east to west, then popping up).
         • Hook: Proning in the center pond is illegal as well as the ocean on the east side of the map being illegal, this is due to a couple issues, such as the water being clear on PC and opaque on quest. This can lead to a disparity in platforms thus we are disallowing the use of it, dipping feet is fine but no more than that.
         • Paradise: Marsoc drone is LEGAL as well as the RPG and M203 frag grenade launcher, this is due to it being a large map.
         • Suburbia: Deliberate attempts to clip inside the no-collision bushes with either the head or more than 50% of the body will be considered as exploiting. It's legal to run through them while standing.
           
           
   4. Mandatory Recording 
      1. League players Must record all gameplay to include audio for matches they participate in. 
      2. Guidelines for recording on specific platforms can be found in the Onward VRML server by using !record-pc or !record-oculus bot commands.
      3. The footage must include Rounds played, Time in the Lobby while waiting for a round to finish, Breaks between rounds and Map switches. A player may pause the recording during Timeouts only if necessary, as removing the headset automatically pauses the recording.
      4. Recorded footage must be available up to 2 weeks after the conclusion of a match 

5. Known bugs & issues

   1. In the event the same team (Marsoc or Volk) spawns in 2 different locations, the round is automatically voided and must be replayed.
   2. In the event that all Volk enemies are dead, but the round timer continues (making Volk automatically win) the round point actually goes to Marsoc. Marsoc wins by 1 point (they can't take advantage of the bug to capture the objective).
   3. On Quarantine, for the truck stop objective, if a player spawns underground, the round is automatically voided and must be replayed; unless said player can get to normal height before the spawn countdown ends.
   4. In the event that a game update introduces major bugs experienced by the majority of players, the league may decide to extend the week to play the match.
   5. Sometimes the developers may provide a distinct build to be used by the League. The League Moderators will indicate which default build the matches should be played on. In all cases, when the teams agree to play on a certain build, they cannot decide to change builds within 6 hours of their match (to allow enough time for everyone to re-download another build).
   6. In the event of a bug or round reset which incorrectly awards a point or switches team sides the following should be used as guidance (but may vary - if needing clarification CONTACT A MODERATOR).
   7. If the bug occurs when neither side has played the objective (but the sides are switched) then the lobby should be rehosted before playing the round on any objective which has not been played (does not have to be the same objective as neither side has played it)
   8. If the bug occurs and one team has already played the objective then the lobby should be rehosted on the same objective and the first round should be given to the team who won it previously (have one player from each team load in and shoot the correct person based on who won the round previously - do not volk suicide as two points will be awarded)
      
      

6. League Member Code of Conduct

   1. Play fairly and within the rules of the VR Master League.
   2. Treat your fellow gamers, teammates, competitors, spectators, and League officials with respect and dignity.
   3. Discriminatory language, hate speech, threats, doxxing, and other forms of harassment or unlawful behavior will not be tolerated.
   4. Team Captains are required to make sure that each player of their team is following every step of this ruleset. If the player of a team is found breaking any of the VRML rules, the Team Captain may be held partially or fully responsible.
   5. Accusations of impropriety or foul play are taken seriously and should be brought to the attention of the League Moderators.
      
      

7. Cheating, Exploits & Breaches

   1. Any cheating, exploiting, or contravention of the foregoing rules must be brought to the attention of the League Moderators. League Moderators, with support from League Governors, have complete discretion on penalties imposed for violations. Examples of penalties are: Round forfeit, map forfeit, match forfeit, player suspension, or team suspension.
   2. "Cheating" is intended to include the intentional or reckless manipulation of the game and its code in such a way as to confer an unfair advantage on one side or the other.
   3. "Exploit" is intended to include the intentional or reckless triggering of code, attribute, or in-game function that is otherwise not envisaged as a legitimate feature of the game by Downpour Interactive.
   4. Non-exhaustive examples include:
      1. Going outside of map boundaries;
      2. Clipping, as a voluntary or involuntary action to hide a partial volume of the body inside a solid object in game (such as both legs up to the waist, arm and leg from the same side or any form of clipping of the torso). The League Moderators retain the right to determine if the occurring clipping is within acceptable limits or not;
      3. Body glitching (body not following player's viewpoint);
      4. Peeking through solid walls or floors;
      5. Using external communication systems (except to declare a bug (ex: in-game voice not working, game crash to Windows, etc));
      6. "Push To Talk" mode shouldn't be used to communicate or to mute communication;
      7. Kicking a teammate from the game to gain an advantage on a situation;
      8. Self-downing (or have a teammate down one-self), intentionally;
      9. Third Party VR or Desktop overlays/applications that affects gameplay mechanics or aesthetics (Personal system monitoring/diagnostic overlays are allowed, provided they do not affect previously stated mechanics or aesthetics);
      10. Use VPN or any other network manipulation;
      11. Only stick movement is allowed when accessing locations on the map. Using real world playspace movement to access locations on a map that are restricted by thumbstick movement is not allowed. (Example: crawling in the playspace to get under a vehicle is not allowed).
      12. The use of the recentering option to gain entrance to part of the maps/enter into walls that you may not reach with only stick use, is prohibited.
      13. Muting your mic while in a VRML match is prohibited. This covers using Oculus’ home screen to do it, or any other method.
      14. The use of the exploit featuring the “snap turn” feature or any other technique to gain a speed advantage over what the games intended limit allows a player to move, is not allowed. 
      15. If a C4 has been placed and is clipping into an object more than 50% it should not be detonated. If it is deemed to affect the outcome of the round a round forfeit will be given.
      16. Any other imaginative cheats
   5. Any use of the spectate function by participants during official matches, either directly or indirectly, to obtain an advantage of any kind is classified as cheating.
   6. Any use of external media streaming (stream sniping) which pertains to the circumstances, content or any facts arising from the match is classified as cheating.
   7. Players are forbidden from using the chat feature of an active cast if they are currently playing in the match being streamed.
   8. Network Lag (Connectivity/Lag issues):
      1. Any player found crashing, as in leaving the lobby without any warning from himself or the team, during the execution of a round (excluding timeouts and mid-round breaks) for at least 3 times, wont be allowed to continue playing in that match upon request of the opposing team. Any player not present in the lobby after the conclusion of a timeout or after the conclusion of a mid-round break are to be considered as crashed.
      2. A team may opt to report a player for Connectivity Issues granted the following requirements are met:
         • The player has to be recorded from at least 2 Points of view. This means that if the submitted recordings are from a single player's POV, they can't be taken in consideration as the same player recording could be the one suffering connectivity issues instead. 
         • The player has to be recorded on at least 2 separate lag instances to be evaluated for plausible penalties. There are 2 exceptions to this rule:
           - The player is recorded on a single instance from more than 1 player's POV (or Caster POV).
           - The player has been reported for lag instances in previous matches.
           
           Multiple reports with confirmed evidence of a player lagging can result in round reversals or more severe penalties based on the Moderators' judgement.
           
           

8. Decisions & Sanctions

   1. Contravention of any of the foregoing rules shall be sanctionable on review by League Moderators.
   2. League Moderators reserve the sole right to:
      • Void or change scores for any match or after it has been played;
      • Enact disciplinary procedures for any alleged or perceived player misconduct;
      • Draft, edit, publish, and interpret the rules of the League;
      • Settle disputes and issue rulings.
   3. Formal disputes amongst League teams and their members are to be lodged directly with League Moderators via Discord.
      • Unfounded and baseless accusations against players via any public medium are considered to be an act of misconduct.
   4. The League Moderators shall, with regard to developer input, decide issues based on the relevant facts. Due consideration will be given to the accounts of those involved. Amongst these considerations, the League Moderators shall give the most weight to the presence/absence of indicting or exculpatory evidence (e.g. in game footage, chat logs, etc..).
   5. League Moderators will issue decisions via the #sit-room Discord channel and occasionally via #league-talk Discord channel.
   6. Failure to comply with a request for match VODs, stream links, or any other item covered in the above rules will disqualify a player or team from participating in any further League events until they are deemed compliant by the League Moderators.
   7. In relation to any of the above rules, when a majority of the League Moderators reach the conclusion that conduct unbecoming of the League has occurred, the League Moderators have complete discretion to administer the appropriate sanction.
   8. Players may not "block " League Moderators.
   9. In the event of a conflict of interest, affected League Moderators shall recuse themselves from deciding or otherwise commenting on an issue in their capacity as League officials.
      
      

9. Streaming & Media

   1. The League Moderators and League Casters are responsible for authorizing the spectating or casting of league matches via the game's spectate function.
   2. All teams must permit League sanctioned spectators or casters access to official matches upon request.
   3. Subject to certain exceptions, spectating or casting of an official league match by non-authorized personnel is strictly prohibited.
   4. Unofficial Observers (Community Casters) may be used under the following conditions:
      1. Both teams must explicitly agree to an Unofficial Observers in writing. 
      2. Community Casters must follow the pinned message in #community-cast on the Onward VRML Discord Server and link their stream publicly. Privately streaming of matches is prohibited.
      3. Spectating a VRML match without publicly casting it is  also strictly prohibited
      4. Casters must have a 6-min delay set on their streams.
      5. Casters must have a VRML account in good standing with a linked Discord Account in the Onward VRML Discord Server.
      6. Only Individuals with the community caster role may cast Official VRML matches. (Roles can be obtain in #links-and roles section on the Onward VRML Discord Server)
      7. The VRML casting team reserves the right to override a community cast at any time.
      8. Community co-casters must follow the rules of a regular community caster.
   5. Official match casting must be streamed via the designated League Twitch channels.
   6. League Casters must abide by the code of conduct maintained by the Casting Coordinator and approved by the League Moderators.
   7. League Moderators may permit a co-caster to stream on another private channel to assist with replay capture.
   8. The League Moderators may, subject to having good cause, require a particular player to submit all recordings of  their matches until such a time as specified by the League Moderators.

10. Accumulated Points System

    1. The process for getting AP is as follows:
       1. A player or team violates a rule listed in the AP Table or official rules sheet on the Onward VRML website.
       2. The penalty is determined according to this AP Table
       3. The penalty points are assigned to the person(s) responsible for the infraction.
       4. When a player accumulates a certain number of points, as determined by the threshold section of this table, a cooldown or disciplinary action is triggered.
    2. AP is tracked on the website, where players can view their AP total.
       1. AP is given by League Moderators and Lead Moderators
       2. AP expires 180 days after the infraction occurs.
       3. AP tracks across all VRML games

 

Gameplay Violations
Tier	Punishment	Explanation	Comments	Nonexhaustive Rules Included	AP Value	Person(s) Responsible
1	Warning	Indisputably could not have affected volley/round/match outcome, but technically illegal.	Technically a violation, but all League Moderators agree it did not / could not affect actual outcome. Could to a point be nullified rather than forfeit.		0-2	P
2	Round Forfeit	Any violations of the rules during a match that do not escalate to a higher tier. Most gameplay violations fit this tier.	A single round forfeit for a violation committed in the round, as long as it is not Tier 1 or Tier 3+.		2-4	P
3	Map Forfeit	Indisputably affected outcome of an entire round, or accrued score penalties result in a point difference of 10 or more.	Violations that indisputably affect an entire map result in a full map forfeit of 4-0.		4-6	P
4	Match Forfeit	Indisputably affected outcome of entire match, or accrued score penalties result in a point difference of more than 20 points (capped at 10 per round).	Violations that indisputably affect an entire match result in a full match forfeit of 12-0.	There may be cases in which a violation impacts one round but has a lasting impact on the entire match where this may be applicable	6-10	P
5	Suspension	Repeated violations and/or violations severe enough to elevate to Lead Moderators Criteria determined by League Governors. Ex: Extremely innapropriate actions in a match	Up to Lead Moderators, can happen in conjunction with lower tier punishments. Also includes 12-0 match forfeit.	Code of Conduct Infractions	10+	P
6	Ban	Many repeated violations and or extremely severe violations, to be elevated to Lead Moderators. Criteria determined by League Governors. Ex: Exploiting/cheating during a match	Up to Lead Moderators, can happen in conjunction with lower tier punishments. Also includes 12-0 match forfeit.	Code of Conduct Infractions	30	P

 

Player Thresholds
Punishment	Points Total
One week cooldown applied	10
Three week cooldown applied	16
Fifty Percent (50%) seasonal cooldown applied	22
Seventy-five Percent (75%) Seasonal Cooldown applied	32
Seasonal Cooldown / Forfeiture of Prize Eligibility if occuring on or before Quarter Final Stage	42
Permanent VRML Ban	50