1. League Member Code of Conduct.

By registering for VR Master League and using our services, you acknowledge and agree to comply with all established VRML rules, guidelines, and policies.

1. 1. Fair Play & Sportsmanship.
      1. Play fairly, honestly, and within the rules of the VR Master League (VRML) and the game itself.
      2. Exploiting bugs, cheating, or intentionally disrupting gameplay undermines the integrity of the league and will result in disciplinary action.
      3. Win or lose, show grace and professionalism. Toxic behavior, even in frustration, has no place in VRML.
         
         
   2. Respect for Others.
      1. Treat all players, League Officials, moderators, and game developers with respect and dignity.
      2. Abusive, inflammatory, or discriminatory language. Whether verbal, written, or implied is strictly prohibited.
      3. Personal attacks, threats, doxing, or attempts to intimidate others will result in immediate review and potential suspension or removal from the league.
         
         
   3. Inclusive Environment.
      1. VRML is an inclusive community that welcomes individuals of all backgrounds, identities, and skill levels.
      2. Discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality, religion, disability, nationality, or any personal characteristic will not be tolerated.
      3. Slurs and offensive “jokes,” even if meant humorously, are not acceptable.
      4. Spreading false or malicious statements about players, teams, league officials or developers is strictly prohibited.
         
         
   4. Responsibility & Accountability.
      1. Team Captains are responsible for ensuring their team understands and abides by the Code of Conduct.
      2. Poor behavior from teammates may result in consequences for the team and/or captain if not addressed.
      3. Ignorance of the rules or failure to communicate them does not excuse violations.
         
         
   5. Communication & Disputes.
      1. Disputes should be handled respectfully and through the proper channels. Public accusations, call-outs, or drama on Discord or social media are discouraged and may be moderated.
      2. If you suspect foul play or misconduct, submit a report through the Ticket system in the VRML Support Discord.
      3. All claims and reports will be handled with confidentiality and care.
         
         
   6. Public & Private Conduct.
      1. While VRML cannot always moderate all private behavior, participants should be mindful that their actions. even outside of league events can reflect on the league as a whole.
      2. Behavior in public Discord servers, streams, or social platforms that damages the reputation or safety of VRML may lead to consequences.
         
         
   7. Streaming & Content Creation.
      1. If you stream or create content related to VRML, you are expected to uphold these community standards.
      2. Content that promotes toxicity, harassment, misinformation, or harmful behavior may result in league action, especially if it involves league participants or officials.
         
         
   8. Rule Violations & Enforcement.
      1. Violations of the VRML rules and Code of Conduct will be reviewed by league moderators and may result in warnings, match overturns, suspensions, or bans, depending on the severity.
      2. Repeat offenses or severe misconduct may lead to permanent removal from VRML.
      3. Appeals may be submitted in accordance with VRML’s disciplinary process.
         
         
   9. Professional Conduct at Live and In-Person Events.
      Participation in live, in-person events is a privilege that reflects not only on the individual, but also on the league and the broader community. All players, staff, and affiliated personnel are expected to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and sportsmanship during these events.
      
      Violations of the Code of Conduct during live and in-person events may result in more severe penalties than standard online league infractions. By attending or participating in any league-sanctioned live event, all individuals agree to abide by these stricter standards. The league reserves the right to take immediate and appropriate action in response to violations, with or without prior warning.
      
      This includes, but is not limited to:
      1. Immediate disqualification or removal from the event.
      2. Suspension from future events or seasons.
      3. Forfeiture of prizes or standings.
      4. Permanent Bans for egregrious or repeated offenses.
         
         
   10. League Officials & Staff Conduct
       1. League Moderators and Officials are held to the same standards as players and team members.
       2. League Moderators and Officials are prohibited from conducting official VRML business through Direct Messages. All communications related to VRML matters must be carried out through appropriate official channels to ensure transparency and accountability.

2. Players and Teams.

1. 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's Terms of Use.
   5. Additional regional regulations or guidelines, based on your location, may apply.
   6. The maximum number of players per team is 8.
   7. Players may either be rostered on a team or registered as a reservist.
   8. Team rosters on the website, cannot change during a match.
   9. Players are not allowed to play under more than one account, and must not have more than one account registered with VRML.
   10. Players and teams must play using their registered VRML name. Do not hide your identity under another alias.
   11. 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
   12. Player names, player logos, team names, and team logos must not impersonate or closely resemble the names or identities of League Managers, Moderators, or other official personnel. The identities of staff members are protected and must not be used in any form to avoid confusion, misrepresentation, or impersonation.
   13. 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.
   14. 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's discretion.
   15. Players are forbidden from modifying the display of their names to casters in-game (changing colors, adding italics or underscores, etc).
   16. Players are not to falsely represent a team for which they are not a rostered member.
   17. It is mandatory for Team Captains to join the VRML Support Discord server. It is not mandatory for Co-Captains, Players, or League Reservist 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 Lead Moderator may receive an AP penalty.
   18. 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.
   19. The League Moderators reserve the right to suspend or ban the non-complying player or team.

3. Reservist

1. 1. If teams have decided to play a match and either one has a roster with fewer than the other (or fewer than the standard player team count), they may request the addition of a reservist, which must result in 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, the Teams must notify the opposing team as soon as the reservist is identified. 
   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 Reservist page in order to validate which Reservist are available to them according to their MMR.
   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. Reservist Scenarios.

5. Cooldowns.

1. 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 the 3rd Monday if a player leaves Wednesday or after - NOTE: The day is determined by UTC timezone). 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. Cooldowns waiver eligibility: 
      
      • A player is on a cooldown for leaving a team that has not participated in any matches in the current season 
      •  If a player is accidentally removed from a team and is added back within 24 hours of removal.

6. League Format.

• 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 decides 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.

7. Matches Organization.

1. 1. The League will generate match-ups each week of the regular season.
   2. The matches are generated on Mondays around 2023-08-05 16:00 (Tuesday if you are located across the international date/timeline) APAC
   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 2023-08-05 16:00 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 15:00 UTC of the following week. Matches under review through support tickets are exempted from this rule.
   8. Teams are responsible for reporting the correct scores on the website. Mistakes made when reporting scores will not be corrected by Moderators except where the error in score reporting changes the overall winner of the match.
   9. All matches must be played and the scores submitted by 2023-08-05 16:00 on the following Monday.
   10. Teams will play a minimum of 1 match per week during the season, with the exception of the following rules:
       • 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.
       • If a team chooses to use their free inactive week, they should open a ticket to let the League Moderators know.
       • 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.
       • Teams can not postpone the last week of the season.
   11. Once a match is scheduled on the VRML website, it may not be rescheduled for another week.
       It may be rescheduled to a different time within the same week if both teams agree.
   12. Occasionally, there may be significant events or circumstances, outside of player control, which affects 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.
   13. 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 who dropped out will be on cooldown for 2 weeks.
   14. The scheduled times are according to local time. For example, EST in winter and EDT in summer.
   15. Teams can not go inactive during the last week of the season.

8. Challenges.

1. 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 the 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 a replacement(s).
   5. Challenge matches must be scheduled and played by 2023-08-05 16:00 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.

9. Match Defaults & Forfeits.

1. 1. Where teams miss the match scheduling deadline (Friday 2023-08-05 16:00), 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;
        Monday-Thursday will receive a weighted value of 1.0
        Friday-Sunday will receive a weighted value of 1.3
      • 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, the match is canceled and neither team gains or loses MMR
   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.
   4. Teams have a 10 minutes buffer from the scheduled match start time to be in the game lobby with their team members.
      • If a team is waiting for another team, the waiting team must post a message in B VRML's Discord (tagging their opponent) or show other proof to League Moderators that they were ready at the scheduled time.
      • Once the 10 minutes buffer has elapsed, the team that is responsible for the delay forfeits the first map.
      • 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.
      • In the case of a forfeit, the "forfeit" option should be selected from the dropdown box under "map" when submitting scores.
      • Any form of a map or match forfeit from teams may be punished if the moderators deem it actionable.
      • Forfeits, Accumulated Penalty Points (AP), and other forms of punitive actions can only be given out by League Moderators and Lead Moderators. 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.

10. Match Setup.

1. 1. A match consists of 3 maps. All maps must be played, as the overall scores affect traded MMR outcomes.
   2. The official game mode of League matches is "Uplink."
   3. The official players count is 5v5.

A team will be ineligible to play its match where it has fewer than 3 rostered players available. 

A team will be ineligible to play its match where it can't field more than 3 players against a team of 5 players.

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.

1. 1. 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 rehosted after its conclusion to correct the issue.

11. Timeouts.

1. 1. Between maps, a team may call a timeout for any reason.
   2. Teams are allotted 2 timeouts each per match.
      
      

      1st timeout	10 minutes
      2nd timeout	10 minutes

   3. Only one timeout may be used at a time. Timeouts will last a full ten minutes unless both teams agree to start sooner. (Ex. Team A takes a timeout, Team B can not call for a timeout after Team A's ends however team A may not end their timeout early without Team B agreeing)
   4. 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).
   5. Unless both teams agree to start immediately. There is an automatic 1-minute cooldown between maps.
   6. Once the 10-minute buffer has elapsed, the team that is responsible for the delay forfeits the first map.
   7. 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.
   8. In the case of a forfeit, the "forfeit" option should be selected from the dropdown box under "map" when submitting scores.

12. Gameplay Clarifications and Restrictions.

1. 1. Global
      1. In offline (LAN) events, it is not permitted to use the "Snap-turn" feature.
      2. 45° snap turn may not be used at any time. If players are using snap turn it must be set to 15° or 30°.
   2. Equipment
      1. RPGs and M203HE are permitted only on Abandoned, Downfall, Quarantine, Snowpeak, and their variants.
         
         • The M203 Smoke launcher is permitted on all maps.
      2. Shields are not allowed on any map.  
      3. Marsoc Drones are only permitted on Downfall, Quarantine, Snowpeak, Abandoned, and their variants.
         
      4. It is not permitted to use Volk drones.
   3. Mandatory Recording 
      1. 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 full unaltered video of any gameplay they participated in.
         4. Recorded footage must be available up to 2 weeks after the conclusion of a match. 
         5. Moderators may request footage from any VRML match to include the entire match recording in its entirety. 
         6. Players that refused to provide requested footage will receive 16 AP. 
   4. 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 that might have been put forward justifying said resets.
   5. Maps
      • 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 story ledge. (This is a good example of general guidance where invisible ledges should not be used)
      • Bazaar: It's not permitted to walk on the fences.
      • It is not permitted to intentionally shoot or kill a player clipping through any floor/ceiling using any method. 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 permitted to enter the cockpit of the helicopter.
      • It is not permitted to climb the objects in the Helicopter bungalow to gain access to the roof. DPI has confirmed this as an exploit.
      • Quarantine: It's not permitted 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).
        
      • Suburbia: It's not permitted to get up onto the brown/tan sandbags.
      • Suburbia: It's not permitted to lay down in bushes.
      • Quarantine: It's not permitted to look through the tallest Southeast building.
      • It's not permitted to climb up onto ladder poles to access other building rooftops.

   6. 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)
   7. Movement Restrictions

      1. Players may only quick peek one (1) time per two (2) seconds.

         1.    A quick peek can turn into an engage part way through (but it is still counted as a peek)
         2.   Players looking down the sights may peek or engage as often as desired (these peeks do not count towards the quick peek counter). Player must be looking down the sight BEFORE coming around the corner (name definition: Sights Peek and Sights Engage)
         3. When measuring the two seconds it is counted from the start of the peek  - so if a player has more time in the open the timer is still running and you will be able to peek again more rapidly after going back to cover.
         4. This rule applies for any peek of the same corner.
         5. There does not have to be a player present to peek on for it to be applied.
         6.  Some non-exhaustive examples include:
            • Player may NOT quick peek once then quick engage immediately - the quick engage must be at minimum two seconds after the quick peek.
            •  A specific example of this would be if a player comes quick around a corner then spots an enemy, ducks back to cover then pops quickly back out. This is NOT OK under this rule set.
            • Player may quick peek once then sights peek/sights engage
            • Players may quick peek on regular intervals as long as a maximum of 1 peak occurs within any given 2 second period.
         7. This rule will be acted on the same as any other rules, where the 1st offence will give the offender 2AP. Should one gain any advantage through illegal jiggling a round overturn may take place.
            • Severe repeat offenders may receive escalated punishment (additional AP).
         8.  Name Definitions:
            • Quick Peek - A corner peek with the gun down.
            • Quick Engage - An engagement where the gun is brought up after breaking the corner (a quick peek turning into engagement half way) - A Quick Engage is counted as a Quick Peek for rule purposes.
            • Sights Peek - A peek where you are looking down the sights when breaking the corner.
            • Sights Engage - Having gun up and looking down sights before breaking the corner to engage a target (a sight peek with engagement rather than retreat).
      2. The use of the exploit featuring the “snap turn” feature or any other technique to gain a speed advantage over what the game's intended limit allows a player to move, is not allowed. 
         • A specific example of this would be the dynamic combination of real world movement with joystick movement during a peek in order to gain a speed advantage over what is the game's intended limit.
           
   8. Object Access
      1. Ledges: Any ledge higher than your knife length including handle from the ground/other object must be wider than the length of your knife including handle in order to be used.
      2. It is also not permitted to use an illegal ledge to access another area. 
   9. Downed players
      1. It is not permitted to revive a downed player to taze them.
         1. It is also not permitted to use the 'hack tablet' feature on a player that was downed without the use of a tazer.
      2. It is not permitted to use the 'give-up' feature after being tazed. 

13. Championship Rules: Post Season Specific Guidelines and Structures. 

1. Minimum Season Participation:
   To be eligible for the Post Season, a team must have participated in a minimum of 50% of the regular Seasons matches.
2. Active Participation:
   Teams must remain active and engage in matches during the final two weeks of the season to qualify for the post-season.
3. Active Challenges:
   Challenges will be locked last two weeks of the regular season.
4. Match Documentation:
   All players on a team are required to record the matches played. While teams are not mandated to submit video-on-demand (VOD) files, they must be prepared to provide them upon request. 
5. Timely VOD Availability:
   VODs must be available within 12 hours when requested by a Moderator. 
6. Overlay Approval:
   Xoverlays that obstruct or impede the viewing of gameplay are strictly prohibited. 
7. Unaltered Recordings:
   Recordings must include the full, unaltered video and audio of the gameplay. Any modifications to audio or video, such as adjusting audio levels, may result in forfeiture. The determination of permissible modifications lies with the discretion of League Moderators. 
8. Quality Standards:
   Streams or recordings must meet a minimum quality of 480p and should only include game and team audio communications. 

• • Championship Structure and Specific Guidelines. 
    Post Season will consist of 3 Stages. 
    • Challenger Cup - Swiss Tournament. (1 Match Swiss Tournament)
    • Quarterfinals - Single Elimination. (Best of 3)
    • Grand Finals - Single Elimination (Best of 3 and Best of 5)
      
      
    • Stage 1: Challenger Cup.
      
      • Eligibility: Open to all interested who meet the specified critereia. 
        Criteria: Maximum amount of participants: 16 Teams
        Competition Rounds: Swiss Tournament, 1 Round that is required and a CC Final match between the top 2. 
      • Start Times: 2023-08-05 17:00  Europe | 2023-08-05 22:00  North America
        
        
    • Stage 2: Quarterfinals. 
      • Invitations or Pre-Qualification: Participants are either invited by organizers or must pre-qualify through Challenger Cup. 
      • Limited Slots: Will be based on number of participants of a region (Ideally no more than 1% of a region should qualify for the post season.
      • Start Times: 2023-08-05 16:00  Europe | 2023-08-05 21:00  North America 
  •  
    • Stage 3: Grand Finals
      • Semi Finals (Best of 3)
      • Bronze Match (Best of 3)
      • Grand Finals (Best of 5)
      • Start Times: 2023-08-05 16:00  Europe | 2023-08-05 21:00  North America 

14. Cheating, Exploits, and Breaches.

1. 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 is 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 having a teammate down one-self), intentionally;
      9. Third-Party VR or Desktop overlays/applications that affect 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 game's intended limit allows a player to move, is not allowed. 
          • A specific example of this would be the dynamic combination of real world movement with joystick movement during a peek in order to gain a speed advantage over what is the game's intended limit.
      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, won't 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 is 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 into consideration as the same player recording could be the one suffering connectivity issues instead. 
           • A single pov recording may be used if the player can prove without a reasonable doubt their connection was stable through the use of a Ping Monitoring software  (Only approved ping monitoring applications  currently are Pingmon,Ping Plotter, sticky app)
         • 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' judgment

15. Streaming and Media.

1. 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. Unofficial Observers/Spectators (Community Casters) may be used under the following conditions:
      1. Both teams must explicitly agree to an Unofficial Observers/Spectators 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 obtained 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.
   4. Official match casting must be streamed via the designated League Youtube channels.
   5. League Casters must abide by the code of conduct maintained by the Casting Coordinator and approved by the League Moderators.
   6. League Moderators may permit a co-caster to stream on another private channel to assist with replay capture.
   7. 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.

16. Accumulated Penalty Points.

1. 1. The process for getting an 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 occurred.
      3. AP tracks across all VRML Leagues.

17. Decisions and Sanctions.

1. 1. Contravention of any of the foregoing rules shall be sanctionable on review by League Moderators.
   2. League Moderators reserve the sole right to:
      1. Void or change scores for any match or after it has been played;
      2. Enact disciplinary procedures for any alleged or perceived player misconduct;
      3. Draft, edit, publish, and interpret the rules of the League;
      4. Settle disputes and issue rulings.
   3. Formal disputes among League teams and their members are to be lodged directly with League Moderators via Discord.
      1. 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. 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.
   6. Players may not "block " League Moderators.
   7. 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.
   8. All League Moderator rulings must be made in a VRML-official Discord server, or the ruling may be considered invalid. Current VRML servers are VR Master League HQ, VRML Support, Echo Arena VRML, Onward VRML, Pavlov VRML, Breachers  VRML, Snapshot, Ultimechs, and Blaston (in League-specific channels). Any ruling made by a League Moderator outside of the servers listed here will be considered "unofficial" and can not be used.
   9. Suspensions are applied weekly, within a 24-hour window before Match Generation, except when the rule violation may affect the outcome of upcoming matches. All suspensions end before Match Generation the week they are set to expire. Exceptions may be made if an appeal or review is requested. If these exceptions interfere with participating in a tournament, the suspension may be paused to allow participation. Suspensions can not be moved unless it is a Moderator error and affects a tournament. If an error is made, the Moderators will review when the suspension will take place.
   10. In the event a player receives a disciplinary action such as AP and would like to appeal, they must do so by making a ticket in the VRML Support server. AP can be appealed as soon as it is applied and at any time after. If you believe it has been applied in error, appeal as soon as possible after receiving notification of the AP so your case may be reviewed prior to your suspension being applied. You may still appeal after your suspension begins.

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