1. League Member Code of Conduct 
    1. Play fairly and within the rules of the VR Master League.
    2. Treat your fellow gamers, teams, 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. Accusations of impropriety or foul play are taken seriously and should be brought to the attention of the League Moderators.
  2. Regions & Participation Requirements
    1. The league will be worldwide split into three different regions. America, Europe, and Oceania/Asia. The list of countries per region can be found here.
    2. Within a region, a player is only allowed to participate if their ping, as displayed on the scoreboard, is consistently below the ping cap:
      America = 150
      Europe = 150
      Oceania/Asia = 250 
                   2.1 When playing a cross region challenge match the ping cap increases up to 250 no matter the regions participating.
    3. If a player/team's ping is above the ping cap and affects the results of a match a ticket may be opened to dispute the scores. Any pictures or videos must be taken while the match clock is running.
    4. Your country's flag is required on your VRML profile and should represent where you live and play the game from. Providing false information about this can result in a ban from VRML. Your nationality flag is totally optional. 
  3. Matches Organization
    1. The League will generate 2 match-ups each week of the regular season.
    2. The matches are generated on Mondays.
    3. Teams are responsible for scheduling their matches.
    4. Teams must reach out to the other team using DISCORD to schedule their matches by Friday 1600 UTC of the week they are to take place. A reminder will be sent if teams have not scheduled their matches by then.
    5. Matches must be scheduled via the website (https://vrmasterleague.com/Ultimechs).
    6. Matches must be scheduled at least one hour prior to their start time.
    7. A match's scores must be submitted within 24 hours of its scheduled start time.
    8. All matches must be played and have the scores submitted by 1500 UTC on the following Monday.
    9. Teams are responsible for reporting the correct scores on the website.
    10. Teams must play a minimum of 10 matches during the Ultimechs Season to be eligible to compete in Qualifiers or Finals.
    11. Teams will play a minimum of 2 matches per week during the season, with exception to the following rules:
    12. Once per season, any 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 will receive a weekly recurrent MMR penalty until it becomes active.
    13. If a team’s status is set to "inactive", they will not be assigned matches 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.
    14. Once per season, when scheduling is deemed to be excessively difficult or impractical, a team may use their "team  postponement" to postpone one match without penalty, to be scheduled and played the following week.
    15. A match may not be postponed more than once.
    16. Teams may not postpone any matches on the last week of a season .
    17. 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.
    18. Occasionally, there may be significant events or circumstances, outside of teams 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.
    19. 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.
    20. The scheduled times are according to local time. For example, EST in winter and EDT in summer.
  4. Challenges
    1. The League offers a "Challenge" option which allows teams 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. Barring special circumstances, a team, in order to be able to challenge, must have been active when the weekly matches were generated.
    3. In the event the League is unable to assign a weekly match to a team, that team will be permitted additional challenge(s) for that week as replacement(s).
    4. Challenge matches must be scheduled, played, and have their scores recorded on the website no later than the following Monday at 1600 UTC.
    5. 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 24 hours before the match is to take place. If a challenge match is canceled within 24 hours of its scheduled time, it may be considered a forfeit by the team that cancels.
  5. Matches Format & Maps
    1. Once a match begins, it must be completed in one session.
    2. Rounds are to be 4 minutes long.
    3. By default the map should be set to either of the large maps, teams may only play on a small map if both teams agree to it in writing before the match.
    4. The maximum amount of time between games within matches is 3 minutes.
    5. A match is to be played as  Best-of-5 Rounds. When one team wins three rounds, the match is officially over, and no scores should be reported for the remaining games.Timeouts can only be taken for technical reasons, should be no more than 10 minutes long and are limited to 1 per team per game.
    6. Teams must not voluntarily forfeit any match.
    7. All matches are to be played with the game type "Competitive."
    8. Teams must start each round with 2 rostered players
  6. Scoring System
    1. Teams enter the score themselves. Both teams need to submit the score for the match to be accepted.
    2. The website requires users to enter the score for each round individually.
    3. If one team wins the first three rounds, do not enter scores for the fourth round.
    4. In the case where a forfeit is necessary, teams should submit a forfeit (10-0, 10-0, 10-0). teams should attempt to resolve forfeits on their own, and open a ticket in the case of a dispute.
    5. Teams have a 10-minute buffer from the scheduled match time to the time it takes to start the match. However, teams should do their best to start their matches on time.
    6. If one team is waiting for another team, the waiting team must post a message in Ultimechs discord’s VRML's section (tagging their opponent) or show other proof to League Moderators that they were ready at the scheduled time.
    7. Once the 10-minute buffer has elapsed, the team that is responsible for the delay forfeits the first round.
    8. If a further 10 minutes elapses without match commencement, the offending team is officially declared a 'no-show' and their opponent will be given a forfeit after opening a ticket with the Moderators with proof of the "no-show". See rule 6.4 regarding submitting forfeits.
    9. In the case of a forfeit, the "forfeit" option should be selected from the dropdown box when submitting scores.
    10. Mercy is to be in effect at 10 points advantage after that point the current score is what is to be reported to the website. (No points made after 10 advantage is to be reported to the site).
  7. Technical Issues
    1. Team’s are responsible for all of their own technical issues. This includes, but is not limited to, hardware, software and internet problems.
    2. In the event that a connection with another team or player is lost and an interference occurs, a Moderator should be called to determine how to advance. If a resolution cannot be reached in a reasonable amount of time, the team or player who disconnected from the match is subject to forfeiting the round, game, or match at the moderator’s discretion.
    3. Games or matches are not to be replayed due to a misinterpretation of the rules OR misconfiguration of game settings. Additionally, all controller configurations should be handled before a match is played. Rounds, games, or matches are not to be replayed due to players failing to check their controller configurations in advance. It is the players’ responsibility to ask the moderator for any clarification of the rule match in the event of a disagreement, and the outcome of a game or match will not be changed after the fact unless under extreme circumstances, judgment is reserved for tournament staff.
  8. Matches 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:
      1. Where neither teams made any arrangement efforts, the match will be considered a forfeit for both teams;
      2. If teams are unable to schedule a match, the match will be considered a forfeit for both teams;
      3. If a team has made little/no effort to schedule a match by the scheduling deadline (Friday, 1600 UTC), a forfeit should be submitted in favor of the opposing team;
      4. 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 forfeited on 2 or more occasions and the League Moderators have good cause to believe this will continue.
  9. Teams & Players
    1. Players are not allowed to play under more than one account, and must not have more than one account registered with VRML.
    2. Players must play using their registered VRML name. Do not hide your identity under another alias.
      1. All content on a player's profile, and all content on a team's profile, must abide by the following rules. All content, including names, logos, and artwork, etc., is forbidden if it:
        1. Is protected by copyrights/royalties/third-party rights and the user has no written permission;
        2. Resemble or is identical to a brand/trademark, whether registered or not;
        3. Resemble or is identical to a Ultimech community member other than themself;
        4. Resemble or is identical to a VRML representative (excluding the VRML representatives themselves using the name);
        5. Is deemed too hard to read, distinguish, interpret, or have multiple unnecessary characters;
        6. Is nonsense.
      2. In addition to the above, any profile content that is defamatory, pejorative, offensive, vulgar, obscene, anti-Semitic, homophobic, transphobic, sexist, racist, inciting hatred, or offending against good manners, is forbidden. Using alternative spelling or gibberish in order to avoid the requirements mentioned above, is also prohibited.
      3. 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.
        1. Names can not be claimed by alt accounts;
        2. Previous VRML Championship Winners as well as any teams that earn 'Honors' in VRML are awarded Legacy Status. With Legacy Status the claims to these names are held perpetually by their original owner regardless of team status;
        3. If you change your team's name, you forfeit all rights and claims to your team's previous names. Exceptions may be made for team  names entitled with Legacy status.
      4. The League Moderators reserve the right to suspend or ban any non complying player.
    3. Players in the league are required to maintain a professional image on the VRML website and in public branding, including having profile pictures, player names/logos, bios, and fan art that meet a reasonable standard of professionalism, enforceable at moderator discretion.
    4. Players acknowledge and follow Ultimechs guidelines on age restrictions and Terms of Use.
    5. Players acknowledge and follow their headset's regulations. For example: Oculus Terms of Use.
    6. Players acknowledge and follow Discord Terms of Use.
    7. Additional regional regulations or guidelines, based on your location, may apply.
    8. In order for a team to go "active" they must have their Discord accounts linked to their VRML website accounts and be members of the Ultimechs Discord server.
    9. Players who are rostered on a team on any Monday at 1500 UTC can play only for that team, not another, until the following Monday at 1500 UTC. Players can leave a team and join another but players will be on cooldown for leaving a team and cannot participate in any VRML match until the next matches are generated on the following Monday.
  10. 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 Moderation Leads, have complete discretion on penalties imposed for violations. Examples of penalties are: Round forfeit, match forfeit, team suspension, player suspension or player ban.
    2. Offering, receiving, or agreeing to give or receive any sort of compensation related to improperly influencing the outcome of a match is strictly prohibited.
    3. Any attempts to intentionally and improperly manipulate the ladder standings or MMR system through any means is strictly prohibited.
    4. Any attempts to abuse the scheduling/score entry system in order to improperly manipulate match results and/or ladder standings is strictly prohibited.
    5. "Cheating" is intended to include the intentional or reckless manipulation of the game or its code in such a way as to confer an unfair advantage on one side or the other.
    6. "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 Resolution Games. Non-exhaustive examples include:
      1. Use of a VPN or any other network manipulation method, for the purpose of increasing lag or playing in a region other than the one in which the player currently resides;
      2. Any other imaginative cheats.
    7. Any use of the spectator client by participants during official matches, either directly or indirectly, to obtain an advantage of any kind is classified as cheating.
    8. The use of any object (except the floor, ground, or a playspace mat) to aid in physical motion is strictly prohibited. Banned objects include, but are not limited to: trampolines, couches, steps tools, staircases, beds, indoor swing, sun lounger, tanning bed, gazebo etc.
    9. Players are not allowed to use any type of platform, furniture or equipment to raise themselves from the in-game platform in an unnatural way. This is to maintain competitive integrity, but also to prevent players from sustaining injuries to themselves when playing Ultimechs.
  11. Streaming, Media, & Spectators
    1. An "Unofficial Observer" is any entity in spectator mode during an official match that is not an Official League caster, Moderator, or any other VRML personnel present in the match expressly for official purposes pertaining to VRML.
    2. VRML reserves exclusive rights to the coverage of VRML matches. The VRML can assign the coverage rights of a match or of several matches to a third party. In this case, terms and conditions would have to be arranged with the VRML management before the match. No unofficial observers are allowed in a match being covered by VRML
    3. In general, VRML will contact any team if they wish to broadcast one of their matches. If no contact is made, and the match is part of the regular season, individual teams  are allowed to arrange their own broadcasts in accordance to the following:
      1. Both teams must explicitly agree to spectators in writing before the match;
      2. NO team is obligated to allow unofficial observers during their match. Any refusal, without explanation, by either team, is enough to void the privilege of any unofficial observer to be present during a match. Any form of pressure to make a team use an unofficial observer will be considered harassment and punitive actions may be administered, including, but not limited to, match forfeiture or suspensions;
      3. When conflicting voices between teams occur on whether they agreed or not to allow an unofficial observer, screenshots of the agreement will be requested. Failure to provide the requested information will result in a forfeit;
      4. Teams agreeing to the allowance of Unofficial Observers in their match accept the potential strategic risks inherent in allowing spectators.
    4. If VRML is covering a match, no additional spectators are permitted, for any reason, in that match.
    5. Matches cast by VRML must start on time. There is a grace period of 10 minutes before the first round is declared a forfeit for either one or both teams.
    6. VRML may ban specific individuals/entities from observing VRML matches.
    7. All teams must permit League-sanctioned spectators or Casters access to official matches.
    8. Recording of your personal perspective is recommended, regardless of whether your match is cast or not.
    9. Official casts will be streamed via the designated League Twitch channels (Ultimechs_VRML - Twitch).
    10. Teams who qualify for special events such as the Finals may be required by the VRML Production and or Moderation  to participate to a reasonable level (enforceable by moderators) in promotion of the league and/or their team. An example of this is that there may be mandatory interviews related to special events.
    11. League Casters must abide by the code of conduct maintained by the Casting Coordinator and approved by the League Moderators.
    12. League Moderators may permit a co-caster to stream on another private channel to assist with replay capture.
    13. The League Moderators may, subject to having good cause, require a particular player to stream or record their matches.
    14. Teams are expected to act appropriately during an official VRML cast.
  12. Decisions & Sanctions
    1. Contravention of any of the foregoing rules shall be sanctionable on review by League Moderators.
    2. League Moderators reserve the right to:
      1. Void or change scores for any match or challenge after it has been played;
      2. Enact disciplinary procedures for any alleged or perceived player or team misconduct;
      3. Draft, edit, publish and interpret the rules of the League;
      4. Settle disputes and issue rulings.
    3. Formal disputes amongst League players and their members are to be lodged directly with League Moderators via Discord.
      1. Unfounded and baseless accusations against teams 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. 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 player from participating in any further League events until they are deemed compliant by the League Moderators.
    6. 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 an appropriate sanction.
    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. Reports made regarding rule violations during a match must be made within 48 hours of the match’s scheduled start time via the support server (accessible here https://discord.gg/ZJncUGRam9). Reports of this nature, made more than 48 hours after the triggering occurrence, will not be acted upon.
Last updated by Hertage @ 2023-04-14 23:48 UTC