freezai
Live for the Applause
Hello everyone, I want to talk about the policy regarding server errors/bugs that directly impact the outcome of the game. The context of this is a recent DPP LC game in LCPL where an impossible damage roll completely changed the game. Both sides submitted teams prior to the match and it was determined that the roll that occured in the game was mathematically impossible. An administrative decision was taken and server errors were deemed to be a part of the game and no action was taken.
Quoting from the tournament guideline and regulations:
In my opinion, matches decided by a bug should be taken on a case by case basis, and a rematch should be awarded if the server error is deemed to have a direct influence on the outcome of the game. This is a fair solution in a situation without any obvious answer. It also wouldn't affect situations where, say, someone only won 5-0 or 4-0 instead of 6-0 in a situation where the winning team received a glitch in their favour, because then the host can make a judgement decision regarding it.
Replay: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4lc-572160700 (Go to turn 31)
The roll in question: Both sets were known, and the unrevealed pokemon at the end of the game was Mantyke.
196 Atk Life Orb Carvanha Aqua Jet vs. 236 HP / 156+ Def Gligar in Sun: 6-8 (23 - 30.7%) -- 22.8% chance to 4HKO (6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 8)
The opposing Gligar lost 8% of its health! (What actually happened)
Quoting from the tournament guideline and regulations:
There's not a lot of precedent for handling server errors, but it appears to say that glitches are a part and parcel of playing on PS, which I don't think should be the case. It's not fair for players to be punished for something completely out of their control, especially in important scenarios. I think it is important to address this issue now as although this was just LCPL, imagine the outrage this could cause if a bug were to occur in something like SPL, OST, or another highly prestigious tour.Simulator Glitches: Any battle mechanics not properly implemented in the simulator used for a tournament battle are fair game, unless explicitly banned by that tournament's rules. Illegal movesets that are not restricted by the simulator fall into this category as well. However, this does not include faulty tier scripts; for example, if there was a bug in the BW OU tier script that allowed you to use Drizzle and Swift Swim on the same team, taking advantage of this would result in disqualification in that battle. If a game breaking glitch is discovered, we will make a blanket tournament ban on that glitch via an announcement in the Tournaments forum until it is fixed.
In my opinion, matches decided by a bug should be taken on a case by case basis, and a rematch should be awarded if the server error is deemed to have a direct influence on the outcome of the game. This is a fair solution in a situation without any obvious answer. It also wouldn't affect situations where, say, someone only won 5-0 or 4-0 instead of 6-0 in a situation where the winning team received a glitch in their favour, because then the host can make a judgement decision regarding it.
Replay: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4lc-572160700 (Go to turn 31)
The roll in question: Both sets were known, and the unrevealed pokemon at the end of the game was Mantyke.
196 Atk Life Orb Carvanha Aqua Jet vs. 236 HP / 156+ Def Gligar in Sun: 6-8 (23 - 30.7%) -- 22.8% chance to 4HKO (6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 8)
The opposing Gligar lost 8% of its health! (What actually happened)