faq.php

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Updated: 03/17/13 - <a href="faq-old.php">Old FAQ</a></p>

<p><strong>Table of Content</strong></p>
<ol>
    <li><a href="faq.php#mrules">Rules</a> - v0.2 (11 March 2013)</li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#magreement">Agreement</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#mfaq">Faq</a> - v0.4 (11 March 2013)</li>
</ol>

<pre><strong>Notice:</strong> The ladder is <em>not</em> in any way associated with
the official Wesnoth forum, it's moderators and/or<br/> the developers of Wesnoth. Please don't use the forum to start new ladder threads and don't ever contact <br/> the Wesnoth staff or server admins about ladder related issues - they won't & can't help you.</pre>

<a name="mrules"></a><h2>Rules</h2>
<h3>Ladder Rating & Ranking</h3>
<ol>
    <li>To be <em>rated</em> you just need to play a game. The more games you
        play against different opponents, the more accurate your rating becomes. All
        players that have played one or more games always have a rating.
    </li>
    <li>To be <em>ranked</em> you must have played at least;
        <ol>
            <li>10 games <strong>and</strong></li>
            <li>have played at least one game the recent 30 days. The rank orders
                players by comparing their rating and also the amount of games they've
                played. The more, the better, in both cases.
            </li>
        </ol>
    </li>
    <li>To be listed in the ladder table you must;
        <ol>
            <li>have a rating that's 1300 or above, <strong>and</strong></li>
            <li>have played at least one game the recent 30 days <strong>and</strong></li>
            <li>played at least 10 games in total. You can read the <a href="faq.php#passive">details here</a>.</li>
        </ol>
    </li>
</ol>

<h3>Game setup</h3>
<ol>
    <li>All games are 1 vs 1. You're allowed to play however many games you want,
        with whoever that is participating in the ladder and that wants to compete
        with you. To find an opponent for a ladder game you'd have to contact people
        in the ladder and/or create (ladder) games on the official server. You can
        find players by using the ladder Discord https://discord.gg/Ud3sKzf and also email challenge them via their profile.
    </li>
    <li>Game must be played on one of the <em>Official Servers</em> using the
        original unmodified software.
    </li>
    <li>The name of the game <em>must start</em> with <em>(Ladder)</em>. It should then be followed by your Elo score.
        The ranking <em>may</em> be rounded to nearest hundredth (1545 becomes 1500).
        It's recommended but not mandatory to add the ladder website as well <em>http://wesnoth.gamingladder.info/</em>. 
        This is to encourage new players to find the Ladder website.
         An example of a ladder game name according to the above would be: <em>Ladder http://wesnoth.gamingladder.info/ (eyerouge 1600)</em> Another
         When joining a game make sure your opponent is aware of your ELO.
    <li>Only the current stable and development versions of Battle for Wesnoth
        for your platform are legal for you. Always make sure both you and your
        opponent use the same version before the game begins to avoid all kinds of
        trouble.
    </li>
    <li>You must have downloaded your copy of Wesnoth from a site that the
        wesnoth.org download section links to.
    </li>
    <li>The loading of Saved Games isn't allowed unless you both explicitly agree
        that it is or the rules suggest it.
    </li>
    <li>Currently you may use either the Ladder Era or the default era. No other eras are
        accepted. Once the Ladder Era is out of its tasting phase it will be the only era allowed.
    </li>
    <li>Use map settings: On Shuffle Sides: On</li>
    <li>Time limits are not required, but if you do please set according to the
        following:
        <ul>
            <li>Reservoir: 300</li>
            <li>Init. Limit: 300</li>
            <li>Turn Bonus: 300</li>
            <li>Action Bonus: 0</li>
        </ul>
        These are the lowest values allowed unless you <em>agree</em> on
        another higher or lower setting with your opponent <em>before</em> the game
        starts. (If you're an apprentice be warned: <em>For many total newcomers to
            the world of Wesnoth the recommended time setting can be harsh.</em> You have
        to eat many Wose roots before you can play the game skillfully under the
        perils of time. Try to agree on more time before starting the game if you're
        worried about this.)
    </li>
    <li>Settings within the game lobby: Be in different teams, have the map
        default amount of gold and default income.
    </li>
    <li>Observers: It's strongly encouraged that you allow observers, but you
        have the right to play ladder games with observers turned off. If at least
        one player requests that observers are turned off then observers must be
        turned off. A player who enters a game with observers on <em>automatically
            agrees</em> on allowing observers. Notice: If you allow observers your
        opponent or his friends can observe your moves with another instance of
        Wesnoth. In general people don't cheat, and it's considered to be more polite
        and friendly to allow observers.
    </li>
</ol>

<h3>Players</h3>
<ol>
    <li>When playing a ladder game you <em>must</em> a) use the exact and same
        nick in the game as you use on the ladder and b) also <em>make sure</em> that
        the opponent also has his original ladder name when playing a ladder game
        with you. If you fail you may get your game result deleted by admin without
        any warning. It doesn't matter which one of you isn't using his/her real
        ladder nickname - as long as one isn't doing it the game result is void, and
        you're not even entitled to report the game in the first place. In cases
        where you disconnect and can't get your real nickname back on a reconnect
        then you should still use your exact real ladder nickname followed by an
        extenstion marking that it's a temporary solution. Example: nickname_2 or
        nickname_tmp. If using an extension make sure it's crystal clear you're doing
        so, especially if you have hard to understand nickname. If somebody has hi-
        jacked your nickname then don't play until you have resolved the situation.
        It is also a good idea to register your nickname on the Wesnoth forums so
        that it requires a password to log into the lobby. This will make sure no one
        ever uses your nickname.
    </li>
    <li>If two players communicate the language used should be English
        <em>unless</em> they both agree to use another language. If an observer speaks
        openly in a game, so that the players can see the text, she/he is only
        allowed to do so in the very same language the players use. Private chat
        <em>between</em> the observers may occur in any language.
    </li>
    <li>The <em>winner</em> of the game is allowed to report the result to the
        ladder after each finished game. The loser isn't.
    </li>
    <li>Except for the cases below the winner/loser is declared by Wesnoth.</li>
    <li>In cases where <em>one</em> of the players get disconnected and/or
        disconnects the other player must a) wait 15 minutes for b) the disconnecter
        to return to the game or server lobby and c) state his/her intention to
        continue the game.<em> If</em> the disconnecter does all this then the game
        must be loaded by the non-disconnecter and continued from the most recent
        save. If the non-disconnector lacks the save game it may be created/loaded
        by the disconnecter instead. If a player disconnects and fails to return to
        the game or server lobby within 15 minutes he/she loses the game. If a player
        disconnects and returns to the game or server lobby within time but doesn't
        explicitly state that he/she wishes to continue the game he/she loses the
        game. <em>Everything</em> in this paragraph can be handled in another way if
        the players <em>all agree </em>on it.
    </li>
    <li>In cases where <em>all </em>players get disconnected due to official
        server failure then a) all players must try to rejoin the server lobby within
        10 minutes from the disconnect in order to resume the game by loading. b) If
        the server is still officially unreachable after 15 minutes the game ends
        as a draw and isn't reported to the ladder unless both players agree on
        something else. c) If one player reconnects, waits 15 minutes for the other
        player to show up and the other player doesn't, the player who re-connected
        wins the game.
    </li>
    <li>If all parties at any time agree that they began playing the game using
        the wrong settings they're allowed to disconnect and start a new game
        instead. The correct settings are defined in this document.
    </li>
    <li>Always save a replay of your game - it might be of value in the future
        and will also prevent the most common cheaters.
    </li>

    <li>If you manage to make a false report by mistake please send us a mail and
        we'll correct it.
    </li>
    <li>As soon as an out of sync (OOS) message is shown to a player that player
        must report it to the other. The game must then be loaded from <em>the most
            recent saved turn before</em> the first OOS-message. OOS errors mean that
        the game sends different types of info to the players, which in the end
        will result you seeing all kinds of things that haven't isn't seen by your
        opponent and vice versa. In essence you'll be playing two separate games
        against nobody, which doesn't make any sense. If you ignore the OOS-error
        messages and keep on playing the game is declared invalid unless it's re-
        loaded according to the above.
    </li>
    <li>In cases where the OOS problem arise, the player requesting a re-load due
        to the OSS error must be able to validate the error with a screenshot and a
        save file <em>if</em> the opponent doesn't get the same error message <em>and<em>
                the opponent actually demands the validation.</li>
    <li>It's strongly recommended that you always finish a game the same day it
        was started because experience tells us that players you don't know can be
        problematic to get hold of. If however both players explicitly agree that
        they want to finish the game another time by saving and then reloading it in
        the future they are allowed to do so. If one player must leave and cannot
        finish a game they can request to save the game and continue later. If the
        match is close with neither side having a real advantage then you must wait
        to finish the match before it is allowed to be reported. However, if one side
        is winning and the other side requests a save to continue later, and then
        you are unable to reach that person for a match within a week you are then
        allowed to go ahead and report the match as a win.
    </li>
</ol>

<a name="magreement"></a><h2>Agreement</h2>
<ol>
    <li>By registering or using the ladder you agree to follow all rules and
        regulations.
    </li>
    <li>You swear that you won't ever cheat, report false results or fail to
        report correct ones, abuse or exploit this system in any way.
    </li>
    <li>You are only allowed to have one account. If you want to create a new
        account and deactivate your old please contact us. Contact info for the
        current Ladder Admin can be found at the bottom of this page.
    </li>
    <li>If you suspect a player breaks the agreement you must contact us.
        Don't fear - we treat all correspondence with discretion. Whatever you do,
        <em>don't </em>start rumours or accusations in the open as it never leads to
        anything productive.
    </li>
    <li>Using this ladder and our services isn't a right - it's a privilege that
        we choose to give to you as long as we want and as long as it's possible.
    </li>
    <li>If there are breaches in the agreement and/or other for us apparent
        reasons to do so the site administration has the right to ban users and/
        or delete/modify results and other info, together with any other necessary
        measures that a situation might require for us to secure the ladders
        integrity and the intended functions of it as the admin envisions them.
    </li>
    <li>The rules are always a subject for change. If many players require a
        modification, addition or deletion or if the admin sees fit the rules will be
        revised. Revisions are marked with a version number and they're announced in
        the news section as well as in here.
    </li>
</ol>

<a name="mfaq"></a><h2>FAQ</h2>

<ul style="list-style: none">
    <li><a href="faq.php#what">What is this site?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#howtoreport">How do I report the result of a game?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#unranked">I've played x games. Why am I still
            unranked?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#unladder">Why don't I show in the ladder listing?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#cheaters">Won't people cheat?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#logins">I can't login...</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#friends">Is there an easy way to add all ladder
            members as friends in-game?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#suckage">Does my rating suck? Is having 1500 good?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#passive">What does passive rank mode mean?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#elochange">Help! My Elo points changed for no
            reason!</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#countdown">What is the countdown in days for in my
            profile?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#replay">How can I upload a replay?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#sportsmanship">What is sportsmanship?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#comments">How do I write a game comment?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#avgp">What is Average P W/L/T in the profile?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#rulings">Where do I get a ruling?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#rulessuck">The rules suck.</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#playnowlist">What is the stuff next to the players
            nick in the waiting for game list?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#elo">How is the rating calculated?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#projection">What are the points in () that I see in
            the profiles?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#provisional">What is a provisional player?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#protection">Won't players just play against weaker
            players?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#nofun">It's not fun or a good idea to use a ranking
            system. The Wesnoth developers/community/santa is against it.</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#help">How can I help?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#profile">How can I edit my profile?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#avatars">What good are the avatars?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#ideas">I have an idea. Who do I contact?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#contact">How do I contact you?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#graphics">Where's the graphics from?</a></li>
    <li><a href="faq.php#aboutofficial">Why is the ladder not an official
            part of the Wesnoth community?</a></li>
</ul>
<br/>
<a name="what"></a><h4>What is this site?</h4>
<p>
    It's a site that helps you keep track of your skills in the excellent open
    source game Battle for Wesnoth (wesnoth.org). By playing against others who
    also use the site you can report the results of your games and get a rating.
    You can also use the system to find players of similar skill. All you have to
    do to start participating is to Join, play a game against another person that
    uses the ladder, and then let the winner report the result of the game.
</p>

<a name="howtoreport"></a><h4>How do I report the result of a game?</h4>

<p>
    Granted you have created an account, you press Report in the main menu. You
    then tell us who the winner / loser is, and also your account password.
    That's it.
</p>

<a name="unranked"></a><h4>I've played x games. Why am I still unranked?</h4>
<p>
    You must play at least 10 games to get a ranking. The more games you play,
    the more accurate it gets. 10 is currently the bare minimum.
</p>

<a name="unladder"></a><h4>Why don't I show in the ladder listing?</h4>
<p>
    You show up in the ladder listing if you <em>are</em> ranked and also have a
    rating of at least 1300. While any player can get to see his ranking, only
    the ranked players that have a rating of at least 1300 will appear on the
    ladders list. This is to keep it free from clutter and to only show the top
    players.
</p>

<a name="cheaters"></a><h4>Won't people cheat?</h4>
<p>
    In short, this is an imaginary problem. So the answer is no.<br/>
    I've written a more extensive answer to this one <a href="http://
www.wesnoth.org/wiki/Competitive_Gaming">in here</a>.
</p>

<a name="logins"></a><h4>I can't log in...</h4>
<p>
    These are the reasons for why you can't log in. You;
</p>
<ol>
    <li>Haven't registered: The site requires that you're a registered user to
        enter it.
    </li>
    <li>Registered but haven't activated your account: When you register you get
        an e-mail with an activation link. Find the e-mail, check your spam in, and
        click the activation link. If you haven't activated your account the site
        <em>will tell you</em> this when you try to log in.
    </li>
    <li>Registered, activated your account, but get a wrong username/password
        error: You enter the wrong username and/or password. Check your info in the
        welcome e-mail, we included it there for you to remember it better.
    </li>
    <li>Registered, activated your account, but nothing at all happens when you
        ty to log in - you don't even get an error message: This is a common problem
        and depends on your browser not accepting cookies. Please change your browser
        settings so it accepts our cookies. If you use Internet Explorer you could
        also try to add <em>http://wesnoth.gamingladder.info/</em> to your trusted sites
        list within IE. We do however strongly suggest that you abandon the use
        of Internet Explorer and go with an open source browser instead, like for
        example Firefox.
    </li>
</ol>

<a name="friends"></a><h4>Is there an easy way to add all ladder members as
    friends in-game?</h4>
<p>

    Yes. Amazing you asked that question ;) Use our always up to date <a
            href="friends.php">friends list.</a>
</p>

<a name="suckage"></a><h4>Does my rating suck? Is having 1500 good?</h4>
<p>
    Many players that are not familiar with Elo's Rating System believe that
    1500 is a newcomers rating. Understand this: <em>It is not the case!</em>
    When a player registers at the ladder he/she gets a rating of 1500, but,
    that rating is really the expected rating of an <em>average player</em> and
    not of a newcomer to the game. This means that people that are new to the
    game or still learning it are <em>expected</em> to have a rating that’s way
    lower than 1500. It's normal. A player who has been around for a while and
    knows the game is expected to be average and have around 1500, while a really
    skilled veteran would have a higher. As a reference, players that have around
    2000 are considered strong, and those beyond 2500 grandmasters.
</p>
<p>
    Whatever your rating is, it <em>doesn't suck</em>. The rating is a measure of
    your skills, <em>in relation to the other players</em> on the ladder. It gets
    better and more accurate the more you play the game and the more different
    people you meet. Becoming good at Wesnoth takes very long time and a lot
    of patience. If you lack either your Wesnoth career will be short. Use the
    ladder as a personal measure tool, to see your own development and to find
    players that are about the same skill level as you are - that's when the game
    is most fun to play. Please <em>don't</em> see it as competition until you
    are truly ready for it and know you can handle the heat. And never lose faith
    because the rating says you are a newcomer skill wise or rank low on the
    ladder. After all, you are supposed to until you start mastering the game.
    With time your skills will grow, and so will your rating.
</p>
<a name="passive"></a><h4>What does passive rank mode mean?</h4>
<p>
    In order to keep the ladder meaningful, up to date and to encourage activity
    we have a rule that says that you must have played at least one game within
    30 days if you wish to be listed as a valid contender in the ladder. If
    you don't play a game for 31 days your account will be set in <em>passive
        rating mode</em>. While being in a passive rating mode you won't get listed
    as competing in the ladder and you'll temporarily lose your place in it
    <em>until</em> you play a new game. You'll then be considered to be an active
    player again and you will be automatically removed from the passive rating
    mode. You will of course also <em>regain your proper rating</em>, taking the
    new game into account, as usual. And to answer the question everybody fears:
    No, you <em>won't lose</em> rating while beeing in passive rating mode. If
    you had 1500 when you were put in the passive mode, was passive for 3 months
    and then play a game where you win 10 points, you would then be an active
    player again, but now with 1510 points.
</p>
<a name="elochange"></a><h4>Help! My Elo points changed for no reason!</h4>
<p>
    Nothing ever happens without reason, and if it does then the ladder needs
    some fixing. These are the only times your Elo points will change:
</p>
<ul>
    <li>You have undone one or several games you reported. When doing so you
        will still have the points from the game(s) for a while. In the not distant
        future they will however disappear, as they should, giving you your real Elo
        rating.
    </li>
    <li>For a similar reason your Elo might change without you ever undoing a
        game: If you play against Donald, and he, before you two play, has made a
        false or wrong report, then Donald will have a higher Elo rating then he
        really has when you play against him. This means that if you win over Donald,
        that maybe had an Elo of 1600, you win too many points since he really never
        had that many to begin with. Later on, after you have played Donald, his
        rating get's corrected by him/us undoing some of his wrongfully reported
        games he played before he met you. Thus, the points you won when you beat
        Donald could be lowered to be correct. The points you will get for winning
        over Donald are whatever his correct Elo would give you, at the time you
        played.
    </li>
    <li>The above could be extended to x amount of players: If Donald's Elo
        is based on say 2 wrongly reported games, and Donald plays you, and you
        play Anna, and Anna plays Flash, then you, Anna and Flash (and Donald of
        course) would all get corrected Elo ratings the second Donald's rating is
        corrected. The cool part with this is that it doesn't matter how complex the
        relations are: The ladder will always fix it. You don't ever have to think
        about this, as your rating would usually be correct or about to be corrected
        automatically if needed. Add to that that it's also very rare to play against
        a player that has made false or wrong reports since a vast majority seldom or
        never report false/wrong.
    </li>
    <li>You played a game and won or lost, and it was reported. Hence your Elo
        would change. Check your game history to see if it refreshes your memory.
    </li>
    <li>Somebody reported a game which you supposedly played. Check your profiles
        game history to see the most recent games. If somebody reported a false game,
        please contact that person and ask him/her to undo it. If you get no response
        then contact us and we'll take care of it. Never contact us directly without
        trying to get in touch with that person.
    </li>
    <li>Once in a while we upgrade the ladders rating system and in particular
        the formulas we use to calculate you Elo. In such a rare case it would be
        announced by us as news, and the effect would be global on the ladder, so
        all other players would get equal changes in Elo points as you. Typically we
        adjust the K-values and ranges where they're valid. However, all such changes
        have retroactive effects in the name of fairness.
    </li>
</ul>

<a name="countdown"></a><h4>What is the countdown in days for in my profile?
</h4>
<p>
    It shows you how many days you have left until you're put in passive rank
    mode. You can only see this if you're logged in and view your own profile.
</p>

<a name="replay"></a><h4>How can I upload a replay?</h4>
<p>When reporting a game you can choose to upload a replay if you want to.
    It must be smaller than 200 kB and a gz-file. All replays you upload can be
    downloaded and watched by others.
</p>

<a name="sportsmanship"></a><h4>What is sportsmanship?</h4>
<p>
    Sportsmanship is a type of karma-system we offer our players. It's a way to
    rate the conduct of your opponents by giving them a numerical value from 1
    (lowest, worst) to 5 (highest, best). The winner can rate the loser when he/
    she reports the win. The loser can rate the winner via the profile -> game
    history. Once given a rating can't be changed.<br/><br/>

    Every player has a sportsmanship average in his/her profile. It's the sum
    of all his averages divided by the number of ratings. We strongly encourage
    you to rate your opponents as it will make it easier to spot people that
    behave badly or in any other way not wished by the general wesnoth or ladder
    community.<br/><br/>

    Also keep in mind that however you rate people, it is always official. Be
    prepared to stand up for your opinions and be open with them, or keep them to
    yourself and don't use the rating at all.<br/><br/>

    <strong>How to rate</strong><br/>
    If you've played a casual, normal game where nothing popped up then that
    equals a 3. It means that the opponent followed the general multiplayers
    conduct and also abided under all the ladder rules. Please keep in mind a
    3 is not a bad rating. It's actually what's expected in most games as it
    signifies "normality".<br/><br/>
    If you happen to play against somebody that's friendly or helps you out,
    enchants your game play session or does something which makes him/her stand
    out as a nice person measured by general multiplayer standards or the ladder
    rules, then he/she should get a 4 or
    5. Reward nice people.<br/><br/>
    Likewise, when the contrary is true, a
    person should get a 1 or 2. Examples for when it would occur are: Player
    is spamming, not responding several turns or reporting AFK, disconnecting
    without notice and without coming back or messaging, acting like 7-year old
    from hell, etc etc. In essence, anything that normal sportsmanship would deem
    as bad and which is unwanted according the ladder rules and/or the general
    Wesnoth multiplayer community should guarantee a rating of 1 or 2. Punish the
    wicked. However if you continually give 1’s and 2’s to players for no reason
    (trolling) then you will be subject to banning.
    <br/><br/>
    Notice: Sportsmanship has <em>nothing</em> with player skills to do
    or how good or bad a player is at the game itself! It's a rating of <em>the
        social aspect</em> of gaming and a measure of the attitude of people.
</p>

<a name="comments"></a><h4>How do I write a game comment?</h4>
<p>
    The participants of a game can comment it if they choose to do so. The winner
    inputs his/her comment when reporting the game. The loser can add a comment
    by pressing L/W/WL/Add in his profile's recent game history. Please keep in
    mind that comments are always official. Use the English language and make
    sure the public can understand what you write. Don't be offensive or an idiot
    in some other wat, or admin will delete your comment(s) and/or your account
    without a warning. Once posted you can't change the comment (yes, this is a
    feature and not us beeing lazy coders), so please read it through before you
    post it as nobody will change it or correct it for you later on.
</p>

<a name="avgp"></a><h4>Wtf is Average P W/L/T in the profile?</h4>
<p>

    The Average P WLT shows x / y / z, which translates to the average points
    the player wins when she wins, the average points the player loses when she
    loses, and also the average points the player gets/loses per game in total. I
    hope you all see the potential already, as this great info actually tells you
    what kind of a player you/the others are:
</p>
<p>
    The higher average win points a player has, the more higher rated players she
    plays (and wins) against. If a player always plays with opponents that have
    about the same rating as her she would have a an average win point of 12. The
    higher win point, the tougher opponents the player challenged and won over,
    and vice versa.
</p>
<p>
    As for the average loss points, the opposite is the case: The lower average
    loss point (remember it's a negative number, so -11 is lower than -10) a
    player has the more ass whooping she got from players that have a lower
    rating than herself. Again, if this number is somewhere around -12, then the
    player usually loses against other players that had about the same rating as
    herself when the game took place.
</p><p>
    The average points in total is the less usable of the 3 numbers: It displays
    all the points you have earned - the points you have lost / the total amount
    of games you have played. With other words, it tells you how many points you
    get or lose in an average game. In reality though this average game can never
    exist and the other two figures are way better pointers towards that end.
</p>

<a name="rulings"></a><h4>Where do I get a ruling?</h4>
<p>
    The ladder admin doesn't support or encourage rulings of any kind. The
    reasons for that are many practical ones: It would require a constant supply
    of veteran players/truly objective referees. On top of that, even veteran
    players have different opinions from time to time. In many cases there's
    simply no wesnoth oracle that can state something as a fact, on the contrary,
    most of their work would be qualified guesses.
</p>
<p>Add to this the more theoretical reasons that are separate from the
    already mentioned: We don't want to centralize the ladder or the running of
    it more than necessary. We don't want a boss or ruler to dictate who wins or
    not, since it's not our perspective on how an open source community should
    work. On the contrary, we think it should be self-sustaining. Lastly, the
    rules are pretty clear about most things and simple to follow. Whenever they
    say that a game is won or lost then it is just that. If you think that the
    rules need to be revised we'd welcome any input you have on them granted you
    argue for your point. We update them whenever there's a need.
</p>

<a name="rulessuck"></a><h4>The rules suck.</h4>
<p>
    Somebody is bound to feel that way, but it's not really interesting unless
    you can explain why and you have sound arguments. If a majority of players
    want a rule change we'll fix it. Just prove your case. After all we're here
    to serve you, not enforce a special kind of game play nobody is interested
    in. The rules are still very early in development and we'd welcome any
    feedback.
</p>

<a name="playnowlist"></a><h4>What is the stuff next to the players nick in
    the waiting for game list?</h4>
<p>
    When a player puts him/her self in the waiting for game list the following
    info is seen in the entry:
</p>
<ol>
    <li>Nickname - the name of the player looking for a game.</li>
    <li>(rating) - this is the elo rating of the player.</li>
    <li>time - the amount of time that the player is still available.</li>
    <li>dev / sta / im - where to meet the player: If he/she is already
        waiting in the lobby of the development or stable version or if you should
        make contact by using an instant messenger.
    </li>
</ol>

<a name="elo"></a><h4>How is the rating calculated?</h4>
<p>
    We use a version of the Elo system, which is the same as most chess clubs use
    to rank their players. In short, the better players you beat, the more points
    you get and vice versa. The same rules apply to all players. We don't want to
    encourage players to start optimizing their points and doing calculations:
    Play because it's fun, not to milk out every point.
</p>
<p>
    The higher the K-value you have (and the better player you beat), the more
    points you win when winning. As in the real world we make it harder to get
    points the better rated you are. This insures us that inflation is cut down
    and, more importantly, that the top rated players really prove their skills.
    It also let's the newcomers obtain a more correct rating faster. Keep in mind
    that a player with an Elo of 1500 is an average player that knows the game.
    We consider a player that has more than MIDDLE_RATING to be <em>very skilled</
    i> compared to most of the competition, and having about 2500 equals to a
    grand master. Statistically speaking it should be rare to see players which
    such high ratings, and only a few are expected to reach those numbers.
</p>
The K value you get is based on your current Elo rating. These are the K-
values we use:
<ul>
    <li>0 to BOTTOM_RATING Elo points give a K value of BOTTOM_K_VAL</li>
    <li>1 to MIDDLE_RATING Elo points give a K value of MIDDLE_K_VAL</li>
    <li>1 to x Elo points give a K value of TOP_K_VAL</li>
</ul>

<a name="projection"></a><h4>What are the points in () that I see in the
    profiles?</h4>
<p>
    If you are logged in and view another players profile you'll see something
    that looks like this: (10p / 8p) near his name. That is the projected win/
    loss of points for you, if you play against him/her. In our example it means
    that you would win 10p if you won (and he/she lose 10p) and that he/she
    would win 8p if he/she won. It could of course be any other numbers, like
    (2p / 13p). The points you win or lose depend on your rating compared with
    that persons rating. The better you are than the person, the less you win by
    winning over him/her.
</p>

<a name="provisional"></a><h4>What is a provisional player?</h4>
<p>
    In a players profile you can sometimes see the title <em>provisional</
    i>. In an effort to encourage competitive play, all new players to the
    ladder will be given 10 games of new player protection: Their rank will be
    simply "provisional". Playing a game against a provisional player is worth
    the normal amount of points you would get if you win. If you lose against a
    provisional player then you are protected, and you would only lose whatever
    you would lose in a normal game, but divided with 4. We use the provisional
    mode to encourage competitive players and to make new players get an accurate
    rating faster by giving them a much higher K while they are provisional.
</p>

<a name="protection"></a><h4>Won't players just play against weaker players
    or stop playing to maintain their high rating?</h4>
<p>
    First of all, it's true that players have great freedom to choose their
    opponents and wouldn't rush into a game against a person that’s much more
    skilled than them. That said, why would/should they? If players behave like
    that then their opponents would get easy wins, so it's fair to say that this
    balances it self. If Anna won't play others who are over-skilled compared to
    her, nor would anyone else play against her if she's over-skilled compared to
    him/her.
</p>
<p>
    Second, the larger the rating difference is, the less points the higher
    ranked player will win. If the higher ranked player (2000) wins against the
    lower ranked (1500) he gets 1 p. If the lower ranked player wins against the
    higher in our example he gets 23 p. This suggests that the higher ranked
    player is taking a large risk point wise when facing an average player with
    1500: While she can only win 1 p, she can lose 23 p. With that in mind, is
    the higher ranked player with 2000 likely to want to play the lesser ranked
    player, with 1500? In many cases, we believe it's not so. What this shows us
    is that players will usually stick to their own division, looking for other
    players with skills that are around their own. It is also a fact that the
    higher rated player would win 0 points if the difference in rating is &gt;=
    670.
</p>
<p>
    Third, a player can't really stop playing to "protect" her rating: The ladder
    demands that she plays at least one game every 30 days. If she doesn't she
    will be temporarily put into passive rating mode and won't be listed in the
    ladder. Then there's also the fact that a skilled player who only plays
    the bare minimum amount of games will face a lot of indirect competition
    of the other skilled players since they get to play more games, thus get
    more chances of improving their rating, which results in the passive player
    climbing down the ladder.
</p>

<a name="nofun"></a><h4>It's not fun or a good idea to use a ranking system.
    The Wesnoth developers/community/santa is against it.</h4>
<p>
    Fine. Don't use it then. The best part with this is that it's of free will.
    Nobody forces you to use it, and those who do use it don't bother you, do
    they? This is here for the people who <em>want to</em> use it.
</p>

<a name="help"></a><h4>How can I help?</h4>
<ul>
    <li>If you're a PHP coder that knows basic php and mysql you're welcome
        to contact us as we want some more simple functions added to the system.
    </li>
    <li>If you're not a coder you can find us one.</li>
    <li>If are good with graphics we welcome everything that's under GPL and
        that's Wesnoth related. Especially new menu icons or logo. Contact us before
        you start working.
    </li>
    <li>Link to us and use us</li>
    <li>Keep supporting the Wesnoth community and learn your friends to
        play
    </li>
</ul>

<a name="profile"></a><h4>How can I edit my profile?</h4>
<p>
    Use <a href="edit.php">this page</a> or the icon with the text Profile in the
    menu that appears once you've logged in.
</p>

<a name="avatars"></a><h4>What good are the Avatars?</h4>
<p>
    None at all. It's aesthetic, but we could implement an icon system like
    Battle.nets. For now it's just nice and let's you select something you like
    as a visual representation. If you miss an avatar plese send it to us if it's
    legal and if it's a *.gif that uses transparency &amp; that is a maximum of
    44 pixels high.
</p>

<a name="ideas"></a><h4>I have an idea for this system / it lacks a function,
    who do I tell?</h4>
<p>
    We don't have a php coder yet and need a guy (or girl) before we can start
    developing the system further. If you know basic php &amp; mysql you are
    welcome to contact us already. If you want to you can also use this <a
            href="http://forums.wesnoth.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=38231">forum thread</a>
    to post your ideas.
</p>

<a name="contact"></a><h4>How do I contact you?</h4>
<p>

    The current Ladder Admin contact info is at the bottom of this page.

</p>

<a name="graphics"></a><h4>Where's the graphics from?</h4>
<p>
    It's all from Wesnoth and/or it's community. We've used what we could find
    and what we believe is free under the nice license.
</p>

<a name="aboutofficial"></a><h4>Why is the ladder not an official part of the
    Wesnoth community?</h4>
<ul>
    <li>The ladder is not official because the concept of it, rating players,
        is controversial and/or not wanted among some Wesnoth developers. Their exact
        reasons may vary, but most of them probably believe that using ratings is a
        bad or for other reasons an unwanted thing which should be opposed.
    </li>

    <li>We didn't ask for permission to start the ladder, nor did we see it
        as something that was needed. Hence, from it's birth, the project has been
        unofficial.
    </li>
    <li>Upon requesting a dedicated section on the Wesnoth forum we got
        denied, because the ladder is not official.
    </li>
</ul>

<a name="CalcXP"></a><h4>How is my XP calculated?</h4>
aEvery won game earns you x. Every lost game earns you y. <br/><br/>Formula: XP
= (won games * x) + (lost games * y). <br/><br/>X & y are variables decided by
the ladders admin. There are delicate reasons for setting them to specific
values that also depend on how levels and level related titles are set up,
and also by the community and the game that the ladder measures. Currently x
= 1.5 and y = 1

<a name="LVL"></a><h4>How much XP do I have to earn to reach a certain level?
</h4>
The higher the level, the more XP you have to get to reach the next, so it
gradually becomes harder and harder to reach a better level. Exactly how hard
depends on the settings that the ladder admin(s) have done. Here's a list of
some examples. Keep in mind that in reality there is no upper limitation on
what level you can reach.<br/><br/>Notice: Levels, titles and experience points
say <em>nothing</em> about player skills. They aren't supposed to measure skill
in any way. What they do however measure is how much a player has played the
game on the ladder. That's really all there is to it.

<br/><br/>
Level 1 - 10<br/>
Level 2 - 21.5 xp<br/>
Level 3 - 34.5 xp<br/>
Level 4 -49 xp<br/>
Level 5 - 65 xp<br/>
Level 6 - 82.5 xp<br/>
Level 7 - 101.5 xp<br/>
Level 8 - 122 xp<br/>
Level 9 - 144 xp<br/>
Level 10 - 167.5 xp<br/>
Level 11 - 192.5 xp<br/>
Level 12 - 219 xp<br/>
Level 13 - 247 xp<br/>
Level 14 - 276.5 xp<br/>
Level 15 - 307.5 xp<br/>
Level 16 - 340 xp<br/>
Level 17 - 374 xp<br/>
Level 18 - 409.5xp<br/>
Level 19 - 446.5 xp<br/>
Level 20 - 485 xp<br/>
Level 21 - 525 xp<br/>
Level 22 - 566.5 xp<br/>
Level 23 - 609.5 xp<br/>
Level 24 - 654 xp<br/>
Level 25 - 700xp<br/>
Level 26 - 747.5 xp<br/>
Level 27 - 796.5 xp<br/>
Level 28 - 847xp<br/>
Level 29 - 899 xp<br/>
Level 30 - 952.5 xp<br/>
Level 31 - 1007.5xp<br/>
Level 32 - 1064 xp<br/>
Level 33 - 1122 xp<br/>
Level 34 - 1181.5xp<br/>
Level 35 - 1242.5 xp<br/>
Level 36 - 1305 xp<br/>
Level 37 - 1369xp<br/>
Level 38 - 1434.5 xp<br/>
Level 39 - 1501.5 xp<br/>
Level 40 - 1570xp<br/>
Level 41 - 1640 xp<br/>
Level 42 - 1711.5 xp<br/>
Level 43 - 1784.5xp<br/>
Level 44 - 1859 xp<br/>
Level 45 - 1935 xp<br/>
Level 46 - 2012.5xp<br/>
Level 47 - 2091.5 xp<br/>
Level 48 - 2172 xp<br/>
Level 49 - 2254xp<br/>
Level 50 - 2337.5 xp<br/>
Level 51 - 2422.5 xp<br/>
Level 52 - 2509xp<br/>
Level 53 - 2597 xp<br/>
Level 54 - 2686.5 xp<br/>
Level 55 - 2777.5xp<br/>
Level 56 - 2870 xp<br/>
Level 57 - 2964 xp<br/>
Level 58 - 3059.5xp<br/>
Level 59 - 3156.5 xp<br/>
Level 60 - 3255 xp<br/>
Level 61 - 3355xp<br/>
Level 62 - 3456.5 xp<br/>
Level 63 - 3559.5 xp<br/>
Level 64 - 3664xp<br/>
Level 65 - 3770 xp<br/>
Level 66 - 3877.5 xp<br/>
Level 67 - 3986.5xp<br/>
Level 68 - 4097 xp<br/>
Level 69 - 4209 xp<br/>
Level 70 - 4322.5xp<br/>
Level 71 - 4437.5 xp<br/>
Level 72 - 4554 xp<br/>
Level 73 - 4672xp<br/>
Level 74 - 4791.5 xp<br/>
Level 75 - 4912.5 xp<br/>
Level 76 - 5035xp<br/>
Level 77 - 5159 xp<br/>
Level 78 - 5284.5 xp<br/>
Level 79 - 5411.5xp<br/>
Level 80 - 5540 xp<br/>
Level 81 - 5670 xp<br/>
Level 82 - 5801.5xp<br/>
Level 83 - 5934.5 xp<br/>
Level 84 - 6069 xp<br/>
Level 85 - 6205xp<br/>
Level 86 - 6342.5 xp<br/>
Level 87 - 6481.5 xp<br/>
Level 88 - 6622xp<br/>
Level 89 - 6764 xp<br/>
Level 90 - 6907.5 xp<br/>
Level 91 - 7052.5xp<br/>
Level 92 - 7199 xp<br/>
Level 93 - 7347 xp<br/>
Level 94 - 7496.5xp<br/>
Level 95 - 7647.5 xp<br/>
Level 96 - 7800 xp<br/>
Level 97 - 7954xp<br/>
Level 98 - 8109.5 xp<br/>
Level 99 - 8266.5 xp<br/>
Level 100 - 8425 xp<br/>

<a name="CalcLVL"></a>
<h4>How is the XP requirement for a level calculated?</h4>

The Xp required to reach Level 1 is x, and decided by the ladder admin.
Currently x = 10 The requirement for the next level can be calculated by
using the following easy formula:<br/><br/>

xp to reach the previous level previous level)<br/><br/>

Let's try this out by trying to see how many XP:s are needed to reach level
2. If it takes 10 xp to reach level 1, and the level modifier is set to 1.5,
we'd get the following:<br/><br/>

10 + 10 + (1.5 * 1) = 21.5<br/><br/>

+ xp to reach level 1 + (level modifier * the previous level)<br><br>

Let's try this out by trying to see how many XP:s are needed to reach level 2. If it takes 10 xp to reach level 1, and the level modifier is set to 1.5, we'd get the following:
<br/><br/>

10 + 10 + (1.5 * 1) = 21.5<br/><br/>

<a name="titles"></a>
<h4>What lvl do I have to reach to earn a specific title?</h4>
Here's a list of the available titles that you can unlock and the level you
have to reach in order to get the title:<br/><br/>
Peasant - lvl 4<br/>
Recruit - lvl 8<br/>
Soldier - lvl 13<br/>
Veteran - lvl 17<br/>
Captain - lvl 21<br/>
General - lvl 26<br/>
Hero - lvl 31<br/>
Legend - lvl 36<br/>
Titan - lvl 41<br/>
Third Angel - lvl 46<br/>
Second Angel - lvl 51<br/>
First Angel - lvl 56<br/>
Demi God - lvl 62<br/>
Minor God - lvl 68<br/>
God - lvl 73<br/>
<a name="WrongValues"></a><h4>I really think some values/settings that are
    being used in the ladder are wrong. Who should I contact?</h4>
Most things in the ladder are very customizable and should have been or
actually are properly set by your ladder administration. They alone can alter
most of the aspects of the ladder

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