I've got three different strategies for scheduling codenamed 'Comboturtle, Richard and I_LAG'
Important factors to consider:
- Expected entrants for Brawl is significantly larger than for Melee
- Brawl is a naturally slower game than Melee to run
__________________________________________________________
Comboturtle Strategy - AKA Rocky/SQUAT Strategy
Saturday:
Melee Doubles
Brawl Singles Bracket
Sunday:
Brawl Doubles
Melee Singles Bracket
Pros:
- Simple and effective
- Theoretically, it equally distributes events over both days
Cons:
- People tend not to show up for the doubles event of each day if they decide not to make that effort
- Assumes the same amount of people show up on both days, resulting in a rather lopsided and under utilised Sunday due to lack of numbers.
__________________________________________________________
Richard Strategy - AKA Thriller Strategy
Saturday:
Brawl Doubles
Brawl Pools
Melee Pools
Sunday:
Melee Doubles
Melee Singles Bracket
Brawl Singles Bracket
Pros:
- Both games are spaced over the two days
- Tournament ideally culminates to a Finals Sunday
- People remain refreshed, not having to deal with a doubles - pools - singles day.
Cons:
- Almost no motivation for Brawl players to come Sunday, missing out on watching the bracket
- Amount of people in attendance each day is somewhat lopsided (Again, Sunday is under utilised)
- Does not cater for Brawl's longer natural play time
__________________________________________________________
There's the first two strategies.
A recurring issue is under-utilising one day compared to the other. No matter what strategy I've employed over the last few years, I've found with two day events that the second day tends to finish quicker.
There's a few different things I'm catering for here. This includes the players that aren't a part of the competitive scene and just decide to sign up and see how they go, as well as the issues relating to maximising time.
__________________________________________________________
I_LAG Strategy - AKA Experimental Strategy
Saturday:
Brawl Pools
Brawl Singles Bracket
Crew Battle/Start Brawl Doubles
Sunday:
Brawl Doubles
Melee Doubles (Staggered start during Brawl Doubles)
Melee Pools
Melee Bracket
Pros:
- Both games are spaced over the two days keeping in mind significant expected numbers for Brawl
- Saturday emphasises Brawl Singles, keeping hype/interest centered on just this event
- Players should expect the singles Bracket to finish early enough for a crew battle
Cons:
- Sunday is packed!
- Assumes Melee will be quick to play out compared to Brawl (Less people + Quicker game historically)
- Newbies may not come Sunday and miss out on Doubles
Rationale
So you're probably thinking 'This is a terrible idea' and I'm somewhat inclined to agree, especially because this setup assumes ALOT about the expected attendance.
It's a gamble because:
1. If I fall well short of 70 entrants for Brawl, then a lot of time may be wasted on Saturday and those numbers of newbies I'm expecting probably won't turn up for Sunday which means a lost opportunity.
2. If 50+ people turn up for Melee I am screwed.
3. If both of these things happen I will have reached a level of sodomy no man should be forced to endure.
But on the other hand, think of the benefits.
1. A WHOLE DAY dedicated to just Brawl Singles. At the moment I estimate roughly 5 hours for Pools and 4 hours for the bracket. Add in lunch and we're done by roughly 8:30pm
Imagine if we add even Melee doubles or Brawl Doubles to that equation. It just doesn't work -> We'd be there til 11pm finishing finals for Brawl and by that time all the hype is gone. I really think Finals should happen at around the 8:30pm mark.
2. Sunday is properly utilised.
3hr Brawl doubles
2.5hr Melee doubles (Staggered start during Brawl Doubles)
3hr Melee Pools
3hr Melee Bracket
Ideally, Sunday will also run for roughly 10 hours (Doubles events should end roughly 4 hours after they Brawl Doubles begins).
I realise that this method is easy to criticise as well. It's not my attempt to emphasise Brawl or anything dumb like that. I just want to best maximise the time we have available and not run too late on each day.
One last option is using the remaining time on Saturday to start Brawl Doubles (which I crossed out). It would be something of an anti-climax, however it may also ease the strain significantly on Sunday (every little bit counts).
EDIT: Come to think of it. The flexibility of this plan allows me to decide on the fly whether crews should be axed or not and we start Brawl doubles on Saturday as well.
So I'll leave it up to you guys while I go try to do something more important like Uni work.
Important factors to consider:
- Expected entrants for Brawl is significantly larger than for Melee
- Brawl is a naturally slower game than Melee to run
__________________________________________________________
Comboturtle Strategy - AKA Rocky/SQUAT Strategy
Saturday:
Melee Doubles
Brawl Singles Bracket
Sunday:
Brawl Doubles
Melee Singles Bracket
Pros:
- Simple and effective
- Theoretically, it equally distributes events over both days
Cons:
- People tend not to show up for the doubles event of each day if they decide not to make that effort
- Assumes the same amount of people show up on both days, resulting in a rather lopsided and under utilised Sunday due to lack of numbers.
__________________________________________________________
Richard Strategy - AKA Thriller Strategy
Saturday:
Brawl Doubles
Brawl Pools
Melee Pools
Sunday:
Melee Doubles
Melee Singles Bracket
Brawl Singles Bracket
Pros:
- Both games are spaced over the two days
- Tournament ideally culminates to a Finals Sunday
- People remain refreshed, not having to deal with a doubles - pools - singles day.
Cons:
- Almost no motivation for Brawl players to come Sunday, missing out on watching the bracket
- Amount of people in attendance each day is somewhat lopsided (Again, Sunday is under utilised)
- Does not cater for Brawl's longer natural play time
__________________________________________________________
There's the first two strategies.
A recurring issue is under-utilising one day compared to the other. No matter what strategy I've employed over the last few years, I've found with two day events that the second day tends to finish quicker.
There's a few different things I'm catering for here. This includes the players that aren't a part of the competitive scene and just decide to sign up and see how they go, as well as the issues relating to maximising time.
__________________________________________________________
I_LAG Strategy - AKA Experimental Strategy
Saturday:
Brawl Pools
Brawl Singles Bracket
Crew Battle/
Sunday:
Brawl Doubles
Melee Doubles (Staggered start during Brawl Doubles)
Melee Pools
Melee Bracket
Pros:
- Both games are spaced over the two days keeping in mind significant expected numbers for Brawl
- Saturday emphasises Brawl Singles, keeping hype/interest centered on just this event
- Players should expect the singles Bracket to finish early enough for a crew battle
Cons:
- Sunday is packed!
- Assumes Melee will be quick to play out compared to Brawl (Less people + Quicker game historically)
- Newbies may not come Sunday and miss out on Doubles
Rationale
So you're probably thinking 'This is a terrible idea' and I'm somewhat inclined to agree, especially because this setup assumes ALOT about the expected attendance.
It's a gamble because:
1. If I fall well short of 70 entrants for Brawl, then a lot of time may be wasted on Saturday and those numbers of newbies I'm expecting probably won't turn up for Sunday which means a lost opportunity.
2. If 50+ people turn up for Melee I am screwed.
3. If both of these things happen I will have reached a level of sodomy no man should be forced to endure.
But on the other hand, think of the benefits.
1. A WHOLE DAY dedicated to just Brawl Singles. At the moment I estimate roughly 5 hours for Pools and 4 hours for the bracket. Add in lunch and we're done by roughly 8:30pm
Imagine if we add even Melee doubles or Brawl Doubles to that equation. It just doesn't work -> We'd be there til 11pm finishing finals for Brawl and by that time all the hype is gone. I really think Finals should happen at around the 8:30pm mark.
2. Sunday is properly utilised.
3hr Brawl doubles
2.5hr Melee doubles (Staggered start during Brawl Doubles)
3hr Melee Pools
3hr Melee Bracket
Ideally, Sunday will also run for roughly 10 hours (Doubles events should end roughly 4 hours after they Brawl Doubles begins).
I realise that this method is easy to criticise as well. It's not my attempt to emphasise Brawl or anything dumb like that. I just want to best maximise the time we have available and not run too late on each day.
One last option is using the remaining time on Saturday to start Brawl Doubles (which I crossed out). It would be something of an anti-climax, however it may also ease the strain significantly on Sunday (every little bit counts).
EDIT: Come to think of it. The flexibility of this plan allows me to decide on the fly whether crews should be axed or not and we start Brawl doubles on Saturday as well.
So I'll leave it up to you guys while I go try to do something more important like Uni work.