1v1 Legendary Level League [LLL 12/2023]

The Legendary Level League offers an opportunity to participate in an exciting 1v1 game for players at all skill levels - from newcomers to veterans.

Reply by December 31 (Sunday) if you want to join. Signing up earlier is recommended - because if there is an uneven number of sign-ups, the last one will literally be the odd one out for this round :wink:

For the uninitiated: One-vs-ones are a fun challenge for all NP2 players. You will face off on an epic mirrored map with no experimentation so you have the exact same starting position as your opponent. No diplomacy - instead itā€™s 100% strategy and game theory. Itā€™s turn-based with only two players, so games can move along quickly - but if you need some more time sometimes, thereā€™s also a very generous turn deadline (48 hours).

So whatā€™s the gist of the format? You only ever sign up for one game at a time - and that game is likely going to be with a similarly experienced opponent. This makes it a perfect place to build your 1v1 skills in tight matches. The main goal is having fun games, but if youā€™re looking for a competitive one it will be rising to the Legendary Level over time and defeating the defending Legendary 1v1 Player to claim that title for yourself!

Although the game is turn-based with a 48h deadline, please make sure you can start your game within one week after itā€™s set up and generally have enough time to keep the game moving along at a steady pace, i.e. at least two submits a day, preferably more (as itā€™s 1v1, the game will move forward in absence of your opponent after you submit and you can submit your next turn already). No worries if you donā€™t have time for NP2 some days though. If star counts stay the same for both players over a period of 96 ticks, both have the option to call for a draw in this thread.

*** Hall of Fame ***
(Legendary 1v1 Players)

@Solfyre (7x, defending champion)
@plug (3x)
@Lex (2x)
@Trucriot (2x)

fine-print on how the concept started and works
  1. Players sign up and get placed on a level according to their latest world ranking (link) - new 1v1 players get the starting rating of 1000 and likely play each other first.
  2. They get paired up through the (active) ladder, 1 vs 2 (legendary level), 3 vs 4 etc., thus will play others on a likely comparable skill level.
  3. Winner of the top level match is the ā€œLegendary 1v1 Playerā€ until next round.
  4. Ladder gets re-arranged according to results (winners go up slightly (except #1), losers go down slightly (except last)). Players sign up for the next round -
    ā€¦ if previous ones choose not to, no problem: they wonā€™t be considered in pairings, but lose their position on the ladder (to encourage staying active even high up or as leader) - for come-back players the new-joiner rule will apply.
    ā€¦ if new ones join, they will be placed on the ladder according to their relative ranking with a slight malus (to encourage joining early)

After that, back to step 2 and repeat indefinitely. Iā€™m thinking of one round happening every two months, giving ample time for games to fully play out without a hurry. If a match hasnā€™t finished when the next LLL round is about to start, the ladder position will be determined based on the stats. The game can continue on afterwards until itā€™s settled though.

If everything works out, it will be an endless casual tournament with players never having to sign up for more than one match, but lots of interesting matches on all skill levels, with the top being particularly competitive and the lower end being a good place to gain experience and raise the level / staying engaged due to not facing impossible opponents, but similarly experienced ones instead.

Hereā€™s all settings deviating from the default NP2 ones:

  • Stars For Victory: 66%
  • Turn Based: On
  • Tick to Jump Each Turn: 6 Tick Jumps
  • Turn Deadline: 48 Hours
  • Dark Galaxy: Disabled
  • Stars Per Player: 64 Stars, Epic
  • Home Star Distance: Far
  • Random Gates: Rare Gates
  • Starting Stars: 1
  • Starting Credits: $3000
  • Starting Ships Per Star: 100 Ships
  • Starting Economy: 20
  • Starting Industry: 20
  • Starting Science: 4
  • Cost Science: Cheap
  • Cost Scanning: Normal
  • Cost Experimentation: None
  • Cost Manufacturing: Expensive
  • Cost Banking: Cheap
  • Cost Weapons: None
  • Starting Experimentation: Level0
  • Starting Weapons: Level4

Settings are subject to change based on poll results below.

Which one-time setting deviation/s (randomly generated and potentially crazy) would you like to see in this round? (Only the most voted option is picked.)

  • Starting Tech: level 8 Weapons
  • Random Gates: No Gates
  • Resources: Plentiful
  • Research Costs: Crazy Expensive Weapons Research
  • Starting Distance: Close
  • These changes are all too crazy for me
0 voters

The poll will close when sign-ups close. You can also propose ideas for permanent setting changes in the thread below.

Please also consider posting or sending me your preferred flag/country for the World Rankings if you havenā€™t already - thanks.

Best
Trucriot

In!

Thanks @Trucriot - sign me up please!

You Betcha!

You folks should should make sure the test server has everything you need for the tournament and doesnā€™t have any bugs. I hope to transition everybody over to the new server in late January or February.

I have made some rule changes, but I have attempted to make sure you can configure custom games to be exactly the same as Triton if you want to.

(The known issues right now is that there is no AI and no daily production emails, and a few other small things.)

Sign me up!

I havenā€™t played NP in months, so Iā€™m probably rather rusty, but I think Iā€™ll give it a shot again. I did quite enjoy it when I was playing :smiley:

Please sign me up!

That sounds exciting, please sign me up as well!

Iā€˜m back, sign me up :slight_smile:

Nice to see some new and old interest still!

Meaning that Iā€™d still set this up on the current server and settings, right? I expect this roundā€™s games to mostly be finished by end of January. Afterwards Iā€™d probably have to check in with @Dysp if his NP2Stats tool (which is also used for the map setups) still works with the new serverā€¦

Hey Iā€™ll give it a shot

Alright! Letā€™s see how much it hurts. Iā€™d like to play. Or be the odd one.
Cā€™mon Aussies!

Not played for a while, but count me in too please!

Count me in !

Changes are brewing

Count me in!:+1:

Awesome! Then we have an even number of participants. Iā€™ll set up the maps soon.

Happy new year!

2 Likes

Here are the 6 match-ups based on my calculations (countries and Top28 world ranks shown in brackets):

  1. @Solfyre [US-1] vs. @Lex [CA-4]
  2. @plug [GB-2] vs. @Satirael [DK-8]
  3. @Macomber [CA-15] vs. @FinrodFelagund [DE]
  4. @Lorentz [24] vs. @gaz123 [27]
  5. @Razhib vs. @kaschei [AU]
  6. @SUP vs. @HOUSEBOAT_THANGS

Use the according map link I provided for your game in @Dyspā€™s tournament tracking tool - press the hyperlink symbol to the right of the names:
https://np2stats.dysp.info/tournament.php?tournament=90

Password is 1v1 - please join your game with your forum username by January 9 and post in the forum if you win to be considered in the world rankings.

The special setting for this round as determined by the poll in the OP is a closed start. Please check your maps and let me know if you see any potential issues in playing them - unfortunately the home star isnā€™t visible for me anymore while checking them, so itā€™s harder to assess their playability from the outside.

This map didn't make the cut

Came across this gem as well where it would take a little bit until the players meet on the battlefield :wink:

1 Like

By my calculations, I should meet the victory conditions in my game this next turn.

GGs @SUP

@Trucriot pls add the STARS AND BARS (US and A!) flag to my listing (if any). Thanks!

Congrats!

Unfortunately @Lorentz did not show up despite a reminder on Discord yet, so unless he joins the game within 24 hours, he automatically forfeits and @gaz123 wins their match.

1 Like