Tickets are now live over at https://insomnia.seetickets.com/tour/insomnia

Applications for Staff are still open if you wish to work at LAN, this is your best opportunity to do so!

We are opening applications for the on-site crew! If you wish to work at i65 in any capacity, please fill out the form below.

https://forms.gle/3gKvAfLBJ1pbTTCJ9

You must be able to be 18+ years old to apply and, should your application be approved, must agree to the Insomnia on site policy as well as the EssentialsTF Code of Conduct. All applications will be read and selected applicants will be invited to a short voice chat interview, to discuss details, and answer any questions you may have. All applicants will be contacted to inform as to whether or not their applications have been successful.

If you have any questions or issues regarding the application process or being on staff at the event, contact soda#1071 on Discord or email kirsty.meek@essentials.tf

If you are an organization or company and would be interested in sponsoring the event, or you wish to apply for a Tournament Admin position, email charlie.smith@essentials.tf

- Option for PugChamp style team selection or medic in-game picking

1) I don't believe so, IIRC they have people go round at night to make sure that isn't happening. There is indoor camping which is considerably cheaper, which isn't too bad but doesn't beat a Hotel obviously

2) Staff do not pay an entry ticket as they have their own passes given to them which gives them access to the event so they can get where they need to. If they want to have their own BYOC spot, though, they obviously need a separate ticket.

Hi all.
This thread will be used to keep people in the loop as to what is happening and provide information where possible. One of our prominent issues last year was the lack of communication, both internally and externally and as such we aim to be much more active in ensuring there are no lingering questions in the run up to the event.

LAN Staff Applications will be released as soon as possible. We will unlikely be approaching people individually as to whether or not they want to be on staff, so if you want to attend you have to fill out the form. This form will be posted here and on our Twitter (@TF2Essentials for those that aren't aware) which also will be where the vast majority of our public details will be posted so keep an eye on them.

As of right now, nothing is confirmed in that regard. The only thing that is certain is TF2's attendance at the event. That being said, if there are intercontinental teams (NA, AU, Asia) that may be interested in attending that may need some additional support to attend, contact us and we can see what we can do. Although we cannot guarantee that support can be given.

BlackoutJon is the current owner of EssentialsTF as a company since Wolf Machina has decided to move on from TF2. However, since he will not be attending the actual event, yours truly will be the acting Project Lead for i65. Specific questions should be directed to these people:

Event Management or General Queries - DrHappiness#0897 on Discord
Event Production - ArchRhythm#0001or soda#1017
Creative - soda#1017 or Teleportato#9730

Hope to see you there!

cu@

Perhaps "sculpted" may have been a poor choice of words, but there has historically been a notable shift in behavior and mentality to the way we have approached the 6s format. Whilst I will agree that the class lineup has remained generally the same (which I believe is more a consequence of the way the classes have been designed), the maps and especially the mentality when approaching the Whitelist has very much changed over time. Notably, ETF2L Season 9 to like 17-18 is a great example of a gradual flip in approaching weapon bans.

I can't speak for anyone else and this is entirely my own opinion, but, the Meta that has been formed has never aimed to be the best composition. If we aimed for what the competitive community deemed 'best' then that could be similar to what Cat Noises has run. The meta has evolved to demonstrate and reward the highest tier of play possible, allowing classes that reward individuals mechanics and deathmatching in tandem with efficient team play in a state where both individual and team play are balanced to be 'fun' to play and spectate. Whilst NR6s does allow more dynamic off-classing and weapon usage, the main thing to take away is whether or not the gameplay becomes unbalanced in one way or another.

It would not be a 'fun' way to play competitive 6s if:

• One player can carry the entire match through the mechanical ability
  
• Individual's plays are negated or not important
  
• Team dynamics are irrelevant

Current 6s has achieved this balance by careful and gradual changes of rulesets to find a method of play that rewards individuals and teamwork equally (or in a balanced way). The community isn't especially resistant to new playstyles or tactics, it's just that those tactics do not compliment the method of play that we have decided to play. Whether or not that is the right method of play, remains to be debated.

Narrowing down, particularly on community engagement and league administration. Covering everything would be out of scope, nor directly relatable to the project aims.

Hi all, I'm in a bit of a pinch and hope to get some help from you guys.

Boring stuff
To provide some context, I am a third-year University Student studying Computer Games Technology. For my final year project, I am writing a paper on Team Fortress 2's competitive scene, it's community-centric nature, and what game developers can learn from it. It is a paper written from the perspective of someone who not only analyzing the community from an academic standpoint but also as a participant within the scene. If you would like to know more, look into Participant Observation.

Since my opinion is my own, regardless of academic sourcing or discussion, I would like other peoples opinions on the community as it is right now to get a wider view on how the community feels. Outside of providing developers an insiders perspective for how a community-led esport conducts itself and what drawbacks are causes of this, I also hope that it will provide the community with a list of consequences with their current methods should people be interested in the findings.

Who I'm looking for, and what for?

• Significant Community Members - Meaning Admins, 'Pro' Players, or other people who have contributed to the scene
  
• 10-15 minute interview, unstructured (Meaning few scripted questions)
  
• Willingness to be recorded
  
• Members from NA and AU preferred although EU is more than welcome.

If you fit the bill and are interested, message me on Discord (DrHappiness#0897) or add me on Steam. DEADLINES CLOSE 18TH MARCH 11:59 GMT, I will not be accepting interviews past this point.

Also in general if you would be interested in me posting the paper here when I'm done, let me know down below. I will watch this thread over the next few days to answer any questions.

Many thanks.

https://imgur.com/a/tSi5Ttb

I didn't just sit here for 40 minutes memorizing their locations, nope.

Whilst I'm against the completely open whitelist and lack of class limits, suggesting a very limited whitelist banning only bugged weapons and potentially enforcing minor class limits. I do think that this can only be at a minimum neutral. Either:

1. It's terrible and we go back to playing the way we normally do.
   
2. It's decent and we can begin to tweak rules based on findings.

I still hold the belief that we shouldn't be catering towards a player base that isn't interested in playing competitive or hoping that bringing our ruleset closer to Matchmaking will actually constitute anything since historically this hasn't been the case. Again, at this point, why would Valve realistically invest in the scene at all? If we knew more about what feedback they do listen to and how they intend to approach their own vision in comparison with ours, then perhaps many more people would be willing to change. But since they are notoriously one-way with their communication, I believe we should just focus on making the scene as comfortable for the majority and perfect what we already have rather than aggressively changing rulesets in a vague attempt to bring us to some sort of modern relevancy.

That all aside, I do think that people should sign up to this league to make up their own opinions on it. I'm more than willing to accept my viewpoint is antiquated or misguided if evidence comes up to counter it, but until then i'm remaining skeptical.

https://imgur.com/gallery/oBH2x

I will admit that there is inherent bias on my part, but I'm in full support of these bans and think that the leagues that still use the Global Whitelist are correct in adopting it. However, I think that there should be some written guidelines as to what constitutes a ban. I do think the way that we approach bans right now is good, but it would be nice to have for players to see how Leagues come to those decisions.

also, thanks joe

Interesting. Probably not possible to run a production there, but definitely could arrange like a small tournament there. Might look into this when I have some free time.