OFFICIAL NAISU RULES v 5.0
[0.1] Credits
NAISU is based loosely on the EEFL Rules v15.1 by Dale R. Johnson, Jr.
EEFL is ajudicated by Prune Wickart, and is in turn based on Jeremy
Billones' UEFL, which is in turn based on Alan Parr's original United.
Any resemblance between these rules and the original United game comes
as a major shock to me. These rules are (c) 1999-2001 by PJ Killian.
[0.2] History (by PJ)
NAISU has gone through a lot of changes and several incarnations. The
first NAISU game was a hand-moderated thing run for fun with a small
group of managers. The first season's regular-season champ was the
Chattanooga Choo-Choos, managed by NAISU legend Matt Langdon, but that
famous "Freight Train" squad was upset in the playoffs by the mysterious
"Paul" and his St. Louis Skorpions. The second season of NAISU was
rockier--expansion and the ravages of cross-country moves and college
coursework took their toll on my ability to run the game, and season two
shuddered to a premature halt with Chattanooga having already clinched
the championship.
After a brief flirtation with an outdoor version, some original NAISU
squads, along with some newbies, went back to NAISU's roots with a
smaller game. Unfortunately, it ran afoul of some of the same problems,
and it died halfway into its first season, with me swearing on a stack
of bibles that I'd never run another soccer PBeM (play by e-mail) game
again so long as I lived.
I lied.
I originally was just helping one of the original NAISU managers set up
his own game, but he decided that the software that I developed wasn't
right for him, and rather than let all that effort go to waste...well,
let's just say the old stand-bys were willing to give it another shot,
and NAISU as we know it was born. Season 1 went down to the final day,
with James Poppe (who had previously established his rep as the league's
premier trash-talker and predatory trader) and his FC Quebec pipping the
irrepressable Chattanooga at the finish line. The Roanoke White Stars,
under rookie manager Marcus Sparks, denied the Choo-Choos a consolation
Cup in a thrilling two-legged final.
There was no mistake in season 2 however, as the 'Choos re-established
their dominance with a 19-1 record--a mark which may never be
rivaled--and won the flag without breaking a sweat. FC Quebec won a pair
of Cups to prevent Chattanooga from sweeping the awards.
Season 3 was more of the same. Chattanooga again romped, with a
rebuilding FC Quebec and the White Stars unable to mount a credible
challenge to the Tennessee club's dominance. Mid-table club Monterey Bay
Diablos, managed by Davy Jones, surprised everyone by winning the Cup
over the favored Chicago Blues, a newly promoted team that had a very
credible run in the top flight.
Season 4, tragically, prematurely ended in chaos, confusion and a lot of
ugly recriminations. The legendary clubs in Chattanooga, Quebec and
Roanoke all left the league, leaving newcomer Matt Harrison and Waukegan
Wednesday FC (who had torn up the lower flights, going undefeated in two
straight seasons in the Newbie and Satellite divisions) and the
rising Chicago Blues to pick up the pieces and make a run at the title.
The Cup final was a casualty of the season being cut short, with two
Satellite divsion clubs--the LA Zhents and the last-place Tampa Bay
Tornado, who had employed the novel strategy of blowing off the League
campaign in favor of the Cup--vying for the hardware.
Season 5 is about to begin with a new (smaller) league, a new outlook,
and a new comissioner, the baton having been passed to Will McDuff, who
will hopefully guide NAISU after this re-launch for many seasons to
come.
[1.0] Definition of a Club
Each player (hereafter referred to as a "manager") is the sole authority
over his club. A club consists of at least 12 players. Clubs are defined
by several characteristics, as given below:
[1.01] Club Name
This is the name by which the club is known within the game. It can be
an American-style city name and nickname combination (e.g. "Detroit
Tigers," "Boston Bruins") or it can be a European-style club name (e.g.
"Manchester United," "Aston Villa"), or pretty much anything else that
does not violate the standards of good taste and is reasonably short.
[1.011] Franchise Shifts
For the sake of coherence and the sanity of continuing players, if you
take over a team that has been abandoned (see 7.21 below) by a manager
in mid-season, you must wait until the end of that present season to
rename the club and/or move it to a different city.
[1.02] Home City
This must be a major city in the United States or Canada. The location
of your club may determine your divisional placement, so it's important
that you represent a real city that can be found on a map.
[1.03] Club Colors
Two different colors, please. (And no fair being a snot and picking
Infrared and Ultraviolet.) These don't affect anything in the game, but
they do change the way your team's name appears on the home page. Pick
colors you like.
[1.04] Home Arena
This can be a real-life building, or one that you make up. Again, this
can be anything you want within the usual standards. Do keep in mind
that this is indoor and not outdoor soccer when naming your arena,
however!
[1.05] Short Name
Each club is assigned a three-letter abbreviation (TLA) by the
Comissioner, which is used in official correspondence, the schedule, and
match reports.
[1.06] Miscellaneous Elements Managers with the requisite artistic
abilities are encouraged to create a logo/emblem for their club, or a
club website, or a uniform design, or anything else that helps to bring
their clubs to life. Club-related art that is of a reasonable size (the
ideal is 100 x 100 pixels and less than 30K) and is in .gif or .jpg
format will be uploaded to the league website when time permits. If you
need free webspace, Geocities, Tripod, FortuneCity, and any number of
other organizations are more than happy to give it to you.
[1.1] Club Statistics
Some figures specific to the individual club are tracked by the game
program. Often, these figures are tremendously important, so follow
them closely!
[1.11] League Points
Each league (regular-season) match played counts towards teams' League
Points (LP) total. The team with the most points at season's end wins
the coveted President's Trophy. Each regular-season win is worth three
LP. Each draw is worth one LP. Each loss is worth zero LP. After each
session, a table for each division listing the teams in order from best
to worst is circulated.
[1.12] Goals Scored, Goals Allowed
Each goal scored and goal allowed in regular-season match is counted.
The goal differential is a tie-breaker for teams' table position.
[1.13] Bank
Each team has a certain amount of cash on hand. This figure changes
after each match, with the difference of the team's total revenue and
the team's expenses being added to the bank account. For more details,
see the Club Management And Finances section.
[1.14] Interest
If a team has incurred a debt (see the Club Management And Finances) in
the preseason, this figure lists the amount of money which must be paid
every match to the club's creditors.
[1.2] One League, Three Championships (Club Honors)
For the first four seasons of NAISU's existance, the NAISU Grand
Champion was the team with the best regular-season record. The relaunch
has reduced the number of teams, and now the winner of the post-season
playoffs is the overall champion. But don't let that distract you from
contending for the two other championships!
[1.21] Killian Cup (Grand Championship)
Formerly, the championship was determined by who finished first in the
old Elite Division. As of Season 5, the winner of the Killian Cup
playoffs is the overall winner. The division winner with the better LP
total is the top seed, the division winner with the lesser LP total is
the second seed, and the two best non-division winners ranked by LP
total are seeds numbers 3 and 4. The first round of the playoffs is a
seven-game series. The winners advance to the Killian Cup finals, also
a seven game series.
In all series, the matches are played using a 2-2-1-1-1 system, that is,
two games at the home of the higher-seeded team, then two games at the
lower seeded team, followed by three games alternating hosts. Killian
Cup games which end in a draw are settled with a shootout.
The Grand Championship Roll of Honor:
Season Club Manager
1 FC Quebec James Poppe
2 Chattanooga Choo-Choos Matt Langdon
3 Chattanooga Choo-Choos Matt Langdon
4 Waukegan Wednesday FC Matt Harrison
[1.22] President's Trophy
This is a new honor for season 5 and is awarded to the team with the
best overall League Point total at the end of the regular season.
[1.23] The Comissioner's Open Cup
The winner of this award is the winner of a randomly drawn
single-elimination tournament held concurrently with the regular season.
All Commissioner's Cup matches except the final are two-legged cup ties
decided by aggregate goals. If the clubs involved are even on aggregate,
the club with the higher number of away goals advances. If that is still
a draw, penalty kicks determine the winner. The Commissioner's Cup final
is held at a neutral site, and is determined by a shootout if the match
is a draw.
The Comissioner's (Open) Cup Roll of Honor:
Season Club Manager
1 Roanoke White Stars Marcus Sparks
2 FC Quebec James Poppe
3 Monterey Bay Diablos Davy Jones
4 not completed
[1.24] Fair Play Award
This award is given to the team whose players accumulated the fewest
discipline points and fouls over the course of the season. (For the
purposes of reckoning this award, a discipline point counts as five
fouls.) In the event of a tie for this award, it is awarded to the team
with more League Points.
The Fair Play Award Roll of Honor:
Season Club Manager
1 Chattanooga Choo-Choos Matt Langdon
2 Chattanooga Choo-Choos Matt Langdon
3 FC Quebec James Poppe
4 not awarded
[1.25] The Double
Winning the Killian Cup and the Comissioner's Cup in the same season is
a special feat called "doing the Double." No one has managed to pull off
this amazing task in NAISU history--will you be the first? Winning the
two cups combined with the President's Trophy is called "the Treble."
Combine a Treble with a Fair Play award and prepare to be bodily assumed
into heaven. :)
[1.3] Individual Honors
Nominations for these awards are announced near the end of the season
and the winners are determined by a vote of all managers.
Ben Yoskovitz Trophy: Awarded to the outstanding manager of the year.
Golden Pen: Awarded to the manager whose press releases contribute most
to the atmosphere of the league.
Golden Ball: Awarded to the oustanding player of the year.
Golden Boot: Awarded to the league's leading scorer.
Golden Shinguard: Awarded to the league's leading defender.
Golden Glove: Awarded to the league's leading goalkeeper.
Lady Taie Trophy: Awarded to the player who embodies excellence and
gentlemanly play.
[2.0] Attributes and Statistics
It is important to note the difference between attributes and
statistics. Attributes only occasionally change under certain defined
circumstances and determine how your player performs under match
conditions. Statistics measure performances (such as goals). The most
important distinction is that attributes are secret--you are never
required to reveal a player's attributes against your will--while
statistics are public knowledge.
[2.1] Attributes
The following attributes define a player for game purposes:
[2.11] Uniform Number
Each player on your team must be given a unique uniform number, which
must be a
whole number between 1 and 40. You use this number when making lineups
and
trades.
[2.12] Name
Each player has a unique first and last name. Names are assigned by the
FIRST manager to hire that particular player. Please keep the names
short, in good taste, and relatively "neutral"--that is, don't give them
a name that is appropriate to your team but not to anyone else's. Also,
please make an effort to make your player's name appropriate to his
nationality. (If you don't know the language spoken in a given country,
ask the commisioner.)
[2.13] Nationality
Each player has a nationality. The most important thing about
nationality is that you can never have a lineup with more than four
international players in it. ("International" is defined for the
purposes of this game as anything besides American (USA) and Canadian
(CAN).) You are permitted to have more than four internationals on your
roster, if you like, but no more than four can play in any one game.
[2.14] Shooting
This represents the player's knack for shooting accurately. Players with
low "shooting" numbers will find many of their goal attempts bouncing
off the woodwork or flying into the seats. It is rated on a scale of 1
to 20.
[2.15] Ball Control
This is a "composite" characteristic which represents the player's pace,
intelligence, passing ability and ability to work well as a part of a
team. Teams with lots of players having high marks in this ability will
generate more shots. It is rated on a scale of 1 to 20.
[2.16] Marking
This characteristic represents the ability of the player to contribute
to a defensive team effort. Teams with lots of players with this ability
will stifle their opponent's offense. It is rated on a scale of 1 to 20.
[2.17] Reaction
This characteristic represents the ability of the player to respond to
sudden changes in the opponent's offense. Additionally, it is a measure
of the player's raw speed. Players with high "reaction" numbers will
block a higher percentage of shots than those without high numbers. It
is rated on a scale of 1 to 20.
[2.18] Goalkeeping
This represents how good of a goalkeeper the player is. (Duh.) It is
rated on the now-familiar 1 to 20 scale.
[2.19] Side Preference
Players at some positions (see below) are assigned to patrol one
particular half of the field. Some players (listed as "L") prefer the
left half of the field, some (listed as "R") prefer the right half, and
some (listed as "LR") are equally skilled at both ends.
[2.110] Endurance
Players begin every season with an Endurance Level of 10. Every match, a
player's Endurance level goes down by the percentage of the match played
divided by ten plus the number of Hard Play Factors (see below) used by
that player. Every player gains 4 points on his endurance level after
every match, whether he played or not. If a player's Endurance level at
the start of a match is below 0, that player will not be able to
effectively participate in the match, and will in fact hurt his club by
being on the pitch.
[2.111] Age
A player's "age" characteristic is not directly related to his
chronological age. Rather, it is an abstract number representing how far
along he is in his career. This number ranges from 0 to 7.0. Most
rookies entering the league through the entry draft are Age 0, though
the occasional experienced player will also enter the draft. Players
gain in age .2 to 1.2 points a year at season's end, as determined by
the throw of two dice, with two exceptions: players whose age is 0
automatically go up to 1.0 at the end of their first season, and players
whose age is above 7 automatically retire.
When a player's whole number age changes (e.g. 2.8 to 3.2, but not 2.2
to 2.6), his attributes may go up or down by up to three points. Young
players (ages 0-2) improve in abilities, while older players (ages 4-6)
go down. This is the procedure for attribute changes: for each ability
of a player, a random number between 1 and 20 is generated. For a young
player on his way up, the ability in question rises by one point for
each of the random numbers which is equal to or greater than the
original ability score. For an older player losing his skills, the
reverse is true--each random number equal to or less than the ability
score lowers the ability by 1.
Note that players must have played at least 6 matches in the outfield or
4 matches in goal to be eligible for improvement.
If any of a player's attributes ever drops to 0 or below, the player
automatically retires.
[2.112] Contract Length
This figure indicates how many seasons remain on the player's current
contract. "1" means that the player will be a free agent after the
current season.
[2.113] Wage
This figure indicates how much money your club is obligated to pay every
match, whether the player participates in the match or not.
[2.114] Out
This characteristic indicates how many matches the player is currently
suspended for, if any.
[2.115] Form This is a HIDDEN characteristic of each player which
fluctuates from game to game. The form attribute is added to all of the
player's other attributes before the start of the game. This attribute
changes automatically after the end of a game. However, players who
don't participate in a game can only lose form. This is why you don't
want to keep players stewing on your bench--when you bring them into the
game, they'll be of (shall we say) limited use. Rotate your players and
deal off players you can't use!
[2.2] Statistics
The following statistics are tracked by the game program:
* Games played.
* Shots taken.
* Goals.
* Assists. When a player's pass leads directly to a goal, the passer is
credited with an assist.
* Points. This is simply the number of goals scored by the player plus
the number of assists scored by the player and is a measure of the
player's overall contribution to the offense.
* Stops. When a player makes an outstanding defensive play to prevent a
potential goal, he is credited with a "stop."
* Plus/Minus. Like the hockey statistic, this increases by one each time
a player's team scores while he's on the pitch, and decreases by one
each time the opposing team scores. It is a pretty good measure of the
player's contribution to the team defense.
* Discipline Points (DP). Every time a player recieves a yellow card in
a match, four DP are added to his total. Every red card is worth 10
DP. Every ten DPs a player recieves are met with increasingly harsh
suspensions, as follows:
10 DP..........one match suspension
20 DP..........three match suspension
30 DP..........six match suspension
40 DP..........suspended for the remainder of the season
* Fouls. This counts the number of fouls committed by the player over
the course of the season. Fouls don't carry any particular
consequences for your team, apart from tipping off opponents about how
hard your team plays, and hurting your chances for the Fair Play
Award.
* Goals Conceded. (For GKs)
* Goals Agaist Average. (For GKs)
* Wins, Losses and Draws. (For GKs)
* Save Percentage. (For GKs)
[3.0] Hard Play
For each match, a manager may elect to use 1-3 Hard Play Factors (HPF)
on a given player. HPFs improve the performance of a player at the cost
of an increased chance of booking or injury, and additional expenditure
of Endurance.
[3.01] Booking Determination
The percentage chance of a player being booked (shown a yellow card) in
a given match is equal to the number of HPFs used on that player plus
one squared. In other words, the percentage chances are as follows:
0 HPF................1%
1 HPF................4%
2 HPF................9%
3 HPF................16%
[3.1] Discipline
The NAISU Discipline Board meets after every session. Players whose DP
total has risen above the next threshold (as given in Section 2.2 of the
rules) are suspended by the Board, and the suspensions are announced by
e-mail.
[3.2] Injuries
Injuries occur randomly, but they happen more frequently to players who
play hard. Injuries vary in severity. Injuries are generally random, but
players with higher Age attributes tend to get more severe injuries.
Injured players lose Endurance points, which can be anything from a
minor annoyance to a total disaster effectively ending the player's
season.
[3.21] Injured Reserve
If a player is severly injured (END drops below -20 due to injury) you
can place him on injured reserve. You are not responsible for paying
players on IR, and you retain their rights. However, you can only place
one player on IR per season, and that player is ineligible to play for
the rest of the year.
[4.0] Lineups
You must submit one lineup for each match in an upcoming session. Since
there are three matches in a typical session, you will usually be
submitting three lineups. Lineups are read by a computer program, and
therefore must be in a certain format to work. Fortunately, this format
is easy to learn.
[4.1] Player Positions
Each club has six players on the pitch at a time--the goalkeeper and
five other players collectively referred to as outfielders. Each club
fields two "lines" of outfielders in a match. All of the players on a
line play together and all are substituted in and out at the same time.
Unlike outdoor soccer, NAISU has unlimited substitution. The goalkeeper
plays the entire match and is not substituted. The positions played are
as follows:
[4.11] Left Defenseman, Right Defensman
These players' primary responsibility is to mark opposing forwards and
prevent goals. Because of this, they need high values for marking and
reaction. Though they occasionally shoot and pass the ball, ball control
and shooting are less important for these players. Right-sided players
who play left defenseman do so at a disadvantage, and vice versa.
[4.12] Midfielder
Midfielders are the primary playmakers for their teams--they will more
often than anyone else be responsible for getting the ball forward to
the strikers. In addition to their passing responsibilities, midfielders
must function as a third forward on offense and a third defenseman on
defense. Because of this, midfielders are often well-rounded players
with good abilities in ball control, shooting, marking and reaction.
[4.13] Left Striker, Right Striker
These players are the scorers, the finishers, the primary offensive
weapons. The lion's share of the shots on your team are taken by
strikers, so the most important element in a striker's game is shooting
ability. Since they are integral parts of the offense, ball control is
also important. Marking and reaction are not especially critical for
these players, however.
[4.14] Goalkeeper
Goalkeepers are the last line of defense between a shot and a goal.
Since their game is so radically different from the outfielders',
goalkeepers' abilities are rated on their own scale. Thus, only the
goalkeeping attribute is important for a keeper. However, good keepers
are hard to find and pricey, so be sure to keep them safe!
[4.2] Submitting a lineup
For each match in a session, you must submit a lineup. A lineup consists
of a number of elements, each of which must be on its own line of text.
A lineup consists of the following:
* Your teams' short name (Three-letter abbreviation)
* The uniform numbers of the players on the first line, one per line of
text, in the following order: LD, RD, MF, LS, RS. After each players'
uniform number, type a comma, then the number of HPFs that player will
use.
* The uniform numbers of the players on the second line, formatted
identically to the first line.
* The uniform number of the goalkeeper.
* The percentage of the match (divided by ten) that your first line will
be playing. In other words, if the first line was playing 10% of the
match, you would type "1" on this line. If the first line was playing
50% of the match, you would type "5". This must be a number between 1
and 9.
[4.21] Sample lineup
The following is a set of sample orders for a session. Obviously, the
details will be different, but your orders should look pretty much like
this:
To: godot22@earthlink.net
From: yourname@domain.com
Subject: NAISU: ABC Lineup For Session C
ABC
4,0
12,0
18,0
17,0
13,2
3,1
2,1
9,0
15,0
16,0
1
6
ABC
4,0
2,0
9,0
15,0
13,2
3,1
8,0
18,0
16,0
17,0
6
3
ABC
4,1
12,0
18,0
17,0
13,2
3,1
2,1
9,0
15,1
16,0
1
7
Notes to Comissioner: It's risky, but I really need to win all three
matches!
[5.0] Finances
Keeping your club's financial house in order is a vital element of the
game. Fortunately, you don't have to deal with all of the minutae of
financial management, but your team is on a limited budget (this is
indoor soccer after all), and an inability to meet payroll is
potentially catastrophic.
[5.1] Revenue
After every match, each club recieves revenue. Every team recieves a
guaranteed $50,000 per match. Additionally, a pool of money consisting
of $2 per spectator is divided, with 2/3 of the money going to the home
club and 1/3 going to the away club.
Then, the total wages for the club (each player's "wage" figure added
together) is subtracted from the revenue, and the difference is listed
in the match report as "profit." The profit (or loss, if this figure is
negative) is added (or subtracted) from your team's bank account.
The only current use for money is buying free agents in the Auction,
paying per-match wages and buying out the contracts of released players.
After each Comissioner's Cup match, each team is paid $70000. This is
the only source of revenue available apart from Honors bonuses.
[5.2] Wages and Contracts
Each player has a "wage" figure associated with him, which is derived
from the player's atttibutes. That figure is the amount your team must
pay him after every game, whether he participates in the game or not. As
you can see, a large roster will get quite expensive very fast! Players
also have a figure for contract length--this is how many seasons remain
on their current contract. If you attempt to cut a player with time
remaining on his contract, you must buy him out, with a few minor
exceptions (see below).
[5.21] Buyouts
When a player is cut or when he retires, if there are seasons remaining
on his contract, the club must buy out his contract. The formula for the
buyout price is (5*number of years remaining on the contract)*weekly
wage. This can get very costly if several of your players retire in one
off-season, so beware of signing veterans to long-term contracts.
[5.22] Bankruptcy (Going Into Debt During the Season)
If your club's bank account should dip below zero at any point during
the season, you are given until the next session to come up with the
shortfall, after which point you are considered to have gone into
bankruptcy and the league temporarily takes over the front-office
operation of your club. The players on your club with the five highest
wages are auctioned off to the other clubs in the league using the
off-season free agent auction procedures given in section 6.3 of the
rules. 75% of the revenue from these sales is given to the club, and 25%
is kept as a fee by the recievers. If this amount is sufficent to bring
your club out of debt, control of the club is returned to you.
Otherwise, players continue to be auctioned off until your team is in
the black.
[5.23] Going Into Debt in the Offseason
When clubs go into debt before the start of a season (only) they are
eligible for bailout loans. A team which has taken out a bailout loan
must pay interest equal to 10% of the principal before every match that
season. This interest is subtracted directly from the team's revenue.
[5.24] Salary Cap
The salary cap is $60000, which means that AT NO POINT are you allowed
to have your teams' total per-match payroll be over $60000. If your
payroll exceeds $60000 during the season, you must pay a fine equal to
your team's payroll to the league office for every game in which you
exceed the cap. This continues until you reduce your payroll below
$60000 or your team goes into bankruptcy, at which point the procedures
outlined in 5.22 begin immediately.
[5.3] Trades/Transfers In theory, "trades" refer to exchanges of players
for other players, while "transfers" refer to exchanges of players for
money, but since players, money, and draft picks, or any combination of
those elements, can be traded for any other combination of those
elements, the distinction is not a particularly vital one, so "trade"
and "transfer" are used interchangably in these rules. As a rule, trades
can be conducted at any time, subject to the following conditions:
Trades must be confirmed by both (all) sides via e-mail to the
comissioner within a 48 hour period. (That is to say, 48 hours after the
first team sends the trade announcement, all the other parties to the
trade must have sent in their information.) From each team, the
comissioner will need the name and old uniform numbers of the players
leaving the team, and the name and the new uniform numbers of the
players being added to the team. It is important to keep track of which
player is which number for lineup purposes. Any trade e-mail which does
not list identical terms or which does not list legal uniform numbers
for acquired players will be rejected.
In order to use the players acquired in a trade in an upcoming session
or cup match, both parties must have sent the comissioner the terms of
the trade 48 hours before the session deadline. (This is Saturday night
at 10 PM for Cup matches, Tuesday night at 10 PM for League sessions.)
Managers are free to make trades after the deadline for a given session,
but the players involved are considered to be "in transit" and unable to
participate in the next match(es) for EITHER club.
There is a trade deadline which falls on 10:59 PM Pacific Time the night
before the fifth regular-season session is played. After the trade
deadline, rosters are frozen--no players can be added to or subtracted
from any team between the deadline and the end of the Killian Cup. All
trades must go into effect immediately--that is, managers cannot make
trades for "future considerations," and the trade is effective from the
moment it is confirmed by both parties. You cannot trade draft choices
beyond those for the draft at the end of the current season.
Short-term loans of players are not permitted. Managers cannot trade a
player back to his former team, unless 1) Two sessions have been played
since the original trade, or 2) The season has ended since the original
trade, or 3) Both managers have sucessfully appealed to the comissioner
to waive this rule. Any "loan" arrangement is unenforcable--a manager is
never obligated to return a player who they have acquired in a trade.
Players are not obligated to reveal the attributes of players involved
in a trade during negotiations, though if they are asked and agree to do
so, they are not permitted to lie about them. If the comissioner
recieves complaints about players violating this policy, sanctions may
be enforced, up to and including removal from the game.
[5.31] Collusion
The Comissioner has the sole right to disallow trades which seem to
excessively favor one or another club in the interest of maintaining
competitive balance. Usually a written explanation of the deal is
sufficent to allow a trade to go through, but if a pattern of suspicious
trades emerges, sanctions may be applied against one or both teams.
[5.32] A Sample Trade
You have a lot of flexibility in how you word trade agreements, provided
you follow the rules above and agree to identical terms. A sample of a
format that will make the Commissioner happy is:
Kansas City and Miami have agreed to a trade
Kansas City gets:
Preki (#21)
$50K
Miami gets:
Brandon Prideaux (#12)
The second-round pick Kansas City previously acquired from Los Angeles
[5.4] Waiver Wire
Players not on the roster of any team at the beginning of the season and
players cut by teams in mid-season are placed on the Waiver Wire. You
can attempt to sign players from the Waiver Wire at any time up to the
trade deadline. (This rule may, at the Comissioner's discretion, be
waived in order to allow a team that's been hurt badly by injuries or
suspensions to field a team.) If your team is the only one attempting to
sign a given player before the roster deadline for the next session or
Comissioner's Cup match, that player is added to your roster.
[5.41] Waiver Wire Priority List
If, however, more than one team attempts to sign a player from the
Waiver Wire, the Comissioner consults the Priority List. At the start of
Season 5, the Priority List will be in the same order as the first round
order for the North American draft. When more than one team attempts to
sign a player from the Waiver Wire, the player signs with the team who
is higher on the Priority List. Regardless of how many teams attempt
to sign a player, any team which signs a player from the Waiver Wire
moves to the bottom of the Priority List.
[5.5] Signing and Developing Youth Players
Each club now has a farm team which can supply its parent club with up
to three youth players per season. The cost of signing a youth player
depends on the side of the field he prefers:
R: $10K
L: $40K
RL: $50K
Youth players start out with a rating of 1 in shooting, ball control,
marking, reaction, and goalkeeping, an age rating of 0, and a 2 year
contract for $800/match. After a youth player plays his 200th minute in
the outfield, you may add a total of five points to his S, B, M or R
attributes in any configuration you choose. After he plays his fourth
match as a goalkeeper, his GK rating goes up to 4. These seasoning
bonuses are only available during a youth player's FIRST season--if you
fail to play a youth player 200 minutes or 4 matches in goal during his
first season, they've lost the chance to be improved in that manner.
[5.6] Signing and Developing International Youth Players
Instead of signing players from the farm team, clubs can elect to go
overseas to find young talent. The cost of signing an international
youth player is slightly higher than corresponding domestic players due
to scouting expenses, and again depends on the players' preferred side
of the pitch:
R: $15K
L: $50K
RL: $65K
International youth players can represent any country except USA or CAN
and can either start out with a rating of one in every attribute except
GK and a GK attribute of 3, or can start with a GK rating of one and a
total of six points allocated to S, B, M or R in any configuration you
choose. Seasoning bonuses are in addition to the starting values and are
subject to the same qualifications as given in 5.5, with one exception:
An international GK's skill goes up to 6 instead of 4 upon seasoning.
[5.7] Seasoning Bonus Obligation
The seasoning bonus does not automatically apply to players. It is the
obligation of managers to inform the comissioner of when a player has
crossed the seasoning threshold.
[6.0] The Off-Season
The three "phases" that occur after the end of the League Cup are
collectively referred to as the Off-Season. The phases are always
executed in the following order: 1) College Draft 2) Aging/Free Agent
Declarations 3) Free Agent Auction.
[6.1] College Draft
The order of selections in the College Draft is as follows: all teams
who did not make the playoffs are put into a weighted lottery. The team
with the worst overall record has as many chances to win the top pick as
there are teams in the lottery, and the non-playoff team with the best
overall record has one chance.
EXAMPLE: Team A finished 7-13, Team B finished 6-14, Team C finished
3-17 and Team D finished 0-20.
Their chances of winning the first pick are: Team D 4/10 or 40%, Team C
3/10 or 30%, Team B 2/10 or 20% and Team A 1/10 or 10%.
There are two rounds to the College Draft, and each team selects with
the same pick in both rounds, unless it has traded the rights to that
pick earlier in the season.
During the draft, teams select one at a time from a specially created
pool of young players, and by doing so claim the rights to that player
for three seasons.
[6.2] Aging/Free Agent Declarations
During this phase, players are aged and feel the effects therof as given
in section 2.111 of the rules.
All players whose contracts expire at this point become free agents,
though the clubs may limit this process by using the "Franchise" or
"Transitional" tags on a player, as described below.
[6.21] Franchise Player
Prior to the Free Agent Auction, a club has the option of declaring an
out-of-contract player to be that club's FRANCHISE PLAYER. When this
declaration is made, the player is REQUIRED to re-sign with his present
club at his requested wage level plus $1000. A club may only have one
designated Franchise player at a time, and the designation lasts for the
length of the contract or until the team pays $100,000 to lift it.
[6.211] Trading a Franchise Player
Franchise players have veto power over any trade. In other words,
franchise players must approve any trade which sends them to a different
club. Players agree to trades on a random basis, based on the
Franchise players cannot be traded to a team who currently have a
designated Franchise player unless their tag is lifted. Either team
involved in the swap can pay the removal fee.
The chances that a Franchise player will agree to a trade are as
follows:
Player's Age 0-1.9 | 2-4.9 | 5-7
% Chance of Trade to Lesser Team 30% | 20% | 10%
% Chance of Trade to Better/Equal Team 50% | 35% | 20%
[6.22] Transitional Player
A team may designate up to two Transitional Players. When a player is
declared to be Transitional, he is released to the Free Agent Pool as
normal, but his original club has the right to match any signing bonus
offered to that player, and if they do, they retain that player. This
right is seperate from the club's alloted ten auction bids per round.
Transitional players are designated as such for the length of their
contracts, or until the team pays $50,000 to lift it.
[6.221] Trading a Transitional Player
Transitional players may be freely traded, provided that the destination
team has fewer than two transitional players already. If they already
have their alloted 2, either team must pay the removal fee for the trade
to go through.
[6.3] Free Agent Auction
* The free agent pool is made up of: 1) all of the players who declared
free agency during the previous phase 2) all players from the College
Draft Pool who were not selected in the College Draft 3) new players
created by the program to inject a little "fresh blood" into the
league.
* In each round of the Auction, you can submit up to 10 bids. This can
be 10 bids on one player, 1 bid each on 10 players, or some
combination of the two. The minimum bid is $1000 (hereafter referred
to as $1K) and the maximum bid is your team's cash on hand. Teams in
debt cannot bid on players in the first round, and can only offer
developmental contracts (see below) in each subsequent round. All bids
are expressed in thousands of dollars. All bids not expressed in
thousands of dollars will be rounded down, i.e. a bid of $1999 is
considered identical to a bid of $1000.
* In each round, the club offering the highest bid on a player wins that
player's contract. The signing bonus given to the player is always
equal to the *lowest bid made by the winning club which is higher than
any other club's highest bid*. In other words, if you submitted bids
of $50K, $60K and $70K for a given player, and the highest bid by
another team was $55K, you would pay a signing bonus of $60K, not
$70K. It is thus in your best financial interest to submit multiple
bids on a player who you feel several teams will want to sign.
* Bids MUST be submitted in the following format:
* Players with lower lot numbers before higher lot numbers
* Lower bids on the same player before higher bids on that player.
Bids NOT submitted in this format may be deleted at the discretion of
the Comissioner.
For example:
1. $10K
15. $11K
21. $8K
21. $15K
21. $45K
24. $5K
29. $1K
34. $7K
41. $9K
41. $13K
Means that you are bidding $10000 on player 1, $11000 on player 15,
$8000 on player 21, then if someone bids higher than $8000, you will
bid $15000, then if someone bids higher than $15000, you will bid
$45000, etc.
* For Rounds 2 and 3, you will have the option of signing
players to developmental contracts. Players signed to these contracts
require no signing bonus and can be cut before the first games of the
season without paying a settlement fee. Just list your bid for these
players as you did in the first round, only with no signing bonus.
For example:
13. $0K
* Clubs in debt MAY sign players to developmental contracts.
[7.0] League Administration
[7.1] League Structure and Schedule
For Season 5, NAISU has two geographical conferences with four teams in
each. A team plays the other three teams in their conference four times
each and the four teams in the other conference twice each, for a total
of 20 games in the regular season. The playoffs are seven game series
for the top four teams in the league, as outlined in 1.21.
[7.2] Deadlines and NMR (No Moves Recieved)
Unless otherwise noted, the deadline to turn in your lineups for league
sessions is every Friday at 10 PM Pacific time and the deadline for
Comissioner's Open Cup matches is every Tuesday at 10 PM Pacific time.
For everyone's sake, it's important to adhere to deadlines. Please let
the Comissioner know in advance if you will be out of town or otherwise
unable to submit weekly lineups. If you will be gone a long time, please
consider appointing a caretaker manager as described below.
If you miss a deadline without making advance arrangements with the
Comissioner, your club is considered NMR. Your team is run with the same
orders as last session--except in the case of suspended players, who are
replaced with a random player from your roster.
[7.21] Abandoment
Any manager who misses two straight deadlines or three deadlines
throughout the course of the season is subject (at the Comissioner's
discretion) to removal from the game for having abandoned his club, and
a manager from the waiting list (if any are available) is assigned to
take over.
[7.22] Caretaker Managers
If you will be gone for an extended period (more than, say, three
weeks), submitting lineups in advance becomes less feasable and you
should consider appointing a caretaker manager. This can either be a
friend you trust to not screw things up (the arrangements for which you
can make on your own) or it can be a manager from the waiting list, if
one is available, in which case you should set down explicit
instructions for what that manager can and cannot do in your
absence--e.g., the caretaker can be allowed to play whatever lineups he
chooses but not trade players.
[7.3] Press
Managers are strongly encouraged to use the NAISU mailing list to send
press releases to the league. This is a great opportunity to show off
your writing skills (or lack thereof) and flesh out the game. In
addition, there is a bribe involved. Writing press increases your team's
popularity, which in turn increases attendance at your matches.
[7.4] Role of the Comissioner
The Comissioner is the final arbiter of the game. All decisions of the
comissioner are final, and your recourse if unhappy is to leave the
game. We'll be happy to refund your entry fee. :)
These rules should be considered "experimental" and are subject to
change at any time without prior notice.
Any decision made by the Comissioner supersedes anything given in these
rules.