Shadow's Trophy 2022 Online Time Attack Tournament Regulations.

The Organizers of the Tournament are:

• VIRPIL Controls;
• Smile Pilots Club.
• And personally =[:)]=MI1T, =[:)]=Hellboy, =[:)]=Solway, 2BAG_Inferno.

 Content of the Regulations:

1. Conditions of admission to the tournament.
2. Tournament order and general provisions.
3. Rules for conducting timed flights (Top-64 and Top-16).
4. Applications acceptance and registration of Participants. 
5. Tournament arbitration. Rights and obligations. 
6. Organizers. Rights and obligations. 
7. Tournament Participants. Rights and obligations.
8. Race protocol.
9. Internet resources, used during the tournament. 
10. Scheme of Shadow’s Trophy Race Track.
11. Shadow’s Trophy Organizers Contacts.

1. Conditions of admission to the tournament.

1.1  Anyone with the following software is allowed to the tournament:

• DCS World (Beta version, current at the time of the tournament);
• Purchased and installed one or more modules: DCS: Mi-24P Hind, DCS: SA342 Gazelle, DCS: Mi-8MTV2, DCS: UH-1H Huey,  DCS Black Shark 2 or DCS: AH-64D;
• Voice communication program Discord;
• Voice program Skype.

1.2  To avoid fraud, one Participant from one account is allowed to the tournament (and as a result - with one UCID).

Other players who use one account with one key from the modules (listed in clause 1.1) for several clients (and whose UCID is the same for all clients of the same account) will not be allowed to participate in the tournament.

2. The order of the tournament and general provisions.

2.1 The competition is allowed to fly on the following types of helicopters:

• Mi-24P
• Ka-50
• Mi-8MTV2
• UH-1H
• AH-64D
• SA342L

2.2 The first stage of the competition is Qualification.

2.3 Qualification is carried out on the official DCS World servers of the event (clause 2.18). To participate in it, it is necessary to fly the race track according to the scheme (Section 10) with a final non-zero result. A non-zero result is considered to be crossing the finish line with a final time. The result of the race “DNF” (Did Not Finish) does not count. Qualification is held from 11/11/2022 to 12/4/2022.

2.4 If the pilot wishes to continue participating in the Tournament, he must go to the VIRPIL Controls Community Servers website and fill in the “Participant's Form”. From this moment on, his current and subsequent results are recorded by the organizers of the tournament as application results.

2.5 From the general list of all Participants on all aircraft, a Qualifying grid is formed in 3 groups with 16 pilots with the best results among the modules of their group in each group.

2.6 All aircrafts in the tournament are divided into three groups: “A”, “B” and “C”.

2.6.1 Group “A” includes:

• Mi-24P
• Ka-50

2.6.2 Group “B” includes:

• Mi-8MTV2
• SA342L

2.6.3 Group “C” includes:

• AH-64D
• UH-1H

2.7  It is allowed for one pilot to fly in several groups.

2.8 After the announcement of the results of the Qualification, the selected pilots indicate on the VIRPIL Controls Community Servers website the type of aircraft in which they will participate in the Semi-Final (Top-16) and Final (Top-8). In the absence of information on the change of aircraft, the player claims that the online part of the tournament will be held in the aircraft where he showed his best group qualifying result. It is prohibited to change the type of helicopter during the subsequent stages of the tournament.

2.9  The online part of the tournament is held in two stages for each of the three groups: Semi-final (Top-16) and Final (Top-8).

2.10 Semi-final (Top 16) is held on Dec.10th 2022. At this stage, in case of non-attendance of automatically selected participants, the pilots with the next best result can take part. 8 pilots who show the best time on the stage from each group pass to the next stage.

2.11 The final (Top 8) for each of the groups is held on Dec.17th 2022. This stage is final. There will be live streaming and post-flight interviews of pilots via voice communications.

2.12 Competitions are held in the mode of sequential “Time attack” flights.

2.13  The order of flights is determined according to the time shown at the previous stage of the tournament from worst to best:

• In the Semi-finals (Top-16) — according to the results of the Qualification.
• In the Final (Top-8) — according to the results of the Top-16.

2.14 The order of flights of groups in the live stages of the tournament:

• Group “C”
• Group “B”
• Group “A”

2.15 The graphical progress of the Participants (standings) is displayed on the VIRPIL Controls Community Servers website.

2.16 Distribution of prize-winning places: 

• The winner of the Qualification is the player who showed the best time in one of the groups;
• The first, second and third places in each group of the tournament are taken by the Participants who showed three best results in the Final (Top-8), respectively;

2.17 The prize fund of the tournament consists of:

2.17.1 Qualifier winners within each of modules will be awarded with a coupons for the VIRPIL Controls store in the amount of 100€, valid for 3 (three) months.

2.17.2 Winners for 1st place in each of the three categories (“A”, “B” and “C”):

• VPC MongoosT-50CM2 Grip x1 
• VPC MongoosT-50CM3 Base x1 
• VPC Rotor TCS Base x1
• VPC SharKa-50 Collective Grip x1 or VPC Hawk-60 Collective Grip x1 of the pilot's choice.
• VPC ACE Torq Pedals x1

Or a coupon for the VIRPIL Controls webstore in the amount of 1000€, valid for 3 (three) months.

2.17.3 Winners for 2nd place in each of the three categories (“A”, “B” and “C”):

• VPC Rotor TCS Base x1
• VPC SharKa-50 Collective Grip x1 or VPC Hawk-60 Collective Grip x1 at the choice of the pilot.
• VPC ACE Torq Pedals x1

Or a coupon for the VIRPIL Controls webstore in the amount of 500€, valid for 3 (three) months.

2.17.4 Prize-winners for 3rd place in each of the three categories (“A”, “B” and “C”):

• VPC Rotor TCS Base x1
• VPC SharKa-50 Collective Grip x1 or VPC Hawk-60 Collective Grip x1 at the choice of the pilot.

Or a coupon for the VIRPIL Controls webstore in the amount of 300€, valid for 3 (three) months.

2.17.5 All Semi-Final Participants who qualified and took part in the Semi-final (Top-16) will be awarded with a coupon for the VIRPIL Controls webstore in the amount of 50€, valid for 3 (three) months.

2.17.6 All Qualification Participants can get a one time only 5% discount in VIRPIL Controls webstore, valid for 3 (three) months.

2.17.7 All Final (Top-16) Participants become members of the VPC Founders Club with an unconditional lifetime 5% discount on all VIRPIL Controls products in the official webstores of the project.

2.17.8 Winners of the tournament (first, second and third places in each group) will receive any 1 (one) module for DCS World. As prizes, Participants will be able to choose modules only developed by Eagle Dynamics. Third-party modules are not included in the prize pool.

More detailed information on the prize fund: the procedure for its assignment, conditions for the issuance of prizes and other additional information, are described in Appendix No. 1 to this Regulations.

2.18 Game servers for the Qualification of the Tournament are:

• VPC Europe Tournament Server (Beta) (IP address 45.81.252.205 port 10308).
• Smile Pilots Club (SPC) (Stable) (IP address 86.57.174.42 port 10308).
• Smile Pilots Club (SPC) (Beta) (IP address 86.57.174.42 port 10314).

The game server for the live part of the tournament is:

• VPC Europe Tournament Server (Beta) (IP address 45.81.252.205 port 10308).

The list of servers and their assignment in the Tournament is not final and can be changed by the organizers during the Tournament.

2.19 The voice server for communication between players and organizers during the tournament is “VIRPIL Controls Community Servers” Discord Server.

2.20 The official languages ​​of communication at the tournament during the matches are Russian and English (international).

2.21 Semi-Final (Top-16) will be broadcast online on the VIRPIL Controls Twitch channel. The Final (Top-8) will be streamed online on the VIRPIL Controls Twitch channel and on the VIRPIL Controls YouTube channel (Section 9).

2.22 All dates and times are specified in the format - "UTC + 0 (UTC + 3)". 

 3. Rules for conducting timed flights (Top-16 and Top-8).

3.1  Tournament is a series of timed flights (“Time Attack”) on the Tournament race track in sequential order.

3.2  There are two flights according to the route scheme (Section 10).

3.3 If the pilot doesn’t appear at the start for a certain time without explaining the reasons, the judge will remove him from the competition.

3.4  If a pilot is limited in time by any circumstances, he can apply for an earlier or later flight, but only once (Semi-Final (Top-16) or Final (Top-8)) before the start of the online part of the tournament, with the permission of the judge. Application must be communicated to organizers via email or text message in Discord Dec 7th 2022 from 0:00 to 23:59 (MSK / UTC+3). Contacts of the tournament organizers in Section 11.

3.5   The maximum allowable ping (ping) of a Participant during head-to-head races should not exceed 300 ms. If a Participant exceeds the maximum ping value, he is not allowed to face-to-face races. In this case, the race can be postponed by the referee for a certain time within the stage, or a forfeit defeat is counted.

3.6  In case of a single loss (for a Participant) of the connection to the server during the race, he is credited with a technical loss in flight. If the Participant of the race could not restore the connection with the server within 5 minutes, technical defeat can be awarded.

3.7  Participants' lags (trajectory stability, disappearance, etc.) and their impact on the course of the race are evaluated by the arbitrators and, by their decision, the Participant may be given a technical defeat at the stage.

3.8  Race procedure

• Before the start of the flights, the Participant and the arbitrator must be in the Discord voice communication system (in the “Race” channel; clause 2.19) and on the DCS World simulator server (clause 2.18);
• The arbiter has the right to remind the Participant of the basic flight rules and other extracts from the regulations at his discretion;
• The Participant must take the allotted slot and start the race as soon as he receives the verbal / text command of the arbiter;
• The primary fixation of the lap time is done automatically using a script in the mission. 
• Passing gates No. 1, 2, 3, 12, 13 is penalized +10 seconds of penalty time. Passing gate No.18 is penalized +15 seconds of penalty time. The remaining missed towers add +5 seconds of penalty time.
• Any adjustment of the helicopter systems using the standard simulator tools is allowed.
• The victory in the race is awarded by the arbiter according to the best time shown through the mission script and according to claus 3.2; At the end of the flights, the referee gives a voice and / or text command and the Participant goes to the observers.

3.9 In the Semi-final and Final stages, in case of damage to the helicopter, as well as the occurrence of failures and malfunctions, the following rules apply:

• Partial power loss, i.e. the shutdown of one engine on twin-engine helicopters during the passage of the route is not considered a malfunction, and does not lead to the nulling of the result of the attempt.
• A complete loss of power before the end of the race track is considered a critical malfunction and DNF result.
• After completing the course, the Participant must be able to make a soft landing. A helicopter crash after crossing the finish line will result in a DNF result.
• The final decision on the result of the attempt in the event of the situations described in clause 3.9 is made by the arbitrator.

 4. Acceptance of applications and registration of Participants. 

4.1  Each player wishing to take part in the tournament is obliged to go to any of the tournament servers specified in clause 2.18, then go through the race track to get a qualifying result. The number of qualifying attempts is not limited. Qualification is limited in time according to clause 2.3.

4.2 Upon completion of the Qualification, pilots qualified for the Semi-Finals (Top-16) must have a completed profile on the VIRPIL Controls Community Servers portal containing the following fields and data:

• First name
• Last name
• Language (English or Russian)
• Country
• Pilot photo*
• Squad* Squad
• logo*
• Age *

Fields marked with * are optional.

Confirmation that the tournament regulations have been read is required and the pilot agrees with the rules by ticking the appropriate box.

After the pilot fills out an application according to the specified form, the player is hereinafter referred to as a Participant (of the tournament).

The final decision on the continuation of participation or disqualification of the Participant remains with the chief arbiter of the tournament.

4.3  The Participant's game nickname must be unique and may consist of Latin (classic) and Russian characters (including numbers and special characters). Proper names, for example, "Alex", "Robert", "John", etc. simple nicknames are prohibited. Applications with simple nicknames will not be accepted for consideration and will not be included in the general list of registered Participants.

4.4  The start of registration of Participants begins from the moment the start of the Tournament is announced and takes place until Dec. 5th 2022.

4.5  The tournament is held from Nov. 11th 2022 till Dec. 17th 2022.

5. Arbitration of the tournament. Rights and obligations.

5.1  The chief arbiter of the tournament is 2BAG_Inferno (Denis).

         The following persons have been appointed as line arbiters:

   1. =[:)]=Hellboy (Mikhail);

   2. =[:)]=MI1T (Dmitry);

   3. =[:-)]=Dell_Murrey-RUS (Dmitry);

5.2  Arbitrators of the Tournament are responsible for the implementation of this Regulations by all Participants in the Tournament.

5.3  The Chief Arbiter has the right to remove the line Arbitrators from work and is the supreme authority in resolving disputes, both between the line Arbiters and between the Participants.

5.4  The Chief Arbiter may resolve conflict situations that are not provided for by these regulations.

5.5  Arbitrators have the following rights:

• Issue warnings to Participants in case of minor violations (no more than two warnings for the entire Tournament);
• Remove Participants from the Tournament in case of exceeding the limits of their warnings;
• Remove without explanation the Participants who grossly violated this Regulations (insults in the chat, Discord or Skype, etc.).
• The Arbitration board or one of the Arbitrators in a disputable situation has the right to demand additional data from the Participant for objective control (including the flight track (*.trk) and other means available in DCS World);
• The Chief Arbiter has the right to consider and / or refuse to consider complaints from the Participants.

5.6  The Arbitrators have the following duties:

• to monitor compliance with the rules constantly and impartially throughout the Tournament;
• The Arbitrators, along with the Organizers, are obliged to keep a complete record of the results of all matches on the VIRPIL Controls Community Servers website.

5.7  Following violations are considered as light:

• Purposeful distortion of the language of communication in voice chat;
• Entering the server of the match with a nickname that does not match the one declared during registration. The use of nicknames containing technical words like "Server", "Admin", similar to them and their variations.
• Leaving the cockpit and/or becoming an observer before the referee's command.

5.8  Following violations are considered as gross:

• Ignoring the requirements of the Arbitrator located on the server;
• Entering the server of the match with a nickname containing a direct or indirect insult, which is a curse, or allows for an ambiguous interpretation.
• Use of any modifications of the DCS World simulator and its modules.
• Intentional damage to the objects of the race track or aircrafts of other Participants.
• Clear and deliberate violation of the rules of the race track.

6. Organizers. Rights and obligations. 

6.1  Obligations of the Organizers:

• Provide a platform (DCS server) for the Tournament (clause 2.18);
• Timely bring the necessary information to the Participants through the VIRPIL Controls Community Servers website;
• Keep a complete record of the results of all matches on the VIRPIL Controls Community Servers website.

6.2   Rights of the Organizers:

• The Organizers have the right to suspend a Participant in the Qualification or full-time stages of the tournament if serious violations are found or in case of actions that prevent the tournament from being held, which are not described in these regulations.
• The Organizers have the right to end the tournament ahead of schedule without distributing the Prize Fund in the event of circumstances of an insurmountable nature.

7. Tournament Participants. Rights and obligations.

7.1  Rights of Participants:

• The Participant has the right to appeal the decision of the line arbiter by contacting (orally through the voice system Discord) to the main arbiter of the tournament within an hour after the decision of the line arbiter. In this case, the Participant must clearly state the essence of the complaint. After this period, it is impossible to appeal the results.

7.2  Obligations of the Participants:

• To provide the required data during registration in accordance with section 4.
• To provide the data requested by the arbitrators (judging panel) (clause 5.5)
• Be ready to conduct the match at the time indicated by the tournament schedule, including his own appearance, both in the Discord voice system and on the specified DCS World-server of the match (clause 2.19).
• Be ready for post-match interviews in the broadcast on the streaming services of the tournament (clause 2.21).
• Observe the rules of staying on the servers designated by the organizers as the venues for the stages of the tournament.

7.3 Participants are prohibited from:

• In any means of communication officially used during the Tournament, insult in any way other Participants of the Tournament.
• Show intolerance based on ethnic, religious or political views.
• Use an excessive number of messages in chats.
• Use public sections and chats to discuss personal issues.

8. Race protocol.

“Time Attack”

8.1  The start of the match takes place in the presence of the Participant and the line arbiter in the Discord voice chat (Skype is used as a backup communication platform).

8.2 The Participant, on the command of the arbiter, occupies a slot. Subject to the availability of free slots, as well as with the permission of the arbitrators, the Participant can take a slot in advance.

8.3 The arbiter, by verbal command, gives permission to take off on readiness. The time limit for taking off is 1 min.

8.4 At the end of the allotted time or earlier, the Participant is obliged to advance to the starting area, in accordance with paragraphs. 3.2, 3.3 of this regulation. The time limit for entering the zone from the moment of takeoff is 40 seconds.

8.5 The arbiter verbally confirms the driver's permission to start the course and the arbiter records the start of the race (eg “First valid attempt by pilot X”).

8.6 After completing the first attempt, the pilot is allowed to change his helicopter by entering the spectators and occupying the slot, or proceed directly to the starting position. The procedures from paragraphs 8.4, 8.5 are carried out sequentially.

8.7 If the pilot wants to take a new helicopter, the procedures from paragraphs 8.3, 8.4, 8.5 are repeated.

8.8 Each valid attempt continues until the mission script fixes the preliminary results or the participant's helicopter crashes, including situations with piloting errors and, as a result, a collision with the ground or landing on the ground. As well as the commands of the arbitrator in the voice chat: “Attempt completed, go to spectators / Attempt completed, join spectators”.

8.9 After the end of the race, the referee checks the exact time of the participant, determined by the mission script, taking into account the mistakes made by him, according to clause 3.8, and forms the final time result of the flight. The arbitrator announces the result of the participant in the format “Participant X - time of the first attempt - **:**, penalty time - **:**, final result - **:**. The time of the second attempt is **:**, the penalty time is **:**, the final result is **:**. Best time on both attempts **:**!”

8.10 At this point, the Time Trial - Result Protocol for a particular participant is considered closed. The result is recorded in the test table in accordance with paragraph 2.12.

9. Internet resources used during the tournament.

• Virpil-servers.com — Project site VIRPIL Controls Community Servers
• Youtube.com — video hosting and online streaming service.
• Twitch.com is an online streaming service.
• VIRPIL Controls Community Servers - Discord. Voice program.

10. Scheme of the race track.