GameFAQs' Free-For-All FAQ Tournament

Welcome to my tournament! This tournament is focused on the FAQs. 32 FAQs at GameFAQs.com are participating. All of them are written by different authors. This is a voting contest that takes place everyday at GameFAQs' FAQ Contributor Message Board. Each voting session takes 23 and a half hours, so if you've got a Contributor Page with at least one FAQ posted, go there and vote for your favourite FAQs. I, the host of this tournament, will not compete, nor vote, to make me as objective as possible. This tournament is not recognised by GameFAQs.com. Good luck goes to all contestants!

The purpose of this tournament

In this tournament, there will only be two matches per day. This should make it easier for you to compare the FAQs with each other in an objective manner. You shall not check the rest of the authors' work, only the FAQ which he/she is participating with. I hope that by having few matches and having the tournament concentrate on FAQs, will minimise popularity voting and people will really see the best FAQs.

I don't like the division system they use, because I find it rather unfair. Even though both Devin and BTB have done things do make the system more fair, I still don't like it. That's why I'm using this group system which you can read more about below to try and make it more fair.

I would also like to say that I think Devin Morgan and BTB are making excellent jobs in their tournament hosting, even though it might sound like I'm throwing dirt all over the poor chaps.

My apologies for bad spelling, grammar and/or (mostly) terminology in this document. English isn't my first language.

Rules

- You will participate with an FAQ, not your name. It doesn't matter how many
  FAQs you've made or how good you are in general, just how good the FAQ is.
- The FAQ may cover whichever game and it may be whichever type of FAQ.
- There's no size requirements.
- The contestant must have a Contributor Page at GameFAQs.com and at least
  one FAQ posted.
- When I announce "The Draft" at GameFAQs' FAQ Contributor Board, the first
  32 contributors that sign up will participate in the tournament.
  There will be no more and no less. If I would sign up more people,
  I would have reorganise the whole tournament.
- A Contributor will only be able to participate if, when he/she signs up,
  states his/her Contributor name, full link to his/her Contributor Page,
  full link to the FAQ he/she wish to participate with, what type of FAQ
  it is(FAQ/Walkthrough, In-depth FAQ, Character FAQ, etc.) and stated if
  he/she is Prolific or Non-Prolific. If it's an In-depth FAQ, subject must
  be stated. If it's a Character FAQ, character must be stated.
- When 32 approved contributors are signed up, they will systematically be sorted
  into the groups below.
- Those who don't fill in all of the information requested will not be able to
  participate if they haven't supplemented their application before 32 contestants
  have signed up.
- There must be at least 20% of Prolifics in the tournament. This means that at
  least 6 Prolifics must sign up for the contest to begin. If there are
  not at least 6 Prolifics when the tournament begins, the most recent Non-prolifics
  will be kicked out of the tournament to leave space for the Prolifics.
- The FAQ which is signed up must be posted at GameFAQs.com.
- Only English FAQs may participate.
- May be obvious, each author may only participate with one FAQ.
- You may update your FAQ during the tournament.
- The host of the tournament may not participate.


Voting Rules

- You must have a Contributor Page with at least one FAQ.
- You mustn't be banned for violations (read more below).
- You may only vote once per match session.
- You may not vote on yourself.
- You may not use different Message Board accounts to be able to vote many times.
- You may only vote on the FAQ Contributor Board, never via e-mail.
- The host of the tournament may not vote.



Punishment

- If you break any of the above stated rules, you will be banned from the tournament.
  Both from voting and participating. This ban will not be overturned, unless
  you have a really good excuse and some kind of proof that you're innocent.
- Voting for yourself will not ban directly, you will instead get three warnings.
  When you've received three warnings, you will be banned from voting and from
  participating in the tournament.
- The banned and warned users will be listed in this document to give the other
  voters and contestants heads-up if they'd happen to see the "bad guy" voting
  or participating.

How the tournament is played!

There are eight groups with four contestants in each. This makes a total of 32 FAQs. Everyday at GameFAQs' FAQ Contributor Message Board, I will open a topic in which you may vote in today's matches. There will be two matches per day so that you can judge them fairly without letting too much time pass. The group play will take approximately a month. I may not be able to host matches every day, but I will try. This document may not be updated every day either. From that the topic is created, you may vote during the following 23 hours and 30 minutes. A new match session may start at the most an hour before the previous contest ends. When the 23 and a half hours have passed, all the votes will be counted by me and the correct results will be input in this document.

When a FAQ wins a match in the group play, 2 points will be awarded. The loser gets 0 and if it's a draw, both gets 1 point. Inside the group, all of the FAQs will play against each other. This makes a total of 6 matches per group and 48 in total. The two FAQs that get most points in their respective groups when the six matches are played, will continue to the finals. The bracket for the finals may be found at the bottom of this document. The two that get least points will be thrown out of the tournament. If two, three or four FAQ have the same amount of points, the FAQ with the highest total amount of votes will win. If the votes are even, then the result will be decided by an elimination match between the two, three or four FAQs that has the same amount of votes. This match will be held at the FAQ Contributor Board under normal conditions. If that match ends up in a draw as well, the votes will be nullified and restart to continue during the following 23.5 hours. This will continue until one of the FAQs win. The number of votes accumulated during an elimination match will not be recorded in the statistics of the FAQs. It will be unfair to the FAQs that have not played elimination matches, because those would have much fewer votes. This "draw rule" is also used if there're are draws in the finals. There's really nothing strange in the finals. That there will be a match for bronze, is worth mentioning.

The contestants have been systematically sorted into the tournament. The first user that signed up on the draft May 6, was positioned first in Group A. The second to sign up, was positioned first in Group B; the third, first in Group C; and so on. I didn't tell you about the system before the draft, because some people might have used it to their advantage. For example; the user could have signed up, so that he/she was positioned in a group where he/she thought she'd get to advance further in the tournament.

All of the group matches are displayed below. The dates for the matches are not certain. I reserve myself the right to change the dates whenever I want. I will try to hold the dates, but unpredictable incidents may happen. Incidents that hinders me from going through with the day's matches.

There will only be 32 contestants in this tournament, there will not, under any circumstances be accepted any more. Next time I host a tournament, it will be held when there are no other tournaments going on, and probably with 64 contestants.

What makes a FAQ better than another?

Comprehensibility
Is the FAQ easy to understand? Does the author describe everything so that anyone can understand, but not too wordy? Can you see it in front of you?

Completeness
Does the FAQ contain all the information that's needed? If it's a FAQ/Walkthrough, does it say everything you need to know in the game without containing too much unnecessary information or is it describing too briefly? If it's an in-depth FAQ, does it go really deep in the selected area of the game, without taking up too much other issues? If it's a character guide for a fighting game, does it have personal combos from the author and useful strategies for the character, or is it just a move list directly taken from the game or manual?

Formatting/Lay-out
Is the FAQ easy to read, or do you get dizzy just looking at the text? Do you find it flashy and fresh or just messy? Can you find the parts you're looking for quickly, or must you randomly search through every section? If the FAQ is large, does it have a good search string (can you use the search function well to find what you're looking for)? Is the information too packed, are the gaps between the sections too big, or is it just right?

Miscellaneous
How much do you value a comical FAQ? Is the FAQ unique or maybe the first FAQ for the game? If the FAQ has an ASCII title, do you see it as a cute feature, or an ugly filler? If there are ASCII maps, are they well made and comprehensive, or are they just a chaos of letters which is impossible to understand? Are there much fillers in the FAQ? Are there large amount of text displayed more than once with little or no changes? Is it necessary? Do you think the FAQ contains too much gibberish or is it just a cool breeze to make the FAQ easier to read? Does the author use good spelling and grammar? Does he/she have a good vocabulary?

Quality
In my opinion, FAQ criticism is mostly objective but somewhat subjective. Decide what you value from these questions, compare the FAQs every day and see which FAQs that fill your requirements best.

Contact me, etc.

- If any information that I've typed up is incorrectly.
- If there are any spelling and/or grammar errors. Don't be too picky
  about the grammar errors.
- If there are any incorrectly used terminology. (Not the 1/8-finals)
- If you discover that someone is breaking any of the stated rules above.
  Cheating, in other words. Contact me via e-mail and you will be
  anonymous.
- Some of the HTML here is so sloppy that some programmers would be slapping
  themselves in pure disgust. It works well in Internet Explorer 4.0 and I'd
  suppose more recent versions. But when it comes to earlier versions, Netscape
  Navigator and Oprah, I'd doubt that everything works perfectly. If you have
  trouble making the site look well, contact me only if you know how I should
  fix it. I only know the basics of HTML, so be very, very clear in your descriptions.
- If the part "What makes a FAQ better than another?" is too brief and need
  more in-depth information to be useful.
- If I've counted the voting incorrectly. You must report this before the
  topic in which the error was found, has been purged from GameFAQs'
  database. When the topic has been purged, no corrections will be
  made.
- You may not contact me if you think that the amount of contestants is too low.
- You may not contact me if you don't like how the tournament is organised or
  if you don't like the fact that it's going on at the same time as BTB's
  and maybe Devin Morgan's tournaments.

Group A

May 8, 2003
Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron 2
vs.
X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (Character FAQ: Rogue)
18-2

May 12, 2003
Splinter Cell
vs.
Parasite Eve II (In-Depth: Battle/item pickup/NMC guide)
5-8

May 16, 2003
Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron 2
vs.
Parasite Eve II (In-Depth: Battle/item pickup/NMC guide)
6-4

May 20, 2003
X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (Character FAQ: Rogue)
vs.
Splinter Cell
0-11

May 24, 2003
Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron 2
vs.
Splinter Cell
5-2

May 24, 2003
X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (Character FAQ: Rogue)
vs.
Parasite Eve II (In-Depth: Battle/item pickup/NMC guide)
2-5

Group B

May 8, 2003
Anticipation (In-Depth FAQ: Whatchamacallit Solutions)
vs.
Panzer Dragoon Orta
7-14

May 12, 2003
Resident Evil
vs.
Skies of Arcadia
9-5

May 16, 2003
Anticipation (In-Depth FAQ: Whatchamacallit Solutions)
vs.
Skies of Arcadia
2-8

May 20, 2003
Panzer Dragoon Orta
vs.
Resident Evil
3-8

May 24, 2003
Anticipation (In-Depth FAQ: Whatchamacallit Solutions)
vs.
Resident Evil
0-6

May 24, 2003
Panzer Dragoon Orta
vs.
Skies of Arcadia
1-5

Group C

May 9, 2003
Madden NFL 2002
vs.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
5-13

May 13, 2003
Postal 2
vs.
Way of the Samurai (In-Depth FAQ: Combo FAQ)
7-4

May 17, 2003
Madden NFL 2002
vs.
Way of the Samurai (In-Depth FAQ: Combo FAQ)
12-0

May 21, 2003
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
vs.
Postal 2
11-1

May 25, 2003
Madden NFL 2002
vs.
Postal 2

May 25, 2003
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
vs.
Way of the Samurai (In-Depth FAQ: Combo FAQ)

Group D

May 9, 2003
Legend of Wrestling
vs.
Gauntlet IV
8-9

May 13, 2003
Dragon Warrior IV
vs.
F-Zero X
11-1

May 17, 2003
Legend of Wrestling
vs.
F-Zero X
13-0

May 21, 2003
Gauntlet IV
vs.
Dragon Warrior IV
1-10

May 25, 2003
Legend of Wrestling
vs.
Dragon Warrior IV

May 25, 2003
Gauntlet IV
vs.
F-Zero X

Group E

May 10, 2003
SimCity 4
vs.
Nightmare Creatures
6-9

May 14, 2003
Metroid Prime
vs.
Tetris Worlds
13-0

May 18, 2003
SimCity 4
vs.
Tetris Worlds
16-0

May 22, 2003
Nightmare Creatures
vs.
Metroid Prime
2-7

May 26, 2003
SimCity 4
vs.
Metroid Prime
3-6

May 26, 2003
Nightmare Creatures
vs.
Tetris Worlds
7-1

Group F

May 10, 2003
World Soccer Winning Eleven 6: International
vs.
Big Biz Tycoon
11-5

May 14, 2003
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
vs.
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
4-10

May 18, 2003
World Soccer Winning Eleven 6: International
vs.
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
11-7

May 22, 2003
Big Biz Tycoon
vs.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
8-2

May 26, 2003
World Soccer Winning Eleven 6: International
vs.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
7-1

May 26, 2003
Big Biz Tycoon
vs.
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
1-9

Group G

May 11, 2003
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (In-Depth FAQ: Bombers' Notebook Guide)
vs.
Wild Arms 3
1-9

May 15, 2003
Super Mario Sunshine
vs.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
9-1

May 19, 2003
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (In-Depth FAQ: Bombers' Notebook Guide)
vs.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
6-7

May 23, 2003
Wild Arms 3
vs.
Super Mario Sunshine
2-8

May 27, 2003
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (In-Depth FAQ: Bombers' Notebook Guide)
vs.
Super Mario Sunshine
3-5

May 27, 2003
Wild Arms 3
vs.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
4-4

Group H

May 11, 2003
Paper Mario
vs.
Iron Storm
9-1

May 15, 2003
Jack Nicklaus' Greatest Eighteen Holes of Major Championship
vs.
Ninja Gaiden III
0-10

May 19, 2003
Paper Mario
vs.
Ninja Gaiden III
7-4

May 23, 2003
Iron Storm
vs.
Jack Nicklaus' Greatest Eighteen Holes of Major Championship
5-5

May 27, 2003
Paper Mario
vs.
Jack Nicklaus' Greatest Eighteen Holes of Major Championship
8-0

May 27, 2003
Iron Storm
vs.
Ninja Gaiden III
4-3

Finals

Links to the authors and their FAQs

Dragon Warrior IV by BTB
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/nes/file/dragon_warrior_iv_d.txt

Skies of Arcadia by MetroidMoo
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/dreamcast/file/skies_of_arcadia_e.txt

Final, played on June 6, 2003	Result
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus vs. Paper Mario	7-10

Links to the authors and their FAQs

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus by Bananagirl
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/file/sly_cooper_b.txt

Paper Mario by Devin Morgan
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/n64/file/paper_mario_b.txt

Ranking

© Copyright 2003 Christian Wall