Why Smash Wii U Needs the Recommended Ruleset

Compiled by a team of tournament organizers and analysts with input from top players, the 2017 Recommended Ruleset aims to provide a single, unified ruleset for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournaments. While its contents are controversial, it may be exactly what the community needs.

One of the primary aims of the Recommended Ruleset is to rectify a problem Smash Wii U has struggled with since its release. Rulesets have varied wildly between regions, differing on matters such as stock counts, stage lists, and Mii Fighter legality. Where one region might use two stocks per game, another might use three. Where one region may ban Mii Fighters, many more may allow them with some restrictions.

Debates about these issues often end without resolution, as many regions simply continue to use their preferred rules, though this has died down somewhat. Most events now follow the example of major events like EVO, The Big House and Genesis. Nevertheless, the Recommended Ruleset is the first attempt at a proper community-wide ruleset in quite some time.

While the community was already heading towards a standard, the Recommended Ruleset took the extra step in codifying it. In doing so, its authors have established a valuable asset for the community.

Many are reluctant to adopt the Recommended Ruleset, but it serves a valuable purpose. A unified ruleset is a sign of strong community leadership that can act as one unit. It shows that we are no longer in a position to be co-opted, that a large organization interested in Smash Wii U cannot simply say, “we have the money, we make the rules.”

When the community rallies around a single, codified ruleset, it creates a standard not just for the community, but for companies looking to invest in the game. It prevents situations like EVO 2008, where the Super Smash Bros. Brawl community had a largely unsatisfactory ruleset forced on it.

As Smash Wii U grows as an eSport and more organizations get involved, there is a greater need to avoid falling into the same trap. We need to show eSports organizations that want to run Smash Wii U events what we as a community expect of them, and having a unified ruleset does just that. Nevertheless, they won’t be willing to get on board with the Recommended Ruleset if the community at large is not.

Now that a unified ruleset has been established, the issue is now that of adoption. If the Recommended Ruleset is largely ignored, it might as well not exist. It will simply be another one of many rulesets used by the Smash Wii U community. Thus, there is a need to encourage widespread usage, not just at majors but at a regional and local level.

Much of the difficulty in doing so comes from the same problems that made the Recommended Ruleset necessary. Many regions are reluctant to move away from their own rulesets, particularly those who take issue with elements of the Recommended Ruleset.

One former FGC tournament organizer gave a seemingly counter-intuitive solution: more rulesets, at least temporarily. Present three different variations on the Recommended Ruleset and clearly label each one. Then, talk to local and regional tournament organizers about trying these variations out and providing feedback from their players.

“After three to six months, one version will reign supreme,” he explains. "After that, it's a matter of convincing [Joey "Mr. Wizard" Cuellar] to adopt the predominant ruleset."

Efforts to gauge opinions on potential changes have already been made, as Bassem “Bear” Dahdouh, one of the authors of the ruleset, has conducted polls on potential changes. This proposal would take that to the next level. Smaller tournaments would act as live testbeds for changes to the ruleset, providing hands-on experience and live feedback before they’re finalized.

 

Duck Hunt was banned because the ducks would put more end lag on the player hitting them, and I think also whiffing an attack if the duck was caught between both players. I can understand the reasons behind that. It would still help some characters against certain match ups.

Lylat Cruise was banned but brought back (from what I heard), because of the glitch it has there. However, that glitch doesn't happen often enough, and if it's any consolation, most people ban that stage, anyway. You might think that maybe it should just be banned, then. But some people actually do like that stage because it helps their characters and can be useful for gimping your opponent. I took a Mr. Game & Watch there, knowing full well my main could have easily been gimped, but because of this, I ended up taking the set.

I've never had a problem with Miis, so long they stayed at their default movesets (1111) and remained their default weight, keeping them from a constant fluctuation on the tier list specifically for weight reasons. In other words, every other character in this game has a set weight that cannot be increased or reduced unless through equipment.

Final Destination and Omegas should not be seen as the same thing, because they have their differences. What is it? Wiley's Castle Omega that's allowed now? That stage has a wall on each side like Duck Hunt, which clearly has no similarities to Final Destination. And this one may have already been voted on, but Battlefield and Dream Land should not be seen as the same for obvious reasons.

 

>talks about rules and stage legality
>shows Halberd
looool
While this is all fair and convincing, it only explains why we should adopt the registration. It does not say why the problems people have found in it should be adopted. There are things (mostly legality of stages) that have made many people upset, forcing this on us would be like said Evo 2008.
Instead of convincing us why it should be adopted by all, first convince us why the problems we've found are worth adopting. I wish you good luck with that.

 

My only problem with the ruleset is that it limits Miis to their default specials. Other than that, I think it's decent enough.

That said, Smash 4 does not "need" to use this ruleset, and TOs are completely within their right to use another, more comfortable ruleset.

 

Smash 4 BR should have created a recommended ruleset like a year ago. They didn't and the price they're paying is their relevancy.

 

Saying that adopting this ruleset is the way to go because we need a unified ruleset is like saying we need to have a proper bracket and pool seeding so lets put the top 10 players in the same pool, which is shortsighted to say the least.

 

I daresay, this proposed set of rules I agree with except the 1111 Miis, which are complete **** without custom specials.

 

Is any Smashboards writer/editor able to just put his opinion on the front page as news? I think this would be much better as a thread in Wii U Competitive Discussion...

 

I agree with Kurogane, and its hard for a TO like myself to know which to use if rules keeps changing like this without one definite ruleset.

 

Is any Smashboards writer/editor able to just put his opinion on the front page as news? I think this would be much better as a thread in Wii U Competitive Discussion...

I mean, it is an editorial. That's kind of what they do.

 

I daresay, this proposed set of rules I agree with except the 1111 Miis, which are complete **** without custom specials.

The 1111 Miis are this way because it's their default move sets. Mixing the numbers with 2 and/or 3 would have to bring customs back to other characters.

 

The 1111 Miis are this way because it's their default move sets. Mixing the numbers with 2 and/or 3 would have to bring customs back to other characters.

No it wouldn't. Miis were designed with use of their custom specials in mind, and they're available right from the jump, unlike other characters. There is no good reason why Miis shouldn't be allowed their full moveset.

There's a reason why these characters are regarded the way they are. They have tools right there, laid out in front of them basically labeled "how to become good" and people are denying them those tools.

 

Is any Smashboards writer/editor able to just put his opinion on the front page as news? I think this would be much better as a thread in Wii U Competitive Discussion...

The entire point of an editorial is putting one's opinion out there.

However, an SB writer's views does not reflect the views of the staff team as a whole.

 

Don't try to force the ruleset into the scene.
If it works, it will naturally spread. If not, it will fail.
Now with Lylat and 5 starters is a very better ruleset, but this Omega stages and DL/BF merge still weird and not my fav ruleset by a good margin because of it.

 

Ban Lylat.

 

Make Miis use all of their specials and separate DL/BF and I probably would be super fine with the "recommended" ruleset.

 

The entire point of an editorial is putting one's opinion out there.

However, an SB writer's views does not reflect the views of the staff team as a whole.

I mean, it is an editorial. That's kind of what they do.

He didn't even put anywhere that it's an editorial though.

 

He didn't even put anywhere that it's an editorial though.

Ah he forgot to tag it. Tagged it.

Tho it's a given that once it's an opinion-laced piece, it's an editorial.

 

Man, news content sure has gone downhill since the old chief of the news staff left.

Now it's literally fake news and common sense articles like this. GG Smashboards.com

 

Man, news content sure has gone downhill since the old chief of the news staff left.

Now it's literally fake news and common sense articles like this. GG Smashboards.com

First of all, satire articles are tagged and are 'fun' pieces that are done occasionally. They've always been around and even big publications do them. I don't see why we post 'fake news'.

Second of all, editorials like this have been around since Capps was in-charge. If this is a common sense article, I'd suggest you go back to 2016 and look at the articles predating the new team. We've always done editorials about topics like this.

Third, if you're talking about quality, we've done many high-quality long forms over the past few months. I'd suggest reading them.'

A. https://smashboards.com/threads/chasing-zero-the-gonzalo-barrios-story.444977/

B. https://smashboards.com/threads/a-goat-a-boat-and-a-tournament-called-genesis.444870/

 

It's very possible that smash 4 requires a defined and centralised ruleset at this point that the entire community can follow, but that ruleset has to be open to change over time and has to be something the vast majority of the community can and will get behind.

There are various ruleset disagreements and discourses still need to happen. Our community needs to be open to re-discussing the basics of their rulesets and come to conclusions about them. The reason I and others used to advocate for diversity in rulesets was actually for this reason - it meant people weren't too quick to streamline to the default before we closed off our options, but I fear even so we started down that road a little too early of being a little too conservative. A good example of this is Miis, who got shut down early by a vocal few who felt it wasn't 'fair' for them to receive special treatment.

Now we need to ensure we're happy with a ruleset everyone can follow. Can we do that? Maybe, but I would say the current Recommended Ruleset should only be the start, not the end goal.

 

My only problem with the ruleset is that it limits Miis to their default specials. Other than that, I think it's decent enough.

That said, Smash 4 does not "need" to use this ruleset, and TOs are completely within their right to use another, more comfortable ruleset.

I daresay, this proposed set of rules I agree with except the 1111 Miis, which are complete **** without custom specials.

Why are some people so obsessed with the concept of miis getting access to all their moves? This Article has nothing to do with the mii fighters customs which IMO you shouldn't get access to their extra customs in customs OFF anyways. Its time to move on guys, you lost. Miis are going to stay 1,1,1,1 forever like every other character in the game and their is nothing you can do at this point to change it.

 

It's very possible that smash 4 requires a defined and centralised ruleset at this point that the entire community can follow, but that ruleset has to be open to change over time and has to be something the vast majority of the community can and will get behind.

There are various ruleset disagreements and discourses still need to happen. Our community needs to be open to re-discussing the basics of their rulesets and come to conclusions about them. The reason I and others used to advocate for diversity in rulesets was actually for this reason - it meant people weren't too quick to streamline to the default before we closed off our options, but I fear even so we started down that road a little too early of being a little too conservative. A good example of this is Miis, who got shut down early by a vocal few who felt it wasn't 'fair' for them to receive special treatment.

Now we need to ensure we're happy with a ruleset everyone can follow. Can we do that? Maybe, but I would say the current Recommended Ruleset should only be the start, not the end goal.

True, we shouldn't have a single, static ruleset. The recommended ruleset should simply be a building block towards a final product that we are all satisfied with.

 

Why are some people so obsessed with the concept of miis getting access to all their moves? This Article has nothing to do with the mii fighters customs which IMO you shouldn't get access to their extra customs in customs OFF anyways. Its time to move on guys, you lost. Miis are going to stay 1,1,1,1 forever like every other character in the game and their is nothing you can do at this point to change it.

Man, don't you think I know that!? Why do y'all think I dropped them for ?

 

Man, don't you think I know that!? Why do y'all think I dropped them for ?

Fair enough I just don't understand why people brought that discussion up here. Sure this ruleset delegates them to 1,1,1,1 but so did the last ruleset. The last ruleset to allow them with all their custom moves was EVO 2015 and every character had all their customs at that tournament. I just don't get why certain users feel the need to talk about this in every unrelated thread.

 

Is any Smashboards writer/editor able to just put his opinion on the front page as news? I think this would be much better as a thread in Wii U Competitive Discussion...

I was specifically asked to write this piece, but so long as the writer in question goes through the proper avenues and gets permission from the higher-ups, then yes, we are allowed to post our opinions as articles. It's called an op-ed.

Saying that adopting this ruleset is the way to go because we need a unified ruleset is like saying we need to have a proper bracket and pool seeding so lets put the top 10 players in the same pool, which is shortsighted to say the least.

That analogy doesn't actually make any logical sense. Putting the top 10 players in the same pool isn't proper seeding at all, whereas adopting this ruleset on a community-wide basis would address the need for a unified ruleset.

True, we shouldn't have a single, static ruleset. The recommended ruleset should simply be a building block towards a final product that we are all satisfied with.

Yeah. Hell, the ruleset even changed while I was in the process of writing this article, with the return of Lylat and the switch from 3 starters to 5 along with it.

Having a unified ruleset doesn't mean having a static ruleset that never changes. Just that, at any given time, the community should be on the same page, ruleset-wise, and that changes are only made when necessary.

I'd also add that the article even details a method for gauging the community's opinion for potential changes to it. Don't just use twitter polls, but work with TOs on using smaller events as a testbed for potential changes, complete with feedback from their players explaining what they thought about actually getting to play with the rulesets.

 

Can someone explain me the issue with 7 stages 2 bans ?


This is how we play in france and we are doing FINE.
Dl and bf are the same ? Ban both. Hate lc and dh ? Ban both.

 

I think that there should be a Community Moveset and Size for Miis. How they're treated isn't right...

 

Why are some people so obsessed with the concept of miis getting access to all their moves? This Article has nothing to do with the mii fighters customs which IMO you shouldn't get access to their extra customs in customs OFanyways. Its time to move on guys, you lost. Miis are going to stay 1,1, 1,1 forever like every other character in the game and their is nothing you can do at this point to change it.

Wow, you're like everything wrong with this community in one neat package.

 

"It shows that we are no longer in a position to be co-opted, that a large organization interested in Smash Wii U cannot simply say, 'we have the money, we make the rules.'"

Clearly the author of this article doesn't know about the golden rule. Whoever has the gold makes the rules.

Anyway, just because a group of men gathered together one day to codify a recommended ruleset and just because this can potentially prevent an event like that of EVO 2008 does not mean it's a good ruleset. This is the kind of thinking those who defended Metroid: Other M had. "Samus has a personality, though!" Yeah? Just because she has a canonical personality now doesn't mean it was the best way to do it.

My problem with this ruleset is that it takes several organizers to come up with without asking the community as a whole. Sure, we might have a few who are casual and their input can be largely ignored because Smash World Forums serves as a platform for competitive play. However, what's the point of everyone following a ruleset when it wasn't even democratic?

Someone made a thread in the Competitive Forums and then someone on Twitter said something akin to, "We all hear your concerns." Then they were given a poll to vote for limited choices. I don't even know why Lylat Cruise was brought back if it had problems to even cause it to be illegal in the first place!

In a time where people talk about diversity, where was the input of plenty who main one of each character? We can complain about the ducks interfering on Duck Hunt, but that was still a useful stage for a Samus main like myself. And worse is we're still going to watch people play on Starterville. Some might not care about viewers, but there are people who enjoy watching others because they cannot personally get out to tournaments themselves.

 

While I am not a fan of certain rules, personally I would like to see something other than 1111 for miis among other things, I do agree that it would be better for most tournaments to use a unified ruleset. I would like to see Mr. Wizard's idea put into practice because in the end, it would leave some of final decisions to the players and in a worst case scenario, some people are stuck with a ruleset that they don't like for a couple of months.

 

The rules right now for Smash 4 are perfect in my opinion

 

Wow, you're like everything wrong with this community in one neat package.

Nice ad hominem really gets your point across.

 

Those asking for mii moves either play mii brawler or are going to be asking for a nerf the first match that they get killed at 50% both stocks.

Wait that means another patch.

Then this is all a convoluted plot to get jigglypuff buffed and the puff mains are secretly planning to take over world

 

I understand where you're coming from, but this feels misguided. I get the need to come off as a more legitimate esport, but falling rank and file into one ruleset without question would only create a different set of problems. Just because it seems more unified and awe-inspiring on the surface doesn't mean there aren't potential issues that'd be swept under the rug in favor of keeping up appearances.

Case in point: the first version of the recommended ruleset was flawed. It favored characters with highly mobile neutral games, horizontally oriented combos and strings, and movesets that excelled on stages with few platforms or obstructions. It was overcentralizing, giving an inherent advantage to a mere handful of the cast, especially those who were dominant on both Smashville and Final Destination. That means you, Diddy and Sheik.

The motivation behind such a rushed concept came off as a combination of things. A fear of a sudden glitch ruining a high profile set, so strong that it ignored how rare it happened, how it could be studied, and how much we had to gain despite the risk. A desire to make the game seem faster, flashier, more aggressive, to reel in potential fans not by helping them learn about what we see in Smash 4 but instead by tailoring the ruleset itself to their base emotions and ignorance. Who knows, maybe even the misguided idea that simplistic stages or smaller stage lists must inherently be more balanced?

It was the kind of thing that needed people to be willing to question it. After enough fans, high level players, and tournament staff voiced legitimate concerns, the ruleset was altered to address some of them. Is it ideal now? Potentially not...but it's still far less overcentralizing than it was going to be. And if everyone had kept quiet and followed the original draft without question, those changes would've never been made.

So while I get the whole sentiment behind this article, I feel like it's missing the big picture. While we do need more unified stances on rules to keep from being dragged around by our vocal minorities, we also need open avenues for feedback so anyone with valid complaints can speak up and have them be earnestly heard without being ignored. Moving forward will be not only about standing together, but also listening to each other.

 

Then this is all a convoluted plot to get jigglypuff buffed and the puff mains are secretly planning to take over world

Damn, he's figured it out!

 

http://clashtournaments.com/MiiKnowledgebase.pdf

 

It shows that we are no longer in a position to be co-opted, that a large organization interested in Smash Wii U cannot simply say, “we have the money, we make the rules.”

So use this ruleset that for-profit streamers want us to use!

This esports meme is killing grassroots Smash. It would be great if Smashboards would quit selling us out to giant megacorps that do nothing but suck the soul out of everything they touch.

 

We will never have a unified ruleset until we settle the "2-stock 6-minutes vs 3-stock 8-minutes" debate once and for all.

 

Don't forget the miis.