ACC Overview

The Antei Combat Center is one of the Brotherhood’s “multiplayer fiction” activities, where members face off against each other or work together to complete a common objective. For more details on the ACC in general, visit the Antei Combat Center page on the Brotherhood Wiki.

This course will prepare members to participate in the ACC judging process.

The Judging Process

Once members have completed an ACC battle, the judging process begins. The battle will first flow into the Completed Battles queue, where it will be available for judges to claim. Up to three judges may claim an ACC battle for scoring.

After claiming a battle for scoring, a judge reviews the battle and assigns scores to each member based on the categories found in the Brotherhood Fiction Rubric. If the judge assigns both members the same score, they’ll be required to fill in the “Judge Preference” option to indicate which member they feel should win the battle.

When three judges have submitted their scores for the battle, the scores will be averaged together. The member with the highest average score will be declared the battle’s winner. If both members have the same average score, whichever combatant has the higher number of Judge Preference points will be declared the winner.

If a battle goes for 96 hours without receiving scores from three different judges, it will be flagged for the Combat Master to score. If no other members have scored the battle, the Combat Master’s score and Judge Preference will determine the winner. If other members have scored the battle, their scores will be averaged with the Combat Master’s to determine the winner, with Judge Preference being applied as necessary.

In some cases, such as competitions organized by two members (e.g. a Consul and Proconsul running a Clan ACC competition) or a battle receiving scores from the Combat Master and one other member, one member’s Judge Preference will be counted double for tiebreaker purposes. In general, the Combat Master will act as the tiebreaker. In specific competitions, the competition organizers may select one member to act as tiebreaker.

If a member claims a battle for scoring and hasn’t submitted a score within 48 hours of claiming the battle, they will be removed from that battle’s assigned judges and given a one-week cooldown before they’re able to claim any further battles. This is to ensure battles aren’t delayed by a single judge’s unavailability.

The Fiction Rubric

As mentioned above, ACC battles are scored according to the Brotherhood Fiction Rubric. The Fiction Rubric has four categories: Syntax (15% of overall score), Creativity (15% of overall score), Realism (30% of overall score), and Story (40% of overall score).

Judges are expected to be impartial and base their scoring on the Fiction Rubric, with their personal tastes being reflected in their Judge Preference. Members should refrain from judging matches where either competitor is their significant other, family member, etc. Any concerns over potential bias should be directed by the Combat Master. If a member is found to be biased in their scoring, they may be suspended from scoring further ACC battles.

Enabling the Judging Queue

To enable the judging queue, log in to the ACC, go to your Settings screen, and check the new “See ACC battle judging queue” box. (We’ve left it disabled by default so people who are qualified in the ACC but not interested in judging aren’t flooded with notifications.)

Judging A Battle

Once you’ve enabled the judging queue and received a passing score in this course, go to your Admin panel. You’ll see pending battles in your notifications section.

When you click on that link, you’ll be brought to the Completed Battles page.

To claim a pending battle, click the “Claim Battle” button. This will start a 48-hour timer for you to judge the battle. If you don’t judge the battle within that time, your claim will be cancelled and you’ll be put on a judging timeout for one week. If you need to unclaim a battle, click the Unclaim button.

When you’re ready to judge the battle, click the Judge Battle button.

Assign each combatant a rating in each category based on the guidelines set out in the Fiction Rubric.

If you give both members the same score, make sure you select the Judge Preference option for which combatant’s posts you liked better. If both combatants get the same average score overall, Judge Preference will be used to determine the winner.

Once you’ve selected your Judge Preference, enter any comments you have for the combatants, and click the “Preview” button.

This will take you to the preview screen, where you’ll have the opportunity to read through your comments before submitting your judging scores. When you’re ready, click the “Judge Battle” button. Note: It’s not possible to edit your scores once you’ve submitted them, so make sure you’ve given out the scores you want!

And that’s it! When you go back to the Completed Battles screen, you’ll see the “Pending Additional Scores” notice beside the battle. The battle will be finalised once either three judges have submitted scores, or (if the battle was graded more than 96 hours ago) once the CM has graded the battle. When that happens, all judges involved will get an email, and will gain points towards the Pays to Critique trophy under the ACC Society.

Once the battle has been given its final score, the scores will be visible on the battle page.

Conclusion

Now that you’ve reviewed and understand the material presented in this course, you should be prepared to pass the judging orientation exam and begin scoring ACC battles. Good luck, and happy judging!