Halo 2 helped build 2o2p, and the next iteration, Halo 3, continues to be a cohesive force for the community.
It is different things to different people. Some may be interested in competitive play and take part in organized tournaments sponsored by the site, while others just like to play for fun.
In the site forums, there's a clear division between the competitive and the noncompetitive Halo players. Often in the past, the two groups have clashed in a very real war of words with casualties on both sides.
In an effort to unify the two groups, in July of this year, the Halo 3 league -- the MML (Mini Me League) -- was created. The idea was to bring the part of the Halo 3 community together by mixing it up; that is, teams featuring players from both the casual and competitive camps, having mixed skill sets and playing mixed gametypes . In so doing, people who normally don’t play together would have a chance to meet, enjoy friendly competition and have fun.
Typically, in organized tournaments a team of four is coordinated ahead of time, so when the day arrives, they are ready to play. That’s fine, but there aren't a ton of teams on 2old2play anymore, and that wouldn't accomplish the goal of mixing the community.
The plan was to give players of all skill levels the opportunity to meet new people and have fun. Initially, this idea was presented to the community with a period to sign up. Then, all those players were randomly paired and put into a double round free-for-all (FFA). This gave players individual points, which GMs could then use to evaluate the player the purposes of first drafting, and then trading. Points helped the leagues' teams stay balanced throughout the season as trading was not only encouraged, but mandatory, keeping in line with the intent of the league -- mix 'n match.
Each team had five weeks to make four trades, and each week players gained points based on how well their team played. Trading became about a player’s points first, skill second. For example, if someone was traded, and they had fewer points but more skill, that team could take a hit in the standings.
Trading seemed to work very well, probably because people started to notice that they weren’t being traded because of performance, but because they may have the most points, making them extremely valuable.
This became very important as the playoffs drew closer. Only the top eight of 10 teams would make the playoffs. Therefore, point totals were crucial, as was staying on top of the statistics.
Ghost 92 wrote a program that allowed the capture of statistics each week for every player in the league. The stats were very detailed, and they allowed league management to to do a lot of things, such as award weekly league MVP’s. The stats also enabled players to track their progress, and made it easy to select for end-of-season awards. (Click here to see the final spreadsheet.)
The league was very successful in mixing players around, because almost every team met the four minimum trades. This allowed everyone involved to get to know and play with people they don’t normally interact with. That is what 2old2play should be about -- to want to play with each other, and be able to have a good time doing it.
By all accounts, the league was a success. Thanks to everyone who participated.
The final standings and awards of the Halo 3 MML Season first are as follows:
Most likely to get traded: Tie between Random Betrayal and Ladies Luv ME.
Most likely to trade you: ATC 1982 with 12 trades.
Season MVP’s
Week 1 MVP
PnB Attack
Week 2 MVP
Dahji
Week 3 MVP
Normal Guy
Week 4 MVP
MLG Royal
Week 5 MVP
Caesar
This is an invitation for everyone to join in for Halo 3 MML Season 2 after Christmas. The rules and trades are going to be revised to a point were we hope to truly accomplish the goal of this league; it doesn’t matter what skill level you are, come in, have fun, and get to meet and play with other people from the 2old2play community.
Quick Note from the Site Administration:
Thanks and congratulations to everyone who made the MML a roaring success.
Even more though, we wanted to take a moment and thank Caesar for his efforts in conceiving, developing and running this league in the face of a lot of skepticism that the disparate elements of our Halo community could ever play together. When the flaming and rhetoric dies down and "casual" players take up controllers vs. the "competitive" crowd, it turns out we are all simply 2 Old 2 Play. Kudos to Caesar for making it all work!
