The ECC4 FAQ has been written to try to answer any questions you may have about the tournament. Specific issues about games, cabinets, and rules will all be discussed here. There will also be other miscellaneous information as well, such as transportation information etc. We hope this answers any questions you may have. If there is something that doesn't make sense, or that you want more info. about, please email us at ecc4directors@hotmail.com. Thanks!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Version 1.0 Initial release.
BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS
TOURNAMENT GAMES
HOTELS IN THE NJ AREA
PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
TOURNAMENT RULES
SEEDING AND PLAYER REGIONS
PLAYER LISTING
CABINET AND JOYSTICK SPECS
WANTED
CREDITS
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BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS
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The Street Fighter East Coast Championships 4 (SFECC4 or ECC4)
WHAT IS IT?: The ECC4 is a videogame tournament event, based on the fighting games produced by Capcom over the last eight years. Continuing from the success of last year's tournament, ECC4 has expanded its roster to six tournament titles, and increased the amount of machines for tournament use. The event has already received interest from players all over the United States, ranging from the New Jersey locals to players as far as California and Washington State.
WHEN?: May 29-30, 1999
WHERE?: Eight on the Break 340-346 North Avenue, Dunellen NJ 08812
Phone - (732)752-8880 email - ecc4directors@hotmail.com
WHY THE BREAK?: Besides the convenience of being able to run a large-scale videogame tournament near my hometown, The Break is also one of the most dedicated non-Capcom-owned arcades on the east coast. Most of the players in the area play nothing but Capcom fighters, so there are plenty of machines to go around. Also, the maintenance on the machines is top notch, with nearly every major Capcom fighter equipped with Wico 360 joysticks - some of the best joysticks out there!
Also, with all the attention the West Coast receives for their SF tournaments, the East Coast needs something to appease the hunger of the competitive gamer.
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TOURNAMENT GAMES:
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Street Fighter Alpha 2
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Street Fighter 3: Second Impact
Super Street Fighter II Turbo
Street Fighter 2: Turbo Hyper Fighting
Marvel VS Capcom
These are all SEPARATE tournaments, meaning if you only want to play Alpha 2, you can sign up for just Alpha 2. If you want to play in ST and 2I, you can sign up for those two. Any way you slice it, people playing in the tournament and having a good time in the process, is all that matters to us. : )
FEES: There is a $5 entry fee for each tournament you wish to participate in. This $5 entry fee goes into the cash pot of the tournament you entered. There is also a "pay for your games" rule that has gone into effect. The game fee for all SFECC4 tournaments is .50. Please make sure you come to the arcade with enough funds for your gaming!
PRIZES:
As listed in the FEES section, all the entry fees and game fees in a specific tournament go into the cash pot. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three places in the amounts of: 1) 65% for 1st 2) 25% for 2nd 3) 10 % for 3rd. With a little estimation, this roughly equals a $200 cash prize for a minimum 32-man bracket. Expect the stakes to be even higher though, as I can't honestly see a tournament with less than 32 players.
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HOTELS IN THE NJ AREA
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Besides Atlantic City and the Bell Atlantic offices in the area, New Jersey has very little reason to have hotel accommodations. While room at my pad is taken, there are two hotels located in the neighboring town of Piscataway. These hotels are on the main road (Washington Avenue), that intersects with the street the arcade is on (North Avenue). These Hotels are:
Holiday Inn
4701 Stelton Road
South Plainfield NJ 07080
(908) 753-5500
http://www.holiday-inn.com
Motel 6
1012 Stelton Road
South Plainfield NJ 07080
(732) 981-9200
http://www.motel6.com
QUICK DIRECTIONS TO THESE HOTELS:
From the front of The Break, go left down North Avenue and make the first right (less than 1/8 of a mile) on Washington Avenue. Stay on Washington Avenue passing four lights. Once you see an Exxon and Raceway gas station, the road will turn into Stelton Road. From there, continue going straight, passing three traffic lights. After the fourth traffic light, there will be a bridge. If you're going to Motel 6, hang to the right lane. If you're going to Holiday Inn, hang to the left. The Holiday Inn is on the opposite side of the street after the bridge and the Motel 6 is behind the Dunkin' Donuts, Burger King, and Wendy's.
Please phone these hotels for accommodation information. I don't know much more about these hotels other than the rates are pretty cheap for a Jersey hotel. If you do plan to arrive in New Jersey at Newark International Airport, expect to find the hotels in the area surrounding the airport to be _very expensive_. My best advice is that you try to get in touch with the local hotels ASAP, as they will get booked rather quickly.
These hotels should be your first choice, since they are the closest to the arcade. The fact that Motel 6 is the least expensive of those listed is a key factor as well. ^_^ Other hotels are listed on the ECC4 website.
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PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES
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Many of the players are travelling from all over the country and are going to need tickets for airline flights. While we couldn't get any kind of special group rates for the event, we can point you to one of the best places to try to get a cheap ticket: Priceline.com. Check out their site (www.Priceline.com); tell them what price you are willing to pay for a Round Trip ticket and Priceline will look for a ticket for you. Should they find one, they will charge your credit card and issue the tickets to you electronically. We recommend going with Priceline, but should you happen to find a special rate with a major airline, email us and we'll get the word out to others.
Your destination should be Newark International Airport. From there you can either rent a vehicle or take the shuttle bus to Newark Penn Station and take the train directly to the arcade. If you need those directions, please email us.
If you need train information, check out www.njtransit.com. NJ Transit has trains and buses that stop right in front of The Break. If you are taking the train, you will need to get onto the Raritan-Valley line. The RV line has a stop in Dunellen that is literally across the street from the arcade. The commute from New York Penn Station and Dunellen is approximately one hour, with a transfer at Newark.
There are also a plethora of car rental places near the airport. Be sure to
call your local car rental agency to see if they have offices in Newark.
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
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May 27 - While it may be considered insane to get here this early, we will still hold our weekly Street Fighter Alpha 3 tournament Thursday at 8pm. This tournament is FREE ENTRY and all you'll need to pay for are your games (.50/game.) Cash prizes go out to the top three places, so if you're going to be around early, be sure to give this one a shot. It is likely that a majority of the locals will be at this one for one last lick at some tournament practice.
May 28 - If you want to get adjusted to the cabinets and sticks, today may be the best day to do it. Arcade traffic wasn't bad last year, but there was plenty of action going on until closing that evening. I am personally hoping to have everything ready myself so I can have some last minute practice as well. ^_^
May 29 - SFECC4 Begins!!
12:00pm - The arcade opens for the event. Almost like a ritual, you can hang out with the other impatient folks outside while the final details of setup are finished. Once we're ready to roll, come on in! Registration begins for all of the tournament games at that time.
1pm - We will run the first three games at this time. The format we will most likely use is running two games that generate separate crowds at once, and finishing the evening with one of the longer tournaments.
May 30 - SFECC4 Finishes up!!
12:00pm - Arcade opens up and we register any last minute players.
1pm -We will run the final three games at this time. The format we will most likely use is running two games that generate separate crowds at once, and then finish the evening with one of the longer tournaments.
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TOURNAMENT RULES
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DEFINITIONS - (excerpted from the B3 rules; written by Justin Ratcliff)
ROUND - A single 'bout, resulting in either a victory by knockout,victory by timeout, double K.O., or tie by equal life bars (I'm sure we all know what a round is).
MATCH - Best 2 out of 3 rounds. Sometimes referred to as a game.
SET - A single slot in the tournament bracket. For example, JB Gainz VS Chocobo.
- All tournaments will run under the same rules for the sets:
- Players should flip a coin prior to their fight. Whoever wins the coin-toss has either the option to choose a side or pick their character second.
- The winner of the best two out of three matches determines sets.
- Winning players must stay with their character while the first loss player may change their character.
- All in-game tactics are allowed with the exclusion of the Red Venom/Spiderman "lockdown" in Marvel VS Capcom. Players exploiting the "lockdown" will be disqualified from the tournament.
- Akuma is not allowed for tournament play in Super Turbo. If you want to know why, play against any scrub Akuma player and see how he can't be dizzied...
- Please sign up at the ops desk for all tournaments you want to play in. Since I can't run around, I cannot assume that you are going to play in a tournament unless you sign up for it. _Please enter full names_. I can't stress this enough since we always seem to have five Mikes or three Chrises. For those not in the know, the ops desk will be the pool table in the front of the arcade. If, for some reason, you are going to be late, please call the arcade ASAP (732-752-8880)
- Please be attentive to your position in a bracket! If you are playing casually on another game when your name is called, you'll have to give up your game immediately. If you're going outside to have a smoke or get food, please come to the ops desk and see when your match is up on the bracket beforehand. If you're not sure, don't be afraid to ask. The point here is that the tournament directors cannot be running around looking for you. This does nothing but stall the tournament for the rest of us.
- Keep your fighting in the game. I know a lot of pressure is built up during this event, with everybody wanting to represent their state, but putting this pressure on yourself only messes up gameplay. We're here to have FUN, not to have the cops entertain us, so PLEASE put your differences aside and be a good sport. ^_^
-There wil be NO REFUNDS should you register for a tournament and then choose to drop out. Please be 100% sure that wou wish to play before handing over your money. Any tournament fees from players that drop out will still go into the pot for the prizes.
- To give the players more elbowroom, we will be zoning the areas around the tournament cabinets; so the players have ample space to play in. Please do not cross any player zone lines if you are not playing at that particular time.
- General misconduct will get you thrown out of the arcade. Keep any negative behavior outside.
- ***IMPORTANT*** Unlike past tournaments, we will be running on a set schedule. There will no longer be any "waiting for people to show up". Those players who have traveled from God-knows-where are making their best efforts to arrive at the arcade on time. We will not hold out for anyone, as we will be running on an extremely tight schedule. Please be on time. Lateness will not be tolerated unless you call ahead (732-752-8880) and have a legitimate excuse.
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SEEDING AND PLAYER REGIONS
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Here's everybody's favorite part of tournaments; seeding. This tournament will use two separate seeding procedures at once to ensure a fair tournament.
All LOCAL PLAYERS will be held to the "seeding by rank" rule which will be compiled by three other observers and myself. We will take the top four to eight players (depending on the bracket size) and separate those players on the bracket so they won't play each other until either a) It's impossible to move your fight or b) We are past the first two rounds of winners/losers bracket. Ranking will be determined by observing casual play the weeks prior to the tournament, and via statistics from The Arena tournament web site. Six people conferring to determine the top players will be the most fair thing to do.
And yes, the website will be updated.
ALL NON-LOCAL PLAYERS will be "seeded by region." You will not play people who you play all the time until a) It's impossible to move your fight or b) We are past the first two rounds of winners/losers bracket. Ranking will not be an issue in this seed. You will be considered a non-local if you do not play at The Break's weekly tournaments on a regular basis.
I will try my damnedest not to float anyone unless we have a huge screwup in the beginning of a bracket. If you don't know what floating is, it's best that we keep it that way. ^_^
To see which players are from which region, check The SFECC4 listing at www.fastwww.com/thebreak/whosgoin.htm. This listing is separated into four regions and is updated frequently, so please check it often! A listing of the players will be posted on alt.games.sf2 often as well.
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PLAYER LISTING (Who's going)
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Here is a listing of the players that have written us (ecc4directors@hotmail.com) to say they will be attending the SFECC4, either as 'definite' or 'tentative' status. Please note that only definite players are on this list, so if you need to upgrade your status, please email us at the above address.
WESTERN PLAYERS:
As the name implies, these are players from the West Coast. Basically anyone near the Pacific Time zone is in this listing...
NAME AND WHERE THEY'RE COMING FROM:
John Choi
Sunnyvale, California
David Sirlin
Sunnyvale, California
Jay "Viscant" Snyder
La Jolla, California
Dan "Spiderdan" Thompson
Fairfield, California
Jojo Cheung
Concord, California
Jason "APOC" Gonzales
Las Vegas, Nevada
Bil Shehan
Albia, Iowa
Neil "CigarBoB" Atkin
Phoenix, Arizona
Tom Cannon
Evil Empire, Washington
Tony Cannon
Evil Empire, Washington
Bob Painter
San Diego, California
Joey Cuellar
Anaheim, California
Total players confirmed - 12 players
NORTHERN LIGHTS
Players who are either north or west of Jersey are listed here. Canadian players are also listed here...
NAME AND COMING FROM:
Ric "The Ruler" Collins
Temple Hills, Maryland
Dave Spence
Toronto, Canada
Bill Gould
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
David Boudreau
Boston, Massachusetts
Luc "Banshee" Chartier
Montreal, Canada
Bradley "BP13" Diuguid
Glen Spey, New York
Derek Daniels
Indianapolis, Indiana
Gene Jones
Troy, New York
Tony Lentzakis
Toronto, Canada
Seth Killian
Champaign, Illinois
"Tinfinite" Ang
Indianapolis, Indiana
Richard DeLauder
State College, Pennsylvania
Trevor "slateman" Esposito
Albany, New York
Total players confirmed - 13 players
SOUTHERN EXPOSURE
Obviously, people south of Jersey.
NAME AND COMING FROM:
Gary Vialdo
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Lavar Watson
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Paul Cherry
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Omar Deloney
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Kenny Davis
Virginia Beach, Virginia
David Wright
Alexandria, Virginia
Andrew Ward
Richmond, Virginia
Greg Young
Richmond, Virginia
Ric Collins
Temple Hills, Maryland
Bradon Llyod
Wilmington, North Carolina
Esturado Enriquez
Alexandria, Virginia
Parker "XIST" Selbert
Jacksonville, Florida
Jason Malone
Raleigh, North Carolina
Kris Grytebust
Norfolk, Virginia
Total players confirmed - 14 players
THE LOCAL POOL
(Here are the local players. Many are still signing up...)
NAME AND COMING FROM:
Pete Talley
Staten Island, New York
Harvey Chan
Staten Island, New York
"Master John" Crespo
New York, New York
John "Death" Dacles
Rutgers University
Yul "Kuh-Book San" Kang
Rutgers University
Suresh Nieves
Rutgers University
Roger Liu
Rutgers University
Magata Aguirre
Rutgers University
Ryan Vella
Middlesex, New Jersey
Henry Tsai
Bridgewater, New Jersey
Todd Dwyer
Piscataway, New Jersey
Joe Schenk
Piscataway, New Jersey
Jason "Rocky" Druker
Edison, New Jersey
Kon Yen
Bridgewater, New Jersey
Oscar Lerico
Middlesex, New Jersey
Allan "Kei" Chow
Menlo Park, New Jersey
Ed Espino
Dunellen, New Jersey
Rich Figueroa
Dunellen, New Jersey
Eddie Lee
Queens, New York
Henry Cen
New York, New York
Arturo Sanchez
Queens, New York
Marco Sanchez
Plainfield, New Jersey
Terrance Morgan
Edison, New Jersey
Vincent Velasquez
Paterson, New Jersey
Danny "PureSKILLZ" Lopez
Matawan, New Jersey
Rick Burgos
Harrison, New Jersey
Lawrence "China" Ho
Old Bridge, New Jersey
Albert "Ace" Chien
Old Bridge, New Jersey
Paul Blankenship
Dunellen, New Jersey
Total players for this region - 29
Total players confirmed - 68
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CABINET AND JOYSTICK SPECS
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We will be using three cabinets during the course of the weekend, all of which will be Capcom "Champion Edition" cabinets (the ones they made for the dedicated SF2:CE game that was released in '92.) The reasons that we chose these cabinets are pretty straightforward:
- Everybody is familiar with the feel of these cabinets.
- 360s are installed
- Ample room for two players.
All of the top-earning machines will be utilizing Wico's version of the 360 joystick. These sticks will not break unless literally beaten on, period. Since the mechanism in a 360 stick is an electronic analog signal rather than the traditional digital switch stick, the 360 is the clear choice for use in a tournament. Most of the SF machines available will have 360 joysticks, as well as the Tekken 3 machine for those of you who play it.
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WANTED
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We are looking for a T-Shirt design for the ECC4 T-Shirt. If you have any designs you wish to submit for consideration, please send it to: ecc4directors@hotmail.com.
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CREDITS
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Todd Dwyer - Tournament Director and Stat-guy for SFECC4
Gina Dezuzio - Assistant Director
Joe Schenk - Assistant Director
John Crespo - Assistant Director
Chris Cotty - Manager of Eight on the Break who has been extremely cool in
letting us use his facilities for the tournament.
That's all for now, look for an update soon!!
Todd Dwyer
Gina Dezuzio
Tournament Directors - SFECC4
ecc4directors@hotmail.com
http://www.fastwww.com/thebreak/ecc4.htm