Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions:
Game Leagues:
Business-Related:
General Questions
What can Warthog's Game Leagues do for me?
Warthog's Game Leagues provides automated ranking systems over the web for both personal and professional use. If you have ever wanted to start a league among your friends for any game, you can create it here. There is no limit as to what you use it for, how many people participate, or how often you play. Warthog's Game Leagues' ranking system works well with any league.
What games are compatible with the ranking system?
Everything! The whole idea behind our leagues is that you can use it for absolutely anything you can imagine. You play the games, and use our site as a tool for ranking the players. Whatever game you play is completely up to you.
Who can join?
Anyone that wants to create a league can join!
All of these features are great, but what does it cost?
An automated, fast, reliable ranking system must have taken a long time to create, right? Absolutely. This probably reflects how much it costs, right? WRONG. Warthog's Game Leagues costs nothing to use. That's right, FREE.
Why is it free? These leagues are typically meant for more casual use, so it doesn't make sense to charge for the service. Right now we are not making any money off of this site. In the future all game leagues will still be free. Enhancements are currently being developed, and there will be a small fee for those benefits only if you choose to use them. If you decide that your current setup is fine, there will be no charges. Period.
I am interested in helping out. Are you hiring workers or enlisting volunteer staff?
Since this site currently makes no profit, we are not hiring any workers. Volunteer work is always welcome if needed, however. As of this time we will accept volunteer work in the following areas:
Web Design - Consulting about styles, color schemes, layouts, etc.At this time there is NOT a need for volunteer work in these areas:
PHP Programming - This is covered.
Web Page Creation - The actual creation of web pages is currently not needed.
Is there any benefit to helping out for free, besides a heartfelt thank you and a warm, fuzzy feeling inside? Absolutely. Any person that volunteers and does work will be acknowledged in our News section.
What enhancements are planned for the future?
There are several enhancements in development that will greatly benefit the way you play games in the future. Team leagues will be introduced with rosters and many more features. Leagues where you can schedule matches rather than play random opponents will be created, which would be ideal for any team sport. Finally, support for the creation of tournaments will be introduced. These tournaments will be available for both standalone use, and for use with your existing leagues. Other enhancements include customization features, where each league can have its own color scheme and graphics. These customizations will also allow you to set preferences such as how people are ranked (most wins, win percentage).
There is no set estimated time of completion for these enhancements, but the greater the demand is, the quicker they will be completed.
What language was the ranking system written in?
All of the scripts were written using the PHP programming language combined with a MySQL++ for database storage. The site also uses PHP and MySQL (on an Apache web server, of course).
Game Leagues
How do I become a league administrator?
The individual that creates a game league automatically becomes the administrator of that league. That person has the final say over any decisions regarding the league. The administrator may also add more admins to carry out certain functions such as email support or changing the graphics layout.
What powers do administrators possess over a particular league?
Administrators have total control over every aspect of the league they create. These powers include:
Basically the administrator makes sure the league is running smoothly and handles any problems among users.
How do you determine rankings?
Warthog's Game Leagues ranks each player by a number, their skill rating. All players start off with a base skill rating, and this number changes after every match that you play. The higher the number, the better your rank. The person with the highest skill rating is #1, the second highest is #2, and so on. Please note that you are not officially ranked until you play at least X number of matches, where X is determined by the league's administrator.
How does the skill rating system work?
Skill rating is calculated in a similar fashion to the system used by the US Chess Federation, but eliminates unnecessary factors. The system starts all users off at a base level of 1500 points. The amount of points you gain or lose for each match is in direct correlation with the skill rating of your opponent. If you defeat an opponent with a much higher skill rating than you, you will receive a large amount of points (up to 24). Similarly, if you lose a match against an opponent with a much greater skill rating, you will not lose many points. This system works the same way if your skill is much greater than your opponent's (i.e., you will not gain many points for playing weak opponents). If you have the same skill rating as your opponent, you will either gain 16 points for a win or 16 points for a loss.
This type of system encourages you to play opponents that are at or above your skill level, and prevents users from achieving high ranks by continually defeating easy opponents. This increases the level of competition all around and promotes fairness.
Can I change any features? (how players are ranked, color schemes, etc.)
There are a few customizations currently available. You are able to create your own rules, and make your league public or invitation-only. As of this time there are some customizations which are unavailable, but will be added in the future. To get more information these about future enhancements and when they will be completed, visit this question in our FAQ.
Business-Related
How can I advertise on your site?
Advertising is currently unavailable. If we put advertising on our site, however, it will be available to anyone but subject to certain obvious restrictions (no nudity, offensive material, etc.). If you would like to advertise on our site visit our Advertising Page.
I want to become personally involved in either developing new features or using your system in future projects. How can I do this?
Becoming personally involved with the development of new features is currently unavailable. If you can convince us that we cannot go on without you, there may be a chance you can help. Please note that this is not a permanent policy; It is quite likely that we will be seeking help in the future. See our list of currently available openingsto see how you can help.
If you are interested in using our system for future projects, such as incorporating the system into a new website, computer game, or video game, directly contact warthog@whgl.net.
Can I buy / license the source code for this program?
Our source code is available for purchase, but keep in mind that this is a very advanced program and only serious customers need apply. Pricing is variable, depending on the amount of support you wish to have, which features you would like, whether it will be over the web or independent per machine, and how much you would like to modify the code. Please contact warthog@whgl.net, and you will receive a reply within 24 hours with personal contact information so the issue can be discussed this over the phone.