Altador Cup

This article documents a current event. Information may update rapidly as the event progresses.

The Altador Cup is a yearly gaming plot on Neopets which begins on June 1, and continues until gaming is completed (first year took place between June 1, 2006 and August 4). As a sporting event, sixteen teams from the lands of Neopia gathered in Altador to compete in the sport of Yooyuball for the Altador Cup trophy.

Yooyuball

The game played to win the Altador Cup is called Yooyuball. Gameplay appears to be based on Jai alai, where players carry a ball in a sling and charge down the field, trying to throw the ball into the other team's net to score a goal. The ball is actually a rolled up Petpet called a Yooyu, a creature native to Altador. There are a variety of different Yooyus used in the game, which gives the sport an unpredictable twist, requiring a team to alter its strategy depending on the type of Yooyu currently in play.

• Normal - The most common Yooyu which behaves like a normal ball of play without any extra effects. This Yooyu was added in the 2007 games.
• Fire - Must be transferred very quickly between team-mates, because keeping it too long could result in burns.
• Snow - Freezes the muscles of those playing with it, making movement and throwing very slow.
• Mutant - An extremely unpredictable Yooyu which will often move in crazy patterns.
• Faerie - Floats lightly through the air, leaving players wonder when it will drop down low enough for them to capture and pass it.
• Darigan - A misbehaving Yooyu which flies in a different direction the player holding it is facing. This Yooyu was added in the 2007 games.
• Clockwork - A wind-up robotic Yooyu toy which explodes between 1 - 15 seconds if it isn't put into a goal. This Yooyu was added in the 2007 games.

Yooyuball plays as a flash game, where users can play with use of the mouse and keyboard. Before each game of Yooyuball begins, users choose the formation they want their players to stand in and select which direction they would like to move the ball down the field. Using the mouse, users point at the player they want to move around, which will select the player. The selected player can be guided around the field using the mouse. When a player has possession of the ball, clicking the left mouse button throws the ball.

If a user wanted to unselect a player, they pressed the spacebar or the S key. When none of the players were selected, they can clicked anywhere on the field to move the closest player to the position they clicked on. To toggle between players, users press the left and right arrow keys (or the A and D keys). Users can activate a player when toggling between them by pressing the spacebar. Pressing the Shift key to moves players back to their starting positions.

A new rule was added on June 24, 2006, which would make the Yooyu jump from a Keeper's hands if it stayed there longer than 5 seconds. It is believed this was implemented because too many users were scoring a single goal then letting the Keeper hold onto the ball for the remainder of play, scoring an automatic win.

In 2006, tournament play was single-elimination, which meant the team which won a match moved on to the next round while the team that lost was eliminated from play. Sixteen teams were randomly seeded and matched up, and after the eight losing teams were eliminated the eight winning teams were again randomly matched up and moved on to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, four more teams were eliminated while the remaining four headed to the semifinals. Semifinals determined which two teams fought in the final match. In 2007, tournament play was double round robin, which meant teams played every other team twice. During the round robin phase, each team was given a chance to prove itself by scoring the most overall. Once all matches were complete, the scores were tallied up and the top two teams meet again for a final showdown for first place, and the teams which scored third and fourth battleed for third place.

The Committee

The Altador Cup Committee is a group of officials who carefully examine each play, making sure the rules of Yooyuball are followed. Players or fans who feel something needs to be reviewed can file a petition, and the committee will decide whether or not to rule on the matter. Once both sides of the issue are heard, the committee gathers in its private chambers to discuss the situation and vote on an appropriate course of action. Some feel they are too strict, but it's the committee's decisions which maintain the integrity of the game, and the committee members' actions are always motivated by a desire to protect the game's best interests.

It was the Committee which sent invitations to the worlds of Neopia in 2006, asking to participate in the first Altador Cup tournament in 1000 years. It's also assumed the Committee is a front for the actions taken by The Neopets Team, who make sure the game is fair and balanced for all users.

Team rosters

The Altador Cup Tournament consisted of sixteen teams representing the lands of Neopia. In total from previous years, eighteen worlds have participated, each sending a team to compete in the Colosseum in Altador. Users could only support one team at a time, and could only switch to another between rounds (only in the 2006 games). In 2007, the Kreludor team was replaced with Shenkuu. Why this was done is unknown, also is unknown if Kreludor will return the following year.

Only sixteen teams were available for users to play, but a 17th team came from Jelly World, which participated as the practice team. While the members of the team are unknown, it's known the Goalkeeper is a Jelly Kougra and one of the forwards a Jelly Kau.

Altador Brightvale Darigan Citadel Faerieland Haunted Woods

Jelly World Kiko Lake Krawk Island Kreludor (2006) Lost Desert

Maraqua Meridell Mystery Island Roo Island Shenkuu (2007)

Terror Mountain Tyrannia Virtupets

Slushie Slinger

Added in the 2007 games, Slushie Slinger is an optional game users could play for lower points if they tire of playing Yooyuball. Users must help a Tuskaninny waitress at the Slushie Concession Stand serve impatient fans their slushies while Yooyuball games play. Made available to play on June 5.

Make Some Noise

Added in the 2007 games, Make Some Noise is an optional game users could play for lower points if they tire of playing Yooyuball. Assuming the role of the Techo Fanatic, users must cheer as loud as they can by tapping two keys together, raising the sound meter. Made available to play on June 5.

Plot participation

Unlike regular plots where the plot was written by The Neopets Team, the plot was directed by the collective users on Neopets, and how well they collectively played together in each other their selected teams. After each round finished, a plot summary was written in written to act out who won in each cause.

Users could select their team on their own, but also had the option to be placed on a team via a quiz which tested what their personality was like. Users could continue to switch teams until each round began, but couldn't change their team until sign-ups for the next round began. Users could participate their scores on June 8 - 11, June 15 - 18, June 22 - 25 and June 29 - May 3. The score they contributed was calculated by their win/loss/tie record, the number of goals scored each game, and a average based on team membership (so a team with more users participating wouldn't have an advantage over a team with fewer players).

It was a common misconception having a loss counted for a users score would give negative points towards a user's score, when in truth every completed game raised the users score higher. Some users who wanted a certain team to win took advantage of the system as well, by signing up for an opposing team and purposefully lose in order to try and lower the chance of them winning.

Yooyuball is, of course, the main staple of the Altador Cup and will earn you the most points. Should you need a break from the perils of Yooyuball, however, the additional games will also earn you points, though not as many.

Staff Tournament

As another part of the Altador Cup, The Neopets Team participates in a tournament play of their own. They did this in 2006, but it's uncertain if this will be done in 2007.

Altador Cup Tournament items

Along with the release of the Altador Cup on June 1, 2006, a new Shop called Altador Cup Souvenirs opened, which sold sports team merchandise for each of the teams playing. Rather than Altador Cup Tournament items have a single use, they can be used for many different things. Hands and bottles were used as toys, pennants could be placed in Neohomes, and the jerseys acted as Clothes.

Trivia

• The Altador Cup appears to co-incide with dates and times of the FIFA World Cup in Germany of 2006, and if the golden orb seen in the preview trailer is indeed the "cup" itself, it bears remarkable resemblance to the actual World Cup.
• Noted advertisements shown within the 2006 tournament were a new Dragon Ball Z game being released in July 2006 and a new Garfield movie. For 2007, Evan Almighty was advertised.
• During Yooyuball gameplay when the Ixi and Grarrl newscasters are making their remarks, if a user refrains from clicking the "continue" button they will begin to ask the user to hurry up, mention they see Tarla and need to hurry and catch her, and a Spyder will come down from the ceiling.

See also

• Plots: Altador Cup 2006, Altador Cup 2007
• Shops: Altador Cup Souvenirs

External links

• Altador Cup
• Altador Cup Prize Shop
• Animation Trailer
• Neopedia: Altador Cup
• Editorial: 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 252, 253, 264, 267