Caster Bylaws / Season 14

Head Caster – Raka

Assistant Head Caster – Krushinator, EternallyBlue

Other points of Contact – Wenis, Jayzon

Head Caster Position(s)

  • Head Caster will be appointed by the NGS Board.
  • Head Caster will be responsible for enforcing the NGS casting bylaws and will remove casters that fail to abide by them.
  • Head Caster will oversee the screening process to ensure that potential NGS casters are competent in using Twitch and OBS, as well as their casting capabilities.
  • Head and Assistant Head Caster(s) will be responsible for maintaining the casting schedule.
  • Head Caster or Assistant Caster will be the first point of contact by NGS casters for any casting issues or questions.

Twitch

  • All NGS casters will adhere to the NGS rules outlined on the NGS website. When necessary, casters should reach out to Division Moderators for assistance.
  • All casts must have a minimum 30 second stream delay during any streams of NGS Competition
    • This includes in draft AND in game
    • This setting can be found in OBS -> Settings -> Advanced->Stream Delay
  • Most playoff matches will remain on a first-come first-serve basis and can be cast on the caster’s channel, same as regular season.  The final match of each division will be cast on the NGS and/or NGS2 channel. Every effort will be made to assign casters 48h prior to the match but this may not always be the case.  
  • Grand Finals matches will be assigned to the NGS or NGS2 channel at the time of caster assignment.  Typically the first match to start will play on NGS and will then raid NGS2 if a 2nd match is to follow.  Due to scheduling it is possible the NGS1 channel may be assigned prior to an overlapping match which may start earlier and thus be played on NGS2.

On-screen visual presentation

  • All Nexus Gaming Series casters will use the minimum proper overlays and in-game interfaces as set by the Head Caster.
    • This will serve as a pinned post the entire season
    • The NGS Logo must be visible on all scenes during your stream
  • Additional overlays are permitted (such as personal logos) as long as they do not obstruct the required logos or the gameplay or contain inappropriate material.
  • Default overlays will be provided in an easily accessible location by the Head Caster or Lead Broadcaster. (See discord pins in caster channel)

Casting Conduct

  • Personal drama or non-NGS related person issues should not be included in any NGS broadcasts.  If issues arise during a cast, please end the stream and contact the Head Caster as soon as possible.
  • Keep in mind that you are a caster, not a referee:
    • Do not attempt to enforce any rules. You are welcome to remind the teams of the rules, but if there is a dispute, it is your job to direct the teams to contact their division moderator.
    • You should not pause the game for any reason, even if the teams ask you to. The teams have access to their own bank of pauses to use.
    • Please refer to 4.3.7 of the official NGS rules
  • It is recommended you turn off in-game chat during a match and use discord to coordinate with the captains as needed.
  • Casters are prohibited from live-casting a match in which they are either currently on-roster with one of the teams or have been on-roster in the current NGS season.
  • Casters will keep content to a relatively PG-13 level.
  • Swearing is permitted in moderation.  Excessive swearing is discouraged.
  • Explicit (sexual or otherwise) or hateful comments against any group of people are strictly prohibited.  This extends to teams, Heroes of the Storm players or developers, and groups of people.
  • If any of the prior happens incidentally, please issue an immediate apology and continue onward.  At first possibility (in-game pause, between games, or end of broadcast), please notify the Head Caster.
  • Casters become something like celebrities after they’ve cast a few matches.  As such, teams may reach out with a request for a live or replay cast.  While the leadership will seek to discourage direct DMs when possible, casters should be respectful in declining and advising the captain/player of their wishes. Casters who wish to be DMd are welcome to advertise in #community_plugs or division chat as appropriate for games/teams they are looking to cast. Casters should avoid using division pings for this purpose unless given approval by division moderators or caster leadership.

Caster Rules

  • The Head Caster(s) has the final say on what will be casted.
  • All NGS casters will remain unbiased and respectful of all NGS community members.
  • Casters are to remain in the NGS Discord to communicate with captains and maintain their caster tag.  Only individuals with an approved caster tag in Discord may cast NGS matches/events.
  • If an NGS caster is found to be culpable of aiding a team or cheating they will be banned.
  • Anything not covered explicitly in these rules are subject to the judgement of the Head Caster(s) and NGS Board
  • All NGS casters will follow the instructions given to them by the Head Caster(s) or their NGS casting privileges will be terminated.
  • Casters are bound by the following rules when scheduling double-headers (or more): [Amended 6/8/2020]
    • There must be a minimum of 105 (1 hr 45 min) between matches in your double header
      • However, if you get permission from both captains/assistant captains of game 2 teams in their respective public division channel, acknowledging they are okay with a potential late start you may pick up a match that starts less than 105 minutes after the first match.
    • Note that this rule only applies to schedule matches in advance: If match you are casting ends early, and you don’t have another match, you may pick up a second uncasted match regardless the time difference after your previous match ends
  • Casters who schedule a double-header (or more) who find their first match to be delayed should notify the 2nd teams of the potential delay immediately.  If the teams decide they are not able/willing to wait, caster should notify div mod or caster leadership to remove them from the match.

Uploading casts to YouTube & Caster tags

  • All NGS casters will upload casts to YouTube for Weekly NGS Playlist creation.
  • A how-to guide for uploading casts to YouTube will be available and released on YouTube.
  • Weekly Match Playlists will be assembled on the NGS YouTube Channel by the Head Caster and Broadcast team.
  • The Head Caster will be responsible for creating and maintaining a cast report Google form, and all information gathered for this report.
  • All NGS casters will report casts via the Google document after a cast is finished and uploaded to YouTube.
  • Casters will be awarded 1 caster point after a cast has been uploaded to YouTube, reported, and deemed of good quality by the Head Caster.  This includes co-casting, broadcasting, observing, and casting match replays. Points are cumulative and serve to award caster prizes instituted in Season 11.  
  • When a caster first signs up they will earn the title of ‘Caster Hopeful’.  After 5 casts they will earn the title of ‘Caster’.  Casters must have the ‘Caster Hopeful’ tag for 1 full day prior to casting a match.  This time can be reduced by confirming with caster leadership appropriate overlays and setup has been completed for live-casting a match.  Caster Hopeful’s are eligible to co-cast a match immediately upon receiving the ‘Caster Hopeful’ tag.
  • After a caster earns 25 points within a single season, or 12 points within a calendar month, they will be eligible to receive the title of ‘Veteran Caster’. This title is granted after a review of the casters VoDs for quality. Excellence in casting quality is expected to be promoted. Promotion is not guaranteed upon completion of the required number of games.
  • Veteran Casters may be added to the bot in streams_live channel in the NGS Discord.  As this channel has a limit, the 20 Veteran Casters with the most casts over prior and current seasons will be listed (to be evaluated at the end of season).  Additionally, Veteran Casters who cast less than five matches over the course of the season may be removed from the bot.  In the event a Veteran Caster returns to active casting mid-season, the Caster should notify the Head Caster so the viability of re-adding them to the notification bot may be assessed.
  • All Veteran Casters will be added to the sidebar on the NGS YouTube channel, and the order in which they are listed will be determined by who has the most points.
  • ‘Caster’ title once earned will not be revoked unless requested by the caster or a caster is found in violation of the NGS rules or casting bylaws. 
  • ‘Caster Hopefuls’ must cast at least 1 match in the season to retain their ‘Caster Hopeful’ tag.  While this adjustment may take place between seasons, a mid-season review may take place to confirm interest and remove inactive casters.  
  • CH and VC can regain their tags in the same way they earn them initially.
  • The Head Caster has full discretionary rights to apply exceptions where appropriate regarding casting points, YouTube placements, casting titles, and the streams_live channel.

By the act of casting NGS matches, all NGS casters agree to adhere to the NGS Caster Bylaws.  Failure to adhere may result in termination of NGS caster privileges and removal from the NGS community as deemed appropriate by the NGS Board.

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