Exercise Cantina Run

Exercise Cantina Run (or ECR as it was more commonly referred to) was an annual competition for the TIE Corps Battlegroups that determined the flagship of the battlegroup for the next year. The competition began in 1999 and ran yearly through 2005, with eight total iterations. During this time, it was regularly considered to be the premiere event for members of the TIE Corps Battlegroups, often overshadowing fleetwide events. The ISD Challenge was the winningest ship for this competition, winning half of all ECRs held during this time.

Background

ECR was founded by Kessler as a competition to determine the TIE Corps Battlegroups flagship. As originally conceived, the competition took place over three phases: fiction, graphics, and flying. Because the TIE Corps Battlegroups was considered a "single-player battlegroup", the flying portion would typically consist of a single player mission or battle. The nature of which mission (or how many missions) would vary from ECR to ECR. Some ECRs incorporated additional and/or simultaneous phases including multiplayer and/or mission creation, but at a minimum, every ECR had some form of the base fiction, graphics, and flying phases.

In addition to designating a winning ship, ECR often acknowledged the best performing squadron as well. In some iterations, the top squad would be designated as the "BGCOM Escort Squadron" for the next year, with early iterations even changing the squadron's designation to "VIP Escort". This practice of changing squadron designation was discontinued after ECR II, but the title of "BGCOM's Escort Squadron" or some variation was a common occurrence for most iterations.

The time of year when ECR occurred varied greatly throughout its lifetime, with one year (2001) accounting for two ECR events. While there were eight ECR events in total, one particularly controversial ECR (ECR IV), which declared a winner without completion of all events, resulted in a second ECR (also designated "ECR IV") to be re-ran the following year, although the assignment of the winning ship (Immortal) as the flagship per the controversial ECR was upheld between ECRs.

History

ECR I

The first ECR was created in 1999 and ran by Kessler, with three phases: fiction, graphics, and flying. Competitors included the Challenge, Relentless, Colossus, and newly-commissioned Immortal.

It is generally believed that the Challenge was the victor of this initial run of the competition.

ECR II

The second ECR, occurring in 2000, continued with a similar ruleset as the first ECR, with the same three phases of fiction, graphics, and flying. Fiction and graphic submissions were required to be about events occurring in the Imperial Storm wargame, another event created by Kessler. Competitors again included the Challenge, Relentless, Colossus, and the Immortal.

The Immortal won the second ECR, with Typhoon Squadron winning BGCOM's Escort Squadron, resulting in its designation being changed to VIP Escort. This was the final ECR that resulted in a designation change for the top squadron.

ECR III

The third ECR ran from February 4th, 2001 through March 31, 2001, and was run by the Battlegroup Commander of the time, Jarak Maldon. Competitors included the Challenge, Relentless, Colossus, and the Immortal. First round was fiction, followed by graphics, followed by flying, with each round lasting two weeks. Fiction and graphic submissions were required to reflect something about the TIE Corps Battlegroups

For the flying round, each ship was able to choose their own free mission. Whichever average score was closest to the high score (or surpassed it) won. Points were given for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd (5, 3, 2), with additional points given as a participation bonus depending on how many pilots on the ship flew their mission (10 for 100%, 5 for 90%, 3 for 75%, 2 for 50%).

Selected missions were as follows (with the high score of the time listed as well):

• ISD Colossus: TIE-FREE #126 (HS: 42,607)
• ISD Relentless: TIE-FREE #100 (HS: 53,231)
• ISD Challenge: TIE-FREE #150 (HS: 163,045)
• ISD Immortal: XWA-FREE #5 (HS: 12,159)

The Relentless won ECR III, having dominated the first two rounds of the competition.

ECR IV (first)

The fourth ECR occurred during the fall of 2001 and was run by the Battlegroup Commander of the time, Adrenaline. This ECR had four phases: fiction, mission design, graphics, and flying. Each round was supposed to last two weeks. Winning pilot submissions in each phase would earn points for their ships, with first place earning 15 points, second place earning 10 points, third place earning 5 points, and fourth place earning 3 points. Additionally, participation points would be awarded to ships per round based on percentage of participation, with 100% participation earning 10 points, 90%-99% earning 9 points, 80%-89% earning 8 points, 70%-79% earning 7 points, 60%-69% earning 6 points, 50%-59% earning 5 points, and 40%-50% earning 4 points. Finally, all submissions would be ranked each round, with the average rank value for each ship determining how many points the ship would get in addition to individual and participation points, with the ship with the highest averaged ranked submissions earning 35 points, second place earning 25 points, third place earning 15 points, and fourth place earning 10 points.

Like ECR II, all creative work submissions were required to be about the recent Imperial Storm, Imperial Storm II.

While records are incomplete about this competition, it is generally believed that the mission design phase was intended to feed into the flying phase. However, ultimately, only the fiction and graphics phases were graded, with the mission design phase left unranked and the flying phase likely cancelled.

Nevertheless, the Immortal was declared the winner. This was highly controversial at the time, not only for the incomplete nature of the competition, but also because of rampant rumors and accusations of an "Immortal bias" directed towards then-BGCOM Adrenaline, who originated from the Immortal. While the Immortal assumed position as the flagship of the TIE Corps Battlegroups, the results of this ECR were not recognized by many members of the battlegroup at that time, throwing doubt into whether or not the competition had a future.