ON RATING SYSTEM
I have checked the rating system rules and i think it's a fine idea. IMO however the formula is not enough stimolating and, more important, there is one problem that makes the system quiete approximative : the fact you can choose to play games with your preferred settings and continuosly invite players play them (expecially in 1vs1 games). Years ago, when i played Age of Empires over the net (where a rating system that used the same rules was active) i realized that i was not a good player in that game. So, in order to achieve a good position in the ranking ( i was in the top 150) i used a trick : invite best ranked players in a time limit (one of the particular types of game settings) game. I was really good in time limit and always win even if i played against people that, in a normal match, had destroyed me in a few seconds
My proposal for a se4 championship skips this annoying problem of Ratings of strategy games with multiple settings typologies, because each player has to play the same game settings of all other players !
Slinky, on NE Italy : it's one of the most inhabitated zones of the world (as a region not as a single city). There are not so much trees as you said, it's an industrial commercial land carachterized by diffuse inhabitated areas and no space for nature and so on. If you want to see some good mountains and free nature, go to Alaska, Italy is completely different!