Andromeda / Triangulum: Transition to automated rounds

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Hi everybody, I hope you’re all doing well.

#andromeda-55 is coming to a close, and I want to let you all know what’s going to happen next.

The new join process and queue system is complete, tested, and ready to go. However, there are a few things that need to be prepared on the production server, so in order to ensure a smooth transition this feature won’t be released until after Andro 55 finishes.

That means there’s going to be a bit of downtime before the next round, hopefully no more than a day or so.

Triangulum 27

Triangulum is returning, and will be the new primary galaxy. Once we “flip the switch”, its round setups will be completely automated. Here’s how it will work.

  1. The queue will open. During this time you can join to play but you will not be placed into a family yet. This period will last for 48 hours.

  2. The queue will close and votes will open. Votes will happen directly in the game. During this time all queued players will be allowed to vote on the galaxy settings. This will also last for 48 hours.

  3. Voting will close and the round will be created. This is what you’re familiar with now. The galaxy, systems, families, and empires will all be generated and you can start planning with your family before BoR. This will last for 48 hours.

Exact dates are TBD given the preparation mentioned earlier, but we should be moving forward within the next week. Also note, these 48 hour windows are specifically for this initial transition round and may be different in subsequent rounds.

Regarding Drafting

Drafting in its current form is not compatible with this new join process. The good news is, a new clan system is in the works to support playing with friends in way that will be more modern and intuitive than drafting ever was.

In the interim, the rounds will effectively be full-random rounds. I understand that this is not ideal for some players, but unfortunately given my lack of availability, timing the features this way is necessary to keep IC running at all.

This is just the first version

This new join process will likely have many things to improve upon, and feedback is always welcome.

Thanks for your patience everybody. As stated in the 2021 Recap and 2022 Goals, completely removing dependency on staff is our #1 priority, and this feature is a huge step towards that goal.

I’ll post again when Tri is open, but in the meantime feel free to ask any questions if you have them.

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Nice initiative Pie- Thanks for caring and continuing the Quest an over-all better Imperial Conflict!
Kudos!

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I like the idea of the queue system and then familes are assigned players randomly from this queue meaning it should always be equal sized fams?

However one side note - the actual round settings will usually have an influence on whether people will decide to play that round or not; wouldn’t it be better to have the vote first then people join the queue?

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I guess is a limitation of the system… how can people vote otherwise? (as in an easy way for Pie to code)

I think it is somewhat obvious that having the vote and queue separated would be good… but probably a phase 3 objective. Also as I understand it, this system will also lead to users being able to create their won galaxies with their own rules

Also, can I get credit for naming the galaxy :grinning: maybe a new forum flair? Fool, namer of galaxies

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@You_Fool it has been done! And thanks for suggesting the galaxy btw. :+1:

@Funeral it’s a circular dependency: fam number and size are done by vote, which requires knowing who’s in the queue for it to be a meaningful decision. Without knowing how many players are planning to play, the family setup options are a guessing game, which is why it’s always been so difficult to anticipate the right amount of starting spots.

This will take the guess work out of that entirely, and players can still join after too during the pre-BoR phase if they want to forego their vote to wait until seeing the round setup.

In that way, voting and the queue don’t need to be separated because voting and joining still can be, if the player prefers to wait.

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Makes sense cheers guys!

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Thanks Pie!! I shall show off my fancy new flair everywhere :laughing: :ic_laugh:

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#triangulum-27 is ready at https://imperialconflict.com/galaxies/triangulum/27.

Dates and Times can be seen on the page above; we’ll no longer be keeping track of any of that in the forum.

This round will be short (3 weeks) on account of the transition and delay. The following round will resume the normal 4-week schedule.

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@I_like_pie will we be able to see the list of empires that have joined? Will it be anonymous?

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It’s anonymous during the queue. After the queue will depend on whether or not the players vote for an anonymous round.

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All Galaxies > Triangulum > Triangulum 27

Round Setup

You will be able to sign up after the round starts.

So I can’t join now? Only after the round starts, so did I miss the queue?
This message is a bit unclear as to where I am in the process now…

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I think whilst vote is active no new empires can join the vote… but once round settings are determined you will be added to a family as per normal

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Yeah once the galaxy is created the regular join will be available like normal. Available spots will be determined by the fam count/size vote.

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Would be nice if that was a bit more clear in the screen-message, including a timeline.
Something like:
“Currently the galaxy is temporarily closed for joining, as the round-setting vote is in progress. Once this is completed the galaxy for this round will be created. Voting closes at [TIME + DATE] and the galaxy will be created at [TIME+DATE]. After that, based on available slots, you will be able to join the round!”

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