Start Games Invite Improvement

[plurple]

OK so I enjoy running tournaments on the site is fun and it is where I get most of my games However the worst part of running a tournament is the game creation. More specifically the adding of the names to invite the right players to the right game this is compounded when running multi-player tournaments i.e. more players per game. My current tournaments are both 6 player and have 31 and 46 player respectively.

Currently a new set of games for Dealers Choice Assassin is 62 * 6 player games or 372 invites and Small Map Assassin is 46 * 6 * 3 maps or 138 games * 6 invites = 828 invites both of which I need to copy individually line by line from my spreadsheet into the start game page. It takes a few hours :/ Yes I could cut this work down slightly by sending multiple games to the same list, if I didn't randomise my players into all of the games but I would need to limit myself to the number of players that is a multiple of the number in the games but I like that none of the games are the same players

So what I am suggesting is that a new box is added to the start games page that is the same as the name box from the inbox system. I.e. one big box that you can copy all the names for an individual game into with a new name on each new line. If you accidently copy to many names in it just invites the top X where X = number of players in the game

This is a good idea as it would cut my inviting time by the number of players in the games so 6 at the moment And I am sure I am not the only tournament runner that would like this And it shouldn't be too difficult to add

[gorehound]

Seems a reasonable request to me. Any process that cuts down the time inviting players should be welcomed.

[luxbock]

from an old school coder point of view... i was kind of shocked to see there wasn't an option in the api for this.

tbh... with all the tournaments i play i assumed there was a "quick" way to create the games in batches like with the api or a csv file upload.

with what you are suggesting... having a textbox field as an option in the invite player section where you could put the list of players separated by a semi-colon instead of individually doing it should be fairly easy to implement. eg you would enter "plurple;luxbock;someone;someoneelse" in this textbox and the form would process that for you.

good luck with getting this approved and i'd be happy to look at doing the code if needed...

[NoLeafClover]

I believe that anything that helps the site and it's volunteers is always a plus moving forward. Thank you for your hard work and your time.

[musicalmaven]

I agree, anything that makes it easier for the person running the tournament and for the players is a good idea.
Of course as an old fart, i really do not understand the proposal, nor the capability to do it, but it does sound fundamentally sound.
Good luck in getting it implemented.

[demonfork]

seems like a no brainer... Why hasn't this already been done?

[ESQuire]

For the Super League, Selenium was used to programmatically interface with a Chrome instance. This allowed the software flexibility to read from a data source (csv file) to populate the existing game creation page in the specific design of the tournament/league (e.g., 2 player, home and away maps, random map, tournament name, game label, password, etc.). This allows for maximum adaptability.

I'm finding it difficult to understand the functionality you are asking for here. You want to add a large number of players (6+) to the a new "players" text box and, what, have the system pick out 6 players to randomly assign in any order? Or would the players be assigned position based on the order you list them in the "players" box?
These are subtle design issues that might vary among tourney directors.
Does this new "players" box replace the current set of text boxes that matches the selected value for the "Number of Players" radio button? If so, when I want to create a simple 1v1 game, do I have to enter the players into this new "Players" text box? Is the order of players' names important or does the play order get randomized?

A clear design description would be easier to assess. Saying just "let me add multiple players in a text box" leaves too much ambiguity.
The current page does provide the tools necessary to do what you want (I think). But automating the methods of interacting with the current "Start Games" page is an exercise best left to the individual user/developer instead of tasking the site to anticipate and accommodate specialized designs.

[plurple]

I'm finding it difficult to understand the functionality you are asking for here. You want to add a large number of players (6+) to the a new "players" text box and, what, have the system pick out 6 players to randomly assign in any order? Or would the players be assigned position based on the order you list them in the "players" box?
These are subtle design issues that might vary among tourney directors.
Does this new "players" box replace the current set of text boxes that matches the selected value for the "Number of Players" radio button? If so, when I want to create a simple 1v1 game, do I have to enter the players into this new "Players" text box? Is the order of players' names important or does the play order get randomized?

No just a simple box that would allow the user to paste multiple names at once as opposed to 1 by 1 that you need to do with the current version of the start games page.

A clear design description would be easier to assess. Saying just "let me add multiple players in a text box" leaves too much ambiguity.
The current page does provide the tools necessary to do what you want (I think). But automating the methods of interacting with the current "Start Games" page is an exercise best left to the individual user/developer instead of tasking the site to anticipate and accommodate specialized designs.

I did give a description of the same box that is in the new PM names box. i.e. Each new player name would be on a separate line and would act in all other ways as if I had pasted the names into the current invite boxes. I would suggest adding it as an extra box. potentially just visible to tournament organisers. This would add a slightly easier method for sending out lots of games for tournaments without asking the site to develop a robust adaptable custom start games page to automate any tournament.

For the Super League, Selenium was used to programmatically interface with a Chrome instance. This allowed the software flexibility to read from a data source (csv file) to populate the existing game creation page in the specific design of the tournament/league (e.g., 2 player, home and away maps, random map, tournament name, game label, password, etc.). This allows for maximum adaptability.

Sure I would love a more automated method for myself but I don't currently have the time to investigate new programming languages and work out how to build my own version of what the super league does I also don't think it is realistic that you say for all tournament organisers to just create there own as it isn't a simple task. But maybe it is easier than I think and only takes 5 mins to set up? If you have more information on how to set up my own automation I am happy to learn

[crazystef]

I support whatever makes your work more easy and efficient.

[JJ41375]

This is a great idea...especially if it helps those that are running the community tournaments.

I think something like this would help clan leaders with creating games as well. I know for me personally it would save a couple minutes each round...which is nothing compared to the tournaments plurple is running.

[I AM NATO]

I don't commit to organising due to the time taken. If I could just cut and paste from a spreadsheet I'd likely help every now and then.

[Lindax]

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Lx