Officer Sign Up

[CognitoCon]

What do you mean?

[Gwynzer]

Officer draft isn't a typical draft, it's a discussion and invites are sent out.

Officer roles are voluntary, people have to accept them. As such, it takes time for everything finalise.

[RazY70]

What do you mean?

Nothing much. Just blabbering.

I assumed the people who signed up would check what the results were, and add themselves to their respective army. It's kind of surprising no one did.

Officer draft isn't a typical draft, it's a discussion and invites are sent out.

Officer roles are voluntary, people have to accept them. As such, it takes time for everything finalise.

I don't get it. Isn't every role voluntary? Didn't they already accept the role, being that they signed up for the officer's draft and all? Why isn't it a typical draft? Lastly, why is selecting ~5 people to each team taking time to finalize?

[CognitoCon]

Often someone gets picked during the officer draft that didn't necessarily put his name down on all the interest forms. So, the general sends out a PM and waits for him to confirm or deny. If he says no, then they have to look at other options. As far as I know, this is how it has always gone for ages. The results of the draft get released once all officers confirm that they are up for the job, etc.

[RazY70]

You mean there's more than one form?

Either way, wouldn't it make sense to confirm the uncertain ones prior to the draft instead of after?

[CognitoCon]

Does it matter that much?

[RazY70]

Assuming the general interest is to start the campaign as soon as possible and keep downtime between campaigns to a minimum then I suppose streamlining the process matters. Otherwise it doesn't really matter much.

[Necromancer]

Looks promising!

[StarfisherEcho]

Assuming the general interest is to start the campaign as soon as possible and keep downtime between campaigns to a minimum then I suppose streamlining the process matters. Otherwise it doesn't really matter much.

This is as streamlined as it gets, unfortunately. People change their minds at random, and getting a final commitment is the least bad way we've found to ensure officers actually show up. You wouldn't believe how often someone signs up for the officer draft, is enthusiastic when a general/HC/TA pings them, and then decides they don't want to do it after all once they get drafted. This situation requires the generals/HCs to find a replacement and make sure balance is preserved, so we hold off on announcing the officer corps until we've gotten firm commitments from people. And even with that there's usually one or two officers per campaign who end up dropping out for whatever reason.

In the regular player draft, there's enough people that this is usually just noise. But in the officer draft, if someone drops out, it can easily be campaign breaking. We'd rather slow down and try to get us off on the right foot than start the campaign one week earlier.

[RazY70]

This is exactly why it doesn't make much sense to me. People can and evidently do change their minds at random (even after confirming), so it makes no difference when or even if the confirmation takes place. If you prefer to be semi-safe confirm before the draft and avoid the wasted time.

[StarfisherEcho]

Our worst campaigns have been the ones where we tried to save time by skipping processes like this. Ask yourself what you're risking versus what you're gaining. At best, you'd save a few days to a week between campaigns. At worst, you blow the entire campaign because one army is relying on people who aren't there during the most critical part of getting an army rolling (the week or two between officers getting selected and the player draft).

Remember, officers aren't "drafted" like players are. They are selected collaboratively to ensure balance and compatibility. Once that's all set up, they get a chance to say "no", and if they do we want to know immediately so we can fix it.

[Gonzo]

If you prefer to be semi-safe confirm before the draft and avoid the wasted time.

That was the idea behind this post. The second officer interest form had exactly that purpose, of confirming people beforehand.
Sadly, with so few signups, we had to dip into the pool of unreconfirmed people to get a good balance and that's who we're waiting for to answer the invitation now.