Games that didn't make attendance requirements - Player request poll?

[MTS]

Most of us have little trouble getting the time right for a single game, but the games are listed in no particular order, requiring one to check and compare times by going into each game posted. I played 2 games in last weekends event, but without a calendar that lists the date, time of the games where they are easily checked and compared so we can sign up for multiple games without the risk of overlapping.

I found this to be problematic too. It would be really cool to see a 24-hour Day sheet, showing all the games planned for the day and the time-slots they take up. Then making it interactive so a person can click a game to apply as a player would really clean things up. Clearly showing which games in the calendar are full (green, yellow, red scale) would be super helpful.

And, I'd like a quick easy method to see if there are any open games going on right now... For that rare occasion when there are a few extra hours in the day and it would be fun to play if something were available.

That kind of system puts the power in the player's hands.

[MTS]

I had 10 people signed up for a 7 person table, and only 1 didn't show up (unfortunately, had to tell two they couldn't play).

Of course, I may have been the anomaly, but make sure you advertise your game as much as possible!

And then, it would be nice to recognize the chronological order of those who sign up, making sure they have a spot in your game. In Isacho's game, I was the 2nd to sign up. I thought I had a slot for certain! I cleared my schedule, made sure all chores were done in the house for my wife, and then started logging in an hour before game time. However, when I had to handle a sudden emergency, I didn't get logged in until 15 minutes before start time. By then, there were already 7 others in the game. So I sat and watched them play for an hour, sadly disappointed. So there's that to think about.

[Zacchaeus]

And then, it would be nice to recognize the chronological order of those who sign up, making sure they have a spot in your game. In Isacho's game, I was the 2nd to sign up. I thought I had a slot for certain! I cleared my schedule, made sure all chores were done in the house for my wife, and then started logging in an hour before game time. However, when I had to handle a sudden emergency, I didn't get logged in until 15 minutes before start time. By then, there were already 7 others in the game. So I sat and watched them play for an hour, sadly disappointed. So there's that to think about.

One of the things I did learn was that some DM's insisted that you post your intentions in the game thread as well as sign up for the game calendar. That way the GM knows what order the players signed up in and thus eliminating the problem you had. I didn't do this but I usually checked the game calendar 3-4 times a day and accepted players immediately that they appeared on the Calendar, so I didn't have a problem. But I could have and will insist that players post in future.

[Trenloe]

That way the GM knows what order the players signed up in and thus eliminating the problem you had.

For the game MTS mentioned the GM specifically said that it was first-come-first-served on the day in question, so the GM wasn't taking any sign up order into account - just when you turned up on the day. I must admit that while this might have ensured people turned up for the game in question it isn't particularly fair on people who signed up early and it restricts the ability to play in multiple games if the start time of one session with a first-come entry requirement is close to the end of another game.

One of our goals with FGDaze! was to keep the moderator/organizer admin down (FG Con takes lots and lots and lots of admin - and we didn't want that every two months). We also wanted FGDaze! to be attractive to GMs and so didn't want to burden them with too much of a process. However, I think what you'll see for future FGDaze! events is a clearer process for the GM to follow - templates to use to advertise their events, etc.. Hopefully GMs will follow the guidelines and we'll have a more consistent experience across the FGDaze! events.

[MTS]

Well, I do want to mention that I got to play my first real FG-player game with LordEntrails on FGDaze, and it was a blast. He was frustrated that he had so many no-shows too. When I signed up with him I was on a wait list until I actually showed up for the game. He had to pull in his son to play with us so we would have enough people.

In this case, many of the players that had signed up didn't realize that it was a 9:00 a.m. game (my time) and thought it was later in the day. LordEntrails was not able to figure out how to use the calendar so that it would show up correctly in everyone's time zone. So this was a usability issue in the Calendar app.

[Isacoh]

I'm sorry you were side-lined MTS. I couldn't (and still can't) figure out how to tell who signed up first and in what order using the Calendar. I've stated in another thread I'm not the biggest fan of the Calendar for that reason. I accepted people as soon as they signed up for my game, then noticing that I couldn't find an order, sent out a message over a day in advance to let people know to come early, and that spots would be FCFS.

To check, I just signed up for an old FGDaze entry, and saw I wasn't played at the bottom of the list.

Additionally, Trenloe, for the issues of games running close to one-another, you can have multiple instances of Fantasy Grounds opened if you wanted to. However, I still feel like there needs to be a better system, which is why, at least for Adventure League games, I have been using alonlinetools.net to sign up for Fantasy Grounds games, due to the sign-up order being a part of the calendar entry.

Again, I apologize for any confusion I might have caused. I did what I believed was right in the situation. I hope to play with you in the future!

[MTS]

No worries Isacoh, you did a great job. I enjoyed watching for a while - your storyline was detailed and interesting. I loved what you did with Twitch too - nice addition to the experience.

[Trenloe]

Again, I apologize for any confusion I might have caused. I did what I believed was right in the situation.

No worries. We hadn't specified how a GM should handle player selection. And, as you say, the tools aren't particularly accurate for listing sign ups in order (although I'm testing a theory around the order of people pressing "yes" for a scheduled play time). We'll provide clearer guidelines in future. As mentioned above, the best way is to prioritise based of who posts in the thread itself. I've had so many people just click the "Apply" button in a game calendar entry and then disappear and never return.

[damned]

Just going to throw in what I did,

Ran my first game on Fantasy Grounds during the most recent FGDaze. I asked some people I knew out of my online guild, real life friends, and advertised all over. I sent messages out to people a few days beforehand, said I would be on to answer any questions and help them get set up, and even walked multiple people through the process of coming onto Fantasy Grounds. I had 10 people signed up for a 7 person table, and only 1 didn't show up (unfortunately, had to tell two they couldn't play).

Of course, I may have been the anomaly, but make sure you advertise your game as much as possible!

when I first starting running games on FG there were very few available players in my TZ (Sydney, AUS). I would advertise on penandpapergamers.com, meetup.com, rpg.net, enworld.org and get more players there (mostly the first two) than from here. now there are far more players in my TZ. point is - sometimes you can open your goors and players will flood in - sometimes you gotta work at it for a while before you get the players you are looking for...

[Daedalus]

Well I was short one person because one person didn't show up. What I did was put on my FGDaze Room (Need 1 More!) to let people know in teamspeak if they are free they can join. As well I posted a message in the LFGS section saying I needed one more. I was able to fill the game (and got an extra person who wanted to join but didn't have space).

So it ended up working out for me and my game was filled and the players had a lot of fun