Tutorials - Casting

Casting Algorithm

To manage player preferences on characters and perform assignment with an algorithm, activate the "Casting" feature.

In the Event configuration panel, set those values:

When a player is signed up and has fewer assigned characters than the Assignments limit, an additional navigation bar button will appear, allowing them to request or select more characters.

For each preference, the player first selects a faction on the left, then a character on the right.

Once the number of preferences entered is between the defined Minimum Preferences and Maximum Preferences, they can be submitted.

Players may update their preferences at any time before the character assignment.

Recommended number of preferences:

3 - 4 if the event has fewer than 30 characters

5 - 6 if between 30 and 50 characters

7 - 8 if more than 50 characters

If Show Statistics is checked, each unassigned character will display a graph showing how many players have selected them as a preference.

You can assign a priority to each ticket type, giving players with certain tickets a higher chance of receiving their preferred characters.

A new Priority field is now available in the ticket edit form.

When ready to assign characters, go to the Casting panel. 

At the top of the page, you'll see a summary indicating if any players have not submitted preferences or if any characters have received no preferences. 

Note: The number of characters available for assignment is calculated as all characters minus those that received no preferences. If this number exceeds the number of players who submitted preferences, the algorithm will fail.

Then you'll find a selection of the players to perform assignment: 

You can select the list of ticket types, and the status of payment. If you have activated the Factions, you'll also find a selection on the characters to make available for assignment: 

The list of player preference is shown in the middle of the page: 

The first column contains a selector to choose which players to include in the assignment.
The second column shows the casting priority based on the ticket selected by the player.
The following columns display the list of each player's character preferences.

By default, all preferences are active in the algorithm (YES). You can block a preference by clicking it, changing it to NO, which excludes it from consideration. Clicking again will reactivate it.

Clicking "Start Algorithm" runs a simulation of the assignment based on the current player selections, preferences, and configuration data.

At then end of the page, you'll see the results of the simulation: 

Review the simulation results carefully. When confirmed, click "Upload" to finalize and assign the characters.

If "Field for exclusions" is selected, an additional field will appear in the player’s preferences, allowing them to explicitly exclude certain themes.

This information will then be shown in the casting's list, under column "Avoid": 

To make an informed decision on which character preferences to block for each player, use the available data and distribution indicators.

For the algorithm to find a solution, preferences must be reasonably distributed among characters. If too many players select the same few characters, the algorithm may fail.

In such cases, set a value for "Additional Preferences" in the configuration. This will assign each player a random set of preferences from characters who received none, improving feasibility - but may result in some players being assigned characters they did not choose.

Mirror

If you want players to select preferences while keeping characters secret, use the Mirror feature.

When this option is enabled, a new field appears on the character edit form, allowing you to define the mirrored version of the character that will be shown to players instead of the actual character:

Example: in your game, the baker is secretly the killer, but you want to hide this from players. First create the public-facing character "The Baker", and then create another character "The Killer", and in its Mirror field, select "The Baker".

Players who want to play the antagonist will submit preferences for "The Killer". If the casting algorithm assigns a player to "The Killer", they will actually be assigned "The Baker".

Direct preferences for "The Baker" are ignored, preventing the character from being assigned to players who did not explicitly choose to play the secret role.