Kage OPS: Events and Line-ups for Gaming Guilds

Kage OPS is the Kage Gaming web app. It is a program of its own in the browser, separate from the dashboard, and plans events and line-ups for guilds, clans and teams. Planning and administration happen in the web app. Sign-ups, announcements and the finished line-up run through the Kage bot in Discord.

The web app is not tied to one game. You set up formats, classes, roles and values yourself. A short walkthrough is in the guide Planning guild events.

Requirements and sign-in

• Plan: The plan notice at the top of this page shows which plan is needed. The dashboard of your server shows a card for the web app.
• Sign-in: You sign in to the web app with Discord and choose your server. The sign-in lasts up to 30 days. Kage re-checks roles and membership about every 15 minutes.
• Bot permissions: For announcements and line-ups the bot needs permission to write and to embed in the chosen channel.
• Character: Anyone who wants to sign up for events needs a character. Each member creates their own in the web app.

The flow of an event

An event goes through these stages:

1. Create the event: Choose a format and enter title, description, start time, time zone, sign-up deadline and the maximum number of participants (up to 500). The groups come from the format. You can adjust them or load a saved template. A group holds up to 100 slots.
2. Design the Discord post: Set the announcement channel, optionally a role to mention, a banner (PNG, JPEG, WebP or GIF), a colour and the language of the post (German or English).
3. Publish: Set the status to Open. Kage posts the event with three buttons for accept, maybe and decline. The post updates with every sign-up and with every change to the event.
4. Distribute: Place the sign-ups into groups and roles (see below).
5. Post the line-up: Kage publishes the groups in Discord (see below).
6. Follow up: Mark who did not show up and evaluate the sign-ups in the statistics.

When the status changes to Locked or Cancelled, Kage also sends a short status message to the channel.

Signing up with a Discord button

Below the event post there are three buttons: accept, maybe and decline. Only the person who clicked sees the reply. The post counts the sign-ups live.

• The button offers all classes of your character automatically, in the order of your priority. If you have not created a class yet, the reply points that out with a link.
• Without a character you get a link to create one.
• An event with the status Draft, Done or Cancelled accepts no sign-ups. With the status Locked only declines work.
• You go on the bench in the web app, on the event itself. The button in Discord only knows accept, maybe and decline.
• If the guild has set a required role, you need that role to accept. Admins and event managers are exempt. Banned members cannot sign up.

Groups and distribution

You place sign-ups into groups and roles by hand with drag and drop. Next to them there are two lists: reserve and bench.

The automatic distribution makes a suggestion. It only considers sign-ups answered with "yes" and works with the classes each member offers for this event, in the order of their priority. An admin sets the order of the criteria:

• Preview: Before applying, Kage shows the suggested distribution without saving anything.
• Pinned slots: Slots you pin stay untouched by the automatic distribution. When you reset, you can keep them.
• At the deadline: For a series with the option "distribute automatically", Kage distributes as soon as the sign-up deadline of an event has passed.
• You can change any placement by hand afterwards.

Publishing the line-up

With Post line-up Kage publishes all groups in Discord. The channel is the "Post line-up" channel of the event. If none is set, Kage uses the announcement channel of the event or of the series. Without a channel the web app reports that none is set. At least one person must be placed.

• Every placed member gets a direct message with group and role the first time you publish.
• For formats with sides you can publish one side on its own.
• If the placement changes afterwards, you can notify the affected members. Only members whose slot changed get a message.
• If a class has a server emoji as its symbol, it appears in Discord in front of the role name.

Recurring dates: series

For dates such as "every Saturday at 20:30" you create a series. Kage creates the events ahead of time and publishes them right away, without you releasing each one.

• Weekdays: one or more from Monday to Sunday.
• Time and time zone: format HH:MM.
• Lead time: Kage creates the dates 1 to 8 weeks ahead. The default is 2 weeks.
• Sign-up deadline: if you like, that many hours before the start (up to 720).
• Announcement: a channel and a role of their own for the series.
• Distribution: if you like, automatically after the sign-up deadline.
• Pausing: A paused series creates no new dates.

What members do

• Create a character: name, up to 9 classes with a priority, and the values the admin defines as attributes, for example gear or combat values.
• State preferences: preferred group, preferred side and a short note for the placement. The admin can adjust the labels and options or hide the card.
• Statistics: A card shows your own reliability if the admin leaves it switched on.
• Calendar: All events at a glance. The character area shows the secret subscription link to all members, as long as an admin has not switched the calendar subscription off. All members get the same link. The feed contains open, locked, done and cancelled events, no drafts. Only an admin can invalidate the old link with "Regenerate".
• Guides: A library of build guides. You compare their target values with your own values.
• Videos: YouTube links of the guild with a category. For recordings you can discuss entries with comments. You choose whether everyone or only selected members see an entry. Entries are removed automatically after 14 days. With "Watch together" you ask the uploader by direct message.

What admins and event managers set up

Administration carries most of the customisation:

• Formats: your own kinds of event with groups, role targets, sides and participant count. A format can be active or inactive without being deleted. Event templates can be saved.
• Classes: a catalogue with name, colour and symbol. The symbol is an uploaded image or a server emoji, never both.
• Attributes: your own values for characters, number or percent, matching your game.
• Special roles: your own roles such as commander, which you assign to individual people in the event.
• Distribution criteria: the order of the three criteria.
• Announcements: scheduled messages with title, text, channel, optional role, weekdays and time. They repeat or run once and can be linked to an event.
• Appearance: guild name, logo, accent colour, background colour and background image (images for logo and symbols up to 2 MB, background up to 5 MB). You can also change the navigation labels and the names of the member roles.
• Visibility: which channels and roles the web app offers in its selection fields.
• Statistics and history: accepts and declines, bench, no-shows and a log of all changes.

Permissions

An admin or event manager grants the right to create events of a format per format and person. Event managers and admins do not need it. Only an admin grants the event manager level.

Switching functions on and off

Four functions can be hidden for the whole server. This only hides the interface, it does not change permissions:

Settings at a glance

Checking the result

1. Sign in: Open the web app from the dashboard and sign in with Discord. Your server appears.
2. Format and classes: In the admin area create a class and a format, and create a character as a member.
3. Publish an event: Create an event and set it to Open. The post with the three buttons appears in the channel.
4. Accepting: As a member click the accept button. The post counts the sign-up.
5. Distribute: Open the preview of the automatic distribution and apply it. Then post the line-up.

Troubleshooting

The event post does not appear in Discord

Check that the event has the status Open and that an announcement channel is set. The bot needs permission to write and to embed there. Without a channel Kage reports that no announcement channel is set up.

Clicking accept gives a link to the character

Create the character in the web app. The link is in the reply. Only then can you sign up.

The acceptance is rejected

The status of the event does not allow it (Draft, Locked, Done, Cancelled), you lack the required role of the format, or you are banned. For admins and event managers the required role does not apply.

Nobody gets distributed

The automatic distribution only takes sign-ups answered with "yes". Also check whether the groups have role targets for the offered classes. A group without a target for a class does not take that class.

"Nobody assigned yet" when posting the line-up

At least one person must sit in a group. Distribute first.

I do not see a calendar link

An admin has switched the calendar subscription off. Then only admins see the link. Ask an admin to switch it on under "Functions" in the administration. You also need a character, because the link is in the character area.

I do not see the administration

Administration is for admins and event managers. You can see your level in the member list of the administration.

Limits

• The web app plans events and line-ups. It does not read data from the game. You enter values yourself.
• The automatic distribution is a suggestion based on fixed rules.
• Kage OPS sends no automatic reminder before an event. To remind people, use a scheduled announcement (see above).
• You go on the bench only in the web app, not with the button in Discord.

Further reading

The dashboard shows whether your server may use the web app: Plans, trial and subscription. Your own voice channels for every game round: Temporary voice channels. Votes on your server: Polls.