Let me start off by saying thank you, for the work you're doing, for the work that everyone doing work on this is doing.
Next I want to work on a basic "unit application" workflow. Unit listing page would have a column allowing a user to request an open unit (and only registered accounts would be able to do this -- part of the workflow to make it easier on the admins); one-click application, and request goes into the league admin's pending queue for further action. The overall idea is to streamline the unit setup process, by eliminating the massive amount of work it took in past NBTs, for both prospective unit and league admin. Requiring active NBT automation accounts in order to request a unit is part of that.
Will players still be able to select a unit they want to play in, or will they only be allowed to join in open units? Please correct me if I'm wrong, but if I do understand correctly, you're basically saying the League Admins will be doing all of the work placing people? I would have thought you would want the Unit Commander's to set up and take applications and, on approval by the Unit CO (or their designated representative), then the account would go to the League Admins for approval? Or, am I misunderstanding altogether, and what you're talking about is just the coding for the more basic processes, and those will be fleshed out, later?
The plan is not to make everyone wait for a finished, polished product (which, with just one developer, would take several more months) but instead, to roll out what we have when we have it, get started with some basic systems, and flesh it out from there, as we go along. There will be bumps, and headaches, and missteps doing it this way, but hopefully we can pull it off smoothly enough that it's not a factor.
This is what I'm worried about concerning my questions a minute ago, is that maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit. PGI have said they want to support 'third-party' leagues as much as possible, so I presume there will be room in the NBT-MWO automation for what they're dropping?
I know it's a lot of questions, but those who can't do, ask, right?
I think my biggest concern, both with MWO and MWT -as Armageddon Unlimited is going to be involved in both of those and, perhaps, other games- is with the unit interface. Now, PGI are developing a Merc Unit Creation module, which I expect to be out either the first or second Tuesday of August -no, they have not been explicit to say that, though in Dev Vlog #6 it was hinted at that immediately after the module, in the next couple of months, they would be refocusing on other areas of CW-, and I am utterly clueless -and champing at the bit, it's fair to say- how it will look or the level of functionality it's going to have. I am hoping for the best and preparing for disappointment.
I know you guys have likely tossed back and forth a couple of ideas for unit management tools, but have nothing concrete, at this time, nor should you have, but one thing I've always -and I mean since 1997- wanted to see was a system where options and modules are available for COs to use, but they either have to set up their own Merc Unit Management Interface, whatever it is they want to use, perhaps picking and choosing them from a series of pre-built modules, or have tutorials made available for how to set up, and make work, their own modules from scratch, basically, or both.
This is just an idea, just something to make some folks go "Hmmmm".