Hear ye, hear ye!

Lords and Ladies, Gentlemenn and Gentlewomenn, this is it, the moment you’ve been waiting for! For the first time in gaming history, as far as we are aware, you will be able to vote on the world you will be inhabiting. Never before has this been done on this scale for a massive multiplayer online game. You have the chance to join us in making gaming history! Starting next week, pledged members of the Chronicles of Elyria community will be able to participate in one of the first major milestone events that will forever shape Elyria, for all servers across the world.

With this unprecedented approach, players will take part in a process that has traditionally been the domain of game designers. We're super excited to see what the players decide!!

Requirements to participate

To take part in map voting, you must:

• Have a CLAIMED pledge package of Elyrian or higher
• Have a Chronicles of Elyria account in good standing (banned accounts are not eligible to participate in Map Voting)

Note: You do not need to have a package to view the maps, but you do need a package to vote.

For mobile users: While the map voting pages are mobile-friendly, we recommend using a desktop computer to view maps at maximum resolution.

Rules & Guidelines

All Chronicles of Elyria Terms of Use, Code of Conduct, and other guidelines and policies will apply to Server Map Voting.

1. Participants will vote on a special landing page by navigating to https://chroniclesofelyria.com/map-voting.
2. Voting will be done in two (2) rounds (Map Pool Voting, and Final Map Voting), with the goal of each round being slightly different.
   a. The goal of round one (1) is to determine 5 maps for each server to vote on in round two (2). These maps will be drawn from a single pool of twenty (20) maps, and each map may only be added to a single server's round 2 voting options.
   b. The goal of round 2 is to determine, from a set of 5 unique maps per server, which map containing the starting continent will be the map for that server.
3. Oceanus (OCE) does not participate in round 1 as they already have a unique set of 5 archipelago-style maps. As such, the voting option for Oceanus (OCE) will not be a valid selection in round 1.
4. A participant’s voting power is equal to their total Influence at the end of the voting round.
5. Participants can cast a number of votes equal to the number of Sparks of Life they possess either from packages or a la carte purchases.
6. Each vote cast divides a user's influence by the new total number of votes made.
   E.g.: A single vote would be equal to 100% of a user's Influence. A second vote would split the first and the second vote into 50% each. A third vote would split each vote into 33% of their total Influence. The more times a person votes, the less each vote is worth. A person can vote on a server more than once in order to distribute their Influence to their liking for example: 2 votes on map A, and 1 vote on map B, would be a 66%-33% split.
7. Participants may distribute their votes across servers and maps in whatever amounts they wish, from their total number of Sparks of Life.
8. Users cannot exchange, buy, or sell their votes for money in real life. Any users found in violation will be banned from the community.
9. Users can campaign for different maps by using the official server forums and a Map Voting channel in the official Discord, but should not post about maps in any other forums on our website or any other channels in our Discord. Misplaced posts will be closed or moved. Misplaced chat messages will be deleted.
10. Estimated results will be continuously displayed in Round 1 as voting occurs to encourage discussion, with the final tally happening at the end of the Round. Results will be hidden in Round 2...to protect from bias.
11. Users that cast at least one vote will receive a forum badge once badges are enabled.
12. All votes are final and cannot be changed in any way. Requests to change them won't be considered.
    a. Final calculations will be done at end of each round. Results during the round are estimates due to the nature of IP and the number of used votes per user.

Voting Rounds

Map voting occurs in 2 rounds.

The Map Voting page will allow you to:

• Select a server you are interested in voting for
  
  • Angelica (NA-W)
  • Luna (NA-E)
  • Selene (EU)
  • Oceanus (OCE) has its own unique pool of maps, so they will not participate in Round 1
• View the gallery of maps available
  
  • Map images will be reduced in size if you are on mobile
• Vote using your available votes
  
  • You can cast any number of votes at a time from your available votes

Round-specifics:

Round 1

Round 1 is defined as Map Pool Voting.

Only Selene (EU), Luna (NA-E) and Angelica (NA-W) servers will participate in the Map Pool Voting round. (This is because we are creating specialized archipelago maps for Oceanus (OCE)).

• This period lasts 11 days. Round 1 starts on October 22nd at 12pm PDT, and ends on November 2nd at 12pm PDT, 2018.
• During Map Pool Voting, the details of the maps will be hidden. This is to encourage a focus on the geopolitical boundaries and mechanics of the map, and not the aesthetics. The only things that will be visible are the continent shape and biome, kingdom, and duchy boundaries.
• You can view the results of the current votes during this round.
  
  • Results will be shown for each of the 3 servers being voted on in this round, regardless of your personal votes cast.
  • We will provide the results of all maps on the server, regardless of how many votes they've received.

Note: Oceania (OCE) does not vote on maps for their server during this round, however our Oceanic players are encouraged to vote on maps for any servers they intend to play on.

Round 1 Map Selection

To ensure each server is given a selection of maps they like during round 2, while still giving people a voice in which maps they have available to them, we use the following process to determine the votes during round 1.

1. Your influence and votes are used to determine the order of the maps on your server. This is how you influence the maps you want to vote on.
2. We take the first place maps on each server and assign them in a round-robin manner , then second place, then third place....
3. If there is a tie for a map on 2 or more servers for the same place, we use the absolute unique number of accounts that voted for that map on that server to break the tie.
4. The server that did not get the map has their next map moved up into the slot, ensuring they get their next favorite map.

Round 2

Note: Before round 2 begins, each account's available votes will be reset so there's no need to save votes in round 1.

This round is defined as Final Map Voting. All servers will participate in Final Map Voting.

• This period lasts 11 days. Round 2 starts on November 5th at 12pm PST, and ends on November 16th at 12pm PST, 2018
  
  • Maps will contain additional details than Map Pool Voting and include topographical data, additional coloring and shading
  • Each server will have a unique set of 5 maps to choose from
• Results will not be shown during round 2 but will be announced to the community shortly after the voting period concludes

How do I vote?

Once you are logged in and visit the Map Voting Page, you can vote. Here's a step-by-step list of the instructions you'll need to follow:

1. Select a server you are interested in viewing maps or casting votes for. You won't be able to view maps unless you select a server.
2. Once you've selected a server, you will be presented with a gallery of map thumbnails. Browse the maps to see which ones you like.
3. Once you have selected a map it will be highlighted to indicate it is the map you've selected. You will have an ability to view a larger image.
4. There is a vote button both below the collection of maps on the main voting page and in the lightbox of enlarged images.. This button will only be visible if you are logged in and have available votes to cast.
5. Once you decide on a map, click the vote button and you will be presented with the ability to vote using 1 to the maximum of your available votes for that map. Your votes are based on the number of Sparks of Life you possess. Decide wisely, after you commit your votes to a map and confirm, you cannot take it back or reverse it.
6. Repeat this process until all of the votes you wish to cast have been cast. You do not need to do all of your voting in one session. Your available votes will remain if you need to come back at another time to finish. Just make sure you finish before the deadline!

That's it, once all your votes are spent, you are done. You can still participate in the discussion in the server-specific forums. You can still participate in the special Map Voting Discord channel.

Outcome

Having backers vote on the maps for the servers aligns with our community-centric development approach. It allows each server to be unique, right from the start, and sets the stage for the Dance of Dynasties, trade routes, enemies and allies, conflicts, and even weather patterns! It exemplifies what we've long said and what our community has come to believe - that Chronicles of Elyria is something new and different.

After both rounds of voting conclude, we will tally up the final results and post an announcement about which maps you have chosen on our website. That's right - you. Because while Elyria is a world being built for its inhabitants, it's inhabitants will have the ultimate say in what world they want to inhabit. Talk about terraforming!

So join us in 4 short days when Map Voting begins! We expect to see massive community engagement as players plot and plan and hope and dream, as they are empowered to make their personal vision of Elyria a reality.

Until Monday!