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Automated drawing is a fairly new addition to the Diplomacy Adjudicator. It is facilitated with two commands: SET [NO]DIAS and SET [NO]DRAW.
The term "DIAS" means "Draws Include All Survivors". In a game designated as DIAS, a surviving player cannot be excluded from a draw. In a NoDIAS game, a surviving player may give up his right to be included in a draw. In either case, unanimous approval of surviving players is required for a draw to be passed.
By default, all games are DIAS. The moderator can change this with the SET NODIAS or SET DIAS commands.
In a DIAS game, a player may cast his vote for a draw by issuing the command SET DRAW. He may veto earlier approval by issuing the command SET NODRAW. If at any time all surviving players accede to a DIAS draw, the game will be immediately terminated, and all participants in the game will be informed of the result.
The situation for NoDIAS games is a bit more complex. To vote for a NoDIAS draw, a player issues the command SET DRAW [drawlist], where [drawlist] is a list of the identifiers for the powers he wishes included in the draw. When a player gives approval to [drawlist] and [drawlist] includes his own power, he is also implicitly approving any subset of [drawlist] that also includes his power. On the other hand, when a player gives approval to [drawlist] and [drawlist] does not include his own power, he is implicitly approving any subset of [drawlist], and any subset of [drawlist] including his own power.
For example, if Austria issued the command SET DRAW AEG, he is approving the draws AEG, AG, AE, or A. Note that by including himself in his draw list, he is assuring that he cannot be excluded from a draw. If Austria issued the command SET DRAW FT, he is approving FT, F, T, AFT, AF, AT, or A.
If, under these rules, more than one draw is approved by all players, the draw including the most players passes.
In a NoDIAS game, SET NODRAW is equivalent to the command SET DRAW x, where x is the power issuing the command. This means that the player will only accept a concession to himself.
Here are a few examples of the draw mechanism in action. The players listed are assumed to be the only survivors.
France: SET DRAW AEF
England: SET DRAW AEF
Austria: SET DRAW AEF
Results in a three-way draw between Austria, England, and France.
France: SET DRAW AE
England: SET DRAW AEF
Austria: SET DRAW AEF
Results in a three-way draw between Austria, England, and France.
France: SET DRAW AE
England: SET DRAW AEF
Austria: SET DRAW AE
Results in a two-way draw between Austria and England.
France: SET DRAW AEF
England: SET DRAW AE
Austria: SET DRAW AE
This game does not end in a draw.
France: SET DRAW A
England: SET DRAW A
Austria: SET NODRAW
Results in a concession to Austria.
Any draw vote, DIAS or NoDIAS, is good for one phase only. All draw votes are cleared at the end of a phase. A drawn game may be restarted with the RESUME command.
Questions or comments about the draw system may be directed (for now) to its programmer, Jonathan Haas, at [email protected].