Match Flow

Every match runs in its own disposable world cloned from the map's template, then goes through a fixed lifecycle. Most timings are configurable in the Match and Effects config sections.

Lifecycle

1. Waiting — players join (directly, via queue, or as a party) and are placed on an island — shuffled per match when Match.RandomizeSpawns is on. The match waits until Match.MinPlayers are present.
2. Countdown — a Match.CountdownSeconds timer runs. Players sit in spawn cages with a locked hotbar (kit selector + return to lobby) and can pick a kit. The countdown shortens to 5 seconds when the arena fills up.
3. Start grace — a brief Match.StartGraceSeconds delay as cages open and the world settles.
4. Active — combat is live. Loot your island and the middle, then fight. The match caps at Match.MaxDurationSeconds.
5. Ending — once resolved, a Match.EndCelebrationSeconds celebration plays: the victory podium rises and fireworks keep launching for the whole window.
6. Cleanup — the world is torn down and players return to the lobby.

Spawn cages

While the countdown runs, each player (or team) is enclosed in a cage so nobody can move or fight early. On start the cages drop away — and for arenas whose cages sit high above the island, everyone is immune to fall damage for the first Cages.FallImmunitySeconds (default 5), so the drop can't hurt anyone.

Each cage is a prefab from the cages/ folder, placed with its anchor on the spawn. Which one a player gets: their own cage cosmetic, else the arena default, else default. A prefab is a fixed size — it does not grow with team size. See Cages for authoring, orientation, and the per-arena default.

The void

Falling below the arena is fatal. When a player drops into the void they're eliminated — including the very last player, who is routed cleanly into spectator mode rather than falling forever.

Winning, draws & time-up

• Last team standing wins.
• If the clock runs out with exactly one team alive, that team wins; otherwise the match ends as a draw / time-up with no winner.
• Winners are made invulnerable during the celebration so nothing can spoil the podium.

Victory

On a win, AeroWars can:

• Raise the winner(s) onto a podium above the arena center (Effects.PodiumEnabled).
• Play a firework show from the arena center (Effects.VictoryFireworks) that keeps launching for the whole Match.EndCelebrationSeconds, with configurable burst count, height, scale, and particle set — or the winner's victory cosmetic.
• Run any Rewards.WinnerCommands and pay out economy rewards.

Death & spectating

When a player dies (and Match.SpectateOnDeath is on) they become a spectator on Hytale's native spectator mode — flying through blocks, invulnerable, and invisible to the living. See Spectating.