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). The match waits until Match.MinPlayers are present.
2. Countdown — a Match.CountdownSeconds timer runs. Players sit in spawn cages 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 fire.
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 shatter open. Cages are configurable in the Cages section — block type (with 12 colored glass variants), radius, and height — and they scale up for larger teams.

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 briefly 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), with configurable burst count, height, scale, and particle set.
• Run any Rewards.WinnerCommands and pay out economy rewards.

Death & spectating

When a player dies (and Match.SpectateOnDeath is on) they become a spectator — flying, invulnerable, and invisible to the living. See Spectating.