Queue and Sessions

Every visit to a shop runs as a session. The session tracks the shopper’s place in the conversation, their cart, and their haggle results.

One shopper at a time

The Shop Queue field on the Settings tab of Shop Settings decides whether a shop serves one player at a time. While it is on, anyone who tries to enter during another player’s visit joins a line. While it is off, every player shops at once and the Queue tab is hidden. New shops start with the world’s Default Shop Queue setting, listed on the settings reference.

Hacker shops start with the queue off. See Hacker.

Turning the queue off while a visit is running clears the line. The shopper already inside keeps their visit.

A player cannot enter a queued shop while no GM is logged in.

Joining the queue

When a player opens a busy shop, a chip appears on their screen. The chip names the shop and shows their position in line. Its Leave button takes the player out of line. The chip’s screen corner is a world setting.

A player who disconnects loses their place after a short grace period.

The player’s turn

When the current shopper finishes, the first player in line gets an Enter Now? prompt with a sound cue. Enter opens the vignette. Leave Queue gives up the turn. If the player does not answer before the prompt’s countdown runs out, they lose their place. The countdown length is a world setting, and it can be turned off.

GM queue controls

The Queue tab of the shop settings window shows the shopper inside the shop, when their visit started, and the kind of node they are in. Below that, waiting players are listed in order.

The arrow buttons move a waiting player up or down the line, and the cross removes them from it. Force Close and Advance Queue Now both end the current visit and offer the next player their turn.

Resuming a visit

A visit interrupted by a disconnect or reload is kept. When the player returns, a Resume Your Visit? prompt offers Resume or Discard Visit. The same prompt appears if they reopen a shop where they have an unfinished visit. Resuming restores their place in the conversation and their cart. On a queued shop, a resumed visit goes back through the line first.

Cart items that are no longer in stock are removed on resume, and the player is told how many.

Saved carts

A player who ends a visit with items still in the cart has that cart saved. On their next visit to the same shop with the same character, a Restore Your Cart? prompt offers to put the items back.

Closing time and the shop token

When a shop with opening hours closes, any visit in progress ends with the keeper’s closing line.

The Token on Close field on the Settings tab of Shop Settings can hide or delete the shop’s tokens once the last player leaves and no one is waiting.

The history log

Visits, departures, and queue joins are recorded on the History tab of Shop Settings.