Introduction to Frontier

Introduction to Frontier

Frontier is a fully server-side competitive ranked battling system for Cobblemon Fabric servers. Matchmaking queues, Glicko-2 ratings, seasonal competitions, team validation, configurable formats, and cross-server queueing — everything you need to run a competitive ladder on your server.

Why Frontier?

Cobblemon has the battle engine, but no ranked infrastructure. Frontier fills that gap:

• Players queue up and get matched against opponents of similar skill
• Ratings update after each match using Glicko-2 (or Showdown-style K-scaling)
• Seasons give structure with milestones, end-of-season rewards, and leaderboards
• Formats and clauses enforce competitive rules before matches begin
• Tournaments run bracket-style competitions with NPC autofill, locked teams, and webhooks
• Random battles generate Showdown-compatible teams across Gen 1-9
• Arenas teleport players to dedicated battle locations
• Cross-server queueing lets players on lobby servers enter ranked ladders and transfer to a dedicated battle server
• Spectators watch matches live with an ML-powered cinematic camera

Core Systems at a Glance

Frontier is built around several focused systems that work together. Start with a single ladder and arena — add complexity as your community grows.

Ranked Ladders : Each ladder has its own format, rating pool, and rank tiers. Players climb from Poke Ball to Beast Ball (or whatever tiers you configure).

Matchmaking Queue : Players join a queue for a specific ladder. The system searches for opponents within a rating range that expands over time — tight matches early, broader search as wait time increases. Anti-boost protection prevents rating manipulation from repeated matchups.

Direct Challenges : Players can challenge each other directly on any ladder. The challenged player receives an invitation and can accept or decline. Players can toggle whether they receive challenges at all.

Team Validation : Before joining a queue, the player’s team is validated against the format’s rules. Species bans, move bans, ability bans, item bans, level caps, legality checks, and custom MoLang-based clauses — all enforced before battle starts.

Seasons : Configurable date ranges with milestone rewards (triggered during play) and season-end rewards (distributed when the season closes). Ratings reset between seasons — hard, soft, or none.

Arenas : Dedicated battle locations with player spawn points and optional spectator positions. Players teleport in for matches and return to their original position afterward.

Team Preview : Before battle begins, both players see both teams and select their lead order. Configurable per-format: pick counts, hidden opponent teams, random lead selection.

Tournament System : Fully automated tournament brackets with single and double elimination, NPC autofill, waitlists, locked teams, best-of series, and rating integration. Tournaments progress through a lifecycle: scheduled, registration, locked, active, concluded.

Random Battles : Showdown-compatible random team generation spanning Gen 1 through Gen 9. Random battle ladders assign each player a freshly generated team, removing teambuilding as a variable.

Spectating : Players can spectate ongoing ranked matches and tournament matches. Includes an ML-powered cinematic camera system with dynamic angles. Spectators can toggle the camera and provide feedback to improve camera behavior.

GUI System : Full suite of server-side GUIs: hub menu, ladder dashboard, leaderboard, team preview, challenge invitation, rules viewer, rewards display, tournament hub, bracket viewer, and recipient picker.

Integrations

Integration	Description
MiniPlaceholders	Exposes rating, rank, wins, losses, and other stats as placeholders
Replay recording	Record and store battle replays
Custom sounds	Configurable sound events for queue pops, match starts, victories, and other events

Default Ladders

Frontier ships with nine ready-to-use ladders out of the box:

Ladder	Format
Singles	Standard 6v6 singles
Doubles	Standard 6v6 doubles
VGC	VGC-style bring-6-pick-4 doubles
VGC Reg F	VGC-style with Regulation F rules
VGC No Gimmicks	VGC with all gimmicks banned
Monotype	All Pokemon must share a type
Little Cup	Base-form Pokemon at level 5
Open	Unrestricted, no bans or clauses
Random Battle	Randomized teams, singles
Random Doubles	Randomized teams, doubles

Requirements

Dependency	Version
Minecraft	1.21.1 (Fabric)
Fabric Loader	0.17.2+
Cobblemon	1.7.3+
Ceremony	4.7.1+

Configuration Structure

All configuration uses HOCON files in config/frontier/. Every file auto-generates with sensible defaults on first launch. Changes can be applied without restart using /ranked reload.

config/frontier/
├── config.conf
├── random-battles.conf
├── formats.conf
├── clauses.conf
├── messages.conf
├── gimmick-items.conf
├── ladders.conf
├── seasons/
│   └── ...
├── arenas.conf
├── tournaments/
│   └── <id>/tournament.conf
├── random-battles/
│   └── ...
└── guis/
    └── ...

Next Steps

Ready to get started? Here’s the recommended path:

1. Installation Guide — Get Frontier running on your server
2. Quick Start — Five-minute setup walkthrough
3. Configuration Overview — Understand the config structure
4. Cross-Server Setup — Queue from lobby servers and battle on a dedicated orchestrator

Start Simple

Frontier works out of the box with sensible defaults. Install it, create one arena, and your players can start climbing the ladder immediately — fine-tune formats and seasons later.