Ticket Lifecycle

Every state the game backend can observe, and what moves a ticket between them.

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> Active: CreateTicket
    Active --> Resolved: match formed → match.created
    Active --> Cancelled: CancelTicket
    Active --> Expired: expiration_ttl_secs elapsed → ticket.expired
    Active --> Removed: queue cleared / retired / params changed → ticket.removed
    Resolved --> Active: ReactivateTickets
    Resolved --> [*]: terminal_retention_ttl_secs elapsed
    Cancelled --> [*]: terminal_retention_ttl_secs elapsed
    Expired --> [*]: terminal_retention_ttl_secs elapsed
    Removed --> [*]

State	Meaning
Active	Waiting in the pool and eligible for matching
Resolved	Committed to a formed match. No longer matchmaking
Cancelled	Withdrawn by the caller via CancelTicket
Expired	Aged out unmatched after expiration_ttl_secs
Removed	Taken out of the pool by a configuration change, retirement, or a pool clear

Reactivating resolved tickets

Resolved → Active via ReactivateTickets is the only way to undo a match that cannot be honoured, and it exists only while the ticket is still retained. Once terminal_retention_ttl_secs elapses the ticket is gone and the player needs a fresh CreateTicket.

This makes terminal_retention_ttl_secs an integration parameter rather than a cleanup detail: it is the width of the compensation window. See When provisioning fails.

Terminal states are terminal

Cancelled, Expired, and Removed never return to Active. Reactivation applies to Resolved tickets only. A ticket that expired was never matched, so there is nothing to compensate for. Re-queue those players with a new ticket instead.