How Operator Data Works
Operators are the shared building blocks across all Origin sites — their ratings, bonuses, regions, and details. To keep them consistent everywhere, operator data is managed centrally and sent out to the sites that use it. This page explains how an operator update travels to your site, how you can customize an operator locally without losing that update, and where the data originally comes from.
How an update reaches your site
An operator change follows a deliberate path — it does not appear on every site the instant someone types it:
- Edited centrally — Someone updates an operator in Origin Admin. The change is recorded, but not yet sent anywhere.
- Published & broadcast — When the change is ready, it's explicitly published and broadcast to the sites that subscribe to that operator.
- Received by your site — Your site is notified of the change (or checks for pending changes).
- Applied — The change is merged into your operator, respecting any local customizations you've made.
Editing an operator in Origin Admin doesn't push it live everywhere on its own. Someone has to publish and broadcast it. If an expected change hasn't shown up on your site, the most common reason is that it hasn't been broadcast yet — not that something is broken.
Automatic mode
Broadcast changes are applied to your operators as they arrive, with no manual step. Best when you want your site to stay in lock-step with central data.
Review (manual) mode
Broadcast changes wait in a pending list for someone to review. You can preview each change and then apply or dismiss it. Best when you want a human check before operator data changes on your site.
Overrides: customizing an operator without breaking sync
Sometimes you need an operator's details to differ on your site — a different bonus description, a tweaked rating. When you edit an operator field locally, Origin remembers that you've taken ownership of that field.
From then on, central broadcasts update everything except the fields you've overridden. Your local version wins for those fields, while the rest of the operator keeps syncing normally. This means you can safely customize what you need without cutting your operator off from future updates.
Once you override a field, that field stops receiving central updates — that's the whole point, but it also means a later improvement made centrally won't reach that field on your site. If you want an overridden field to start following central data again, it needs to be cleared so sync can take back over
Where operator data comes from
Much of the operator data originates from an external source (the Harvester feed) before it ever reaches your site. That external data isn't trusted blindly: it's brought into Origin Admin, reviewed, and only then applied onto the master operator records. From that point it follows the normal publish-and-broadcast path described above.
The practical takeaway: there's a human review step near the source, so newly available external data may sit for a while before it's approved, broadcast, and finally reaches your site.
Frequently Asked Questions
- I know an operator changed centrally — why isn't it on my site?
Check three things in order: has the change been published and broadcast in Origin Admin; is your site in review mode with the change waiting in the pending list; and have you overridden that specific field locally (which stops it updating).
- If I edit an operator on my site, does it change everywhere else?
No. Local edits stay on your site and mark that field as overridden. Central data flows one way — out to sites — not back.
- Can I undo an override?
Yes. Clearing your local override lets central sync resume control of that field on the next broadcast.
- How fresh is the external (Harvester) data?
It passes through a review step before being applied centrally, so it's intentionally not real-time. Expect a delay between data becoming available externally and it appearing on your site.