What happened to pre-game view, online spectators, replays and timer option?

[zappsweden]

1) Pre-game view:
A possibility for both players to view map, units and research before turn one begin. This prevents the host from setting up a cheating scenario.

2) Online spectators:
Do I even have to tell how cool it was in tournaments if ppl could watch the finals, LIVE?
AAR has been a success since day one (Zapp vs Rambo). Many players say they want more, that the AAR are too briefly explained. Those who like AAR would love spectator mode even more. The problem with AAR is that it takes much time. Another nice thing would be to have turns like chapters on a CD. I could leave my computer for 1 hour and go back watch the latest turn and control which turns I wanna see or perhaps rewatch them from the beginning again.

Especially cool would be playing a game of SC2 and simultaneously being connected to someone elses game, watching it while waiting for your opponents turn. Ofcourse, this implies that SC2 uses more than one port for communication.

3) Replays:
Similar to online spectators, turns are stored in a file and can be loaded from the main menu when starting SC2.


4) Timer Option:
So important. I want to avoid the 40 hour+ games. With a time limit I could play full games in 10 hours instead, more reasonable. There are good timing systems in chess.


Proposals:
System a) Initial Time X (minutes when game starts)+ Turn Time Y (minutes extra for each turn done)

System b) similar but make the time higher in the end game.


Example:
Say I play with 30 minutes+3 minutes. It means 30 minute of initial time to spend and 3 minutes extra for each turn played (adds up to the total).
One year is roughly 29 turns (14.5 turns per player). I play until 1947 i.e 8 years. That means a maximum of 30+30+8*29*3= 756 minutes i.e less than 13 hours.

[ April 19, 2004, 06:00 AM: Message edited by: zappsweden ]

[jon_j_rambo]

Yes indeed! The cool features are brought up again. Nothing like a timer, a shotclock. Players can play like chess with a "fixed game" total, OR have forced turn amounts, etc. This shouldn't be too tough to make.

Voyeur or Spectator mode. Allow people to watch the Heavyweight matches. This would be damn cool!

[zappsweden]

Another thing, if someone runs out of time it should automatically end turn (not lose the game). That means u can still continue the game and get the new time for next turn to spend.

[jon_j_rambo]

Zapp --- My long time opponent, you are very correct with this idea! In real-life one must make decisions, & quickly. Remember all the bitching about slow play?

[zappsweden]

Originally posted by jon_j_rambo:
Zapp --- My long time opponent, you are very correct with this idea! In real-life one must make decisions, & quickly. Remember all the bitching about slow play? Also, in handicap tournaments we could have time handicaps.
Say a group A and a group D player meet. Group A player gets 20+1.5 and group D player gets 40+5 minutes.

Also, imagine 10+1 blitz tournament smile.gif

[jon_j_rambo]

Nice idea, the game is Blitzkreig isn't it? Can't play slow, use time as a factor smile.gif

[Kuniworth]

good Zapp, very very good.

[jon_j_rambo]

What's up? doesn't anybody else want to watch the big games?

[Yohan]

Originally posted by jon_j_rambo:
What's up? doesn't anybody else want to watch the big games? Why would I spend time watching when I could be playing? :eek:

[Elmo]

Originally posted by jon_j_rambo:
What's up? doesn't anybody else want to watch the big games? Nope.

[zappsweden]

Originally posted by Yohan:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by jon_j_rambo:
What's up? doesn't anybody else want to watch the big games? Why would I spend time watching when I could be playing? :eek: </font>[/QUOTE]If SC2 allow it, you could both be playing a game and watch someones game at the same time i.e switching between the games while waiting for your opponent.

[pzgndr]

Yes indeed! The cool features are brought up again. And not forgotten. ;)

[Liam]

Originally posted by zappsweden:
1) Pre-game view:
A possibility for both players to view map, units and research before turn one begin. This prevents the host from setting up a cheating scenario.
&lt;Well, I think that the honor system should apply here with SC2 as it always has with other games. personally if you cannot trust one then you should not play them&gt;

2) Online spectators:
Do I even have to tell how cool it was in tournaments if ppl could watch the finals, LIVE?
Another nice thing would be to have turns like chapters on a CD. I could leave my computer for 1 hour and go back watch the latest turn and control which turns I wanna see or perhaps rewatch them from the beginning again.

Especially cool would be playing a game of SC2 and simultaneously being connected to someone elses game, watching it while waiting for your opponents turn. Ofcourse, this implies that SC2 uses more than one port for communication.

&lt;In most Major on-line IP Games, you can be a spectator.&lt;in fact they often disable chat and other functions so cheating or peeking isn't possible, could be a bit of a headache to program&gt; This is most interesting for newbies and for aficianodos alike. The difference with SC being that People love to watch this game. It's very addictive to witness every move. You can always delegate a Minor to someone who'd like to watch though, as a possability at least? As far as allowing spectators, it's still a very ify Programming feat I'm sure for Hubert&gt;

3) Replays:
Similar to online spectators, turns are stored in a file and can be loaded from the main menu when starting SC2.
&lt;Replays would be good for SC, as I've noticed I can't play enough to learn. I have to play upwards of 200-300 games to catch every nuisance or strategy. Most Popular games have Replays of some sort, and I would love to see this feature. Way back to the Command HQ Days it was kewl to watch&gt;


4) Timer Option:
So important. I want to avoid the 40 hour+ games. With a time limit I could play full games in 10 hours instead, more reasonable. There are good timing systems in chess.
&lt;Given the fact that some of us will be using slower connections a Timer will have to be decided on both parties involved, a great idea though, as some of you folks take 15 minutes to finish a turn that should take 2. Reasonable request&gt;

Proposals:
System a) Initial Time X (minutes when game starts)+ Turn Time Y (minutes extra for each turn done)

System b) similar but make the time higher in the end game.


Example:
Say I play with 30 minutes+3 minutes. It means 30 minute of initial time to spend and 3 minutes extra for each turn played (adds up to the total).
One year is roughly 29 turns (14.5 turns per player). I play until 1947 i.e 8 years. That means a maximum of 30+30+8*29*3= 756 minutes i.e less than 13 hours. &lt;Further remark on gametime, in Axis and Allies though the game is not similar, we have HouseRules and a Timer. Sometimes we setup that we can finish a whole game within 5-6 hours. Even less with a very able player and a good DSL/Cable Connection. 1 minute turns had it's popularity phaze and since I think fast, as some of you who've played will notice, I did well in that particular Field. I would say one of the top 10 1 minute timer players ;)

I myself, will say I hate people who take all night to finish a turn.. IP is for speed, play PBEM if you want to want to take 25 minutes per turn, or even 10 for that matter. A feature in itself that would kill the "BOREDOM" factor of waiting on a guy to do 50-100 clicks. If you're slow or disabled then let your oponent know ahead of time&gt;

[zappsweden]

Liam, about that peeking thing.
There are 2 FOW positions in SC. One for axis, one for allies. The ppl viewing the game would use a third FOW view. They would only see the units that BOTH axis and allies see and ofcourse the battles.

[jon_j_rambo]

Yo, Hans, whazzzz up? Why watch a game when you can play, I'll tell you why. What if you can't play a game? You might only have 30 minutes of time & Terif is playing a Top player? Why do football teams watch game film? Why do people record their golf swings & watch them? Why do golfers watch the Master's Golf Tournament? Why do actors, comediens, & entertainers watch films of themselves & competitors? It's called a method to get better. I can't believe I need to explain this...

Hey, I know another reason I'd like to watch a game. Lets pretend you're playing Elmo, Where's Waldo, or one of your little buddies. I'd love to watch for 30 seconds for a good laugh!

Laughing now, HaHaHa. Now I remember you from a while back. Why would you waste your time reading my posts? So you can learn smile.gif

[jon_j_rambo]

Hubert, I have a feeling you know this request is rather cool, but might require alot of work. Any comments?

-Legend

[zappsweden]

Originally posted by jon_j_rambo:
Hubert, I have a feeling you know this request is rather cool, but might require alot of work. Any comments?

-Legend The online spectator thing is the only thing that would need alot of work IMO.

[jon_j_rambo]

Yeah, the spectator thing would need some I/O work, wouldn't want to slow the game down. The timer feature needs to be done. Hubert, add it now, avoid "Feature Creep"

[Ron]

Originally posted by jon_j_rambo:
What's up? doesn't anybody else want to watch the big games? No. If included, that would probably rank as the most extraneous and least used "cool" feature in the history of gaming. It's ironic the screenshots hint at a wealth of new features and options yet what topics are people discussing?


Ron

[Kuniworth]

Ron, what is the matter with you?

YOu come by here insulting players that contributed far more to the game than you. Why dismiss ideas like that???

[Blashy]

I agree that as of now, apart from this being a full WW2 game and since it can be done with the editor.

Those features mentioned by Zapp are what is missing IMHO.

[jon_j_rambo]

Hubert, something tells me your thinking about this feature....Please start now, no feature creep design.

What are your thoughts, because you haven't posted?

[zappsweden]

Originally posted by Ron:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by jon_j_rambo:
What's up? doesn't anybody else want to watch the big games? No. If included, that would probably rank as the most extraneous and least used "cool" feature in the history of gaming. It's ironic the screenshots hint at a wealth of new features and options yet what topics are people discussing?


Ron </font>[/QUOTE]Hey Ron.
Firstly, learn to play SC (I'll see u up there on the top-10 rankings) before you start rebuking creative SC players. Say again, how many own topics have u started in the SC forum? None? Nah, did not think so.

There is no one forcing you to read this topic. Good day.

[KDG]

A timer would be nice(even though I only PBEM, but I could see nice uses for it against the AI making the game harder)

Being able to replay a complete game is also a nice feature(download them, watch, and learn)

Live watching isn't for me, but others might like it.

I think it should come down to programming time.

I'd choose the timer option first, then the next two. If its easy for Hubert to do all of them then great, but if it takes him two weeks of only programming this, then no.

[Shaka of Carthage]

Whats the matter with some of you?

If Ron's opinion doesn't agree with what you want, so what? He's more than entitled to express his wishes. And he was answering a question that was asked.

And giving him crap because of the number of his posts or the "rating" he has in tournament play is not cool.

[zappsweden]

Originally posted by Shaka of Carthage:
Whats the matter with some of you?

If Ron's opinion doesn't agree with what you want, so what? He's more than entitled to express his wishes. And he was answering a question that was asked.

And giving him crap because of the number of his posts or the "rating" he has in tournament play is not cool. Wrong. He was complaining about this being a topic. We do not need any patronising smack telling us what we are entitled to discuss and what we cannot discuss (unless it does not concern SC) thankyou very much. tongue.gif :D


I am pretty sure that if i showed up (dressed as an environment activist) in Rambos home pub (www.stubspub.com) in Boise and triumphantly said "Hey guys. How can you even sit here watching American Football while there are so much more important to do in our world?" I am sure I would be met with "booooooooh!" or "Mind your own business you moron!!". Rambo you know the crowd over there, Am I not right?

[ April 16, 2004, 02:33 PM: Message edited by: zappsweden ]

[Kuniworth]

Shaka; Ron did this in another thread as well. I have no intention of beeing unfriendly, but I think his attitude is somewhat uncalled for.

[Ron]

Shaka, it was a rare thing you did and I appreciate it.

FWIW you are mistaken Kuniworth. You can leave it at that or you can try to prove your point, I will leave it to you.


Ron

[Yohan]

Originally posted by zappsweden:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Ron:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by jon_j_rambo:
What's up? doesn't anybody else want to watch the big games? No. If included, that would probably rank as the most extraneous and least used "cool" feature in the history of gaming. It's ironic the screenshots hint at a wealth of new features and options yet what topics are people discussing?


Ron </font>[/QUOTE]Hey Ron.
...There is no one forcing you to read this topic. Good day. </font>[/QUOTE]Geez, Zapp, out of total sales of SC how many people would really want to watch someone else play for hours on end. I mean you already have almost no life if you play TCP/IP let alone watch &lt;g&gt;

Replays sure.

[Yohan]

Originally posted by zappsweden:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Shaka of Carthage:
Whats the matter with some of you?

If Ron's opinion doesn't agree with what you want, so what? He's more than entitled to express his wishes. And he was answering a question that was asked.

And giving him crap because of the number of his posts or the "rating" he has in tournament play is not cool. Wrong. He was complaining about this being a topic. We do not need any patronising smack telling us what we are entitled to discuss and what we cannot discuss (unless it does not concern SC) thankyou very much. tongue.gif :D


I am pretty sure that if i showed up (dressed as an environment activist) in Rambos home pub (www.stubspub.com) in Boise and triumphantly said "Hey guys. How can you even sit here watching American Football while there are so much more important to do in our world?" I am sure I would be met with "booooooooh!" or "Mind your own business you moron!!". Rambo you know the crowd over there, Am I not right? </font>[/QUOTE]Your asking Rambo to validate your point on this issue? :rolleyes:

[zappsweden]

Originally posted by Yohan:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by zappsweden:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Ron:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by jon_j_rambo:
What's up? doesn't anybody else want to watch the big games? No. If included, that would probably rank as the most extraneous and least used "cool" feature in the history of gaming. It's ironic the screenshots hint at a wealth of new features and options yet what topics are people discussing?


Ron </font>[/QUOTE]Hey Ron.
...There is no one forcing you to read this topic. Good day. </font>[/QUOTE]Geez, Zapp, out of total sales of SC how many people would really want to watch someone else play for hours on end. I mean you already have almost no life if you play TCP/IP let alone watch &lt;g&gt;

Replays sure. </font>[/QUOTE]Did you not read what I said? Being able to next/prev turns like when listening to music on a CD does not take hours. I can watch the highlights of someones game at the same time as waiting for my opponent, so it can be really fast. Anyway, watching a game is much much faster than playing it. A turn that takes 10 minutes playing might only take 1 minute watching.

I do not know how most ppl play SC but the real veterans press &lt;Escape&gt; as soon as turn is sent over to the opponent. After minimizing the SC with &lt;Escape&gt;, you can surf the net make a sandwich or watch the latest stock instead of keeping your eyes glued on the SC window. They return to SC window after some minutes and see the moves played in a fast sequence. Effective!

[ April 17, 2004, 07:07 AM: Message edited by: zappsweden ]

[jon_j_rambo]

Hubert, this is really a big issue. Timers, replays, & spectator mode. Do something that isn't been done by other games. Zapp is absolutely correct, I push "Done", then "Escape" because the majority of the players are slow. A quick replay would be cool.

Any comments from Battlefront?

This should all be easy to program.

Yo, Hans --- Many of us like to play alot of online games & want features. Being a demanding customer drives features & change. Why do chess championships have clocks? The reason for the clocks is so I don't have to play a 20-hour game. People are taking forever to make their moves, checking every possible move, statistics, & all that crap. Far as time, yes, I do have time to play wargames online......I'll have alot more time the way a couple of stocks are feeding me lots of cash $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Rambo knows speed
Rambo knows stocks
Rambo knows alot of stuff

[KDG]

Timers, replays, & spectator mode.

Two out of three would be nice(timers & replays).

[jon_j_rambo]

Also, it would cool if you could play 2 games at the same time smile.gif

[Fubarno]

How about just a game record feature?

Important and high level games could be recorded and posted online for download and replayed ad nauseum for those that are interested. If you only had 30 minutes of free time before you go back to monitoring your put options, load up the latest grudge match between the two top dogs and watch a couple years worth of moves with no lag time for the players to think.

One would watch the turns transpire from the birds eye view of each alternating player so that one can only see what the player saw on his turn.

Get your popcorn and pop a brew. Kick up your feet and watch the latest stars of SC2 Blitkrieg write their name in lights. Fame awaits.

[Fubarno]

Oh,... and a timer option would be good too, and probably not too dificult to code.

Don't let any replay feature slow down the release of the game. This can be released in a patch just as TCP/IP was in SC1. smile.gif

[xwormwood]

Hubert:
I don't need and I don't want a spectator-mode in the game. But if you think those 5 - 10 players are so important, well, include it. After all it is your game and your sweat, not mine. smile.gif

I would rather visit my dentist :D than spending time on watching these players on their 150237th game against each other. Just my 2 cents.

[Canuck]

Strategic Command takes up enough time as it is. I have no interest whatsoever in watching other people play. However the idea regarding the timers sounds interesting and I think it is something that should be included in game.

[jon_j_rambo]

The idea of "Spectator" mode is not to sit there for 20+ hours, watching somebody else play. The purpose, is to quickly check out a situation. It's a live "screenshot" when others are playing. You might not have time to play yourself, logon, & can check out a SeaLion or something. So don't use the arguements,"I don't want to watch people play, I don't have time". Checking out a game for 15 minutes would be very cool.

This "feature" would be cool...

Hey, another idea. Allow people who don't own the game, to watch a game (some patch), then maybe they'll buy it.

Hey, another idea. You could sell advertisements on with the "spectator" running.

Make some bank with "spetator" mode.

[Canuck]

How many people other than the 5 very vocal advocates on this thread would really want or utilize it though?

[jon_j_rambo]

Member, your are a 'member' --- This should be easy to program, it's called a "Feature" in the firmware world. Yes, there are 5 of us "for it", how many against? To do a proper poll, you'd need more than 10 people. You know what? I don't live my life by other people's opinion. The majority reject Jesus Christ, should I listen to them? Being a designer, inventor, explorer.....a trailblazer takes guts.

You talk about your precious time, why do you waste it in the General Forum with all those fruitcakes? You never participate in the SC Forum, suddenly your bashing a cool feature.

Now, looking at the history of your posts. It appears you like to post "one-line", with no substance. Hmmm, what do I see now? You're a liberal from Canada, that explains alot. There are tons of Canadians who live online, no life. The theme of your posting life is negative with a lack of intelligence/humor.

Spend some time & read that.

Rambo &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; OUT

[zappsweden]

Originally posted by Member # 4691:
How many people other than the 5 very vocal advocates on this thread would really want or utilize it though? Hey Beverly Hills Member 90210 or whatever.
Since when did you speak for all the SC community?
Don't try to start a debate here because you would lose big time. So you want to make a mockery out of anyone with another opinion than yours. Arse!

[ April 19, 2004, 10:12 AM: Message edited by: zappsweden ]

[Sombra]

@member : Certainly it is hard core player who are interesseted in such a "spectator mode" but at least in the Panzerliga right now I could name 20 players very much interessted in such a feature

[zappsweden]

Originally posted by Sombra:
@member : Certainly it is hard core player who are interesseted in such a "spectator mode" but at least in the Panzerliga right now I could name 20 players very much interessted in such a feature Thankyou for your post Sombra. If a minority is too small, obviously there are disrespectful sorry asses seeing their oppoertunity trying to stomp them to the ground.

[Dragonheart]

It would be a nice feature for newbies to learn the game....it´s like a live AAR.
Also if you make a tournament spectators could see the final live......
It is not a must but it would be a nice feature....

[zappsweden]

Originally posted by Dragonheart:
It would be a nice feature for newbies to learn the game....it´s like a live AAR.
Also if you make a tournament spectators could see the final live......
It is not a must but it would be a nice feature.... True. Since many players say they like the AAR they must like Spectator mode even more. I edited my initial post now including this relevant fact.

[ April 19, 2004, 06:56 AM: Message edited by: zappsweden ]

[Ron]

Originally posted by zappsweden:
Hey Member 90210 or whatever.
Since when did you speak for all the SC community?
Don't try to start a debate here because you would lose big time. So you want to make a mockery out of anyone with another opinion than yours. Arse! Ever consider practicing what you preach? Idiot.


Ron

[Dragonheart]

Seems you found some new friends zapp. ROFL
But i wonder where all these guys come from posting here....i never heart about them.
Did i really miss so many ppl when starting to play last september?

[Hawk]

Originally posted by Dragonheart:
...
But i wonder where all these guys come from posting here....i never heart about them.
...People come and go! I've been a member of these fora since the alpha days on CM1. Sometimes I read/post regularly and sometimes I drop out for several months at a time. Hot new items definitly sparks my interrest, and I guess there may be other who feel that way too.
[Disclaimer: I don't assume to speak for anybody but myself tongue.gif ]

[zappsweden]

Originally posted by Ron:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by jon_j_rambo:
What's up? doesn't anybody else want to watch the big games? No. If included, that would probably rank as the most extraneous and least used "cool" feature in the history of gaming. It's ironic the screenshots hint at a wealth of new features and options yet what topics are people discussing?


Ron </font>[/QUOTE]Well Excuuuuuuuuuuse us for discussing what we find is important. Next time we let you start the topic Ron and see what good comes out of it tongue.gif :D

Next time we better consult you before starting a topic and get your approval if it is a legitimate one. :D

Voltaire: "I detest your beliefs, but I would die for your right to uphold them"

[ April 19, 2004, 10:21 AM: Message edited by: zappsweden ]

[Dragonheart]

Cool member No 215!!! :eek: ....well thats a long time before me....although i played CMBB a while before visiting this forum.

[Elmo]

Hear that clicking sound? It's Moon getting the lock ready... tongue.gif

[zappsweden]

Originally posted by Dragonheart:
Seems you found some new friends zapp. ROFL
But i wonder where all these guys come from posting here....i never heart about them.
Did i really miss so many ppl when starting to play last september? They are nay-sayers that creep out of their holes whenever they get a chance to sabotage.

[ April 19, 2004, 10:10 AM: Message edited by: zappsweden ]

[zappsweden]

.

[ April 19, 2004, 10:21 AM: Message edited by: zappsweden ]

[jon_j_rambo]

Hubert --- Any feedback on this issue?

[jon_j_rambo]

Battlefront, any feedback?

[jon_j_rambo]

*** BUMP ***

Hubert, I see you're online posting. What about these feature requests?

[With Clusters]

I'm not sure how keen I'd personally be in a 'voyeur' option, but that's mainly due to my own free-time/location issue. But a 're-play' option sounds very interesting, not just to watch my own finnished game, but to peruse other's games online. Why read an AAR when you can replay the war itself (hopefully with a FF option to skip the boring parts)! A great way for inexperienced players like myself to learn new tricks, IMHO. What might also be nice is an 'in-game' replay, to re-hash the war up to the current play point. That might be very usefull especially to PBEM players who's memory of previous parts of the war may get foggy.
Similar to this, it would be nice to easily and repeatedly play the previous turn's action. One thing that really irritated me about SC1 was that there was no easy way (or was I missing something?) to pause or rewind the opponent's turn. If you exited and re-loaded to watch again, it made you look like a cheater. But if you had a cruddy short term memory (like mine - too much beer in college!), you missed out on valuable intelligence!

[Hubert Cater]

Hubert, I see you're online posting. What about these feature requests?

Too early to say right now, but I'll think about it ;)

[jon_j_rambo]

Hubert,

Thanks for responding. I respect your position & I know you respect mine far as this feature request. I'll chill, because I know you're working on the playability of SC2.

Good luck, God Bless, & keep the Faith.

Legend &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; Chillin'

[jon_j_rambo]

* Bump *

I see Hubert online

[jon_j_rambo]

*** Bump ***

Timers & replay options are very important to me (and alot of competitive players). If you read the AAR's, you'll see games can go up to 16+ hours for online play.

[Curry]

Would be very nice indeed, dont know if it is possilbe or pratical due to the cost but yes it sure would be a nice feature.

[jon_j_rambo]

@Curry --- Hmmm, how expensive & hard? Well, I don't know what language Hubert is programing in, but in C, there is a standard library timer call. I'm sure other languages have the same feature.

[zappsweden]

Making a timer is ridiculously easy if you are a programmer. I make a timer in Java in about 10-60 minutes.

Replay is also easy but takes more time (a few hours). Simply save all your moves (like they do in Chess 1.E2-E4 E7-E5 2.D2-D4 E5-D4 i.e the Scandinavian Gambit) to a file and make a "load replay" button that replays the game.

[ August 03, 2004, 03:51 AM: Message edited by: zappsweden ]

[zappsweden]

Explaining the quickness of replays and online spectators again:

Imagine watching live or recorded games like a media player "play", "stop", "next", "prev", "forward", "fast-forward", "rewind", "fast-rewind", "start-over" and "live". A chapter corresponds to a turn. Neat, simple and fast.

When i browse for games using SC2 I could then see the games currently going on. For example:

Axis: Rambo
Allies: Avatar
Date 27 December 1943
Time system: 10+3 minutes
Axis time left: 12 minutes
Allies time left: 15 minutes
Axis Turn


and I double-click and am immediately taken to their current turn. I then simply push the "start-over" button and game starts displaying turn one (september 1939) instead. After watching through fall of Paris I wanna return to the current situation again and press the "live" button returning to the current turn. It is now January 1944 so I have missed the latest turn. I then simply push "prev" button once and game jump back one turn and starts displaying all the December 1943 moves and thereafter continuing to January 1944.

[ August 04, 2004, 11:13 AM: Message edited by: zappsweden ]

[J P Wagner]

World at War (Matrix) is working on replay features which will allow you to replay single turns or the entire game...hopefully it will be a great feature and perhaps SCII will consider something along similiar lines....

[jon_j_rambo]

Zapp, that's the idea, thanks for posting. You're obvioulsy simple & useful.

Hubert, can you add these features? The competitive players don't care if the Finnish troops get skiis for 1-space extra movement, we want timers, replays, & spectator mode.

[Kuniworth]

Rambo stop talkin crap;

As Im at least semi-competitive but a ww2 history nut your statement is unacceptable. We want it to be both historically correct and competitive. We should not need to chose one over the other.

Drop this "we don't care for realism" statements.

[jon_j_rambo]

Okay, give special Finnish forces some skiis. Just get the competitive features in!

[Roosevelt45(the 2nd)]

As an option I hope

[Kuniworth]

Originally posted by Roosevelt45(the 2nd):
As an option I hope Freedom of choice is for crappy liberals

[ August 04, 2004, 12:20 PM: Message edited by: Kuniworth ]

[Sombra]

Well, I think a replay option would be cool :cool:

Still more important for me are additional confidence building measures as pregame view of setting for both sides etc. anything that makes cheating more difficult.

Even more important for me (having played Europa universalis redface.gif )
Safty measures to recover the game if more than two players play. Being able that anohter player takes over a drop out player or the AI gets in, stable recovery files, no time outs etc.

Voice chat would be nice smile.gif , Or a nice clean chat "window", "sreen", or part of the screen would be nice

Additional request would be an small update on the report screen tongue.gif A simple "How much the income the allies receive and how much the axis"

[zappsweden]

Originally posted by Sombra:
Well, I think a replay option would be cool :cool:

Still more important for me are additional confidence building measures as pregame view of setting for both sides etc. anything that makes cheating more difficult.

Even more important for me (having played Europa universalis redface.gif )
Safty measures to recover the game if more than two players play. Being able that anohter player takes over a drop out player or the AI gets in, stable recovery files, no time outs etc.

Voice chat would be nice smile.gif , Or a nice clean chat "window", "sreen", or part of the screen would be nice

Additional request would be an small update on the report screen tongue.gif A simple "How much the income the allies receive and how much the axis" Let Hubert fix the most urgent needed changes first... i.e ... Finnish skiis and Pattons shoesize. :D

(This joke was brought to you by Zapp Leno Productions)

[Kuniworth]

Hm should the Patton hq get any shoe-size advantages?

[jon_j_rambo]

Hubert, what's the deal? Do we need to put money in the tip jar?

[jon_j_rambo]

*** BUMP ***

Huge feature set.

[jon_j_rambo]

*** BUMP ***

Hubert, this is important stuff here. Not like the other months of spam requests you've been getting. Seriously, listen to your top players.

[Killer Tomato]

Hi all

I bought SC1 when it went gold and played alot with the AI, which after awhile grew boring.
A Spectator mode will be nice for a few players,
but definetly NOT for players like me.
I would prefer an excellent and challeging IA.

I must alos add that i have been lurking this forum for quit some time now. If a spectator mode
is implemented, i am gonna have a very fun time
watching you guys accusing eachother of cheating.
( ME spectating player x and MSN'ing battle info
to player y )

[hellraiser]

The game definitely needs clocks. Waiting for some folks play 15 minutes/turn is sickening.
As for the other requests ... they are 'perverse' tongue.gif They would make me lose even more time with a game that's so addictive by its nature ... I need time for RL issues ... just get us the game clock and it's ok for me smile.gif

[jon_j_rambo]

Yes, there are a few different feature requests in this thread with the clock being the most important.

[zappsweden]

Originally posted by Sombra:

Voice chat would be nice smile.gif
Well, would voice chat be something like this

(Paris getting conquered in March 1940)

Player A : "YEEEEEEAH, TANK BLOWN AWAY IN A SINGLE BLOOOOOOW!!!!"

Player B : Drop Dead!!!

Player A : I had 4 minimum rolls in a row, I deserved some luck!!!

(Player B) : (...'CLICK')

Player A : Hello??? You There???


:D :D :D

[Sombra]

Originally posted by zappsweden:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Sombra:

Voice chat would be nice smile.gif
Well, would voice chat be something like this

(Paris getting conquered in March 1940)

Player A : "YEEEEEEAH, TANK BLOWN AWAY IN A SINGLE BLOOOOOOW!!!!"


Player B : Drop Dead!!!

Player A : I had 4 minimum rolls in a row, I deserved some luck!!!

(Player B) : (...'CLICK')

Player A : Hello??? You There???


:D :D :D </font>[/QUOTE]I see you get the spirit of my suggestion ;)

[Slapaho]

I like clock idea also (in hotseat we currently use a stop watch and shouting stop!! smile.gif ) ending turn automatically.

for voice comms, free :

Teamspeak server/client (upto 5 users free on one server i think)
MSN voice chat (limited to 2 people only)
Skype - telecon software - dont know how many people it can have on at same time - but definitely more than 2

========================================

Being lazy I thought how about about an automated AAR output at the end of each turn, genarated by the game and saved into a plain text file. It could include combat results ( 'my' IV pnzr attacked 'your' French 1st Army, reducing it from 7 to 4 ), cities taken and even things like (enemy) rivers crossed. You can then add your own personal touch, like, omg that turn sucked!

Anyway - the clock - yes plz smile.gif

[jon_j_rambo]

Yo, Hubert, bumping my thread for some air time. Please don't forget about timers, replays, & voyeur mode. It's cool stuff.

[waltero]

Timers are a good Idea. Being that SC Blitzkrieg, Will be multi-player, Some things do not belong on a single persons turn nor Simultaneous turns.
If anything put a timer on Any Diplomacy that has to be done while taking a player turn.
To play a multi-player War game and have some one quit Really sucks! It is a stopper for most.

With some whiney players, they will try to make allies while at the same time trying to play the game and when time is out they get real pissed because they were not able to do there turn. I don't really know how the Diplomacy is going to work in Strategic Command Blitzkrieg, But a timed segment would be better than a simple timer.

I cant help but think that with a 4-6 player game, how are you going to treat dropped player?
Is it a matter of re-up or the game is dead? Do not kill the game!

[Agent Smith]

It's getting like you can smell the desperation around here. There are so many intense requests for tweaks mods and wishlists going down, that HC might as well just release the programming code as open source and charge as for the manual! SC2 will clearly disappoint some who requested every possible nuance... but for goodness sake, everyone needs to calm down just a little and wait for the release.
And just like the wait for any new arrival, I think we should predict the time, and kudos to the closest prediction. For the record I'm predicting September 11 2005.

[jon_j_rambo]

@Waltero --- Excellent point! If we are in a 5 player game, game turns in real time could get very slooooooooow if dudes are talking amongst themselves over every move.

@Agent Smith --- Hey, dude, my requests are the most important smile.gif Gotta submit feature requests or they ain't going happen smile.gif Timers should be easy to program, are new to this type of gaming (which is another selling feature!), and much needed. I won't play slow players!

[jon_j_rambo]

@Agent Smith --- I do agree with the time you posted. If it was any sooner, Hubert would be posting so more information. Plus, releasing stuff in the summer isn't the best idea for most products.

[jon_j_rambo]

*** Bump ****