AoE2:HD Spectator Mode

[ZeroEmpires]

Hey! I'm making a post about this in the hope that the developers will take this suggestion into consideration when they see just how much support there will be for a spectator mode in AoE2. Currently there is no way to watch a live AoE game unless you coop a player by choosing the same colour as them; this method is used in a lot of livestreams but there are still very many problems with it.
1) You can only see that players Line of Sight meaning that in a team game you have no idea what else is going on on the map; giving the commentator a very limited view of the game.
2) In a 4v4 there is no room left for a 9th player to coop, meaning that these games can never be streamed live by a caster unless one of the players streams.
3) Once cartography is researched you can see what the teammates of the player you are watching are doing; but you can still not see what technologies they are researching or have researched.

If AoE2 is to become more popular with streams and live content (Such as games like Starcraft 2, LoL and DotA) then a complete spectator mode will be really important to achieve that. I know it's a lot to ask and a big task to achieve but it could really revolutionize the game and give it some more relevence many years after its release. I hope the devs can consider this; and for those of you who are in support of this: please comment below with your thoughts!

-Zak.

[BarbarossaBlade]

Spectator mode is available when playing The Forgotten. Just make sure to select Spectator from the civ dropdown :)

[Dibbles]

Originally posted by BarbarossaBlade:

Spectator mode is available when playing The Forgotten. Just make sure to select Spectator from the civ dropdown :)

I'm guessing you didn't read the original post. Improvements to it would be nice, like being able to watch 4v4 games and not taking up player slots.

The spectator mode now, a player spectating can affect the performance of the game.

[ګćĦۼŕžعҖїᾐﻭ]

a improvement would be pretty nice.
like mention. not taking player slots and be able to watch in the normal game

[Quokka, First Class]

It's not going to happen! I would place a fat bet on it. Shame it would be a really good feature but Microsoft won't do any more work after they got our money. Barbarossa Blade doesn't even read the topics properly... what chance do we have, seriously.

[🤗]

There is actually a pretty decent alternative way to spectate games, although you can only see a single player playing at the time. You and the person you want to spectate need the latest beta version of steam which has a broadcasting feature, then the spectator can simply right-click his name and press 'watch game'. But I don't think you will ever be able to spectate the game in the same way as you would in the Forgotten. There simply aren't enough people at the aoe2 HD team that would make that feature for free, like on voobly.

[Quokka, First Class]

If there is 1 developer then there are enough people to make this feature. Scripter64 did it without access to the source code. So much of the groundwork should already be there (It is, it's called record game). You simply need to stream the recorded game as it is recording.

[Johnny Testickle]

I agree, I want to spectate A.I matches, too!

[Whakahoatanga]

The things I would want for an improved spectator mod are the following things:

1. Don't take player slots. Otherwise it isn't possible to watch a 4vs4.
2. Don't lag. Otherwise the spectators wouldn't be accepted in any matches, especially between experts. This is only possible with servers I think.
3. A spectator dashboard like the one from Zak (Zeroempires), which shows the amount of gathered ressources, vills, military units, idle time ... And also on the right part on the top the currently researched researches. This should be also an option in recorded games. If you don't know what I mean by that dev, watch a match on YouTube commented by ZeroEmpires.
4. The spectators should only have a restricted possibility of chatting. Spying and cheating would be otherwise an issue. E.g. I wouldn't give the spectator the possibility to chat with the players, but afterwards would be okay.
5. Spectators shouldn't have the possibility to influence the game
6. The possibility to watch a match when it has already started. This is only possible with servers I think.

[ګćĦۼŕžعҖїᾐﻭ]

for cheating you should just delay the spectator. cause some1 could also chat via steam or go into teamspeak etc. Just do it, how voobly do it. thats nice

[hot_gril]

Originally posted by ګćĦۼŕžعҖїᾐﻭ:

for cheating you should just delay the spectator. cause some1 could also chat via steam or go into teamspeak etc. Just do it, how voobly do it. thats nice

Good idea.

[EOG]

Originally posted by Szaladon:

The things I would want for an improved spectator mod are the following things:

1. Don't take player slots. Otherwise it isn't possible to watch a 4vs4.
2. Don't lag. Otherwise the spectators wouldn't be accepted in any matches, especially between experts. This is only possible with servers I think.
3. A spectator dashboard like the one from Zak (Zeroempires), which shows the amount of gathered ressources, vills, military units, idle time ... And also on the right part on the top the currently researched researches. This should be also an option in recorded games. If you don't know what I mean by that dev, watch a match on YouTube commented by ZeroEmpires.
4. The spectators should only have a restricted possibility of chatting. Spying and cheating would be otherwise an issue. E.g. I wouldn't give the spectator the possibility to chat with the players, but afterwards would be okay.
5. Spectators shouldn't have the possibility to influence the game
6. The possibility to watch a match when it has already started. This is only possible with servers I think.

Originally posted by ګćĦۼŕžعҖїᾐﻭ:

for cheating you should just delay the spectator. cause some1 could also chat via steam or go into teamspeak etc. Just do it, how voobly do it. thats nice

All this.

TOP priority:
- 3-5 MINUTES delay for the spectators (may be up to 2 spectators?)
- No slots occupied for spectators

LESSER priority:
- Extra info (techs, villagers, kda, etc)

[hoezan]

bump
i want spectatorrrrr

[ExTiNcT_SaNitY]

Originally posted by Dörty Dan:

bump
i want spectatorrrrr

There are spectator modes in the expantions past The Conquors, but not in Conquors.

[Jineapple]

To be more precise: You need to own any DLC to be able to spectate games, which includes The Conquerors games. The spectator mode is pretty awful though, it takes up a player slot and increases lag so it may not always be welcome.