47 replies to this topic

[Kegslayer]

If this has been covered, I apologize, but I haven't found it anywhere. Is there a chance we might be able to watch matches as casual observers? Not only would it be interesting, but it might offer some strategy options to new players and open new ideas on how to work as a team.

And yes, I do know it might create the option for collusion between players and observers watching their opponents, but since that would be available for both sides wouldn't that kinda be a wash?

Just an idea and I'm curious to hear some responses.

[Jake Valeck]

wouldnt it be better to play instead of watch? just saying.

[Helmer]

Although I agree that watching matches would be very entertaining and possibly instructive , being able spectate a live match does ruin the competitive nature of the game .

There are alternatives tho , delayed spectating and recording of matches being two .


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[Seabear]

Delayed viewing would work as there would be no chance for collusion.

[Orzorn]

Jake Valeck, on 23 March 2012 - 04:40 PM, said:

wouldnt it be better to play instead of watch? just saying.

There are many reasons to watch.

The first large reason is that you may not have to time to play a full match. Additionally, watching games lets you branch out and observe new tactics, mech builds, etc.

Dota 2 has the best spectacting system in any game I've ever played. It has tons of information (gold charts, XP charts, damage readouts, etc), all on a 2 minute delayed feed so you can't cheat.

It doesn't just make it a game, it lets you watch it as entertainment. Better than TV, most of the time.

[Helmer]

Valve has taken spectating to a whole new level with Dota2. Streaming information on each avatar , team info , etc etc .

Although DotA isn't my thing , what they've done with it is incredible .

[HighlandWolf]

I can understand why you'd want to watch, its fun watching someone elses match..sports teams do it all the time whether recorded or live. They also do it on solaris, in the arenas..and if you do that..then this is just going to turn into a bunch of sports matches..wheres the death dealing life on the line nitty gritty that is MW/battletech? If you do that then all immersion in the game is gone really, its just a bunch of elaborate "games", no real "scenarios"'
I know they havent talked aobut actual story stuff yet, given missions that take a while or whatever..nothing like a story arc mentioned yet..other than timeline.No, watching live is just not a great idea..but if you mean watching prerecorded matches...like a mech camera..as they had cameras on mechs sometimes...then yeah..not a bad idea at all

[HighlandWolf]

Helmer, on 23 March 2012 - 05:41 PM, said:

Valve has taken spectating to a whole new level with Dota2. Streaming information on each avatar , team info , etc etc .

Although DotA isn't my thing , what they've done with it is incredible .

problem for me is that these suggestions would take the game away from the spirit and life/word of mechwarrior..the world of mechwarrior itself is not a game(except for paid arenas for modern day gladiators)...where people can watch and cheer on their favourites or gather intel for when they are matched with that opponent.
If youre going to do that..may as well just rename the game "SOLARIS"

sorry, dont mean to sound like im ranting..haha

[Carl Wrede]

This is actually a very good idea to let people watch the battle with a slight delay. Hopefully they will also incorporate Solaris and the tournaments there in a later update. It would be good fun to have the gameworld as an add on to the core game.

[Austin Katan]

Some of my favorite things to watch on youtube are videos of starcraft or lets plays of multiplayer games. Walking MWO would be awesome.

[Orzorn]

HighlandWolf, on 23 March 2012 - 05:47 PM, said:

problem for me is that these suggestions would take the game away from the spirit and life/word of mechwarrior..the world of mechwarrior itself is not a game(except for paid arenas for modern day gladiators)...where people can watch and cheer on their favourites or gather intel for when they are matched with that opponent.
If youre going to do that..may as well just rename the game "SOLARIS"

sorry, dont mean to sound like im ranting..haha

What, faction buddies can't keep track of the other company's mission progress?

What kind of group is that?!

[Kegslayer]

I appreciate all the opinions being shown. It's a diverse Universe out there. I wasn't trying to turn the game into Solaris ( althought Solaris could be cool way WAY down the road ). Every academy in the Universe shows footage of real battles for training purposes. This is similar. Although there is the entertainment element, this is a game after all. But the main point is for people who are new ( such as my little self ) can watch some battles to get a feel for things and get to know some of the people in here. Most of you seem to know each other quite a bit and the rest of us are on the outside working our ways in. This will help us see your units and factions in action and also for ourselves to get noticed a bit more than just the people we fight with.

The idea of delayed video sounds great. Any chance there's a mod trolling nearby that could toss an opinion in here as well? It would warm my little heart to see the all-powerful mod's responding to my little topic.

[Bloody Moon]

This is actually a quite good idea watching the how the best pilots in the whole game play can be very entertaining tho for fun i prefer to watch casted games.

I would understand the "destroys the immersion" thinking if the game wouldn't be a competitively viable team-based online game with a "slightly" repetitive gameplay.

Edited by Bloody Moon, 23 March 2012 - 06:18 PM.

[HighlandWolf]

Kegslayer, on 23 March 2012 - 06:07 PM, said:

I appreciate all the opinions being shown. It's a diverse Universe out there. I wasn't trying to turn the game into Solaris ( althought Solaris could be cool way WAY down the road ). Every academy in the Universe shows footage of real battles for training purposes. This is similar. Although there is the entertainment element, this is a game after all. But the main point is for people who are new ( such as my little self ) can watch some battles to get a feel for things and get to know some of the people in here. Most of you seem to know each other quite a bit and the rest of us are on the outside working our ways in. This will help us see your units and factions in action and also for ourselves to get noticed a bit more than just the people we fight with.

The idea of delayed video sounds great. Any chance there's a mod trolling nearby that could toss an opinion in here as well? It would warm my little heart to see the all-powerful mod's responding to my little topic.

i suppose i didnt make myself clear, im not against watching video of a match that has already happened and is now over..i just got the impression early on that people were hoping to see it as it was happening..and wanted to get stats on pilots/players and stats on their mechs etc etc..like it was a game on solaris..i just dont think that is a good idea..watch a battle thats already over and the winner victorious and claiming aplanet or site and digging in..okey dokey..but as its going?..naw..to much like a game and not enough like a battle to me with consequences and repercussions..thats all

[Trevnor]

Here's an idea. Make the videos you are watching, something like would be shown on the Holo News Network, which is in BT lore. Battlerom footage from mechs on the front lines. Footage from aerial drones. Commentators audio overlap, talking about outcome, lives lost, machinery damaged or destroyed. That sorta thing.

[Bloody Moon]

For learning purposes the time of the battle viewed is irrelevant, however in a scenario where our corp mates, friends etc are fighting on the field and we arrived late or not playing in the current lineup spectating them is a option that can be good to have (also as far as i understand spectating a game use less server capacity than playing one so it is a win for me and a win for the devs aswell if i spectate instead of playing a random game while they play, but i can be wrong about this ).

[Nik Van Rhijn]

Spectating in real time is open to abuse with VoIP as you have a birds eye view of whats happenning, the ultimate scout.

[Demi-Precentor Konev]

Put a delay on it and/or allow battles to be recorded. Plenty of precedent for capturing this sort of data in the setting and it's certainly a great way to improve your skills. I expect we'll see it post-launch.

[Xyph3r]

IMO, a delayed spectating option would be nice, especially if theres gonna be (and i REALLY hope there´ll be) `Mech tournaments on Solaris!
and in BT/MW literature it´s common to most units to watch their comrades when practicing in simulators, so why shouldnt we be able to do the same :-)

Edited by Xyph3r, 24 March 2012 - 03:37 AM.

[John Wolf]

I expect people to record their matches and post them online somewhere, but I don't believe you're going to see the game itself log and post battles unless its a major event, and they document it for people to watch. Situations like that would be cool, but otherwise that's a lot of extra work for no real payoff towards the game.. and if you're logging all the games, that will add up and get out of hand fast.

And combat isn't a simulation.. other than the fact its not us actually doing the fighting, but these are real battles and there are no real observers except the people in the hotseats.

Like Jake said previously, I'd much rather PLAY than watch.