The competitive spectator overlay & features

(Seanza) #1

So, as you know, it’s pretty essential to have a GOOD overlay for commentators when shoutcasting competitive matches. Here’s some of the features that I feel really make a good competitive overlay/

Player information

  • Name
  • Health
  • Weapon
  • Ammo count

I think the best influence to take for the player info is the CS:GO shoutcaster overlay. The way it displays health, weapon and name is good and easy to see.

Match information

  • Time left
  • Toggle objective view
  • Team name and team logos (When a team is created in-game, allow the creator/owner to upload an avatar)

Sponsor-friendly features

  • Don’t clutter the overlay to the point where tournament organisers have nowhere to put a sponsor logo for advertising
  • Allow players to upload an avatar (similar to how Steam works) so they can display their team logo next to their name
  • In-game advertising opportunities for tournaments (I’d consider this a premium feature, and I’d personally be happy to pay a small price for this option)
  • If an in-game TV client will exist, please please please allow tournament organisers to be able to place sponsor banners within that client (this has been the hardest part of monetising CS/ET etc.)

Other features

  • Allow binding of keys to follow player slots
  • On-the-fly player statistics such as accuracy per weapon, kills, objectives completed, proficiency etc.
  • On-the-fly overall match statistics such as most accurate per team, who’s the best medic/fop/engi etc., most proficient player
(Anti) #2

I already have quite the list of stuff to look at and address in this regard, but it’s certainly helpful to know your list matches up to it and I haven’t missed too much :slight_smile:

(Seanza) #3

I always knew I could trust you!

(Reacto) #4

Nice list! Really important to make the game not only spectator friendly, but also sponsor friendly in terms of advertising etc.

(DeTh) #5

Would it be better just to show player score rather than kill to death ratio? aside from the top fragger the numbers are irrelevant because you get points by completing team objectives.

(Seanza) #6

No, I think the people at home want to see who kills the most. That’s what people understand primitively, they need no explanation. When points are the only indicator for how well a player is doing, then people who may not understand or play the game will wonder what do those points mean, how does a player get these points, why points and not k/d? etc.

(Valdez) #7

Agreed with DeTh on this point. Maybe you could show the k/d after the round is over. Showing the k/d during the game I think slightly encourages the ffa mentality.

(INF3RN0) #8

k/d won’t matter to comp players, but it should be displayed for the viewers. No one is going to care if team A had a high k/d and lost anyhow, so there’s really no harm in showing it. The obj players receive a higher score also meaning they don’t have to be embarrassed by a bad k/d as long as they are completing all the objectives.

(Seanza) #9

This thread is to see what people watching at home will see, not the players playing the match. I don’t think K/D should be displayed for the players, but it should definitely be displayed for spectators.

(Humate) #10
  • On-the-fly player statistics such as accuracy per weapon, kills, objectives completed, proficiency etc.
  • On-the-fly overall match statistics such as most accurate per team, who’s the best medic/fop/engi etc., most proficient player

The ability to present data from previous matches would be cool also.

(Apoc) #11

Showing a K/D shows the match from a fragging perspective instead of the general objective perspective everyone can see with their own eyes. In the same way the LoL competitive screen shows how many kills a team has and gold earned. Allows comentators and spectators to see if someone is winning in both fragging and tactics, or if a team is just purely getting outfragged, or if a team is overcoming a team of fraggers with good tactics etc.

(Seanza) #12

I think it’s better to let the commentators do their homework for this bit as it helps them get to know the teams and provide a better cast from it.

(Humate) #13

No, I’m saying to make it easier for casters to do homework, in matches which they already casted.

(Seanza) #14

Some sort of wiki would be best for that, imo.

(Bloodbite) #15

why not have your traditional ET categories of XP on display?

Light Weapons | Battlesense | Class specific activity/progression

Something subtle and small… I don’t think it would go astray to have it represented visually like in W:ET or ETQW… ie. visual bar + numeric total + temporary display of what was just earned.

If anything I’d think the accumulation of Light Weapons XP would be more appealing to casual viewers than a K/D count. It quantifies more than just kills but overall accuracy and accumulative damage. Across all 3 it gives those that know ET a much more immediate way of equating what-just-happened to XP distribution.

I also don’t think it would go astray as a simple way of promoting the games mechanics too. For the thicker skulls out there that may come across a cast but find the ET formate too complicated to jump into and learn, having things reduced to XP stats that clearly defy the popular RPG/CoD grind reaction most will have towards XP… it wouldn’t hurt that’s for sure.

(Anti) #16

I’m currently working on improving the design for spectator mode, with both casting and demo playback in mind.

I’m very familiar with esports casting in general and think I have most of the ‘standard’ functionality covered in the design, as well as some cool new ideas (at least I think so), but I wanted to bump this thread in case you folks have any other ideas or expectations for spectator mode.

(iwound) #17

heat map effect. with a different coloured trail for each team.
length adjustable.
to give an idea of current flow.

(Anti) #18

Already looking in to that :slight_smile: It could be very hard to do though.

(iwound) #19

3rd person view option.
split screen, show 2 or more players and select individual 3rd or 1st person view. or player and overhead map.

re the heatmap idea above was meant for the 2d overhead map. i wouldnt have thought showing a trace of the player that hard.
unless you wanted to store all the info for viewing later.

(Anti) #20

[QUOTE=iwound;421870]
re the heatmap idea above was meant for the 2d overhead map. i wouldnt have thought showing a trace of the player that hard.
unless you wanted to store all the info for viewing later.[/QUOTE]

I envision a 2d overlay on a map as well, it’s just the storing and recalling of that data and passing it about quickly without affect CPU that I worry about. Don’t want to enrage those programmers :slight_smile:

Only at the concept stage right now though, can’t promise it’ll happen, but I think it’d really help tell the story of a match if we could do it. In the same way that Football’s possession statistics work.