Steamworks Spectator Mode

Buntfunk · 05-10-2012, 05:34 AM

One of the biggest changes I would love to see in Steam is the implementation of a well done spectator mode.

If a spectator mode were to become an integral part of steam, we could just show our friends that awesome game we wanted to tell them about. And we could show it being played by ourselves, in the level we like the best!
If this were technologically possible, I bet Steam would become one of the most popular TV stations world-wide, overnight. :-)

This would open up so many interesting questions. Imagine,for example, how many viewers top Counterstrike and Dota players could potentially draw in such a system.

Whom will they allow to watch their games though?
Will there eventually have to be talk about how (much) to pay the top Steam-TV stars of the future?

Jagged Tooth · 05-10-2012, 06:27 AM

You can already do this in Dota 2. I haven't really used it myself but I believe you can do the exact same thing with SourceTV.

Buntfunk · 05-10-2012, 02:21 PM

Regarding Dota2, I'm curious. I feel that SourceTV is nowhere near it could be. It has to be implemented into the Steam-Overlay in a user-friendly fashion.

SourceTV, right now, is for people who know considerably more about servers and stuff than the average joe does.

real4xor · 05-10-2012, 03:07 PM

lol, "install camera`s" in the game rooms so you can watch/autorecord matches as a show. =p that would be cool.

GusTheCrocodile · 05-10-2012, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buntfunk

Regarding Dota2, I'm curious. I feel that SourceTV is nowhere near it could be. It has to be implemented into the Steam-Overlay in a user-friendly fashion.

SourceTV, right now, is for people who know considerably more about servers and stuff than the average joe does.

I take it you don't have Dota 2 then, because the spectate function there is probably the most user-friendly one I've ever encountered. The main screen lists the details of the top three games being played (by match-making rank, I suppose), you click on one, bam, you're watching the game. If you want another game than those three, click the Watch tab and browse or search for one. What purpose would be served by taking it out of the game and putting it in the Steam overlay?

Buntfunk · 05-11-2012, 08:34 AM

No, I cant play Dota2 because the download doesn't work with my connection -.-

The purpose of taking this out of Dota2 and putting it into the overlay would obviously be to use it for other games too. As in making it a universal Steam feature. Like what I described in my initial post... ;-)

Jagged Tooth · 05-11-2012, 09:22 AM

It's not really possibly to do this with SourceTV. SourceTV streams game data not video. This allows people to watch it using less bandwidth and in turn allow many more people watch a game at once. It also allows for features such as watching things the player isn't (E.g. watch other players, zoom in and out, look anywhere on the map you want).

Of course as the name suggests. It's for Source games, it can't be made to work with other games.

Buntfunk · 05-11-2012, 08:03 PM

Making it a user-friendly tool in all future source games would be a very nice start. Video is obviously no option. If it would ever expand beyond source-engine games, then Valve would have to provide a pretty nifty plugin for developers to integrate into their games.

I can see a value in that, a big one even. What I can't fathom though, are the technological challenges in developing something like this.

05-10-2012, 05:34 AM	#1
Buntfunk Join Date: Apr 2012 Reputation: 126 Posts: 95	Steamworks Spectator Mode One of the biggest changes I would love to see in Steam is the implementation of a well done spectator mode. If a spectator mode were to become an integral part of steam, we could just show our friends that awesome game we wanted to tell them about. And we could show it being played by ourselves, in the level we like the best! If this were technologically possible, I bet Steam would become one of the most popular TV stations world-wide, overnight. :-) This would open up so many interesting questions. Imagine,for example, how many viewers top Counterstrike and Dota players could potentially draw in such a system. Whom will they allow to watch their games though? Will there eventually have to be talk about how (much) to pay the top Steam-TV stars of the future?

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05-10-2012, 06:27 AM	#2
Jagged Tooth Join Date: Aug 2005 Reputation: 1115 Posts: 3,115	You can already do this in Dota 2. I haven't really used it myself but I believe you can do the exact same thing with SourceTV.

05-10-2012, 02:21 PM	#3
Buntfunk Join Date: Apr 2012 Reputation: 126 Posts: 95	Regarding Dota2, I'm curious. I feel that SourceTV is nowhere near it could be. It has to be implemented into the Steam-Overlay in a user-friendly fashion. SourceTV, right now, is for people who know considerably more about servers and stuff than the average joe does.

05-10-2012, 03:07 PM	#4
real4xor Join Date: Oct 2009 Reputation: 1860 Posts: 3,176	lol, "install camera`s" in the game rooms so you can watch/autorecord matches as a show. =p that would be cool.

05-11-2012, 08:34 AM	#6
Buntfunk Join Date: Apr 2012 Reputation: 126 Posts: 95	No, I cant play Dota2 because the download doesn't work with my connection -.- The purpose of taking this out of Dota2 and putting it into the overlay would obviously be to use it for other games too. As in making it a universal Steam feature. Like what I described in my initial post... ;-)

05-11-2012, 09:22 AM	#7
Jagged Tooth Join Date: Aug 2005 Reputation: 1115 Posts: 3,115	It's not really possibly to do this with SourceTV. SourceTV streams game data not video. This allows people to watch it using less bandwidth and in turn allow many more people watch a game at once. It also allows for features such as watching things the player isn't (E.g. watch other players, zoom in and out, look anywhere on the map you want). Of course as the name suggests. It's for Source games, it can't be made to work with other games.

05-11-2012, 08:03 PM	#8
Buntfunk Join Date: Apr 2012 Reputation: 126 Posts: 95	Making it a user-friendly tool in all future source games would be a very nice start. Video is obviously no option. If it would ever expand beyond source-engine games, then Valve would have to provide a pretty nifty plugin for developers to integrate into their games. I can see a value in that, a big one even. What I can't fathom though, are the technological challenges in developing something like this.