Spectating LFS-Races in 3D

[TDSyco]

I just thought of a possibility to spectate Races in 3D-Perspective.
Perhaps you know LFS-Spectator, which is allready nice to follow a Race without being connected to the Server.
But it would be much better if those Spectators could see the Race in the TV-View for example.
So perhaps it would be possible to release a free LFS-Client which can only get the Relay-Host-List and connect to a Server listed there and watch it like you can do if you are directly connected as Spectator on a Server.
In this "LFS-TV-Client" you can't start Races, nor do training, you do not even be allowed to setup a Controller or something.
I dont know if the InSim-Information is enough to feed the real LFS-Engine for rendering the Race, but it would be really nice ;)

Some of my Firends followed the Endurance-Leage Race yesterday, they like the Top-Down View of LFS-Spectator because you have a very good Overview of the Race. But they missed a real 3D-View which is more exciting to spectate, especially in cases of close battles for Positions ...

So there are two factors that should be given:

The LFS-TV-Client has to be cut down to only the neccessary functionality to display a Race and select those Races from the Relay-Host-List. (Scaven? *G*)
The InSim Informations have to be as complete to feed the LFS-Client with all the information to render the Cars on Track.
Is this generally possible?
Do you think its worth the work?

[ColeusRattus]

I kind of like the idea, but I just can't imagine someone to download hundreds of megabytes just so he can watch?

Would be neat if it was incorporated in the demo, but then again, I think it could cause problems with the locked contents...

[nikimere]

This has been mentioned many times before on RSC. I think it would cause some lag issues especially if there were 50-60 ppl 'spectating'.
Maybe they could limit the number of spectators, that could help alot!
Would be a great feature and i would cetainly download 100's of MB's to have it!

[TDSyco]

Isnt this is the advantage of the Relay-Host?
The people watching the Race are not directly connected to the Game Server but to the Relay-Host?

Otherwise it would be a problem with loads of Spectators ...

[bbman]

You mean a system like HLTV?

Well, something like that would be really awesome... :thumb:

[RS-Eddy]

than is ESLTV not more important :)

[CHR20000]

or shoutcast broadcasting (winamp) would be enjoyable if possible :D

[Woz]

The best way would be for each LFS game server to allow a relay stream of client data. This would send all the data you normally receive about the other cars to a relay.

The LFS client then could be modified so that it could operate in a special spectate mode when connected to a relay server. The only limit on the number of connected clients would be bandwidth but at least this would be far less of a requirement than a video stream

[g.man]

This has been mentioned many times before on RSC. I think it would cause some lag issues especially if there were 50-60 ppl 'spectating'.
Maybe they could limit the number of spectators, that could help alot!
Would be a great feature and i would cetainly download 100's of MB's to have it!

I would download it too, also if it is 100's of MB large but perhaps it isnt necessary, you can built it in the lfs full version and than you have all the informations that the spectator needs and the game.
I am for a 3D Spectator in LFS, because i like it to watch other good drivers on their laps like in the ESL Pro Series. I think a spectator belongs to every good online game and I hope someone can realize it, perhaps the LFS programmers read this thread ;) .

[sturje]

Sounds like an interesting idea. I'm not too sure about the need of a relay, purely because relays tend to be used when collosal amounts of people are watching an individual race. Aka when about 20,000-30,000 (inter-connecting relays) people are connected to watch the CPL final on dust2 or w/e.

Also concerning when large amounts of spectators are watching, the amount of bandwidth each spectator recieved could be dynamically adjusted depending on the amount of people watching the race. (the more people the less bandwidth they recieve, but just watching im sure the bandwidth uses would be quite low anyway). Also have to remember that LFS runs on a p2p system. Theoritically, the server could just run the spectator slots off its own bandwidth without the p2p system, this in turn would make it realistically possible to create such a system.

The problem, with the spectator slots at this moment in time is the p2p system. Expecially if one of the spectators is downloading (it happens....), this will lag the rest including the racers at the same time.

[g.man]

i would not make it on the same server as the racers are driving. I think you will need a dedicated server for watching the Race. This server could receive all the data without lag and send it to the people. Wenn someone lags on the spectator server there will be no lag on the race server i think. (correct me if it is not right).

[inCogNito]

actually this was my guess for the "interesting feature" in tha patch, unfortunately i was wrong. :(

but i still love the BF1 ;)