[Suggestion] - A better replay system

[Outlawed]

Hello community,

I've been an avid fan and follower of CA and the Total War series for a long time now.
I started aYoutube channel almost exclusively built for TW casting and commentary.

For a caster, the TW replay system isn't very user friendly. In fact, its quite linear. It only gives the caster the capability to speed up/slow down the replay and commentate accordingly. Meaning casting becomes a quite hectic on the spot kind of thing, which is quite enjoyable don't get me wrong. But for someone like me who does casts to try and convey some sort of message or tactical insight into a battle, I'd have to watch the replay several times and mark interesting points in the battle that I need to make sure I don't miss, else, I'd have to restart the whole commentary process or do some post-editing. I'm sure for casual purposes, the current replay system is fine.

Basically, I think we can all agree about the amount of 'casual' the current replay system has

My suggestions are based off of StarCraft, mainly because that game has the best replay system I've seen to date.

Interface:

Currently, replays can only be organized on the basis of alphabetical order or the date they were saved/modified.
I think all commentators would love a system that includes some sort of information panel that gives you the name of the map fought on, the duration of the battle, the date the battle was played (not saved), a battle type field, alongside the existing date/naming/players involved system.
Some sort of filtering or sorting tool for this would be fantastic. The commentator would be able to filter out battles based on his/her needs. A simple list like the currently existing one would do, with extra cells, but a preview area is needed. This preview area should have player starting locations, a simple map overhead view (probably could use the actual mini-maps that render during a replay/battle).

Time freedom:

Going into the replay, commentators get a great loading screen that shows the map, starting location and player names. I think this is great as is. When a viewer gets into a replay however, they better make sure that they don't miss a point in the battle, because if they do, well too bad. We can currently only pause and change the speed at which the replay is playing. What is essential is a rewind/seek system that allows you to forward, rewind, restart the replay without having to quit the replay at all. This would make things so much more efficient as now, a commentator can go back in time and review important points, and then snap back to the future and continue as they were. Another great feature would be some sort of 'now' or 'current' marker that takes you back to the furthest point you've reached in the replay.

Status bars:

This just seals the deal. The commentator, similar to commentators in StarCraft, would have a dropdown list that shows each players units, in concise form, something like a counter system would be amazing. So lets say I have 3 Hastati, the unit indicator would show a Hastati icon with 3X next to it. There should be an 'everything' bar, an 'in combat' bar, a 'routing' bar, an 'idle bar, an 'infantry' bar, a 'ranged' bar, a 'cavalry' bar and a 'casualties' bar. Each is quite self explanatory. This would give commentators tools to compare armies, per player and comment on the numbers of casualties and amount of routing units through different intervals.

So in summary:
1- An interface to allow sorting of replays based on details like maps, duration, date played..etc
2- A seek feature that allows commentators to control the time of the battle they are viewing, including a back to 'now' cursor, that takes you to the furthest point reached.
3- A 'status' bar that shows different statistics and briefs the battle situation to allow for easy comparison.

The whole point of this is to allow commentators to analyze games that much easier. I speak out of personal experience to say that the replay system has had its share of bugs, discrepancies, and unfriendly components for the user.

I hope you guys agree with me, and I hope the CA team puts effort towards this point.

- GamerDudester

[JackDionne]

A rewind button is a must, great thread.

[Winterspawn]

Yeah, sometimes I'm really annoyed by the limits of the battle replay. I can't go back and that makes it difficult for me to see most things.

[JankoMega]

Totally agree with this, GD. Only thing left is the CA to check this thread out...
Really good work on typing all this.
EDIT: The best part and the one that I'm mostly agreeing with is the one about controlling the replay's time. This would significantly be useful for machinima makers, but also for, as you mentioned, commentators such as yourself. Personally, I'm making the cinematic videos for TW, hence I'm totally agreeing with this. Again, good job.

[Fallenempire]

It would make it more esports friendly

[Outlawed]

It would make it more esports friendly

Yeah, that too. I think one of the biggest forms, if not THE biggest form of advertisement that CA gets for their game is through commentaries and commentators, so why not help them thrive?

Double post mybad, but I forgot to add that its important to allow control of viewing things like chat between players and pings during the battle in the replay.
A cinematic mode with everything including cursor, map and other on-screen menus removed would also be very helpful.
Will add more as I think of them.

[Lockcaps]

Also i want to be able to spectate other players while in-game. I also want an in-game friendssystem because while Steam is good it just doesn't feel "natural". Global chatlobby's available even while in singleplayer.

[Outlawed]

Also i want to be able to spectate other players while in-game. I also want an in-game friendssystem because while Steam is good it just doesn't feel "natural". Global chatlobby's available even while in singleplayer.

You can already spectate other players in Shogun and I think they will keep that feature. Commentators have used that to live Stream tourney matches and the such.
An in-game friend system, I don't know about that. Just seems kind of useless. A global chat for MP is needed though, but the last two points are completely unrelated to replays =p

[Point_Man]

MP just doesn't have the amount of support from CA, no matter how much the game is really growing through Youtube and Twitchy.tv streaming. I plan to stream battles next year when I get a new computer.

[SC_Shaith]

I second this idea,
It would be great to get some better in-game tools for commentating, not to mention how useful these could be for normal players analyzing how there matches.
Overall some great ideas there mate.
all the best
-Shaith

[Outlawed]

MP just doesn't have the amount of support from CA, no matter how much the game is really growing through Youtube and Twitchy.tv streaming. I plan to stream battles next year when I get a new computer.

I wouldn't particularly second that, but I will say that CA's speed at fixing MAJOR Multiplayer bugs and imbalances has been rather slow. At the end of the day, we see an almost bugless, really well balanced game. In the case of Shogun and FotS it took a good year and a half to reach that stage, which is FAR beyond what is acceptable. They need to have MP beta that lasts longer so that the MPbase can be a part of the development process. But how this is related to the idea of a better replay system: not sure

I second this idea,
It would be great to get some better in-game tools for commentating, not to mention how useful these could be for normal players analyzing how there matches.
Overall some great ideas there mate.
all the best
-Shaith

Totally. A better replay system means more analysis for replays by both the commentator and the competitor within.