Spectator mode and slow motion replays

[Vl3d]

In my opinion a spectator mode (needs multiplayer) would really help newer players learn the game. They can watch the VAB / OAB building process, the testing, the actual missions, the accidents. Maybe add the possibility of slow motion replays (with the possibility to pause) where you can fly around with the camera and see everything that happens during a friends campaign. Maybe we could even exchange replays like save files. It's like having interactive YouTube / Twitch but you watch your friend play (and maybe talk / ask questions). Better yet, players could have the option to actually step in and interact with their friends if they wanted to control a kerbal during a mission or help design a craft.

PS: As long as spectating is limited to a volume around the craft and it's not used to discover easter eggs or secrets like in Minecraft.

[Pthigrivi]

2 hours ago, Vl3d said:

In my opinion a spectator mode (needs multiplayer) would really help newer players learn the game. They can watch the VAB / OAB building process, the testing, the actual missions, the accidents. Maybe add the possibility of slow motion replays (with the possibility to pause) where you can fly around with the camera and see everything that happens during a friends campaign. Maybe we could even exchange replays like save files. It's like having interactive YouTube / Twitch but you watch your friend play (and maybe talk / ask questions). Better yet, players could have the option to actually step in and interact with their friends if they wanted to control a kerbal during a mission or help design a craft.

PS: As long as spectating is limited to a volume around the craft and it's not used to discover easter eggs or secrets like in Minecraft.

This is a great idea. Slow motion replays would be especially helpful when diagnosing something like a staging failure, to be able to zoom around and see exactly what the problem is (loss of control, boosters not pulling clear, etc.)

Edited November 21, 2022 by Pthigrivi

[jastrone]

saving replays like that takes up a lot of space so maybe it just records when you are about to land(or crash) so you can see what happened if you want. but we defenetly need a spectator mode that just lets you see what other players are doing

[t_v]

1 hour ago, jastrone said:

saving replays like that takes up a lot of space so maybe it just records when you are about to land(or crash) so you can see what happened if you want. but we defenetly need a spectator mode that just lets you see what other players are doing

I think that if you only recorded something in a certain time interval, by entering a recording mode and hitting a button, it could work. Of course it would still take up data, but so does a video replay. For most people it would be something to review and delete to clear up their drive, and for content creators it would be a feature that creates a lot of possibilities for easier, more cinematic content that will bring people to the game. 

[Dragorans]

Just yes

It would be great for making videos too 

 

 

 

[magnemoe]

Its two ways to do this, one is to stream the video output to disk, the other to save that is happening in game, way less data but might not recreate stuff like explosions the same way. 

[poopslayer78]

On 11/21/2022 at 11:27 AM, Vl3d said:

In my opinion a spectator mode (needs multiplayer) would really help newer players learn the game.

This would indeed help with learning, but it may not be the best use of the KSP2 team's resources when there are easy ways to stream over programs like discord.  Perhaps the effort should instead be focused on making KSP2 play nicely with external apps for streaming, video capture, voice chat, etc rather than implement these features itself.

I often play various games with one other person and we just share our screens and pull up the other person's stream on a second monitor, so I can confirm that this helps with learning, even when both of us are past the noob stage.