Game Recording/AAR

[Arjuna]

Hi all,

Tell me who would be interested in a feature which played back the game as a recording?

You wouldn't be able to interact with it other than to access data - ie you could click on a unit and see its data display but you couldn't give it an order. Initially you could only see things from your side's perspective. Maybe further down the track we could view it from the opposing side as well and with perfect intel on both sides. But initially it would be just from your friendly perspective.

Another option further down the track could be to provide a text and graphic overlay in the Game in which the user could draw arrows and basic geometric shapes and add text. This could be wiped clean and a new overlay drawn at any time during the game. then we could incorporate this in the recording and hey presto you would have an instant AAR. We would probably need the ability to playback the recording and edit the overlay and then save it with the edits. That way you could always get rid of those particularly stupid planning thoughts you had during the game and really impress everyone with a bit of post game editing. [;)]

Then users could post these recording for all to download and playback.

What do you reckon?

And how much extra are you willing to pay for this? [:)]

How high up on the wish list should it go?

[laska2k8]

yes, this is an amazing idea [:)]
also the ability to include graphics overlay let us able to provide detailed AAR.

how much extra will I pay for it ?
ahmmmm...don't know
it could be considered as an upgrade that IMO doesn't justify full price, but
if you add a scenario converter from HttR to CotA....[&o]

[El Savior]

An excellent idea!

This way you can show your best victories or worst defeats. It would be incredable easy to make AAR. Gone are the paper notes besides your monitor. [8D]

[PanzerMax]

Very far down the list. Not that I wouldn't love the feature but very much non-core.

[Deathtreader]

Hi all,

Way way way down the list....... I'd much rather see some of the nifty wishlist items that continue to improve the engine (such as the ability to better coordinate player ordered attacks, AA units that have a chance of reducing/aborting airstrikes, capturing of enemy supply/fuel stocks, terrain that changes appearance with the weather, the ability to perform on screen planning, and event triggers -- just to name my favourites) given the limited time and resources available. Maybe even adapt the engine/game scale for operations one level higher.
Doesn't really matter in the end though....I've purchased every wargame Panther's ever published since the original "Fire Brigade" and am a lifelong customer regardless of what order the features roll out in. [:)]

Whoops, sorry for the dissertation in response to a simple question. I'd go an extra 10 bucks -- tops -- for this particular feature.

Rob.

[Fred98]

A replay would be a great feature.
 
Close Combat 1 had a replay and the replay file was a separate file. It means, as you said above, people can upload a replay as an AAR

[loyalcitizen]

I don't need to see a playback and do not want to pay for such a thing.
Looking at the map at the end of the game allows me to recall what happened. I don't need to see it again.
If I think I missed something interesting, that just gives me the incentive to play the battle again. If I watch a battle playback, that would really ruin that scenario's replayability for me. Yes, I don't have to watch it, but that leads me back to not wanting to pay for such a feature in the first place or have Panther spend one second programming it.

[06 Maestro]

The map overlays with text would be great. I would make that a higher priority than the replay as planning aids would add another dimension of realism (realistic play?). The replay feature would certainly increase AAR's and could be a training tool also.
As far as additional price goes, I think 3 bucks US should cover it. There is also the possibility that your sales volume will increase so much that you could actually be able to reduce the current price.[:)]

[Major Disaster]

This feature would be very high on my list. The idea is that one can not only use it as an AAR but the scenario designers could use this to show what happened historically by proving a "Historical AAR" that one could view after playing a scenario (or before as a "spoiler"). It would really be cool if you could move the units with a time "slider bar" so that you could easily advance the time forward or backward and see how the uinits "move".
 
Finally this coupled with a preview mode (where you move friendlies only based on their orders) and then you could go back in time and see what has happened or slide forward and see where things wought to look in the future *less the enmies moves). That combined with the graphics overlays would provide both an integrated  planning and a an AAR tool.

[GoodGuy]

ORIGINAL: Arjuna

Then users could post these recording for all to download and playback.

It'd be a neat feature, but I'd expect this to be rather part of some major "commercial" game with 3D, hollywood FX, and Matrix-like first-person-thingy. Don't waste your time/ressources on this please.

My 2cents

[James Sterrett]

When combined with the graphics editing and a VCR/slider control to move rapidly to set points (possibly even the ability to set "markers" during play to recall given situations?), this would be a great feature.   And preferably players could *not* erase their pre-battle planning graphic.  [:)]

I do confess, though, that most people will have far less use for this than I would.

[Vance]

I would love to see a game recording after the battle has ended. I always look at the map after the battle has ended and the fog of war has lifted. Be being able to see the complete battle without fog of war would be much better that only the last frame.

However, it would give an opportunity to study the behaviour of the AI, and that could spoil the game.

[Arjuna]

Vance,
 
In the first cut I'm proposing that the recording would retain FOW.

[JudgeDredd]

That could be a switch [;)]

We gamers like switches! [:D]

[James Sterrett]

A switch, selectable while watching the replay, that would cycle between each player's view, and also a no-fog-of-war view, would be ideal.

[Arjuna]

James,
 
Your enthusiasm for this feature is overwhelming, but I know why! [;)]

[James Sterrett]

[:D]
 
Which, I realize, does undermine my positio.  [:)]  [:(]
 
 

[Major Disaster]

Also, I am thinking that the event log would be somehow linked to the replay so that as one scrolls through the replay the event log would scroll along with it. Also, I am thinking that perhaps a some people who aren't that keen for this now might warm up to this once they had it and start thinking how did I ever live without this back in the dark ages? Now I could be wrong there but there is that possibility that I am not. [:'(]

[Arjuna]

Major DIsaster,
 
By event log I presume you mean the log for the selected unit or the log for the side if no unit selected. Is that right?

[Fred98]

ORIGINAL: loyalcitizen
Looking at the map at the end of the game allows me to recall what happened. I don't need to see it again.

But how do you describe it to us?

The real purpose of a replay, is so that the rest of us can watch it and discuss your game. Then everybody improves their game.