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Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 05 Sep 2021, 17:19
by Aizamk
Welcome to the second iteration of the Basic Spectator Mod. :flowers:

https://www.ageofempires.com/mods/details/42486/
> THE MOD FROM THE ABOVE LINK IS REQUIRED BY PLAYERS AND LIVE SPECTATORS
> BUT IT IS NOT REQUIRED WHEN CASTING FROM RECORDED GAMES, WHICH MAY ALSO BE VIEWED ON THE OFFICIAL PATCH

You can also go to the mod manager in game, search for and subscribe to "BasicSpecMod v2 - Base".

Instead of needing to manually add code to custom maps, activating the "Basic Spectator Mod v2 - Base" will place users on a different version of the game, where any game played on any map on the patch will have the extra features enabled for recorded and spectated games.

Basic Features:
  • > Activated upon switching player view for the first time
    > Everything you're used to having on the older custom map version of the mod
    > When selecting a unit, in addition to active upgrades and shipments, the lower display will also show a header of the form
    ProtoName [ NumberAlive + NumberQueued + NumberDead ]
    > Flares for raids (functions same way as before)
Advanced Features:
  • > Activated upon going to top right menu and selecting "More Info". This will also force player colours to the default Blue/Red.
    > Requires the CASTER to install an additional "Basic Spectator Mod v2 - Add On" mod: https://www.ageofempires.com/mods/details/42487/
    > It's important to use the legacy UI layout. Also recommended to use 70% UI scaling so more information is visible.
    > Return of the military / economic population bars! (experimental, only works in 1v1) - no "recalculated" version available yet
    > Shipments show the numbers e.g. 700 on 700 wood (except for numbers on 'big-button' type shipments where the value increases over time)
    > Enables viewing postgame graphs during the game! (only possible when doing LIVE spectating - after activating the population graphic, you can go to menu -> the View Postgame in the same way you normally would)
    > Additional button on the playback UI which allows toggling the timeline slider
Some screenshots below.

Basic Features
SpecBase.png
Additional Features
SpecAddOn.png
SpecAddOn2.png
Live Postgame
Postgame.png
Thanks to everyone who gave feedback on features while this was in development.

Special thanks to:
@Kao for his generous £10 donation which has funded and motivated the speedy development of v2 and his help with other automation scripts
@musketeer925 for assisting with generating the shipment number overlays
v0 Play testers @EAGLEMUT and @minimoult21
v1.5 Play tester @Mr_Bramboy
v2 Play testers @Kao and Nono

Note that due to the nature of the mod, the "Add On" version will need to be updated with every official patch.

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 05 Sep 2021, 18:37
by Aykin Haraka
live postgame is hot af

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 05 Sep 2021, 18:40
by Mr_Bramboy
Amazing work!

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 05 Sep 2021, 18:57
by fightinfrenchman
Based

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 05 Sep 2021, 19:13
by aligator92
.

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 05 Sep 2021, 19:15
by danielpereira
Nice work! :D

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 05 Sep 2021, 20:18
by Mitoe
Please tell me that the "quit" button is not present on that live postgame--I already hit it by accident instead of "View Map" all the time, haha

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 05 Sep 2021, 20:54
by DayanG
Dear Aiz this should be done by these damn programmers not the fans since it isn't a fan patch but still thanks for all the work you do. Will some icons be placed in the next version to better identify the total number of settlers and total number of troops? So it looks a bit ugly and incapable.

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 06 Sep 2021, 01:23
by Aizamk
Mitoe wrote:Please tell me that the "quit" button is not present on that live postgame--I already hit it by accident instead of "View Map" all the time, haha
I did indeed consider this possibility, hence, you can see in the screenshot that the "Quit" button is removed :P
DayanG wrote:Dear Aiz this should be done by these damn programmers not the fans since it isn't a fan patch but still thanks for all the work you do. Will some icons be placed in the next version to better identify the total number of settlers and total number of troops? So it looks a bit ugly and incapable.
The design can be changed over time depending on suggestions - right now the emphasis is on making sure it works the way it should.

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 07 Sep 2021, 10:02
by Aizamk
Added experimental population, food/wood/gold, and player names (standard characters only) to the upper graphic.

Also, missing shipment icons should be fixed with this next version (thanks musketeer925)
update070921.png

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 08 Sep 2021, 05:37
by Aizamk
I understand that currently there may be issues with players being unable to use the v2 Basic mod if they have special characters in their username (some problem with DE's mod system). If anyone is having the said problem and has some time to help out, could you please message me on Discord (Aizamk #3187) so I can figure out if there's a workaround. Thanks.

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 08 Sep 2021, 15:51
by Zutazuta
In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Louisiana State University .

On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Peter approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee, inspected the elephants foot, and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Peter stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned and walked away. Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Peter was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and his son Cameron were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter could not help wondering if this was the same elephant. Peter summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly. Probably wasn't the same fucking elephant.

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 08 Sep 2021, 20:36
by Victor_swe
:hmm:

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 08 Sep 2021, 21:24
by Squamiger
aligator92 wrote:.
pretty sure the billion dollar company, who will benefit from aiz doing free labor, has won.

but still, nice work aiz

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 10 Sep 2021, 12:52
by Aizamk
If anyone has special characters in their windows username, then in order to play on the mod, you need to

1) Subscribe to the mod
2) Locate the folder C:\Users\MyName\Games\Age of Empires 3 DE\numbers\mods\subscribed\42486_basicspecmod v2 - base\

You should find that this folder is empty. It's not meant to be empty.

3) Unzip the contents of the latest 'manual install' attachment (010122) in this thread into the folder. You should have two subfolders, data and game.

42486_basicspecmod v2 - base\data
42486_basicspecmod v2 - base\game

To play normal games, just disable the mod (click the blue circle thingy in-game). This lets you re-enable the mod later. Do NOT unsubscribe or you will have to repeat the process.

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 11 Sep 2021, 16:59
by LazarosVas
@Aizamk I am sorry but I think the top UI with the military population stands out a bit too much and distracts quite a bit, maybe it should be better to just remove it. Hell of a job but I think it should not be taking that long portion of the screen.

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 11 Sep 2021, 17:21
by Aizamk
LazarosVas wrote:@Aizamk I am sorry but I think the top UI with the military population stands out a bit too much and distracts quite a bit, maybe it should be better to just remove it. Hell of a job but I think it should not be taking that long portion of the screen.
The design is flexible, suggest a way in which it can be improved and I'll consider it.

(note that the upper graphic is optional anyway and not part of the default features)

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 11 Sep 2021, 18:07
by callentournies
Lovely effort, I "like" this initiative!

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 12 Sep 2021, 01:36
by LazarosVas
Aizamk wrote:
LazarosVas wrote:@Aizamk I am sorry but I think the top UI with the military population stands out a bit too much and distracts quite a bit, maybe it should be better to just remove it. Hell of a job but I think it should not be taking that long portion of the screen.
The design is flexible, suggest a way in which it can be improved and I'll consider it.

(note that the upper graphic is optional anyway and not part of the default features)
Awesome, I think it could be placed right below the "shipments sent" , and only the 2 bars of military units populations and villager population, the housing + resources shown is a bit excessive as it is already shown in the AOE UI.

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 12 Sep 2021, 05:06
by Aizamk
LazarosVas wrote:
Aizamk wrote:
LazarosVas wrote:@Aizamk I am sorry but I think the top UI with the military population stands out a bit too much and distracts quite a bit, maybe it should be better to just remove it. Hell of a job but I think it should not be taking that long portion of the screen.
The design is flexible, suggest a way in which it can be improved and I'll consider it.

(note that the upper graphic is optional anyway and not part of the default features)
Awesome, I think it could be placed right below the "shipments sent" , and only the 2 bars of military units populations and villager population, the housing + resources shown is a bit excessive as it is already shown in the AOE UI.
Unfortunately the graphic at the bottom is not so flexible, so the top graphic can't be moved below it as that would block information.

The reason behind showing population+resources at the top is that it shows them simultaneously, whereas in the default recorded game UI you can only see one person's perspective at a time.

Note for anyone submitting improvements: Submitting a design along with the suggestion (even in paint) would help a lot.

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 12 Sep 2021, 05:08
by yemshi
res and pop space is useful for casters that never change pov

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 12 Sep 2021, 07:45
by Javon
Great work! I have some suggestions for the visual aspect of the top graphics, they mostly have to do with readability and aesthetics. The suggestion in picture below might need some resizing as to not clutter the screen too much, but I suggest adding the "MIL" and "ECO" texts before bars to make it easier for people unfamiliar with the UI to differentiate between bars. The numbers in the bars (15, 31 and 13) would be better visible if emboldened. Res shown for both players could be denoted with icons in the middle, if it's not possible I suggest replacing the icons with "F", "W", "C". For better readability the transparent black bar should be behind the usernames written (in the middle of the screen below your res count) in white as well. White rectangles in my picture are there just to give background to the text I've written, white text on semi transparent black rectangles as you have now look great.
image897.png

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 14 Sep 2021, 19:04
by Aizamk
Base version is still compatible with the new patch (with the exception of being unable to detect new African cards). However, it will take a few days before I can update the Add On.

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 17 Sep 2021, 16:59
by EAGLEMUT
Aizamk wrote:Base version is still compatible with the new patch (with the exception of being unable to detect new African cards).
Is it though? We were tryin to use it today with Herbiemaster and games were going instantly OOS until removing the mod :hmm:
I suspect because of modifying resources.xml it's not actually compatible.

Re: Basic Spectator Mod v2

Posted: 17 Sep 2021, 17:02
by Aizamk
EAGLEMUT wrote:
Aizamk wrote:Base version is still compatible with the new patch (with the exception of being unable to detect new African cards).
Is it though? We were tryin to use it today with Herbiemaster and games were going instantly OOS until removing the mod :hmm:
I suspect because of modifying resources.xml it's not actually compatible.
Hmm yea realized that earlier today. I'm trying to work the console back in within the next 12 hrs before releasing the next version, though.