Becoming an E-Sport

[Captain Davy Jones]

I think this game would become an amazing E-sport and could gain a lot of popularity among the competitive gaming community. I see you guys have been doing a lot to cater to competitive play. Something I've noticed among popular E-sports is the importance of the spectator system. Almost all big E-sport games I know of have great spectator systems in place. It will encourage people to watch streams/casted games to learn and for fun (like watching a real sport). I've seen the spectator system in place and I think it definitely needs work  if you want to draw viewers. Please update this system asap (not pushing aside the importance of gameplay development of course). I believe this is an underrated method of developing a game into a popular competitive game. Looking forward to playing this game further and watching its' development!

[Shinkurex]

Hey Davy... I'm glad you like the game! To be honest, the spectator system has gone through massive improvements than what it has before... If you could, what kind of improvements did you have in mind?

[Captain Davy Jones]

I only saw the early spectator system, I haven't seen the latest spectator system! Didn't realize it had been upgraded. I'll post again when I see it. I just wanted to stress that a superb spectator system can really payoff.

[Captain Davy Jones]

From what I've seen, I have only seen relatively zoomed out shots of the battle. Is there a way you can spectate ships up closer or individual players?  That way viewers can get a more gameplay-like view of what the players are doing. This way you could see what strategies certain crews are employing and see it from their point of view.

[N-Sunderland]

When spectating, you'll notice that each ship has a number next to its name. Press that number on the keypad to focus and follow that ship. You can rotate around in close up and see the players, their ammo types, repair tools, and pilot tools. It displays what they're currently using, damage on the components, and repair/rebuild states.

[Shinkurex]

beat me to it how fast can you type on your phone Sunderland? geeze

[Captain Davy Jones]

It would also be cool if potential casters of the game could click some kind of hotkey to bring up the specifications of the ship (Guns equipped, ship specs, players in each position) as well as ship status (hull damage, gun damage etc.). The most popular e-sports are the ones that make it a viewer experience. Most people I know who are into Starcraft watch more of it than they do play! It's like watching a sporting event.

[Captain Davy Jones]

Thats cool, well than i'll just say that I want to stress the importance of the spectator system, maybe it is already good enough Idk. But I just wanted to put it out their that a good system pays off. I only want this game to succeed : )

[N-Sunderland]

Ship status is already shown on the sides. There's a box for each ship that shows hull damage, balloon damage, and whether other parts are destroyed or not. For the other things, focusing is currently the only way. Might be interesting for there to be an option for those in the future.

[N-Sunderland]

beat me to it how fast can you type on your phone Sunderland? geeze

I've gotten good at it after over 1800 posts

I only want this game to succeed : )

That's always great to hear. Your suggestions are obviously very much appreciated

[Shinkurex]

Thats cool, well than i'll just say that I want to stress the importance of the spectator system, maybe it is already good enough Idk. But I just wanted to put it out their that a good system pays off. I only want this game to succeed : )

*Insert helpful qwerty plug*

If you would like to give some feedback, we do have an official Streamer/commentator for our Cogs matches. I suggest watching some of his work, and see if this gives you the E-sport vibe (just watch out for the paddling matches, those can get a bit long (but do have some exciting bits)) That can be found here:

http://www.twitch.tv/qwerty2jam

Also the Occasionally Effective forums are here:

http://occasionallyeffective.guildlaunch.com/

Not used enough to provide feedback to qwerty imho.... everyone should head over there, and let him know that even though he was out for a bit, he's still doing a great job

*End qwerty plug*

[GrimWinter]

For the stage that this game is in I think the spectator system is pretty good. It can always use some improvement but it definitely has the necessities down. One thing I did notice when watching the last Cogs though was that commentators didn't go in for the closer view on ships as much as they could though. People (primarily those that aren't as into GoI) don't find much interest just watching the ships blasting at each other from a long distance, it is more exciting going in and seeing the players (most notably engineers) running around and working together. Find a good mix of the two types of views and you're golden.

Maybe I'll take a look at more of Qwerty's stuff to see if I can give more feedback. He has been doing a good job so far and I do thing e-sports in any competitive type game can be very beneficial to the community, the game, etc.

[Captain Davy Jones]

Thats cool, well than i'll just say that I want to stress the importance of the spectator system, maybe it is already good enough Idk. But I just wanted to put it out their that a good system pays off. I only want this game to succeed : )

*Insert helpful qwerty plug*

If you would like to give some feedback, we do have an official Streamer/commentator for our Cogs matches. I suggest watching some of his work, and see if this gives you the E-sport vibe (just watch out for the paddling matches, those can get a bit long (but do have some exciting bits)) That can be found here:

Thanks!

[Captain Davy Jones]

There's also the route dota 2 took to become a popular e-sport (other than good spectator mode) which was a relatively large tournament with a large prize pool. When competitive gamers saw how much they could make playing dota they flocked to it. Now, I realize that this was only possible because Dota 2 was developed by Valve who have a huge amount of revenue at their disposal, but money can be replaced with other rewards (maybe in game items that only tournament winners receive...or anything!). Maybe an in game tournament that happens every couple weeks with varying rewards would draw more players as well! Whatever you guys decide to do, I think the cog system is an awesome step in the right direction and I can't wait to see how this game develops.

[GrimWinter]

There's also the route dota 2 took to become a popular e-sport (other than good spectator mode) which was a relatively large tournament with a large prize pool. When competitive gamers saw how much they could make playing dota they flocked to it. Now, I realize that this was only possible because Dota 2 was developed by Valve who have a huge amount of revenue at their disposal, but money can be replaced with other rewards (maybe in game items that only tournament winners receive...or anything!). Maybe an in game tournament that happens every couple weeks with varying rewards would draw more players as well! Whatever you guys decide to do, I think the cog system is an awesome step in the right direction and I can't wait to see how this game develops.

An example of the in-game rewards you mention: Pretty much all smaller League of Legends tournaments that are aknowledged by Riot Games provide champion skin bundles, Riot Points, and a tournament exclusive Triumphant Ryze skin. With the way this game is built a very similar thing could be done.