This has been something on my mind ever since the CM13 stream was first set up but at the current time it’s a super powerful indirect metagaming tool that allows players from both sides to get information typically only available to them as ghost. This is especially problematic as the stream picks players who are currently engaged in the action at random, meaning that both sides get a good chunk of info every time the stream perspective switches.
While the idea of the stream isn’t anything problem, the problematic part is the delay between LIVE and stream, which is currently set up at roughly 1-2 minutes.
My proposal would be simple, just delay the stream by 30 minutes. That’s it, would certainly help heavily decrease the metagaming potential there is.
It’s currently at thirty seconds, which is crazy low in my opinion. 30 minutes (or something in that range, I’m not opposed to 15 minutes or something) would be much better.
What is the most cost effective time? I am uncertain of how this works so please forgive me if I get something wrong. To specify, how much does it cost the owners to operate the stream and what would the dollar amount be to increase the delay?
Me when I’m in the middle of heated combat 1v1ing the queen and trying to save two marines and I get the fuckign YOU ARE BEING WATCHED chat notif
GO AWAY BRO IM TRYING TO READ COMBAT LOGS
Mfw I opt out and then get picked again anyways later during combat AGHHHHHHHH
To this point, I suppose I think like 5 to 7 mins is probably enough since that’s the perma timer and that’s probably the most likely thing for people to meta (“hello I have just ~randomly~ discovered my fellow dead IO on the other side of the map and I have Saved them Just In Time based on my pure intuition!”)
Mind that while you’re dead and revivable you see more than you do with the stream up anyway.
I think the only new information being enabled here is primarily before drop, during prep. You can see what areas of the map are being fortified and how the survivors are doing. To resolve that you’d either need a much longer than 30 second delay (like 20-30 minutes) or you don’t start the stream observation until after drop, or you don’t observe xenos.
Or, it’s just not that big of a deal in general and we leave it somewhere in the 30s to 5 minutes range and continue on with our lives.
Im getting the vibe that everyone in this thread has metagamed the stream (which is epic and all) cause yall seem way too adamant on this being metagaming when quite frankly the amount of information you can get from the stream at MOST is going to be where the hive is lol.
Idk about you guys but I’ve never had a xeno im fighting stand still for 30 seconds. Stream is fun because its live, I got spectated more than a few times and its exciting because I get to share my gameplay POV with other players. Thread sounds a whole like a lot of what ifs
Or alternatively whoever is incharge of this stuff can just decide that cm players cant be trusted to not turn everything into a circus (lvl challenge impossible) and just decide that u dont deserve streams of ur favorite spessman game
We had cases where specs would get scouted pre drop as well as medics getting metatargeted by the runner UAV squad. Keep in mind that more static xeno and marine elements get INSTANTLY found out either due to the stream targeting a marine/xeno currently on location or one passing the location.
Eh, 3 minutes is fine. That’s enough time where it needs a directed and concentrated force to do anything with such information. The marine/xeno special plans before drop obviously wouldn’t work with this but I would think hiding the textlog at the start of the round would be the easiest way to resolve it.
Why 3 minutes? Well if say a scout dies in the backlines, and Urist McStreamsniper sees it, they have 2 minutes to retrieve the scout AND find a medic for them. Some larger maps can take up to two minutes to get anywhere meaningful, not to mention the backliners are probably still vaguely in the area. It would be the sorta effort thats quite literally drop everything and run. It would look very, very obvious for any mods looking.
I honestly like the stream, I think its a very cool idea. (Though there are issues with it, I’ve had times on lowpop where I’ve pressed the opt out button when im doing something funny, and I’ve not realised that the system has gone ahead and choosen me again (not seeing the tiny x2 on the message))
