Keep torch function on minimap after game has ended

[Ceres]

Dear developers, community,

Can we please keep the possibility to show something with the torch on the minimap also after a game has ended? We always want to point out to each other some exciting spot after the game's end but cannot, because the torch-on-minimap function is then not available anymore.

Thank you so much for your kind consideration.

[Stan`]

This was removed to prevent cheating and abuse IIRC. @Imarok

[Ceres]

@Stan`
@Imarok
@wowgetoffyourcellphone

How can the torch function be abused after a game has ended for all players?

We only play at home, so cheating would remain in the family.

Edited August 30, 2021 by Ceres

[Stan`]

11 minutes ago, Ceres said:

How can the torch function be abused after a game has ended for all players?

Well it can be abused to send messages to other remaining players  

[Gurken Khan]

3 hours ago, Stan` said:

Well it can be abused to send messages to other remaining players  

Couldn't it be re-activated after victory was declared?

[Ceres]

I referred to the game that ended for all players. Maybe I should rephrase it: Make the torch available after all human players have either left the game or resigned - or give the players the opportunity to agree upon the availability, e.g. by the hosting guy? Admittedly, I had more our family sessions in mind and should pay more attention to the wide audience and online matches. But maybe there's a good solution for it, too.

PS:

Or only team mates can use the torch after the game's end to show something to each other? Or am I missing a scenario where this could be abused?

Edited August 30, 2021 by Ceres

[Stan`]

In this case I think @Imarok might be more able to answer  

[Feldfeld]

What would make sense to me is that spectators could use flare to point other spectators interesting locations of the map, and when a player is eliminated / has won, he is considered a spectator.

[Imarok]

If I remember correctly the reasons why it was not added were:

a) The idea came up just some days before feature freeze

b) observers all have the same color so I wasn't sure if it is useful.

But I guess one could add flares for observers. The first step for that would be creating a ticket that requests this feature.

[BreakfastBurrito_007]

2 things would be super fun:

observer flares

observers see allied chat of teams

 

Also, I wonder if it is possible to add in-game voice chat? 

Edited August 30, 2021 by BreakfastBurrito_007

[flint1]

I would like to observe flares too 

[Ceres]

About in-game voice chat:

A couple of months ago, this was briefly touched somewhere in the forum in connection with Mumble/Murmur.

I set up a mumble server on a virtual machine on my Synology NAS, and we communicate via it without any issues. There's also a mumble app for Android, so you could even chat with your friends when you are not participating.

Personally, I wonder if an in-game voice chat functionality is worth the effort, but I also agree that it could be more convenient than setting up a server (which many people cannot even do, either, because the lack the knowledge - which is not so hard to get, though - or because they don't have the appropriated hardware available).

You could also use a public mumble server, but I feel uncomfortable about it (from the security perspective).

Maybe you want to consider opening an extra thread for this or expand on the existing one?

 

BTT, observer flares would be nice. Could observers who were players before jeep their colours but with a lighter hue?

Edited August 31, 2021 by Ceres

[maroder]

7 minutes ago, Ceres said:

I wonder if an in-game voice chat functionality is worth the effort

I don't think so. This would hugely increase the bandwidth that is needed to play multiplayer and there are so many good and even open source solutions out there that focus solely on communication, that it seem unnecessary to implement something specifically for 0 A.D.

[Ceres]

Yep, I agree.

PS:

There is one thing about mumble I like very much: TTS (text-to-speech). There is a possibility to feed the mumble client with text that it translates (very decently, IMO) to voice. Thus, you could get messages from 0 A.D. (e.g. queued units in CC are trained) directly to your ears. I'm not sure about the API, though, and thus should go in a separate thread.

Edited August 31, 2021 by Ceres