About the spectator issues during the tournament finals, the spectator code for the UserPatch itself was completed several weeks ago and hasn't changed significantly since. However, the Voobly client code that interfaces with UserPatch has been receiving continuous updates over the past week, which includes the problematic update before the tournament. Changes to the Voobly client are outside the control of the UserPatch team. The issues will be resolved shortly, I hope. Sorry for the trouble!
For future streams, tournaments, and general viewing, here's how the spectator system works:
Spectator System and Rec Viewer Changes in v1.4
The rate hotkeys (usually numpad+ and numpad-) switch players without dropdown box lag.
The flare button/hotkey (usually Alt+F) will toggle the fog of war setting.
Replay speed now spans from 0% to 100% (0% = original slow, 100% = unbounded speed).
The Slow button reduces speed by 25%, while the Fast button increases it by 25%.
Hold the "Shift" key when clicking these buttons for finer adjustments.
The Normal button will return playback to 50% speed (75% when spectating).
Achievements can be viewed at any time from the Quit menu.
Using the Spectator System
The in-game viewer will attempt to maintain smooth playback, while remaining as close to "live" as possible. On Standard UP v1.4, this is at most 10 seconds and usually within 1 second. If the view becomes choppy, it is likely that you have reached "live", so please wait as the system adapts and auto-adjusts itself.
It is strongly recommended to allow the system to automatically manage playback speed in order to keep the view "live" at all times. Reducing speed or pausing playback will naturally cause your view to temporarily drift away from "live". For most games, spectators should not have to make any manual speed adjustments.
If you ever pause or delay playback, you can set the playback speed to 100% by using the "Fast" button in order to catch up to "live". If the players pause their game or are otherwise delayed, the spectator view will enter a waiting state until they will resume (a yellow notice at the bottom of the screen will show "Waiting for other players..."). If the host disconnects or the game ends, the spectator view will also end.
Host Player Significance
The host player has special significance, as they are collecting and providing all of the data. While spectating, you will be able to see all chat messages that the host player can see, regardless of who you are watching, however you will not be able to see messages that the host does not receive. In addition, if you enable View Lock while focusing on the host player, you will get real-time View Lock, which follows their view and actions precisely. If you enable View Lock for any other player, you will get simulated View Lock instead.
Rec Viewer Performance
For v1.4, performance for single player mode, the spectator system, and the rec viewer has been increased up to 3-5x, depending on the system. If, for any reason, you are experiencing poor performance, it may be related to the use of windowed mode. To disable windowed mode and use fullscreen mode like v1.0c, you can either use the "NOWND" shortcut parameter for "age2_x1.exe", or delete "wndmode.dll" in the "age2_x1" folder.
For future streams, tournaments, and general viewing, here's how the spectator system works:
Spectator System and Rec Viewer Changes in v1.4
The rate hotkeys (usually numpad+ and numpad-) switch players without dropdown box lag.
The flare button/hotkey (usually Alt+F) will toggle the fog of war setting.
Replay speed now spans from 0% to 100% (0% = original slow, 100% = unbounded speed).
The Slow button reduces speed by 25%, while the Fast button increases it by 25%.
Hold the "Shift" key when clicking these buttons for finer adjustments.
The Normal button will return playback to 50% speed (75% when spectating).
Achievements can be viewed at any time from the Quit menu.
Using the Spectator System
The in-game viewer will attempt to maintain smooth playback, while remaining as close to "live" as possible. On Standard UP v1.4, this is at most 10 seconds and usually within 1 second. If the view becomes choppy, it is likely that you have reached "live", so please wait as the system adapts and auto-adjusts itself.
It is strongly recommended to allow the system to automatically manage playback speed in order to keep the view "live" at all times. Reducing speed or pausing playback will naturally cause your view to temporarily drift away from "live". For most games, spectators should not have to make any manual speed adjustments.
If you ever pause or delay playback, you can set the playback speed to 100% by using the "Fast" button in order to catch up to "live". If the players pause their game or are otherwise delayed, the spectator view will enter a waiting state until they will resume (a yellow notice at the bottom of the screen will show "Waiting for other players..."). If the host disconnects or the game ends, the spectator view will also end.
Host Player Significance
The host player has special significance, as they are collecting and providing all of the data. While spectating, you will be able to see all chat messages that the host player can see, regardless of who you are watching, however you will not be able to see messages that the host does not receive. In addition, if you enable View Lock while focusing on the host player, you will get real-time View Lock, which follows their view and actions precisely. If you enable View Lock for any other player, you will get simulated View Lock instead.
Rec Viewer Performance
For v1.4, performance for single player mode, the spectator system, and the rec viewer has been increased up to 3-5x, depending on the system. If, for any reason, you are experiencing poor performance, it may be related to the use of windowed mode. To disable windowed mode and use fullscreen mode like v1.0c, you can either use the "NOWND" shortcut parameter for "age2_x1.exe", or delete "wndmode.dll" in the "age2_x1" folder.