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Friday’s <a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/2007/11/16/brawl-a-true-spectator-sport/">DOJO update</a> really put a spin on the whole concept of “SmashTV”. On February 10, the smash community will indeed experience SmashTV as if it were part of their cable TV subscription.
When initially speculating about this feature, I had great fears about its effects on lag between the participating players. I somewhat opposed the idea thanks to my poor Internet connection (it lags enough as it is). Nintendo, however, came up with such an elegant solution. The DOJO states: “This mode is a service where Nintendo uses Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to send the data for games played between other people to every Smash household.” Well, why did I not think of that? By having the server set aside copies of the match data, spectators can view the match streaming from a secondary source (perhaps a couple seconds behind), and this will have no effect on the match participants. Well done, Nintendo! (On a side note, I like how the DOJO is starting to use more casual terminology. “Smash household…” Clever.)
So, now, instead of doing my homework in silence (I have no cable TV subscription), I will most certainly have Brawl matches running in the background. This brings to light a few questions, though: Can matches be viewed one after the other with no input from the spectator (as if it were a TV channel)? Will spectators have to click “Find Match” between each match? Considering these matches use the basic “smash data” compression, will spectators be able to save replays on the fly if they see something cool happen? (That would add huge value to the spectator function. Being able to pick out tactics done by others would be fantabulousasticerrific.) Can the matches be buffered so as to ensure a smooth viewing?
This feature will define the future of SmashTV. Obviously, we will supply a variety of video content until Brawl is actually released, but I can already foresee the way things will be run. Even if the spectator function does not allow the saving of replays (*shudders*), burning a few hours of footage onto DVD would not be so bad.
Another big question to ask: Can a specific match be viewed? While the system would be OK without this little add-on, it would be <em>really </em>cool if it were possible to at least view matches being played by players in your friend list. The DOJO update makes it clear that no names will be displayed (slightly paranoid but understandable), but it would be nice to at least see friends duking it out.
Now for some far-fetched speculation. Imagine being able to play a game locally (all players physically present at one Wii) but having the match data transmitted for spectators to tune into. <em>This </em>would be the pinnacle of all spectator functions. Two pro smashers sit down for the final set in a huge tournament, and the entire smash community tunes in to see it happening live. Granted, this would lead to unique issues such as the Nintendo servers taking a beating (and possibly going down), but the matches themselves would be unaffected. Theoretically, it could just buffer the match data and transmit it whenever the connection is available.? Imagine being able to watch these matches <em>as they were happening</em>:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzB-iGwF8wU">Ken (Marth) vs KoreanDJ (Sheik)</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WowKCUQX4v4">PC Chris (Fox) vs Mew2King (Marth)</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMrgv8xQCqE">Isai (CFalcon) vs Husband (Marth)</a> - CLASSIC
However it turns out, I see a bright future for SmashTV here at Smash World Forums!
When initially speculating about this feature, I had great fears about its effects on lag between the participating players. I somewhat opposed the idea thanks to my poor Internet connection (it lags enough as it is). Nintendo, however, came up with such an elegant solution. The DOJO states: “This mode is a service where Nintendo uses Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to send the data for games played between other people to every Smash household.” Well, why did I not think of that? By having the server set aside copies of the match data, spectators can view the match streaming from a secondary source (perhaps a couple seconds behind), and this will have no effect on the match participants. Well done, Nintendo! (On a side note, I like how the DOJO is starting to use more casual terminology. “Smash household…” Clever.)
So, now, instead of doing my homework in silence (I have no cable TV subscription), I will most certainly have Brawl matches running in the background. This brings to light a few questions, though: Can matches be viewed one after the other with no input from the spectator (as if it were a TV channel)? Will spectators have to click “Find Match” between each match? Considering these matches use the basic “smash data” compression, will spectators be able to save replays on the fly if they see something cool happen? (That would add huge value to the spectator function. Being able to pick out tactics done by others would be fantabulousasticerrific.) Can the matches be buffered so as to ensure a smooth viewing?
This feature will define the future of SmashTV. Obviously, we will supply a variety of video content until Brawl is actually released, but I can already foresee the way things will be run. Even if the spectator function does not allow the saving of replays (*shudders*), burning a few hours of footage onto DVD would not be so bad.
Another big question to ask: Can a specific match be viewed? While the system would be OK without this little add-on, it would be <em>really </em>cool if it were possible to at least view matches being played by players in your friend list. The DOJO update makes it clear that no names will be displayed (slightly paranoid but understandable), but it would be nice to at least see friends duking it out.
Now for some far-fetched speculation. Imagine being able to play a game locally (all players physically present at one Wii) but having the match data transmitted for spectators to tune into. <em>This </em>would be the pinnacle of all spectator functions. Two pro smashers sit down for the final set in a huge tournament, and the entire smash community tunes in to see it happening live. Granted, this would lead to unique issues such as the Nintendo servers taking a beating (and possibly going down), but the matches themselves would be unaffected. Theoretically, it could just buffer the match data and transmit it whenever the connection is available.? Imagine being able to watch these matches <em>as they were happening</em>:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzB-iGwF8wU">Ken (Marth) vs KoreanDJ (Sheik)</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WowKCUQX4v4">PC Chris (Fox) vs Mew2King (Marth)</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMrgv8xQCqE">Isai (CFalcon) vs Husband (Marth)</a> - CLASSIC
However it turns out, I see a bright future for SmashTV here at Smash World Forums!
