Spectating etiquette

External Since: Jan 12, 2005 Posts: 121

Like my post yesterday said, I can't quite get the hang of vehicles,
but Onslaught looks like it might be fun.

So yesterday, I decided to spectate on some live servers. The first
server, I watched several matches, before all the players logged off
leaving only bots. If I wanted to watch bots play, I could do so on
my own system, so I logged off and went to another server.

After a round, maybe two, I got kicked. I went to another server, and
after a round or two, I found myself unable to move in the game. So I
logged off and found another server. Again, shortly after a new
round, I found myself unable to move, before being kicked off again.
Persumably, I was being kicked off the previous server, but logged off
before being completely removed.

So what is the etiquette of spectating? And how does spectating
affect (effect?) the game. Does my spectating block a player on a
full server? (I chose servers that weren't near their limit, just in
case.)

In some cases, I suppose the host is paying for bandwith that I'm
using, either explicitly or in theory. (You can't host on ADSL; you
have to pay more for a higher upload speed, for example.)

Am I expected to at least socialize, even if I'm not playing? I
considered asking some tactics question, but didn't want to come
across as arrogant. (Why bother controlling this node when it's off
your primary attack vector?)

External Since: Apr 10, 2004 Posts: 669

On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 13:55:31 -0700, Todd <noone DeleteThis @nowhere.com> wrote:

>Like my post yesterday said, I can't quite get the hang of vehicles,
>but Onslaught looks like it might be fun.
>
>So yesterday, I decided to spectate on some live servers. The first
>server, I watched several matches, before all the players logged off
>leaving only bots. If I wanted to watch bots play, I could do so on
>my own system, so I logged off and went to another server.
>
>After a round, maybe two, I got kicked. I went to another server, and
>after a round or two, I found myself unable to move in the game. So I
>logged off and found another server. Again, shortly after a new
>round, I found myself unable to move, before being kicked off again.
>Persumably, I was being kicked off the previous server, but logged off
>before being completely removed.

I've seen that before too, but disconnecting and then reconnecting
should fix it.

>So what is the etiquette of spectating? And how does spectating
>affect (effect?) the game. Does my spectating block a player on a
>full server? (I chose servers that weren't near their limit, just in
>case.)

No, each server has 'X' number of slots for players and 'Y' number of
slots for spectators, although some servers don't allow any
spectators.

>In some cases, I suppose the host is paying for bandwith that I'm
>using, either explicitly or in theory. (You can't host on ADSL; you
>have to pay more for a higher upload speed, for example.)
>
>Am I expected to at least socialize, even if I'm not playing? I
>considered asking some tactics question, but didn't want to come
>across as arrogant. (Why bother controlling this node when it's off
>your primary attack vector?)

Speaking personally, I don't have time to chat with someone while I'm
playing. ONS is a game where every second counts... especially at the
start of the match.

Try spectating here: ut2004://72.51.60.248:7777

There are slots for two spectators. You may or may not get questions
answered. In the evenings the level of play is fairly high.