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Those new ESPN cameras that zip on lines.
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Patrick: VISA Skycam brings you images that no other single camera in the world can capture!
Summerall: Wow! How about that technology?
Theismann: Mm.
Patrick: I'll tell you what! That is the best camera in the NFL! Did you know he was a multi-sport camera in college?! Watch how he moves! No, no, really! I want you to watch this! BAM! If I had one wish, it would be for everyone in the world to spend five minutes with the VISA Skycam. It's almost as great as watching Antoine Winfield! So small, yet so powerful and passionate!
Theismann: Mm.
Okay, you can see that I really hate the lovefest that is Sunday Night Football, but back to the Arena.
I think it'll be really great, and my entire SG is very excited. This is like that Huge TV idea (which would have been cooler, but less feasible). Go Devs!
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1. Mute Observers:
When players are in the Arena, there should not be any way an active participant can receive any messages from, or in any way detect the Observers. If you add observers as a killable obstacle it will imbalance the gameplay and distract the participants. This will frustrate players more than it will bring enjoyment to the observers.
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:[ Too many external communication systems that those desprate ones that really want to win everything can use (e.g. Team Chat).
-LP
WHat about this.. possibly won't work with the game engine.. but what if there is a 20 sec delay in the spy cam feed and live action?
OR
Only allow the 3 views. overhead, leader view on either team? as in you see what that see?
I would think the delay part would be the most anti-spyish/cheatish but perhaps the hardest to do.
We had a 90 sec delay on HLTV during tfc maches manditory just for such occasions.
.:Brmstone's BLOG:.
Posi... great idea but I can't but stress the most important feature for this idea to be a success:
CONFIGURATION
Reading the bits of info on arenas, seems that there is gonna be some kind of "match configuration" stage. Well, I would be sure to include observer options in the match negotiation, at least let the participants control:
-Non-combatant drone mode:
* none. No spectators.
* restricted. Arena accepts spectators requests until a set number is filled. Could be nice to have a mechanism to block specific players to enter (maybe comparing with the ignore lists of participants) or allowing specific players to do so (involved SG members or participants' friend lists)
* free (default). Arena accept spectators until some server-side limit is reached.
-Combatant-to-drone mode:
* none. Participants can't enter observer mode.
* locked. Participants who enter observer mode are effectively turned into spectators (their bodies dissapear from the arena)
* free (default). Participants can enter observer mode and their corpses can still be manipulated (ported, rezzed, etc.)
-Drone damage model:
* invulnerable. Drones can't be destroyed at all.
* fragile (default). Drones will have 1 hp.
* vaporware. Drones will be destroyed if ANY condition affects them (that includes holds, buffs, heals, etc...).
* zap mode. Each combatant is awarded with the "zap camera" temp power (0 END, very fast recharge, sniper range, ultra-fast/none animation). This power should work in 2 modes. if targetted to a drone will destroy it, if targeted on anything else it will destroy the NEAREST drone within LoS. This includes also "vaporware" setting.
- Drone visibility:
* blatant (default). Bright textured model with loud sounds and blinking lights (like police drones). This could be system stressing so specific drone modeling options should be included in the client video configuration to allow users to select the ammount of resources invested in drawing them.
* stealthy. Drones are not visible to combatants. Great for Public Events where all the attention should be in the participants.
- Drone awareness:
* full (default). Drones can see and hear what a combatant in their position could.
* restricted. Drones can only perceive a combatant and his/her effects if that combatant is visible to at LEAST 1 opponent. This way drones will only perceive "conflict zones" where at least 2 participants MAY fight each other.
I think that there are also some things related to general drones/arenas implementation that would contribute to lessen exploits and increase fun:
- Drones should not be real combatants and as such should not interact with the match physics. In particular, should not trigger "contact powers" (like repel or trip mines), attract pet's attention, push other heroes (like pedestrians do) or benefit from players' buffs.
- Do not waste any second of development time on restricting drone communication modes. There are enough third party tools around to bypass ANY restriction applied.
- Instead concentrate on chat exploits. As far as channel filtering is done on CoH on a visibility paradigm, some spam problems could arise if "tells" are allowed to participants in the arena. This could be solved by blocking tell communications from non-combatants. Thus, allowing still private tells INSIDE the arena and requiring the "externals" to relay on GLOBAL CHAT handle to communicate with combatants (this allow also the combatant to mute GLOBAL CHAT in case a spammer is interfering with him).
- Drones should fly like a maxed speed "flight/fly" and with similar inertia to prevent "ducking" tactics in case that players need to "hunt" them.
Well... again a lengthy post. I should stop thinking while posting 
. But I think that devs need any help with arenas to be a success, and in this case I firmly believe that "The falling rock would not make noise if there isn't someone there to hear it", so observer mode is vital to be able to call them "Arenas" instead of "Danger Rooms".
Delay is nice but unpractical. It will require some "world buffering" which is outside the scope of an instanced mission. Any visibility control should be applied real time to drones as could be applied to any other arena entity (players for example).
Only have two concerns myself, which are generally already voices.
#1: While in camera most being able to send messages. IE. In observer mode I see where a sniper is taking out my SG team, /tell them and the snipers station of attack is defeated, or even more, the sniper is.
#2: How many cameras there can be in any given arena. 15 or 50? 
If this has been asked before sorry for asking again just got sick of reading through post. Will aoes also affect cameras. If a blaster does its boom or a spine scrapper does spine burst will this take out all cameras around him.
I have a suggestion regarding the possible observer mode camera. Give the battling teams a prompt, upon entering battle, to either allow or dis-allow observers. If they "allow" then they choose a time delay for observers, say from 0 to 5 minutes. 0 being realtime (relatively speaking depending on server load). This ability-to-choose feature adds "spying" an interesting tactical feature as opposed to an exploitable cheat.
How about giving us some way to leave a match we're observing that hasn't ended yet?
I got into one match, and when I died I clicked observer mode. The camera was stuck in the ceiling and I couldn't go anywhere. I did find out that if you click the nav bar(where mission complete would normally be) you leave the match.
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Instead of cameras just allow people to view the action from the point of view of any of the players in the match and to change their selection as the match proceeds.
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This is a great idea. The current observer cams are too slow and it is too hard to find the actual battle in the medium or larger maps.
-AZ
One serious oversight is the inability to leave Observer mode (or hiding the exit so well that I couldn't find it). Decided to observe a fight, it was inside, mildly interesting, then there's one so called hero that decided to kill the camera. And kill the camera. And kill the camera. The goal to make cameras easily killable--I think we can mark that as accomplished.
It was getting to be No Fun(tm), so I wanted to see if I could get in a match. Surprise! No way out. Nothing but respawn, try to find a place to hide, killed, respawn, try to find a place to hide, killed, respawn, ad infinitum.
My arcs are constantly shifting, just search for GadgetDon for the latest.
The world beware! I've started a blog
GadgetMania Under Attack: The Digg Lockout
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I have a suggestion regarding the possible observer mode camera. Give the battling teams a prompt, upon entering battle, to either allow or dis-allow observers. If they "allow" then they choose a time delay for observers, say from 0 to 5 minutes. 0 being realtime (relatively speaking depending on server load). This ability-to-choose feature adds "spying" an interesting tactical feature as opposed to an exploitable cheat.
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That is a very good idea, in MY Opinion! I actually wanted to post something like this- but my account was inactive at the time. 
JAD
Comeback #3 post #1
Still hate the visit Winscott mission- make it dropable, have it give actual exp or remove it altogether. PS- Down knows who you are.
J/ Wilde/ / AIL - Celebrating five years!
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I have a suggestion regarding the possible observer mode camera. Give the battling teams a prompt, upon entering battle, to either allow or dis-allow observers. If they "allow" then they choose a time delay for observers, say from 0 to 5 minutes. 0 being realtime (relatively speaking depending on server load). This ability-to-choose feature adds "spying" an interesting tactical feature as opposed to an exploitable cheat.
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That is a very good idea, in MY Opinion! I actually wanted to post something like this- but my account was inactive at the time.
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Or even better, when you set up a match, click on the button that says "No Observers". Yeah, it exists. Now. Really.
Why do people keep killing the cameras? We can't chat so we can't scout. I've even seen someone who thought it was more important to kill the cameras than fight and actually died while taking the cameras out. Jeez people.
I love the Giant TV screen idea. A hundred people all standing around watching someone else fight. Good place to call my contacts from, the ambush squads will never reach me through the crowds LOL. People not realizing they are being attacked until they see the "Go to Hospital" box in front of the big TV. It becomes a secondary sort of Arena, how many spectators can YOU kill?
Honestly the only way I can see it working is if you give spectators their own zone which doesn't allow chat outside the zone and for GM events they should probably also cut off access during a match so people aren't zoning out, sending tells and zoning back in. Face it even if GMs monitor the messages people are receiving and kick them out for cheating someone will just send a message to the other team to get them kicked.
This way you a safe place to watch from, people to talk to (those in the observer zone) and don't interfere with the match in progress.
Instead of cameras just allow people to view the action from the point of view of any of the players in the match and to change their selection as the match proceeds.
That or a limited number of "spy cams" that are controlled by whomever (chosen randomly from those in zone?) and everyone else can toggle between them. That way you can control camera in small "friendly" matches but the area won't become choked with them in a major event.
Also remember if you make cameras someone will try and use them to grief players, by blocking their vision/path at important times.
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You can't please everyone, so lets concentrate on me.