[Project] Official Twitch Streaming

LorengormLorengorm Detroit Join Date: 2013-11-10 Member: 189251Members
Alright so this is an idea I had about how to best promote Natural Selection 2. I think that we as a community should try and get the official NS2 Twitch stream up and running on a more regular basis.

So the core idea of this would be to have access to the official stream, which is mostly used by Unknown Worlds for streaming tournaments, for streaming regular play sessions. This is something that the game Smite has been doing since early beta and I think it has really helped promote the game. However, we don't need to do a 24hr livestream sort of thing like they do.

If we could get some community members, those who have strong enough equipment to stream at decent resolutions, to stream a few times a week, that could be great for promoting the game. Currently, there is a decent number of people who stream the game but since there are a lot of followers on the NS2 Twitch page, we should try and capitalize on that audience! Also, this can still be used to stream tournaments.

Sadly, I currently don't have a good system for streaming. My desktop is dying and my laptop can only run the game without anything else. However, I would love to be able to help out with the management of it all if there is enough interest in such a project! I hope I'll be able to stream myself soon enough. Obviously, for this idea to work we'd need access to the official twitch stream but first I want to see if there is enough interest.

The higher the game is on Twitch, the more often random viewers will decide to watch, even those who have never heard of the game. This would be great for spreading the joys of NS2!

Alright so sorry for the long and rambling post. Just trying to get the idea out and see what you all think! Let me know if you have any suggestions, if this is a terrible idea, or whatever. Thanks for reading!

Comments

  • LorengormLorengorm Detroit Join Date: 2013-11-10 Member: 189251Members
    Also, please comment if you are interested in being a streamer! It'll be a good gauge to see how many people would be willing to stream their gameplay.
  • CalegoCalego Join Date: 2013-01-24 Member: 181848Members, NS2 Map Tester
    Logisticswise, is there a way to allow members to access the channel without master privileges?

    Sounds like a good idea to me.
  • LorengormLorengorm Detroit Join Date: 2013-11-10 Member: 189251Members
    edited June 2014
    Yes! You give each person a Stream Key by authorizing them in your channel settings. This would allow them to stream to the channel without having full command over it.
    And thanks! :)
  • WasabiOneWasabiOne Co-Lead NS2 CDT Join Date: 2011-06-15 Member: 104623Members, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Gold, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Gold, Reinforced - Diamond, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow, Subnautica Playtester, Pistachionauts
    Currently the twitch page is only usable by myself, reddog and UWE. The reason for this has to do with a lot of things, but I would really like to make it more active with others streaming on it. At the same time I think NS2 would actually benefit from more streamers and their own channels being up. If you have 40 people streaming a game you can get more traction for the game in general than just focusing on one channel.

    I am open to hear proposals from people interested in streaming on the official channel and working with them to have certain settings and be aware of content rules and such.
  • Soul_RiderSoul_Rider Mod Bean Join Date: 2004-06-19 Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
    edited June 2014
    I've started streaming recently, just finished a 4hour NS2 livestream. I also stream the SCC Map Testing Sessions on a Sunday evening.

  • SebSeb Melbourne, AU Join Date: 2013-04-01 Member: 184576Members, Forum Moderators, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Squad Five Silver, WC 2013 - Silver, Retired Community Developer
    edited June 2014
    WasabiOne wrote: »
    Currently the twitch page is only usable by myself, reddog and UWE. The reason for this has to do with a lot of things, but I would really like to make it more active with others streaming on it. At the same time I think NS2 would actually benefit from more streamers and their own channels being up. If you have 40 people streaming a game you can get more traction for the game in general than just focusing on one channel.

    I am open to hear proposals from people interested in streaming on the official channel and working with them to have certain settings and be aware of content rules and such.

    I agree for the most part. It would be nice to have established streamers on the main channel once in a while to promote their own channel. There are still heaps of people that don't even know about AusNS2 within the NS2 community for example because we haven't casted a prem div nsl game yet. I'm sure there are plenty other examples, it's just the one I have the most connection with (sorry!).

    I don't think that every man and his dog should have access to the main channel (which I think was being implied?) as 1) its a logistical nightmare and 2) the truth is that most people suck at streaming.

    Also, this probably doesn't belong in this subforum.

    One other thing, the dashboard setup for 'content contributors' on Twitch is still bad. It's the one part of the site that never seems to get overhauled.
  • RicezRicez Join Date: 2013-04-13 Member: 184784Members
    A much simpler method of increasing viewers would be to put a forum widget that shows current live NS2 streams like Teamliquid have. Or even just a link to the NS2 stream category up there next to twitter/facebook/youtube.

    Also you guys are listed twice under the Twitch game directory. Offical NS2 stream plays Natural Selection II but most people stream under Natural Selection 2
  • SantaClawsSantaClaws Denmark Join Date: 2012-07-31 Member: 154491Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    It's a fine line you have to walk here. If you bombard the official twitch channel with mediocre livestreams, people are eventually going to unsubscribe or at the very least; value the stream less - and that can potentially hurt us when we have real important events like prem finals or what ever.
    So I think you have to be extremely careful about who you allow access to the channel, and for what kinds of purposes. I.e, I wouldn't mind seeing someone like golden or eissfield etc. stream their fpv on the official channel in scrims - but I would hate to see them play public games on it or something like that.
    tl;dr - Sharing the official channel is fine imo, just make sure you maintain high quality competetive streams, rather than mediocre random pubs etc.
  • LorengormLorengorm Detroit Join Date: 2013-11-10 Member: 189251Members
    WasabiOne wrote: »
    At the same time I think NS2 would actually benefit from more streamers and their own channels being up. If you have 40 people streaming a game you can get more traction for the game in general than just focusing on one channel.

    I agree, it would be much more beneficial for more people to stream in general. Since that increases the output of of potential viewers. I do think that it would also be helpful to have some streams on the main one as well. Just a little at least. The last one was a tournament from like 3 months or so ago.

    sebb wrote: »
    I don't think that every man and his dog should have access to the main channel (which I think was being implied?) as 1) its a logistical nightmare and 2) the truth is that most people suck at streaming.

    I wasn't originally planning for just open access to the stream. I agree that would be crazy :P. But to have a few really good streamers, maybe those already established in our community, could be nice to see.
    SantaClaws wrote: »
    So I think you have to be extremely careful about who you allow access to the channel, and for what kinds of purposes. I.e, I wouldn't mind seeing someone like golden or eissfield etc. stream their fpv on the official channel in scrims - but I would hate to see them play public games on it or something like that.

    Yeah. It would be really tough to manage. But if we had enough high quality streams I think it could catch on. Maybe we could get NS2 on the front page of Twitch :) That would surely help the game.

  • JektJekt Join Date: 2012-02-05 Member: 143714Members, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow
    edited June 2014
    Tribes Ascend does this. 3-5 very good players rotate just playing the game for a couple hours on the main channel. Or at least used to, haven't seen it on the front page in a long time. I like it in Tribes, thought about this for NS2 sometime ago and still like the idea.
  • WasabiOneWasabiOne Co-Lead NS2 CDT Join Date: 2011-06-15 Member: 104623Members, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Gold, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Gold, Reinforced - Diamond, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow, Subnautica Playtester, Pistachionauts
    I would love to get some AUS games on the main channel! whether I or the AUS guys casting would be amazing! Love watching your vod's. Also @Lorengorm‌ I stream weekly on the channel, you are just seeing promoted archives in that list, but in actuality I have a lot of other recordings and shows on that channel since then.
  • BensonBenson Join Date: 2012-03-07 Member: 148303Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    Some comments from someone who stalks NS2 streams:

    1) The official UWE twitch channel could use more action as its the most "legitimate" NS2 strean (since it is run by the devs = more people willing to watch for the first time)

    2) More alerts posted through official NS2 sites could more get current community members more active in watching/creating streams

    3) Maybe an "NS2 Official Streamer" logo/badge/steam group would direct viewers of one person's stream to others, further growing popularity of streams?

    Just some random suggestions from someone who loves watching NS2 streams :D
  • LorengormLorengorm Detroit Join Date: 2013-11-10 Member: 189251Members
    WasabiOne wrote: »
    I would love to get some AUS games on the main channel! whether I or the AUS guys casting would be amazing! Love watching your vod's. Also @Lorengorm‌ I stream weekly on the channel, you are just seeing promoted archives in that list, but in actuality I have a lot of other recordings and shows on that channel since then.

    Sounds great! It would be awesome to see more on it! And my bad for not catching that. We should try and promote your streams a bit more! Would be fun to watch I think! :)

  • WasabiOneWasabiOne Co-Lead NS2 CDT Join Date: 2011-06-15 Member: 104623Members, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Gold, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Gold, Reinforced - Diamond, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow, Subnautica Playtester, Pistachionauts
    Its hard to coordinate across the other NS2 social media as I dont have access to it, not that I want that responsibility either. Hugh does a great job of re-tweeting and promoting when he can but he also gets to have a real life too so sometimes word might not get out. I will talk to him about ways we might be able to help spread the word.
  • b1.seb1.se Stockholm, Sweden Join Date: 2012-09-17 Member: 159734Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Gold
    +1

    Whatever gets decided about this idea, I think streaming more NS2 competitve gameplay and providing more interesting content (shows/Q&A) for non- and current players, would be a really good thing to do. I remember awhile back when Nexzil (a.k.a Titus +/- players) had their commander, Virsoul, streaming alot of their matches with mumble/teamspeak. I used to watch them as much as possible and really enjoyed what they did, dispite all the "we dont like muricans" euro players trying to influence me otherwise. At some point I think they were even streaming with most of their players (at once?) so you could pick the POV. This was one of the things that inspired me to create my own twitch account and try streaming, which eventually lead to our brief show, but enjoyable to make, NS2SHOWTIME with blind, Fana and Scrajm.

    Now, here's my proposal, bare in mind that this is set in the "ideal NS2 world" where we are all active and play somewhat frequently.

    At the moment we have 5 premiere teams in the ENSL. There are approx 6-8 players in each team.
    During the ENSL season, twitch.tv/NaturalSelection2 would give access to 1 team / week for streaming on their main channel.
    During this 1 week, all team members would recieve 1 day to stream their POV each, in scrims/pcws or officials, they choose.
    You could also just let the players willing to stream their POV do so. For example, if only Rios and Herakles wants to stream, then you have 2 days with some kind of event.
    We currently have 2 international teams, 1 american, 1 french and 1 finnish. This means reaching and pulling in multi-language viewers.

    Obviously there's alot of "technical issues" that needs to be adressed aswell:
    - How many teams will be playing next season in prem?
    - How many people have good rigs/internet to stream?
    - Can this be done as a test during summer cups/night cups?
    - Can players stick to the "wasabi rules" no cursing, bashing of other players etc.
    ...and so on.

    Some players might be thinking, "I don't want to show our strats and risk us losing points or give anyone insight to how we play".

    So alittle counter-arguement to that would be:
    - Most likely you won't show your trump card in pcws, right?
    - NS2 is an amature gaming scene, so no one is getting payed to do this in the extents of other games like CS:GO etc.
    - Sure snails won $5,000 in cologne, but i doubt they are swimming around in cheeseburgers in france atm. <3
    - Listening in on teams voice chat during games is also that 1 step closer to a better experience for the viewer.
    - Streaming during GROUP-STAGES is completely different than streaming during PLAYOFFS. I would personally not do the latter.

    I'm sure someone else can spin off this idea more or make an even better one, but here's my suggestion to @WasabiOne and @Lorengorm‌
  • CalegoCalego Join Date: 2013-01-24 Member: 181848Members, NS2 Map Tester
    On the matter of streaming, It might be a really cool thing to have a Marathon NS2 stream. 24 hours or pure NS2, just playing, not really matches or anything official. Perhaps have players sign up for time slots and keep the ball rolling around the world. With a little promotion, this sort of thing could draw some attention our way.
  • SebSeb Melbourne, AU Join Date: 2013-04-01 Member: 184576Members, Forum Moderators, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Squad Five Silver, WC 2013 - Silver, Retired Community Developer
    Calego wrote: »
    On the matter of streaming, It might be a really cool thing to have a Marathon NS2 stream. 24 hours or pure NS2, just playing, not really matches or anything official. Perhaps have players sign up for time slots and keep the ball rolling around the world. With a little promotion, this sort of thing could draw some attention our way.

    It happened last year. If I remember correctly it was Wasabi, Zefram Virsoul and someone else?

    Maybe its time for another one, but they are hard to do.

  • NeokenNeoken Bruges, Belgium Join Date: 2004-03-20 Member: 27447Members, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Silver, Subnautica Playtester
    I like B1's idea. I remember watching Virsoul's stream too. Learned so much from it myself, it sort of inspired me to become a better commander even though I prefer field play.

    In any case, it definitely wouldn't hurt to just advertise some player's twitch channels a bit more. NS2 tweets are always about matches being casted, but sometimes watching high level player's POV is more interesting.

  • CmdrKeenCmdrKeen Join Date: 2013-05-21 Member: 185321Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    b1.se wrote: »
    - Listening in on teams voice chat during games is also that 1 step closer to a better experience for the viewer.

    @Virsoul plsss

  • MaLuSMaLuS Join Date: 2013-02-02 Member: 182769Members
    I have the technology but unfortunately not the best internet at the moment but im hoping to get fiber this year (its being installed around the country at the moment and is planned to go in this year TBA) so once i get fiber i'll post again to offer my services :D
  • RedDogRedDog Las Vegas Join Date: 2013-02-22 Member: 183267Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Gold, WC 2013 - Shadow
    WasabiOne wrote: »
    Currently the twitch page is only usable by myself, reddog and UWE.

    Actually I only have editing powers lol. was never given a stream key :D

  • SkyfishSkyfish Norway Join Date: 2013-11-23 Member: 189525Members
    I like streaming my first person view. I am not a good caster. twitch.tv/skyfishart
    I stream drawing on the same channel, but I stream Ns2 twice weekly, starting at 20:00 (CEST) every Wednesday and Sunday because that is when TAW has their mandatories.
    I might stream pubs more often.
  • It's Super Effective!It's Super Effective! Join Date: 2012-08-28 Member: 156625Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow
    I stream every day at 8PM EST, covering every day play, playtesting (when allowed), NS2 combat (when allowed), competative shoutcasting, averaging 10-20 viewers per night. It's not much but it's consistent and has a following.



    But even with that variety and consistency I agree with @SantaClaws‌. That channel should be reserved for something special, while it's inactive you can put ways for people to connect to other twitch channels, either by links or in the "inactive stream" background image.

    Or heck like @ricez said, have a little stream status hub that can be accessed in the main menu of the game. "Here's some prominent players streaming NS2 right now! (small normal / competative listings)"
  • SantaClawsSantaClaws Denmark Join Date: 2012-07-31 Member: 154491Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    Since this post is necroed anyway. Maybe hosting other channels should be considered.
  • Soul_RiderSoul_Rider Mod Bean Join Date: 2004-06-19 Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
    I Stream NS2 (Mainly SCC map Testing on Sunday's), NS2:Combat - Fairly regularly, as well as some Subnautica and a bit of Future Perfect as well.

    I stream the odd bit's of other games as well, mainly it's UWE games. I don't tend to do much talking though, my mic requires picking up, and my voice sounds pretty bad, haha.
  • HoliHoli Sweden Join Date: 2014-01-28 Member: 193600Members
    I'm streaming every now and then on twitch.tv/holizaid (I play as Pinkie Pie, you might've seen me suck a lot on the thirsty onos servers from time to time)
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