[Suggestion] Spectator Mode

Spectator mode or /gamemode 3, is a game mode which allows you to fly around and observe the world without interacting with it in any way.

This would only be usable in town, and since it's already in the vanilla code I do believe it'd be loads easy to add into EMC.

Pros

This would allow builders to fly through their reses and determine it's look, mistakes, and overall design. This also allows people who record to take video much easier.

Cons

Without changing some code players currently can fly through your res unseen.This of course can be fixed with a flag but still a noteworthy con.

Interesting, would it be available to everyone, or a supporter perk?
Edit: +1

I don't see why it wouldn't be available to everyone as it doesn't give any physical or game changing abilities.

I can see the appeal, but it seems to me that all of its features mirror things that are disallowed/disabled on EMC.

• Seeing through the world (in Town or otherwise) with X-ray textures/mods is against the rules
• Flying in Town is specifically only allowed on Utopia
• Invisibility via potions is disabled on EMC

These are the way they are for good reasons.

Plus, it would give you the ability to see into all the secret rooms on other people's residences, which is not something you should be able to do.

As for video-taking, I suppose maybe giving Youtube Team members access on occasion for the sake of official videos might be an idea, but that would be it.

I'll just mirror your list and keep it fairly short as I'm on my phone.

*I can see how this would be a problem perhaps allowing a flag for it instead of a general command? That way you can control who can spectate your res.

*This for me isn't even remotely an issue as you wouldn't be allowed to interact with anything in the world.

*To be clear its like free cam in Skyrim where your character remains still but you POV fly's around.

Same as first answer.

Not everyone who records video is on the YouTube team, for instance I will be recording but have no immediate plans to join the YouTube team.

(I hope I didn't come off rude with short clean answers)

i voted no, sorry. dont like that invisible ppl (not admins!) could come to my resses without me knowing and could spy on me and what i do like surprise parkour or skincomp rewards. admins dont do that, but not sure about players. u cant check b/c u cant see them

Might have to tweak with some of the features of Spectator Mode, but +1. This would've really helped when I built my Eiffel Tower on smp8.

Read the post above yours I'll edit the OP tomorrow with the changes

I think this would be really good, as long as a res flag was incorporated into the idea. If the flag was set negative by default, then users could have the decision as to whether or not people could go into their res via spectator, and it would allow people who disagree with the idea to be completely unaffected if spectator mode is implemented, as it is a feature that can be ignored if you don't want to utilise it. It would be a very useful tool in town for building projects, just to get a good idea of the build as a whole. I've voted yes, as I think it's a great idea.

Nah, I agree with Uber_Corq and AyanamiKun in that this wouldn't be a good idea. Of course a flag would fix some cons, but I still don't back it. If there's a default off flag, I wouldn't mind it either, though.

If you can hook it up with the move flag (for example) then I'd see no issue with this. My residence is always open anyway, but I do agree that we should also keep players in mind who wouldn't like the idea of "invisible trespassers".

Good points.

I think the first could possible be overcome because to my knowledge x-ray works differently. That allows you to see certain blocks from a distance when your vision would normally be blocked. That effect wouldn't change with spectator, the main difference is that you can 'glitch' through the walls. (I know I'm stretching it a little bit).

Edit: I stand corrected. I just tried this, worked at first, then I flew into the floor which allowed me full and clear vision from below, even across a larger distance. Exactly the definition for x-ray.

Item two for sure, but on the other hand no one would see you do it. But perhaps that could be solved by restricting players inside ones residence? I mean; if the move flag can keep players out, then perhaps a global "spectator town move flag" could keep residence spectators in. Maybe that would also solve the "trespassing problem". If you can't get on a residence in the first place you also wouldn't be able to "spectate it".

Three is a very solid argument, because this could be abused by trolls. To some extend anyway if you take my previous comments / suggestions in mind. But perhaps the trolling part could be overcome by not allowing players access to the chat feature while they're in spectator mode?

Even though that might make things more complex again... Oh well, maybe food for thought?

+1

Anyone can fly on utopia, plus with some changes to make this a flag to allow people to "spectate" your res you can control who "spies" on you.

Some amazing arguments, as I did with Uber I'll just layout the points in a list

X-Ray allows players to see through blocks and see specific blocks, spectator mode would allow players to view the world without actually interact with it, so I still fail to see how this is a problem if we limit the command into being a flag that way players can control who can spectate their res.

Flying once again isn't a problem for me, as you wouldn't be seen, you can place blocks, you can't pick up anything, you can't even move items around in your inventory. Also everyone can do it on your res. To counter the "utopia already has it so we don't need it" arguments (just a general response) on utopia you are allowed to: Break blocks, place blocks, open chests, activate switches, and do just about everything you can do in normal Minecraft, to compare spectator mode doesn't allow you to do any of those things therefore still making fly on utopia a more valuable perk.

Invisibility is used mainly as a troll tactic in Minecraft, and I agree perhaps invisibility shouldn't be allowed, perhaps players could fly around with their name bolder and possibly wearing one of EMC's custom mob heads, I dunno but I do know that this can be fixed rather easily and shouldn't stop something like this suggestion from being made.

To extend on the players shouldn't be able to speak while in chat, I agree I think if spectator mode is turned into a flag then you should automatically be limited to res chat and private chat, this way you can't troll the town chat but still able to communicate with players working on your res.

Bump

I love the idea. Just be SURE to incorporate a flag to stop spectators from flying into your res.

Couldn't get onto the site yesterday, so I'm a little late; sorry.

Okay, so the way I pictured it, it would just be regular Spectator Mode, meaning you'd type a command anywhere and switch gamemodes, become totally invisible and get fly/Noclip mode, and you could switch back anywhere. However, the idea that it's just your POV that flies around, while your body is still bound to the spot you were standing, sounds a lot better to me. It can't be too OP, though, so a few things would probably need to be done:

• Even when in Spectator Mode, one should be visible in some way (nameplate showing, plus possibly even appear as a head like a little camera lens or something )
• One should be able to spectate only within the boundaries of a residence, unable to fly off of it, as if "move" flag is set to false for the actual roads surrounding it
• There would have to be a "spectate" flag (preferably default off), because if people could spectate on your res without you allowing them to, all mazes and similar challenges would be instantly broken
• If it's not already a given, one should not be able to place/destroy blocks, open containers, activate redstone, breed/eggify, pick up items, etc. - no interaction with the physical world whatsoever - one should have to actually walk to a thing to interact with it; the flying should be purely for view, not making it easier to build, etc. (you should even have an empty inventory when in Spectator Mode)

I think, then, it would still leave Utopia flying as good as it is, since that's used for interacting while flying.

There wouldn't be easy "spying", since you can just have the flag turned off for everyone else, and even if it was on, the person would have to go to your residence and enable Spectator Mode there, so their body would be visible, sitting on your residence, and their actual flying "body" would be visible as well.

The only issue I still see at the moment is being able to see into your neighbours' hidden rooms, which would sort of be like bypassing the "spectate" flag, to a lesser extent at least.

So now it's sounding like a pretty cool thing to me, after all the tweaks, rather than default Spectator Mode. The new issue, of course, is that it would require a bunch of code to make you (partly) visible while spectating, to make your inanimate body (or some indicator) that sits at the spot you were standing, and to force people to stay within the boundaries of the residence. It's now no longer a really easy addition, unfortunately.

I'd support this, though, as long as it's nerfed at least this much, right out of the gate.

100% agree, although I do believe the default command (/gamemode 3) leaves your inanimate body behind but I might have to recheck. If so then it's already in the 1.8 vanilla code so should be a tad easier to implement.