Arma 3: End Game Spectator Mode

The Nexus Update has introduced a new spectator mode which should improve the way players can observe a match. While this new scenario viewing mode was introduced with End Game it can be used outside of the multiplayer mode, open to community members to use in their own missions.

Camera Perspectives

• 1st Person Perspective
• Free Perspective (Optional)
• 3rd Person Perspective (Optional)

Vision Modes

• Normal
• Night Vision (in 1PP depends on the unit's current state)
• Thermal Vision (in 1PP depends on the unit's current state)

Flashlight Mode

Point lights are created at the camera location and at the cursor location in world.

Custom Map

A custom map designed for the spectator mode, allowing for fast but precise map navigation and changing focused unit.

Controls

For a full list see the ingame control hints

Keybinding	Action
W/S	Free Perspective movement forward / backward
A/D	Free Perspective movement left / right
Q/Z	Free Perspective movement up / down
⇧ Shift + W/A/S/D/Q/Z	Free Perspective fast speed
Alt + W/A/S/D/Q/Z	Free Perspective very fast speed
Alt + ⇧ Shift + W/A/S/D/Q/Z	Free Perspective ultra fast speed
	Look in Free Perspective Rotate in 3 Person Perspective
	Select / Deselect spectator focused unit / vehicle
	Look / Rotate Around
⟵	Hide / Show spectator interface
Space	If spectator has a unit focused it changes through the available camera modes
L	Flashlight mode
M	Map
N	Night Vision
Ctrl + F1..F10	Save currently selected soldier
F1..F10	Select saved soldier
Ctrl + 0..9	Save current Free Perspective camera position
0..9	Select Free Perspective camera position
NUM Enter ↵/NUM 0/NUM .	Select camera view
O	Draw projectiles
Page Up	View Distance +250 m
Page Down	View Distance -250 m

Scenario Implementation

Debug Spectator Mode

It is possible to access the Spectator Mode while previewing in the Editor / EDEN Editor by pressing Esc and clicking Spectator, to close you can repeat previous step.

Respawn Type

In certain respawn types, the Spectator Mode is automatically executed upon death and replaces the old mode. It works automatically with respawn 1 ("Bird") and 5 ("Side" if there's no AI left). For more information on the available respawn types and their specific behavior see Arma 3: Respawn - Respawn Types.

respawn = 1;

Full Control

In case you would like to control when a player starts / stops spectating, you can use the built-in functions to do exactly that. See BIS_fnc_EGSpectator for more information.

Spectate When Dead

If you are using a respawn type different then 1 ("Bird"), you may want to execute the spectator mode when a player dies, then stop the spectator when the player respawns, this could be achieved in many ways, such as the one below, which will make every player start spectating when dead, and stop spectating when he respawns, 60 seconds after:

Description.ext

respawn = 3;
respawnDelay = 60;

onPlayerKilled.sqf

["Initialize", [player, [], true]] call BIS_fnc_EGSpectator;

onPlayerRespawn.sqf

["Terminate"] call BIS_fnc_EGSpectator;

Virtual Spectator

The new Spectator mode also brings a new special object that can be controlled by a player and will give the controlling player the Spectator Mode control, just drop it in a scenario and start spectating that easily. If you are accessing the Virtual Spectator from EDEN Editor, you will see custom attributes to control certain parts of the Virtual Spectator functionality within EDEN.

Mission Configuration

Use missionNamespace variables to limit camera behavior.

Variable	Type	Description	Example
RscSpectator_allowedGroups	Array of Groups	All group members will be available for spectator preview. All groups are used by default. ⚠ This option has no effect anymore.	RscSpectator_allowedGroups = [BIS_grpBlue, BIS_grpGreen];
RscSpectator_allowFreeCam	Boolean	Enable/disable access to free cam. When disabled, only unit view remains. Default is enabled.	RscSpectator_allowFreeCam = false;

Game Phase Setup

The spectator UI can display different game phases. These can be set by executing

["SetGamePhase", ["PHASE III"]] call (uiNamespace getVariable ["RscDisplayEGSpectator_script", {}]);

where "PHASE III" can be any string describing the phase.

The current game phase can be retrieved with

["GetGamePhase"] call (uiNamespace getVariable ["RscDisplayEGSpectator_script", {}]); // "PHASE III"