Autodemo before 1.6.4:
1. Normal demo: [F8] starts and stops recording
2. Autodemo: Records in intervals of 2 min (00:00 to 02:00, 02:00 to 04:00...)
Pressing [F8] at 02:10 saves a 10 second demo from the start of the interval (02:00) to the time the demo was saved (02:10)
After a save, a new interval of 2 min starts (in this example 02:10 to 04:10...)
3. Demo naming: Normal demos: (demo0, demo2, demo3...) Autodemos: (autodemo0, autodemo2, autodemo3...)
You could quickly play the next demo by changing the demo name in the ip field: demo2 --> demo3
Pros/cons: You could loose parts of or whole sequences you wanted to save because of the intervals, but it was better for movie makers than what we have now because you wouldn't have to go through huge amount of long demos. Those who wanted to make sure they got everything could set Record_Time=10 in soldat.ini. Since a ctf round normally lasts 10 min there wouldn't be any intervals in the recording, you would however get a much longer demo to watch to get to the interresting part, especially if your desired sequence was at the end of the 10 minutes
After the change (1.6.4 and above):
We realised the need, specifically for leagues such as sctfl, to have an option to record and save everything without having to press [F8].
This was considered an ok option for movie makers aswell since it ensured that no sequence was lost by the intrevals.
Having both options wasn't approved because the we wanted less options in soldat.
The idea of saving x minutes back in time instead of intervals seamed too complex at the time.
The naming system was also reformed to better suit leagues (example: 2014-08-02_23-20-13_Blox).
Solutions:
A) Keep the current autodemo as an option since it's great for leagues.
B) Keep [F8] starts and stops recording (thats what people expect it to do)
C) Record everything and save the last x minutes (2min default) before [F8] keypress
D) Record everything and save last x minutes (2min default) before [F8] keypress once, save the whole map if [F8] keypress twice
E) Record everything and save the last 5 seconds before [F8] keypress + the time till the next [F8] keypress
F) Record only when [F8] keypress and save the last x minutes if [F8] is pressed again
Demo names:
G) Demos could go into folders. Example: Soldat/demos/2014-January
H) Autodemos could go into a different folder than when you press [F8] Example: Soldat/demos/auto-demos/2014-January and Soldat/demos/normal-demos/2014-January
I) User-recorded demos could use the old naming-convention (demo2), while autodemos could use the new naming (2014-08-02_23-20-13_Blox). Then you wouldn't need two subfolders either.
Other suggestions:
J) Dream of every climber: Autorecord from respawn to capture the flag
K) Demo editor: Bad idea, as the format for the demos changes quite a lot (we would have to figure out how to create a gameversion independent format or something)
Also faking demos would be possible with the map editor (cannot be used as a proof in cw/fw/etc)
- I strongly recommend solutions: A, B, C and I