It's not like there are that many multiplayer mods around, but I'm sure MO, RR or even YR (if Ares somehow becomes a part of official CnCNet client or there will be YR:UMP) players will greatly appreciate a replay feature (I did ask other people's opinions). Since the game does record all actions in a log already, I assumed it is possible to make it read these actions and maybe reproduce them, since the game does already have a replay system even if it is incomplete and doesn't work for human vs human replays. So, would it be possible (as in, doable without spending unreasonable amounts of time and effort) to implement a proper replay system (or expand the existing one), which would automatically record the match into a replay file so this file could be loaded later? The most necessary features it would need are:
- A new menu button, singleplayer -> load replay
- Ability to disable automatic recording of replays in settings (in case it will affect performance too much on some PCs)
- Ability to pause a replay which is being played
- Ability to play the replay in reverse from some point would be nice, but not sure if possible at all
- Ability to speed up or slow down the replay when it is being played
- A message indicating that replay has been saved on credits screen or at the end of the match
Is there anything impossible (or requiring too much work) in this list? Can such system be implemented at all, or there are some hardcoded things/limits that would make it extremely difficult? What are the main troubles or possible bad consequences? Would you even consider doing this, or it is extremely boring/not fun so redesigning the s/l system again would seem like a more entertaining alternative?
Many thanks