Replays
A replay is a recording of a whole match that you can watch back afterwards with a free camera or through any player's eyes.
Recording
Only the machine running the server can record, because it is the one that sees the whole match. That means:
- Hosting a game or playing a private session: matches are recorded automatically. Recording starts with the server and again at the start of each match, and the file is saved when the match ends, or when you leave, change map, close the window or quit. A chat line tells you when recording starts and when the replay is saved.
- Dedicated servers record their matches too, and each finished match is sent to every player who took part. It downloads in the background and appears in your replay list. Downloads pause while you are in a match.
- Joining someone else's server records nothing on your computer.
- Offline single player is not recorded automatically.
Press F10 to start or stop recording by hand. Automatic recording can be turned off with the replay_auto_record console variable. A replay takes roughly 2.3 MB per minute of play.
The replay list
Open Replays from the main menu. It lists your recordings newest first, with the map, the date and time recorded and the file size.
- Play (or double-click a row) watches the selected replay.
- Delete removes it.
- Refresh scans again, and Open Folder shows the files on your computer.
- A replay still downloading is shown at the top in green with its progress. It can be played once it finishes.
- A replay made by a different version of the game is grayed out. It cannot be played in this version, only deleted.
Watching a replay
Playback starts as soon as the replay loads. Players appear with their recorded names, loadouts and cosmetics, and chat from both teams is shown again as it happened.
Controls
The keys below are the defaults. All of them except Esc can be rebound in Settings > Controls > Replay, and the controls line at the bottom of the screen shows the keys you have bound.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Pause / Play button | Pause or resume playback. |
| Timeline slider | Drag to jump to any point, forwards or back. |
| Time readout | Shows the current tick and the total (60 ticks a second). Double-click it, type a tick and press Enter to jump straight there. |
| << / >> | Halve or double the speed: 0.25x, 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 4x or 8x. The current speed is shown beside them. |
| Cam button | Cycle the camera: Free, Follow or POV. |
| [ / ] | In Follow or POV, watch the previous or next player. |
| Spectate button | Open a list of the players by team. Click a name to watch in first person, or the arrow beside it to follow in third person. |
| R | Switch to the spectate view (see below). |
| Esc | Hide or show the playback controls. |
| Exit button | Leave the replay. |
Camera modes
- Free: fly anywhere. Hold Right mouse to look around, your movement keys (W A S D) to move, E to rise and Q to sink. Hold Shift to fly four times faster.
- Follow: a third person camera behind the chosen player.
- POV: the player's own first person view, with their weapon in hand. In Follow and POV you also see that player's hit markers, damage and heal numbers.
Spectate view
Press R to hide the playback controls and see the match with the normal game HUD of the player you are watching, the same as spectating a live game. Left mouse and Right mouse move to the next and previous player, Space switches between first and third person, and the mouse turns the camera in third person. Press R or Esc to go back to the playback controls.