Distant World Video Capture!

[DasTactic]

I thought I would experiment a little with RotS and try to take some video using Fraps. Unfortunately I can't get Fraps to capture the window. I'm reluctant to use CamStudio because Fraps does such a great job of combining in-game sound and microphone as well as allowing good framerates.

So the ideal is:
- Capture directly from game.
- HD 1280 x 720 ratio and pixels. (Can't do this - see below)
- Capture in-game sounds.
- Capture microphone.

If anyone else has had a play with this it would be great to get some perspective.

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EDIT: Here is the best way I've found so far. You will need Bandicam for this. It costs $40 from www.bandicam.com but is the best of the video capture software I've seen. Fraps, an alternative to Bandicam, doesn't recognise the game window so you need to record the full screen which means massive raw video files and trouble cropping what you want later. Not fun. Camstudio really struggles with the framerate and the resulting video is very poor quality with a lot of skipping while it tries to pick up frames.

1. Change the Distant Worlds startup.ini file to:
screenwidth 1366
screenheight 768
(The minimum height for a screen before it defaults to full screen is 768 pixels. HD video is 720 pixels. So width needs to be 1280 x (768/720) = 1366)
My native screen size is too large for this sort of thing so the above settings will create the smallest window for the game at the correct aspect ratio.

2. Start Bandicam. It is best to start this before starting the game. The settings you want are:
General -->
- Select your output folder.
FPS -->
- Turn off the overlay. Otherwise it will display in the final video.
Video -->
- Under 'Record'
- - Unselect 'No Cursor'. We need to use the windows cursor in game.
- - Open 'Settings'.
- - - Primary Sound Device should be the default system sound (Win 7 Sound in my case).
- - - Secondary Sound Device should be your microphone.
- Under 'Format' it is easiest to just select a Preset. I'm going to be editing in Sony Vegas and so I chose the Sony Vegas preset - simple as that. There is a YouTube preset but I'd be wanting to edit any footage first. In the end I did go with the YouTube preset because it scales the video to HD dimensions (1280 x 720) which makes things easier. I needed to override the Audio settings changing the codec to 'PCM' so I can still bring the footage into Sony Vegas later.

3. Start the game. It should now start in windowed mode because of the settings in step 1. Progress the game past the video introductions. Make sure no other screens are likely to appear over the game window.

4. Back to Bandicam, click the 'Target' button and choose 'Rectangle on a screen'. A rectangle will appear on your monitor which you can drag around and resize - not that we will need to bother with that.

5. Right-click the head area of the rectangle and it will bring up a menu. The settings I chose were:
Always on top
Opacity --> 60%

6. Right-click the head area of the rectangle again and this time select:
Size --> Find window.
Move the cursor around the screen and over the game window. A red box will appear around the edges of the game. Click to set the Bandicam rectangle to the size of the game.

7. Click 'REC' in the head area to start recording.

[DasTactic]

Found a good option. I'll update the OP with detailed instructions in case anyone else wants to capture DW video.

[Data]

Planning on a let's play for this? I'm just saying it would be awesome if you'd do it [:)]

[DasTactic]

ORIGINAL: Data

Planning on a let's play for this? I'm just saying it would be awesome if you'd do it [:)]

Sort of I guess. [:)] I was thinking a video would be a good way to show aspects of the game and to show the approach different people bring to the game.

I was hoping there would be a number of us that would give it a go. [:D]

[Bingeling]

It will be interesting to see what you can produce. I would not expect making a good game play video for demonstration purposes to be easy. But you managed to write my favorite AAR which has quite good scripting and focus, so you could perhaps manage to make one[&o]

[Data]

Ya, Das, we're all behind you on this one....waaaaay behind you [:D]
I'm a coward, I know [:)]

[DasTactic]

Here's the first one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFrMC_gZa_Y

Another 2 loading in. I ended up just using the Youtube preset hence the lack of title screens etc. [:)] The small font size looks OK as well. All in all I'm quite happy with the results. Would be nice if the Matrix forums had a media embed setting to embed videos in the posts.

I've got to say, it was actually pretty simple once the settings are made. Highly recommend others give it a go (that means you, Data [;)] ).

[DasTactic]

Second...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mtcvv_tcks

Third

http://youtu.be/JIulVAW8Ubs

[DasTactic]

Here's the Playlist from YouTube. [:)]

http://www.youtube.com/user/Das24680#grid/user/8AF02E8ABEE10F23

[Data]

Wohooo, will be watching this religiously [:)]
*ignores the hint without a hint of shame*

[Bingeling]

Not bad that first video. Not bad at all. It is fun to watch what others do [:)]

Just a hint of what I would have done different, to indicate style.

I would not have bothered to examine the mines too closely, but I would do the caslon hunt. I would click on the star of the system to see the system summary. It lists what resources are inside. Nice when hunting caslon in nearby systems. Once you know there is caslon, it is a matter of finding the correct planet (or if there are multiples) the way you did.

Also, I would never buy troops, I leave that to the AI. But I may buy a troop transport or two when I see that Ketarov nearby. I know the AI will load troops with troop transports on auto, and the AI will then notice the colony is low on troops and build more.

[Erik Rutins]

Outstanding.

Regards,

- Erik

[Igard]

Superb job, Das. [:)]

I did a video using Fraps at half size (I run on 1080p), but it was only a series of short captures. The resulting file sizes were quite large.

Looks like you've found a nice solution to this. Great work.

[DasTactic]

Thanks for the comments

@bingeling: Good tip. I underutilise that summary. I'll add that to a future video. [:)]

@Igard: One of the tricky things with Distant Worlds is the size of the font. I was really trying to find a way to run the game as small as possible so the fonts were legible when viewed in the video. I like your video as it shows off the nice eye candy you created. [:)] I think if you use Bandicam it would be hard to go back to Fraps again. When I started this thread I thought Fraps was the pinnacle, but not any more.

I'll make a thread in the AAR forum once I do the next batch. Please keep the advice coming. While I'm playing I find it really difficult to think and talk so I'll most likely skip important things and/or screw up what I'm doing or saying (What was I thinking trying to build by pushing the 'B' key - this ain't Civ 5 [;)] ).

[Bingeling]

Is it hard to narrate the video afterwards? Just chat as you play? That would also allow you to edit a bit when you get advanced.

I was secretly hoping to hire you as a narrator if I ever get around to making a video [;)]

As for using that system view to find fuel, I use it quite a bit for exactly that purpose. For other resources I use the galaxy map. If I want a fuel source in an area I click the surround systems looking for systems with the fuel I need. In general I expect that players do a lot of stuff in quite difference ways once we look into it. That is why it is fun to watch introductory videos for a game I know rather well.

Btw, I would also have built the explorers by the buttons down left (where you hired troops). I usually build all ships that way. That build order screen scare me away, the AI adviser suggests new builds there, and now and then I end with more ships than expected. I am entertained by the adviser's silly build suggestions, so I like to get those messages [:'(]

[RooksBailey]

That's great!  Gonna watch them tonight.  This is a good way to get some more attention for DW!  

[Webbco]

Haha, you're pretty passionate about not being human!

[Fishers of Men]

Excellent work for your introduction to a new game. Your narration style is very pleasing and understandable. Are you a Kiwi? Your voice and accent is very similar to Elliot's. I will use these videos to teach my friend, who is a new player, how to begin. Keep up the good work!

FoM

[MartialDoctor]

Thanks for the info, Das.  I had thought about doing something like this when Legends came out but I'm not too familiar with video capture.  Is it not possible to have the game full screen when doing this, then?

[DasTactic]

I'm shifting the series across into the AAR forum...

Let's Play Distant Worlds RotS

I guess questions and suggestions about the content should now be asked over there while the technical discussion continues here. [:)]

@bingeling: I'm not doing any post production at all so the quickest is just to speak while I'm playing. I'm really pleasantly surprised at how quickly the uploads for YouTube can be made this way. I do get a little lost with my thoughts at times though. [;)]
Lol at the narrator comment. [:D]
Part 4 now goes over your suggestion and what you mention about resource finding is also what I do which is in part 5 I think.

@Webbco: Yeah, I guess I am 'anti-human'. I played my first umpteen games as the humans because I thought I would find them the most familiar but in the end it seemed that most other races just wanted to befriend them. Once I found how interesting it was to play as the other races I never looked back and the game is soooo much more fun.

@FoM: Close. [:)] I'm from over the ditch in Australia. Where I'd say 'apple', Elliot would say 'epple' - and as a New Zealander, Elliot would likely add an 'ay' to the end of it ('epple ay'). [;)]