Video production for gamers: What is affecting the quality of my renders?

Some of you have noticed that I've taken an MMO hiatus, but I'll be back soon!  It may be in Telara, or maybe in galaxies beyond, but I will be back.  In the meantime, I received an excellent question from a user on YouTube, and I thought it would make an excellent blog topic for aspiring video producers.

hey friend love your Rift videos!! How were able to edit them and upload in such amazing quality? I've been struggling, having to convert the h264 to mp4 to edit in Sony Vegas Plat and they come out horribly pixelated after upload? Your stuff looks amazing just curious...

It sounds like you may have two issues affecting your render quality: source material capture, and compression.   In this case, it sounds like you are compressing your video before you even begin the editing process.  This is a bad idea, and will almost always result in poor render quality.  You are starting with already compressed video (h.264/mp4-10) and then compressing it again to (mp4-2 I'm assuming), and then likely compressing one more time on render.

Pixeljunk Beatles now on PSN!

Think of it like a photo-copier.  Have you noticed when you make a copy of something, it loses quality on the output?  Now make a copy of that copy; even worse, right?  Now make a copy of that copy, and you can see why your videos are turning out blocky and pixelated.  You've just lost so much video information before you have even started!

So, what's the solution?  Well the first piece of advice I can give you is to get the best possible source material to work with in your editor, in this case, we're working with Sony Vegas ... good choice!  What are you using to capture your video?  My guess is it's probably the video capture tool built into Rift, am I right?  I've never used the tool myself, so I can't be sure, but since it was set up to upload directly to YouTube, I'm guessing that it saves compressed video.

So right there, you are not set up to edit that material.  You want to capture uncompressed video if you're going to edit it yourself later.  I recommend Fraps for video capture.  I use it for all of my capturing needs; it does a beautiful job grabbing full-screen high resolution video and saves it as an uncompressed .avi, it's easy to set up and use, it's very light on resources, and it is fairly inexpensive.  Get a lifetime subscription here: www.fraps.com

***Be warned*** uncompressed HD video takes up a lot of room on your disk.  Make sure you have space available before recording.  Fraps will break the videos up into usable chunks, as well.  If the files sizes are too large, they would be too unwieldy to work with without a megaton of memory.  I usually end up with 300-400 gigs of raw footage before I begin cutting in the editor.  However, the quality is well worth it.  You can save a bit of space by not recording sound information, if you choose.

Now organize your clips, and import them into your editor.  Make sure your system is up to snuff and can handle the large, high quality, files.  Even on high end rigs, you'll see noticeable pauses and lags when working with these clips.  If needed, turn down the resolution on the preview box in Vegas.

As far as video settings go, that could fill multiple blog posts on its own.  It's really dependent on what resolution you recorded the video in.  I usually set my project to 'HD 1080-24p (1920x1080, 23.976 fps)'.  When working within a video clip, I make sure to set it to 16:9 in 'event pan/crop', unless I'm using panning for an effect.

When you're ready to render, you can choose from a list of codecs supported by Vegas.  For ease and accessibility, I usually roll with .wmv.  This codec has great compression and looks fantastic on YouTube.  There are also some custom settings you may want to check out to suit your needs.

So that's it!  I hope I've answered your question thoroughly enough, and I hope this helps you, and others, accurately represent their work and produce high quality gaming videos.  Let me know if you have any other questions!

As always, please check out my YouTube channel

And my website for some real music ... for nerds!

Rift Patch 1.1 is a boon for AOE farming!

If you're like me, you love to AoE farm.  It doesn't matter which MMO I'm playing, if I'm not running a dungeon, or PvP'ing, I'm out somewhere trying to kill as many creatures as possible, in the shortest amount of time.

Rift patch 1.1 is the first major content patch for Trion's up and coming MMO.  It introduces a week-long world event, complete with its own currency, limited-time rewards, the opening of a new raid instance, and much debated class balance changes.

As I began to digest the Epic-Mealtime-sized patch notes, I noticed a seemingly innocuous entry that, I'm sure, many players just glanced over on their way to bigger, sometimes heartbreakingly not better, changes.  I'm talking about the change to the 'exposed' debuff.

Now this little debuff has been the bane of any Rift AoE aficionado.  That is, until patch 1.1 officially went live.  Previously, the 'exposed' debuff increased the amount of damage a player would take by 20%, and stacked up to five times.  You got the debuff by getting hit by a creature while running away from it.  Not a huge deal, for most, but for an AoE'er, five stacks was nearly a certainty if you wanted a efficient pull.  However, the prospect of taking 100% increased damage prevented a player from truly reaching his or her AoE potential.

Patch 1.1 has opened the floodgates.  'Exposed' no longer increases the damage a player takes; instead, it comes with a penalty to movement speed, similar to being 'dazed' in World of Warcraft.  For most AoE farmers, this is a much easier debuff to deal with.  For my Cleric, it's even less significant because I can dispel the snare.  I'm not sure if that last part is intended, but it sure is nice.

Now my Cleric can pull as many mobs as he can rightfully handle, and he's laughing all the way to the bank.  The cloth and gear drops are pouring in at an astounding rate now, and I'm having so much fun finally using my characters AoE capabilities to their fullest.

So, if you're like me, and you like to AoE, or maybe if you're just strapped for cash and have some time to kill, get out there and start blowing things up, en masse.  Check out the video above for some tips and a demonstration.

Note: this works great for leveling, as well.  Many classes can AoE, so take a look at your calling boards for builds and strategies specific to your class.  For Inquisitors, you can start as soon as you have Soul Drain and Contempt, though Fanaticism and Circle of Oblivion really push the AoE to new heights.

Here's a link to the build I used in the video: http://rift.zam.com/en/stc.html?t=00jde.V0x.Exkixtkqz.Vxoz

Rift has technically impressive graphics, but does its art lack 'soul'?

We're not in Azeroth anymore

It has been nearly a month since Trion Worlds officially launched the eagerly awaited, much hyped MMO, "Rift". Dubbed the "WoW Killer" that some people have been waitings years for, Rift players experienced one of the smoothest major MMO launches ever.  It is much too early to tell if Rift will live up to that lofty billing, but it is off to a pretty good start.  Aside from some expected bugs, a shocking security hole, and the obligatory class balance whining, gamers seem generally content gliding across the Planes of Telara.

I wanted to touch on one aspect of the game that I am extremely pleased with, the visuals.  Rift has some of the prettiest graphics available in an MMO, in this blogger's humble opinion.  It is, of course, a completely subjective matter, and for some, it's a tender one, but the general consensus is one of approval in this area.  Of course, a game like this can't survive on graphics and hype alone (I'm looking at you, Vanguard), but breathtaking visuals sure don't hurt.  Graphics are the most easily demonstrated aspect of the game, and the foundation for immersing players in the game world.

Take a look at the video above and judge for yourself.  Keep in mind, I recorded these clips with maximum graphics settings, above and beyond the game's "ultra" settings, so if you're playing on a lower setting, this may not look like the same game to you.  All sliders were pushed to the max, and supersampling (one of only two AA options) was enabled.  The result left me blown away by not only the quality of the textures, but the level of detail present in the game world.  Rainbows appear at the bottom of waterfalls, grass and trees sway in the wind, desert sand shimmers in the sunlight, even bugs can be seen flying around.

Nerf Locks!  Wait, a minute ...

When I originally posted this video on YouTube and on the official Rift forums, a debate naturally erupted around my contention that Rift had "the best graphics" of any current MMO.  While I probably shouldn't have stated my opinion as such a matter of fact, I'm still prepared to stick to it.  Yes, I know Guild Wars 2 is on its way, and I agree that it will probably dethrone Rift (or AoC, Aion, LOTRO, et al) as the king of MMO eye candy, but for now, I say Rift reigns supreme.

There was one common theme among Rift's graphical detractors that I found quite interesting.  They all seemed to agree that its art-style had no "soul".  Now, I'm not sure if there is a proven mechanism for determining the 'soul' of a game's art.  Surely, it can't be quantified like pixels and polygons, but there has to be a way to adequately articulate what constitutes 'artistic soul'.  My guess is that these folks crave art that is more 'stylized'; these connoisseurs of high fantasy, of grace, elegance, vivid colors, and playful imagery are probably turned off by Rift's sometimes bleak representation of a world engulfed in inter-planar turmoil.  I can appreciate exactly where they are coming from, but I can also disagree.

And I do.

However, let's put the art style aside for a moment and look at the environment.  I've already talked about some of the ambient details I find so enthralling, but the environments, overall, are majestic and awe-inspiring. The textures are immaculate, the layout is superb, and the engine effects are executed flawlessly.  Take a look at the sun's reflection in the water near the end of the video ... A+.  Last but not least, Trion nailed the scale of environmental details.  Buildings, mountains, and trees don't look like you could jump right over them at a distance, and are towering and appropriately massive up close.

Getting back to the art style, I actually prefer Rift's more realistic presentation over the heavily stylized, and sometimes noisy, over the top sort that other games offer, but that's just one gamer's opinion.  What's yours?

PS: I would be remiss if I didn't mention the song I used in the video.  The song is an original composition named "Theory of Everything", and can be downloaded for free, courtesy of Electron in a Box, or purchased on  iTunes and other digital outlets.  

How do you sell your music online? Tunecore vs. ReverbNation

I just posted this on another blog and then something struck me.  Hey, I have a blog, duh!  So, I am going to repost a quick comparison between the two distribution services I have used (or will use) to get my music sold in online stores like iTunes, eMusic, Amazon Mp3, Rhapsody, and more.

Big-time labels are no longer a necessity to break into music sales.  I suppose they haven't been for quite a while, but until recently, I had never ever dreamed it could be this easy to sell my music online.  You can't deny the marketing muscle and influence a brand-name label offers an artist.  If you're like me, however, you haven't gotten noticed by the 'players', yet you still want to share your music with the world.  Well the good news is that there is no shortage of options for the indie musician to get his/her music to the marketplace.  I want to talk, specifically, about two of these options: Tunecore and ReverbNation.

These companies are digital music distribution services.  They will submit your music for distribution to online stores on your behalf.  The big online stores like iTunes and Amazon don't deal with us little guys directly, but they do deal with aggregators like Tunecore and ReverbNation.  Other popular options include CD Baby, and Ditto Music, among many, many, others that are just a Google Search away.

CD Baby is arguably the largest, but they take a 9% commission from your royalties while Tunecore and ReverbNation promise you 100% of your royalties.  When I first started looking at distribution options, this 9% fee immediately turned me off and I did not explore CD Baby's services further.  However, CD Baby may still be a good option for those of you who don't plan to sell very many albums, as they don't charge an annual fee for listing your album/singles like the former do.

I started with Tunecore.  I released my first three singles through their service with no real complaints.  They charged me a flat fee of $9.99 to distribute each single to all of their online stores, which inlude all of the big players.  To my surprise, my songs were up on iTunes within hours, and not weeks, like I had originally expected.  Their customer service is top-notch.  I really can't adequately articulate my admiration and respect for the way they treat their customers, even problem customers like me, with all of my rookie mistakes.  Their customer service was helpful, courteous, and FAST!  Marta, my agent, was even kind enough to send me a reminder to provide some critical information for an issue she was helping me with, after I had forgotten to respond for a few days.

My only real complaint about Tunecore is that their user community is almost non-existant.  Their forums see very little activity, even though the founders of the company routinely post follow-ups to user questions and comments.  The unfortunate part is that there really is no vehicle for interaction with fellow artists besides their barren forums.  Compared to the other service I have used, with Tunecore, you really feel like you're on an island and aside from releasing music and perhaps reading their free guides, there isn't much to do on their website.  That may be fine for some, especially those no-nonsense, socially awkward types.  I don't know many artists who aren't interested in community interaction, however.

As completion of my first album became more of a reality, I decided to explore some options for distribution.  I landed atReverbNation next.  This experience was like going to sleep in Wasilla, AK and waking up in New York City.  While Tunecore resembles the quaint bedroom community in which I live and work, ReverbNation is big, noisy, and bustling with activity.  My artist page was packed with so many features and tools that I spent the better part of a day playing with all of my new toys.

ReverbNation, in addition to offering distribution service just like Tunecore, also offers a host of tools for promotion and marketing, and well as tools to help you analyze your page traffic, fans, and your band's progress up the charts.  They also offer you the ability to sell your music in your own online store, complete with on-demand custom merchandise, in addition to music.

ReverbNation really is the Facebook of digital music distributors.  Their community is extremely active and they provide so many ways for you to interact with fellow artists and fans.  Within minutes of setting up  my page and uploading some songs, I started getting visits to my pages.  People were listening to my music, commenting on it, and becoming fans.  The option to look at local charts is also amazing.  It made for some great networking opportunities. 

Reverb also offers FREE trending reports from iTunes.  Tunecore charges $2.98 for each weekly trending report, or a little less if you subscribe to the report service.  I'll take free, thank you.  Lastly, my favorite thing about RN happened today when I logged into my artist page.  I received notification that I had a deposit!  I was a tad disappointed that it wasn't an .mp3 or merchandise sale, but a deposit is a deposit, right?  I made a modest amount of money by signing up for their "Fair Share" program, which, from what I can tell, pays ME for the traffic my page brings to RN.  Neat-o!

So, to sum it all up:

Tunecore has low start-up cost options, excellent customer service, great owners, but their community is lacking
ReverbNation offers tools to help market your band, has an amazing vibrant community, and pays you for driving traffic to your page. Oh, and FREE trending reports!

I don't mean to gush, and I really have nothing against Tunecore as their service has been exemplary, but I am finding it hard to ignore ReverbNation's community and interactivity, and I will most likely use their service to distribute my album.  I'll post an update when that happens so I can talk about their actual distribution service.  Who knows, maybe they lack in this regard and I'll have to come crawling back to Tunecore.