User:Moussekateer/chamber video guidelines

Requirements

• Be able to run Portal and Portal 2 at a resolution of 1920x1080, at more than 30 frames per second. The graphics details do not matter at this stage.
• Have the x264vfw codec installed.
• A capable notepad editor (we recommend that you use Notepad++ or any similar software).

Preparation

• Edit the scripts so GLaDOS/Wheatley/Announcer/Cave Johnson no longer speak during tests.
  • Back these files up, found in Steam\steamapps\common\portal 2\portal2\scripts.
    • game_sounds_auto_generated.txt
    • game_sounds_announcer_auto_generated.txt
    • game_sounds_cave_auto_generated.txt
    • game_sounds_sphere03_auto_generated.txt
  • Find and replace all instances of '.wav' with '.shush'.
• After you are done with recording you can replace the files with your backups to restore voiceovers in-game.
• Set your Steam status to Offline to prevent being interrupted by friends.

Recording

If the Developer Console isn't enabled already, do so in Options > Keyboard/Mouse > Allow Developer Console > Enabled in the main menu.

• Open the console with the ' key.
• Type gameinstructor_enable 0 in the console to disable the help hints.
• Type map pootmapnamehere in the console to load the map.
• Type record pootdemonamehere in the console to begin recording the demo.
• Follow these guidelines for the walkthrough:
  • Let any scripted events in/before the test chamber run their course.
  • Start by staring at the test chamber infobox for 2-3 seconds (If one doesn't exist stare at the doorway or something).
  • Do walkthrough. Take one step at a time and go slowly. Stop and let the viewer observe the surroundings when you view another area.
  • Be awesome and try not to fail the chamber.
  • End by standing outside the exit lift.
• Type stop to end the recording.

Post-processing

• Configure x264vfw such that: The rate control is single pass - quantizer based (CQP) with a quantizer value of 20.
• Now you must change your graphic settings/resolution to the highest possible settings for the movie. There are two methods to produce the video.

The AVI method

• Type startmovie pootmovienamehere avi in the console to start recording the movie.
• Type playdemo yourdemonamehere in the console to start the demo (you may have to enter this command twice to get the demo to play).
• After the demo finishes, enter endmovie in the console to stop recording the movie.
• You will find an .avi file in your Steam\steamapps\common\portal 2 folder.

The TGA method

• Note this method requires a lot of free disk space.
• Type startmovie pootmovienamehere in the console to start recording the movie.
• Type playdemo yourdemonamehere in the console to start the demo (you may have to enter this command twice to get the demo to play).
• After the demo finishes, enter endmovie in the console to stop recording the movie.
• You'll find the .tga movie files in \Steam\steamapps\common\portal 2\portal2 along with a .wav file.
• Load yourdemoname0000.tga into a movie editor, along with all of the other files if they're are not automatically added.
• Choose yourdemoname.wav as your audio.
• Set the frames per second to 30 and save to avi.