After playing around with both Steam and PaintShop Pro recently, I have found a 'Fix' for an issue where PaintShop Pro was not able to see any Screenshots in the Steam-created Screenshot Folders, when trying to "Browse" within PaintShop Pro... Here is what it looks like in PaintShop Pro when trying to "Browse" to a Steam Screenshot Folder within the graphic editing application itself:
As seen above, the Browsing utility in PaintShop Pro says "No Files Found" [circled in Red] - but obviously there are files/images in the folder, as opening the same folder with Windows Explorer just below it (Windows 10) shows there are tons [I take way too many Screenshots, heh].
I examined the Properties of the Screenshots generated by Steam, but they are nothing out-of-the-ordinary, they are typical .JPG (JPEG format) image files.
PaintShop Pro is able to "Browse" other folders I have with Screenshots, so perhaps it had something to do with Permissions [was my thinking]...
I ran PaintShop Pro as Administrator, but it seemed to make no difference.
I then examined the Preferences of PaintShop Pro. I have been in there before, to change some of the behaviour of the editing program, namely Caching and Colour Correction/Import and Precise Cursors [I really prefer the Precise Cursors, I Recommend using them!]
In PaintShop Pro's Preferences, I found there are some Exclusions that were already in the program [built-in, on install] that, while helpful, interfered with where Steam keeps game Screenshots by Default.
These Exclusions, in PaintShop Pro, are located in:
File > Preferences > General Program Preferences
In the Manage category, Excluded Items section, there is a button for Uncataloged Folders.
[These folders are not utilized by PaintShop Pro, and while I'm not sure why, I assume it is because they are large System Folders and may result in duplicates or 'garbage' images being read, which would take up time and excessive space for Thumbnails]
In these "Uncataloged Folders", I found a listing of C:\Program Files
and Steam itself is installed (by Default, in Windows) to C:\Program Files (x86)
It appears that PaintShop Pro thinks that "Program Files (x86)" is part of, or is, "Program Files" [due to the space in the former] - so it excludes that folder from use; thus, it is not possible to Browse those folders with PaintShop Pro [was my thinking].
Removing the "C:\Program Files" from the Uncataloged Folders, I tried to open a game's Screenshots Folder (unchanged, where Steam normally keeps them by Default) with BROWSE in Paintshop Pro...
It worked! 😁
That was it then - it appears removing that Folder (C:\Program Files) from the Uncataloged Folders category, is all that needs to be done and Paintshop Pro can then Browse and Catalogue [create Thumbnails for] those Folders.
In the image I created just below, there is an open Steam Screenshots Folder in the background, showing that Steam's Screenshot Folders indeed now work with PaintShop Pro.
Here is a large collage/screenshot showing what I found and how to change it [It looks a little busy/crazy - so I will explain it just underneath, heh]:
In the 'Tutorial' image above, I have indicated the following areas below on how to 'fix' this issue with PaintShop Pro:
» The Large 'Green Arrow' shows that I have a Steam Screenshot Folder open in the Browse/Manage are of PaintShop Pro [It now works! There are Screenshots seen in the background middle workspace]
» The Smaller 'Yellow Arrows' are indicating the 'trouble folders' of "Program Files" and "Program Files (x86)" that PaintShop Pro seems to have issue with [These folders, generated automatically by Windows, hold most Programs and installed Applications. The 'x86' Folder is generally used for backwards-compatibility with older (32-bit) Programs]
» The Red 'Roman Numerals' (I., II., etc.) indicate the Steps To Take to navigate to the "C:\Program Files" listing in the "Uncategorized Folders" section of the Excluded Items in PaintShop Pro
» The Red 'Information Icon' is simply the Panel that must be opened, using these Steps, to see/edit the Folders to be discluded from the "Browse" capability of PaintShop Pro
Here are the Tutorial Steps, in order, to remove this Exclusion and allow PaintShop Pro to Browse/Manage Steam Screenshot Folders and Images:
Click on "File"
Select "Preferences"
Go into "General Program Preferences "
Click on the "Manage" section on the left of the Preferences panel that comes up
In the "Excluded Items" section on the right, click on the button for "Uncataloged Folders"
In the "Uncataloged Folders" panel, select the "C:\Program Files" listing and click on the Delete button
Click Ok, above the Cancel button
Click Ok, to close the Preferences Panel
You are now back at the main PaintShop Pro interface
That's it!
Hopefully this finding can help others that want to use Paintshop Pro with Steam Screenshots, now easily Browsing them all (with Thumbnails being Cached for faster access/listing) with PaintShop Pro.
Hope That Helps!
~ Troy from The Game Tips And More Blog
[Note: I am not affiliated with Corel or Steam/Valve, and have not, and will not, receive any compensation in any form, for mentioning them here. I am merely an enthusiastic gamer who utilizes their products, and likes to share helpful information for others when I can]
Personal Log, Stardate 201906.6[I have no idea how that works heh]:
Just a quick Personal Note to say that I apologize to my dear readers for not posting much for the past few months... I seemed to have acquired a nice version of Influenza around Christmastime - and it has been a faithful and caring companion ever since...
This version of The Flu was quite kind actually, not having the usual can-do-nothing-but-lay-in-bed, produce-wonderful-amounts-of-phlegm-and-mucus, generally being messy and oddly smelly all the time. No this version was more of a sleep-at-crazy-times, be-more-sore (all over), not-sure-if-its-here-or-not version of Influenza. Each day I wondered if it was 'gone' - until the lovely symptoms hit me once again. This went on for the last few months... It was kind of like what I assume being haunted feels like..("is it gone?", "oh it's back!", "what happened?", "is that a body?")...
As I'm sure many of you know, from past posts explaining why I 'haven't been able to Post anything in a while', getting "Extra Sick" [that is, above and beyond my own ongoing illness of awesomeness] is a huge burden on this body - where "A Cold", which usually takes the average healthy person a day or few to get over - takes me weeks to get through... weeks. Where was I? [Losing your train of thought of part of this condition too..]. Oh yes... and-this-is-not-totally-copy-pasted-from-a-past-Personal-Log-just-because-it-happens-to-perfectly-fit-again-this-time:
As always, I have many Project 'irons I have in the fire', but have not been able to work on them much and/or Post about them much lately... Thankfully, I have been able to sit up and play games - mainly playing Fallout 4 [getting distracted from the Main Questline and having too much fun building up Settlements and doing Side Missions, heh]. I have also been helping out fellow/new players of Fallout 4 on the Steam Forums 'if I may' say so, which I enjoy doing... Hopefully I've given some helpful advice to some of you reading this here.
Don't worry, I'll be back to posting again, Soon™...
I might also try posting more small, 'Quick Tip' posts (as I have the last couple of posts down there..). Things that I am finding in games that might help others out - an idea mainly coming from reading questions I see in Forums. I will continue to work on the Longer Postings in the Background - the ones with a lot of information/data - but by doing these short ones as well, Posts can be short [easier for me to do due to my illness] and I can get Tips out there about Games that I have been playing, to help others - what I wanted this entire Blog to be about!
Overall, I will try to 'get back into it' here as I am slowly recovering now, Posting about games I am playing and Tips I am finding, as well as little Clips and Screenshots here and there (The Blog has a YouTube Account and an Imgur Account already, I also opened a Flickr Account and some GIF website accounts a while back..). Again, I am sorry that I haven't been able to keep up with [any kind of] Posting of late, I have also had some heart trouble - nothing serious, but irregular heartrate changes, that are currently being investigated [wow Specialist investigations take a while!].
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For those wondering, the italicized text below is a 'pasted-and-lightly-updated' portion of a 'Personal Log' posting I made back in 2016, explaining my illness and what it is - it is the same as the post from then for the most part though, so if you already read it, just skip this next italicized section if you already know about my personal illness. If you are curious to know what's wrong with me (other than mentally), then go ahead and check out the slanted section below:
< Potentially Sad Talking About Sicknesses Follows, In Case Of Feels, Stop Reading, Play Game >
I've mentioned what I have or what I go through before, in an earlier Personal Log posting a couple of years ago, since starting this Blog in 2011.. I didn't really want to trouble people or put those thoughts/feelings on them, but I have had a few people ask me personally what it was - and I was looking something up recently about my condition (it's a condition I (and Doctors as well) are constantly having to learn about) and I read quite a bit about other similar stories, where other suffers were in much worse condition than me... They were literally bed-ridden... And while I was also like that for the first couple of years, I have improved slowly over time to the point where I can sit up, and even play games, and on good days work on an article and do things around the house as well...
My condition is medically termed Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, which is an infection of the brain and spinal column, which gives components of Chronic Fatigue [getting tired easily with a slow recovery rate (as in days) if I go to the store, etc] and Fibromyalgia [inflammation and pain in all areas of the body, like - you know when you get a 'flu' and are sore all over, how it feels like 'the pain is coming from deep inside of you'? it's that, all the time...heck, many of your Aunts or Mothers may have Fibromyalgia, so you may have heard about it..]. It is not a well-known disorder, despite millions of Americans having it.
Every year I learn something new about it or studies that have found out something new about it; but nothing is ever concrete on 'how to get rid of it', unfortunately. The only good part about that is, is that all Doctors I have seen have concluded that it is "something that goes away on it's own, but noone knows when"... Some people have it for a year or so and some have it the remainder of their lives. I am in my 10th year now as I write this, but as I have said in the past, I try to always see the positive in things and I have been slowly improving overall, slowly over the years...
I don't want to make anyone feel sad, I am sorry if this information does... I merely wanted to inform my readers that I may not be able to post some of the larger things I have been working on for a while longer... although I will try to bring back the "Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From" Contest - I still have many games in the old Steam Inventory and unused Keys at HumbleBundle to giveaway! [But if I do continue the Contest, I will have to do it off of the Monthly Schedule and on to a 'whenever I can' schedule (but which may be multiple times in one month, if I feel good enough!)] and of course there are even more projects that I don't want to mention yet - to keep them a 'surprise', heh.
I do enjoy writing my articles and posts here, helping others with the information I have figured out, found or collected, doing testing, giving tips of games and even Video Editing and showing effects of settings, including creating the Headers and graphics utilized here (they are all done by me)… I plan to continue doing this for a long time to come... I just realized there has not been much the past while and wanted to let you all know there may not be some yet for just a little bit longer ('recovering' from 'catching things', with this illness, everything takes far longer..).
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Once again - thank you for your patience, my wonderful readers - and I hope that I can contribute helpful information again for you soon, in the near future and for some time to come...
[Until then, I will still try to pop into places like Steam Discussions and other Game Forums, sharing images when I can on Imgur, Gfycat, Flickr and more; as well as continue to work on postings here at The Blog]
Thank You for stopping by - and Take Care.
I just wanted to share with you all, what seems like "The Official Answer" from Dolby Labs themselves - the answer to the question:
In the Spatial Sound tab of the Properties of my Headset/Headphones, should I have the "Turn on 7.1 Virtual Surround Sound checkbox selected ('checked'), or not..?
I found this question asked in a Steam Discussion earlier in the year, about whether or not the checkbox for
"7.1 virtual surround sound" should be selected or not. At
the time, I was sending emails back and forth with Dolby Support a bit, and got the answer of 'use whatever sounds better for your headset'
- which does make sense; each model in each brand of every set of
headphones has different capabilities and manufacturing limitations
and can indeed sound different from the next.
While helpful advice, I
had submitted a Feedback Comment at their website, that said that the Dolby App did not specifically address this checkbox in Windows 10 (and
whether or not it should be 'ticked'). I looked recently at the Dolby
App again just a couple of days ago [as of the time of this posting, which is near the end of 2018] and found that a diagram, showing
the answer to whether the 7.1 Surround Sound checkbox should be
selected/ticked or not, was now present; and wanted to share it with you all, here.
Below then, is the Screenshot from the Official Dolby App in Windows 10 [and the "Spatial Sound" Tab of my Headset, how it was at the time, shown on the Right]:
The Dolby Atmos App in Windows 10, showing the "Turn on 7.1 virtual surround sound" checkbox suggested as "Checked", with my Windows 10 Sound Properties panel shown on the right (showing the checkbox unselected at the time)
It seems then, that 'the final answer' to whether or not this checkbox should be selected or not, is "Yes", as suggested by Dolby Labs themselves.
[Edit: After returning to do more Testing with Dolby Atmos in Windows 10, I have found that the checkbox for "Turn on 7.1 virtual surround sound" now automatically becomes selected ('checked') when SPATIAL SOUND > DOLBY ATMOS is chosen/enabled (eg. when right-clicking on the Speaker icon [Sound] in the System Tray / Notification area of the Taskbar to enable it [near the Clock on the taskbar in Windows])]
If I may still add, 'juuuust in case', to try both ways still, with whatever headphones you are utilizing, taking a moment to listen to something with it checked then unchecked, to 'make sure' that you are getting what sounds the best, to YOU - as suggested by Dolby themselves [to me directly through emails with them]. Regardless, I hope this helps to clear things up a bit.
Addendum:
While a Review of Dolby's Atmos surround sound for Windows 10 is out of the scope of this specific posting, I am slowly working on a short "Review" of the function/app, comparing it to other '7.1 Surround Sound' sources, such as Razer's "Surround Pro" and others, with some examples/recordings of the differences as well.
Until then, to help, I will state a very brief 'first impressions' of this audio functionality/app [that Santa saw fit to give me as an early Present for Xmas] - that is, a point-form of my own 'first impressions' of Dolby Atmos in Windows 10:
- It does sound good' overall, with the expected "Dolby Quality" that their products produce. Clear and Crisp and Boom-y
- The surround sound works very well, moreso in movies than games though; as in some games it can seem a bit 'muddled', where the surround directionals 'leak' a bit into each other[to my ears]
- Overall though, it has clear, crisp highs and nice booming/pounding lows [the high end seems to be a bit over-accentuated to me, but it may just be that my ears are a bit more sensitive to that range. it is a common practice to enhance Treble slightly to increase perceptive audio clarity to humans]
- The only thing missing from the App is a configurable Equalizer (sliders that can adjust the strength of each frequency range, so that users can increase/decrease ones that they wish to adjust), but then, it is suggested in the app itself, that it actually adjusts automatically, based on the source and frequencies within the media itself (as their proprietary Dolby algorithms/functions do in movies,etc).
- If you don't have a Surround sound option with your headphones already [a 7.1/8channel dongle/plug or option somewhere - for example, my Headphones from Santa one Xmas has a little box on the USB cable that has a '7.1 Button' on it, which works surprisingly well for emulating Surround Sound]the sound quality of Dolby's Atmos really does seem worth the $15 so far in my limited testing; however don't worry if you can't purchase it, Windows 10 now comes with its' own "Windows Sonic for Headphones" 7.1 Surround Sound emulation.
Personal Log, Stardate 201809.9[I have no idea how that works heh]:
Just a quick Personal Note to say that I apologize to my dear readers for not posting much for the past couple months... I have been experiencing a slight worsening of my bodily symptoms - but this happens once in a while, and it all may go back down as it seems to be once again, slowly (back to "sick normal", heh). As always, I have many Project 'irons I have in the fire', but have not been able to work on them much and/or Post about them much lately... Thankfully, I have been able to sit up and play games - mainly playing Fallout 4 (getting distracted from the Main Questline and having too much fun building up Settlements and doing Side Missions, heh). I have also been helping out fellow/new players of Fallout 4 on the Steam Forums "if I may" say so, which I enjoy doing... Hopefully I've given some helpful advice to some of you.
Don't worry, I'll be back to posting again Soon™... but I think I may have to change a couple of things at The Blog here.
Nothing 'big' I don't think, but for one, I can't keep up with the Monthly "Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From" (where I post a Screenshot and my dear readers can guess what game it is from, to win Gifted Games from me). I have literally over 50,000 Screenshots and really want to share/edit most of them, but I can't seem to get around to it often (due to illness/tiredness).
So, I've decided to not make it a 'monthly' thing - but instead have it 'whenever I can' heh - which might result in it happening multiple times in one month, then not again for a few months, etc. This will also allow me to post Multiple Screenshots for the game, sharing more of my many collection, and giving my dear readers more chances to win a Free Game! heh
I might also try posting smaller, 'Tip' posts. Things that I am finding in games that might help others out - an idea mainly coming from repeating questions I see in Forums. I will continue to work on the Longer Postings in the Background - the ones with a lot of information/data, don't worry - but by doing this as well, Posts can be short (easier for me to do due to my illness) and I can get Tips out there about Games that I have been playing, to help others - what I wanted this entire Blog to be about!
I also plan on ZIPping up my Wallpapers and Windows Icons I've been creating for Games over the last few years, and sharing those, too. The Wallpapers I'll put up here and/or at Flickr [which has been 'bought out' I think?] at maybe at Imgur, since that seems to have become a popular/larger place over the years. I've also made my own Windows Icons, which I will show examples of in "MyDesktop" Screenshots I'll post once in a while (my Desktop changes often, with different Wallpaper and Icons, so I'll post what it looks like and share Icons and take Requests for Icons seen, as well).
I have started a couple of Twitter Accounts, one for The Blog here, and one for General Help and questions people can ask - but I haven't been able to get on the one about Help since, so I may let that one lay still for a while longer (until my personal illness can improve some).
Overall though, I will try to 'get back into it' here, Posting about games I am playing and Tips I am finding, as well as little Clips and Screenshots here and there (The Blog has a YouTube Account and an Imgur Account already..). Again, I am sorry that I haven't been able to keep up with Posting of late, other than a slight worsening of the body pain portion of my illness, I have also had some heart trouble - nothing serious, but irregular heartrate changes, that are currently being investigated (to make sure they aren't 'serious').
For those wondering, below is a 'pasted-and-lightly-updated' portion of the 'Personal Log' posting I made back in 2016 - explaining my illness and what it is - it is the same as the post from then for the most part, so if you already read it, just skip that section if you already know about my personal illness, heh:
< Potentially Sad Talking About Sicknesses Follows, In Case Of Feels, Stop Reading, Play Game >
I've mentioned what I have or what I go through once before, in an earlier Personal Log posting a couple of years ago, since starting this Blog five years ago.. I didn't really want to trouble people or put those thoughts/feelings on them, but I have had a few people ask me personally what it was - and I was looking something up recently about my condition (it's a condition I (and Doctors as well) are constantly having to learn about) and I read quite a bit about other similar stories, where other suffers were in much worse condition than me... They were literally bed-ridden... And while I was also like that for the first couple of years, I have improved slowly over time to the point where I can sit up, and sometimes even play games, and on good days work on an article and do things around the house...
My condition is Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, which is an infection of the brain and spinal column, which gives components of Chronic Fatigue (getting tired easily with a slow recovery rate (as in days) if I go to the store, etc) and Fibromyalgia (inflammation and pain in all areas of the body, like - you know when you get a 'flu' and are sore all over, how it feels like 'the pain is coming from deep inside of you'? it's that, all the time...heck, many of your Aunts or Mothers may have Fibromyalgia, so you may have heard about it..). It is not a well-known disorder, despite millions of Americans having it.
Every year I learn something new about it or studies that have found out something new about it; but nothing is ever concrete on 'how to get rid of it', unfortunately. The only good part about that is, is that all Doctors I have seen have concluded that it is "something that goes away on it's own, but noone knows when"... Some people have it for a year or so and some have it the remainder of their lives. I am in my 10th year now, but as I have said in the past, I try to always see the positive in things and I have been slowly improving overall, slowly over the years...
I don't want to make anyone feel sad, I am sorry if this information does... I merely wanted to inform my readers that I may not be able to post some of the larger things I have been working on for a while longer... Some of the things I was working on are: more/newer GPU-Accelerated Game Recorder Comparisons (Playclaw, Bandicam, Mirillis Action, D3Dgear, NVIDIA's SHARE, AMD's ReLive, Plays.tv and more), First Impressions of some games that I started work on already (The Elder Scrolls Legends Closed Beta, Dropzone Closed Beta, A Return To The Elder Scrolls Online (I was in the Beta for it), Battlefield V Closed Beta and others), bringing back the "Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From" [but off of the Monthly Schedule and on to a 'whenever I can' (but which may be multiple times in one month)] and even more projects that I don't want to mention yet - to keep them a 'surprise', heh.
I enjoy writing my articles and posts here, helping others with the information I have figured out, found or collected, doing testing, giving tips of games and even Video Editing and showing effects of settings in both, including also creating the Headers and graphics utilized here (they are all done by me)… I plan to continue doing this for a long time to come... I just realized there has not been much the past little while and wanted to let you all know there may not be some yet for just a little bit longer ('recovering' from a Cold or "doing too much" takes about a week or more each time I do something or get a cold, to get back to where I was, with this illness, everything takes far longer..).
Once again - thank you for your patience, my wonderful readers - and I hope that I can contribute helpful information again for you soon, in the near future and for some time to come...
I love movies - who doesn't? I like reading Reviews of them sometimes (not all of the time) - who doesn't (sometimes)? Now, while this is more of a game-centered blog [well, supposed to be haha] I wanted to start sharing some Reviews of movies I write, here. Not often maybe - and don't worry, they won't be 'long' [my personal illness along with ADHD takes care of that]. Maybe I'll call them a movie 'revue' - borrowing from the term for 'review' in the sense of smaller summaries, jokes and plays that were based on larger works. Yeah, that's it: The Game Tips And More Blog Presents... fadeawayto...REVUE...fadeawayto...insert-movie-name-here... [Heh. Hmm, kind of cheesy, but not too bad..].
Note:
All "Revue" articles will be SPOILER FREE (and to help with that, also image-free, other than a Title Screen / Header image) and Safe-To-Read even before viewing [I personally don't like to read Reviews before movies, but I know many do - please let me know if any of my Revues are 'too spoiler-y' and I will adjust them]. Enjoy!
Revue #1 - Fantastic Four (2015)
What an oddly finished product to make an opinion on... I just watched this on Netflix, and while it's not just that the movie feels disappointing, it also left me feeling 'empty' or even ‘sad’ somehow. Like the movie was a small animal that someone found, took in to care for, then forgot it out on the street again later on... That odd mixture of disappointment and sadness is what I came away from this movie with.
Without getting into the ‘technical’ or ‘background’ details of it (how they handled the Origin Story is what most people did not like, for example), the first two-thirds of the movie is actually not bad, if a little slow-paced. It develops their backgrounds slightly and places them together, trying to get you to have empathy for the characters somewhat. It does in fact feel like a caring hand was hanging over it all, keeping it ‘realistic’ and the work put into that made me ignore the slow pace of the development. The cast themselves by the way, seem like they could become decent actors, but they all feel ‘held back’ and are almost stoic here.
Then, after about three-quarters of the movie has gone by, they throw everything out the window and ‘chop together’ a 1980’s-quality “battle-with-the-bad-guy” that has none of the feeling of care and pace of the first majority of the movie. Now, I know production houses, crews and casts all have time limitations that put chains on a movie - turning into whips at times, urging completion; but this last section of movie feels like someone forgot about the animal they found out in the wild that they cared for so well up to now and left it out in the elements again... In my opinion, they could have even eliminated the ‘final battle’ and just finalized the development of the Origin of the characters - maybe with some ‘competition’ or other plot point, to end on; at least then, this could be an Origin Only movie and you would be left with some feelings for them after it was all over, not minding 'the wait' until the expected Sequel with 'real action' could come along.
While the 2005 Fantastic Four is a bit ‘campier’, it still is in my opinion a better movie than this, because of its' overall polish and the mistakes of this one. In the end, I gave this movie, not a Zero like many, but a 2 out of 5 because of the effort that was put in ..at times
Review submitted and published on Netflix
[Personal Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Netflix in any way, pay my own account with them, and have not received any compensation, in any form, for mentioning them here. I am merely an enthusiastic user of their service; but have also utilized other, similar services as well, such as Amazon's PrimeVideo and Sony's Crackle and other online streaming services. All opinions herein are my own personal opinions and do not reflect in any way, any opinions or influences of the companies, production houses, peoples or persons involved with the projects mentioned (movies). These articles which are "Revue" posts are my own personal ideas/opinions/predictions and are not open to 100% re-posting or re-distribution (please try to stay ~50% re-posting of the text involved). Some Rights Reserved.]
Just last Month, I picked up version 20 of Corel's recently-updated video editing suite "VideoStudio" (nomenclature "X10") and am having a lot of fun learning what it can do and how to do it all (coming from mainly editing videos with Sony's Vegas 'Movie Studio' line of products [now taken over by MAGIX]). However, I quickly ran into a little issue with importing clips using the "Open With" option in Windows and wanted to share what I found...
Normally, in Windows you can 'right-click' a video file and mouse-over the menu option "Open With..", which brings up a sub-menu of known applications, to 'send' the file to ('opening the file with the chosen application'). Doing this, whichever application you select will startup and the file will be sent to it to work with.
However, doing this with a video clip and VideoStudio x10 I found, every time the program would open up, it would immediately 'crash' (close/stop/etc). Hmm... time for some Troubleshooting! I double-checked that the file in question was not corrupted excessively by playing it, testing it in a couple of video/media players, and even tried a few other clips that were 'known good' (that VS worked with before). Each time, using "Open With...", the Splash Screen for VSx10 would show up and then just as the program itself looked like it was opening, the entire thing would crash and show this message:
Example of the "Corel VideoStudio has stopped working" Error Window Pop-Up
when trying to import a clip into VideoStudio X10 utilizing the "Open With" shortcut in Windows
[This post is currently Text-Only for speed of Posting. I may return and add example Screenshots and more, Soon™]
Update 2017-05-02: While not a 'Fix' for this issue, I have done more testing and found what is essentially the issue Go to "Update 2017-05-02"
Just a quick bit of information, for those using Corel's VideoStudio X10 to edit and render their video projects and running into this error... I was working on trying to finish some of the many, many, many projects I have in various stages of completion, and ran into an odd error when trying to render a Project in VideoStudio X10. The error said only:
"An Internal Error Occurred When Overlapped Buffer Is Full"
This is somewhat odd, as this is more of a generic Windows Application error than it is a VS (VideoStudio) error. So, I went to the Official Corel Support Forums and did other online searching...
I recently created a logo for The Blog, done in the style of the GTAV game logo (Grand Theft Auto Five Title Logo, seen Left). I had a lot of fun figuring out how to imitate the look of it and wanted to share a bit of how I did it, in case others want to give it a try too, or just to enjoy the 'Behind The Scenes' story of things... Originally I was creating this to be used on Headers for posts here at The Blog (since I was playing GTAV lately), but I also put it on a Wallpaper posted at The Blog's Flickr page - but then decided that from now on, I will not put 'my logo' on Wallpapers that I want to share with everyone, I will just use whatever game logo the game is at the time, reserving 'my logos' mainly for use here [I was feeling bad for 'forcing them onto others' if I were to put them on Wallpaper for sharing with everyone...]
Just below this paragraph then, is The Blog logo, re-done in the style of the game logo from the game GTAV (Grand Theft Auto Five)... Created entirely in Corel's Paint Shop Pro, I first had to find a font for the lettering. I found a few of them (Pricedown is one, GTArussian is another, the name of the last one escapes me at the moment). I typed out each word separately, so that I could place them really close together (like the GTAV logo has for its' words), overlapping some of the 'tails' of the text (which was fine, for me). The "B" behind the ribbon was something else... Baskerville, that's it.
My version of The Blog logo, done in the style of the GTAV game title logo
(Click to see Full Size)
The ribbon was its' own element, blanked out (white with no text), placed on top of the "B", which itself was made in layers of outlines and a Gradient, using the original game title logo ("GTAV") as the source for the green shades (clicking with 'the dropper' on the far sides of the green area in the "V" in the GTAV logo). The spiral design was found online by an anonymous maker [let me know if it is you, I'll give you Credit!], which I had to colourize and then placed in a way that was similar to the GTAV logo, on a layer below the text "B" vectors, so that it 'shows through' within the "B" area.
The text on the ribbon was made with a font that escapes me at the moment, but the colouring for it was hard to figure out, as it looks like it is directional (as though a light were casting highlights from one direction). I figured out to use the Bevel effect in the Layer Styles of Paint Shop Pro, to emulate a light source coming from the bottom-left, for the text 'The Blog'. It turned out great for imitating the lighting on the text 'Five' in the GTAV game title logo ribbon! The hardest part was getting it to 'curve'. I don't know how to create a line and make the Text follow the line yet, so I simply used the Mesh Warp function, to 'move it around' manually and get it to seem at least a bit like it is curved.
A few layers of black and grey for 'outlining' the text and entire composition (made by 'expanding' the selected text and then Filling with Black or Grey, moving the white text in front of it each time) and it was complete...
I'll mainly be using it in Headers and Screenshots in posts almost exclusively here, at The Blog. I just thought that some might like to hear a bit of 'Behind The Scenes' or 'Commentary' about it - hey, there are a lot of people that (like me) watch Commentaries! Haha
I hope you enjoyed my little Share and Tell - and if you play GTA Online - See You In The Game!
Original GTAV game logo design by Rockstar, Take-Two Interactive [Personal Note/Declaration: I am not associated with, nor do I receive anything in any manner or form, for mentioning Corel or Paint Shop Pro. I am merely an enthusiastic user of the program (I have played with it off and on since it was owned by JASC). For fairness and completivity, I shall mention another great graphic editing program, The Gimp (now just called GIMP?) - which is Open Source and entirely Free - all of the steps above can also be performed with this free program]
As done a previous "In One Sentence™" article here at The Blog, I've been wanting to make posts once in a while that catered to those without much time, or without much patience, or who [like me] suffer from conditions like ADD/ADHD, or perhaps those who 'just want a quick answer'... Thus, my beginning to write posts that literally 'sum up' concepts, comparisons or reviews "in one sentence", made especially for those 'in a hurry'...
For this post, I answer the quite-specific Hardware Upgrading question [mainly as it was one that I was asking myself, so I thought I would share my recent findings with others], 'should you get the AMD Radeon RX 470 GPU or the RX 480'..?
The Short Version
"Should I buy the 470 or the 480?"
The answer, in-one-sentence, is:
"Overall, there is anywhere from a 0-20 frame difference in performance at 1080p between the RX 470 and the RX 480, but with the average difference between the two being about 10 fps at that resolution; so, if that difference is worth the price differential to you (which is anywhere from zero dollars to fifty dollars, depending on where you purchase it from and what model, etc) - then get the 480 - but if that difference is not worth the price to you, stick with the slightly-less-powerful-but-extremely-high-value-for-the-money-right-now RX 470."
~ The Game Tips And More Blog's Answer, In One Sentence™
The Long Version
Again, as done a previous "In One Sentence™" article here at The Blog, I've been wanting to make posts once in a while that catered to those without much time, or without much patience, or who [like me] suffer from conditions like ADD/ADHD, or perhaps those who 'just want a quick answer'... Thus, my beginning to write posts that literally 'sum up' concepts, comparisons or reviews "in one sentence", made especially for those 'in a hurry'[just like how I spent tons of time on the very creative and original titling of these types of posts..].
Where was I? Oh yes, here then is my summation for a Hardware Purchase Suggestion, a very specific answer for a very specific question in Hardware Upgrading [arrived at after many hours of reading, researching, watching benchmarking videos, all while getting distracted by games, health issues and non-computery-or-techie events in life... but you can skip all of that Life Drama of your own and skip all of the time Researching on your own and just 'get to the jist' right here], in one sentence - the answer to the question:
"Should I buy the 470 or the 480?"
The answer, in-one-sentence, is:
"Overall, there is anywhere from a 0-20 frame difference in performance at 1080p between the RX 470 and the RX 480, but with the average difference between the two being about 10 fps at that resolution; so, if that difference is worth the price differential to you (which is anywhere from zero dollars to fifty dollars, depending on where you purchase it from and what model, etc) - then get the 480 - but if that difference is not worth the price to you, stick with the slightly-less-powerful-but-extremely-high-value-for-the-money-right-now RX 470."
~ The Game Tips And More Blog's Answer, In One Sentence™
The answer above is based on an average viewpoint of all reviews read and videos watched. Of course, there is always fluctuation in the average amount (sometimes the fps was exactly the same, sometimes it was a quick change in difference [eg. in a video benchmark] by 20fps or slightly more for a short period of time). Also, for some people, money isn't the issue and they want the higher-shelf RX 480 for the capability it offers. No problem, I'm just presenting what I have seen so far, between the 470 and the 480. If you can "easily" afford the faster product, go for that - but for those who are in the situation where $20 or $40 is a "big step" in price at the moment for them, but they really want to upgrade their aging hardware "now" at the same time - then this summation is for them.
As I always say, if you are looking to upgrade any hardware in your system - and if you have the time to do it:
Do your own research, read lots of reviews, check out prices in multiple places/sites/stores and find out which is the best path for you, at that point in time. No matter what the part is, spend as much as you "comfortably" can (to make it more 'future proof'). What is the most important/best advice I can give, from 20+ years of technical expertise and real-world experience in the field presented without making a new paragraph so it would be easier to read..? It is this: No matter what computer part you are purchasing, if you are not in a place where "money isn't an issue", then watch for "The Jump"in price - that leap or huge gap in prices - and purchase a part that is just in front of that gap (before the large price increase); that is the "Price Sweet Spot", where you are getting 'the most bang for your buck' and other cliche phrases. Most of all though - have fun learning and doing it all!
This Message Brought To You By Troy from The Game Tips And More Blog And Free Websites And Other Things That Made It All Happen
List of Some Sources Researched (not including video benchmark sources):
[Short Disclaimer/Note: These posts ("Personal Projects") contain some 'Editorial' material; that is, some wording and subject matter that is more personal in nature and may contain viewpoints of The Editor/Author, which does not reflect the opinions or viewpoints of this blog in its entirety, the hosting site (Blogspot), its affiliates (Google), or any other associated entity or product mentioned or utilized herein. These "Personal Project" postings will be of a 'personal journal' or 'diary' nature and approach. While they still contain many helpful tips and edifying experiences, avoid these postings if this approach does not appeal to you]
This little 'Personal Project' is one that I only recently started working on, in earnest, anyway. Starting a few years ago, I began recording what I called "Envirogamescapes" [my coin, a working title], where I record a nice long period of time of something naturally beautiful or remarkable in a game, a serene scene or a well-constructed area of a city, et cetera - to use for relaxing or working on something - and to share with others to enjoy, of course!
While experimenting with an efficient way to do this (resolution, codec, etc) I began experimenting with "Time Lapse" recording, as well. This was, where I would record one constant session of one scene/area for literally, hours on end (8+ hours) and then speed-up the material, playing it back at anywhere from 400% up to 2000%, for a nice 'montage' showing the passage of time and how it is displayed/handled by a specific game/engine.
GIF conversion of a Time Lapse recording I did last year in the game Planetside 2 ("Dome at Day and Night")
[Logos added and GIF resized from original recording resolution for smaller upload]
I thought this would be a great thing to share for others to enjoy too - and I have collected many, many recordings (Terabytes of them!) - but as always, I am far better at 'Collecting' than I am at 'Organizing', so these little Projects have been amassing virtual dust on my hard drive(s) for the past number of years... until now.
Just last week, I began to attempt to focus on these Projects, 'processing' and 'finalizing' them, creating logos and experimenting with effects and various software (graphic editing and video editing applications), to try and bring these years-old aspirations to some kind of fruition.
[/Begin Personal Drama Rant]
Hopefully, within a reasonable period of time, I can 'finish' some of these videos - if my own personal tendencies don't get in the way - "thanks, A.D.D. for not letting me focus on one thing too long!", "thanks, ongoing illness, for making me too tired to work on one thing too long!", "thanks, O.C.D for making me feel guilty about 'dropping' projects!"... great stuff, all around, way to go brain and body!
I also tend to have Perfectionistic tendencies - which, while it sounds 'like a good thing' or even perhaps that I am 'bragging', it is not really 'a good thing' - it often leads to never finishing many personal projects or never reaching many goals that I set for myself - as somewhere along the way, I feel that "if it isn't Done Really Really Well, then there is no point (on going further, or submitting it, etc)" - I cannot count the number of times I didn't hand in Homework on time, or at all, in the past because of this - thanks again, brain!
So, as part of my own Personal Psychotherapy perhaps - and as part of a personal yearning to share some great gaming material/scenes/beauty with others, I am going to try to 'focus' and 'buckle down' and other phrases that only make half-sense to me, to Finally Finish some of these - and I will not only share them here (and on YouTube/etc), I will attempt to journal some of that ...journey, here as well.
I am not sure how long it will take, as I know every video, every graphic, will feel [because it has in the past] "never quite finished"; but I gain some strength in beginning this endeavour from a quote I recently came across, by a fellow perfectionist, the great Leonardo Da Vinci, who stated: "To an Artist, a Work is never Finished, it is only Abandoned..".
[/End Personal Drama Rant]
The Long Exposure Shot
While I will still be working on those other Projects that I began years ago (Time Lapse videos and "Envirogamescapes"), I want to focus here [in these articles, for now] on the journey for what I am calling a 'Simulated Long Exposure Shot' - that is, a game capture (screenshots/video) that looks as though it was taken In Real Life as a Long Exposure photographic image.
Even if you are not a Photographer, I'm sure you have come across such photos before - created In Real Life simply by setting any camera to a longer/slower shutter speed, exposing the film (or the detectors/sensors in digital cameras) to the material/medium/scene for a much longer time, allowing the incoming Light to develop/collect the image over time, creating the effect of the moving parts/areas of the photo being Blurred, but the static or lesser-moving parts/areas of the photo to remain more clear/crisp (hence the phrase I am using, 'Long Exposure'). Here is a Stock Photo example of this effect:
In beginning this journey, I played with some effects that were 'built-in' to a few graphic editing programs I like to use [this is just a short list of the 'main' ones that I use]:
The GIMP The Graphic Image Manipulation Program (now called simply GIMP), a powerful Open Source image editor with an interface loosely based on Photoshop
Corel's Paint Shop Pro Formerly JASC's Paint Shop, a full-featured graphic editing program
Inkscape A great Open Source image editing program, geared mainly towards editing Vector-based material
Not really finding what I was attempting to accomplish via the Automated Tools of these programs - that is, the 'trails' of lights in traffic being the first effect I was going for - I quickly shifted to looking up some Videos on the subject and querying some Experts in the field [of Photography]. I quickly found two sources of information, among many; a video (that seemed to produce the effect I was looking for, but with clouds) and a helpful forum (with experienced Photographers and Editors). Here is one of the many Videos I found on the subject, the first one I came across showing an example of the effect I am trying to achieve [although he performs it with 'clouds' versus my 'traffic lights' goal]:
Along with many other videos and examples of potential ways to approach this - although they all dealt with Real Life photography, as opposed to my Video Game Capture approach - I also found in my searching, a very helpful group of people in the Corel User Support Forums, where I received many ideas about how to 'blend' or 'blur' the images in a way that could potentially emulate the effect [of 'lines of light, coming from the traffic'] - and again, although they were experienced and giving possible approaches to the emulation of the effect from the realm of Real Life photography sources, the concepts could [I felt] carry over into my goal, simulating the effect using purely Digital Material (ie. game captures). To read that Discussion Thread, it is located at the Corel Forums, here.
To start off, I tested out some of the ideas that these knowledgeable helpers were positing, using PaintShop Pro. Each contributor had their own 'off the top of their head' approach, this effect or that one, layering it this way, using these filters - I thought it was great to hear it all! I did a few quick compilations of the tests - and here's what came of them:
Various effects and filters quickly tested, most from PaintShop Pro
(This example compilation will be repeated in the following four paragraphs)
Click to see Full Size
There was quite a difference in some of the effects and approaches, as shown above. In the first one, a user suggested to try the built-in Photo Blend, an automated utility that would essentially take a number of photos and 'blend' them together, amassing all the differences between them, into one image. You can also tweak what 'you want to keep' and what 'you want to get rid of', as well, in the process. As seen, the Photo Blend utility worked well with combining the differences between the images - but it did not add a 'streak of light' effect at all. Still, a useful utility that I will have to remember to return to, someday.
As seen above, in the second section, a 'layering' approach by another helpful user actually produced a result very similar to the Photo Blend utility, as 'ghost images' of cars from one image blended into another image where there were no cars in those places. While I don't fully understand how the 'Lighten' layering setting works (technically/mathematically), it appears to simply keep the lighter-coloured areas of the images, as it blends them together; the lighter a pixel is, the more it is 'kept', it seems.
In the third section above, the result can be seen of a suggestion from another knowledgeable user, which was to add a Motion Blur to the images (Motion Blur is essentially a 'blur that has a direction'), blending the layers together in the end with the Screen setting. The little of what I know about the Screen layer blending effect, is that it accentuates the lighter areas between the images, where middle-of-the-road tones get some blending as well, while darker areas are not carried through very much at all (ignored). The result is an overall brightened image, where the lightest areas are maintained well. While this layering approach wonderfully gave the 'streaks of light' effect I was looking for, it also 'blurred' the entire image - whereas the end goal I am searching to emulate has the more 'static areas' of the image (ie. non-moving) maintained crisp and clear - seen more in the first two sections of the Example Compilation above.
The fourth and last section of the Example Compilation is actually the result of a quick test in VideoStudio Pro, a video editing application also from Corel. In it, I tried the NewBlue Motion Blur effect, with the 'angle of blurring' set to match the direction of the roadway. The result seems promising - the light sources are 'stretched' and the buildings are left crisp and would perhaps would more detailed if I played with the Blending settings more (I also had to Blend each image as Overlays in the Overlay Tracks of the Timeline (as this is a video editing application)). For a quick test though, I think it showed potential for emulating this effect.
[Note From The Editor/Author: I am not affiliated in any way, nor do I receive anything, from Corel (or any other of these companies in this post) for mentioning their products, in any form - I am merely an enthusiastic user of these products and I use other, similar editors just as much (such as CyberLink's PowerDirector, Sony's Vegas Movie Studio (now belonging to MAGIX), Open Source programs, such as GIMP and Inkscape, and many more). I switch often between them, using each for their offerings and capabilities and switching back again when one offers features that another does not. I state this so that you, dear reader, know that I am not influenced by these companies to write or say what I express in these posts]
The next thing I did [on my own now] was play around a bit with PaintShop Pro's Push and Smudge Tools, dragging a point from the car lights outward in a line:
Testing out the Push and Smudge Tools, to emulate a Long Exposure effect (the goal of this Personal Project)
As seen above, it gave me a nice 'light line', similar to what I am aiming for - but it was hard to make a straight line (holding SHIFT, normally used to make straight lines, did not seem to work with these Tools) - and I'm not quite sure yet if I want to do this potentially many, many times when blending together multiple traffic shots to compile a finished Simulated Long Exposure Image - but I do think these Tools showed potential, especially after using a concept suggested from a Corel Forum User (known as "Flagpole") to combine the edited layers with a 'Lighten' filter [I assume, to keep the darker areas dark and 'carry over' the lighter pixels from one layer to the next]. While this overall did create the 'streaks of light' I desired, it does not seem viable (at this point) as the main approach I would take for simulating the effect.
[For now, I'm getting tired and must stop here...]
Coming in Part II
Simulating the desired "Long Exposure" effect completely within a Video Editing Program - more automated perhaps - but will it work better than a true Image Editing Application..?
The Answer to that question - and more steps taken towards progress in this Personal Project - next time! When? I have no idea! "Soon™"....
Just a quick Notification, for those interested in Battlefield Hardline, that an Expansion for it is currently being offered Totally Free from EA via their "On The House" promotion:
Screenshot of the Information Panel in the Origin Client for the Battlefield DLC/Expansion, Betrayal
(Click to see Full Size)
Free right now, EA is offering the Expansion for Battlefield: Hardline called Betrayal, which features 4 new maps (Thin Ice, Chinatown, Cemetery and Alcatraz), 2 New Vehicles, New Weapons (Personalize up to 5 Weapons with the Gun Bench and Test Weapons in the Gun Range!), New Assignments, New Camos, New Paints, and more [Inquisition Swooooord!lol]. While it does require the Base Game Battlefield: Hardline, even if you don’t own Hardline itself, you can Add it to your Origin Games Library and then Download it when you get Hardline in the future. If you are a Subscriber to Origin Access, you already have this available, for 'free' (it is part of the Vault Games available to you).
The Expansion/DLC itself was originally released in March of 2016and although it may not help with there only being a handful of servers in North America on PC with a high number of players on them (there are a lot more if you are part of the EU), it is still worth going and grabbing [in my opinion, especially if people end up coming back or playing more in the future. I have already seen an influx of new players, thanks in part to EA's recent Up-to-75% Off Sale and DLC Giveaways].
I have also been working on a "One Sentence Review" of all the Weapons in Battlefield: Hardline that I want to post here at The Blog in the future; but for now, if you are interested at all in Hardline, grab this while you can - and See You In the Game!
[Personal Note: I am not affiliated with, nor receive any benefits of any kind from EA/Origin (check the Links, there are no 'Affiliate Tags' or anything on them); I am merely an enthusiastic gamer who tries to pass on information to other gamers, when I can. Enjoy, dear reader.]
Just a quick note and Moment Of Silence for justin.tv - for those of you who were streaming your gameplay, personal life and/or finger puppet theatre there - it has now shut down forever.... If you were utilizing justin.tv, there is a lot that is unfortunately not being carried over automagically, such as Followers, Facebook Accounts and more. You can still request to have your account transferred to Twitch until September 5th, 2014 though. For more information, visit the justin.tv and twitch.tv websites. If you wish to continue to share your gameplay/life experiences with the world, don't worry, there are still many websites out there that offer Live Streaming and Video Hosting, such as [Justin's Bigger Brother] Twitch, Livestream, Vaughnlive (gamers are directed to Instagib.tv), YouTubeand many more.
When I first read about this from EA, that is, the possibility of getting absolutely every single expansion and "Stuff" add-ons completely free, I thought there must be some mistake... A little bit of reading at the EA website and I inferred from the phrasing that it was initially going to be offered as a free upgrade to current owners of The Sims 2 (Digital/Download or Disc-based versions); but I did a little more reading about it today and it seems that EA may be 'planning on putting it "in everyone's game list" eventually'... [in my opinion] most likely to arouse just-a-little-more interest in The Sims franchise for the upcoming "The Sims 4" release (now available for pre-order, slated to be released in September 2014).
Therefore, now feeling fully-okay-mostly safe from the dark shadows of 'releasing something that wasn't meant to be distributed', I share with you the Product Code that will allow you to be the proud owner of "The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection", which includes all of the below:
The Sims 2
The Sims 2: University Expansion
The Sims 2: Nightlife Expansion
The Sims 2: Open for Business Expansion
The Sims 2: Pets Expansion
The Sims 2: Seasons Expansion
The Sims 2: Bon Voyage Expansion
The Sims 2: FreeTime Expansion
The Sims 2: Apartment Life Expansion
The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff
The Sims 2: Glamour Life Stuff
The Sims 2: Happy Holiday Stuff
The Sims 2: Celebration! Stuff
The Sims 2: H&M Fashion Stuff
The Sims 2: Teen Style Stuff
The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff
The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff
The Sims 2: Mansion & Garden Stuff
Wow, thanks EA!
Note: this package release may be time-limited and EA has stated that they will no longer be updating The Sims 2 or it's expansions, although they can still be contacted if you are having technical problems running the game
Here are the steps to redeem the free Activation/Product Code:
If you don't already have it installed on your system, download and install the Origin game client from EA [it is similar to Steam and other game management interfaces] from http://origin.com/download
In the pull-down menus at the top of the Origin interface, click on "Origin" and then "Redeem Product Code..."
In the white box [field] under Product Code, enter this: I-LOVE-THE-SIMS [hyphens may not be needed]
You should then see a message that the activation was successful and you are the newest owner of [oops, I forgot what year I'm in, I mean a temporally licensed user of] The Sims 2, along with all possible Expansion Packs and Add-Ons
Select the game in your My Games list in the Origin Client and install it by clicking the Download button that pops up [and if you're like me, click OK to the Insufficient Disk Space message]
That's it!
Enjoy playing The Sims 2 once again, experiencing all that this version could possibly offer.
Just to let more people know, in case some didn't already, there are a lot of great Summer Sales going on right now at various game distribution/retailer websites [think of them as 'Winter Wonder Sales' if you are in the Southern Hemisphere]. Here are a couple samples:
Good Old Games, now called GOG.com, have both ongoing sales and Time Limited Deals, with games such as The Hitman Series, Simcity2000, the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series, the Might & Magic series, the Wing Commander series, Quest For Glory and King's Quest series, the Rollercoaster Tycoon series, and much more
(Click to see Full Size)
Steam is having it's Summer Sale, that also has some ongoing deals with some Time Limited Sales, with games such as The Witcher series, Euro Truck Simulator series, the Left 4 Dead series, the Total War series of games, Red Alert 3, Civilization 5, and much more
(Click to see Full Size)
Some of these are Time Limited Deals, meaning that they are only 'on' for a few hours, or change after a few hours - so check back there once in a while and see if any games you have been waiting for are on sale - most of these are 80% or 90% off!
[For the most part, they seem to 'stay' on sale/remain on sale, but at a slightly higher sale price than within the 'time limit' (but are still available at less than regular price)]
I hope you find something you like and See You In The Games!
