Quick Tip: How To Run SimCity 4 in 1920x1080 (Widescreen) Resolution, as of 2019.01 [Tutorial]

Update 2019.03.14: Added Screenshot Example of SimCity 4 running in Widescreen (16:9/1.78 Aspect Ratio)

[Text-Only Mode - this is currently being posted in Text-Only Mode, to speed up posting as soon as was finished, to help others as quickly as possible. I may return here and add some related Screenshots... Soon™]

Recently, I've been getting back into game like SimCity (2013) and SimCity 4 (2003) [found on EA/Origin and Steam, respectively], having fun building up cities and looking forward to large skyscrapers filling the skyline, keeping my Sims happy as they churn through their little lives... Looking through a SimCity forum, while I was reading up a bit about Omega (which is 'new to me') I came across someone posting a Thread asking about 'how to run SimCity 4 in 1920x1080' resolution. I saw some replies from other helpful people, but oddly, none of the options/command-lines worked [as of the time of this posting], with typed-in options such as "-w" (for running in Windowed Mode) and so on... Wanting to help, I went experimenting in Steam's SimCity 4 that I owned and looked a bit more online about other possible solutions as well - and I eventually found out what works, as of today! Here is what worked for me:

• In Steam, where SimCity 4 is listed in your game Library, Right-Click on the game name and Select (Left-Click) Properties.
• In the center section, click on the button labelled "Set Launch Options...". This adds commands to the game that would be 'typed in and utilized', if the game was run in that type of interface.
• In the box of Launch Options, type (or copy-paste) the following into the area:
  
  
  -CustomResolution:enabled -r1920x1080x32
  
  
  [be sure to include the hyphens and have only one space between the two commands]
  
• Click on OK to close that panel, then click Close to close the Properties of the game in Steam

That's it! 

Running the game (and after the Introduction Cinematic/Movies play [if you have not disabled them] as they are rendered and play in a fixed resolution), you should find the territory/region screen gloriously taking up all of your screen space... Here is what it will look like:

Example of SimCity 4 (Steam version shown) running in Widescreen (16:9 Aspect Ratio) Mode in Windows 10,
after following the steps shown above [other steps found online did not work for me personally]

Have fun building up your Sim City! 

[Don't forget to take lots of Screenshots! heh]

~T

How To Report Players in Star Wars Battlefront 2 ...(Or Any EA Games) [Tutorial via Screenshots, Short and Long Versions]

Recently, I've been seeing a lot of people asking how to report players in the Official Star Wars Battlefront II Forums (via Electronic Arts). To summarize, for those who may not know, there is an issue with players in the newly-released game, "exploiting" how the in-game currency is given out. It seems that many players realized that they could end up with 'Credits' at the end of a match/round, by not doing anything at all and/or jumping in one spot (known as "AFK'ing", which comes from the acronym 'Away From Keyboard'). Deeming these actions unfair and having a negative effect on the game experience of other players, many having been wanting to know how to 'report' these people who are doing this, to EA Game Administrators.


In response to seeing this asked so much [not just in EA Forums], I wanted to make a 'Quick Tip style' post on how to do just that. There was mention of a system in-game (ie. within SWBF2 itself), where you can click on a players' name in the Scoreboard - but I have not been able to get this working, personally - therefore, I wanted to share a more 'universal' way of reporting players that may be going against the conduct/terms of [any EA] games.

As a Reminder, a Community Manager recently re-posted information about Rules in SWBF2 on the Star Wars Battlefront II Forum:  

The steps to Report A Player (In Any EA Game) will be presented in two versions, Short and Long:

Short Version:

1. Search for the player's name in the Origin Client or at the Origin Website.
2. Click on the arrow next to Send Friend Request and submit a Report 
3. Don't forget to mention the reason for the Report and include Evidence if possible

• Xbox Live: Find the player name in the Recent Players list, click File Complaint, then Cheating, then Submit.
• PlayStation Network: Use the PlayStation Network's "Report Inappropriate Content" form

Long Version:

For any EA game at all, if you wish to report a player for doing something negative in a game (Cheating, Hacking, not contributing at all to the game (aka. "going AFK"), making RealLife™ threats, etc): you can go to the Search for Players, via the Origin Website [Note: These steps look the same in the Origin Client as well]. The area to Search for other Players looks like this, below:

In the Search Field (where you type, usually indicated with a Magnifying Glass), simply type the players' name or portion of it and hit ENTER (or click on the Magnifying Glass) to begin a Search for the name/ID. Soon, a set of results should come up for the player(s) found. An example of what a Result looks like, is below:

Clicking on the player will open up their Player Profile, which shows their Avatar (image they chose) and some information about them (Achievements and other Details may possibly be Hidden by the Player). Next to the large orange button in the upper-right corner/area, there should be a small circle with a downward-facing chevron in it (looking like a "<"). Where this is located and how it looks can be seen, below:

Clicking on the small icon will open a pull-down menu with the choice "Report User" within it. What this small menu looks like, when opened, can be seen below:

Some details should be filled in, such as what exactly happened and when; to assist EA Administrators in isolating/tracking the occurrence. Give as much information as you can. Include any Links to Videos or Media that you can, even if it is just a Screenshot. The fields to fill in, can be seen below:

Even a Screenshot alone, will give a lot of weight to the complaint you are submitting. Without it, it is more work for EA Admins to track down what happened and what occurred and the overall process will take much longer. It really helps if you can submit anything at all to assist with your case.

If you are unsure of how to share Links to your media you'd like to share... Here is a small list of a few places you can Upload your Screenshots (copying the Link/Address/URL to the image, to paste into the Report):

https://imgur.com/
http://tinypic.com/
https://imgbb.com/
http://www.imagebam.com/
https://prntscr.com/gallery.html (requires free account to upload images to share)

[Note that the above list is not a complete list, there are many places that allow you to Upload your images, to share/link to others]

Lastly, you can also Report Cheaters/Hackers/etc through Customer Support service via the EA main website:

https://help.ea.com/en/contact-us/?product=star-wars-battlefront-ii&category=game-information

[Note that the above Link will forward you to the Contact Page for EA related to Star Wars Battlefront 2 - but the reference can be easily changed, if you are Reporting a Player from a different game (simply click on "Change Game")]


Although the stimulus for this posting was originally 'Reporting AFK Players in Star Wars Battlefront II' - the steps above can be followed to Report a Player for any EA game. I hope this helps make things easier for others to help 'clean up the community'!



Update - 2017.12.14:

In the latest Patch for SWBFII  (Patch 1.0, Dec.13/17) there is a line in the Patch Notes that states:

• " Made improvements to the idle-kick logic that detects players who aren’t participating in the match"

So it is nice to see that they are making efforts towards alleviating this issue. Way to go, EA/Dice!

See You In The Game!

How To Use The Mouse To The Best Of Your Ability (a.k.a. How To Be A Better 'First Person Shooter') [Text-Only]

[Text-Only - This Post is Text-Only Mode, for now. I may return to this posting and add Screenshots or Images at a later time.]

I was browsing around in the Steam Forums [forii?], where I like to try and answer Technical Questions and give Suggestions about Gameplay and Tips - and I recently answered a query someone had about using the Mouse in Fallout 4 (arguably a 'Shooter' game for the most part) and how it seemed difficult for them to aim in the game (it is possible to utilize an Automated Aiming capability called V.A.T.S., in Fallout 4 - but the game can also be played 'in real time' without it, playing as a First Person Shooter would be played, similar to games like Overwatch, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Battlefield, and more).

So, I answered with a somewhat-lengthy reply, trying to be helpful and informative, letting them know where to do things like change the Settings of the Mouse and the Sensitivity; really trying to show them that there needs to be a 'personalization' of the Mouse Settings, if they wanted to utilize the Mouse, as a gaming tool, to the best of their ability (to "let your ability shine through the Mouse" as it were).

I thought it might be nice to share my answer here too, then - to share with others that may be wondering things like:

"Why am I having so much trouble aiming/killing in <game name>?"

"Why does it seem so hard to kill people <in a Multiplayer game>?"

"How can I improve my gameplay in Multiplayer/Player-Versus-Player?"

...and similar questions.

Thus, here was my reply in the Forum... Perhaps it can be of some use to you:

-----

If I may pop in, as a 'First Person Shooter' since Wolfenstein 3D (1992), and having won some Local Tournaments in the past (UT99 and Quake III Arena); you really need to find your own personal 'mouse sensitivity'…

(I used to do 180's while running to 'check my six' or headshot the player behind me - which they didn't like of course, heh)

Note that this must be adjusted for every new mouse and potentially every new game. This is the only way to truly have a movement and reaction time/rate in the game that you personally feel comfortable with.

There are a few places you must adjust it:

- in Windows (Settings>Devices>Mouse [for Windows 10])

- in Mouse Software (that disc that comes with the Mouse that everyone ignores, or the manufacturer’s Drivers and associated 'Software Configurator' of some type for the mouse from their website), where you can also Keybind different keys or combinations to your Mouse, if it can do so, and set DPI gradations/steps.

- in the Game (Options or Settings)

Again, I cannot helpfully stress this enough; try to do this for each and every game you play – it is amazing in how it can personalize your comfortable movement/scan/hit rate.

It is really possible to 'hit anything' in a game, if you make your own personalized changes to all of the above.

Some people like to move their mouse a lot, slowing down the movement into smaller gradations for sniping and tight movements.

Some people like to move their mouse very little, using mostly their fingers and hardly turning their wrist (these types usually switch DPI settings as-they-move, for sniping and tighter movements).

Both are arguable for usage and both can utilize the DPI settings/changes possible on modern mice.

You must find your own movement type and movement rate, set by those three locations previously stated.

Once you set the mouse how you like it - whether you switch DPI settings on-the-fly (to make your character scan slower or faster, switching between scoped and non-scoped, for example) or whether you keep one DPI setting and alter how fast you move the mouse – you will find that you can aim/scan/hit a lot better (and also not get tired as fast).

Tip: Don’t forget to turn off any Mouse Acceleration (The kind that moves your mouse pointer farther on the screen if you move the same amount of space on your desk, only faster)… This only adds to the difficulty in scanning/aiming and makes it harder to build up muscle memory for your mouse (such as, "I move my mouse this far, and my view onscreen moves this far").

The only recourse, other than doing the above and taking all of the above steps, is V.A.T.S….(at least, to be totally comfortable and 'reach your full potential' with the Mouse (wow this is starting to sound like an Infomercial, sorry about that haha))

But, try to have fun exploring it – find “You” in your mouse movements – and have fun learning how “You” play!

-----

Note, Dear Reader, that I am not trying to 'be pompous' or 'brag' here, with this posting... I merely stated my 'qualifications' at the beginning, to show that I learned a lot over time and that I had personally found some effective ways to improve playing, with the Mouse (especially in the past). 

I do not wish to sound like to 'know everything' as well - and indeed can learn more - I just wanted to share what I did learn over time and hope that this might help others out, too. If you are an experienced FPS player ('First Person Shooter gamer'), then you no doubt already know most of these concepts (or have figured them out on your own). 

I should state that I am also nowhere near as good as I once was [being 40 now, alas, age occurs to all..]. Where I once could out-shoot almost anyone, regularly doing 180s-to-instant-headshots (as stated previously), I now regularly get my butt handed to me in games like Overwatch, CS:GO and the Battlefield series of games [although I can still get Top Spot on The Board at times! heh]. 

Still, I wanted to try to help others... and I hope that this posting helps anyone improve their mousing (and killing/winning), if that is what they desire to do. 

I always like helping others and teaching others what I can... "The wiser mind mourns less for what age takes away than what it leaves behind." ~ William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

SYITG

Quick Tip: Corel's ScreenCap Recording Utility - Problem Recording Audio, "Prepare Record Failed" Error [A FIX]

[Update/Addendum 2016-12: I recently received PaintShop Pro X9 as a 'Christmas Eve Gift From Santa' and did a quick test of this again, to find that this 'FIX' also works for the Screen Capture "Stand-Alone" version that was recently released with PaintShop Pro X9! Thank you to everyone that is stating this 'still works' with VSPx10!]

I just wanted to share a Quick Tip for those having problems recording audio with the Corel ScreepCap utility, especially if you are seeing a "Prepare Record Failed!" Error/Popup, upon trying to begin recording. I experienced this myself at first, when trying ScreenCap, so began Troubleshooting to see what could be the cause. While I did not find out the exact reason for the error I did find a fix that worked and is repeatable, allowing me to record audio with Corel's Screencap utility from then on. Hopefully, this will work for you, too...

I purchased VideoStudio x8 about a week ago [as of the time of this post] - and I have been having a blast learning it and exploring all of the great content that came with it. While I might do a "First Impressions/Review" article on the program, and maybe even some Tutorials eventually, for now I want to focus on this error/problem with the ScreenCap module, especially since experiencing it myself and then seeing it in the Corel User Forums, finding out that it is in fact an 'older' problem for many. To begin, I will present the steps I found to enable working audio recording with ScreenCap.

The "Prepare Record Failed" error from Corel's ScreenCap module that pops-up when this problem is encountered,,
captured within Windows 8.1, at the time (the solution below was done in Windows 10)

Here are the steps I took, that solved the problem with 'no audio' when recording with the ScreenCap utility, causing it to crash (and display the error message shown above):

[Note: These steps assume that the user is attempting to utilize the onboard (built-in) audio adapter of the mainboard - if you are using a differing device (eg. a sound card), then merely follow the steps replacing that device with the ones mentioned below. As well, I took screenshots of these steps in Windows 10, which is why my Desktop may appear slightly different than if you are running Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 - the steps should work in the same manner, however]

• There are a few ways to open the Sound Devices list in Windows, but one of them is to right-click the little speaker icon in the System Tray (the area in the lower-right corner with the date and time).
  In the sub-menu that pops up, click "Recording Devices".

• In the Recording Tab of the Sound panel/window that comes up, let's make sure you can see Disabled and Hidden devices in the list. To do this, right-click somewhere in the white inner area (but not on a device in the list) and a pop-up menu should appear, saying "Show Disabled Devices" and "Show Disconnected Devices".
  If these do not have a checkmark beside them, click on each of them one at a time, to enable these options. Now, you should see all the recording devices currently attached to your system. Some will be 'greyed out' if they are not plugged in or nothing is plugged into them.

• In the list of devices, right-click the "Stereo Mix" device and choose "Enable", to 'turn on' the recording capability of your onboard audio adapter (the built-in audio capability in many modern mainboards).
  If a green checkmark is on the icon representing the device, it is also the Default Device  for Recording (that is, the one that a program will try to use first, for recording).
  If there is no green circle with a checkmark, right-click once again on the same device and choose "Set As Default Device", and now one should appear next to the "Stereo Mix" device.
  [if your system is already configured with the motherboard audio enabled and recording, this step may not be required]

• Click OK to close the Sound panel/window and close the list of audio devices.

• Start up Corel's ScreenCap utility by double-clicking the icon on the Desktop for it, or navigating to the Tile or Shortcut in the Start Menu, to launch it.
  [In my case, I had an icon on my desktop that said "Corel ScreenCap x8" and I used that]
  Once it opens, click on the word "Settings" near the bottom of the panel, to open up the options/settings for Screen Capture.

• In the Audio Settings category/area, click on the Circle next to "System Audio" to Disable Screen Capture from attempting to record from there
  [this seems counter-intuitive, but this is what I tested in Troubleshooting and doing this 'workaround' allowed me to 'fix' the problem and get it working - it seems more of a 'workaround' with getting the program to work, than a true 'fix' however, but this is what can be done, for now]. 

• Just above the "System Audio", click on the "I" next to "Voice" to Enable recording from that input
  [this seems counter-intuitive again, as we are not going to use a microphone in this example, but this is the second part of the 'workaround' to get Screen Capture to record audio, for now].

• Now, we will tell Screen Capture to use a different device for recording sound (as input).
  Click on the "Sound Check" button, next to the "Voice" setting.
  This will open up the Sound Check window/panel.
• Next to the "Input Device" setting, click on the pull-down menu and your device that we enabled earlier should show up in the list, as "Stereo Mix".
  
  
  
  Choose that device from the pull-down list and if you want to check to make sure it is receiving sound, you can click on the "Record" button.
  Once you click on this button, it will automatically record for ten seconds. If you quickly start a sound file, song or game, it should record exactly what you hear. Then, it will play the short test recording back for you, automatically.
  [this should verify that ScreenCap can now record audio through that device]
  
• Click the "X" in the upper-right corner, to close the Sound Check panel/window. 

That's it!


Now you should be able to hit the big red circle button at the top of the Screen Capture panel to begin recording - and it should now capture everything that you can hear through your speakers/headphones...

The ScreenCap utility does not seem to like 7.1 (8-channel) or 5.1 (6-channel) or even Quadrophonic (4-channel) audio as of the time of this post - you may still get the "Prepare Record Failed" Error if you do not change your system's audio adapter to Stereo (2-channel) Mode.


The above steps are the ones I took to enable these devices - and although it is mainly for users who have a similar type of audio device that I have at the time of this posting (a "Realtek High Definition" audio adapter/chip in their system (on their motherboard)), other devices may be slightly different in the naming if you are using a different audio device (the hardware and name listed for it, eg. "VIA HD Audio" or "SoundBlaster Z", etc) - but the steps should still be quite similar (the windows to open up, what to click on, etc). These are the exact steps I took, and they enabled me to record audio through the Screen Capture utility; and so I wanted to share them in the hope that they will work for you, too.

 [I may return to this post and add a tutorial video showing visually how to do the steps in Windows in the near future - if I do, it will be located here]

Enjoy -  and See You In The Games!




[Editor's Log: Just a note about my Wallpaper in the images within... For fun, I had created a background (desktop wallpaper) and a logo (shown in the above material) about The Blog , done in the style of the AMD Badge Logo and AMD Background Pattern - as I am currently enjoying an AMD GPU - but I do not have a preference between AMD GPUs and NVIDIA GPUs, I have owned both in the past and will use both in the future. I am not endorsed or affiliated with either AMD or NVIDIA in any commercial manner. Just letting my precious readers know I am impartial and like both of them!]

Quick Tip, Fix: No Audio Recorded in Windows 10 with the Game DVR Recording Application [with Video Tutorial, List of Steps and Example of Result]

So, I upgraded my system to Windows10 and have been using it for a couple of weeks now (and was part of the Beta before that). One of the things I was doing, was testing out the Windows built-in game recording program "Game DVR", to see if could be a replacement for third-party game recording applications (such as MSI Afterburner, Bandicam, OBS and others). I am currently working on a longer Quality Test article, going into detail about Game DVR and the recording output it produces and comparing it to other game recording programs and codecs - however for now, I quickly wanted to share a fix I found for a problem with Game DVR in Windows 10 (which I saw that many online were running into as well), that capturing with the Game DVR app results in no sound/audio in the output file - even if the Audio Setting is "On" in the Settings for Game DVR (shown just below):

The Audio Settings for Game DVR in Windows 10, showing the Audio as being Enabled

At first, nothing I did locally on the system seemed to alleviate the issue. Game DVR was recording only video, no audio, in any and all games and applications [there was literally no Audio Track within the recorded/created file]. Sound was working on the system, I could hear everything - it just did not get created within the output file, produced by Game DVR when I hit "record". I quickly wrote a Quick Tip about how I found a temporary Workaround, posted here at the blog, where I used a Secondary Audio Device to get it to record audio. However, most users I believe, will not have a second audio device available, desiring to use the built-in (onboard) audio adapter on their motherboard - and so this was not a "true 'fix'", at the time...

To make a longer story short for this post [I realize I tend to ramble on, whether it is to help explain something or get off track, thank you ADHD!], after working on this problem off and on, I finally found more of a real answer, via a Microsoft Support Engineer's Tip on the Official Microsoft Forums to try the How-To page on Fixing Sound Problems for Windows 10, located here:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/fix-sound-problems#v1h=tab01

Which led to:

Above, is a short 'Minute Tutorial', showing a

walkthrough of the steps listed below

These are the steps it eventually took to get Game DVR to record audio in Windows 10:

• Open the Device Manager for Windows by clicking on the Start Menu (in the lower-left corner) and in the Search "the web and Windows" area, start to type "Device Manager" (without quotation marks) - a prediction menu should show up, displaying "Device Manager" at the top. Click on it to launch the Device Manager interface.

• In the Device Manager window, expand the category "Sound, video and game controllers" (which lists (among other things) audio devices installed in the system and useable by Windows), by clicking on the ">" arrow next to the title of the category.

• Right-click the audio adapter you wish to use as your main audio recording device for Game DVR.
  In this case, I wanted to use the built-in (onboard) audio adapter called "Realtek High Definition Audio". A submenu will pop-up, showing "Update Driver Software", "Disable" and "Uninstall", among other choices.

• Select the choice "Update Driver Software" by left-clicking it.

• In the "Update Driver Software" Wizard that pops up, choose "Browse my computer for driver software".
  This is because, if your audio is working properly already (you can hear audio - but can't record it in Game DVR), there are already Drivers installed for the audio device ['Drivers' are System Files that Windows uses to "talk to" and use the device] and we want to Update/append them.

• In the next window, choose the option to "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer".
  This will list installed/found Drivers that your hardware/device can utilize. It should list your audio device and Drivers for it, as shown below.

• Choose a more recent version/dated Driver for your audio device, if there is more than one listed and click on it.
  If there are only two items (eg. "High Definition Audio Device" and something else that is your audio device), choose the one that is more specific to your hardware (containing the name of the device, etc).

• Click "Next" to advance the Driver Software wizard.

• A warning may be displayed, informing you that using the chosen Driver is not recommended because Windows has not verified it will work with your hardware.
  Do not worry, this message is mainly stating that Microsoft has not had a 'chance to officially test' your audio hardware with Windows 10 yet, informing you of this as a precautionary measure. What we want to do is, allow Windows 10 to utilize the Drivers we have installed in the system for the audio device (as opposed to a Windows 10 'generic driver' for the device). 

• Click "Yes" to try using the installed Drivers for the audio adapter (and no longer use the Windows 10 generic drivers for it).

• The Driver Software wizard will complete and list your audio device. Click "Close" to exit the window/wizard.
  It may inform you that you have to Restart your system to properly initialize the audio device and load the Drivers for it in Windows fully.

• Restart your computer to re-initialize the audio device and load the Drivers for it in Windows fully.

Now, you should find that the Game DVR in Windows 10 records a proper audio track, creating it within the recorded file, giving you full game recording audio!


Below, is an example of testing the new configuration with Game DVR, immediately after restarting my system (using the PC Gamer Minecraft Demo as a test) - note that this is not a 'tutorial', it is merely an example of Game DVR properly working with audio, after taking the steps listed above:

Hopefully it will work for you, dear reader, as it did for me.

Good luck with it - and See You In The Games!

Battlefield: Hardline - The Sabotage Gadget (A Mechanic Class Gadget Tutorial) [Video Tutorial]

I am having a ton of fun playing Battlefield: Hardline, when I can - but while I work on a much longer 'First Impressions and Screenshots' article for the blog, I wanted to share a short tutorial for Newer Players - something that I'm seeing asked in the game chat a lot - how to use the Sabotage gadget (the basics, how to use it, what it does, etc..).

Here then, is my first Video Tutorial for Battlefield: Hardline [hopefully the first of many!] 

How To Use The Sabotage (A Mechanic Class Gadget Tutorial)

[Recording utilities used, System specs, music/backing track for the credits,

and more, are all in the End Titles]

Enjoy and See You In The Game!

Quick Tip: Archeage Stuck On "Applying"... [FIX]

Happy Launch Day To All Archeageans! [I'm not sure what they would be called... I'm just going to use that word I made up just now, and hope it doesn't offend any of them] Just a Quick Tip to all players of Archeage, especially those of you trying to install or patch the game through Trion's Launcher application and finding it stuck on "Applying..." and your hard drive going crazy, for literally hours on end if allowed to, with no seeming progress - here's one thing that could be causing this:

Applying... Forever

Long Version

While updating Archeage through Trion's game launcher, Glyph, my computer seemed to be almost 'locked up', just sitting there, the progress bar not moving at all. All it said was: "Applying.." and it didn't seem to be making any progress - but my hard drive light was almost solid, it was so darn busy... So, I did a little poking around, and here are some things I found:

Microsoft's Resource Monitor, showing that the CPU usage of Microsoft's Security Essentials executable (MsMpEnd.exe) is not using up much CPU (top set of two green arrows); but it is using up most of the throughput of the hard drive (bottom set of two green arrows). Click to see Full Size

Opening the built-into-Windows Resource Monitor, to see what could be keeping Windows so busy, I saw that the executable MSMPENG.EXE was going crazy. It wasn't hogging the CPU in usage, it was constantly accessing the hard drive, but the drive didn't seem to have problems (the response time was ok, etc) - so that indicates that it probably wasn't the hard drive's fault. Since MsMpEng.exe is part of the Windows Anti-Spyware/Anti-Virus utilities (Windows Defender/Microsoft Security Essentials/etc) I wondered if it was scanning some huge patch/update file that the game was trying to use. 

Windows Explorer, showing the large temporary files that Glyph/Archeage is creating, which seem to be causing problems with Microsoft's Security Essentials. Click to see Full Size

A quick trip to the Temporary Folder of Windows later... and there it was: a few large files, one of them 15GB alone. Well, no wonder everything seems like it is locking up solid. I made the choice to trust Trion, that they weren't doing anything untoward on my system, that they were merely trying to patch their game, and I temporarily disabled Microsoft Security Essentials, which I had installed on my computer. 

Microsoft Security Essentials, showing where to go to Disable the Real-Time Protection (temporarily), so that the Archeage patching done in Trion's Glyph game launcher can continue and complete. Click to see Full Size

'Et Voila' ["And There It Is"]... everything was working again, the patch completes in mere seconds and the game started up... 

Short Version

Part of how the Trion's game launcher Glyph appears to be set up is, it will patch/update Archeage by creating huge temporary files, which at least one virus scanner (Microsoft Security Essentials) chews and chews on forever (scanning the large files slowly). This gives the appearance that 'nothing is happening'. Disabling your anti-virus [in my case, I was running MSE] temporarily, should allow the patch to continue and the game should start soon after...

In my mind, the button wasn't saying "OK" anymore.

While this fix [more of a workaround really, until Trion and/or Anti-Virus Software companies actually fix whatever is causing the problem] is somewhat of a security risk (disabling any security on your system always is), it does appear to solve the issue and allow the patching to continue and the game to run. As long as Trion isn't trying anything 'funny' - which I doubt they would, as it would negatively affect their publicity and possible future income - then disabling your own anti-virus protection, for this one purpose, should be ok [sorry Trion, 'it's not you ..it's me', I am just cautious towards telling others to disable any Security their systems may have]. In the end, I hope it works for you all, as it did for me.

Have fun playing Archeage and See You In The Game!

Quick Tip: The Sims 3 - Game Recording Is Slightly Darker Than The 'Normal' Colours Of Regular Gameplay [FIX]

Just a Quick Tip for those of you recording The Sims 3 and finding that your videos are looking 'darker' than the original gameplay itself - a problem that has been around for some people for over a year now... It's not that the game isn't recordable (although for some people they got nothing but 'blank/black screens' a few years ago) it's that the recordings are coming out, what looks like, a few shades darker than what the game really is.
I was recently seeing a spike in the number of people talking about this problem again and decided to see if I could find a fix, or at least a workaround, for it; and what I found was something that everyone can do for now (at least until AMD/NVIDIA or Maxis/EA makes an update that fully fixes the issue) and that is simply: to run The Sims 3 in Windowed Mode.

Whether you are using Dxtory, Bandicam, Afterburner or most other game recording programs (even NVIDIA's Shadowplay has the same issue for some people), the fix [more of a workaround] that I found for now at least allows you to record your Sims 3 gameplay with proper colours, as you can see in these frames extracted from a couple of game recordings, below:

Comparison between the display modes and the colours when recording (Darker vs. 'Normal') for the recording issue with The Sims 3, showing that the workaround works [at least for now] in two extracted frames from two game recordings (one in Windowed Mode and one in Fullscreen Mode). [In the right half, the camera has been 'zoomed in']

Have fun recording your Sims 3 gameplay once again, if this problem has made you stop - and
See You In The Games!

And More: Editing NVIDIA's Shadowplay Recordings and 'The VFR/CFR Problem' (Text-Only Version)

[Updates at bottom of article]

Just a quick post on the problem many people seem to be having with editing NVIDIA's Shadowplay recordings and how to work around it, for now...

For those who don't know, Shadowplay is a free game recording capability that is included in NVIDIA's GeForce Experience utility and is accessible by anyone with an NVIDIA GPU that is a GTX 650 or higher [they state "600 Series or higher"]. Simply install the GFx utility [my abbrev.] and turn it on and Shadowplay will record a buffered period of time, overwriting that space/file again and again, until you decide to save something cool that happened in the game.

Whether FRAPS sold NVIDIA the code to do buffered/looped recording (as FRAPS has had it for many years), or NVIDIA developed it on their own, the end result is the same. The problem is, a ton of people [if technical and game forums everywhere are an indication] are unable to edit the end output correctly, when using Shadowplay.

The main reason why this seems to happen, could be due to Shadowplay utilizing VFR to record it's video data into a file. VFR stands for Variable Frame Rate, and essentially it allows the frame rate to change from slow to fast, above and below the 'set' frame rate, many times if needed, within a single video file. This helps to save space by making low-motion (or static) scenes use less frames within the video file and make complex scenes (with high-action/movements) look smoother by inserting more frames into the video file. Sounds good and test videos look fine, but the problem is when going to then edit the 'Shadowplays'.

Many video editing applications (especially NLE's [Non-Linear Editors]) may not like Shadowplay and will choke on the video, hold back sound in spurts and spit up bits of food on your screen if you try to edit the recordings. This could be due to the usage of VFR.

Note: I don't want to 'put the blame' on NVIDIA or VFR here, NVIDIA is a fantastic company with great innovations and products, and VFR is a great method for organizing frames within video data that creates a lot of 'headroom for compression' (lower file sizes by reducing the number of frames used) while trying to maintain Quality as well (by increasing the frames utilized per second within the GOP data of the file, as the codec decides it is beneficial). It merely is not as compatible, when it comes to video editing programs. As another example, Plays.Tv uses Accelerated VFR in its' Client to buffer/record with, which it notes here in their Support section, is simply less compatible and can create audio/video synchronization problems - the issue is VFR and editing compatibility -  not these companies/utilities themselves...

Fortunately, the 'fix' [which in my opinion of more of a work-around] is relatively easy, if slightly time-consuming:

Simply re-render the Shadowplay recordings into CFR (constant frame rate) video (where 60fps really is 60 frames being recorded or played back in sequence, in the video, every second, throughout the entire clip). There are many apps that can do this, but the most popular [most-popularly-used in the video-editing circles that are experiencing this problem] is probably Handbrake (it is completely free to use). Simply import your video and choose Constant Framerate in the Video Tab. That's it.

Another program you can use, is built right in (if you use Windows): Windows Movie Maker [Note: Windows Movie Maker does not seem to be bundled with Windows 10, it may however be available as a separate download]. Simply import the video and without adjusting anything, export (render) it out to MPEG-4 (MP4) format. It will produce a CFR (Constant Frame Rate) video that you can then import into programs that were having trouble with VFR - like Adobe's Premiere and other video editing applications.

[Choose a high quality setting or high bitrate, to maintain as much of your original recording detail as possible (so it won't compress it even more and lose detail). If you need to set a BitRate for the export, make sure to set it higher than the original video clip(s) BitRate ((Personal Suggestion: 2x more if you can))]

Once this is done, you'll be able to import your Shadowplay 're-renders' without problem, whether you use Premiere, Vegas, Lightworks or some other video editing application that has been having trouble importing your VFR video (for instance, some people have had problems with Shadowplay recordings using CyberLink's PowerDirector and others have not had a problem with PowerDirector at all, importing it fine - I have not used Shadowplay Recordings in PowerDirector yet [I do not have a GPU capable of using Shadowplay at this time] but I have personally imported VFR material into PowerDirector 12 without problem).

[I might come back and add screenshots to this article in the future, or create a new one talking more specifically about VFR and importing it into Premiere, but for now I wanted to bang it out and get it up here to help people who have been having this problem (many since last year, when Shadowplay first came out, with even more people having the problem earlier than that with Premiere and VFR recordings from their cameras)]

I hope that helps some people out for now, anyway. Have fun recording - and See You In The Games!




Update 1:

Bandicam has now implemented an option in their game recording software (as of July 2015), which allows choosing CFR recording or VFR recording. Since it also uses GPU-accelerated codecs such as AMDAPP, NVENC, QuickSync (and can be made to use CUDA, if you still have that), it seems to have become a viable alternative to this problem. As a Registered User of Bandicam, I shall test out this latest version of the software and perhaps write a post about it Soon™


Update 2:

I have done some quick testing with this new version of Bandicam (with the ability to choose CFR as well as use VFR if desired) and have written a short post about it at this blog, here.


Update 3 - 2018.06:

NVIDIA's Game Recording Utility seems to have changed names a few times, known as Shadowplay, then Share, then In-Game Overlay. Whatever it is called today, while this issue with editing VFR might remain, on some older video editing applications; it seems to be less of an issue on the most recent versions of video editing apps (as of 2018) - tested personally with a few programs, such as Sony's Vegas Pro 14 (now taken over by MAGIX), CyberLink's PowerDirector 16, and Corel's VideoStudio 2018 - all three video editors did not have an issue Importing and Editing VFR material (as of June 2018 when I did these short tests) [I do not own and did not test Adobe's Premiere/Elements, at this time, sorry]. So, if you are having an issue editing Shadowplay/NVENC recordings circa 2018 or later, try updating your video editing application(s), if you can.

Quick Tip: Guild Wars 2 - How To Split Stacks Of Items

Just a quick tip for GW2 and those of us who were tying to split stacks of things, only to link them into Chat and 'shout' the item's link to people around us, the entire Map, etc. The way to actually sort things in a more private manner, is to hold down the ALT key and then drag the stack of items to an open slot. A dialog box should come up asking you how you want to split the stack of items (as seen in the example below):

Pressing the Shift key, as most know, will link the item in the chat box, and pressing Control, will link it and shout it out in Chat automagically - which is nice and embarrassing. I've seen some random linkages in the Chat Box [of things that aren't of any interest] so I know it isn't just me! I hope that this helps someone out and saves them from this atrocious "Faux Pas"...


See You In The Games!

Guild Wars 2: How To Ride "The Train" of Queensdale (Champion 'Farming' Runs As A Group) Tutorial with Map

[NOTE*** As of April 15th, 2014 the changes to the game with the April 2014 Feature Pack update have altered The Train route somewhat - these changes will be updated in this map and article as they solidify into a commonly-agreed Route...

FURTHER UPDATES AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARICLE]

Ah, Guild Wars 2... I'm having so much fun with you, I can barely stop to start typing helpful Tips for others to read! Why are you so awesome? Oh, that's right, your creators and other ArenaNet buddies heard the nighttime wails of MMORPG players from other games around the globe and listened intently to our cries, wanting to soothe us softly by satisfying requests we players have made of all of those other games, didn't you? Oh, yes you did.  The result: a game I wish I had gotten into a lot sooner... Thank you, ArenaNet.

For those new to the game (or those who haven't done this before), in the beginning area of the Human lands of Kryta, there is a phenomenon called "The Train". After asking a few questions in-game and watching it a while, and then joining in on it off and on, on my own, I feel I can now safely share a simplified Tutorial on 'The Train' and explain to others (mainly newcomers to Guild Wars 2) what it is and how to be a part of it, if you wish to be.

Loading Screen for the Queensdale region, where 'runs' of The Train take place
(Click to see Full Size)

What is The Train?

'The Train' in Queensdale is, essentially, a cooperation of players moving and killing together as a group [in an MMO game?Whoknew?lol]. The Train targets a small number of Champion-type mobs [MOBile monsters], killing these same ones in a repeating cycle, again and again. The pattern [the "Route that The Train takes"] has evolved over time and differs little, no matter what server/shard you are on. Traveling and moving in collaboration with each other gives the result of faster kills, experience and loot for all those taking part (and sometimes the groups can get quite large). In Guild Wars 2, one does not need to 'Party' or form an 'official' group of any kind, in order to benefit from conquering enemies together [even when not following The Train]. Merely join alongside and help out a bit, and you too are now part of the Clique of Killing and can reap the rewards.

Even though The Train runs in the first leveling/adventuring area of the Humans (called Kryta), you can play any Race you wish, and then run/travel to the Human lands and be a part of The Train. There are no restrictions on Race interaction (no 'sides'; no factions, no clans, no tribes [to restrict players]) in Guild Wars 2. Any race can be created and interact with any of the other Races in Guild Wars 2. So, be whatever race you want to be, you can still head to Queensdale and get on The Train!


When 'on The Train' (following the group around and helping to kill the Champion monsters), you do have to be a high enough level to 'hit' the enemies in order to register as a 'contributor of the group' and benefit from the encounter (get experience, be able to loot, etc). With the Champion mobs being 'farmed' [by The Train] averaging Level 10 in this region (these are the only mobs that The Train goes after, remember), you may not be able to actually hit them until your character is about Level 7 or 8; so if you are playing a brand new character, do some starting Quests, World Events or your character's Storyline for a bit first.

Killing the Boar champion while on the Train in Queensdale
(Click to see Full Size)

If you are a 'Brand New' Player to Guild Wars 2, I strongly suggest doing that for the most part anyway (Quests and Storylines), as doing so, you will more easily learn how to control your character, fight battles, use your skills as you learn them, and learn to navigate the territories and develop your character as a whole.
The Train is, for the most part, a repeated cycle of killing [almost absolutely nothing but] a small number of Champion 'boss' style monsters (as in 5-6 of them, depending on the route The Train takes on your Server/Shard, remember it differs little) - and there have already been arguments all over forums and other websites as to whether relatively New Players should take part in it at all (and if it harms the gameplay/environment of newer players). I believe that this decision is up to each individual, as some people might eschew the practice completely until Level 80 (the current maximum level as of the time of this post), while other people will love the camaraderie and easy access to loot (you always get items comparative to your current level, whatever that may be, when the Champions die).
As with any game, there will always be people that will say a certain activity is too repetitive and boring, and there will always be people that will say it is a good source of 'loot', and there will always be people that will advise doing something else (like playing PvP or more PvE). I like to suggest, if people ask, that each person try Taking A Ride On The Train for themselves at least a few times, then judge whether they wish to continue doing it or move on to other things, leaving the choice up to each player.

[On a personal note for a moment, merely to address this matter that many people seem to argue about and state my own personal opinion, I myself enjoy roaming the lands of GW2 randomly, helping out NPCs and doing the little events found around the world. I play usually always play solo and that affords me the ability to change it up and do whatever activity I want, stop whenever I want (or if I get too tired physically and have to stop, due to my illness) and roam around taking [way too many] screenshots of the environs, gathering resources as I leisurely explore and discover the countryside. I often forget about the Storyline for my character - there is so much to do in the world; but I try to get in on it as I remember to and develop my character along with the story that is tailored for each Race. I do take a ride on The Train, but only as a 'something else to do for a change', not as my 'main leveling mechanic' or my 'main source for items'. I like to think this off-and-on approach allows me to enjoy The Train while not getting too bored of it too quickly, all the while being able to enjoy the game at the same time, and it is just 'another thing that I can do' in the huge game world of Guild Wars 2.]

Killing the Troll champion while on the Train in Queensdale
(Click to see Full Size)

How does one 'get on' The Train? 

First, I always suggest to others, to get the Waypoints that The Train uses first. This will allow you to quickly relocate and follow The Train, travelling to the next Champion that is to be killed. If you did not create a Human, travel to The Human Lands and simply run to the Waypoints to open them up on your map and register them so that they can then allow you to return to them/use them in the future and for Riding The Train.

Don't worry, there are only three main waypoints used in The Train's generally-used rotation (and it differs only slightly on some servers/shards [for instance, on Eredon Terrace, "The Bandit" is very rarely killed by The Train - which seems to be the main difference for The Route from other shards - however, since I have created my character on ET, this is the example I will use]). The waypoints used and the route generally taken are all shown in this graphic I have created of the map of Queensdale below.

The Game Tips And More Blog's Map of Queensdale and The Train Route as of April 2014 [Old Version]
(Click to see Full Size)

The Route that The Train takes usually runs like this (repeatedly):

• Begin the Route from the upper right [the Double Orange Arrows on the map I created, above]
• Kill the Boar champion in the hills there, NW of the Hunting Lodge
• Fast Travel to the Vale Waypont and head into the caves just to the west
• Kill the Troll champion inside the caves of Altar's Windings
• Fast Travel to the Phinney Waypoint and head NW to a glade at the edge of the trees
• Kill the Rotting Ancient Oakheart champion at the forest's edge
• Fast Travel to the Krytan Waypoint and head NE, towards two large hills
• Kill the Forest Spider champion on the larger hill, SE of the Hunting Lodge in a grove of trees
• Run NW past the Hunting Lodge and up into the hills and wait for the Boar event again

A couple notes about the map: I made 'tick marks' (they look like little orange hyphens/dashes) that remind you of the order the champions are killed in and which Waypoint to take [-, --, ---, etc]. I managed to capture and keep the 'white dotted-line of travel', running around following The Train, so if you are a bit lost, try to re-create the white dotted path that you see on my map. To help with finding the Forest Spider champion on a hill SE of the Hunting Lodge (and NE from the Krytan Waypoint), I put a small orange "S" where it is normally encountered. Lastly, my server/shard does not kill The Bandit Lieutenant champion [and we may be the only shard that doesn't apparently], but if you wish to find him, he is in the Bandithaunt Caverns, N of the Vale Waypont.

The champion Boar shows up only after someone talks to Lodgemaster Carthage at the Hunting Lodge. There is a short event waiting period, then two hunters come out and slowly stalk their prey. Everyone usually waits in the hills to the NW of the Lodge and this can be a good time to go through your inventory, unpacking any goodies, salvaging, organizing, etc. There may even be some Banners nearby that can give beneficial Boons ["Buffs"], usually placed by some friendly Guild Member. Take a short break, get a drink - and get ready to jump back on The Train!


When you sit down and start to play a new gaming session, or if you have lost track of where to go next, you can always ask in Chat (/map) where The Train is at that moment, to know where to 'get on' (to join in). Most people simply type, "Train?" or ask "Where is the train now?", and usually some kind soul will answer and state what stop The Train is at (what champion they are killing), or where they are heading to, at that moment. Common answers are, "Boar" or "Spider is up" or "waiting on Troll" or "at Oak", for the various champions (it may differ slightly on your server, but not by much). Sometimes, a helpful person will suggest, "Head to __some champion__", which means that the one they are currently fighting is almost dead, so you 'might as well head to the next one'.

Killing the Oak champion while on the Train in Queensdale
(Click to see Full Size)

A few things to keep in mind as you ride The Train are: you have to be able to hit the mob in order to be able to loot it at all, therefore you may have trouble if you are much lower than level 7 or so (the mobs are Level 10). Loot will drop that is around your character's level, no matter what it is, so you can usually use it right away or soon. The Boar portion of the Route takes a little bit to get started and sometimes people will say phrases like, "Boar is Walking" or "Hunters are Walking" or "Boar Starting" and so on, to let everyone know, who were most likely just standing around waiting or AFK, that the event is beginning. You can gather Resources that are around (mine veins, gather plants/food, cut down trees) or that you pass by, on your way to the champions, just don't fall too far behind if the group is large - they can start to kill these Champions pretty darn fast - and you might miss out on the Loot Drop entirely!

Killing the Spider champion while on the Train in Queensdale
(Click to see Full Size)

That's it! Try not to bore yourself with repeating this excessively, by the way. Have fun, enjoy the loot and camaraderie of fellow GW2 players; but if it starts to become boring, go back to your character's story, pop in for some PvP or even do some Gathering, enjoying the landscape and beauty that is Guild Wars 2.

[UPDATE 1*** As of April 23rd, 2014 there seems to still be a lot of confusion as to the accepted/overall Route that The Train should take. There have been many arguments over what order the train will travel in and opposing groups will perform the run in awkward manner to each other. As a result, 'finalized' changes to this map and article will be delayed, until the community can solidify a pattern/route for The Train.

For now, "the basics" of what the Train is and does are secure and remain the same as this article. The Train may still run on your server/shard in the same manner, in general. Enjoy these aspects of this post, for now]

[UPDATE 2*** As of May 3rd, 2014 although there is still a bit of debating as to what should be a 'standard route' for The Train to take, a general consensus seems to be forming and this map and article will be redone and/or updated Soon™]

[UPDATE 3*** As of June 2014, although there is still some debate that occurs (mainly because someone gets to Oak 'early' and kills it on the group), most of the consensus appears to be this route: 

Boar-Troll-Bandit-Oak

I am working on a new, updated version of the map and will insert it here when finished.

For now, the rest of the information of this post (how to follow the train, etc.) is still valid and hopefully found helpful, for those who are interested in knowing what The Train Of Queensdale is and how to do it]

See You In The Game!