Raptr - Closing Down This September 30th, The Blog Here Says 'Goodbye Old Friend' To The Once-Useful Program

Just a notification that the 'Graphic-Configurator, Game-Installer, Gameplay-Recorder and
Social Media client that tried to tie it all together' - Raptr - will be no more, as of September 30th, 2017

A few days ago, I received an email stating that Raptr was ending the program/client which at one time was tied-in with AMD's Graphic Drivers as "AMD Gaming Evolved". Now that both NVIDIA and AMD have their own 'game configuration utilities' and 'game recording capabilities' (via Crimson for AMD and GeForce Experience for NVIDIA), "there is no need for such a separate utility", as Raptr's 'Farewell Letter' basically states:

"We are sad to announce that we will be closing Raptr on September 30th, 2017. We want to start by thanking you for your support over the past 10 years.

The world is different today than when we first launched Raptr. Many companies offer game optimization tools. Having an independent platform to do this is no longer necessary.

On September 30, we will start the process of shutting off access to your Raptr account and disabling features. If you'd like to export your tracked game play history, you can do so immediately using the instructions below:

• Go to Raptr.com
• Sign in to your Raptr account
• Click to get your gameplay data

If you have any other questions, please send us feedback.

We are proud of the service we built and the community who helped grow Raptr.  Thank you, once again, for your support.

Dennis “Thresh” Fong
Co-founder and CEO"

Mr. Fong Qin, known worldwide as "'Thresh' Fong" for his 1990's Quake and Doom tournament career, was also the co-founder of Xfire (which itself was acquired by Viacom in 2006). While the Raptr/Gaming Evolved client was useful, it seemed to have challenges from close to the start [or at least, noticeable in hindsight, from when I first started using it].

The Press Release - the notification that Raptr was closing down - as it looked on the Raptr website, September 2017
(Click to see Full Size)

At one time, Raptr offered Rewards for playing (and letting it track your Hours or Record your Gameplay); 'Reward Points' that you could collect, every time you Optimized a Game (let the utility auto-configure your in-game options/settings for you), or viewed/contributed to a game Forum (similar to Steam's Game Forums [forii?]). You could also earn Raptr Reward Points just by playing a game and having it running (it gave a running total of your Hours Played).

The Raptr/Gaming Evolved Client, as it looked in 2014, showing the Reward Points collected at one time
(from the Gaming Evolved/Raptr Press Kit, Click to see Full Size)

Prizes to spend your Points on were Draws for, or outright purchases of, Full Games and game tie-in material, such as Character Costumes or Vehicles (Mounts). Just before it was taken away, I even saw some Computer Hardware in there (some dated GPUs mind you, but still, it was neat to see some computer parts you could earn 'with time played' only). I never did win a Draw for a Retail Game, but I heard from a couple of people who did. There were many, many upset users, who had been saving for years (literally), at the loss of the points system. Some noted at the time that perhaps it was an early bell, tolling for the end of Raptr, even then...

The Raptr/Gaming Evolved Client, as it looked in 2015, showing Plays.Tv in its 'built-in' Beta phase and Graphic Drivers being kept up-to-date [I owned an AMD/ATi GPU at the time], the client still showing Reward Points being tabulated, and the Twitch Broadcast implementation
(Click to see Full Size)

There was a Forum interface built-in to the Raptr client (directly-accessible within it) that was similar to Steam's Game Forums [too similar?], where people could discuss games, talk about upcoming releases, and share Screenshots; but there wasn't too much going on in them [that I could see, personally]. There were some helpful and contributive posts, but they were always few in number:

Example of Raptr/Gaming Evolved Game Forums, showing Guild Wars 2, circa 2016
(Click to see Full Size)

As 'the end' neared, the Forums became overrun slowly by Spammers and non-English posts talking about other websites (not that there's anything wrong with speaking other languages, I know a bit of a handful of languages myself, but it was an English forum and much of these posts were clearly Spam of one sort or another). People started asking why things weren't getting 'cleaned up', near the end.

The Raptr/Gaming Evolved Official Raptr Forum, shown in the client, displaying the number of users of the forum
(Click to see Full Size)

While many felt it was 'just like Steam' or 'not needed' even back then, it still boasted over 100 Million registered users at one point (as evidenced by the number of users within the main Raptr discussion group, above) - and it was even 'targeted by hackers' in 2015 - infiltrated in an attempt to gain access to the many users' data and potentially personal information. A notice went out in January of that year, notifying users to change their password, as a result of the recent security breach:

Raptr Forum Notification, urging users to change their Passwords, after a recent security breach, circa January 2015
(Click to see Full Size)

Personally, I feel sorry that I couldn't spend more time with Raptr/GamingEvolved, as I only discovered it a couple of years ago.. Over the entire time, my own illness prevented me from posting more, sharing Screenshots more, and talking more about Releases and Reviews [as it does here in this blog!]. I feel like it could have been 'the next Steam with bonus game configuration' perhaps - but alas, it simply had too many challenges going against it... People started asking for Chat interface (a la Skype) and Voice Chat, but the Voice part never came. People wanted a GVR (Game Video Recorder) and while that arrived, in the form of Plays.tv - first in the app itself and as a stand-alone utility - perhaps it was too late to save Raptr, as both NVIDIA then AMD, came out with their own 'built-in' gameplay recording capabilities about the same time. For example, in 2013, NVIDIA's Shadowplay became part of their Settings Optimization client, GeForce Experience, which allowed high-performance gameplay recording. Eventually, AMD's ReLive, part of their Crimson GPU Driver update, also allowed high-quality gameplay recording as well. Both of these essentially negated the game recording aspect of Raptr (Plays.tv, which continues onward today as its' own stand-alone recorder):

Information Panel about Plays.TV, the gameplay recording utility that was once included with Raptr/Gaming Evolved
(Click to see Full Size)

Although many didn't use Raptr, or even like it, there were those that used the client to at least keep track of their Hours Played, used it a light social-media app, or just enjoyed the semi-automated Graphic Configuration within. As a former user - that wished he used it more - I myself say a sad 'Goodbye' to Raptr. So long, old friend, I wish I got to know you better...

MSI Afterburner and AMD Gaming Evolved (Powered by Raptr) - Working Together In A Tense Harmony [Tutorial Of A Workaround]

I have been using Raptr (the AMD-Sponsored version, called AMD Gaming Evolved) for a while off and on, more dedicatedly since December now and have been having a lot of fun with it. In this article, I'll show my 'Workaround' steps for getting MSI Afterburner and Raptr (G.E.) to work together. It's odd, but it's easy. Enjoy.

There are a bunch of reasons why gamers would want to run MSI Afterburner along with Raptr/GamingEvolved: the added Overclocking capability, Fan Control, Buffered Gameplay Recording, and more.

At first, I noticed that when trying to run MSI Afterburner, together with Raptr/GamingEvolved, they both just looked at each other and said, "Nuh-uh.." and walked away... sometimes taking the game with it. After looking it up online, it seems that many people have wanted this and had this problem. So, I took it upon myself to see if I could find a Solution (or at least a Workaround) for this odd interaction - and I did!

I share it with you now, my dear readers and fellow gamers, so that you can utilize the potential of these two programs together (and mention the steps for the workaround, in hopes that it will help the Developers of these useful applications possibly ease their mutual tension between them, in future updates, perhaps).

Short Version first (for the impatient or those that "just want to know c'mon", and those with ADHD - both parties of which I belong to myself), then a Long Version, explaining the steps further and possible reasons why this entire interaction may be occurring:

Short Version

• Run RAPTR_GE (set the Overlay for any corner but the Upper-Left)
• Run Game (wait a moment to let the Overlays for RAPTR_GE load, if Enabled)
• Run MSI_AB (which Defaults to using the Upper-Left for its Overlay)
• Sit With  Mouth Open For A Moment

Long Version

Here are the steps I found for getting Afterburner and Raptr working together in a tense harmony**, figured out after much testing of settings, and games, and reboots, and re-installations, and more...

Initially, I found it ran much better while running Bandicam (in the background, not 'doing anything' with it); but after updating all three programs and GPU drivers since beginning Testing, it seems that the extra step of running Bandicam (and having it just sit there) is not needed anymore. So, here are the 'New and Improved', simplified steps for getting these two useful programs to work together:

• Run AMD Gaming Evolved / Raptr and Login
• Make sure MSI Afterburner is not running
• Run your game
• Let AMD Gaming Evolved / Raptr load its Overlays
  (I suggest the Lower-Left corner (I used that for testing the below games), but eventually tried the Lower-Right as well, and I believe any will work, as long as it is not the Upper-Left corner [as MSI Afterburner uses that region for its Overlay by Default])
• Run MSI Afterburner and choose/have your settings for Fans, Overclocking, Gameplay Recording,etc
• Go back to your running game and let these programs detect the game and load up fully
  (you should see the MSI Afterburner overlay [by Default, in the Upper-Left] and the Raptr/GE overlay load in its corner you selected - and you should now be running Afterburner and Raptr together!

1. Note that some games can have MSI Afterburner running already (I have noted some below, in a list); but for the most part, it will result in either the GamingEvolved/Raptr GameDVR not loading, or the game simply crashing [at least, it did in my testing].
2. Note also, that you should try not to lose Focus of the game (ie. don't ALT+TAB out of the game or click outside of the window if in a Windowed Mode) or close any of the programs (eg. don't close MSI Afterburner and leave your game and Ratpr/GE running - it will likely crash the game [at least, it did in my tests]).

That's it!


Hopefully, you are now running MSI_AB and RAPTR_GE together, seeing the overlays for both and are able to have the benefits of both; Buffered Game Recording, Game Time Tracking, Fan Control, and even Overclocking.

Note: If running the RAPTR_GE recording buffer and the MSI_AB recording buffer at the same time, game performance will be affected - but it is possible if you wish to do so - I did it in my Testing.

Now, I am not a Programmer, nor am I a Developer for any of these programs or companies; so I am not 100% sure why this 'works'. It seems to be mainly a Workaround [to me], as it should not require running a multiple almost-competitor programs, with seemingly-close functions/overlays/etc all at once [and initially, Bandicam had to be running in Minimized mode]. The only reasoning I can find (in my superficial estimation), is that there are functions/calls that the programs are making that interfere with each other 'just enough' to make this all work together in a 'tense harmony'**. I say this because it does not work near as reliably, if you run MSI Afterburner first, the games first, or other variations of this.

[At least, it did not work those ways on my system, at the time of this writing and testing - I realize that every system configuration is different, and offers differing obstacles to these two programs working together. I feel it is an immense task as it is, to have each of these programs running one at a time on such a multitude of systems and difference of hardware that exists - my compliments go out to the Developers of both of these useful programs, regardless]

To try to be a little more specific, perhaps it is 'working' because there are functions/calls that these programs are doing, that are actually conflicting with each other - but they do so in such a fashion, that the end result is that they each stake out their territory and 'dont mess with each other' - each working in their own little Overlay or Recording areas, each performing their programmed functions, but with a sideways eye held in the direction of the other applications...

Regardless of how this Technomancy is working [remember it was even more 'odd' initially, with having to run Bandicam for some reason, at the same time], I tested it with multiple games now and it appears to be a repeatable process with reliable output (as long as you don't look at your computer too long in the eye region) - thus, I wanted to share it here with you all.

Games The Above Procedure Was Tested With: 

DNW = Did Not Work

AB = can have MSI_AB running already (before game is started)

22 = Error 22 was experienced (intermittently) 

• Minecraft

• Battlefield 4

• Battlefield: Hardline

• Planetside 2

• Just Cause 2

• World Of Warcraft

• Simcity (2013)

• Hitman: Absolution

• Zombies Monsters Robots

• Left 4 Dead

• Left 4 Dead 2 - AB

• Team Fortress 2 - AB

• Counter Strike: Global Offensive - AB

• TESV: Skyrim - AB

• Batman: Arkham City - AB, 22

• Tomb Raider (2013) - AB

• Torchlight - AB

• The Secret World - AB

• Need For Speed World - DNW

• Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 - DNW (reliably)

• Plants Vs Zombies (Steam and Origin) - DNW  

[Edit/Update: I did not initially test Hearthstone at the time of writing this post, but I have played it some since - and felt I must come back here and add that, in my experience with playing Hearthstone while running MSI Afterburner, there have been many occurrences of crashing, both of the game itself and the Blizzard Launcher [have been crashing]... Whether it is something at the moment with Blizzard's software, something with Afterburner, or something with Windows 10 (as I have recently Upgraded to it) I cannot say - but I wanted to make sure to let you know that if this is occurring with you (crashing when running Hearthstone and MSI Afterburner together) that It's Not Just You™]


By the way, if on your system, you just can't get these two to play nice together (but want to make sure and run at least Raptr/GE in order to track your gameplay or use the Optimizer, etc) - don't worry, you can do most of the functions MSI Afterburner offers with similar [also free] programs... If you purchased a video card from some companies recently, you may have gotten a disc with a similar utility on it.

For instance, EVGA has PrecisionX (you may have gotten no disc though and will have to go to their offical website). Club3D (new to North America, but they have been 'across the pond' for a couple of decades now) has RoyalFlush. Both of these examples offer Overclocking, Overvoltage and Fan Control (and PrecisionX offers Screenshot Capturing).

AMD Gaming Evolved (Raptr) of course offers both Screenshot Capturing and Buffered Recording of gameplay [Quality Tests of these GameDVR recordings, in future articles, Coming Soon™!]; but if you want the extra features that MSI Afterburner offers - and want these two programs running at the same time (for whatever reasons you may have) - I hope the above steps work for you. Enjoy... and See You In The Game!

[**Tense Harmony is the phrase I am utilizing in this article, because it is a tentative, fragile working condition: I found that if I ALT+TAB'd out of a game, it could cause this whole house of cards to come crashing down [the game could crash]. If I was running the game in a Windowed Mode, and I clicked outside of it for some reason (to look up something in the Intertubes, etc), it could cause the game to crash. Basically, any sneezing or farting of any type near the computer could cause this Workaround to asplode. Remember, that initiallyin Testing, trying to figure this all out, I had to run Bandicam as well, Minimized and 'not doing anything' - I mean, what the frell? I normally wouldn't even recommend, as a Former IT Professional, running multiple-different-and-for-the-most-part-competing [game recording] programs, each with their own functions and overlays... heck, I could have been called a heretic and forced to do Late-Night Tech Support, if I was still working, for suggesting to run multiple programs that all do the same thing for goodness'sakes, heh... Anyway, thus my phrasing utilized herein. No matter what though, I hope it works for you, as it did for me.]

And More: AMD Gaming Evolved App (Raptr) Slider Not Staying On Quality Setting, Reverting To Balanced [Explained]

Yesterday, I posted on the Raptr Support Forums, talking about an issue where I saw that the configurator [I think that's a word, I'm going to use it anyway, in regards to "the main slider that sets the quality setting in the Client"]  would not stay on "Quality", if set for games in the AMD Gaming Evolved Client (which I have begun to use slowly over the past few months).

What I saw was, is that if I changed the configurator to "Quality" for a game, then temporarily selected a different game for a while from the Library list, then went back to the previous game, the configurator would not remain on "Quality" for the previous game but would revert back to "Balanced". Here is an example, using Battlefield:Hardline in the Client App, below:

Animation showing how the Gaming Evolved client does not stay on the desired Quality preference/setting, using Battlefield:Hardline as an example. Click to see Full Size

I asked about this occurrence in the Raptr Forums here, and was told by a Rep there that a Ticket would be opened on my behalf [a 'Trouble Ticket' is a Support mechanism for tracking issues (I was Technical Support for a few companies in my past)]. I received an email from Raptr Support quickly and worked back and forth with them over a short period, testing some games out and how the configurator worked with those - finding that for games such as Hitman:Absolution, Tomb Raider (2013) and Max Payne 3, the slider worked just fine, remaining on the desired "Quality" setting - however, for other games, it 'reverted' back to "Balanced" every time.

It was explained to me by Raptr Support, that for the games where 'the slider reverted back to Balanced after setting the slider to Quality' [my phrasing], it was because there were no actual differences in the settings between "Balanced" and "Quality", for those games where that occurred.

The AMD Gaming Evolved client (Raptr) showing that the configurator indeed remains on the desired Quality setting,
for some games, such as Hitman:Absolution, Tomb Raider (2013) and more. Click to see Full Size

Although the slider may be slightly confusing then (they stated they are working on that), this was mostly my own fault, in my mind, since I was fixating on the seemingly-rebellious slider and I wasn't looking at the settings below (where I would have seen that there were no real differences between Balanced and Quality for those games).

So in the end, as far as the slider 'not staying on the "Quality" setting and reverting to "Balanced" all the time', all was eventually figured out (with the helpfulness of Raptr Support); and even if it wasn't entirely "fixed", I wanted to share these experiences and explanations with you all, especially for those that have run into this exact issue.


See You In The Games!