OBS Shortcut / Hotkeys Stopped Working [Fix/Workaround]

Just a quick fix/workaround for something I bumped into with OBS this past few days - for some reason, the Hotkeys (Shortcut Keys that you press to start Recording, Take Screenshots, etc) seemed to stop working once you took the focus off of OBS itself. For example, if I started OBS, then started a game, and hit the keyboard key that was configured for OBS to Record (while it was in the background), it didn't do anything (eg. / to start recording). I did figure it out though, it was a real easy fix for now; so I wanted to share it here.

There was a Windows Update recently [for me] and so I thought maybe OBS needed more Permissions or something; so I just ran OBS in Administrator Mode - and it worked!

All you have to do is Right-Click the Icon that starts up OBS and choose "Run As Administrator" (possibly under More > Run As Administrator, for example, if using the Start Menu for launching OBS). That's it!
Now you should find that you can start up a game and/or ALT+TAB to the game, leave OBS running in the background, and OBS will faithfully start Recording/Taking Screenshots/etc again. 

Sorry I haven't posted for some time now; my own illness (not COVID) has been acting up this year. A lot. Anyway, HTH

~T

Dungeons - How To "Sacrifice Gold" to The Zombie King ("Cash Cow" Quest) [Tutorial Steps]

[Text-Only Mode: This post is currently in Text-Only Mode, to speed posting of it, to help others as quickly as possible (after thinking of it). I will return to this post and add related Screenshots....Soon™]

Recently, I was playing DUNGEONS - the Dungeon-Keeper-esque 'make dungeons for NPC heroes to die in' game - the original/first one, from 2011 (Realmforge Studios/Kalypso Media Digital).

In it, I ran into having to 'send Gold' to your superior in the game ('your Boss'). Gold isn't the only thing you have to send/tribute with; but on one particular level, I ran into an issue where I could not satisfy the Quest - despite trying to do exactly what it wanted. I finally figured it out on my own, and wanted to Share the issue and resolution/fix here, to possibly help others...

I ran into this issue on the level "Sleepy Manor", where there is a Quest called "Cash Cow", which requires you to tribute ("sacrifice") 500 Gold to The Zombie King (your 'boss' in the game). Now, there is a pillar near your Dungeon Heart, that when clicked on, states "use this to send resources to your superior" - but not how to do it....

I walked my Dungeon Lord up to the pillar and Left-Clicked on it (which just brings up the popup information about it) and tried Right-Clicking on it (which did nothing except make a small noise) but nothing happened. The Quest (called "Cash Cow") was still listed on the left side of the screen in white text - despite my having more than enough Gold to complete this Quest... So, I looked around online a bit, in forums, etc. but did not find any specific information on this step and how to do it. I even looked at the Manual that comes with the game, to see if it listed how to do it. Nothing. Lastly, I asked in the usually-helpful Steam Discussions (Forum) for the game. There was no response for a few days, so I continued to 'Troubleshoot the issue'...

I finally figured out that you can't just click on the pillar, you have to first switch to First Person view mode AND THEN Right-Click on the pillar. There is no notification that it is completing the Quest, but it will be completed, if you have enough Gold. To summarize the steps, here they are, listed just below.

To help others, here is how you "sacrifice gold" to The Zombie King in Dungeons: 

» There is a pillar near your Dungeon Heart, which states to 'use it to send resources to your superior' (but not how to do it)

» You can't just walk up to it or stand near it and left-click or right-click on it, it won't work (as of the time of this posting)

» You have to switch to First-Person view mode (via the "Through The Eyes Of The Lord" Spell in your spellbook/toolbar) and then Right-Click on the pillar while in First-Person mode (which is actually just a close-up Third-Person with a fixed camera floating behind the player)

» To verify it was done/completed (there is no message/popup that tells you it was done), look at the left side of your screen, where the 'quests' are listed; the white text listing to do it (saying "CASH COW - Sacrifice 500 Gold...") should have disappeared

That's it!



Hopefully, this Quest will now be complete for you, as it was for me. I also posted this in the Discussion Thread at the Steam Official Forum for the game [that I had asked/started], to make sure that others running into this now know how to get the quest completed.

HTH!

Fallout 76 - Stuck In Power Armor? Here's One Way To Get Out Again... [Tutorial]

[Text-Only Mode: This post is initially being Uploaded as Text Only, to speed up posting time and enabling it to reach people faster. I may return to this post and add some Screenshots for it... Soon™]

I personally ran into the issue of "not being able to exit my Power Armour" earlier this week - then saw that literally dozens and dozens of players have run into this in Fallout 76, after looking around online. Now, the game just officially launched Online only a couple weeks ago almost to the day, so I expect there to be some issues and/or bugs (not many Online game launches are 100% Bug-Free and Problem-Free). Bethesda does helpfully have a method posted at their Support Site for 76, but sadly, that method did not work for me personally. Here then, is my method that got me free of my 'Starcraft2-like-mobile-prison' of Armour - hopefully it can work for you too, friends:


(Taken from my original posting at the Official Bethesda Game Forums, reworded slightly)


If I may help, with something to do when this happens:

• Stash or otherwise get rid of all Fusion Cores, except the one in the Armour
• Deplete the FC until Zero (Power Attacks in the PA help)
• DO NOT EXIT THE POWER ARMOUR once it reads "Zero, get the hell out"
• Restart Game
• Upon entering a new game, you should be able to Exit the PA by holding the key used to enter it

That's it! Now you should be free of your metal moving tomb and able to utilize Workbenches in the world, once again...

Initially, I had not found a solution that worked for me anywhere online (in Forums, etc) - and as those who are experiencing this know, being 'stuck in your Power Armour' impedes the game quite severely actually, as you cannot use Workbenches/Workshops at all and cannot even Repair your Power Armour (as you cannot Exit it, to Repair it in a Power Armour Station) - so, I opened a Ticket with Bethesda about it, a week ago. They were actually quite speedy to Reply, pointing me to their online Support Site, at their Knowledge Base, where there was an Article stating two things to try (one of 'just logout' and another of 'unequip pieces of armor and wait two minutes'), found at: 

https://help.bethesda.net/app/answers/detail/a_id/43986/kw/stuck%20power/

As of the time of this writing, I see that they have also Updated the Article (just today), adding a slightly-modified version of my method above, that I submitted to them as a Reply (where I "found out a way that worked for me, which was not one of the other two helpfully-suggested methods") - that's fine with me if they found a repeatable method of their own; as long as others are helped in escaping their 'mobile prisons of steel', out there! 

Hopefully, the incoming December 4th Update of 76, will help with this issue, clearing it up for everyone. Until then, try out my method above - perhaps it will be the one that works for you, dear reader - and See You In Appalachia!

It's Not Just You™ - Paladins (Beta), Having Issues Not Starting or Not Running In 64-bit Mode, Battlegrounds [Notification, Updated As Encountered]

[Currently, this post is mostly in Text-Only Mode, to speed up the ability to publish it... 

I may return to add some Images and/or Screenshots in the future.

This post will be Updated for the next few days, as I encounter new related information.]

If you are trying to play the newest addition to Paladins, Battlegrounds, which is being released in Alpha Testing Stage in their Latest Update - and you are having issues with either (1) the game not launching/starting or (2) the game running in 32-bit mode [which stops you from being able to enter the Battlegrounds, which requires 64-bit mode] - just letting you know, It's Not Just You™...

For the past little while, I have been trying to get into Paladins and try out this new Game Mode, and take a look at any new changes; but I have been running into multiple issues with the game itself. If related Paladins Forums 'everywhere' (Steam, Reddit, Official Forums, etc) are any indication, many, many others are having issues as well.

I wanted to take a moment to make this posting because, even though it seems there are a few people that have 'gotten it running', there are many others, like me, that have not. I wanted to share this experience and related information, so that others may know that, well... It's Not Just Them.

Since I have run into multiple issues and have tries multiple steps so far, I will share them here in Point Form as a list:


Issues Seen/Encountered:

• Game not starting [Launcher will start, but game itself will not show up]
• Game not stopping [Game will not Terminate, Steam says it is Running still, but it is not, or has not started]
• Game not running in 64-bit mode [Game starts in 32-bit Mode and therefore The Battlegrounds can not be tested/run, as it states in-game "64-bit Mode Required"]
• Cannot Verify Integrity Of Game Files, via Steam [Steam states to 'exit any game files or tools' related to the game, but none are running]

Steps Taken/Tried:

• Put "-Use64" [without quotes] into Optional Game Command Line Parameters (Options/Commands) in Launcher
• Put "-dx11" [without quotes] into Optional Game Command Line Parameters (Options/Commands) in Launcher
• Checked "Use 64 bit Client" in Launcher Options [this has never been 'unchecked' by me]
• Verified Cache ['double-checked' the game files through Steam, to see if they are what they are supposed to be]

Unfortunately, since I cannot make the game 'run in 64-bit Mode and enter The Battlegrounds' in a repeated a reliable manner - I cannot make a section containing a 'Fix' at this time... I will continue to observe various Forums and Support Responses, try various Suggested Steps (from the Developers and other helpful Paladin Players (there are a lot of them out there!)), and see if I can make any progress that results in stable and repeatable game launching and gameplay. If I do, I will return here and add it as a 'Fix' section. 

For now, despite them not working for me/on my system, there are a few isolated people that have had success with some of the Steps listed. If you are experiencing any of these issues with Paladins at this time, try some or all of them above. Perhaps one of them will work for you, too. 

Good Luck with it - and try to stay positive, remembering - It's Not Just You™!

The Elder Scrolls Online - "PatchManifestError" In TESO Launcher [Workaround]

[Text-Only - This post is initially Text-Only, to allow posting this as fast as possible, to help others.
I may return and add additional graphics/screenshots pertaining to the article... Soon™]

Just now, I ran into an issue starting up TESO, where the Launcher gave an error message - oddly, it was slightly different than the message my Gamer Wife beside me got - one of us got "Error 210" while the other got "Error 206". Here is an example of what the Error Message within the TESO Client Launcher looks like:

Popping into the Steam forum and the Official Bethesda/Zenimax Forum for the game, I saw a number of people mentioning they are getting this too, just today, like me. So, I wanted to come here and post a 'quick fix' that can get past the error message and allow fellow gamers, like me, to be able to play the game as quickly as right now, tonight [actually it's more of a 'workaround' than a true 'fix', as it doesn't solve whatever issue is happening with the Launcher/Client/Servers... I will post this as a "Workaround"].

Similar to an earlier issue with the TESO Launcher I talked about here at The Blog, the 'workaround' involves bypassing the Launcher itself and starting up the game manually via the Executable files... The instructions to do this are below.


For the Steam Version of TESO:

• Open Steam
• Right-Click on TESO in the Library and choose Properties
• Click on the "Local Files" tab
• Click on the "Browse Local Files" button to show the directory/folder of the game
• Navigate into THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE > GAME > CLIENT folder
• Double-Click on "eso64.exe" to launch the game (or "eso.exe" if running 32-bit Windows/Game

For the Standalone Version of TESO:

• Right-Click on the Shortcut (the icon that runs the game) on the Desktop (or in the Start Menu) for TESO and choose Properties
• Click on the "Open File Location" button in the Properties of the game shortcut
• You should find yourself in a Windows Explorer windows, looking at the "Launcher" folder of Zenimax Online
• Go up one folder level to "Zenimax Online" (click on the Zenimax Online folder in Explorer)
• Navigate into THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE > GAME > CLIENT folder
• Double-Click on "eso64.exe" to launch the game (or "eso.exe" if running 32-bit Windows/Game)

That's it! Now the game should start up and you will just have to Login within the game itself.

Unfortunately, I do not know what has caused this error, and I have not seen any Official Postings by Bethesda/Zenimax to explain it, as of the time of this writing. Although it appears to be some sort of Server/Launcher error, I cannot say specifically at this time. However, having testing this Workaround on different machines and with both the Steam Version of TESO and the Standalone/Web version of TESO, I can safely say that this should work for you, fellow gamer.

Hopefully that helps - and See You In The Game!

It's Not Just You™ - HumbleBundle 'Vegas Pro, Discover Creative Freedom' Installer/Registration Not Working [Notification]

For the next two weeks (13 Days, according to the Countdown at the HumbleBundle Website, starting today) there is a fantastic offer for Video Editors, Music Composers, Web Developers and more - over $900 worth of Software, including Sony's Vegas Pro [the Vegas Editing Product Line was bought out by MAGIX, a German software company that has produced it's own editing software for years, popular for their "Music Maker" and "Movie Edit Pro" lines]. So what's the issue? Well, this Bundle is so darn popular, many parts of it aren't working/responding, at this time. For example, if you run into the Installer 'starting but just closing/crashing' or the store or program 'not registering' or the 'website is down'... just letting you know... It's Not Just You™

Part of the reason why this Bundle is so popular (although many HumbleBundles are quite popular at different times), is because one of the main pieces of Software offered is Vegas Pro Edit, originally by Sony. This video editing software is a Premium Version ("high end") of this program, normally being sold at around $400. Along with other great products, such as Magix Music Maker, Xara's Photo and Graphic Designer, Xara's Web Designer, Photo Story Deluxe and more - it's easy to see why this Bundle is so popular, for all kinds of content creators and producers. Indeed, if you are into (or trying to get into) making music, editing video, or web design, at all; I highly recommend picking up this fantastic bundle of software, if you can. The link/URL to the HumbleBundle directly, is here:

https://www.humblebundle.com/software/vegas-pro-creative-freedom

For those unfamiliar with HumbleBundle, it is a retail site that offers a mix of software, books and games, connected to and donating a portion to, a customer's chosen Charity. For example, my account is connected to Extra Life, the 'Gaming Marathon' Fund Raising charity that I try to play for every November, on behalf of Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Because I attached this Charity to my Account, any purchases I make will contribute a portion to my charity. One of the greatest things about HumbleBundle however, is that the products - although one is not able to choose which products to buy specifically - are usually offered in 'portions' or 'packs' for any amount that you can afford to pay (as low as $1 up to whatever you can pay for the software company/charity/etc); and the more you can pay/donate, the more software/books/games/etc you will get. Since 2010, these 'Pay What You Want' Bundles (for Windows, Mac and Linux) have become quite popular over time.

The issue that has arisen this time then, is that the Bundle is so popular, that the server for the Installer has become Unresponsive ("not working"). Even the Website for the Retail/Vendor/Developer itself has become Unresponsive, giving this Error Message [to me] seen below (from Chrome):

As also sometimes happens with the most popular HumbleBundles, some people are experiencing very slow Downloading of their purchased products (as in 256kBps or less). Others are experiencing the Installer for the products stops functioning. This is what I personally am experiencing too (the Installer seems to startup, but then 'crashes' (or at least disappears) and is unable to continue. After one random attempt, I got a message stating that the Installer actually tried to Download the Installation Files but could not properly communicate with their servers. The message that came up [for me] can be seen below:

Trying another time later on, I did see the Installer for the 'MAGIX Music Maker 80's Version' pop up and start Downloading, which was nice to see; however the overall download speed was pretty slow [understandably] at about 300kBps.

If I may make a Suggestion then - if you are running into any of the issues above, at this time: my suggestion would be, to definitely pick up the Bundle if you can [Note: You have to purchase the Bundle for at least $20 to get Vegas Pro] - then wait a while before you attempt to install anything. According to the MAGIX website, you can access your purchase (to install it) anytime after buying it, from now until September 2018 [Note: A free Magix account must be created if you do not already have one]. So, there is no rush, once you purchase it, to get the Installation Files from MAGIX. I also recommend backing up your Installation Files, once Downloaded, onto a USB drive, External Drive or even Optical Disc - anything that can back up your purchase for future re-installation, if needed (at least, until you buy a newer version of any applications you like..).

By the way, a quick note about Vegas Pro 'Edit Version' (about a 450MB download) - for those wondering about the difference between the Vegas Movie Studio versions and the Vegas Pro versions (and what the 'Edit' identifier means), here is a short summary of the differences:

• the Movie Studio versions of the editor are an easier-to-use, scaled-down version of the Vegas editor, with still many features, allowing up to 200 Tracks of Events (clips/media) - increased from 20 Tracks recently! It just lacks many of the advanced features of the Pro versions (such as the  'NewBlueFX Titler' [professional version], Bézier Tool Masking ("any shape"), et.al). The Movie Studio version comparisons can be found here:
  
  http://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/vegas-movie-studio/product-comparison/#productMenu
  
• the Vegas Pro 'Edit version' of the editor costs less than the other Pro(fessional) versions, as it is missing the DVD/Blu-Ray authoring package, as well as some advanced filters and creation utilities (such as the Boris FX media generators, et.al) - it is still a 'full featured' Professional-level Video Editing program however, allowing Unlimited Tracks, full 4K Support, Bézier Tool Masking ("any shape"), includes the 'NewBlueFX Titler' [professional version] and much, much more. The Pro version comparisons can be found here:
  
  http://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/vegas-pro/product-comparison/#productMenu

[Note that the links above will show the most recent versions of the programs, but the comparisons themselves (the effects and capabilities of each) will remain similar, despite the edition versions changing over time]

Here is a capture of the Vegas Pro 'Edit version' comparison, for the 14th edition [CAD prices, sorry]:

Although the Vegas line of editing products have always had a bit of a learning curve due to their more advanced capabilities (Sony used to give out a DVD with some introductory courses for it; I am privileged to say I have one of these), MAGIX has created a few tutorials of their own, which can be found at the MAGIX Vegas Pro Tutorials website, here:

http://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/vegas-pro/online-tutorials/

So, try not to let it bother you 'too much', if you have run into any of these issues (downloading, installing, registering, etc). Just wait a little while longer and try doing it again, in the near future. For now, don't worry - It's Not Just You™...

Good Luck with it - and Have Fun!

[Note: I am not affiliated with Sony, MAGIX or HumbleBundle in any way, and I will not receive any compensation for mentioning them here - I am merely an enthusiastic user of their products and wanted to share what I felt was helpful information/notification. I have used other video editing programs in the past (such as PowerDirector, Nero Vision and Windows Movie Maker and some free video editors, such as Avidemux, DVD Soft's FreeVideoEditor and VirtualDub) and will still use them when desired in the future]

Addendum:

During the time it took for me to compile this posting, I was able to try again and began Downloading then eventually Installing Vegas Pro [Edit version] - and it is going smoothly still - however, Downloading of the various applications in the Bundle are still quite slow. 

If you do not mind that, dear reader, go ahead and try again now; otherwise, as in my Suggestion, perhaps wait a while (as in days) before attempting to have a fast/smooth installation of these popular applications. 

Quick Tip: NVIDIA 'In Game Overlay' Stopped Working? Here's How To At Least Get It Going Again [Fix / Workaround That Might Work For Some, Updated 2018-04-26]

Whether it wants to be called Shadowplay, Share or [as of the time of this post] In-Game Overlay; it doesn't really matter to most people I think - we just look for something to record our gameplay once in a while, maybe take some Screenshots, 'and just work'. Thankfully, NVIDIA's In-Game Overlay [or whatever it may be called by the time I finish this post, heh] does just that. Most of the time.


Although I rotate between a handful of different recording programs off and on (such as Bandicam, Action, Playclaw and others - just for fun and also slowly working on another 'Game Recording Comparison' for the future), In-Game Overlay [built into the NVIDIA Drivers, aka "for free"] records when I want, it records a Buffered Loop (a timed, re-recording of 'the last xyz seconds', to save when needed) - and it even takes Screenshots and more. However, sometimes this big fella has just 'stopped working' lately. No saving Screenshots, no Recording, no Error Message, Nothing; and I wasn't sure why... After only a tiny bit of Troubleshooting, I quickly figured out how to at least 'get it going again' and I just wanted to share that here for you all, in a Quick Tip™.

To be honest [I always believe in being completely honest], I am still not sure why NVIDIA's In-Game Overlay stopped working - but I did figure out how to simply get it working again - and here's what I did:

• Once I noticed the Overlay wasn't taking Screenshots, I looked to see if the Overlay itself or more of the (many) NVIDIA utilities were still running, in the Task Manager. They were. [The In Game Overlay's Executable is still called "NVIDIA Share.exe", btw]
• Thinking that something might have gone wrong with the Overlay utility, I opened up NVIDIA's GeForce Experience.
• In GFX [my accro.], I clicked on the 'gear' in the upper-right corner, "Settings".
• In the Settings area, I clicked on the switch/toggle for In-Game Overlay.
• Although it took longer than normal, it eventually turned Off. Clicking it again, it turned back On.

That's it! After those steps, the In-Game Overlay was working once again. Taking a Screenshot, for example, the notification from the Overlay came up, and the Screen was saved. It also started Recording again, without issue. Here is a 'Tutorial Image' of the steps to take:

Tutorial Image of what steps to take to 'restart' the NVIDIA In Game Overlay;
the recording utility built into the NVIDIA Drivers
(Click to see Full Size)

Although I do not have any details on why it failed, I still thought this short 'tip' would be helpful for people that might run into this ("shadowplay not recording" or "in-game overlay not taking screenshots", etc) - so I wanted to share it here. HTH!

...

Update, 2018-03-26: Just a quick Update, that as of March 2018, I have run into somewhat of an extension of this issue, where GFX is no longer responding to this simple 'toggle' of the In-Game Overlay... Doing so (which used to temporarily 'fix' the issue above), now merely results in an 'error' message box, stating "That Didn't Work. Try Restarting Your System.", which although polite, is not very informative as to what caused the error or what else can be attempted to isolate/troubleshoot the issue further:

Doing some more research online, I see many others running into this issue, as well as its' 'extension' here... However, there still is no absolute 'fix' for this problem yet [at least, none that is verifiable and repeatable, which I prefer to have as a qualification to my sharing it here as a "fix"] - therefore, I cannot say for certain what can be done to fix it, even though a wide range of things have somewhat worked for others (some early steps work, others must use further steps), such as:

• Uninstalling/Reinstalling GeForce Experience
• Installing an older version of GeForce Experience
• Utilizing a third-party 'drivers uninstaller' to completely remove NVIDIA's GPU Drivers and Reinstall NVIDIA's GPU Drivers/GeForce Experience [AMD users can get a similar utility directly from AMD]
• Reinstallation/Formatting of entire system (eg. Windows) and Reinstalling NVIDIA GPU Drivers and Reinstalling GeForce Experience

...

Update, 2018-04-26: Just another Update, that as of April 2018, I was looking at this issue once again [since it still occurs, where InGameOverlay/Share just 'stops working' randomly (for no apparent reason)] and found that NVIDIA has this exact symptom listed as an "Open Issue (Windows 10)" in their Driver Updates now (Change Log / Release Notes); which basically means it is 'a known issue', but that they do not have a fix/patch at this time. This was found in the Release Notes for NVIDIA GPU Driver version 397.31, found here:

https://us.download.nvidia.com/Windows/397.31/397.31-win10-win8-win7-desktop-release-notes.pdf

(USA Source of NVIDIA GPU Drivers, Release Notes)

As you can see, under the Windows 10 Section, it lists this very problem as an Open Issue. Good Luck, NVIDIA - I hope you find a solution someday!

Excerpt of the Driver Release Notes, showing this problem as an 'open issue'
Click to see Full Size

Again, once I find out what actually is a solid fix for this issue, I will state so here and post it in big, bold lettering [lol], along with a Tutorial Image (text on an example image of the solution, etc). Until then...

Fallout 1 - Get It For Free... Happy 20th Birthday! [Notification]

Just a quick notification that, in celebration of the Fallout's series debut, exactly 20 years ago to this very day, it is Totally Free on Steam, right now, from Bethesda - but only for today... Grab it before the end of the day and play one of the most RPG-Genre-Expanding, Post-Apocalyptic-Exploring Classics of PC gaming. Have fun (and thank you, Beth)!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/38400/Fallout_A_Post_Nuclear_Role_Playing_Game/

Addendum:

After trying the game out (not playing it since I had the CD version way back when!), at first, all I got was a Black Screen, but I could hear the audio of the game playing in the background... After doing some light troubleshooting, including re-installing DirectX and other steps, the easiest 'solution' that I eventually found was to simply choose the "Classic Version" from the Steam Launch Options. Here is what that looks like, below (these options did not show up if I used the Desktop Shortcut or clicked on the .EXE file to start the game, but they appeared consistently if I used the PLAY button in the Steam Client):

Tutorial Screenshot of simply choosing the alternate version of the game to run, if you encounter a 'black screen', where you can hear the audio of the game, but not see anything else concerned with the game
(Click to see Full Size)

After choosing that version, above, the game repeatedly ran fine with audio and video together in harmony, on my system (currently an AMD FX-8350 CPU and NVIDIA GTX 1060 GPU running Windows 10). I hope it works for you dear reader, as it did for me, if you run into that little initial problem... Enjoy!

[Note: It is unclear at the time of this posting, if the game it completely free 'forever', or if it is just 'free to play' for the day - UPDATE, it indeed seems to be permanently part of my Steam account - a nice 'gift' from Bethesda!]

And More: Corel's VideoStudio - Crashing When Using 'Open With' To Import Clips Into VideoStudio [Fix/Workaround]

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

And More: "An Internal Error Occurred When Overlapped Buffer Is Full" in VideoStudio X10 [Error Workaround]

[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...

Quick Tip: Getting ACTION, Dxtory, FRAPS and More Working With Battlefield:Hardline [Fix/Workaround]

I have been doing some Recording Tests over the past while with Mirillis' ACTION - for those who aren't familiar with it, ACTION is a game recording application, similar to MSI's Afterburner, Bandicam, Playclaw and others - and I was reminded that it does not automatically "work" with Battlefield: Hardline [that is, 'hook onto it' or 'detect-it-and-get-ready-to-record']. I actually remember running into this issue during the Beta, but at the time I merely used another recording program and didn't think much of it since. To find out more about this issue recently (since reminded of it) I dug around a bit and did a few tests, trying to find a solution and/or conditions it did work under - and wanted to share my few findings as a 'Quick Tip' for others, here.


Looking around, I found out that this is still an ongoing issue with Battlefield: Hardline - and before that, it was to some extent with Battlefield 4, even causing BF4 to 'crash' on Startup for some people. I also found out that these issues occurred not only with ACTION, but also with other similar programs, such as FRAPS and Dxtory, according to the Battlelog Forums and the main Mirillis Forum. In many places, I found the same solution stated again and again by helpful posters... So, I tried it out - and it worked perfectly! I repeated testing with it a few times - and once I was satisfied it solved the issue and was repeatable (for others to use), I wanted to share it here, with you.

Here are the steps of what to do [with a shortcut I figured out, to type it in faster/easier, near the end of this post]:

• In the game, hit the Tilde key ("~", which looks like a 'squiggly' line - the key is in the upper-left of Standard keyboards, to the left of the Number 1 and above the Tab key), which should bring down the Console. In here, you can type in commands for the game.
• Type the following in one line:
  
  RenderDevice.PresentAsync 0
  
  (That is, "render device dot present async", then a space, then a "zero")
• Hit enter and then you can close the Console by hitting the Tilde key (~) again.

That's it!

As long as that is all you want to do in the Console (you don't want to enter in any more commands), you can then just close it, as it is done - those are all the steps to do. You should then see the HUD (indicator) for ACTION pop up on the screen in the corner you chose in the "HUD Settings" section, in ACTION.

Note that this may not always be needed... For example, if you launched BF4 in Windowed or Borderless modes, it may not be required. In Battlefield: Hardline, it seems to be needed no matter what mode you run the game in [for the interface of these programs to be shown and able to record without issues]. For example, I just started up Hardline in Windowed mode a couple of times as a test - with ACTION and FRAPS - and those steps were still needed to get these ready to record (their little hud/ui/interface did not show up at all until the above command was entered. 

Another way I saw suggested in Forums, was to enter in the command via a User Configuration file (User.CFG), created in the game directory. For those who don't know, a User Configuration file is simply a text file that the game will 'run' when it starts up - and this text file can have commands listed in it, so that you don't need to manually type the command each time you play the game.

Although even a Battlelog Moderator suggested it at one time, here, it seems it is possible that this process can be "detected" or "seen as" a hack - and you can effectively be Banned, Blacklisted from Ranked Servers, and other negative actions taken against you - as seen in this thread at the Mirillis' Forums, here... Although I am sure there are many people out there using this command in a Configuration/Startup File without issue, as it has happened to some people in the past...I personally would suggest against going this route, for now, and merely type it in whenever you want to use ACTION/Dxtory/FRAPS/etc to record your gameplay in Battlefield games.

On my own, I figured out a faster way of typing this command into the Console and wanted to share it here - apparently the Tab key will try to 'guess' at the terms you are typing in (much like the Command Line or Terminal in Unix, Windows, and other operating systems [black box screens that you open to enter commands]) and by using the Tab key, you can quickly enter the command above by using these steps, after opening the in-game Console with Tilde (~):

Hit "r" then the Tab key

Hit "d" then the Tab key again

Hit "p" then the Tab key one more time

Hit "0" (zero) and hit Enter

That's it! 

R-tab-D-tab-P-tab-Zero. Done! Now, the same command as above has been entered even faster and you should see the HUD/indicator for your preferred recording program pop-up on the screen - and you can now record your battles once again. Here is an example/reminder GIF of using the Tab input method for this command, in Hardline:

GIF Example/Tutorial/Reminder of How To Get ACTION, Dxtory, FRAPS And More to Work With Battlefield:Hardline
(Click to see Full Size - Save and Share with others!)

Hopefully the above gets these programs working with Hardline for you too, dear reader, as easily as it did for me.


See You In The Game!

[Personal Log TwoZeroOneSixPointSix: I could not find the 'original' bearer of this wonderful information, to give Credit to them - and to find out "why" it solves the issue with these few recording programs (as I am not a programmer, the reason is not immediately obvious to me) and I always like to try and share the "why things work" of solutions I present, to others as well. I eventually assumed it was a developer at some point in time, but in the vast posts of passed-on knowledge, their name has become lost into the aether... Regardless, I want to say 'thank you' to whomever this helpful dev is - and I want to pass on that thanks to all the other anonymous sharers of this tip [about this issue with Hardline] on Forii everywhere. This QuickTip is merely a culmination of, or passing on yet again of, this great bit of information on this issue with these few game recording programs and Hardline. Enjoy]

And More: Color Differences When Opening or Importing Images with PaintShop Pro X8 [Fix/Workaround]

I am just finishing up a Trial for Corel's PaintShop Pro X8, an image editing program which I enjoyed testing out - and while it had very few issues or problems [for me personally], I did run into one where, upon importing (opening or pasting) an image, the colours seemed altered/changed (looking like they had been 'reduced' perhaps) as can be seen by this brief comparison I put together for uploading to a forum:

In the example comparison above, the difference can be seen mainly in the lower-left portion, the darker area - which seems 'blotchy' and the image appears to have less colour, but the palette [the amount of colours the image holds] shows RGB/16bit

I mentioned this on the Corel User Forum to see if anyone had any ideas... Perhaps it was a setting somewhere in X8 I missed [I thought to myself]. I Disabled the 'Automatically Convert Colour to 8bit' (changing it to Prompt instead of Automatically convert) but that did not seem to have an effect [it is usually only used for certain needs anyway, such as Animated GIF images, as it reduces the palette down to 256 colors, but I thought it was worth a shot in case it 'triggered' something else in the program].

I did not run into this issue/problem with PaintShop Pro X7, a great image editing application that I continue to enjoy to this day - in fact, all the images on this Blog and other places I share them - I do a Final create/compile with either PaintShop Pro or GIMP (which is a versatile Open Source Image Editing Program with an interface similar to Photoshop). 

[Note: I am not affiliated with nor do I receive any compensation in any form from Corel for talking about or using PaintShop Pro - I am merely an enthusiast user of the program for image editing purposes and wish to share my own discovered information with other like users of the program]

The Corel User To User Web Board (Corel's Support Forum, they can still be contacted directly for problems) was once again very helpful with information on what was going on here...

Apparently, there is an issue with Color Management that many people seem to be having, with PaintShopPro version 18 (X8), which does not occur in X7 (which turned out to be the exact issue I myself was running into!).

The solution/fix was to Disable the Color Management in X8, by going to

File > Color Management > Color Management

and Uncheck the checkbox in that window to Disable the management system in PaintShop Pro.

Example of what the Color Management window looks like and the simple solution
to the color issue/problem in Paintshop Pro X8 (Click to see Full Size)

Although I do not know the details of why the problem itself is occurring in X8 (and the exact details were not given at the Forum at the time), the fix/workaround did in fact work for me and I no longer experienced this issue of color reduction/loss in X8 - and I wanted come here to share it with everyone in the hopes that it works for others experiencing this problem, too!

If I had to summarize Color Management, I would state it is a way of matching up colours from different sources, such as making sure that an image taken with a camera will be reproduced correctly on a printer, etc. While the average home user does not really have a need for this, professional photographers, publishers and printing houses appreciate these options (which has a list of various devices, like printers, monitors and so on, so that 'what they see is what they get', which is something they really want).

[The original Thread where I asked about this issue at the Corel User Forum (with the helpful answer by Kathy_9, an advisor at the site), can be found at: http://forum.corel.com/EN/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=59642&p=328249  ]

Hopefully this fixes the problem for you too, dear reader, if you run into it - enjoy!

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!