Reminder: Diablo II - 2014 Ladder Reset is May 27th

That's right, this is just a quick reminder that tomorrow is the Diablo 2 Ladder Reset for 2014!

So get ready - stock up on energy drink and tell your friends you won't see them much for the next while - and get on that Ladder! Have fun playing, my wonderful readers - and enjoy being on the Top Of The Heap

(at least until the botters get going)

See You In The Games!

'Setting Of The Month': Bandicam's Xvid Implementation (with Screenshots and Quality Analysis)

As the First Post of a new type of article here at The Game Tips And More Blog

[started due to popular demand!], I would like to explain a bit about my 'Setting Of The Month':

What is meant by "Of The Month" (at least at this blog), is less 'lunar syzygy' and more 'what is currently being served', in concept. Every once in a while I will post what Recording Settings or Rendering Settings I am currently using. I want to begin doing these posts in response to two things:

• It was requested by you readers! Over the first half of the year, I run a Poll here at the Blog (it is located on the top right panel area) and currently, the single most popular Requested Topic For Future Posts is "Tips and Tricks of Video Capturing and Editing". Therefore, as part of answering that call 'by popular demand', by my respected readers, I want to share as a 'Tip' what settings I have been using of late to capture - not to tell you 'what to use', but to simply give everyone a suggestion - perhaps even a place to start from, when recording or editing their gameplay adventures.
• I see 'settings' asked about a lot, everywhere. Whether it is in game forums, technical forums, video editing and recording application forums, or even in my Inbox once in a while, people are constantly asking what settings to use, or "what settings do you use" - and that's great! I'm glad to see helpful replies of others (and sometimes short explanations on how someone is using a specific setting and why). As anyone who has asked me directly knows, I enjoy helping others with suggestions on settings and usually try to explain why I am using one setting over another.

And so, here is the first edition of a new addition to this blog, without further adieu:

 

This Month's Featured Setting

Bandicam's Xvid Codec

For the past little while, I have been messing with the Xvid codec - not the 'official' one from XviD.org that you have to download - the one that is built-in to Bandicam, easily available via pull-down menu in the Format area, where you choose which codec you want to record with. As of the most recent version of Bandicam [at the time of this post], Xvid is now the Default Codec that is pre-selected, when you install/startup Bandicam. Where in previous versions, a 'Bandisoft-optimized' MPEG-1 codec was the Default, now a 'Bandisoft-optimized' version of Xvid is thrust into the limelight - and I wanted to test this puppy out and see what tricks it can do!

If you've were computing through the 1990's, you may have heard about the Xvid codec. A competitor to the DivX codec around the turn of the millennium, I am actually going to skip over the history of the Xvid codec [other than this one paragraph]. Parts of such history may actually be a 'dark affair' (depending on who you talk to), worthy of it's own short documentary, as the DivX vs XviD history has some aspects in common to the history of other products and companies that were popular over time [with Saturday Night Television Specials such as "Apple vs Microsoft", "Xerox vs Apple" and more..]. As with many companies and products in popular use today, they all have "Origin Stories" that you won't find on The Internet and never will... And Now, Back To Your Regularly Scheduled Program

The Xvid codec is a version of MPEG-4 (it is MPEG-4 Part 2 or "H.263/ASP"), so it is directly related to it's younger-but-bigger brother, AVC (which is MPEG-4 Part 10 or "H.264/AVC"). As such, Xvid [ASP] does not have many of the functions that are found in H.264 [AVC], such as Deblocking, where the codec will try to 'hide' some compression artifacts that occur due to over-compression; but Xvid is still a great codec to record with, it's main strength being speed. Because it doesn't have many of the processing functions of it's more recent and bulkier MPEG-4 versions, it can 'figure out a frame and save it to a file' very quickly - which is essentially what is happening, technically, when game recording.

Recording with Bandicam's Default settings for their implementation of Xvid [designated herein as "Xvid(b)"**, to show that it is the "Bandicam-Optimized Version of Xvid"] will give you a Quality Setting of 80%. The capturing framerate, by Default, is set at 30 fps (Frames-Per-Second). The audio format, in this Default setting, is compressed "MPEG-1 Layer 2" format (MP2) for the Audio. Here is a screenshot showing what all of Bandicam's Default settings, for their implementation of Xvid, looks like in one image:

The 'Setting Of The Month': Bandicam's Version of Xvid, included with Bandicam (Default Settings)
Click to see Full Size

Below, are a sampling of a handful of games and the framerate performance hits that were seen while recording with these Default Xvid(b) settings (i.e. the differences between 'playing the game and not recording' versus 'playing the game and recording at the same time'):

Recorded Game Title	Resolution	Performance Hit (Δ)
Hitman: Absolution Benchmark	1366x768	~ 2 fps
Hitman: Absolution Benchmark	2560x1440	~ 4 fps
FurMark (Full Run)	1366x768	~ 2 fps
FurMark (Full Run)	2560x1440	~ 0 fps
Unigine Valley Benchmark	1366x768	~ 6 fps
Unigine Valley Benchmark	2560x1440	-
Batman: Arkham City Benchmark	1366x768	~ 4 fps
Batman: Arkham City Benchmark	2560x1440	~ 9 fps
Skyrim (Introduction)	1366x768	~ 0-8 fps
Skyrim (Introduction)	2560x1440	-
Minecraft	1366x768	~ 0 fps
Minecraft	2560x1440	~ 0 fps

table code created by Danny Sanchez (journalistopia.com)

As you can see in the table above, the difference in framerate between 'Playing' and 'Playing While Recording' is very minimal [the performance 'drain' being accentuated in higher resolutions for most games]. Although only a handful of games were tested, I did try testing both spectra of resolutions possibly in use by the average gamer today, by recording with an 'enthusiast' resolution (2K/1440p) as well as a commonly-run laptop/notebook resolution (1366x768) which could also be run by older or less-capable systems. Bandicam's optimized Xvid performs very well in the tests, with almost as low of a performance change as the 'super-light-performance-hitting' MJPEG codec.

Like MJPEG however, Xvid's weakness is the lack of tools to compensate for compression. Again, I mention here the MPEG-4/AVC ability to somewhat 'hide' compression artifacts, with code for utilities such as "Deblocking" built into the codec, where the edges of areas that the codec is making its calculations in are 'softened', so that the 'blocky' effect of high compression (called Macroblocking) is less visible. In Xvid, there is no such utility, so if too high a compression level is attempted [too low a bitrate is stipulated], then these 'block' artifacts can easily be seen, especially in 'flatter' areas of a frame (portions of the screen with less color and/or changes happening), as seen in the below frames, extractions from the actual recorded video frames themselves:

[In the examples below, when the compression artifacts aren't as obvious, I will show the entire screenshot in compressed JPG format, then underneath I 'zoom in' to show the compression artifacts from the codec as magnified extractions from the original video frames, in BMP (BitMaP) format. I use sampled areas for that, as full 1440p Screenshots in an uncompressed format would be over 10MB each]

Xvid(b)** at 90% Quality [altered from Default 80% Quality Setting], Battlefield 3.
Click to see Full Size

The result when recording at 90% Quality (up from the Default of 80%) was very satisfactory, with only 'nit-pickable' parts to show the codec's weaknesses, like the Upper Left area of this scene above (with the dark interior areas). Some artifacting can also be seen in the Middle Top area (slightly obvious even in this compressed JPG), where the plain sky areas take the brunt of the compression of this frame taken from the original game recording video produced by Bandicam.

Xvid(b)** at Bandicam's Default of 80% Quality, Battlefield 3.
Click to see Full Size

The above image is taken from a game recording of Battlefield 3 that had some pistol action going on, with an explosion caught in the background. The quality of Bandicam's Default setting isn't too bad and high action scenes can actually look quite acceptable. For example, in this frame above, with the explosion occurring on an upper walkway, only the Right Edge of the explosion (with the debris) has obvious Macroblocking - and the sidewalk [and foliage] macroblocks had to be 'looked for' here - and are less noticeable in the moving video. The 'flatter area' (with less colour variations) in this scene, is the poster advertisement, which the codec punishes with compression, leaving colour banding and macroblocks evident. The rest of scene is more complicated material and demands the codec to utilize more bitrate, ending up looking not too bad at all, when VBR is used (Variable BitRate, "changing data rate") mode).

[I personally found that in dark (as in nighttime) scenes, at 80% Quality there was distracting colour quantization (colour quality loss) and macroblocks (little square compression artifacts); but for most material, the 80% Quality setting seems ok to use for Xvid(b)**, most of the time]

Xvid(b)** at Bandicam's Default setting for Xvid of 80% Quality, the Batman: Arkham City Benchmark.
Click to see Full Size

The above image is an extracted frame from a recording of the Batman: Arkham City Benchmark. A very difficult scene for any codec (unless you tell it to 'keep all quality, use 100%' and then don't mind the larger file size that will be created) it is hard for a codec to decide what to compress and what not to, as particles fly all over the place and light and dark areas shift around as the Benchmark runs through this area with changing levels/regions of Luma [lightness, brightness]. Bandicam's Xvid did a good job trying to keep the text sharp at 1440p - but at 80% Quality, macroblocks are everywhere (those present in the screenshot above are not from the JPG compression, they were present in the game recording itself). At 80% Quality, anything with subtle gradient colour changes are absolutely tortured by the codec, seen especially in the change from light to dark in the Center Top light fixture area and the Left Lower curtain region. Bright areas however, such as the light fixtures themselves and almost all of the particles flying around, are judged by the codec to be 'important to human eyes' and detail is kept high for those objects.

Xvid(b)** at Bandicam's Default setting of 80% Quality, Minecraft.
Click to see Full Size

The above frame is taken from a recording of the Minecraft Demo starting shoreline, originally captured at 1440p (the image is resized down to 1280x720). I was interested in how Xvid would handle Minecraft, a difficult game to capture and compress, as hard edges and lines are everywhere. Bandicam's version of Xvid did surprisingly well, as the video recording itself is a joy to watch, with compression artifacts barely noticeable (recording at higher resolutions helps with that, but uses more disk space for the game recordings). Magnification of the original video frame is just below (next image):

These two sampled regions are magnified to 200% (doubled in size). They were extracted from the game recording frame above, which itself came from the original game recording produced by Bandicam and the built-in Xvid codec.
Click to see Full Size

While not as obvious in the moving video, the above frame extractions (both Left and Right sides) show Gibbs Effects ['ringing' or 'mosquito noise'] around the hard edges of Minecraft's graphics. The colour gradient changes, blending slowly into the background/sky colour in the Right Half of the above image also cause Ringing and Macroblocks to occur. Distant water gets treated with extreme prejudice by the codec, as the jumble of lines and animation from the textures are 'sluffed together' [my technical term] and Macroblocks are obvious. Again, these artifacts are more obvious in the stills from the game recording - the video itself, when watched, was more appealing to the eye and these compression artifacts aren't as noticed as the frames fly by and the cow looks at you in a wondering manner.

Regardless of some of Xvid's compression shortcomings illustrated above, with the speed that it performs at, along with the ability to turn up the Quality setting in Bandicam, these artifacts shown will not occur as often in higher quality settings - and then Xvid can be a nice codec to run with, especially if a system cannot handle a codec that does higher processing on the frames [taking more time to do calculations on them and saving them to a file, creating 'lag']. Older systems or laptops that do not have the hardware to utilize GPU-accelerated game recording (with codecs such as NVIDIA's CUDA and NVENC, AMD's App Acceleration and Intel's Quick Sync) can utilize Xvid as a less-taxing codec to record with [as another option on the Utility Belt of Game Recording Codecs to choose from]. Indeed, it is almost as speed efficient as the ever-compatible MJPEG codec, for capturing, editing and compression.

The default setting, when installing Bandicam, creates a GOP of 150 [GOP stands for Group Of Pictures or the number of frames between Information/Key Frames in a video]. This is fine for normal viewing (and it leaves a lot of headroom for compressing 'only the differences' between the frames, resulting in smaller filesizes), but a large GOP can create problems with editing, as many NLE's (Non-Linear Editors, such as Sony's Vegas/MovieStudio line, Adobe's Premiere products, Lightworks and more) do not work well with so many frames in-between the Keyframes - however, editors such as Corel's VideoStudio, CyberLink's PowerDirector and Microsoft's own Movie Maker do not exhibit this issue [I tested these three applications by hand, myself, just to make sure and they imported fine and were handled without the "glitchy-ness" or "trails" that were exhibited in (for example) Vegas].

Although originally captured for an article on the Xvid codec here (which can potentially also experience the issue mentioned in the above paragraph) this image shows an example of what the "trails" or "glitchy-ness" will look like, as it was captured from a video with a Large GOP (large keyframe interval) output produced by Vegas. (Click to see Full Size)

When editing a video with a large GOP, the video editing application must 'seek' to the next Keyframe whenever it has to process a request and calculate/build all of the frames from there (which slows things down and delays processing and editing). Also, depending on the application, with some programs video can only be 'cut' on keyframes (unless an application is coded to create keyframes where needed). All of these steps and problems created by 'Long-GOP' video can be avoided [when using the above-mentioned video editing programs] by simply adjusting the Keyframe Interval in the Xvid settings to "1".

One caveat to keep in mind, with setting a Keyframe Interval of "1": although it will now make for speedy/easier/morecompatible editing with many video editing applications, the codec will not have as much 'headroom' to work with, when compressing your game recording material. 

What this means is, that instead of only keeping track of the changes between frames (say, a person running by down the side of the screen), where the codec will literally only save those 'differences' in the file; it now has to save every single portion of the viewable screen in every single frame, complete and independent in 'stand-alone' frames (the KeyFrames), and while the video will be much faster in seeking and have increased editing compatibility, the codec requires much more bitrate now, to save 'everything' in every single frame.

The result: your video file size will end up larger than before. However, you can now edit the video in Vegas, Premiere, Lightworks and more... the choice of how to go about this aspect then, is up to you [whether to use a GOP of 1 for easier editing, or not]. If you do not use these specific video editing programs (perhaps instead, you are using PowerDirector or VideoStudio Pro or Movie Maker, which to not have as much trouble with 'Long-GOP' material, not needing the GOP to be one frame) or you are not having problems with whatever editor you are currently using, there is no need to make this change to the Xvid recording settings in Bandicam [this is why there is no green indicator arrow in my 'Suggested Settings' illustration coming up in a little while, for this option]

Staying on the topic of Bitrate [from the above paragraph] for a moment, "..what kind of file sizes are we looking at..?", you might ask. Well, here is a sampling of some of the Bitrates that were seen when recording with Xvid(b)** at Bandicam's Default Settings for the codec:

Recorded Game Title	Resolution	BitRate (Mbps, GBph)
Hitman: Absolution Benchmark	1366x768	~ 34 Mbps, 0.97GB/hour
Hitman: Absolution Benchmark	2560x1440	~ 83 Mbps, 2.4GB/hour
FurMark (Full Run)	1366x768	~ 44 Mbps, 1.2GB/hour
FurMark (Full Run)	2560x1440	~ 45 Mbps, 1.2GB/hour
Unigine Valley Benchmark	1366x768	~ 37 Mbps, 1.06GB/hour
Unigine Valley Benchmark	2560x1440	-
Batman: Arkham City Benchmark	1366x768	~ 20 Mbps, 0.57GB/hour
Batman: Arkham City Benchmark	2560x1440	~ 54 Mbps, 1.5GB/hour

table code created by Danny Sanchez (journalistopia.com)

Just to compare some file sizes of other codecs: the Low Quality setting for the Dxtory codec (with Compression) recorded a run of the Unigine Valley Benchmark (at 1080p) at about 326Mbps (9.3GB/hour), while FRAPS produced a recording of about 291Mbps (8.3GB/hour), with Lagarith (in Default/RGB Mode) creating a recording of the same material that ran at about 235Mbps (6.7GB/hour). Of course, bitrates fluctuate, depending on the complexity of the material (more movement/action/etc, which requires more bitrate to properly represent the material.. but a longer explanation of that is outside the scope of this post [believe it or not...I'm trying to keep them 'short'! hah]).

The other setting that can be changed in the Bandicam interface for their version of the Xvid codec, is the Quality. Here is an example of the differences in quality output at the various Quality settings for Bandicam's Xvid:

Comparison between varying Quality settings, for Bandicam's version of Xvid (from Left to Right; Quality at 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% Quality). The JPG compression used for this composite [the four videos side-by-side] did not overly affect the Macroblocking occurring - the 'blockyness' seen in these frames is almost untouched, even though the videos from the original Unigine Valley Benchmark recordings were converted into this JPEG image - this is very close to how it looked in the video (although slightly more noticeable as still images). Click to see Full Size

As you can see, the perceived quality for Xvid goes down quickly, with Macroblocks becoming more obvious as the quality setting goes down. However, acceptable Quality can be maintained if the quality setting is kept high [in my opinion, stay at 90% or higher if you can]. Remember though, that with the higher quality settings, more space will be required by the codec, to save all of that data. Also, if using a Keyframe Interval of "1" (creating a GOP size of one frame, each frame in the video then being a Keyframe), the codec will also not have as much room to compress the images/video and your output size will increase. As stated above though, the benefit of using a Keyframe Interval of "1" is, then your game recordings will be easily importable/editable in NLEs like Premiere, Vegas, Lightworks, etc - if you are are having troubles with those specific applications [if you are not, there is no need to limit the GOP to one frame, which is why there is no green arrow indicator in the below illustration]. Below, are my Suggested Settings then, for this codec in Bandicam, in one image:

The 'Setting Of The Month': Bandicam's Version of Xvid, included with Bandicam (Suggested Settings):
Quality is at 90%, PCM ("Uncompressed") Audio is selected [mainly for editing compatibility], a higher compression ("Smaller file Size" option) is chosen (and a Keyframe interval of "1" is suggested for compatibility with editing applications such as Vegas, Premiere, Lightworks, etc. if required [only change if needed as it increases file size, no green arrow indicator is shown on the Keyframe Interval])
Click to see Full Size

Overall, I think 'Bandisoft's version of Xvid' in Bandicam does a decent job with Quality - and is downright excellent where Performance is concerned. On my system (and hopefully yours), Bandicam's Xvid had very little drain on the performance of the game while recording with it, creating very little 'lag' while recording (it had a low 'performance hit'). As long as the quality setting is kept high (90-100%), the recorded output Quality can be quite acceptable, with only a little Macroblocking (block shapes being visible) and Posterization [colour quantization, which is a reduction in the amount of colours, resulting in 'colour banding' or 'bands' seen] in the darker and 'flatter' areas of a frame in a game recording (Macroblocking may occur in areas such as skies, less-colourful regions, etc). Try out some recordings with Bandicam's version of Xvid for yourself and see if you prefer using it for recording your gaming adventures.

Please note dear reader, that I am not saying "this codec is the best one to record with" or "use this one only". I am merely showing that it is possible, or how to tweak it for quality or file size, as to your own personal tastes. There are many codecs out there to choose from when game recording and although some are more apt for certain types of games than others, overall it is your own choice to do with as you wish - use what you prefer. 

See you in the games!

Personal Short Version/Opinion:

While the Bandisoft-optimized version of Xvid included in Bandicam works pretty well and is fast, I find myself not using it very often, other than this past month or so, for testing. After recording for a while with Xvid's 'successor', h.264/AVC, the extra features of Deblocking and other tools in AVC have 'spoiled' me. Going back to the slightly more 'blocky' output of Xvid - even though it creates very little lag when recording - is slightly distracting to my eyes. When I see an Xvid game capture of mine now, my eyes are instantly drawn to the darker/flatter areas of the scene and those little tiny block shapes...and I sigh at the slowly-aging Xvid codec, remembering its' heyday' of compressing my TV shows recorded on my ATi TV Wonder PCI card. The late 1990's and the 2000's were 'Xvid's Time' to me, when I used it for almost everything - and while it performs well in game recording today (even Xvid.org's 'Official' version, with the right settings), I am now just too used to the benefits of more modern codecs, like h.264/AVC, which can even use the videocard/hardware, for GPU-accelerated recording.

I realize there are a lot of people gaming on laptops out there, and not everyone has a dedicated/separate videocard inside their system to record with, but the more I use my GPU to record with, the more I am impressed with the performance when recording most games [note that some games 'don't like' GPU-accelerated recording (are not fully coded for compatibility with it) and these games have large hits to performance with it]. At the moment of this writing, I have two NVIDIA videocards running in my system (performing together in SLI mode) and I am enjoying using the GPU-accelerated CUDA offering in Bandicam to record with. Like AMD's AppAcceleration and INTEL's QuickSync, CUDA utilizes H.264/AVC through the hardware to record, having high performance [for most games] and producing nice output, utilizing some of the newer aspects of MPEG-4 (such as Deblocking) when recording, to hide compression artifacts [the little 'glitches' from compressing the video]. The speed, and presence of light 'compression correction' from this hardware implementation of MPEG4 has spoiled me now, and I am finding it hard to go back to the slightly more obvious artifacting in 'older' codecs, such as MPEG-1 or Xvid (which is 'older' MPEG-4), especially when those codecs are used at lower quality settings, to try and save hard drive space. (Turning up the Quality settings for these codecs helps a lot, if your system can handle it)

As CPU architecture evolves and modern CPUs have 'mini-GPUs' built into them, the differentiation of capability between 'gaming rigs' and 'gaming laptops' blurs [as far as game recording goes], as GPU-accelerated game recording is possible now by less and less expensive hardware (AMD APUs) and processors (INTEL's QuickSync), even within laptops [as opposed to full desktop systems]. This means that "gaming laptops" now have much more capability when it comes to game recording, today. If your laptop is capable of using GPU-accelerated recording, give it a try. If it is not, systems that do not use the GPU to compress their video can still perform well recording games, as is shown with the above article, by using Xvid. "If you can't choose the H.264 encoder in Bandicam, choose 'Xvid'" ~ Quote from the Bandicam.com website.

Do some testing of your own dear reader - and have fun experimenting, finding a codec that you will eventually prefer to record with - and See You In The Games...

Last Remarks (in addition/continuation to the Prologue of this article): 

Another thing to keep in mind is, that my settings (both for Recording and Editing/Rendering) change slightly over time... I may have been able to purchase a new disk drive recently for instance, so then I will allow my recordings to take up more space [for a while anyway]. I may be trying out a Demo/Trial of a new version of a Video Editing Application, so I have been experimenting with some different Rendering settings. Perhaps a videocard driver or codec was updated, so now I will experiment a bit with the recording application settings, seeing if I can squeeze a little more Quality out of my recordings, while keeping the Performance high. All of these reasons and a few more, are why my settings constantly change over time. Don't worry, I'll try to remember to come here and share them with you, anytime I find a "Good Combination" that works well for either High Quality or Fast Performance, the 'Holy Grail' of course being a Perfect balance of both. 

As I have begun more dedicated testing over the past few years, I have found that specific games themselves 'prefer' certain recording and rendering settings over others. What I mean by "prefer" is: as new game rendering engines are written, hardware architectures change, and programmers utilize 'something over another' in general during a game's development, this affects what settings a game 'works better with', whether it is a specific game recording program, hardware/GPU, or specific recording and rendering settings; hence my usage of the word "prefer". 

This is why, for example, some games will perform better on an AMD/ATi-based videocard in Benchmarks and Reviews than an NVIDIA-based GPU - and then other games will have better results on an NVIDIA-based videocard over an AMD/ATi-based GPU - those games were simply being developed [the programmers wrote the code] on a system with that certain GPU installed in it at the time. This also means there is a chance of specific optimizations in programming that slightly favour one brand of GPU over another [and they may even have been 'compensated for their efforts' by that respective company, but *shhh* these things aren't spoken of outside Mordor]. 

In regards to the above and game recording, I have found that some games will have better performance with different game recording applications as well. For example, one game may have less of a performance hit while recording with Dxtory and then another game will have better performance recording with Bandicam [as an example] - it all depends on the code and how it is written and being rendered. That's why I 'change it up' so often, altering my recording settings (and rendering settings) as each game I play exposes its nuances. That's what I mean if I ever say a game 'seems to prefer' recording with one game recording program over another. 

Keep this all of the above in mind then and also remember dear reader, that I am never telling you "you should use this", I am always suggesting only a possibility in my posts, and it is always up to you to try it out and decide if you want to use a recommendation of mine or not.

 [I encourage everyone to always take the good ideas from others and leave the bad, making up a composite of their own liking and preferences and what they want to utilize - whether it is with game recording and editing, or Life In General - but, that last part is for another blog...] 

 **[designated as "Xvid(b)", to show that it is the "Bandicam-Optimized Version of Xvid"]

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.

Battlefield Play4Free - PlayTesting The AEK-971 Assault Rifle (One Full Round - Myanmar - Raw Gameplay [Unedited] Video)

Battlefield Play4Free and The Daily Draw

Just a quick primer for those that don't know; Battlefield Play4Free is a Free-To-Play title, which means it doesn't cost anything to join in, but you can purchase weapons, armor, clothing and other items for Real Money. In this game, you do so by purchasing "Play4Free Funds" that you can then use in the in-game Store. There is also a nice feature offered where you can win 'prizes' (weapons, armor, clothing, etc) from a game called The Daily Draw at the main Battlefield Play4Free website. You can play once every day, choosing a card from a random draw of eight and the card you choose will be an item 'underneath'.

The items possible to win range from temporary one-day-use-only weapons and clothing, to seven-day-use ones, to permanent items your character (Soldier) can use in the game forever (for example, a scope that can be attached to a gun for that soldier for all time). This is great for those who can't afford to purchase many in-game items, as it not only offers the possibility of getting some great gear 'forever', it also gives a nice preview of a weapon, mod or clothing, so that you can see what it will look like/feel like, if you decide to splurge and purchase it for yourself (supporting the game and developers as well) sometime in the future. The Daily Draw also gives a chance to win 'Boosts', where you can earn extra Credits [for instance], as seen in the screenshot below:

The AEK-971 Assault Rifle

I recently won the AEK-971 in The Daily Draw on my Assault class soldier and thought I'd try it out and see how it felt and quickly write a post about it [I call these 'PlayTests']. Now, I am not a gun expert or know a lot about the statistics of the guns, so I will mainly be discussing briefly here how the gun 'feels' and 'plays', especially compared to the default G3A4 Assault Rifle.

The AEK-971 unlocks nice and early at Soldier Level 3, but the main reason for this seems to be that it isn't supposed to be very different from the Default Assault Class Rifle. As you can see from the comparison above, which is the main Store/Inventory screen information for the weapons, the only real difference is the amount of damage it can do. It has the same accuracy rating as the G3A4, the same range, and the same amount of ammo in the mags. After winning it in The Daily Draw, I played a few rounds with AEK-971 and originally recorded a couple of full matches. Here is one full match, shared unedited for you [a 'Raw Gameplay' video], testing out the AEK-971:

I was also testing out the Trial of CyberLink's PowerDirector 12 for editing.

A Review article about that application - with Tips - Coming Soon™!

Despite not being listed as any more accurate than the G3, I felt more 'capable' with the AEK (as though I could 'put up a fight' a lot better), probably due to the increased damage. It feels a little more accurate too, even though it isn't really supposed to be, according to the Store/Inventory info for the gun. So, I figured this is a great time to do some testing! [Yay, tests! lol]

AEK-971 Accuracy Analysis

I did some basic analysis on the recoil pattern of this rifle and it is indeed similar to the default assault rifle, but the AEK is ever-so-slightly more accurate, in my opinion. Here is an example of a test I did, a screenshot of the spread patterns, collecting the bullet markings, below:

Coloured spray paint marking the AEK-971's Bullet Spread, on average
(Click to see Full Size)

• The left side is the spread while 'shooting from the hip', not using the sights, just standing there holding down the trigger  [the spray painted arrow is red-coloured as in, 'try not to do this at all if you can, unless in very close quarters combat']
• The right side is the spread while 'zoomed in', that is, using the sights on the gun (it would use a scope if there was one), still just standing there holding down the trigger  [the spray painted arrow is yellow-coloured as in, 'try to avoid this']
• In the middle is the spread while zoomed in/using the sights, crouching down, still holding down the trigger though - but also now compensating for the recoil of the gun (attempting to contain the spread into a small area) - in this case, slowly pulling DOWN the mouse while firing since the recoil of this gun pulls the barrel UP  [the spray painted box is green-coloured as in, it is recommended to do this (even better if you can tap the trigger instead of holding it down)]

As you can see, even though the rated accuracy for this gun is "Low", you can get a pretty decent containment of the spread, by kneeling down, using the sights, and compensating for the recoil by moving the mouse accordingly [this little tip helps with all guns].

In most games, you can try to compensate for the recoil of a gun by slowly moving the mouse in the opposing direction to where the barrel travels. For instance, if the recoil pulls the barrel of the gun left, when shooting, moving the mouse to the right then, will cancel out some of the recoil and make for a smaller spread of bullets and easier/faster repositioning for the next shot. Try to remember that each gun will be  different in it's recoil and which direction you should compensate, when using each weapon though. 
[Note that due to game programmers making bullets 'miss' (no matter what), in an attempt to imitate reality (which has imperfections in the gun and bullets, air changes, etc), it will never be possible to fully compensate/correct for the 'spread' of bullets in a gun (this goes for most games)]. 



In my tests, the Assault Default G3A4 seemed to pull up and away to the left slightly, when shooting it. Holding down the trigger longer, the gun climbs way up into the sky easily (hence the "Low" Accuracy rating, I assume). For the AEK-971, it does still pull up, but it does not pull to the left in the same way as the G3A4, especially when using the sights. It sort of does a light 'stepping' to the left and then to the right, somewhat randomly [whatever the algorithm is in the programming]. This, to me, makes it ever-so-slightly more accurate in the 'feel' of the gun, because while it still 'goes all over the place' when shooting, it sort of compensates for itself just a bit, and the end result is more of a direct climb up in the recoil, something that felt, to me, easier to compensate for than with the Assault default G3. (I assume this very slight change in the spread/recoil is not enough to win this gun a "Medium" rating in Accuracy, but it is enough to make you have to Level to 3 in order to be able to purchase it..).

Close-To-Medium Range Kill with the AEK-971 in Myanmar. Even with the 'side-stepping' that the gun does (and the enemy strafed around as he ran out towards me from behind the rock in the center of the screen) I still got the kill, mostly due to the Very High Damage Rating of the weapon
(Click to see Full Size)

In Conclusion

Overall, the AEK-971 was similar to the default Assault class rifle, the G3A4, when playing. To me, it did feel slightly more accurate, but not by much. If you are having a really hard time hitting people with the G3A4, your accuracy won't increase very much at all if you purchased this rifle. However, if you are getting used to the default Assault gun, this one packs a lot more punch, and you'll be getting more kills overall if you upgrade to it. Because I recently won this gun Permanently [during the course of compiling this article, yes it does happen in The Daily Draw! woot] I can't see the current price for this rifle anymore, to purchase it from the in-game Store; but last time checking, it was only 300 Credits to try it out for one full day. It was also listed as [what I call] 'Earnable' because, if you can rack up 45,000 Credits, you won't have to pay for upgrading to this rifle with any Real Money at all (you can just use the Credits). If you did buy some Play4Free Funds and have 1,250 to spare, you can purchase it at anytime (not having to wait until Soldier Level 3), permanently. So in closing, PlayTesting the AEK-971, I found it slightly better than the Default Assault Class Rifle, even if it only 'felt' that way due to the higher damage it does.

Long Range Kill with the AEK-971 in Myanmar. The thin iron sights of the gun (default sights) help a lot with targeting farther away. With the Very High Damage Rating - even though the gun has a Low Accuracy Rating - single-shot/tap shooting can still make it lethal at range, when needed
(Click to see Full Size)

Have fun trying it out for yourself sometime and See You In The Games!

Gameplay Disclaimer: Any gameplay videos or animations uploaded are only one example of one possible path of game play and is not representative of the gameplay experience of the entirety of the game material as it is non-repeatable in exactness (movements, actions, viewpoints, etc) to a high degree of accuracy (especially in regards to online multiplayer play and interactions) and therefore is not a representation of a large portion of the game content (this includes complete Walkthroughs/Playthroughs, Raw Gameplay Footage and Tutorials). All material and content uploaded attempts to respect copyright and is presented for Educational and Entertainment purposes only, utilized under Fair Use and can be construed as Free Advertising. No copyright infringement is intended and cannot be inferred. Any possible representation approaching any infringement, to those seeking infringement action, requires double notification and will be honoured by permanent removal of the infringing material. This information exists for entertainment and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical attention.

And More: Deals and Sales - Easter Weekend 2014 Blowouts

This weekend there may be a lot of people huddling over their computers. Maybe you are trying to avoid people at a family "get together". Maybe you don't currently live near family and have noone to visit. Or maybe you just don't have much planned this 'long' weekend (if you are getting extra time off of work or school) or maybe you had purposely set time aside this weekend to catch up on gaming... Whatever your case may be, whether you celebrate Easter Weekend or not (or get extra 'time off', or not) you can still take advantage of some of the great deals being offered by some game retailers this Spring Weekend. Here are a list of some of the sales going on:

GameFly, formerly Direct2Drive, has up to 75% off of their SEGA games
(Click to see Full Size)

This long image is EA's total sales going on, with many games at half price like Battlefield 4, Sims 3, and more
(Click to see Full Size)

Classic EA Oldies are also on sale at Good Old Games, now called GOG.com, like Theme Hospital and more
(Click to see Full Size)

Check out your favourite shop or closest game store, to see if there are any deals that you can jump on - and See You In The Games!

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!