"Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From?", The Game Tips And More Blog's Game Screenshot Identification Contest, Trippple! Edition [Updated 2018-06-30 with Answer Images]

Well, it's about the middle of the month - and that means it's time once again for something I got into again this year - The Game Tips And More Blog's 'New-ish-sorta-but-only-kinda' Contest:

"Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From?"

(A Game Screenshot Identification Contest)

Having its' IXth - and 'Super Special Trippple! Screenshot Edition' - today, June 15th, 2018!

All you have to do to win this identification contest, is to contact me in any way you can (eg. Comment on this article below, Twitter profile tweet, Email or make a Comment, here or at The Blog's Facebook Page, or Private Message TheBlog's Steam Account by the end of the month, with these two items within your message:

1. Your guess(es) for the game(s) the image(s) are from.

2. Information on how to contact you back (to receive Steam game gifts, etc) if you win.

That's it!

[Just a quick note to be careful not to include any information you do not wish to share 'publicly' when posting in the Comments area below or at Steam or sending a Twitter profile Tweet, as these messages are seen by 'everyone']

The first correct answer(s) submitted by a Skillful Identifier/Gamer will receive this month's contest prize - which is: a gifted game from a selection at the Steam online store! And, in this Super Special Trippple! Edition, there are Three Chances for Three different Winners! One of them could be you!

One Correct Guess = One Gifted Game Win.

Winners are only allowed one 'win' this month, to allow for the possibility of Three different Winners.

[Note: Although I have been collecting Games in my Gift Inventory on Steam over the past few Years, during Steam Sales,

due to how Steam has changed Gifting games through Steam recently; you will have to temporarily become a Friend
of TheBlog's Steam Account to receive the game - after receiving your Gifted Game, you may Unfriend of course]

Winners will also be announced in bold, large lettered-text, here on this very posting and will thereby be immortalized on The Intertubes in perpetuity, proving to all other comers that you were "The Ultimate Game Screenshot Guesser Thingy Person" [aka. Gamer]!

...

Previous Editions of this Contest [to 'see how it works'] can be found at TheBlog, here:

Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From - Contest #1
Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From - Contest #2
Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From - Contest #3
Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From - Contest #4
Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From - Contest #5

...

This time around however, due to there being no winners for the past while: I will give out not only One but THREE Screenshots to guess! It's a TRIPPPLE! Super Special Screenshot Edition!
Even if you can guess only One of the games - you will win!

Are you ready? Here then, is not only One, but THREE 'Mystery' Screenshot images for this month, just below:

Trippple!

Trippple!

Trippple!

[As you can see, the images are portions of the original full screen captures - and while it isn't 'super easy', as it is just a small part of the screen - the image used for the contests will never be super hard, by being 'too' obscure or small (for example, it will never be 'just the end of a wooden log' or anything like that). The Images utilized are also always presented 'Unedited' (other than being Cropped to the smaller size and Logos added), if that helps. Click to see Full Size]

As usual for this Contest, after a week has gone by, if there is no correct guesses as to what games the Screenshots are from, I will still return here and put up 'Hint' images - that is, larger portions of the Screenshots - to assist in Game Recognition-ing-ness-ism... Remember, you only have to guess ONE of the THREE Screenshots above - it's a Super Special Trippple! Edition! [lol]

Good Luck, Gamers!

...

Update!

A week has gone by and there have been no correct guesses yet... So, here are the HINT images (enlarged area portions of the CONTEST images for this month's Contest)!

Ready?

Here are the HINT images (with enlarged portion revealed), below:

Trippple!

Trippple!

[As you can see, the image is still a portion of the full screen capture; but don't worry - the image used for the contest will never be 'too' obscure or small. Also, the Screenshot utilized is always presented as 'Unedited' (other than being Cropped to the smaller size and Logos added), if that helps at all. Click to see Full Size]

[Bonus Hint: Image 3 is not the game "World Of Warcraft"]

Can you guess what games the Screenshots are from yet? Pop into some games and look around and see if anything 'rings a bell' (that is not a hidden 'hint' heh)... At the end of the Month, if noone has guessed correctly by then, I will return here and reveal the full Mystery Screenshots and the Games they were from - Good Luck, Gamers!

...

Update!

It is the end of the Month and there have been no correct submissions! Aww....

To end The Mystery, here are the answers for all three Trippple! screenshots
in this special IXth Edition of
'Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From' (2018-06):

 Trippple!

Trippple!

The Answers for this month's Contest were: Hitman Absolution, Fallout 4 and Paladins!

[These Screenshots, other than the Fallout 4 image, were captured within the past year or so. For those playing Paladins, it is now out of Beta. The level/map in the Paladins screenshot is "Timber Mill". The Hitman Absolution screenshot was taken in the first/tutorial level "A Personal Contract". Click images to see Full Size]

Come back next 15th-of-the-month friends, when there will be another chance to be a Digital Screenshot Sleuth in the "Xth" Edition of 'Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From' - where I will display/share two Screenshots - offering two different chances to Guess The Game and Win The Prize that is carried over to next time: a gifted game from a selection of the Steam Online Store!

See You In The Games!

[Note:After finalizing this Posting, I have been notified by my lawyer that there is a mobile application concerning dating that has the name/title "Trippple". For legal purposes, this Contest is sub-titled "Trippple!" (with exclamation mark) and is a separate legal entity than the aforementioned mobile application. It is also a "temporary construct", "for entertainment purposes", in light of the three (3) available screenshot/images available for this local contest. This blog, its authors, blogspot and any connected businesses or persons thereof, are not affiliated with the "Trippple" (no exclamation mark) company or application. The above is a Contest for entertainment purposes only, the identification of images shown, acting as the Skill Test for Official Contest Purposes and Laws. For further Legal Inquiries regarding this matter, contact "Editor-In-Chief" at gametipsandmore@gmail.com]

(The Game Tips And More Blog Contest Game #2018-06)

Battlefield 5 - Re-Cut and Audio Remastered Reveal Trailer, synced to "The Man Comes Around" by Johnny Cash

Looking forward to BF5, I saw the ‘Reveal Trailer’ that was released and noticed no music in it. So - inspired by “The Dawn Of The Dead”’s Title Sequence (‘opening credits’), I thought Mr. Cash’s song would go great with this gameplay trailer as a Backing Track...

Because the original Reveal Trailer wasn’t a Montage but a Sequence Shot (‘one-shot long take’) [nicely done btw, imo] – I had to re-cut it and re-master the audio levels to blend with the added music track (and Effects I added). I also had to cut/edit down Mr. Cash’s classic song a bit, because there wasn’t enough footage to cover the entire length (for one section, I added a bit of some Early Alpha Screenshots and Concept Art released by EA). I also added a few extras to the audio, such as Environmental Audio Enhancements to some Explosions, and Tinnitus (‘ear ringing after an explosion’) at the close-up section.

In the end, I think both matched up not too bad; the emotion of the song and the chaos of the gameplay… so I thought I would share it here for you all – I hope you enjoy it. Looking forward to what Battlefield 5 might be – See You In The Game! 

~T 

.

.

. 

Source Video by EA/DICE, here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb1MR... 

Source Music by Johnny Cash, one version here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9IfH... 

Edited and Remastered by Tesityr (Troy from The Game Tips And More Blog), in a combination of: 

CyberLink’s PowerDirector 

Sony’s Vegas Pro Edit (now by MAGIX) 

Corel’s PaintShop Pro 

Original Gameplay Material Copyright EA/Activision 

No Copyright Infringement Intended (Fan Creation Advertisement)



[Note1: If it looks kind of low-quality, it was a couple things: one, I used the very first Trailer footage that came out, which was 30fps and lower quality (now they have 60fps HQ Trailer available). Two, I accidentally re-compressed it twice while processing/editing. It was too much to start over, so here it is, sorry, heh.]


[Note2: I did not add advertisements to the video, but I got a warning that they will be added due to use of the song...]

"Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From?", The Game Tips And More Blog's Game Screenshot Identification Contest, Pops Up Again Today! [Updated 2018-05-31 with Answer Image]

Well, it's the middle of the month - and that means it's time once again for something I got back into doing earlier this year - The Game Tips And More Blog's 'New-ish-sorta-but-only-kinda' Contest:

"Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From?"

(A Game Screenshot Identification Contest)

Having its' Eighth Edition - 'the easiest one so far' - today, May 15th, 2018!

All you have to do to win this contest, is contact me in any way you can (eg. Comment on this article
below, Twitter profile tweet, email me or Comment/PrivateMessage TheBlog's Steam Account by the end of the month, with these two items within your message:

1. Your guess for the game the image is from.

2. Information on how to contact you back (to receive Steam game gifts, etc) if you win.

That's it!

[Just a quick note to be careful not to include any information you do not wish to share 'publicly' when posting in the Comments area below or at Steam or sending a Twitter profile Tweet, as these messages are seen by 'everyone']

The first correct answer submitted by a Skillful Identifier/Gamer will receive this month's contest prize - which is: a gifted game from a selection at the Steam online store!

[Note: Although I have been collecting Games in my Gift Inventory on Steam over the past few Years, during Steam Sales,

due to how Steam has changed Gifting games through Steam recently; you will have to temporarily become a Friend
of TheBlog's Steam Account to receive the game - after receiving your Gifted Game, you may Unfriend of course]

Winners will also be announced in bold, large lettered-text, here on this very posting and will thereby be immortalized on The Intertubes in perpetuity, proving to all other comers that you were "The Ultimate Game Screenshot Guesser Thingy Person" [aka. Gamer]!

...

Previous Editions of this Contest [to 'see how it works'] can be found at TheBlog, here:

Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From - Contest #1
Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From - Contest #2
Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From - Contest #3
Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From - Contest #4
Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From - Contest #5

...

Are you ready? Here then, is the 'Mystery' Screenshot image for this month, below:

[As you can see, the image is a portion of a full screen capture - and while it isn't super easy, as it is just a small part of the screen - the image used for the contest will never be super hard, by being 'too' obscure or small (for example, it will never be 'just the end of a wooden log' or anything like that). The Image utilized is also always presented here 'Unedited' (other than being Cropped to the smaller size and Logos added), if that helps at all. This 'Mystery' image is shown at Full Size]

Since there hasn't been a winner for some time - actually at all yet(!) - I'm choosing something 'even easier' (that is, a game that is even more popular than in recent contests..). Don't worry, it will still hopefully be mysterious [to stay fun heh]; and after a week has gone by, if there is no correct guess as to what game the Screenshot is from, I will still return here and put up a 'Hint' image - that is, a larger portion of the Screenshot - to assist in Game Recognition-ing-ness...

Good Luck, Gamers!

...

Update!

A week has gone by and there have been no correct guesses received yet... So, here is a HINT image; (an enlarged area portion of the CONTEST image for this month's Contest)! Ready?

Here is the HINT image (with enlarged portion revealed), below:

[Click the Image to see it at a slightly-larger Full Size - and as you can see, the image is still a portion of the full screen capture; but don't worry - the image used for the contest will never be 'too' obscure or small. Also, the Screenshot utilized is always presented as 'Unedited' (other than being Cropped to the smaller size and Logos added), if that helps at all. Click to see Full Size]

Can you guess what game it is from yet? Pop into some games and look around and see if anything 'rings a bell'... At the end of the Month, if noone has guessed correctly by then, I will return here and reveal the full Mystery Screenshot and the Game it was from - Good Luck, Gamers!

...

Update!

It is the end of the Month and there have been no correct submissions! Aww....

To end The Mystery, here is the answer for this 8th Edition of
'Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From' (2018-05):

The Answer for this month's Contest was: Team Fortress 2! (TF2)

[This Screenshot was re-captured just this month in 2018, due to the original that looked like this being lost. The level is Mann Manor, with the Halloween Update aspects shown, such as Explosive Pumpkins and Candy Health Pickups. During 'the mystery' of CYGWTSBIF, I tried to omit the more-obvious "Point A" indicator and other emblems/decals that would have given the game away a little 'too fast', heh. Better Luck Next Time! IIRC, this image was captured at 'Max Settings' (the maximum possible settings out of all the options of TF2). Click image to see Full Size]

Come back next 15th-of-the-month friends, when there will be a few small changes to the contest... For example, you will  have not just ONE, not just TWO, but THREE (3!) chances to be a Digital Screenshot Sleuth in a special "IXth" Edition of 'Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From' - where I will display/share THREE Screenshots - offering then THREE chances to Guess The Game and Win The Prize that is carried over to next time: a gifted game from a selection of the Steam Online Store!

See You In The Games!

[**Note (this is the same message for all Contest footnotes): I am not affiliated in any way or degree with Steam/Valve, NVIDIA or AMD, and I have not and will not receive any compensation of any kind, for mentioning them here. I am merely an enthusiastic user of these companies' products/services. As for Hardware, I have utilized both AMD/NVIDIA's GPU products and will continue to use both in the future ((on a personal note, I find I usually am 'stairstepping' with their GPUs, purchasing from one manufacturer, then the next 'upgrade' purchasing from the other. I always Suggest to people who Ask; to get whichever has Features you like - and only what you can afford at the time (but check Reviews and Benchmarks as much as you can and get the 'fastest' you can afford at the time) - it will be outdated in 3 years or so anyway - so; Enjoy what you have and be Thankful because there are always people who have less!))]

(The Game Tips And More Blog Contest Game #2018-05)

Quick Tip: NVIDIA "Device Not Found" Issues Possibly Fixed In Latest Driver Update [Notification]

Recently, I have been running into an issue I hadn't seen since I last owned an NVIDIA videocard** - a "Device Not Found" error. Thankfully, this problem may be seen even less now, as a recent NVIDIA Video Driver Update, released just now, may fix this issue. If you have been running into a "Device Not Found" error, or the possibly-related "No DirectX 10 or 11 adapter or runtime found" error - with an NVIDIA GPU - grab the Driver Update and see if it makes a difference for you!



I've had a few of these occur the past while, although moreso the last time I owned an NVIDIA videocard**, this 'old issue' popping up again only recently, with GTAV (Grand Theft Auto 5: "No DirectX 10 or 11 adapter or runtime found") and off/on with Playclaw [doing some testing with it for a future 'comparison/shootout' of various game recording programs, I was running into "cannot start encoder for empty frame" and "device not found" errors]. To be fair, AMD GPU's also have similar issues [such as, one which states "The Device Has Restarted", usually after a game/screen 'freezing up' on your for a few seconds]. With NVIDIA releasing an Update today, that stated in the ChangeLog/PatchNotes that an issue of this type has now been 'fixed', hopefully we'll be seeing these errors even less:

The NVIDIA Driver Patch Notes, stating an issue has been fixed that may directly solve these problems.
Click to see Full Size

The actual 'fix' states that the "Driver may get removed after the PC has been left idle for an extended period of time". I say that this may be related to the issue(s) stated above, because I found that after leaving the system on all night, going to play a game the next day, I would often run into these issues/errors (moreso than if I had been continually using the system). These errors would pop up even if I had the GPU Power Saving settings on "High Performance" or "Always On" [I live in an apartment where electricity is included in the price of the rent, so I don't mind leaving the system on 'all night' to perform tasks (backups, video compression, etc)]. A simple Restart usually 'fixes' everything, no errors come up after that, no "Device Has Been Removed" or anything - that is, until I leave the system on 'all night' again... Then these types of errors show up, once I try to utilize the system in the morning. So, hopefully this latest Driver Update from NVIDIA solves, or at least reduces, these types of errors.

Example of one of the errors this Driver Update may possibly fix: "No DirectX 10 or 11 adapter or runtime found"
(Experienced with an NVIDIA GPU while trying to play/startup GTAV after not touching the PC for a long time, shown Full Size)

If you are running Windows 10 and an NVIDIA GPU, be sure to grab this latest Driver and see if it helps reduce their occurrence for you - I'll try to return to this post and let you know if it does/doesn't for me, too. GL!



[Note: I apologize, but I have misplaced/lost a few Example Screenshots of the errors stated herein. Ones showing the "Device Not Found/Ready" or "No DX3D Device Found" or "d3d11: failed to create device" and similar errors, all of which I have run into when trying to use the system after not interacting with it for a while, and took Screenshots of. I will continue to look for these as I can, and once I find them, I will add them into this posting.]




** Disclaimer and Personal Veracity Statement: Although I currently own an NVIDIA GPU, I have owned both AMD GPUs and NVIDIA GPUs in the past, and will do so in the future. I have no personal preference between the two, purchasing one or the other as Upgrades depending on my needs at the time and my financial limitations at the time I need to Upgrade. I have not, and will not, receive any compensation for mentioning either companies' products herein. I am merely an enthusiastic user (of both) and try to share helpful information about them, as I can.

Deals And Sales - Star Wars Games, Most On Sale All Weekend - May The 4th Be With You! [Notification]

Just a quick reminder or for those that may not have noticed yet, that Star Wars games (on PC and Consoles) are going on Sale like crazy everywhere right now, most places having them On Sale over the whole weekend, into Monday or Tuesday. Check out places like Good Old Games (now GOG.com), The Steam Store, EA's Origin Marketplace, HumbleBundle (to help Charities!) and more... Have fun shopping for yourself or your loved one(s) - and have a Happy Star Wars Day and May The 4th Be With You!


Edit:
I forgot to say - if you Login to Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG by May 7th, you will get an Astromech Droid pet after May 9th! Details from swtor.com:

•  Log in by May 7th to qualify for your very own M4-Y7 Astromech Droid Mini-Pet! A deeply loyal and rugged Droid, the M4-Y7 Astromech Droid is known for its steadfast and stoic reliability. No matter how far your adventures take you across the galaxy, the M4-Y7 is your “DBFF” (Droid Best Friend Forever)! Your new Astromech Droid can be claimed beginning May 9, 2018 at 11:59PM PDT (May 10, 2018 at 6:58PM GMT) through your in-game mail.

The M4-Y7 Droid, animation/GIF from the SWTOR.com website

http://www.swtor.com/info/news/news-article/20180501-0




[Note: I am not affiliated in any way with GOG.com, Steam, EA, Origin, HumbleBundle, LucasArts, Disney or any other company mentioned herein and I have not, and will not, receive any compensation in any form, for mentioning them here. I am merely a fan of the Star Wars franchise/products and an enthusiastic gamer, wanting to inform and help out others, as I can.]

"Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From?", The Game Tips And More Blog's Game Screenshot Identification Contest, Is Late Arriving, But Here Now! [Updated 2018-04-30 with Answer Image]

Well, it's kinda-sorta-somewhere-around the middle of the month - and that means it's time once again for something I re-started doing this year - The Game Tips And More Blog's 'New-ish-sorta-but-only-kinda' Contest:

"Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From?"

(A Game Screenshot Identification Contest)

Having its' Seventh Edition - 'coming in to work a little late today' - on April 18th, 2018!

All you have to do to win this contest, is contact me in any way you can (eg. Comment on this article
below, Twitter profile tweet, email me or Comment/PrivateMessage TheBlog's Steam Account by the end of the month, with these two items within your message:

1. Your guess for the game the image is from.

2. Information on how to contact you back (to receive Steam game gifts, etc) if you win.

That's it!

[Just a quick note to be careful not to include any information you do not wish to share 'publicly' when posting in the Comments area below or at Steam or sending a Twitter profile Tweet, as these messages are seen by 'everyone']

The first correct answer submitted by a Skillful Identifier/Gamer will receive this month's contest prize - which is: a gifted game from the Steam online store!

[Note: Although I have been collecting Games on Steam over the past few Years, during Steam Sales,

due to how Steam has changed Gifting games through Steam recently; you will have to temporarily become a Friend
of TheBlog's Steam Account (to receive the game - after receiving your Gifted Game, you may Unfriend of course)]

Winners will also be announced in bold, large lettered-text, here on this very posting and will thereby be immortalized on The Intertubes in perpetuity, proving to all other comers that you were "The Ultimate Game Screenshot Guesser Thingy Person" [aka. Gamer]!

...

Previous Editions of this Contest [to 'see how it works'] can be found at TheBlog, here:

Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From - Contest #1
Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From - Contest #2
Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From - Contest #3
Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From - Contest #4
Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From - Contest #5

...

Are you ready? Here then, is the first Screenshot image for this month, below:

[As you can see, the image is a portion of a full screen capture - and while it isn't super easy, as it is just a small part of the screen - the image used for the contest will never be super hard, by being 'too' obscure or small (for example, it will never be 'just the end of a wooden log' or anything like that). The Image utilized is also always presented here 'Unedited' (other than being Cropped to the smaller size and Logos added), if that helps at all. Click to see Full Size]

Since there hasn't been a winner for some time - actually at all yet(!) - I'm choosing something 'easier' (that is, a game that is more popular than in recent contests..). Don't worry, it will still be mysterious (to stay fun), and after a week has gone by, if there is no correct guess as to what game the Screenshot is from, I will still return here and put up a 'Hint' image - that is, a larger portion of the Screenshot - to assist in Game Recognition-ism...

Good Luck, Gamers!

[Editor's Note: Sorry I am a couple days late, friends, I haven't been feeling well lately. Hopefully though, with this increased-popularity pick, someone will guess this well-known game correctly and we'll have a winner this Month! GL to you all - and take care. ~Troy from The Game Tips And More Blog]

...

Update!

A week has gone by and there have been no correct guesses received yet... So, here is a HINT image; (an enlarged area portion of the CONTEST image for this month's Contest)! Ready?

Here is the HINT image (with enlarged portion revealed), below:

[Click the Image to see it at a slightly-larger Full Size - and as you can see, the image is still a portion of the full screen capture; but don't worry - the image used for the contest will never be 'too' obscure or small. Also, the Screenshot utilized is always presented as 'Unedited' (other than being Cropped to the smaller size and Logos added), if that helps at all]

At the end of the Month, if noone has guessed correctly by then, I will return here and reveal the full Mystery Screenshot and the Game it was from - Good Luck, Gamers!

...

Update!

It is the end of the Month and there have been no correct submissions! Aww....

To end The Mystery, here is the answer for this Seventh Edition of
'Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From' (2018-04):

The Answer for this month's Contest was: Grand Theft Auto Five! (GTAV)
[Captured in January of 2017 ((after receiving the game as a Gift, Thanks DeSanta!)), this Screenshot was taken with an AMD FX-8350 and an AMD R9 280 GPU at the time, IIRC**. I usually try to play games at their Highest Settings (even if it means slightly choppy gameplay), just to enjoy how it looks; but many times I decrease Shadows, Lighting and Draw Distances (but not Graphic/Texture Details) to decrease the load on the CPU and increase gameplay smoothness. Here, I believe I was testing with only "High" settings throughout, at the time.]

Come back next 15th-of-the-month friends, when you can have another chance to be a Digital Screenshot Sleuth in the Eighth Edition of 'Can You Guess Where The Screenshot Below Is From' - with a chance to win the Prize that is carried over to next time: a gifted game from a selection of the Steam Online Store!

See You In The Games!

[**Note (this is the same message for all Contest footnotes): I am not affiliated in any way or degree with Steam/Valve, NVIDIA or AMD, and I have not and will not receive any compensation of any kind, for mentioning them here. I am merely an enthusiastic user of these companies' products/services. As for Hardware, I have utilized both AMD/NVIDIA's GPU products and will continue to use both in the future ((on a personal note, I find I usually am 'stairstepping' with their GPUs, purchasing from one manufacturer, then the next 'upgrade' purchasing from the other. I always Suggest to people who Ask; to get whichever has Features you like - and only what you can afford at the time (but check Reviews and Benchmarks as much as you can and get the 'fastest' you can afford at the time) - it will be outdated in 3 years or so anyway - so; Enjoy what you have and be Thankful because there are always people who have less!))]

(The Game Tips And More Blog Contest Game #2018-04)

And More: It's Not Just You™ - Windows Desktop Icons Sometimes Loading Small Versions Of Themselves For No Reason At All

[Windows Related] Although not really anything 'new' - this is something I have been experiencing off and on in Windows for years now - I wanted to mention something here (just in case it might help others too) that today is, for some strange reason, the first time I am submitting Windows Feedback on an aging issue: where the Desktop Icon images sometimes (for unknown reasons) load as wee-little versions of themselves - intermittently showing smaller images of the 'normally-256x256-or-higher' resolution images - and if you are experiencing this too, It's Not Just You™...

For the last few versions of Windows, I have been seeing, at random times, Desktop Icons loading - not their nice, large representations of their games, both alluring and alluding to the fun to be had in the games 'behind-the-mask' - but loading wee-little teeny-tiny versions of themselves, squishing the pixels in merciless transgression, giving my normally-full-of-icons Desktop scattered pimples of picturesque perturbation. One example of one of these perpetrators, is below:

As you can see, the [lower] Warhammer 40k Icon I created/assigned, has loaded 'full size' (Windows Large Preset Size), whereas the Vindictus Icon [on top] has loaded a 'smaller size' of its' normally larger self today - for no stated reason at all. No message, no little exclamation mark on the corner of the image, to indicate "something went wrong", leading me to troubleshoot what might be the issue. Indeed, I can do nothing, but try to ignore my pimple-popping urge to fix these intermittent occurrences to my Desktop (temporarily, by replacing the Icon image with something else - the only repeatable 'workaround' I have come across so far).

And so, after many years of finger-in-the-dam work on bypassing this little problem [pun not intended], I have finally mentioned it to Microsoft, via their Official Windows Feedback Hub, found in Windows 10...

The Official Windows Feedback Hub personally thanking me for submitting my feedback about icons loading smaller sizes of themselves, randomly, for no reason whatsoever other than to make me notice that game that I haven't played in years but still have installed, taking up space on my drives, which is already at a premium due to my screenshot and clip hoarding tendencies

As many of you already know, MS has been trying very hard to really listen to Users these last few generations of Windows, implementing Suggestions and continually collecting Feedback on a myriad of topics that have to do with Windows, from how it operates, to how it simply looks. Today, I finally got around to telling them about this little virtual thorn of mine. Perhaps someday, they will find out why this happens randomly [to different icons each time!] and I may one day feel relief in my virtual lion's paw... Good Luck, Microsoft - I think you'll need it; and if you, dear reader, are experiencing this too, remember - It's Not Just You™...




Addendum:
Just a quick note that I have been creating/editing my own Windows Desktop Shortcut Icons for some time now, from multi-layered compositions (with added sun flare!) to simple crops from game boxes or ads (like the one shown above, for Warhammer) - someday, I plan on sharing these Icons with you, my dear readers, here at The Blog. I have no idea when, but it's safe to say that I will be able to collect them up, polish them down and pack them in a Zipped-up File and share them sometime around 2025... Soon™

First Impressions - Google Play App: "Screen Recorder" by Kimcy929 [App Mini-Review]

This article has been initially posted as Text-Only at this time, to speed up publishing, focusing on a certain issue. I will return to this posting and add more data on Quality and Performance, Screenshots and then eventually Share it on Twitter/Google+/etc... Soon™

[This past Christmas, my father gave me a neat little tablet to play on - Thanks, Dad! I have been enjoying the heck out of it, learning what it does (cough how to use a tablet cough), what applications it can run (I can write a Blog Post laying down!) and of course, what games I can play on it, heh. I hope to give some Tutorials/Walkthroughs and Reviews on Games and Apps from it sometime... Oh wait, here's one now! haha]

The Google Store page for the app, with the 'Play' button removed [I felt it was a bit distracting, making people think there might be a 'video to play' here at The Blog], replaced with The Blog's 'G' brevity logo version.
The Google Play logo in the upper-left will be used to denote images that come 'directly' from the Google Play website/page for the app for these types of App Reviews/Posts (Unedited other than logos or helpful arrows/etc added).

Google Play App - Screen Recorder by Kimcy929

Straight to it: while this app did in fact ‘record the screen’, it could not record the game sounds themselves ('internal' gameplay audio), it only recorded microphone sounds ('external' audio outside the device). While this is useful for some, especially Vloggers, I was personally looking for a screen recorder for my tablet that recorded gameplay and the audio from the game, for Tutorials, Walkthroughs, etc.**

Also, an issue arose where ANY video I viewed after installing this app (even videos I had on my device BEFORE installing it) only came up as a black screen, with the message:

“...Video Is Playing On External Display...”

Now, I had not enabled any such option, nor did I connect any External Displays...

I did some research online and found many people running into this issue with various apps and devices (tablets, phones, etc). Looking at the App configuration in the Settings of my tablet for Screen Recorder, I found this app giving itself the ability to ‘draw over other apps’ (which it can do to create on-screen writing, or arrows, which it advertises that it can do on the Google Play Store page for the app).

This is fine and these features are no doubt useful; however, I could no longer view any videos with the built-in Video Player ("complete action using > Video") - I literally could no longer view any videos I had on my device, at all. [Even with third-party Media Players, such as VLC Media Player, simply viewing any videos was now 'broken'...]

Video playing of the Video portion of Videos on the Video Player that
plays Videos was like, really broken now

Even after disabling this option that it gave itself without prior warning (found in Settings > Apps > ScreenRecorder > DrawOverOtherApps), all videos still came up with just a black screen and that message - that is, just Disabling the Setting did not 'undo' the inability to no longer watch videos in the Video Player. Disabling this setting, then Uninstalling this app, then Restarting the Tablet, fixed the issue [in my case, the only way it was fixed].

While this app does record the screen, allows for microphone use, doesn't seem to affect gameplay performance very much, and seems to have a decent selection of Resolutions and Bitrates (eg. 1280x720, 8000kbps), also having some additional helpful things like drawing arrows on the screen, etc; it does not record 'built-in' gameplay audio - which I personally was looking for** - and it gave itself a power which interfered with normal tablet video viewing afterward... Not only that, but it only recorded a few videos before no longer working, with a message just repeatedly showing up stating, "Unfortunately, Screen Recorder has stopped".

No changing of Settings (of my tablet or the app itself) was able to remedy this or get past it [the message coming up and no video being recorded]. Reinstalling the app made it work again, but after a few recordings, only that message repeating on the screen was the result, once again. Therefore, considering all of the above [but including the fact that the app must have worked for other people, that is, those not running into this 'Screen Recorder has stopped' message problem], this app earned Three Stars at Google Play from me, as of the time of this writing.

Being 'completely free' (No Fee and No Ads), and having a nice selection of 'standards' like Resolution and Bitrate choices, and having 'extras' like being able to draw on the screen; perhaps with some improvements to bugfixing, enhancements to how it handles itself (asking/warning what would happen before utilizing the “Draw Over Other Apps” ability would be helpful to users that might run into a problem with it) and adding the ability to record internal gameplay audio**, Screen Recorder could potentially be a very capable and 'feature-rich' screen recording application.

3/5 Stars

★★★☆☆

This app (and a shortened version of the above Review by The Blog (to fit on Google Play's Review area)) can be found on Google Play, at:

Screen Recorder by Kimcy929
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kimcy929.screenrecorder



[Note: I am not affiliated with Screen Recorder or Kimcy929 in any way, and I have not and will not be compensated by them for writing about them here. I am merely a user of their application and like to help others with helpful information, when I can. The information in this post was obtained on an LG G Pad IV, and therefore might vary slightly from your own experience (Settings, Menus, Performance, Problems, etc) - but I hope that it was still found useful in some way.]

...

** More on this later... I have recently found out that Google has taken away the ability [temporarily?] to record game output AND game audio at the same time ("internal audio") in the latest Android versions - save for a small number of possibilities on LG and Samsung devices. But, I'll cover this at a later time, when I find out more solid details...