Best for Films

[Gary26]

Will windows movie maker work? Is there a better, free, alternative for AH film viewer? I have been finding that film viewer is kinda buggy.

[Raphael]

you could record with fraps and then edit on windows movie maker. where do you see problem? on recording or on editing the videos?

[Wraith_TMS]

Will windows movie maker work? Is there a better, free, alternative for AH film viewer? I have been finding that film viewer is kinda buggy.

No there isn't, Gary.  That's because the AH film viewer isn't really playing back actual video.  It's a proprietary file format, (AHF) and recording system where the film viewer is actually calling up the AH game engine in the background and loading all the objects that were originally recorded in your film and then places and replays everything back in their recorded locations.  It's essentially a re-enactment of the recorded action using the same objects and movement data all over again.  No video is involved.

Raph is correct, it's best to use a video capture program like Fraps to capture the playback in the film viewer and output that as a video file.  The film viewer can export AVI files of the films too but it doesn't work reliably and it won't export the sound component.  So Fraps or something like it is better.  You can then use Windows Movie Maker to splice the AVI clips together and make a video to upload to hosting websites..

...

[Gary26]

Thanks guys. When I watch the film its fine from start to finish as long as I dont stop or rewind a bit.(other than having no engine sounds) When I capture a clip and then watch the video again looking for more footage to capture or even when I rewind a little is when the strange things happen. i get ack clouds that dont go away and i get one gun that looks like its firing but no tracers just flash. I will just go buy a license for fraps then.

[shotgunneeley]

Thanks guys. When I watch the film its fine from start to finish as long as I dont stop or rewind a bit.(other than having no engine sounds) When I capture a clip and then watch the video again looking for more footage to capture or even when I rewind a little is when the strange things happen. i get ack clouds that dont go away and i get one gun that looks like its firing but no tracers just flash. I will just go buy a license for fraps then.

FRAPS is free. No license needed. However, in the "free" edition, your recorded clips will have www.fraps.com pasted in the corner but that's a small price to pay. Also, you only have 30 seconds of continuous record time per clip.

When using FRAPS:
1) download FRAPS and set your record key (mine is R).
2) Initiate the FRAPS program and just minimize it. Initiate the AH Film Viewer program. You'll notice that there is a yellow number in the top left corner of your film viewer window. This indicates your frames per second (yellow = not recording, red = recording in progress)
3) When you get to the point you want to start recording, press R to start and R again to stop.
4) when you stop, your recorded clip automatically gets saved to your FRAPS folder.
5) When you initiate your Windows Movie Maker program, you'll import the clips saved in your FRAPS folder.

 
Yeah in film viewer I get that trouble too if I rewind. I normally just manually move the time slider itself back to the point I need it so the film reloads itself.

[K-KEN]

Thanks guys. When I watch the film its fine from start to finish as long as I don't stop or rewind a bit.(other than having no engine sounds) When I capture a clip and then watch the video again looking for more footage to capture or even when I rewind a little is when the strange things happen. i get ack clouds that dont go away and i get one gun that looks like its firing but no tracers just flash. I will just go buy a license for fraps then.

There are some things that film does not do well.
I might suggest that you capture the part of the film you want (Start Capture) and then (End Capture) and save it.
It names it kind of odd.... like say film32.ahf would generate a new file film32_2023.ahf or some such from the original. It doesn't alter the original. Create them by using a start time at least 1 minute prior to the capture point you like in order for the terrain, planes, and sounds to load. That makes it easier to get back that point without having to restart the film and fast fwd it forever! Making films becomes easier with short clips, many of them.  I think I did one that had over 90 clips. I used about 20 or 30 at most but found it helpful to tell the story.


EDIT: If I recall, you can create an .avi file using the film viewer but it's difficult because of all the codecs listed. I forgot most of that stuff after I got Fraps. ( I bought it and do not regret it)

[Gary26]

I will most likely end up buying fraps. For now does anyone know how/what format, film viewer files need to be in to use in windows movie maker?

[K-KEN]

I will most likely end up buying fraps. For now does anyone know how/what format, film viewer files need to be in to use in windows movie maker?

.avi for the action shots. JPGs are great for screenies. While the film viewer creates .avi files, so does Fraps.
They are usually very large. Make certain you have ample storage free space. WMM really compresses them. I think I made several that were near 400MB+ but WMM created the .wmv file around 45MB. Very managable.

This was a movie I made several years ago-the one with 90 clips...  I used several screenies in the beginning.

Made using Fraps and WMM.

http://www.kkenshome.com/media/stalins%204th.wmv  (35.9MB)

[medic341]

FRAPS is free. No license needed. However, in the "free" edition, your recorded clips will have www.fraps.com pasted in the corner but that's a small price to pay. Also, you only have 30 seconds of continuous record time per clip.

When using FRAPS:
1) download FRAPS and set your record key (mine is R).
2) Initiate the FRAPS program and just minimize it. Initiate the AH Film Viewer program. You'll notice that there is a yellow number in the top left corner of your film viewer window. This indicates your frames per second (yellow = not recording, red = recording in progress)
3) When you get to the point you want to start recording, press R to start and R again to stop.
4) when you stop, your recorded clip automatically gets saved to your FRAPS folder.
5) When you initiate your Windows Movie Maker program, you'll import the clips saved in your FRAPS folder.

 
Yeah in film viewer I get that trouble too if I rewind. I normally just manually move the time slider itself back to the point I need it so the film reloads itself.

Thats awesome shotgunneeley, I just tried it and it works great.

I can finally make an AH II movie for my squadies. I do have a question for you. How do you add music and font to the movies ?

A hugh Salute Sir

[kilo2]

If you are serious about making films spending 40 bucks for sony vegas is a good idea. You can do so much more with vegas than movie maker. And this does not just include aces high.

[medic341]

Awesome Kilo2

I'll look at it. Send a big salute to Angel for me. He started the GBU with me 2 years ago.

 

[guncrasher]

dont forget fraps will take a hit on your fps.  I record all my films on ah.  then set up shots and use fraps to transfer it, then use sony vegas (about 50-70 bucks depending on the rebate on newegg) for editing.  ah recording is buggie but still beats any other recorder available, based on the fact that you can edit your shots from different angles as oposite to the others where only what you see on the screen is recorded.  which includes the talk chanel and icons.  as for ah not recording sounds you can add them if you want in sony vegas or just replace them with music.  one thing to mention is while using ah recording your own computer is the reason for the recorder to slow down to a crawl or stop working.  sometimes it runs out of memory.  I upgraded to a sandy bridge with an evga 465 vc and it runs 10 times better than on my old e8400 with same vc.  no more freezes or waiting 30 seconds for full screen so i can take a screen print.

if you are serious about making movies consider buying fraps (35 bucks lifetime) and sony vegas.  the link below is the one i got for 40 after $50 rebate.  it is out of stock now, but it will come back (i hope) it goes on sale every month

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=32-135-286&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=1#scrollFullInfo

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