The Idea
So, I'm using Jing to create a series of 5 minute long video clips.

The Content
Each clip will cover how to use the data editor like a pro.

• Video 1: Data Editor Settings, creating 5 units and giving them 5 actors.
  • Under 5 minutes
    
  • Status: Created and uploading.
    
• Video 2: Creating 5 weapons, 5 Damage effects, 4 Launch Missile effects, 2 Movers, 2 Create Persistent effects, Set effect, 1 Apply Behaviour effect and 1 Behaviour - Buff.
  • 3 to 5 minutes
    
  • Status: Planning timings.
    
• Video 3: Maybe some overspill for video 2.
  • 0 to 3 minutes (overflow from Video 2)
    
  • Status: Planning timings.
    
• Video 4: Launch Site Operations so that missiles fire from where the units weapons are, x5. Adding sounds to both the units and their combat actions by creating new Action actors.
  • Under 5 minutes
    
  • Status: not started
    
• Video 5: Polishing, editing the stats of our units, their weapons, renaming our units, setting the scale of our units, changing the unit statistics.
  • Under 5 minutes
    
  • Status: not started
    

Summary
So basically, this will show people how to be really using the data-editor. Instead of being scared and running away from it *couuugh PAYNE cough*...

In under 23 minutes, I will have created 5 Units, with 100% custom stats, 100% custom weapons (missiles, movers, effects etc).

If this proves to be successful, I will create a follow up series. With 5 videos dealing creating a custom ability for each of our units, adding veterancy and experience to all of our units.

Ideas for abilities are welcome.

Content (detailed)
Spoiler Alert: Currently the units are unique in this sense..

• The Sieged Tank fires mortars (really high arc'ing missile which pummels a ground target)
  
• The Hellion has a rocket launcher (which fires 3 rockets in a burst) these rockets automatically re-target and
• give the illusion of heat-seaking or guided missiles
  
• The Marauder's grenade launcher is given a revamp. It fires grenades which bounce, roll and wait... tick tick tick boom. This is really cool because, a player can dodge the grenades AoE damage by simply moving his troops away, but if they are moving away they are not shooting back.
  
• The Marine (MIGHT) be given a laser-beam like weapon. Instead of just a modified gauss rifle. But this will require me to go into detail about beams etc which I'm not sure if adequate for a newbie tutorial such as this.
  

What I need
Anyone who can edit a .swf file by adding 'Hotkey' pointers in certain frames? I don't have a microphone so I won't be recording my voice over the top of these video clips. Instead a small summary document (<100 words) per video clip will show how I did things so uber-epically quickly.

But, it would be very cool if someone

• Knows about a piece of software which records certain keypresses and displays them on your screen in a handy little box somewhere? Like if I press CTRL+= it will show that keypress on the screen?
  
• Alternatively, if someone has 2 hours to spare, once all the videos are completed. If they could just comb through and add a bunch of frames displaying keypresses at certain moments in the clip?
  

The alternative is better, because that way the video can be 'slowed down' at key moments by adding in 10 to 30 frames which display the Key-Press. We can use a frame which has vital information on it, like a frame where I am about to hit 'create' for a new Actor object. So people can see what all the fields should be?

Feedback
I'd like to know your thoughts on this. And also, suggest ideas for abilities!

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Nov 26 2010, 2:32 am by Cardinal.

Still waiting to see that first video.
In my opinion, showing how fast we can use the Data Editor isn't really relevant. ;o

People can watch them to see the basics...

In total by the end of the 20 to 30 minutes, you will have seen 5 new units be created, they will then be given actors (pretty fundamental), each will have a fully customized weapon - using these effects: damage, launch missile, create persistent, apply behavior and a buff. It will then cover Site Launch Operation actors so that your units launch their projectiles from where they are meant to.

@Payne: There are countless tutorials already on how to use the data editor. But none of them cover how to effectively use the data editor. Things I mainly go over (for effectively using the data editor) are:

• Effective use of Editor - Prefix and Editor - Suffix
  
• Restricting your Data Editor to show only objects created for your current project.
  
• Minimizing un-required tabs in the data editor.
  
• Using the Multi-View functionality in the data editor
  
• The correct linear workflow you should use when creating Units, Weapons and Abilities.
  

Steps 2 and 3 increase the actual speed at which the Galaxy Editor runs on my computer by about 50%. With this speed-boost, it is helpful to know your way around quickly creating objects, adjusting fields and renaming shit appropriately.

Unfortunately, I have Flash CS3 that can be used with actionscript to detect Key's that are pressed, or detect an area when moused over. This would be useful, except it doesn't display keypresses and it exports .swf files, and probably cannot edit them.

Looking forward to the videos!

Why are you recording with swf? Just record as an avi or something, and edit it with windows movie maker or virtual dub or something.

can't help, but will definitely watch them all

@Jack: Fraps and CamStudio 2.0 seem to disagree with me on a lot of levels. No idea why, and I've no idea use (and/or not installed) Windows MovieMaker or Virtual Dub...

Jing is pretty damn straight forward to use, and furthermore I like it. And the video output it gives you is .swf

So pretty much any browser with Flash can view it. Which is nice!

Well when you upload it to YouTube or whichever, it will be converted to Flash anyway.

For the most part, swf/flv is a pretty bad video format, unfortunately, but I guess you're limited to that with the Jing trial version.

I highly recommend this for recording videos: http://pwnnoobs.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/vhscrcap.zip

How does one use the player to record the screen? I just downloaded it to see how it works, and it looks like its just a video player.

EDIT:
Nevermind, didn't see the other programs in that folder that installed with it.

It comes with a screen recorder, and a virtual screen camera that you can use as your default capture device while streaming to something like livestream. It's a really lightweight and powerful tool

Hehe DevliN, I was so tempted to make a Jing video showing how Jing worked and post it on here for you...

You basically get this little Sun-Icon, and from there you can select a section of your screen to record or screen capture. Click Share once it's finished and it will auto-upload and put a link of what you've uploaded to your clipboard...

So no more 'imageshacking', which is mindnumbingly tedious.

I know how Jing works. I was talking about Cecil's suggested program.

my bad... I last posted here 2 hours ago, then I saw you had posted 12 minutes ago and failed to realise that both you and Cecil had replied also, my bad!

Eh, no worries. I can't get the VHCapture program to see either of my monitors, though, so that's a bummer.

You need to open the scrncap driver and select the window you want to capture, I think.

Any news about this?

Yep... They're all completed but I refuse uploading them... I enjoy dangling them infront of innocent little Payne's... watching them drool with anxiety at the knowledge they contain.

no really, made a couple, quality was shit. need to upgrade my computer to make them worth anyones while in watching them

What did you use to record?
Is the quality the same as the one of the video you've done to show me how to adjust footprints for minerals?

Yea - roughly the same as that. A bit jumpier. Was that useful btw?

The VHSCRAP recorder is a bit well, erm, shit. It crashes at any given opportunity and fails to record diddlysquat.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jan 6 2011, 10:07 pm by Cardinal.