Recamming FAQ, and Other Tidbits
Quake2 Demo Editing Tutorial Supplement

1/99 by Overman          --Updated 1/26/99 17:30 CST--

         

This is, as it's described above, not a true "tutorial," but rather a supplemental reference based on the most Frequently Asked Questions I've received on the subject of demo editing since Zarathustra Studios opened it's doors on the web.  I'm hoping this will serve to fill in the gaps for you regarding some simpler answers that don't necessarily warrant their own tutorials.  It's probably a good idea to check here before you email me with a question, since before long I will simply start referring you here if your topic has been covered.  If you have a question that is not covered here, you have a few options:  1)  Check the Q2 Demos Mailing List FAQ here.   2)   Check the Keygrip2 FAQ by either looking at the Keygrip2 help file (more thorough) or viewing it online here.   3)   Send me an email.   This tutorial will be updated every so often, to accommodate new questions and answers.


Q:   When I try to open the Demo Server and Preview window, I get an error:   "Server returned version 33, not 34."  What's the deal?

A:  Beginning with Quake2 version 3.19, there was a slight modification to the game code that changed the server version number to 34.  Since the change did not otherwise make Keygrip2 incompatible with Quake2, there was not a need for a KG2 code update at that time.  In short, simply open the Demo Information window whenever you first open a demo in Keygrip2, and change the Server Version from 33 to 34.   Then you will be able to operate the Demo Server effectively.

Q:   How do I change a demo from first person view to chasecam view with Keygrip2?

A:  The bad news is there is no direct way to perform this operation, unless, of course, the original demo was recorded from a chasecam perspective.  The good news is... the camera movement features available in Keygrip2 are vastly superior to most any chasecam.  A chasecam will often clip through walls and ceilings of the map, and is overall jerky and sloppy;  whereas, with Keygrip2, if you take the time to master simply the Dolly(Fade) position transition coupled with the As Entity angle transition, you could simulate a chasecam by setting your camera waypoints accordingly.  The result would be cleaner and more enjoyable to watch than any chasecam demo.

Q:   When I'm viewing my demo in the 3D Preview window, why does stuff keep disappearing?

A:   When a demo is playing in regular Quake2, the file is in it's compressed (delta'd) format.  However, when Keygrip2 opens a demo, it opens into an uncompressed format, which makes for much quicker file and clipboard operations.  When the 3D Preview plays back a demo uncompressed, there are sometimes going to be blocks that are too big in their uncompressed form for Quake2 to display correctly.  These entities are *probably* still in the demo, they are just getting "truncated" because the demo is not compressed.  To check this, you can check the "Use Delta Compression" box on the Demo Server window and the problem will be fixed.  Note, however, that Delta Compression is turned off whenever the demo is paused.  Additionally, Delta Compression will not perform well when you use the random access features of the demo server (i.e. block-at-a-time or using the slider to skip through the demo), so it's best to keep this feature turned off for most purposes.

Q:   How can I convert a Quake2 Demo (.dm2) into an .avi movie file?

A:  There is currently no way to directly convert these file types.  There are a couple possible methods, neither of which is an easy task (compared to demo editing).  These methods are covered in the Keygrip2 Help file, under Frequently Asked Questions.  Please note that these methods are not "supported" methods by id Software, the Keygrip2 author, or Zarathustra Studios.  However, the Fragparty Movie is proof that it can be done.

Q:   Can I change which keys control the Demo Server controls from within the Preview Window?

A:   There should be a kg2demo.cfg file that came with Keygrip2.  In order for this file to be executed, it must be in the baseq2 directory, and KG2 must be installed exactly as in the readme file.  You could edit this file to change the key bindings.

Q:   Help!  My mouse gets stuck in the 3D Preview window!  How can I get it back to the desktop to access other things?

A:  The best way to get your mouse out of the Quake2 window in the 3D Preview is to either Alt-Tab back to Keygrip2, or just open the console and your mouse cursor will be back on the desktop.

Q:   What's the deal with this .kg2 file format?  Is it important?

A:  Very important.  Keygrip2 deals with demos in their uncompressed form, and can save as either a compressed file (.dm2) or an uncompressed file (.kg2).  When saving to .dm2, there are sometimes blocks that are too large and are truncated on the save, resulting in missing entities from your demo.  As a result, it is highly recommended that you wait until you are completely finished with your recam before you save the file as a .dm2.  Until you are finished, you should always save files as .kg2, especially if you are working with a serverrecord demo.

Q:  Where are the models and skins for players defined?   I can't find them in the model list.

A:  Models and skins are defined for each player in the Demo Information window, in the list of configstrings down the left hand pane.  A tutorial on how to change these through the course of a demo is on the way shortly.

Q:  The Spline transition isn't doing what I expect it to do.   What's the trick to it?

A:  The key to understanding the Spline transition is as follows:  a Spline transition will move from it's own position to the next camera position, passing through the midpoint coordinates you define exactly halfway through the time between the two camera positions.  However, your angle transition will not go into effect at all until that midpoint is reached... until that point, the angle will stay at the one defined in the camera position where the Spline occurs.  So, for example, if you have the following:

CAM POSITION at block 100, Position: (A), Angle: (B)  -  Spline position transition, Pan(Fade) angle transition  - with a midpoint of (C)

CAM POSITION at block 150, Position: (D), Angle: (E)

Then the camera position will move from A to C (at around block 125) and then to D.   The angle will stay at B until midpoint C is reached, at which time it will proceed panning toward E.

Q:  I want to merge material from two different demos, on two different maps.  How can I do that?

A:  This cannot be done, as Quake2 does not support multi-map demo playback.  However, you can append one demo to be automatically launched from another by inserting a Stufftext message into the last block of the first demo, with the text:

demomap NEXT_DEMO_NAME.dm2 \n          

(with a space after the last character - very important!)

Q:  I've got a demo that spans more than one map.  How can I get Keygrip2 to open it without cutting off the second half?

A:  There is no way to get Keygrip2 to work with a multi-map demo.   However, you can at least configure one to play back in Quake2 by using Uwe Girlich's LMPC program, in combination with the MULDER Perl script.  I know this works, but I've never done it personally, and I do not give support on these procedures, as I'm no Perl guru.

Q:  How can I remove chat text from my demo?

A:  The easiest way to take care of this is to remove ALL top-line printed messages (incl. death messages).  Do this by Find - MessageType: Print - Delete -- All to confirm.  If you only want to remove chatter, you'll need to say Yes or No to each individual print message as to whether kg2 should delete it.