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F.A.Q.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please note that I'm not responsible if your computer gets screwed up from any tips that I give or emulators/programs your willing to try. Also I use WINDOWS XP so you'll have to do your own research to see if this stuff will work on your current OS.
1) What's with your username?
2) Can you help me with a game?
3) What's your take on requests?
4) Can you send me ROMs or tell me where to get them?
5) What emulators do you use?
6) How do you record Playstation 1, 2 and other non-emulated console footage?
7) How do you record PC games, Kega Fusion and Project64 game footage?
8) How do you record footage using Nestopia, Snes9x and VisualBoy Advanced?
9) What programs do you use to edit your videos?
10) I'm having problems with the emulators/hardware/software, can you help me?
11) What songs do you use in your Intros?
12) Why don't you do game reviews more often?
13) How can I contact you?
14) What's your PC specs?
15) Do you have a blog?
1) Q: What's with your username?
A: Years ago when I first started playing Counter-Strike, I couldn't think of an alias to use. A friend of mine told me about a Metal Gear Solid name generator website and that's where I got my username from. Apparently some other people had the same result and liked that username too so I'm not the only Artificialraven out there. Just remember me as the gaming one I guess.
2) Q: Can you help me with a game?
A: Sure.
3) Q: What's your take on requests?
A: First off, before you request anything, search through my videos to see if I've already made a video of the game you wanted to see. If you go to my channel and look at where my videos are on the page, there's a handy little search bar you can use to find any game that's in my archives. If you do need to make a request, the easiest and most common ones for me to do are the opening, introduction and ending videos. I may also do videos of specific scenes, boss battles, stuff about game secrets etc. but since those can be more difficult and more time consuming, I'll only do those if I feel up to it. I will not do walkthrough or playthrough requests, games that are in a different language other than English and obviously games I don't have so keep in mind that I make no guarantees about doing your request but it's still worth asking. I can most commonly do requests for the following systems: NES, SNES, any Gameboy system, and most Sega systems except Saturn and Dreamcast. Although I do have other systems, I'm limited in what games I can play on them so that's why I'm excluding every other system except the ones above. To make a request, log into your Youtube account, go to my channel and send me a message about what game and the details of your request.
4) Q: Can you send me ROMs or tell me where to get them?
A: No.
5) Q: What emulators do you use?
A:Although ROMs are illegal, emulators are not so I can give links to emulators.
NES = Nestopia | SNES = Snes9x | N64 = Project64 | Gameboy/Color/Advanced = VisualBoy Advance (VBA) | Sega Master System, Genesis, GameGear, Sega CD = Fusion. These might be outdated versions so search for the newest ones using whatever search engine you use.
6) Q: How do you record Playstation 1, 2 and other non-emulated console footage?
A: I use an external capture device called Dazzle DVD Recorder. For information on how to use it I suggest watching this tutorial, I went with the low cost option as described in said tutorial. Note that the version of Pinnacle software that comes with this version of Dazzle DOES NOT let you use DivX format unless you pay extra to activate that feature. I didn't pay so I don't use it. I use the best DV AVI quality settings. Keep in mind there may be better ways to record higher quality footage than what I use however I don't know much about other products.
7) Q: How do you record PC games, Kega Fusion and Project64 game footage?
A: There are no emulators for Sega Master System, Genesis/32X, GameGear or CD that support AVI recording (as far as I know) and Project64 may support AVI recording (I think it does but I can't get it to work) so I use a program called FRAPS. I also use FRAPS for recording PC games as well. Keep in mind with FRAPS you need a decently fast computer or else your videos will be choppy. You may also need to register FRAPS to enable some of the better features and that will cost you some money. For games that can't be recorded with FRAPS, such as Flash games and the like, I use Camtasia. Registering Camtasia will also cost money as well so research both programs beforehand to see if they're right for you. After all, it doesn't make much sense to buy a program that you can't use so it's good to use up their trial periods before deciding.
8) Q: How do you record footage using Nestopia, Snes9x and VisualBoy Advanced?
A: Each emulator has it's own built in AVI recording tool. Note that VBA has sound sync issues for recordings. I encode my videos into XviD MPEG-4 AVI format and if you need the XviD codec, download theXviD Codec. For more information about installation and use, read the documentation on the XviD website. I use XviD's default settings.
9) Q: What programs do you use to edit your videos?
A: I use Windows Movie Maker 2 (WMM2) because I find it to be very user friendly and reliable (thats just my opinion, I know people who've bitched about it alot). When saving a video, A good compression rate is NTSC 2.1 Mbps. With that compression rate, my videos show up in High Quality. For some custom pictures and what not I may use a combination of Photoshop CS2 and GIF Construction Set. Finished GIFs and various picture formats can be imported for use in WMM2. For my PS1 & 2 Videos I record with the software that came with Dazzle DVD Recorder, Pinnacle Studio 10, and I import the uncompressed recorded footage into WMM2 and edit/finish it in there. That's the best way I can explain it even though it might be too technical for some people. If you're confused, there are plenty of online tutorials that can be found through Google search.
10) Q: I'm having problems with the emulators/hardware/software, can you help me?
A: In an indirect way, yes. Try reading the documentation that came with whatever your using and see if you can figure it out from there. If that doesn't work try looking at it's main website and/or forums of that site. If that fails, try searching google and hopefully you'll stumble across an alternative. The worst case scenario would be there are compatibility issues with your computer's hardware or software but I'm not qualified enough to troubleshoot such specific issues.
11) Q: What songs do you use in your Intros?
A: For my Multi-Purpose Intro I use a remixed version of the classic Super Mario RPG song called "Beware the Forests Mushrooms". A.K.A. Forest Maze or Geno's Maze. For my Endings Intro I use a remixed song from Chrono Trigger called Corridors of Time. This song was to be used in the now halted Chrono Resurrection Project. If you want the song you can download it here.
12) Q: Why don't you do game reviews more often?
A: Well...to say it lightly, I suck at doing reviews, It's not my specialty. I'll leave it to those who are good at it like the AVGN, spoonyone, ashens, urinatingtree and alot of others who I forgot to mention.
13) Q: How can I contact you?
A: You can PM me on my youtube account or drop me an e-mail/IM at artificialraven@live.com
14) Q: What's your PC specs?
A:
Manufacturer:
Compaq Presario 061
Processor:
Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 2.80GHz
Memory:
760MB RAM
Hard Drive:
80 GB Total
Video Card:
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200
Monitor:
Gateway 2000 VX900 19'' CRT
Sound Card:
Realtek AC97 Audio
Speakers/Headphones:
Altec Lansing 2channel Stereo Sound System with 100-watt Subwoofer. eDimensional Audio FX 3.5mm/ USB Connector Circumaural Force Feedback Gaming Headset
Keyboard:
Logitech Keyboard and a Nyko Air Flo EX USB Controller for gaming
Mouse:
Logitech G5 2-Tone 6 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Laser Mouse
Mouse Surface:
Pad
Operating System:
Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2
15) Q: Do you have a blog?
A: Sorry but no I don't. Managing daily life, this website and my youtube channel take up a good portion of my time as it is. Once in a while on my youtube channel in the comments section I'll talk about what I have planned next or reply to your comments if you have specific questions or requests.
FAQs will be added/edited at any given time.
