Xuul

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Blog Entries posted by Xuul

  1. Xuul
    Hi all,
     
    Quick announcement in regards to my streaming and such.
     
    I've created a public discord server (HERE) to use in order to collect and share links and chat in our live-streams.
     
    Since the channel stays up even when I am not streaming it will also allow anyone to post links ahead of time, get help with mods, and just hang out and play games.
     
    I don't plan to JUST use this for the live-steams. I want it to be a place I can hangout and help viewers, and where all of my wonderful internet friends can sit around and talk to eachother.
     
    I plan to do a video on how to set things up if you are unaware, but I would really like it if people came on board to join me. I am currently in need of at least one person to have the moderator badge since I anticipate a few trolls appearing after the announcement video.
     
    You can download discord HERE or just open it up in any web browser once you make an account.
     
     
     
    What is Discord?
    Discord is a free voice and text chat app designed specifically for gaming.
    It features:
    Both voice chat and text channels
    Availability on Windows, Mac, Android, & iOS.
    EASY setup
  2. Xuul

    Moving Blog

    By Xuul,

    Hello everyone,
     
    Time for a non Star Wars related update. I bought a house!
     
    Actually, it is more accurate to say that my girlfriend and I bought a house. It has been a long process that has been eating a lot of my free time. After months of stress the time is now upon us.
     
    We move right at the start of May, so I will probably be a bit inactive for a bit. I have to get internet again and find a time and place to set up all my computer stuff
     
    It's a pretty big deal for us, and there isn't much more to say about it right now. I'll probably post a quick video explaining things to the channel at a later date.
  3. Xuul

    Playing SWTOR

    By Xuul,

    I get asked about it a lot. The Old Republic
     
    What do you think of SWTOR? Is it worth playing? Have you played it in the past?
     
    I played it at launch and enjoyed the class stories. After hitting level cap I grew bored quickly with the endgames and had no interest in repeating planets with new characters.
     
    My friends stopped playing and I let my subscription lapse.
     
    Since that point I have tried the game out a few times. Often a friend would be playing and I would join for a few days.
    When the first expansion was released I played for a week then gave up.
     
    Overall, I just did not really enjoy the game.
     
    It isn't that I don't like MMO's I have an ungodly amount of hours played in WoW. It was just that I found the game dry and the only two things I liked about the game, the story and socializing with my friends, had run dry.
     
    Despite this I would say that I get at least 3-5 requests a month to cover this game in some form.
     
    I have said I would get to it eventually and even posted on here a few times, but things never took off...
     

    Until recently...
     
    My friend Shoelace has always liked playing Swtor more than I have. He agreed to play through some of the game so he could "review" it for the channel officially so that I wouldn't have to.
     
    This lead to
    A weird role playing let's play that is equal parts silliness and time wasting. This group of videos started off very rough, since Shoe did not even know how to properly record or edit. The first few videos were not good. Poor quality, incorrect frame rate and audio issues were frequent and the host was not very accustomed to speaking for such a long point of time. 
    Over time the quality has gone up and the videos have been fairly enjoyable to watch. For the fifth episode Shoelace thought it would be fun to run through the very first flashpoint in a rather "unique" way. In order for the story to work he need an accomplice (me).
     
    So I dusted off the old republic and leveled a sith warrior past the starting zone for my cameo. After that I didn't play again for a long time. I came back on another character temporarily for episode 10 as well but it wasn't anything worth talking about. For some reason I also agreed to feature in the 15th episode (chapter 2 episode 5).
     
    I watch all of these videos before I upload them just to make sure it isnt damaging to my brand. The chapter 2 videos made the game look fun again to me.
     
    A few days ago I realised I only had about a week to finish Kaas and Belmorra. So one night I loaded up the game, some music and just went down to bussiness.
     
    After getting to where I needed to be (thanks to the fact that I can skip part of the boring planet missions) I was still hungry for more.
     
    So I leveled another character.
     
    Then the next night I loaded up my old main and blasted though the rest of the Hutt Cartel story.
     
    And then I just kept playing.
     
    Currently I have been really enjoying Swtor again and I plan to check out what the most recent expansion has in store soon.
     
    What was the point of all this?
     
    The point of this blog is just to say that I'm playing Swtor again and if anyone wants to hang out and play for a bit you can message me in game.
     
    I am playing on the Jedi Covenant Server with MOSTLY imperial characters.
     
    You can add me as a friend and message me if you would like on the following characters:
     
    Tor'Nar (level 55 Imperial Operative)
    Vol'Shen (level 22 Sith Warrior)
     
    You can also message Shoelace (who is only on to record videos and prepare for them):
     
    Quancatt (level 22 Imperial Operative)
     

    I also plan to do a video or two on Swtor as a whole. But I will save that for another day.
     
    Until then...
     
    Have an excellent day
  4. Xuul
    Some of you may be aware that I have started Live streaming. Thank you to those who have already been
     
    For now it is just happening on my Youtube channel, but I do want to move over to Twitch at some point: Twitch.tv/MrXuul
     
    The basic premise of these streams are threefold:
     
    1) To test mods for upcoming videos. This way I can get feedback, suggestions and just have some people to talk to while I go around looking at mods. Last week I covered at least 3 mods that are going to eventually be featured as showcases. This isn't just going to be a Kotor thing, but for the most part it will be.
     
    2) To help people having issues with their mods.
    Everyday I see at least a dozen people asking for help with installing a mod or fixing one of the numerous things that can go wrong when messing around with a PC. during the streams I can give near instant feedback, and walk people through things until they understand. These "Mod Shop" sessions can help people in a way text and even recorded videos never have. Perhaps they just don't understand something really basic that no one mentioned. By watching me install the mod live and letting them ask questions I hope to make a format that will be both entertaining and informative.
     
    3) To play some games.
    I rarely if ever get to actually PLAY a game nowadays. While my plan is to play Kotor (to build saves for my recorded let's play series) and to play SWTOR (for the same reason. I do plan to play some games just for fun. Sometime people might want to hang out and talk and such so why not stream it. Streaming games like Kotor and TSL will also let me test more long term mods (K1R and such) . They are hard beasts to cover since they would take weeks to cover normally and make no output for the channel.
     
    Still with me? Interested in stopping by? Well you are in luck. For the first time only I am actually planning ahead for once.
     
    On Friday Febuary 5th 7:00 PM MST (Saturday, February 6, 2016 at 2:00 AM UTC)
     
    I will be hosting a Kotor Mod testing/ Mod Shop session for a few hours.
     
    Obviously it is a bit late for some people but it is the only time that I have that works. If it works out well it might become a regular thing. (maybe at a different time). Everything about this is still in the beta stage right now so expect some issues.
     
    This post is mostly just a PSA, but if you have feedback and such let me know.
  5. Xuul

    Video Making Information 1

    By Xuul,

    Xuul's Video Making Suggestions
     
    Part 1 Recording
     
    Hello everyone and welcome to another blog post.
    This post was inspired bu SithHolocron's blog post HERE. Originally I tried to write a lot more, but that didn't work out. I will eventually get around to reworking and posting the rest.
     
    This write-up is intended to go alongside a few videos I intend to make on this topic. The first (hastily put together) video is
    for your viewing pleasure. I also recorded a video of myself editing the first video if you are interested in me editing a video in real time. That meta video will be available HERE 
    Before we start I am going to preemptively answer a few questions
     
    Who are you?
    Xuul. I make Youtube videos mainly focusing on video game modding (particularly Star Wars games) and more generally on PC related topics. I love technology
     
    What makes you qualified to write this post?
    Put simply. I’m not.
    I HAVE made over 400 videos for Yotube and many other in the past as well. I have nearly 4500 subscribers and 1,000,000 views on Youtube. I’d like to think my work is high quality but it depends on the project and how much time I’ve really had.
     
    What software do you use?
    I record video using DxTory and Bandicam. I edit and record audio using Audacity. I edit my videos using Sony Movie Studio Platinum 12
     
    Can you shout out a video I made?
    No.
     
    Can I ask you for advice or help with my project?
    It never hurts to ask.
     
     
     
    Now that all that is out of the way… Let’s get started!
     
    Recording Software
    I’m going to assume if you are reading this you at least have a vague video of what you want to make into a video. If not, then go do that first. You will need at least some kind of plan on what you want to do.
    Once you have a plan you are going to need to record your raw audio. To do that we are going to need…. SOFTWARE.
    Here is a list of thing you can use to record with some Pros and Cons.
     
    Fraps: The most well-known recording software.
    Pros: Easy to set up. High quality video.
    Cons: Degrades performance in game more than alternatives. Cannot change codec. Large file sizes. Desktop recording not initiative. Only one audio source.
     
    Bandicam: Lighter weight alternative to fraps.
    Pros: Can change codec. Allows for two audio sources. Built in webcam overlay. Built in desktop recording. High quality video.
    Cons: Cost.
     
    Dxtory: Priced similarly to Fraps. This program allows for much more customization
    Pros: Can customize nearly everything. Allows for multiple audio sources. Priced the same as Fraps. Quality depends on settings/codec
    Cons: Hard to set up. Audio must be set up before each session. Cannot record Desktop easily.
     
    CamStudio: A program that can record either your entire screen or a select area of it
    Pros: Free
    Cons: 2GB file limit. Poor Quality. Very high performance impact.
     
    Nvidia Shadowplay: Built in software with Nvida’s newest GPU’s
    Pro: Free . Very low performance impact. Good Quality
    Cons: One audio source. Must have NVidia GPU
     
    Audacity: A powerful audio recorder/editor.
    Pros: Free. Allows for background noise cancellation. Very powerful.
    Cons: Cannot record video. Cannot automatically sync with recording. No hotkey support in game.
     
    These are not the only options available, just the ones I am familiar with.
     
    The Importance of Audio sources
     
    Some people may be wonder what is meant by audio sources.
     
    When recording live commentary it is important to have the System sound (AKA Game sound) and the sound from your Mic to be separate. This will allow you to balance the audio so an explosion in a game will not down out your talking or loud talking to cause the viewer to not hear the game.
     
    For software that has multiple sources simply set one source to your Mic and another to system sound. If the software only has one audio source I suggest you set it to ONLY record the game audio. Do NOT mix in the sound of your mic with the game sound. Instead use Audacity or similar program and record the Voice over separate. This is the main reason I do not use Shadowplay, since having to sync the audio in post is annoying.
     
    Codecs
     
    If the software you use supports custom codecs USE THEM. They are generally higher quality, lower performance and often smaller filesized in the end than the stock codec. In particular I suggest the Lagarith Lossless Codec. It is the best balance of quality and filesize out of anything I have found and is the only reason my hard drive are not constantly full.
     
    I plan to continue the blog in the future and talk a bit more about things like hardware, editing and possibly how to set up the software mentioned above. For now....
     
    I have been Xuul & I hope you have an excellent day.
  6. Xuul

    An Aspyring talk

    By Xuul,

    The Xuul Report: Issue #2
     
    Welcome to another entry of the Xuul Report. I will try to post more of these and become a less terrible writer. As always a
    to keep it authentic. 
    As many of your know, the Steam version of Kotor 2 has received a massive update. This came at somewhat of a surprise to many people, myself included but also raised many questions. Never being one to step back from a challenge, I set to get some answers.
     
    First I scoured the internet (Reddit, my Youtube comments, and Deadlystream) and gathered what I thought were the frequently asked questions. Then, I got in touch with one of the wonderful people over at Aspyr, the company behind the big update, and had a little chat with them. Here is a distilled version of the questions and answers from said chat.
     
    An abridged version of my conversation with Aspyr
     
    Xuul: Will there be a similar update for Kotor 1?
     
    Aspyr: We never say never, but currently an update to KOTOR 1 on desktop is not on the roadmap.
     

    Xuul: Why update Kotor 2 after all these years?
     
    Aspyr: Updating our favorite games has been a big part of our business for years. For example, we’ve made significant updates to The Sims 2: Super Collection, Command & Conquer: Generals Deluxe Edition, Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered, etc. So when we set out to finally bring KOTOR II to Mac and Linux, it made perfect sense for us to dive in and update the game for modern hardware capabilities (including Windows PCs).
     

    Xuul: Is there any way for Retail (4disk) users of Kotor 2 to use the update without having to repurchase the game on Steam?
     
    Aspyr: "We don’t have an automatic mechanism for this, but retail copy owners should contact our support team and we will do our best to take care of them. You can reach them HERE.
     

    Xuul: Will the update for Kotor 2 ever be pushed out to the Good Old Games (GoG) Version?
     
    Aspyr: We are working with our friends at GOG and Disney to hopefully make that a reality soon.
     

    Xuul: Mod Piracy is a concern to many people. What, if anything, can/could be done about this issue by either yourself or Steam/Valve?
     
    Aspyr: ... Most of that has ironed itself out, but we do plan to clean up Workshop at some point. Our stance is, only the actual Mod authors should post the mod. Of course, we can’t prevent people from posting mods, but we can pull them down if we find out they are not being posted by the correct author. I would encourage any modder who is concerned about this to contact our support team and let us know what has happened.
     
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     

    If there is anything I missed you can ask it in the comments of the blog or send me a PM(Deadlystream) or and Email(found on my Youtube channel). Do not send me an Inbox on youtube as the inbox system is terrible. I may have the answer to your question here, or I can pass the question along to my friends at Aspyr, and hope that they are not too annoyed with me by now.
     
    Thank you very much for reading, and have an excellent day.
     
    -Xuul
  7. Xuul

    On making mistakes.

    By Xuul,

    I might try to post a few of these every once and a while. I know I want to write out my thoughts on M4-78EP, SWOTOR and a few other things, but today I need to talk about
     
    The error of my ways...
     
    As always I feel the need to include some jazzy/swing style music. So
    . For something more fun that could never be in a video:  
    Everyone at one point or another makes a mistake. Be they big or small; private or public; seen or unseen; mistakes are often very embarrassing.
     
    I made a mistake on my most popular videos. This video my Skyrim Mod Showcase on
    was very popular, as was the mod, and because of this many more people watch my other videos and awesome stuff like that. 
    The mistake comes in how I pronounced certain words in the video. It was a word I knew and a word I had said right hundreds of times before, but in this particular video I was reading my notes and in them I had simply written down the "prodigy talents", only I spelled the word "progidy" in my haste to get the video out early. That lapse in attention, and the human minds ability to "autocorrect" small mistakes (the writers out there will surely understand this one) meant that in my video that 85,000 have seen I said "Prog eh dee" and not
    . 
    This little error, that I knew much better than still haunts me to this day (in the form of a Youtube comment correcting me).
     
    What's the point of all this? Two things really.
     
    1) Don't let mistakes get you down too much. Yeah it's embarrassing, and you often cannot go back and fix them, but if you learn from them they are not a total loss. That and on the grand scale of things unless you embarrassed yourself for 85000 people in a video that will be on Youtube as long as I am... Then you can at least know you are not me.
     
    2) DON'T GET DEFENSIVE. It is okay to be wrong. It sucks, I hate being wrong. But sometimes you are wrong and make mistakes. Own it, laugh about it an move on. Far too much internet drama is started by things far more mundane that my inability to speak my own native language.
     
     
    This seemed like something not worthy of a video but worth saying, so I hope you all