This guide will explain how to record your demos to video files in Team Fortress 2 with perfect quality. All you need is a few files to make the process a lot easier (movie config and hud files). All these files are included in one zip archieve.

Features (Version 1.0)

- The recording tool gives you an easy to use interface to convert your demos to many different video formats
- Videos have lossless quality when recorded from Team Fortress 2 (perfect quality)
- Improved in-game video quality, for instance high quality explosions
- The recording tool automatically moves the required files to the correct place when recording
- You also have the possibility to customize the game to your liking, for example custom skyboxes
- You can save your settings both when you are in Team Fortress or when you’re not in Team Fortress
- Multiple profiles can be created, with different settings

Screenshots & Videos

Main Menu:

• Screenshot #1
• Screenshot #2
• Screenshot #3
• Screenshot #4

Ingame:

• Screenshot #1
• Screenshot #2
• Screenshot #3
• Screenshot #4
• Screenshot #5

Videos:

• Video #1

I’ll start by saying that the footage you record in TF2 is lossless footage, which means that the file size for the videos is very large. In other words  you will not be able to play the videos that you’ve recorded, because they seem “laggy”. This is just due to the file size and your hard drive not being able to read the file at the required speed. You need to compress the video in order to watch it without the video lagging. However you should keep the lossless video codec if you are editing your movie, so that the finished version of your movie will have the best possible quality.

Quick Links:

• Installing the recording tool
• Configuring recording settings
• Recording and configuring settings ingame
• Compiling Videos and Encoding Movies
• Downloads

Installing the recording tool

Download the movie files here. Then extract the files any where you want.

This package includes all the required hud files to remove the unnecessary things from the game hud, it also contains the movie config. What is more, the package makes the recording process a lot easier.

NOTE! you don’t have to use the recording tool if you don’t want to, but it makes the recording process a lot easier not having to copy files back and forth. If you just want to use the config,  then download it here.

Configuring recording settings

Now you should have the recording tool open and it should look something like this:

To customize your settings simply create a new profile by clicking “Add” or edit an existing profile by clicking “Edit”. You have a wide variety of customizable settings from custom explosions to custom skyboxes.

When you’ve customized your settings and ready to record your demos to videos, then press “Start Team Fortress 2″

Recording and configuring settings ingame

In this step I will explain how to use the config ingame. When the game started the console should be filled with a menu. All the keys are listed on the left and their functions on the right. So I will list here what the keys do:

NOTE! Only the F-keys work when in the menu, all other keys only work in-game.

You can browse through the menu by pressing F1 (UP) and F2 (DOWN) and F3 to select/change settings. The small “>” notes, which setting you are changing. Don’t hold down F1 or F2, because this might crash the game. Just press the key and let go…

Recording Keys

F11 – this key records your demos to .avis, it also stops the recording, but you have to press F11 twice to stop recording, because for some reason it doesn’t stop recording when you press F11 the first time, I will try and fix this. Recorded files can be found in:
/Steam/steamapps/accountname/team fortress 2/tf/

F12 – this key records your demos to .tgas and .wavs. I highly recommend this instead of the previous recording method, because this one actually works. Once you have recorded your movies you need to compile them in virtual dub, which I will explain in this guide. To stop recording just press F12 again. Recorded files can be found here: /Steam/steamapps/accountname/team fortress 2/tf/

Changing FPS

F7 – With this key you can decrease the recording frame rate
F8 – This key increases the recording framerate.

Playback keys

Mousewheel – With this you can control the demo playback speed. If the console is empty after you’ve changed the playback speed, then press F4.
Enter – If the demo playback speed isn’t 100 % then this key will bring the playback speed to 100 %. If the demo playback speed is 100 % then it will pause the demo playback and once the demo is paused you can press enter which brings the demo playback speed back to 100 %.

Depth overlay

B – Enable/disable depth overlay

Depth overlay off:

Depth overlay on:

Read more about how to use depth overlay in this tutorial.

Viewmodel and Crosshair settings

, – This key decreases the viewmodel fov
. – This key increases the viewmodel fov

HOME – this key turns all models to wireframe and pressing it again will turn the models back to normal
END – this key toggles different wireframe modes

Example of model wireframe:

Example of wireframe:

INS – change the crosshair type
DEL – Change the crosshair color
PAGE UP – Change crosshair scale
PAGE DOWN – This removes everything from the hud, including the drawviewmodel (player hands).

M – This key might be useful for some movie makers. Because some players keep changing their crosshair type, color, size etc… this key locks the crosshair so that it will not change. Once the crosshair is locked you can’t edit the crosshair settings anymore, which means that you will have to restart your game again to edit these settings.

Using Thirdperson mode

SHIFT – This key turns from firstperson view to thirdperson view. You can move the camera in thirdperson view with the arrow keys and zoom in and out with Z and X. To turn back to firstperson view press shift.
C – Controls the camera speed
V – Lock the camera position. The camera will follow the player, but it won’t turn in any direction.

Example of the thirdperson view:

General Settings

F9 – Applies full graphics (the full graphics are already applied on startup so you don’t need to use this)
F5 – High Quality Screenshot (.jpeg)
F6 – High Quality Screenshot (.tga)
F – Opens demoui
G - Opens demoui2
F4 – Refreshes the movie menu.
F10 – Quits the game

Compiling videos and Encoding movies

There are two methods to encode and compile your recorded TF2 clips:

• Encoding Panel
• VirtualDub Compiler

Encoding Panel

The encoding panel lets you compile your videos to the following formats:

• h264
• Lagarith (requires mencoder)
• HuffYUV
• Uncompressed
• ffv1
• ffvHuff

When you launch the encoding panel for the first time it will ask for you to locate “ffmpeg.exe”. The encoding panel gives you the download link and explains what you need to do in three simple steps.

Once you’ve located ffmpeg.exe, you can compile/encode your videos, which you’ve recorded in TF2. Go to the “Encode tab” and check the videos you want to encode/compile and select the videos setting.

VirtualDub Compiler

The VirtualDub Compiler allows you to compile videos to multiple lossless formats:

• Lagarith
• HuffYUV
• Uncompressed

For the program to work you need to download VirtualDub, which can be downloaded from here. Then just press the “Browse” button and locate vdub.exe.

Please note that you might not have some of the lossless codecs installed on your computer (that the Encoding Panel and VirtualDub Compiler uses), this tutorial shows how you can install some of them.

Downloads

Full menu versions:
version 0.1
version 0.2
version 0.3
version 0.4
version 0.45
version 0.5
version 0.51
version 0.55
version 1.03

CFG versions:
version 0.1
version 0.2
version 0.3
version 0.4
version 0.45
version 0.5
version 0.51
version 0.55
version 1.03

Movie hud files:
moviehud

Files to disable the default sniper crosshair:
download here

Green screen map:
download here

FAQ
Q: What is the viewmodel and what is the lock viewmodel option?
A: The viewmodel is the hands of the model and the gun model. Some players keep turning their viewmodel off and it affects the demo. So if you lock the viewmodel then it won’t disappear if the player turns the viewmodel off.

Q: Why is the video that I recorded lagging/un-watchable?
A: It’s because the video is lossless. If you want to watch your video you need to compress it with a video encoding/editing program.

UPDATED: 16.08.2010