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Guide to streaming HAWKEN (with pictures)


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#1 Rei

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Posted January 26 2013 - 05:37 PM

edit: Updated 3/1/2013 for multiple scenes section as well as a little touching up.

I see there are very few people streaming HAWKEN. Streaming and getting footage of the game out there is one great way of getting new players and helping the community. I've had several people join Hawken just because they watched my stream, and it's one of those good feelings you get when you know you've helped out. I've seen people try to stream or say they don't know how to, so let me give you some tips and pointers. I've been streaming with different software for years (since around 2007-2008) first on console games, more recently in the last 2 years with PC games.

Computer specs
Before you start streaming, know your computer. The most common hardware bottleneck when you're streaming is your CPU/Processor, the most common bottleneck of all is your internet upload speed. I can't stress enough on how important your CPU is. It encodes all of your video, and if that gets slowed down, you're going to drop frames and your in-game play will also be slowed down. A decent i5 or i7 should handle things great. That being said, let me give you guys my current PC specs.

Processor: i7 920 (overclocked to 3.5GHz)
Graphics card: GTX 570
RAM: 12 GB DDR3 1600
Connection: Verizon fios 25down/25up a speedtest.net test gave me this result.
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The i7 920 is a beast for when it came out, does everything perfectly and overclocks painlessly. I love this thing to death and I'm going to be sad when I need to upgrade it if I ever want to stream 1080p. Just mind you, the GTX 570 doesn't really do much of anything for streaming. It's primarily for the game. 12 GB of ram is way more than enough. I was just getting close to capping on my 6 GB when I had that before, so I upgraded.

Software
I use OBS (Open Broadcaster Software). This isn't the only option, but I highly recommend it as I'm going to be covering how to use it in this post.

Here is a list of different streaming software you can use with the links to download them.

OBS - It's free, comes with game capture by default, uses very little resources for what it does, and is extremely easy to set up. In beta, but the developers knows exactly what the people want and they do it perfectly. It's missing a few features, but give it time.
XSplit - extremely popular, but can be a resource hog. Costs money if you want to get game capture, otherwise you'll have to capture windowed mode. If your computer can handle this program, it has the most features out of any of the software. There are a lot of cool addons you can use with xsplit as well, such as stardock or Panel Writer to keep live scores of a match as an overlay.
FFSplit - Another free streaming application. I've gotten better resource management with this program than xSplit too, but last time I used it, it didn't have as many features. Still a great program.
Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder - This is one of the first programs to ever be used for livestreaming. It works pretty decently, doesn't have many features, but has had it's share of issues over the years. I wouldn't recommend this because we now have better programs out there. It always has a place in my heart just because of how long I had to use it before xSplit came out (didn't want to pay for the resource hog known as wirecast)

Using OBS
As of 0.471 beta, you can start using the 64-bit version of OBS to capture 32-bit game sources. So you should use whichever executable for your operating system now. Everything is pretty self explanatory, but I will still have this here in case people still need help.

This is your main screen.
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Learn to love it and how to get around it. It's very easy. You have your standard options to change your volume on the right to what you find desirable. I personally have my computer sounds lowered so people can hear me talking over the game audio. You can click the images to mute/unmute your microphone or system sounds (like game audio).

We're first going to head to settings before everything else.

Settings

General window
Not much here. Choose your Language and you can make multiple setting profiles. Shouldn't need to explain this.

Encoding
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These are my encoding settings. I'm on fios so I can be pretty liberal with my settings. I use Quality Balance 10 and 1500 kb/s bitrate because I know my computer can comfortably handle it. My best advice for finding out what bitrate is good for you is by using a good old guess and check. I'm sure mine can go 2000+ easily, but I find that I won't get as much quality for how much of my connection I'm using. Also so I don't lag in-game. Audio encoding should be AAC and I just like using 192 bitrate, I would say at least use 160 at the least.

Broadcast Settings
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My broadcast settings. I use twitch and chose the nearest server to me (in this case ashburn, va) and you do need to get your stream key. To get your stream key from twitch, go to http://www.twitch.tv/broadcast and click "Show Key" then you copy and paste that into the field. You can set a stream delay, you can save your broadcasts to a file at the same time while streaming. I also love having the stream start and stop hotkeys. Very useful to have if I need to do a quick stream restart.

Video
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I recommend streaming at 1280x720. You don't really need to go any higher than that unless you have the power to go 1920x1080. More power to you if you can, but has very heavy requirements. You can run whatever frame rate you like. I personally use 30. It's just an old standard I've used, but I can handle 60 fps with my i7 920 and connection. 30 is just my safe setting, and you shouldn't go any lower than that. Disabling Aero will increase your performance, so I do suggest you leave that checked.

Audio
Choose your microphone, you can set it to push-to-talk, set mic/desktop mute toggling keys, etc. Very easy to understand, doesn't need a picture.

Advanced
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There are two main parts to this screen. Multithreaded Optimizations, and x264 video preset. I haven't played that much with the optimizations, but it's working fine for me at Above normal so as my favorite motto goes. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

the video preset is another monster. This is where you can really test your CPU's power. The presets are for how fast your processor will encode each and every frame. The slower, the better quality you have. But if your cpu can't keep up, it will drop frames which makes your stream less enjoyable to watch. I use veryfast currently, but I'm going to be doing some tests soon to see what I can get. This is actually what can increase your quality the most with a low bitrate. Getting good quality is a combination of your preset and your bitrate so keep that in mind.

Yay, we're done with settings!

Editing your Scenes

Scenes
You have you area for scenes. Right click in the window to add more, rename, set hotkeys to switch, etc. If you want to edit a scene, you need to hit "Preview Stream" first. While you hit edit scene, you can drag the corners of your windows to resize them, or hold shift to resize without keeping aspect ratio. Very nifty and easy to use. You can drag your scenes above and below each other if you want a certain order.

Sources
Here are your sources. This is everything that will show up in your scene. You can drag them to reorder them, keep in mind that bottom sources appear above top sources. keep in mind that top sources appear above bottom sources. (changed in .47)

Here is where you add Hawken to your stream window. right click in sources to get this screen.

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Now hit "Add Game Capture" You should see this window.

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Make sure Hawken is already open and choose it from the list (Again, you won't see this if you try to use the x64 exe file). Hit OK and you should see exactly what I posted as the main screen. You won't see any images yet, because you need to hit preview stream to see anything.

Other sources you can use are self-explanatory.
Software Capture - Captures individual windows such as browser windows or pop-out chats.
Image - Puts a static image onto your scene.
Image Slide Show - You can choose multiple images to swap between every x seconds.
Text -Put some text on the screen. You can choose font, color, size, the source of your text (a file or just whatever you write). You can obviously do some cool things with this like have it use a winamp "currently playing" output file to show your stream what song is currently playing without having to change it yourself. You can still resize and move your text via Edit Scene.
Video Capture Device - This is if you have a device specially for capturing video such as a blackmagic, hd PVR, colossus, Avermedia devices, dazzle, ezcap, etc... This will get a direct feed from those devices. Note: devices being used will not always be perfectly supported by OBS. I'm pretty sure Avermedia capture cards are the gold standard currently. They seem like an extremely solid option if you want to stream from a separate computer and use this instead of Game Capture to stream. This is also used for your webcam

Here is an image showing the preview stream with two sources.
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Multiple Scenes
You can create multiple scenes as I have in my stream now. If you want to have multiple different screens with different captures or layouts you can, and also switch between them effortlessly.

The easiest way to switch between your scenes is with a hotkey. Right-click the scene you want to set a hotkey for.

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And now I like to use the number pad for mine. Makes it very easy to remember which is what on the list and I don't hit those buttons while in-game anyway so it's a very convenient switching button.

If you also notice, I have my webcam UNDER my CockpitAd image. This is to stop an annoying alt-tab that would occur every time I switched scenes from non-webcam to a webcam scene because of the logitech software popping up every time :(.

Starting your stream

When you're ready to stream hit your start stream shortcut or just click start streaming and you're good to go! Have fun streaming! Switch between scenes if you want, it shouldn't alt-tab your game unless you have 3rd party software being activated (such as webcams)

Post any critique or questions you might have.

Edited by Rei, March 01 2013 - 07:26 PM.

!HAMMERTIME
~「TWITTER」~「STREAM」~「STREAMING GUIDE」~ Sharpshooter is fair and balanced
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#2 RedVan

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Posted January 26 2013 - 07:28 PM

Rock on!  Thanks for posting this :)

#3 Gookywun

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Posted January 26 2013 - 07:31 PM

We need to make a post to get more people WATCHING these streams. Most Hawken casters barely break 10 viewers.

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#4 tman7919

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Posted January 26 2013 - 07:34 PM

I have 4mbs upload. Man no wonder it takes 7-8 hours to upload a youtube video.
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#5 NYPD54

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Posted January 26 2013 - 07:58 PM

Your internet speeds make me jelly

#6 draco7891

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Posted January 26 2013 - 08:03 PM

This is a great guide, thanks for posting it.

Just a quick comment on the x264 settings, based on my own experimentation with recording. Basically, the preset changes how much processing goes into each frame; setting it to faster settings decreases the amount of processing, which increases the filesize (but also decreases the performance hit) for a given quality setting. Because OBS seems to be using CBR encoding (constant bitrate), for any given set bitrate, setting a faster preset would decrease the visual quality of the stream.

If you have a large upload speed but a not-so-hot computer, setting a faster preset and increasing the bitrate to compensate would maintain visual fidelity while not taxing your system as much. Both settings really need to be adjusted together depending on a particular setup. For example with my system, I'm using the ultrafast preset (with CRF encoding set to 23.7) for recording 720p @ 30fps while maintaining an ingame 1920x1200 @ 60FPS. That generates files on the order of 1.8MB/s (to stream that would need a bitrate around 1850kb/s). Think of the preset like a very large adjustment to get the ingame performance you want, and the bitrate like a finer adjustment to get the visual quality you need.

Draco

Edited by draco7891, January 26 2013 - 08:05 PM.


#7 RedVan

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Posted January 26 2013 - 08:09 PM

Hawken Stream Compilation

#8 h0B0

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Posted January 26 2013 - 08:11 PM

if only i had uploadspeed higher than 0.5

Click me! I dare you.

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View Post[HWK]HUGHES, on March 15 2013 - 08:35 PM, said:

Oh don't always listen to h0B0. Lol.


#9 Rei

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Posted January 26 2013 - 08:42 PM

View PostGookywun, on January 26 2013 - 07:31 PM, said:

We need to make a post to get more people WATCHING these streams. Most Hawken casters barely break 10 viewers.
Agreed, I hope Meteor can put a stream page up or something where it features top streamers for the game.

View PostNYPD54, on January 26 2013 - 07:58 PM, said:

Your internet speeds make me jelly
Verizon Fios <3. Done with comcast cable forever

View Postdraco7891, on January 26 2013 - 08:03 PM, said:

This is a great guide, thanks for posting it.

Just a quick comment on the x264 settings, based on my own experimentation with recording. Basically, the preset changes how much processing goes into each frame; setting it to faster settings decreases the amount of processing, which increases the filesize (but also decreases the performance hit) for a given quality setting. Because OBS seems to be using CBR encoding (constant bitrate), for any given set bitrate, setting a faster preset would decrease the visual quality of the stream.

If you have a large upload speed but a not-so-hot computer, setting a faster preset and increasing the bitrate to compensate would maintain visual fidelity while not taxing your system as much. Both settings really need to be adjusted together depending on a particular setup. For example with my system, I'm using the ultrafast preset (with CRF encoding set to 23.7) for recording 720p @ 30fps while maintaining an ingame 1920x1200 @ 60FPS. That generates files on the order of 1.8MB/s (to stream that would need a bitrate around 1850kb/s). Think of the preset like a very large adjustment to get the ingame performance you want, and the bitrate like a finer adjustment to get the visual quality you need.

Draco
You're welcome and yes, this is a great point. You definitely want to balance your preset and bitrate. It is a must for good stream quality. However, CBR is unchecked by default in the Advanced tab of the settings so it's actually not using constant to begin with. While you're streaming it shows dropped frames and your current bitrate.

View Posth0B0, on January 26 2013 - 08:11 PM, said:

if only i had uploadspeed higher than 0.5
Good. Stay sad!
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~「TWITTER」~「STREAM」~「STREAMING GUIDE」~ Sharpshooter is fair and balanced
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#10 FenixStryk

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Posted January 26 2013 - 09:40 PM

View PostRei, on January 26 2013 - 08:42 PM, said:

View Posth0B0, on January 26 2013 - 08:11 PM, said:

if only i had uploadspeed higher than 0.5
Good. Stay sad!
As someone that had a 400kbps Upload speed until just this afternoon, this one hurt. A lot.

h0B0, if you're feeling desperate you can stream at 16 FPS, 160p w/ 48kb mono audio, compensating as much as possible with a more thorough preset video encoding. Allocate 200~350 kbps to it (just enough so that you don't lag) and maybe someone as desperate as you will watch your stream.


I may start streaming more often now that my upload bottleneck is completely gone. I can support Hawken on Low at 1280x720, 30FPS, 192kb audio, BUT that puts my PC at a pretty static 96~100% CPU usage. Since I'd rather not tax it, I lowered it to 480p and left it at that -- but I'd like to get rid of some of the artifacts too... I wonder what the most efficient way to go about it is? Increasing the resolution to something in between 480p and 720p, or using a more CPU-intensive video encode preset?

Thanks again for the guide. It had one or two things that I missed.

Edited by FenixStryk, January 26 2013 - 09:40 PM.

It was fun while it lasted.


#11 Rei

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Posted January 27 2013 - 03:27 AM

I think I'm going to start making a layout to go with my stream. I did it for Tribes and PSO2.

Yeah Fenix, getting rid of artifacts is really a good combination of your preset (since that's your encoder) and your bitrate. I tend to max out around 2600 bitrate. I would say try to see how high your bitrate can go with a veryfast or ultrafast preset. And then with around a 500-700 bitrate see how high you can get the preset can go. See which gives you better results and go from there to guess and check for better picture.
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~「TWITTER」~「STREAM」~「STREAMING GUIDE」~ Sharpshooter is fair and balanced
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#12 Restowned

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Posted January 27 2013 - 10:49 AM

Thx for this guide!



#13 Rekkr

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Posted January 27 2013 - 12:08 PM

I stream occasionally, and I just set up a youtube account where I can mirror my stream.

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That's what I have for internet; my upload speed is teh suck.

As for my computer...
Intel Core i5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHZ
8GM RAM
AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series

Not terrible, but then again, when I was putting this together I did so with only $1000 right after Taiwan got hit by that fuzzy bunny storm and drove component prices through the roof so I ended up buying cheaper equipment T_T

I've been using FFSplit, with my bitrate set to 2000 @ 720p resolution.  I don't generally experience much lag, but I'm thinking of dropping my bitrate down a bit to see if that help any.

#14 Umbre

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Posted January 27 2013 - 05:20 PM

I can't get this program to work. No matter what settings I use, the stream always just shows up as blackness.

#15 ArnieF4440

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Posted January 27 2013 - 05:44 PM

Nice thread mate, I'm like h0b0 though, 0.5mbps upload, so no streaming for me XD

Hope you don't mind me posting this, but as a flipside to streaming, I've got a guide on Recording and Compressing:
http://community.pla...and-virtualdub/
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#16 R33F3R

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Posted January 27 2013 - 05:54 PM

As long as your internet connection doesnt drop frames you are fine streaming at 24+ fps, sometimes the performance you need to gain will come from lowering your fps.

PS - The human eye can only see at 24 fps.
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#17 U8er

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Posted January 27 2013 - 06:33 PM

Thanks for taking the time to write this up. Just started a regular stream the other day myself, looking to change from Xsplit to OBS after reading this guide.
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#18 Rei

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Posted January 28 2013 - 03:45 AM

View PostRestowned, on January 27 2013 - 10:49 AM, said:

Thx for this guide!
You're welcome!

View PostUmbre, on January 27 2013 - 05:20 PM, said:

I can't get this program to work. No matter what settings I use, the stream always just shows up as blackness.
Did you hit preview stream? Otherwise it will just show up as black. Also make sure you tab into your game after you hit preview stream or start stream if you want to see your game. You won't see any picture unless you tab after hitting start stream or preview stream.

View PostR33F3R, on January 27 2013 - 05:54 PM, said:

As long as your internet connection doesnt drop frames you are fine streaming at 24+ fps, sometimes the performance you need to gain will come from lowering your fps.

PS - The human eye can only see at 24 fps.
False. 24 FPS is just what movies are at. You can see far more than that. Don't tell me that a 24 fps video looks the same as a 60 fps video, because anyone can easily tell the difference. You can easily tell when a game isn't running at 60. Hell, I can tell a difference between 60 and 120 from when I played some counterstrike. Things in motion look a ton better with 120. 24 is fine for streaming though, not the smoothest, but people can definitely tell what you're doing.

View PostU8er, on January 27 2013 - 06:33 PM, said:

Thanks for taking the time to write this up. Just started a regular stream the other day myself, looking to change from Xsplit to OBS after reading this guide.
No problem! I hope you enjoy OBS.
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#19 bacon_avenger

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Posted January 28 2013 - 08:27 PM

Another option, if one has the software, is DXTory.  It can capture and save to disk as well as export it as a video source that OBS and xsplit can use.  Granted, it takes a bit more resources than OBS alone, but if someone has problems with OBS alone, it's a viable option

(I don't mean to necro threads, I'm just almost always running behind.  My apologies)

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#20 InfestedFirman

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Posted January 28 2013 - 09:57 PM

Added to the Master Guidelist, thank you for your contribution.

New to Hawken? Check this Master Guidelist out!

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