softsun2/cod4-recording

Cod4 Recording Bootstrap

A brief setup and usage guide for recording clips in Cod4.

You’re single best resource for getting help is the CODMVM discord.

Recording Demos

Demos record the state of every entity during gameplay. You can even record demos of missions. Demos are used to record arbitrary clips of gameplay.

Guide

You can use the command /sv_fps to set the demo quality, it’s recommended to use /sv_fps 1000 (I personally haven’t noticed that this has any effect). Steps 1-3 are optional, they’re suggestions I’ve read here and there without evidence. In my experience, ping has the highest impact on demo quality.

1. Disable vsync.
2. Ensure you are in fullscreen mode. Either set r_smp_backend 0 in config_mp or run the console command /r_fullscreen 1; vid_restart.
3. Ensure your refresh rate and resolution match your monitor.
4. /record <demo_name>: start recording demo
5. /stoprecord: stop recording demo

Demo ouputs are located here: pathToYourCod4GameFiles/main/demos. You can find the location of your game files via the steam launcher.

Cod4x

Cod4x is a client that allows you to connect to modded servers. Cod4x is pretty much the only way to access the remaining active servers on the game; Cod4x is where you hit clips. Demos are recorded the same way in Cod4x as previously mentioned.

Installation

1. Obtain Cod4 on steam.
2. Locate and download the latest version of the Cod4x client on the Cod4x forum.
3. Extract the contents and follow the instructions in the provided readme.
4. Launch Cod4 from Steam. Test to see if you can join Cod4x servers.

The forum will have more information/guides if you get stuck or want to explore.

Converting Cod4x Demos

IW3MVM, the recording software, is only fully supported on vanilla Cod4. Meaning you may need to convert your Cod4x demos to vanilla demos. Convert your demos with this tool. Read the readme for usage.

This is the only change I make to my config.ini:

• targetProtocol = 6: In my case I’m converting to pre-Cod4x to vanillla (1.7).

You might be tempted to enable other configuration options but most of the same options can be applied when you’re recording your clips.

Recording Footage

IW3MVM is a theater mode mod for Cod4 that supports dolly cams, depth maps, fog, green screens, and much more. You load a demo in IW3MVM and record your cinematics and povs. IW3MVM is only officially supported on vanilla Cod4:

Is this compatible with COD4x?

Yes, although I cant guarantee every feature will work as it does on the vanilla game.

– IW3MVM

Installation

Since IW3MVM is only officially supported on vanilla Cod4 I have two sets of game files, one vanilla for IW3MVM and one with the Cod4x client. On the other hand, I was not even able to load IW3MVM unless I was running vanilla Cod4 v1.7.

1. (optional but suggested) Make a backup of the vanilla Cod4 game files. Make sure you are using version 1.7 (copy this executable into your copied game files directory). You can even add this additional version on steam so you can launch it there: Add a Game -> Add a Non-Steam Game -> Browse (select iw3mp.exe).
2. Download CODMVM launcher.
3. Run launcher, select IW3MVM mod and download. When it’s finished it will wait for an instance of Cod4 to attach to.
4. Launch an instance of Cod4 you want IW3MVM to attach to. A non-interactive console will appear without warnings if it successfully attaches.

If at any point you have issues with CODMVM their discord is a great place to get help.

Guide

1. Disable vsync.
2. Ensure you are in fullscreen mode. Either set r_smp_backend 0 in config_mp or run the console command /r_fullscreen 1; vid_restart.
3. Ensure your refresh rate and resolution match your monitor (supposedly you can spoof the recording resolution to record at higher resolutions but I don’t know how).
4. If necessary copy demos to Mods/ModWarfare/demos in the Cod4 that IW3MVM attaches to. Convert the demos if necessary.
5. Launch Cod4, use the mod with your demos, attach IW3MVM.
6. Load demo with: /demo.
7. Read IW3MVM console for recording instructions.

Note: I have to export my recordings as targa sequences because exporting as an avi produces black frames. You can change the export format with /mvm_streams_export.

Useful Console Commands

• /r_dof_tweak 1: A decent depth of field preset.
• /sv_fps 1000: Server frame rate, not sure if this helps.
• /com_maxfps: Limit fps (I use 30), attempt to preserve resources for recording speedup.
• /cg_fov: Sets the camera’s field of view, this is crucial for recording cines.
• /cg_draw2D 0: Hide 2D elements, like the kill feed.

Your recordings/streams outputs will be located in Mods/ModWarfare/movies.

Extras

IWXMVM

Supposedly this is an enhancement of IW3MVM which gives more of an editor-like workflow to recording clips. It includes a timeline, checkboxes, and effects like AE. I haven’t used it and it’s still in beta. You can even directly export encoded recordings.

Reshade

This is a huge library of shaders that you can apply to the game before recording with IW3MVM. It includes effects like ambient occlusion, dynamic depth of field, light source direction, and much more. This is a heavy mod, I would only suggest this if you have a capable pc. I also want to emphasize that you don’t need this library to make quality edits.

Customizations

You can use custom configs, skies, models, textures, and mods to further alter the look of the game. I’d honestly avoid these details unless there is a very specific and appropriate look you are going for that you can’t acheive in post.

Post Processing

Your file sizes will be huge. You should compress them with an appropriate encoding.

Encodings and their effects on render performance is complicated, gmzorz, one of the CODMVM devs, has a great little tool/guide. I’ve included a script to batch encode recordings using his encoding settings.

Recommended Encodings

Xvid

An mp4 encoding. Lossier, smaller file sizes, mediocre editor/render performance. This is what I use since I prefer conserving disk space.

Lagarith

Don’t know much about it. Similar to Prores, used to be very popular.

Prores

An apple encoding. Less lossy, larger file sizes, better editor/render performance.

My Sript

I developed a quick script that recursively encodes all targa sequences in a directory using xvid. See the release binary.

Setup

1. Add release executable to your path.
2. Execute ss2-batch-encoder.exe --help for usage.