Steven's RCT3 Page

How to make RCT3 Videos for Youtube.

The purpose of this page is to show you how to make videos in RCT3 and how to show off your RCT3 reactions on Youtube.

1. Before you begin, a few tips to get the best results from filming.

Normally when playing the game, you can't have the quality settings up too high, as this would significantly slow down the game, especially when you have a lot of scenery on screen. When I am building my parks, I usually like to have my quality settings set at the default settings, this provides a good balance between image quality and performance. However, when filming videos, it makes a lot more sense to have the settings set much higher,  as although video recording does take a while, the video will always be smooth, no mater how graphic intensive the result.

First of all, check your video settings:

Where you usually load and save games in sandbox mode, there are two other options, here I have highlighted the "Game Options" button. Go here to check your settings before you begin filming your videos.

After that, you will need to go to the "Graphics Settings" tab.

It is in here that you can adjust your graphics settings for filming.

Here I have my screen resolution set to "1024 X 768 X 32" and my Advanced Settings set to "Quality" These are good modes for building, but once you are ready to film, it is time to change these.

First of all, set the screen resolution to "800 X 600 X 32" This reduces the screen resolution, and you will be asked to confirm this, simply click the green icon to continue.

You may wonder how reducing the screen resolution helps to make better videos. The reason is that YouTube videos are typically only 320 X 240 in resolution, and filming in 1024 X 768 takes so much longer than filming in 800 X 600, therefore it helps to speed up the process.

Next, change the advanced settings to "Custom" you will be provided with a whole new set of options, you simply have to put them all to maximum.

Shadows should be set to "Dynamic" and Anti-Aliasing can be set to whatever you prefer, depending on the capabilities of your graphics card. For filming for Youtube, Level 1 or 2 is usually best. The Textures slider should also be at Maximum.

The following items should be checked:

Detail Level Blend
Compress Textures
3D Trees and plants
Show Trees Off Map
Use Reflective Water
Use Environment Map on flowing water (everything in this submenu should also be checked, reflect everything!)
Clouds
Refraction
Background Mountains

The Following items should NOT be checked.

Simple Terrain Textures
Bloom

The bloom setting adds a "glow" to many parts of the park. I find that the effect does not work that well, which is why I recommend that it is not used.

The rest of the settings are probably best left as they are.

Now, check the item "Show LOD options" and another panel of options should appear:

All you have to do here is go through each and every one of the sliders, and put them to maximum. The Geometry Imposter Distance should be set to 1500, the maximum setting.

And there you have it, the optimum settings for recording video. Simply close the window to continue.

The game may appear to run more slowly after you have done this, but remember that the videos you produce will be just as smooth as normal, but will have a lot more visible detail in them.

When you have finished filming, you will want to put the settings back to the defaults, simply follow the steps as above, and set the "Advanced Settings" back to "Quality" or whatever you prefer.

2. Using the flying Camera.

The flying Camera Routes Editor (Sometimes also called the "Attract sequence Editor" is a "hidden" part of the game, this is an invaluable tool for creating videos, as it allows very smooth camera motion, and is fantastic for panning shots, and flyovers.

All I am going to do here is show you a quick and simple way to use the editor, for a better and more complete tutorial, follow this link:

Designamatic Flying Camera Tutorial A fantastic tutorial page about the Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 Flying Camera Routes Editor http://www.designamatic.com/RCT3-FCRE01.html

However, in this tutorial, I am simply going to make the camera rotate.

To open the Flying Camera Editor, simply press Ctrl-Shift-0 (Zero), you will see something like the following:

Simply press "New Ro..." and a new route editor will appear.

It looks complicated the first time you see it, but basic functionality is actually quite simple. The small screen next to the slider bars is the "Preview Window" at the moment it does not show much, so just ignore it for the time being.

The dark grey bar at the top is the timeline, the "s" and "f" buttons are used to add "key frames"

To begin, simply move your view to where you want the route to begin.

Then press "s", and the preview window will now show what is on the main view:

Now, simply move the camera to another position, and press "f"

Notice how there are now two squares on the grey time line bar. Press play (>) and watch the preview window, you will see the view gradually move from one camera position to another. Keep moving the camera and pressing "f" each time to create a route, whenever you press play, the preview window will show you the route being followed. Use the red slider to adjust the speed, and when you have it right, press "Solo Play" for a full screen preview!

If you are happy with what you see,  press Record. Be warned though, when the route has finished, the route editor window will re-appear on your screen, but it will continue recording. You will have to press ctrl-shift-F11 to stop the recording process.

In the finished recorded video, the white routes window will appear in the last few seconds, be sure to edit this out when you are editing your video!

Also, when you are creating your routes, try not to have the camera going through walls or scenery! Perhaps the best thing to do would be to have the route avoid these obstacles, or to have two different camera routes showing each side.

Be sure to check out the tutorial mentioned above for more information.

3. Still Shots.

The flying camera routes editor is great, but it should not be over used. It would be very easy to make a video that just shows a flying camera moving from one part of the park to another, but it would also show the space in-between. Sometimes it is better to take a "still shot" instead. Some people on Youtube take screen shots using F10, and making video slide shows, but to make things more interesting follow this method.

First of all, click on a peep, and change their name to "David Walsh", this enables the games interface to be hidden. Try pressing Ctrl-U to see if this works, if you have been successful, the interface should disappear, leaving you with just a view of the park. Press Ctrl-U again to bring it back.

 

Now, all you have to do is place your view where you want the shot to be taken, and then press CTRL-U to make the interface disappear, then press CTRL-SHIFT-F11 to start recording. Let it record for a few minutes, and then press CTRL-SHIFT-F11 again, then CTRL-U. The result is a still shot of the video, but one that still shows the peeps walking around, and the rides moving, this looks much more interesting in a video than a still screenshot. Another advantage that still shots have over the flying camera is that Youtube videos tend to look better when there is not too much movement, these are good for areas of your park that have lots of detail in them that you want to show off. I typically have still shots of about seven seconds each.

4. The Coaster Cam.

The coaster came is fantastic, it is what allows us to experience our ride creations in ways that the previous Roller Coaster Tycoon games could not. Filming your rides is quite easy. Simply follow the "David Walsh" thing from tip no.3 and then enter the coaster cam. When the ride is at the station and is about to leave, press CTRL-U and then CTRL-SHIFT-F11 to begin recording. Once the recording process has begun, you will not have to worry about the blue controls appearing, and spoiling your video. When the ride has finished, simply press CTRL-SHIFT-F11 and CTRL-U to end.

5. Youtube Widescreen HD videos

This is a relatively new feature of Youtube, and after a bit of experimenting, I have found settings which work. Ultimately though, you will have to experiment yourself.

In this example, I will be using Windows Movie Maker (Vista Edition) for other software packages, you will have to just try different settings until you find one that works, the following is therefore a guide only.

First of all, follow all the steps above, but you will need to remember to film in a widescreen resolution, Using the graphics settings as above, change the resolution to one of the widescreen resolutions that the game offers. The resolutions available will vary depending on the capabilities of your graphics hardware, and although Youtube widescreen videos have an aspect ratio of 16:9, I have filmed my HD videos using one of the 15:9 ratios, and it has been fine.

Therefore I recommend changing to one of the 15:9 ratios, personally, I use 1280X768 (X32) Keep in mind that filming will take much longer in this resolution, but the overall video quality will make the extra wait worthwhile.

After you have finished filming, you will need to edit and publish your video as normal, but use the following settings:

When you first start Windows Movie Maker, go to Tools --> Options, then you will be see the following:

Simply change "4:3" to "16:9" Now this step is VERY IMPORTANT otherwise the widescreen will not work properly!

Once you have finished editing, you will need to publish your movie, click "Publish Movie" on the toolbar.

When asked, Publish to "This Computer"

Chose a name for your movie file.

Now, click on "More Settings" and select "Windows Media HD 720p (5.9 Mbps) from the drop down list.

Now all you have to do is click "Publish" then wait for the file to be produced, then upload this file to Youtube as normal! BEWARE the file will be much bigger than you are used to, and it can take SEVERAL HOURS to upload!