SCREENSHOT Requests

[Whacker]

I'd do so, but you'll have to wait a few more weeks, the laptop ain't exactly "high end". Maybe post some pointers how to get a good screenshot? I know I am not artistically inclined at all... am guessing there are probably quite a few others who aren't. So got any tips?

[Shahed]

Thanks for the offer mate.

Well there is a list there, in my first post.

If you look at this sig, this is a perfect screenshot.
NOTE: blur is induced, orignal shot is clear. You can see all the detail, the eyes, mask, links in the chainmail. etc...



Hmm... pointers on how to get a good screenshot .... ??? I don't understand.

[Whacker]

Hmm... pointers on how to get a good screenshot .... ??? I don't understand.

I mean like literally how do you do it? Load up a custom battle with a single unit? Multiple units? How do YOU personally set them up? Do you set them up all way back against your rear border and then charge them forward? Do you stagger them? Camera angle suggestions?

[sapi]

If no one else has done by the end of this week, I'll have a shot at it.

Bit busy at the moment, though

[Shahed]

If no one else has done by the end of this week, I'll have a shot at it.

Bit busy at the moment, though

NP mate. Thanks for the offer. I appreciate it.

[Shahed]

Oh I get it. That's a good idea. About how to... I'll have to put it in words. Bascially you just ... take the shot. UGH! Well ... using your questions:

how do you do it?

Press the Print Screen button, next to pause on the keyboard. It's saved to M2:TW/tgas folder.

Load up a custom battle with a single unit?

That's a good question. You can do it many ways, but the simplest is to load a custom battle with the units you want, terrain, weather etc. The best way is to do it during a campaign game, or modify your files so you start with the units you want to take shots of. Then you march out with those units and find a natural battle, this is the best way, because you get everything, but it takes longer to set up.

For purposes like the above screenshot request you should just load a custom battle. You only need the units that you want in the image, in this case 2 units of Khan's Guard is enough, with one enemy Armored Swordsman or something small that does'nt show easily, as the request says no enemy visible.

How do YOU personally set them up?

I have'nt done it for ages since I fried my GFX card, I post requests usually at the TWC and get my screens from there. This onboard card I have now is useless. If I were to do it myself I would do it the long way, setup a campaign mod, then launch a campaign. I believe most of the screenshot artists (like Crypel, the legend) do it this way. the following is the result that can be achieved, these are Crypel's screenshots.

NOTE: Those shots are SO PERFECT, I ISSUE A CHALLENGE to anyone to improve them.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

NOTE: For my screenshot request you do NOT have to have this quality. I'm a newb so anything is fine.
I'm learning anyway. It does of course help, the better the quality of the base image, the beter the end result.

Do you set them up all way back against your rear border and then charge them forward?

It depends on the shot. If you want it natural deploy as natural. If it is staged, deploy in the manner you have in mind. That sounds a bit obtuse, you know what I mean ?

Do you stagger them?

Depends on what result you want. to achieve a roaring charge result with many units you would stagger the units. If you mean stagger the camera, then yes, you always take a sequence of shots. Like a photographer you take hundreds and then you select one.

I have posted requests before and received over 100 shots for ONE single shot that I wanted.
NOTE: You do not have to do that, just a few screens 5-6 is adequate.

Camera angle suggestions?

Also depends, the best camera angle is the one that gives you the best shot at that time. if you want panorama, go high and aim low. If you want extreme close up, go down to man level aim high as if you were looking from the round up on the object.

Hope that helps, fire away if you have any other questions.

[_Tristan_]

The following is the result that can be achieved, these are Crypel's screenshots.

NOTE: Those shots are SO PERFECT, I ISSUE A CHALLENGE to anyone to improve them.
[.

I can't believe these shots were taken in game...MY comp is not state of the art but it lets me play with almost everything on high and the result is nowhere near that... Those have been reworked, haven't they ? Please tell me they have... They look so much like some oil paintings...

[Daveybaby]

Yeah theyve been reworked afterwards in photoshop or somesuch. Still bloody stunning work though, both the original composition and the added effects are amazing.

If i had a high end rig i would have a go myself.

[Shahed]

Thanks for the offer Dave.

They are all worked at different levels. The 1st two are least reworked.

That is the whole point. A) Excellent base screenshot. B) The quality of image editing.

To edit an image like the 3rd one will take an average person days or possibly even weeks. That's pure talent right there, and it probably took him very little time. I'd hazard a guess at 20 hours but it could even be 20 minutes if he worked on the concept first for many hours, then he applied the concept on this shot.

Art.

[Foz]

Yeah theyve been reworked afterwards in photoshop or somesuch. Still bloody stunning work though, both the original composition and the added effects are amazing.

If i had a high end rig i would have a go myself.

Well it doesn't have to run well necessarily. As long as you can suffer through the poor frame rate you're likely to get, you should still be able to get amazing shots by maxing settings. The main difference is how much your in-game performance will suffer - the shots should come out about identical even if you are getting 3 fps, lol. It may be more difficult to position the camera really well though if your performance becomes too poor.

Also I noticed that some people are getting the pause logo on their shots. It's probably not even necessary to pause the game anymore to get good shots. I'd actually recommend playing with the fine-grain time controls: you can probably run the important part of a battle at 0.1 or so and have plenty of time to maneuver the camera while not having to constantly pause the battle either. That also might be a worthwhile working solution for people with cards that will bog down at max settings - if time is only moving at 0.1, the choppiness should be MUCH less noticeable since everything in the frame will move a lot less in the space of a frame.