Howto: Render Battlefield 2 videos

Instead of recording a full game of Battlefield here is a way of recording short bits. This makes editing a lot easier! The advantage of using Battlefield for rendering (contrary to screen-capture software) is to keep quality and high resolution.

Requirements

A) Create recordings

  1. Start Battlefield 2
  2. Create a local server
  3. Start recording by typing the following in the console: demo.recordDemo my-demo
  4. Stop recording by typing the following: demo.stopRecording
  5. Exit Battlefield when you're done making recordings

Tip! In the Battlefield 2 console you can use the TAB-key list options. Just hit TAB twice.

B) Create camera path

  1. Start Team Gaffa's Machinima Tool
  2. Your recording should show up on the list (if not check that you've chosen the correct MOD)
  3. Select your recording from the list
  4. Under ”Camera paths and renders” click ”New”
  5. Name the path and click ”OK”. Battlefield starts ...
  6. Now create your camera path. Use Q-key and T-key to get more options. You can use 1-9 keys for controlling speed (this will not effect the speed of the rendered video). Also you can use the Shift-key to slow down camera movements and double tab W-key to speed up camera movements.
  7. When the path is done exit Battlefield

Tip! If it's a long recording you don't need to set up the camera for the whole recording. Just hit Q-key and click ”Quit” when you're done – even if the recording is only half-way through.

C) Render recordings

  1. Back in Team Gaffa's Machinima Tool select your newly created path and click ”Render!”. Battlefield starts …
  2. After loading the map Battlefield will be asking what codec to use (you may want to Alt+TAB to see the window). Apparently it's not possible to select the codec by mouse-only. Instead first select the dropdown with your mouse – then use arrow-keys to select the right codec (e.g. Xvid). Notice that when running the tool in administrator mode, you may use the codec auto-selection feature (available under ”Settings profile”).
  3. Wait for the whole rendering to finish or hit the R-key if the last part of the video is not needed. Finally hit the Q-key and click ”Quit”.

Troubleshooting

If Battlefield crashes when you try to create a new camera path check the settings in Team Gaffa's Machinima Tool under ”Settings profile”. Maybe the chosen resolution is not supported on your machine.