I didn't think I'd ever tire of this game, but I suppose if you do anything too much, even if it's fun, it will get tiring. Like eating, eat too much, get fat, get tired of eating. Not that I've ever been tired of eating, but I'm trying to make a point here so don't let that bother you!

The fact is that I've played enough Oni to last me the rest of the year, probably. If that isn't the case I'll still stay away from the game for the rest of the year because there's a limit to how much you can play a game before, well, let's just say I should be doing other things than playing Oni all day.

So, during my long time of playing the game I've collected around 30GB worth of video material, and though the playing the game is over I do plan on doing something with all this video. Something like a walkthrough, or a music video; probably both since I have such a ridiculously large amount of leftover material.

Obviously the best moments were left uncaptured though, that's just the way it is. When I'm a millisecond away from getting knocked of a ledge and manage to kick off two bad guys instead I'm not recording, that's just the way it is. Another way it is is that when I do record, especially when I'm trying to play through the game without dying and get it all on video, I tend to be a bit more careful, resulting in the not-so-amazing combos as I usually get while playing, not the same gun-run-have-fun style of play... but enough about that.

Now, time to eat, sleep and get up early tomorrow cause I'm going on a cruise.

The mission: record game play from Oni. The result: at least there is a result. The process was difficult though. I tried many programs and most didn't work, even after I managed to fix the sound issue! Of course this might differ from game to game, but I think it's relevant to most three-dimensional games (more specifically FPS) within the same generation.

• Camstudio

Worst of the lot, the video turned out distorted, lagging, the game was lagging too. Overall not good at all.

• Taksi

No sound & the cursor displayed in-game (where there shouldn't be a cursor). Otherwise it was amazingly simple and low on CPU usage. The video turns out great and the game didn't lag at all, even with an FPS on over 30.

• ZD Soft Screen Recorder

Smooth, very simple, but with a lack of customizability options and a little lag.

• Fraps

Crap. No adjustability at all. It was easy to use but it eats up CPU, lags horribly, the recording lags even when recording half-size with a FPS at less than 5. Terrible.

• GameClaw

Similar to FRAPs. It had more options, better interface, slightly better FPS but still insanely low even with extremely low FPS settings, dual core usage, half-size, no-compression, no sound, etcetc. What's wrong with these programs? They're certainly working in some way my computer doesn't want them to!

• Total Recorder

Pretty good! Game doesn't lag at all. Video quality not too great at the beginning, but can be changed through codec. The video does lag though, a little, barely noticeable. I was almost going to settle for this but I thought there might be something better so I kept looking.

• BSR Screen Recorder

Better! It had no lag and good quality. I had trouble with screen size (the game appeared as a window on dark background, but using the same resolution for game and computer fixed the issue easily (other programs adapted automatically though). There's a lot of options, many unique ones, great re-sampling, conversion, lab, so much! Despite the many options it was easy to use, so this was the one I settled for eventually.

• ScreenR

Web-based app that runs on Java, works great, but for games (or this game specifically) it doesn't work at all, video came out distorted, majorly; no adjustable options.

• Screen VidShot

Okay, the video lags a bit, the game does not. Lack of adjustable settings, though the codes could be configured well. I don't like the interface, too many gradients, too smooth, feels too fake-simple. Not enough features for me.

• Easy Screen Recorder

Never got a chance to fully test the potential of this program as the ESC key cancels the recording. There is no way to change this key (not documented, not that I could figure out) and I can't quit the game without pressing the ESC key (opening up task manager, ALT/F4, windows button, none of that works) so... I could never even complete the recording. Not to say the program is bad, but that is a BIG fault in the thinking department, they should at least let you specify your own hot-keys. Not good at all.

• Jing

I used this earlier but didn't like it, tried it again in case it (or I) changed, and the interface is actually really cool, the options simple, the menus entertaining, and for recording desktops it works fine ... but for games, and this one specifically, it sucks. Looks like a series of screenshots and not a video at all, not recommended. You have to register too to use btw.

• WeGame

It's like Jing. This is a service to which you register, a gaming community you can upload and share all videos and screenshots with. Great interface, crappy service, and though it's designed specifically for games it didn't work well at all with this one. Lag, very much.

• TipCam

Not good. The game started crashing whenever I tried opening it with this program installed. Tried changing settings like mad, no change.

• Hypercam (64-Bit)

Works well, but it failed to capture the sound, something most of the programs above have done fine.

• SnagIt

Lag, a lot... damn, and this one was so good too!

I should point out that not all of these are free. The free ones should get much praise just for being free, but I took note only of how they worked in regard to what I wanted to do this specific time.

The programs it broke down to at the end were Total Recorder, BSR Screen Recorder & Taksi. I would have gladly used the latter option, Taksi, as it was the one that best combined simplicity and the features I needed. It was ultimately perfect, apart from one small but important flaw, the cursor was displayed in the center of the game screen on which there should be no cursor displayed. Other than this it was a great program, and I will save it and use it in the future for all other recording needs I may have where there should be a cursor. Maybe try it on a few other games as well to see if they work better too. Oh, Taksi is freeware too.

As for Total Recorder & BSR Screen Recorder, the first one is missing a few options I need, and the latter has more options than I need. Both work great for this specific task and with the right amount of tweaks gave me the video I wanted, but even with a surplus of features I won't use, BSR is my choice. Why? Well, because it has all the features I do need to use, and that's what counts. Both of these two programs are commercial. Total Recorder can be evaluated during a period of time and works without limits during this time, whereas BSR Screen Recorder will work for an unlimited amount of time without being purchased, the only catch being the addition of a BSR watermark on all exported videos.

This can be avoided by simply cropping the exported video and cutting out the section with the watermark in it. Obviously you don't want to lose any of the recorded material in a game, so I make sure to use a different resolution on screen and in game, resulting in the game screen being displayed in the upper left corner in the final video, with a wide black background around it... and the BSR watermark at the bottom right in this black area, easily removable. It's not a perfect program, yet there seems to be no perfect program to fit my purpose, and with a workaround to the watermark it is ultimately all I need.

I am happy I managed to solve the problem in the end. I browsed a few forums during my quest for answers and found that I'm not the only one having trouble with Fraps & Game Cam and insanely low FPS, but in difference from the users who posted I persevered and found a solution. Here's the post to help spreading this knowledge. ;) Oh, and you'll probably be seeing an overflow of Oni videos here in a near future, see ya!

Now I'm not sure exactly what I did that made it work, so here is what I did, the whole lot. First, I opened up my 'Sound' settings from the control panel. Listed in the Playback list were:

• Speakers
• Realtek Digital Output
• Realtek HDMI Output

I didn't do any changes here.

Under 'Recording' I had three inactive units: FrontMic, Microphone & Ingoing Line (or was is outgoing line?). They were all enabled yet displayed as unplugged, and I could not configure them. Initially I didn't think there was anything more to do here until I right clicked and received the option to show all inactive units, I did, and found 'Stereo mix'. So I enabled it, and suddenly things started working again. You might want to adjust the volume too if you do the same, because it's really low.

In Camstudio when I selected 'Record From Speakers' I still received the error, and the Speaker Configuration didn't work at all, but when I started recording, guess what, the sound was there anyway! YEAH! Fucking amazing. Excuse me, I'm just exited, this opens up to unlimitless possibilities. I plan on recording some Oni action in a second. Arivaderci!

Sunday. I'm sitting by the computer writing the first of three book reviews, one due the passed Monday, two of them due the Monday after the next one. I probably won't get them all done today. The plan is to complete one today, and get the two remaining ones finished tomorrow. I should probably be writing the one that's due, yet it somehow feels easier writing one of the one's that aren't. Out of those two I have only read one of the books, so the choice over which one I should write is fairly easy. I'll be reading out the second book today.

We spent dinner as guests yesterday, and today we're having guests over for dinner. I've written a lyric that will be recorded in studio (first one yay) and I'll be helping some friends auction out old things for a certain provision, hopefully before I leave. When do I leave? Thursday. For a one week long vacation visiting my grandma up north. That's why I'm actually getting my studies done ahead of time for once.

Otherwise I'm playing Oni like mad, experimenting with different screen recording software and trying to get the sound to sync right in Virtual Dub on the videos I've recorded on Oni. I'm pretty good at the game. When I like a game I end up playing it until there just isn't any playability left in it. Fortunately most of the games I play don't get me addicted, most games actually suck, there are very few games that actually reach what I'd like to call perfection. The genres vary, as do the games, but the feeling that the game is complete is always there in the games I get stuck with, and Oni is one of them.

I watched the last episode of One Piece this morning and man it's depressing. Luffys brother was recently killed, he wakes up, goes wild thrashing the place trying to tell himself that it was just a dream, but eventually he realizes what he has always known, that it wasn't, and breaks down. First time in close to 500 episodes he cries, and yeah, it's depressing. So I suppose that conducts the tone of this posting.