Fraps
Ever wondered how you can record gameplay smoothly with Fraps? If you're wondering how to do this, or just how to video capture gameplay videos; it is actually fairly simple. It only requires video capturing software. There are many different video capturing software, but the one that I would like to share and use is called Fraps. You may have already heard of it. Fraps is considered one of the top video capturing software because it is able to capture raw data. What this means is that whatever is present on your screen; Fraps would be able to capture it in the highest and raw quality. Fraps also has the ability to record raw sound capture as well, so whatever sound that is playing on your computer you will be able to have the option to have that recorded within your video recordings as well. So if you're looking into recording software, Fraps may be one of your interests because its such a powerful and easy-to-access program.
Testing Fraps
But how do you know if its right for you? Fraps offers a free version that allows you to test the program itself; but you're limited to some features such as only 30-second length videos which are watermarked. The free version's purpose is to give you the option to test the actual software allowing you to tweak settings possibly to see if your desktop or laptop can handle the program, and possibly at different settings.
Choosing the Settings
After you have downloaded the software you maybe wondering, What settings should you use for recording gameplay videos? Well one way to figure out would be to test out different settings. One of the main options for video capturing is choosing the right fps, the standard fps is 30 on the Fraps settings which I find is quite enough, but if you're wanting to make sure you capture every single definition on your screen you can spark it up to the any number you want if your computer can handle it. Keep in mind the human eyes can only see 25 fps, up to 40 fps when in panic if you're considering what fps would be best for your viewers. Finding your optimal settings may involve changing screen resolutions in your actual game clients as well. Everyone has different PC's so everyone might not have the option to capture at the same settings. If you're experiencing lag or some sort of delay in your recorded videos before or during recording; a good idea would be to lower the resolution of your game and try recording again to see if it works more smoothly.
Video Resolutions for uploading to YouTube
If you're wondering about what settings would be best for uploading to Youtube so it would fit in the player perfectly here they are:
Conclusion
Personally, Fraps is extremely simple to use if you know the in-and outs of the program and it's features. I've tried many recording software and Fraps is by far one of the most powerful and most simple interfaces I've ever seen. Not to mention the software is incredibly easy to understand as well. Also I really like how it is so easy to start recording gameplay, as soon as you have the program on your computer and running with your game client you will be able to start recording with just a click of a button.
I hope this little Fraps how-to-guide helped you, and if you have any questions please feel free to ask me. Hope you all have a nice day!
